Anna Catharina von Bärfelt
Encyclopedia
Anna Catharina Charlotta Wilhelmina von Bärfelt (1673 - Linköping
1738), was a Swedish lady-in-waiting
and an influential royal favourite of Queen Hedwig Eleonora
. She was immensely unpopular and rumoured to abuse her influence and position to receive bribes for influencing the queen and stealing from the royal possessions. She was convicted of theft
and expelled from court.
and was suspected for stealing a huge amount of objects from the royal castles and Hedwig Eleonora herself, some of which she stored with her lover. The rumours became so intense that Bärfelt was attacked on the streets and misstreated by unknown men.
In 1709, the Queen's lover, Carl Gyllenstierna, attempted to have her exiled from court. The dowager queen's lover stated: "Either miss Bärfelt leaves or I will leave", upon which the queen dowager left the room. The court demanded she be investigated, and Arvid Horn
, the queen dowager's priest Molin, countess Piper and several lady-in-waitings formed an alliance with Carl Gyllenstierna and unanimously repeated the demand. Hedwig Eleonora then exiled Bärfelt from court. Carl Gyllenstierna gave the order that the door of Hedwig Eleonora be locked the last night Bärfelt was in the castle to prevent her from coming to the queen at night to persuade her to let her stay. Hedwig, however, forbit any investigation of Bärfelt's luggage to see if the missing object's was there. After her departure, it was discovered that she had stored the goods she had stolen at a friend, at the court-painter Behn and with her lover, the Steward (office)
of Karlberg Palace
.
In 1712, Bärfelt was arrested. Among her possessions, a collection of toots from pig
s and snake
s and feet of hare
s and similar objects traditionally used for magic were also found, and witch craft was therefore formally added to the charges against her, although this allegation does not seem to have been considered as very significant. Bärfelt accused Carl Gyllenstierna of the same things she was accused of doing. She was judged guilty for theft of a velvet
jacket. She was sentenced to two years imprisonment. In 1715, she was released. She lived her last years in poverty in Linköping.
Linköping
Linköping is a city in southern middle Sweden, with 104 232 inhabitants in 2010. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality with 146 736 inhabitants and the capital of Östergötland County...
1738), was a Swedish lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
and an influential royal favourite of Queen Hedwig Eleonora
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp
Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp was the queen consort of King Charles X of Sweden and queen mother of King Charles XI...
. She was immensely unpopular and rumoured to abuse her influence and position to receive bribes for influencing the queen and stealing from the royal possessions. She was convicted of theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
and expelled from court.
Biography
Bärfelt was the daughter of Lieuntenant Colonel Bernhard Bärfelt and was appointed lady-in-waiting to the queen dowager in 1693. She was described as plotting and had made herself known in court for taking bribes in exchange for influenting the dowager queen on peoples behalf. She was rumoured to deal in poisonPoison
In the context of biology, poisons are substances that can cause disturbances to organisms, usually by chemical reaction or other activity on the molecular scale, when a sufficient quantity is absorbed by an organism....
and was suspected for stealing a huge amount of objects from the royal castles and Hedwig Eleonora herself, some of which she stored with her lover. The rumours became so intense that Bärfelt was attacked on the streets and misstreated by unknown men.
In 1709, the Queen's lover, Carl Gyllenstierna, attempted to have her exiled from court. The dowager queen's lover stated: "Either miss Bärfelt leaves or I will leave", upon which the queen dowager left the room. The court demanded she be investigated, and Arvid Horn
Arvid Horn
Count Arvid Bernhard Horn of Ekebyholm was a Swedish soldier, diplomat and politician. He served twice as President of the Privy Council Chancellery and was one of the leading figures of the Swedish Age of Liberty.- Soldier and diplomat :He was born Arvid Bernhard Horn in Vuorentaka ,...
, the queen dowager's priest Molin, countess Piper and several lady-in-waitings formed an alliance with Carl Gyllenstierna and unanimously repeated the demand. Hedwig Eleonora then exiled Bärfelt from court. Carl Gyllenstierna gave the order that the door of Hedwig Eleonora be locked the last night Bärfelt was in the castle to prevent her from coming to the queen at night to persuade her to let her stay. Hedwig, however, forbit any investigation of Bärfelt's luggage to see if the missing object's was there. After her departure, it was discovered that she had stored the goods she had stolen at a friend, at the court-painter Behn and with her lover, the Steward (office)
Steward (office)
A steward is an official who is appointed by the legal ruling monarch to represent him or her in a country, and may have a mandate to govern it in his or her name; in the latter case, it roughly corresponds with the position of governor or deputy...
of Karlberg Palace
Karlberg Palace
Karlberg Palace is a palace by the Karlberg Canal on the border of Stockholm in Solna. The palace, built in 1630 and the oldest in Solna municipality, today houses the Military Academy Karlberg....
.
In 1712, Bärfelt was arrested. Among her possessions, a collection of toots from pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s and snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s and feet of hare
Hare
Hares and jackrabbits are leporids belonging to the genus Lepus. Hares less than one year old are called leverets. Four species commonly known as types of hare are classified outside of Lepus: the hispid hare , and three species known as red rock hares .Hares are very fast-moving...
s and similar objects traditionally used for magic were also found, and witch craft was therefore formally added to the charges against her, although this allegation does not seem to have been considered as very significant. Bärfelt accused Carl Gyllenstierna of the same things she was accused of doing. She was judged guilty for theft of a velvet
Velvet
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed,with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive feel.The word 'velvety' is used as an adjective to mean -"smooth like velvet".-Composition:...
jacket. She was sentenced to two years imprisonment. In 1715, she was released. She lived her last years in poverty in Linköping.