Editing Christina, Queen of Sweden (section)

==Reign==
[[File:Queenchristine.jpg|thumb|The 14-year-old Christina as queen, painting by [[Jacob Heinrich Elbfas]]]]

In 1644, at the age of 18, Christina was declared an adult, although the coronation was postponed because of the [[Torstenson War]]. <!--In December 1643, Swedish troops had overrun [[Holstein]] and [[Jutland]] in the [[Torstenson War]]. The Swedes achieved much from their surprise attack. Her first major assignment was to conclude peace with that country.{{Citation needed|From Carolyn Meyer or is there a more reliable source?|date=March 2017}} and at--> She was visited by a group of Dutch diplomats, including [[Johan de Witt]],  to find a solution for the [[Sound Dues]].<ref>[https://www.vriendenvandewitt.nl/assets/files/johan-in-zweden181123-2-2.pdf Johan de Witt in Zweden ]</ref> In the [[Second Treaty of Brömsebro (1645)|Treaty of Brömsebro]], signed at a creek in [[Blekinge]], Denmark added the isles of [[Gotland]] and [[Saaremaa|Ösel]] to Christina's domain while Norway lost the districts of [[Jämtland]] and [[Härjedalen]]<!-- and the parishes [[Idre]] and [[Särna]]--> to her. Under Christina's rule, Sweden, virtually controlling the [[Baltic Sea]], had unrestricted access to the North Sea and was no longer encircled by [[Denmark–Norway]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Antique map of Scandinavia by Blaeu W. & J.|url = https://www.sanderusmaps.com/en/our-catalogue/detail/163777/antique-map-of-scandinavia-by-blaeu-w--j/|website = www.sanderusmaps.com|access-date = 2015-12-07|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305012133/https://www.sanderusmaps.com/en/our-catalogue/detail/163777/antique-map-of-scandinavia-by-blaeu-w--j/|archive-date = 2016-03-05|url-status = dead}}</ref><!--[[File:Alexander Cooper - Miniature portrait of Charles X, King of Sweden 1655-1660 - Google Art Project (392624).jpg|thumb|180px|Christina's cousin and designated heir, Count Palatine Charles Gustav]]-->

Chancellor Oxenstierna soon discovered that her political views differed from his own. In 1645, he sent his son, [[Johan Oxenstierna]], to the Peace Congress in the [[Westphalia]]n city of [[Osnabrück]], to argue against peace with the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Christina, however, wanted peace at any cost and sent her own delegate, [[Johan Adler Salvius]].

The [[Peace of Westphalia]] was signed in October 1648, effectively ending the [[European wars of religion]]. Sweden received an indemnity of five million [[thaler]]s, used primarily to pay its troops. Sweden further received [[Western Pomerania]] (henceforth [[Swedish Pomerania]]), [[Wismar]], the [[Archbishopric of Bremen]], and the [[Prince-Bishopric of Verden|Bishopric of Verden]] as hereditary fiefs, thus gaining a seat and vote in the [[Diet of the Holy Roman Empire]] and in the respective diets (''[[Kreistag]]e'') of three [[Imperial Circles]]: the [[Upper Saxon Circle]], [[Lower Saxon Circle]], and [[Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle]]; the city of Bremen was disputed.<ref>Böhme, Klaus-R (2001). ''"Die sicherheitspolitische Lage Schwedens nach dem Westfälischen Frieden."'' In Hacker, Hans-Joachim. ''Der Westfälische Frieden von 1648: Wende in der Geschichte des Ostseeraums'' (in German). Kovač. p. 35. {{ISBN|3-8300-0500-8}}.</ref>

[[File:Erfurt (German States) 1645 10 Ducat (Portugaloser).jpg|thumb|left|Christina on a 1645 10 ducat coin from [[Erfurt]], which then was occupied by Swedish forces.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tXSrLbIEDBMC |pages=490–491 |title= Standard Catalog of World Gold Coins 1601–Present |edition=6 |publisher=Krause |isbn=978-1-4402-0424-1 |editor-last=Cuhaj |editor-first=George S.|year=2009a}}</ref>{{efn|There are seven gold coins known to exist bearing the effigy of Queen Christina: a unique 1649 five ducat,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Friedberg |first1=Arthur |last2=Friedberg |first2=Ira |year=2009 |title=Gold Coins of the World: From Ancient Times to the Present |pages=688–89|publisher= The Coin & Currency Institute |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TlnoMdZu40UC |edition=8 |isbn=978-0-87184-308-1}}</ref> and six 1645 10 ducat specimen.<ref>{{Citation | title = Kunker Rarities Auction| url = http://news.coinupdate.com/kunker-auctions-preview-1573| access-date = 1 March 2015}}</ref>}}]]

Shortly before the conclusion of the peace settlement, she admitted [[Johan Adler Salvius|Salvius]] into the council, against Oxenstierna's wishes. Salvius was no aristocrat, but Christina wanted the opposition to the aristocracy present. In 1649, with the help of her uncle, [[John Casimir, Count Palatine of Kleeburg|John Casimir]], Christina tried to reduce the influence of Oxenstierna when she declared her cousin [[Charles X Gustav of Sweden|Charles Gustav]] as her heir presumptive. The following year, Christina resisted demands from the other estates (clergy, burghers, and peasants) in the [[Riksdag of the Estates]] for the reduction of the number of noble landholdings that were tax-exempt. She never implemented such a policy.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nNYcBQAAQBAJ&q=christina+Sweden+Riksdag+1650&pg=PA71|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130144603/https://books.google.com/books?id=nNYcBQAAQBAJ&q=christina+Sweden+Riksdag+1650&pg=PA71|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 30, 2021|title=Sweden in the Seventeenth Century|first=Paul Douglas|last=Lockhart|date=13 February 2004|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|access-date=10 July 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9780230802551}}</ref> In 1649, Louis de Geer founded the [[Swedish Africa Company]] and in 1650, Christina hired [[Hendrik Carloff]] to improve trade on the [[Swedish Gold Coast|Gold Coast]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://scholarlypublications.universiteitleiden.nl/access/item%3A2975217/view| title = Wirta, K.H.(2018) Dark horses of business : overseas entrepreneurship in seventeenth-century Nordic trade in the Indian and Atlantic oceans, p. 134-135}}</ref>  Her reign also saw the founding of the colony of [[New Sweden]] in 1638; it lasted until 1655.

===Patronage of the arts===
{{anchor|Descartes|Visits|Scholars|Music}}
[[File:Dispute of Queen Cristina Vasa and Rene Descartes.png|thumb|Queen Christina (at the table on the right) in discussion with French philosopher [[René Descartes]]. (Romanticized painting by [[Nils Forsberg]] (1842–1934), after [[Pierre Louis Dumesnil]]]]

Christina has been described as the <!--Pallas or -->"[[Minerva]] of the North" due to her strong support of arts and academics.<ref>Stephan, Ruth: [https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christina-queen-of-Sweden Christina, Queen of Sweden]. Britannica. Accessed December 10, 2018.</ref> In 1645, Christina invited [[Hugo Grotius]], the author of ''[[Mare Liberum]]'', to become her librarian, but he died on his way in [[Rostock]]. That same year she founded ''[[Ordinari Post Tijdender]]'' ("Regular Mail Times"), the oldest currently published newspaper in the world. In 1647, [[Johann Freinsheim]] was appointed as her librarian.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> During the Thirty Years' War, Swedish troops looted books from conquered territories and dispatched them to Sweden to win favour with Christina.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Peter H. |title=The Thirty Years War: Europe's Tragedy |publisher= |year=2009 |isbn= |edition= |location= |pages=636, 745}}</ref> After the [[Battle of Prague (1648)]], when her armies looted [[Prague Castle]], many of the treasures collected by [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor|Rudolph II]] were brought back to Stockholm. Thus, Christina acquired a number of valuable illustrated works and rare manuscripts for her library. The inventory drawn up at the time mentions 100 ''an allerhand Kunstbüchern'' ("a hundred art books of different kinds"), among them two world-famous manuscripts: the {{lang|la|[[Codex Argenteus]]}} and the {{lang|la|[[Codex Gigas]]}}.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.kb.se/codex-gigas/eng/ |title=Codex Gigas – Kungliga biblioteket |publisher=National Library of Sweden |date=2007-05-30 |access-date=2012-03-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012230510/http://www.kb.se/codex-gigas/eng/ |archive-date=2007-10-12 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.kb.se/codex-gigas/eng/Long/handskriftens/war-booty/#Looting%20in%20Prague|title=War booty – Kungliga biblioteket|last=Andersson|first=Åsa|website=www.kb.se|language=EN|access-date=2017-07-16}}</ref>

In 1649, 760 paintings, 170 marble and 100 bronze statues, 33,000 coins and medallions, 600 pieces of crystal, 300 scientific instruments, manuscripts, and books (including the {{lang|la|Sanctae Crucis laudibus}} by [[Rabanus Maurus]]) were transported to Stockholm. The art, from [[Prague Castle]], had belonged to [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor]] and had been captured by [[Hans Christoff von Königsmarck]] during the [[Battle of Prague (1648)|Battle of Prague]] and the negotiations of the [[Peace of Westphalia]].<ref>Trevor-Roper, H. (1970) ''Plunder of the arts in the XVIIth century''</ref> By 1649–1650, "her desire to collect men of learning round her, as well as books and rare manuscripts, became almost a mania", Goldsmith wrote.<ref>{{cite book|last=Goldsmith |first=Margaret |date=1935 |title=Christina of Sweden: a psychological biography |location=Garden City, NY |publisher=Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc.}}</ref> To catalog her new collection she asked [[Isaac Vossius]] to come to Sweden and [[Nikolaes Heinsius the Elder|Heinsius]] to purchase more books on the market.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://emlo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/blog/?catalogue=isaac-vossius|title=The Correspondence of Isaac Vossius (currently 1,702 letters) – EMLO|website=emlo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk}}</ref>

Her <!--political--> ambitions naturally demanded a wide-ranging correspondence. Not infrequently, she sat and wrote far into the night while the servants came and went with new wax candles. The "[[Semiramis]] from the North" corresponded with [[Pierre Gassendi]], her favorite author. [[Blaise Pascal]] offered her a copy of his [[pascaline]]. She had a firm grasp of [[classical history]] and philosophy.<ref name="waithe">Waithe, Mary Ellen (1991) [https://books.google.com/books?id=YonSdfDG7aYC ''Modern women philosophers, 1600–1900''] (Springer)</ref> Christina studied [[Neostoicism]], the [[Church Fathers]], and [[Islam]]; she systematically looked for a copy of the ''[[Treatise of the Three Impostors]]'', a work bestowing doubt on all organized religion.<ref>Peter Englund: ''Sølvmasken'' (p. 27)</ref> In 1651, the [[kabbalist]] [[Menasseh ben Israel]] offered to become her agent or librarian for Hebrew books and manuscripts; they discussed his messianic ideas as he had recently spelled them out in his latest book, ''Hope of Israel''. Other illustrious scholars who came to visit were [[Claude Saumaise]], [[Johannes Schefferus]], [[Olaus Rudbeck]], [[Johann Heinrich Boeckler]], [[Gabriel Naudé]], [[Christian Ravis]], [[Nicolaas Heinsius]] and [[Samuel Bochart]], together with [[Pierre Daniel Huet]] and [[Marcus Meibomius]], who wrote a book about [[Greek dance]].

Christina was interested in theatre, especially the plays of [[Pierre Corneille]]; she was herself an amateur actress.<ref name="ReferenceA">Leif Jonsson, Ann-Marie Nilsson & Greger Andersson: Musiken i Sverige. Från forntiden till stormaktstidens slut 1720 (English: "Music in Sweden. From Antiquity to the end of the Great power era 1720") {{in lang|sv}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">Lars Löfgren: ''Svensk teater'' (English: "Swedish Theatre") {{in lang|sv}}</ref> From 1638 Oxenstierna employed a French ballet troupe under [[Antoine de Beaulieu]], who also had to teach Christina to move around more elegantly.<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref name="ReferenceB" /> In 1647, the Italian architect Antonio Brunati was ordered to build a theatrical setting in one of the larger rooms of the palace.<ref>Marker, Frederick J. & Marker, Lise-Lone (1996) [https://books.google.com/books?id=TSlvmgqtlCwC ''A History of Scandinavian Theatre''] ([[Cambridge University Press]])</ref> In 1648, she commissioned 35 paintings from [[Jacob Jordaens]] for a ceiling in [[Uppsala Castle]]. The court poet [[Georg Stiernhielm]] wrote several plays in the Swedish language, such as ''Den fångne Cupido eller Laviancu de Diane'', performed with Christina taking the main part of the goddess [[Diana (goddess)|Diana]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ReferenceB"/> She invited foreign companies to play at [[Bollhuset]]. An [[Italian opera]] troupe visited in 1652 with [[Vincenzo Albrici]] and [[Angelo Michele Bartolotti]], a guitarist. A Dutch theater troupe with [[Ariana Nozeman]] and [[Susanna van Lee]] visited her in 1653.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ReferenceB"/> Among the French artists she employed was [[Anne Chabanceau de La Barre]], who was made court singer.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

===Descartes===
In 1646, Christina's good friend, the French ambassador [[Pierre Chanut]], met and corresponded with the philosopher [[René Descartes]], asking him for a copy of his ''[[Meditations on First Philosophy|Meditations]]''. Upon showing the queen some of the letters, Christina became interested in beginning a correspondence with Descartes. She invited him to Sweden, but Descartes was reluctant until she asked him to organize a scientific academy. Christina sent a ship to pick up the philosopher and 2,000 books.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRvIQkLFD60C&pg=PA273|title=Cogito, Ergo Sum: The Life of René Descartes|first=Richard|last=Watson|date=10 July 2017|publisher=David R. Godine Publisher|access-date=10 July 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9781567923353}}</ref> Descartes arrived on 4&nbsp;October 1649. He resided with Chanut and finished his ''[[Passions of the Soul]]''. It is highly unlikely Descartes wrote a "Ballet de la Naissance de la Paix," performed on her birthday.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://andrefabre.e-monsite.com/pages/histoire-de-la-medecine/descartes-in-sweden.html|title=René Descartes in Sweden|access-date=2014-12-21|archive-date=2014-11-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105143616/http://andrefabre.e-monsite.com/pages/histoire-de-la-medecine/descartes-in-sweden.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> On the day after, 19&nbsp;December 1649, he probably started his private lessons for the queen. With Christina's strict schedule, he was invited to the cold and draughty castle at 5:00 am daily to discuss philosophy and religion. Soon, it became clear they did not like each other; she disapproved of his mechanical view, and he did not appreciate her interest in [[Ancient Greek]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780385517539|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780385517539/page/30 30]|title=Descartes' Bones|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|isbn=9780385528375|last1=Shorto|first1=Russell|date=2008-10-14}}</ref> On 15 January Descartes wrote he had seen Christina only four or five times.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IRvIQkLFD60C&pg=PA294|title=Cogito, Ergo Sum|isbn=9781567923353|last1=Watson|first1=Richard|year=2007|publisher=David R. Godine Publisher }}</ref> <!--Christina went for three weeks to [[Uppsala]]; Descartes was disappointed.--> On 1&nbsp;February 1650, Descartes caught a cold. He died ten days later, early in the morning of 11 February 1650, and according to Chanut, the cause of his death was [[pneumonia]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://rue89.nouvelobs.com/2010/02/12/il-y-a-des-preuves-que-rene-descartes-a-ete-assassine-138138%C2%AB| title = Il y a des preuves que René Descartes a été assassiné »| access-date = 2014-12-21| archive-date = 2016-11-27| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161127073358/http://rue89.nouvelobs.com/2010/02/12/il-y-a-des-preuves-que-rene-descartes-a-ete-assassine-138138%C2%AB| url-status = dead}}</ref>{{efn|Over time there have  been speculations regarding the death of the philosopher.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/historychristin00lacogoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/historychristin00lacogoog/page/n107 96]|title=The History of Christina|publisher=G. Kearsly|last1=Lacombe|first1=Jacques|author-link=Jacques Lacombe (writer)|year=1766}}</ref> Theodor Ebert claimed that Descartes did not meet his end by being exposed to the harsh Swedish winter climate, as philosophers have been fond of repeating, but by [[arsenic poisoning]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stockholmnews.com/more.aspx?NID=4867|title=Was Descartes murdered in Stockholm?|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215213819/http://www.stockholmnews.com/more.aspx?NID=4867|archive-date=2014-12-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://philosophyonthemesa.com/tag/theodor-ebert/|title=Theodor Ebert – Philosophy On The Mesa|access-date=2014-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141215233640/http://philosophyonthemesa.com/tag/theodor-ebert/|archive-date=2014-12-15|url-status=usurped}}</ref> It has been suggested Descartes was an obstacle to Christina's becoming a true Catholic.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WzYqyFuvwEYC&q=Jacques+Viogu%C3%A9&pg=PA157|title=Nothing Matters: a book about nothing|first=Ronald|last=Green|date=26 August 2011|publisher=John Hunt Publishing|access-date=10 July 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9781780990163}}</ref>}}

===Marriage issue===

[[File:David Beck - Christina, Queen of Sweden 1644-1654 - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|Christina by [[David Beck]]]]

By the age of nine, Christina was already impressed by the Catholic religion and the merits of [[celibacy]].<ref name="auto">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SJxEw4nVDXQC&pg=PA565|title=Rome and the Counter-Reformation in Scandinavia: The Age of Gustavus Adolphus and Queen Christina of Sweden, 1622-1656|first=Oskar|last=Garstein|date=10 July 1992|publisher=BRILL|access-date=10 July 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9004093958}}</ref> She read a biography of the virgin queen [[Elizabeth I of England]] with interest. But Christina understood that she was expected to provide an heir to the Swedish throne. Her first cousin Charles was infatuated with her, and they became secretly engaged before he left in 1642 to serve in the Swedish army in Germany for three years. Christina revealed in her autobiography that she felt "an insurmountable distaste for marriage" and "for all the things that females talked about and did." She once stated, "It takes more courage to marry than to go to war."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Birch |first=Una |title=Maxims of a Queen |year=1907 |pages=33}}</ref> As she was chiefly occupied with her studies, she slept three to four hours a night, forgot to comb her hair, donned her clothes in a hurry and wore men's shoes for the sake of convenience. (In fact, her permanent bed-head became her trademark look in paintings.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.factinate.com/people/facts-christina-queen-sweden/ | title=Disobedient Facts About Christina of Sweden, the Troublemaker Queen | date=5 April 2019 }}</ref>) When Christina left Sweden, she continued to write passionate letters to her intimate friend Ebba Sparre, in which she told her that she would always love her. However, such emotional letters were relatively common at that time, and Christina would use the same style when writing to women she had never met but whose writings she admired.<ref name="crompton"/> <!--It has also been pointed out, however, that Christina used the same emotional style when writing to men and women she had never met (those whose writings she admired), and there is conjecture as to the context of her letters to Sparre.<ref name="Elisabeth Aasen: Barokke damer">Elisabeth Aasen: ''Barokke damer''</ref>-->

===Coronation===
Christina's coronation took place on 22 October 1650. Christina went to the [[Ulriksdal Palace|castle of Jacobsdal]], where she boarded a coronation carriage draped in black [[velvet]] embroidered in gold and pulled by three white horses. The procession to [[Storkyrkan]] was so long that when the first carriages arrived, the last ones had not yet left Jacobsdal (a distance of roughly 10.5&nbsp;km or 6.5 miles). All four estates were invited to dine at the castle. Fountains at the marketplace splashed out wine for three days, a whole roast ox was served, and illuminations sparkled, followed by a themed parade (''The Illustrious Splendors of Felicity'') on 24 October.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6354&context=etd|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418171209/http://ir.uiowa.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6354&context=etd|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 18, 2016|title=Expressions of power: Queen Christina of Sweden and patronage in Baroque Europe by Nathan A. Popp, University of Iowa|access-date=10 July 2017}}</ref>

=== Religion and health ===
[[File:Cristina de Suecia a caballo (Bourdon).jpg|thumb|''Christina of Sweden'', by [[Sébastien Bourdon]] (1653). [[Prado Museum|Museo del Prado]]<ref>{{cite journal |title=Sébastien Bourdon's equestrian portrait of queen Christina of Sweden—Addressed to "his Catholic Majesty" Philip IV |date=2008-09-01 |doi=10.1080/00233608908604229 |volume=58 |issue=3 |journal=Konsthistorisk Tidskrift |pages=95–108|last1 = Danielsson|first1 = Arne}}</ref><ref>Arne Danielsson (1989) Sébastien Bourdon's equestrian portrait of Queen Christina of Sweden –addressed to― His Catholic Majesty Philip IV. Konsthistorisk tidskrift, Vol. 58, no. 3, p. 95.</ref><ref name="Popp 2010"/>]]

Her tutor, Johannes Matthiae, influenced by [[John Dury]] and [[John Amos Comenius|Comenius]], who since 1638 had been working on a new Swedish school system, represented a gentler attitude than most Lutherans. In 1644, he suggested a new church order, but it was voted down as this was interpreted as [[Crypto-Calvinism]]. Queen Christina defended him against the advice of Chancellor Oxenstierna, but three years later, the proposal had to be withdrawn. In 1647, the clergy wanted to introduce the [[Book of Concord]] ({{langx|sv|Konkordieboken}})&nbsp;– a book defining correct Lutheranism versus heresy, making some aspects of free theological thinking impossible. Matthiae was strongly opposed to this and was again backed by Christina. The Book of Concord was not introduced.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wlsessays.net/bitstream/handle/123456789/1390/ErlandssonFormula.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|title=The Formula of Concord in the History of Swedish Lutheranism, p. 6 By Docent Seth Erlandsson, Uppsala|access-date=10 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422042629/http://www.wlsessays.net/bitstream/handle/123456789/1390/ErlandssonFormula.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|archive-date=22 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 1651, after reigning for almost twenty years, working at least ten hours a day, Christina had a [[nervous breakdown]] or [[burn out|burnout]]. For an hour, she seemed to be dead. She suffered from [[Hypertension|high blood pressure]] and complained about bad eyesight and her crooked back. She had already seen many court physicians.{{efn|[[Petrus Kirstenius]] was invited to become her personal physician in 1636.  [[Grégoire François Du Rietz]] became the physician in 1642. Around 1645 she appointed [[De Castro family (Sephardi Jewish)#Benedict (Baruch) Nehamias de Castro|Benedict (Baruch) Nehamias de Castro]] from Hamburg. Johan van Wullen was her physician since 1649. [[Hermann Conring]] was invited in 1650, but he seems to have rejected the offer. At some time, Sven Broms and [[Andreas Sparman]] were appointed.  Du Rietz was called when she suddenly collapsed in 1651.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uYyS-aPo9BYC&pg=PA165|title=Pierre Chanut, ami de Descartes: un diplomate philosophe|first=Jean-François de|last=Raymond|date=10 July 1999|publisher=Editions Beauchesne|access-date=10 July 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9782701013831}}</ref> In 1652 it was [[Pierre Bourdelot]]. Otto Sperling met Christina in Sweden in the winter of 1653. In July 1654, the English physician [[Daniel Whistler]] returned to London. In Rome, [[Giuseppe Francesco Borri]] came to see her in 1655, and after 1678 when he was released from prison. [[Romolo Spezioli]] was appointed after 1675.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biusante.parisdescartes.fr/ishm/vesalius/VESx2004x10x02x061x066.pdf|title=The physician Romolo Spezioli (1642 -1723) and his private library in the Public Library of Fermo|access-date=10 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304205228/http://www.biusante.parisdescartes.fr/ishm/vesalius/VESx2004x10x02x061x066.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/1243901|title=Romolo Spezioli, medico di Cristina di Svezia |journal=Letters from Queen Christina's Court. Italians Meet the North Europes |first=Vera Nigrisoli|last=Wärnhjelm|access-date=10 July 2017}}</ref> [[Nikolaes Heinsius the Younger]] arrived in Rome in 1679, when he became her personal physician until about 1687. Cesare Macchiati was her physician until her death.<ref>FABIOLA ZURLINI, UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI MACERATA The Correspondence between the Personal Physician of the Queen Christina of Sweden Cesare Macchiati and the Cardinal Decio Azzolino Junior in the Seventeenth Century</ref>}} In February 1652, the French doctor [[Pierre Bourdelot]] arrived in Stockholm.  Unlike most doctors of that time, he held no faith in [[bloodletting|blood-letting]]; instead, he ordered sufficient sleep, warm baths, and healthy meals, in contrast to Christina's hitherto ascetic way of life. She was only twenty-five; and advising that she should take more pleasure in life, Bourdelot asked her to stop studying and working so hard<ref>Lanoye, D. (2001) Christina van Zweden : Koningin op het schaakbord Europa 1626–1689, p. 24.</ref> and to remove the books from her apartments.

For years, Christina knew by heart all the poems from the [[Ars Amatoria]] and was keen on the works by [[Martial]]<ref>Quilliet, B. (1987) Christina van Zweden : een uitzonderlijke vorst, p. 79–80.</ref> and [[Petronius]]. The physician showed her the 16 erotic sonnets of [[Pietro Aretino]], which he kept secretly in his luggage. By subtle means, Bourdelot undermined her principles. Having been [[stoicism|Stoic]], she now became an [[Epicureanism|Epicurean]].<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4693/4693-h/4693-h.htm| title = FAMOUS AFFINITIES OF HISTORY THE ROMANCE OF DEVOTION by Lyndon Orr}}</ref> Her mother and de la Gardie were very much against the activities of Bourdelot and tried to convince her to change her attitude towards him; Bourdelot returned to France in 1653 "laden in riches and curses".<ref name=Buckley>Buckley, Veronica (2004). [https://books.google.com/books?id=9sgb8ER6rQMC ''Christina, Queen of Sweden: The Restless Life of a European Eccentric''] ([[HarperCollins]], {{ISBN|9780060736187}})</ref>

The Queen had long conversations about [[Copernicus]], [[Tycho Brahe]], [[Francis Bacon]], and [[Kepler]] with Antonio Macedo, secretary and interpreter for Portugal's ambassador.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=26222 |title=Converts, Conversion, and the Confessionalization Thesis, Once Again |date=February 2010 |publisher=H-net.org |access-date=2012-03-09}}</ref> Macedo was a [[Jesuit]], and in August 1651, smuggled on his person a letter from Christina to his general in Rome.{{Efn|Likely [[Goswin Nickel]] rather than [[Francesco Piccolomini (Jesuit)|Francesco Piccolomini]] who had died in June of that year.}} In reply, [[Paolo Casati]] and Francesco Malines, trained in both natural sciences and theology, came to Sweden in the spring of 1652. <!--The two Jesuits had to gauge the sincerity of her intention to become Catholic.--> She had more conversations with them, being interested in Catholic views on sin, the [[immortality of the soul]], rationality, and [[free will]]. The two scholars revealed her plans to Cardinal [[Pope Alexander VII|Fabio Chigi]]. Around May 1652 Christina, raised in the [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] [[Church of Sweden]], decided to become [[Catholic]]. She sent [[Matthias Palbitzki]] to Madrid and King [[Philip IV of Spain]] sent the diplomat [[Antonio Pimentel de Prado]] to Stockholm in August.<ref>Garstein, O. (1992) [https://books.google.com/books?id=SJxEw4nVDXQC Rome and the Counter-Reformation in Scandinavia: The age of Gustavus Adolphus and Queen Christina of Sweden (1662–1656)]. Studies in history of Christian thought. Leiden.</ref><ref>Ranke, Leopold von (2009) [https://archive.org/details/historyofpopesth0301rank  ''History of the popes; their church and state (Volume III)''] ([[Wellesley College]] Library)</ref><!-- The original material relating to Christina's adoption of the Catholic faith is generally dubious and it is only with great difficulty that any vestige of the true state of affairs can be educed.<ref>Weibull, C. (1966) Christina of Sweden, p. 53. Svenska Bokförlaget Bonniers</ref>-->