Christina of Denmark, Queen of Sweden

Christina of Denmark (, ) ; c. 1120/25-1170), was a Swedish queen consort in the 12th century, married to king Eric IX of Sweden and mother of king Canute I of Sweden.

Biography

According to the Knýtlinga saga, Christina was the daughter of Björn Haraldsen Ironside, son of the Danish prince Harald Kesja, and his consort, the Swedish Princess Katarina Ingesdotter, daughter of King Inge I of Sweden. She was made fatherless in 1134, when her father Prince Bjorn was murdered by order of his uncle, King Eric II of Denmark.

Christina was married to her cousin, Eric the Saint, at the time throne claimant of Uppland, in 1149 or 1150. Six years later, her husband became king, and she became queen of Sweden; she was the queen of Sweden for four years, from 1156 to 1160.

Queen Christina became notable for her conflict with Varnhem Abbey, Västergötland. She was in dispute with the monks about the ownership to the land upon which the convent had been founded, as she considered it as an inheritance after her relative, lady Sigrid. She is claimed to have harassed the monks : legend accuse her of sending women in to the convent to dance naked before the monks. This forced the monks to leave the country and seek refuge in Denmark, were they founded Vitskøl Abbey (1158), a conflict for which the pope...
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