Hedvig Eleonora Stenbock (1658–1714) was a Swedish

noblewoman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteri ...

and lady-in-waiting; daughter of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Erik Stenbock and related to queen

Katarina Stenbock Catherine Stenbock (Swedish: ''Katarina Gustavsdotter Stenbock''; 22 July 1535 at Torpa, Tranemo Municipality, Västergötland – 13 December 1621 at Strömsholm, Västmanland) was Queen of Sweden from 1552 to 1560 as the third and last wife of ...

; sister of the political salonist

Magdalena Stenbock Magdalena Stenbock (14 September 1649 – 24 January 1727), was a politically active Swedish countess and salon holder. She was married to Council President Count Bengt Gabrielsson Oxenstierna. She was recognized as an important contact by forei ...

Life

She was described as beautiful and well educated and could speak French,

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and

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. She was the '' kammarfröken'' of the queen dowager,

Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (23 October 1636 – 24 November 1715) was Queen of Sweden from 1654 until 1660 as the wife of King Charles X Gustav. She served as regent during the minority of her son, King Charles XI, from 1660 until 1672, ...

. Stenbock caused a great conflict of rank at the royal court when she demanded precedence in etiquette before another lady-in-waiting,

Johan Göransson Gyllenstierna Johan Göransson Gyllenstierna (18 February 1635 – 10 June 1680) was a Swedish statesman. Biography He completed his studies at Uppsala University and then visited most of the European states, which laid the foundation for his deep insight int ...

's sister Ingeborg Gyllenstierna, despite Gyllenstierna being senior as a lady-in-waiting: "on the grounds that she was the daughter of a Count and a lord of the state, while Ingeborg was the mere daughter of a Baron, admiral and governor”. The queen dowager judged the matter in favour of Stenbock, which meant that Stenbock had in fact changed the etiquette of precedence at court. It was considered that the conflicts among the nobles at the royal court had political consequences: ''” and thus this battle of etiquette were among the motivation as to why the great reduction were so swiftly and strictly conducted”'' by Johan Gyllenstierna, who became the enemy of Stenbock and her family. Stenbock was known for her rank conflicts at court, and caused many more similar quarrels. In 1681, Margareta von Parr was appointed first lady-in-waiting to one of the royal children. This insulted Stenbock, as Parr's spouse, though a royal lord of the state, had been ennobled as late as in 1673 on his own merits, and lived in humble economic circumstances: his sister rented out rooms in the capital. To display her displeasure, Stenbock stepped on the train of Parr in the middle of the baptismal procession of the royal child. When Parr complained to the Queen Dowager, she refused to take sides, and when she confronted Stenbock herself, she replied: "It is bad enough that the filth has been placed among apples!"Norrhem, Svante (in Swedish): Kvinnor vid maktens sida : 1632-1772 (In English: "Women by the side of power: 1632-1772") (2007) Lund (Nordic Academic Press) These numerous conflicts at court in the late 17th century are considered to reflect the conflict between the old nobility and a new phenomenon: the rising career nobility, commoners being ennobled for their merits. Stenbock, however, in fact caused a new conflict about rank herself, in the opposite direction, when she married

Nicodemus Tessin the Younger Count Nicodemus Tessin the Younger (May 23, 1654 – April 10, 1728) was a Swedish Baroque architect, city planner, and administrator. The son of Nicodemus Tessin the Elder and the father of Carl Gustaf Tessin, Tessin the Younger was the midd ...

on 15 June 1689. The marriage was considered a

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

at court because Tessin was seen as a lesser noble than she, and it was made after an elopement to

Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held ...

, against the will of her family and the queen dowager.

References

Sources

Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor
* Norrhem, Svante (in Swedish): Kvinnor vid maktens sida : 1632-1772 (In English: "Women by the side of power: 1632-1772") (2007) Lund (Nordic Academic Press)

Life

References

Sources

Further reading