[119], On 16 September 1668, John II Casimir abdicated the PolishLithuanian throne and left to France. Her upper lip protrudes a little. "It is a far greater happiness to obey no one than to rule the whole world .". According to the Kntlinga saga, Christina was the daughter of Bjrn Haraldsen Ironside, son of the Danish prince . She was concerned that the royal collections would be claimed by her successor, and prudently sent them ahead to Antwerp in a ship in August 1653, almost a year before she abdicated, an early sign of her intentions. The poet Reyer Anslo was presented to her. She died on 19 April 1689 in Palazzo Corsini at six in the morning. Queen Christina defended him against the advice of Chancellor Oxenstierna, but three years later, the proposal had to be withdrawn. "[12] Notwithstanding, she played a leading part in the theatrical and musical communities and protected many Baroque artists, composers, and musicians. It was noted that she also wore large amounts of powder and face cream. 's presence, I am worth nothing, not even my life".[22]. He too had been a pupil of Johannes Matthiae, and his uncle had been Gustav Adolf's teacher. Inspirational Quotes by Christina Rossetti (English Poet) Inspirational Quotes by Christina, Queen of Sweden (Swedish Monarch) Inspirational Quotes by Christopher D. Furman; Inspirational Quotes by Christopher Fry (English Poet, Playwright) Inspirational Quotes by Christopher Hitchens (Anglo-American Social Critic) On 11 January 1632 she met with her spouse, close to Hanau. Herta J. Enevoldsen wrote two novels in Danish on her life, She is featured as the leader of the Swedish civilization in the video game expansion pack. A controversial figure in her time who rejected norms and etiquette, Christina, Queen of Sweden, had a fascinating life full of political twists and turns. Wearing his coat of mail, which protected him, he was chased around in an adjacent room before they finally succeeded in dealing him a fatal wound in his throat. [163], As an adult, it was said that Christina "walked like a man, sat and rode like a man, and could eat and swear like the roughest soldiers". For an hour she seemed to be dead. [128] Christina wrote an unfinished autobiography, of which there are several drafts extant,[129] essays on her heroes Alexander the Great, Cyrus the Great and Julius Csar, on art and music (Penses, LOuvrage du Loisir and Les Sentiments Hroques)[43] and acted as patron to musicians and poets as Vincenzo da Filicaja. As he had promised to remain celibate, his replies were more reserved. [n] Another Franciscan was the Swede Lars Skytte, who, under the name pater Laurentius, served as Christina's confessor for eight years.[o]. [k] To provide these new peers with adequate appanages, they had sold or mortgaged crown property representing an annual income of 1,200,000 rikstalers. After the king died on the battlefield on 6November 1632, Maria Eleonora returned to Sweden with the embalmed body of her husband. [149] Titian's Venus Anadyomene was among them. On 24 December 1654, she converted to the Catholic faith in the archduke's chapel in the presence of the Dominican Juan Gumes,[89] Raimondo Montecuccoli and Pimentel. Lanoye, D. (2001) Christina van Zweden: Koningin op het schaakbord Europa 16261689, p. 24. [90] Baptized as Kristina Augusta, she adopted the name Christina Alexandra. [98] Buckley, on the other hand, believed there was "in Christina a curious squeamishness with regard to sex" and that "a sexual relationship between herself and Azzolino, or any other man, seems unlikely". In 1675, she invited Antnio Vieira to become her confessor. [101] On 20 July 1656 Christina set sail from Civitavecchia for Marseille where she arrived nine days later. Christina visited Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, and while there thought that her successor should have a bride. Buckley suggested that her low comprehension of the need for most social norms, little desire to act, dress, or do other social norms, and her preference to wear, act, and do only that which she deemed logically practical, point to her having a pervasive developmental disorder, such as Asperger syndrome.[72]. Her parents had no surviving children, and her mother Maria was desperate to give King Gustavus a son. Lars Englund of Uppsala University' Department of Musicology has hypothesized that Christina's early involvement with Italian music, and in particular church music from Rome, "was part of a deliberate self-transformation, from a ruling Lutheran regent to a Catholic Queen without a land. Oxenstierna wrote proudly of the 14-year-old girl that "she is not at all like a female" and that she had "a bright intelligence". [19], In June 1630, when Christina was three years old,[20] Gustav Adolf left for Germany to defend Protestantism and became involved the Thirty Years' War. Christina (born Kristina Augusta Wasa, 1626-1689) was Queen of Sweden from 1632-1654. [40] By 16491650, "her desire to collect men of learning round her, as well as books and rare manuscripts, became almost a mania", Goldsmith wrote. Physical anthropologist Carl-Herman Hjortsj, who undertook the investigation, explained: "Our imperfect knowledge concerning the effect of intersex on the skeletal formation makes it impossible to decide which positive skeletal findings should be demanded upon which to base the diagnosis [of an intersex condition]." (2018) Dark horses of business: overseas entrepreneurship in seventeenth-century Nordic trade in the Indian and Atlantic oceans, p. 134-135", "The Correspondence of Isaac Vossius (currently 1,702 letters) EMLO", "Il y a des preuves que Ren Descartes a t assassin", "Disobedient Facts About Christina of Sweden, the Troublemaker Queen", "Expressions of power: Queen Christina of Sweden and patronage in Baroque Europe by Nathan A. Popp, University of Iowa", "The Formula of Concord in the History of Swedish Lutheranism, p. 6 By Docent Seth Erlandsson, Uppsala", "The physician Romolo Spezioli (1642 -1723) and his private library in the Public Library of Fermo", "Romolo Spezioli, medico di Cristina di Svezia", "FAMOUS AFFINITIES OF HISTORY THE ROMANCE OF DEVOTION by Lyndon Orr", "Converts, Conversion, and the Confessionalization Thesis, Once Again", Rome and the Counter-Reformation in Scandinavia: The age of Gustavus Adolphus and Queen Christina of Sweden (16621656), "Memoirs of Christina, Queen of Sweden: In 2 volumes. "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]. That same year she founded Ordinari Post Tijdender ("Regular Mail Times"), the oldest currently published newspaper in the world. In February 1654, she plainly told the Council of her plans to abdicate. Christina's financial extravagance brought the state to the verge of bankruptcy, and the financial difficulties caused public unrest. (2013). Christina's visit to Rome was the triumph of Pope Alexander VII and the occasion for splendid Baroque festivities. In one account she "was sunburnt, and she looked like a sort of Egyptian street girl, very strange, and more alarming than attractive". Christina sent home all her Spanish servants, including her confidant Pimentel and her confessor Gumes. In addition, Sweden was preparing for war against Pomerania, which meant that her income from there was considerably reduced. Around May 1652 Christina, raised in the Lutheran Church of Sweden, decided to become Catholic. She on her part felt more attracted to the views of the Spanish priest Miguel Molinos, whom she employed as a private theologian. She had asked for 200,000 rikstalers a year, but received dominions instead. [37], In 1645, Christina invited Hugo Grotius to become her librarian, but he died on his way in Rostock. In early August, she traveled to Paris, accompanied by the Duke of Guise. In such ways, the balance of her collection shifted to Italian art.[148]. With Christina's strict schedule he was invited to the cold and draughty castle at 5:00 am daily to discuss philosophy and religion. [115], In the summer of 1662, she arrived in Rome for the third time, followed by some fairly happy years. A 71-year-old Axel Oxenstierna died in 1654, still Sweden's Chancellor. [45][46] From 1638 Oxenstierna employed a French ballet troupe under Antoine de Beaulieu, who also had to teach Christina to move around more elegantly. Knigstitulatur und Vandalenrezeption im frhneuzeitlichen Schweden. [72] Christina's contemporary John Bargrave described her comportment in a similar fashion but said witnesses ascribed her style more to childishness or madness than masculinity. Maria Eleanora had been indifferent to her daughter but now, belatedly, Christina became the center of her mother's attention. Goldsmith, Margaret (1935) Christina of Sweden: a psychological biography.Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc. Leif Jonsson, Ann-Marie Nilsson & Greger Andersson: Musiken i Sverige. With Malin Buska, Sarah Gadon, Michael Nyqvist, Lucas Bryant. Lanoye, D. (2001) Christina van Zweden: Koningin op het schaakbord Europa 16261689, p. 114. It was Cardinal Azzolino, her "bookkeeper" who signed the contract, as well as provided her with new servants to replace Francesco Santinelli, who had been Monaldeschi's executioner. [157] Her large and important library was bought by Alexander VIII for the Vatican Library, while most of the paintings ended up in France, as the core of the Orleans Collection many remain together in the National Gallery of Scotland. She decorated the walls with tapestries by Giovanni Francesco Grimaldi[112] and paintings, mainly from the Venetian School and Renaissance; and almost no paintings from northern European painters, except Holbein, Van Dyck and Rubens. All four estates were invited to dine at the castle. Thus Christina acquired for her library a number of valuable illustrated works and rare manuscripts. pp. Blok, C.S.M. Christina's goal was to become a mediator between France and Spain in their contest to control Naples. His nephew, Pompeo Azzolino, was his sole heir, and he rapidly sold off Christina's art collections. II", "Pope AlexanderVII Biographical Sketch by Montor", "Plague epidemic in the Kingdom of Naples, 1656-1658", "Famous Affinities of History: Queen Christina of Sweden and the Marquis Monaldeschi", "The Terrific Register: Or, Record of Crimes, Judgments, Providences, and Calamities ", "Gribble, Francis (2013) The Court of Christina of Sweden, and the Later Adventures of the Queen in Exile, pp. 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. Nevertheless, Hjortsj speculated that Christina had reasonably typical female genitalia because it is recorded by her physicians Bourdelot and Macchiati that she menstruated. The Peace of Westphalia was signed between May and October 1648, effectively ending the European wars of religion. Axel Oxenstierna managed to have the corpse interred in Riddarholmen Church on 22June 1634, but had to post guards after she tried to dig it up. For other Swedish royalty named Christina, see, Toggle Visits to France and Italy subsection. Konsthistorisk tidskrift, Vol. On 15 August 1686, she issued a declaration that Roman Jews were under her protection, signed la Regina the queen. Mazarin however found another arrangement to ensure peace; he strengthened this with a marriage arrangement between Louis XIV and his first cousin. She claimed her throne at the age of 18 before deciding to abdicate her position as ruler of Sweden in favor of her cousin, Charles X Gustav. On her father's death six years later, she inherited the Swedish throne. 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 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. The Book of Concord was not introduced. It is an unromantic likeness, for she is given a double chin and a prominent nose with flaring nostrils. There she was informed that Alexander VII, her patron and tormentor, had died in May 1667. She continued to regard herself as queen regnant all her life. [154] The French experts complained that Christina had cut down several paintings to fit her ceilings,[155] and had over-restored some of the best works, especially the Correggios, implicating Carlo Maratti. [108] As her contemporaries saw it, Christina as queen had to emphasize right and wrong, and her sense of duty was strong. Christina revealed in her autobiography that she felt "an insurmountable distaste for marriage" and "for all the things that females talked about and did." For several months, she was the only preoccupation of the Pope and his court. History's Most Scandalous Queer Royals" is a weeklong series in celebration of LGBTQ History Month chronicling both queer erasure and monarchal shenanigans of the past. The 7-year-old Queen Christina came in solemn procession to Nykping to receive her mother. Christina ran quickly out of money and had to sell some of her tapestries, silverware, and jewelry. The pope and Philip IV of Spain could not support her openly either, as she was not publicly a Catholic yet. Louis did not appreciate her views, but Christina was not to be silenced. In 1630 Protestant Sweden became involved in the Thirty Years' War. [50] On 15 January Descartes wrote he had seen Christina only four or five times. Mazarin, who had sent her old friend Chanut, advised Christina to place the blame due to a brawl among courtiers, but she insisted that she alone was responsible for the act. The complex character of Christina has inspired numerous plays, books, and operatic works, including: In 16361637, Peter Minuit and Samuel Blommaert negotiated with the government to found New Sweden, the first Swedish colony in the New World. [72], Bargrave recounted that Christina's relationship with Azzolino was both "familiar" (intimate) and "amorous" and that Azzolino had been sent (by the Pope) to Romania as punishment for maintaining it. [144], Most of the Prague booty remained in Sweden after Christina's departure for exile: she only took about 70 to 80 paintings with her, including about 25 portraits of her friends and family, and some 50 paintings, mostly Italian, from the Prague loot, as well as statues, jewels, 72 tapestries, and various other works of art. Christina, Queen of Sweden" Grove Art Online. 1700 drawings from her collection (among them works by Michelangelo (25) and Raphael) were acquired in 1790 by Willem Anne Lestevenon for the Teylers Museum in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Per Brahe felt that she "stood there as pretty as an angel." [72], In her Autobiography (1681), Christina is flirting with her androgynous personality. Her collections included very little religious subject matter and an abundance of mythological imagery, so it seems that Christina was also much interested in classical history, prompting misbegotten academic speculation about the genuineness of her conversion. Stefan Donecker/Roland Steinacher (2009) Der Knig der Schweden, Goten und Vandalen. So Christina became the undisputed heir presumptive. Christina visited Johann Friedrich Gronovius, and Anna Maria van Schurman in the Dutch Republic. 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. Matthiae was strongly opposed to this and was again backed by Christina. Charles Gustav was crowned later on that day. In order to prevent the young queen from being dependent upon a single individual and favorite mother figure, 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. In 1645, he sent his son, Johan Oxenstierna, to the Peace Congress in the Westphalian city of Osnabrck, to argue against peace with the Holy Roman Empire. Monaldeschi was a traitor, Santinelli had stolen from Christina' for years. When Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, abolishing the rights of French Protestants (Huguenots), Christina wrote an indignant letter, dated 2 February 1686, directed at the French ambassador Cesar d'Estrees. Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso. [i] In February 1652, the French doctor Pierre Bourdelot arrived in Stockholm. [125] When the pope suffered a stroke, she was among the few he wanted to see at his deathbed. From Antiquity to the end of the Great power era 1720"), Marker, Frederick J. 1967. She had a firm grasp of classical history and philosophy. [j] In reply, Paolo Casati and Francesco Malines came to Sweden in the spring of 1652, trained in both natural sciences and theology. [52][h], Already at the age of nine Christina was impressed by the Catholic religion and the merits of celibacy. Salvius was no aristocrat, but Christina wanted the opposition to the aristocracy present. [114], In April 1660 Christina was informed that Charles X Gustav had died in February. The funeral procession on 2 May led from Santa Maria in Vallicella to St. Peter's Basilica, where she was buried within the Grotte Vaticane one of only three women ever given this honor (the other two being Matilda of Tuscany and Maria Clementina Sobieska). Maria Eleonora was considered very difficult,[26] and in 1636 she lost her parental rights to her daughter. [103] In July 1657, she returned to France, either being impatient or not so anxious to become queen of Naples. [25] [165] When she arrived in Lyon, she again wore a toque and had styled her hair like that of a young man. The court poet Georg Stiernhielm wrote several plays in the Swedish language, such as Den fngne Cupido eller Laviancu de Diane, performed with Christina taking the main part of the goddess Diana. 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. In November 1632, at the battle of Ltzen, a Protestant victory, King Gustav was killed, and, at nearly six . [121] She left the city on 20 October 1668. 1626 - d. 1689) Christina of Sweden was born on December 8, 1626 in Stockholm, Sweden. [1] Christina seemed to recover, but in the middle of April she developed an acute streptococcus bacterial infection known as erysipelas, then contracted pneumonia and a high fever. Sven Hakon Rossel (Wiener Studien zur Skandinavistik 15, Wien 2006) 242252, Peter H. Wilson (2010) Europe's Tragedy: A New History of the Thirty Years War, p. 16. In August, she arrived in the Southern Netherlands and settled down in Antwerp. The pope's messenger, the librarian Lucas Holstenius, himself a convert, waited for her in Innsbruck. Christina never revealed what was in the letters, but according to Le Bel, it is supposed to have dealt with her "amours", either with Monaldeschi or another person. In early October, she left France and arrived in Torino. A shoulder bone broke, leaving one shoulder higher than the other for the rest of her life. [146] She was apparently given Titian's Death of Actaeon by the greatest collector of the age, Archduke Leopold William of Austria, Viceroy in Brussels she received many such gifts from Catholic royalty after her conversion,[147] and gave some generous gifts herself, notably Albrecht Drer's panels of Adam and Eve to Philip IV of Spain (now Prado). This solution did not suit Maria Eleonora, who had her sister-in-law banned from the castle. [45][46] In 1647, the Italian architect Antonio Brunati was ordered to build a theatrical setting in one of the larger rooms of the palace. The "Semiramis from the North" corresponded with Pierre Gassendi, her favorite author. Christina, Queen of Sweden" Grove Art Online. [74][75], 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. Today very few major works from her collection still remain in the country. [61], 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. [98][166] She abandoned her manly clothes and took to wearing dcollet dresses so risqu that they drew a rebuke from the Pope.[72]. In her delight at his election, she threw a brilliant party at her lodgings in Hamburg, with illuminations and wine in the fountain outside. Christina (1626-1689), Queen of Lutheran Sweden, who abdicated at the height of Sweden's power during the Thirty Years' War, converted to Catholicism, and spent the second half of her life in Rome. Provenance. 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 official entry into Rome took place on 20 December, in a couch designed by Bernini[94] through Porta Flaminia, which today is known as Porta del Popolo. Fact# 1: Queen Christina abdicated the crown after 10 years of ruling Queen Christina became heir-elect and queen with the death of her father, King Gustav II Adolf. Some historians have speculated that references to her physical attributes may be over-represented in related historiography, thus giving the impression that this was of greater interest to her contemporaries than was actually the case.
