Johanna Eleonora De la Gardie (1661 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

– 1708 in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

), was a Swedish writer, poet,

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Johanna was the daughter of Pontus Fredrik De la Gardie and

Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck (1637–1723), was a Swedish countess and landowner. She was the daughter of Hans Christoff von Königsmarck and Barbara von Leist: through her brother, she was thereby the paternal aunt of Carl Johan von Kön ...

. She received a cultivated education, along with her sister

Ebba Maria De la Gardie Ebba Maria De la Gardie (1657–1697) was a Swedish poet and singer. She was the daughter of count Pontus Fredrik De la Gardie and Beata Elisabet von Königsmarck, the sister of Johanna Eleonora De la Gardie and the cousin of Amalia Wilhelmina ...

and her cousins

Amalia von Königsmarck Countess Amalia "Emilie" Wilhelmina Lewenhaupt (née von Königsmarck) (20 August 1663 – 30 January 1740) was a Sweden, Swedish noblewoman of German descent who became known as a Amateur, dilettante painter, actor, and poet. Life Amalia Wi ...

and

Maria Aurora von Königsmarck Countess Maria Aurora von Königsmarck (sv: ''Aurora Königsmarck'') (28 August 166216 February 1728) was a Swedish and German noblewoman of Brandenburg extraction and mistress of Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Life A ...

; her sister became a respected poet and singer at court. Johanna became lady-in-waiting and, with her sister, a favourite of Queen

Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark (11 September 1656 – 26 July 1693) was Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Charles XI. She is often admired for her generosity and charity. The name ''Ulrike'' is a Danish version of the name; in Swedish she is ...

, and was also a friend 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, ...

. Johanna participated at the

amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

of the royal court, encouraged by Queen Eleanora. In the winter of 1683–84, a group of female courtiers performed the Swedish premiere of ''

Iphigénie ''Iphigénie'' is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by the French playwright Jean Racine. It was first performed in the Orangerie in Versailles on August 18, 1674, as part of the fifth of the royal ''Divertissements de ...

'' by

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

at court. In the play, Johanna acted the part of ''Iphigenie'', Amalia von Königsmarck as ''Achilles'', Aurora von Königsmarck as ''Clitemnestre'', Augusta Wrangel as ''Agamemnon'', and Ebba Maria De la Gardie as ''Eriphile''. This is regarded as a significant event, the first play performed by an all–female cast in Sweden, as an introduction of French Classicism in Sweden.Lars Löfgren (2003). Svensk teater. (Swedish theater) Stockholm:

Natur & Kultur Natur & Kultur is a Swedish publishing foundation with head office in Stockholm known for an extensive series of teaching materials. Its logotype is an apple tree. Overview The publishing house was founded in 1922 by Johan Hansson and his wi ...

. Sid. 46. She wrote the French poem ''Portrait d’Ismène'' for Ulrika Eleonora, and the German-language psalm ''Weich, Falsche Welt''. She encouraged poets and writers; she is remembered as benefactor and teacher of the poet and politician Samuel Triewald. In 1691, Johanna married her cousin, Count Erik Gustaf Stenbock. They lived in England until 1697, where she became popular at the English court of Queen Mary.

Notes

External links

Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor

P. Hanselli, ''Samlade vitterhetsarbeten af svenska författare från Stjernhjelm till Dalin'' (1867)
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