Ingeborg Eriksdotter of Sweden

Ingeborg Eriksdotter (c. 1212 – c. 1254), was a Swedish Princess and Duchess, daughter of king Eric X of Sweden, eldest sibling of king Eric XI of Sweden, wife of Birger Jarl and mother of king Valdemar I of Sweden.

Biography

Ingeborg was born as eldest daughter of king Eric X of Sweden and his wife Rikissa of Denmark. She lived her youth in exile in Denmark, after her brother had ben deposed by his guardian and regent in 1229.

Ingeborg Eriksdotter's marital engagement took place in about 1234 in connection of her brother Eric XI resuming the Swedish throne from the 'usurper' Canute II of Sweden, in order to have the mighty House of Bjellbo as their allies.

Princess Ingeborg bore a vast number of children to her husband dux Birger Jarl. In 1250, her brother died without heirs and her eldest son Valdemar was chosen to succeed her brother Eric on the throne; her son was chosen because he was her son, and her husband was made regent during his minority. Ingeborg thereby became the King's Mother and first lady of the royal court.

Ingeborg is recorded to have inherited her brother Eric's private property upon his death, as his only living sibling. Even in her forties, she continued to give birth to children, and her death is believed to have occurred because of childbirth complications, possibly giving birth to twins.

Children

"Her following children survived to adulthood":

# Rikissa Birgersdotter of Sweden.
# Valdemar Birgersson, King of Sweden 1250-1275, Lord of Gothenland until 1278
# Magnus Birgersson "Ladulås", King of Swedes and Goths from 1275
# Kristina Birgersdotter
# probably her daughter: Karin (Katarina) of Sweden, married Siegfried, Count of Anhalt
# Erik Birgersson, Duke of Sweden ("Hertig af Småland")
# probably her daughter: Ingeborg of Sweden, married John of Saxony, Duke of Lauenburg
# Benedict, Duke of Finland, Bishop of Linköping, born c. 1254, seems to have been Ingeborg's last child

References

* Cronica Principum Saxonie, MGH SS XXV, sida 476
* cite book
author =Lars O. Lagerqvist
title = "Sverige och dess regenter under 1.000 år",("Sweden and it's regents under a 1000 years").
publisher = Albert Bonniers Förlag AB
id = ISBN 91-0-075007-7
date = 1982
language = Swedish