Meet Cecilia Vasa: Sweden’s most scandalous princess, and the last of the women in the Forgotten Royal Women theme. Born into the newly founded Vasa dynasty in 1540, Cecilia became known for her beauty, intellect,…
In this last post in the theme “From Freyja to Mary”, about the Christianization and early version of Christianity in Scandinavia, where we’ll discuss the final stages of implementation of the new religion as well…
In the last post about Christine of Saxony, we saw how her husband, king Hans of Denmark and Norway had troubles keeping the Kalmar Union together and subdue the Swedish noblemen. However, in 1497, Hans…
In the previous post Mary, mother of God, was introduced in the North. Women could identify with her role as mother. In this post, we’ll explore how Mary took over the roles previously played by…
In the last post, we saw how women were actively involved, and even a driving force, in the change of religion in the North. The question then, is why women were so strongly drawn to…
From Kata in Varnhem, we’ll take a look at other early Christian women who, quite literally engraved their religious beliefs in stone – on runestones and rock carvings. Ingerun placed her hand against the rock…
As we continue the theme of Forgotten Royal Women, we stay in the era of the Kalmar Union. Our last story ended with queen Philippa’s death in 1430. The story of Christine of Saxony begins…
Varnhem, Sweden, ca 1030 The small child is carefully placed in the stone coffin. Kata shivers, and not only because of the cold spring wind. Almost everyone here knows what it feels like to bury…
While Philippa was a competent ruler in Sweden, her husband Erik’s main concern was usually the border conflicts between Denmark and the dukedom Schleswig-Holstein. It was a protracted conflict and in August 1423 Erik traveled…
Philippa, the youngest of six siblings, was born on July 4th 1394, as the daughter of English nobleman and member of the royal family Henry Bolingbroke, and Mary de Bohun. Mary died shortly after the…