Axel Gyldenstierne (born c. 1542, died 13 July 1603 at Sandviken,

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

) was a Danish-Norwegian official and Governor-general of Norway from 1588 until 1601.

Northern Seven Years' War

He is first mentioned in the records during the

Northern Seven Years' War The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War,'' the ''Seven Years' War of the North'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), K ...

(1563–1570), when he served at King Frederik II’s court, as well as in field operations. He was a member of the king's retinue at the peace treaty negotiations at

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 53,354 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

and served as the government's messenger to peace mediators in

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

. His records were a significant contribution to the recorded Danish history of this war. The Treaty of Stettin was concluded on 13 December 1570, ending the Northern Seven Years' War between the

Swedish Empire The Swedish Empire or the Great Power era () was the period in Swedish history spanning much of the 17th and early 18th centuries during which Sweden became a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic regi ...

and Denmark-Norway (in alliance with

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

and Poland-Lithuania). The treaty was favorable for Denmark, assuring Danish hegemony in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

for a short period.

Danish National Council

After the war he was awarded feudal lordships in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and

Skåne Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

. From 1579 he served as a judge in

; from 1581, he was a member of the Danish National Council and in 1585 he and Christoffer Valkendorf were responsible for the national government in the king's absence.

Service in Norway

When King Fredrik II died in 1588 Christian IV's regents (Christian IV was inducted as a child king), appointed Gyldenstierne to serve as Governor-general of Norway and feudal overlord of

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

. He worked in close consultation with the regents, traveling annually to

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 ...

to confer with them and participate in Danish meetings. During his time as governor-general he established a ministry of justice, upgraded

Akershus fortress Akershus Fortress (, ) or Akershus Castle ( ) is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. Since the Middle Ages the fortress has been the namesake and centre of the ...

, raised taxes, and limited the ingress of Sweden in the north. While there, Gyldenstierne played a central role at the wedding of

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

and Princess

Anne of Denmark Anne of Denmark (; 12 December 1574 – 2 March 1619) was the wife of King James VI and I. She was List of Scottish royal consorts, Queen of Scotland from their marriage on 20 August 1589 and List of English royal consorts, Queen of Engl ...

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. Anne and James were formally married at the

Old Bishop's Palace in Oslo The Old Bishop's Palace in Oslo (''Oslo Bispeborg'') was the residence of the Roman Catholic bishops of Oslo. The estate is located in what is now called Gamlebyen (old town) in Oslo, Norway. Various remnants of the medieval bishop's original pal ...

on 23 November 1589, "with all the splendour possible at that time and place". So that both bride and groom could understand, Leith minister David Lindsay conducted the ceremony in French, describing Anne as "a Princess both godly and beautiful...she giveth great contentment to his Majesty". On 15 December 1589 James VI decided to reward Steen Brahe and Gyldenstierne for their good service in attending Anne of Denmark and organising the reception and lodging of his retinue with a gift of silver plate. The cupboard of silver had been a gift from Queen Elizabeth.''Calendar State Papers Scotland'', vol. 10 (Edinburgh, 1936), pp. 160-162: Annie I. Cameron, ''Calendar State Papers Scotland: 1593-1595'', vol. 11 (Edinburgh, 1936), p. 130. Gyldenstierne also organized the Norwegian tribute to Christian IV in June 1591. He also played a personal role in encouraging Peder Claussøn Friis, a historian, linguist and scientist, to translate the

Norse saga Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia. The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...

s which tell of the lives of Scandinavian kings from

old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

to Danish-Norwegian. The translations came into the possession of Ole Worm, who first printed them in 1633.

Retirement

Gyldenstierne left on his own initiative in 1601, and received two fiefs in

Blekinge Blekinge () is one of the traditional Swedish provinces (), situated in the southern coast of the geographic region of Götaland, in southern Sweden. It borders Småland, Scania and the Baltic Sea. It is the country's second-smallest provin ...

. He participated in a trip to Russia, 1602–03, as an escort for the Danish king's brother, Prince Hans, who was to marry Tsar

Boris Godunov Boris Feodorovich Godunov (; ; ) was the ''de facto'' regent of Russia from 1585 to 1598 and then tsar from 1598 to 1605 following the death of Feodor I, the last of the Rurik dynasty. After the end of Feodor's reign, Russia descended into t ...

's daughter Ksenia (Xenia), but fell ill and died before the marriage could take place. He died during the journey back home.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gyldenstjerne, Axel 1540s births 1603 deaths 16th-century Danish nobility Governors-general of Norway 16th-century Norwegian nobility Gyldenstierne family People from Denmark–Norway