145:. Evidently, she had manufactured several magic objects and practiced a form of ritual magic to keep the affection of the queen dowager, and control which supplicants the latter should approve or turn down. Because of this, witchcraft was formally added to her charges, though it seems that this charge was not regarded as something of importance, and the trial against her focused on the charge of theft.
101:, and united in their request to Hedvig Eleonora that von Bärfelt should be investigated and banished. Hedvig Eleonora eventually relented and agreed to send von Bärfelt away from court. However, she refused any charges put against her and banned any one from searching the luggage of von Bärfelt to investigate of any stolen goods were there.
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Reportedly, she had the talent to caricature people, and made enemies by ridiculing them before the queen. Her position as a favorite made her unpopular, and she was exposed to slander. As a person, she was described as a cunning, bold, promiscuous and greedy character, and was accused of stealing
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Carl
Gyllenstierna gave the order that the door of Hedwig Eleonora be locked the last night Bärfelt was in the castle to prevent her from having any chance to gain access to the queen dowager and convince her to let her stay. Anna Catharina von Bärfelt left her position with a full royal pension.
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In 1712, Anna
Catharina von Bärfelt was arrested and put on trial for theft despite the opposition of Queen Dowager Hedvig Eleonora. Her lover and accomplice committed suicide once he learned of her arrest. Among her possessions, several objects were found traditionally used for the practice of
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jacket. While in prison awaiting the final verdict, she sent a letter of appeal to the court in which she included a counter accusation against Carl
Gyllenstierna on the same charges that she was herself accused of. She was sentenced to death. However, in July 1712, the sentence was soon after
58:, Anna Catharina von Bärfelt had accumulated a fortune amounting to the sum of 100.000 ecus from supplicants to the queen dowager. Among the supplicants were clients from both the nobility and the public, and she was able to secure positions for applicants through her influence.
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Bärfelt was the daughter of
Lieutenant Colonel Bernhard Bärfelt. In 1687, she became seamstress and in 1695 the lady's maid of the Queen Dowager Hedvig Eleonora: this was, at that point, a position which could be filled by a member of the lesser nobility.
82:. This caused an open conflict, upon which Gyllenstierna openly gave the queen dowager an ultimatum: "Either miss Bärfelt leave or I will leave". The Queen Dowager reacted by leaving the room.
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After her departure, however, it was found that several of the missing goods she was suspected of having stolen, were stored by her friend, the royal court painter
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In May 1715, her property was restored and she was by that time evidently released from prison. From 1721, Anna
Catharina von Bärfelt lived a life of poverty in
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78:, attempted to convince Hedvig Eleonora to exile Anna Catharina von Bärfelt from court. Von Bärfelt retaliated by accusing Gyllenstierna of greed and
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During her departure from the capital, she was reportedly followed by a mob of street urchins who sang insulting songs and threw stones after her.
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Bärfelt soon became a personal favorite of the Queen
Dowager, which placed her in a position of power at court. She was rumored to accept
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against her enemies. On one occasion, Anna
Catharina von Bärfelt was attacked and mistreated on the street by unknown men.
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Carl
Gyllenstierna now united with a party of von Bärfelt's enemies consisting of the Queen Dowager's confessor Molin,
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Fabian
Persson (1999). Servants of Fortune. The Swedish court between 1598 and 1721. Lund: Wallin & Dalholm.
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from the royal residences and from the household of the queen dowager herself, and of using
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30:. She was immensely unpopular and rumoured to abuse her influence and position to receive
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Anna
Catharina von Bärfelt i Wilhelmina Stålberg, Anteckningar om svenska qvinnor (1864)
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for influencing the queen and stealing from the royal possessions. She was convicted of
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commuted to fourteen days on water and bread followed by imprisonment in a work house.
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276:18th-century Swedish criminals
232:Anteqningar om Svenska kvinnor
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291:17th-century Swedish nobility
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245:Kvinnor vid maktens sida
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240:Riddarhusets stamtavlor
129:magic: a collection of
243:Svante Norrhem :
230:Wilhelmina Stålberg:
28:Queen Hedwig Eleonora
56:Jacques de Campredon
170:Emerentia von Düben
76:Carl Gyllenstierna
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176:References
87:Arvid Horn
181:Citations
158:Linköping
24:Linköping
164:See also
22:(1673 –
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150:velvet
139:snakes
131:teeths
64:poison
52:bribes
32:bribes
143:hares
133:from
109:Trial
36:theft
202:ISBN
137:and
135:pigs
97:and
121:of
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