Treason
During the war between Sweden and Denmark (1451–52), she corresponded with the enemies of king Charles VIII of Sweden and became involved in a plot against the king. During the war, her spouse was governor of Örebro. When the Danes invaded Västergötland, Brita Olovsdotter corresponded with them and informed them of every movement of the Swedish army which, among other things, enabled the Danish army to capture the fortress of Lödöse and avoid to be cast out by the Swedish army.
For this, she was put on trial for treason against the crown at the assembled court in Stockholm of 1452. She was judged guilty of high treason and sentenced to be burned at the stake. The sentence was then changed to being walled alive into a brick wall in Kalmar. In reality, this was never literary realized; she simply spent a period of time as a guest in the nunnery of Kalmar. After her release, she financed the paintings of Ösmo Church in Södermanland as a penance; one of the paintings there is said to be her own image.
Read more about this topic: Brita Tott
Famous quotes containing the word treason:
“And you could have a new automobile
Ping pong set and garage, but the thief
Stole everything like a miracle.
In his book there was a picture of treason only
And in the garden, cries and colors.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)
“She who resists as though she would not win,
By her own treason falls an easy prey.”
—Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso)