Ingeborg of Denmark (Queen of France)

In December 1192, the English king Richard I the Lionheart was in Austrian captivity. All his life, the French king Philip II Augustus , intriguing against him, intoxicated by the opportunity, began to negotiate with Knud VI of Denmark on the marriage with one of his sisters. Through this alliance, he intended to take advantage of the ancient Norman law on England associated with the Danish conquest, and counted on the help of the Danish fleet and army in the attack on England. For his part, Knud VI , married to the daughter of Heinrich Leo , wanted to get rid of the tutelage of Emperor Henry VI and would willingly take advantage of the support of the French in the fight against him.

Knud VI chose "the most beautiful of his sisters, Ingeborg, adorned with all virtues." Negotiations on marriage were conducted for six months, but when the bride arrived by sea to France, there was no longer any need for this union for Philip II Augustus. An agreement to ransom King Richard was adopted on June 29, and Philip had to hastily correct the mistake he had made by inflicting an insult to Emperor Henry VI with his marriage. In addition, the emperor wanted to create a political union with France and planned to marry Philip to his cousin Agnes Rhine .

On August 14, 1193, Ingeborg Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens was married to King Philip II Augustus , a widower after the death of Isabella de Hainaut . Trying to improve the situation, the day after the wedding night, Philip II expelled his wife without consummating the marriage. He invited the Danish ambassadors to take Ingeborg with them to Denmark, but she refused to leave France, which she now considered her own. Having led her countrymen to Flanders, she settled in Sisuen Abbey , and then in the monastery of Saint-Mor-de-Fosset , appointed to her as a residence. Since Philip Augustus needed sons, on November 5, 1193, at the assembly of bishops, he obtained permission to divorce, referring to the alleged relationship with Ingeborg. Already on June 1, 1196, he married Agnes Meran .

Ingeborga, who was left without support and did not speak either French or Latin, still protested in an appeal to Pope Celestine III . This was the reason for her twenty-year imprisonment in the castle of Etampes , during which Ingeborg suffered from cruelty and humiliation. No envoys from her homeland were allowed to her, they were restricted in food, and medical care was refused. Under the fear of royal anger, no one dared to visit her, women from her environment, mocked her and talked, as if with a despicable person. Her position was known throughout Europe. The papacy devoted four church councils to this tragedy, which ruled that the divorce was unlawful, since the couple was not related, and Ingeborg insisted on preserving the marriage. At the insistence of Innocent III , who excommunicated the king from the church on December 6, 1199, at the church council in Dijon , Philip recognized Ingeborg as his wife before the death of Agnes Meran ( 1200 ), but soon rejected her again.

The sympathies of the vassals of Philip Augustus were on the side of Ingeborg. When in January 1213, due to the impending struggle with England and Emperor Otton IV, Philip needed an alliance with the pope, he returned Ingeborg the place of wife and queen. Despite all her misfortunes, Ingeborga was happy about her release. For the next ten years, she lived with her husband "like a brother and sister." In his will, Philip II gave her 10,000 marks, as he admitted that he had acted unfairly with her. Ingeborga became the Dowager Queen in 1223, after which she retired from the court and returned there only on the occasion of large ceremonies. Having received the widowhood of Orleans , she spent the rest of her life there.

Ingeborga died childless on July 29, 1236 in the rank of abbess of the in Corbey. She bequeathed to be buried in the abbey of Saint-Denis , but the grandson of Philip II, Louis IX of Saint , rejected her request. Her property was returned to the crown.

• KINGS of DENMARK (English) . Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Date of treatment December 18, 2011.
• Ingeborg von Dänemark Königin von Frankreich (neopr.) . Die Genealogie der Franken und Frankreichs - Die fränkischen Adelsgeschlechter des Mittelalters .. Date accessed December 18, 2011. Archived September 29, 2007.
• Ingeborg // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.