To the memory of Gustavus Adolphus Karlsson of Vasa
*Nyköping, Sweden, 9th of December 1594
+ Lützen, Saxony, 6th of November 1632
+ Lützen, Saxony, 6th of November 1632
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| His spouse Mary Eleanor (next to the throne), their daughter Christina Augusta (in his arms), his right-hand man Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna (next to the throne), his courtiers and his people, his officers and soldiers, will always keep his memory alive, as long as Sweden and freedom exist. |
Beloved ruler of nations and leader of armies,
consort, father, friend, and lover
We were lost when the dark descended
and the light gathered into a storm
You appeared like a sunlit morning
at the winds of a world at war...
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Inspired by thirst for glory, on the field of battle quaffed instead death's bitter draught.   The last word was missing in his epic song: the word that crowns every achievement. The mourners have done their duty, right or wrong: they wrote it in blood and bereavement. |
in the prime of his life and at the climax of his career,
before he could be tarnished by the failing vigour of an older age
or by the corruption brought upon him by success.
A single bullet, just like any other,
suddenly struck his back and entered his noble chest,
to quench a flame that never could or should have burned brighter.
With Christina and a board game of his conquests, 1632 in autumn, right before Lützen
Rida rida ranka! Letting Christina ride on his back,
in happier days before the war
An acrylic painting of mine to commemorate the date
