''Jammers Minde'' (literally ''A Memory of Lament''), translated into English as ''Memoirs of Leonora Christina'', is an autobiography completed in 1674 by Leonora Christina, daughter of

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and King of Norway, Norway and List of rulers of Schleswig-Holstein, Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days is th ...

and

Kirsten Munk Kirsten Munk (sometimes "Christina Munk"; 6 July 1598 19 April 1658) was a Danish noblewoman, who became the second spouse of King Christian IV of Denmark, and the mother of twelve of his children. Early life and morganatic marriage Kirsten Mu ...

. The work, first published in 1869, is included in the

Danish Culture Canon The Danish Culture Canon () consists of 108 works of cultural excellence in eight categories: architecture, visual arts, design, design and crafts, film, literature, music, performing arts, and children's culture. An initiative of Brian Mikkelsen i ...

. It is considered to be the finest piece of prose work written in 17th-century Denmark. It relates a partly fictionalized account of Christina's time during captivity, with a detailed personal account of prison life, often drawing upon biblical references and

black humour Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

, and contrasting the comical with the

macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...

. Radical for its period in its personal account, it is considered an existential religious writing.

Background

Married to

Corfitz Ulfeldt Count Corfits Ulfeldt (10 July 1606 – 20 February 1664) was a Danish statesman known for his collaboration with Sweden during and after the 1657-1658 Dano-Swedish War, for which he is considered one of the most notorious traitors in Danish ...

, Leonora Christina was imprisoned from 1663 to 1685 in the Blue Tower of

Copenhagen Castle Copenhagen Castle () was a castle on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built in the late 14th century and was located at the site of the current Christiansborg Palace. History In 1167, Bishop Absalon (c. 112 ...

for presumed knowledge of her husband's treachery. When

Christian V Christian V (15 April 1646 – 25 August 1699) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. Well-regarded by the common people, he was the first king anointed at Frederiksborg Castle chapel as absolute monarch since the de ...

came to the throne in 1670, the conditions of her imprisonment were improved and she was given books and writing materials."Jammers Minde"
''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 17 January 2013. After writing a short autobiography in French in 1673, she embarked on ''Jammers Minde'' which she completed after her release from prison in 1685. As the manuscript was secretly held abroad for many years, the work remained unknown until it was finally published in 1869, attracting considerable attention.

The work

Considered to be Denmark's most important 17th-century prose work, ''Jammers Minde'' is a defensive, intimate and dramatic account, which brings back to life the painful years of Leonora's imprisonment. It was written with a political and tactical purpose and is considered an existential religious writing, radical for its time in its reporting of personal confession and crisis. Leonora knew that the work would be more successful if it came across as an authentic account of her time within the prison walls so it displays many of her real experiences, but which are dramatized and fictionalized, and vividly and fully so. ''Jammers Minde'' conveys the woman's conscious will to describe her experience without succumbing to her fate. It contains a host of vivid details: sights, smells and sounds, often conveyed with loathing — but also frequently juxtaposed with a grotesque twist of humour which only serves to make it all the more moving. Leonora's ability to describe the appearance and behaviour of those she was forced to come into contact with has left a picture of a series of insignificant figures, mainly women, who would otherwise have been forgotten. One of the reasons the work has become a literary masterpiece is that the author manages to couch her account in a fine, dignified style, giving elegance and shine to even the most lurid details."Jammers minde"
, ''Kulturkanonen''. Danish Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 17 January 2013. According to her account, her female attendants appeared to suffer more than she did; they felt the effects of anxiety, fever and alcoholism, while she remained in good health during her time in captivity, apart from a single case of

gallstone A gallstone is a stone formed within the gallbladder from precipitated bile components. The term cholelithiasis may refer to the presence of gallstones or to any disease caused by gallstones, and choledocholithiasis refers to the presence of ...

s. Leonora frequently draws upon biblical stories and characters and God in her depiction of prison life, recreating the prison in part as a scene in the Bible and her jailors and enemies into characters in her Christian Passion. Sophie Amalie for instance is portrayed as

Salome Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...

, stepdaughter of

Herod Antipas Herod Antipas (, ''Hērṓidēs Antípas''; ) was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea. He bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both "Herod the Tetrarch" and "King Herod" in the New Testament. He was a s ...

, who called for

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

to be beheaded. Languages also play an important and complex role in ''Jammers Minde''. It is mainly written in Danish, and Leonora translates much of the Low German, High German and French dialogue into Danish, but later on in the story adds more depth to her characters by writing in the original language, and demonstrates her superior knowledge of languages by often replying in a language they cannot understand. Leonora's allies are usually French-speaking, sending her letters or conversing intimately with her. Anne-Marie Mai highlights the psychological meaning of the autobiography and how the account can be viewed as a "monument for her spiritual and moral triumph over her adversaries, the evil agents of power, the flesh ungodly."

References

External links

*The full autobiography in English is available free of charge as a Gutenberg ebook
Gutenberg eBook, Memoirs of Leonora Christina, by Leonora Christina Ulfeldt, Translated by F. E. Bunnètt
*A Gutenberg eBook version of the original Danish text is also available

{{Italic title 1674 in Denmark 1674 non-fiction books 1869 non-fiction books 17th-century manuscripts Danish memoirs Books published posthumously Danish Culture Canon Autobiographies Black comedy books Cultural depictions of Salome

Background

The work

References

Further reading

External links