Ingeborg Eriksdotter ( – 24/26 March 1287) was Queen of Norway and the wife of King Magnus VI. She was born a Danish princess, daughter of

Eric IV of Denmark Eric IV ( – 10 August 1250), also known as Eric Ploughpenny or Eric Plowpenny (), was King of Denmark from 1241 until his death in 1250. His reign was marked by conflict and civil wars against his brothers. Early life Eric was the son of Val ...

. As

queen dowager A queen dowager or dowager queen (compare: princess dowager or dowager princess) is a title or status generally held by the widow of a king. In the case of the widow of an emperor, the title of empress dowager is used. Its full meaning is cle ...

, she played an important part in politics during the minority of her son King Eirik II of Norway in 1280-82.

Biography

Ingeborg was born to

and

Jutta of Saxony Jutta of Saxony ( 1223 – before 2 February 1267) was Queen of Denmark as the wife of King Eric IV of Denmark. She was the daughter of Albert I, Duke of Saxony. She married king Erik in 1239, and became junior queen consort, since her husband w ...

. Ingeborg was only about six years-old when her father was killed. Her mother returned to

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

and married Count Burchard VIII of Querfurt-Rosenburg. In large part, Ingeborg and her three sisters lived in the court of her uncle King

Christopher I of Denmark Christopher I () (1219 – 29 May 1259) was King of Denmark between 1252 and 1259. He was the son of Valdemar II of Denmark by his second wife, Berengaria of Portugal. He succeeded his brothers Eric IV of Denmark, Eric IV Plovpenning and Abel of D ...

and Queen

Margaret Sambiria Margaret Sambiria (, ' or '; c. 1230 – December 1282) was Queen of Denmark by marriage to King Christopher I, and regent during the minority of her son, King Eric V from 1259 until 1264. She is the first woman confirmed to have formally rule ...

. The four sisters were heirs to substantial lands in Denmark. The struggle to claim Ingeborg's inheritance from her murdered father would later involve Norway in intermittent conflicts with

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 ...

for decades to come. Ingeborg was promised in marriage by the Danish regency government to Magnus, the son of King

Haakon IV of Norway Haakon IV Haakonsson ( – 16 December 1263; ; ), sometimes called Haakon the Old in contrast to his namesake son, was King of Norway from 1217 to 1263. His reign lasted for 46 years, longer than any Norwegian king since Harald Fairhair. Haak ...

. Ingeborg arrived in

Tønsberg Tønsberg (), historically Tunsberg, is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tønsberg Municipality in Vestfold county, Norway. It is located about south-southwest of the capital city of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near ...

on 28 July 1261, after she was retrieved, at the instruction of King Haakon, from the monastery in

Horsens Horsens () is a city on the east coast of the Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 64,418 (1 January 2025) and the municipality's population is 97,921 (), making it the List of cities and ...

(''dominikanerkloster ved Horsens''). On 11 September 1261, she married Magnus in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

. Magnus and Ingeborg were crowned directly after their marriage, and Magnus was given the district of

Ryfylke Ryfylke is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the northeastern part of Rogaland county, Norway. The district, encompassing about 60% of the county's area is located northeast of Stavanger and east of Haugesund. It includes the mainla ...

for his personal upkeep. The marriage was described as happy.''Ingeborg, Dronning af Norge'' (Dansk biografisk Lexikon)
/ref> On 16 December 1263 King

died while fighting the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

king over the

Hebrides The Hebrides ( ; , ; ) are the largest archipelago in the United Kingdom, off the west coast of the Scotland, Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Ou ...

, and Magnus became the ruler of Norway. Ingeborg is not known to have played any part in politics as queen. Her two older sons, Olaf (1262 – 15 March 1267) and Magnus (b. and d. 1264), died in infancy, but the youngest two would later become Kings of Norway: Eric II (1268 – 13 July 1299) and

Haakon V Haakon V Magnusson (10 April 1270 – 8 May 1319) (; ) was King of Norway from 1299 until 1319. Biography Haakon was the younger surviving son of Magnus the Lawmender, King of Norway, and his wife Ingeborg of Denmark. Through his mother ...

(ca. 10 April 1270 – 8 May 1319). In 1280, she became a widow. Ingeborg was an important figure in the leadership of the country during the minority of King Eirik, though she was not formally named regent. Her influence grew after her son was declared adult in 1283. Her principal ally was

Alv Erlingsson Alv Erlingsson (''Alv Erlingsson den yngre'', died 1290) was a Norwegian nobleman, earl of Sarpsborg and governor of Borgarsyssel. Alv Erlingsson was born at Tanberg in Norderhov, Buskerud. Alv Erlingsson was the son of Erling Alvsson of Tanb ...

, who had been a second cousin of her husband King Magnus and served as the governor Borgarsyssel which today makes up the county of

Østfold Østfold () is a county in Eastern Norway, which from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2023 was part of Viken. Østfold borders Akershus and southwestern Sweden (Västra Götaland County and Värmland), while Buskerud and Vestfold are on the other ...

. During the reign of her cousin King

Eric V of Denmark Eric V Klipping (1249 – 22 November 1286) was King of Denmark from 1259 to 1286. After his father Christopher I died, his mother Margaret Sambiria ruled Denmark in his name until 1266, proving to be a competent regent. Between 1261 and 1262, ...

, Ingeborg begun a feud regarding her inheritance, which she had never received. This largely private feud caused hostility between Norway and the German

Hanseatic The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...

cities and a tense relationship with Denmark. Several Danish nobles, including Count Jacob of

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Skåne, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Br ...

, took her side against the Danish monarch, but she died before the affair was finished.

References

Other sources

* Koht, Halvdan ''Norske dronningar'' (1926) , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingeborg of Denmark, Queen Of Norway House of Estridsen 1240s births 1287 deaths Norwegian royal consorts Princesses of Denmark Regents of Norway House of Sverre Fairhair dynasty 13th-century Norwegian people 13th-century Norwegian women 13th-century Danish nobility 13th-century Danish women Daughters of kings Norwegian queen mothers 13th-century queens consort 13th-century women regents 13th-century regents Eric IV of Denmark Daughters of dukes