In the blog we have dedicated quite a few posts to women of royalty and nobility, in which we have emphasized the injustice that was historically committed against them by converting them into simple currency exchange for the political and economic interests of their families. It is true that they could consider themselves more fortunate than women who did not belong to the aristocracy, but their lives consisted of learning the manners to arrange a marriage with a stranger and being sent to a country of which they often did not know even the language. Although in some isolated cases this union became a love story, it is normal that their lives were not exactly happy. One of the most significant cases was that of Princess Ingeborg of Denmark.
Born in 1175, Ingeborg was the daughter of the Danish King Valdemar I 'The Great' and Sophia of Novgorod. Two of her brothers, Knut VI and Valdemar II 'The Victorious', were also kings of Denmark and her sister Richiza married Erik X of Sweden.
As her daughter and sister to kings, Ingeborg was a desirable target for many of Europe's medieval monarchies. In addition, under the reign of her father Valdemar I (1157-1182) Denmark had managed to establish itself as a 'civilized' kingdom, leaving behind the image that the Vikings had left throughout the known world since the 8th century. Valdemar had allied himself with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I 'Barbarossa' and with the help of the founder of Copenhagen, Bishop Absalon, had brought Christianity to the country, prevailing over the old pagan beliefs... But that's another story.
As we said, Ingeborg was an interesting match for any single European monarch… or widower. In this last situation was the King of France, Philip II 'Augustus', who had lost his wife Isabella de Hainaut, who died giving birth in 1190. Philip was in permanent conflict with the Plantagenet dynasty , kings of England; first with Henry II and then with Richard the Lionheart. The Plantagenet possessions in France, which included Normandy and Anjou, had been enlarged when Henry II married Eleanor of Aquitaine.
So when Philip Augustus of France became a widower, it is not surprising that he set his sights on a princess of the Danish royal family, who had not long ago ruled England (Sweyn Forkbeard, Knut and Hardknut, Danes, were kings of England) and that he could still sustain some claim to the English throne, a claim that Philip intended to retake with the intention of causing problems for his English rivals in his own country.
The chosen one was our protagonist, the unfortunate princess Ingeborg. She was 18 years old when Philip II requested her hand from her brother King Knut VI. Negotiations were not easy, as Philip requested that the Dane renounce his rights to the English crown in his favor and put a fleet at his disposal within a year to claim it. Knut had no intention of fighting for the throne of England, but he was also unwilling to give up his rights out of hand and refused the French monarch's proposal. A marriage settlement was eventually reached and the bride's dowry was set at 10,000 marks.
The marriage took place on August 14, 1193 in Amiens and, although all the chronicles described the bride as beautiful and charming, the ordeal of the now queen Ingeborg was not long in coming. start. The next day during Ingeborg's coronation ceremony, King Philip began to experience tremors, paleness, and general malaise; As soon as he finished the act, he filed for divorce from her accusing her wife of having put a spell on him and tried to send her back to Denmark. The Danish representatives refused and Philip had a French archbishop declare the marriage null, alleging a bizarre relationship between Ingeborg and his first wife.
The Danish princess refused to agree to the annulment and appealed to the Pope; Meanwhile, Philip had her locked up in a convent. Pope Celestine III declared invalid the annulment of the marriage agreed upon by the French prelate, but he did not go further and Ingeborg remained captive. The Danish king's requests that he return to his country were not heeded by Philip II.
The pleas of Ingeborg and the Danish court were further echoed when Celestine III died and was succeeded by Innocent III. The new pope threatened King Philip II and placed France under interdict until he treated Ingeborg as queen and wife. The French relented and the interdict was lifted; but Felipe limited himself to changing the queen's place of captivity, prohibiting her access to her chambers to priests and doctors and cutting off all contact by correspondence with Denmark.
Ingeborg's untenable situation lasted no less than twenty years. And it probably would have remained unchanged until either she or Philip II (who had remarried) died, had there not been an event involving England and the papacy again.
Richard the Lionheart's successor, John the Landless, managed not only to inherit his brother's struggles against France, but also to earn the enmity of Rome . In 1213 Innocent III excommunicated the king and placed his kingdom under interdict, which meant that any Christian lord could fight for the throne of the country with the placet of the Pontiff.
Philip II then remembered that his Danish wife could be useful for his intention to attack England with her aspirations to the English throne; Ingeborg was released and was finally granted the treatment and dignity of a queen... except in one aspect:she never had a marital life with Philip II.
Presumably this fact did not cause any headaches for the Danish princess, who from then on lived in peace until her death in 1237. Her situation improved even more since 1223 when Philip II died and Ingeborg earned the esteem of her successors who treated her with the respect due a queen dowager.
Of course, Ingeborg's alleged claim to the throne of England, which made Philip decide to marry her, never had any impact on the conflicts between him and the English kings, nor was it considered seriously by anyone in England.
Font| Palle Lauring:A History of Denmark