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Charles XI, also Carl ((スウェーデン語:Karl XI); 24 November 1655old style – 5 April 1697old style〔This article uses the Julian calendar, that was used in Sweden until 1700 (see Swedish calendar for more info). In the Gregorian calendar, Charles was born 4 December 1655, and died 15 April 1697.〕), was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death, in a period of Swedish history known as the Swedish Empire (1611–1718). Charles was the only son of King Charles X of Sweden and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp. His father died when he was five years old, so Charles was educated by his governors until his coronation at the age of seventeen. Soon after, he was forced out on military expeditions to secure the recently acquired dominions from Danish troops in the Scanian War. Having successfully fought off the Danes, he returned to Stockholm and engaged in correcting the country's neglected political, financial and economic situation, managing to sustain peace during the remaining 20 years of his reign. Changes in finance, commerce, national maritime and land armaments, judicial procedure, church government and education emerged during this period.〔(XI Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) ) 〕 Charles XI was succeeded by his only son Charles XII, who made use of the well-trained army in battles throughout Europe. The fact that Charles was crowned as Charles XI does not mean that he was the 11th king of Sweden who had the name Charles. His father's name (as the 10th) was due to his great-grandfather, King Charles IX of Sweden (1604–1611), having adopted his own numeral by using a mythological History of Sweden. This descendant was actually the 5th King Charles.〔Article (Karl ) in Nordisk familjebok〕 The numbering tradition thus begun still continues, with the present king of Sweden being Carl XVI Gustaf. ==Under guardian rule== Charles was born in the Stockholm Palace Tre Kronor in November 1655. His father, Charles X of Sweden, left Sweden in July to fight in the war against Poland. After several years of warfare, the king returned in the winter of 1659 and gathered his family and the Riksdag of the Estates in Gothenburg. In mid-January 1660 he fell ill and one month later he wrote his last will and died.〔Åberg (1958)〕 Charles X Gustav's will and testament left the administration of the Swedish Empire during Charles XI's minority to a regency led by Queen Dowager Hedwig Eleonora as both formal regent and chair of a six-member Regency Council with two votes and a final say over the rest of the council. Per Brahe was one member of the council. In addition, Charles X Gustav left command of the army and a seat on the council to his younger brother, Adolph John I, Count Palatine of Kleeburg. These provisions among others led to the remainder of the council immediately challenging the will. February 14th, the day after King Charles X's death, Hedwig Eleonora sent a message to the council stating that she knew that they contested the will and that she demanded that it should be respected. The council answered that the will must first be discussed with the parliament, and at the following council in Stockholm on May 13th, the council tried to keep her from attending. The parliament questioned whether it would be good for her health or suitable for a widow to attend council, and that if not, it would be hard to keep sending a messenger to her quarters. Her reply that the council would be allowed to meet without her and only inform her when they considered it necessary was met with satisfaction from the council. Hedwig Eleonora's ostensible indifference to politics came as a great relief to the lords of the guardian government.〔 〕 His mother, Queen Hedvig Eleonora, remained the formal regent until Charles XI attained his majority on 18 December 1672, but she was careful not to embroil herself in political conflicts.〔Rystad (2003), p.26〕 During his first appearances in parliament, Charles spoke to the government through her. He would whisper the questions he had in her ear, and she would ask them aloud and clearly for him. 〔Herman Lindqvist: ''Historien om Sverige: Storhet och Fall'' (History of Sweden: Greatness and fall) 〕 As an adolescent, Charles devoted himself to sports, exercise, and his favourite pastime of bear-hunting. He appeared ignorant of the very rudiments of statecraft and almost illiterate. His main difficulties are now seen as evident signs of dyslexia, a disability that was poorly understood at the time.〔Nationalencyclopedin, article ''Karl XII''〕〔Rystad (2003), p.23〕〔Åberg (1958) gives examples: he would start with the last letter when reading words, and would spell ''faton'' instead of ''afton'', etc.〕 According to many contemporary sources, the king was considered poorly educated and therefore not qualified to conduct himself effectively in foreign affairs.〔Upton, Anthony F. (1998). ''Charles XI and Swedish Absolutism, 1660–1697''. Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-521-57390-4, p. 91: "There was a widespread contemporary impression that the king was poorly qualified and ineffective in foreign affairs () The Danish minister, M. Scheel, reported to his king how Charles XI seemed embarrassed by questions, kept his eyes down and was taciturn () The French diplomat, Jean Antoine de Mesmes, comte d’Avaux, described him as 'a prince with few natural talents', so obsessed with getting money out of his subjects that he 'does not concern himself much with foreign affairs'. The Dane, Jens Juel, made a similar comment."〕 Charles was dependent on his mother and advisors to interact with the foreign envoys since he had no foreign language skills apart from German and was ignorant of the world outside the Swedish borders.〔Upton, p. 91.〕 Italian writer Lorenzo Magalotti visited Stockholm in 1674 and described the teenage Charles XI as "virtually afraid of everything, uneasy to talk to foreigners, and not daring to look anyone in the face". Another trait was a deep religious devotion: he was God-fearing, frequently prayed kneeling and attended sermons. Magalotti otherwise described the king's main pursuits as hunting, the upcoming war, and jokes.〔Rystad (2003) p. 37〕〔Åberg (1958), pp.63–65〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Charles XI of Sweden」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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