Francis Henry Gribble on "[The] marriage of Gustavus Adolphus to Marie-Eléonore of Brandenburg; [the] birth of Christina; anecdotes of her infancy; [the] death of Gustavus Adolphus at the battle of Lützen; his instructions to Oxenstiern concerning the education of his daughter; Christina recognised as his successor; the Regency"

Source:

The court of Christina of Sweden and the later adventures of the Queen in exile, pages 18 to 28, by Francis Henry Gribble, 1913

https://archive.org/details/courtofchristina00grib/page/18/mode/2up

The account:

The wealth of the Rhenish vineyards and the pride of the Rhenish prelates were not the only things which attracted the attention of Gustavus Adolphus during his journey through Germany. He was also charmed by the fair face of Marie-Eléonore, the eldest daughter of the Elector of Brandenburg, and he married her in 1620, — two years after the beginning of the Thirty Years War, but some time before he himself decided to take part in it. He chose her, according to Christina, because she was "the most eligible of the Protestant Princesses of the period, to whom his religion limited his choice"; and Christina added, with the detachment of a critic rather than the affection of a daughter —

"This Princess, who was not without beauty, and possessed the good qualities looked for in her sex, lived with the King on sufficiently pleasant terms in a union which nothing marred except the lack of an heir to secure the succession."

It is faint praise; and one can read a good deal between the lines of it. A lack of sympathy is indicated: something more than the lack of sympathy which is almost normal between the younger and the older generations; an echo, evidently, of a lack of sympathy which had subsisted between the husband and the wife.

Gustavus Adolphus was a great man and a strong man: a man of ideals as well as a man of action. Marie-Eléonore had no endowment but her beauty and her family connections. Personally, she was colourless and insignificant: a silly woman who got sillier as she grew older; the sort of woman who would have been quite innocently happy in a doll's house. Gustavus Adolphus was fond enough of her in his way, but had no illusions about her. She counted for no more in his life — and had no larger vision of the events of her time — than if he had been a Sultan and she the favourite beauty of his harem; and she loved her husband pretty much as such a beauty might have loved her master. She suffered, as we shall see, from nerves, and became morbid to the point of eccentricity; a point on which it is necessary to insist when we are looking for the hereditary influences which helped to make Christina what she became.

Christina flattered herself that she was, in a special sense, her father's child; and the flattery of others confirmed her in that opinion. In sheer cleverness, as students understand the word, she probably surpassed her father: beyond question she was more variously accomplished. She inherited many masculine traits from him — some of them already indicated; and she had much of his energy, though she expended it otherwise. But her nature had also a nervous strain, bequeathed by a neurasthenic mother, though she did not know it, and emphasised by incidents of her up-bringing of which we shall have to speak, — the blending of the influences producing that brilliant example of the neurosis of the North of which we have spoken.

Her mother had borne two daughters before her; but they had died in infancy. The third child, said the astrologers — for those were the days when people always inquired what the astrologers had to say — would be a boy; and it seemed, for a moment, that they had guessed correctly. The women in attendance were deceived by the infant's vigour and lusty cries. They spread the false report, and feared that the King would be furiously angry with them when they came back to correct it, — his sister Catherine handing the child to him, so that he might satisfy himself, by ocular evidence, of the error and the grounds for it. But he made no trouble, and even seemed quite gratified —

"Let us thank God, my sister" (Christina reports him as saying). "I hope my daughter will be as good as a son to me. Since God has given her, may God preserve her!"

He added that "she ought to be clever since she has taken us all in"; and Christina, relating the story in her fragmentary Memoirs, goes on to render her own thanks to God for having made her of the weaker sex, — albeit a virile member of it. "My sex", she writes, addressing herself to God, "has been Your means of preserving me from the vices and debaucheries of the country in which I was born"; and she continues, going into details —

"If it had been Your will that I should be born a man, perhaps the habits of the country and the example of my companions would have corrupted me. I might perhaps have drowned in drink, as so many others do, all the virtues and talents which You have given me. Very likely, too, my ardent and impetuous temperament would have led me into embarrassing relations with women from which it would have been difficult for me to extricate myself. ... At any rate, there would have been a danger that the society of women would have taken up the time which, having been devoted to study and the search for Truth, has brought me nearer to You."

A curiously exaggerated manifesto of the pride of sex, and one to which the test of evidence shall be applied as we proceed. Meanwhile —

"The Queen, my mother, who had the weaknesses as well as the virtues of her sex, was inconsolable. She could not endure me, she said, because I was a girl and was ugly, — wherein she told the truth, for I was as dusky as a little Moor. My father, on the contrary, was very fond of me; and I responded to his affection in many precocious ways. It seemed to me that I understood the differences between their qualities and their feelings, and was able to do justice to both of them, even in the cradle."

Christina further relates that she was dropped on the floor as a baby; and she was fully persuaded that she was dropped on purpose, in the belief that her mother would be glad to hear of her death as the result of what could be called an accident. One has no means of judging whether the suspicion was well founded; one only knows that the consequences of the fall was a permanent, though not a very conspicuous, deformity. Throughout Christina's life her dresses had to be cut so as to conceal the fact that one of her shoulders was a little higher than the other.

Meanwhile the King delighted in every precocious trait and, more particularly, in every indication that his little girl had the spirit of a boy. She tells us what happened when, as a child of two, she was saluted by the guns of the fortress of Calmar —

"There was some hesitation because of the fear of frightening a baby as important as I was; and the Governor, not wishing to fail in his duty, asked what were the King's orders. The King, after hesitating for a moment, said: 'Fire! She is a soldier's daughter, and must get used to the sound of guns.' So the order was obeyed, and the salute was duly fired. I was with the Queen in her carriage; and instead of being frightened, as children of that tender age generally are, I laughed and clapped my hands, and, not yet being able to speak, expressed my delight as best I could by signs, and indicated that I wanted them to fire again. My father's affection for me was greater than ever after that. He hoped that I was destined to be as brave as he was himself."

He was never to know anything about that, however; for Christina was only four [sic] when Gustavus Adolphus set out on the campaign from which he was not to return. He caused the country and the army to swear allegiance to her before he went; and she plucked at his beard to make him listen to a farewell speech which her nurses had taught her —

"When he noticed that, he took me in his arms and kissed me, unable to restrain his tears. Or so I have been told by persons who were present, who also assure me that I cried so bitterly for three whole days that I hurt my eyes and very nearly ruined my sight which, like his, was extremely weak. My tears were regarded as of evil omen, as I was a child who hardly ever cried."

Another evil omen was the cessation of the flow of a river, believed always to cease to flow of the eve of the death of a King of Sweden; and Gustavus Adolphus himself predicted his own death in his farewell harangue —

"The pitcher which goes often to the well is broken at last. So it will be with me. I have faced many dangers for my country's good, and have never shrunk from imperilling my life. By God's grace my life has so far been spared; but I shall lose it in the end."

And so to Lützen, where, as we have seen, he fell, praying, as well as fighting, hard. He fought and prayed, from Christina's ultimate point of view, on the wrong side; but she was too proud of him to despair, for that reason, of the salvation of his soul, though she felt that she must express her hopes in the guarded phraseology of Rome. "It may be, Lord", we find her writing, "that a ray of Thy triumphant grace may have descended to crown him at the last moment of his life." And she adds, with the same sort of piety: "Whether that was so or not, we must bow to Thy just and eternal decrees, and admire and worship them."

That was when Christina was six. There had, of course, to be a Regency; an office which was placed in commission under the direction of the Grand Chancellor Oxenstiern. Gustavus Adolphus had made every provision for the event; and his instructions to Oxenstiern, drawn up in the midst of campaigns, were now produced, and showed that he had taken the measure of Marie-Eléonore's capacity —

"He bade him serve, honour, and assist the Queen, his wife, and try to comfort her in her trouble, but never, on any account, to permit that Princess to have anything to say in political affairs, or in the matter of my education. Those had always been his orders, and he now confirmed them and expected them to be carried out."

It was a wise stipulation, Christina thought; and historians have not ventured to contradict her. Marie-Eléonore was affectionate, but foolish; people liked her, but did not respect her; and there was a Republican party in Sweden. It was easy to persuade the Republicans to be loyal to a helpless child; it might have been difficult to persuade them to be loyal to a silly woman, reputed, rightly or wrongly, to be as vain as she was empty-headed. So the debate on the propriety of proclaiming a Republic was practically closed when Christina was taken by the hand and led into the presence of the Assembly. Her personal likeness to her father settled the matter —

"She is his very image", they cried. "She has the nose, the eyes, the brow of Gustavus Adolphus. She shall be our Queen."

And with that they proclaimed her Queen, with a unanimous voice, and set her on the throne; and one of her first ceremonial appearances on the throne warmed their hearts to enthusiasm.

She had to receive a Mission from Russia, sent to negotiate for the renewal of an old treaty; and there were doubts whether she would receive it with a sufficiently dignified demeanour. The Russians of those days were, in appearance at all events, barbarians, horribly hirsute, and strangely and wonderfully apparelled. A little child might very well be frightened by them, as by Bogey Men or Wild Men from Borneo. So the Regents implored Christina not to be afraid —

"Their want of confidence in me hurt me; and I asked them indignantly: 'What is there to be afraid of?' They told me that the Russians were dressed quite differently from us, that they had long beards, that they were terrible persons, and that there were a great many of the, but that I must not be frightened. It so happened that the Ministers with me on that occasion were the Grand Constable and the Grand Admiral, who, themselves, wore long beards. So I laughed, and said: 'Suppose they have beards — what of that? You have beards, and I am not afraid of you. Why should I be afraid of them? Tell me what I have to do, and leave the rest to me.' And I kept my word. I received my visitors, seated on the throne, in the customary manner, with a demeanour so self-possessed and majestic that, instead of being frightened, as other children are, on similar occasions I made the Ambassadors feel what all men feel when they are brought in contact with the great; and my subjects were delighted, and admired my manner, as people admire every trifling trait on the part of children whom they love."

That was in 1633, when Christina was seven. We may allow for a little exaggeration; but the story at least shows us that Christina, like her mother, was vain, though she was not vain of the same things. She was no less proud of having been a great queen than of having forsaken grandeur for the sake of independence and self-development. But that is to anticipate. Our immediate business is with Christina's meeting with her mother.

Marie-Eléonore had accompanied Gustavus Adolphus on his campaigns; and now, in 1633, she returned to Sweden, bringing his coffin with her. "I kissed her", Christina writes. "She shed floods of tears, and nearly stifled me in her embrace." And then there were memorial services and sermons; which sermons were "harder to bear than the King's death", for which, as nearly two years had passed since it occurred, Christina was already consoled.

And then began that education which was to be one of the influences helping to make Christina a neurasthenic.

Above: Kristina.

Above: Gustav Adolf and Maria Eleonora.

Above: Francis Henry Gribble.

Francis Henry Gribble on "The Thirty Years War; why Sweden joined in it; [the] position of Sweden in Europe during Christina's childhood"

Source:

The court of Christina of Sweden and the later adventures of the Queen in exile, pages 10 to 17, by Francis Henry Gribble, 1913

https://archive.org/details/courtofchristina00grib/page/10/mode/2up

The account:

Through the Thirty Years War, in a sense, blocks the way, no reader would thank the writer for digressing into a history of it. The Thirty Years War must, as far as possible, be taken for granted; though it will be better to interpose a word or two, indicating the European outlook and the position of Sweden among the Powers during Christina's early years.

The war, let us recall, then, was in its origin a German war and a religious war — a war between Protestant and Catholic Germany; a struggle between the central authority of the Empire and the independent claims of the vassal princes. Almost every other country in Europe became, by degrees, entangled in the contest: some of them joining in it on religious grounds; others for fear of the fate which might befall them if they stood aloof; others again in the hope of snatching advantage out of the confusion. All the little wars of Europe became, in consequence, confounded in a single war of a terribly devastating character.

It was a war which made a clean sweep of the national institutions of Germany and, in many districts, practically wiped out the population; the non-combatants perishing in hardly less numbers than the fighting men. If it had lasted but a very little longer, it would have thrown Europe back into that state of barbarism in which the Roman legions found it in the first year of the Christian era. A few typical figures brought together by Professor Gardiner may be cited to show the immensity of the ruin wrought —

"The losses of the civil population" (Professor Gardiner writes) "are almost incredible. In a certain district of Thuringia, which was probably better off than the greater part of Germany, there were, before the war-cloud burst, 1717 houses standing in 19 villages. In 1649 only 627 houses were left. And even of the houses which remained many were untenanted. The 1717 houses had been inhabited by 1773 families. Only 316 families could be found to occupy the 627 houses. Property fared still worse. In the same district 244 oxen alone remained of 1402. Of 4616 sheep not one was left. Two centuries later the losses thus suffered were scarcely recovered."

Nor was that the worst. If one passes from statistics to anecdotes, one is plunged into a abysm of horrors. The soldiers tortured the civilians in order to compel them to bring their hidden property to light. They burnt their houses and chased the fugitives like beasts of prey: those whom they caught they stuck up as targets to shoot at. One reads of starving dogs eating men, and of starving men eating dogs. One reads of corpses torn from their graves to be eaten; one reads even of cannibalism. In the forests of Franconia a regular band of man-hunters was established, — man-hunters who were ultimately caught in flagranti delicto, banqueting round a cauldron of boiling human flesh.

But enough of these horrors, picked at random from history appallingly rich in horrors. One cites them only to show what kind of a war it was that Christina worked to stop, without much help from her statesmen, and in defiance of the thunders of the clergy. For it is one of the ironies with which the history of religion abounds that, at a time when Europe was sick of its sufferings and bleeding well-nigh to death, that "voice of the churches" to which unthinking people in all ages look for guidance had no message except that the slaughter had better continue until all the heretics were slain. On the one hand, the Pope launched a Bull in favour of the prolongation of the atrocities, and on the other hand, the Lutheran pastors fulminated from their pulpits against the peace. Arcades ambo; and one cannot better introduce Christina, albeit one must anticipate to do so, than by relating how she dealt with one of her own intolerant clergymen. The story is in the Memoirs of Chanut, the French Ambassador to Stockholm —

"The pastor of one of the Stockholm churches" (Chanut writes) "denounced the peace furiously from his pulpit, on the ground that it had not secured liberty for the Lutheran religion in the Emperor's hereditary domains, and thundered against all Catholics, warning his congregation not to trust them in spite of the Treaty, but, on the contrary, to cherish in their hearts an undying hatred against people who spoke of them as heretics.

"The Queen, hearing of this, sent for the pastor and admonished him so sternly that he looked embarrassed and bewildered, and denied having used the words which four thousand people had heard him speak."

That at the age of twenty-two. It was worth while to anticipate in order that our first view of Christina might be so characteristic; but we must go back from the peace to the war in order to see how and why Sweden came into it in the reign of Christina's father, the great Gustavus Adolphus.

His motives, no doubt, like most human motives, were mixed. He had travelled through Germany in disguise and remarked the luxuriant beauty of the valley of the Rhine, — so much richer than the barren lands over which he ruled in the frozen North, — and the vision had tempted him. He had further remarked the wealth and arrogance of the Rhenish prelates, and that vision also had made its impression. "If these priests", he wrote (speaking in the assumed character of a Swedish nobleman), "were subject to the King, my master, he would long ago have taught them that modesty, humility, and obedience are the proper characteristics of their profession."

It was not too late, Gustavus Adolphus felt, to teach those prelates the lesson which they needed. Their pride, if left unchecked, might be a danger to him, for he held possessions on the Prussian side of the Baltic; the breaking of their pride might enable him to extend those possessions. Moreover, the extension of those possessions would mean the spread of Protestantism; and Gustavus Adolphus was as earnest a Protestant as Cromwell, to whom he has often been compared. So he made his plunge, and quickly proved himself as brilliant a soldier as Cromwell.

"We have got a new little enemy", said the Emperor Ferdinand scornfully when he heard that the Swedes were coming; but he had reason to change his tone when they came. The Swedish soldiers were a rabble to look upon; but they were commanded by a man of genius who was also an innovator in the art of war, possessed of improved cannon and improved muskets, and markedly the superior of his antagonists in mobility and in his power of maintaining discipline. He smashed Tilly and marched all over Germany, winning battle after battle, forbidding his men to plunder, and establishing liberty of conscience. "We will show our enemies", he said, "that we are honest men and honourable gentlemen."

It was a meteoric career, brilliant but brief. The end of it came, in 1632, when Gustavus Adolphus led his army against Wallenstein's entrenchments at Lützen, — a battle in which the religious character of the war was strongly emphasised. The day began with the singing of hymns in which the King himself joined lustily: "Our God is a strong tower", and "Fear not, little flock", and "Jesus, the Saviour, who was the conqueror of death". Then, in the interval between the issuing of the orders and the charge, the King knelt and prayed: "In God's name, Jesus, give us to-day to fight for the honour of Thy holy name." And then forward, — to victory, but also to death! A fog descended on the battlefield, and Gustavus Adolphus found himself alone in the midst of a squadron of the enemy's cuirassiers. He went down, shot first in the arm and then in the back. "Who are you?" they asked him. "I was the King of Sweden", he answered faintly; and then a cuirassier shot him through the head, and the fruits of the victory which he had gained were gathered in by Bernard of Weimar, who succeeded to the command.

That was when Christina was six; and the war had still a course of sixteen years to run, — a period, as already indicated, of ever-increasing anarchy and horror. There is no need for any further recitation of its vicissitudes, — such matters belong to history, and not to Christina's life. One must merely insist that the great deeds of Gustavus Adolphus gave Sweden a place in the European Concert very different from that which she holds to-day.

Sweden was then a Power, and one of the greatest of the Powers; for the Powers by which Sweden is now overshadowed had not yet found themselves and developed their potential strength. Germany, as well as Italy, was little more than a geographical expression, destined to wait many a long day for its unification. Russia had hardly begun to come into the comity of nations; and Poland, not yet partitioned, — was a thorn in the side of her neighbours. Even with her present extent of territory Sweden would have been more important then than now; and Swedish territory, as a fact, stretched a good deal farther then than now. There was an overseas Swedish Empire on the opposite side of the Baltic, where now are the coasts of Finland and Prussia.

So that Sweden counted almost equally with France and Spain, — a great deal of what now is Belgium being then the Spanish Netherlands; and that meant, of course, that Swedish statesmen, as well as Swedish soldiers, counted. Not only did Gustavus Adolphus, at his hour, dominate Europe almost as Napoleon was afterwards to dominate it. His Chancellor, Oxenstiern, thanks to his victories, could negotiate as an equal even with Cardinal Richelieu.

Such was the condition of things, in Europe and in Sweden, when Christina came to the throne, — being crowned in the year of the battle of Marston Moor. It was beginning to be the condition of things in the year of her birth, which was the second year of the reign of our own Charles I. That modicum of history is necessary to her biographer's setting of the stage. The stage set, he is free to go back and tell her story from the beginning.

Above: Gustav II Adolf.

Above: Francis Henry Gribble.

Francis Henry Gribble on "The end of the Thirty Years War; Christina's desire for peace; her passion for self-development and for living her own life in her own way; the neurosis of the North; an Ibsen heroine before the letter"

Source:

The court of Christina of Sweden and the later adventures of the Queen in exile, pages 1 to 9, by Francis Henry Gribble, 1913

https://archive.org/details/courtofchristina00grib/page/n21/mode/2up

The account:

The Thirty Years War raged from 1618 till 1648. Christina of Sweden was born in the midst of it — in the midst, as it were, of the booming of guns and the rattling of sabres — in 1626, and grew up in a period of tumults, alarms, and triumphs. She was not insensible of the glory which the triumphs reflected on her reign; but womanhood nevertheless found her with a deep and ever-deepening desire for peace.

Her subjects saluted her, in the Coronation ceremony, not as the Queen, but as the King of Sweden; and she was distinguished by many masculine accomplishments and qualities. She learnt to swear as roundly as our armies are said to have sworn in Flanders; and she could not only ride, but also shoot. It was said that she could hit a hare with deadly aim while riding at full gallop, though tears always came to her eyes when she realised that the poor little thing was dead. But war was not her sphere, and could not be; for she was brilliantly clever and alive to intellectual arms, she had acquired a taste, amounting almost to a passion, for the arts; her aspiration was to be the Queen, not of a rough camp, but of a refined and polished Court.

Neither swaggering soldiers nor long-headed politicians, that is to say, were Christina's ideal men. She had, indeed, a natural instinct for politics, — she came to be almost as capable as Louis XIV. of being her own Prime Minister; but her real interests were elsewhere. The society which she preferred was that of philosophers, — or, alternatively, that of fashionable young aristocrats of engaging manners. So she laboured, in the face of the opposition of the leading Swedish statesmen, for the conclusion of that Treaty of Westphalia which, in 1648, not only rearranged the map of Europe, but also gave her the opportunity — or, at least, the semblance of the opportunity — of living her own life in her own way in the company of her own friends.

It is as a Queen to whom the pride of her royal status was nothing if she might not live her own life in her own way that Christina challenges and holds attention as one of the most interesting figures in history. She not only put an end to a war in order to achieve that purpose; she also abandoned her throne and changed her religion as steps towards its accomplishment. The story of her life is, consequently, before all things, the story of a great renunciation and a bold experiment: not the less interesting because the experiment, like most human experiments, failed to give full satisfaction, and the exalted hour of renunciation had its sequel in moments of repentance and regret. Christina, as we shall see, was not without her share of the inconsistency commonly attributed to her sex; but her magnificent gesture was, nevertheless, sincerely made. She was, at the moment when she made it, an artist in life intent upon self-expression, genuinely preferring self-development to pomp.

One admires her the more because self-development is difficult for kings and queens, unless they are content to develop on conventional lines and within close limitations. Kingship is a specialised mode of activity; a king is expected to be — and can hardly help being — the thing for which Alfred de Musset professed such abhorrence when his parents urged him to become a lawyer: "a particular kind of man". His pleasures, as well as his duties, are stereotyped. He is taught, from his childhood upwards, that he must work, and pray, and love, and divert himself in accordance with rigid rules and traditional expectations. He must be, or pretend to be, a soldier, a church-goer, and a sportsman, fond of fine clothes, crowded rooms, and ceremonious banquets. He may pass, indeed, from the society of a wife for whom he does not care to that of mistresses who do not care for him; but the very grandeur of his position excludes him from sincere sentiment and reciprocated passion. He may be a Don Juan, but not a Galahad or a Pilgrim of Love; and his first step towards originality in these or in other matters brings him up against barriers which he cannot overcome unless he pulls them down.

The majority of kings, it may be, do not find the restrictions very irksome; for the majority of kings doubtless resemble the majority of their subjects in having vulgar ambitions and commonplace ideals. Even when such ideals and ambitions are not quite natural to them, early habit makes them second nature. They find it easy to dispense with the bracing exercise of unhandicapped competition with their equals. They find it more comfortable to assume than to prove their superiority to other men; and it is not displeasing to them to adopt towards the experts in statesmanship and the arts, whose services are at their disposal, an attitude akin to that which the ordinary employer of labour takes towards the carpenter and the plumber.

Similarly, in the matter of their amusements, they adapt themselves, as a rule, readily enough to the supposed exigencies of their position. Their governors have no difficulty in persuading them that to shoot at birds is the most rational of all kinds of human recreation, and that to look on while horses race, and stake money on the results of the races, is, in very truth, the sport of kings. They find a magic in the make-believe and a charm in the homage which is laid at their feet without discoverable reference to their merits. So they run in grooves for which they have been prepared, and which have been prepared for them, — grooves in which, if a king has the tastes commonly associated with members of the Bullingdon and subalterns in the Guards, everything which the heart can desire would seem to be provided for convenience and delight.

But one thing has not been provided: liberty to leave the groove, when they get tired of it, and be themselves and live their own lives in their own way.

That does not matter, of course, to the typical monarch who combines a magnificent manner with a sloppy mind and ambitions limited to martial and material things. Such a one asks nothing better than to be a soldier, a sportsman, a Don Juan, and the central figure of the pageants. Provided that his armies do not lose too many battles, he will live and die thanking the goodness and the grace that on his birth have smiled; for the education of princes is chiefly directed to that end — to the comfort of the man who is, in the main, pretty much like other men, and has the ordinary man's disposition to take things easily, and swagger, without undue emotional strain or intellectual exertion.

Yet the barriers are always there, however gorgeously they may be gilded; and now and again a prince or a princess has individuality enough to be painfully sensible of them, and to kick against the pricks, in the spirit of the poet revolting against the destiny which has made him, let us say, a dental surgeon or a bank clerk. In our own days the princes — and even the princesses — of the House of Habsburg are continually kicking against those gilded pricks and insisting upon a lion's share of the common lot: as did John Orth, for instance, and "Herr Wulffling", and Princess Louisa of Tuscany. In the past the most famous cases are those of Charles V., who descended from his throne in order to become a holy man, and Diocletian, who stripped himself of the purple for the sake of cultivating cabbages.

That is the category of monarchs to which Christina belonged. She, too, revolted against her exalted lot in order to pursue her somewhat different line of self-development, quitting the position of the Minerva of the North in order to become a wandering amateur of culture and the arts; and her renunciation made a far more enduring noise in the world than did her reign.

Both her motives and her proceedings have been much and stormily discussed, — chiefly because, when she renounced her title to the Swedish throne, she also renounced the Lutheran religion and submitted herself, as did so many persons of culture at that period, to the authority of the Church of Rome. Hence the conflicting blasts blown upon the brazen trumpets of innumerable theologians. Protestants have written of Christina as, first, a traitor to the true faith, and then a perverted monster of iniquity. Catholics, on the other hand, have applauded her as a devoted daughter of the Church, who made a noble sacrifice for conscience'[s] sake. Conceiving it to be their duty to exaggerate, they have thrown their whole souls into the task, with the result that to trust them is to be led astray.

Christina, as we shall see was neither so admirable a woman as the Catholics nor so despicable a woman as the Protestants have represented. She was, at once, more unique and more human than the controversialists on either side allow. Above all, she was more feminine and, if the word may pass, more modern: a woman, in short, who would, in many ways, have found herself in touch with many of the modern women whom one meets in modern drawing-rooms.

Modernity, in fact, far more than even femininity, was the dominant note of her personality. "E donna — she is a woman and behaves as such", was the phrase in which Pope Innocent XI. summed her up; but that judgment only contained a portion of the truth. Christina was also essentially a modern women, — a woman whom we should still account modern nowadays, and for whose mental and modern characteristics there was, in her own seventeenth century, no known precedent. "Neurotic", "neuropathic", "neurasthenic" — those are the epithets with which her own countryman, Baron de Bildt, has, in recent years, assailed her; and if we accept the adjectives as terms, not of abuse, but of psychological difficulties, we may hope to find in them the clues to a good many of the mysteries.

It is, in short, as the first conspicuous case of the neurosis of the North — that mysterious malady with which Ibsen's dramas have familiarised the modern world — that Christina's career arrests and enchains our interest. The evidence which justifies the statement will present itself, piece by piece, as the story is unfolded; but, when it is given, it will be clear that, if we are to understand Christina, and to sympathise, and to make allowances where we cannot approve, we must think of her as an Ibsen heroine before the letter, placed in a station in which her least gesture was bound to be observed, and therefore astonishing a world which as yet knew nothing of Ibsen heroines, — their fixed ideas, their quick and wayward logic, their desperate impulses, and their famous cry of bitter determination, so incomprehensible to the disciplined and orderly Latin intelligence —

Je veux vivre de ma vie.

With that prelude we may proceed to the telling of the story.

Above: Kristina.

Above: Francis Henry Gribble.

Francis Henry Gribble's preface to his biography on Kristina, dated August 27, 1913

Source:

The court of Christina of Sweden and the later adventures of the Queen in exile, pages V to VIII, by Francis Henry Gribble, 1913

https://archive.org/details/courtofchristina00grib/page/n9/mode/2up

The preface:

PREFACE

The personality and proceedings of Queen Christina of Sweden were the subject of passionate controversy during her life; and the echoes of the disputation have never quite died away. She has been praised as one who — her heart being touched by the divine grace — made a great sacrifice for conscience'[s] sake. She has also been denounced as a monster of licence and cruelty: a woman, who, if she did not make a practice of murdering her lovers, at least caused one of them to be done to death in extraordinarily barbarous circumstances.

As a matter of fact, while, like other people, she deserves both praise and blame, she merits neither that particular blame nor that particular praise. On the one hand, she wore the cloak of religion, almost to the last, with far too jaunty an air to be mistaken for a saint. On the other hand, the doing to death of a member of her suite in the Fontainebleau Palace — whether one styles it murder or execution — was, at any rate, no crime passionel. Monaldeschi may or may not have been a traitor — may or may not have been a liar and a slanderer; but it is as certain as anything can be that he was not, and never had been, a lover.

The question has been raised, indeed, whether Christina, who has been accused of having had so many lovers, ever really had any lover at all; the secrets of her alcove having been almost as well kept as the secret of the motive of her crime. She went, say her champions, no further than flirtation with her young favourites at Stockholm; no further than "Platonic" friendship with Cardinal Azzolino at Rome. She resembled, in short, according to that theory, the beautiful heroine in Mr. George Moore's Celibates, who delighted in dalliance, but was deterred by a modesty indistinguishable from terror from yielding to any man's passionate advances; and she kept lovers at a distance for the same reason for which she refused to marry.

That theory cannot be formally disproved; but it is hard to believe that those who prefer it, though they may have glanced over Christina's Aphorisms, have read them carefully and searched for clues. Many of them are, in all conscience, platitudinous enough, — mere commonplaces of worldly or religious wisdom; but there are hints dropped in them, whether purposely or inadvertently, which rank as revelations. They are the Aphorisms, not of an Old Maid, to whom Man is a strange and terrible being, but of a woman who has lived and loved, — quite enough, at all events, to know one side of the Rubicon from the other. And when we place those Aphorisms side by side with the Letters to Cardinal Azzolino, recently printed by Baron de Bildt, the particular application of the general sentiments is clear. Christina was neither too religious nor too intellectual for a "grand passion". She loved the Cardinal; and she believed, whether rightly or wrongly, that her first love was her last, and that her last love was her first.

We need not discuss the ethics of a maiden lady's passion for a priest who was bound to celibacy. It is difficult to say whether such an affection should be judged by its affect upon character or by first principles; and the attempt to determine the vexed question would only leave the investigator stranded on the quicksands of perplexity. But the facts, which can, in a large measure, be determined, are important as well as interesting. They bring Christina into touch with that common humanity which she aspired to surpass by her talents and her nobility of soul. They enable her biographer to put the dots on the i's of Pope Innocent XI.'s appreciation: "E donna, — she is a woman and behaves as such."

The most valuable books about Christina are those which her countryman, Baron de Bildt, has written round her correspondence with Azzolino. Biographers like Woodhead and Bain, who wrote without access to the documents contained in those volumes, grappled with their subject under a heavy disadvantage. There was a great deal which it was impossible for them to understand, — a great deal at which it was only possible for them to guess. The present biographer is deeply indebted to Baron de Bildt, and acknowledges his indebtedness with gratitude.

Practically all the rest of the available material has been brought together in the four ponderous tomes of Arckenholtz; but the work of Arckenholtz cannot justly be said to block the way to any other writer. It belongs to the great category of "books which are no books", presenting the characteristics of a work of reference rather than a narrative. It is imperative to consult it, but impossible to read it, — for reasons which will be recognised as valid by every one who has made the attempt.

FRANCIS GRIBBLE.

August 27, 1913.

Above: Kristina.

Above: Francis Henry Gribble.

Kristina's letter to Seved Bååth, in response to his letter of March 23/April 2, dated March 26/April 5 (Old Style), 1661

Sources:

Riksarkivet, page 222 in K 89; Utgångna och ingångna skrivelser; Drottning Kristina d. y. (Christina Alexandra); Svenska drottningars arkivaliesamlingar i riksarkivet; Kungliga arkiv

https://sok.riksarkivet.se/nad?postid=Arkis+6fd2562f-1eb6-4fa4-90be-b830f4d5eb53&s=Balder

Estonian Experience and Roots, by Sigrid Renate Maldonado, 1996

https://books.google.com/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=pUNyAAAAMAAJ&dq=einf%C3%BC%C3%9Fling&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=Haken

Namsingu saksa-rootsi-eesti sõnastik HINGELOENDITEST, VAKURAAMATUTEST JA PERSONAALRAAMATUTEST, posted by turvamees in Perekonnaajaloo foorum (Abistavad materjalid) on Tuesday, September 8, 2015:

https://www.isik.ee/foorum/viewtopic.php?t=12124

https://www.isik.ee/foorum/viewtopic.php?p=49982&sid=965002b76809c1b6e94f7aaf58c25dba#p49982

The letter (copy):

Christina Alexandra.

Jagh har af Eder skrifwelse sampt dhes bilaga troo Man och General Gouverneur Wälborne Her Sevedh Bååt, iblandh annat vthförligen förnummit, Medh hwadh ofogh LandRådet Reinhold Buxhöveden will vthtÿda dhen af migh nu nÿligen Honom Confirmeradhe Donation på dhe Godset Padel på Ößell tillagde Twenne Bÿar Koggull och Körkull tillsammans af vngefehr Sexton Haker Landh, hwilke förre Gouverneuren live för någon tidh sedhan revocerat hafwer, och hurulunda Han Sigh öfwer dhesse iämbwäl Tolff Haker Landh iämpte 18 eenfötlingar immittera låthit, J sÿnnerheet effter vthi Mitt Honom Buxhöfden medhdeelt seenare bref är infördt wordet, att Han dhesse Bÿar medh sådanne willkohr må possidera, som Sal. Gouverneuren Anders Erichson dethsamma 1646. reviderat, hwarigenom Han förmeenar dhesse 12. Haker wara Honom iämbwäl tillhörige blefwe, Hwarförre, och såsom alle dhe, hwilken dhen af migh Honom Buxhöfden gifne seenaste Donation rätt ansee, lätteligen spörria kunne, att Jagh Honom intet mehra igen tillordnat hafwer, än begge bÿarne Koggull och Körkull, som Baron live Honom hadhe depossiderat, Hellst effter Han, förmedelst dhen A:o 1646. den 27. Maij vndfångne Donation och andre wisse skiähl, sÿntes wara bonæ fidei samma Godz Possessor blefwen, och inge flera Godz expresse blifwa, warandes deth icke mindre af Honom då tillika åth H. Carl Sparre medhgifne bref giörligen att skiöniandes, såsom hwarvthinnan in Specie befallas måndhe, deth Han Honom Buxhöfden dhe Twenne Åhrs Jntrader godh giöra skulle, som Han af bem:te bÿar Koggull och Körkull har måst mista och vnbähra, hwilket allt J aff närlagde afskriffter medh mehra hafwe att seendes, Så att så wida inge flere Godz express äre nämbde, Han in så obilligen vthi dhe öfrige 12. Hakerne medh 18. Eenfüßlinge är immitteradh worden, som Jagh förnimmer Honom tillförende dervppå vthan skiähl och raison prætenderat hafwa, i sÿnnerheet, emedhan dhe insereradhe ordhen af Sal. Anders Erichsons Jmmission intet widare till Buxhöfdens fördeel vthtÿdas eller förstås kunne, än Han enskÿllt vthi Min Regements tidh dhesse Twenne bÿar eller 16. Haker justo titulo i Possession bekommit, förvthom deth Jagh intet afseer, hwadh migh bewaka skulle att låtha nu inrÿma Buxhöfden flere Godz än Honom äre vndangångne, eller om Jagh och af dhen Jntention hadhe warrit, hwarförre dhe samma icke i sÿnnerheet hadhe skolat blifwa Specificeradhe, ehuruwäl Han Buxhöfden vthi Sin inlagde Supplication af dhesse öfrige 12 Haker och 18. Enfötlingar icke ett ordh någen Sin har ihughkommit. Hwarförre är hermedh Min Nådige willie, deth J dhen anstellningh giöre att dhe Honom Buxhöfden såledhes olagligen immitteradhe öfrige 12. Haker Landh och 18. Enfötlingar oförswarligen revoceres, och alltså Ämpterne igen vnderläggies, till hwilke dhe hertills hafwe lÿdt och dependerat, wälliandes Jagh, att J deth ändteligen effterkomma, sedan deth Min fullkomblige resolution och Meeningh är, Jagh och Sielf Buxhöfden Herom tillskrifwit och herom Hans obilligheet i detta fallet tillbörligen förwidt hafwer, Befallandes Eder i deth öfrige Gudz trogne beskÿdd till all begärligh wälmågo. Datum Norköping den 26. Martij

A:o 1661 ./.

Christina Alexandra.

J: Stropp

With modernised spelling:

Kristina Alexandra.

Jag har av Eder skrivelse samt dess bilaga, tro man och generalguvernör, välborne herr Seved Bååth, ibland annat utförligen förnummit med vad ofog landrådet Reinhold Buxhoeveden vill uttyda den av Mig nu nyligen honom konfirmerade donation på de godset Padel på Ösel tillagda tvenne byar Koggul och Korküll tillsammans av ungefär sexton hakar land vilka förre guvernören Liwe för någon tid sedan revocerat haver, och hurulunda han sig över dessa jämväl tolv haker land jämte 18 enföttlingar immittera låtit, i synnerhet efter uti Mitt honom Buxhoeveden meddelt senare brev är infört vordet att han dessa byar med sådana villkor må possedera som salige guvernören Anders Eriksson detsamma 1646 reviderat, varigenom han förmenar dessa 12 hakar vara honom jämväl tillhöriga bleve.

Varföre och såsom alla de vilken den av Mig honom Buxhoeveden givna senaste donation rätt anse lättligen spörja kunna att Jag honom intet mera igen tillordnat haver än bägge byarna Koggul och Korküll, som baron Liwe honom hade depossederat, helst efter han förmedelst den anno 1646 den 27 maj undfångna donation och andra vissa skäl syntes vara bonæ fidei samma gods possessor bleven och inga flera gods expresse bliva, varandes det icke mindre av honom då tillika åt herr Carl Sparre medgivna brev görligen att skönjandes, såsom varutinnan in specie befallas månde det han honom Buxhoeveden de tvenne års intrader godgöra skulle som han av bemälte byar Koggul och Korküll har måst mista och umbära, vilket allt I av närlagda avskrifter med mera hava att seendes, så att såvida inga flera gods express äro nämnda, han in så obilligen uti de övriga 12 hakarna med 18 Einfüßlinge är immitterad vorden, som Jag förnimmer honom tillförne däruppå utan skäl och reson pretenderat hava, i synnerhet emedan de insererade orden av salige Anders Erikssons immission inte vidare till Buxhoevedens fördel uttydas eller förstås kunna än han enskyllt uti Min regementstid dessa tvenne byar eller 16 hakar justo titulo i possession bekommit, förutom det Jag inte avser vad Mig bevaka skulle att låta nu inrymma Buxhoeveden flera gods än honom äro undangångna eller om Jag ock av den intention hade varit, varföre desamma icke i synnerhet hade skolat bliva specificerade, ehuruväl han Buxhoeveden uti sin inlagda supplikation av dessa övriga 12 hakar och 18 enföttlingar icke ett ord någonsin har ihågkommit.

Varföre är härmed Min nådiga vilje det I den anställning göre att de honom Buxhoeveden således olagligen immitterade övriga 12 hakar land och 18 enföttlingar oförsvarligen revoceras och alltså ämterna igen underläggas till vilka de härtills hava lytt och dependerat, väljandes Jag att I det äntligen efterkomma sedan det Min fullkomliga resolution och mening är. Jag ock själv Buxhoeveden härom tillskrivit och härom hans obillighet i detta fallet tillbörligen förvitt haver, befallandes Eder i det övriga Guds trogna beskydd, till all begärlig välmågo. Datum Norrköping, den 26 martii anno 1661.

Kristina Alexandra.

J. Stropp.

French translation (my own):

Christine Alexandra.

J'ai compris en détail, par votre lettre et son annexe, féal homme et gouverneur général, le noble sieur Seved Bååth, entre autres choses, avec quelle insolence le landconseiller Reinhold Buxhœveden veut interpréter la donation que je lui ai récemment confirmée des deux villages de Koggul et Korküll ajoutés au domaine de Padel sur Ösel, avec environ seize acres de terre, que l'ancien gouverneur Liwe avait révoquée il y a quelque temps, et comment il s'est laissé installer sur ces douze acres de terre avec 18 hommes unipèdes, surtout après qu'il a été déclaré dans ma lettre ultérieure à Buxhœveden qu'il pouvait posséder ces villages aux conditions que le défunt gouverneur André Eriksson a révisées en 1646, par lesquelles il prétend que ces 12 acres lui appartiennent également.

Car tous ceux qui considèrent comme juste la dernière donation que j'ai faite à Buxhœveden peuvent facilement savoir que je ne lui ai rien attribué de plus que les deux villages de Koggul et Korküll, dont le baron Liwe l'avait dépossédé, surtout après qu'il fut expressément devenu le possesseur de bonne foi des mêmes domaines et de plus aucun autre domaine par le moyen de la donation reçue le 27 mai 1646, et pour d'autres raisons certaines, il n'en est pas moins vrai qu'il a alors aussi accordé des lettres au seigneur Charles Sparre, car il y est ordonné qu'il indemnise Buxhœveden pour les deux années de revenu en espèces qu'il a dû perdre desdits villages de Koggul et Korküll, ce que vous pouvez voir d'après les copies ci-jointes et d'autres, de sorte que, dans la mesure où aucun autre domaine n'est expressément nommé, il s'y est si injustement installé avec les 12 acres restants avec les 18 hommes unipèdes, ce que je vois qu'il a prétendu avoir fait sans raison, notamment parce que les mots insérés dans la lettre d'immission de feu André Eriksson ne peuvent être interprétés ou compris plus en faveur de Buxhœveden que les deux seuls villages qu'il a obtenus en sa possession pendant mon règne ou les 16 acres justo titulo, sauf que je n'ai pas l'intention de m'empêcher de laisser maintenant Buxhœveden être logé dans plus de domaines qu'il n'en a perdu, ou, si j'avais également eu cette intention, pourquoi cela n'aurait pas dû être spécifié en particulier, bien que Buxhœveden n'ait jamais mentionné un mot de ces 12 autres acres et 18 hommes unipèdes dans sa supplication ci-jointe.

C'est donc par la présente ma gracieuse volonté que vous fassiez en sorte que les 12 autres acres de terre et les 18 hommes unipèdes ainsi illégalement saisis par Buxhoeveden soient révoqués de manière indéfendable et qu'ils soient à nouveau soumis aux comtés auxquels ils ont jusqu'ici obéi et dont ils dépendaient, je choisis que vous vous conformiez finalement à cette décision, car telle est ma résolution et mon opinion. J'ai moi-même écrit à Buxhœveden à ce sujet et lui ai dûment reproché son injustice dans cette affaire, vous recommandant pour le reste à la fidèle protection de Dieu et à toute prospérité souhaitable. Donné à Norrköping, le 26 mars 1661.

Christine Alexandra.

J. Stropp.

English translation (my own):

Kristina Alexandra.

I have understood in detail from your letter and its appendix, faithful man and governor general, noble Lord Seved Bååth, among other things, with what insolence the land councilmen Reinhold Buxhoeveden wants to interpret the donation I have recently confirmed to him of the two villages of Koggul and Korküll added to the estate of Padel on Ösel, together with approximately sixteen acres of land, which the former governor Liwe had revoked some time ago, and how he has allowed himself to be installed on these twelve acres of land along with 18 one-foot men, especially after it was stated in my later letter to Buxhoeveden that he may possess these villages under such conditions as the late governor Anders Eriksson revised the same in 1646, whereby he claims that these 12 acres also belong to him.

Because all those who consider the latest donation given to Buxhoeveden by me to be right can easily know that I have assigned him nothing more than the two villages of Koggul and Korküll, which Baron Liwe had dispossessed him of, particularly after he expressly became the bona fide possessor of the same estates and of no more estates by means of the donation received on May 27, 1646, and for other certain reasons, it being no less true that he then also granted letters to Lord Carl Sparre, as it is ordered therein that he should compensate Buxhoeveden for the two years' income in specie that he has had to lose from the said villages of Koggul and Korküll, which you can see from the attached copies and more, so that, as far as no more estates are expressly named, he has so unfairly installed himself there along with the remaining 12 acres with the 18 one-foot men, which I perceive him to have claimed to have done without reason, particularly because the inserted words of the late Anders Eriksson's immission cannot be interpreted or understood further in Buxhoeveden's favour than the two villages alone that he obtained into his possession during my reign or the 16 acres justo titulo, except that I do not intend what would prevent me from now letting Buxhoeveden be accommodated in more estates than he has lost, or, if I had also been of that intention, why the same should not have been specified in particular, although Buxhoeveden never mentioned a word about these other 12 acres and 18 one-foot men in his enclosed supplication.

It is therefore and hereby my gracious will that you make the arrangement that the other 12 acres of land and 18 one-foot men thus illegally impounded by Buxhoeveden be indefensibly revoked and that they again be thus subject to the counties which they have hitherto obeyed and depended on, I choosing that you finally comply, for it is my complete resolution and opinion. I myself have written to Buxhoeveden about this and have duly reproached his unfairness in this case, commending you for the rest to God's faithful protection and to all desirable prosperity. Given at Norrköping, March 26, 1661.

Kristina Alexandra.

J. Stropp.

Above: Kristina.

Above: Seved Bååth.

Notes: Padel is the German name for the village of Paevere on Saaremaa.

Ösel is the old German and Swedish name for the Estonian island of Saaremaa.

Koggul and Korküll are the old German names for what are now the villages of Valjala-Kogula and Kõrkküla on the Estonian island of Saaremaa.

Liwe = Reinhold Liwe (1621-1665), a Swedish baron and military man. He was appointed governor of Ösel in 1654.

The one-foot man ("unipes", "Einfüßling", "üksjalg" or "ainasjalg") was a low peasant in Estonia whose farm was located as a scattered farm on the common land and forest land of the community between villages. The name of "one-foot" comes from the fact that these peasants worked one workday per week for the manor of the land they were managing.

Kristina's letter for Reinhold von Buxhoeveden, dated March 26/April 5 (Old Style), 1661

Sources:

Riksarkivet, page 221 in K 89; Utgångna och ingångna skrivelser; Drottning Kristina d. y. (Christina Alexandra); Svenska drottningars arkivaliesamlingar i riksarkivet; Kungliga arkiv

https://sok.riksarkivet.se/nad?postid=Arkis+6fd2562f-1eb6-4fa4-90be-b830f4d5eb53&s=Balder

Estonian Experience and Roots, by Sigrid Renate Maldonado, 1996

https://books.google.com/books?newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&id=pUNyAAAAMAAJ&dq=einf%C3%BC%C3%9Fling&focus=searchwithinvolume&q=Haken

Namsingu saksa-rootsi-eesti sõnastik HINGELOENDITEST, VAKURAAMATUTEST JA PERSONAALRAAMATUTEST, posted by turvamees in Perekonnaajaloo foorum (Abistavad materjalid) on Tuesday, September 8, 2015:

https://www.isik.ee/foorum/viewtopic.php?t=12124

https://www.isik.ee/foorum/viewtopic.php?p=49982&sid=965002b76809c1b6e94f7aaf58c25dba#p49982

The letter (copy):

Christina Alexandra.

Vnßern Gnädigsten Gruß vndt Wohl geneigten willen Zuvor, Edler vndt Vnser besonders lieber getrewer, Wir haben von Vnsern General Gouverneuren nachricht erhallten, daß Jhr, Zufolg iüngst von Vnß empfangener Confirmation der beiden Dörffer Koggull vndt Körkull, nicht allein in derer Possess gesetzet, sondern deß Jhr auch über deme, Eüch 12 Haken vndt 18. Einfüßlinge immittiren lassen, vnter dem vorwandt, allß[o] weren dieselbe von Vnß Eüch absonderlich geschenket worden: Wan Vnß dieses dann nicht allein sehr befrembdet, nachdemmahlen Wir eines solchen geschenkes Eüch versprochen Zuhaben, Vnß gar nicht Zuentsinnen wissen, diese Haken vndt Einfüßlinge auch in der von Vnß ausgegebenen Confirmation vnt keinem worte gedacht worden, Allß[o] Zweiffelln Wir nicht, Jhr werdet Eüch dieser Sache halber besser besinnen, gestallt Wir Vnsern General Gouverneuren Order ertheilet, gedachte Eüch ohne klare Order vndt befehl immittirte 12. Haken vndt 18 Einfüßlinge wieder einZuZiehen, vndt solche Vnßern Ämptern wieder ZuZuordnen, vnter denen Sie bishero gelegen gewesen, wollen auch an Eüch in Gnaden begehret haben, daß Jhr Eüch fürohin keiner größern gerechtigkeit anmaset, Allß[o] Jhre mit gutem grunde könnet befuget sein, Nachdemmahlen Wir Eüch ein solches vor dißmahl in guter meinung nicht vnvermeldet lassen sollen. befehlen Eüch im übrigen Göttl:s Schützes. Datum Norköping den 26. Martij 1661

Christina Alexandra.

J: Stropp.

With modernised spelling:

Christina Alexandra.

Unsern gnädigsten Gruß und wohlgeneigten Willen zuvor. Edler und Unser besonders lieber Getreuer, Wir haben von unsern Generalgouverneuren Nachricht erhalten, dass Ihr, zufolge jüngst von Uns empfangener Konfirmation der beiden Dörfer Koggul und Korküll, nicht allein in derer Possess gesetzt, sondern des Ihr auch über dem, Euch 12 Haken und 18 Einfüßlinge immittiren lassen, unter dem Vorwand, als[o] wären dieselbe von Uns Euch absonderlich geschenkt worden.

Wann Uns dieses dann nicht allein sehr befremdet, nachdemmalen Wir eines solchen Geschenkes Euch versprochen zu haben, Uns gar nicht zu entsinnen wissen, diese Haken und Einfüßlinge auch in der von Uns ausgegebenen Konfirmation und keinem Worte gedacht worden, als[o] zweifeln Wir nicht, Ihr werdet Euch dieser Sache halber besser besinnen, Gestalt Wir Unsern Generalgouverneuren Order erteilt, gedachte Euch ohne klare Order und Befehl immittierte 12 Haken und 18 Einfüßlinge wieder einzuziehen, und solche Unsern Ämtern wieder zuzuordnen, unter denen sie bishero gelegen gewesen.

Wollen auch an Euch in Gnaden begehrt haben, dass Ihr Euch vorhin keiner größern Gerechtigkeit anmaßt, als[o] Ihr mit gutem Grunde könnt befugt sein, nachdemmalen Wir Euch ein solches vor dies Mal in guter Meinung nicht unvermählt lassen sollen; befehlen Euch im übrigen göttliches Schützes. Datum Norrköping, den 26. martii 1661.

Christina Alexandra.

J. Stropp.

French translation (my own):

Christine Alexandra.

Nos salutations les plus gracieuses et Nos meilleurs vœux. Noble et particulièrement cher et féal homme, Nous avons reçu de Notre gouverneur général des nouvelles selon lesquelles, suite à la confirmation des deux villages de Koggul et Korküll que Nous avons récemment reçus de vous, vous en avez non seulement pris possession, mais vous avez également fait envoyer 12 acres et 18 hommes unipèdes, sous prétexte qu'ils étaient un présent spécial de Notre part.

Comme cela ne Nous paraît pas seulement très étrange, comme nous ne Nous souvenons pas de vous avoir promis un tel présent, et que ces acres et ces hommes unipèdes n'ont même pas été mentionnés dans la confirmation que Nous avons émise, et pas un mot n'a été dit à leur sujet, alors Nous ne doutons pas que vous réfléchirez plus attentivement à cette affaire, car Nous avons donné des ordres à Notre gouverneur général, dans l'intention de retirer les 12 acres et les 18 hommes unipèdes qui vous avaient été envoyés sans aucun ordre ou commandement clair, et de les réaffecter dans Nos comtés où ils se trouvaient auparavant.

Nous vous prions également de ne pas vous permettre de faire plus de bien que ce que vous pouvez raisonnablement être en droit de faire, car Nous avons la bonne intention de ne pas vous laisser de côté cette fois-ci; au reste, Nous vous recommandons à la protection divine. Donné à Norrköping, le 26 mars 1661.

Christine Alexandra.

J. Stropp.

Swedish translation (my own):

Kristina Alexandra.

Våra nådigaste hälsningar och välbenägna vilja tillförne. Vår Adel och Vår synnerligen käre och trogne, Vi har fått nyheter från Vår generalguvernör att, efter bekräftelsen av de två byarna Koggul och Korküll som Vi nyligen har fått från Er, har Ni inte bara tagit dem i besittning, utan Ni låtit också skicka till Er 12 haker och 18 enfotsmän, under förevändning att de var en synnerlig gåva från Oss.

Då detta icke blott förefaller Oss mycket märkligt, då Vi icke kunna minnas att Vi lovat Er en sådan gåva, och dessa haker och enfotsmän icke ens nämndes i den konfirmation Vi utfärdade, och icke ett ord nämndes om dem, då tvivlar Vi inte på att Ni kommer att tänka noggrannare om denna sak, eftersom Vi har givit order till Vår generalguvernör, i avsikt att dra tillbaka de 12 haker och 18 enfotsmän som hade skickats till Er utan någon klar order eller befallning och att omplacera dem till Våra län där de tidigare varit belägna.

Vi vill också nådigt be Er att inte anta att göra något mer rättfärdigt än vad Ni rimligen kan vara berättigade att göra, eftersom Vi har goda avsikter att inte lämna detta osagt för Er denna gång; i övrigt befaller Vi Er till gudomligt skydd. Datum Norrköping, den 26 mars 1661.

Kristina Alexandra.

J. Stropp.

English translation (my own):

Kristina Alexandra.

Our most gracious greetings and best wishes. Noble and Our particularly dear and faithful man, We have received news from Our governor general that, following the confirmation of the two villages of Koggul and Korküll that We have recently received from you, you have not only taken possession of them, but you have also had 12 acres and 18 one-foot men sent to you, under the pretense that they were a special gift from Us.

As this does not only seem very strange to Us, as We cannot remember having promised you such a gift, and these acres and one-foot men were not even mentioned in the confirmation We issued, and not a word was mentioned about them, then We have no doubt that you will think more carefully about this matter, as We have given orders to Our governor general, intending to withdraw the 12 acres and 18 one-foot men that had been sent to you without any clear order or command, and to reassign them to Our counties where they had previously been located.

We also want to graciously ask you not to presume to do anything more righteous than you can reasonably be entitled to do, as We have good intentions not to leave this unsaid to you this time; for the rest, We commend you to divine protection. Given at Norrköping, March 26, 1661.

Kristina Alexandra.

J. Stropp.

Above: Kristina.

Notes: Koggul and Korküll are the old German names for what are now the villages of Valjala-Kogula and Kõrkküla on the Estonian island of Saaremaa (formerly Ösel).

The one-foot man ("unipes", "Einfüßling", "üksjalg" or "ainasjalg") was a low peasant in Estonia whose farm was located as a scattered farm on the common land and forest land of the community between villages. The name of "one-foot" comes from the fact that these peasants worked one workday per week for the manor of the land they were managing.

Kristina's letter of confirmation for Joachim von Glaan, dated March 26/April 5 (Old Style), 1661

Source:

Riksarkivet, page 221 in K 89; Utgångna och ingångna skrivelser; Drottning Kristina d. y. (Christina Alexandra); Svenska drottningars arkivaliesamlingar i riksarkivet; Kungliga arkiv

https://sok.riksarkivet.se/nad?postid=Arkis+6fd2562f-1eb6-4fa4-90be-b830f4d5eb53&s=Balder

The letter (copy):

Christina Alexandra.

Giöre hermedh witterligen, Att såsom Wij förnimma vthi Wår tienst, till Controleur widh Stoora Siöötullen i Wißbÿ, af Wår troo Man Skattmestare och General Gouverneur Oß Elskeligh Wälborne Her Sevedh Bååt FrijHerre till Herrelunda, Herre till Follnäs, Skärshollm och Mÿröö, för någon tidh sedhan wara förordnadt Erlige och Wälbetrodde Jochim Olson von Glan, dhen dher och samma bestellningh hit intill troligen och wäl förwaltat hafwer, Hwarförre hafwe Wij sådan disposition i krafft af detta icke allenast Gunsteligen gilla och Confirmera, vthan vppå bem:te von Glans Vnderdånigste anhållande Honom iämbwäl Allernådigst försäkra welat, widh detta Sitt Controleur Ämbete att blifwa mainteneradh och derförre dhen vppå samma Chargie vthi Staaten godhgiorde gagie Åhrligen richtigen att åthniuta så länge Han Sigh Erligen och wäl wardher Comporterandes. Till ÿttermehra wisso etc. etc. Datum Norköping den 26. Martij

1661 ./.

Christina Alexandra.

J: Stropp

With modernised spelling:

Kristina Alexandra.

Göre härmed veterligen att såsom Vi förnimme uti Vår tjänst till kontrollör vid stora sjötullen i Visby av Vår tro man, skattmästare och generalguvernör, Oss älsklig välborne herr Seved Bååth, friherre till Härlunda, herre till Fållnäs, Skärsholm och Myrö, för någon tid sedan vara förordnad ärlige och välbetrodde Joachim Olsson von Glaan, den där ock samma beställning hitintill troligen och väl förvaltat haver, varföre have Vi sådan disposition i kraft av detta icke allenast gunstligen gilla och konfirmera, utan uppå bemälte von Glaans underdånigste anhållande honom jämväl allernådigst försäkra velat vid detta sitt kontrollörämbete att bliva maintenerad och därföre den uppå samma charge uti staten godgjorda gage årligen riktigen att åtnjuta så länge han sig ärligen och väl varder komporterandes. Till yttermera visso, etc., etc. Datum Norrköping, den 26 martii 1661.

Kristina Alexandra.

J. Stropp.

French translation (my own):

Christine Alexandra.

Nous faisons savoir par la présente que, ayant appris que l'honnête et digne de confiance Joachim Olsson von Glaan a été nommé à Notre service il y a quelque temps comme contrôleur des grandes douanes maritimes à Visby par Notre fidèle homme, trésorier et gouverneur général, Notre bien-aimé et bien né seigneur Seved Bååth, baron de Härlunda, seigneur de Fållnäs, Skärsholm et Myrö, et qu'il a également géré le même ordre avec fiabilité et bonne conduite jusqu'à présent, Nous avons non seulement approuvé et confirmé favorablement cette disposition, mais sur la demande très soumise de von Glaan, Nous avons aussi très gracieusement voulu l'assurer que sa fonction de contrôleur sera maintenue et qu'il bénéficiera donc chaque année du salaire accordé dans cette même charge par l'État aussi longtemps qu'il se comportera honnêtement et bien. En foi de quoi, etc., etc. Donné à Norrköping, le 26 mars, 1661.

Christine Alexandra.

J. Stropp.

English translation (my own):

Kristina Alexandra.

We hereby make known that, because we learn that the honest and well-trusted Joachim Olsson von Glaan was appointed in Our service as controller of the great sea customs in Visby some time ago by Our faithful man, treasurer and governor general, Our well-beloved and well-born Lord Seved Bååth, Baron of Härlunda, Lord of Fållnäs, Skärsholm and Myrö, and that he has also managed the same order reliably and well up to now, We have therefore not only favourably approved and confirmed such disposition, but upon von Glaan's most submissive request, We have also most graciously wanted to assure him that his controllership will be maintained and he will therefore annually enjoy the salary granted in the same charge by the state for as long as he comports himself honestly and well. For further assurance, etc., etc. Given at Norrköping, March 26, 1661.

Kristina Alexandra.

J. Stropp.

Above: Kristina.

Kristina's open letter for Johannes Matthiæ's half sister Ingrid Hansdotter, dated March 26/April 5 (Old Style), 1661

Source:

Riksarkivet, page 220/221 in K 89; Utgångna och ingångna skrivelser; Drottning Kristina d. y. (Christina Alexandra); Svenska drottningars arkivaliesamlingar i riksarkivet; Kungliga arkiv

https://sok.riksarkivet.se/nad?postid=Arkis+6fd2562f-1eb6-4fa4-90be-b830f4d5eb53&s=Balder

The letter (copy):

Christina Alexandra.

Giöre witterligen, Hurulunda Wij i betrachtande af brefwiserskan Hustru Jngridh Hansdotters genom Wådh-Elden ledne stoore skada, och derigenom i råkadhe fattige tillståndh och willkor skuldh, Nådigst hafwe till widare Wår förordningh, Henne förvndt een Åhrligh hielp af EttHundra och Fämtijo dahler Sölfwermÿnt, hersammastedhes af Wåre Lille Tulls Medell att bekomma och vndfå, Och derförre Anbefalles Wåre betiändte, som detta i någon måtto angår, i sÿnnerheet Wår Jnspector öfwer Accisen å dhenna Ohrt, deth Han Henne Hustru Jngri[d] Hans Dotter dhenna Wår bewillningh i rättan tidh bethala och tillstella låther. Till ÿttermehra wisso etc. etc. Datum Norköping den 26. Marty A:o 1661 ./.

Christina Alexandra.

J: Stropp

With modernised spelling:

Kristina Alexandra.

Göre veterligen hurulunda Vi i betraktande av brevviserskan hustru Ingrid Hansdotters genom vådelden lidna stora skada och därigenom i råkade fattiga tillstånd och villkor skull nådigst have till vidare Vår förordning henne förunt en årlig hjälp av etthundra och femtio daler silvermynt härsammastädes av Våra lilla tulls medel att bekomma och undfå, och därföre anbefallas Våra betjänte som detta i någon måtto angår i synnerhet Vår inspektör över accisen å denna ort det han henne hustru Ingri[d] Hansdotter denna Vår bevillning i rättan tid betala och tillställa låter. Till yttermera visso etc., etc. Datum Norrköping, den 26 martii anno 1661.

Kristina Alexandra.

J. Stropp.

French translation (my own):

Christine Alexandra.

Nous faisons savoir que, en considération du grand dommage subi par la porteuse de cette lettre, Madame Ingrid Hansdotter, à cause de l'incendie et de la situation de pauvreté dans laquelle elle s'est trouvée, Nous lui avons gracieusement accordé d'obtenir et de recevoir une aide annuelle de cent cinquante dalers en pièces d'argent de Nos petits fonds de douane ici, et il est donc recommandé à Nos serviteurs qui sont concernés de quelque manière que ce soit ici, en particulier à Notre inspecteur des accises de cet endroit, de faire payer Madame Ingrid Hansdotter et de lui remettre cette Notre subvention en temps voulu. En foi de quoi, etc., etc. Donné à Norrköping, le 26 mars 1661.

Christine Alexandra.

English translation (my own):

Kristina Alexandra.

We make known how, in consideration of the great damage suffered by the bearer of this letter, Mrs. Ingrid Hansdotter, through the fire and the impoverished condition she has thereby come into, We have graciously granted her to obtain and receive an annual aid of one hundred and fifty dalers of silver coins from Our small customs funds here, and it is therefore recommended to Our servants who are concerned in any way herein, particularly to Our inspector of excise in this place, that he let Mrs. Ingrid Hansdotter be paid and delivered this Our grant in due time. For further assurance, etc., etc. Given at Norrköping, March 26, 1661.

Kristina Alexandra.

J. Stropp.

Above: Kristina.

Kristina's letter to Axel Oxenstierna, Matthias Soop, Thure Sparre and Thure Bielke, dated June 11/21 (Old Style), 1645

Source:

Riksarkivet, images 380 to 381/pages 990 to 991 in April-Juni 1645; Riksregistraturet

https://sok.riksarkivet.se/nad?postid=Arkis+8cb4d114-9b89-11d5-a701-0002440207bb&s=Balder

The letter:

Christina

Wår sÿnnerlige ÿnnest etc. Oß ähre troo män och Commissarier till Danske Fredz Tractaten, twenne Edre breff, af datis den 1. och 3. Junij nu senast, inhändigade Wordne, ther förre förmälandes om Huadh dee Statiske Ambassadeurerna Hafwa Widh deres åtherKompst ifrån Christianopel Eder refererat om thedh, som emellan them och dee Danske Commissarier därsammestädes passeradt ähr, och Huru Wijda der vthj Hufwudhtullen ähre eense Worden. Och af thedh senare, förnimme Wij iämpte annat, Huru som De la Thuiellerie Hafwer widh senaste conferencen, offererat Eder på the Danskes wägnar Ößell medh Jämptelandh, låtandes Eder där Hooß förstå, an Han än tå intedh Hade sagt dee Danske Wår ÿttersta Willia om Wår begärte försäkringh, förmenandes Wij skulle något Wela remittera, Hwar af, och annan Hans discursu J endeles märckie Honom intet gå om medh saken, medh något sÿnnerligit alfwar, eij Heller de Danske annat giöra än som opiniatrera etc. Nu såsom Wij af bemälte Eder skrifwelse sij och förnimme, Huruledes dee Danske drifwa medh all macht, att Kunna fåå accordera medh thee Statiske â part, och deße all[a]redo wara gångne ifrån thedh Spiriske afskedet, och sigh inlåtit j tractat öfwer een Wiß lista om tollen: Altså ähre Wij medh Eder i den meningh, att dee, så frampt thet icke allaredo skedt ähr, endtligen Komma till accord, hwilket fuller nu snart lärer ÿppa sigh, aldenstundh åthskillige inKombne adviser förmäle, att den Hollendske Flotten, starck till 49. skepp af Örlogh skall Wara medh 400. Coffardieskepp, för 8. dagar sedan luppen åth Sundet, där man förmenar Honom nu liggia. Anlangande Edert Swar De la Thuiellerie gifwit på Hans förde Discurser medh Eder, om Wår försäkringh finne Wij thet i alt wara på gode skääl Funderadt, Och sådant som sielfwe saken fordrar. Och såsom Han Hafwer, som J förmäle, begärat dilation till näste Torßdagen där effter, sigh låfwandes, att Willia Eder då Weetta låta, anten dee Danske Wille föreslå Oß någon försäkringh, eller och blifwa stickande j Kriget; Så Wele Wij förwänta eder advis, Hvadh där på sedermehra Kan wara passerat, och om Han något considerabelt j medler tijdh Eder föreslagit Hafwer, som Wärdt ähr att negotiera öfwer, intet twiflandes, att Oß J tijdigt och effter Handen så där om som elliest annat förlopp, förständigandes warde. Och befalle etc.

Christina.

With modernised spelling:

Kristina.

Vår synnerliga ynnest, etc. Oss äro, tro män och kommissarier till danska fredstraktaten, tvenne Edra brev, av datis den 1 och 3 juni nu senast, inhändigade vordna, där förra förmälandes om vad de statiska ambassadörerna hava vid deras återkomst ifrån Kristianopel Eder refererat om det som emellan dem och de danska kommissarier därsammastädes passerat är och huru vida däruti huvudtullen äro ense vorden.

Och av det senare förnimme Vi jämte annat hurusom de la Thuilerie haver vid senaste konferensen offererat Eder på de danskas vägnar Ösel med Jämtland, låtandes Eder därhos förstå an han än då inte hade sagt de danska vår yttersta vilja om Vår begärda försäkring, förmenandes Vi skulle något vilja remittera, varav och annan hans discursu I endeles märka honom inte gå om med saken med något synnerligt allvar, ej heller de danska annat göra än som opiniatrera, etc.

Nu såsom Vi av bemälte Eder skrivelse se och förnimme huruledes de danska driva med all makt att kunna få ackordera med de statiska à part, och dessa all[a]redo vara gångna ifrån det spiriska avskedet och sig inlåtit i traktat över en viss lista om tullen, alltså äro Vi med Eder i den mening att de såframt det icke allaredo skett är äntligen komma till ackord, vilket fuller nu snart lär yppa sig, alldenstund åtskilliga inkomna aviser förmäla att den holländska flottan, stark till 49 skepp av örlog, skall vara med 400 kofferdiskepp för 8 dagar sedan lupen åt Sundet, där man förmenar honom nu ligga.

Anlangande Edert svar de la Thuilerie givit på hans förra diskurser med Eder om Vår försäkring, finne Vi det i allt vara på goda skäl funderat och sådant som själva saken fordrar; och såsom han haver, som I förmäla, begärat dilation till nästa torsdagen därefter, sig lovandes att vilja Eder då veta låta anten de danska ville föreslå Oss någon försäkring eller ock bliva stickande i kriget, så ville Vi förvänta Eder avis vad därpå sedermera kan vara passerat och om han något konsiderabelt emellertid Eder föreslagit haver som värt är att negociera över, inte tvivlandes att Oss i tidigt och efter handen så därom som eljest annat förlopp förständigandes varda. Och befalle, etc.

Kristina.

French translation (my own):

Christine.

Notre faveur spéciale, etc. Féals hommes et commissaires du traité de paix danois, deux de vos lettres, datées du 1er et du 3 juin au plus tard, Nous ont été remises, dans lesquelles la première rend compte de ce que les ambassadeurs des États vous ont dit à leur retour de Christianopel sur ce qui s'est passé entre eux et les commissaires danois de là-bas et dans quelle mesure les principales coutumes ont été convenues.

Et de ce dernier Nous apprenons, entre autres choses, comment de la Thuilerie vous a offert lors de la dernière conférence, au nom des Danois, Ösel avec Jempterland, vous laissant entendre qu'il n'avait pas encore dit aux Danois Notre volonté finale concernant Notre assurance demandée, sous-entendant que Nous voudrions remettre quelque chose, d'où et de ses autres discours vous remarquez finalement qu'il ne traite pas la question avec un sérieux particulier, et que les Danois ne font rien d'autre que s'opiniâtrer, etc.

Or, comme Nous avons vu et appris par votre lettre comment les Danois poussent de toutes leurs forces pour pouvoir parvenir à un accord avec les ambassadeurs des États séparément, et ceux-ci sont déjà allés au-delà du décret et ont conclu un traité sur une certaine liste de coutumes, Nous sommes d'avis avec vous que si cela n'est pas déjà arrivé, ils finiront par parvenir à un accord, ce qui deviendra bientôt apparent, alors que plusieurs journaux ont rapporté que la flotte hollandaise, forte de 49 navires de guerre, sera avec 400 navires marchands dans 8 jours en direction du Sund, où ils sont censés se trouver actuellement.

Quant à la réponse que vous avez donnée par de la Thuilerie à ses entretiens précédents avec vous au sujet de Nos assurances, Nous la trouvons tout à fait raisonnable et telle que l'affaire elle-même l'exige; et comme il a, comme vous le dites, demandé un délai jusqu'au jeudi suivant, promettant de vous faire savoir alors si les Danois voulaient Nous proposer quelque assurance ou s'engager aussi dans la guerre, Nous voulons attendre que vous sachiez ce qui a pu se passer par la suite et s'il vous a proposé quelque chose de considérable qui mérite d'être négocié, ne doutant pas que Nous en soyons informées ainsi que de toute autre ligne de conduite à l'avance et par la suite. Et Nous vous recommandons, etc.

Christine.

English translation (my own):

Kristina.

Our especial favour, etc. Faithful men and commissioners to the Danish peace treaty, two of your letters, dated June 1 and 3 at the latest, have been handed to Us, in which the former reports on what the States' ambassadors have told to you on their return from Kristianopel about what has passed between them and the Danish commissioners there and how far the main customs have been agreed upon.

And from the latter We learn, among other things, how de la Thuilerie has at the last conference offered you on behalf of the Danes Ösel with Jämtland, letting you understand that he had not yet told the Danes Our ultimate will regarding Our requested assurance, implying that We would like to remit something, from which and from his other discourses you finally notice that he does not treat the matter with any particular seriousness, nor do the Danes do anything other than be obstinate, etc.

Now, as We have seen and learned from your letter how the Danes are pushing with all their might to be able to reach an agreement with the States' ambassadors separately, and these have already gone beyond the decree and have entered into a treaty over a certain list of customs, We are of the opinion along with you that if this has not already happened, they will finally come to an agreement, which will soon become apparent, while several newspapers have reported that the Dutch fleet, strong with 49 ships of war, will be with 400 merchant ships in 8 days heading for the Sound, where they are now believed to lie.

Concerning your answer given by de la Thuilerie to his previous discourses with you about Our assurance, We find it to be in all good reason and such as the matter itself requires; and as he has, as you state, requested a dilation until the following Thursday, promising to let you know then whether the Danes wanted to propose Us some assurance or also become involved in the war, We want to expect you to know what may have subsequently passed and if he has proposed anything considerable to you that is worth negotiating over, not doubting that We will be informed about that as well as any other course of action in advance and afterwards. And We commend you, etc.

Kristina.

Above: Kristina.

Note: Ösel is the old German and Swedish name for the Estonian island of Saaremaa.