The theatre around Queen Christina

Abstract

This article demonstrates how the theatrical forms of the Renaissance blossomed at the Swedish court under Queen Christina. By the end of the Thirty Years’ War Sweden had become a great power, eager to display its prestige and glory. Christina's mother, Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, emerges as a key figure in the cultural enrichment that went in step with Sweden's new status. For example, she served as a patroness of the court comedian Christian Thum and summoned the French dancing‐master Antoine de Beaulieu, who introduced court ballet to the Swedish milieu. Thum's and Beaulieu's performances are discussed in this article in the light of their presumed experiences of English and French theatrical forms. Another focus is Christina's coronation festival in 1650, with its triumphal processions, salutes, banquets, carousels and baiting of beasts. The elements of this festival can largely be traced back to the Roman models rediscovered during the Renaissance. After 1650, theatrical splendour at court was reduced. A financial crisis was brewing and, once Christina abdicated in 1654, new wars threatened. Thus, the theatrical forms of Christina's last years in Sweden – for example, the performances of strolling comedians – did not prosper again until the end of the century. By then, the more lavish forms of court theatre had gone out of fashion.