In 1632, at just six years old, the young Christine was proclaimed Queen of Sweden.
This free and erudite woman was talked about all over Europe.
In this new episode of the Europe 1 Studio podcast "At the heart of History", Jean des Cars tells the eventful fate of the disconcerting Christine of Sweden.
In the 17th century, the Swedish throne was occupied by a turbulent sovereign. If Christine of Sweden made Stockholm a cultural capital, her political and religious follies did not fail to make people talk. In this new episode of the Europe 1 Studio podcast "At the heart of history", Jean des Cars looks back on the journey of the daring Christine of Sweden.
Christine of Sweden was not yet born when the Thirty Years' War broke out in 1618. A European war, both religious and political, which devastated the German states. Originally, it was a purely Germanic and spiritual conflict between the Protestant princes and the Catholic House of Habsburg, sovereign of the Holy Empire. It becomes European when Sweden and France interfere in imperial affairs to reduce Austrian power. The conflict ends when the French and the Swedes, commanded by Turenne and Wrangel, crush the last imperial troops at Zunar Hausen, near Augsburg. Prague is taken by the Swede Königsmark. On May 17, 1648, the invasion of Bohemia by the Swedes forced Vienna to sign the peace agreement on October 24, 1648. The young Queen Christina of Sweden, aged 22,is the only woman who played a leading role between the adversaries and signed these Treaties of Westphalia which set up a new organization of Central Europe, which will not be shaken up until the French Revolution and the conquests of Napoleon . This situation confirms the weakening of the Habsburgs, the political fragmentation of Germany and the preponderant role now played by France. For Christine from Sweden, it is also a great success. His country obtains West Pomerania, the large island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea, the port of Wismar and the former bishoprics of Bremen and Bergen. Now, thanks to her new German possessions, the Queen of Sweden has access to the Diets, these Parliaments of the Empire. She can sit there or be represented. But who is this precocious sovereign?But who is this precocious sovereign?
The childhood of Christine of Sweden
Christine is the daughter of the greatest conqueror in Swedish history, King Gustav II Adolf, and of a German princess, the beautiful Marie-Eléonore de Holstein-Gottorp, daughter of the Elector of Brandenburg. The couple, very much in love, adore each other. The queen follows her husband in all his campaigns. Christine, who was undoubtedly conceived in Estonia, will be born at the royal palace in Stockholm on December 8, 1626. But the king is told that he is a son. Christine explains the case herself: "I was born with my head down to my knees, only having my face, arms and legs free. I was all hairy. My voice was deep and strong. All this made the women who received me believe that I was a boy. They filled the whole palace with false joy, which deceived the king himself for these few moments. "
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But "the little hairy being", having been a little better examined, it was necessary to face the facts: despite the deep voice, the enormous head, the brown skin and the strong hairiness, it was a girl! The king is not at all offended by the initial error. On the contrary, he responds to his sister delegate to tell her the truth: "Thank God my sister. I hope this girl will earn me a boy. I pray God that he keeps her for me since he gave her to me. ". And he adds, laughing: "She's going to be clever since she cheated on us!" If his father is delighted, his mother is less so. She is horrified by the ugliness of her daughter when she discovers her after two days of puerperal fever. So she's going to hate her. She is upset, she so beautiful, to have given birth to such a horrible little girl. From now on,it is the ladies of the palace who will take care of her. Her father, on the other hand, showed an interest in his daughter that was seldom found at this time for such a little girl. He treats her like a son, often taking her to the camps with his soldiers, teaching her very early on how to handle weapons as they had done for himself. Christine has immense admiration for her father. Plus, she adores him. In the fall of 1632, the monarch led his army to the heart of what is now called Germany.Christine has immense admiration for her father. Plus, she adores him. In the fall of 1632, the monarch led his army to the heart of what is now called Germany.Christine has immense admiration for her father. Plus, she adores him. In the fall of 1632, the monarch led his army to the heart of what is now called Germany.
His energy is such that he has been nicknamed "the lion of the north".
But on the morning of November 6, 1632, in full fog, this king, who had fought so hard to conquer territories and assert his Protestant faith, was killed during the battle of Lützen, in Saxony.
Christine was not yet six years old when she was proclaimed queen.
Before his departure, the king had made the Assembly of Nobles swear that his daughter would be recognized as sovereign if he did not return.
The education of the young queen of Sweden
Of course, she is sad but she adds all the same: "I was mourned with the whole Court and the city, I was so child that I did not know my misfortune or my fortune ... but I still remember that I was delighted to see these people at my feet, kissing my hand. "
It is a temperament that is waking up. This 6-year-old queen will have a chance: the man who runs the country on her behalf, Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna, is a remarkable figure. He is a wealthy aristocrat from one of the oldest Swedish families. He will be one of the greatest politicians in Swedish history, endowed with nerves of steel with the phlegmatic calm of a self-confident soul. A true diplomatic genius. It is he who is responsible for the education of the young queen. However, Christine shows an astounding intellectual curiosity. She willingly works twelve hours a day, for pleasure. At ten years old, she received letters of credence from the ambassador of King Louis XIII of France. She answers him in Latin. At 14, she learned astronomy and alchemy. At 15,the teenager is fluent in several languages including Hebrew. A year later, she perfected her Latin to be able to read the Holy Scriptures in the texts. But she also excels in fencing, she rides perfectly and wins long sled races on ponds and frozen lakes. In 1643, aged 17, she sat on the Council of the Kingdom. She amazes her father's former companions with her remarks and her knowledge of public affairs. As keen on theology as on botany, she now speaks twelve languages! Five years later, although not yet crowned, she will sign the treaties of Westphalia, remarkably negotiated for her by her chancellor Oxenstierna, as I told you at the beginning of this story.she perfected her Latin in order to be able to read the Holy Scriptures in the texts. But she also excels in fencing, she rides perfectly and wins long sled races on ponds and frozen lakes. In 1643, aged 17, she sat on the Council of the Kingdom. She amazes her father's former companions with her remarks and her knowledge of public affairs. As keen on theology as on botany, she now speaks twelve languages! Five years later, although not yet crowned, she will sign the treaties of Westphalia, remarkably negotiated for her by her chancellor Oxenstierna, as I told you at the beginning of this story.she perfected her Latin in order to be able to read the Holy Scriptures in the texts. But she also excels in fencing, she rides perfectly and wins long sled races on ponds and frozen lakes. In 1643, aged 17, she sat on the Council of the Kingdom. She amazes her father's former companions with her remarks and her knowledge of public affairs. As keen on theology as on botany, she now speaks twelve languages! Five years later, although not yet crowned, she will sign the treaties of Westphalia, remarkably negotiated for her by her chancellor Oxenstierna, as I told you at the beginning of this story.In 1643, aged 17, she sat on the Council of the Kingdom. She amazes her father's former companions with her remarks and her knowledge of public affairs. As keen on theology as on botany, she now speaks twelve languages! Five years later, although not yet crowned, she will sign the treaties of Westphalia, remarkably negotiated for her by her chancellor Oxenstierna, as I told you at the beginning of this story.In 1643, aged 17, she sat on the Council of the Kingdom. She amazes her father's former companions with her remarks and her knowledge of public affairs. As keen on theology as on botany, she now speaks twelve languages! Five years later, although not yet crowned, she will sign the treaties of Westphalia, remarkably negotiated for her by her chancellor Oxenstierna, as I told you at the beginning of this story.remarkably negotiated for her by her Chancellor Oxenstierna, as I told you at the beginning of this story.remarkably negotiated for her by her Chancellor Oxenstierna, as I told you at the beginning of this story.
On October 20, 1650, she was 18 years old. She is finally crowned. His cousin Charles-Gustave helps him get out of his coach, takes him up the steps of the cathedral and installs him on his golden throne, placed in front of the altar. On his knees, an officer of the palace reads the oath of the kings of Sweden, which Christine then repeats in a moved voice. She kneels in turn. The Archbishop then comes forward with a vial of consecrated oil and anoints his forehead. Then, he places on his head the heavy golden crown of the Vasa dynasty. It is with this crown that, much later, Christine will be buried. Finally, four great dignitaries presented him with the insignia of power: the scepter, the globe, the sword and the key. A herald at arms then leaves the cathedral and announces to the people: "Our very powerful Queen Christine is crowned. Long live the Queen!""
A singular queen, who does not want to marry
In fact, she would like to be "King of Sweden".
It is she herself who reveals, in her autobiography, the problem of her sexual affiliation: "Here, Lord, I must give you a thank you contrary to that of this great man who, formerly, thanked You for the having given birth to a man and not to a woman. For I, Lord, I thank You for having given birth to me a girl, all the more so as You have given me the grace not to have made pass any weakness of my sex until in my soul, which You have made, by Your grace, all virile, as well as the rest of my body. "
Thus, God endowed her not only with a virile soul but with a body which is just as virile. It is true that everyone who met her was struck by her rather masculine appearance. Dozens of testimonies tell us that she looked more like a man than a woman. As she indulged in physical exercises and typical male entertainment, she often appeared like a man, wearing boots and had a strange hairstyle, brush hair! She has one shoulder higher than the other, seems slightly hunchbacked. She is not interested in her clothing or her finery but hides her malformation with eccentric outfits and refuses shoes with heels. Her clothes are often stained with ink because she keeps writing. She rejects all femininity and very early on,she energetically refuses to get married. It seems that her father Gustave Adolphe always wanted his daughter to remain celibate and that he left instructions to this effect. Admittedly, his chancellor Oxenstierna always dreaded seeing the young girl marry especially with a foreign prince. But Christine's loathing goes far beyond political considerations. In her diary, she notes: "It takes more courage for marriage than for war."she notes: "It takes more courage for marriage than for war."she notes: "It takes more courage for marriage than for war."
We always wonder: the queen is undoubtedly a woman but suffering from a hormonal imbalance which makes her more masculine than feminine.
She will have men but also women in her life.
She herself will say: "I have an invincible aversion and antipathy for everything that women do and say. Irascible, proud and mocking, I do not spare anyone. I am incredulous, very little devout and my temperament ardent and Brash made me less inclined to love than to ambition. However, I always resisted, but only out of pride and not to submit to anyone. "
From now on, the queen will want to open her country to foreign influences to make Stockholm a center of intellectual, scientific and artistic influence, what some will call a "New Athens".
Stockholm, a new capital of culture
It was through the French Ambassador in Stockholm that the philosopher René Descartes heard, for the first time, praise a Swedish sovereign who knew the Greek and Latin philosophers better than anyone. He is going to send him his "Meditations". Reading Descartes proving difficult, Queen Christine then offered to come and explain it to him in person. Miracle! Descartes enthusiastically accepts. Coming from The Hague, he arrived in Stockholm in December 1649. It was cold. The first lesson takes place on December 18, at 5 a.m., in the Queen's frozen library. To reach the palace, the master, an aging and sick man, must cross a network of icy alleys. Hardly arrived, Christine overwhelms him with impatient questions. There were no more than four lessons.Descartes does not feel in his element, he has the impression that his thoughts are freezing. On February 1, 1650, after he had discussed with the queen a project for a Swedish Academy on the model of the French Academy that Richelieu had just founded, he returned to the embassy very weary. He is seized with violent chills and a high fever. Pulmonary congestion will prevail on February 11. The queen says she cried for several hours when she learned of the death of her illustrious master. In spite of the opposition of the Lutheran Church, she wishes to solemnly bury Descartes with the king her father, in the cathedral of Stockholm. It provided for a splendid black and white marble mausoleum with the statue of the meditating philosopher, standing and draped in an antique toga. But the French embassy is watching:she received the last wishes of the deceased, he wanted his remains to be brought back to Paris. This will not be done until 1667, sixteen years later!
Despite the short time that Descartes spent in Sweden, his philosophy took an important place there among the young intellectuals who fought the old scholastic ideology. It's not certain that the Queen enjoyed her lessons that much, but he made her question herself. She wants to bring scientists, scholars, philosophers and poets from all over Europe. The poet Scarron will dedicate most of his works to him and Pascal will send him a copy of his calculating machine.
The sovereign's ambitions are not only intellectual. She will embellish Stockholm with classic-style buildings, the Town Hall, the House of the Nobility and especially the Royal Palace where she keeps her collections. She brought in artists such as the English painter Cooper and the French Nanteuil. The painter Sébastien Bourdon will, in three years, the portraits of the whole Court and especially of Queen Christine, whom he represents in helmeted Minerva and succeeds in embellishing!
But above all and long before Catherine II of Russia, she will make purchases throughout Europe thanks to her agents. It thus acquires the library of the Dutch jurist Grotius, which was stored in Paris; she buys from the English republicans the collections of paintings of her cousin the unfortunate King Charles I of England and from the slingers part of the Mazarin library. She then built up considerable collections thanks to two librarians who made trips abroad to acquire precious manuscripts and books. Thanks to the entry of the Swede Königsmark into Prague and the capture of the castle, the Hradschin, she will be able to get hold of the treasures accumulated over nearly thirty years by Emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg: jewelry, precious stones, paintings, antique marbles and bronzes,musical instruments and armor. The royal collections of Sweden are then incomparable. In 1658, there were eleven Corrèges, two Raphaels, twelve Rubens, works by Titian, Mantegna, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Brueghel the Elder and Bellini.
An unexpected abdication and conversion
Since her coronation, Queen Christine has been disturbed.
According to a Portuguese Jesuit, Antonio Macedo, who had slipped clandestinely among the members of the Portuguese embassy since the Jesuits were banned in Sweden, the Queen is their ally because she considers Lutheranism cold and conventional and she thinks that Protestantism is incompatible with the progress of the mind.
Catholicism seduces her, and she dreams of going to the Vatican and knowing the Pope.
She has already settled the question of her succession by choosing her cousin Charles-Gustave as his heir.
She therefore feels free to abdicate and convert to Christianity.
On August 7, 1651, she announced her double decision to the Senate. The ministers and the nobility, dismayed, beg their fantastic sovereign to think again. After a troubled autumn, she declared on November 18, 1651, that she would remain on the throne on condition that no one spoke to her about marriage. In Rome, the news of the possible conversion of the Queen of Sweden caused a stir. Christine hesitates, she takes her time. It will take almost three years for the sovereign to announce her decision, this time irrevocable, to abdicate, citing reasons "that only God knew". She also announced her conversion to Catholicism and her request for asylum from the Pope in Rome.
On June 1, after having given a magnificent feast at Uppsala Castle, Queen Christine signs her act of abdication.
It retains its royal status and its immense estates on condition that it never harms Sweden.
On June 6, at 7 am, she entered the Senate in ceremonial dress, coat lined with ermine, crown of pearls and gold globe in her hand.
She listens to her successor take the oath and then strips off the insignia of royalty and presents herself in a simple white tunic to lead him to the throne.
The ex-Queen Christine will now change her life.
Bibliographic resources:
Bernard Quillet, Christine from Sweden (Fayard, 2003)
Verena von der Heyden-Rynsch, Christine of Sweden, the enigmatic sovereign (Gallimard, 2001, translated from German by Philippe Giraudon)
Jean des Cars, The saga of the queens (Perrin, 2012)
"At the heart of History" is a Europe 1 Studio podcast
Author and presentation: Jean des Cars
Production: Timothée Magot
Director: Jean-François Bussière
Distribution and editing: Clémence Olivier and Salomé Journo
Graphics: Karelle Villais