Berengaria of Portugal

Queen consort of Denmark
Berengaria of Portugal
Queen consort of Denmark
Tenure1214–1221
Bornc. 1198
Died27 March 1221
(aged 22–23)
Ringsted, Denmark
Burial
SpouseValdemar II of Denmark
IssueEric IV of Denmark
Sophia, Margravine of Brandenburg
Abel of Denmark
Christopher I of Denmark
HousePortuguese House of Burgundy
FatherSancho I of Portugal
MotherDulce of Aragon

Berengaria of Portugal (Portuguese: Berengária, Danish: Bengjerd; c. 1198 – 27 March 1221) was a Portuguese infanta (princess) and Queen of Denmark, by marriage to King Valdemar II.[1] She was the fifth daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal and Dulce of Aragon.[2] She was the mother of Danish kings Eric IV, Abel and Christopher I.[3]

Life

Berengaria was the tenth of eleven children born to her parents. By the age of fourteen in 1212, Berengaria was an orphan; her father died in 1212, while her mother had died in 1198. In various annals and ballads she is called Bringenilæ, Bengerd, Bengjerd and related forms.

Marriage

Berengaria was introduced to King Valdemar through his sister, Ingeborg, the wife of King Philip II of France, another of her cousins; she was by that time at the French court, having left Portugal with her brother Ferrante in 1212.

Old folk ballads say that on her deathbed, Dagmar of Bohemia, Valdemar's first wife, begged the king to marry Kirsten, the daughter of Karl von Rise and not the "beautiful flower" Berengaria. In other words, she predicted Berengaria's sons' fight over the throne would bring trouble to Denmark, although this is merely legend and there is no historical proof of this.

Queen

Valdemar's first wife, Dagmar of Bohemia, had been immensely popular, blonde and with Nordic looks. Queen Berengaria was the opposite, described as a dark-eyed, raven-haired beauty.

The Danes made up folk songs about Berengaria and blamed her for the high taxes Valdemar levied, although the taxes went to his war efforts, not just to his wife. The great popularity of the former queen made it difficult for the new queen to gain popularity in Denmark. She is noted to have made donations to churches and convents. Berengaria was the first Danish queen known to have worn a crown, which is mentioned in the inventory of her possessions (1225).

In 1221 Berengaria, after giving birth to three future kings, died in childbirth. Queen Berengaria is buried in St. Bendt's Church in Ringsted, Denmark, on one side of Valdemar II, with Queen Dagmar buried on the other side of the King.

Legacy

Berengaria's plait of hair in St. Bendt's Church, Ringsted

King Valdemar's two wives play a prominent role in Danish ballads and myths – Queen Dagmar as the soft, pious and popular ideal wife and Queen Berengaria (Bengjerd) as the beautiful and haughty woman.[4]

Issue

References

  1. ^ Hundahl 2014, p. 270.
  2. ^ Diffie & Winius 1985, p. 15.
  3. ^ a b c d e Line 2007, p. 581.
  4. ^ Bain, Robert Nisbet (1911). "Valdemar II." . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 841–842.

Sources

  • Diffie, Bailey W.; Winius, George D. (1985). Foundations of the Portuguese Empire: 1415 - 1580. University of Minnesota Press.
  • Hundahl, Kerstin (2014). "Placing Blame and Creating Legitimacy: The Implications of Rugish Involvement in the Struggle over the Succession amidst the Danish Church Strife c.1258-1260". In Hundahl, Kerstin; Kjær, Lars; Lund, Niels (eds.). Denmark and Europe in the Middle Ages, c.1000–1525: Essays in Honour of Professor Michael H. Gelting. Ashgate Publishing.
  • Line, Philip (2007). Kingship and State Formation in Sweden: 1130 - 1290. Brill.
  • Dansk Kvindebiografisk Leksikon (In Danish)

External links

Media related to Berengaria of Portugal at Wikimedia Commons

Berengaria of Portugal
Cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty
Born: circa 1190s Died: 27 March 1221
Danish royalty
Vacant
Title last held by
Dagmar of Bohemia
Queen consort of Denmark
1214–1221
Vacant
Title next held by
Eleanor of Portugal
as junior queen
  • v
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  • e
The generations indicate descent form Afonso I, and continues through the House of Aviz, the House of Habsburg through Infanta Isabel, Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Spain, and the House of Braganza through Infanta Catarina, Duchess of Braganza.
1st generation
2nd generation
3rd generation
4th generation
  • Infanta Branca, Lady of Las Huelgas
  • Infanta Sancha
5th generation
6th generation
7th generation
8th generation
9th generation
10th generation
11th generation
12th generation
13th generation
14th generation
15th generation
16th generation
17th generation
18th generation
19th generation
20th generation
21st generation
22nd generation
24th generation
* also an infanta of Spain and an archduchess of Austria,  ** also an imperial princess of Brazil,  *** also a princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Duchess in Saxony,  Also a princess of Braganza,  ƒ title of pretense
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Spouse(s)
Children
  • Urraca Henriques, wife of Bermudo Pérez de Traba
  • Sancha Henriques, Lady of Braganza
  • Teresa Henriques
  • Henrique Henriques
  • Afonso Henriques
Grandchildren
Spouse(s)
Children
Grandchildren
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Children
Grandchildren
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Children
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Notes
  • Sancho had no children; he was deposed in 1247 and died the following year.
Spouse(s)
Children
Grandchildren
  • Constance, Queen of Castile
  • Afonso IV
  • Infante Afonso, Lord of Leiria
  • Infanta Maria, Lady of Meneses and Orduña
  • Infanta Isabel, Lady of Penela
  • Infanta Constança
  • Infanta Beatriz, Lady of Lemos
Spouse(s)
Children
Grandchildren
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  • Beatrice of Castile
Children
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Illegitimate
children
included
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Notes
1 the descendants of King Peter I and Inês de Castro's children were recognized as legitimate and were Infantes and Infantas
2 also an Infante of Castile
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  • † also Queen of Norway
  • ‡ also Queen of Sweden
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