Brita Persdotter Karth is a fictional person in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

history. She was earlier believed to have been the

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a d ...

or perhaps even wife of the exiled

prince Gustav of Sweden A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, son of king

Eric XIV Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Est ...

, and her eldest son Lars was believed to have been the forefather of the

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

Swedish families of Eldstierna and Stierneld.

The story behind the legend

The history about Brita Karth and her alleged children with prince Gustav was the product of baron

Adolf Ludvig Stierneld Adolf Ludvig Stierneld, Baron Stierneld (1 September 1755 – 31 July 1835) was a Swedish nobleman, courtier and collector of historical documents. Recent historical research has revealed him to be one of best and most prolific document forgers ...

(1755-1835), courtier and a well-known collector of historical documents, whom historians have later found also to be a ruthless forger of such documents. Wishing to claim a royal ancestry for his own family Stierneld reported having found handwritten notes by Brita Karth herself regarding her relation and family with Gustav in an old pious book that was to have been given to her by Gustav's mother,

Karin Månsdotter Karin Månsdotter (in English Catherine; 6 November 1550 – 13 September 1612) was first a mistress of King Eric XIV of Sweden and then briefly queen as his wife. Early life Karin was born in Stockholm to a soldier and later prison guard na ...

. Although Stierneld's claims were at the time accepted by the

Swedish House of Nobility The House of Nobility ( sv, Riddarhuset) in Stockholm, Sweden, is a corporation and a building that maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the Swedish nobility. Name The name is literally translated as ''House of Knights'', ...

they were also soon refuted by historians and genealogists, beginning with an essay by A.T.G. Oxenstierna in 1869 and later by noted archivist and genealogist Victor Örnberg (1839-1908) in ''Svenska ättartal''. Today Brita Karth and her children are regarded as completely fictional.

Brita Karth according to the legend

Brita Karth was said to have been born about 1568 in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

as the daughter of a Swedish warrior named Peder Karth and to have died somewhere after 1594. She is said to have married prince Gustav in Kashin in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

in 1594 after already having delivered four children of his: Lars (or Laurentius) (1586-1660), Eric (1588-?), Carl Gustav (1590-?) and Catherine Sigrid (1592-?).

References

Gustaf Elgenstierna Gustaf Magnus Elgenstierna (August 26, 1871 – March 21, 1948) was a Swedish historian and genealogist. Biography He was born on August 26, 1871, to Carl Elgenstierna and Evelina Petersohn. He married Clara Sandberg in 1908. She was the daugh ...

: ''Svenska adelns ättartavlor'', vol. II (Stockholm 1926; facsimile edition 1998) * Bengt Hildebrand: entry on the family of "Eldstierna" in ''

Svenskt biografiskt lexikon ''Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' () is a Swedish biographical dictionary, started in 1917. The first volume, covering names ''Abelin'' to ''Anjou'', was published in 1918. As of 2017, names from A to S are covered. Volumes # ABELIN – ANJOU (1 ...

'', vol. XIII (Stockholm 1950) *

Ulf Sundberg Ulf Eskil Erik Sundberg (born 29 September 1956) is a Swedish economist, historian and author of books and magazine articles. Sundberg was born in Stockholm, graduated ''Studentexamen'' at Whitlockska in 1976 and became a Master of Philosophy ...

: ''Kungliga släktband'' (Lund 2004).

External links

The fictional story of Brita Karth as related by Wilhelmina Stålberg & P. G. Berg in ''Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor'' (Stockholm 1864)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Persdotter Karth, Brita Fictional Swedish people