Also known as:
German: Karl XII;
Latin: Carolus XII
CHARLES XII, King of Sweden. - Son of Charles XI and of Ulrica Eleonora of Denmark, born on 17 June 1682, killed in the siege of Fredrikshald (Norway), on 30 Nov. 1718. Having, at the age of fifteen, assumed power directly, after a regency of 7 months (Apr.-Nov. 1697), shortened by the will of the regents and of the Riksdag, he governed according to the strictest absolutism. Attacked (1699) in his possessions beyond the Baltic by Denmark, Russia and Poland-Saxony, allied in order to partition them, he defeated them separately, with bold and ingenious tactics, first the Danes, then the Poles, and finally the Russians (Narva, 30 Nov. 1700), but, through a fatal strategic error, he wished to complete the conquest of Poland, leaving Peter of Russia 7 precious years to recover. Having pursued Augustus II as far as Saxony, he forced him to the peace of Altranstädt (14 Sept. 1706) and to the recognition of Stanisław Leszczyński, but having turned against Russia with only 34,000 men, he lost a great part of them in vain advances and the rest in the defeat suffered at Poltava (8 Aug. 1709). Having passed, wounded, into Turkish territory, he was detained there, a voluntary semi-prisoner, for 5 years, deluded by the hope of drawing the Turks against the Russians. Having returned to Sweden (Nov. 1714), he resumed feverish preparations for war and administrative reforms. A rigid Protestant, he had published (1703) a translation of the Bible, undertaken under his father; and, resuming Sweden's traditional role of protector of Lutheranism, he wrested from the emperor concessions in favor of the Lutherans of Austrian Silesia.
Bibliography7 worksR. N. Bain, Charles XII and the collapse of the Swedish Empire, London 1895; G. Godley, Charles of Sweden, ibid. 1928; H. Hjärne, Karl XII.
BIBL.: R. N. Bain, Charles XII and the collapse of the Swedish Empire, London 1895; G. Godley, Charles of Sweden, ibid. 1928; H. Hjärne, Karl XII. omstörtningen i Osteuropa 1697-1703, Stockholm 1932; F. G. Bengtsson, Karl XII., 2 vols., Stockholm and Helsinki 1935-36; O. Haintz, König Karl XII. von Schweden, I: Der Kampf der schwedischen Militärmonarchie um die Vormacht in Nord-und Osteuropa, Berlin 1936; id., König Karl XII. von Schweden im Urteil der Geschichte, ibid. 1936; S. Jägerskiöld, Sverige och Europa 1716-18. Studier i Karl XII. och Görtz utrikespolitik, Uppsala 1937.
Sestan, Ernesto. “Carlo XII, re di svezia.” In Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. III, coll. 850–851. Città del Vaticano: Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1949. https://azioneromana.com/article/carlo-xii-re-di-svezia.
MLA
Sestan, Ernesto. “Carlo XII, re di svezia.” Enciclopedia Cattolica, vol. III, Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico, 1949, coll. 850–851. Azione Romana, https://azioneromana.com/article/carlo-xii-re-di-svezia.
BibTeX
@incollection{ec3_carlo_xii_re_di_svezia,
author = {Sestan, Ernesto},
title = {Carlo XII, re di svezia},
booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica},
volume = {III},
pages = {850--851},
note = {Cited by column},
publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico},
address = {Città del Vaticano},
year = {1949},
url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/carlo-xii-re-di-svezia}
}
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