Brita Persdotter Karth is a fictional person in

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

history. She was earlier believed to have been the

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...

or perhaps even wife of the exiled

prince Gustav of Sweden A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

, son of king

Eric XIV Erik XIV or Eric XIV (13 December 153326 February 1577) became King of Sweden following the death of his father, Gustav I, on 29 September 1560. During a 1568 rebellion against him, Erik was incarcerated by his half-brother John III. He ...

, and her eldest son Lars was believed to have been the forefather of the

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

Swedish families of Eldstierna and Stierneld.

The story behind the legend

The history about Brita Karth and her alleged children with prince Gustav was the product of baron

Adolf Ludvig Stierneld Adolf Ludvig Stierneld, Baron Stierneld (1 September 1755 – 31 July 1835) was a Swedish nobleman, courtier and collector of historical documents. Recent historical research has revealed him to be one of best and most prolific document forgers ...

(1755-1835), courtier and a well-known collector of historical documents, whom historians have later found also to be a ruthless forger of such documents. Wishing to claim a royal ancestry for his own family Stierneld reported having found handwritten notes by Brita Karth herself regarding her relation and family with Gustav in an old pious book that was to have been given to her by Gustav's mother,

Karin Månsdotter Karin Månsdotter (in English Catherine; 6 November 1550 – 13 September 1612) was first the Mistress (lover), mistress and then the queen consort of King Erik XIV of Sweden. Early life Karin was born in Stockholm to a soldier and later pri ...

. Although Stierneld's claims were at the time accepted by the

Swedish House of Nobility The House of Nobility () in Stockholm, Sweden, is a corporation and a building that maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the Swedish nobility. Name The name is literally translated as ''House of Knights'', as the knigh ...

they were also soon refuted by historians and genealogists, beginning with an essay by A.T.G. Oxenstierna in 1869 and later by noted archivist and genealogist

Victor Örnberg The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

(1839-1908) in ''Svenska ättartal''. Today Brita Karth and her children are regarded as completely fictional.

Brita Karth according to the legend

Brita Karth was said to have been born about 1568 in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

as the daughter of a Swedish warrior named Peder Karth and to have died somewhere after 1594. She is said to have married prince Gustav in Kashin in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in 1594 after already having delivered four children of his: Lars (or Laurentius) (1586-1660), Eric (1588-?), Carl Gustav (1590-?) and Catherine Sigrid (1592-?).

References

Gustaf Elgenstierna Gustaf Magnus Elgenstierna (26 August 1871 – 21 March 1948) was a Swedish historian and genealogist. Biography He was born on 26 August 1871 to Carl Elgenstierna and Evelina Petersohn. He married Clara Sandberg in 1908. She was the daughter ...

: ''Svenska adelns ättartavlor'', vol. II (Stockholm 1926; facsimile edition 1998) * Bengt Hildebrand: entry on the family of "Eldstierna" in '' Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'', vol. XIII (Stockholm 1950) *

Ulf Sundberg Ulf Eskil Erik Sundberg (born 29 September 1956) is a Swedes, Swedish economist, historian and author of books and magazine articles. Sundberg was born in Stockholm, graduated ''Studentexamen'' from Whitlockska samskolan, Whitlockska in 1976, an ...

: ''Kungliga släktband'' (Lund 2004).

External links

The fictional story of Brita Karth as related by Wilhelmina Stålberg & P. G. Berg in ''Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor'' (Stockholm 1864)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Persdotter Karth, Brita Fictional Swedish people