Katherine I of Arendaal

Katherine I of Arendaal ("Katherine the Catholic") (1514 - 1554) was the Queen Regent of Arendaal between 1550 and 1554. She was the second child of King Frederik II of Arendaal and Helena of Franken. Katherine came to the throne in 1550 when her brother Johannes I suddenly died, by usurping the claim of his son Kristian II.

Katherine declared that her nephew's Protestant beliefs made him unfit to rule as King. A devout Catholic, she is best remembered for her bloody persecution of Protestants and for her reign coinciding with the most violent phase of the Aren Wars of Religion.

Kristian II fled north to avoid capture, but Katherine had his mother (her sister-in-law) Blanche of Montelimar put under house arrest at Goteborg Citadel (she would escape three years later). Civil war raged and Kristian II soon returned with reinforcements and finances from abroad.

These struggles would not end until 1560, when Kristian had defeated the forces of her brother Bjorn III, who succeeded her as King of Arendaal in 1550.

Inspite of her negative legacy in the Protestant and later secular nation of Arendaal for her persecution of Catholics, historians point out that she was a consumate politician, far more adept at manipulation, quick decisions and achieving her ends at all costs than her elder brother, King Johannes I, had been. Her religious convictions were earnest, and she was ruthless in upholding them.

Despite her poor relations with her nephew Kristian II, he resembled his aunt in many respects - certainly in terms of his intelligence, though not in his methods. In a letter to the King of Franken, Kristian II wrote of his aunt: "She is an indefatigable princess, born to tame and govern even the most unruly of people. She will be merciless with her enemies, even her own kin, but will show clemency to those who do not defy her faith."

For her own part, Katherine I was clear sighted and suffered from no illussions about the talents of her nephew or the power amassed by Protestants (which in some respects helps to explain her bloody campaigns against them). On her deathbed she wrote to her brother Bjorn III, who was to become her heir: "We are on the eve of a general revolt. Anyone who tells you differently is a liar".

Katherine had always been her father's favourite daughter, and was thus allowed to marry the man of her choosing (very unusually for Aren princesses, who were expected to make dynastic matches with foreign rulers). She married Prince Matthieu of Lorraine, who proposed to her when visiting her father's court. Matthieu was a younger son of the King of Lorraine. She and her husband were prominent members of her father's great Renaissance court, where she was known for her cold beauty, short temper, unnerving manner, and great intelligence. Complications surrounding her second pregnancy caused her death in 1554.

Family, Marriage and Children
Queen Katherine I of Arendaal married Prince Matthieu of Lorraine. Their children included:
 * Liliana, Duchess of Skane (b. 1544) - who was raised at the court of her cousin, Kristian II

Siblings

 * Johannes I of Arendaal - elder brother
 * Bjorn III of Arendaal - younger brother. He succeeded Katherine as King and was overthrown by forces of Kristian II

Other Royal Relations

 * Kristian II of Arendaal - nephew, whose throne she usurped because of his conversion to the Protestant faith
 * Adele of Arendaal, Empress of the Talemantine Empire - niece. Consort to Isacco V of the Talemantine Empire
 * Elisa of Arendaal, Queen of Anglyn - niece. Consort of Harold II of Anglyn
 * Malena of Arendaal, Holy Germanic Empress - aunt. Consort to Emperor Georg II Wilhelm von Thießen
 * Gisela of Arendaal, Queen of Franken - aunt. Consort of Sebastian III von Franken
 * Blanche of Montelimar, Queen of Arendaal - sister-in-law. (Johannes I's wife)
 * Sophie of Eiffelland, Queen of Arendaal - sister-in-law. (Bjorn III's wife)
 * Rurik II of Arendaal - greatuncle

Ancestors
's ancestors in four generations: