17 Facts About Christina Gyllenstierna

Christina Nilsdotter Gyllenstierna of Fogelvik was a Swedish noblewoman.

Christina Gyllenstierna was married to the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Younger, and led the Swedish resistance against Christian II of Denmark after the death of her spouse.

Christina Gyllenstierna was born to riksrad Nils Eriksson, Lord of Tullgarn and Sigrid Eskilsdotter of Venngarn, Heir of Lindholm.

Christina Gyllenstierna was a great-granddaughter of King Charles VIII of Sweden through her paternal grandmother princess Christina Karlsdotter Bonde, heir of Fogelvik, after whom she was named.

Christina Gyllenstierna had six children during her marriage, but only one of them survived to adulthood:.

Christina Gyllenstierna took the Sture name, heritage from his great-grandmother, because it symbolized independence of Sweden as a reminder of Sten Sture the Elder, his father's third cousin.

Lady Christina Gyllenstierna emerged as the leader of the Sture party and defender of her son's right.

Christina Gyllenstierna took command of the city and Castle of Stockholm in the name of her underage son, and secured support from the majority of the peasantry and burgher class.

Shortly before, Christina Gyllenstierna managed to send her eldest son, the seven year old Nils Stensson Sture to safety in Danzig in Poland with an envoy headed by the chancellor of the Sture family, Peder Jakobsson.

Christina Gyllenstierna had the support from the burghers of Stockholm, who referred to her as their Princess.

Lady Christina Gyllenstierna took command and held out stoutly at Stockholm, while the second stronghold of Sweden, Kalmar, was commanded and defended and by the widow of its governor, Anna Eriksdotter, in the same fashion.

Personally, Christina Gyllenstierna was granted Hame Castle and county, Kuhmo state in Finland, Horningsholm Castle in Sodermanland and Eksjo estate in Smaland.

Lady Christina Gyllenstierna stepped forward and pointed out the fact that the deposition of bishop Trolle had been a decision taken by a united parliament: everyone had signed the bill of deposition, placing the responsibility on the entire realm and making it impossible to accuse and punish a particular individual for the act.

Christina Gyllenstierna stated that there was proof as the protocol from the meeting of 1517, when the removal of Trolle was decided upon, was there: the document with signatures was then presented to the king.

Christina Gyllenstierna's husband's remains were exhumed and burned publicly at the stake as a heretic, as were those of her youngest son Gustav.

At that point, Christina Gyllenstierna reconciled with bishop Gustav Trolle in Roskilde.

At this point, the von Melen couple left for Germany, leaving Nils and a garrison in Kalmar, which was sieged by the troops of Gustav I, while Christina Gyllenstierna herself seems to have been placed in arrest.