Maria Ersdotter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Maria Ersdotter, (1685- 19 July 1721), was a Swedish woman executed for incest after having a child with her former step-son.
The 16 November 1720, Maria, widow after the military furir Nils Dullfjär (d.1718), gave birth to a child two years after the death of her husband. The child, a son, was weak and a priest was called upon to baptize it alredy the day after. On his way to the farm, the mother of Maria told the priest that the father of the child was corporal Albrekt Nilsson Dullfjär, twenty four years old and former step-son of Maria; his mother had been the first wife of Maria's husband. When the priest arrived to the farm, he asked Maria who the father was. She did not wish to answer, but finally, he managed to make her admit that the father was her former step-son. The priest then forced her to repeat her confession; first to her relatives, and then in front of three other witnesses, before the child was baptized.
The 12 January 1721, Maria and Albrekt was put on trial for incest, a crime which during this period was still punishable by death. According to the law of religion, founded on the words of the bible, it did not matter that they where in fact not related what so ever; relations by marriage was counted as the same thing as relations by blood, and therefore, Maria and Albrekt was to be judged as if they where biologically mother and son.
Maria's maids testified that Albrekt, during his leave of absence from the army, often wanted to stay on the farm of his former step mother, and that they seemed to be in love with each other, and even slept in the same bed occasionally, though, as one maid said; "Yes, you could plainly see that they wanted to be with each other, but could not because of their ties"; Maria and Albrekt were both, as it seemed, well liked. Albrekt himself answered that although he might have shared bed with Maria "in youthful vanity", they had not done more than that. The court decided to take a pause so that Albrekt could be interrogated by two priests. When he returned, he confessed with the words, "Be that as it may, I admit that it is true."
The court judged Maria and Albrekt guilty of incest and sentenced them to death according to chapter 20, 11 verse, third book of Moses in the bible. The sentence was confirmed by the high court, and the 19 July 1721, Maria and Albrekt was executed togheter by decapitation.
