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Margaret Sambiria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Margaret Sambiria (1230?-1282) was the Queen consort of Christopher I of Denmark, and acted as regent for Eric V of Denmark. In Danish she is also known as Margrethe Sprænghest.

She was born daughter of duke Sambor II of the ruling family of Slavic (Vendic) Cassubians and his wife Mechtild of Mecklenburg. They held a lordship (then treated as duchy or principality) of so-called Pomerelia, in regions of Gdansk in what later was known as west Prussia. Her birth is approximately in 1230.

She was 1248 married to prince Christopher, the youngest son of Valdemar II of Denmark and Berengaria of Portugal. Her husband ascended the throne of Denmark in 1252 as Christopher I of Denmark by the then succession custom which followed so called agnatic seniority and Margaret was crowned together.

Her husband died 29 May 1259 (rumoredly poisoned). Their son and heir Eric V of Denmark who succeeded was a minor and Margaret was made regent, in which position she continued until 1264. Eric's succession overrode rights of sons of earlier monarchs and was against the traditions of agnatic seniority. However, only such living were sons of king Abel, who had the fame of fratricide, murderer, and it was easier to dispossess them. King Christopher had all his reign made work to ensure his own line's succession. Although the accession of Eric led to serious rivalry for generations, Christopher's line was usually victorious and kept the kingship.

She quarreled with lord Jakob Erlendsen and her husband's nephew Eric Abelson, as well as with counts of Holstein. After a loss in Lohede 1261 she together with her son the young king became imprisoned by Holsteins, but soon succeeded to liberty with help from Duke Albert of Brunswick. She took initiative. Margaret has a reputation of a very competent regent. Her nicknames "Spränghäst" and "Svarta Grete" are based on her strong will and energy. She died in December 1282 andis buried in a Cistercian Church in Doberan in northern Germany.

Margaret and Christopher had three children:

Matilda (died 1311), married to Albert III, margrave of Brandenburg
Margaret (died 1306), married count John II of Holstein-Kiel
Eric, the future king of Denmark (1249-1286).
A never-ending rivalry between Eric and his supporters on one side, and the kin of former King Abel on the other, made Queen Margrethe write to the Pope in Rome around 1262 or 1263, asking the Pope to allow for women to inherit the Danish throne, thus making it possible for one of Eric's sisters to become reigning Queen of Denmark in the event of the young King's death (he had no children as of yet). The Pope seemingly agreed.

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