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När börden och äran står på spel : genealogiska narrativ i Vita illustrissimi herois Ponti de la Gardie (1690)

Olsson, Adam LU (2025) HISS33 20251
History
Abstract
This study investigates, through the lens of the humanistic vita with its historiobiographical structure, how Claes Örnhielm, in Vita Ponti de la Gardie, formulates a systematic response to contemporary accusations concerning the legitimacy of the De la Gardie family’s noble origins.
Through an integrated examination of the work’s frontispiece, genealogical diagram, textual genealogy and wider narrative, the analysis demonstrates that these components collectively constitute a carefully constructed apologetic framework.
Correspondingly the illustrated title page is shown to function, in line with Volker Bauer’s conception of early modern frontispieces as visual abstracts, as a concentrated articulation of the work’s overarching argument.... (More)
This study investigates, through the lens of the humanistic vita with its historiobiographical structure, how Claes Örnhielm, in Vita Ponti de la Gardie, formulates a systematic response to contemporary accusations concerning the legitimacy of the De la Gardie family’s noble origins.
Through an integrated examination of the work’s frontispiece, genealogical diagram, textual genealogy and wider narrative, the analysis demonstrates that these components collectively constitute a carefully constructed apologetic framework.
Correspondingly the illustrated title page is shown to function, in line with Volker Bauer’s conception of early modern frontispieces as visual abstracts, as a concentrated articulation of the work’s overarching argument. Its iconography presents Pontus De la Gardie as a foundational, Aeneas-like figure whose military achievements, divine favor, and asserted proximity to royal power are employed to affirm the nobility of the lineage he established in Sweden. Key heraldic and symbolic elements further reinforce claims of dynastic legitimacy and political loyalty.
The genealogical material deepens this strategy. The heraldic-genealogical pedigrees and the diagram privilege the Swedish agnatic line and highlight its integration within the highest strata of the council aristocracy, while the French branch—although historically weaker and considered unimportant on the diagram—is on the contrary in the textual genealogy expanded narratively through the deliberate accentuation of marital alliances with prominent aristocratic houses. This emphasis on alliances reveals a presentist genealogical narrative that prioritizes recent, simultaneously both verifiable and fabricated status-aligned connections over remote or mythical ancestry, thus compensating for the lack of distinguished medieval Delagardie forebears.
Moreover the textual genealogy and the following narrative complement the visual program of the work by invoking the authority of then contemporary historians and genealogists, primarily from a French scholarly milieu, to substantiate Pontus’ noble status. It further reframes De la Gardie's diplomatic activities in the late sixteenth century as evidence of aristocratic standing, reflecting late seventeenth-century expectations regarding the social rank of royal envoys.
Finally, the study shows how politically contentious episodes—such as accusations that Pontus encouraged Duke John to depose King Erik XIV—are reinterpreted to demonstrate political integrity and to counter charges of low birth.
Overall, the findings reveal that Örnhielm’s genealogical and visual narratives in Vita Ponti serve both to rehabilitate Pontus De la Gardie’s contested origins and to reinforce the political and aristocratic self-fashioning of count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie during the later seventeenth century. (Less)
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author
Olsson, Adam LU
supervisor
organization
course
HISS33 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
nobility, vita, status, genealogical narrative, Pontus De la Gardie
language
Swedish
id
9216408
date added to LUP
2026-01-21 14:22:54
date last changed
2026-01-21 14:22:54
@misc{9216408,
  abstract     = {{This study investigates, through the lens of the humanistic vita with its historiobiographical structure, how Claes Örnhielm, in Vita Ponti de la Gardie, formulates a systematic response to contemporary accusations concerning the legitimacy of the De la Gardie family’s noble origins.
Through an integrated examination of the work’s frontispiece, genealogical diagram, textual genealogy and wider narrative, the analysis demonstrates that these components collectively constitute a carefully constructed apologetic framework.
Correspondingly the illustrated title page is shown to function, in line with Volker Bauer’s conception of early modern frontispieces as visual abstracts, as a concentrated articulation of the work’s overarching argument. Its iconography presents Pontus De la Gardie as a foundational, Aeneas-like figure whose military achievements, divine favor, and asserted proximity to royal power are employed to affirm the nobility of the lineage he established in Sweden. Key heraldic and symbolic elements further reinforce claims of dynastic legitimacy and political loyalty.
The genealogical material deepens this strategy. The heraldic-genealogical pedigrees and the diagram privilege the Swedish agnatic line and highlight its integration within the highest strata of the council aristocracy, while the French branch—although historically weaker and considered unimportant on the diagram—is on the contrary in the textual genealogy expanded narratively through the deliberate accentuation of marital alliances with prominent aristocratic houses. This emphasis on alliances reveals a presentist genealogical narrative that prioritizes recent, simultaneously both verifiable and fabricated status-aligned connections over remote or mythical ancestry, thus compensating for the lack of distinguished medieval Delagardie forebears.
Moreover the textual genealogy and the following narrative complement the visual program of the work by invoking the authority of then contemporary historians and genealogists, primarily from a French scholarly milieu, to substantiate Pontus’ noble status. It further reframes De la Gardie's diplomatic activities in the late sixteenth century as evidence of aristocratic standing, reflecting late seventeenth-century expectations regarding the social rank of royal envoys.
Finally, the study shows how politically contentious episodes—such as accusations that Pontus encouraged Duke John to depose King Erik XIV—are reinterpreted to demonstrate political integrity and to counter charges of low birth.
Overall, the findings reveal that Örnhielm’s genealogical and visual narratives in Vita Ponti serve both to rehabilitate Pontus De la Gardie’s contested origins and to reinforce the political and aristocratic self-fashioning of count Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie during the later seventeenth century.}},
  author       = {{Olsson, Adam}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{När börden och äran står på spel : genealogiska narrativ i Vita illustrissimi herois Ponti de la Gardie (1690)}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}