Silver medal Famous brides - Markéta Přemyslovna stand
Silver medal Famous brides - Markéta Přemyslovna stand
The product can also be purchased directly in the stores of the Czech Mint
Famous brides
The five-part series of the Czech Mint entitled Famous Brides tells the story of noble Czech women who were married off to foreign countries near and far. Some of them were fortunate, others were afflicted... The second one to appear on silver medals embellished with patina is Margaret of Bohemia, who entered history as Dagmar of Denmark.
Margaret, the sultry daughter of King Ottokar I of Bohemia, attracted the attention of diplomats looking for a suitable wife for King Valdemar II of Denmark. On the occasion of the wedding, Margaret took the name Dagmar and sailed to the then Danish seat of Ribe. The good reception of the Czech princess in a foreign environment is evidenced by the songs in which Dagmar appears, but it is said that King Valdemar, one of the most important Danish rulers, was often unfaithful to his wife. Yet from their marriage, the heir to the throne, the future king's co-ruler, a prince of the same name, was born in 1209. Dagmar died giving birth to her second child and fortunately did not live to see the death of her first-born son, who died hunting at only twenty-two years of age. In the 17th century, an artifact known as Dagmar's Cross was discovered in her grave, a replica of which is still worn by Danish women today...
The obverse of the medal is dominated by a profile portrait of Queen Dagmar, supplemented with two symbolic details. The first is a contemporary ship of the koga type on which Dagmar probably sailed to Denmark, and the second is a chessboard. "This motif has a double meaning. On a more general level, it recalls chess as a game of great power, in which the girls of the ruling families are mere pieces on the chessboard. In our case, chess is still a reminder of the well-known Danish song, in which the envoy of King Valdemar plays chess for a princess for the benefit of his master," says the author of the medal and history lover academic sculptor Michal Vitanovský. The inscription on the obverse side gives the names and life years of the queen: MARKÉTA PŘEMYSLOVNA, DAGMAR DÁNSKÁ, 1186–1213. The reverse side of the medal presents a linear figure of King Valdemar and a medieval veduta of the town of Ribe, above which is the town's coat of arms. The view of the metropolis is dominated by Riberhus Castle, the former royal residence where Dagmar's monument stands today. In addition to the name of the city, the name of the king and the year of his marriage can be found in the inscription on the reverse side: RIBE 1205, VALDEMAR II.
The medal includes a special appendix which, in the words of Michal Vitanovský, introduces Margaret's life and the details of the medal's relief.