Christina Gyllenstierna - After The Defeat

After The Defeat

On November 1, Christian crowned himself king of Sweden and invited the nobility to great festivities to celebrate the coronation. At a grand ball, he even danced with Gyllenstierna. The festivities lasted for three days.

On November 7, Christian summoned the Swedish nobility to a meeting. Lady Christina, as well as several other influential women, were also invited. When they arrived, the doors were shut and guards set in place. Christian accused them all of deposing the pro-Danish Archbishop Gustav Trolle. He specifically accused Sten Sture as responsible for this, and directed his accusation toward Gyllenstierna. She stepped forward and stated that the king could not punish them for this, nor could he accuse her late spouse and her for having performed the deposition alone: everyone in the room had signed the bill of deposition, the removal of Archbishop Trolle had been a part of the rebellion, and Christian had pledged amnesty to everyone involved in the rebellion.

"We have proof," she added, "the document is here." At this, the document with the signatures of everyone supporting the deposition of the Archbishop was brought forward. But Christian had found a loophole, which the Swedes had overlooked. The deposition of a bishop was also a crime against the church - heresy - and the king had no authority to pardon them for that. So he could punish them without violating his pledge.

Christian then took his revenge, known as the Stockholm Bloodbath. Christina's brother Erik Nilsson, Lord of Tullgarn, was executed by beheading, as were many other Swedish magnates. Gyllenstierna inherited Tullgarn, little benefit as it then did her. Her husband's remains were exhumed and burned publicly at the stake as a heretic.

Gyllenstierna was declared a great traitor and rebel, and as such King Christian called upon her and publicly asked her to choose: which did she prefer, to be burned at the stake or to be buried alive? Confronted with this choice, she was unable to reply and fainted with horror. After this, Christian was advised to spare her life. To save her life, she ceded a large part of her property to Christian. Gyllenstierna's mother Sigrid was sentenced to be drowned (the only woman condemned to death), but avoided execution by surrendering all her estates.

Gyllenstierna, her mother, her half sister and other noble ladies of Sweden were imprisoned in the feared and infamous Blåtårn ("Blue Tower") of Copenhagen Castle. She had the company of her two little sons in the prison.

However, Danish rule in Sweden was soon overthrown by Gustav Vasa, and in 1523 the Danes themselves deposed Christian. In 1525, the two countries made peace and Gyllenstierna was released to return to Sweden. At this time, she received a proposal of marriage from Søren Norby, Grand Admiral of Denmark, which she turned down. It was rumored that she had intended to marry Norrby as a means to gain the Swedish throne for herself and her children. Gustav Vasa interrogated her about this, but she denied it.