Alexander Pedersen Family
  Denmark

Alexander Pedersen
A Knight 1185-1201
perhaps with "Richard the Lionheart" on the Third Crusade 1191-1192
b.  (unknown but probably before 1165 Borup, Sjaelland, Denmark
d.  after 1221

Glob / Due

m.  Magrete (perhaps Valdemarsdatter, Princess of Danmark#)
b. no dates [Roskilde]
d.

Estridsen
her father: unknown but possibly a royal family*
perhaps Valdemar the Great, King of Denmark# (1131-1182)
her mother: Sophia of Minsk#

*family according to Roskilde History website.
# records of  Gunther Kipp on geni.com  
#This royal connection is not confirmed by Saxo Grammaticus used on Roskilde.

The family developed is based on the the genealogy of the Roskilde Cathedral, Roskilde, Denmark.  This cathedral is one of the oldest in Denmark and is the burial place of the largest number of king, queens and other nobility in all of Europe including Harold Bluetooth, one of the greatest kings of Denmark.   

The records from the Roskilde web site for Alexander Pedersen caused me a number of questions.  Records for this era are rare and sometimes are incomplete.  It seems well defined that Alexander was knighted and did go on a crusade.  His wife's family name is still subject to speculation although even Roskilde thinks there may be a royal connection.  Margarete is known but her origin is not identified.  Researchers are using diverse historical documents, proximity and circumstances to put together a better picture. I believe there is a good case for Margarete to be the daughter of Valdemar "The Great", King of Denmark. Some of this argument looks at who might be illegible to marry of a similar social status and economic standard. Since Alexander Pedersen also comes from one of the wealthiest families in Denmark,  who are also full of religious zeal to promote Catholicism through out the region; it also put another brick in the mortar that holds the power together.  Marriage were frequently used to seal alliances between countries and within the country.

Crusader 1191-1192
It states that he was a Rider or "knight" from 1185 to 1201.   He went on "The Crusades" in 1191 to 1192.   [Roskilde History] There were two "Danish Crusades" and both crusades in 1191 and 1202 were to Finland, "the later one was led by Bishop of Lund Anders Sunesen with his brother." [wikipedia] These crusades like the ones in the middle-east used forced conversions from paganism to Christianity.

Valdemar the Great is said to have lead a group of crusaders who put the town of Arkona on the Baltic Sea under siege to prevent their raiding of the Danish coast. They were conquered it in 1168 and became Christian subjects of Denmark.  This would lead to an interesting connection to Alexander's wife, Margrete, the possible daughter of Valdemar.

This Margrete should not be confused with "Margaret I", the youngest daughter of Valdemar IV, King of Denmark. She is also known as Margarete Valdemarsdatter (b. 1353-1412) and is buried in Roskilde Cathedral. 

#Margarete as Valdemarsdottir in the family is listed as a "nun in Roskilde" in Roskilde web site and wikipedia.  There is no known record for the connection I have listed for her marriage to Alexander Pedersen other than circumstantial.  Even though Margarete is listed by Roskilde as "a nun" this does not preclude her to have been married with family.    Many young girls may have been forced into nunnery by pregnancy out of wedlock.  With Valdemar's own history I doubt this would be the case.  Although I don't have any specific dates to confirm this, it is possible that Margarete my have gone to a "nunnery" after raising her family.  This actually is a tradition still found in Buddhism in Nepal.  Frequently widows who have raised their families enter the Buddhist convents for support and to carry out the religious principles of faith and sharing.  I'm still in the process of finding out what may have transpired and look forward to anyone who may have some ideas or confirmation.

I'm still trying grasp what may have happened to her.  Margarete Valdemarsdottir would have been only seven years old at the death of her father.  This would mean she was raised by her mother, Sophia, and other court attendants.  Sophia was a powerful person in her own right.  She apparently establish Kobenhavn as a major port.  She saw to it that her children married into some of the most prominent noble families of Europe.  This might also have been a reason that, according to the Roskilde records, two of the daughters became nuns.  They may have seen what happen when the children were shipped out to other countries.  While Sophia was alive there would have been little ability to go against her wishes.  Margarete would have been 23 years old at the death of her mother, even as being a nun.  This would not be too late to start a family.  Margarete's first child is said in this record to be born when she is five, so something is wrong here.  

"... Viking society is hardly a paradise for women --- polygymy does exist among the wealthier men, women are perpetually under the thumb of husband or father, but Viking women have a certain measure of protection in a society that values family ties above all else. An offense against a woman is likely to be avenged in blood by her relatives.
        In Viking society, a woman's parents find her a husband, who usually pays for the privilege of marrying her; the prospective bride may reject her parents' candidate, but she may not find one of her own. If she does marry against  the will of her family, her husband becomes an outlaw, subject to execution by the woman's relatives.  A Viking man may divorce his wife at any time, but if he does so without good cause, he is likely to be killed by her family.  Women's opinions are often valued, and they are not secluded in women's quarters within the house.  A woman is entitled to one-third of her husband's belongings and to one-half of them after twenty years of marriage. "
                            [Olsen, Kirstin.  Chronology of the History of Women. p.37]

The Third Crusade (1189-1192) is probably the one in which Alexander Pedersen could have been in according to the dates.  Apparently he is one of 15 Danes that signed up to be lead by King Richard I of England, known as "Richard the Lionheart". Richard leads a contingent along with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.  Barbarossa dies and his German troops go home. Richard continues on to the Holy Land where he eventually makes a treaty with the great Muslim leader Sultan Saladin on 2 September 1192.  Richard leaves the Holy Lands on October 9th, 1192   [Third Crusade - wikipedia.org]

Siege of Acre
By Biblotheque Municipale de Lyon, Ms 828 f33r, Public Domain,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3329854

The officially recognized dates for the crusades begins with Pope Urban II who didn't call for the First Crusade until 1095.  [crusades - wikipedia.org]

These families have records and the family crests are found in the Roskilde Cathedral web site and go back to about 1100.

See more photos here of Roskilde. 

Elroy's Brief Jutland History || Elroy's Family Index || Ancestor.chart 92690

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