Klaus_Fleming

Klaus Fleming

Klaus Fleming

Member of Swedish nobility

For other uses, see Klas Fleming (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Clas Larsson Fleming (1597–1644).

Baron Klaus Eriksson Fleming (Swedish: Clas Eriksson Fleming; 1535 in Pargas – 13 April 1597 in Pohja)[3] was a Finnish-born member of the Swedish nobility and admiral, who played an important role in Finnish and Swedish history during the rise of Sweden as a Great Power. He was a trustee of kings John III and Sigismund Vasa. His wife was Ebba Stenbock.[4]

Quick Facts 1st Lord High Admiral of Sweden, Succeeded by ...

Biography

Fleming's father – a grandson of Björn Ragvaldsson – was the Councilor of State Erik Fleming (1487–1548), also a remarkable man and King Gustav Vasa's favourite.[4]

In 1569 Fleming became a member of the Privy Council, in 1571 he was made Lord High Admiral and in 1590 Lord High Constable. As the Governor of Finland and Estonia, he carried the duties of the highest authority of Finland and Estonia for the Swedish realm, next only to the king. He was a strong supporter of the legitimate king of Sweden and Poland, Sigismund Vasa, and therefore an enemy of Sigismund's paternal uncle, duke Charles of Sudermania, who had also laid claim to the Swedish throne. He subdued rebels of the Cudgel War in 1596–97. A civil war against Charles was, however, on the horizon.[4]

His sister Filippa Fleming (d. 1578) wrote a will which disinherited him for his abandonment of her during a long illness, bequeathing Yläne manor to John III of Sweden, her estates in Sweden proper to her niece Anna Fleming, and her remaining estates to her betrothed, Knut Jönsson Kurck. This was unusual legal practice for the time.[5]

While his fleet was being prepared at Siuntio in April 1597, he suddenly fell sick. Nevertheless choosing to travel to meet his wife at Perniö, he died somewhere near the church of Pohja during the night of 12-13 April.[4][6] His body was taken to Turku, which Charles IX conquered that August.[4] Fleming's sons were executed in the Åbo Bloodbath of 1599.[4]

When studying Swedish history of the time, it is significant to remember there were many persons in similar positions with the name "Clas Fleming" at the time. Clas Eriksson Flemming should not be confused with Clas Larsson Fleming (1592–1644), admiral and advisor to the king, or Klas Fleming (1649–1685), nobleman and politician.

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Nordisk Familjebok - Riksamiral". Nordisk Familjebok at runeberg.org (in Swedish). 1916. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
  2. [2]
    Hofberg, Herman; Frithiof Heurlin; Viktor Millqvist; Olof Rubenson (1906). "Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon - Klas Fleming". Svenskt biografiskt handlexikon at runeberg.org (in Swedish). Retrieved 2009-05-14.
  3. [3]
    "Clas Eriksson Fleming". Biografiskt lexikon för Finland (in Swedish). Helsingfors: Svenska litteratursällskapet i Finland. urn:NBN:fi:sls-4101-1416928956707.
  4. [4]
    Tarkiainen, Kari (30 November 2011). "Fleming, Klaus (noin 1535 - 1597)". Kansallisbiografia. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  5. [5]
    "Conciliatory, negotiating, insubordinate women. Female agency in the Fleming family, 1470–1620" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-05-19. Retrieved 2023-07-08.
  6. [6]
    Mäkelä-Alitalo, Anneli (12 November 2014). "Stenbock, Ebba (K 1614)". Kansallisbiografia. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
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