Legacies in Letters
Polman family history written in their own words
A Polmanarkivet exhibition curated by Kriti Bajaj
FOYER
Welcome
Missives to the future
Is there anything more intimate than the handwriting of a person, flowing through time? Quills dipped in ink, scrawls on pages, certain dates, royal signatures, galaxies of adjectives, sealed with wax, transported across maps.
In this exhibition, we explore not only the reasons people wrote letters, but also the emotions and sincerity that we can glean from them. A hurried or shaky hand. A self-pitying or flattering collection of sentences. A decisive plea. Writing to power.
Letters – especially those presented here – were often purposefully aimed at certain outcomes, and offered a means for the writer to be considered by those in higher positions, such as royals, the church and the state. These letters provide invaluable evidence and insights for historians and genealogists to connect the dots where no other documentation might be available.
This is the purpose of Polmanarkivet's Legacy in Letters project – to shine a light on these forgotten everyday communications, and dust them off to be read once again.
Our virtual collection comprises letters from 1601 through 1795, and through our ongoing endeavour of funding their translation into English, they are now accessible to more people than ever before.
As you walk through the exhibition, you'll meet some of our favourite (and least favourite) people from the Polman, Påhlman and von Pohlmann families, and witness their lives intertwine with royalty and persons of prominence in their time. In each case, letters fill in the gaps, add to the story or deepen the narrative.
Let's heat our letter openers. We've got mail from the past.
ONE
Room of Loyalty
Jürgen's imprisonment
On 10 August 1603, an anxious Jürgen Polman wrote to his commander Anders Lennartsson.
“I will not withhold from you that I have been captured, and I think, while many upright people stayed at my side, God saved my life and the time of my death has not yet been determined.”
Jürgen, the progenitor of the Baltic-German Polman family line, lived in Estonia (then Livonia), and allied with various successive Swedish monarchs during his career. In return for providing the customary "horse service", he received titles such as Oeconomus Amtmann (a financial position) and various properties. Such service usually involved also serving in a military capacity when called upon to do so.
Signature of Jürgen Polman
Signature of Jürgen Polman
But loyalty must beget loyalty, and this letter conveys his fear of abandonment. Jürgen didn't hesitate to impress upon Lennartsson the exact services he had offered to the crown for years.
Written in German, the language of preference for nobility in the region, the letter opens with gratitude but quickly moves on to business.
Read the English translation of the letter here (#LIL-2).
Göran [Jürgen] Pålman the Elder, c. 17th century, via Militärhögskolan Karlberg
Göran [Jürgen] Pålman the Elder, c. 17th century, via Militärhögskolan Karlberg
Jürgen Polman's letter to Anders Lennartsson, August 10, 1603, via Riksarkivet
Jürgen Polman's letter to Anders Lennartsson, August 10, 1603, via Riksarkivet
Jürgen Polman's letter to Anders Lennartsson, August 10, 1603, via Riksarkivet
Jürgen Polman's letter to Anders Lennartsson, August 10, 1603, via Riksarkivet
“Because I am serving [...] the Crown of Sweden in my third year, honestly, veraciously, and faithfully... at my own cost with four horses under the [Dorpat?] banner, and have proven my reliability and faithfulness with my property, limb and blood, in this last foray, and because my wife and children shall not remain inconsolable and must not fall into poverty, therefore I appeal to Your Grace [...] that [...] the matter will not be drawn out [...].”
Portrait of King Charles IX of Sweden, oil on canvas, Nationalmuseet, via Wikimedia Commons
Portrait of King Charles IX of Sweden, oil on canvas, Nationalmuseet, via Wikimedia Commons
Robert Haglund, Karl IX's sängkammare å Gripsholm, 1908, etching, via Wikimedia Commons
Robert Haglund, Karl IX's sängkammare å Gripsholm, 1908, etching, via Wikimedia Commons
A letter of recommendation for Jürgen Polman from Axel Korck, National Archives of Estonia
A letter of recommendation for Jürgen Polman from Axel Korck, National Archives of Estonia
States of war
Between 1600 and 1629, Sweden and Poland were involved in several conflicts, dragging Livonia in with them. It was likely during one of these wars that Jürgen was captured.
Jürgen was involved nearly from the beginning. In 1601, as the hauptmann (captain) at Antsla, he recruited over a hundred farmers to the war effort. Duke Karl, later crowned Karl IX, personally wrote a letter commending his actions and urging him to enlist still more farmers.
Signature of Karl IX of Sweden, via Wikimedia Commons
Signature of Karl IX of Sweden, via Wikimedia Commons
When he found himself in captivity, therefore, Jürgen adopted a tone of expectation with finality. He asked for his planned release in exchange for a Polish prisoner to be expedited, reminding Lennartsson almost sternly that:
“If I, against all hope, should not be freed any time soon, it will cause great loathing among many righteous people who will think twice to risk their life and limb again.”
A 1608 letter from Jürgen's commander, Axel Korck, supports and commends his service over the years, so Jürgen's claims five years previously were not empty.
“[I?] give credible and sincere testimony about him, that he has behaved as a noble and honest soldier does and should, and has been diligent on guard and as a scout, as well as all other duties and matters that were asked of him at his Royal Majesty’s behalf to perform and to comply.”
Read Duke Karl and Axel Korck's letters in English here (#LIL-1 and #LIL-4).
In this letter from 1601, Sweden's Duke Karl generously tells Jürgen, “We allow ourselves to be very pleased with your diligence.”
In 1603, Jürgen reminded the royals exactly why his continued imprisonment may cause displeasure.
TWO
Room of Regard
About a princess
When princess Auguste of Brunswick found herself in dire danger from her abusive husband of seven years, it was Russia's Queen Catherine II who became her saviour. Together they staged a public performance that would allow Auguste to escape to Estonia unsuspected.
Before it came to this, however, the two women had grown closer over the summer of 1783. In her letters, Catherine referred to Auguste as "Zelmire", after the protagonist of an eponymous 1762 drama by Pierre Laurent Buiret de Bellois. Auguste was also bestowed with the Order of St. Catherine for assisting in the birth of the Empress' first granddaughter.
In Estonia, Catherine made arrangements for Auguste to be in the care of her esteemed friend, Reinhold Wilhelm von Pohlmann. She provided him with an estate, Lohde (today known as Koluvere), where he could shelter her from the limelight.
Catherine's interest in Zelmire did not terminate with her evacuation; the queen regularly wrote to her.
“The princess says if the people in Reval are as pleasant as Jägermeister Pohlmann and Madame Wilde, she shall be quite satisfied with them.”
Catherine's correspondents
Catherine also requested and responded to regular updates from Reinhold, sharing her own news with him.
“My dear Mr. I received your letter of July 24th yesterday with attachment. The little woman, it seems, is not very keen to leave here, and she is not wrong: she wants to live quietly. From her husband and relatives, she can hope for little or no rest. [...] She seems very content and loves you and Madame Wilde immensely. [...] How is the whole household?”
Signature of Catherine the Great, via Wikimedia Commons
Signature of Catherine the Great, via Wikimedia Commons
A prolific letter writer, Catherine wrote thousands of letters, the recipients of which included illustrious figures such as Voltaire, Gustav III of Sweden and Frederick the Great of Prussia. She comfortably switched languages for her correspondents. Auguste and von Pohlmann, for example, received letters in German, while the Empress also had a mastery over French and Russian.
In particular, her letters with the German baron Friedrich Melchior Grimm are well known. Grimm resided in Paris and served as her European cultural agent, and there was little that she did not share with him, even often to the point of being "shockingly honest". She naturally kept him abreast of developments with Auguste, and held his opinion in high regard.
“Zelmire having only me in the world, I swear in your hands that I will not abandon her. She is gentle as a lamb in Lohde, and she is adored by the few people around her. [...] Her people swear by her; she reads or works, or makes music, or walks; with that she is courageous and firm. [...] I am very glad that you are satisfied with what I have done for him, and that my friend Pohlmann, whom you knew by his prudence, thwarted the shenanigans of the dad and husband.”
Baron von Grimm, 1769, engraved by John Swaine, via Wikimedia Commons
Baron von Grimm, 1769, engraved by John Swaine, via Wikimedia Commons
After Auguste
When sudden tragedy befell Lohde, it was only letters – albeit erratic, and possibly many destroyed – that told the story.
On 19 September 1788, Reinhold sent the following missive to Catherine, "written in an unsure hand":
“Gracious Empress! The disorder in the natural condition of the Princess, which has been evident for quite a while, and which sometimes improved, but soon thereafter got worse again, ended unhappily. On the 16th of the month the princess suddenly developed terrible bleeding that continued without interruption [...] and which ended her life.
It is impossible to describe how this sudden and totally unexpected death has affected and shocked me. [...] I humbly beg your majesty for forgiveness for the bad and messy handwriting, but still in a state of shock after such an unexpected and unfortunate incident.”
Consequently, Catherine wrote to Grimm – though, presumably, the letter in which she first shared the news is missing:
“It seems that M. de Feronce is curious to know what I told you about Zelmire’s death: hey! What could I say except that Zelmire is dead? […] First factotum sent to Lohde; the doctor said that Zelmire sent for him several times to consult him about her health, that he made her remedies for the disease from which she died, and that at the time of her death he was absent, that one sent for [him], but that he found her dead, for she had only been ill for a few hours.”
The enigma around Auguste's death dragged her and Pohlmann into gossip and controversy, but Catherine did not abandon the latter in his disgrace. He continued to consult her regarding practical matters, debts and sales to wrap up his assignment before retreating to his home and family in Kodila.
Auguste had found peace in her situation, however; shortly before her death, she wrote to her mother:
“I have become so accustomed to the solitude, that it will be easy for me to live like this forever. […] It seems to me the best option for the moment to live far from the big world; I think nobody can blame me…my decision is irrevocable.”
THREE
Room of Discord
A troubled marriage
In 1672, the bishop of Växjö received a series of agitated letters from the couple residing at Ugglansryd, the Påhlman family estate. Johan Påhlman indignantly complained that his wife Margareta had abandoned him in the dead of night:
“My wife left me the 14th of February in the night when I was in my deepest slumber, and took the children and a great deal of the house’s things, when I awoke in the morning no maid caring for the cattle could be seen, left the house in disarray and me in great distress and pain.”
Involving several possessions and people, it was likely not a quick getaway.
Margareta, not to be thus outdone and accused, took to her own fiery quill in a letter dated a month later. Informing the bishop that her husband was a "bad Christian" and a "tyrant" – undoubtedly not a great influence on their young children due to his habit of "[lying] at home in daily murmuring and leading an undisciplined life of cursing and rage" – she requested, not for the first time, permission to leave him.
Silfversparre (no. 99) coat of arms, Stiernstedt & Klingspor, via Riddarhuset
Silfversparre (no. 99) coat of arms, Stiernstedt & Klingspor, via Riddarhuset
Påhlman coat of arms from Sweden's Nobility Calendar, 2016. © Riddarhuset.
Påhlman coat of arms from Sweden's Nobility Calendar, 2016. © Riddarhuset.
“[He] considers me not his wife but much worse than his slave and servant, that I must myself alone endure all the duties inside and outside, and in addition suffer his cruel beatings that leave me with broken bones, that my life at no time is certain, neither on the church road or anywhere else. [...]
I for that reason can no longer have confidence about staying in his company, as he so little regarded the reconciliation that occurred several years ago. [...] And after five trips to the church pastor, meant to unify us, so little of his mind subsequently has turned toward improvement.”
Johan's letter to the bishop in 1672 via Riksarkivet
Johan's letter to the bishop in 1672 via Riksarkivet
Margareta's letter to the bishop in 1672 via Riksarkivet
Margareta's letter to the bishop in 1672 via Riksarkivet
Johan Baazius the Younger, Archbishop of Sweden, 1906, Svenskt Biografiskt Handlexikon via Wikimedia Commons
Johan Baazius the Younger, Archbishop of Sweden, 1906, Svenskt Biografiskt Handlexikon via Wikimedia Commons
Irreconcilable differences
Despite her pleas, the the couple publicly reconciled in April of 1672 "with embrace and handshake.” The discord, however, did not magically disappear. In 1687, on Margareta's distressed request, the pastor wrote to acquit her of accusations made by Johan:
“Church Pastor Laurentius (Lars) Siggonius affirms, of Agunnaryd 11/3/1687, that he about the Noble Mrs. Margareta Silfversparre at Ugglansryd never has heard or known other than that she is lawful, honest and good, to the best of my knowledge confirm her being completely innocent of that which her husband accuses, 'that she once in my house has had illegal intercourse with another man, who is now dead, which I under oath will affirm.'”
Decision from Växjö Domkapital in 1672, Prot. 1667, pp. 384-85 via Riksarkivet
Decision from Växjö Domkapital in 1672, Prot. 1667, pp. 384-85 via Riksarkivet
Neither the accusations nor her fears subsided even with external mediation, as seen in another desperate letter the same year:
“As I with anguish in my heart cannot fully express my great sorrow about what I must endure with my husband Johan Påhlman, in that he with daily course and malicious accusations against me, that if I were so wicked and shameful person I would not be worthy to live, but rather should be sentenced to death by sword or fire, and since this is a dangerous world and a person does not know how long her days are, if God will call me, I fear that he [Påhlman] will cause me a severe injury.”
In 17th century Sweden, divorce was granted on one of two grounds – adultery or desertion – influenced by the religious norms of the time. It seemed that Margareta was accused of the former and actually attempted the latter, but in both cases, her husband's goal seemed to be her punishment.
Margareta's escape from this tumultuous, abusive marriage only came with Johan's death in 1693. She then became the owner of Ugglansryd, from where she continued to write letters against injustice.
Read Margareta and Johan's letters in English here (#LIL-11 to 14).
FOUR
Room of Justice
For home and livelihood
“Yet, against all my confidence, longstanding service and fairness, under our Majesty my gracious King on 18 July 1615 the captain of cavalry Peder Hansen acquired 12 of the best farms of my feoff, claiming that I had not provided the horse, as I should have, for a long time, an accusation which is not true as I can prove.”
Jürgen again, needing to remind the higher ups – not for the first time – of his loyalty, dutiful fulfilment of what was asked of him, and also, in detail, what he had been promised in exchange.
His 1615 letter to Axel Oxenstierna, the Lord High Chancellor of Sweden and a prominent historical figure, opens with an appropriately flattering address: "Wellborn, noble, gracious Lord, Imperial Chancellor, mighty patron" – sentiments reiterated throughout the letter. He also adopts some self-pity in his appeal, referring to himself as a "poor exile" and "old man" in need of assured means of livelihood for his family. He feels compelled to "remind" the chancellor of the King's promise, complete with its terms and dates.
Consequently, Jürgen was temporarily given the Estonian knight manor Tuttomäggi (Tuudi), and eventually, he was gifted the estate of Öötla (Oethel) in Estonia’s St. Petri parish by King Gustavus Adolphus.
Read the English translation of the letter here (#LIL-5).
Jürgen Polman's letter to Axel Oxenstierna, 1615
Jürgen Polman's letter to Axel Oxenstierna, 1615
Jürgen Polman's letter to Axel Oxenstierna, 1615
Jürgen Polman's letter to Axel Oxenstierna, 1615
Jürgen Polman's letter to Axel Oxenstierna, 1615
Jürgen Polman's letter to Axel Oxenstierna, 1615
Jacob Heinrich Elbfas, Portrait of Axel Oxenstierna, 1626, Nationalmuseum, via Wikimedia Commons
Jacob Heinrich Elbfas, Portrait of Axel Oxenstierna, 1626, Nationalmuseum, via Wikimedia Commons
In 1694, Margareta Silfversparre made a plea to Karl XI against the reduction of farm lands after her husband's death. Using language similar to Jürgen's, she referred to herself as a "highly distressed" widow with "8 small fatherless children" who needed the income from the land. Her language was often clear and decisive, such as:
“She requests that her lifetime entitlement to the farms be restored.”
Margareta Silfversparre's letter to Karl XI, 1694 via Riksarkivet
Margareta Silfversparre's letter to Karl XI, 1694 via Riksarkivet
Using letter writing for persuasion and to get results was her forte, and she was rather successful. Ugglansryd remained in the Påhlman family until 1798.
Read Margareta's letter to Karl XI here (#LIL-15)
Many of her letters, while adopting similar language, also have strong calls to action.
“Mrs. Margareta Silfversparre, a deeply grieving widow, in her letter of “Gällaryd” July 12, 1697, files the complaint that her youngest daughter Maja Påhlman [Maria] has been 'by Välborne [of noble birth] Isak Nederwood, she says, dishonored in the promise of marriage.'”
Throughout this scandal, both mother and daughter made efforts to be heard and to challenge the moral standards applied to women. Silent submission was not an option.
Wild and lost sheep
Another translation is more accusatory – or perhaps gives more agency – where Margareta "expresses her regret" that Maria, "in her childish lack of judgement through the greatest misfortune allowed herself [...] to be disgraced." However it is interpreted, the letter is a demand for fairness.
“[She] asks that both of the young people may testify before the domkapitel.”
Signature of Margareta Silfversparre
Signature of Margareta Silfversparre
In 1699, Isak faced the consequences, for he could "not be released from his obligation to Maria Påhlman as father of their illegitimately born child", and if he refused to marry her, "he shall, consistent with the 1665 royal statute, be banished."
Presumably this didn't go well, and for those three years, Maria was banned from entering the church owing to her status as "a woman of easy virtue" who "has carried on in love affairs with younger men." Maria countered this by filing a complaint against the church in 1699, and Margareta backed it up in 1700.
“Mrs. Margareta Silfversparre, a deeply distressed widow, asks in a letter written to Växjö Domkapitel, that her daughter Maja Påhlman may be permitted admission again in the congregation’s fellowship, may receive the blessed sacrament and live as a Christian and not as a wild and lost sheep, as she has done now for the fourth year.”
She was once again successful: the Domkapitel allowed that "as a legal wife [Maria] be admitted to the church." Now she just needed a husband.
A suitable candidate arrived in the form of Stockholm-born Field Surgeon Clas Vilken, who was willing to marry the "violated" Maria.
“[...] attest here that Field Surgeon Clas Vilken has for some time been employed in Huseby, and to the best of my knowledge, conducted himself honestly and well, and has not had relations with any women in the area, and as he now hopes to find good fortune in another place, he is recommended and wished the best in his new home.”
Whether or not this was a truly happy ending, it does seem to indicate the closure desired by the authors of these letters.
EXIT
“Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them.”
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Images & Citations
Cover: Certificate from Empress Katarina II of Russia confirming the right of ownership of Justice Niklas Friedrich von Hagmann (Gagmann) to the Mannlehnsgut Gross- und Klein-Etsl sold by Jägermeister Polmann, 1774 © Rahvusarhiiv
Foyer: (1) Henrik Frankelin's Stammbuch, 1582-1610 (Uppsala), Y 52 (2) Seal with the coat of arms of the Pohlmanns, c. 1800-1880 © Tallinna Linnamuuseum
Room 1: (1) The city of Tartu (Dorpat) in 1533 via Wikimedia Commons (2) Duke Karl's letter to Jürgen Polman, July 30, 1601, via Riksarkivet
Room 2: (1) Herzogin Auguste von Württemberg, 1788, oil on canvas, via Wikimedia Commons (2) Portrait of Catherine II of Russia, 1780s, oil on canvas, Kunsthistorisches Museum via Wikimedia Commons || Translated excerpts of letters from Riëtha Kühle, Princess Auguste: On a Tightrope Between Love and Abuse (Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, 2021)
Room 3: Excerpts of letters from filings at the Växjö Domkapitel of Kullebo (Prot. 1667, pp. 384-85; Filing 1672 no. 83; 26 March 1672; ; Filing 1687 no. 327; Filing 1687 no. 934; translated from Swedish by Lars Jenner, PhD for Polmanarkivet
Room 4: (1) A postcard from Ugglansryd, Ryssby in 1904, when the manor was owned by the Raab family (2) Växjö Domkyrka, Swedish National Heritage Board collection via Wikimedia Commons || Excerpts of letters from filings at the Växjö Domkapitel of KulleboFiling 1697 No. 284; Filing 1699 no. 150; Filing 1699 no. 349. Filing 1700 no. 38 & 47; 30 December 1700; translated from Swedish by Lars Jenner, PhD for Polmanarkivet
Exit: Seal with the coat of arms of the Pohlmanns, c. 1800-1880 © Tallinna Linnamuuseum
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