Christina Björnsdotter of Denmark ; c. 1120/25 – 1170.
Background
According to the Knýtlinga saga, Christina was the daughter of Björn Haraldsen Ironside, son of the Danish prince Harald Kesja, and his consort, the Swedish princess Katarina Ingesdotter, daughter of King Inge I of Sweden. She was made fatherless in 1134, when her father Prince Björn was murdered by order of his uncle, King Eric II of Denmark.
Career
Queen Christina became notable for her conflict with Varnhem Abbey, Västergötland. She was in dispute with the monks about the ownership to the land upon which the convent had been founded, as she considered it as an inheritance after her relative, lady Sigrid. She is claimed to have harassed the monks: legend accuse her of sending women into the convent to dance naked before the monks.
This forced the monks to leave the country and seek refuge in Denmark, where they founded Vitskøl Abbey (1158), a conflict for which the pope contemplated to have her excommunicated.
Queen Christina was widowed at the murder of the King outside the cathedral in Uppsala in 1160. She is believed to have spent the following years in Denmark.
Children:
Canute I of Sweden, King of Sweden 1167–1196. Filip
Katarina Eriksdotter, married to Nils Blake.
Margareta Eriksdotter, married in 1185 Sverre I of Norway, died in 1202.