Helvig of Schauenburg

Helvig of Schauenburg
Countess of Oldenburg
File:Hedewig af Holsten (Rosenborg).JPG
Spouse(s)	Balthasar of Mecklenburg Dietrich of Oldenburg
Issue Christian I of Denmark Maurice V of Delmenhorst Gerhard VI, Count of Oldenburg Adelheid, Countess of Hohenstein and Mansfeld
Noble family	House of Schauenburg (by birth) House of Mecklenburg (by marriage) House of Oldenburg (by marriage)
Father	Gerhard VI of Holstein-Rendsburg
Mother	Catherine Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Born	1398
Died	1436 (aged 37–38)
Buried	St. Lambert's Church in Oldenburg

Helvig of Schauenburg (German: Heilwig von Holstein) (1398–1436), also known as Hedwig of Schauenburg, was a duchess of Schleswig and a countess of Holstein from the family of Schauenburg, and ancestor of the Danish Royal houses of Oldenburg and Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg.

She was a daughter of Gerhard VI of Holstein-Rendsburg and his wife, Catherine Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Her brother was Adolf VIII/I, Count of Holstein/Duke of Schleswig. Through their father, they were cognatic descendants of King Eric V of Denmark while through their mother, they were cognatic descendants of King Abel of Denmark.

On 18 April 1417 Helvig was married to Prince Balthasar of Mecklenburg, who died of the plague in 1421. In 1423 she was married to Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg. From her second marriage she had the following children:

• Christian (1426–1481), who succeeded his father as Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. In 1448, partly because of his mother's ancestry, he was elected King of Denmark. He also inherited the counties of Schleswig and Holstein upon the death of his childless uncle, Adolf VIII.
• Maurice V of Delmenhorst (1428–1464); when his elder brother became king, he was given the County of Delmenhorst.
• Gerhard VI of Oldenburg (1430–1500); when his eldest brother had become king, he was given the county of Oldenburg, and from his other brother's heirs he also inherited Delmenhorst in about 1483.
• Adelheid of Oldenburg (1425–1475); first married Ernest III, Count of Hohenstein (died 1454) and then in 1474 Gerhard VI, Count of Mansfeld (died 1492).

Ancestry

Family of Helvig of Schauenburg

16. Henry I, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg               8. Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg                       17. Heilwig of Bronckhorst               4. Henry II, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg                             18. Nicholas II, Lord of Werle               9. Sophie of Mecklenburg-Werle                       19. Richenza of Denmark               2. Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg                                   20. Henry II, Lord of Mecklenburg               10. Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg                       21. Anna of Saxe-Wittenberg               5. Ingeborg of Mecklenburg                             22. Eric, Duke of Södermanland               11. Euphemia of Sweden                       23. Ingeborg of Norway               1. Helvig of Schauenburg                                         24. Albert II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg               12. Magnus I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                       25. Rixa of Mecklenburg-Werle               6. Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg                             26. Henry I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal               13. Sophie of Brandenburg                       27. Agnes of Bavaria               3. Catherine Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg                                   28. Bernhard II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg               14. Bernhard III, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg                       29. Helena of Rügen               7. Catherine of Anhalt-Bernburg                             30. Rudolph I, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg               15. Agnes of Saxe-Wittemberg                       31. Judith of Brandenburg

See also

• Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein