Leonora Christina Ulfeldt

Leonora Christina Ulfeldt, July 8, 1621-March 16, 1698, was the daughter of King Christian IV of Denmark, and one of the most outstanding female historical figures of Danish 17th century. She is known for her autobiography.

She was the daughter of Christian IV and his semi-morganatic wife Kirsten Munk. In spite of her parents’ bitter divorce she kept her position – whether she was his favourite daughter as often claimed is unsure. 1636 she married the later Steward of the Realm Corfitz Ulfeldt and from then she followed him to through thick and thin. She shared his outstanding social position home and abroad. During most of the 1640s she was in many ways the first lady of the Danish court, which had no queen, and she was the centre of admiration and political interest. Her marriage to Ulfeldt seemed to have been a happy one at least compared to the marriages of her sisters.

At the succession of 1648 her position was strongly weakened by the appearance of the new queen Sophie Amalie, who soon became her most bitter enemy. This situation might have been caused both by Leonora’s lack of ability of giving up her first lady position and by some forms of malices to which she exposed the queen. At the fall of Ulfeldt 1651 she followed him to Sweden, and for the next years she shared his exile in Sweden and his anti-Danish excesses. When Ulfeldt was imprisoned in Sweden 1659 she publicly defended him, and she again shared his imprisonment on Bornholm 1660-1661 after their escape to Denmark.

When Ulfeldt was again searched for treason Leonora lived in England from where she was handed over to Denmark 1663 and for the next 22 years she was a state prisoner in Copenhagen Castle's infamous Blue Tower (Danish, Blåtårn). This period has made her famous. She lived under rather humiliating and poor conditions (at least compared to her social position), and was at the start deprived of almost all comfort. During those years she showed a great mental strength and inventiveness, and gradually she received more advantages and became respected by the jailers. Her long imprisonment without any official charges against her is normally regarded as an act of revenge by the Queen, an accusation that still seems rather likely. After Sophie Amalies's death in 1685 she was quickly released. She lived her last years at Maribo Monastery where she was a respected local person of rank.

During her imprisonment and afterwards she wrote the book that made her famous, her autobiography Jammersminde (literally, "A Memory of Lament") about her prison years, a stylistic climax of Danish writing in the 1600s. Detailed and she tells about her humiliations, her crises and religious faith together with many interesting informations about her Robinson Crusoe-like experiences in prison. The book was not published until 1869, and it is still a classic of elder Danish literature. Additionally she has shown her intellectual interests in a French language autobiography about her younger years, and some historical biographical sketches about outstanding women.

Leonora's fate and especially her book made her a national heroine in spite of the background of her imprisonment. Sometimes she has almost appeared a saint and many authors and poets have hailed her as a Danish ideal woman: loyal, mentally strong and never giving up in spite of innocent sufferings. Indeed there is not much doubt that she was been an intelligent, energetic, courageous and enduring woman. Not until late sceptics have stressed other aspects: her arrogance, her reckless support of her husband’s activities and her ability of cutting a good figure in her book.