Gisela I of Arendaal

Gisela I of Arendaal ("Gisela the Good" or "Gisela the Fair") (1308 - 1350) was the Queen Regent  of Arendaal between 1328 and 1350. She was the daughter of King Kristian I of Arendaal and Ursula of Franken. Gisela I famously married the King of Suionia, becoming one of the only Aren Queen Regents to marry a foreign sovreign (Kristianna I would be another). Their marriage led to the Union of Bergen (1350-1424), a series of personal unions by which the Aren Kings also inherited the Suionian crown, when their son King Edvard II ascended both thrones by 1350.

Gisela I had an older brother, who died shortly before his thirteenth birthday. At the time Gisela was already betrothed to the heir presumptive to the Crown of Suionia, and suddenly her choice of husband became a matter of paramount concern. The Covenant of Kronstad stipulated that the children of any Aren princess who married a foreign sovereign gave up their right to the Aren throne - however Gisela's father Kristian I was adamant that her children should inherit his throne. Thus an elaborate marriage contract was drawn up. Gisela I would remain the ruler of Arendaal and of her sons, one would inherit the Aren Crown and the other would become King of Suionia. However, Gisela I and her husband had only one son, Edvard II. After their respective deaths Edvard became ruler of both Kingdoms simultaneously, forging the brief series of personal unions by which both states were ruled by the same monarch.

Gisela I provides an excellent example of a successful medieval Queen Regent, much in the same vein as her greatgrandmother Isabelle I had been. When she became queen, her authority was based on hereditary and civil law, as William of Tyre wrote:"the rule of the kingdom remained in the power of the lady queen Gisela, a queen beloved by God, to whom it passed by hereditary right".

She and her husband ruled their Kingdoms as co-rulers of sorts, lending each other mutual support and advice as their extensive correspondence indicates. She is characterized as shrewd and with good sense, though some Suionian chroniclers resented her influence over her husband. One account attributes to her "the weakness and changeability of women", mixing sex and sensuality with politics to her advantage. Modern historians note that these observations were hardly neutral or dispassionate, and explain them with reference to Gisela's great power. As one historian wrote, "There is no question that the queen was in control, perhaps all too much in control, of events".

A poem written in 1326 describes Gisela I upon her wedding day: "Venus did not have this virgin's beauty, Minerva did not have her brilliant mind And Juno did not have her wealth. There never was another except God's mother Mary And Gisela is so happy she excels her."

Family, Marriage and Children
Queen Gisela I of Arendaal married King x of Suionia in 1326. Their children included:
 * Edvard II of Arendaal (1327 - 1388) - who succeeded his mother as ruler of Arendaal in 1350 and his father as King of Suionia in 1349, becoming the first ruler to be King of both nations simultaneously
 * Richenza of Arendaal, Empress of the Talemantine Empire (b. 1328) - Consort of Luciano V of the Talemantine Empire

Other Royal Relations

 * Erika of Arendaal, Countess of Schlesnitz - aunt. Mother of Sebastian I von Franken
 * Hilda of Arendaal, Queen of Eiffelland – aunt. Consort of King Lothar II of Eiffelland
 * Alienore of Arendaal, Queen of Montelimar - aunt. Consort of Philippe II of Montelimar
 * Sebastian I von Franken - first cousin (aunt Erika's son)
 * Louise of Montelimar, Queen of Arendaal - daughter-in-law (Edvard II's first wife)
 * Catharina of Batavie, Queen of Arendaal - daughter-in-law (Edvard II's second wife)
 * Lief, Prince of Arendaal - grand son
 * Rikissa of Arendaal, Duchess of Franken - grand daughter. Consort of Thomas IV von Franken
 * Viveka of Arendaal, Holy Germanic Empress - grand daughter. Consort of Emperor Maximilian IV von Sachsen

Ancestors
's ancestors in four generations: