5 Would now be ratified: The peace which Gustav Adolf had made with Muscovy was the Peace of Stolbova of 27 February 1617, by which the Swedes gave up their claim to the Russian throne, but gained the provinces of Keksholm and Ingria (Ingermanland). The Russians arrived at Nyköping in the summer of 1633, at about the same time that Maria Eleonora arrived there with the body of the late King.
6 Leave it all to me: Raymond (1994), Christine de Suède: Apologies, p. 130.
7 Baron Gabriel Gustavsson Oxenstierna died in 1641, and was replaced as High Steward by Count Per Brahe.
8 ‘Immensely capable, and greathearted’: Raymond (1994), Christine de Suède: Apologies, p. 114.
9 Catholicism of his captors: Christina writes mistakenly that Karl Karlsson Gyllenhjelm had been imprisoned in Poland for eighteen years.
10 Thirteen years of age: For details of the long-drawn-out negotiations for the betrothal of Christina and Friedrich Wilhelm, see Schulze (1898), Die Projekt der Vermählung Friedrich Wilhelms von Brandenburg mit Christina von Schweden, and Arnheim (1903–5), ‘Gustav Adolfs Gemahlin Maria Eleonora von Brandenburg’.
11 Personally to the Elector: Gustav Adolf’s visit to Berlin to promote the betrothal between Christina and Friedrich Wilhelm took place in June 1631.
12 General, non-committal terms: Arnheim (1903), ‘Gustav Adolfs Gemahlin Maria Eleonora von Brandenburg’, Jahrbuch 7, p. 177.
13 To any other foreign prince: The Senate met on 5 April 1633. This report is drawn from ibid., pp. 175ff.
14 Or not at all: ibid., p. 178.
15 Children to be Lutheran: Maria Eleonora’s father, the Elector Johann Sigismund, had issued an Edict of Tolerance in 1614 to uphold religious freedom in Brandenburg. Though he himself converted from Lutheranism to Calvinism, he allowed his wife and children to remain Lutheran.
16 She said I was ugly: Raymond (1994), Christine de Suède: Apologies, p. 94.
17 As if the person had only just died: ibid., p. 133.
18 Loss of their father: ibid., pp. 130–3.
19 Perfectly well again: ibid., p. 132.
20 Corinthian columns: For details of Maria Eleonora’s memorial plans, see Göran Axel-Nilsson, ‘Pompa memoriae Gustavi Adolphi magni’, in von Platen (ed.) (1966), Queen Christina of Sweden: Documents and Studies. The French envoy was Charles Ogier.
21 Escape the Queen my mother: Raymond (1994), Christine de Suède: Apologies, p. 132.
22 All the Christian virtues: This quotation from the directive of the Riksdag is taken from Clarke (1978), ‘The Making of a Queen’, p. 230.
23 In her apartment: Raymond (1994), Christine de Suède: Apologies, p. 131.
Love and Learning
1 Even write their names: The quotation is from Roberts (1973), Gustavus Adolphus and the Rise of Sweden, p. 93, and see passim for an overview of Gustav Adolf’s educational reforms.
2 The Door to Languages Opened: Jan Amos Komenský (1592–1670), the Czech educational reformer, generally known by his Latinized name of Comenius, is considered by many to be the father of modern education. He was the last Bishop of the Moravians before their dispersal from Bohemia in 1624, following the Habsburg defeat of the Bohemian rebels; Comenius was exiled along with his non-Catholic compatriots. During the 1640s, he served as a somewhat frustrated educational adviser in Sweden; towards the end of his life, he was invited to become the President of Harvard University. See Cauly (1995), Comenius, in French. For a brief description in English of Comenius’ educational programme, see Evans (1997), Rudolf II and his World, p. 283ff.
3 Combined text with pictures: Comenius’ Orbis sensualium pictus (The Physical World in Pictures) was written in 1653 but not published until 1658. See Cauly (1995), Comenius, p. 282ff.
4 By Our own hand: Christina’s letter of 28 October 1636 to Johan Matthiae, quoted in Arckenholtz (1751–60), Mémoires concernant Christine, Vol. 4, p. 191.
5 Usual beginner’s Latin texts: With her tutor over the next few years, Christina read Curtius, Livy, Cicero’s speeches against Catiline, Sallust’s Catiline and Jugurtha, Caesar’s commentaries, and the plays of Terence, a standard and not unduly demanding programme. See Clarke (1978), ‘The Making of a Queen’, p. 230. Clarke suggests that Christina must have read the ‘major Latin poets’ and ‘the more difficult prose writers’ after Matthiae’s departure in 1643. He compares her progress unfavourably with that of the ‘really precocious’ Edward VI of England in the previous century (see ibid., p. 232).
6 German, French, Italian, or Spanish: Raymond (1994), Christine de Suède: Apologies, p. 122.
7 In one so young: ibid., p. 124.
8 Raises the highest hopes: Quoted in Masson (1968), Queen Christina, p. 58.
9 Fifty years before: See Camden (1972 edn), History of the Most Renowned and Victorious Princess Elizabeth. Elizabeth (1533–1603) was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. She became Queen on the death of her Catholic half-sister, Mary Tudor, in 1558.
10 Teach me anything about them: Raymond (1994), Christine de Suède: Apologies, pp. 121–2.
11 Little forts, and maps: ibid., p. 121, fn 25. Raymond notes that this passage is omitted from Arckenholtz.
12 Real sympathy for it: ibid., p. 123.
13 Or study, or exercise: ibid., pp. 122–3.
14 A spy among them: Paraphrased from Masson (1968), Queen Christina, p. 60.
15 The most astute people: From the Esquisse de la reine Christine Auguste, in Arckenholtz (1751–60), Mémoires concernant Christine, Vol. 4, pp. 287–90.
16 To separate her from me completely: Raymond (1994), Christine de Suède: Apologies, p. 136.
17 Dazzled by her beauty: The Frenchman, Charles Ogier, is quoted in Stolpe (1966), Christina of Sweden, p. 32.
18 Returned to friendlier shores: Chryseis was the first of the traded women in the Iliad.
Acorn Beneath an Oak
1 The two old enemies: The Treaty of Brömsebro was signed between Sweden and Denmark in August 1645. Sweden gained the Baltic islands of Gotland and Ösel and the western provinces of Jämtland and Härjedalen, and also (for 30 years only) the southern province of Halland, on the Sound.
Warring and Peace
1 Or his dung-cart: Juncker Päär, quoted in Roberts (1967), Essays in Swedish History, p. 137, note 77.
2 The mob they call counts: Paraphrased from Johan Ekeblad, quoted in Roberts (1967), Essays in Swedish History, p. 137 note 77.
3 Including the slave trade: Sweden became involved in the slave trade in 1647 through the efforts of Dutch entrepreneurs working for the Swedish Africa Company.
4 Entrepreneurs, almost all of them Dutchmen: The most prominent of them was Louis de Geer, who purchased vast tracts of land in Sweden, and set up mining, manufacturing, banking, retail, and other operations within the country. For an overview, see Rich and Wilson (eds.) (1967), Cambridge Economic History of Europe, vol. 4, pp. 565–6. One notable Swedish exception was Christina’s own mistress of the wardrobe, Madame Beata Oxenstierna (née De la Gardie), who had built up a substantial clothing business, and even owned a fleet of ships.
5 Book promoting Protestant unity: Johan Matthiae’s book, published in 1645, was the Idea boni ordinis in Ecclesia Christi (Plan for Good Order in the Church of Christ).
6 The 24th Day of October, 1648: From the text of the Treaty of Münster. British Foreign Office translation.
7 Of his private ambition: This was Marshal Johan Banér, who began to negotiate a personal peace with the Emperor in 1635. See Wedgwood (1992), The Thirty Years War, pp. 443ff.
8 Sharpening his sword: The Dutch poet was Jan Zoet. The Turks finally took Crete on 6 September 1669, after 24 years of fighting.
9 At the German parliament: By the Treaty of Westphalia, Sweden also gained the Pomeranian town of Stettin, the island of Rügen, the two Mecklenburg towns of Wismar and Warnemünde, and the secularized bishoprics of Verden and Bremen (though not the town of Bremen itself).
10 Control of any Ge
rman territory: In his last letter to Axel Oxenstierna of 9 November 1632. See Wedgwood (1992), The Thirty Years War, p. 337. By the Treaty of Westphalia, France gained ‘sovereignty over Metz, Toul, and Verdun; Pinerolo; the Sundgau in southern Alsace; Breisach; garrison rights in Philippsburg; the Landvogtei or “Advocacy” of ten further Alsatian cities’. See Davies (1997), Europe, p. 567.
11 To east and west: During the 1640s, revolts against the Spanish Habsburgs had broken out in Catalonia, Portugal, and Sicily. See Elliott (1963), Imperial Spain.
12 To our oppressors: Cauly (1995), Comenius, p. 262. Silesia’s Protestants were guaranteed the right to practise their own religion.
13 Devoid of meaning for all time: The bull Zelus Domus Dei was issued by Pope Innocent X on 26 November 1648, following his receipt of the terms of the Treaty of Münster. The quotation is taken from Davies (1997), Europe, p. 568.
14 Lay in foreign hands: After the Peace of Westphalia, the Dutch held the Rhine river, the Danes the Elbe, and the Swedes the Oder.
15 Exiled Czech reformists: As late as October 1648, with the preliminary treaties already signed, leaving Prague in Catholic hands, Comenius was writing to urge Axel Oxenstierna to save the city for the evangelical cause. See Cauly (1995), Comenius, pp. 262–3.
16 And send it on here: See Cavalli-Björkman (1999), ‘La collection de la reine Christine à Stockholm’.
17 News-sheet in Leipzig: The paper was the Wöchentliche Zeitung. See Reinken (1966), Deutsche Zeitungen über Königin Christine: 1626–1689, pp. 44–7.
18 ‘Twelve ells’ in length: The ‘ell’ was about 45 inches or 115 centimetres.
19 Nobler toasts had been drunk: The Grand Duke was Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov (r. 1645–76), Prince of Muscovy and also the Tsar. Russia was not yet the vast and powerful land that it was to become during Alexei’s reign, largely at the expense of Poland-Lithuania.
Pallas of the North
1 His newly looted Holbein canvases: In 1632, Gustav Adolf looted a major collection from his doubtful ally, Maximilien of Bavaria, who responded by taking Generals Torstensson and Horn hostage. See Cavalli-Björkman (1999), ‘La collection de la reine Christine à Stockholm’, p. 298.
2 Hidden essence of things: See Blom (2002), To Have and To Hold, pp. 27–49. The phrase ‘encyclopedia of the visible world’ is from Evans (1997), Rudolf II and his World, p. 177.
3 Too much honour: Christina’s letter to the Duca di Bracciano, 22 May 1652, quoted in Cavalli-Björkman (1999), ‘La collection de la reine Christine à Stockholm’, p. 302.
4 Civil strife of the Fronde: La Fronde is the name generally given to the period of civil war in France which lasted from 1648–53 (the word fronde means a slingshot). There were in fact two rebellions, though the causes overlapped and many people changed allegiance over the years. During the First Fronde or the Fronde du Parlement (1648–51), the parliament rebelled against the principle of absolute monarchy, as exercised by the child-King’s regents, his mother, Anne of Austria, and Cardinal Mazarin. During the Second Fronde or the Fronde des Princes (1651–3), the nobility, led by the Prince de Condé (‘le Grand Condé), rebelled against the power of Cardinal Mazarin himself, and sought to drive him permanently out of France. For an overview of the Fronde in English, see Dunlop (1999), Louis XIV, Chapter 2. See also Pujo (1995), Le Grand Condé. For a contemporary account, see de Wicquefort (1978), Chronique discontinue de la Fronde.
5 Extravagance through the world: An unnamed Swedish scholar quoted in Arckenholtz (1751–60), Mémoires concernant Christine, Vol. 4, p. 232.
6 Of the local Indians: The settler was Johannes Jonae Holm. During the 1640s, he lived in the Swedish colony of Fort Christina, also known as New Christina, now Wilmington, Delaware, in the United States.
7 Dorpat: Now Tartu, in eastern Estonia.
8 Estimable people in the world: Letter from Chanut, quoted in Kermina (1995), Christine de Suède, p. 39.
9 The celebrated philosopher Descartes: Chanut’s brother-in-law was Claude Clerselier (1614–84), Descartes’ translator and posthumous editor.
10 Greek Anthology by heart: Paraphrased from a letter from Celsius to Georges de Scudéry, quoted in Arckenholtz (1751–60), Mémoires concernant Christine, Vol. 4, p. 233.
11 She has ‘begun to taste’: See Åkerman (1991), Queen Christina of Sweden and her Circle, p. 39, note 83.
12 The ‘learned virgin’ of Utrecht: See Schama (1991), The Embarrassment of Riches, p. 408ff.
Tragedy and Comedy
1 A moment’s peace: Descartes’ letter to Chanut, 1 November 1646, quoted in Descartes, Correspondance avec Elisabeth, p. 246.
2 Serve his purposes at all: This was a common riposte at the time to the implications of Copernicus and Galileo that the universe must be infinite. Descartes responded in a letter to Chanut of 6 June 1647. See ibid., p. 263ff.
3 Final purpose of creation: Descartes’ letter to Chanut, 6 June 1647, quoted in ibid., p. 263ff.
4 Don’t know precisely how: Descartes’ letter to Chanut, 6 June 1647, quoted in ibid., p. 268.
5 Have spoken of it: Descartes’ letter to Christina, 20 November 1647, quoted in ibid., pp. 270–2.
6 The existence of God: Descartes’ letter to Chanut, 1 November 1646, quoted in ibid., p. 247.
7 Will make of it: Descartes’ letter to Chanut, 21 February 1648, quoted in ibid., p. 276.
8 On a second reading: Descartes’ letter to Chanut, May 1648, quoted in ibid., p. 279.
9 To write to me: Descartes’ letter to Christina, 26 February 1649, quoted in ibid., p. 284.
10 Let alone to reply sooner: Descartes’ letter to Chanut, 26 February 1649, quoted in ibid., p. 281.
11 Simply resolved to obey: Descartes’ first letter to Chanut of 31 March 1649, quoted in ibid., p. 285.
12 Claims upon her time: Descartes’ second letter to Chanut of 31 March 1649, quoted in ibid., p. 287.
13 Spare me this journey: Descartes’ letter to Chanut of 26 February 1649, and his second letter to Chanut of 31 March 1649, quoted in ibid., p. 283 and pp. 288–9.
14 They are very young: Descartes’ letter to Chanut, 1 November 1646, quoted in ibid., p. 246. The Princess had been the dedicatee of his Principles of Philosophy, published in Amsterdam in 1644.
15 The cold up there: Descartes’ letter to Chanut, 6 March 1646, quoted in ibid., p. 241.
16 Lutenists to teach her, too: They included Giovan Battista Veraldi and Zacharias Krause.
Hollow Crown
1 Of her adopted country: Poland was already stricken by the Chmielnicki Cossack uprising from which so many refugees would make their way to Sweden. From 1648–54, Bogdan Chmielnicki (Khmelnytsky) led an unsuccessful rebellion of Dnieper Cossacks and peasants against King Wladyslaw VII Vasa and his successor, Jan II Kazimierz Vasa.
2 I simply cannot marry: Christina’s declaration of January 1649, quoted in Kermina (1995), Christine de Suède, p. 67.
3 Bow’d his comely Head down: On 30 January 1649. See Fraser (1973), Cromwell, p. 290ff. The quotation is from Andrew Marvell’s An Horatian Ode upon Cromwel’s Return from Ireland, lines 63–4.
4 They are growing desperate: Paraphrased from Roberts (1967), Essays in Swedish History, p. 128.
5 Ruler of the land: Paraphrased from ibid., p. 117.
6 Rule as they like: All three quotations in this paragraph are quoted or paraphrased from ibid., p. 112.
7 The twentieth of October: Christina’s coronation took place on 20 October 1650 by the old Julian calendar then still in use in most of Protestant Europe. By the Gregorian calendar, later adopted generally, the date was ten days later. The coronation had initially been planned for August 1647.
8 In these northern countries: Both quotations are from Kermina (1995), Christine de Suède, pp. 132–3.
9 Circles of solid gold crowns: For a detailed description of the robe and other aspects of the coronation, see Gudrun Ekstrand, ‘A Robe of Purple Velvet for Queen Christina’, in von Platen (ed.) (19
66), Queen Christina of Sweden: Documents and Studies. The crowns were removed for reuse in 1774.
10 In his studio: In the event, Jordaens’ paintings, which depicted Ovid’s tale of Psyche, were hung in the royal library in the Tre Kronor Castle in Stockholm. They were destroyed in the castle fire of 1697.
11 A fluid French hand: Christina’s second coronation arch was painted by Nicolas Vallari.
12 Made of stone: Macedo’s eye-witness report is quoted by Sten Karling in ‘L’Arc de triomphe de la reine Christine à Stockholm’, in von Platen (ed.) (1966), Queen Christina of Sweden: Documents and Studies.
13 Country house of Jakobsdal: The De la Gardies’ country house, at the bay of Edsviken near Stockholm, is still standing. It is now known as Ulriksdal.
14 A coronation gift from Magnus: For details of Christina’s silver throne, see Carl Hernmarck, ‘Der Silberthron Christina’, in von Platen (ed.) (1966), Queen Christina of Sweden: Documents and Studies.
15 Not advice but assent: Christina informed the Senate (the Råd) on 7 August 1651.
16 Greatest men in the land: They included the mayor of Stockholm, Nils Nilsson, Senator Bengt Skytte, and Bishop Abo Tersenius. The two condemned men, Messenius and his son, refused to reveal the names of some of the most powerful men involved.
Christina Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric Page 46