Sophia of Minsk or Sophia of

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...

(died 5 May 1198) was a Danish queen consort by marriage to King Valdemar I of Denmark, and a

landgravine Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

by marriage to Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia.

Life

Origin

Sophia was the daughter of Richeza of Poland, Dowager Queen of Sweden, from her second marriage to a man called "Valador" King in Poloni Land. The identity of her father is uncertain, it was either Volodar of Minsk or , Prince of Novgorod and son of

Vsevolod of Pskov Vsevolod Mstislavich Monomakh (russian: Всеволод Мстиславич), the patron saint of the city of Pskov, ruled as Prince of Novgorod in 1117–32, Prince of Pereslavl (1132) and Prince of Pskov in 1137–38. Early life The elde ...

. Both of them are the Rurikids. The latter version would mean Valdemar was married to his first cousin once removed, as Sophia's possible father Volodar was nephew of Valdemar's mother Ingeborg of Kiev.

Childhood

Sophia spent a part of her childhood in Denmark, where her mother had been married to a Danish prince in her first marriage, and returned with her daughter when her second marriage was terminated. Sophia was the half sister of Canute V of Denmark, the son of her mother by her first marriage: after her half brother became king of Denmark in 1146, her mother returned to Denmark with her daughter Sophia, who thus spent part of her childhood in Denmark at the court of her half brother the king. In circa 1149, her mother married

Sverker I of Sweden Sverker I or Sverker the Elder (Old Swedish: ''Swærkir konongær gambli''), murdered 25 December 1156, was King of Sweden from about 1132 till his death. Of non-royal descent, he founded the House of Sverker, the rulers of which alternated with ...

, in her third marriage. She took her daughter with her to Sweden, where Sophia subsequently spent the rest of her childhood at the Swedish royal court.

Queen

In 1154, at the age of circa fourteen, Sophia was betrothed to Valdemar as a symbol of alliance between Sweden and Denmark: she was at this time described as a pretty girl with promise of becoming a beauty. In the marriage contract, she was secured an eighth of her half brother King Canute V's estates in Denmark. 120px, upleft, 1157 Valdemar_and_Sophia_of_Minsk.html" ;"title="Valdemar_I_of_Denmark.html" ;"title="bracteate commemorating the wedding of Valdemar_and_Sophia_of_Minsk">Valdemar_I_of_Denmark.html"_;"title="bracteate_commemorating_the_wedding_of_Valdemar_I_of_Denmark">Valdemar_and_Sophia_of_Minsk Sophia_departed_Sweden_for_Denmark_after_the_conclusion_of_the_engagement_in_1154,_but_as_she_was_not_yet_regarded_old_enough_to_marry_by_Nordic_standards,_she_was_sent_to_reside_with_a_foster_mother_named_Bodil_until_she_was_old_enough_to_live_with_Valdemar. The_wedding_between_Sophia_and_Valdemar_was_conducted_in_Viborg,_Denmark.html" ;"title="Valdemar I of Denmark">Valdemar and Sophia of Minsk">Valdemar_I_of_Denmark.html" ;"title="bracteate commemorating the wedding of Valdemar I of Denmark">Valdemar and Sophia of Minsk Sophia departed Sweden for Denmark after the conclusion of the engagement in 1154, but as she was not yet regarded old enough to marry by Nordic standards, she was sent to reside with a foster mother named Bodil until she was old enough to live with Valdemar. The wedding between Sophia and Valdemar was conducted in Viborg, Denmark">Viborg in 1157, three years later. Queen Sophia was described as beautiful, dominant and cruel. According to traditional myth, she murdered Valdemar's mistress Tove and injured his sister Kirsten, but this is not confirmed.Smith-Dampier, Eleanor.
Danish Ballads
', pp. 15-24 (Cambridge U. Press 1920). She was widowed in 1182.

Later life

As queen dowager, Sophia received a proposal from, and married, Louis III, Landgrave of Thuringia in about 1184, and was escorted to the border by her son and a grand entourage. She was repudiated in 1190, and returned to Denmark.

Issue

Sophia had the following children with Valdemar I of Denmark: * Sophia (1159–1208), married Siegfried III, Count of Weimar-Orlamünde * King Canute VI of Denmark (1163–1202) * Maria (born c. 1165), nun at Roskilde (1188) * Margaret (born c. 1167), nun at Roskilde (1188) * King Valdemar II of Denmark (1170–1241) * Ingeborg (1175–1236), married King

Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...

* Helena (c.1177–1233), married William of Lüneburg * Richeza of Denmark (c. 1180–1220), married King Eric X of Sweden

References

*
Dansk biografisk Lexikon / XVI. Bind. Skarpenberg - Sveistrup

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sofia Of Minsk 1140s births 1198 deaths Rurik dynasty Danish royal consorts Burials at St. Bendt's Church, Ringsted People from Polotsk Landgravines of Thuringia 12th-century Danish people 12th-century Danish women 12th-century Rus' people 12th-century Rus' women Belarusian people of Danish descent Russian people of Danish descent Polish people of Danish descent Remarried royal consorts Queen mothers