Malmfred of Kiev (between 1095 and 1102 – died after 1137) was a Norwegian and Danish queen consort, wife first to King

Sigurd I of Norway Sigurd Magnusson (1089 – 26 March 1130), also known as Sigurd the Crusader (Old Norse: ''Sigurðr Jórsalafari'', Norwegian: ''Sigurd Jorsalfar''), was King of Norway (being Sigurd I) from 1103 to 1130. His rule, together with his half-brothe ...

and second to king

Eric II of Denmark Eric II the Memorable ( da, Erik II Emune; – 18 September 1137) was king of Denmark between 1134 and 1137. Eric was an illegitimate son of Eric I of Denmark, who ruled Denmark from 1095 to 1103. Eric the Memorable rebelled against his uncle Niel ...

Life

Malmfred was born to Grand Prince

Mstislav I of Kiev Mstislav I Vladimirovich Monomakh (Russian: Мстислав Владимирович Великий, uk, Мстислав Володимирович Великий; February, 1076 – April 14, 1132), also known as Mstislav the Great, was t ...

and Princess

Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden Princess Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden ( Swedish: ''Kristina Ingesdotter'') (11th century – 18 January 1122) was a Swedish princess and a princess consort of Veliky Novgorod, Rostov and Belgorod, by marriage to Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kie ...

, paternal granddaughter of

Gytha of Wessex Gytha of Wessex (born c. 1053/1061 – died 1098 or 1107; ang, Gȳð) was one of several daughters of Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, and his consort, Edith the Fair. Through marriage to Vladimir II Monomakh, Gytha beca ...

and maternal granddaughter of King Inge the Elder of Sweden. She was born between 1095 and 1102.

Snorre Sturlasson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

called her ''Malmfred Haraldsdotter of Holmgard'', which was a Norwegian version of her name. Her sister,

Ingeborg of Kiev Ingeborg Mstislavna of Kiev ( fl. 1137) was a Ruthenian princess, married to the Danish prince Canute Lavard of Jutland. She was the daughter of Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev and Christina Ingesdotter of Sweden and was in about 1116 married to ...

, was married to the Danish prince

Canute Lavard Canute Lavard ( Danish: Knud Lavard; cognate with English Lord) (12 March 1096 – 7 January 1131) was a Danish prince. Later he was the first Duke of Schleswig and the first border prince who was both a Danish and a German vassal, a position ...

. Malmfred was married to Sigurd between 1116 and 1120. She had a daughter, Kristin Sigurdsdatter, mother of king

Magnus V of Norway Magnus Erlingsson ( non, Magnús Erlingsson, 1156 – 15 June 1184) was a king of Norway (being Magnus V) during the civil war era in Norway. He was the first known Scandinavian monarch to be crowned in Scandinavia. He helped to establish primog ...

. Tradition says that the marriage was unhappy. Her husband repudiated her in 1128 and remarried Cecilia. In 1130, her ex-husband's illegitimate son became king, and she left for Denmark, where she married

Erik Emune Eric II the Memorable ( da, Erik II Emune; – 18 September 1137) was king of Denmark between 1134 and 1137. Eric was an illegitimate son of Eric I of Denmark, who ruled Denmark from 1095 to 1103. Eric the Memorable rebelled against his uncle Niel ...

. In 1131, she arranged the marriage between her former stepson

Magnus IV of Norway Magnus Sigurdsson (c. 1115 – 12 November 1139), also known as Magnus the Blind, was King of Norway (being Magnus IV) from 1130 to 1135 and again from 1137 to 1139. His period as king marked the beginning of the civil war era in Norway, which las ...

and her sister's daughter, Christine of Denmark; they were married in 1133. Christine's husband, King Magnus, supported the struggle of Malmfrid, Erik and Christine's father, Canute, against King Niels of Denmark. In 1133, Erik and Malmfrid fled Denmark for Norway and the protection of Magnus. Afterward, Queen Christine, however, found out that Magnus had plans to betray them, she warned them. Erik and Malmfrid then allied themselves with the rival of King Magnus, King Harald IV Gille of Norway. King Magnus then separated from Queen Christine. In 1134, Eric became King, and she Queen of Denmark. She had no more children. In 1137, her second husband, Eric, was murdered at the

thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuse ...

in south

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

. Malmfred was not mentioned after this date.

References

Bibliography

* "''The Large Danish Encyclopedia''" (1998 edition) * Norwegian Wikipedia :no:Malmfrid Mstislavsdatter * Store norske leksikon * Norsk biografisk leksikon * Edvard Bull. »Magnus Blinde» I: ''Norsk biografisk leksikon'', 1. utg. Bd 9. 1938 * Nils Petter Thuesen. »Magnus 4 Sigurdsson Blinde» I: ''Norsk biografisk leksikon'', 2. utg. Bd 6. 2003. * Knut Helle. ''Aschehougs Norgeshistorie. Bd 3. Under kirke og kongemakt''. 1995 {{DEFAULTSORT:Malmfred Norwegian royal consorts Danish royal consorts Monomakhovichi family 1100s births 1140s deaths Kievan Rus' princesses 12th-century Rus' people 12th-century Rus' women 12th-century Norwegian people 12th-century Norwegian women 12th-century Danish people 12th-century Danish women Remarried royal consorts