House of Estridsen


The House of Estridsen was a dynasty that provided the kings of Denmark from 1047 to 1412. The dynasty is named after its ancestor Estrid Svendsdatter. The dynasty is sometimes called the Ulfinger, after Estrid's husband, Ulf the Earl. The dynasty also provided three of the rulers of Sweden in the years 1125–1412. Their family coat of arms became the coat of arms of Denmark and therefore influenced the coat of arms of Tallinn and the coat of arms of Estonia.
The Royal Court of Denmark does not differentiate between different royal houses among the early Danish kings, but uses the term "the descent of Gorm the Old" about all the pre-Oldenburg monarchs.

Background

The name of the Estridsen dynasty recalls their acquisition of the Danish crown through the marriage of Ulf the Earl to Estrid Svendsdatter of the House of Knýtlinga, daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard and sister of Cnut the Great. Later genealogies trace the family from Jomsviking leader Styrbjörn the Strong, a scion of the Swedish royal family, who in turn is given a descent from legendary King Sigurd Hring, regarded as mythical by most modern historians. Reliable ancestry traces back no earlier than Ulf's own father, the obscure Thorgil Sprakling and grandfather Björn, the latter thus alternatively being identified as the [|above] Styrbjörn by Langebek.
The dynasty reached its peak with the Kalmar Union, when its members reigned as kings of Denmark, Norway and Sweden in personal union. The dynasty came to end in 1412 with the death of its last member Queen Margaret I. All of the subsequent monarchs of Denmarks are cognatic descendants of the House of Estridsen.

Line of descent

From Thorgil Sprakling to Eric I the Good

  1. Thorgil Sprakling
  2. # Ulf the Earl, murdered in 1026, probably Jarl in England from 1017, married Estrid Svendsdatter, a daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard and a sister of Cnut the Great
  3. ## Sweyn II of Denmark, Jarl from 1042, King of Denmark from 1047
  4. ### Sweyn the Crusader, murdered in 1097, married Florine, the daughter of Odo I, Duke of Burgundy
  5. ### Harald III
  6. ### Sigrid, married Gottschalk, a prince of the Obotrites
  7. ### Saint Canute IV, Jarl of Zealand from 1076, King of Denmark from 1080, married Adela, daughter of Robert I, Count of Flanders
  8. #### Blessed Charles the Good, murdered on 2 March 1127 in Bruges, Count of Flanders from 1119, married to Margaret, daughter of Renaud II, Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis
  9. #### Cecilia, married to Erik Jarl in Västergötland
  10. #### Ingerid, married Folke the Fat Jarl in Sweden
  11. ### Olaf I, Jarl of Southern Jutland from 1080, King of Denmark from 1086, married Ingegerd, the daughter of King Harald Hardrada of Norway
  12. ### Ingerid, married to King Olaf III of Norway
  13. ### Eric I the Good, Jarl of Zealand from 1080, King of Denmark from 1095 — for his descendants, see below
  14. ### Svend Tronkræver
  15. #### Henrik Skadelår
  16. ##### Magnus II of Sweden, King of Sweden from 1160, married Brigida, daughter of King Harald IV Gille of Norway
  17. ##### Canute, Duke of Southern Jutland from 1150, Duke of Jutland from 1157
  18. ##### Buris, Duke of Southern Jutland from 1162, married to a daughter of Herman II, Count of Winzenburg
  19. ### Niels, killed 25 June 1134, King of Denmark from 1104, married Margaret Fredkulla, a daughter of King Inge the Elder of Sweden
  20. #### Magnus I, Duke of Västergötland from 1125, King of Denmark from 1134, married Richeze, a daughter of Bolesław III Wrymouth
  21. ##### Canute V, Duke of Jutland from 1147, co-ruler of Denmark from 1154, married in 1156 to Helena, a daughter of King Sverker I of Sweden
  22. ###### Saint Niels
  23. ###### Valdemar, Bishop of Schleswig from 1182 to 1208, Archbishop of Bremen in 1192
  24. ## Björn, Earl in England
  25. ## Asbjörn, Jarl in Denmark
  26. # Gytha, married Godwin of Wessex; one of their children was King Harold II of England
  27. # Eilaf, Earl in England

    From Eric the Good to Christopher I

  28. Eric I the Good, Jarl of Zealand from 1080, King of Denmark from 1095 — for his ancestors, see above
  29. # Saint Canute Lavard, King of Southern Jutland from 1115, King of the Wends from 1129, married Ingeborg, a daughter of Mstislav I of Kiev
  30. ## Christina, married King Magnus IV of Norway
  31. ## Valdemar the Great, King of Denmark, married in 1157 to Sophia of Minsk, daughter of Volodar of Minsk
  32. ### Christopher, Duke of Southern Jutland
  33. ### Sophie, married Siegfried III, Count of Orlamünde
  34. ### Canute VI, King of Denmark from 1182, married in 1177 to Gertrude, daughter of Henry the Lion
  35. ### Valdemar II, King of Denmark from 1202, married in 1205 to Dagmar, daughter of King Ottokar I of Bohemia, and in 1214 to Berengeria, daughter of King Sancho I of Portugal
  36. #### Niels, Count of Halland from 1216 — descendants: the counts of Halland, died out in 1314
  37. #### Canute, Duke of Estonia from 1219, Duke of Blekinge from 1232, Duke of Lolland from before 1260, married Hedwig, a daughter of Swietopelk I, Duke of Pomerania — descendants: the Lords of Skarsholm, died out before 1408
  38. #### Valdemar, co-ruler of Denmark from 1215, married Eleanor, a daughter of King Afonso II of Portugal
  39. #### Eric IV, King of Denmark from 1241, married in 1239 to Jutta, a daughter of Albert I, Duke of Saxony
  40. ##### Sophia, married Valdemar, King of Sweden
  41. ##### Ingeborg, married King Magnus VI of Norway
  42. ##### Jutta, mistress of Valdemar, King of Sweden, later Abbess of St. Agneta
  43. ##### Agnes, founding Abbess of St. Agneta
  44. #### Sophie, married in 1230 to John I, Margrave of Brandenburg
  45. #### Abel, King of Denmark from 1250, married Matilda of Holstein — for his descendants, see below
  46. #### Christopher I, King of Denmark from 1252, married in 1248 to Margaret Sambiria, daughter of Duke Sambor II of Pomerelia — for his descendants, see below
  47. ### Ingeborg, married in 1193, to King Philip II of France
  48. ### Helena, married in 1202 to Duke William of Lüneburg
  49. ### Richeza, married King Eric X of Sweden
  50. # Harald Kesja, from 1102 to 1103 regent of Denmark, married Ragnhild Magnusdotter, a daughter of King Magnus III of Norway
  51. ## Björn Ironside, married Catherine Ingesdotter, the daughter of King Inge I of Sweden
  52. ### Christina, married King Eric IX of Sweden, King of Sweden from 1156
  53. ## Olaf, Danish anti-king
  54. ### Harald Skrænk, leader of a peasant rebellion in Scania,
  55. # Ragnhild Eriksdatter, married Hakon Sunnivasson
  56. ## Eric III, King of Denmark from 1137, married in 1155 to Lutgard, the daughter of Count Rudolf I of Stade
  57. ### Magnus Eriksen, imprisoned 1178
  58. # Eric II, King of Denmark from 1134, married Malmfred, a daughter of Grand Prince Mstislav I of Kiev
  59. ## Sweyn III, King of Zealand from 1147, King of Denmark from 1152, married Adela, a daughter of Conrad, Margrave of Meissen
  60. ### Luitgard, married Margrave Berthold I of Istria, Count of Andechs, from 1173 Margrave of Istria

    Dukes of Schleswig (Abelslægten)

  61. Abel, King of Denmark from 1250, married Matilda of Holstein — for his ancestors, see above
  62. # Valdemar III, Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, from 1253
  63. # Sophie, married Bernhard I, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg ; Christian I of Denmark was their great-great-great-great-grandson, the current Queen Margaret II descends from Christian I
  64. # Eric I, Duke of Schleswig from 1260, married Margaret, a daughter of Jaromar II, Prince of Rugia
  65. ## Valdemar IV, Duke of Schleswig from 1283, married Elisabeth, a daughter of John I, Duke of Saxony
  66. ### Eric II, Duke of Schleswig from 1312, married Adelaide, a daughter of Henry I, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg
  67. #### Valdemar V, Duke of Schleswig from 1325 to 1326 and from 1330 to 1364, King of Denmark as Valdemar III from 1326 to 1330, married Richardis, a daughter of Gunzelin VI, Count of Schwerin
  68. ##### Valdemar
  69. ##### Henry, Duke of Schleswig from 1364
  70. #### Helvig, married King Valdemar IV of Denmark
  71. #### Valdemar Eriksen Sappi
  72. ### Abel Valdemarsen — descendants: the Rynd family
  73. ## Margaret, married Helmold III, Count of Schwerin
  74. ## Eric Longbone, Lord of Langeland, married Sophie, a daughter of Burchard VII, Burgrave of Magdeburg
  75. # Abel, Lord of Langeland, married Matilda, a daughter of Gunzelin III, Count of Schwerin

    From Christopher I to Margaret I

  76. Christopher I, King of Denmark from 1252, married in 1248 to Margaret Sambiria, daughter of Duke Sambor II of Pomerelia — for his ancestors, see above
  77. # Eric V "Klipping", King of Denmark from 1259, married Agnes, a daughter of John I, Margrave of Brandenburg
  78. ## Eric VI Menved, King of Denmark from 1286, married Ingeborg Magnusdotter, a daughter of King Magnus III of Sweden
  79. ## Christopher II, King of Denmark from 1320 to 1326 and from 1329 to 1332, married Euphemia, a daughter of Bogislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania
  80. ### Margaret,, married Louis V, Duke of Bavaria
  81. ### Eric, Elected King of Denmark in 1321, married Elisabeth, a daughter of Henry I, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg
  82. ### Otto, Duke of Lolland and Estonia
  83. ### Valdemar IV "Atterdag", King of Denmark from 1340, married Helvig, a daughter of Eric II, Duke of Schleswig
  84. #### Christopher, Duke of Lolland from 1359
  85. #### Ingeborg, married Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg, the grandparents of Eric of Pomerania, King of Norway as Eric III, King of Denmark as Eric VII, and King of Sweden as Eric XIII
  86. #### Margaret I, Queen regnant of Denmark from 1375 to 1385 and from 1387 to 1396, Queen regnant of Norway from 1380 to 1385 and from 1387 to 1398, Queen regnant of Sweden from 1389 to 1396, co-founder of the Union of Kalmar in 1397, married in 1363 to Haakon Magnusson, King of Norway from 1355 as Haakon VI, King of Sweden from 1362 to 1364 as Håkan
  87. ##### Olaf II, King of Denmark from 1376, King of Norway from 1380, King of Denmark from 1385
  88. ### Erik Christoffersen Løvenbalk, his male line descendants, the Løvenbalk family, died out after 1598; Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein descends from him in the female line and his granddaughter married back into the Danish royal family
  89. ## Richeza, married Lord Nicholas II of Werle ; Christian I of Denmark was their great-great-great grandson, the current Queen Margaret II descends from Christian I
  90. ## Martha, married in 1298 to Birger Magnusson, King of Sweden from 1290
  91. # Matilda, married Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel
  92. # Margaret, married to John II, Count of Holstein-Kiel