Cecilia Knudsdatter of Danmark (1081/85 – after 7 January 1131), was a Danish

princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

, daughter of

Canute IV of Denmark Canute IV ( – 10 July 1086), later known as Canute the Holy () or Saint Canute (''Sankt Knud''), was King of Denmark from 1080 until 1086. Canute was an ambitious king who sought to strengthen the Danish monarchy, devotedly supported the ...

and

Adela of Flanders Adela of Flanders (also Ala and Alana in southern Italian sources) (c. 1064 – April 1115), was Queen consort of Denmark by marriage to King Canute IV and duchess of Apulia by marriage to Duke Roger Borsa, and then regent of Apulia from 1111 to ...

. At the deposition and murder of her father in 1086, her mother left

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and returned to

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

with her son

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

, while Cecilia and her sister Ingegerd followed their paternal uncle

Eric I of Denmark Eric I ( – 10 July 1103), also known as Eric the Good or Eric Evergood (), was King of Denmark following his brother Olaf I Hunger in 1095. He was a son of Sweyn II. His mother's identity remains unknown. He married Boedil Thurgotsdatter. ...

and aunt Boedil Thurgotsdatter, who became their

foster parent Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community or treatment centre), or private home of a state- certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family memb ...

s, to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Eric and Boedil returned to Denmark when Eric rescinded to the throne in 1095. Both sisters married

Swedish nobility The Swedish nobility (, or , ) has historically been a legally or socially privileged Social class, class in Sweden, and part of the so-called ''frälse'' (a derivation from Old Swedish meaning ''free neck''). The archaic term for nobility, ''fr ...

. Cecilia married Earl Eric. She later returned to Denmark, where her spouse was made jarl of Falster, and the couple settled at Haraldsted at

Ringsted Ringsted is a city located centrally in the Danish island of Zealand. It is the seat of a municipality of the same name. Ringsted is situated approximately from Copenhagen. History Ringsted was the site of ''Sjællands Landsting'' (lit. ''Z ...

. The couple had two sons: Knud and Carl, Duke of Halland. She also possibly had a daughter

Inger Eriksdotter Inger Eriksdotter (also Inga, Inge) (ca. 1100–1157) was the wife of Asser Rig, tribal chief of Zealand (Sjælland) in today's Denmark. Inger's father is said to have been :sv:Erik jarl, Earl Eric. Her mother was Princess Cecilia Knutsdatter (d ...

, who married

Asser Rig Asser Rig (c. 1078–1151) was a jarl and chieftain from Zealand, Denmark, a son of Skjalm Hvide (before 1045 – c. 1113) and ''Signe Asbjørnsdatter'' (c. 1050 – c. 1096). They are sometimes referred to as ''Asser Rig Skjalmsen Hvide''. Sib ...

, a

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

of the

Hvide The Hvide clan (English: ''Whites'') was a medieval Danish clan, and afterwards in early modern era a Danish noble surname of presumably one surviving branch of leaders of that clan. Before the 16th century it was not used as a surname. It sign ...

clan from Fjenneslev on

Zealand Zealand ( ) is the largest and most populous islands of Denmark, island in Denmark proper (thus excluding Greenland and Disko Island, which are larger in size) at 7,031 km2 (2715 sq. mi.). Zealand had a population of 2,319,705 on 1 Januar ...

, and was the mother of

Esbern Snare Esbern Snare (1127–1204), also known as Esbern the Resolute, was a '' høvding'', or chieftain, royal chancellor and crusader. His family were members of the powerful Hvide clan. In 1192, during the Crusades and after the fall of Jerusalem, h ...

and

Absalon Absalon (21 March 1201) was a Danish statesman and prelate of the Catholic Church who served as the bishop of Roskilde from 1158 to 1192 and archbishop of Lund from 1178 until his death. He was the foremost politician and church father of De ...

. In 1131,

Canute Lavard Saint Knud, also known as 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 ...

visited her. She suspected that he would be murdered and tried to convince him not to go to his meeting with Magnus, where he was to be killed, but he disregarded her advice.

References

Sources

*
Dansk biografisk Lexikon / IV. Bind. Clemens - EyndenCecilia, urn:sbl:16520, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Nat. Beckman.), hämtad 2015-02-14.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caecilia Knudsdatter 1080s births Princesses of Denmark 11th-century Swedish people Year of death unknown 11th-century Danish women 11th-century Danish people 12th-century Danish women 12th-century Danish nobility 11th-century Swedish women 12th-century Swedish women 12th-century Swedish nobility Daughters of kings Danish twins