Catherine Stenbock
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Catherine Stenbock | |
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Stenbock | |
Father | Gustaf Olofsson Stenbock |
Mother | Brita Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud |
Catherine Stenbock (Swedish: Katarina Gustavsdotter Stenbock; 22 July 1535 – 13 December 1621) was
Early life
Catherine Stenbock was born on 22 July 1535 in Torpa Castle, Sweden. She was the daughter of Riksråd Gustaf Olofsson Stenbock and Brita Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud, who was the sister of King Gustav's previous consort Margaret Leijonhufvud. She was thus the maternal niece of Queen Margaret and first cousin of the royal children of that marriage, including future kings John III of Sweden and Charles IX of Sweden. Her siblings included Ebba Stenbock.
There is little information about her prior to her marriage. It is possible that she served as
The King declared that a new marriage was necessary foremost because he needed a Queen for his court and a mother for his young children. In March 1552, he called her mother, her aunt Martha and her spouse, and the King's nephew Per Brahe the Elder who was married to Catherine's sister Beata, and it thought that her proposed the marriage to her family at this meeting.[1] Her family was favorable to the match, as this would preserve the family connection they had made with the King through his previous marriage with Queen Margaret, an influence they would keep through Catherine.[1] The reason the King stated to marry Catherine was the great costs and the time-consuming negotiations necessary secure a marriage with a foreign princess in the complicated political climate in Europe during the ongoing religious conflicts.[1] The marriage to Queen Margaret had secured the King a loyal support with the Swedish nobility for his rule, a useful alliance with he confirmed by marrying again in to the same family by marrying the niece of his late spouse.[1] Catherine herself is described as an 155 cm long, dark blonde beauty with blue eyes.[1]
According to tradition, like her aunt and predecessor Catherine was engaged when the King decided to marry her, to the noble Gustav Johansson Tre Rosor (His last name meaning Three Roses), and after the marriage to the King, he once heard her say in her sleep: "King Gustav is very dear to me, but I shall never forget The Rose".[1] When the King came to her parents manor Torpa to propose to her personally, as the law demanded that she give her personal consent, it is said that she ran away and hid behind a bush in the garden.[1] Whether truthful or not, the King had his way.
There was, however, opposition among the church against a marriage between the King and the niece of his former spouse, and the arch bishop protested quoting the
Queen
The marriage was conducted in the chapel of the Vadstena Abbey 22 August 1552, followed by the coronation of Catherine as Queen the following day. She was dressed in a golden dress during the wedding, and a silver one during her coronation, escorted, as was Queen Margaret during official ceremonies, by her male relatives. The wedding was surrounded what was seen as bad omens: the plague swept through parts of the nation, the city of Turku burned down, and people claimed to see bad omens and evil signs in the sky. The celebrations lasted for three days. When the court departed, the city of Vadstena burned down in a great fire, which was seen as another bad omen.
There is little information of Catherine Stenbock as Queen. As such, she was, with the assistance of her head lady-in-waiting Anna Hogenskild, made responsible to supervise the female courtiers and her cousins, the royal children; in the case of the princesses, until they married, and in the case of the princes, until they were no longer children.[1] It seems as if her relationship to her royal stepchildren was a good one, with the exception of Duke Charles. Her private relationship to the King is not much mentioned, and it has been said that she: "Accepted her part as Queen of Sweden with silent dignity" and without attracting too much personal attention. It is said, however, that the King did find their age difference too great and contemplated writing a law which would prevent any future marriage between: "Two people, of which one was young and one was old". As Queen, she was expected by her family to replace her aunt Queen Margaret in the role of acting as a loyal as a channel between her family and the King, preserving the influence of her family, a task she obediently fulfilled: in 1556, for example, she was asked by her aunt
In 1554 and in 1556, there were signs that she was pregnant, but no pregnancy was ever officially announced and none was ever confirmed.[2] In 1555, she and the royal children accompanied the King to the province of Finland, where they stayed until 1556.[2] During their stay on Åland, where they spend the winter upon their return after their visit to Finland, Catherine was affected by "Sudden motherly problems", which has been interpreted as a miscarriage, which is the closest information available of a pregnancy of Catherine Stenbock.[1]
In Stockholm on 1 October 1559, she was present at the wedding between her stepdaughter
King Gustav fell sick and died during the scandal. According to the chronicles, Catherine was present by his bedside during his entire sickness until death, had a bed brought in by his side where she slept, and eventually fell sick herself.[1] She continued to act as mediator between the King and his children, and upon his complaints that they were not there, answer that they would have been, and wished to, had they not been so afraid for his anger.[1]
Reign of Eric XIV
King Gustav died on 29 September 1560 and was succeeded by his son in his first marriage, Eric XIV. In his will, Catherine was promised custody of the Princesses, who were to live at the court of Eric or her until they married, an allowance suitable for her position, and that his sons should always see to it that she had her needs taken care of. He did not specify which estates should be given to her in his will, but prior to his death, he had his two eldest sons Eric and John promise to grant her preferred choice, Strömsholm.[1] In March, Catherine had Eric XIV issue a written statement of her right to Strömsholm, which remained her seat for the rest of her life, as well as several other lands and parishes in Sudermannia, as well as her own residence in the capital.[1] The mother of the new King's infamous adviser Jöran Persson, Anna, was the house keeper of the Queen Dowager's court at Strömsholm.
Catherine Stenbock remained a widow for 61 years, and despite participating in various kinds of ceremonies, she dressed in mourning for the rest of her life.[1] She was the first Swedish Queen Dowager referred to by the title Riksänkedrottning (Queen Dowager of the Realm). During most of the reign of Eric XIV, the King was unmarried, and Queen Dowager Catherine ceremoniously functioned as the first lady of the royal court. In 1562, for example, she and the King opened a
Queen Dowager Catherine seems to have had a good relationship to Eric XIV, who normally treated her with respect, referred to her as "My Dear Stepmother" and trusted her on certain critical occasions.[1] During the conflict between the King and his brother Prince John, when the King had John imprisoned with his spouse, Catherine offered her assistance as mediator, but was refused by Eric who accused her of siding with John and reminded her that King Gustav had asked them all to show loyalty to his successor.[1]
Catherine was given an important role in connection to the infamous
During the illness and convalescence of the King, the Kingdom was ruled by a regency council including the uncles of Catherine, Per Brahe the Elder and Sten Leijonhufvud. During this period, Catherine made several visits to the imprisoned brother of the King, Prince John in Uppsala. She was also present when Eric XIV visited his brother in October and in his confusion asked him if he was the King or not. She managed to arrange a form of reconciliation between the brothers, and had Prince John moved to Arboga, where he was guarded less strictly.[1] Catherine is given credit for contributing to the recovery of the King's sanity later in that year.[1]
On 9 June 1568, Catherine was made
During the rebellion of the Dukes, the King's brothers, which erupted after the controversial marriage of the King and ended in the
It is unclear how much of this is true and what is propaganda from the later John III to excuse the deposition of his brother, but what ever the case, Queen Dowager Catherine and Princesses Sophia and Elizabeth left the court and escaped to join the rebellious Dukes after having been given a threat of some kind by the King, likely when they were told of their planned Russian captivity.
During the following imprisonment of Eric XIV and Karin, their children were placed in the custody of Catherine Stenbock and their French governess Johanna (Jeanne) de Herboville from 1568 until 1570.[3] Eric XIV had a good relation to Catherine: even after having been attacked by her brother Olof in prison, he gave her the credit for not having been put to death after his dethronement.[1]
Reign of John III
After the succession of John III to the throne, her lands were questioned by her youngest stepson Duke Charles, as they were situated in his Duchy.[1] All her fiefs in Södermanland were exchanged for Åland, which was a very favorable exchange, as Åland gave a much larger income than her previous lands.[1] She had a good relationship with the King and often lent him money. Her estates made it possible for her to act as one of the foremost financiers of John III, particularly in his war with Russia, loans he was unable to pay her back.[1] Her sole remaining estate in Södermanland were her main residence Strömsholm, which caused a conflict with Duke Charles. The Duke insisted that Strömsholm belonged to him because it was situated in his Duchy. He demanded that she evacuate the fief to him, sent armed troops to the area to prevent her from collecting taxes from the farmers of the area and threatened to attack the estate to remove her physically.[1] The conflict escalated to this point prior to his marriage in 1579, because he wished to present Strömsholm as the residence of his bride. Catherine's rights were protected by John III, who reminded Charles that although the King had not mentioned the estate in his will, he had asked the Princes to ensure the right of his widow to it verbally. The conflict, however, continued until 1582, when John III formally had the royal council declare a verdict in favor of Catherine in the matter and threaten Charles with the loss of his succession rights to the throne unless he respected the decision.[1]
In 1570, Catherine had a wish to marry Duke
During the reign of John III, she no longer had such a prominent place at court, as the King was married. Because of her royal rank, she occupied a more and more dominant role in her own birth family, and often hosted family meetings and arranged family occasions such as weddings and funerals, and continued to act as a channel between her relatives and the royal house.
Queen Catherine Stenbock, as well as Queen Gunilla Bielke, both acted as mediators during the conflict between the King and the Royal Council in 1589–90.[1] During the conflict, John III suspected the Councillors of conspiring to depose him in favor of the son of Eric XIV. Catherine was informed that rumors circulated in which she was to have hosted a meeting for the Councillors at Strömsholm where they conspired to depose the King. She contacted the King and defended her against the accusations, and was never openly accused.[1]
Reign of Sigismund III Vasa
In 1592, John III died and was succeeded by his son
In 1595, civil war erupted between Sigismund and Duke Charles. Her brothers refused to join Duke Charles, who declared them, her brother-in-law Klaus Fleming, Governor of Finland, and her nephew as his enemies. Klaus Fleming had a new official appointed to her fief of Åland and used its supplies for Sigismund against Charles. This was likely done with the approval of Catherine, who had sent warnings about Charles to Fleming, but this could not be proven, even though Charles had one of Fleming's men arrested and interrogated.[1] In November 1597, Catherine's fief Åland was confiscated by Charles on the ground of it having been used against him. The same year, after the warfare of Duke Charles toward the loyalists of Sigismund in Finland, Fleming was killed, and Catherine's sister Ebba Stenbock and her daughters were taken captive by the Duke and imprisoned in Stockholm: the son of Ebba was killed during the Åbo Bloodbath in 1599.[1] Several of the relatives of Queen Dowager Catherine remained loyal to Sigismund and fled to Poland. She visited Queen Christina to plead to the King through her in 1599.[1]
Duke Charles could prove nothing against Catherine herself, and her fief of Åland was eventually replaced by
Later life, death and legacy
Queen Dowager Catherine Stenbock spent her last years tending to her estates, engaging in iron works and other enterprises, and spending time with her relatives, especially her sisters. During her last years, she became periodically crippled, and was for this reason not able to attend the wedding of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in 1620.
She has been given a charitable reputation because she gave a safe haven to many female relations to the exiled loyalists of Sigismund, and because she often acted as a channel of the local peasantry and the royal house.
She died on 13 December 1621, aged 86, at Strömsholm. Upon her death, it was said that:[by whom?] "The poor have lost a friend, the orphans their mother". She was buried in Uppsala Cathedral, but without a monument of her own.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh Tegenborg Falkdalen, Karin, Vasadrottningen: en biografi över Katarina Stenbock 1535-1621 [The Vasa Queen: A biography of Catherine Stenbock, 1535-1621], Historiska media, Lund, 2015
- ^ a b Suomen kansallisbiografia 5, sivu 58
- ^ a b c d Sture Arnell (in Swedish): Karin Månsdotter, Wahlström & Widstrand, Stockholm 1951. ISBN.
References
- Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon (1906), Katarina Stenbock. [1]
- Lars Ericson: Johan III (John III) (Swedish)
- Lars-Olof Larsson: Gustav Vasa - Landsfader eller tyrann? (Gustav Vasa - Father of a country or a tyrant?) (Prisma) (Swedish)
- Wilhelmina Stålberg, P. G. Berg : Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor (Notes of Swedish women) (in Swedish)
- Karin Tegenborg Falkdalen (2010). Vasadöttrarna (utgåva 2). Falun: Historiska Media. ISBN 978-91-85873-87-6
- Malin Grundberg: Ceremoniernas makt: maktöverföring och genus i vasatidens kungliga ceremonier
- Tegenborg Falkdalen, Karin, Vasadrottningen: en biografi över Katarina Stenbock 1535-1621 [The Vasa Queen: A biography of Catherine Stenbock, 1535-1621], Historiska media, Lund, 2015
Further reading
External links
- Media related to Catherine Stenbock at Wikimedia Commons