Magdalena of Sweden (

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

: ''Magdalena Karlsdotter'' 1445 – August 1495) was a Swedish princess. She was the daughter of

Charles VIII of Sweden Charles VIII ( sv, Karl; 1408–1470), contemporaneously known as Charles II and called Charles I in Norwegian context, was king of Sweden (1448–1457, 1464–1465 and 1467–1470) and king of Norway (1449–1450). Regnal name Charles was the ...

and his first queen consort, Catherine of Bjurum. In 1468–1470, her spouse Ivar Axelsson (Tott) was the promised successor of her father as

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

Biography

Magdalena was one of Charles's nine children, most of whom died in infancy. Her father became King of Sweden in 1448 and King of Norway in 1449. She married Ivar Axelsson (Tott) in

Nyköping Nyköping () is a locality and the seat of Nyköping Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 32,759 inhabitants as of 2017. The city is also the capital of Södermanland County. Including Arnö, the locality on the southern shore of th ...

on 21 September 1466. Their marriage was childless. Her spouse was the uncle of

Ingeborg Tott Lady Ingeborg Åkesdotter Tott or 'Ingeborg Aagesdotter of the Thott' (Year of birth unknown –December 1507), in her lifetime called Ingeborg Åkesdotter or simply Fru Ingeborg (Lady Ingeborg), Biografiskt lexikon för Finland 1. Svenska tid ...

, the spouse of regent

Sten Sture the Elder Sten Sture the Elder ( sv, Sten Sture den äldre; 1440 – 14 December 1503) was a Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden from 1470–1497 and 1501–1503. As the leader of the victorious Swedish separatist forces against the royal unionist fo ...

. Her spouse was a former royal councillor in Denmark, having lived in Sweden since 1464, and after his marriage to Magdalena was made royal councillor of Sweden. In 1468, he was made more or less an informal co-regent and was promised to succeed his father-in-law after his death as interim regent, presiding over the council until the election of a new regent or monarch, and he was once described as "The most powerful man in Scandinavia". Upon the death of his father-in-law in 1470, however, he was not given enough support to become regent for Charles's young son, Magdalena's half-brother who soon was outmaneuvered anyway by Lord Sture. By 1472, it was clear that Magdalen's one-reign Bonde Dynasty would not survive on the throne, and her husband was given Stegeborg as a fief. Ivar Axelsson betrayed Sweden, admitting in 1476 that he was promised Gotland as a fief by the Danish King, and in 1481, an open conflict occurred between Ivar and Swedish Regent. Ivar was deemed as a traitor to Sweden, upon which Princess Magdalena, by order of Erik Oxenstierna at the council of

Vadstena Vadstena () is a locality and the seat of Vadstena Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden, with 5,613 inhabitants in 2010. From 1974 to 1979 Vadstena was administered as part of Motala Municipality. Despite its small population, Vadstena ...

, was abducted and imprisoned. Magdalen became a widow in 1487. Magdalena was the benefactor of the Grey Friar's Abbey on

Riddarholmen Riddarholmen (, "The Knights' Islet") is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden. The island forms part of Gamla Stan, the old town, and houses a number of private palaces dating back to the 17th century. The main landmark is the church Riddarh ...

in Stockholm, to which she made many large donations, by which she was honoured by the monks with the inscription ''Propentissima Benefactrix Ordinis Nostri''. She died in Söderköping and was buried in the Grey Friar's Abbey there, of which few visible ruins remain.

References and literature

* Lars-Olof Larsson - Kalmarunionens tid * Dick Harrison - Karl Knutsson * http://runeberg.org/sqvinnor/0282.html * Nordisk familjebok {{DEFAULTSORT:Magdalen Of Sweden 1445 births 1495 deaths 15th-century Swedish people Swedish princesses Disinherited European royalty 15th-century Swedish women Daughters of kings