Baron Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm (4 March 1574 – 17 March 1650) was a

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 ...

soldier and politician. He was made a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

(''friherre'') in 1615, appointed

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

in 1616, Privy Councilor in 1617,

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Ingria Ingria (; ; ; ) is a historical region including, and adjacent to, what is now the city of Saint Petersburg in northwestern Russia. The region lies along the southeastern shore of the Gulf of Finland, bordered by Lake Ladoga on the Karelian ...

in 1617 and served as Lord High Admiral from 1620 until his death.

Biography

He was an illegitimate son of Duke Carl, later King

Charles IX of Sweden Charles IX, also Carl (; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I () and of his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King Eric XIV and of ...

, and Karin Nilsdotter, the daughter of a clergyman from

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

. He was raised at the royal estate of

Julita Abbey Julita Abbey (''Julita kloster'') was a monastery of the Cistercian monks in the parish of Julita, Sweden, Julita in Oppunda Hundred, Södermanland, Sweden. History The monastery was founded in 1160 at Viby, close to Sigtuna, but under the patr ...

(''Julita gård'') in

Södermanland Södermanland ( ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latinisation of names, Latinized form Sudermannia or Sudermania, is a Provinces of Sweden, historical province (or ) on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Österg� ...

. He was thus the older half-brother of King

Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus (9 December ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 19 December15946 November ld Style and New Style dates, N.S 16 November1632), also known in English as Gustav II Adolf or Gustav II Adolph, was King of Sweden from 1611 t ...

. It was the tradition in Sweden in this period that noble children born out of wedlock were acknowledged by their fathers, as long as they were not the product of adultery. Carl Carlsson was ennobled in 1592 with the surname Gyllenhielm and entered the service of the crown as a soldier. He served with the navy in the 1590s before moving to the army during the Swedish-Polish War (1600-11). He was captured by the enemy in Poland in 1601 and remained a prisoner of war for twelve years. After attempting to escape, he was forced to wear leg irons for the last six and a half years of his captivity. He was freed in 1613, and shortly after raised to the rank of baron and field marshal by his half-brother, the king. On 27 February 1617 the

Treaty of Stolbovo The Treaty of Stolbovo (; ) was a peace treaty that ended the Ingrian War (), which had been fought between the Swedish Empire and the Russian Tsardom between 1610 and 1617. History After nearly two months of negotiations, representatives from ...

ended the

Ingrian War The Ingrian War () was a conflict fought between the Swedish Empire and the Tsardom of Russia which lasted between 1610 and 1617. It can be seen as part of Russia's Time of Troubles, and is mainly remembered for the attempt to put a Swedish duk ...

(1610–1617), fought 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 Russia. From 1617, Gyllenhielm was the governor general of the province of Ingria, until he returned to Sweden in 1620 to become Lord High Admiral. Admirals in this period were expected to lead the navy at sea as well as administrate, but Gyllenhielm did not often take command himself. He delegated much of the day-to-day business of the navy to Clas Fleming, and focused his naval efforts on overseeing the navy's finances. In September 1628, he served as the chairman of the tribunal convened to investigate the loss of the new warship '' Vasa''. After the death of Gustavus Adolphus in Germany during 1632, Gyllenhielm was responsible for returning his half-brother's body to Sweden. In the following year, he was appointed to the

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

government which ruled in the name of Queen

Christina of Sweden Christina (; 18 December ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. 8 December1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. Her conversion to Catholicism and ...

during her minority, until 1644. He built

Karlberg Palace Karlberg Palace () is a palace by the Karlberg Canal in Solna Municipality in Sweden, adjacent to Stockholm's Vasastaden district. The palace, built in 1630,Solna: Huvudsta today houses the Military Academy Karlberg. In the palace park are fou ...

to the northwest of Stockholm and spent his last years there. He died at Karlberg in 1650, and was buried at

Strängnäs Cathedral Strängnäs Cathedral () is a Lutheran cathedral church in Strängnäs, Sweden, since the Protestant Reformation the seat of the Church of Sweden Diocese of Strängnäs. Architecture Construction of the cathedral began in about 1260 with inaug ...

. Karlberg was eventually taken over as an administrative headquarters for the Swedish military, but several of the central reception rooms are preserved as they were in Gyllenhielm's lifetime.

References

Other sources

*Glete, Jan (2010) ''Swedish Naval Administration: Resource flows and organizational capacity '' (Leiden: Brill) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gyllenhielm, Carl 1574 births 1650 deaths Illegitimate children of Swedish monarchs Ingria 17th-century Swedish politicians Field marshals of Sweden Swedish admirals Governors-general of Sweden 16th-century Swedish nobility Members of the Privy Council of Sweden 17th-century Swedish nobility Sons of kings People from Katrineholm Municipality