Queen of Denmark, Sophia was also known as Sophia of Minsk and Sophia of Polotsk. She was the daughter of Richeza of Poland, dowager queen of Sweden, from her marriage to a king called Valador. It has not been proven definitively who her father was . It is thought to have been prince Volodar of Minsk or prince Vladimir of Halicz. Volodar united the principalities of Minsk, Polotsk, and Hrodna under his rule and had military interests in the baltic region. Sophia was the half sister of Canute the fifth of Denmark. After her mother's marriage to the swedish king, she followed her to Sweden and was raised in the court. She was betrothed to Valdemar in 1154 as a form of alliance between Denmark and Sweden. As she had no property in Denmark, she was promised one eighth of Canute's estates. She left Sweden and arrived in Denmark at the time of the engagement in 1154, but as she was not considered old enough to marry, she was given to the custody of a woman named Bodil. Valdemar married her in Viborg in the year 1157. Legends describe her as beautiful, dominant and cruel. According to one legend she murdered Valdemar's mistress Tove and injured his sister Kirsten. No documentation has been found to confirm this. In 1182 she was widowed, and around the year 1184 she received a proposal from, and subsequently married, Louis the Third, landgrave of Thuringia and was escorted to the border by her son and a grand entourage. She was rejected in 1190 and returned to Denmark.
Queen of Denmark, Sophia was also known as Sophia of Minsk and Sophia of Polotsk. She was the daughter of Richeza of Poland, dowager queen of Sweden, from her marriage to a king called Valador. It has not been proven definitively who her father was . It is thought to have been prince Volodar of Minsk or prince Vladimir of Halicz. Volodar united the principalities of Minsk, Polotsk, and Hrodna under his rule and had military interests in the baltic region. Sophia was the half sister of Canute the fifth of Denmark. After her mother's marriage to the swedish king, she followed her to Sweden and was raised in the court. She was betrothed to Valdemar in 1154 as a form of alliance between Denmark and Sweden. As she had no property in Denmark, she was promised one eighth of Canute's estates. She left Sweden and arrived in Denmark at the time of the engagement in 1154, but as she was not considered old enough to marry, she was given to the custody of a woman named Bodil. Valdemar married her in Viborg in the year 1157. Legends describe her as beautiful, dominant and cruel. According to one legend she murdered Valdemar's mistress Tove and injured his sister Kirsten. No documentation has been found to confirm this. In 1182 she was widowed, and around the year 1184 she received a proposal from, and subsequently married, Louis the Third, landgrave of Thuringia and was escorted to the border by her son and a grand entourage. She was rejected in 1190 and returned to Denmark.
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See more of Denmark or Vladimirovna memorials in:
- Sankt Bendts Kirke of Denmark or Vladimirovna
- Ringsted of Denmark or Vladimirovna
- Ringsted Kommune of Denmark or Vladimirovna
- Sjælland of Denmark or Vladimirovna
- Denmark of Denmark or Vladimirovna
- Find a Grave of Denmark or Vladimirovna
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