Sture

A modern depiction of Sten Svantesson (Sten Sture the Younger), together with the arms of the two previous Sture regents, Sten Gustafsson (Sten Sture the Elder) and Svante Nilsson.

Sture (Swedish: [ˈstʉ̌ːrɛ]) was a name borne by three distinct but interrelated noble families in Sweden in the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Period. It was originally a nickname, meaning 'haughty, proud' (compare the Swedish word stursk[1] and the Old Norse and Icelandic personal name Sturla), but later became a surname. Particularly famous are the three regents (Swedish: riksföreståndare) from these families who ruled Sweden in succession during the fifty-year period between 1470 and 1520, namely:

The Sture families are remembered in the names of Sturegatan ('Sture Street') and Stureplan ('Sture Square') in central Stockholm, and by the Sten Sture Monument [sv] in Uppsala, as well as Sture Cheese [sv],[2] which is produced by a dairy in Sävsjö, close to the main seat of the 'Younger Sture' family at Ekesjö [sv].[3]

  1. ^ "stursk". Svenska Akademiens Ordböcker / Swedish Academy Dictionaries. Svenska Akademi.
  2. ^ "A-Ö Produkthistorik". Retrieved 2017-06-27.
  3. ^ Historiskt-geografiskt och statistiskt lexikon öfver Sverige, Vol. II (C-F). pp. 200–1.