Magnus Stenbock
Encyclopedia
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...
, August 12, 1664 - Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, February 23, 1717) was a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
military officer at the time of the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...
.
He was the son of Gustaf Otto Stenbock
Gustaf Otto Stenbock
Count 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...
and Christina Catharine de la Gardie.
He was educated at Uppsala
Uppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
and at Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, chose the military profession, and spent some years in the service of the United Provinces
Seventeen Provinces
The Seventeen Provinces were a personal union of states in the Low Countries in the 15th century and 16th century, roughly covering the current Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, a good part of the North of France , and a small part of Western Germany.The Seventeen Provinces were originally held by...
.
Returning to Sweden he entered the Army
Swedish Army
The Swedish Army is one of the oldest standing armies in the world and a branch of the Swedish Armed Forces; it is in charge of land operations. General Sverker Göranson is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Army.- Organization :...
, and, in 1688, became major. He served with the Swedes in the Low Countries
Low Countries
The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....
and on the Rhine, distinguishing himself for skill and courage at Fleurus
Battle of Fleurus (1690)
The Battle of Fleurus, fought on 1 July 1690, was a major engagement of the Nine Years' War. In a bold envelopment the Duc de Luxembourg, commanding Louis XIV’s army of some 35,000 men, soundly defeated Prince Waldeck’s Allied force of approximately 38,000 men comprising mainly Dutch, German, and...
. During the Nine Years' War he was employed not only in the field but also as a confidential agent in diplomatic missions.
Soon afterwards, as colonel of the Dalecarlian regiment, he led it in the astonishing victory of Narva
Battle of Narva (1700)
The Battle of Narva on 19 November 1700 was an early battle in the Great Northern War. A Swedish relief army under Charles XII of Sweden defeated a Russian siege force three times its size. Before, Charles XII had forced Denmark-Norway to sign the Treaty of Travendal...
. He distinguished himself still more at Dünamünde, Klissow and Cracow. In 1703 he fought the successful battle at Pułtusk, and three years later, having reached the rank of general of infantry, was made Governor-General of Scania
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
. He led the Swedish troops to victory in the Battle of Helsingborg (1710)
Battle of Helsingborg (1710)
The Battle of Helsingborg was Denmark's failed and final attempt to regain the Scanian lands, lost to Sweden in 1658.On the Ringstorp heights northwest of Helsingborg, 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau were decisively defeated by an equally large Swedish army under Magnus...
, the last battle between Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in Scania.
He was a great favorite with Charles XII
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...
in the earlier campaigns, but later the two drifted somewhat apart. It is recorded that the king, before whom General Lagercrona accused Stenbock of drunkenness, replied that Stenbock drunk was more capable of giving orders than Lagercrona sober.
His activities were not confined to war and diplomacy; the University of Lund
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
was under his care as Chancellor for some years, and he had no mean skill as a painter and a poet. He became Privy Councillor
Privy Council of Sweden
The 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...
in 1710, and Charles gave him his field marshal's baton in 1712. In the same year he invaded Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg
Mecklenburg is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Vorpommern...
(with but 9000 men) in order to cover besieged Stralsund in Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815, situated on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the southern Baltic coast, including Pomerania and parts...
. He won the Battle of Gadebusch
Battle of Gadebusch
The Battle of Gadebusch was Sweden's final great victory in the Great Northern War. It was fought by the Swedes to prevent the loss of the city of Stralsund to Danish and Saxon forces.- Prelude :...
, but numbers prevailed against him in the end. Cut off in Tönning
Siege of Tönning
During the Great Northern War, the fortress of Tönning in the territory of Holstein-Gottorp, an ally of the Swedish Empire, was besieged twice: Denmark-Norway was forced to lift the first siege in 1700, but a combined force of the anti-Swedish coalition successfully besieged and took Tönning in...
he was forced to surrender after a gallant resistance, and passed into captivity. During his captivity he produced extraordinary fine ivory miniatures, which often included referrals to the number 51 - a reference to Psalm 51
Psalm 51
Psalm 51 , traditionally referred to as the Miserere, its Latin incipit, is one of the Penitential Psalms. It begins: Have mercy on me, O God....
"Have mercy on me, O God" http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/0,1518,646123,00.html
Five years of harsh treatment in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
brought his life to a close.
He married Eva Magdalena Oxenstierna on 26 December 1690 in Stockholm. She was the daughter of Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna
Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna
Count Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna , Swedish statesman, was the son of Axel Oxenstierna’s cousin, Gabriel Bengtsson Oxenstierna . Married to Magdalena Stenbock.- Career :...
and Magdalena Eriksdotter Stenbock.
The painting Magnus Stenbock i Malmö (Magnus Stenbock in Malmö
Malmö
Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...
) was made by Gustaf Cederström
Gustaf Cederström
Gustaf Olof Cederström was a Swedish painter, most known for his painting Karl XII:s likfärd .He was born and raised in Stockholm...
in 1892, one of several paintings of Swedish history by this artist.