Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon

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Ebba Maria De la Gardie

1658-03-281697-07-09

Lady-in-waiting, author

Ebba Maria De la Gardie was a poet, a lady-in-waiting, and a member of the educated elite of her time.

Ebba Maria De la Gardie was born at Tullgarn Castle in 1658. Her parents, Beata von Königsmarck and Pontus Fredrik De la Gardie, were members of two of the most prominent families in Sweden. Ebba Maria De la Gardie, along with her younger sister Johanna Eleonora De la Gardie, received a proper education. Both sisters were culturally active and they were also both writers. Ebba Maria De la Gardie wrote occasional poems, of which only a very small number have survived. The fact that several of the surviving poems were composed in German indicates that she was linguistically talented.

Ebba Maria De la Gardie socialised with the royal family. She was a lady-in-waiting and one of Queen Ulrika Eleonora the elder’s favourites and when the queen died in 1693 Ebba Maria De la Gardie authored a funeral poem. She exchanged poetry by correspondence with Crown Prince Karl (soon to be King Karl XII) and her wishes for his happiness have survived.

Ebba Maria De la Gardie had an interest in theatre which she shared with her sister and her cousins Aurora von Königsmarck and Amalia Wilhelmina von Königsmarck. Together they performed the play Iphigenie in 1864. The story unfolded against the background of the Trojan War and was written by the French playwright Jean Racine. The queen supported the performance of the play as well as the particular composition of the performing ensemble, namely an all-female cast of amateur actors.

Ebba Maria De la Gardie’s surviving written work does not reflect the attention she merited from her contemporaries from the educated elite. Her life was cut short, however, as she died in 1697, unmarried, and only aged 39. Ebba Maria De la Gardie was buried in Riddarholm church in Stockholm.


Maria Sjöberg
(Translated by Alexia Grosjean)


Published 2018-03-08



You are welcome to cite this article but always provide the author’s name as follows:

Ebba Maria De la Gardie, www.skbl.se/sv/artikel/EbbaMariaDelaGardie, Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon (article by Maria Sjöberg), retrieved 2024-12-07.




Family Relationships

Civil Status: Unmarried
  • Mother: Beata Elisabeth von Königsmarck
  • Father: Pontus Fredrik De la Gardie
  • Sister: Johanna Eleonora De la Gardie


Education

  • Privatundervisning i hemmet, Stockholm: Ståndsmässig uppfostran


Activities

  • Profession: Hovdam


Contacts

  • Friend: Ulrika Eleonora, d.ä., drottning av Sverige
  • Relative: Aurora Königsmarck, kusin
  • Relative: Amalia Wilhelmina von Königsmarck, kusin


Residences

  • Birthplace: Hölö
  • Tölö
  • Stockholm
  • Place of death: Stockholm


Sources

Literature
  • Löfgren, Lars, Svensk teater, Natur och kultur, Stockholm, 2003



Further References

Litteratur
  • Karl XII, Konung Karl XII:s egenhändiga bref, Norstedt, Stockholm, 1893