Catherine of Pomerania, Countess Palatine of Neumarkt
Catherine of Pomerania (German: Katharina von Pommern; c. 1390 - 4 March 1426), was a Pomeranian princess, and a Countess Palatine of Neumarkt as the wife of John, Count Palatine of Neumarkt, and the mother of Christopher of Bavaria, king of the Kalmar Union.
Life
Catherine was the daughter of Wartislaw VII, Duke of Pomerania in Pomerania-Stolp and Maria of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Maria was the daughter of Henry III, Duke of Mecklenburg and Ingeborg of Denmark, eldest daughter of sonless King Valdemar IV of Denmark and older sister of Margaret I of Denmark. Henry III's mother was Euphemia of Sweden, the daughter of Erik Magnusson and the sister of Magnus Eriksson. Catherine's brother was Eric of Pomerania, future king of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway.
The two siblings were adopted by their grandaunt Queen Margaret I of Denmark in 1388 and likely brought to Margaret at the same occasion. Initially, Margaret's plan was for Catherine to enter the Vadstena Abbey[1]
Catherine was a candidate for a time for marriage to Prince Henry of Wales.[2] This marriage was suggested in 1400–1401, and it was the idea that a double wedding was to be arranged between Catherine and Henry in parallel to the wedding between her brother Eric and Henry's sister Philippa.[3]
The marriage between Catherine and Henry never occurred and was broken off in 1404. The English had wished for Catherine's children with Henry to inherit the Nordic thrones in the case of Eric dying without an heir (which was impossible since the Kalmar Union was elective), as well as an alliance against France, which Margaret could not agree to. [4] In 1406, another indirect link to the English royal house was created when the brother-in-law of Philippa suggested a marriage with John, Count Palatine of Neumarkt.[5] John was the son of Rupert, King of Germany. An alliance with the German king was more valuable for the Nordic Union considering their problem with the Hanseatic League.[6] The negotiations were completed in one year, and Margaret gave Catherine a dowry of 4,000 gulden, much less than was expected by her future father-in-law.
On 15 August 1407, Catherine married John in Ribe, Denmark. They would have seven children, but only their youngest, Christopher, would live past infancy. Christopher would succeed his uncle Eric as king of the three Scandinavian kingdoms.
Catharine died on 4 March 1426.
References
- ^ Dansk biografisk Lexikon / III. Bind. Brandt - Clavus
- ^ Ellen Hagen in Margareta Nordens drottning 1353-1412 Saxon & Lindströms, Stockholm 1953 pp. 87–88
- ^ Dansk biografisk Lexikon / III. Bind. Brandt - Clavus
- ^ Flemberg, Marie-Louise, Filippa: engelsk prinsessa och nordisk unionsdrottning, Santérus, Stockholm, 2014
- ^ Dansk biografisk Lexikon / III. Bind. Brandt - Clavus
- ^ Flemberg, Marie-Louise, Filippa: engelsk prinsessa och nordisk unionsdrottning, Santérus, Stockholm, 2014
- www.warholm.nu/Kingdan.html
- Edward Rymar. Rodowód książąt pomorskich. Szczecin 1995. ISBN 83-902780-0-6