Christina of Sweden in Context

In celebration of Queen Christina of Sweden’s 400th birthday, this volume highlights and expands scholarship on Christina within the context of her own time, demythologizing and broadening the foundations of her enduring legacy.

Queen Christina of Sweden (1626–1689) has long captivated scholars and the public alike. Her abdication of the throne in 1654, refusal to marry, and decision to change her faith, together with her determination to shape her own intellectual and political path, have secured her a place among the most studied women of Early Modern Europe. Four centuries after her birth, her life and reign continue to inspire sustained and wide-ranging inquiry. This volume, produced in honour of Christina’s 400th birthday, reassesses her legacy by placing her firmly within the cultural, political, and intellectual contexts of the seventeenth century. The essays explore how she negotiated the expectations imposed on her as both a woman and a queen, and how her self-fashioning shaped her reception during her lifetime and beyond. By examining her networks, movements, and influence across social, religious, artistic, and intellectual spheres, the collection counters long-standing narratives that highlight only her exceptionalism or rely on mythologized accounts of her life. Through interdisciplinary and transnational perspectives, and by revisiting both primary sources and foundational scholarship, this volume offers a nuanced and contextualized portrait of Christina, providing an essential resource for future research on this remarkable historical figure.