Blanche I of Arendaal

Blanche I of Arendaal ("Pearl of the North") (1369 - 1408) was the Queen Regent of Arendaal and Queen Regent of Suionia between 1388 and 1408. She was the daughter of Crown Prince Lief of Arendaal and Martha of Anglyn. Her father died in 1379 and thus Blanche inherited the throne directly from her grandfather King Edvard II in 1388. She was the second Aren Monarch, and the only female ruler, to simultaneously be the Monarch of Suionia, as part of Union of Bergen (1350 - 1424), a series of personal unions by which the Kings of Arendaal also inherited the Crown of Suionia.

The people of Arendaal adored Blanche I, praising her for her beauty and "inner grace of personality." Described as slender and of medium height, with green eyes and golden hair cascading down her back, she was said to be level headed, clever and shrewd. Her Suionian subjects were less content with her, and many nobles were bitter at being ruled by a woman. Some of Suionia’s writers painted her as a beautiful, heartless, rapacious, femme fatale whose interest in humanist views bordered on heresy, who took lovers and whose favourite past times included poisonings and garrotting’s.

Historians dismiss these claims as almost entirely fictional, having sprung from resentment over her gender and the serious attempts she made to modernize Suionian legislature and administration. In fact, of the three Aren monarchs to have ruled Suionia, Blanche I's reign was actually the most beneficial for that country. Nonetheless, the conflicting image of Blanche as a femme fatale on the one hand, and a sweet natured woman on the other persist even now.

Her interest in the fine arts and expanding trade ties to southern Europe in many ways laid the foundations for the beginnings of the Aren Renaissance in 1408 with the reign of her son, Niklaas III. Blanche became a notable patron of the arts, often socializing with artists, bards, poets, intellectuals: she began the initial building of Norseland Chateau (which would later be rebuilt in a later Renaissance style), had the plans for the Villa d'Nord drawn up, and established it as a center for artists and writers.

Blanche I's reign saw the continuance of excellent relations with the German states of Europe, including Franken and the Holy Germanic Empire (Wiese). She married married Karl August of Saxony, a son of Holy Germanic Emperor Emperor Lothar II. Blanche's aunt was a Holy Germanic Empress, Viveka of Arendaal, having married Karl August's brother, Emperor Maximilian IV. She also arranged the marriage of her heir Niklaas to Anna of Franken.

Family, Marriage and Children
Queen Blanche I of Arendaal married Prince Karl August of Saxony, a son of Holy Germanic Emperor Emperor Lothar II. Their children included:
 * Niklaas III of Arendaal (1389 - 1424) - who succeeded his mother as ruler of Arendaal and Suionia in 1408
 * Kristine of Arendaal, Empress of the Talemantine Empire (b. 1394) - Consort of Emperor Beniamino VI of the Talemantine Empire

Siblings

 * Nissa of Arendaal, Queen of Montelimar - sister. Consort of Jean V of Montelimar

Other Royal Relations

 * Anna of Franken, Queen of Arendaal - daughter-in-law
 * Rikissa of Arendaal, Duchess of Franken - aunt. Consort of Duke Thomas IV von Franken
 * Viveka of Arendaal, Holy Germanic Empress - aunt. Consort of Holy Germanic Emperor Maximilian IV von Sachsen
 * Catharina of Batavie, Queen of Arendaal – grandfather’s second wife
 * Richenza of Arendaal, Empress of the Talemantine Empire - greataunt. Consort of Luciano V of the Talemantine Empire
 * Madeleine I of Arendaal - granddaughter

Ancestors
's ancestors in four generations: