Sigrid Svantesdotter Sture (13 December 1538, Mörkö,

Södermanland Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form ''Sudermannia'' or ''Sudermania'', is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanla ...

– 16 March 1613), was a Swedish noble, Governor (häradshövding) of

Stranda Hundred A hundred is a geographic division formerly used in northern Germanic countries and related colonies, which historically was used to divide a larger region into smaller administrative divisions. The equivalent term in Swedish is (in Uppland als ...

from 1577 to 1613. She was the daughter of

Svante Stensson Sture Svante Stensson Sture or Svante Sture the Younger (born 1 May 1517 in Stockholm, d. 24 May 1567 in the Sture Murders at Uppsala Castle) was a Swedish count, riksmarsk and statesman. From 1562 to 1564, during the Livonian War, he was governor of E ...

and Märta ("king Martha") Erikdotter Leijonhufvud, thereby the niece of queen

Margaret Leijonhufvud Margaret Leijonhufvud (née ''Margareta Eriksdotter''; 1 January 1516 – 26 August 1551) was Queen of Sweden from 1536 to 1551 by marriage to King Gustav I. She played a political role as the advisor of, and the intermediary to, her spouse the ...

and the granddaughter of regent

Christina Gyllenstierna Christina Nilsdotter Gyllenstierna of Fogelvik (Swedish: ''Kristina'' or ''Kerstin'': 1494 – January 1559, Hörningsholm Castle) was a Swedish noblewoman. She was married to the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Younger, and led the Swedish res ...

. She married

Ture Pedersson Bielke Ture may refer to: Names * Ture (Zande character), a trickster character from North Central Africa Personal name * Ture Hedman (1895–1950), Swedish gymnast * Ture Malmgren (1851–1922), Swedish journalist and politician * Ture Nerman (1886–1 ...

and became the mother of Svante Turesson Bielke. After the death of her husband in 1577, she succeeded him as royal governor of Stranda hundred. This was an unusual position for a person of her gender in 16th century Sweden, and one she kept until her death over 30 years later. She was, however, not allowed to rule formally, but was forced to appoint male proxies to officially rule in her place.

Sources

*PLF-Nytt. January 2005. Nr 72 *Det medeltida Sverige (DMS)

Sources

Further reading