Birla Mortensdottir

Birla Mortensdottir (1472–1520) was a Nidarosian–Storish noblewoman, reigning in Nidaros as its second Queen regnant and third monarch under the name Queen Birla (1516–1519), and as queen of Treisenberg (?–?). She was the daughter of Queen Dagmar (Anne-Marie Dagmarsdottir) and Thorkel Volsdame (1485–1580; himself a grandson of Emperor Tyler-Alexander of Landingberg). They had two sons, Karl Gustav Nidaros-Volsdame and Bjarngeir Thorkelsson. The children took a combined surname of their parents, Nidaros-Volsdame.

Birla became queen upon the sudden abdication of her mother, who wanted to devote her efforts elsewhere, such as Ravaria. Birla was totally unprepared for this and relied on Vanic fundamentalists as her advisors. In an effort to bring Hurmu into a more Vanically aligned regime, her advisors convinced her to declare war on Hurmu in 1517. The war, which was mostly bloodless, was fought mainly in the court rooms, with the Hurmudans securing a judgment from the Storish supreme court that the war was illegal in 1518. Birla, to some surprise, did not contest the judgment once handed over, but did, on the other hand, also not apologise to Hurmu. Relations between Hurmu and Nidaros were difficult, despite Birla's membership in the Order of the Holy Lakes through her husband's descent from Emperor Tyler-Alexander of Landingberg. Birla became more and more isolated in her own court, with more court officials and politicians turning against her. The final straw was the threat of divorce from her husband (a potential scandal in the heavily Nazarene country) and the rejection of her by her children. She abdicated in 1519 to her eldest son Karl Gustav, who was only 14 at the time. Lonely and isolated, she died from suicide a few weeks later, in the beginning of the year 1520.

Descendants

• Birla Mortensdottir (1472–1520; r. 1517–1519) m. Torkel Volsdame (1485–1580)
  • Karl Gustav Thorkelsson Nidaros-Volsdame (1505–1538, r. 1519–1537)
  • Bjarngeir Thorkelsson Nidaros-Volsdame (1518–1589) m. Hillevi Eiriksdottir

Preceded by: Dagmar

Queen of Nidaros 1516–1519

Succeeded by Karl Gustav