Sir Arthur Henry Hardinge's essay on Kristina, year 1880, part 1 (Introduction)

Source:

Queen Christina of Sweden: Lothian Prize Essay for 1880, pages 1 to 5, by Sir Arthur Henry Hardinge, 1880; original at the University of Michigan

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015012302041&seq=7

The essay:

ESSAY ON QUEEN CHRISTINA OF SWEDEN.

—

INTRODUCTION.

THERE are few countries which can boast a more brilliant history than Sweden, or whose annals can shew a closer succession of grand and striking pictures. Doomed, to all appearance, by nature to play but a small and secondary part in the affairs of Europe, and buried during the Middle Ages in barbarism and darkness, it suddenly rose, under the impulse of the Reformation, and of awakening national life, to the position of a leading power. The ability of its kings, the military exploits of its warriors, the wisdom of its statesmen, combined to make it, in the seventeenth century, one of the greatest and mightiest of nations, and enabled it to acquire the more lasting glory of having saved Protestantism, and all that was meant by Protestantism, when it seemed upon the eve of perishing. But the flash of Swedish power, though brilliant, was of short duration; and the decline of its European influence and greatness was almost as swift as its rise. By the end of the first quarter of the eighteenth century it had sunk into a position of comparative obscurity; and though the constitutional struggles of its subsequent history are not without interest, and though its present state is one of fair prosperity, it is by looking back to the past, and particularly to the seventeenth century, that its people can best gratify their feelings of national pride.

One of the chief causes which make the history of Sweden attractive, and to which its rise and greatness was mainly due, is the character of its individual kings. It is rare to find, in the history of any country, a succession of sovereigns who possessed such startling deeds, as the Houses of Vasa and Zweibrücken. The names of Gustavus Vasa, Gustavus Adolphus, Charles X., and Charles XII., at once call up a crowd of vivid and romantic associations; and those who remember that the Swedes were almost always a free people, and were moreover very jealous of their freedom, will be all the more ready to recognise the merits of princes of whom the national historian could say, "the history of Sweden's greatness is in truth the history of her kings."

The reign of Queen Christina is the period during which the Swedish power attained its highest pitch; but her history possesses an additional, and perhaps a deeper interest. She is not only the queen under whom the Swedish nation stood at the head of Protestant Europe in a position of proud equality with Austria, France, and Spain; she is also a woman of such extraordinary powers of mind, and of qualities and abilities of so high an order, combined with the most glaring faults and follies, that her history becomes even more interesting when, after abandoning the throne, she is able to give full play to her natural disposition, unchecked by political circumstances, or the necessities of state.

Before entering directly into the history of her reign, it may be well to trace shortly the rise of the Swedish power, which, as has been said, reached under her its highest point; and to touch lightly on some of the causes which produced the mutual relations of classes and parties, during the period of her administration.

Up to the sixteenth century, Sweden was almost unknown to Europe. A hundred years before, by the treaty of Calmar, it had become a part of the great Scandinavian monarchy established by Queen Margaret of Denmark, the Semiramis, as she was called, of the North. But during the reign of Margaret herself, and still more during those of her successors, the authority of the kings of Denmark was more nominal than real in Sweden. The government of the country was conducted mainly by officers, who, under the name of administrators, possessed a power as nearly kingly as the turbulent aristocracy would allow. Such was the condition of Sweden on the accession of Christian II. to the throne of Denmark. This prince, the "Northern Hero", who, like his Roman antitype, has found historians in the present day to represent him as the champion of popular freedom against aristocratic tyranny, formed the design of doing in Scandinavia what Louis XI. had done in France, and what the Yorkists and Tudors were doing in England. He aimed at establishing a centralised despotism on the ruins of baronial and provincial independence. Such a despotism Sweden would not endure; and when, after a long civil war, Christian gained for a time the upper hand, and signalised his victory by a treacherous massacre of the principal nobles of the country at Stockholm, it needed but a leader to organize the resistance of the indignant nation. They found one in the person of Gustav Ericson, a noble of the house of Vasa. The son of the state councillor Eric Vasa, he had early been regarded with suspicion by the king, and had only just escaped from a prison in Denmark, when the news reached him of his father's murder at Stockholm. He fled to Dalecarlia, roused the peasants of that wild country, and aided by support from Lübeck, which feared the establishment of a powerful Baltic monarchy, and by a rebellion of the nobles of Jutland, succeeded in driving out the Danes from the greater part of Sweden. The deposition of Christian by his own subjects, and the elevation to the Danish throne of his uncle, Frederick of Holstein, by the triumphant aristocracy, put an end to the war with Denmark, and Gustavus Vasa was raised to the throne by his grateful countrymen, the succession being declared, a few years later, hereditary in his descendants. His reign is the beginning of the real history of Sweden. He introduced the Reformation into his kingdom; and in an alliance which he made with Francis I. against the emperor, who supported Christian II., laid down the lines of that system of foreign policy which was to work itself out under the guidance, in later years, of Richelieu and Oxenstyerna.

The reign of the immediate successors of Gustavus was a period of anarchy and internal troubles. Eric XIV., his eldest son, was a gloomy madman, whose violence was aggravated by the opposition of his two brothers, John and Charles. The former, having dethroned and murdered him, succeeded to the throne as John III. In his reign the great Catholic reaction began to assert its influence over Sweden; and John, a secret Catholic, endeavoured to facilitate its work in Sweden by bringing the formulæ of the Swedish Church into closer harmony with those of Rome. His marriage with Catherine, the heiress of the Jagellons, united the reigning houses of Poland and Sweden; but this union did not last long, for Sigismund, the son and successor of John, had been educated by his mother in her own Church, and was Polish rather than Swedish in feeling. His attempts to restore Catholicism, and to govern Sweden from Poland, were strongly opposed by his uncle, Charles Gustavsson, the youngest son of Gustavus Vasa. Civil troubles were the result, during which many of the nobles, long accustomed to independence, and anxious to weaken the growing power of the Crown, took the side of Sigismund. The mass of the nation, however, hating the Polish connexion, and thoroughly loyal to Protestantism, gave their hearty support to Charles; and that prince, who, during the king's absence, had long practically governed Sweden, was now raised to the throne as Charles IX. The descendants of Sigismund were declared incapable of succeeding to the Crown, and the religious question was at the same time finally settled by the adoption of the Augsburg Confession as the national creed, to which all must conform.

The reign and character of Charles IX. remind one of the English Tudors. An almost absolute monarch, resting his power upon popular support, the "Peasants'-king" (Bondarkonung) made it his object to crush the power of the nobles, and to create an official aristocracy dependent on the Crown, like the "new nobility of the sixteenth century." A thorough Protestant in his religious views, and suspected indeed of Calvinism, he laboured to unite the whole Protestant world into a great defensive league against the rising tide of the Catholic reaction. The marriage of his daughter, the Princess Catherine Vasa, to the Calvinist Palsgrave, John Casimir of Zweibrücken, was an earnest of his desire to obtain a footing amongst the Protestant princes of Germany. There is reason to believe that his far-seeing mind had already conceived those great schemes of foreign policy, which his more fortunate successor was to carry out. His own reign was troubled by long, weary wars with Poland, and with the old enemy, Denmark; but he found consolation for defeats and baffled plans as he looked at his son, the young Gustavus Adolphus, and told the courtiers around him that some day the boy would do it (ille faciet). His last words were an exhortation to those around him to seek a close union with the Evangelic princes, and to beware of the designs of the Papacy and of the Austrian House.

Of his successor, Gustavus Adolphus, it is hardly necessary to speak. His history is European rather than Swedish. At home, his work was chiefly to reconcile to the Crown that nobility on which his father had trampled, but which in less than a generation rose again in a new form to power. His most intimate adviser and associate was Axel Oxenstyerna, a noble of Södermanland, who, originally destined for the Church, had abandoned theology for diplomacy, and who shared to the full his master's vast political designs. The author of Whitelocke's Embassy has given us a graphic sketch of him as he appeared in his old age: a grave old silver-haired statesman, with black velvet gown and skull-cap, conversing from preference in Latin, and interlarding his speech with Scripture phrases and quotations from the ancient philosophers, he is a characteristic type of the great ministers of that age, of the men who had learned their statecraft and views of life in the school of Cecil, and Sully, and Bacon.

In 1620, Gustavus, who had on a previous visit to Berlin already fallen in love with her, obtained from the Elector, George William of Brandenburg, the hand of his sister, Maria Eleanora, a princess attractive for her beauty and good-nature, but devoid of any real capacity, and utterly without force of character. About six years after this marriage, a daughter was born to them, to whom the name of Christina was given, and who, as the king had no male children, would become after his death heiress to the Crown. In order to fit her for rule over a military nation, he wished her to have a masculine education. He often kept her by him; and it would seem that, from her earliest years the child conceived a warm affection for him. Her first letters are to him; and though they are merely short childish expressions of affection, couched in the somewhat formal style of the time, they are not without interest, as shewing that, at the early age of three or four, the little princess had already learnt to write. Before starting for the German war, the king took her with him to the Diet, and placing her in the midst of the assembled estates, asked them to take the oath of allegiance to her, and recognise her as their queen, in case he should not return. The duty of protecting the persecuted Church of Christ, he said, and the defence of Sweden against the Poles and their ally, the emperor, had forced him to take up arms. He trusted them to second his endeavours, and committed to their care his daughter, and the heiress of his crown. The whole assembly was much moved, for Gustavus was justly beloved by his subjects, and all swore that, if he should not come back, they would receive Christina as their queen.

Above: Kristina.

Above: Gustav Adolf and Maria Eleonora.

Above: Sir Arthur Henry Hardinge.

Francis William Bain on Kristina coming of age to rule, and on the early part of her reign

Source:

Christina, Queen of Sweden, pages 54 to 57, by Francis William Bain, 1890; original at the University of Connecticut Library

https://archive.org/details/christinaqueenof00bain/page/54/mode/2up

The account:

For the sake of continuity, the war with Denmark has been related up to its close, in 1645: meanwhile Christina had come of age, and assumed the direction of affairs. On her eighteenth birthday (Or perhaps the day before; the date is not certain.), December 8, 1644, the Estates were convened at Stockholm. The ceremony took place in the Great Hall. Christina sat on a silver throne, surrounded by the chief men in the State. After promising to maintain the national religion, and the ceremonies of the Church and the State, and to observe every man's privileges and the Form of Government agreed to by the Estates, she took the oath as King of Sweden — being the first of her sex to sit on the Swedish throne; a precedent followed in 1719 in the case of Ulrica Eleanora. The Regents presented an account of their administration, wherein, after recounting the difficulties of their position, they alluded among other matters to the alienation of the Crown lands, as forced upon them by the necessities of State. The nobles also pressed her for a confirmation of their various privileges and exemptions from taxation. The Queen gave her assent and ratification to all their demands. The full consideration of the Form of Government, "seeing that by reason of the many pressing embarrassments we have not leisure to examine it accurately", was postponed until her coronation.

The internal affairs of Sweden were at this moment in a very dangerous condition. The minority of the Queen, and the eternal war, from which only the nobles derived benefit, aided by the aristocratical tendency of the constitution, had placed all the power in their hands. They used their privileges and all the means in their power to grind down the lower orders with the most oppressive exactions. The peasantry, on their side, worn out by the taxes and conscriptions, and completely powerless, in a country where land was still the chief source of wealth, were ripe for revolution. The State was divided into two hostile nations. Among the chief causes of complaint against the Government was the alienation of crown lands. The action of Christina in giving her confirmation to all the demands of the nobles, destroyed the last hope of the democratic party, always ready to put their faith in the king; serious disturbances were at hand, had not the attention of the country been diverted for the moment by the recent victories to foreign politics. We shall go more fully into the whole question further on: for the present it is to be observed, that however ready Christina might have been at the moment of her accession to the throne to play the Patriot Queen, it was morally impossible for her at eighteen, surrounded by the members of the oligarchy, among whom she had been brought up, to have broken through educational trammels and made enemies of all her friends by espousing the cause of the people to the extent required. But on the other hand, in the history of the ten years that follow, up to her abdication in 1654 — years marked by an extraordinary diligence and activity on her own part, and the most striking contrast between the brilliant glitter of the court and foreign relations, and the dull background of domestic discontent — we shall find that Christina showed in this exact respect the one great want and blot on her character as a statesman and lover of her country. Neither her own character nor the necessary circumstances allowed her to enact the part afterwards played by Charles XI.

But if in this point of her domestic policy, Christina, like many another great man, was to seek, it is quite otherwise with her foreign policy, for which she deserves a great deal more praise than she has ever received. Nowhere has the share she took in promoting the peace of Westphalia been adequately recognised. To this we must now turn, postponing the consideration of the domestic difficulties till the end of the war, after which the internal troubles were free to come to the front.

Above: Kristina.

Francis William Bain on the peace negotiations for the Treaty of Brömsebro and its conclusion

Source:

Christina, Queen of Sweden, pages 51 to 54, by Francis William Bain, 1890; original at the University of Connecticut Library

https://archive.org/details/christinaqueenof00bain/page/50/mode/2up

Kristina's letter of April 12/22 (Old Style), 1645 to Axel Oxenstierna is here:

https://kingkristina.blogspot.com/2021/08/kristinas-letter-to-axel-oxenstierna.html

Her letter of June 20/30 (Old Style), 1645 to him is here:

https://kingkristina.blogspot.com/2019/05/kristinas-letter-to-axel-oxenstierna_27.html

Her letter of June 24/July 4 (Old Style), 1645 to him is here:

https://kingkristina.blogspot.com/2019/06/excerpt-from-kristinas-letter-to-axel.html

Her speech to him, given on November 27/December 7 (Old Style), 1645, is here:

https://kingkristina.blogspot.com/2019/07/kristinas-speech-to-axel-oxenstierna.html

The account:

The Chancellor, whose diplomacy was always more coloured with national prejudice than that of a statesman ought to be, was personally inclined to press hard terms upon the vanquished; he bore a grudge against the Danes, and would have been supported in this policy both by Senate and people. But the young Queen thought very differently. She felt esteem for the heroic old King, and was unwilling to press a fallen enemy too hard; she foresaw, too, that fortune might at any moment take a turn in Germany, and that the other interested Powers might side with the Danes, in their fear of Sweden gaining too great a preponderance on the Baltic. She was unquestionably right, and showed in this preliminary peace how much more tact she possessed than the Chancellor, as she was to show it on a larger scale in the peace of Westphalia. The letters which she wrote him at this moment will not easily be paralleled among those of statesmen of nineteen.

On April 12 she writes that she is well aware of the difficulties, and of the necessity of obtaining good guarantees; still the moment seems to have arrived for pushing things to their conclusion; "we must be careful not to let slip the opportunity, and so leave posterity reason to complain. Perhaps it would be as well not to hasten the treaty too much, just at present, so as to be able to dispute over the guarantees, and so gain our ends." Oxenstiern on his part was in no degree inclined to let slip, by wax and paper, what had been won by arms. Christina writes again, on the 20th June, "I agree with you, we ought to demand Holland [sic] and Blekingen, and certainly insist on good security, without which we must not even think of peace; but amongst other reasons, which have made me recommend you to descend some steps in your demands, this is not the least, that most of the Senate are of quite a different opinion from you or me. ... Should the affair come off unsatisfactorily, people will say the whole thing was begun by certain unquiet heads, and continued by my own and certain other's ambition; my youth will be subjected to this calumny, that it was not capable of taking good counsel, but that, transported with ambition of empire, it has led me into mistakes; my fate is such that if I do anything carefully and after ripe thought, others will reap the honour. Should, on the contrary, anything be neglected, which others should have looked to, the blame will be mine." She bewails the loss of time, but hopes for better progress when the fleet has arrived. On the 24th, however, she writes more decisively. ... "I see further so many difficulties in carrying on the war, that I fear we shall have much trouble in attempting so great a task with means so small: and that it would be leaving too much to chance to refuse the conditions offered. We must recollect that, in case peace should be broken off, every one at home or abroad will lay it to the charge of our unmeasured ambition, based on injustice, and with the sole object of empire. And as I don't rely too much on the co-operation of the Dutch, I fear lest, if the proposed conditions are not accepted, they may try to become arbitrators, so that their jealousy may cause them to attempt something untoward; not to mention what the Poles might do. In short, we must make it plain before God, and all the world that we applied ourselves to all reasonable means for obtaining peace."

The peace was finally concluded on August 13, 1645. By it Sweden obtained complete freedom from tolls on the Sound and the Belts; the provinces of Jemteland and Hartjedale [sic], with the islands of Gothland and Œsel; Halland she was to hold for thirty years, after which time she was to keep it unless some equivalent territory was given her in exchange: she also retained Bremen, which had been taken by Königsmarck from King Christian's son.

On his return, Christina rewarded Oxenstiern by conferring on him the title of Count, then the highest dignity in Sweden, and endowing him with the territory of Sodermœre in Smaland. The flattering speech which she addressed to him in the senate added to his honour, inasmuch as it not only awarded him high praise, but proved by the admiration it extorted even from himself, that the commendation came from one capable of judging.

Above: Kristina.

Above: Axel Oxenstierna.

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

Francis William Bain on Maria Eleonora's escape to Denmark in 1640 and the Torstensson War

Source:

Christina, Queen of Sweden, pages 48 to 51, by Francis William Bain, 1890; original at the University of Connecticut Library

https://archive.org/details/christinaqueenof00bain/page/48/mode/2up

The account:

By a series of complications now to be related, the war was transferred to a new scene.

Since her exclusion from all share in the government or education of Christina, Maria Eleanora had continued to reside at her castle of Gripsholm, on the Lake Malar, in Sudermania. For some time she had been secretly negotiating with Denmark to make her escape from the country. All preparations being at length completed, she prepared to carry her design into execution on July 29, 1640. Dismissing her attendants on pretence of keeping a fast, she descended in the night into her garden, crossed the lake, and posed to Norkoping [sic]; thence being transported in a Danish ship to the isle of Gothland, she found two Danish men-of-war waiting to receive her, in one of which she was conveyed to Denmark, and proceeded subsequently to her native country, Brandenburg.

It seems impossible to discern how far the queen-mother or the Swedes were to blame for the hatred they entertained for one another; she was certainly harshly treated, and it has even been hinted that the Chancellor was instrumental in compelling her to fly from Sweden; it has further been asserted, with little probability, that the ancient King of Denmark had motives of a very tender character to induce him to lend her aid. In any case, her flight to the country, and by the aid, of their hereditary enemy, roused very sore feelings in the Swedish people. Though her flight has been most erroneously termed the cause of the war which followed, it was certainly one of the primary occasions of it. The cause lay deeper. The jealous national hatred of Denmark had recently been violently excited, not only by the action of that country with respect to the Sound dues, which Christian IV., in 1639, when the Swedish prestige was low, had raised, but also by the attempts of that monarch to constitute Denmark a mediator in the peace negotiations, behind which pretext he was suspected of concealing dangerous machinations. On the bad feeling thus created the circumstances of the Queen-mother's flight fell like a spark. Sharp recriminations passed on both sides; but a war with Denmark now appearing inevitable, and being moreover thoroughly popular, and the Dutch further urging Sweden to fight, the Regents determined to forestall the enemy in commencing hostilities. Accordingly, without any distinct declaration of war, secret orders were sent to Torstenson to invade Holstein; (these were to be disavowed by the Government should any accommodation be arrived at in the meantime).

In 1643, Torstenson, after succeeding in throwing Gallas off his guard by feigned proposals for an armistice, hastily burst into Holstein, defeated the Danes at Kolding, occupied Jutland up to the Skaw, and threatened Fyen; at the same time Horn entered Scania with twenty thousand men, and made himself master of Helsingborg, Lund, Christianstad, and the isle of Bornholm.

On the sea, however, fortune was not at first on the side of the Swedes; De Geer's thirty ships, manned by Dutch volunteers, were unsuccessful against the Danes, commanded by Christian himself. In the great sea fight next year, on July 6, which was four times renewed, both sides claimed the victory: the old king of sixty-eight years fought like Hector, and was badly wounded, as well as having his eye knocked out. On the Swedish side, the High Admiral Klas Flemming was killed in his cabin, three weeks later, by a spent ball. But, in spite of his tremendous personal efforts, Christian was unsupported by his factious aristocracy, and taken entirely unprepared; his allies failed him; the attempts of Gallas to create a diversion in his favour were foiled by Torstenson. In the sea fight of October 13, 1644, the Swedes and Dutch combined obtained a decisive victory: their prestige was moreover increased by the recent victory of Torstenson at Jankowitz, and the taking of Bremen by Königsmarck. Denmark had no choice left: Oxenstiern came to Bromsebro to negotiate a peace, under the mediation of France, through its ambassador, de la Thuillerie.

Above: Maria Eleonora.

Note: Jankowitz is the German name for what is now the town of Jankov in what is now the Central Bohemian region of the Czech Republic.

Francis William Bain on the Thirty Years' War in the 1640s

Source:

Christina, Queen of Sweden, pages 46 to 48, by Francis William Bain, 1890; original at the University of Connecticut Library

https://archive.org/details/christinaqueenof00bain/page/46/mode/2up

The account:

In order to explain the allusions in these letters it is necessary to take up the history of the war in Germany which we left at the victory of Wittstock. In the interval, Baner's genius had regained for Sweden all the prestige lost at Nordlingen, and established his claim to be considered one of the first generals of the age. We have seen the allusions of Christina to the struggle for Brisach; this place, reputed impregnable, had been seized by Bernard of Weimar, entirely to the satisfaction of France, in whose interests he was acting. It was the design of the Duke to establish himself as an independent chief in Germany, after the fashion of Wallenstein; he had even began to negotiate his marriage with the Princess of Hesse, the celebrated Amalia Elizabeth, when he suddenly died, in 1639. This left the Imperialist forces opposed to him free to join those engaged with Baner; and France seized the opportunity to gain possession of Brisach, and take Bernard's army into her pay.

The difficulty Baner found in conducting a campaign with vastly inferior forces was increased by the want of money and his own ill health. Owing to the state of the finances, Oxenstiern had to write to him that the war must pay itself; nor could the Government listen to his repeated demands for furlough. "Baner on a sick-bed is worth more than any other man on horseback;" "Sweden requires John Baner's services, and John Baner must serve." We cannot enter into the details of his operations, but at his death, in 1641, Christina's forebodings only proved too well grounded. Just as after Lutzen, so after the death of the "second Gustavus" at Halberstadt, the Swedish cause seemed falling to pieces; mutiny again arose in the army; the officers refused to obey a Swedish general any longer, and sent home a deputation with their demands; some even began to treat with the enemy. The distress was terrible; troopers and soldiers bartered their horses and accoutrements for provisions. The desperate condition of affairs is well shown in an extract from a letter written by General Wrangel to his son: "Mind that ye lay hands upon somewhat, as the rest do; he that takes it has it."

It seemed, indeed, as if at this moment nothing could save the cause. But it was the fortune of Sweden to possess in this hour of need, yet another general trained in the school of Gustavus Adolphus; she found in Leonard Torstenson a man worthy to redeem the loss of Baner; "his equal in genius, his superior in energy: mastering by the greatness of his soul a body wasted by captivity and disease." The extraordinary pace at which he flew about from place to place, even when unable from sickness to mount a horse, gained him among the soldiers the nickname of "Blixten", "the Lightning." Arriving from Sweden in the autumn with fresh troops and money, he infused a new spirit into the army, and, though so ill that at times he had to be carried in a litter, succeeded in closing a brilliant campaign with the decisive victory of Leipzic (October 23, 1642).

Henry Woodhead on Maria Eleonora's escape to Denmark

Source:

Memoirs of Christina, Queen of Sweden, volume 1, pages 95 to 96, by Henry Woodhead, 1863; original at the University of Michigan

https://books.google.com/books?id=XI02AAAAMAAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=maria+euphrosyne&source=gbs_navlinks_s

The account:

Maria Leonora was greatly exasperated when the Council would not let her resume the charge of her daughter, after the death of the Princess Catharine. She retired to the castle of Gripsholm in Sudermania, from whence she corresponded with the King of Denmark, and planned her escape from Sweden. One summer night, in 1640, a boat took her to the other side of the lake; a carriage was waiting there, which took her to Nyköping, from whence she embarked in a Danish frigate.

This act of the Queen Dowager's, injudicious at any time, was especially so when the Government had just paid off her debts; equally injudicious was the speech she made to the Swedish Consul at Elsinore, "that she would rather live on bread and water elsewhere than be treated royally in Sweden."

Her enemies made the most of this fault. The Senate stopped her pension, the clergy struck her name out of the public prayers, and she was even accused by some, among whom was the French minister, Count d'Avaux, of entertaining a passion for the King of Denmark, although at this time he was sixty-six years of age.

Above: Maria Eleonora.

Above: Kristina.

Above: King Christian IV of Denmark.

Note: Elsinore = Helsingør.

Henry Woodhead on Axel Oxenstierna's return to Sweden; Princess Katarina's character; Kristina's studies and physical education; Katarina's death; and Kristina's intellectual progress, initiation into public affairs, and her masculine propensities

Source:

Memoirs of Christina, Queen of Sweden, volume 1, pages 83 to 95, by Henry Woodhead, 1863; original at the University of Michigan

https://books.google.com/books?id=XI02AAAAMAAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=maria+euphrosyne&source=gbs_navlinks_s

The account:

OXENSTIERN arrived in Stockholm the 14th of July, 1636, and was received with the honours he had earned so well. He was met at the gates by the Senate and a deputation of the States, and was treated with almost as much respect as if he had been the sovereign. It has been already mentioned that one of his first acts was to remove Christina from her mother. Her tutors and governors were retained, and the love of study which had first been roused by the desire to escape from her mother's gloomy apartments, was now implanted firmly enough to flourish under the more genial care of her aunt.

This exemplary princess was always loved and respected by Christina, and perhaps the eccentricities which afterwards appeared in her character would never have been developed if it had not been for the premature death of her aunt.

Catharine was the only surviving child of Charles IX. by his first wife, and every account represents her as amiable and good. Her household was a pattern of correctness and good management; she ruled it mildly, yet firmly, and chiefly by her own good example. She comforted and attended the sick, with skill as well as with kindness; she assisted the poor systematically, and if they did not venture to come to the palace[,] she sought them in their cottages, "with gifts in her hands, and comfort on her lips."

Her piety kept pace with her charity; every day she read to her household, either from the Bible or from some devotional book.

Gustavus Adolphus had loved her tenderly, and she now repaid his affection by her care of his daughter.

The Regents, and the nobles in general, were not well disposed towards her husband's family; but no one had a word to say against Catharine, and it gave general satisfaction that she should have the charge of Christina.

Matthiæ now read with his pupil the works of Livy, Terence, Cicero, and Sallust. She entered into the spirit of these authors, and could write good Latin herself.

Theology had its full share in her education, and while under Matthiæ's charge she seems to have been sincerely and unaffectedly pious. Many of her letters written at this time display a strong religious feeling, and even at a later period Freinsheimius spoke of her veneration for religious subjects, and of the study she devoted to religion. Chanut said, in 1648, that "she was faithfully attached to Christianity, although she was not scrupulous, and did not affect a ceremonious devotion."

Oxenstiern also took his place among the tutors of the young Princess. He spent several hours a day with her, and taught her general politics, and the relations of Sweden to foreign states.

Few princes have had the advantage of such a master. She recorded years afterwards the profit and pleasure she had derived from these studies with the Chancellor, and said that all her knowledge of politics was derived from him. These hours appear to have been pleasant to them both, for Oxenstiern was delighted with his pupil's quick comprehension and sound understanding.

Christina is said to have first begun the study of French about this time; but it would seem she had some acquaintance with the language considerably earlier, because several French words are introduced in a short letter she wrote to her aunt in 1634. The French language was then very little known in Sweden, so that those words could not have been in general use. The way also in which they are employed is just that which might be expected from a child who was learning several languages at the same time.

Christina's physical education was not neglected on account of her studies. She followed the chase with the same energy which she displayed in every pursuit, and the accounts of her adroitness are almost too wonderful to be believed; for it is said that while on horseback, and at a gallop, she could shoot a hare with a single ball. When the rest of her attendants were thrown out, she frequently continued the pursuit, accompanied only by the strongest and most expert huntsmen. It is a fact little in accordance with the character generally given to Christina, that notwithstanding her love for the excitement of field-sports, she never witnessed the death of an animal without showing strong feelings of pity, sometimes even to the extent of being moved to tears.

Christina experienced an irreparable loss in the death of her aunt. This amiable Princess expired, after a short illness, in December, 1638, and left her charge not quite thirteen years old, and without any female about her who possessed her confidence.

Two days before her death[,] she called Christina to her bed-side, made her read the prayers for the day, and exhorted her to devotion towards God, and to obedience towards her tutors and governors. The dying woman next charged her to love Sweden, and to perform her high duties with diligence and zeal. Lastly, and not without tears, she begged the young Queen's favour and protection for the husband and children she was leaving behind.

Never was a dying injunction more faithfully observed than this last. Christina resigned her crown to Catharine's son, and resigned the man she loved to Catharine's daughter.

During this interview the attendants broke into lamentations for their beloved mistress. She endeavoured to console them, and said gently: "I leave here many friends, but many others have gone before me, and are now expecting me in the place to which I am hastening."

John Skytte said of her, "she was universally beloved, as a pattern of religion, patience, and all Christian virtues — yes, she was truly a pearl among Sweden's royal daughters."

Christina wrote a letter of condolence to her uncle, and promised to do all the good in her power to him and his children, in return for the truly maternal care she had experienced from the late Princess. Notwithstanding Christina's brilliant qualities[,] she seldom inspired much affection, nor can it be said that she possessed an affectionate disposition; but she met with sympathy and love from her aunt, and always cherished her memory with peculiar tenderness.

The Regents found considerable difficulty in supplying the place of the Princess Catharine. Anna Banér, the wife of Gabriel Oxenstiern, was invited to take charge of Christina, but she declined to undertake it, on the plea that she did not wish to leave her own children; but in fact, she, as well as Helena Bjelke, the wife of Klas Fleming, to whom it was next offered, did not wish to incur the responsibility. At last the Chancellor's sister [sic], Beata Oxenstiern, was chosen, but her office was hardly more than a nominal one, for Christina neither asked nor took advice from any one except Axel Oxenstiern, Axel Banér, and John Matthiæ.

The Chancellor had taught Christina about a year, when she discovered so much capacity, that[,] although she was only thirteen years old, he recommended she should be gradually initiated in public affairs. She entered into these matters with so much interest and intelligence, that by the time she was fourteen, it was decided she should be present at the deliberations of the Council on the most important occasions, "so that she might learn government was a heavy responsibility, and might not hereafter throw all the cares of it on her ministers, as the German Princes did."

The Council also wished her to take some part, as early as possible, in the conduct of affairs, because they anticipated that at a future time people would not be wanting to accuse their management. During the next few years[,] Christina's course of life was regular, and her efforts were unremitting in the acquisition of that vast stock of knowledge for which she afterwards became so famous. Her faults also continued to develop themselves. Her line of knowledge made her take a keen delight in the conversation of able men; but, unfortunately, her dislike increased for the habits and society of women. She felt no sympathy for the old Scandinavian doctrine, that there is something divine in the nature of women, independent of, and superior to, acuteness of reason. The philosophers of her court gladly encouraged a frame of mind in their queen which was so favourable to their own influence, a frame of mind which acknowledged only one form of excellence, and ignored the charms of grace and beauty.

The rudeness and coarseness of manner which men acquire when they have been long debarred from female society, has often been noticed, and it is frequently found that refinement of feeling is lost at the same time with elegance of manners.

It is still more injurious to a young woman to be separated from persons of her own sex; she then sees no example and can aim at no standard than a masculine one. She seldom reaches this, even to her own satisfaction, but she loses her own natural grace and dignity in the effort. She is ignorant of the amiable qualities which she does not see, and she this acquires a contempt for women which is never felt, and seldom pretended, except by the worst of men. There had not been many queens to serve as a model for Christina, but she had carefully studied the life of Elizabeth, and may have derived from her career the impression that vigour was inseparably connected with a rough and masculine manner. Had she lived to our own time, she might have learned from another English Queen [Victoria] how to combine every womanly virtue with a wise and active administration.

Christina carefully avoided the vices of men, although she acquired much of their hardness and coarseness. She always expressed great abhorrence of drunkenness, which was the besetting sin of the Swedes; in fact, she carried temperance to an extreme, for she drank nothing but water, and was so indifferent to the pleasures of the table, that she was never known to say a word either in praise or in blame of the repast that was set before her; but she indulged in another habit, which is now considered almost as shocking as that of drinking, viz., the habit of profane swearing.

It would not be fair, however, to take this habit as an indication of a depraved or irreligious disposition in the 17th century.

Oaths were commonly used in conversation at this time, not only in Sweden, but in the more civilized England. Our own Queen Elizabeth used to indulge in this sort of language, and more than a hundred years after her time[,] a lady was recognized at once as a woman of quality because she swore so horribly.

Christina confesses this fault in her Memoirs, and says that as soon as she became aware of it she endeavoured to correct it; but she adds that no one in Sweden of either sex used to speak without an oath.

Although swearing was not especially a masculine habit, yet in other respects she affected the manners of the male sex to an absurd degree. She wore a black handkerchief like the soldiers, she used to bow and salute as men did, and it was even said she carried the whim so far as to go through the form of twirling a moustache.

Christina was never diffident of her own powers, and must have felt that none of her ministers, except Oxenstiern, had abilities equal to her own; yet strangely enough she often dwelt on the unfitness of women for government, and this idea gives the clue to her apparently childish and silly imitation of men. She said in her Memoirs, "It is almost impossible that a woman should perform the duties required on the throne. The ignorance of women, their feebleness of mind, body, and understanding, makes them incapable of reigning."

Yet Christina must have felt her superiority to the ignorant soldiers about her, in everything but physical strength.

Above: Kristina.

Above: Princess Katarina.

Above: Axel Oxenstierna.

Henry Woodhead on the conscription and taxation in Sweden and on the Thirty Years' War

Source:

Memoirs of Christina, Queen of Sweden, volume 1, pages 58 to 82, by Henry Woodhead, 1863; original at the University of Michigan

https://books.google.com/books?id=XI02AAAAMAAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=maria+euphrosyne&source=gbs_navlinks_s

The account:

This [separating Christina from her mother] was not the only difficulty the Regents had to encounter. The Diet, of which they were the movers, was called on to provide supplies for the continuance of the war. Everyone who paid taxes was unwilling to have them increased.

The Scandinavian kingdoms had hardly reached that state in which war is understood to be a burthen and expense. They rather expected to be enriched by the plunder of other nations. A continual demand, not only for men but also for money, was severely felt by the classes that furnished both.

The conscription was so oppressive that, in Finland, the peasants went over in large bodies to Russia, for the purpose of escaping its operation; in other places they burned their houses and escaped to the woods.

Extraordinary taxes, according to the Constitution, could only be voted by the Diet. The Burghers remonstrated at the increasing expenses, and represented the exhaustion of the kingdom. They were, however, accustomed to pay, and were persuaded to do so again. They tried to introduce a little religious business, and proposed that all the Calvinists in Sweden should be forced to adopt the Lutheran faith. The sincerity of their theological zeal has been doubted, and it is said that this stipulation was inspired by jealousy of the great Dutch merchants De Geer.

The nobles, to their credit, successfully resisted this piece of intolerance; but the next question raised was of their contributing themselves to the necessities of the state. The aristocracy had hitherto been exempt from taxation.

A privilege so gratifying to their avarice, as well as to their pride, was not likely to be abandoned without a struggle. Oxenstiern acted as mediator between the nobles and the other States, and persuaded the former that it was only just they should now pay some taxes in return for past favours. If they had not done so the country would have sunk under the emergency, for the greater part of its wealth was in the hands of those who did not contribute to the taxes. They claimed great credit for their patriotism; but it was rather an enlightened self-interest which led the nobles to save from destruction a state in which they had so large a stake.

It was hoped that when the nobles consented to pay taxes, the clergy might be induced to follow their example; but this was far from being the case. The clergy deemed it a sacred duty to acquire what temporal benefits they could, but to impart only spiritual good. They voted as a separate State, and objected most strenuously to pay anything at all. The discussion lasted several days, and the amount of reason on their side was soon expended.

They then began to wax warm, and threatened Sweden with God's wrath and vengeance if they were not relieved from all taxes. The pertinacious Jacob de la Gardie urged, very logically, that if taxing the clergy did indeed call down God's wrath they were themselves already obnoxious to it, because, on former occasions, they had consented to pay taxes. The clergy answered that they would now consent to nothing of the sort.

The Council did not venture to provoke them[,] and the States separated in March, 1633. They met again at midsummer in the next year, and so much discontent was then manifested, that it was feared serious disturbances would arise. The peasants sent a list of their grievances to the Council, and threatened to leave the Diet if they were not redressed; so violent was their feeling that a Finnish peasant deputy was beaten in the assembly for being too favourable to the nobles. The chief discontent was about the expenses of the State, which it is important to notice, because Christina has been generally accused of causing the financial difficulties under which Sweden laboured at the time of her abdication, although these difficulties were really of much longer standing. Her profuseness added to the distress, but the real causes were the privileges of the nobles, and their ambition in continuing to carry on a war too great for the resources of the country.

But if Sweden had to encounter danger and difficulty at home, her power abroad was threatened with no less than total destruction. The Imperialists took fresh courage at the death of Gustavus. They considered that Sweden had undertaken a task beyond her strength, and that her success had been owing to the great military talent of the King, and to some fortunate accidents. They also believed that the Protestant coalition, deprived of its head, would soon dissolve, and leave Sweden to contend alone against Austria.

It would have been difficult for Sweden to have made an honourable peace at this moment, even if she had desired it.

Oxenstiern wrote to the Council, that the only chance was to put on a good countenance; "for", he quaintly added, "a dog who growls and shows his teeth, can make better terms than one who puts his tail between his legs and runs away."

His enemies were well aware of his abilities, and did not consider the Swedish cause quite ruined, so long as he was at the head of affairs. Immense offers were made him by Austria, to entice him into the Emperor's service, which it is needless to say Oxenstiern did not entertain for an instant.

France, though for some time she had subsidised Sweden, and was soon to become her ally, had yet some distinct interests of her own, among which was the desire to gain possession of Alsace, then held by the Swedish troops. Louis XIII. wrote flattering letters to Oxenstiern, in which he styled him "my cousin." He offered him the Electorate of Mayence for himself, and hinted that if he chose to demand the hand of Christina for one of his sons, France would support him, if necessary, even by arms. Oxenstiern knew it was the interest of his country he should be on good terms with France; he did not, therefore, affect any indignation at these proposals, but replied, calmly and simply, that they were too high for him.

Oxenstiern's first important act after the King's death, was to convoke an assembly of the Protestant States at Heilbronn. The most powerful, at the same time the most uncertain of the confederates, was the Elector of Saxony. Oxenstiern went to Dresden, before the meeting, to consult the Elector, but soon found there was little dependence to be placed in him; and even at this time some of the Saxon ministers were in favour of the Emperor. From Dresden, Oxenstiern proceeded to Berlin, to consult the Elector of Brandenburg. This prince was better disposed towards the Swedish alliance, and Oxenstiern judiciously held out to him the prospect of Christina's marriage with his son Frederick William, afterwards called the Great Elector. This alliance, which Gustavus Adolphus himself had projected, would have been a most suitable one, and it would be curious to speculate how different might have been the career of Christina, if this marriage had taken place, and the effect it might have had on Prussia and Sweden. Instead of remaining rivals, the two great Protestant countries of the north would have been united, and Frederick William might have raised Prussia to the dignity it attained one hundred years later, under his descendant, Frederick the Great.

Christina's genius, tempered and directed, would have conferred substantial benefits on mankind, instead of merely dazzling and surprising them.

Notwithstanding the opposition of the Elector of Saxony, deputies from the Protestant circles met at Heilbronn, the 8th of March, 1633.

Oxenstiern received them at his house, and got over, or rather evaded, the first difficulty, about precedence, by receiving them standing, in a room without any chairs. The Protestant princes were very jealous of Oxenstiern. They had submitted with reluctance to the ascendancy of Gustavus himself, but that a Swedish nobleman should have the direction of independent princes, was hardly to be borne. It was probably only their jealousy of one another, which caused the management of the "Evangelical Alliance" to be intrusted to Sweden and to Oxenstiern.

He was assisted by a council, consisting of a deputy from each state, and the confederates agreed to keep up an army of 60,000 men, and to make no separate peace. It was indeed an Herculean task to make these discordant elements unite, and Oxenstiern often despaired of doing anything with them. He wrote to the Swedish council, "It is difficult sometimes to manage those over whom one has lawful authority, much more, powerful princes, with their heads full of ancestors, and fancies many hundreds years old."

He concluded with the noble expression, "But when I consider the welfare of our Fatherland and our young Queen, and the honour of our people, it appears to me best to do what I can, sometimes with, sometimes without hope, but always my duty."

Oxenstiern took up his residence at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, as the most convenient place for communicating with the Confederates.

In addition to the enemies or doubtful friends by whom the Swedish army was surrounded, it was also threatened in the rear by Denmark. The only consideration which restrained the king of Denmark at this time, was the fact that he intended his son to be a suitor for Christina's hand, and although it was improbable that the Swedes would consent to an alliance with the family of Christian the Tyrant, still the king would not, by declaring war, renounce all chance of succeeding in the long cherished project of uniting the two crowns. Although his anxiety to prevent Sweden from occupying the shores of the Baltic was well known, he artfully offered himself as a mediator between Sweden and the Empire.

It was difficult for Oxenstiern to refuse his mediation, and it would have been dangerous to accept it; but the prudent statesman got out of the dilemma by proposing the joint mediation of Denmark, France, and Holland.

The Swedish army was commanded by Bernhard, Duke of Weimar, who had served under Gustavus Adolphus, and had brought the battle of Lutzen to a successful issue, after the king's death. He had considerable military abilities, and possessed a qualification which had become all important, popularity with the soldiers. The troops were no longer composed chiefly of Swedes, inspired by loyalty and devotion to their country. Their piety, which, if not quite so vehement, was as sincere as that of the English Puritans, had now ceased to exist. A reckless disregard of all principle had become prevalent on both sides.

After a decisive battle crowds of the defeated soldiers did not scruple to join the army of the victors, and even officers of high rank were not ashamed to change sides in this way. The Swedes, being generally successful, had plenty of such recruits, but two things were necessary to keep them to their standards, success and plunder.

Their General must possess the skill to lead them to victory; he must keep up some kind of subordination, without which no army could exist; but he must abandon the stern discipline of Gustavus Adolphus, which had rendered his troops terrible only to his enemies.

Bernhard of Weimar was well suited to such a post. He could sympathize with motives similar to those which governed his own conduct, as Bernhard himself fought for plunder, although he aimed at a higher prize than the mercenary trooper did, who loaded his horse indifferently with the spoils of friend or foe. Bernhard, like Wallenstein, sought to establish himself in Germany as an independent sovereign. Neither of them perceived that the days of Condottieri Princes were past, that the interests involved, and the powers engaged, in the present strife, were too great to allow adventurers to establish themselves as they had done in the middle ages.

A keen eye also was watching Bernhard; Oxenstiern, superior to temptation himself, steadily opposed the personal ambition of the Duke.

A mutiny broke out in the Swedish army, which was suspected to be secretly instigated by Bernhard. The troops demanded money, and their leader claimed the investiture of some fiefs in Franconia, and the title of Generalissimo of the Swedish armies. Oxenstiern preserved his usual calmness and presence of mind. He was so far from being intimidated by these demands, that he threatened to remove the Duke from his command altogether.

Bernhard was awed by his firmness, and gladly accepted the investiture of the fiefs as the subject of Sweden, instead of as an independent ruler.

The officers and troops soon returned to their duty; the Scotch Brigade, as before mentioned, took no part in the mutiny; overtures were made to their leader Ruthven, which he rejected with disdain.

Bernhard of Weimar was the only chief of the Swedish army who was not a Swede, and although his ability was perhaps not inferior to that of his successors, he was wanting in the singleness of purpose so conspicuous in the native commanders, which led them successfully through so many difficulties. During his time the fortune of the war fluctuated as it never did before or afterwards, and there was even a hesitation on the Swedish side about undertaking important operations, which was caused by the fear of treachery. The Duke had the unfortunate distinction of commanding in the only battle during the Thirty Years' War, in which the Swedes suffered a total defeat.

The battle of Nördlingen was fought in August, 1634. The Swedish Field-Marshal Horn, who was second in command, wished to wait for some reinforcements which were on their way; Bernhard not only refused to do this, but taxed Horn with cowardice. The battle was rashly conducted as well as rashly begun, on the side of the Swedes, and it ended in their complete overthrow. Their infantry was almost destroyed. Six thousand Swedes were left on the field, a great number of prisoners were taken, among whom was Horn, and the whole of the Swedish guns, baggage, and 130 stand of colours, were captured. The expected reinforcements arrived at the close of the battle, too late to change the fortune of the day, but in time to prevent the defeat being converted into a total rout.

The power of Sweden in Germany seemed almost annihilated by this blow, and the news of the calamity caused Oxenstiern his second sleepless night. Nothing but the most indomitable energy could have carried him through the difficulties with which he was now beset.

The Elector of Saxony, at the best a doubtful ally, soon showed signs of not remaining an ally at all, or even a neutral. Uladislaus of Poland renewed his pretensions to the Swedish throne, and his attitude became more threatening from the circumstance that the truce concluded with Gustavus Adolphus, expired just at this time. Negotiations for the renewal of the truce were checked at the very outset, as Uladislaus, in his communications with the Regents, styled himself King of Sweden, and studiously avoided even the mention of Christina.

Other countries prepared to take advantage of the misfortunes of Sweden. The envoys of Brandenburg and England supported the Polish claims, and Charles the First promised to help Uladislaus in an attack on Sweden, although it is difficult to imagine such a course being actuated by any sound principles of policy.

France pretended a more friendly disposition, but secretly informed the Polish minister that, if better terms could not be obtained, Sweden would at least give up her possessions in Prussia. This faithless conduct had a different effect from what might have been expected. Uladislaus thought the Swedes were discouraged, and accordingly raised his own pretensions. He demanded the cession of Prussia, Liefland, and Estland, and that he should be proclaimed King of Sweden. During his absence, his brother, John Casimir, was to act as Regent, and his other brother and sister to receive the great fiefs of Finland and Ingermanland. Uladislaus raised some troops to support these extravagant pretensions; but he calculated a good deal on finding a party in Sweden favourable to his claims.

He bribed some students to distribute a letter, in which he spoke of his lawful title to the throne; he said that Sweden was now suffering from God's wrath on account of the usurpation of Duke Charles and of Gustavus Adolphus, and that the early death of the latter was a manifestation of the Divine displeasure. He then adverted to the heavy taxes under which the Swedes laboured, and told them that the only way to lighten these burthens was to call back their lawful King.

The arrogant demands of Uladislaus caused so much indignation in Sweden, that all negotiations would have been broken off if he had not altered his tone, and offered to renounce his claim to the Swedish throne on condition of receiving Liefland and Prussia. His demands, even thus modified, were rejected by the Council.

Oxenstiern sent some sharp remonstrances to the French minister who had betrayed his counsel; he threatened to leave Germany altogether to Austria, and to direct the whole force of Sweden against Poland, where he said more was to be won or lost.

To give effect to his threat, an army of twenty thousand men was with some difficulty equipped, and the command given to Jacob de la Gardie, whose name struck terror into an enemy so well acquainted with his prowess.

Additional contributions were necessary to pay this army; many of the nobility began to repent of the precedent they had given in paying taxes, but they were carried away by the enthusiasm of Gabriel Oxenstiern, who said in the Council that he would sell the plate from his table and the cap from his head to serve his country in this extremity.

An epidemic broke out in De la Gardie's army which induced the Swedish Council to make more concessions than they would otherwise have done, and it was finally agreed to cede Prussia to Poland.

It was stipulated that both Christina and Uladislaus should be called kings of Sweden, but that the latter should never rest any claim to possession on this title. Even when these terms were agreed upon by the two governments, they still could not determine upon a regular treaty of peace, but a truce was concluded for twenty-six years, from the 2nd of September, 1635.

Oxenstiern was as uncompromising as those old Roman Senators who increased their demands after each success of their enemy. He complained bitterly of a truce which he considered disgraceful to his country, and expressed himself so sharply to the Council, that the peaceful Gabriel Gustaf urged him to write them a conciliatory letter. The Chancellor refused to do this. He said, "He should be sorry if his old friend De la Gardie was displeased with his letter, that he meant nothing offensive to him, and did not even know that he had taken any part in the truce: still", the Chancellor added, "I cannot help it, for I consider the cause, and not persons."

Prussia always remained a sore subject with him. He often complained, both in his letters and speeches, that half the power and revenue of Sweden were lost when Prussia was alienated. He wrote to his son John, that "he grieved to outlive the day that Sweden forgot her great king's fame, and her own glory."

The truce cannot be considered very unfavourable, and certainly not disgraceful for Sweden. The only sacrifice she made was to give up a country to which she had very little claim. Her energies were taxed to the utmost in the war she had engaged in with Austria. The hostility of another powerful and warlike nation could hardly have failed to entail some disasters. It had required all the skill and ability of Gustavus Adolphus to conduct a war successfully against Poland, even when it stood alone.

On the other hand[,] Poland was already threatened with the revolt of the Cossacks, which produced a bloody civil war in 1648. The terms were, therefore, such as might be satisfactory to both parties; the only conditions on which a solid peace can be based.

In the meantime, Oxenstiern had made a treaty with France, by which that kingdom was engaged as a principal in the German war. Richelieu had contemplated this for some time, but while the Swedish arms were triumphant, Oxenstiern did not meet his advances with any cordiality.

The battle of Nordlingen made a great difference; even Oxenstiern began to doubt the power of Sweden to contend single-handed with the empire. Richelieu, whose great desire was to check Austria, would have been content to do so by subsidising Sweden. He now saw that it was necessary to throw the sword of France into the scale. The two great statesmen were, therefore, not disposed to lose time in vain endeavours to overreach one another. The illustrious Hugo Grotius had been sent to Paris early in 1635, as the Ambassador of Sweden; but the negotiations flagged in his hands. He was obnoxious to the French Minister because he had been recently in the service of France, where he had been badly treated. Richelieu at the first objected to him on the ground that Oxenstiern had not authority to appoint an ambassador, but the Chancellor reminded him that the authority which could make a treaty with France was sufficient to appoint an ambassador.

Richelieu made one attempt to deceive Grotius. He spread a report that France was about to make a separate treaty with the Emperor, but Grotius wrote to Oxenstiern, that this was a mere ruse, as in fact it turned out to be. Still, however, the treaty did not progress, either on account of the Cardinal's dislike to Grotius, or because the latter had not sufficiently explicit instructions. Oxenstiern resolved to see Richelieu himself, and arrived at Compiègne in April, 1635. The meeting of these two remarkable men was conducted with a degree of simplicity not very usual at that time. No time was lost in negotiations about precedence. The terms of the treaty were discussed, and the treaty itself signed in the short space of two days, and on the third day Oxenstiern took his leave.

By this treaty, France and Sweden agreed to carry on the war jointly against Austria; and each power engaged not to make peace without the other's consent. The independence of the German states was guaranteed. France agreed to pay an annual subsidy to Sweden, and to offer her mediation for the continuance of the truce with Poland. In return for this[,] Alsace was ceded to France.

Another stage of the Thirty Years' War was now passed. The ablest of the Imperial generals had been murdered by orders from Vienna, and his death had not the effect of encouraging the others, for there was afterwards a singular dearth of talent among the Austrian leaders. This deficiency became at last so marked, that the only man to be found who was not far below mediocrity was Menander [sic]; and to him, though a Protestant and a foreigner, was entrusted the defence of the Catholic cause, and of the Austrian Empire. Wallenstein, however, the greatest of the Imperial generals, well deserved his fate. He raised and commanded an army of mercenaries, who had no interest in the cause they espoused except the pay they received and the plunder they expected. Wallenstein's own character resembled that of his troops. His conduct was never directed by patriotism or honour, but solely by self-interest; and he seemed at last to have become quite bewildered with his own complicated intrigues. He carried on negotiations with the Swedes, and offered to unite with them to attack his master the Emperor, but Oxenstiern refused to trust a man with whom no engagement was binding. He said: "He who betrays his own country will betray any other." Even Bernhard of Weimar, not overscrupulous himself, refused to treat with one who had no respect for God or man. Wallenstein invited him to occupy Passau and Eger, and to join him at Pilsen.

It is a matter of conjecture whether Wallenstein was sincere in this offer, and if so[,] whether his intention was to join the Swedes, or whether he wished to unite with the other mercenary leader to form a party of their own; but Bernhard knew that he could not depend on him, and answered, that "no one can put faith in one who does not believe in God."

By a singular retribution, the traitor fell by treachery. Some Irish and Scotch mercenaries, who owed everything to him, murdered their benefactor, to obtain a larger reward than he could bestow.

The German Protestant princes have been blamed for their want of fidelity towards the Swedes, who came to save them from injury and oppression. At this distance of time we may form a juster opinion. The interests of the Swedes and of the German Protestant Princes agreed temporarily in one respect, in the desire to check the arbitrary power of Austria; but in every other respect their interests were diametrically opposed.

The German princes regarded the authority of a foreign Government with even greater jealousy than that of their own Emperor.

The Swedes soon showed that their chief object was the acquisition of territory in Germany; and, as the hereditary states of Austria were too far off, they sought to indemnify themselves at the expense of their allies. When they began to gain the ascendancy, they demanded a substantial reward in the cession of Pomerania, which belonged to Brandenburg. The Elector of Saxony justly feared that continued success might make them aspire to the possession of Dresden.

But if the German princes feared the ambition of Sweden nearly as much as that of Austria, whenever the terms of peace should be finally adjusted, there was absolutely no difference meanwhile in the amount of injury they suffered from the two great belligerents.

The commanders on each side ravaged the territory of friends and foes with perfect impartiality. Both armies were chiefly composed of mercenaries. These often changed sides, and the same towns were plundered by the same men, who alternately represented the lawful authority of Austria, or the religious freedom of Sweden.

Oxenstiern left Germany with the knowledge that the hostility of Saxony was impending; but he left in command of the Swedish army John Banér, a general formed in the school of Gustavus Adolphus, whom he is said to have resembled in person, and to have nearly equalled in military skill.

Above: Axel Oxenstierna.

Notes: Liefland = Livonia.

Estland = Estonia.

Ingermanland = Ingria.

Eger is the German name for Cheb, a town in what is now the Karlovy Vary region of the Czech Republic.

Pilsen is the German and English name for Plzeň, a city in what is now the Plzeň region of the Czech Republic.

Henry Woodhead on Kristina's education and upbringing, her life with Maria Eleonora, and her removal from her

Source:

Memoirs of Christina, Queen of Sweden, volume 1, pages 47 to 58, by Henry Woodhead, 1863; original at the University of Michigan

https://books.google.com/books?id=XI02AAAAMAAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=maria+euphrosyne&source=gbs_navlinks_s

The account:

In March, 1635, the States gave some general directions regarding Christina's education. They announced they had had a friendly conference with the Regents on the subject.

"And though this matter has been committed to the same High Regents, and though there is no reason to doubt that these high noblemen will attend to their charge without being reminded of it, nevertheless it is of the greatest importance to Her Majesty, to the kingdom in general, and to every subject in particular, that it should be often mentioned. We have therefore not considered it superfluous, but on the contrary our bounden duty, to add again these very humble and faithful exhortations, which we believe to be worthy of serious attention[.]

"Her Majesty being one day to govern the kingdom herself, and the duty of her subjects requiring not only their obedience, but also that they should preserve her power and royal authority, the happiness and welfare of both parties and of the whole kingdom is concerned in the exercise of reciprocal duties.

"It is necessary that, as her subjects are bound to observe towards Her Majesty an entire devotion and fidelity, even to the sacrifice of their lives and property, so in return she should feel for them the utmost solicitude and affection; she should be accustomed to regard and esteem every one according to his rank and character; to speak well of her country and of the Regents; to pay proper respect to her tutors and to the Senate; to behave affably to all her subjects; and to protect everyone in the enjoyment of his rights and liberty, according to law."

The document goes on to recommend that Christina should be instructed in the manners and languages of other countries, but should carefully preserve her own; that persons of the best character should always be kept about her; and that she should be carefully excluded from any intercourse with Papists or Calvinists.

After the King's death, in accordance with his alleged desire, it was proposed to take Christina from her mother's care, and to place her altogether under the superintendence of the Princess Catharine. It appears that, notwithstanding his affection for Maria Leonora, Gustavus had a poor opinion of her understanding. He knew she had never been very fond of Christina, and also that she was obnoxious to the nobles. Still it is difficult to believe that Gustavus intended her child to be taken from her. There is no doubt that he entertained a sincere affection for her. She brought reinforcements of men and supplies of money to him in Germany, and when he parted from her at Erfurt, shortly before the fatal battle of Lutzen, he addressed the magistrates of Erfurt as follows: —

"You know, gentlemen, that uncertainty and sublunary affairs are synonymous terms, and that war particularly, the visitation of heaven for human depravity, is precarious above all things. It is possible that something unfortunate may soon happen to this my person, and if such be the will of the Supreme Being, transfer to my dear Consort the affection and obligation which you owe to me. On these conditions I pray Providence to prosper you."

Yet it would appear that about the same time Gustavus wrote to Oxenstiern ordering him to serve, honour, and console the Queen in case of his death, but not to suffer her to take any part in the management of public affairs, or in the education of Christina.

When, however, the Queen Dowager returned to Sweden with her husband's remains in 1634, her former indifference for her child was changed to extravagant affection, and she would hardly allow her to remain out of her sight.

The situation of the council was difficult. It would have been too cruel to deprive the widow of her only consolation, so Christina was allowed for the present to remain with her mother.

Most of the Swedish accounts speak unfavourably of Maria Leonora, but it is doubtful how far their statements can be depended upon, for many of the accusations against her look like pretexts, and it is certain that she was treated with great harshness. The Senate were very jealous of her influence, and they showed the same feelings towards Catharine's husband, the Count Palatine, John Casimir. In his case, at least, they acted in contradiction to the late king's will, by removing the Count from his office of High Treasurer.

Maria Leonora's manners were gentle and feminine, and in this respect she might have had a beneficial influence upon Christina. The dislike she expressed to Sweden, though certainly very injudicious, was provoked by the treatment she received there.

Her attachment to Gustavus was unbounded; she never left his body from the time it was brought to her, until she arrived with it in Sweden. After her return the extravagance of her grief was one of the charges against her; but though her conduct may have been weak, it was not unamiable. She kept the heart of Gustavus in a gold box, according to a custom which had at one time not been very unusual, but the senate and clergy interfered, and obliged her to place the gold box in her husband's coffin.

Their disposal of the king's remains was more reasonable than hers; but the same thing can hardly be said of their pertinacity about a subject of no real importance. Poor Maria Leonora, thwarted in her harmless fancy, now instituted an order, the insignia of which was a medal in the shape of a heart, with a coffin engraved on it and the letters G. A. R. S. "Gustavus Adolphus, Rex Sueciæ." She no doubt recollected the time when he had visited her incognito under the name of Captain Gars.

It is certain that Christina led a very dull life with her mother. The rooms were hung with black, hardly any light was admitted, and even the cheerfulness of a good fire was not allowed. Christina's studies became a relief rather than a labour to her, and she always returned unwillingly from her tutor's lecture rooms to those dismal apartments. Her tutors took advantage of this feeling, and it is said that her studies were often prolonged to twelve hours a day. If it is remembered that at this time she was only nine years old, we shall not be surprised to hear some years later that her mind had lost its balance, and that her judgment was not equal to her learning. It must be confessed that her own temperament was a principal cause of this excessive study; she had a perfect contempt for dolls and playthings, she was not amused with her mother's jesters and dwarfs, but her relaxation was to talk with foreigners about their country, and particularly about their libraries.

The mother and daughter quarrelled about trifles. Christina had all her life a particular aversion to wine or beer. Maria Leonora said water was unwholesome, and allowed none to be given her. The child was obstinate, and sometimes passed whole days without drinking. She attributed her subsequent ill-health partly to this cause; but never seemed disposed to lay the blame to her own temper. One day, exploring her mother's dressing-room, she discovered a tempting supply of fresh water. Maria Leonora thought that the morning dew was good for the complexion, and a large bottle was always filled with it for the purpose of washing her face.

Christina soon found that it was good to drink, and from this time the morning dew constantly disappeared. The queen scolded her servants, but still the bottle diminished. Was one of her maidens so rash and so vain as to risk dismissal for the chance of improving her beauty with the queen's cosmetic?

At last the mystery was explained; the Princess was caught with the bottle in her hands, in the very act of drinking.

Maria Leonora, wounded in two tender points at once, her vanity and her love of authority, administered a whipping on the spot, which Christina recorded years afterwards in her memoirs, and of which she evidently had a very unpleasant recollection.

Meanwhile disputes were arising daily between the Queen Dowager and the Regents, of which the cause was generally money. She asked for extra grants, for pensions for her ladies, for extra allowances for her table. Nearly all these demands were refused by the Regents, who reminded her of the pecuniary difficulties and embarrassments caused by the war. A more serious charge against Maria Leonora was, that she habitually spoke with dislike of Sweden and the Swedes, and that she had adopted the exaggerated notions of the princely dignity which were now becoming prevalent.

The Council frequently discussed the question, whether they should, in accordance with the will of Gustavus, entrust Christina to the Princess Catharine. Every time, however, that the subject was hinted to the Queen Dowager she burst into such floods of tears that they were at a loss how to act.

While matters were in this state, Oxenstiern returned from Germany in 1636, and Maria Leonora chose this unpropitious moment to renew her applications for more money, and added the haughty demand, that Christina should be waited upon by two of the Council at her meals; a desire the more unreasonable, because she was understood to be subject to the Council until her majority.

Matters were now brought to a crisis. Oxenstiern went to the point at once, and put the question in the council — whether Christina was properly brought up by her mother, and if not, whether she ought to remain with her.

Twelve Councillors were present at the debate, and they agreed unanimously that Christina should be taken from her mother.

Axel Banér said: "My love and allegiance to Christina and to my country oblige me to offend the Queen Dowager. The separation is unnecessary, but it should be brought about prudently."

Ake Natt och Dagg said, "It is necessary for our Fatherland that the young Queen should be educated in royal virtues: this cannot be done while she is with the Queen Dowager, therefore they must be separated."

Klas Fleming said: "I give my opinion unwillingly, but for two years we have waited and hoped for improvement, instead of which things get worse. It is better to stem the brook than the flood. I remember how the King, of glorious memory, often, both openly in the council as well as in private, desired us not to give the Queen Dowager any part in the Government. The general welfare is the supreme law. I vote for the separation."

Gyllenhielm was more attached to the Queen Dowager than any other member of the Council, and his speech on the occasion showed more good intention than good taste. He said: "I hoped the matter would have been settled without being put to the vote, I am so bound to both sides that I know not what to say. We often see parents, out of love to their children, send them away for their benefit", and rather clumsily added, "as even monkeys do with their young."

It can hardly have been soothing to the Queen Dowager's feelings to be compared by her friend and advocate to a she-monkey, nor does it appear where this old Polonius of the Swedish Court gained the information in natural history which he displayed so unseasonably. He ended by giving his vote for the separation, but begged that some expressions might be modified, which stated that the Queen Mother taught Christina bad habits, and dislike for her own country.

The Chancellor answered that the real reasons of so important a measure ought to be given, for the justification of the Council in future times.

The gallant old Jacob de la Gardie said: "It touches my heart to vote against the Queen Mother in this matter: we have left the young Queen with her, in the hope of some improvement, but things get worse and worse. Christina is brought up, if not in actual bad habits, at least not in such a way or among such men as she ought to be. Neither fear of God nor love of her country is instilled into her mind, nor is she taught the duties of government. She must therefore be separated from her mother.

"If the young Queen should die, evil-speakers will certainly lay such a misfortune to our charge, but we must leave the result in God's hand, with the hope and prayer that all will be for the best. As to the manner, we must first try the most conciliatory means, but if they fail, we must do what we are bound by our oath and our duty to do."

The Queen Dowager had no choice but to submit, and Christina returned to her aunt, much to her own satisfaction.

Above: Kristina.

Above: Maria Eleonora.

Note: "If it is remembered that at this time she was only nine years old, we shall not be surprised to hear some years later that her mind had lost its balance, and that her judgment was not equal to her learning." = Looking at this statement with the consideration and perspective of the theory that Kristina was autistic, a corroboration might be found in that the stresses she had to deal with years later as a young adult during the last years of her reign, — such as public unrest, her own poor physical health, her knowing that there was strong opposition to the abdication which she already regarded as an eventual inevitability, and still having to rule the country through it all, — might have taken such a toll on her that they sometimes exceeded her mental or emotional energy to cope with them and that her "eccentric" behaviour, activities and social approach and different way of thinking might have partly been conscious ways to escape and distract herself from it (added to the fact that these were natural parts of any neurodivergence she might have had); which, to (neurotypical) people both literally and figuratively on the outside looking in, — and at that time when there was no concept of autism or neurodivergence, — might have made it seem like Kristina was sometimes lacking in good judgement or even sanity.