Margareta "Märta" Ulfsdotter, in Norway known as ''Merete Ulvsdatter'' (1319-1371), was a Swedish noble and

lady in waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

. She was the daughter of

Saint Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden (c. 1303 – 23 July 1373) born as Birgitta Birgersdotter, also Birgitta of Vadstena, or Saint Birgitta ( sv, heliga Birgitta), was a mystic and a saint, and she was also the founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after t ...

and the head lady in waiting of Margaret I, Queen of Denmark.

Life

She was the daughter of Saint Bridget of Sweden and Ulf Gudmarsson of Ulvåsa. In 1337, she married the Norwegian noble Sigvid Ribbing (d. 1345). After the death of her first spouse, she married the Swedish noble Knut Algotsson. She was the mother of Abbess

Ingegerd Knutsdotter Ingegerd Knutsdotter (1356 – September 14, 1412) was a Swedish nun and noble, the first official abbess of the Bridgettine Abbey of Vadstena in 1385/88–1403. Life Ingegerd Knutsdotter was the daughter of Märtha (Margareta) Ulfsdotter and K ...

of Vadstena. Between 1366 and 1371, she was the head of the court of Queen Margaret, whom she raised as the foster child with her daughter Ingegerd. According to reports, she frequently used

spanking Spanking is a form of corporal punishment involving the act of striking, with either the palm of the hand or an implement, the buttocks of a person to cause physical pain. The term spanking broadly encompasses the use of either the hand or im ...

. it was said, that she maintained such as superiority and authority over her royal ward, that even after Margaret became queen, she was forced to succumb to Märta's rough treatment. In 1412, Queen Margaret appointed her daughter Katarina Knutsdotter to the same position for the new queen,

Philippa of England Philippa of England (mid-1394 – 5 January 1430), also known as Philippa of Lancaster, was Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1406 to 1430 by marriage to King Eric of the Kalmar Union. She was the daughter of King Henry IV of England by ...

Sources

Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor /

Birgitta, utställningen 1918: beskrifvande förteckning öfver utställda föremål ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulfsdotter, Marta 1319 births 1371 deaths Swedish ladies-in-waiting 14th-century Swedish nobility 14th-century Swedish women Governesses to Danish royalty Governesses to the Swedish monarchy Margaret I of Denmark