Magdalena Rudenschöld
Encyclopedia
Magdalena Charlotta Rudenschöld, commonly known as Malla Rudenschöld and privately as Malin Rudenschöld (January 1, 1766- March 5, 1823 in Stockholm
, Sweden
), was a member of the Swedish nobility
and a lady-in-waiting
. She was one of the main participants in the so-called Armfelt conspiracy against the guardian government of 1792. She was convicted of treason
, pilloried
, and sentenced to life in prison.
One of the others accused in the conspiracy said of her that her mistake was, "love, this violent passion, which among so many people of all ages overwhelms reason."
's sister, Princess Sophia Albertine of Sweden. She replaced her older sister Caroline, a personal friend of the princess, who retired after her marriage. She was described as beautiful, intelligent and passionate, and made a social success at court.
She was pursued by both Duke Charles
, the King's brother, and by the nobleman Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt
, the King's favorite. She turned the Duke down, but fell passionately in love with Armfelt. Armfelt had married Hedvig Ulrika De la Gardie
in 1785, and made Rudenschöld his mistress. Rudenschöld claimed in her memoirs, that the King, who arranged the marriage of his favorite to De la Gardie, convinced her to advice Armfelt not to refuse the marriage for her sake, and that Armfelt agreed to the marriage after she assured him that it was her wish
She is believed to have borne him two children in secret: one of them was born in Quedlingburg in Germany, where she accompanied Sophia Albertina in 1787 and the second one in 1790. Both of the children, a daughter and a son, died soon after birth
died and his 14-year-old son Gustav IV (Adolf)
ascended the throne. Duke Charles became his formal regent, although the duke's favorite, Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm
, became the real regent, presiding over the guardian government. Armfelt, who had hoped to take a place in the government, abandoned Rudenschöld and left the country in 1793. He made secret plans to overthrow the guardian government with Russia
n assistance and install a new regime headed by himself.
After his departure, Armfelt wrote to Rudenschöld, who wanted him back as her lover, and upheld a correspondence, which became more and more political.
Armfelt instructed Rudenschöld to consult the medium Ulrica Arfvidsson
, which she did three days after his departure from Sweden. Rudenschöld described the prediction in her correspondance to Armfelt. Arfvidsson consulted her coffee leafs and stated that the man of whom Rudenschöld was thinking (Armfelt) had recently left the country in anger over a child (the King) and a small man (the regent, Duke Charles), whom he would soon scare by an agreement with a woman with a non-royal crown on her head (Catherine the Great). She predicted that Armfelt risked to be revealed by the loss of a letter, which would be his ruin. As for Rudenschöld herself, Arfvidsson told her that she was observed and mentioned to Catherine the Great in letters by a fat man (the Russian ambassador Stackelberg), that she should be careful, and that great sorrows awaited her.
Magdalena Rudenschöld was not merely the tool of Armfelt in his plans: in their political correspondence, she expresses her own views and makes her own suggestions in regard to the conspiracy She was often the guest at receptions on the Russian embassy in Stockholm, were ambassador Stackelberg appreciated her wit and made reports about her to Empress Catherine. At one occasion, Baron Hierta made a remark about a paper claiming that the Russian monarch would turn her attention toward Sweden after having conquered Poland, and asked Rudenschöld: "Would you say we are happy enough to won our Swedish Potocki?", upon which she replied: "Why not? Those capable of murdering their King can also sell their country to foreign power", a remark which was evidently reported to the Russian Empress
Armfelt used Rudenschöld as a messenger, with the task to make contact with his followers, the young King and the Russian embassy. She is confirmed to have performed at least one of these missions
The correspondence of Rudenschöld and Armfelt, however, fell into the hands of acting-regent Reuterholm and regent-in-name Duke Charles through the Hamburg
post office
, which had been making copies of the letters and selling them. Reuterholm had Rudenschöld arrested on the night of December 18, 1793. She was one of the first of the conspirators to be detained. Rudenschöld had burned some of her papers, but love letters from the persistent Duke Charles were found amongst her remaining documents. Armfelt's attempt to depose the government and take over had been discovered.
against Rudenschöld was not convincing and she was able to defend herself with intelligence and force. She was subjected to intense pressure and housed, she said, "in a terrifying prison, where I saw neither sun nor moon". When Armfelt's estate was searched, however, 1,100 of her letters to him were found there. In several of them, she expressed contempt towards Duke Charles and Reuterholm, which worsened her position. The regent already held a grudge against her for refusing his advances and Reuterholm took offense at her judgement of him.
Eight of her love letters to Armfelt were printed and published by the regent and Reuterholm with the title, "In the old King's House
imprisoned a lady, known as Magdalena Charlotta daughter of Carl, letters to the traitor Baron Armfelt, known as Gustaf Mauritz, son of Magnus, about their love adventures". In them, she mentioned her attempt to have an abortion
, with the support of Armfelt, after having been made pregnant
by him. The overwhelming hostility shown to her by the Duke and Reuterholm also gained her public sympathy, however, when Rudenschöld was confronted with better evidence in April 1794, she confessed, saying she had only participated because of her unlimited confidence in Armfelt.
Princess Sophia Albertina intervened and asked the regent to show mercy, and she avoided being charged for abortion, which had been suggested at first.
On September 22, 1794, Magdalena Rudenschöld was convicted and sentenced to death for treason, together with Armfelt, in his absence (being still abroad), and two other co-conspirators, Ehrenström and Aminoff. Her punishment was commuted to public pillorying
, followed by life imprisonment. Chancellor Fredrik Sparre suggested that she be whip
ped, which was initially approved by Reuterholm, but this was met with indignation by the public, which thereafter nickname
d him "Whipping chancellor".
on the square, which was described as "a heart-aching spectacle". She was dressed in a grey skirt and a black top and had her hair down. She stood with her head held high and drank two glasses of water. The audience was reported to have felt sorry for her, according to Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, because of, "her youth, her tragic fate and possibly because of the remains of her former beauty". After her reprieve from hanging, a carriage came to take her to jail and she fainted, according to writer Märta Helena Reenstierna
"with the same grace and decorum as Mrs. Olin
once had in Acus and Galathea" (the opera). Reportedly, people were overheard saying that the regent's lover, Charlotte Slottsberg
, should have been standing on the platform instead of Rudenschöld
One of Rudenschöld's own friends, Count A.F. Skjöldenbrand also described the event: "Only a few of the mob began to shout at her, but Silfverhielm (Commander of the Guard) ordered the guards to silence them". She was supposed to have had an iron collar around her neck, but when the executioner held it up, she shivered and shrugged backwards, after which he
Rudenschöld wrote about her arrival in the prison workhouse:
Two-and-a-half years later, in November 1796, Rudenschöld was released from jail under Reuterholm's order; he had wanted to release her before the young King was declared of legal majority later that year and pardoned her himself.
When she left the workhouse, she wrote on the prison wall (in French):
She was given back her name and the property, Stenstugu gård on Gotland
, as compensation for her loss of a pension. For the first year, however, she was not allowed to leave the island.
. His father was Rudenschöld's servant, "a young, strong and beautiful lad", whom she openly lived with. However, the relationship ended unhappily, and he is said to have treated her badly. In 1801, she moved to Switzerland
and was taken under the protection of Germaine de Stael, at the recommendation of Armfelt, who also arranged for her son to be educated in Saint Petersburg
in Russia and supported her financially. She was often seen in Coppet
, and was described as charming but serious.
In 1812, she returned to Sweden and lived in the household of her brother, Thure Gabriel; acting as governess to his children. Socially, she was described as easy-going but suspicious at this point and unwilling to talk about her past. Eventually, she moved to Stockholm
, where she died in 1823.
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
), was a member of the Swedish nobility
Swedish nobility
The Swedish nobility were historically a legally and/or socially privileged class in Sweden, part of the so-called frälse . Today, the nobility is still very much a part of Swedish society but they do not maintain many of their former privileges...
and a lady-in-waiting
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting is a female personal assistant at a royal court, attending on a queen, a princess, or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman from a family highly thought of in good society, but was of lower rank than the woman on whom she...
. She was one of the main participants in the so-called Armfelt conspiracy against the guardian government of 1792. She was convicted of treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
, pilloried
Pillory
The pillory was a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse, sometimes lethal...
, and sentenced to life in prison.
One of the others accused in the conspiracy said of her that her mistake was, "love, this violent passion, which among so many people of all ages overwhelms reason."
Introduction to court
Magdalena Rudenschöld was born a child of Count Carl Rudenschöld, a statesman, and Countess Christina Sofia Bielke. When her father lost his parliament seat in 1766 and the family experienced economic difficulties, her mother received a secret allowance from the French state in exchange for benefiting French interests through her influential connections. In 1784, Magdalena was appointed lady-in-waiting to the KingGustav III of Sweden
Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....
's sister, Princess Sophia Albertine of Sweden. She replaced her older sister Caroline, a personal friend of the princess, who retired after her marriage. She was described as beautiful, intelligent and passionate, and made a social success at court.
She was pursued by both Duke Charles
Charles XIII of Sweden
Charles XIII & II also Carl, , was King of Sweden from 1809 and King of Norway from 1814 until his death...
, the King's brother, and by the nobleman Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt
Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt
Count Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt was a Finnish and Swedish courtier and diplomat. In Finland, he is considered one of the great Finnish statesmen. Born in Tarvasjoki, Finland, he was the great grandson of Charles XII of Sweden's general, Carl Gustaf Armfeldt...
, the King's favorite. She turned the Duke down, but fell passionately in love with Armfelt. Armfelt had married Hedvig Ulrika De la Gardie
Hedvig Ulrika De la Gardie
Hedvig Ulrika De la Gardie was a Swedish lady in waiting. She was married to Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt. She was the head governess of the Swedish royal children in 1799-1803....
in 1785, and made Rudenschöld his mistress. Rudenschöld claimed in her memoirs, that the King, who arranged the marriage of his favorite to De la Gardie, convinced her to advice Armfelt not to refuse the marriage for her sake, and that Armfelt agreed to the marriage after she assured him that it was her wish
She is believed to have borne him two children in secret: one of them was born in Quedlingburg in Germany, where she accompanied Sophia Albertina in 1787 and the second one in 1790. Both of the children, a daughter and a son, died soon after birth
The conspiracy
In 1792, King Gustav III of SwedenGustav III of Sweden
Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Queen Louise Ulrica of Sweden, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia....
died and his 14-year-old son Gustav IV (Adolf)
Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden
Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden also Gustav Adolph was King of Sweden from 1792 until his abdication in 1809. He was the son of Gustav III of Sweden and his queen consort Sophia Magdalena, eldest daughter of Frederick V of Denmark and his first wife Louise of Great Britain. He was the last Swedish...
ascended the throne. Duke Charles became his formal regent, although the duke's favorite, Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm
Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm
Baron Gustaf Adolf Reuterholm , was a Swedish statesman.-Early career:...
, became the real regent, presiding over the guardian government. Armfelt, who had hoped to take a place in the government, abandoned Rudenschöld and left the country in 1793. He made secret plans to overthrow the guardian government with Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n assistance and install a new regime headed by himself.
After his departure, Armfelt wrote to Rudenschöld, who wanted him back as her lover, and upheld a correspondence, which became more and more political.
Armfelt instructed Rudenschöld to consult the medium Ulrica Arfvidsson
Ulrica Arfvidsson
Anna Ulrica Arfvidsson was a professional Swedish fortune-teller during the reign of Gustav III of Sweden. She was commonly known as Mamsell Arfvidsson.-Biography:...
, which she did three days after his departure from Sweden. Rudenschöld described the prediction in her correspondance to Armfelt. Arfvidsson consulted her coffee leafs and stated that the man of whom Rudenschöld was thinking (Armfelt) had recently left the country in anger over a child (the King) and a small man (the regent, Duke Charles), whom he would soon scare by an agreement with a woman with a non-royal crown on her head (Catherine the Great). She predicted that Armfelt risked to be revealed by the loss of a letter, which would be his ruin. As for Rudenschöld herself, Arfvidsson told her that she was observed and mentioned to Catherine the Great in letters by a fat man (the Russian ambassador Stackelberg), that she should be careful, and that great sorrows awaited her.
Magdalena Rudenschöld was not merely the tool of Armfelt in his plans: in their political correspondence, she expresses her own views and makes her own suggestions in regard to the conspiracy She was often the guest at receptions on the Russian embassy in Stockholm, were ambassador Stackelberg appreciated her wit and made reports about her to Empress Catherine. At one occasion, Baron Hierta made a remark about a paper claiming that the Russian monarch would turn her attention toward Sweden after having conquered Poland, and asked Rudenschöld: "Would you say we are happy enough to won our Swedish Potocki?", upon which she replied: "Why not? Those capable of murdering their King can also sell their country to foreign power", a remark which was evidently reported to the Russian Empress
Armfelt used Rudenschöld as a messenger, with the task to make contact with his followers, the young King and the Russian embassy. She is confirmed to have performed at least one of these missions
The correspondence of Rudenschöld and Armfelt, however, fell into the hands of acting-regent Reuterholm and regent-in-name Duke Charles through the Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, which had been making copies of the letters and selling them. Reuterholm had Rudenschöld arrested on the night of December 18, 1793. She was one of the first of the conspirators to be detained. Rudenschöld had burned some of her papers, but love letters from the persistent Duke Charles were found amongst her remaining documents. Armfelt's attempt to depose the government and take over had been discovered.
Trial and verdict
At first, the evidenceEvidence
Evidence in its broadest sense includes everything that is used to determine or demonstrate the truth of an assertion. Giving or procuring evidence is the process of using those things that are either presumed to be true, or were themselves proven via evidence, to demonstrate an assertion's truth...
against Rudenschöld was not convincing and she was able to defend herself with intelligence and force. She was subjected to intense pressure and housed, she said, "in a terrifying prison, where I saw neither sun nor moon". When Armfelt's estate was searched, however, 1,100 of her letters to him were found there. In several of them, she expressed contempt towards Duke Charles and Reuterholm, which worsened her position. The regent already held a grudge against her for refusing his advances and Reuterholm took offense at her judgement of him.
Eight of her love letters to Armfelt were printed and published by the regent and Reuterholm with the title, "In the old King's House
Wrangel Palace
Wrangel Palace is a townhouse in Stockholm, Sweden. Since 1756 the palace has housed Svea Hovrätt, the regional court of appeal. It was the residence of the royal court during the first half of the 18th-century....
imprisoned a lady, known as Magdalena Charlotta daughter of Carl, letters to the traitor Baron Armfelt, known as Gustaf Mauritz, son of Magnus, about their love adventures". In them, she mentioned her attempt to have an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, with the support of Armfelt, after having been made pregnant
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
by him. The overwhelming hostility shown to her by the Duke and Reuterholm also gained her public sympathy, however, when Rudenschöld was confronted with better evidence in April 1794, she confessed, saying she had only participated because of her unlimited confidence in Armfelt.
Princess Sophia Albertina intervened and asked the regent to show mercy, and she avoided being charged for abortion, which had been suggested at first.
On September 22, 1794, Magdalena Rudenschöld was convicted and sentenced to death for treason, together with Armfelt, in his absence (being still abroad), and two other co-conspirators, Ehrenström and Aminoff. Her punishment was commuted to public pillorying
Pillory
The pillory was a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, formerly used for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse, sometimes lethal...
, followed by life imprisonment. Chancellor Fredrik Sparre suggested that she be whip
Whip
A whip is a tool traditionally used by humans to exert control over animals or other people, through pain compliance or fear of pain, although in some activities whips can be used without use of pain, such as an additional pressure aid in dressage...
ped, which was initially approved by Reuterholm, but this was met with indignation by the public, which thereafter nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
d him "Whipping chancellor".
Punishment
She was stripped of her last name and her status as a noble, as were Armfelt and all the other accomplices that had been noble. In prison documents she was called "Magdalena, daughter of Carl, former Lady." The following day, Rudenschöld was taken to the gallowsGallows
A gallows is a frame, typically wooden, used for execution by hanging, or by means to torture before execution, as was used when being hanged, drawn and quartered...
on the square, which was described as "a heart-aching spectacle". She was dressed in a grey skirt and a black top and had her hair down. She stood with her head held high and drank two glasses of water. The audience was reported to have felt sorry for her, according to Hedwig Elizabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp, because of, "her youth, her tragic fate and possibly because of the remains of her former beauty". After her reprieve from hanging, a carriage came to take her to jail and she fainted, according to writer Märta Helena Reenstierna
Märta Helena Reenstierna
Märta Helena Reenstierna , also von Schnell, known as Årstafrun , was a Swedish diary writer. Her diaries were written in the period 1793-1839, and are kept at the archives of Nordiska museet in Stockholm. They were published in 1946-1953 as Årstadagboken...
"with the same grace and decorum as Mrs. Olin
Elisabeth Olin
Elisabeth Olin was a Swedish opera singer and a music composer. She is referred to as the first Swedish Opera prima donna. She was a court-singer . She was the first female member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music...
once had in Acus and Galathea" (the opera). Reportedly, people were overheard saying that the regent's lover, Charlotte Slottsberg
Charlotte Slottsberg
Charlotte Slottsberg , was a Swedish ballerina-dancer, one of the first native dancers in the Royal Swedish Ballet at the Royal Swedish Opera and one of the most successful ones...
, should have been standing on the platform instead of Rudenschöld
One of Rudenschöld's own friends, Count A.F. Skjöldenbrand also described the event: "Only a few of the mob began to shout at her, but Silfverhielm (Commander of the Guard) ordered the guards to silence them". She was supposed to have had an iron collar around her neck, but when the executioner held it up, she shivered and shrugged backwards, after which he
"let down his hands, and she stepped forward to the pole without an iron around her neck, where she stood as pale as a dead body for about twenty minutes until her sentence was commuted, after which she fainted and was taken away as if dead".
Rudenschöld wrote about her arrival in the prison workhouse:
"I was placed in a rental carriage surrounded by guards. I remained unconscious all the way to the workhouse, some distance from HornstullHornstullHornstull is an area in western Södermalm, Stockholm. Hornstull is actually the name of where the streets Hornsgatan and Långholmsgatan intersect...
, and did not open my eyes until the afternoon, where I found myself alone lying on the floor in a dark cell with a bowl of water and a glass of wine beside me. I had not eaten that whole day. When I touched the glass I heard the shout 'she is still alive!'. I looked up to the window and saw outside all the workhouse prisoners, watching me. I wanted to rise and remove myself from their sight, but found myself unable to move, and fell back to the floor."
Two-and-a-half years later, in November 1796, Rudenschöld was released from jail under Reuterholm's order; he had wanted to release her before the young King was declared of legal majority later that year and pardoned her himself.
When she left the workhouse, she wrote on the prison wall (in French):
"How happiness arrives slowly!
How happiness moves away with speed!
In the course of my sad youth
If I enjoyed it was only one moment;
I am punished of this moment of intoxication...
The hope which misleads always has its softness
And in our evils often it comforts us;
But far from me the illusion flown away;
And the hope died in my heart,
This heart alas! that sorrow devours,
In the past wants to still resair
its happiness fugitive the dawn
And all them although it today does not have any more anjourd.
But of the present, the too faithful image
Unceasingly sticks to my misleading dreams
And alas! without pity the cruel verity
Come to inform me répendre tears."
She was given back her name and the property, Stenstugu gård on Gotland
Gotland
Gotland is a county, province, municipality and diocese of Sweden; it is Sweden's largest island and the largest island in the Baltic Sea. At 3,140 square kilometers in area, the region makes up less than one percent of Sweden's total land area...
, as compensation for her loss of a pension. For the first year, however, she was not allowed to leave the island.
Later life
On July 5, 1798, Rudenschöld gave birth to a son, Eric Ekmansdorff Karlsson, who later became an officer in FinlandFinland
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...
. His father was Rudenschöld's servant, "a young, strong and beautiful lad", whom she openly lived with. However, the relationship ended unhappily, and he is said to have treated her badly. In 1801, she moved to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and was taken under the protection of Germaine de Stael, at the recommendation of Armfelt, who also arranged for her son to be educated in Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
in Russia and supported her financially. She was often seen in Coppet
Coppet
Coppet is a municipality in the district of Nyon in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.-History:Coppet is first mentioned in 1294 as Copetum. In 1347 it was mentioned as Copet.-Geography:...
, and was described as charming but serious.
In 1812, she returned to Sweden and lived in the household of her brother, Thure Gabriel; acting as governess to his children. Socially, she was described as easy-going but suspicious at this point and unwilling to talk about her past. Eventually, she moved to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, where she died in 1823.