Pontus De la Gardie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pontus De la Gardie (ca. 1520-1585) was a French nobleman in the service of the Kingdom of Sweden.
He was born Ponce De La Gardie in Russol (Aude), Languedoc. He became a mercenary in the service of the Kingdom of Denmark, but changed allegiance to Sweden after having been captured by Swedish troops in 1565. In 1581 a mercenary army of Sweden under De la Gardie captured the strategic city of Narva in Estonia from Russia.
He married Sofia Johansdotter Gyllenhielm, the illegitimate daughter of John III of Sweden and the Finnish society lady Karin Hansdotter. De la Gardie died at Narva.
His son, Count and Field Marshal Jacob De la Gardie, was a significant military leader as well.
 This Swedish biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
