Gyldenstierne (noble family)

Gyldenstierne coat of arms.
This painting illustrates King Charles XI together with his advisors, whereof Johan Gyllenstierna.

The Gyldenstjerne family, also spelled Gyldenstierne (Swedish: Gyllenstierna, lit. 'Golden Star'), is a Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish noble family divided into various branches and ranks. It is one of the oldest noble families in Scandinavia. The family surname appears, in the form of Guildenstern, in William Shakespeare's tragedy The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern). The surname should not be confused with Gyldensteen ("Golden Stone"), the name of another short-lived Danish noble family, first recorded in 1717 and which became extinct in 1749.[1]

The family has a prominent position in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish history. It belonged to the higher nobility, and paradoxically, in Sweden it supported the absolute monarchy. The member with the highest standing was the noblewoman Kristina Nilsdotter Gyllenstierna, who as Sten Sture the younger's wife was regent consort of Sweden.[2]

  1. ^ Jon Gunnar Arntzen. "Gyldenstierne". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  2. ^ "Kristina Nilsdotter (Gyllenstierna)". Svenskt Biografiskt Lexikon. Retrieved July 1, 2017.