Gyldenstjerne, also spelled ''Gyldenstierne'' and 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 ...

''Gyllenstierna'' (English: ''Golden Star''), is a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

, and Swedish noble family divided into various branches and ranks. It is one of the oldest noble families in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

. The family surname appears, in the form of ''Guildenstern'', in

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's tragedy ''

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (see

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. They are childhood friends of Hamlet, summoned by King Claudius to distract the prince from his apparent madness and if possible to ascertain the cause of ...

). The surname should not be confused with Gyldensteen ("Golden Stone"), the name of another short-lived Danish noble family, first recorded in 1717 and which became extinct in 1749. The family has a prominent position in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish history. It belonged to the higher nobility, and paradoxically, in Sweden it supported the absolute monarchy. The member with the highest standing was the noblewoman Kristina Nilsdotter Gyllenstierna, who as Sten Sture the younger's wife was ''regent consort of Sweden''.

History

Denmark

The oldest known man in the family is the knight Lord Nils Eriksson of Aagård in

Jutland Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...

, who is mentioned in 1314 in relationship to Store Restrup Manor (''Store Restrup Herregård'') in Aalborg. He was the father of Lord Erik Nilsson of Ågård, who had a son Lord Nils Eriksson of Ågård. With this Nils's sons Knud, Peder, and Erik Nilssøner, the family was divided into three primary branches: Restrup, Ågård, and Demstrup. The family in Denmark became extinct in 1729.

Norway

The Danish knight Mogens Henriksen Gyldenstierne († 1569) was from 1527 feudal lord of Akershus. In 1532, he was succeeded at

Akershus Fortress Akershus Fortress ( no, Akershus Festning, ) or Akershus Castle ( no, Akershus slott ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress ...

by his relative Erik Olufsen Gyldenstierne († 1536). The Danish minister

Axel Gyldenstierne Axel Gyldenstierne (born c. 1542, died 13 July 1603 at Sandviken, Gotland) was a Danish-Norwegian official and Governor-general of Norway from 1588 until 1601. Northern Seven Years' War He is first mentioned in the records during the Northern Se ...

(ca. 1542–1603) was Governor-general of Norway during the period 1588–1601.

Sweden

Christina Gyllenstierna relief 2009 West Aros

In the first part of the 15th century, the family came to Sweden with Erik Eriksson of Fågelvik, who after a while married Kristina Karlsdotter (1432-ca 1500), the daughter of King

Charles VIII of Sweden Charles VIII ( sv, Karl; 1408–1470), contemporaneously known as Charles II and called Charles I in Norwegian context, was king of Sweden (1448–1457, 1464–1465 and 1467–1470) and king of Norway (1449–1450). Regnal name Charles was the ...

. Among their children was Nils Eriksson Gyllenstierna (d. 1495), who was the father of Kristina Nilsdotter Gyllenstierna, regent consort of Sweden. In 1569, Nils Göransson (1526–1601) was elevated to a baronial estate as baronial ''Gyllenstierna af Lundholm''. Lundholmen Manor is located in

Vrigstad Vrigstad () is a locality situated in Sävsjö Municipality, Jönköping County Jönköping County ( sv, Jönköpings län) is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, ...

parish within

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipa ...

. Members of this branch of the family are still living in Sweden. After

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous with Skåne ...

was included as a part of Sweden by the

Treaty of Roskilde The Treaty of Roskilde (concluded on 26 February ( OS), or 8 March 1658) ( NS) during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Karl X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish city of Roskilde. After a devastating defeat ...

in 1658, a now extinct branch of the Danish family was introduced to the House of Nobility. The Vinstrop branch became barons in 1651, while four branches were given the rank of count. All these are extinct.

Coat of arms

File:Gyllenstierna_Bj%C3%B6rkesund_G45.jpg, Counts of Björkesund. File:Gyllenstierna_Eriksberg_G24.jpg, Counts of Eriksberg. File:Gyllenstierna_Steninge_G34.jpg, Counts of Steninge. File:Gyllenstierna_Fogelvik_G47.jpg, Counts of Fogelvik. File:Gyllenstierna_Uleborg_F18.jpg, Gyllenstierna of Uleborg. File:Gyllenstierna_Nyn%C3%A4s_A9.jpg, Gyllenstierna of Nynäs. File:Gyllenstierna_Svaneholm_29.jpg, Gyllenstierna of Svaneholm. File:Gyllenstierna_Lundholm_F3.jpg, Gyllenstierna of Lundholm.

References

Sources

* A. Thiset og P.L. Wittrup: ''Nyt dansk Adelslexikon'', Copenhagen 1904 * Sven Tito Achen: ''Danske adelsvåbener'', Copenhagen 1973

External links

* {{Commons category inline, Gyllenstierna family Danish families Danish noble families Norwegian families Norwegian noble families Swedish families Swedish noble families