Source:
Christina, Queen of Sweden, pages 117 to 123, by Francis William Bain, 1890; original at the University of Connecticut Library
The account:
The year 1650 was closed by her coronation, which took place on October 30; a long and circumstantial account was published at Paris the same year.
"Although the coronation of the Queen of Sweden had been determined since 1648, it was postponed again and again to allow time for the extensive preparations, her Majesty wishing to make it splendid and magnificent; but principally, too, owing to the delay in executing the Peace of Germany, before which it was judged that such a celebration would not be sufficiently joyous or striking, while the most illustrious captains and generals of the nation were still busied in settling the long-desired Peace. At length, in the beginning of this present year 1650, there being every probability that the affairs of war would finally be determined, and that all would tend to a freer and more certain leisure and repose, her Majesty, in conjunction with the Senate, thought good to hold the Coronation.
"The day was fixed for the 20th October. Now, according to ancient custom[,] it appears that the usual scene of this grand ceremony has been the town of Upsala, the seat of the Archbishop of the Realm; nevertheless, in order to avoid the inconvenience, in this coronation, more magnificent than any that had preceded it, of conveying all to Upsala, no less than that of causing so great a multitude of people to betake themselves there, it was considered more suitable to hold it at Stockholm. ... As the day drew near, the Queen left Stockholm on the 14th, and repaired to Jacobstad [sic], the house of the High Constable de la Gardie, half a league away, in order to make her entry into the town from that place two days afterwards. During her stay, this noble left nothing undone to receive and entertain her with the greatest magnificence; the most striking mark of his profusion was, that, on the first and last day, to provide drink for all the world, he caused four fountains of Spanish and French wines, white and red, to run from noon till evening.
"The day of her Majesty's entrée into the town having arrived, namely the 17th of October, all the nobility came out to meet her in brilliant equipages. The entrée began between two and three o'clock, and lasted till half-past five. A regiment of cavalry, armed with steel cuirasses and wearing blue scarves, opened the procession. They were followed by five companies of the guards dressed in yellow and blue. ... (a long enumeration follows of) the trains of the Senators, the nobility, Foreign Envoys and Ambassadors, ladies of the Court, with their several carriages, pages, trumpeters, richly decorated horses and mules. Specially noticeable were the Princes Charles and Adolphus, and the Queen-mother. The Queen herself rode in a carriage covered with black velvet richly embroidered with gold, surrounded by pages, archers, halberdiers, and footmen. At the entry of the town had been erected by the Senators a triumphal arch; 'twas the most superb thing that could be seen; it cost sixteen thousand crowns, though it was only made of wood, yet it was covered with linen painted so curiously that it seemed to be built of stone; all around it might be seen designs of the battles stricken during the last war in Germany, with emblems suited to their subject; as a crown, with the device, Felix cum non dat honorem, sed recipit [Happy is she who does not give honour, but receives it]; a sun rising over fields and flowers: motto, tot pulchra per unum [so many beautiful things in one]; a lion, holding in one paw a thunderbolt, with the legend: Nos etiam Jovis arma decent [We too are worthy of Jupiter's arms]; a vine, from which various branches hung down: the device, Juncti lætamur in uno! [Let us rejoice together in one!] Upon the arch itself was a long inscription, sounding the praises of Christina and her reign, with an epigram in Latin; above hung a quantity of flags and standards, the prizes of war.'"
As soon as her Majesty had arrived at her room[,] the signal was given throughout the Castle to fire salutes, as well of the cannon around Stockholm, as on the men-of-war. They lasted two hours; there were two discharges; each time might be counted nine hundred shots. The rest of the day was taken up with a banquet, to which the principal lords of the Court were invited.
The two next days were employed in preparations for the Coronation on the following Sunday, and the presentation of rich gifts from various States and towns to the Queen, such as Livonia, Pomerania, Riga, Stettin, Stralsund, Stockholm, and others.
On Sunday another splendid procession repaired to the Church; there, after a sermon by the Bishop of Strengnäs, the ceremony of the Coronation was performed. The Archbishop having made a short discourse, the oath of the Kings of Sweden was read by the Chancellor, the Queen repeating it word by word. Then the Archbishop anointed her Majesty with the sacred oil, and placed the crown on her head; the various grand officers approached and presented to her the Sword, the Sceptre, the Golden Apple, and Key; after which a herald came forward and shouted to the people, "The most powerful Queen Christina is crowned, herself and none other!" The Queen then took her seat on a throne opposite the altar, beneath a daïs, supported by the Generals of the Army, Königsmarck, Wittemberg [sic] and others, Prince Charles by her side; all the Senators and the Prince then took the oath of fidelity to her. On leaving the Church the Queen mounted a superb triumphal car [carriage], gilded all over, and drawn by four white horses. Before her went a treasurer, casting golden and silver medals among the people. Arrived at the Castle, the cannon began, and in the evening a grand feast was held in the great Hall. This royal feasting lasted three days; on the third the Estates took the oaths to her Majesty; "on the following Wednesday, people rested;" on the Thursday there came a tournament, wherein Prince Charles, the Landgrave of Hesse and others did marvels; "what chiefly caused astonishment was a fine triumphal car [carriage], which advanced by itself along the course, without any one being able to discern the secret means by which it moved;" there was also "a mountain as high as a house, on which persons dressed like goddesses, representing the assembly of the Muses, discoursed a pleasant music."
The Assembly of deputies of the Empire at Nuremberg congratulated Christina, as well on the conclusion of peace as on her coronation, comparing her heroical virtues to a luminous body spreading its rays throughout the Universe. At Stockholm a great number of theatrical pieces were given in her honour, amongst others, one representing the superiority of women to men; and as a memorial of the solemnities, a pyramid was set up, as it were erected to Christina by Antiope, Penthesilea, and Thalestris, the three queens of the Amazons.
"After this Thursday", adds the report, "attention was given to serious business, touching the conclusion of the Diet, which nevertheless did not prevent certain further rejoicings;" the nobility, for instance, gave banquets and feasts one after another to honour the Queen and keep up the festivities.
One wonders indeed with what mingled feelings these gorgeous displays were viewed by the faithful commons, who were at this moment vainly endeavouring to get their wrongs redressed.
Above: Kristina.
Note: Stettin is the German name for the town of Szczecin in what is now the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland.
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