Ebba Eriksdotter Wasa

Ebba Eriksdotter Wasa (also Vasa, from the Swedish noble family Vasaätten ; * around 1491 in Norrby , Östergötland , Sweden ; † November 21, 1549 in the Vreta monastery in Östergötland) was a Swedish noblewoman who, through her daughter Margareta Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud, became a politically influential mother-in-law by Gustav I. Wasa , King of Sweden (1523-1560).

origin

Ebba Wasa came from the Swedish aristocratic family Wasa , which goes back to Nils Kettilsson Vasa (* around 1332; † after October 24, 1378). Her later son-in-law, King Gustav I Wasa, and his descendants, who ruled as Kings of Sweden and Kings of Poland , come from the same family . She was a daughter of Erik Karlsson Wasa (* around 1436 in Ringstaholm Castle in Östergötland, Sweden; † March 20, 1491, shot) knight and Swedish Imperial Councilor , from his second marriage (1488) to Anna Karlsdotter Vinstorpa (* 1461 in Tryserum, near Kalmar in Sweden; † 1552) from the same name of the Swedish noble family. Her father's first marriage was Iliana Nilsdotter Oxenstierna, who died after 1481 without leaving any children.

Coat of arms of the Wasa family

Life

youth

Ebba was the youngest daughter of her father, Erik Karlsson Wasa, who died shortly after she was born. Since her three older brothers died young, she inherited her father's possessions together with her sister, Margareta Wasa († 1525/44). Her mother, Anna Karlsdotter Vinstorpa (* Tryserum, near Kalmar; † 1552) then married Erik Eriksson "den Yngre" (the younger) Gyllenstierna (* around 1455 Fågelvik, Tryserum, near Kalmar; † 19 July 1502), Knight and Swedish Imperial Councilor from the Danish-Swedish noble family of the same name. His mother, Christina Karlsdotter Bonde (* 1432 in Stockholm; † January 25, 1499), a daughter of Karl VIII. Knutsson Bonde (* Ekholmen Castle, Veckholm, Uppsala, October 5, 1409; † May 15, 1470 in Stockholm Castle , Stockholm) was King of Sweden (1448–1457, 1464–1465 and 1467–1470) and King of Norway (1449–1450).

Ebba therefore grew up with her sister

• Margarete Eriksdotter Wasa, († 1525/44)

⚭ 1.) v. 1515 Erik Knutsson († murdered in the Stockholm blood bath in 1520

⚭ 2.) 1523 Berend von Melen († 1561),

as well as with her half-siblings from her mother's second marriage:

• Carl Eriksson Gyllenstierna (* around 1496 in Fågelvik; † there 1541)

⚭ 1527 Kerstin Nilsdotter Grip and

• Karin Eriksdotter Gyllenstierna (* before 1506 in Fågelvik; † March 12, 1562)

⚭ August 23, 1516 Erik Arvidsson Trolle (* around 1460; † 1529). Karin thereby became the stepmother of Gustav Eriksson Trolle (* around 1488: † in captivity on June 11, 1535 in Gottdorf), who was Archbishop of Uppsala from 1514 to 1517 and 1520 to 1521 , but also a leading opponent of Sweden's independence from Denmark was one of the main responsible for the Stockholm bloodbath of 1520.

Karin's daughter, Beata Eriksdotter Trolle (* 1516; † 1591) was married to Gabriel Kristiernsson Oxenstierna and thus became the grandmother of the famous Axel Oxenstierna (* 1583; † 1654), Count of Södermöre, Swedish Chancellor from 1612.

Ebba grew up in a privileged aristocratic clan, which was characterized by political and economic power.

Connection to politics

Through her marriage (1512) to the Swedish Councilor Erik Abrahamsson Leijonhufvud (* around 1472, † 1520), Ebba was included in the eventful history of her country at the time. Sweden was then part of the Kalmar Union created on June 17, 1397 between the kingdoms of Denmark , Sweden and Norway , which was ruled by the Danish kings. In Sweden, which was administered by local imperial administrators, a growing independence movement developed against this "foreign government". After an uprising of the nobility against King John I of Denmark, Norway and Sweden under Sten Sture the Elder (Reichsverweser from 1514 to 1512) as early as 1501, Sweden broke away from the Union in 1512 and was made by Sten Sture the Younger as Reichsministrator ruled from 1512 to 1520.

Sten Sture the Younger was no stranger to Ebba, but was part of her extended family. This because his wife, Christina Nilsdotter Gyllenstierna (* 1494; † 1559) was a niece of her stepfather and therefore a "cousin by marriage". At the same time she was - through her mother Sigrid Eskilsdotter Baner - also a half-sister of Cecilia Mansdotter Ekaatten (* around 1476; † 1523), the mother of Gustav I. Wasa , King of Sweden (1523-1560), who was to become Ebba's son-in-law. Understandably, she and her husband were among the closest supporters of Sten Sture and the independence movement in Sweden.

When King Christian II of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (1513–1523) succeeded his father in 1513, the Swedish estates refused to elect him king and again questioned the Kalmar Union. King Christian was unwilling to accept this, so in 1518 he sent an army to Sweden to bring it under his direct control. However, these troops were defeated by the Swedes in the Battle of Brännkyrka and had to turn back. As one of the leading imperial councilors, Ebba's husband was fully behind the imperial administrator Sten Sture the Younger and the independence movement in Sweden and actively participated in the defense of Sweden. After negotiations and threats had no effect and the imperial administrator and imperial council nevertheless refused to recognize King Christian, a military confrontation ensued in which the Swedish troops - among which Ebba's husband fought - from Christian II's mercenary army on January 19 near Lake Asunden were defeated and Sten Sture succumbed to his injuries while fleeing. After the defeat of the Swedish troops, Ebba's "cousin" Christina Gyllenstierna retained control of Stockholm, defeated the Danes on March 19, 1520, but was defeated by them in the Battle of Uppsala on April 6 and besieged in Stockholm. There she withstood the siege for four months, but then had to surrender in return for a full amnesty. On November 1st, 1520, the representatives of Sweden had to swear allegiance to Christian as hereditary king (previously an elective monarchy!), Who was then crowned on November 4th in the Storkyrkan in Stockholm.

Stockholm bloodbath

Three days later, on the basis of a proscription list from Gustav Eriksson Trolle , the unionist archbishop of Uppsala - with whom Ebba was related by marriage through her half-sister Karin Eriksdotter Gyllenstierna - the Stockholm bloodbath began . Contrary to the express royal promise of an amnesty, 82 of the leading anti-unionists were executed as "heretics" within a few days. Ebba Vasa's husband, Erik Abrahamsson Leijonhufvud and Erik Johansson Wasa - the father of their future son-in-law, Gustav I. Wasa, were among those murdered. The king did not even stop at the bishops, since the bishops of Skara and Strängnäs were also executed.

Stockholm Carnage (hand-colored copper engraving from 1676 after a woodcut from 1524)

This blood court led to the uprising of Gustav Wasa, who acted as imperial administrator from 1521 to 1523, finally removed Sweden from the Kalmar Union in 1523 through the Swedish War of Liberation and was elected King of Sweden in the city of Stängnäs on June 6, 1523.

Mother-in-law of the king

The severe personal setback Ebba suffered in 1520 through the killing of her husband and the subsequent discrimination was at least partially made good many years later. King Gustav I. Wasa of Sweden had been widowed since 1535 because his first wife, Katharina von Sachsen-Lauenburg-Ratzeburg (* 1513, † 1535) died on September 23, 1535 in Stockholm. Always in close contact with the Gyllenstierna family, King Gustav developed a special affinity for Ebba's daughter Margareta Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud (* 1514; † 1551). He married her on October 1, 1536, making her Queen of Sweden.

Margareta Leijonhufvud

Her mother Ebba was given a new role as royal mother-in-law, whereby she - probably due to her personality and experience - succeeded in the first years of her daughter's marriage to exert a sometimes dominant influence at the Swedish royal court, which went so far that one rumored that the king dared not contradict her.

Gustav I. Wasa (painting by Jakob Bink )

Ebba was a staunch Catholic and stood by her faith even during the Protestant Reformation. King Gustav had given her the Vreta Abbey, and she looked after its welfare, protecting it as a Catholic institution even after the Reformation in Sweden. Eventually she withdrew to this monastery, where she died on November 22, 1549.

Marriage and children

St. Lawrence Church

Ebba married the knight and Swedish councilor Erik Abrahamsson Leijonhufvud (* around 1472 in Brunsberg near Ytterselö in Södermanland ; † November 8, 1520 in Stockholm) in the Laurentius Church in Söderköping ( Östergötland ) on January 18, 1512 .

children

• Abraham Eriksson Leijonhufvud (March 1, 1512 - March 1, 1556) ⚭ February 22, 1538 Anna Agesdotter Thott; † June 4, 1552
• Birgitta Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud (* 1514; † 1572) ⚭ 1531 Gustav Stenbock (* 1504; † 1571)
• Margareta Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud (born January 1, 1516 at Lo Castle in Gräfsnäs in Västergötland ; † August 26, 1551 at Tynnelsö Castle on Mälaren ), Queen of Sweden 1536–1551 ⚭ October 1, 1536 Gustav I. Wasa ( Swedish Gustav I. , Gustav Erikson Vasa ) (actually, Gustav Eriksson * May 1496; † 29 September 1560 in Stockholm ) was 1523 to 1560 Swedish king .
• Anna Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud (* around 1517; † 1540) ⚭ Axel Eriksson Bielke af Åkerö (* around 1500; † 1559)
• Sten Eriksson Leijonhufvud (born August 15, 1518 - † October 5, 1568) ⚭ October 7, 1548 Ebba Mansdotter Lilliehöök (* January 13, 1519 - † September 29, 1609)
• Märta Eriksdotter Leijonhufvud (* December 24, 1520 - † January 15, 1584) ⚭ March 3, 1538 Nyköping Castle Svante Sture (* May 1, 1517 - † May 24, 1567 in Uppsala)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The house of Vasa  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Wasa family tree

literature

• Lena Lidbeck: Kungar och drottningar i Sverige . Rabén & Sjogren
• Lars O. Lagerqvist, Nils Åberg: Kings and rulers of Sweden . Vincent Publications
• Anders Fryxell: Tales from Swedish History. Volume 2. Stockholm and Leipzig. 1843
• Herman Lindqvist: Historien om alla Sveriges drottningar. 2006

Web links

• The house of Vasa (English)

See also

• Swedish War of Liberation