Sources:
Christina, Queen of Sweden, pages 210 to 213, by Francis William Bain, 1890; original at the University of Connecticut Library
Berättelser ur svenska historien, nionde delen: Drottning Kristina, första afdelningen, page 153, by Anders Fryxell, 1841
The account:
An equally great danger of a different kind threatened her in the conspiracy of the Messenii. The discontent, suppressed in 1650, continued to burn the keener on that account in certain democratic breasts. One of these was Arnold Messenius, son of the old John Messenius, who[,] after an imprisonment of twenty years in the icy Uleaborg, during which time he still worked unweariedly at his 'Scandia illustrata', died in 1636. Of him Oxenstiern said, that natures such as his should be treated like fire, which we must furnish with material to feed upon, to prevent it from turning to do evil. His son Arnold, fourteen years in prison with his father, had been released by Christina, who made him her historiographer and raised him to the nobility with a pension. The loss of a lawsuit against his sister, in which Christina compelled him to make restitution, turned him into an enemy, and he swore to plot the ruin of the Queen; building upon the popular discontent and the ambition of Charles Gustavus. The imprudence of his son, a youth of twenty [sic], who had been page to the Prince, caused the design to be discovered in the following manner: In December, 1651, Charles, who continued to reside at Oeland, received an anonymous seditious pamphlet, afterwards traced to the young Messenius, in which the Queen was accused of ruining the kingdom by her extravagant expenses, feasts, and donations to foreigners; of being wholly under the influence of the Chancellor, the High Constable, and Count Magnus, who aimed at excluding the Prince from the government, and wishing to poison him. He was summoned to take arms, murder the Queen and her advisers, and possess himself of the throne; the people of Stockholm, of the country, and the lesser nobility would rise in his favour. The Prince sent the pamphlet to the Queen, with a letter expressing his uneasiness. In the meantime news of the conspiracy had reached her from other sources. "She heard of it in the evening just as she was about to go to bed. Shortly after appeared Governor Fleming, bringing the intelligence she had already heard, through some one who had betrayed the conspirators. The Queen, who was a very fearless and discreet princess, stood and looked very quietly at Fleming, and after considering a short time, replied, 'What you say, Lord Herman, is well judged, but what say you of the hereditary prince? For I know maybe more than you, I know that they have communicated their damnatory projects to the Prince. You who are in his confidence, what think you of it?' Lord Herman answered, 'It is very possible: but what I know for certain is, that his Royal Highness does not bite the hook.' Then the Queen said to Lord Herman, 'In order to get exact knowledge of all the conspirators, we must let the matter come to a rising, and have them all together on the stage, before we drop the curtain, and have them all in the trap. We may well see a fray of it, but I with my people fear the issue not a jot.' Lord Herman had enough to do to draw the Queen from this daring and bloody idea, assuring her that all would yet come to her knowledge, and the matter be quashed without noise. The most notable circumstances was that just so much time as an express takes to go to Oeland and return at the utmost speed, elapsed between the Queen's conversations with Governor Fleming and the arrival of the Prince's letter to the Queen informing her of the audacious designs of the Messenii." It is perhaps still more notable that "subsequently the Queen changed her mind and did not wish to know all." The Messenii were executed. Their confessions implicated many other persons, but it was found unadvisable to push things too far, as the revelations pointed to things that it was better not to know, and persons whose punishment would not have been easy. Among others, Terserus, Nils Nilson, Burgomaster of Stockholm, Benedict Skytté, senator, son of the John Skytté, the leader of the democratic party in the preceding reign, and the great enemy of Oxenstiern, were accused, but acquitted. The records of the trial were destroyed by the Queen's orders [sic].
Above: Kristina.
Above: Karl Gustav.
Notes: Uleåborg is the Swedish name for the Finnish city of Oulu, in the North Ostrobothnia region.
Arnold Messenius, the son, was 22 years old, not 20 (born 1629). He and his father were executed on December 22, 1651/January 1, 1652 (Old Style).
Fryxell's comment:
"Hvad i ofvanstående stycke är berättadt, om drottningens samtal med Herman Fleming och om tiden emellan detsamma och ankomsten af prinsens bref, grundar sig på en blott sägen, hvilken dessutom gått genom många munnar, innan den upptecknades; och torde derföre i ett och annat vara mindre pålitlig."
"What is told in the above paragraph, about the Queen's conversation with Herman Fleming and about the time between the same and the arrival of the Prince's letter, is based on a mere legend, which, moreover, passed through many mouths before it was recorded; and it is therefore likely to be less reliable in some respects."
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