Ebba Brahe
Encyclopedia
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...
in the Swedish court
Swedish Royal Family
The Swedish Royal Family since 1818 consists of a number of persons in the Swedish Royal House of Bernadotte, closely related to the King of Sweden. They are entitled to royal titles and style , and some perform official engagements and ceremonial duties of state...
, countess, and the mistress of king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. The king wished to marry her, which was opposed by his mother, and the conflict, which lasted for several years during the 1610s, has been made famous in history.
Biography
Ebba Brahe was born as the daughter of Magnus Brahe and Britta Stensdotter Leijonhuvud and cousin of Margareta BraheMargareta Brahe
Margareta Abrahamsdotter Brahe was a Swedish noble and lady-in-waiting and a Landgravine of Hesse-Homburg. She aroused a lot of attention with her marriages, which were considered scandalous.- First marriage :...
and Per Brahe the Younger. She was sent to court in 1611 at the age of fifteen to spend some time as a 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...
to the queen dowager, Christina of Holstein-Gottorp
Christina of Holstein-Gottorp
Christina of Holstein-Gottorp was a Queen Consort of Sweden as consort of king Charles IX of Sweden, mother of king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and a Regent of Sweden.-Biography:...
, to become accustomed to the ways of the fashionable world before marriage.
In 1613, by the age of 16, she became the mistress to the king, Gustavus Adolphus. This was by no means an official position, but it was well known within the royal court. By the letters exchanged between them, it seems that they were both equally in love with each other. There were serious plans for a marriage, and Gustavus Adolphus would not have found this impossible, as three previous queens, Margareta Leijonhufvud (his grandmother), Katarina Stenbock
Katarina Stenbock
Catherine Stenbock was the third and last consort of King Gustav I of Sweden, and Queen consort of Sweden between 1552 and 1560...
(his step-grandmother) and Gunilla Bielke
Gunilla Bielke
Gunilla Bielke; full name: Gunilla Johansdotter Bielke , was Queen of Sweden, the second spouse and queen consort of king John III of Sweden...
(his aunt by marriage) had also been nobles. The plans of marriage was, however, opposed and prevented by the queen dowager, who was the ruler de facto during her son's first years and who wished for him to have an arranged marriage of political convenience. The dispute between the dowager queen, the king and Ebba Brahe about the marriage continued until 1615, and has been the subject of romantic plays, stories and poems for centuries.
The most famous trivia about this dispute is as follows: the queen dowager passed a window, followed by Ebba Brahe. On the windowpane, the queen dowager wrote with a diamond ring, as a hint of the plans which they did not discuss openly: One thing you want, one thing you shall; that is the way in cases such as this, and left. Ebba Brahe stepped forward and wrote in reply: I am happy with what I have, and thank my God for the grace of that. By this, Ebba Brahe accepted that the relationship with the king could never be official.
On June 24, 1618, she married Count Jacob De la Gardie
Jacob De la Gardie
Field Marshal and Count Jacob Pontusson De la Gardie was a statesman and a soldier of the Swedish Empire....
, although her relationship with Adolphus continued (in secret) until his death in 1632.
Widowed in 1652, she became one of the many powerful female land holder, who occupy a significant place in the local legends of Sweden during the 16th and 17th centuries, such as Barbro Påle, Sophia Drake, Margareta Huitfeldt
Margareta Huitfeldt
Margareta Huitfeldt was a Norwegian-Swedish noble, estate owner and donor.The only child of the Danish noble Hartvig Andersen Huitfeldt till Skjelbred och Rommegaard , who lived in Norway, and the Norwegian noble Bente Jonsdotter Schack . Married to Danish noble Tomas Iverssön Dyre till...
and Margareta von Ascheberg
Margareta von Ascheberg
Margareta von Ascheberg as married Barnekow , was a Swedish land owner, noble and acting regiment colonel during the Great Northern War....
. She became a successful land holder, managed her estates and expanded them. She acquired new estates from the formerly Danish province Skåne, which became a Swedish province in 1658 and had many large estates which were left behind by the Danish nobility. She also played an influential part at the royal court, and was believed to have had an influence on queen Christina of Sweden
Christina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
. In 1651, the historian Messenius and his son accused her of having persuaded queen Christina not to marry by using witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. Such an accusation could not be accepted about a noble, and the acccusors were instead decapitated for treason.
After her husband's death in 1652 she successfully petitioned Queen Christina I of Sweden
Christina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
to found the city of Jakobstad
Jakobstad
Jakobstad is a town and municipality in Ostrobothnia, Finland. The town has a population of and covers a land area of . The population density is .- History :...
in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, named in honour of her late husband. A street in Jakobstad, Ebba Brahe Esplanaden, has been named after her.
In fiction
A play, Gustav Adolf och Ebba Brahe, was written about Ebba Brahe by Gustav III of SwedenGustav III of Sweden
Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....
, composed by Johan Henric Kellgren
Johan Henric Kellgren
Johan Henrik Kellgren was a Swedish poet and critic.-Biography:He was born at Floby in Västergötland...
, which was performed in the Gripsholm Castle
Gripsholm Castle
Gripsholm Castle is a castle in Mariefred, Södermanland, in Sweden and is regarded as one of Sweden's finest historical monuments. It is located by lake Mälaren in south central Sweden, in the municipality of Strängnäs, about 60 km west of Stockholm....
Theatre in 1785; the play presents her son Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie
Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie
Count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie was a Swedish statesman and military man. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1647 and came to be the holder of three of the five offices counted as the Great Officers of the Realm, namely Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Chancellor and Lord High...
as the son of the king. The play was performed at the Royal Swedish Opera
Royal Swedish Opera
Kungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...
in 1787 with Franziska Stading
Franziska Stading
Sofia "Franziska" Stading was a opera singer and actor; originally from Germany, she became one of the most popular stars in Sweden in the 18th century...
as Ebba Brahe.
Family
Her marriage with Jacob produced 14 children, seven of whom lived to maturity. None of her children are believed to have been fathered by King Gustavus Adolphus.- Pontus De la Gardie (1619–1632).
- Christina De la Gardie (1620 - d. in infancy).
- Sophia De la Gardie (1621 - d. in infancy).
- Magnus Gabriel De la GardieMagnus Gabriel De la GardieCount Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie was a Swedish statesman and military man. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1647 and came to be the holder of three of the five offices counted as the Great Officers of the Realm, namely Lord High Treasurer, Lord High Chancellor and Lord High...
(1622–1686), Lord High ChancellorLord High Chancellor of SwedenThe Lord High Chancellor was a prominent and influential office in Sweden, from 1561 until 1680, excluding periods when the office was out of use. The office holder was a member of the Privy Council of Sweden...
of the Privy Council of SwedenPrivy Council of SwedenThe High Council of Sweden or Council of the Realm consisted originally of those men of noble, common and clergical background, that the king saw fit for advisory service...
. - Brita De la Gardie (1624 - d. in infancy).
- Gustaf Adolph De la Gardie (1626 - d. in infancy).
- Maria Sofia De la GardieMaria Sofia De la GardieMaria Sofia De la Gardie, as married Oxenstierna of Croneborg , was a Swedish noble and entrepreneur. She has been called the first female grand entrepreneur of her country.-Biography:...
(1627–1694), married Gustaf Gabrielsson Oxenstierna, nephew of regent Axel OxenstiernaAxel OxenstiernaAxel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre , Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of first Gustavus Adolphus and then Queen Christina.Oxenstierna...
. - Jakob Kasimir De la Gardie (1629–1658), married Ebba SparreEbba SparreEbba Larsdotter Sparre was a Swedish lady-in-waiting and noble. She is known as the intimate friend of Queen Christina of Sweden....
. - Pontus Frederick De la Gardie (1630–1692).
- Christina Catharine De la Gardie (1632–1704), married Gustaf Otto StenbockGustaf Otto StenbockCount Gustaf Otto Stenbock was a Swedish soldier and politician.He was son of Friherre Gustav Eriksson Stenbock and Countess Beata Margareta Brahe , born in Torpa, Länghem parish, Tranemo Municipality, Västergötland, Sweden.He was appointed head of Kronobergs regemente in 1637, Major General in...
, mother of Magnus StenbockMagnus StenbockCount Magnus Gustafsson Stenbock was a Swedish military officer at the time of the Great Northern War.He was the son of Gustaf Otto Stenbock and Christina Catharine de la Gardie....
. - Johann Karl De la Gardie (1634 - d. in infancy).
- Birgitta Helena De la Gardie (1636 - d. in infancy).
- Axel Julius De la GardieAxel Julius De la GardieAxel Julius de la Gardie was a Swedish Field Marshal and was appointed Governor-General over Estonia.Axel Julius was the son of military commander Jacob De la Gardie and Ebba Brahe. He became colonel of an infantry regiment and a cavalry regiment and in 1684 he attained the rank of major general...
(1637–1710), Field MarshalField MarshalField Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...
and Governor-General over EstoniaSwedish EstoniaThe Duchy of Estonia , also known as Swedish Estonia, was a dominion of the Swedish Empire from 1561 until 1721, when it was ceded to Russia in the Treaty of Nystad, following its capitulation in the Great Northern War. The dominion arose when the northern parts of present-day Estonia were united...
. - Ebba Margaretha De La Gardie (1638–1696).