Gertrude of Bavaria in the context of King Canute VI

⭐ Core Definition: Gertrude of Bavaria

Gertrude of Bavaria, also called Gertrude of Saxony (Danish and German: Gertrud; 1152/55–1197), was Duchess of Swabia as the spouse of Duke Frederick IV, and Queen of Denmark as the spouse of King Canute VI.

Gertrude was born to Henry the Lion of Bavaria and Saxony and Clementia of Zähringen in either 1152 or 1155. She was married to Frederick IV, Duke of Swabia, in 1166, and became a widow in 1167. In 1171, she was engaged and in February 1177 married to Canute of Denmark in Lund. The couple lived the first years in Skåne.

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Gertrude of Bavaria in the context of Gertrude (Hamlet)

In William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Gertrude is Hamlet's mother and Queen of Denmark. Her relationship with Hamlet is somewhat turbulent, since he resents her marrying her husband's brother Claudius after he murdered the king (young Hamlet's father, King Hamlet). Gertrude reveals no guilt in her marriage with Claudius after the recent murder of her husband, and Hamlet begins to show signs of jealousy towards Claudius. According to Hamlet, she scarcely mourned her husband's death before marrying Claudius.

Her name may derive from Gertrude of Bavaria, who was Queen of Denmark in the late 12th century.

View the full Wikipedia page for Gertrude (Hamlet)

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