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119-494: The name "Gyllenhaal" originated from Nils Gunnarsson Gyllenhaal's father Gunne Olofsson Haal, who was from Hahlegården, a crown homestead in Södra Härene parish in the province of Västergötland in southwestern Sweden. Haal comes from the name of the farm estate "Hahlegården". In the knighthood letter, signed by Queen Christina , the family name was written in two different ways — first "Gyllenhahl" and then "Gyllenhaal". On

238-624: A "Ballet de la Naissance de la Paix," performed on her birthday. On the day after, 19 December 1649, he probably started his private lessons for the queen. With Christina's strict schedule, he was invited to the cold and draughty castle at 5:00 am daily to discuss philosophy and religion. Soon, it became clear they did not like each other; she disapproved of his mechanical view, and he did not appreciate her interest in Ancient Greek . On 15 January Descartes wrote he had seen Christina only four or five times. On 1 February 1650, Descartes caught

357-406: A "cure" including the application of multiple enemata , laxatives , bloodletting and sneezing powder . While after three weeks the fever eventually was down and the coughing was better, the pneumonia had persisted and evolved into a sepsis by 8 February. On 12 February, Charles X Gustav signed his testament : His son, Charles XI of Sweden , was still a minor, and Charles X Gustav appointed

476-546: A 16th-century invention. The Swedish king Charles IX (1604–1611) chose his numeral after studying a fictitious history of Sweden. This king was the fourth actual King Charles, but has never been called Charles IV . In his early childhood, raised in the Swedish court alongside his cousin Queen Christina , he received an excellent civil education. Later Charles X learned the art of war under Lennart Torstenson , being present at

595-465: A book about Greek dance . Christina was interested in theatre, especially the plays of Pierre Corneille ; she was herself an amateur actress. From 1638 Oxenstierna employed a French ballet troupe under Antoine de Beaulieu , who also had to teach Christina to move around more elegantly. In 1647, the Italian architect Antonio Brunati was ordered to build a theatrical setting in one of the larger rooms of

714-711: A bride. She sent letters recommending two of the Duke's daughters to Charles. Based on this recommendation, he married Hedwig Eleonora . On 10 July Christina arrived in Hamburg and stayed with Jacob Curiel at Krameramtsstuben . Christina visited Johann Friedrich Gronovius , and Anna Maria van Schurman in the Dutch Republic. In August, she arrived in the Southern Netherlands and settled down in Antwerp. For four months Christina

833-530: A campaign in Livonia and laid siege to Riga , the second largest city in the Swedish Realm. Charles's retreat from Jarosław to Warsaw almost ended with disaster. His forces were trapped by the three converging Polish-Lithuanian armies in a marshy forest region intersected in every direction by well-guarded rivers. Escaping this disaster is considered one of his most brilliant achievements. But on 21 June 1656

952-557: A certain Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi. The official entry into Rome took place on 20 December, in a sedan chair designed by Bernini through Porta Flaminia , which today is known as Porta del Popolo . Christina met Bernini on the next day, she invited him to her apartment the same evening and they became lifelong friends. "Two days afterwards she was conducted to the Vatican Basilica, where the pope gave her confirmation. It

1071-451: A cold. He died ten days later, early in the morning of 11 February 1650, and according to Chanut, the cause of his death was pneumonia . By the age of nine, Christina was already impressed by the Catholic religion and the merits of celibacy . She read a biography of the virgin queen Elizabeth I of England with interest. But Christina understood that she was expected to provide an heir to

1190-492: A couple of days the ice of the Little Belt would become firm enough to bear even the passage of a mail-clad host. The cold during the night of 29 January became most severe; and early in the morning of the 30th the Swedish king gave the order to start, the horsemen dismounting on the weaker spots of ice and cautiously leading their horses as far apart as possible, until they swung into their saddles again, closed their ranks and made

1309-533: A dash for the shore. Swedish arms quickly overpowered the Danish troops lining the opposite coast and won the whole of Funen with the loss of only two companies of cavalry, which disappeared under the ice while fighting with the Danish left wing. Pursuing his march, Charles X, with his eyes fixed on Copenhagen , resolved to cross the frozen Great Belt also. However, he accepted the advice of his chief engineer officer Erik Dahlberg , who acted as pioneer throughout and chose

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1428-425: A deposed brother ( Eric XIV of Sweden ) and a deposed nephew ( Sigismund III of Poland ). Gustav Adolf's legitimate younger brothers had died years earlier. The one legitimate female left, his half-sister Catharine , came to be excluded in 1615 when she married John Casimir, a non-Lutheran. Christina became the undisputed heir presumptive . From Christina's birth, King Gustav Adolph recognized her eligibility even as

1547-631: A female heir, and although she was called "queen," the official title the Riksdag gave at her coronation in February 1633 was "king". In June 1630, when Christina was three years old, Gustav Adolf left for Germany to defend Protestantism and became involved in the Thirty Years' War . He secured his daughter's right to inherit the throne, in case he never returned, and gave orders to Axel Gustafsson Banér, his marshal, that Christina should receive an education of

1666-591: A few exceptions, including Ebba Sparre , Lady Jane Ruthven and Louise van der Nooth , Christina did not show any interest in any of her female courtiers. She generally mentions them in her memoirs only to compare herself favorably toward them by referring to herself as more masculine than they. Christina was educated as a royal male would have been. The theologian Johannes Matthiae Gothus became her tutor; he gave her lessons in religion, philosophy, Greek and Latin . Chancellor Oxenstierna taught her politics and discussed Tacitus with her. Oxenstierna proudly wrote of

1785-464: A guitarist. A Dutch theater troupe with Ariana Nozeman and Susanna van Lee visited her in 1653. Among the French artists she employed was Anne Chabanceau de La Barre , who was made court singer. In 1646, Christina's good friend, the French ambassador Pierre Chanut , met and corresponded with the philosopher René Descartes , asking him for a copy of his Meditations . Upon showing the queen some of

1904-888: A minor regency consisting of six relatives and close friends. Charles X Gustav died the next day at the age of 37. On the night between 12 and 13 February, he would die in the arms of Lord High Marshal Gabriel Oxenstierna after having urged him to bring peace to Sweden. Charles X Gustav had only one legitimate child by Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp : his successor Charles XI (1655–1697, reigned 1660–1697). Before his marriage, his mistress Märta Allertz gave birth to their well-known son Gustaf Carlson (1647–1708), who became Count of Börringe and Lindholmen Castle in Scania . There are credible theories suggesting that Charles X Gustav, before marrying Hedwig Eleonora (but not after), also sired several more children of whom some names are known: by Baroness Ludmila Jankovska von Lažan (1615–1655)

2023-592: A never-ending round of fireworks, jousts , mock duels, acrobatics, and operas. On 31 January Vita Humana an opera by Marco Marazzoli was performed. At the Palazzo Barberini , where she was welcomed on 28 February by a few hundred privileged spectators, she watched an amazing carousel in the courtyard. Christina had settled down in the Palazzo Farnese , which belonged to the Duke of Parma . Every Wednesday she held

2142-488: A new church order, but it was voted down as this was interpreted as Crypto-Calvinism . Queen Christina defended him against the advice of Chancellor Oxenstierna, but three years later, the proposal had to be withdrawn. In 1647, the clergy wanted to introduce the Book of Concord ( Swedish : Konkordieboken ) – a book defining correct Lutheranism versus heresy, making some aspects of free theological thinking impossible. Matthiae

2261-573: A policy. In 1649, Louis de Geer founded the Swedish Africa Company and in 1650, Christina hired Hendrik Carloff to improve trade on the Gold Coast . Her reign also saw the founding of the colony of New Sweden in 1638; it lasted until 1655. Christina has been described as the " Minerva of the North" due to her strong support of arts and academics. In 1645, Christina invited Hugo Grotius ,

2380-512: A science he is described as having quickly mastered. As the recognized heir to the throne, his position on his return to Sweden was dangerous because of the growing discontent with the queen. He therefore withdrew to the isle of Öland until the abdication of Christina on 5 June 1654 called him to the throne. Charles X Gustav was crowned on 7 June 1654, the day after his cousin Christina abdicated. The beginning of Charles X's reign concentrated on

2499-565: A work bestowing doubt on all organized religion. In 1651, the kabbalist Menasseh ben Israel offered to become her agent or librarian for Hebrew books and manuscripts; they discussed his messianic ideas as he had recently spelled them out in his latest book, Hope of Israel . Other illustrious scholars who came to visit were Claude Saumaise , Johannes Schefferus , Olaus Rudbeck , Johann Heinrich Boeckler , Gabriel Naudé , Christian Ravis , Nicolaas Heinsius and Samuel Bochart , together with Pierre Daniel Huet and Marcus Meibomius , who wrote

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2618-457: Is now the head of both branches of the noble family Gyllenhaal. He has a son, Lars. All the members of the family in the United States are descended from Hans Gyllenhaal through his great great-great grandson Anders Leonard (1842–1905) and his wife Amanda (née Nelson, 1859–1948). Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal emigrated to the United States in 1865. A prominent member of this younger branch thitherto

2737-590: Is one of the few women buried in the Vatican Grottoes . Christina was born in the royal castle Tre Kronor . Her parents were the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus and his German wife, Maria Eleonora . They had already had three children: two daughters (a stillborn princess in 1621, then the first Princess Christina, who was born in 1623 and died the following year) and a stillborn son in May 1625. Excited expectations surrounded Maria Eleonora's fourth pregnancy in 1626. When

2856-534: Is regarded as the first tourist to visit North Cape, Norway . Another Franciscan was the Swede Lars Skytte, who, under the name pater Laurentius, served as Christina's confessor for eight years. Twenty-nine-year-old Christina gave occasion to much gossip when socializing freely with men her own age. One of them was Cardinal Decio Azzolino , who had been a secretary to the ambassador in Spain, and responsible for

2975-559: Is remembered as one of the most erudite women of the 17th century, wanting Stockholm to become the "Athens of the North" and was given the special right to establish a university at will by the Peace of Westphalia . She is also remembered for her unconventional lifestyle and occasional adoption of masculine attire, which have been depicted frequently in media; gender and cultural identity are pivotal themes in many of her biographies. She succeeded her father Gustavus Adolphus upon his death at

3094-523: Is said to have been almost ruined by her visit. Her departure was on 8 November. The southbound journey through Italy was planned in detail by the Vatican and included brilliant triumphs in Ferrara, Bologna, Faenza and Rimini. In Pesaro , Christina became acquainted with the handsome brothers Santinelli , who so impressed her with their poetry and adeptness of dancing that she took them into service, as well as

3213-618: The Codex Argenteus and the Codex Gigas . In 1649, 760 paintings, 170 marble and 100 bronze statues, 33,000 coins and medallions, 600 pieces of crystal, 300 scientific instruments, manuscripts, and books (including the Sanctae Crucis laudibus by Rabanus Maurus ) were transported to Stockholm. The art, from Prague Castle , had belonged to Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and had been captured by Hans Christoff von Königsmarck during

3332-655: The Battle of Lützen at seven years old, but she began ruling the Swedish Empire when she reached the age of eighteen. During the Torstenson War in 1644, she initiated the issuance of copper in lumps to be used as currency . Her lavish spending habits pushed the state towards bankruptcy, sparking public unrest. Christina argued for peace to end the Thirty Years' War and received indemnity . Following scandals over her not marrying and converting to Catholicism, she relinquished

3451-459: The Battle of Prague and the negotiations of the Peace of Westphalia . By 1649–1650, "her desire to collect men of learning round her, as well as books and rare manuscripts, became almost a mania", Goldsmith wrote. To catalog her new collection she asked Isaac Vossius to come to Sweden and Heinsius to purchase more books on the market. Her ambitions naturally demanded a wide-ranging correspondence. Not infrequently, she sat and wrote far into

3570-413: The Battle of Prague (1648) , when her armies looted Prague Castle , many of the treasures collected by Rudolph II were brought back to Stockholm. Thus, Christina acquired a number of valuable illustrated works and rare manuscripts for her library. The inventory drawn up at the time mentions 100 an allerhand Kunstbüchern ("a hundred art books of different kinds"), among them two world-famous manuscripts:

3689-529: The Duke of Guise gave up. Christina's goal was to become a mediator between France and Spain in their contest to control Naples. Her plan detailed that she would lead French troops to take Naples and rule until bequeathing the crown to France after her death. Christina sent home all her Spanish servants, including her confidant Pimentel and her confessor Guêmes. On 20 July 1656 Christina set sail from Civitavecchia for Marseille where she arrived nine days later. In early August, she traveled to Paris, accompanied by

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3808-498: The Galerie des Cerfs , discussing the matter and letters with him. He insisted that betrayal should be punished with death. She was convinced that he had pronounced his own death sentence. After an hour or so Le Bel was to receive his confession. Both Le Bel and Monaldeschi entreated for mercy, but he was stabbed by her domestics – notably Ludovico Santinelli – in his stomach and in his neck. Wearing his coat of mail , which protected him, he

3927-776: The Noteć river, with some regular infantry for support. On 25 July the Polish noble levy army capitulated, and the voivodeships of Poznań and Kalisz placed themselves under the protection of the Swedish King. Thereupon the Swedes entered Warsaw without opposition and occupied the whole of Greater Poland . The Polish king, John II Casimir of Poland (1648–68) of the House of Vasa , eventually fled to Silesia after his armies had suffered defeats. A great number of Polish nobles and their personal armies joined

4046-558: The estates , whom he had summoned to Gothenburg . The lower estates protested the imposition of fresh burdens, but were persuaded by Charles. Soon after the estates opened on 4 January 1660, Charles X Gustav fell ill with symptoms of a cold. Ignoring his illness, he repeatedly went to inspect the Swedish forces near Gothenburg, and soon broke down with chills, headaches and dyspnoea . On 15 January, court physician Johann Köster arrived, and in medical error mistook Charles X Gustav's pneumonia for scorbut and dyspepsia . Köster started

4165-474: The putrefaction . They tried to persuade Maria not to visit the corpse so often. Axel Oxenstierna managed to have the corpse interred in Riddarholmen Church on 22 June 1634, but had to post guards after she tried to dig it up. Maria Eleanora had been indifferent to her daughter, but after Gustav Adolf's death, Christina became the center of her mother's attention. Gustav Adolf had decided that in

4284-416: The 14-year-old girl that "she is not at all like a female" and had "a bright intelligence." Christina seemed happy to study ten hours a day. Besides Swedish and German , she learned at least six more languages: Dutch , Danish , French , Italian , Arabic and Hebrew . In 1644, at the age of 18, Christina was declared an adult, although the coronation was postponed because of the Torstenson War . She

4403-489: The Duke of Guise. Mazarin gave her no official sponsorship but gave instructions that she be celebrated and entertained in every town on her way north. On 8 September she arrived in Paris and was shown around; ladies were shocked by her masculine appearance and demeanor and the unguarded freedom of her conversation. When visiting the ballet with la Grande Mademoiselle , she, as the latter recalls, "surprised me very much – applauding

4522-463: The French doctor Pierre Bourdelot arrived in Stockholm. Unlike most doctors of that time, he held no faith in blood-letting ; instead, he ordered sufficient sleep, warm baths, and healthy meals, in contrast to Christina's hitherto ascetic way of life. She was only twenty-five; and advising that she should take more pleasure in life, Bourdelot asked her to stop studying and working so hard and to remove

4641-659: The North Sea and was no longer encircled by Denmark–Norway . Chancellor Oxenstierna soon discovered that her political views differed from his own. In 1645, he sent his son, Johan Oxenstierna , to the Peace Congress in the Westphalian city of Osnabrück , to argue against peace with the Holy Roman Empire . Christina, however, wanted peace at any cost and sent her own delegate, Johan Adler Salvius . The Peace of Westphalia

4760-573: The Poles retook Warsaw, and four days later Charles was obliged to purchase the assistance of Frederick William I , by the treaty of Marienburg (23 June 1656). On 28–30 July the combined Swedes and Brandenburgers, 18,000 strong, after a three days' battle , defeated John Casimir's army of 40,000 at Warsaw, however the Polish-Lithuanian forces promptly withdrew with no large losses and apparent strong will to fight another day, while Swedish host reoccupied

4879-505: The Polish capital again, causing much destruction to the city and its inhabitants. However, this feat of arms did not have the desired result for Charles, and when Frederick William compelled the Swedish king to open negotiations with the Poles, they refused the terms offered, the war resumed, and Charles concluded an offensive and defensive alliance with the elector of Brandenburg ( Treaty of Labiau , 20 November 1656) which stipulated that Frederick William and his heirs should henceforth possess

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4998-406: The Polish diet and his negotiations for the partition of the very state he affected to befriend, awoke a nationalistic spirit in the country. In the beginning of 1656 King John II Casimir returned from exile and the reorganised Polish army, increased in numbers. By this time Charles had discovered that he could more readily defeat the Poles than conquer Poland. What is described as his chief object,

5117-552: The Royal Council decided to split the office of head lady-in-waiting (responsible for the queen's female courtiers) and the office royal governess (or foster-mother) in four, with two women appointed to share each office. Accordingly, Ebba Leijonhufvud and Christina Natt och Dag were appointed to share the position of royal governess and foster mother with the title Upptuktelse-Förestånderska ('Castigation Mistress'), while Beata Oxenstierna and Ebba Ryning were appointed to share

5236-469: The Swedes invested the fortress-monastery of Częstochowa , but the Poles defended it and after a seventy days' siege the Swedish besiegers had to retire with great loss. This success elicited popular enthusiasm in Poland and gave rise to a nationalistic and religious rhetoric concerning the war and Charles X. He was depicted as tactless and his mercenaries barbaric. His refusal to legalize his position by summoning

5355-499: The Swedes, including the majority of the famous Winged Hussars. Many Poles saw Charles X Gustav as a strong monarch who could be a more effective leader than John II Casimir. Meanwhile, Charles X Gustav pressed on towards Kraków , which the Swedes captured after a two-month siege. The fall of Kraków followed a capitulation of the Polish Royal armies, but before the end of the year a reaction began in Poland herself. On 18 November 1655

5474-604: The Swedes, the elector of Brandenburg, perceiving Sweden's difficulties, joined the league against Sweden and compelled Charles to accept the proffered mediation of Oliver Cromwell , Coenraad van Beuningen and Cardinal Mazarin . The negotiations foundered, however, upon the refusal of Sweden to refer the points in dispute to a general peace-congress, and Charles received encouragement from the capture of Fredriksodde, 23–24 October, whereupon he began to make preparations for conveying his troops over to Funen in transport vessels. But soon another and cheaper expedient presented itself. In

5593-584: The Swedish Caroline era , which had its peak during the end of the reign of his son, Charles XI . He led Sweden during the Second Northern War , enlarging the Swedish Empire. By his predecessor Christina , he was considered de facto Duke of Eyland (Öland), before ascending to the Swedish throne. From 1655 to 1657, he was also Grand Duke of Lithuania . His numbering as Charles X derives from

5712-515: The Swedish throne. Her first cousin Charles was infatuated with her, and they became secretly engaged before he left in 1642 to serve in the Swedish army in Germany for three years. Christina revealed in her autobiography that she felt "an insurmountable distaste for marriage" and "for all the things that females talked about and did." She once stated, "It takes more courage to marry than to go to war." As she

5831-938: The Vatican's correspondence with European courts. He was also the leader of the Squadrone Volante , the free-thinking "Flying Squad" movement within the Catholic Church. Christina and Azzolino were so close that the pope asked him to shorten his visits to her palace, but they remained lifelong friends. In a letter on 26 January 1676 to Azzolino Christina writes (in French) that she would never offend God or give Azzolino reason to take offense, but this "does not prevent me from loving you until death, and since piety relieves you from being my lover, then I relieve you from being my servant, for I shall live and die as your slave." As he had promised to remain celibate, his replies were more reserved. In

5950-492: The abdication ceremony at Uppsala Castle , Christina wore her regalia , which were ceremonially removed from her, one by one. Per Brahe , who was supposed to remove the crown, did not move, so she had to take the crown off herself. Dressed in a simple white taffeta dress, she gave her farewell speech with a faltering voice, thanked everyone, and left the throne to Charles X Gustav, who was dressed in black. Per Brahe felt that she "stood there as pretty as an angel." Charles Gustav

6069-656: The activities of Bourdelot and tried to convince her to change her attitude towards him; Bourdelot returned to France in 1653 "laden in riches and curses". The Queen had long conversations about Copernicus , Tycho Brahe , Francis Bacon , and Kepler with Antonio Macedo, secretary and interpreter for Portugal's ambassador. Macedo was a Jesuit , and in August 1651, smuggled on his person a letter from Christina to his general in Rome. In reply, Paolo Casati and Francesco Malines, trained in both natural sciences and theology, came to Sweden in

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6188-499: The archduke invited her to his Brussels palace on Coudenberg . On 24 December 1654, she converted to the Catholic faith in the archduke's chapel in the presence of the Dominican Juan Guêmes, Raimondo Montecuccoli and Pimentel. Baptized as Kristina Augusta, she adopted the name Christina Alexandra. She did not declare her conversion in public, in case the Swedish council might refuse to pay her alimony. In addition, Sweden

6307-595: The arrangement between her and Louis XIV was ready. He would recommend Christina as queen to the Kingdom of Naples and serve as guarantor against Spanish aggression. As Queen of Naples, she would be financially independent of the Swedish king, and also capable of negotiating peace between France and Spain. On her way back Christina visited French courtesan and author Ninon de l'Enclos in the convent at Lagny-sur-Marne . In early October, she left France and arrived in Torino . During

6426-546: The author of Mare Liberum , to become her librarian, but he died on his way in Rostock . That same year she founded Ordinari Post Tijdender ("Regular Mail Times"), the oldest currently published newspaper in the world. In 1647, Johann Freinsheim was appointed as her librarian. During the Thirty Years' War, Swedish troops looted books from conquered territories and dispatched them to Sweden to win favour with Christina. After

6545-439: The baby was born, it was first thought to be a boy. It was "hairy" and screamed "with a strong, hoarse voice." She later wrote in her autobiography that "Deep embarrassment spread among the women when they discovered their mistake." The king, though, was very happy, saying, "She'll be clever, she has made fools of us all!" Gustav Adolf was closely attached to his daughter, whereas her mother remained aloof in her disappointment at

6664-471: The beheading of Arnold Johan Messenius , together with his 17-year-old son, who had accused her of serious misbehavior and of being a " Jezebel ". According to them "Christina was bringing everything to ruin, and that she cared for nothing but sport and pleasure." In 1653, she founded the Amaranten order . Antonio Pimentel was appointed as its first knight; all members had to promise not to marry (again). In

6783-555: The below-mentioned Anders Leonard Gyllenhaal, quipped during an interview before the British premiere of Prince of Persia that his last name was pronounced "Yil-en-hoo-luh-hay", parodying Americans' difficulties with Swedish pronunciation. Nils Gunnarsson Gyllenhaal's descendants today stem from two of his sons: Lars Gyllenhaal (1645–1710), Lieutenant of the Vestgotha cavalry regiment; and his younger brother Hans Gyllenhaal (1655–1710). Hans

6902-489: The blame due to a brawl among courtiers, but she insisted that she alone was responsible for the act. She wrote to Louis XIV who two weeks later paid her a friendly visit without mentioning it. In Rome, people felt differently; Monaldeschi had been an Italian nobleman, murdered by a foreign barbarian with Santinelli as one of her executioners. The letters proving his guilt are gone; Christina left them with Le Bel and only he confirmed that they existed. Christina never revealed what

7021-481: The books from her apartments. For years, Christina knew by heart all the poems from the Ars Amatoria and was keen on the works by Martial and Petronius . The physician showed her the 16 erotic sonnets of Pietro Aretino , which he kept secretly in his luggage. By subtle means, Bourdelot undermined her principles. Having been Stoic , she now became an Epicurean . Her mother and de la Gardie were very much against

7140-429: The castle. Fountains at the marketplace splashed out wine for three days, a whole roast ox was served, and illuminations sparkled, followed by a themed parade ( The Illustrious Splendors of Felicity ) on 24 October. Her tutor, Johannes Matthiae, influenced by John Dury and Comenius , who since 1638 had been working on a new Swedish school system, represented a gentler attitude than most Lutherans. In 1644, he suggested

7259-492: The child being a girl. In the year after Christina's birth, Maria Eleonora was described as being in a state of hysteria owing to her husband's absences. She showed little affection for her daughter and was not allowed any influence in Christina's upbringing. He was worried that her instability might pass on to their daughter. The Crown of Sweden was hereditary in the House of Vasa , but from King Charles IX 's time onward (reigned 1604–11), it excluded Vasa princes descended from

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7378-606: The city, defeating the Swedish fleet in the Battle of the Sound on 29 October 1658, and Copenhagen repelled a major assault afterwards . Charles X consented to reopen negotiations with Denmark, at the same time proposing to exercise pressure upon his rival by a simultaneous winter campaign in Norway. Such an enterprise necessitated fresh subsidies from his already impoverished people, and obliged him in December 1659 to cross over to Sweden to meet

7497-429: The conquest of Prussia , remained unaccomplished, and a new Swedish adversary arose in the elector of Brandenburg , Frederick William I , alarmed by the ambition of the Swedish king. Charles forced the elector, albeit at the point of the sword, to become his ally and vassal ( Treaty of Königsberg , 17 January 1656); but the Polish national rising now imperatively demanded his presence in the south. For weeks he engaged in

7616-412: The copperplate with his coat of arms now hanging in the House of Nobility ( Riddarhuset ) in Stockholm, it is spelled "Gyllenhahl". Such ambiguities are typical of the time; it would be several generations before Swedish spelling was more strictly regulated. The prefix Gyllen ("Golden") was the one most used when ennobling someone since the 16th century. Actor Jake Gyllenhaal , great-great grandson of

7735-531: The diplomat Antonio Pimentel de Prado to Stockholm in August. On 26 February 1649, Christina announced that she had decided not to marry and instead wanted her first cousin Charles Gustav to be heir to the throne. While the nobility objected to this, the three other estates – clergy, burghers, and peasants – accepted it. She agreed to stay on the condition the councils never again asked her to marry. In 1651, Christina lost much of her popularity after

7854-445: The duchies. But the fortress of Fredriksodde ( Fredericia ) held Charles's smaller army at bay from mid-August to mid-October, while the fleet of Denmark–Norway, after two days' battle, compelled the Swedish fleet to abandon its projected attack on the Danish islands. The position of the Swedish king had now become critical. In July Denmark–Norway and Poland-Lithuania concluded an offensive and defensive alliance. Still more ominously for

7973-418: The embalmed body of her husband. The 7-year-old Queen Christina came in solemn procession to Nyköping to receive her mother. Maria Eleonora declared that the burial should not take place during her lifetime - she often spoke of shortening her life - or at least should be postponed as long as possible. She also demanded that the coffin be kept open and went to see it regularly, patting it and taking no notice of

8092-507: The event of his death, his daughter should be cared for by his half-sister, Catherine of Sweden and half-brother Carl Gyllenhielm as regent. This solution did not suit Maria Eleonora, who had her sister-in-law banned from the castle. In 1634, the Instrument of Government , a new constitution, was introduced by Oxenstierna. The constitution stipulated that the "King" must have a Privy Council , which Oxenstierna himself headed. Maria Eleonora

8211-462: The execution of marchese Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi , her master of the horse and formerly leader of the French party in Rome. For two months she had suspected Monaldeschi of disloyalty; she secretly seized his correspondence, which revealed that he had betrayed her interests. Christina gave three packages of letters to Le Bel, a priest, to keep them for her in custody. Three days later, at one o'clock on Saturday afternoon, she summoned Monaldeschi into

8330-549: The frozen Gulf of Bothnia from Finland to mainland Sweden in March 1809 during the Finnish War . It is believed that the effect of this achievement on the Danish government found expression in the Treaty of Taastrup on 18 February, and in the Treaty of Roskilde (26 February 1658), whereby Denmark–Norway sacrificed a great part of her territory to save the rest. However, Charles X continued

8449-504: The full sovereignty of East Prussia . Labiau involved an essential modification of Charles's Baltic policy; but the alliance with the elector of Brandenburg had now become indispensable for him on almost any terms. The difficulties of Charles X in Poland are believed to have caused him to receive the tidings of the Danish-Norwegian declaration of war on 1 June 1657 with extreme satisfaction. He had learnt from Torstensson that Denmark

8568-446: The healing of domestic discords and on the rallying of all the forces of the nation round his standard for a new policy of conquest. On the recommendation of his predecessor, he contracted a political marriage on 24 October 1654 with Hedwig Eleonora , the daughter of Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp . He was hoping to secure a future ally against Denmark. The Riksdag which assembled at Stockholm in March 1655, duly considered

8687-501: The help of her uncle, John Casimir , Christina tried to reduce the influence of Oxenstierna when she declared her cousin Charles Gustav as her heir presumptive. The following year, Christina resisted demands from the other estates (clergy, burghers, and peasants) in the Riksdag of the Estates for the reduction of the number of noble landholdings that were tax-exempt. She never implemented such

8806-489: The last time on 28 October 1632 at Erfurt . The very next day, Gustav Adolf broke camp and left. On 3 November, Maria wrote to Axel Oxenstierna: "without H.R.M. 's presence, I am worth nothing, not even my life." Her mother, of the House of Hohenzollern , was said to be the most beautiful queen in Europe, but she was also considered hysterical, unstable and overly emotional. It is suggested that she inherited madness, from both

8925-455: The letters, Christina became interested in beginning a correspondence with Descartes. She invited him to Sweden, but Descartes was reluctant until she asked him to organize a scientific academy. Christina sent a ship to pick up the philosopher and 2,000 books. Descartes arrived on 4 October 1649. He resided with Chanut and finished his Passions of the Soul . It is highly unlikely Descartes wrote

9044-511: The librarian Lucas Holstenius , himself a convert, waited for her in Innsbruck . On 3 November 1655, Christina announced her conversion to Catholicism in the Hofkirche and wrote to Pope Alexander VII and her cousin Charles X about it. To celebrate her official conversion, L'Argia , an opera by Antonio Cesti , was performed. Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria , already in financial trouble,

9163-588: The meantime Christina learned that the Swedes had confiscated all her revenue as the princess had become a Catholic. King Philip IV of Spain ruled the Duchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples . The French politician Mazarin , an Italian himself, had attempted to liberate Naples from Spanish rule, against which the locals had fought before the Neapolitan Republic was created. A second expedition in 1654 had failed and

9282-577: The middle of December 1657 began the great frost, which would prove so fatal to Denmark–Norway. In a few weeks the cold had grown so intense that the freezing of an arm of the sea with so rapid a current as the Small Belt became a conceivable possibility; and henceforth meteorological observations formed an essential part of the strategy of the Swedes. On 28 January 1658, Charles X arrived at Haderslev in South Jutland. His meteorologists estimated that in

9401-455: The more circuitous route from Svendborg, by the islands of Langeland , Lolland and Falster , in preference to the direct route from Nyborg to Korsør, which would have had to cross a broad, almost uninterrupted expanse of ice. A council of war, which met at two o'clock in the morning to consider the practicability of Dahlberg's proposal, dismissed it as hazardous. Even the king wavered; but when Dahlberg persisted in his opinion, Charles overruled

9520-583: The night while the servants came and went with new wax candles. The " Semiramis from the North" corresponded with Pierre Gassendi , her favorite author. Blaise Pascal offered her a copy of his pascaline . She had a firm grasp of classical history and philosophy. Christina studied Neostoicism , the Church Fathers , and Islam ; she systematically looked for a copy of the Treatise of the Three Impostors ,

9639-403: The objections of the commanders. On the night of 5 February the transit began, the cavalry leading the way through the snow-covered ice, which quickly thawed beneath the horses' hoofs so that the infantry which followed after had to wade through half an ell (nearly 2 feet) of sludge, facing the risk that the ice would break beneath their feet. At three o'clock in the afternoon, with Dahlberg leading

9758-512: The opposition of the Privy Council headed by Axel Oxenstierna . In 1648 he gained the appointment of commander of the Swedish forces in Germany. The conclusion of the treaties of Westphalia in October 1648 prevented him from winning the military laurels he is said to have desired, but as the Swedish plenipotentiary at the executive congress of Nuremberg , he had an opportunity to learn diplomacy,

9877-466: The palace open to visitors from the higher classes who kept themselves busy with poetry and intellectual discussions. Christina opened an academy in the palace on 24 January 1656, called Academy of Arcadia , where the participants enjoyed music, theater, and literature. The poet Reyer Anslo was presented to her. Belonging to the Arcadia-circle was also Francesco Negri , a Franciscan from Ravenna who

9996-522: The palace. In 1648, she commissioned 35 paintings from Jacob Jordaens for a ceiling in Uppsala Castle . The court poet Georg Stiernhielm wrote several plays in the Swedish language, such as Den fångne Cupido eller Laviancu de Diane , performed with Christina taking the main part of the goddess Diana . She invited foreign companies to play at Bollhuset . An Italian opera troupe visited in 1652 with Vincenzo Albrici and Angelo Michele Bartolotti ,

10115-500: The parts which pleased her, taking God to witness, throwing herself back in her chair, crossing her legs, resting them on the arms of her chair, and assuming other postures, such as I had never seen taken but by Travelin and Jodelet, two famous buffoons... She was in all respects a most extraordinary creature". Christina was treated with respect by the young Louis XIV and his mother, Anne of Austria , in Compiègne . On 22 September 1656,

10234-477: The paternal and maternal lines. However, this image of the hysterical, depressive and profligate queen dowager, which has become part of historiography , has been put into perspective in more recent research, first in the 1980s by the archivist Åke Kromnov, among others, and more recently in the monograph "Drottningen som sa nej" by Moa Matthis , published in 2010. After the king died on the battlefield on 6 November 1632, Maria Eleonora returned to Sweden with

10353-415: The position of head lady-in-waiting, all four with the formal rank and title of Hovmästarinna . The Royal Council's method of giving Queen Christina several foster mothers to avoid her forming an attachment to a single person appears to have been effective, as Christina did not mention her foster mothers directly in her memoirs and did not seem to have formed an attachment to any of them; in fact, with only

10472-586: The pursuit of Polish divisions engaged in guerrilla tactics in the snow-covered plains of Poland, penetrating as far south as Jarosław in Ruthenian Voivodeship (województwo ruskie), by which time he had lost two-thirds of his 15,000 men army with no apparent result. In the meantime, the Russians signed a cease-fire with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ( Truce of Vilna ) and then pursued

10591-480: The respective diets ( Kreistage ) of three Imperial Circles : the Upper Saxon Circle , Lower Saxon Circle , and Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle ; the city of Bremen was disputed. Shortly before the conclusion of the peace settlement, she admitted Salvius into the council, against Oxenstierna's wishes. Salvius was no aristocrat, but Christina wanted the opposition to the aristocracy present. In 1649, with

10710-523: The same style when writing to women she had never met but whose writings she admired. Christina's coronation took place on 22 October 1650. Christina went to the castle of Jacobsdal , where she boarded a coronation carriage draped in black velvet embroidered in gold and pulled by three white horses. The procession to Storkyrkan was so long that when the first carriages arrived, the last ones had not yet left Jacobsdal (a distance of roughly 10.5 km or 6.5 miles). All four estates were invited to dine at

10829-476: The same year, she ordered Vossius (and Heinsius) to make a list of about 6,000 books and manuscripts to be packed and shipped to Antwerp. In February 1654, she plainly told the Council of her plans to abdicate . Oxenstierna told her she would regret her decision within a few months. In May, the Riksdag discussed her proposals. She had asked for 200,000 rikstalers a year but received dominions instead. Financially she

10948-420: The second Battle of Breitenfeld (1642) and at Jankowitz (1645). From 1646 to 1648 he frequented the Swedish court, supposedly as a prospective husband of his cousin the queen regnant, Christina of Sweden (1626–89, reigned 1632–54), but her insurmountable objection to wedlock put an end to these anticipations, and to compensate her cousin for a broken half-promise she declared him her successor in 1649, despite

11067-414: The son of John Casimir , Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden . After his father's death he also succeeded him as Pfalzgraf . He was married to Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp , who bore his son and successor, Charles XI . Charles X Gustav was the second Wittelsbach king of Sweden after the childless king Christopher of Bavaria (1441–1448) and he was the first king of

11186-459: The spring of 1652. She had more conversations with them, being interested in Catholic views on sin, the immortality of the soul , rationality, and free will . The two scholars revealed her plans to Cardinal Fabio Chigi . Around May 1652 Christina, raised in the Lutheran Church of Sweden , decided to become Catholic . She sent Matthias Palbitzki to Madrid and King Philip IV of Spain sent

11305-495: The subsequent years, Christina thrived in the company of her aunt Catherine and her family. In 1638, after the death of her aunt and foster mother, the Royal Regency Council under Axel Oxenstierna saw the need to appoint a new foster mother to the underage monarch, which resulted in a reorganization of the queen's household. To prevent the young queen from being dependent upon a single individual and favorite mother figure,

11424-430: The ten years of her reign, the number of noble families increased from 300 to about 600, rewarding people such as Lennart Torstenson , Louis De Geer and Johan Palmstruch for their efforts. These donations took place with such haste that they were not always registered, and on some occasions, the same piece of land was given away twice. Christina abdicated her throne on 6 June 1654 in favor of Charles Gustav. During

11543-534: The throne to her cousin Charles X Gustav and settled in Rome. Pope Alexander VII described Christina as "a queen without a realm, a Christian without faith, and a woman without shame." She played a leading part in the theatrical and musical communities and protected many Baroque artists, composers, and musicians. Christina, who was the guest of five consecutive popes and a symbol of the Counter-Reformation ,

11662-570: The time war was declared he had at his disposal 50,000 men and 50 warships. Hostilities had already begun with the occupation of Dünaburg in Polish Livonia by the Swedes on 1 July 1655. Then on 21 July 1655 Swedish army under Arvid Wittenberg crossed into Poland and proceeded towards the encampment of the Greater Poland Levy of the Nobility ( pospolite ruszenie ) encamped among the banks of

11781-446: The two great pressing national questions: war, and the restitution of the alienated crown lands. Over three days a secret committee presided over by the King decided the war question: Charles X easily persuaded the delegates that a war against Poland appeared necessary and might prove very advantageous; but the consideration of the question of the subsidies due to the crown for military purposes

11900-548: The type normally only afforded to boys. When Gustav Adolf did not come home as expected after the summer campaign of 1630, Maria wrote to John Casimir, her brother-in-law that she could not stand it; she wanted to die. She begged him to try to persuade the king to come home. It was decided that Maria would travel to Germany the following spring. She arrived on 10 July 1631, to Wolgast in Pomerania. On 11 January 1632, she met with her spouse near Hanau . The couple were spotted for

12019-495: The war efforts against Denmark–Norway after a council held at Gottorp on 7 July, even though he was in defiance of international equity. Without warning, Denmark–Norway was attacked a second time. On 17 July he again landed on Zealand and besieged Copenhagen with its king Frederick III of Denmark and Norway , but the city managed to hold out long enough for the Dutch fleet under Lieutenant-Admiral Jacob van Wassenaer Obdam to relieve

12138-776: The way, the army reached Grimsted in Lolland without losing a man; on 8 February, Charles reached Falster. On 11 February he stood safely on the soil of Zealand . A Swedish medal struck to commemorate the transit of the Baltic Sea bear the inscription: Natura hoc debuit uni . Sweden had achieved a rare war exploit, in Sweden considered to be matched only by the crusade of the Livonian Order led by William of Modena to conquer Saaremaa (Osel) in January 1227 and afterwards when two Russian armies crossed

12257-629: The winter Christina lived in the apostolic palace in Pesaro, probably to flee the plague which infested several regions including Naples. During the Naples Plague (1656) almost half of the population died within two years. In July 1657, she returned to France, either being impatient or not so anxious to become queen of Naples. On 15 October 1657 apartments were assigned to her at the Palace of Fontainebleau , where she committed an action that stained her memory:

12376-701: Was Leonard Gyllenhaal (1752–1840). In 1807, he was created a Knight of the Royal Order of Vasa for his scientific work as an entomologist , including his monograph on Swedish insects, Insecta Suecia descripta . Christina, Queen of Sweden Christina ( Swedish : Kristina ; 18 December [ O.S. 8 December] 1626 – 19 April 1689) was a member of the House of Vasa and the Queen of Sweden in her own right from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. Her conversion to Catholicism and refusal to marry led her to relinquish her throne and move to Rome. The Swedish queen

12495-650: Was chased around in an adjacent room before they finally succeeded in dealing him a fatal wound in his throat. "In the end, he died, confessing his infamy and admitting [Santinelli's] innocence, protesting that he had invented the whole fantastic story in order to ruin [him]." Father Le Bel was told to have him buried inside the church, and Christina, seemingly unfazed, paid an abbey to say a number of Masses for his soul. She "was sorry that she had been forced to undertake this execution, but claimed that justice had been carried out for his crime and betrayal. Mazarin , who had sent her old friend Chanut, advised Christina to place

12614-510: Was chiefly occupied with her studies, she slept three to four hours a night, forgot to comb her hair, donned her clothes in a hurry and wore men's shoes for the sake of convenience. (In fact, her permanent bed-head became her trademark look in paintings. ) When Christina left Sweden, she continued to write passionate letters to her intimate friend Ebba Sparre, in which she told her that she would always love her. However, such emotional letters were relatively common at that time, and Christina would use

12733-433: Was considered very difficult, and in 1636 she lost her parental rights to her daughter. The Riksråd justified its decision by asserting that she neglected Christina and her upbringing and that she had a bad influence on her daughter ... Chancellor Oxenstierna saw no other solution than to exile the widow to Gripsholm castle, while the governing regency council would decide when she was allowed to see her daughter. For

12852-692: Was crowned later on that day. Christina left the country within a few days. In the summer of 1654, Christina left Sweden in men's clothing with the help of Bernardino de Rebolledo and rode as Count Dohna through Denmark. Relations between the two countries were still so tense that a former Swedish queen could not have traveled safely in Denmark. Christina had already packed and shipped abroad valuable books, paintings, statues, and tapestries from her Stockholm castle, leaving its treasures severely depleted. Christina visited Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and, while there, thought that her successor should have

12971-400: Was in the letters, but according to Le Bel, it is supposed to have dealt with her "amours", either with Monaldeschi or another person. She herself wrote her version of the story for circulation in Europe. Charles X Gustav Charles X Gustav , also Carl X Gustav ( Swedish : Karl X Gustav ; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was

13090-612: Was killed in action at the Battle of Helsingborg as a cavalry captain. The members of the older branch descending from Lars still live in Sweden . The most notable member of that branch was the Minister for Justice Lars Herman Gyllenhaal . In 1851, he was created Knight and Commander of the Royal Order of the Seraphim . His great-great grandson, Baron Herman Gyllenhaal of Härlingstorp (born 1934),

13209-550: Was lodged in the mansion of a Jewish merchant. She was visited by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria ; the Prince de Condé , the ambassador Pierre Chanut , as well as the former governor of Norway, Hannibal Sehested . In the afternoons, she went for a ride, and each evening, parties were held; there was always a play to watch or music to listen to. Christina quickly ran out of money and had to sell some of her tapestries, silverware, and jewelry. When her financial situation did not improve,

13328-465: Was most vulnerable if attacked from the south, and he attacked Denmark with a velocity which paralysed resistance. At the end of June 1657, at the head of 8,000 seasoned veterans, he broke up from Bromberg ( Bydgoszcz ) south of Pomerania and reached the borders of Holstein on 18 July. The Danish army dispersed and the Swedes recovered the duchy of Bremen . In the early autumn Charles's troops swarmed over Jutland and firmly established themselves in

13447-589: Was postponed to the following Riksdag. In 1659 he proclaimed severe punishment for anyone hunting in the royal game reserve in Ottenby , Öland , Sweden, where he had built a long dry-stone wall separating the southern tip of the island. On 10 July 1655, Charles X left Sweden to engage in a war against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , in what became the Second (or Little) Northern War (1655–1660). By

13566-420: Was preparing for war against Pomerania , which meant that her income from there was considerably reduced. The pope and Philip IV of Spain could not support her openly either, as she was not publicly a Catholic yet. Christina succeeded in arranging a major loan, leaving books and statues to settle her debts. In September, she left for Italy with her entourage of 255 persons and 247 horses. The pope's messenger,

13685-707: Was secured through a pension and revenue from the town of Norrköping , the isles of Gotland , Öland , Ösel , and Poel , Wolgast and Neukloster in Mecklenburg , and estates in Pomerania . Her plan to convert was not the only reason for her abdication, as there was increasing discontent with her arbitrary and wasteful ways. Within ten years, she and Oxenstierna had created 17 counts , 46 barons , and 428 lesser nobles . To provide these new peers with adequate appanages , they had sold or mortgaged crown property representing an annual income of 1,200,000 rikstalers . During

13804-676: Was signed in October 1648, effectively ending the European wars of religion . Sweden received an indemnity of five million thalers , used primarily to pay its troops. Sweden further received Western Pomerania (henceforth Swedish Pomerania ), Wismar , the Archbishopric of Bremen , and the Bishopric of Verden as hereditary fiefs, thus gaining a seat and vote in the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire and in

13923-435: Was strongly opposed to this and was again backed by Christina. The Book of Concord was not introduced. In 1651, after reigning for almost twenty years, working at least ten hours a day, Christina had a nervous breakdown or burn out . For an hour, she seemed to be dead. She suffered from high blood pressure and complained about bad eyesight and her crooked back. She had already seen many court physicians. In February 1652,

14042-472: Was then that she received from the pope her second name of Alexandra, the feminine form of his own." She was granted her own wing inside the Vatican, decorated by Bernini. Christina's visit to Rome was the triumph of Pope Alexander VII and the occasion for splendid Baroque festivities. For several months, she was the only preoccupation of the Pope and his court. The nobles vied for her attention and treated her to

14161-569: Was visited by a group of Dutch diplomats, including Johan de Witt , to find a solution for the Sound Dues . In the Treaty of Brömsebro , signed at a creek in Blekinge , Denmark added the isles of Gotland and Ösel to Christina's domain while Norway lost the districts of Jämtland and Härjedalen to her. Under Christina's rule, Sweden, virtually controlling the Baltic Sea , had unrestricted access to

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