Corfitz Ulfeldt (1559–1614)
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Count Corfits Ulfeldt (10 July 1606 – 20 February 1664) was a Danish
statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...
known for his collaboration with Sweden during and after the 1657-1658 Dano-Swedish War, for which he is considered one of the most notorious traitors in Danish history.


Early life

Ulfeldt was the son of the chancellor Jacob Ulfeldt. He was educated abroad, concluding with one year under Cesare Cremonini at Padua. He returned to Denmark in 1629.


Rise to power

Upon his return to Denmark, Ulfeldt quickly won the favor of King Christian IV. In 1634 he was made a Knight of the
Order of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional monarchy in ...
, in 1636 became Councillor of State, in 1637 Governor of
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
, and in 1643 Steward of the Realm. In 1637 Ulfeldt married Leonora Christina (1621–1698) who was the daughter of the King. She had been betrothed to him since her ninth year. Ulfeldt was the most striking personality at the Danish court in all superficial accomplishments, but his character was marked by ambition, avarice and absolute lack of honor or conscience. He was largely responsible for the disasters of the Swedish war of 1643-45, and when the Treaty of Brömsebro was signed there was a violent scene between him and the King, though Ulfeldt's resignation was not accepted. In December 1646 he was sent as ambassador extraordinary to
the Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
, but the results of his embassy by no means corresponded to its costliness, and when he returned to Denmark in July 1647 he found the king profoundly irritated. Ulfeldt, supported by the Rigsråd and the nobility, who objected to Christian's fiscal policy, resisted his father-in-law, and triumphed completely. As Steward of the Realm he was the virtual ruler of Denmark during the two months which elapsed between the death of Christian IV and the election of Frederick III (6 July 1648); but the new king was by no means disposed to tolerate the outrageous usurpations of Ulfeldt and his wife, and this antagonism was still further complicated by allegations of a plot (ultimately proven to be false, but believed at the time to be true) on the part of Dina Vinhofvers, a former mistress of Ulfeldt, to
poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...
the royal family. Dina was convicted of
perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...
and executed, but Ulfeldt no longer felt secure at Copenhagen, and on the day after the execution he secretly left Denmark (14 July 1651) with his family.


Treason

After living for a time in concealment at
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, Ulfeldt moved to
Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...
in
Swedish Pomerania Swedish Pomerania (; ) was a dominions of Sweden, dominion under the Sweden, Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish-Swedish War, Polish War and the Thirty Years' War ...
. In the Dano-Swedish War of 1657 and 1658, King
Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl X Gustav (; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. After his father's ...
invaded Denmark, Sweden's deadliest foe at the time. In July 1657, Ulfeldt responded to the King's invitation to enter his service. Ulfeldt's purpose was twofold: humiliate his monarch and secure a personal fortune. During Charles X's march across the Belts, Ulfeldt persuaded the commandant of
Nakskov Nakskov is a market town on the island of Lolland in south Denmark. The town has a population of 12,200 (1 January 2025) and is the largest town on the island of Lolland. It is located in Lolland municipality in Region Sjælland. Nakskov is situ ...
(a strategically crucial fortress) to surrender to the Swedish king's forces, and did his best to convince his countrymen that resistance was useless. He even loaned the Swedish king a fortune to finance the war with money that, it is believed, was embezzled from the Danish state. Finally, as one of the Swedish negotiators at the
Treaty of Taastrup The Treaty of Taastrup (''Freden i Høje Taastrup Præstegård'') was a preliminary accord signed on 11 February 1658 between King Charles X Gustav of Sweden and King Frederick III of Denmark and Norway. The treaty was signed at the Høje Taastrup ...
, he was instrumental in assuring the humiliation of his native land. Ulfeldt's treason was rewarded by Charles X of Sweden with ennoblement as the
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: ...
of
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in
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; however a discontented Ulfeldt instead began intriguing against his new master. He was soon discovered, and in May 1659 was sentenced to death. On 7 July the Swedish regents amnestied him, and he returned to Copenhagen to try to make his peace with his lawful sovereign, who promptly imprisoned him and his wife. In the summer of 1660 they were conveyed to
Hammershus Hammershus is a medieval era fortification at Hammeren on the northern tip of the Danish island of Bornholm. The fortress was partially demolished around 1750 and is now a ruin. It was partially restored around 1900. History Hammershus was Sc ...
in
Bornholm Bornholm () is a List of islands of Denmark, Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. I ...
, as prisoners of state.


Later life

Their captivity was severe to brutal and they were released in September 1661 in the most degrading conditions. The fallen magnate henceforth dreamed of nothing but revenge, and in the course of 1662, during his residence at
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, he offered the Danish-Norwegian crown to the
Frederick William I, Elector of Brandenburg Frederick William (; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as "th ...
, proposing to raise a rebellion in Denmark for that purpose. Frederick William betrayed Ulfeldt's treason to Frederick III, and the Danish government at once
impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...
the traitor; on 24 July 1663, he and his children were degraded, his property was confiscated, and he was condemned to be beheaded and quartered. He escaped from the country, but the sentence was actually carried out on his
effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...
; and a
pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, used during the medieval and renaissance periods for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. ...
was erected on the ruins of his mansion at Copenhagen. During a new flight, he died in February 1664 in a boat on the
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not far from
Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...
. The circumstances of his death and his final resting place are not known.


Legacy

To posterity Corfits Ulfeldt has stood as the prototype of a traitor in Danish history. In addition, modern historians have been liable to view him as a highly mentally unstable man whose lust for power ended in megalomania and insanity. In contrast his wife Leonora Christina has been admired because of her long time as a prisoner after his death. She spent twenty-one years in confinement in the royal dungeon, Blåtårn, prior to her release during 1685. ''Jammers Minde'' is an autobiography completed in 1674 by Leonora Christina. It was first published in 1869 and translated into English as ''Memoirs of Leonora Christina''.


References


Other sources

* Steffen Heiberg (1993) ''Enhjørningen Corfitz Ulfeldt'' (Copenhagen: Gyldendal) *


Related reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ulfeldt, Corfits 1606 births 1664 deaths 17th-century Danish politicians 17th-century Danish diplomats Court of Christian IV of Denmark Corfitz, 16006