Francis William Bain on Kristina's first stay in Hamburg (1654)

Source:

Christina, Queen of Sweden, pages 247 to 248, by Francis William Bain, 1890; original at the University of Connecticut Library

https://archive.org/details/christinaqueenof00bain/page/246/mode/2up

The account:

We need not dwell on her journey through Denmark. On July 10, she arrived at Hamburgh, and resumed her own sex and personality. She stayed at the house of a Jew, named Texeira; this scandalized the Lutheran ministers, who inveighed against her in the pulpit for it. From subsequent letters it appears that she had bought or engaged this house from Texeira, who acted as her agent in various money matters. A story is told of her here, which may or may not be true. Being at a church of St. Peter's with the Landgrave of Hesse, the Rector pronounced a panegyric upon her, on the text of the Queen of Sheba, and was rewarded by the present of a gold chain, "though possibly she had not heard much of it"; for after she left the church, a book richly bound was found in her pew, which turned out to be a Virgil; it was taken to Christina, who received it with a smile.

She wrote to Charles X., reminding him to look after her revenues; and there was no harm in having a friend at Court, for a rumour that she was meditating a change of religion had got about, and the Swedish clergy were talking of cutting down her revenues. The Senate determined to send a remonstrance, adjuring her to remain steadfast in the faith of her fathers, as being the best.

Meanwhile, she was visited by numerous German princes, among others, the already mentioned Landgrave of Hesse, who gave her "a stately feast without the city", on July 30. After supper she returned home, resumed male attire, because the roads were dangerous by reason of the dispute with the city of Bremen, and accompanied only by Steinberg and four others, departed at midnight, bidding the rest of her retinue meet her by a certain date at Amsterdam. ...

Above: Kristina.

Note: The Jewish man Kristina stayed with during this first stay in Hamburg was not Diego Texeira (Abraham Senior; 1581-1666), but Jacob Curiel (Dom Duarte Nunes da Costa; 1587-1664), a Sephardi Jewish merchant, diplomat and nobleman. He and his family had been living in Hamburg since 1627, and the house was located at Krameramtsstuben in the city's Neustadt district.

William Henry Davenport Adams' biography of Kristina, 1890s, part 12

Source:

Some Historic Women; or, Biographical Studies of Women Who Have Made History, pages 290 to 292, by William Henry Davenport Adams, 1890-1899; original at the University of Toronto - Robarts Library

https://archive.org/details/somehistoricwome00adam/page/290/mode/2up

Kristina's letter of October 25/November 4 (New Style), 1655 to Karl Gustav is here:

https://kingkristina.blogspot.com/2020/03/kristinas-letter-to-karl-gustav-dated.html

Above: Kristina.

The biography:

II.

Five days afterwards she was on the road to Copenhagen, assuming a man's disguise as soon as she had crossed the frontier, and calling herself Count Dohna. At Hamburg she resumed her own dress and name so long as she remained there; but donned her black wig, hat, boots, breeches, sword, and carbine, when she set out for Antwerp. Thence she voyaged to Brussels along the great canal, her barge fitted up gloriously, and carrying twelve pieces of cannon. She was received at Brussels with royal honours; the houses were all illuminated, — soldiers lined the streets — and a magnificent display of fireworks turned night into day. It was here that the self-willed ex-Queen chose to make public abjuration of the Lutheran faith [sic], and thus to dishonour the memory of her father who had died as its champion. At Innsbruck she made public confession of her new religion, and thence she wrote a brief explanation to the new King of Sweden (November 4th, 1655).

"My Brother", she wrote, "I have arrived here safely, and have received permission from his Holiness to declare openly what has long been a secret.

"I am happy to obey him, and consider this a greater glory than that of reigning over the powerful states which are now yours.

"You ought to be pleased at this step of mine, even if you believe it to be mistaken, since it is so useful and so glorious to you.

"I declare, nevertheless, that the sentiments of friendship I have always felt for you remain undiminished.

"My love for Sweden is also unchanged; and will continue so while I live."

It would be a weariness to the reader, and would convert this chapter into an itinerary, if I followed the ex-Queen in her erratic course from city to city, and land to land. Two motives impelled her — her innate restlessness and thirst for novelty, and her desire to experience some of the honours paid to royalty, and to feel that[,] though she had laid aside her crown[,] she was still a Queen. When she entered Rome, on the 19th of December, she was welcomed with all the picturesque pomp the authorities could devise. Triumphal arches spanned the streets — flags and flowers added to the beauty of the spectacle; musicians at suitable points discoursed lively music; the Papal regiments were all under arms; the Roman ladies in their richest dress blazed in balcony and window like constellations of coloured stars, and along the resounding way rode Christina, in masculine fashion, on a snow-white horse. At St. Peter's she was met by the purple-robed dignitaries of the Church, who conducted her, still in her Amazonian attire, to the high altar, where she received the sacrament of Confirmation, and took the name of Alexandra, — in compliment, I suppose, to the Pope, Alexander VII.

She spent several months at Rome, patronizing artists and men of letters, and restlessly examining the works of art and treasures of antiquity which to this day are the glory of the ancient capital of the civilised world. Some characteristic anecdotes are told of her sayings and doings. At church she frequently scandalised the congregation by the freedom of her behaviour, and she loved to engage the Cardinals in lively conversation. As a delicate hint, the Pope sent her a rosary, with a recommendation to use it in prayer-time to prevent her attention from wandering. Christina pettishly replied, that she did not mean to be a Catholic according to the rosary.

A statue of Truth, by Bernini, elicited her cordial admiration. "Heaven be praised", said a Cardinal, "that your Majesty loves Truth, which persons of your exalted rank seldom appreciate." "That is very likely", answered the Queen, "for the truth is not always of marble."

When she inspected the College "de Propaganda Fide", the printing-presses were at work in two-and-twenty languages. Eight of them, in a few minutes, presented her with a printed welcome, — "May Christina live for ever!" And a group of scholars addressed to her some words of homage and congratulation in each of the twenty-two tongues, the polyglot compliments being afterwards printed with the title of "The Concordance of Languages in Praise of Christina."

She founded an Accademia, to which all the most distinguished men in Rome belonged. She received them once a week in her apartments, and presided over their discussions of things old and new with a surprising vivacity and intelligence.

Sir Arthur Henry Hardinge's essay on Kristina, year 1880, part 5

Source:

Queen Christina of Sweden: Lothian Prize Essay for 1880, pages 46 to 51, by Sir Arthur Henry Hardinge, 1880; original at the University of Michigan

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015012302041&seq=52

The essay:

CHAPTER IV.

CHRISTINA'S LIFE AFTER HER ABDICATION.

IMMEDIATELY after her abdication and the coronation of her successor, Christina left Upsala. "She could not remain", she told Count Brahé, "in a land where she had once been queen, but where she would now be forced to see another reigning in her stead." She feared, moreover, that she might be detained by force, for the clergy, who had long suspected her religious tendencies, declared that she ought not to be allowed to quit the kingdom, and the peasants murmured bitterly at her carrying the money of the Swedish people out of the country, to squander it in foreign courts. A slight incident related by Chanut serves to shew the depth of the distrust with which (in spite of loyal manifestations on a great occasion like that of her resigning the Crown) she was regarded by the mass of her subjects. A fleet of twelve ships had been equipped by the new king to convey her to Wismar; she refused, however, to avail himself of them, and preferred to take the route through Denmark; and the people, whilst they complained of the useless expense incurred in fitting out the fleet, yet felt relieved after all that she should not have accepted it, as she would probably, they said, on arriving in Germany have sold it to the King of Spain.

The queen, meanwhile (for, by special agreement with the Estates, she still retained the rank and privileges of a crowned head), hurried on through Göta-Rike, passed Halmsted, the capital of the province of Halland, the last of the conquests wrested from the Danes, during the glorious early period of her reign, and arrived at Collen, on the confines of Sweden and Denmark. In this town she cut her hair short, and disguised herself as a man, with a plumed hat and sword, in order to travel more freely, and to avoid the inconveniences which might result from her passing through Denmark in her real character, without having given notice of her coming to the king (An absurd story is told of the Queen of Denmark's having disguised herself as a maid-servant in one of the inns where Christina was to pass, and even of her having waited at table, where, to her great disgust, she heard the Swedish queen indulge in violent and sarcastic invectives against the King of Denmark. Sophia Amelia was a bold, enterprising woman, as she proved in 1660; but though the story is generally received, there is an air of improbability about it, which requires better proof than the scandals current at the time. Galeazzo Gualdo denies it, and says that neither the king nor queen of Denmark could possibly have been at the time at the inn, when the meeting was said to have occurred.). Before long, the frontier was reached. A small brook divided the kingdom of Sweden from that of Denmark. Once more, Herr Linde, who had been appointed by the king as her escort, renewed, in his master's name, the oft-made offer of marriage. Christina's mind had, however, long been made up. Quietly, and without emotions, she declined what must have been felt to be a mere formal proposal; and, leaping from her carriage, sprang across the little border-stream. "At last", she cried, as she stood on the opposite bank, "I am free, and out of Sweden, whither I hope I may never return." Crossing the Sound at Elsinore, and, still in male disguise, Christina hurried through the Islands and the Danish mainland; and on the 10th of July, she reached Hamburg, where she lodged in the house of a wealthy Jewish merchant, named Manuel Texeira. In this town she shocked strict Lutherans, by leaving in her pew at church a richly-bound copy of Virgil, which she appears ostentatiously to have studied whilst the preacher, who knew her real character, was dilating on the Queen of Sheba, and her wisdom in leaving her throne to learn true knowledge from Solomon. This story, and that of her masculine disguise, soon spread to Sweden; the clergy thought that they saw their worst fears realised, and insisted that if she abjured her religion, she should forfeit all the lands secured to her on her abdication; whilst the Senate, foreseeing that in such a case troubles and difficulties must arise, and suspecting something from the peculiar tone of a letter written by her to the king, in which she seemed to imply that she would never return to her country, suggested that a deputation should be sent to dissuade her from any step, such as a change of faith, which might imperil her position at home.

In the meantime, Christina had left Hamburg, passing Bremen, at that time at war with Sweden, and crossing the territories of the Dukes of Brunswick-Luneburg, and of the Bishop of Munster, in whose capital she paid a visit to the Jesuits' college, she reached the frontier of the Republic of Holland. The Dutch magistrates had ordered all honours to be shewn to her, but she preferred to retain her incognito, and without visiting any of their principal cities, such as Amsterdam, Leyden, or the Hague, she took the road through Deventer, Utrecht, and the Eastern Provinces, into the Spanish Netherlands, where, on her arrival at Antwerp, she again resumed female attire.

On Spanish soil every mark of respect awaited her; for her intrigues with Piementelle, and the dislike she had shewn during the last years of her reign to France, were well known. She was visited by the Archduke Leopold of Austria, son of the Emperor Ferdinand III., whom he afterwards succeeded, and at that time Viceroy for the King of Spain in the Low Countries. Leopold, a reserved, punctilious little man, in appearance as well as in character, (if we except his passion for music,) more Spanish than German, was received by her with the ceremonious etiquette of which he was so fond; and shortly afterwards left Antwerp, to prepare a magnificent entry for her into Brussels. A very different character, the Prince de Condé, was also in Flanders at this time. Driven from his country by the troubles of the Fronde, he had resolved to re-enter it, like Coriolanus, at the head of a foreign army, and he was now engaged at Brussels in struggling against the hopeless stupidity and officialism of the Spanish authorities. Christina had always admired Condé; years before, whilst she was still a girl, and whilst the Thirty Years' War was still raging, she had written to him in praise of his "extraordinary virtue", and had assured him that her own successes had not given her more pleasure than his splendid victories: her first letter almost after her abdication had been one in which she informed him of that act, and hoped that it would meet his approval, "which she valued more than the crown, and the loss of which could alone make her regret having resigned it." Unfortunately, the pride of Condé prevented a meeting between himself and the queen, to which both had looked forward with impatience. He asked to be received by her with the same ceremonial as the archduke, an honour to which he was not entitled, and which might very likely have given offence to the Spaniards. The interview could not, therefore, take place, but it is said that later on Christina recognised the well-known features of the great general amidst a crowd of nobles at a court party of some kind, and broke the ice by addressing him in a free and familiar manner: "Well, cousin", she asked, "who would have guessed ten years ago that we should have met in two such positions?" A longer interview was afterwards arranged between the queen and Condé in the park at Brussels, but it was cold and formal, and Vossius, who was at the time in Flanders, informed Heinsius in a letter that "Christina had completely quarrelled with the prince." She was visited at the same time by Elizabeth Stuart, the high-spirited Queen of Bohemia, who lived in retirement at the Hague, and by some of the learned men and old acquaintances whom she had known in Sweden; amongst them, Chanut, now ambassador of France in Holland, who endeavoured in vain to alter the feelings of dislike with which she had learned, under Spanish influence, to regard her ancient allies.

The day after her arrival at Brussels, whither she removed from Antwerp, she gave a signal mark of her sympathy with Spain and Spanish ideas, by abjuring Protestantism in the private chapel of the Archduke Leopold. The ceremony was performed by a Spanish Dominican named Guemes, who had accompanied Piementelle into Sweden; and the only persons present, besides the Archduke and his secretary, were the Spanish generals, Fuensaldaña and Montecuculi. The event was, however, announced to the population of Brussels by repeated salvos of artillery.

The great and solemn act in which she had just taken the chief part, an act which would affect the whole of her subsequent life, and which had excluded her from all hope of regaining the crown should she feel so disposed, did not produce any visible effects upon Christina's conduct, or appear to make her think or act with greater seriousness and prudence. On the contrary, the months she spent in Brussels immediately after her abjuration, were passed in a continuous whirl of pleasures and amusements. Her free and careless manner of life, her aversion and contempt, which she took no pains to conceal, for the female sex, her neglect of religious observances, her coarse masculine language, and her uproarious gaiety, astonished a society accustomed to the grave piety and cumbrously formal etiquette which were fashionable at the Spanish court. Those who did not know of her abjuration, inquired why she had brought no Lutheran chaplains with her; and were startled at hearing her answer with a laugh, that before leaving Sweden she had got rid of all superfluous or useless baggage. Picture-galleries, balls, hunting-parties, and plays, occupied all her leisure; comedies and masques were daily performed before her by French, Italian, and Spanish actors; even Mazarin, though at war with the court of Brussels, sent over a troop of players, under a flag of truce, to amuse her. "My occupations", she writes to Countess Sparre, "are to eat and sleep well, read a little, talk, laugh, look at French, Spanish, and Italian comedies; in fine, to pass my time agreeably. I listen to no more sermons; I despise all orators; as Solomon says, all is vanity, let each man live happily, eating, drinking, and singing."

Christina's best friends beheld this behaviour with great misgivings. Nicholas Heinsius spoke with regret of her imprudence, and hoped that she would return to wiser courses before it was too late to mend her reputation. Chanut could only excuse it by comparing it to the wild gaiety of the Carnival, which precedes the austerities of Lent and which he trusted, in Christina's case, would soon give way to conduct more suited to her dignity as a queen. Nor, perhaps, was the idea which lay at the bottom of this parallel altogether a bad one. Much of the unrestrained frivolity of Christina's conduct at Brussels may be explained, by regarding it as a temporary reaction against her former life. Accustomed ever since she could remember to act as a queen, her gay [cheerful], impulsive nature had only been kept down by the consciousness of the high position which she filled. The masculine and almost Spartan training, which from state circumstances she had received, though it enabled her queenly pride to place checks upon her natural disposition, at the same time utterly unfitted her for all quiet womanly pursuits; and once the motives for such pride were removed, made her all the more ready to enjoy to the full, and without restraint, her new position of irresponsible freedom. There was good hope that when once this reaction had spent its force, she would see the folly of a complete indifference and disregard for public opinion, and for the conventionalities, however senseless in themselves, which regulate ordinary society.

It was not to be expected that so charitable a judgment would be passed upon her conduct in Sweden. She did not often hear from her former kingdom, for she tells Count Peter Brahé, that he was the only man in it who remembered her. The Chancellor Oxenstyerna had died a few months after her departure, in August, 1654. His last words were, it is said, about Christina; and with him, the old generation of statesmen who had grown up around Gustavus Adolphus, and who[,] in spite of strong oligarchical tendencies[,] had for his sake been generally loyal to his daughter, might be considered to have passed away. Brahé, to whom she wrote in March, 1655, and who had strongly protested against her resigning the crown, was almost its last survivor. But, though Christina heard little from Sweden, the reports about her life in Brussels had reached that country, and created a great sensation there; so much so, that she was obliged to write to King Charles, begging him to correct undeserved calumnies against her, and to secure her in the possession of the revenues fixed to her by the Recess of 1654, but of which the clergy might at any moment attempt to deprive her.

Above: Kristina.

Above: Sir Arthur Henry Hardinge.

Excerpt from Jerónimo de Barrionuevo's letter to "the Dean of Zaragoza" (actually to Lorenzo Francés de Urrutigoyti, Dean of the Cathedral of Sigüenza), dated November 1/11 (New Style), 1654

Source:

Avisos de D. Jerónimo de Barrionuevo (1654-1658), volume 1, page 130, by Jerónimo de Barrionuevo, published by Antonio Paz y Mélia, 1892; original at the University of Toronto - Robarts Library

https://archive.org/details/avisos1654165801barruoft/page/130/mode/2up

The letter excerpt:

Madrid, Noviembre 11 de 1654.

... S. M. envía á la Reina de Suecia 24 caballos, cosa valiente, y un grandísimo número y copia de todos los libros jocosos y de buen gusto, así en prosa como en verso, que hay en España, encuadernados y dorados lisa y curiosamente, que ella lo es mucho, y se dice los preciará más que si fueran joyas de diamantes, segun lo estudiosa y leida que es. ... — Guarde Dios á Vm. como puede, deseo y le suplico. Madrid y Noviembre 11 de 1654 años. — B. l. m. á Vm. su mayor servidor, D. Jerónimo de Barrionuevo.

With modernised spelling:

Madrid, noviembre 11 de 1654.

... Su Majestad envía a la reina de Suecia 24 caballos, cosa valiente, y un grandísimo número y copia de todos los libros jocosos y de buen gusto, así en prosa como en verso, que hay en España, encuadernados y dorados lisa y curiosamente, que ella lo es mucho, y se dice los preciará más que si fueran joyas de diamantes, segun lo estudiosa y leida que es. ... — Guarde Dios a Vuestra Merced como puede, deseo y le suplico. Madrid, y noviembre 11 de 1654 años. —

Besa la mana a Vuestra Merced

su mayor servidor

don Jerónimo de Barrionuevo.

French translation (my own; I cannot tag it as such due to character limits in the tags):

Madrid, le 11 novembre 1654.

... Sa Majesté envoie à la reine de Suède 24 chevaux, une chose vaillante, et un très grand nombre d'exemplaires de tous les livres drôles et de bon goût, tant en prose qu'en vers, qui existent en Espagne, reliés et dorés d'une manière lisse et curieuse, car elle l'est beaucoup, et on dit qu'elle les appréciera plus que s'il s'agissait de joyaux diamants, étant donné son studiosité et sa littératie. ... — Dieu garde Votre Grâce comme il le peut, je le désire et je lui en prie. Madrid, le 11 novembre 1654. —

Baisant la main de Votre Grâce,

son plus grand serviteur

don Jérôme de Barrionuevo.

Swedish translation (my own; I cannot tag it as such due to character limits in the tags):

Madrid, den 11 november 1654.

... Hans Majestät skickar drottningen av Sverige 24 hästar, en tapper ting, och ett mycket stort antal exemplar av alla lustiga och smakfulla böcker, både i prosa och vers, som finns i Spanien, bundna och förgyllda på ett smidigt och märkligt sätt, ty hon är det i hög grad, och det sägs att hon kommer att uppskatta dem mer än om de vore diamantjuveler, med tanke på hur lärgirig och beläst hon är. ... — Gud bevare Ers Nåd som han kan, önskar och ber jag. Madrid, den 11 november 1654. —

Kysser Ers Nåds hand

Er störste tjänare

don Jerónimo de Barrionuevo.

English translation (my own):

Madrid, November 11, 1654.

... His Majesty sends the Queen of Sweden 24 horses, a valiant thing, and a very great number and copies of all the jocular and good taste books, both in prose and verse, that exist in Spain, bound and gilded in a smooth and curious way, for she is very much so, and it is said that she will appreciate them more than if they were diamond jewels, given how studious and well-read she is. ... — May God keep Your Grace as He can, I desire and pray. Madrid, November 11, 1654. —

Kissing Your Grace's hand,

your greatest servant

Don Jerónimo de Barrionuevo.

Above: Kristina.

Above: King Felipe (Philip) IV of Spain.

Excerpt from Jerónimo de Barrionuevo's letter to "the Dean of Zaragoza" (actually to Lorenzo Francés de Urrutigoyti, Dean of the Cathedral of Sigüenza), dated October 4/14 (New Style), 1654

Source:

Avisos de D. Jerónimo de Barrionuevo (1654-1658), volume 1, pages 90 to 91, by Jerónimo de Barrionuevo, published by Antonio Paz y Mélia, 1892; original at the University of Toronto - Robarts Library

https://archive.org/details/avisos1654165801barruoft/page/90/mode/2up

The letter excerpt:

Madrid, Octubre 14 de 1654.

Señor mío: ... Avisan tambien que la Reina de Suecia ha traido su librería, que son una gran suma de más de 50.000 cuerpos de libros que tiene pasados 14.000; que fué á Lovaina, donde en unas conclusiones fué Presidente; que sabe 11 lenguas como la nativa; que iba en una carroza con dos portugueses, García de Illan y Diego Tejeira, y que entrando en Hamburgo con grande aplauso, dijo en voz alta que lo oyeron todos, en tan lindo español como Vm. puede hablar: «¡Quién le dijera á la madre que me parió me había de ver donde estoy, ni acompañada de dos hebreos!»

Son tesoreros suyos. Han traido grandes riquezas de joyas y reservados 200 ₡ ducados de plata en Suecia y otros tantos en las tierras que tiene en Alemania.

Dícese tambien que no deja monasterio de monjas donde no entre y que no visite; que se levanta al amanecer, tomando un libro, y entrándose con él en un jardin; que comprende casi todas las artes liberales, y dicen tanto de ella, que parece llega á competir con todas las más celebradas de la antigüedad. Dícese viene sin duda á España por ver al Rey, y no dejar cosa que no escudriñe su curiosidad. ... — Guarde Dios á Vm. como puede, deseo y le suplico. Madrid y Octubre 14 de 1654 años. — B. l. m. de Vm. su mayor servidor, D. Jerónimo de Barrionuevo.

With modernised spelling:

Madrid, octubre 14 de 1654.

Señor mío,

... Avisan tambien que la reina de Suecia ha traido su librería, que son una gran suma de más de 50,000 cuerpos de libros que tiene pasados 14,000; que fué a Lovaina, donde en unas conclusiones fué presidente; que sabe 11 lenguas como la nativa; que iba en una carroza con dos portugueses, Garcia de Yllán y Diego Texeira, y que, entrando en Hamburgo con grande aplauso, dijo en voz alta que lo oyeron todos, en tan lindo español como Vuestra Merced puede hablar: «¡Quién le dijera a la madre que me parió me había de ver donde estoy, ni acompañada de dos hebreos!»

Son tesoreros suyos. Han traido grandes riquezas de joyas y reservados 200 ducados de plata en Suecia y otros tantos en las tierras que tiene en Alemania.

Dícese tambien que no deja monasterio de monjas donde no entre y que no visite; que se levanta al amanecer, tomando un libro, y entrándose con él en un jardin; que comprende casi todas las artes liberales, y dicen tanto de ella, que parece llega a competir con todas las más celebradas de la antigüedad. Dícese viene sin duda a España por ver al rey, y no dejar cosa que no escudriñe su curiosidad. ... — Guarde Dios a Vuestra Merced como puede, deseo y le suplico. Madrid, y octubre 14 de 1654 años. —

Besa la mana de Vuestra Merced

su mayor servidor

don Jerónimo de Barrionuevo.

French translation (my own):

Madrid, le 14 octobre 1654.

Monsieur,

... On rapporte aussi que la reine de Suède a apporté sa bibliothèque, qui s'élève à plus de 50 000 volumes de livres, et qu'elle en a dépassé les 14 000; qu'elle s'est rendue à Louvain, où elle a présidé une conférence; qu'elle connaît onze langues comme sa langue maternelle; qu'elle a voyagé en calèche avec deux Portugais, Garcia de Yllán et Diego Texeira, et qu'en entrant à Hambourg sous de nombreux applaudissements, elle a dit d'une voix forte et entendue, dans le plus bel espagnol que Votre Grâce puisse parler: «¡Quién le dijera a la madre que me parió me había de ver donde estoy, ni acompañada de dos hebreos!» — «Qui aurait dit à la mère qui a accouchée de moi qu'elle me verrait là où je suis, même pas accompagnée de deux Hébreux!»

Ce sont ses trésoriers. Ils ont apporté de grandes richesses en joyaux et ont réservé 200 ducats d'argent en Suède et la même somme dans les terres qu'elle possède en Allemagne.

On dit aussi qu'elle ne quitte aucun monastère de nonnes sans y entrer ou le visiter; qu'elle se lève à l'aurore, prend un livre et se rend dans un jardin avec; qu'elle comprend presque tous les arts libéraux, et qu'on dit tant d'elle qu'elle semble rivaliser avec toutes les femmes les plus célèbres de l'antiquité. On dit qu'elle vient sans aucun doute en Espagne pour voir le roi, et pour ne rien laisser que sa curiosité ne scrute. ... — Que Dieu garde Votre Grâce comme il le peut, je le désire et je lui en prie. Madrid, le 14 octobre 1654. —

Baisant la main de Votre Grâce,

son plus grand serviteur

don Jérôme de Barrionuevo.

Swedish translation (my own; I cannot tag it as such due to character limits in the tags):

Madrid, 14 oktober 1654.

Señor mío,

... De rapporterar också att Sveriges drottning har tagit med sig sitt bibliotek, vilket uppgår till en stor summa på mer än 50 000 bokband, och att hon har passerat 14 000; att hon reste till Leuven, där hon var president vid en konferens; att hon kan 11 språk som sitt modersmål; att hon reste i en vagn med två portugiser, Garcia de Yllán och Diego Texeira, och att hon, när hon anlände till Hamburg under stora applåder, sade med hög röst som alla hörde, på så vacker spanska som Ers Nåd kan tala: »¡Quién le dijera a la madre que me parió me había de ver donde estoy, ni acompañada de dos hebreos!« — »Vem skulle ha sagt till modern som födde mig att hon skulle se mig där jag är, inte ens åtföljd av två hebréer!«

De är hennes skattmästare. De har fört med sig stora rikedomar av juveler och reserverat 200 silverdukater i Sverige och samma mängd i de länder hon innehar i Tyskland.

Det sägs också att hon inte lämnar något nunnekloster som hon inte går in i eller besöker; att hon stiger upp i gryningen, tar en bok och går ut i en trädgård med den; att hon förstår nästan alla liberala konsterna, och att de säger så mycket om henne att hon verkar tävla med alla antikens mest berömda kvinnor. Det sägs att hon utan tvekan kommer till Spanien för att se konungen, och för att inte lämna något kvar som hennes nyfikenhet inte granskar. ... — Gud bevare Ers Nåd som han kan, önskar och ber jag. Madrid, den 14 oktober 1654. —

Kysser Ers Nåds hand

Er störste tjänare

don Jerónimo de Barrionuevo.

English translation (my own):

Madrid, October 14, 1654.

Señor mío,

... They also report that the Queen of Sweden has brought her library, which amounts to a large sum of more than 50,000 volumes of books, and she has passed 14,000; that she went to Leuven, where she was president at a conference; that she knows 11 languages like her native one; that she travelled in a carriage with two Portugueses, Garcia de Yllán and Diego Texeira, and that, entering Hamburg to great applause, she said in a loud voice that everyone heard, in as beautiful Spanish as Your Grace can speak: "¡Quién le dijera a la madre que me parió me había de ver donde estoy, ni acompañada de dos hebreos!" — "Who would have told the mother who bore me that she would see me where I am, not even accompanied by two Hebrews!"

They are her treasurers. They have brought great riches of jewels and reserved 200 silver ducats in Sweden and the same amount in the lands she holds in Germany.

It is also said that she leaves no monastery of nuns that she does not enter or visit; that she rises at dawn, takes a book, and goes into a garden with it; that she understands almost all the liberal arts, and that they say so much about her that she appears to compete with all the most celebrated women of antiquity. It is said that she undoubtedly comes to Spain to see the King, and to leave nothing that her curiosity does not scrutinise. ... — May God protect Your Grace as He can, I desire and pray. Madrid, October 14, 1654. —

Kissing Your Grace's hand,

your greatest servant

Don Jerónimo de Barrionuevo.

Above: Kristina.

Faith Compton Mackenzie on Kristina's departure from Sweden, travel through Denmark, stay in Hamburg, travel through Germany and the Netherlands, and her stays in Antwerp and Brussels

Source:

The Sibyl of the North: The Tale of Christina, Queen of Sweden, pages 111 to 123 (part 2: "Cap and Bells"), by Faith Compton Mackenzie, 1931; original scan at the Universal Digital Library

https://archive.org/details/sibylofthenortht008021mbp/page/n119/mode/2up

Kristina's letter to the Prince de Condé, written in or after June 1654, is here:

https://kingkristina.blogspot.com/2020/07/kristinas-letter-to-prince-de-conde.html

Kristina's letter to Pierre Hector Chanut, which she had written on February 17/27 or 18/28 (New Style), 1654, is here:

https://kingkristina.blogspot.com/2020/05/kristinas-letter-to-chanut-on.html

Kristina's undated letter written in Brussels in 1655 to Ebba Sparre is here:

https://kingkristina.blogspot.com/2019/06/kristinas-letter-to-ebba-sparre-year.html

Kristina's letter of March 30/April 9 (Old Style), 1655 to Karl Gustav is here:

https://kingkristina.blogspot.com/2020/07/kristinas-letter-to-karl-gustav-dated_27.html

Her letter of April 5/15 (Old Style), 1655 to him is here:

https://kingkristina.blogspot.com/2020/07/kristinas-letter-to-karl-gustav-dated_31.html

The account:

CHAPTER VII.

THE LABYRINTH

THE journey through Sweden was a dull anti-climax. Only sitting back in her coach that rainy night[,] Christina could console herself with the nearly tangible sensation of all Europe stirring under the superb gesture she had made. But her departure was almost a flight, and so secret did she keep the details of it that even Charles Gustavus, King of Sweden, was deceived.

Imagining that she would go by sea from Kalmar to Germany, he ordered twelve ships of the line to be ready to escort her, but she sent a message at the last moment that[,] owing to contrary winds[,] she had decided to go by land and the Sound to Denmark. What did the commissioning of a battleship more or less matter to her, however exasperated the nation might be at more useless expenditure? So by land she went, and, disguised as the son of Count Dohna, who, with the faithful Steinbergh, was in attendance on her, she did most of the journey on horseback, her gun slung over her shoulder, a red scarf worn in the Spanish manner and her pistols at her side. Only four of her gentlemen attended her, and none of them had any idea where she was going. Clairet Poisonnet knew, for he had gone ahead as Marshal of her lodgings.

When she arrived at Helsingborg, the port for Denmark, an emissary from Charles Gustavus made a final but half-hearted appeal on his behalf that she would change her mind at last and marry him. He must have felt fairly secure on this point. Christina's reply was naturally a refusal. It was not likely she would care to return to Sweden as a mere consort after reigning as Queen. But it was quite a clever move of Charles's, and left an excellent impression, even on Christina herself, who was more than half taken in by it.

In spite of her disguise, the news of her arrival in Denmark spread like wildfire. Curiosity to see this famous figure drove the Queen of Denmark to disguise herself as a maid and wait on Christina at a country inn. This was Sophie Amalie of Brunswick, whose jealousy had driven Christina's friends, the Ulfelds, from the Danish Court. Christina talked of nothing but the iniquities of the Danish Queen all through the meal. Though she said when told of the identity of her waiting-maid: "What! that cabaret maid, the Queen of Denmark! Well, listeners never hear good of themselves. It serves her right", there is a strong suspicion that she knew of the plot beforehand, and rewarded the royal eavesdropper with much more than she bargained for. Probably Clairet was responsible for the whole affair.

The talk of Europe, though it was concerned with one burning topic, was a babel of diverse theories.

"Who is this lady who light-heartedly resigns what most of us fight and long for in vain?" cried Condé.

Christina had been anxious enough about his opinion to write to him before her abdication, hoping for the continuance of his admiration in spite of her change of state. She was sure to meet him at last in Flanders.

That her abdication was the act of a saint — that she had to renounce the throne because Sweden was getting too hot for her — that on the other hand her principal motive was to escape the horrible climate of her native land — that her aversion from marriage with her cousin which was being forced upon her drove her forth — that her vanity was not satisfied with the attention she attracted in Sweden — that she wanted to scandalize the world — that she was becoming a Papist because she wanted to be Queen of Rome — these were only a few of the theories propounded by the wise.

Christina was prepared for all this. She wrote to Chanut:

"I leave it to everyone to judge the affair according to his own lights. I don't know how I could withhold this liberty from anyone, and if I did, I shouldn't want to. I am not ignorant that some people will judge me favourably, and I am glad to think that you are one of that small number. As for the rest of the world[,] they don't know my character nor my mood, as I have not explained myself to anyone but you and one great man among my friends [probably Pimentelli] as understanding as yourself."

When she had stood before the silver throne in her plain white silk garment, her royal robes and her crown gladly surrendered, she saw herself a free woman, a citizen of the world who[,] by her own greatness[,] would conquer men's minds and hearts. Her vast self-confidence would not even contemplate the possibility of any loss of prestige resulting from this voluntary resignation of her high estate.

She was Christina — unique and unassailable; and it was because she was Christina that, freed from the throne, she was going to be so much more astonishing a figure in history than she could ever have been as Queen of Sweden, slave to her Parliament, her people and her throne. Her last State document was signed — her abdication, in which she discharged her people from the oath they had sworn to her.

"Christina, by the Grace of God, Queen of Sweden, of the Goths and Vandals, Princess of Finland, etc." Only four years ago the herald had cried:

"The most powerful Christina is crowned. Herself and no other!"

And now she stood stripped of her glory, bravely defying Fate. She, who had never been anything but Queen, had never known, had not even dimly visualized anything but absolute dominion, complete security. She did not see that, with the purple robe that slid to her feet and the crown she so firmly removed from her own head, went defences that never again could be summoned for her protection.

Heinsius, her honest philosopher, was profoundly right when he wrote to her:

"You have cast away your shield; of your flatterers few praised Christina, most the Queen."

Position is a surer guard than character; it is the only thing the world respects. Though Christina's morals had always been freely discussed throughout Europe, whatever criticism came to her ears only amused her. She knew she was invulnerable, and eagerly listened to the latest bit of gossip about herself; the more exaggerated it was, the more she was amused. But now the shield was gone; every shaft was going to hurt.

By the time she reached Hamburg[,] the rumour of her conversion convulsed Sweden. The clergy demanded that her revenue should be reduced; indeed there was a strong movement that she should be deprived altogether for her breach and change of faith if the rumour were a true one. The fact that she was travelling en cavalier was also a vexation to her late subjects. Tales of her extravagant behaviour were already drifting into Sweden.

She had certainly thrown off her yoke with a vengeance. At Hamburg Pimentelli had arranged for her to lodge in the Jew Texiera's house, which was enough to scandalize the Lutherans. Christina was quite satisfied with her lodgings and host, and when she heard of the expostulations of the clergy from their pulpits, she remarked that[,] after all[,] Jesus Christ was a Jew and consorted with Jews all His life. She made Texiera her agent, and he played an important part in her subsequent battles over revenue.

At Hamburg she resumed feminine attire for a time, and there was no public sign of her conversion. She attended in state the church of St. Peter's, accompanied by the Landgrave of Hesse. Here a sermon was preached in her honour, comparing her to the Queen of Sheba. She presented the preacher with a gold chain; but his gratification was tempered by the discovery of a finely-bound Virgil in her pew, which she received with a smile when it was restored to her.

That was really rather a good joke.

She did not linger long in Hamburg. After a gorgeous entertainment in her honour "without the walls" given by the Landgrave of Hesse on July 30, which lasted until early morning, she set off, in male attire again, on her journey to Antwerp, accompanied by Steinbergh and her four other gentlemen, the rest of the retinue being ordered to meet her in Amsterdam later.

At Münster the Jesuit College was visited by a young gentleman of quality, who was shown and took a lively interest in the library, the church and the precincts generally. He chaffed the holy father on the morals of the Order, and its members being "all things to all men". He heard Mass with his attendants, and after refusing the refreshment of a cup of wine, saying, "I am no wine-bibber", departed, leaving everyone the better for his cheerful company. One of the Fathers, who had a portrait of Christina, saw through the black wig, big hat and high boots of her disguise, but he kept his own counsel until she was gone. Next day she sent a hundred ducats, which no doubt consoled the brotherhood for this feminine intrusion.

Holland was traversed incognita. She would not consent to a royal reception. She had little interest in that country, and only wished to get through this part of the journey as fast as possible. A girl she met on the road fell in love with her, and gave her a little amusement, but she was glad to get to Antwerp, where she became a woman again.

Here she lodged with a rich merchant, Gerard Salian, and her first visitor was the Archduke Leopold, who governed the Low Countries for Spain. She received him with great ceremony, going to the foot of the stairs to meet him, addressing him as Highness, and at the end of the audience conducting him again to the bottom of the stairs. They conversed in Italian. Because he represented Spain, Christina could not do him enough honour.

Condé was in Brussels, and naturally was as eager to meet Christina as she was to know him. The usual preliminaries were observed. Condé demanded the same ceremonial reception as the Archduke had had. Christina flatly refused to give it, knowing well how this attitude would please the Spaniards. Both were equally obstinate; it was a deadlock. But Condé's curiosity was not to be denied. He went to one of her receptions in the suite of a friend. Christina's keen eyes and instinct were not to be deceived. Apart from the obvious greatness of Condé, she had a nose for royal blood, and as soon as she saw him she approached him. He retired hastily[,] but she pursued him. When she still followed him and came close, he muttered "All or nothing!" and escaped.

The situation was so very ridiculous between these two fine people, who should have known better, that their friends arranged a chance meeting where formality could be dispensed with. This took place when Christina was on a visit to Brussels. They met, and their disappointment with each other was not concealed. They walked up and down the Mall in the Brussels Park, talking very frankly and coldly. No one knows what they discussed, but whatever it was, they never discussed it or anything else again.

Another person who was curious to see, but not to meet, Christina, was Elizabeth of Bohemia, who travelled from the Hague for that purpose. She had not forgiven Christina for the death of Descartes, and she sat through an evening at the theatre, gloomily regarding the levity of her late rival in the royal box, and returned to the Hague but little consoled by the sight of her. Chanut also came from the Hague, bidden by Christina, who was anxious to see her old friend. This visit was at once construed as having political significance. It was at once assumed that Chanut was wanting Christina to intercede for peace between France and Spain. Chanut, horrified by this interpretation of a simple, friendly visit, wrote begging her to give the lie to the rumour publicly. She made matters worse by writing a violent letter of vituperation against France. Though Chanut's reply to this was a model of dignity and diplomacy, he thought it necessary to lay the whole correspondence before the Court of Sweden. King Charles Gustavus and his Ministers could only protest that they knew nothing about the matter, and understood less. It was evidently another of Christina's moves to flatter the Spaniards, and as she was no longer in power in Sweden[,] they were not responsible for her vagaries.

Christina stayed in Antwerp until December, combining a great deal of amusement with the serious business of her conversion. Her desire was to be received privately into the Catholic Church, and for the safety of her revenue, keep the matter secret, even though she should visit Rome. Innocent X was Pope at the time, and communication with the Vatican had for some time been established through Philip of Spain and Pimentelli, but there was not much hope that Rome would consent to keep so important a conversion secret. Meanwhile, rumour grew ever more insistent in Sweden, and there is little doubt that the rumour was a death-blow to the old Chancellor Oxenstierna, already sick and discouraged as he was. That Christina should cast aside the sacred trust of the crown left her by Gustavus Adolphus had been a bitter disillusion to the old man; but that she should forsake the faith that her father had so fanatically loved was almost sacrilege. He could not face this, and in August, only two months after her abdication, he died.

The journey from Antwerp to Brussels was made by canal, and at the head of the procession was the gorgeous State barge, gilded and richly decorated, in which sat Christina and the Archduke. The banks were lined with people and soldiers who fired volleys in her honour. The sun set on all this magnificence, and Christina, as she floated through the stillness, could see through the twilight the city of Brussels far away across the flat country, lit by bonfires and thousands of torches, shining each moment more brightly like a great star on the horizon. An elaborate illumined "set piece" over the gates, was discerned as they approached, with two angels holding up a laurel wreath crowned with the name of Christina. Cannon roared, rockets flared[,] and all the bells of the city clanged and crashed as Christina went through the carpeted streets to the Archduke's palace, at three o'clock in the morning.

Later that day, Christmas Eve, in a private apartment of the Palace, she made her secret profession of the Catholic Faith.

Pimentelli was there, and so were Montecuculi and the Archduke. It was regarded as a miraculous coincidence that the artillery, which had had orders that all the guns of the city were to fire a volley at some time during the ceremony, hit upon the very moment when Christina was being absolved by the Dominican Père Guêmes who had been in attendance on Pimentelli in Sweden.

For seven weeks Christina was the guest of the Archduke. Her days and nights were filled with charming amusements. Mazarin sent a company of French players to entertain her. There were balls and hunting parties, tournaments and endless fireworks. Nor were the savants lacking. Vossius came to pay his respects, and was commissioned to buy more books, so he was able to add to his own library in the usual way. Gassendi, Bochart and Heinsius were among the faithful. But most of her protégés of the scholarly days became her bitterest enemies, and were responsible for much of the slander that was let loose in Europe, as soon as she abdicated, in lampoons and pasquinades, in striking contrast to the panegyrics of Stockholm.

Christina had wanted the Ulfelds to join her suite, but they had refused. There were other adventures in store for them. Ebba Sparre, too, had hurt Christina by declining to come with her. From Brussels she wrote to her:

"How supreme would be my good fortune if I could share it with you, and if you could see my happiness. I assure you that the gods might envy me if I could only have the joy of seeing you. But as I cannot have this satisfaction, I can only pray you to believe that wherever I am in this world, I shall treasure your precious memory, and that over there, beyond the mountains, I shall carry with me the passion and tenderness I have always felt for you.

Keep me at least in your dear memory, and do not spoil by forgetfulness the happiness of the one being in all the world who honours you most.

Adieu, Belle.

Remember your CHRISTINA.

PS. — I forgot to tell you that I am perfectly well, and that I am the object of a thousand honours here, and on good terms with all the world, except the Prince de Condé, whom I only see at the play and the Court. My occupations are to eat well, sleep well, study a little, talk, laugh and see the French, Italian and Spanish comedies, and to pass the time agreeably. Lastly, I hear no more sermons; I distrust orators, and I agree with Solomon that all is vanity, and everyone should eat, drink and be merry."

.......

That miraculous volley of guns at the moment of her absolution had not only made a deep impression on the Faithful, but the occasion of it could not well be kept from the world in general. What happened in Brussels was immediately known in Sweden. There were spies everywhere, and it is not likely that so loudly proclaimed an event should not reverberate in Stockholm. The rumour of her conversion had now become a certainty, and another event put the possibility of any more secrecy out of the question. Innocent X, who had not definitely insisted on the immediate public proclamation, died, and was succeeded by Cardinal Fabio Chigi, as Alexander VII. The King of Spain had been trying to negotiate her secret reception in Rome, but when Alexander came into power[,] he made it clear at once that she must openly avow her change of faith.

Christina again became seriously alarmed for her future. She knew the feeling that was growing in Sweden, and she could not ignore the reasonable resentment of her late Lutheran subjects at her duplicity. The Senate sent Count Tott to Brussels, hoping that his representations and the sight of one of the pleasantest people she had left behind her in Sweden might persuade her to change all her plans and come and spend the income they were going to be obliged to give her in her native land, and forget all about Rome and the Catholic religion. Few converts to Rome have escaped the futile eleventh-hour appeal from distracted relations and friends, and Christina was naturally less influenced than most by such a thing.

From Tott she gained a clear insight into the state of feeling in Sweden, and was driven to write an urgent letter to Charles X:

"SIR AND BROTHER, — Count Steinbergh, who is returning to Your Majesty's side, will assure you by word of mouth of the goodwill that I feel towards your Person and the Crown. I shall always preserve these sentiments, and I should deem myself unworthy of life if I were capable of losing the love I have for my country, and the friendship I feel for Your Majesty. These are sentiments that will last longer than my life. And I beg you to believe that I should be happy to render some service to my country by which I could acquit myself of the obligations of my birth. Meanwhile, I pray you to continue to give me your friendship, and to believe that I shall live and die,

Sir and Brother, etc.

CHRISTINA.

BRUSSELS,

March 30, 1655."

This letter was closely followed by another, more explicit, in which she frankly begs him to look after her interests, at the same time assuring him that she will never do anything that could prejudice the honour of the country she has left, and that all the evil rumours as to her conduct were false. She did not mention her conversion.

The progress of affairs with Rome went slowly, and Christina, after her visit to the Archduke, moved to the Palace of the Duc d'Egmont, where she began to live at her own expense. She had not been there long when all gaieties were suspended by the news of her mother's death in Stockholm. She retired to the country for three weeks, and when she returned to Brussels her life was much quieter, and the desire to move on towards Rome became keener. It was no use wasting money in Brussels which could be spent in Rome. There was nothing for it but to proclaim herself to the world and risk the consequences. The Pope was elated by the prospect of welcoming so distinguished a convert, and the advantages of her living in Rome were obvious.

Christina therefore started on her journey South in September. She had meanwhile collected her retinue, which was a very mixed assembly. The star was Don Antonio Pimentelli, who, as Ambassador Extraordinary to his Catholic Majesty Philip IV, was attended by a suite of twenty persons. Don Antonio de la Cueva y Silva was Grand Equerry, and his wife, of Flemish birth, chief lady-in-waiting to. Their suite consisted of eighteen persons. A good many odd people attached themselves in various capacities, in order to travel at Christina's expense to whatever destination on the road suited them. There were only four Swedes in the whole company, which amounted to about two hundred souls, including a guard of twenty-five, the Dominican Father Guêmes, only five women, and, of course, Italian musicians who were an absolute necessity to the Queen wherever she was.

France was gracefully represented by, among others, Gabriel Gilbert, the Parisian, her secretary. He was the author of plays good enough for Molière and Racine to dip into and help themselves when at a loss for quelques bons mots, and plenty of ingenious light verse, from which the following quatrain will serve to speed Christina and her cheerful company on their way:

"A LA REINE DE SUÈDE APRÈS SON ABDICATION

En servant cette Reine égale aux Amazones

Je n'aurai pas perdu six ans:

Car qui sçait donner des couronnes

Sçait bien faire d'autres presens."

Above: Kristina.

Above: Ebba Sparre.

Above: Karl Gustav.

Above: Claes Tott.

H. E. Friis on Kristina's travel through Denmark and northern Germany and stay in Hamburg

Source:

Dronning Christina af Sverrig 1626-1689, pages 67 to 69, published by H. E. Friis, 1896; original at Harvard University

https://archive.org/details/DronningChristinaAfSverrig/page/n73/mode/2up

The account:

Forinden Dronning Christina rejste videre paa dansk Grund, iførte hun sig mandlig Klædedragt for mere let og ukendt at kunne færdes. Hun rejste under Navnet «Greve af Dohna», og hendes Herredragt var efter fransk Snit; en Sabelgehæng over den ene Skulder og en Bøsse over den anden, en sort Paryk og Herrehat samt Ridestøvler fuldendte den hele mandlige Paaklædning.

I ovennævnte Paaklædning og til Hest fortsattes Rejsen til Helsingborg, hvorfra Overfarten til Helsingør skete.

Da Dronning Christina jo ikke havde den bedste Samvittighed overfor den danske Konge Frederik d. 3dje, formedelst hendes taktløse Holdning i den Ulfeldtske Sag, vilde hun vel ogsaa nødigt rejse under sit eget Navn igennem Danmark eller antræffes der, da hun ikke havde anmeldt sin Gennemrejse.

Om Dronning Christinas Rejse igennem Danmark skrev den spanske Gesandt, Grev Berna[r]dino de Rebolledo i København, til sin Herre, Kong Philip d. 4de af Spanien: «Dronning Christina af Sverrig kom til Kolding, hvor den danske Kongefamilie var, og der saa hun alt uden at give sig tilkende, men da Dronning Sofie Amalie af Danmark havde faaet det at vide, efterat Dronning Christina var rejst videre, forklædte hun sig som Bondepige og fulgte efter hende til Vogns til Haderslev, hvor Svenskedronningen gjorde Ophold; Dronning Sofie Amalie gik ind i samme Gæstgiversted og saa hende holde Maaltid sammen med de Herrer, der vare i hendes Følge, hvorefter hun begav sig tilbage til Koldinghus Slot uden at have talt med hende.»

For Grev de Rebolledo var det en meget stor Skuffelse, at han ikke havde været saa heldig selv at faa Dronning Christina at se paa hendes Gennemfart; til en Ven i Hamburg skrev han bagefter, idet han beklagede, at han ikke havde set denne mærkelige Kvinde eller, som han udtrykte sig, «denne uventede Messias af Kvindekønnet.»

Rejsen gik for Resten uhindret for sig igennem Danmark til Hamburg, hvortil hun ankom efter 6 Dages Rejse. Forinden Hamburg naaedes, antog Dronningen sin kongelige Værdighed, sit rette Navn og vante Klædedragt igen. Hun blev modtaget med store Æresbevisninger af Hamburgs Magistrat og tog ind hos den rige Bankier Texeira, som fra den Tid af var Mellemmand for hende i hendes Pengesager med Sverrig. I Hamburg optraadte Dronning Christina med fornøden Glans, idet de af hendes Hoffolk fra Sverrig, som ikke havde kunnet følge hende paa hendes incognito-Rejse igennem Danmark efterhaanden samlede sig om hende efter at have benyttet en anden Rejserute for at naa deres Herskerinde.

Til Hamburg strømmede der en stor Masse fremmede, deriblandt en Del fyrstelige Personer, for at se denne mærkværdige Dronning, dette Underværk, der var blevet saa højt besunget og lovprist af de mange, der forhen havde nydt Gæstfrihed hos hende i den svenske Hovedstad.

Blandt de fyrstelige Personer, der gjorde Dronning Christina deres Opvartning, vare ogsaa to holsten-gottorpske Prinsesser, Søstrene Magdalene Sybille og Hedevig Eleonore. Dronning Christina syntes saa godt om den ældste, den førstnævnte Prinsesse, at hun foreslog sin Efterfølger, Carl Gustav, at tage denne tilægte; imidlertid syntes han ved nærmere Undersøgelse bedre om den yngre Søster, Hedevig Eleonore, som ogsaa kronedes til Carl Gustavs Dronning i Stockholm d. 24de Oktbr. 1654.

Under Opholdet i Hamburg overværede Dronning Christina med stort Følge Gudstjenesten i en af Stadens Kirker. Præsten talte om Dronningen af Saba og hentydede i sin Prædiken til den tilstedeværende høje Tilhørerinde. Til Ære for denne var der ogsaa indstuderet et større Arbejde af Kirkemusik til at udføres henimod Gudstjenestens Slutning; men til Kirkestyrelsens store Ærgrelse tog Dronning Christina intet Hensyn dertil, men forlod Kirken med Følge, forinden den tiltænkte festlige Musik havde taget sin Begyndelse. I Kirkestolen, hvori Dronning Christina havde siddet, fandt man senere et Eksemplar af Vergil, som hun havde glemt. Bogen blev hende overleveret, og hun modtog den med et Smil, dette tavse Vidne om Dronning Christinas Andagt. Præsten ved vedkommende Kirke sendte hun for Resten en Guldkæde til Tak for haft Umage og Ulejlighed.

Omtrent 14 Dage tilbragte Dronning Christina i Hamburg; Tiden gik med uafbrudte Festiviteter. Den 16de Juli var Dronning Christina til en stor Fest, som varede til Kl. 1 om Natten, og allerede 3 Timer efter, Kl. 4 om Morgenen, forlod hun Hamburg uden at sige Farvel eller forud at have ladet det blive almindeligt bekendt, at hun vilde rejse. Hele hendes Rejseselskab bestod af 6 Personer, Resten fik enten deres Afsked eller bleve tilbage, afventende nærmere Ordre. Blandt de afskedigede vare de to ovennævnte hollandske Piger, som vare fulgte med fra Sverrig, og som hidtil vare de eneste kvindelige Personer i Dronningens Følge.

With modernised spelling:

Forinden dronning Kristina rejste videre på dansk grund, iførte hun sig mandlig klædedragt for mere let og ukendt at kunne færdes. Hun rejste under navnet «greve af Dohna», og hendes herredragt var efter fransk snit; en sabelgehæng over den ene skulder og en bøsse over den anden, en sort paryk og herrehat samt ridestøvler fuldendte den hele mandlige påklædning.

I ovennævnte påklædning og til hest fortsattes rejsen til Helsingborg, hvorfra overfarten til Helsingør skete.

Da dronning Kristina jo ikke havde den bedste samvittighed overfor den danske konge Frederik den tredje, formedelst hendes taktløse holdning i den ulfeldtske sag, ville hun vel også nødigt rejse under sit eget navn igennem Danmark eller antræffes der, da hun ikke havde anmeldt sin gennemrejse.

Om dronning Kristinas rejse igennem Danmark skrev den spanske gesandt, grev Berna[r]dino de Rebolledo i København, til sin herre, kong Philip den fjerde af Spanien:

«Dronning Kristina af Sverige kom til Kolding, hvor den danske kongefamilie var, og der så hun alt uden at give sig tilkende, men da dronning Sofie Amalie af Danmark havde fået det at vide, efterat dronning Kristina var rejst videre, forklædte hun sig som bondepige og fulgte efter hende til vogns til Haderslev, hvor svenskedronningen gjorde ophold; dronning Sofie Amalie gik ind i samme gæstgiversted og så hende holde måltid sammen med de herrer, der vare i hendes følge, hvorefter hun begav sig tilbage til Koldinghus slot uden at have talt med hende.»

For grev de Rebolledo var det en meget stor skuffelse, at han ikke havde været så heldig selv at få dronning Kristina at se på hendes gennemfart; til en ven i Hamburg skrev han bagefter, idet han beklagede, at han ikke havde set denne mærkelige kvinde eller, som han udtrykte sig, «denne uventede messias af kvindekønnet.»

Rejsen gik for resten uhindret for sig igennem Danmark til Hamborg, hvortil hun ankom efter 6 dages rejse. Forinden Hamborg nåedes, antog dronningen sin kongelige værdighed, sit rette navn og vante klædedragt igen. Hun blev modtaget med store æresbevisninger af Hamborgs magistrat og tog ind hos den rige bankir Texeira, som fra den tid af var mellemmand for hende i hendes pengesager med Sverige.

I Hamburg optrådte dronning Kristina med fornøden glans, idet de af hendes hoffolk fra Sverige, som ikke havde kunnet følge hende på hendes inkognito-rejse igennem Danmark efterhånden samlede sig om hende efter at have benyttet en anden rejserute for at nå deres herskerinde.

Til Hamborg strømmede der en stor masse fremmede, deriblandt en del fyrstelige personer, for at se denne mærkværdige dronning, dette underværk, der var blevet så højt besunget og lovprist af de mange, der forhen havde nydt gæstfrihed hos hende i den svenske hovedstad.

Blandt de fyrstelige personer, der gjorde dronning Kristina deres opvartning, vare også to holsten-gottorpske prinsesser, søstrene Magdalene Sybille og Hedevig Eleonore. Dronning Kristina syntes så godt om den ældste, den førstnævnte prinsesse, at hun foreslog sin efterfølger, Karl Gustav, at tage denne til ægte; imidlertid syntes han ved nærmere undersøgelse bedre om den yngre søster, Hedevig Eleonore, som også kronedes til Karl Gustavs dronning i Stockholm den 24. oktober 1654.

Under opholdet i Hamborg overværede dronning Kristina med stort følge gudstjenesten i en af stadens kirker. Præsten talte om dronningen af Saba og hentydede i sin prædiken til den tilstedeværende høje tilhørerinde. Til ære for denne var der også indstuderet et større arbejde af kirkemusik til at udføres henimod gudstjenestens slutning; men til kirkestyrelsens store ærgrelse tog dronning Kristina intet hensyn dertil, men forlod kirken med følge, forinden den tiltænkte festlige musik havde taget sin begyndelse.

I kirkestolen, hvori dronning Kristina havde siddet, fandt man senere et eksemplar af Vergil, som hun havde glemt. Bogen blev hende overleveret, og hun modtog den med et smil, dette tavse vidne om dronning Kristinas andagt. Præsten ved vedkommende kirke sendte hun for resten en guldkæde til tak for haft umage og ulejlighed.

Omtrent 14 dage tilbragte dronning Kristina i Hamborg; tiden gik med uafbrudte festiviteter. Den 16. juli var dronning Kristina til en stor fest, som varede til kl. 1 om natten, og allerede 3 timer efter, kl. 4 om morgenen, forlod hun Hamborg uden at sige farvel eller forud at have ladet det blive almindeligt bekendt, at hun ville rejse. Hele hendes rejseselskab bestod af 6 personer, resten fik enten deres afsked eller bleve tilbage, afventende nærmere ordre. Blandt de afskedigede vare de to ovennævnte hollandske piger, som vare fulgte med fra Sverige, og som hidtil vare de eneste kvindelige personer i dronningens følge.

English translation (my own):

Before Queen Kristina traveled further on Danish soil, she put on male clothing to move more easily and anonymously. She traveled under the name "Count von Dohna", and her male clothing was in the French style; a saber hanging over one shoulder and a gun over the other, a black wig and a man's hat, as well as riding boots, completed the entire male attire.

In the above attire and on horseback, the journey continues to Helsingborg, from where the crossing to Helsingør took place.

As Queen Kristina did not have the best conscience towards the Danish King Frederik III, due to her tactless attitude in the Ulfeldt affair, she would probably also be reluctant to travel through Denmark under her own name or be encountered there, as she had not reported her transit journey.

About Queen Kristina's journey through Denmark, the Spanish envoy, Count Bernardino de Rebolledo in Copenhagen, wrote to his lord, King Philip IV of Spain:

"Queen Kristina of Sweden came to Kolding, where the Danish royal family was, and there she saw everything without making herself known, but when Queen Sophie Amalie of Denmark had heard of it, after Queen Kristina had traveled on, she disguised herself as a peasant girl and followed her in a carriage to Haderslev, where the Swedish Queen was staying; Queen Sophie Amalie went into the same inn and saw her having a meal with the gentlemen who were in her retinue, after which she went back to Koldinghus Castle without having spoken to her."

For Count de Rebolledo it was a great disappointment that he had not been lucky enough to see Queen Kristina on her passage; he wrote to a friend in Hamburg afterwards, regretting that he had not seen this remarkable woman or, as he put it, "this unexpected messiah of the female sex".

The journey went on without any hindrance through Denmark to Hamburg, where she arrived after a 6-day journey. Before reaching Hamburg, the Queen assumed her royal dignity, her real name and her usual clothing again. She was received with great honours by the Hamburg magistrate and went to the house of the rich banker Texeira, who from that time was her intermediary in her financial affairs with Sweden.

In Hamburg, Queen Kristina appeared with the requisite splendour, as those of her courtiers from Sweden who had not been able to follow her on her incognito journey through Denmark gradually gathered around her after having used another travel route to reach their mistress.

A large crowd of strangers, including a number of princely persons, flocked to Hamburg to see this remarkable queen, this wonder who had been so highly praised and praised by the many who had previously enjoyed her hospitality in the Swedish capital city.

Among the princely persons who attended Queen Kristina were also two Holstein-Gottorp princesses, the sisters Magdalena Sybilla and Hedvig Eleonora. Queen Kristina liked the eldest, the first-named princess, so well that she suggested to her successor, Karl Gustav, that he marry her; however, upon closer examination, he liked the younger sister, Hedvig Eleonora, better, who was also crowned as Karl Gustav's queen in Stockholm on October 24, 1654.

During her stay in Hamburg, Queen Kristina attended a church service in one of the city's churches with a large entourage. The priest spoke of the Queen of Sheba and alluded to the high-ranking listener present in his sermon. In her honour, a large work of church music had also been rehearsed to be performed towards the end of the service; but, to the great annoyance of the church board, Queen Kristina took no notice of this, but left the church with her entourage before the intended festive music had begun.

In the pew in which Queen Kristina had been sitting, a copy of Virgil, which she had forgotten, was later found. The book was handed to her, and she received it with a smile, this silent witness to Queen Kristina's devotion. She also sent the priest at the church in question a gold chain as thanks for his effort and inconvenience.

Queen Kristina spent about 14 days in Hamburg; time passed with uninterrupted festivities. On July 16, Queen Kristina attended a large feast that lasted until 1 o'clock at night, and already 3 hours later, at 4 o'clock in the morning, she left Hamburg without saying goodbye or having previously made it generally known that she wanted to leave. Her entire travelling party consisted of 6 people; the rest were either dismissed or stayed behind, awaiting further orders. Among those dismissed were the two aforementioned Dutch girls who had come with her from Sweden and who had so far been the only female persons in the Queen's suite.

Above: Kristina.

Anna Brownell Jameson's biography of Kristina, part 11

Source:

Memoirs of celebrated female sovereigns, volume 1, pages 62 to 69, by Anna Brownell Jameson, 1831; original at the University of Toronto

https://archive.org/details/memoirsofcelebra02jameuoft/page/62/mode/2up

The biography:

The subsequent life of this extraordinary woman proves that the education which had rendered her bold, restless, and self-willed, while it inculcated no principle of duty, as little fitted her to play the part of an individual, as to discharge the office of a sovereign.

Christina arrived at Hamburg on the 10th of July, and took up her residence at the house of her banker, the rich Jew Texeira. By this time reports had reached her former capital that she was going about in man's attire, and entertained thoughts of changing her religion; the people were scandalized, and the Senate would have withdrawn her revenues if Charles had not interfered. From Hamburg she continued her route towards the Netherlands, and the first place at which she made any considerable stay was Antwerp. There her favourite hero, the Prince de Condé, for whom she had always professed a most romantic and enthusiastic admiration, wished to be introduced to her; but Christina, though uncrowned, demurred on some points of court etiquette, and when they did meet it was with mutual coldness and constraint.

On the day succeeding her public entry into Brussels, Christina executed a purpose which she had for some time meditated: she forsook the Lutheran faith, in which she had been educated, — the faith for which her illustrious father had fought and bled, — and professed herself a convert to the Romish Church. She made her private recantation, in presence of the Archduke Leopold, the ambassador Pimentelli, the Count Montecuculi, and others.

There is every reason to believe, from the character and subsequent conduct of Christina, that this change of religion was rather the result of policy than of conviction. She had resolved upon fixing her residence in Italy, and wished to avoid the inconveniences and the constant jealousy to which an open profession of the Protestant faith would have exposed her in a Roman Catholic country. It was, however, the interest of the priests around her to represent her as a kind of martyr, — one who had sacrificed her crown for the sake of religion: whereas it was very well known that her profession of the Roman Catholic faith was not the motive of her abdication, but rather its result. Bourdelot and Saumaise, by unsettling her religious opinions, had prepared the way for indifference and scepticism; and then her conversion, as a matter of expediency, was not difficult. The Pope, Alexander VII.[,] who had lately ascended the papal chair, felt all the importance of such an illustrious proselyte, and ordered public thanksgivings at Rome. At Brussels, although her recantation was private, it was celebrated in the most ostentatious manner by balls, masquerades, hunting-parties, and other amusements; and yet farther to honour so great, so solemn an occasion, Cardinal Mazarin sent from Paris a company of famous comedians, who entertained the court of Brussels with operas and plays, alternately, in French and Italian. As these far surpassed any thing Christina had seen in her own country, they seem to have given her particular pleasure. The perfect levity and indifference of her own deportment was consistent with the whole of this extraordinary exhibition, of which it is difficult to say whether it was most ridiculous or most shocking. "S'il y a un Dieu, je serai bien attrapée", said she, after receiving absolution at the feet of Father Guemes the Dominican.

The festivities at Brussels were interrupted by the news of her mother's death. The Queen Dowager, unable to endure with fortitude her daughter's abdication, and cut to the heart by the indifference with which she had parted from her, had refused all comfort; she fell into a languishing distemper, of which she expired in March 1655. The same cause had shortened the life of the Chancellor Oxenstiern, who died a few weeks before her; he expired with the name of Christina on his lips: "Tell her", said he, "that she will repent of what she has done." Christina, though she sincerely regretted the chancellor, received the message with a smile — for the hour of repentance had not yet arrived.

We may form some idea of the little impression which Christina left behind her in Sweden, when we find that in the space of nine or ten months after her departure, Count Brahe was the only person from whom she received the slightest token of remembrance. When, however, the news of her conversion was brought to Stockholm, the people seemed to feel that the national honour was wounded by her apostasy. Their indignation fell upon Mathias, the first preceptor of the queen, whom they accused of not having sufficiently guarded her mind against the entrance of error; and, notwithstanding his eloquent defence, he was disgraced and deprived of his bishoprick. Many members of the senate did not scruple to assert that she ought to be deprived of the revenues which had been granted to her, so that Christina began to feel already by how uncertain a tenure she held the very means of subsistence. She wrote to her cousin, King Charles, appealing to his gratitude, and recommending her interests to his protection. But no care or thought of the future appears at this time to have disturbed her gaiety. During her stay at Brussels she lived with royal magnificence, lavishing immense sums in gifts to priests, poets, courtiers, comedians, and parasites, until the ready money she had brought from Sweden was nearly exhausted. She then turned her thoughts towards Italy. She had received the most pressing invitations from the Pope to take up her residence in his capital, and, at length, on the 22nd of September 1665 [sic], she quitted Brussels to proceed to Rome. Her suite consisted of about two hundred persons, principally Austrians and Spaniards; there were also four Swedish gentlemen of quality, and two ladies of honour; the latter more for show than use, as the queen neither noticed them nor required their services.

At Frankfort, Charles the Second and his brother, then exiles from England, visited her incognito: she refused to receive them openly lest she should give umbrage to Cromwell. From Frankfort she proceeded to Augsburg, where, on being shown the table at which her father had dined after the battle which made him master of all Bavaria, she burst into tears.

Above: Kristina.

Above: Anna Brownell Jameson.

Except from summary of Peder Juel's letter to Christoffer Urne, the Grand Chancellor of Denmark, and the government of Denmark in Copenhagen, dated July 15/25 (Old Style), 1654

Source:

Handlingar rörande Sverges historia, volume 1, page 103, published by Anders Fryxell, 1836

https://runeberg.org/afhandlsve/1/0109.html

https://books.google.com/books?id=o0wCAAAAYAAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=drottning+christina+1664&source=gbs_navlinks_s

The letter summary excerpt:

... [Stockholm] 15 Jun. [sic] 1654. ... Kristinas bref till Linde om Portugisiska residenten. ...

With modernised spelling:

... [Stockholm] 15 [juli] 1654. ... Kristinas brev till Linde om portugisiske residenten. — ...

English translation (my own):

... Stockholm] [July] 15, 1654. ... Kristina's letter to Linde about the Portuguese resident. ...

Above: Kristina.

Above: Christoffer Urne.

Note: The Portuguese resident = António de Silva e Souza.

Gaudenzio Claretta on Kristina's abdication, departure from Sweden, subsequent travels, conversion to Catholicism and nearing Rome (New Style dates used)

Source:

La regina Cristina di Svezia in Italia (1655-1689): Memorie storiche ed aneddotiche con documenti, pages 7 to 11, published by Gaudenzio Claretta, 1892

https://books.google.com/books?id=FVw5CkhVMLMC&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&source=gbs_navlinks_s

The account:

III. — Abdicato adunque ch'ebbe Cristina il regno, senza rammarico abbandonò le belle spiagge del Maelar; e, come fu presso ai confini della Danimarca, la cui regina, travestita, ebbe mezzo di vederla in un albergo, non avendo creduto farlo prima per riguardo degli Svedesi che non favorivano le sue idee, tolto il motto: Fata viam invenient (essa si tronca la chioma), indossa abito maschile, si munisce d'armi militari e prende dimora presso il ricco ebreo Texeira suo agente e spedizioniere. Poi passa a Munster dove visita, col suo abito da amazzone, il collegio di quei gesuiti al quale dona 200 ducati. Muove quindi ad Anversa dove si trattenne con Gerardo Salian ricco mercante israelita. Ivi riprese la sottana muliebre. Fu pure quivi che recossi il conte Tott, deputato dal Senato di Svezia per iscongiurarla a mantenersi nella religione avita, e, compiuti i viaggi disegnati da lei, far di nuovo ritorno in patria. Ella naturalmente rispose con parole cortesi, ma si poteva ben supporre che da quel momento essa era irremovibile. Tant'è che già nuove a Bruxelles, ove la notte del 25 dicembre, con tutto segreto, nella cappella dell'arciduca Guglielmo fa l'abiura in mani del suo confidentissimo Giambattista Gomez [sic], domenicano, alla presenza di quel principe, del conte generale Montecuccoli, di Pimentel, del conte di Fuensaldagna, e del segretario del duca Augusto Navarra.

Quel grande avvenimento fu naturalmente sentito e commentato con singolare discrepanza di giudizi dai protestanti, dai luterani irritatissimi, e dai cattolici ricolmi di gioia.

La Corte di Roma ne trasse motivo a celebrare il trionfo della fede sull'eresia, e si dispose tosto a stendere il mantello di Noè sulle grandi debolezze della regina, e credere alla sincerità della sua conversione.

In mezzo a simile stato di cose, altro non rimaneva alla regina che di rivolgere unicamente i suoi sguardi e i suoi pensieri, a quella Roma, dove da lungo tempo erasi maneggiato quell'atto; dove già aveva spedite le sue preziose collezioni: e ben preziose, poichè si predicava che la sola biblioteca non temeva in Europa altre che l'emulassero; che i manoscritti raggiungessero il numero di 8000; che le pietre preziose e la quadreria, contenente opere del Coreggio e del Raffaello, avessero un valore straordinario. Si disse ancora che il suo successore non rinvenisse nel palazzo che pochi e meschini arnesi. Ed oltre all'indole di quella famosa città, che è la rappresentanza di tutto l'orbe cattolico, si prestava, a favorirne la risoluzione ormai presa, la persona stessa del sommo pontefice, ch'era Alessandro VII succeduto agli 8 d'aprile 1655 ad Innocenzo X, morto il 2 gennaio di quell'anno. Egli è noto come il Chigi, diplomatico consumato, siccome colui che era stato nunzio a Colonia, ed aveva collaborato alla compilazione della pace de' Pirenei, era fornito di modi dolci ed insinuanti. La sua elezione aveva destato grande entusiasmo in Roma, ove si spararono colpi di cannone continuamente e mortaletti più che secondo l'uso, e si erano accesi persino fuochi di fascine per dimostrare l'universale esultanza.

Le città e lo Stato pontificio erano stanchi del nepotismo del defunto pontefice, Giambattista Panfili, presso cui, come è noto, cotanto avevano potuto la famosa Olimpia Maidalchini, cognata d'Innocenzo X, consorte di Panfilo Panfili, fratello suo, e altra Olimpia, unica figlia di Giorgio Aldobrandini principe di Medola e Sarsina, principessa di Rossano, che in prime nozze sposava don Paolo Borghese principe di Sulmona ed in seconde il già cardinale Camillo Panfili, figlio dell'accennato fratello d'Innocenzo X.

Sotto il favoritismo dell'Olimpia tutto aveva potuto Camillo Castelli, giovine prelato di buona casa di Roma, divenuto cardinale padrone, e per adozione quindi aggregato ai Panfili, dei quali prese il cognome. Egli cadeva bensì presto dai favori, ma nel suo regno procurò la porpora a Decio Azzolino da Fermo, che doveva poi godere l'intima amicizia della nostra Cristina di Svezia, finchè fu a Roma.

A lui poi conveniva iniziare il suo pontificato con qualche innovazione, e sembrava volesse allontanarsi i parenti, promuovere istituzioni ecclesiastiche e favorevoli al progresso della religione. Ancora in Conclave, egli aveva divulgato che sarebbe stata buona l'elezione di pontefice tale, che non avesse una genealogia, o quanto meno non fosse inclinevole al nepotismo.

Egli è però vero che un anno dopo già cominciava a fare innovazioni al suo programma, provocando di tal guisa Pasquino a ciaramellare col dire: «Et homo factus est». E, fatto papa, accorgendosi di certe difficoltà di cui non aveva prima conosciuto la portata, si trovò impegnato fra l'affetto e il dovere, e cangiò, come vedremo. Ma nel primo anno del suo pontificato, l'avvenimento della regina di Svezia gli giovò assai per dar corso alle sue idee, e d'altronde compiere un atto generoso col dare splendida ospitalità nel suo Stato all'augusta neofita.

Già nell'agosto del 1655 i nostri agenti diplomatici facevano sapere alla Corte che Alessandro aveva fatto intagliare in una pietra preziosissima la sua effigie per farne dono alla regina; già si dava per certo che quanto prima Cristina avrebbe fatta comparsa in Roma. Il 20 settembre il segretario della Legazione savoina in quella metropoli, abate Gian Antonio Costa, scriveva ai nostri ministri che già si stavano costruendo i cocchi, le lettighe e le sedie ad uso di lei, e già erasi eletto a servirla di maggiordomo il padre del cardinale di Santa Croce. Vi fu taluno che aveva suggerito ad Alessandro d'inviare un prelato in abito clericale sino ai confini dello Stato pontificio, per ricevere dalla regina la professione della fede cattolica. Si voleva che, dopo tale atto, quel prelato dovesse accompagnarla in qualità di nunzio, e che in appresso si dovesse, a cagione di minor dispendio, affidare ad uno dei legati delle provincie la cura d'incontrarla e farla alloggiare per lo Stato ecclesiastico.

English translation (my own):

III. — So when Kristina had abdicated the kingdom, without regret she abandoned the beautiful shores of Lake Mälaren; and, when she was near the borders of Denmark, whose queen, disguised, had the opportunity to see her in an inn, having not believed to do so before out of respect for the Swedes, who did not favour her ideas, having removed the motto: Fata viam invenient (she cuts off her hair), she puts on male dress, provides herself with military weapons and takes up residence with the rich Hebrew Texeira, her agent and forwarder.

Then she goes to Münster where she visits, in her Amazon's habit, the college of those Jesuits to whom she donates 200 ducats. She then moves to Antwerp, where she stays with Gerard Saljan, a rich Israelite merchant. There she resumes the woman's cassock. It was also here that Count Tott, a representative of the Senate of Sweden, went to implore her to remain in her ancestral religion and, having completed the journeys she had planned, to return to her fatherland. She naturally responded with courteous words, but it could be assumed that from that moment on she was adamant.

So much so that she was already in Brussels, where on the night of December 25, in complete secrecy, in the chapel of Archduke Wilhelm, she abjured in the hands of her most confidant Juan Bautista Güemes, a Dominican, in the presence of that prince, of the general Count Montecuccoli, of Pimentel, of the Count of Fuensaldaña, and of the secretary of Duke Agosto Navarra.

This great event was naturally felt and commented on with singular discrepancy of judgment by the Protestants, by the very irritated Lutherans, and by the Catholics filled with joy.

The court of Rome took this as a reason to celebrate the triumph of faith over heresy, and was soon ready to spread the cloak of Noah over the Queen's great weaknesses and to believe in the sincerity of her conversion.

In the midst of such a state of affairs, the Queen had no choice but to turn her eyes and her thoughts solely to that Rome, where the act had long been in progress, where she had already sent her precious collections — and very precious indeed, for it was preached that her library alone did not fear any other in Europe to emulate it; that the manuscripts reached the number of 8000; that the precious stones and the picture gallery, containing works by Coreggio and Raphael, were of extraordinary value. It was also said that her successor would find in the palace only a few and miserable tools.

And in addition to the nature of that famous city, which is the representation of the entire Catholic world, the person of the Supreme Pontiff himself, Alexander VII, who, on April 8, 1655, succeeded Innocent X, who had died on January 2 of that year, lent himself to favouring the resolution now taken. He is known as Chigi, a consummate diplomat, as he who had been nuncio in Cologne, and had collaborated in the compilation of the Peace of the Pyrenees, was endowed with sweet and insinuating ways. His election had aroused great enthusiasm in Rome, where cannon shots were fired continuously and mortars more than usual, and even bonfires had been lit to demonstrate the universal exultation.

The cities and the Papal State were tired of the nepotism of the late pontiff, Giambattista Pamphilj, with whom, as is known, the famous Olimpia Maidalchini, the sister-in-law of Innocent X, wife of Panfilio Pamphilj, his brother, and another Olimpia, only daughter of Giorgio Aldobrandini, prince of Medola and Sarsina, princess of Rossano, had been able to do so much. Her first marriage was to Don Paolo Borghese, prince of Sulmona, and her second marriage to the former cardinal Camillo Pamphilj, son of the aforementioned brother of Innocent X.

It was then appropriate for him to begin his pontificate with some innovation, and he seemed to want to distance himself from his relatives, promote ecclesiastical institutions favourable to the progress of religion. Still in the conclave, he had divulged that it would be good to elect a pontiff who did not have a genealogy, or at least was not inclined to nepotism.

It is true, however, that a year later he was already beginning to make innovations to his program, thus provoking Pasquino to prattle by saying: "Et homo factus est". And, having become pope, realising certain difficulties whose extent he had not previously recognised, he found himself torn between affection and duty, and changed, as we shall see. But in the first year of his pontificate, the coming of the Queen of Sweden helped him greatly to give course to his ideas, and moreover to accomplish a generous act by giving splendid hospitality in his State to the august neophyte.

As early as August 1655, our diplomatic agents informed the Court that Alexander had had his effigy carved in a very precious stone to give as a gift to the Queen; it was already taken for granted that Kristina would soon appear in Rome. On September 20, the secretary of the Savoyard legation in that metropolis, Abbot Gian Antonio Costa, wrote to our ministers that the carriages, litters and chairs for her use were already being built, and that the father of the Cardinal di Santa Croce had already been elected to serve her as majordomo.

There was someone who had suggested to Alexander that he send a prelate in clerical dress to the borders of the Papal State to receive the profession of the Catholic faith from the Queen. It was intended that, after this act, that prelate should accompany her as nuncio, and that subsequently, for the sake of less expense, one of the legates of the provinces should be entrusted with the task of meeting her and having her lodged for the Ecclesiastical State.

Above: Kristina.

Above: Pope Alexander VII.