Aurora von Königsmarck´s "Nordischer weÿrauch" - A Contextualized Edition
Aurora von Königsmarck (1662–1728) is one of the very few Swedish women of the seventeenth century, who are still generally well known. In the 1680s, she and her sister Amalia Wilhelmine had a central position at the Swedish Royal Court; they also became close friends to Queen Ulrika Eleonora. In 1684, the Königsmarck sisters organized the performance of Racine’s drama Iphigénie in French in Stockholm; all roles, even those of Greek heroes, were played by young women of the Swedish high nobility.
The Königsmarck sisters and two of their cousins also wrote religious poetry in German. Their poems form a collection, Nordischer weÿrauch (Nordic insense), written in Aurora’s own hand and bound in an exquisite volume in blue velvet. The book – now in the Uppsala University Library – is most likely a presentation copy, intended as a precious gift to the queen.
The goal of the book project is twofold: The edition of the poems in facsimile with a transcription (vol. 1) and their contextualization (vol. 2). The latter means that the poems of the collection will be analyzed extensively in their book historical, linguistic, political, religious, literary, musical, socio- and gender-historical context. Such a contextualization is a new approach in text philology. The edition will present an analysis of the intricate interplay between literature, language, religion, and culture in late seventeenth-century Sweden.
Final report
“Nordischer Weÿraúch oder Zúsammen Gesúchte andachten vom Schwedischen Fraúen Zimmer” (‘Nordic incense or collected devotions from the room(s) of the Swedish queen’) is one of the most beautiful books in the Uppsala University Library. The manuscript, written in the hand of Aurora von Königsmarck, bound in blue velvet and with silver ornaments, contains twenty-two religious poems in German. They were composed by herself, her sister Amalia Wilhelmina, and their cousins Ebba Maria and Johanna Eleonora De la Gardie. There is also one poem signed by a woman with the initials A. M. G., but her identity has never been disclosed. The manuscript was written some time during the years 1689 to 1691, and everything suggests that it was presented to Queen Ulrika Eleonora, the consort of King Charles XI of Sweden. It was perhaps a gift on New Year’s Day 1690 or 1691.
The cousins von Königsmarck and De la Gardie belonged to two of the most influential Swedish noble families in the second half of the 17th century. They had grown up together at the Agathenburg, the ancestral castle of the former family, close to Stade in the Swedish province Bremen-Verden in northern Germany. They had received an excellent education and developed important intellectual and cultural skills in religion and the humanities: languages, literature, rhetoric, conversation, art, music, ballet, acting, handicraft. For the daughters of noble families it was essential to build up a rich cultural capital, which could lead to success in courtly life and to close relations to the members of the royal family – the center of power. The hope was that they could gain economic, personal, and political advantages for themselves and their families.
In the 1680s, the cousins von Königsmarck and De la Gardie garnered a lot of attention in courtly life. Two performances of Jean Racine’s “Iphigénie”, presented to the court in 1684, where they were all deeply involved, created great resonance, even internationally. The play, which was given in its original French, was most likely directed by Aurora von Königsmarck, who had also written a French prologue. Young women appeared in all the roles, even in those of Greek heroes. Amalia Wilhelmina von Königsmarck, for example, played the part of Achilles. The young countesses von Königsmarck and De la Gardie took active part in court festivities around the queen at the Karlberg Palace and seem also to have participated in the queen’s French salon.
Religion was an important area of interest to a queen in the 17th century, since her piety was considered to be of great importance for the well-being of the state. Queen Ulrika Eleonora corresponded very well to this ideal of the time. The language of the court in Copenhagen, where she had grown up, was German, and German was also her religious language.
The project “Nordischer Weÿraúch – a contextualized edition” has resulted in a two-volume book. The first volume comprises an extensive theoretical introduction and a presentation of the editorial principles, followed by the text of the poems as a facsimile and in a diplomatic transcription. The second volume contains a text commentary and extended contextualizations. The latter apply to areas such as the family histories and the biographies of the poetesses; courtly life; theology, devotional history and the politics of religion, poetry and poetology; gender history; and linguistics. Text edition and commentary traditionally belong to philological work. New for this edition are the extended contextualizations.
The texts are contextualized in relation to contemporary theological thinking and the poetic and rhetorical tradition to which they belong. Gender issues are also discussed in detail. The theological knowledge and the poetological awareness of the poetesses are striking. The volume itself is also contextualized as a cultural artefact. The last words of the book’s title “vom Schwedischen Fraúen Zimmer” indicate that the “Nordischer Weÿraúch” (‘Nordic incense’) arises ‘from the room(s) of the Swedish queen,’ and we can most certainly conclude that the poems originated as part of devotional meetings, in which the queen and the countesses von Königsmarck and De la Gardie participated. A manuscript was in the 17th century a personal and exclusive form of publication. The blue velvet binding is a strong indication that the volume was intended as a gift to a royal person.
The contextualizations of the edition point to the important role of noble women as cultural and political actors in the Sweden of the 17th century.
The cousins von Königsmarck and De la Gardie belonged to two of the most influential Swedish noble families in the second half of the 17th century. They had grown up together at the Agathenburg, the ancestral castle of the former family, close to Stade in the Swedish province Bremen-Verden in northern Germany. They had received an excellent education and developed important intellectual and cultural skills in religion and the humanities: languages, literature, rhetoric, conversation, art, music, ballet, acting, handicraft. For the daughters of noble families it was essential to build up a rich cultural capital, which could lead to success in courtly life and to close relations to the members of the royal family – the center of power. The hope was that they could gain economic, personal, and political advantages for themselves and their families.
In the 1680s, the cousins von Königsmarck and De la Gardie garnered a lot of attention in courtly life. Two performances of Jean Racine’s “Iphigénie”, presented to the court in 1684, where they were all deeply involved, created great resonance, even internationally. The play, which was given in its original French, was most likely directed by Aurora von Königsmarck, who had also written a French prologue. Young women appeared in all the roles, even in those of Greek heroes. Amalia Wilhelmina von Königsmarck, for example, played the part of Achilles. The young countesses von Königsmarck and De la Gardie took active part in court festivities around the queen at the Karlberg Palace and seem also to have participated in the queen’s French salon.
Religion was an important area of interest to a queen in the 17th century, since her piety was considered to be of great importance for the well-being of the state. Queen Ulrika Eleonora corresponded very well to this ideal of the time. The language of the court in Copenhagen, where she had grown up, was German, and German was also her religious language.
The project “Nordischer Weÿraúch – a contextualized edition” has resulted in a two-volume book. The first volume comprises an extensive theoretical introduction and a presentation of the editorial principles, followed by the text of the poems as a facsimile and in a diplomatic transcription. The second volume contains a text commentary and extended contextualizations. The latter apply to areas such as the family histories and the biographies of the poetesses; courtly life; theology, devotional history and the politics of religion, poetry and poetology; gender history; and linguistics. Text edition and commentary traditionally belong to philological work. New for this edition are the extended contextualizations.
The texts are contextualized in relation to contemporary theological thinking and the poetic and rhetorical tradition to which they belong. Gender issues are also discussed in detail. The theological knowledge and the poetological awareness of the poetesses are striking. The volume itself is also contextualized as a cultural artefact. The last words of the book’s title “vom Schwedischen Fraúen Zimmer” indicate that the “Nordischer Weÿraúch” (‘Nordic incense’) arises ‘from the room(s) of the Swedish queen,’ and we can most certainly conclude that the poems originated as part of devotional meetings, in which the queen and the countesses von Königsmarck and De la Gardie participated. A manuscript was in the 17th century a personal and exclusive form of publication. The blue velvet binding is a strong indication that the volume was intended as a gift to a royal person.
The contextualizations of the edition point to the important role of noble women as cultural and political actors in the Sweden of the 17th century.