Christiana Oxenstierna
Encyclopedia
Christiana Juliana Oxenstierna (23 September 1661 – 27 February 1701) was a Swedish noble
. She was the center of a great social scandal
when she married a non-noble against her family’s consent. Her case caused a debate about the law for marriage between nobles and non-nobles.
Gabriel Gabrielsson Oxenstierna (d. 1673) and Countess Marca Christiana von Löwenstein und Scharfeneck (d. 1672) and sister of Count Gustaf Adolf Oxenstierna. As an orphan
, she was taken care of by her paternal aunt, Countess Anna af Dohna.
The vicar (since 1687) of the French Lutheran church in Stockholm
, Nikolaus Bergius, was lodged in the palace
of Dohna. Bergius suffered from severe depression
and Dohna asked her niece to comfort him. Oxenstierna and Bergius fell in love and Bergius proposed, but Oxenstierna declined, as she knew she would be an outcast from her family and the nobility if she consented. Her family found out and banned every plans of a marriage. Bergius was separated from her in 1688-89. Their relationship was eventually taken up again. After a priest had agreed to conduct the ceremony, Oxenstierna and Bergius were married in 1691. The marriage was kept a secret, and she remained with her unknowing family. In 1692, she became pregnant; she moved to her spouse, and everything was made public.
It became a great scandal. Her family contested the legality of the marriage, and her brother, the count, reported them to Hovrätt
en, to the Swedish House of Lords and presented the monarch
with an appeal to bring the couple to court for committing a criminal act by breaking:
Christiana Oxenstierna replied to her brother:
The court of the Swedish House of Lords made the verdict that a serious crime had been committed, but as the King had commented that the matter was but a private affair, the case was not pursued further.
She broke off her contact with her family and the nobility and spent the rest of her life with her spouse, spending her time as a teacher for poor children. In 1701, she died in childbirth, giving her spouse all her assets in her will. Her family demanded she be buried discreetly, and denied her a place in her father's crypt
, but as she was the only person to have repaired and taken care of the crypt, her right to be buried there could not be denied. At her funeral, "Two Countesses Oxenstierna and one Miss Banér as well as other noblewomen prepared her corpse and lifter her with their own hands in to the coffin".
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
. She was the center of a great social scandal
Scandal
A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...
when she married a non-noble against her family’s consent. Her case caused a debate about the law for marriage between nobles and non-nobles.
Biography
She was the daughter of statesman and marshal CountCount
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
Gabriel Gabrielsson Oxenstierna (d. 1673) and Countess Marca Christiana von Löwenstein und Scharfeneck (d. 1672) and sister of Count Gustaf Adolf Oxenstierna. As an orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
, she was taken care of by her paternal aunt, Countess Anna af Dohna.
The vicar (since 1687) of the French Lutheran church in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Nikolaus Bergius, was lodged in the palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...
of Dohna. Bergius suffered from severe depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
and Dohna asked her niece to comfort him. Oxenstierna and Bergius fell in love and Bergius proposed, but Oxenstierna declined, as she knew she would be an outcast from her family and the nobility if she consented. Her family found out and banned every plans of a marriage. Bergius was separated from her in 1688-89. Their relationship was eventually taken up again. After a priest had agreed to conduct the ceremony, Oxenstierna and Bergius were married in 1691. The marriage was kept a secret, and she remained with her unknowing family. In 1692, she became pregnant; she moved to her spouse, and everything was made public.
It became a great scandal. Her family contested the legality of the marriage, and her brother, the count, reported them to Hovrätt
Hovrätt
The Hovrätt was the highest judicial body in Sweden until Gustav III of Sweden founded the Supreme Court of Sweden in 1789. The first hovrätt, Svea hovrätt, was founded in 1614...
en, to the Swedish House of Lords and presented the monarch
Charles XI of Sweden
Charles XI also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period in Swedish history known as the Swedish empire ....
with an appeal to bring the couple to court for committing a criminal act by breaking:
He also suggested that the law should be enforced against marriages between nobles and non-nobles (1693).
"common law, guardian law, noble privileges, the law of the church as well as Your Majesty’s law of illegal marriages", by: "having dared to harm the rank of nobility by such a illegal act, in the Kingdom as well as abroad, and damaging its privileges, of such a degree that, if it is not made an example of, would unavoidably have the scandalous effect to break the public order, that a noblewoman, regardless of what kind, should be liberated."
Christiana Oxenstierna replied to her brother:
"If You wish Your hatred and persecution to last as long as our lives, so it will; You will with no doubt be spared the burden soon enough and harm Yourself as much as others; I will not loose a thing thereby. If You will be as a Christian, it will be as dear to me as the wish that you will give your children treasures which rust and moths can not alter, and that we will one day meet were a Count and a master Bergius will weigh as much."
The court of the Swedish House of Lords made the verdict that a serious crime had been committed, but as the King had commented that the matter was but a private affair, the case was not pursued further.
She broke off her contact with her family and the nobility and spent the rest of her life with her spouse, spending her time as a teacher for poor children. In 1701, she died in childbirth, giving her spouse all her assets in her will. Her family demanded she be buried discreetly, and denied her a place in her father's crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
, but as she was the only person to have repaired and taken care of the crypt, her right to be buried there could not be denied. At her funeral, "Two Countesses Oxenstierna and one Miss Banér as well as other noblewomen prepared her corpse and lifter her with their own hands in to the coffin".