Gustaf Banér (May 19, 1547 – March 20, 1600) was a Swedish noble, member of the

Privy Council of Sweden The Council of the Realm, or simply The Council ( sv, Riksrådet or sv, Rådet: sometimes in la, Senatus Regni Sueciae), was a cabinet of medieval origin, consisting of magnates ( sv, stormän) which advised, and at times co-ruled with, the Ki ...

Life

Gustaf Axelsson Banér was born at

Djursholm Castle Djursholm Castle (''Djursholms slott'') is a castle in Sweden. Djursholm is located in Danderyd Municipality, within Stockholm urban area. The castle includes building components from the late Middle Ages. It was the main building on the estat ...

, the son of the Privy Counselor Axel Nilsson and Margareta Pedersdotter (Bielke). Gustaf Banér studied at the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock (german: link=no, Universität Rostock) is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continen ...

, took part in the insurgence against 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 he was appointed member of the Privy Council in 1569 by King John III. He was implicated in the Mornay plot, but not investigated for it. He remained favoured by King John for a long time and was entrusted with several diplomatic missions, such as the royal election in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, in 1587, when King John's son

Sigismund III Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...

was elected.''Gustaf Axelsson Banér'' (Bild på svenska)
/ref> He was

stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

Reval Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ''m ...

between 1588 and 1590, where there was a meeting in 1589 during which there was a rupture between Banér and the members of the privy council on the one side and King John III on the other. In 1592, when Sigismund III had succeeded John III as the

king of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument o ...

, Banér initially supported Duke Charles in his power struggle against Sigismund. Banér's ambition was to ensure more power for the

high nobility Traditional rank amongst European royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duke) ...

in the government. When the duke's actions had led to a rupture with most of the members of the Privy council, Banér escaped to

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

from where he tried to incite a Swedish rebellion. He joined King Sigismund III upon his arrival in Sweden in 1598, but after the

Battle of Stångebro The Battle of Stångebro, or the Battle of Linköping, took place at Linköping, Sweden, on 25 September 1598 (O.S.) and effectively ended the personal union between Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, that had existed since 1592. ...

, Banér was handed over to King Charles. Banér was one of five noblemen sentenced to death and executed in

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...

. This event, at the main square of Linköping on March 20, 1600, became known as the

Linköping Bloodbath The Linköping Bloodbath ( sv, Linköpings blodbad) on 20 March 1600 was the public execution by beheading of five Swedish nobles in the aftermath of the War against Sigismund (1598–1599), which resulted in the ''de facto'' deposition of the ...

Personal life

He was married on October 8, 1581, to Kristina Svantesdotter Sture (1559–1619), daughter of the Privy Councilor and Riksmarsalken, Svante Stensson Sture, Svante Sture the Younger (1517–1567). Her mother was King Martha (Swedish noblewoman), Märta Erikdotter Leijonhufvud and thus she was a first cousin to King Eric XIV, King John III and King Charles IX of Sweden. Gustav and Kristina had a total of 14 children. However, four died before reaching adulthood: # Margareta Gustafsdotter Banér ( (1582–1618) # Svante Gustafsson Banér(1584–1628). Privy Councilor and Governor of Riga # Anna Gustafsdotter Banér (1585–1656) # Martha Gustafsdotter Banér (1586–1586) # Axel Gustafsson Banér (1587–1594) # Per Gustafsson Banér, Per (Peder) Gustafsson Banér (1588–1644) # Nils Gustafsson Banér (1589–1614) # daughter died at birth (1590) # Sigrid Gustafsdotter Banér (1592–1669) # Martha Gustafsdotter Banér (1593–1638) # Axel Gustafsson Banér (1594–1642). Privy Councilor and Reichsmarshal # Johan Banér, Johan Gustafsson Banér (1596–1641). Privy Councilor and Field Marshal # Erik Gustafsson Banér (1597–1597) # Karl Gustafsson Banér (1598–1632). State Secretary, Deputy Governor of Prussia

References

Other sources

* The article ''Banér, Gustaf'' in ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (1990) {{DEFAULTSORT:Baner, Gustaf 1547 births 1600 deaths People executed by Sweden by decapitation Swedish nobility 16th-century Swedish politicians 17th-century executions by Sweden People from Danderyd Municipality Executed Swedish people People of the War against Sigismund