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The three abductions of maidens from the Vreta convent was a series of events that took place in Sweden in the 13th century. They became legendary and inspired many poems.
The abduction of maidens for wives seems to have been an ancient Germanic tradition. Women's marriages were clan matters to be decided by the woman's nearest male relative, often together with tribal elders. A marriage was an alliance contract and also had many economical repercussions. A man was not allowed to marry a woman from an enemy clan unless it was to seal a treaty between the clans. On the other hand, a man might want to marry an heiress from a rival clan in order to impose his own power upon that clan.
Around 1210, Helena Sverkersdotter, the only daughter of the deposed King Sverker II, was studying at the Vreta convent when her father fell in battle. The young Sune Folkason, son of an earl who had been among Sverker's opponents in that battle and had also fallen, wished to marry her, but her relatives would not hear his proposal. Folkason abducted Helena and, according to folklore, took her to the castle of Ymseborg. They married and had two daughters. The older was Catherine of Ymseborg, who married King Eric XI in 1244.
Sverker II or Sverker the Younger was King of Sweden from 1195 or 1196 to 1208.
Catherine Sunadotter of Ymseborg, , was a Swedish queen, wife of King Eric XI of Sweden and queen consort of Swedes and Goths from 1244 to 1250. In her later years she served as abbess of Gudhem Abbey.
Eric "XI" the Lisp and Lame Swedish: Erik Eriksson or Erik läspe och halte; Old Norse: Eiríkr Eiríksson was king of Sweden in 1222–29 and 1234–50. Being the last ruler of the House of Eric, he stood in the shadow of a succession of powerful Jarls, especially his brother-in-law Birger Jarl, whose descendants ruled as kings after his death.
Around 1244, Benedikte Sunadotter, the younger daughter of Sune Folkason and Helena Sverkersdotter, was being educated at the Vreta convent. Laurens Pedersson, Justiciar of Östergötland, abducted her. One theory is that Pedersson may have been a grandson of a king of the St. Eric dynasty and wished to unite that dynasty with Benedikte's Sverker dynasty. He may also have had designs on the throne. In any case, Benedikte was released and soon married high noble Svantepolk Knutsson, Lord of Viby, with whom she had several daughters and a son, Knut, who died childless.
In Medieval England and Scotland the Chief Justiciar was roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister as the monarch's chief minister. Similar positions existed in Continental Europe, particularly in Norman Italy and in the Carolingian empire. The term is the English form of the medieval Latin justiciarius or justitiarius.
Östergötland is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English literature, one might also encounter the Latinized version, Ostrogothia. The corresponding administrative county, Östergötland County, covers the entire province and parts of neighbouring provinces.
In 1288, Ingrid Svantepolksdotter, one of the daughters of Benedikte and Svantepolk, was being educated at the Vreta convent. Her father had intended her to marry a Danish nobleman, the future High Justiciar David Thorsteinsen. Folke Algotsson, a knight from Gothenland (and, according to myth, a descendant of Algaut), abducted her with the help of some of his brothers and fled with her to Norway. King Magnus III, reportedly livid about the wilful breach of women's safety in convents, had one of the brothers executed.
Ingrid Svantepolksdotter, was a Swedish noble and abbess. She is foremost known for being the central figure in one of the famous incidents referred to as the Maiden Abduction from Vreta, where she, like her mother before her, was abducted from Vreta Abbey by the man she later married. Later in life, she became an abbess at the very same abbey, in which position she served in 1323–1344.
Algaut was a Geatish king who ruled West Götaland according to the Heimskringla. Snorri Sturluson relates that he was burnt to death by his son-in-law, the Swedish king Ingjald Ill-ruler.
Magnus III was King of Sweden from 1275 until his death in 1290.
Ingrid eventually returned from Norway and became abbess of Vreta. Her son, Knut Folkason, became Overlord of Blekinge and Lister. [1]
Blekinge is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden, situated in the south of the country. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second-smallest province by area, and the smallest province located on the mainland.
Richeza of Poland, a member of the House of Piast, was queen of Sweden and princess of Minsk through her three marriages.
Sverker I or Sverker the Elder, murdered 25 December 1156, was King of Sweden from about 1132 till his death. Of non-royal descent, he founded the House of Sverker, the rulers of which alternated with the rival House of Eric over the next century.
Magnus Minniskiöld was a medieval Swedish magnate from the House of Bjelbo. For posterity, he is best known as the father of the renowned statesman Birger Jarl, and the ancestor of the later Swedish kings. He is sometimes believed to have perished in the Battle of Lena in 1208, though the evidence is not conclusive.
Magnus II; Swedish: Magnus Henriksson was a Danish lord and King of Sweden between 1160 and 1161. He is often seen by posterity as a usurper.
Duke Benedict of Halland and Finland, aka Bengt Algotsson, was a medieval Swedish lord, and royal favourite.
Charles of Tofta, a.k.a. Karl Ulfson was a 14th-century Swedish magnate and High Constable of Sweden.
Svante is a Swedish first name for males. It originates from Slavic ancestors of first prominent Svantes in Sweden. The Slavic languages have the name which is rendered as Sviatopolk in Russian, Świętopełk in Polish and Svatopluk/Svätopluk in Czech and Slovakian. Also Svjatopluk and so forth in other renditions.
Svantepolk Knutsson, Lord of Viby in Östergötland, was a Scandinavian magnate.
Catherine, , was a Swedish queen, wife of King Eric XI of Sweden and queen consort of Swedes and Goths from 1244 to 1250. In her later years she served as abbess of Gudhem Abbey.
Canute or Knud Valdemarsen was an illegitimate of King Valdemar II of Denmark, who became Duke of Revelia, Blekinge and Lolland.
Ulvhild Håkansdotter, , was a Scandinavian queen, twice queen consort of Sweden and once queen consort of Denmark, married to King Inge II of Sweden, King Niels of Denmark and King Sverker I of Sweden. Ulvhild had an important role in the Nordic dynastic connections of her time, but the sources are unfortunately insufficient to map the closer circumstances. She is mentioned as a femme fatale of high-medieval Scandinavia, as well as a benefactor of the Catholic Church.
Queen Helena or Elin, possibly also known as Maer, Mär or Mö, was a Swedish queen consort, spouse of King Inge the Elder and the supposed sister of King Blot-Sweyn of Sweden.
Helen of Sweden was a Swedish princess and abbess, daughter of King Sverker II of Sweden and the mother of Queen Catherine of Sweden. She was Abbess of Vreta Abbey.
Vreta Abbey, in operation from the beginning of the 12th century to 1582, was the first nunnery in Sweden, initially Benedictine and later Cistercian, and one of the oldest in Scandinavia. It was located in the present-day municipality of Linköping in Östergötland.
Cecilia Johansdotter of Sweden is the possible name of the Queen consort of King Canute I of Sweden and mother of King Eric X of Sweden. Little is known about her except that she was of aristocratic origins and died sometime after 1193.
Benedicta of Bjelbo was a Swedish noblewoman and a central figure in the incident known as the Maiden Abduction from Vreta, wherein she, like her mother, Princess Helen of Sweden before her, and her daughter, Ingrid Svantepolksdotter after her, was abducted from Vreta Abbey by the man she later married. Her abduction was the subject of the folksong Junker Lars klosterrov.
John, who died between 1150 and 1153, was the eldest son of King Sverker I of Sweden of Sweden and his queen Ulvhild Håkansdotter. He had a role in the outbreak of a war between Sweden and Denmark in the 1150s.