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Duchess consort of Sønderjylland and Schleswig Catherine Elisabeth of Brunswick

Female - Aft 1423


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Generation: 1

  1. 1.  Duchess consort of Sønderjylland and Schleswig Catherine Elisabeth of Brunswick died Aft 1423.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37042

    Notes:

    In 1404, Elisabeth was widowed while her son, the successor of her spouse, was still a minor. She thereby became regent. She was forced to the political act of handing the guardian regency over the County of Holstein to her former brother-in-law, Bishop Henry of Osnabrück, and the guardian regency of the Duchy of Sønderjylland, as well as the custody of her son, Duke Henry, to Queen Margaret I of Denmark and King Erik: her son Duke Henry was taken to Denmark, and her daughter Ingeborg was by Queen Margaret sent to Vadstena Abbey in Sweden. In the following years, Queen Margaret acquired large parts of Sønderjylland as security (Tønder fief, Frisland, episcopal manors in Svabsted and Stubbe), by purchase (Trøjborg, Skinkelborg, Grødersby); King Erik took over Haderslev fief as security from the fiefholder Helene Ahlefeldt, and Flensborg by the queen.

    When Gottorp was about to be taken over by the Danish crown, however, Elisabeth called her son Henry back from Denmark (1408) and had a declaration of hostility sent to King Erik 14 June 1410. This led to a number of feuds, instability and the pawning of several fiefs. Her own dower lands Als, Ærø and Sundeved was taken by King Erik. Several foreign princes, among them her brother Duke Henry the Mild of Brunswick and Lunenburg (Wolfenbüttel), tried to intervene and mediate but without lasting peace. In 1415, her son Henry was declared of legal majority, the reign of Elisabeth ended and she is no longer mentioned much in the documents. In 1417, she was present in Rendsborg at the side of her son when King Erik took Slesvig and when Henry was forced to seek help from Hamburg. In 1423, her sons formed a complaint that their mother had been assaulted by the royal soldiers despite the promise that she was to be left out of the conflict: her carriage had been attacked and her male staff had been mugged and captured. This is the last time she is mentioned.

    Catherine — Gerhard VI of Holstein-Rendsburg. Gerhard (son of II Henry) was born Abt 1367; died 1404. [Group Sheet]

    Children:
    1. 2. Hedwig of Schleswig  Descendancy chart to this point was born 1398; died 1436.
    2. 3. IV Henry  Descendancy chart to this point was born 1397; died 1427.
    3. 4. Ingeborg  Descendancy chart to this point was born 1398; died 1465.
    4. 5. VIII Adolphus  Descendancy chart to this point was born 1401; died 1459.
    5. 6. Gerhard VII Holstein-Rendsburg  Descendancy chart to this point was born 1404; died 1433.


Generation: 2

  1. 2.  Hedwig of Schleswig Descendancy chart to this point (1.Catherine1) was born 1398; died 1436.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37030

    Notes:

    Helvig of Schauenburg (1398-1436), also known as Hedwig of Schauenburg, was a duchess of Schleswig and a countess of Holstein from the family of Schauenburg, and ancestor of the Danish Royal houses of Oldenburg and Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.
    She was a daughter of Count Gerhard VI of Holstein-Rendsburg and his wife Elisabeth of Brunswick. Her brother was Adolf VIII/I, Count of Holstein/Duke of Schleswig. Through their father, Helvig and Adolf were Cognatic descendants of the King Eric V of Denmark.

    On 18 April 1417 Helvig was married to Prince Balthasar of Mecklenburg, who died of the plague in 1421. In 1423 she was married to Count Dietrich of Oldenburg. From her second marriage she had the following issue:
    Christian (1426-1481), who succeeded his father as Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. In 1448, partly because of his mother's ancestry, he was elected King of Denmark. He also inherited the counties of Schleswig and Holstein upon the death of his childless uncle, Adolf VIII.
    Maurice (1428-1464); when his elder brother became king, he was given the County of Delmenhorst.
    Gerhard (1430-1500); when his eldest brother had become king, he was given the county of Oldenburg, and from his other brother's heirs he also inherited Delmenhorst in about 1483.
    Adelheid (1425-1475), first married count Ernest III of Hohnstein (died 1454) and then in 1474 Count Gerhard VI of Mansfeld (died 1492).

    Hedwig — Dietrich of Oldenburg. Dietrich (son of Christian V of Denmark and Agnes of Honstein) was born Abt 1398; died 14 Feb 1440. [Group Sheet]

    Children:
    1. 7. Christian I of Denmark  Descendancy chart to this point was born Feb 1426, Oldenburg, Ostvorpommern, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany; died 21 May 1481, Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark; was buried , Roskilde, Roskilde, Denmark.
    2. 8. Moritz V of Delmenhorst  Descendancy chart to this point was born 1428; died 1464.
    3. 9. Gerhard VI of Delmenhorst  Descendancy chart to this point was born 1430; died 1500.
    4. 10. Adelheid of Oldenburg  Descendancy chart to this point was born 1425; died 1475.

  2. 3.  IV Henry Descendancy chart to this point (1.Catherine1) was born 1397; died 1427.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37054


  3. 4.  Ingeborg Descendancy chart to this point (1.Catherine1) was born 1398; died 1465.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37055


  4. 5.  VIII Adolphus Descendancy chart to this point (1.Catherine1) was born 1401; died 1459.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37056


  5. 6.  Gerhard VII Holstein-Rendsburg Descendancy chart to this point (1.Catherine1) was born 1404; died 1433.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37057



Generation: 3

  1. 7.  Christian I of DenmarkChristian I of Denmark Descendancy chart to this point (2.Hedwig2, 1.Catherine1) was born Feb 1426, Oldenburg, Ostvorpommern, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany; died 21 May 1481, Copenhagen, Kobenhavn, Denmark; was buried , Roskilde, Roskilde, Denmark.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37028

    Notes:

    Christian I (February 1426 - 21 May 1481) was a Danish monarch, king of Denmark (1448-1481), Norway (1450-1481) and Sweden (1457-1464), under the Kalmar Union. In Sweden his short tenure as monarch was preceded by regents, Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna and Erik Axelsson Tott and succeeded by regent Kettil Karlsson Vasa. Also Duke of Schleswig and Holstein 1460-81.

    He was born in February 1426 in Oldenburg. His father was Count Dietrich of Oldenburg (died 1440) whom he succeeded as Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. His mother was his father's second wife, Hedwig of Schleswig and Holstein (Helvig of Schauenburg) (died 1436). Christian had two brothers, Count Moritz V of Delmenhorst (1428-1464) and Count Gerhard VI of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst (1430-1500), and one sister Adelheid.

    Christian married Dorothea of Brandenburg (1430 - 25 November 1495), the widow of his predecessor King Christopher (of Bavaria) and thus dowager queen, on 28 October 1449 in Copenhagen.

    King Christopher of Denmark, Sweden and Norway died in January 1448. His death resulted in the break-up of the union of the three kingdoms, as Denmark and Sweden went their separate ways. On 1 September 1448, count Christian of Oldenburg was elected to the vacant Danish throne, as king Christian I. He was a cognatic descendant of King Eric V of Denmark through his second daughter Richeza. The throne was first offered by the Statsraad to the most prominent feudal lord of Danish dominions, Duke Adolf VIII of Schleswig-Holstein, but (being relatively old and childless) he declined and recommended his nephew.

    Meanwhile, Sweden had on 20 June 1448 elected Charles Knutsson as king. Norway was now faced with the choice between a union with Sweden or Denmark, or electing a separate king. The latter option was quickly discarded, and a power-struggle ensued between the supporters of Christian of Denmark and Charles of Sweden. The Norwegian Council of the Realm was divided. In February 1449, a part of the Council declared in favour of Charles as king, but on 15 June the same year, a different group of councellors paid homage to Christian. On 20 November, Charles was crowned king of Norway in Trondheim. However, the Swedish nobility now took steps to avoid war with Denmark. In June 1450, the Swedish Council of the Realm forced Charles to renounce his claim on Norway to king Christian. The question of the Norwegian succession had thereby been decided between Denmark and Sweden, and the Norwegian Council was left with only one candidate for the throne. In the summer of 1450, Christian sailed to Norway with a large fleet, and on 2 August he was crowned king of Norway in Trondheim. On 29 August, a union treaty between Denmark and Norway was signed in Bergen. Norway had of old been a hereditary monarchy, but this had become less and less a reality, as at the last royal successions, hereditary claims had been bypassed for political reasons. It was now explicitly stated that Norway, as well as Denmark, was an elective monarchy. The treaty stipulated that Denmark and Norway should have the same king in perpetuity, and that he would be elected among the legitimate sons of the previous king, if such existed.

    Charles Knutsson became increasingly unpopular as king of Sweden, and was driven into exile in 1457. Christian achieved his aim of being elected as king of Sweden, thus re-establishing the Kalmar Union. He received the power from temporary Swedish regents archbishop Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna and lord Erik Axelsson Tott. However, Sweden being volatile and split by factions (benefits of union being against nationalistic benefits), his reign there ended in 1464 when bishop Kettil Karlsson Vasa was installed as the next regent. Charles Knutsson was recalled as King of Sweden, although he was later exiled a second time, recalled again and died during his third term as king. Christian's final attempt at regaining Sweden ended in a total military failure at Brunkeberg (outside Stockholm) October 1471 where he was defeated by the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Elder who was supported by the Danish-Swedish nobleman's clan the Thott family. Christian maintained his claim to the Swedish kingdom up to his death in 1481.

    In 1460 King Christian also became Duke of Schleswig, a Danish fief, and Count of Holstein, a Saxe-Lauenburgian subfief within the Holy Roman Empire. Christian inherited Holstein and Schleswig after a short "interregnum" as the eldest son of the sister of late Duke Adolf VIII, Duke of Schleswig (Southern Jutland) and Count of Holstein, of the Schauenburg fürst clan, who died 4 December 1459, without children. There would have been several genealogically senior claimants of Holstein, such as the Counts of Holstein-Pinneberg, but Christian was nephew of the incumbent, the closest relative to that very branch which had lived longest and acquired most fiefs.
    Christian's succession was confirmed by the Estates of the Realm (nobility and representatives) of these duchies in Ribe 5 March 1460 (Treaty of Ribe). In 1474 Lauenburg's liege lord Emperor Frederick III elevated Christian I as Count of Holstein to Duke of Holstein, thus becoming an immediate imperial vassal (see imperial immediacy).

    Dorothea and Christian had five children:
    Olaf (29 September 1450-1451)
    Knud (1451-1455)
    John (1455-1513), King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, Duke of Schleswig and Holstein
    Margarete of Denmark (1456-1486), 13 years old married to the 17 years old King James III of Scotland
    Frederick (1471-1533), Duke of Schleswig and Holstein, in Gottorp, later also King of Denmark and Norway

    Buried:
    Roskilde Cathedral

    Died:
    Copenhagen Castle

    Christian — Dorothea. [Group Sheet]

    Children:
    1. 11. Margaret of Denmark  Descendancy chart to this point was born 23 Jun 1456; died Bef 14 Jul 1486.
    2. 12. Olaf  Descendancy chart to this point was born 29 Sep 1450; died 1451.
    3. 13. Knud  Descendancy chart to this point was born 1451; died 1455.
    4. 14. John of Denmark  Descendancy chart to this point was born 1455; died 1513.
    5. 15. Frederick of Schleswig  Descendancy chart to this point was born 1471; died 1533.

  2. 8.  Moritz V of Delmenhorst Descendancy chart to this point (2.Hedwig2, 1.Catherine1) was born 1428; died 1464.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37031


  3. 9.  Gerhard VI of Delmenhorst Descendancy chart to this point (2.Hedwig2, 1.Catherine1) was born 1430; died 1500.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37032


  4. 10.  Adelheid of Oldenburg Descendancy chart to this point (2.Hedwig2, 1.Catherine1) was born 1425; died 1475.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37033



Generation: 4

  1. 11.  Margaret of DenmarkMargaret of Denmark Descendancy chart to this point (7.Christian3, 2.Hedwig2, 1.Catherine1) was born 23 Jun 1456; died Bef 14 Jul 1486.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37021

    Notes:

    Margaret of Denmark (23 June 1456 - before 14 July 1486) was the Queen Consort of Scotland from 1469 to 1486 as the wife of King James III of Scotland. She was the daughter of King Christian I of Denmark (1448-1481), Norway (1450-1481), and Sweden (1457-1464), and his wife Dorothea of Brandenburg. The future King James IV of Scotland was her eldest son.

    She was betrothed to James of Scotland in 1460. The marriage was arranged by recommendation of the king of France to end the feud (1426-60) between Denmark and Scotland about the taxation of the Hebrides islands. In July 1469 (at age 13), at Holyrood Abbey, she married James III, King of Scots (1460-88). Her father, King Christian I of Denmark and also of Norway, agreed on a considerable dowry to her. He, however, was in need of cash, so the islands of Orkney and Shetland, Norwegian crown possessions, were pledged as security until the dowry was to be paid.

    William Sinclair, 1st Earl of Caithness was at that time the Norse Earl of Orkney, who was made in 1473 to exchange his Orkney fief to castle Ravenscraig, so the Scottish throne took the earl's rights in the islands too.

    This marriage produced three children:
    James IV (17 March 1473 - 9 September 1513)
    James Stewart, Duke of Ross (March 1476 - January 1504), and
    John Stewart, Earl of Mar (December 1479 - 1503).

    Margaret became a popular queen in Scotland, and was described as beautiful, gentle, and sensible A story given by her son claims that Margaret was killed by a poison given to her by Ramsay, leader of one of the political factions[1] However, as Ramsay was favoured by the royal family also after the death of the queen, this is considered doubtful and may have been slander.

    She died at Stirling Castle and is buried in Cambuskenneth Abbey.

    Her great-great-grandson James VI of Scotland married another princess of her dynasty, Anne of Denmark. They became ancestors of all the future monarchs of England and Scotland.

    She was responsible for introducing the bloodline of England's first Danish monarch King Sweyn Forkbeard into the Scottish Royal blood line, and after James VI of Scotland ascended to the English throne in 1603, into the English royal bloodline as well.

    Margaret married James Stewart, III Jul 1469, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland. James (son of James Stewart, II and Mary of Guelders) was born 10 Jul 1451, Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland; died 11 Jun 1488, Sauchie Burn, Scotland; was buried , Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland. [Group Sheet]

    Children:
    1. 16. James Stewart, IV  Descendancy chart to this point was born 17 Mar 1473, Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scotland; died 9 Sep 1513, Northumberland, England.
    2. 17. James Stewart  Descendancy chart to this point was born Mar 1476; died Jan 1504.
    3. 18. John Stewart  Descendancy chart to this point was born Abt 1479; died 11 Mar 1503.

  2. 12.  Olaf Descendancy chart to this point (7.Christian3, 2.Hedwig2, 1.Catherine1) was born 29 Sep 1450; died 1451.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37035


  3. 13.  Knud Descendancy chart to this point (7.Christian3, 2.Hedwig2, 1.Catherine1) was born 1451; died 1455.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37036


  4. 14.  John of Denmark Descendancy chart to this point (7.Christian3, 2.Hedwig2, 1.Catherine1) was born 1455; died 1513.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37037


  5. 15.  Frederick of Schleswig Descendancy chart to this point (7.Christian3, 2.Hedwig2, 1.Catherine1) was born 1471; died 1533.

    Other Events:

    • Reference Number: 37038