Christina of Norway, Infanta of Castile

Christina of Norway
Statue of Infanta Christina made by artist Brit Sørensen in Covarrubias, Spain, a copy was later erected in Tønsberg
Born	1234 Bergen, Norway
Died	1262 (aged 27–28) Seville, Castile
Burial	Covarrubias, Castile
Spouse	Infante Philip of Castile
House	Sverre
Father	Haakon IV of Norway
Mother	Margrét Skúladóttir
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Christina of Norway (Norwegian: Kristina Håkonsdotter; 1234 – 1262) was the daughter of Håkon IV and his wife, Margrete Skuledotter. She was born in Bergen. As part of an alliance she was betrothed to Philip, brother of Alfonso X of Castile. They married in 1258, and she lived in Castile until her death four years later. Tradition states that Christina desired that a church dedicated to St Olaf should be built in Castile. 750 years later, "a modernized version of [a] simple pre-Roman church" was built and dedicated in Covarrubias, Spain.

The primary source on Christina is that of Icelander Sturla Þórðarson (Sturla was a nephew of Snorri Sturluson and had come to Norway in 1263). Sturla was commissioned by Kristina's brother, Magnus Lagabøter, (King Magnus VI of Norway) to write his father's saga (Saga of Haakon Haakonsson ) shortly after King Haakon died in the Orkney Islands on 16 December 1263. In relating the stories in the saga, Sturla would have been able to interview contemporaries of the King and those that had taken the journey to Spain with Christina.

In the 19th century, Norwegian historian Peter Andreas Munch related the story of King Haakon's daughter, Christina, in his work, A History of the Norwegian People (Det norske folks historie), which was published in the 1850s.

The saga narrates how King Haakon sent a delegation to Castile in 1255 where they presented gifts to the court of falcons, furs, and leather. The Norwegian envoys were well received by the Spanish court and the next year when they returned to Norway, they were accompanied by representatives of Alfonso X, King of Castile, León and Galicia – headed by the royal notary, Sira Ferrant. Ferrant asked King Haakon if his daughter Christina could be betrothed to one of King Alfonso's brothers. The saga relates that King Haakon considered the request with careful thought. He consulted with the archbishop, and several wise men in making a decision. Haakon consented to the request under the condition that Christina be allowed to choose her husband from among the brothers of the King of Castile. (King Haakon had lost a son only a short time before to the Black Death).