Erik XIV

Evil deeds and their grisly consequences – of crime and punishment

During the past summer, I did something I’ve been planning to do for years: I visited Kalmar Castle, which is one of the older castles in Sweden. Initially built in the 13th century, it reached its full glory as a Renaissance Palace in the 16th century, but nothing really lasts for ever does it? The …

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Princess, wife, prisoner and would-be hostage

Renaissance princesses usually had one purpose in life: to wed as arranged by their male family members and, preferably, present their husbands with an heir or two. It didn’t really matter how powerful or rich your dynasty was—a woman was an asset to create new alliances, full stop. Naturally, little princesses were fully aware of …

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Snatching crowns from princes

Today, we’re going to spend some time with two little Swedish boys. They happen to share a couple of things: both of them were named Gustav. Both of them belonged to the Vasa dynasty (in the case of prince number two, he was really surnamed Holstein-Gottorp, but would become known as a Vasa prince). Both …

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Little Karin and the King – A Valentine Blog Hop post

I am thrilled to be part of the Valentine Blog Hop, organized by Maria Grace and David Pilling! I do hope that once you’ve finished reading my little piece plus taken the time to enter the giveaway contest you will rush off to visit all the other participants – you find the complete list right at the …

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