Richardis of Schwerin, also called Richardis of Lauenburg or Rixa, (year unknown – before 1386), was a Duchess consort of

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...

and possibly a Danish queen consort, married to Valdemar III of Denmark (Valdemar V, Duke of Schleswig). She was the daughter of Gunzelin VI, Count of Schwerin-Wittenburg and Richardis of

Tecklenburg Tecklenburg () is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its name comes from the ruined castle around which it was built. The town is situated on the Hermannsweg hiking trail. The coat of arms shows an anchor ...

. She was the aunt of Richardis of Schwerin, Queen of Sweden. The year of her marriage is unknown; her spouse was king of Denmark in 1326–29, and if she married him before 1329, she would have been queen of Denmark. They had two sons, Valdemar (1338–1360) and

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

(1342–1375), the latter, Henry, succeeded in Schleswig upon Valdemar's death. Richardis is mainly known for an incident in 1358, during the war between her spouse and king

Valdemar Atterdag Valdemar IV Atterdag, Valdemar Christoffersen or Waldemar (24 October 1375) was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. He is mostly known for his reunion of Denmark after the bankruptcy and mortgaging of the country to finance wars under previous rul ...

of Denmark. Atterdag made a siege on Sønderborg castle on

Als Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, terminal neurodegenerative disorder that results in the progressive loss of both upper and low ...

, which was at the time the residence of Richardis. She defended the castle successfully for a long time, but when it was no longer possible, she opened the gates and walked out to the king with her daughters and all the women of the castle ''"in an attempt to beg the victorious master for mercy"''. This succeeded, and Atterdag agreed to leave her in control of the castle, on condition that she stay out of the war. In 1364, her son made peace with Atterdag. In 1373, Richardis made Atterdag the protector of her widow fiefs, including Als. This is the last time she is mentioned; in 1386, her nephew

Otto VI, Count of Tecklenburg Otto VI, Count of Tecklenburg (died 1388) was the only son of Count Nicholas I and his wife, Helena of Oldenburg-Wildeshausen-Alt-Bruchhausen. In 1367, he succeeded his father as count of Tecklenburg-Ibbenbüren and count of Lingen and Cloppenb ...

gave permission to her nephew Eric of Saxony to claim Otto's inheritance after Richardis in his name.

Ancestry

References

*
Dansk biografisk Lexikon / XIV. Bind. Resen - Saxtrup
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Richardis Of Schwerin, Duchess Of Schleswig 14th-century births 14th-century deaths 14th-century German women 14th-century German nobility House of Hagen 14th-century Danish nobility 14th-century Danish women Women in medieval European warfare Women in 14th-century warfare Mothers of German monarchs