Ebba Stenbock
Encyclopedia
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
) was a Swedish noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
. She was the acting governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
in Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
in 1597, in the period between the death of the former governor, her spouse, and before the installement of the successor. She was imprisoned for political reasons. The sister of queen Katarina Stenbock
Katarina Stenbock
Catherine Stenbock was the third and last consort of King Gustav I of Sweden, and Queen consort of Sweden between 1552 and 1560...
, she married Clas Eriksson Fleming
Klaus Fleming
Baron Clas Eriksson Fleming was a Finnish-born member of the Swedish nobility and admiral, who played an important role in Finnish and Swedish history during the rise of Sweden as a Great Power...
, (1530-1597), governor of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, in 1573.
She was noted for her fearless conduct toward Duke Charles. Her spouse was one of the strongest supporters of Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, a monarch of the united Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1632, and King of Sweden from 1592 until he was deposed in 1599...
and opposed to Charles IX of Sweden
Charles IX of Sweden
Charles IX of Sweden also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I of Sweden and his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, brother of Eric XIV and John III of Sweden, and uncle of Sigismund III Vasa king of both Sweden and Poland...
. After his death, Charles conquered Turku Castle
Turku Castle
Turku Castle is a monument of Finnish history situated in the city of Turku in Finland. Together with Turku Cathedral, the castle is one of the oldest buildings still in use in Finland. Turku Castle is the largest surviving medieval building in Finland and one of the largest surviving medieval...
from his widow Ebba Stenbock after the Cudgel War
Cudgel War
The Club War was a 1596/97 peasant uprising in the kingdom of Sweden against exploitation by nobility and military in what is today Finland...
. Fleming was still not buried, and, according to legend
Legend
A legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
, Charles had the coffin opened to reassure himself that Fleming was indeed dead. After having identified the face of Fleming, he was to have pulled Fleming's beard with the words: "If you had been alive, your head would not have been safe", upon which Ebba Stenbock replied: "If my late husband was alive, Your Grace would never have been here." "
Ebba Stenbock was placed in house arrest with her daughters, and later taken to Stockholm, were she was imprisoned. Her son, Johan Flemming, was executed in Turku in 1599.