Editing Charles IX of Sweden

{{Short description|King of Sweden from 1604 to 1611}}
{{Use dmy dates|date= November 2019}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Charles IX
| title        = 
| image        = Karl IX.jpg
| caption      = Charles IX by an unknown artist, [[Nationalmuseum]]
| succession   = [[List of Swedish monarchs|King of Sweden]]
| reign        = 22 March 1604 – {{nowrap|30 October 1611}}
| coronation   = 15 March 1607
| cor-type     = [[Coronation of the Swedish monarch|Coronation]]
| predecessor  = [[Sigismund III Vasa|Sigismund]]
| regent       = 
| successor    = [[Gustavus Adolphus]]
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1550|10|04|df=yes}}
| birth_place  = [[Tre Kronor (castle)|Stockholm Castle]], Stockholm, Sweden
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1611|10|30|1550|10|04|df=yes}}
| death_place  = [[Nyköping Castle]], Nyköping, Sweden
| spouses      = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Maria of Palatinate-Simmern]]|1579|1589|reason=died}}
* {{marriage|[[Christina of Holstein-Gottorp]]|1592}}
}}
| issue        = {{ubl|Princess Margareta|Princess Elisabeth|Prince Louis|[[Catherine of Sweden (1584–1638)|Catherine, Countess Palatine of Kleeburg]]|Prince Gustav|Princess Maria|Princess Christina|[[Gustavus Adolphus]]|[[Princess Maria Elizabeth of Sweden|Princess Maria Elizabeth, Duchess of Östergötland]]|[[Prince Charles Philip, Duke of Södermanland]]|[[Carl Gyllenhielm]] ({{abbr|ill.|Illegitimate}})}}
| issue-link   = #Children
| full name    = 
| house        = [[House of Vasa|Vasa]]
| father       = [[Gustav I of Sweden]]
| mother       = [[Margaret Leijonhufvud]]
| religion     = [[Lutheran]]
| date of burial = 21 April 1612
| place of burial = [[Strängnäs Cathedral]]
| signature    = Charles IX of Sweden Signature.svg
}}

'''Charles IX''', also '''Carl''' ({{langx|sv|Karl IX}}; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as [[List of Swedish monarchs|King of Sweden]] from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of [[King Gustav I]] ({{reign | 1523 | 1560}}) and of his second wife, [[Margaret Leijonhufvud]], the brother of King [[Eric XIV]] and of King [[John III of Sweden|John III]], and the uncle of [[Sigismund III Vasa|Sigismund]], who became king both of Sweden and of [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Poland]]. By his father's will Charles received, by way of [[appanage]], the Duchy of [[Södermanland]], which included the provinces of [[Närke]] and [[Värmland]]; but he did not come into actual possession of them till after the fall of Eric and the succession to the throne of John in 1569.

Both Charles and one of his predecessors,  [[Eric XIV]] ({{reign |1560 | 1569}}), took their regnal numbers according to a [[Historia de omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus|fictitious history of Sweden]]. He was actually the third Swedish king called Charles.

He came into the throne by championing the Protestant cause during the increasingly tense times of religious strife between competing sects of [[Christianity]]. Just under a decade after his death, these would re-ignite in the [[Thirty Years' War]] of 1618–1648. These conflicts had already caused the dynastic squabble rooted in religious freedom that deposed Charles' nephew (Sigismund III) and brought Charles to rule as king of Sweden.

His reign marked the start of the final chapter{{citation needed|date=May 2021}} (dated 1648 by some) both of the [[Reformation]] and of the [[Counter-Reformation]].  With the death of his brother [[John III of Sweden]] in November 1592, the Swedish throne went to his nephew, the [[Habsburg]] ally Sigismund of Poland and Sweden.  During these tense political times, Charles viewed the inheritance of the throne of [[Protestant]] Sweden by his devout [[Catholic]] nephew with alarm.  Several years of religious controversy and discord followed.

While King Sigismund resided in Poland, Charles and the [[Privy Council of Sweden|Swedish privy council]] ruled in Sigismund's name. After various preliminaries, the [[Riksdag of the Estates]] forced Sigismund to abdicate the throne to Charles IX in 1595.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}   This eventually kicked off nearly seven decades of sporadic warfare as the two lines of the divided [[House of Vasa]] both continued to attempt to remake the union between the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Polish]] and Swedish thrones with opposing counter-claims and dynastic wars.

Quite likely,{{original research inline|date=May 2021}} the dynastic outcome between the Swedish and Polish representatives of the House of Vasa exacerbated and radicalized the later actions of Europe's Catholic princes in [[the German states]] such as the [[Edict of Restitution]] of 1629.  In fact, it worsened European politics to the abandonment or prevention of settling events by diplomacy and compromise during the vast bloodletting of the Thirty Years' War.{{citation needed|date=May 2021}}
==Early life==
[[File:Uppsala katedra 22.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Charles's parents as shown on their grave monument]]
Charles IX was born on 4 October 1550 at [[Tre Kronor Castle]] in Stockholm as the youngest son of King Gustav Vasa and Queen Margaret. He was educated in childhood by his private tutor Jean d'Herboville. Upon Gustav Vasa's death in 1560, Charles received a duchy that included most of [[Södermanland]] and [[Närke]], some parishes in [[Västmanland]], part of Vadsbo County in [[Västergötland]], and all of [[Värmland]]. According to Gustav Vasa's will, Dukes [[John III of Sweden|John (III)]] and Charles were to have a partially independent position as [[vassal]]s under their elder brother [[Erik XIV]]. After he was crowned king, however, in 1561 he had a [[Riksdag]] in [[Arboga]] decide to restrict the independence of the duchies, the so-called Arboga Articles.<ref>Lindkvist & Sjöberg 2009 pp 227 & 229</ref> At the age of 15, Charles participated in the [[Northern Seven Years' War]] where he commanded the [[artillery]] at the conquest of Varberg in 1565.

==Rebel duke==
[[File:Carl IX of Sweden 1596 by H. Nützel.jpg|thumb|left|120px|''Duke Charles'' (as he then was called) in 1596 by H. Nützel]]

In 1568, he was the real leader of [[Uprising against Erik XIV|the rebellion against Eric XIV]].   However, he took no part in the designs of his brother [[John III of Sweden|John III]] against the unhappy king after his deposition. Charles's relations with John were always more or less strained. He was at least suspected of being implicated in the [[Mornay Plot]] to depose John III in 1574,<ref>Karin Tegenborg Falkdalen (2010). Vasadöttrarna (2). Falun: Historiska Media. {{ISBN|978-91-85873-87-6}}</ref> and was one of the alternative regents suggested by the conspirators of the [[1576 Plot]]. He had no sympathy with John's High-Church tendencies on the one hand, and he sturdily resisted all the king's endeavours to restrict his authority as Duke of Södermanland on the other. The nobility and the majority of the [[Riksdag of the Estates]] supported John. However, in his endeavours to unify the realm, and Charles had consequently (1587) to resign his pretensions to autonomy within his duchy. But, steadfast [[Lutheran]] as he was, on the religious question he was immovable. The matter came to a crisis on the death of John III in 1592. The heir to the throne was John's eldest son, [[Sigismund III Vasa]], already king of [[Poland]] and a devoted [[Catholic]]. The fear that Sigismund might re-catholicize the land alarmed the [[Protestant]] majority in Sweden—particularly the commoners and lower nobility, and Charles came forward as their champion, and also as the defender of the [[House of Vasa|Vasa]] dynasty against foreign interference.{{sfn|Bain|1911}}

It was due entirely to him that Sigismund ''as king-elect'' was forced to confirm the resolutions at the [[Uppsala Synod]] in 1593, thereby recognizing the fact that Sweden was essentially a [[Lutheran]] Protestant state. Under the agreement, Charles and the Swedish Privy Council shared power and ruled in Sigismund's place since he resided in Poland. In the ensuing years 1593–1595, Charles's task was extraordinarily difficult. He had steadily to oppose Sigismund's reactionary tendencies and directives; he had also to curb the nobility which sought to increase their power at the expense of the absent king, which he did with cruel rigor.{{sfn|Bain|1911}}

Necessity compelled him to work with the clergy and people rather than the gentry; hence it was that the Riksdag of the Estates assumed under his regency government a power and an importance which it had never possessed before. In 1595, the Riksdag of [[Söderköping]] elected Charles regent, and his attempt to force [[Klaus Fleming|Klas Fleming]], governor of [[Finland]], to submit to his authority, rather than to that of the king, provoked a civil war.{{sfn|Bain|1911}} Charles sought to increase his power and the king attempted to manage the situation by diplomacy over several years, until fed up, Sigismund got permission from the Commonwealth's legislature to pursue the matters dividing his Swedish subjects, and [[War against Sigismund|invaded with a mercenary army]].

[[File:Albert Edelfelt - Duke Karl Insulting the Corpse of Klas Fleming.jpg|thumb|300px|''Duke Karl Insulting the Corpse of [[Klaus Fleming]]'' <small>(Painting by [[Albert Edelfelt]], 1878, Fleming's wife [[Ebba Stenbock]] on the right)</small>]]

In April 1597, after having subdued the [[Cudgel War]] and preparing to resist the expected invasion of Charles, Fleming died and was succeeded as governor by [[Arvid Stålarm the Younger]]. In August 1597, Charles and his army invaded Österland, took [[Åland]], which was the fief of her sister Queen Dowager Catherine, and besieged [[Turku Castle]]. Fleming was still not buried, and, according to [[legend]], Charles had the coffin opened to reassure himself that Fleming was indeed dead. After having identified the face of Fleming, he was to have pulled Fleming's beard with the words, "If you had been alive, your head would not have been safe", upon which Fleming's wife [[Ebba Stenbock]] replied, "If my late husband was alive, Your Grace would never have been here."<ref>Warburg, Karl (1881): [https://runeberg.org/warkonst/ ''Från vår konstverld: Taflor och skulpturer af svenska och finska konstärer i vår tid.''] Albert Bonniers förlag, Stockholm.</ref>

Despite some initial successes, Sigismund lost the decisive [[Battle of Stångebro]] and was captured. He was then forced to surrender several Swedish noblemen, whom Charles and the [[Riksdag of the Estates]] had named traitors. These noblemen were later executed in what became known as the [[Linköping Bloodbath]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Explore Linköping's historic quarters |url=https://visitlinkoping.se/en/link%C3%B6ping%E2%80%99s-historic-quarters |website=Visit Linköping |access-date=10 June 2020 |archive-date=30 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330021447/https://visitlinkoping.se/en/link%C3%B6ping?s-historic-quarters |url-status=dead }}</ref> With Sigismund defeated and exiled—seen as both an outsider and a heretic by most of the Swedish nation—his formal deposition by the Riksdag of the Estates in 1599 served as both a natural vindication of Charles's actions and a retroactive legitimization of his claim to power. In the same session, the Riksdag named Charles as regent.{{sfn|Bain|1911}}

{{gallery
|mode=packed
|height=160
|File:Duke Charles (Charles IX of Sweden), daler-type mint (thaler), 1583, perhaps minted in Heidelberg (unique piece) (cropped image).jpg|Duke Charles on a coin from 1583
|File:Mary of Sweden (1579), Carl IX Sweden & Christina of Sweden (1592) 1598.jpg|With his first wife [[Anna Maria of the Palatinate|Maria]] and second wife [[Christina of Holstein-Gottorp|Christina]] in 1598 by {{ill|Hieronymus Nützel|sv}}
|File:Schjerfbeck, Christina Banér rukoilee armoa puolisolleen.jpg|''[[Gustaf Banér|Kristina Banér]] Pleads for Her Husband'' <small>(Painting by [[Helene Schjerfbeck]], 1882, Charles IX on the right)</small>
}}

==King==
[[File:Karl IX, 1550-1611, konung av Sverige - Nationalmuseum - 15072.tif|thumb|150px|Painting from the [[Nationalmuseum]]]]
[[File:Nils Holgersson band 2-Karl IXs sängkammare å Gripsholm.jpg|thumb|150px|Charles in [[Gripsholm Castle]]]]
Finally, the Riksdag at Linköping, 24 February 1604 declared that Sigismund abdicated the Swedish throne, that duke Charles was recognized as the sovereign. He was declared king as '''Karl IX''' (anglicized as Charles IX). Charles's short reign was one of uninterrupted warfare. The hostility of Poland and the breakup of [[Russia]] involved him in overseas contests for the possession of [[Duchy of Livonia (1629–1721)|Livonia]] and [[Duchy of Ingria|Ingria]], the [[Polish–Swedish War (1600–1611)]] and the [[Ingrian War]]. In the final year of his reign, his claims to all of [[Lappmarken|Lapland]] west of the [[Varangerfjord]] and extending to the [[Arctic Ocean]] led to the [[Kalmar War]] with [[Denmark-Norway]].{{sfn|Bain|1911}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nuorteva |first=Jussi |date=23 June 2000 |title=Kaarle IX (1550 - 1611) |url=https://biografiasampo.fi/henkilo/p183 |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Biografiasampo}}</ref>

In all these struggles, he was more or less unsuccessful, owing partly to the fact that he and his forces had to oppose superior generals (e.g. [[Jan Karol Chodkiewicz]] and [[Christian IV of Denmark]]) and partly to sheer ill-luck. Compared with his foreign policy, the domestic policy of Charles IX was comparatively unimportant. It aimed at confirming and supplementing what had already been done during his regency. He did not officially become king until 22 March 1604. The first deed in which the title appears is dated 20 March 1604; but he was not crowned until 15 March 1607.{{sfn|Bain|1911}}

{{gallery
|mode=packed
|height=160
|File:Regalier - Livrustkammaren - 4894.tif|Charles IX's and Queen Christina's funeral [[Regalia of Sweden|regalia]] once stolen and then found in a rubbish bin<ref name="bbc1">{{cite news |title=Swedish crown jewels: Speedboat thieves steal priceless treasures |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45028732 |access-date=10 June 2020 |work=BBC |date=1 August 2018}}</ref><ref name="nbcnews">{{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Saphora |last2=Radnofsky |first2=Caroline |title=Sweden's stolen crown jewels have 'likely' been found, police say |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/sweden-s-stolen-crown-jewels-have-likely-been-found-police-n966966 |access-date=10 June 2020 |work=NBC News |date=5 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="thelocal">{{cite news |title=Police confirm: Sweden's stolen crown jewels have been found |url=https://www.thelocal.se/20190211/police-confirm-swedens-stolen-crown-jewels-found-strangnas-royal |access-date=10 June 2020 |work=The Local |date=11 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="bbc2">{{cite news |title=Swede jailed for stealing crown jewels in broad daylight |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47335737 |access-date=10 June 2020 |work=BBC |date=22 February 2019}}</ref>
|File:Lm dig14072.jpg|{{ill|Crowning ring|sv|Sveriges riksregalier#Kröningsringen}}
|File:Raha; markka - ANT3-396 (musketti.M012-ANT3-396 1).jpg|Coin from 1607 depicting Charles IX with the royal [[Globus cruciger|orb]] and [[scepter]]
|File:Raha; 8 markkaa - ANT3-364 (musketti.M012-ANT3-364 1).jpg|Coin from 1608, with a sword and a shield
|File:King Karl IX's Bedchamber at Gripsholm (Emma Sparre) - Nationalmuseum - 21731.tif|Charles IX's bedchamber at Gripsholm <small>(Painting by {{ill|Emma Sparre|sv}}, 1884)</small>
|File:Gold coin of Carl IX of Sweden 1608 (front).jpg|Gold coin from 1608
|File:Karl IX x Ruprecht Miller.jpg|Medal of him by {{ill|Ruprecht Miller|sv}}, 1609
|File:Karl IX;s söner x Ruprecht Miller.jpg|The reverse side depicting his sons [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden|Gustav Adolf]] and [[Charles Philip, Duke of Södermanland|Charles Philip]]
}}


==Death and legacy==
{{Expand section|date=February 2020}}
Four and a half years later Charles IX died at [[Nyköping]], 30 October 1611 when he was succeeded by his seventeen-year-old son [[Gustavus Adolphus]] ; he had participated in the wars.<ref name="dodge">{{cite book |last1=Dodge |first1=Theodore Ayrault |author-link=Theodore Ayrault Dodge |title=Gustavus Adolphus: a history of the art of war from its revival after the Middle Ages to the end of the Spanish Succession War, with a detailed account of the campaigns of the great Swede, and of the most famous campaigns of Turenne, Condé, Eugene and Marlborough |date=1895 |publisher=Greenhill Books |isbn=1-853-67234-3}}</ref> As a ruler, Charles is the link between his great father and his still greater son. He consolidated the work of Gustav I, the creation of a great Protestant state; he prepared the way for the erection of the Protestant empire of [[Gustavus Adolphus]].{{sfn|Bain|1911}}

{{gallery
|mode=packed
|height=160
|File:Tomb of Carl IX, King of Sweden in Strängnäs.jpg|Funeral monument of Carl IX and family at [[Strängnäs Cathedral]], worked on by 12 goldsmiths in 1611
|File:Karl IXs begravningshjälm, 1611 - Livrustkammaren - 43058.tif|The helmet of the armor opened and photographed, unknown date
|File:Fotografi, photography-Aron Jonason - Göteborgs stadsmuseum - GhmPK 1027.tif|Reveal of a grand statue of him in [[Gothenburg]], 1904
|File:Karl IXs ryttarstaty i Göteborg 06.jpg|Statue in Göteborg
|File:Karl IXs ryttarstaty i Göteborg 09.jpg|His motto inscribed: ''Jehovah solatium meum'' ("Jehovah is my Solace")
|File:Statue of Charles IX of Sweden.jpg|Statue of Charles IX in [[Karlstad]], 1926
|File:Carl IX of Sweden outdoor relief 2013 Stockholm Palace.jpg|Relief on a wall of the [[Stockholm Palace]]
|File:Kaarle IX 2.jpg|Relief in [[Vaasa]], [[Finland]] by [[John Munsterhjelm]], 1924
}}

==Ancestors==
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2014}}
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
| 1= 1. '''Charles IX of Sweden (Vasa)'''
| 2= 2. [[Gustav I of Sweden]] (Vasa)
| 3= 3. [[Margareta Leijonhufvud]]
| 4= 4. [[Erik Johansson Vasa|Erik Johansson]] (Vasa)
| 5= 5. [[Cecilia Månsdotter]] (Eka)
| 6= 6. Erik Abrahamsson (Leijonhufvud)
| 7= 7. [[Ebba Eriksdotter Vasa|Ebba Eriksdotter (Vasa)]]
| 8= 8. {{ill|Johan Kristiernsson (Vasa)|sv}}
| 9= 9. Birgitta Gustafsdotter (Sture)
| 10= 10. Måns Karlsson (Eka)
| 11= 11. [[Sigrid Eskilsdotter (Banér)]]
| 12= 12. Abraham Kristiernsson (Leijonhuvud)
| 13= 13. Birgitta Månsdotter (Natt och Dag)
| 14= 14. Erik Karlsson (Vasa)
| 15= 15. [[Anna Karlsdotter (Vinstorpa)]]
}}

==Children==
He married, firstly, [[Anna Marie of Palatinate-Simmern]] (1561–1589), daughter of [[Louis VI, Elector Palatine|Louis VI]], [[Electoral Palatinate|Elector Palatine]] (1539–1583) and [[Elisabeth of Hesse]] (1539–1584). Their children were:

* Margareta Elisabeth (1580–1585)
* Elisabeth Sabina (1582–1585)
* Louis (1583–1583)
* [[Catherine of Sweden (1584-1638)|Catherine]] (1584–1638), married a prince of the [[Electoral Palatinate|Palatinate]] [[Zweibrücken]], becoming mother of [[Charles X Gustav]].
* Gustav (1587–1587)
* Maria (1588–1589)

[[File:Christine von Holstein-Gottorp 1894.jpg|thumb|Charles IX with Christina, 17th century]]

In 1592 he married his second wife [[Christina of Holstein-Gottorp]] (1573–1625), daughter of [[Adolf of Holstein-Gottorp]] (1526–1586) and [[Christine of Hesse]] (1543–1604), and first cousin of his previous wife. Their children were:

* Christina (1593–1594)
* [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden]] (Gustav II Adolf) (1594–1632)
* [[Princess Maria Elizabeth of Sweden|Maria Elizabeth]] (1596–1618), married her first cousin [[John, Duke of Östergötland|Duke John]], youngest son of [[John III of Sweden]]
* [[Charles Philip, Duke of Södermanland|Charles Philip]] (1601–1622)

He also had a son with his mistress, [[Karin Nilsdotter]]:
* [[Carl Carlsson Gyllenhielm]] (1574–1650), [[Swedish Field Marshals|Field Marshal]]

==Arms==

<gallery>
Armoiries du Prince Charles de Suède (1560).svg|Arms of Charles as Prince of Sweden, and Duke of [[Södermanland]]
Armoiries du Charles de Suède et Marie de Palatinat-Wittelsbach.svg|Arms of Charles of Sweden and Marie of Palatine
Armoiries de Charles de Suède et Christine de Holstein-Gottorp.svg|Arms of Charles of Sweden and Christine of Holstein-Gottorp
Armoiries de Charles et Christine de Suede.svg|Arms of King Charles and Queen Christine of Sweden
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[History of Sweden]] — [[Rise of Sweden as a Great Power]]
* [[Battle of Kircholm]]
* [[Battle of Stångebro]]
* [[Kings of Kvenland#Charles IX of Sweden|Kings of Kvenland]] — although his successor dropped the title, Charles claimed to be King of the Caijaners from 1607 to 1611

==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Charles IX. (King of Sweden)|display=Charles IX., king of Sweden|last=Bain |first=Robert Nisbet |author-link=Robert Nisbet Bain|volume=5|page=927}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Charles IX. (Sweden)|display=Charles IX. King of Sweden |year=1905 |short=x}}
* {{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Charles IX. (Sweden)|display=Charles IX., king of Sweden |short=x}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Vasa]]|4 October|1550|30 October|1611|name=Karl IX}}
{{s-reg|}}
|-
{{s-vac|last=[[Sigismund III Vasa|Sigismund]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Swedish monarchs|King of Sweden]]|years=1604–1611}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Gustavus Adolphus]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Swedish princes}}
{{Monarchs of Sweden}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles 09 of Sweden}}
[[Category:1550 births]]
[[Category:1611 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century regents]]
[[Category:17th-century Swedish monarchs]]
[[Category:Regents of Sweden]]
[[Category:People from Stockholm]]
[[Category:House of Vasa]]
[[Category:Dukes of Södermanland]]
[[Category:Dukes of Närke]]
[[Category:People of the War against Sigismund]]
[[Category:People of the Kalmar War]]