Although the Swedish Deluge is usually associated with the pillaging carried out by the army of Charles X Gustav, similar actions were also carried out by Swedish forces during the reign of Charles XII, at the time of the Third Northern War.

When, towards the end of 1697, the then 15-year-old Charles Wittelsbach was crowned King of Sweden, plans for an anti-Swedish alliance were only just taking shape. Less than two years later, Frederick Augustus I, Elector of Saxony—who was also King of Poland (as Augustus II)—King Christian V of Denmark and Tsar Peter I formed an alliance, referred to in historiography as the Northern League. Its aim was to defeat the young monarch and divide the territorial gains – Denmark hoped to regain Scania, Russia sought access to the Baltic Sea and the recovery of Ingria and Karelia, whilst the Elector of Saxony intended to take control of Livonia and establish a hereditary duchy of the House of Wettin there. None of the aggressors expected that the young and inexperienced Charles XII would prove to be an outstanding commander and defeat his opponents one by one before they could join forces.

In 1700, the Swedish army defeated the Danes, then the Russians at the Battle of the Narva, and the Saxon army the following year. Charles XII, having assessed the situation, concluded that Denmark and Russia no longer posed a threat, and resolved to bring about the dethronement of Augustus II in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The situation was complicated by the fact that, formally, Poland was not a party to the war (it only became one in 1704).

The hostilities in Royal Prussia were monitored by Andrzej Chryzostom Załuski, Bishop of Warmia, who, together with Tomasz Działyński, the Voivode of Chełmno, attempted to defend the region against the advance of Charles XII’s forces. He called upon the nobility to raise a levy, but when the Swedish army failed to appear, the troops dispersed to their homes. Charles XII invaded Warmia in late December 1703. He spent several days in Braniewo and Frombork, but chose the episcopal capital of Lidzbark Warmiński as his main headquarters; it had previously been abandoned by Bishop Załuski, who had evacuated to the Prussian city of Königsberg. He remained in Lidzbark for eight months, occupying the castle and the bishop’s palace as his residence.

The Swedish troops imposed enormous levies on the inhabitants of Warmia, and also plundered and destroyed the surrounding estates, mainly those belonging to the bishop, including the palaces in Smolajny and Bischdorf. During the occupation of Lidzbark, the bishop’s archive suffered considerable losses; books, manuscripts and a collection of portraits of the bishops of Warmia, kept in the so-called ‘bishop’s gallery’, were also looted. These paintings were taken to Sweden, probably as early as 1703.

Currently, twelve of these portraits are held in the collection of Skokloster Castle, a Baroque residence situated on Lake Mälaren, which facilitates navigation between Uppsala and Stockholm. It was once owned by General Karol Gustaw Wrangel. In the 18th century, the castle passed into the hands of the Brahe family, and since 1967 it has belonged to the Swedish state.

Among the surviving portraits, one can identify depictions of the following bishops of Warmia:
• Jordan (d. 1328),
• Henry II Wogenap (d. 1334),
• Jan II Stryprock (c. 1300–1373),
• Paulus de Legendorff (c. 1415–1467),
• Fabian Luzjański (c. 1470–1523),
• Maurycy Ferber (1471–1537),
• Tiedeman Giese (1480–1550),
• Szymon Rudnicki (1552–1621),
• Jan Albert Waza (1612–1634),
• Wacław Leszczyński (1605–1666),
• Jan Stefan Wydżga (c. 1610–1685),
• Michał Stefan Radziejowski (1645–1705).

The oil paintings are on canvas, are of similar dimensions (approx. 50 × 58.5 cm) and are unsigned – the artists remain unknown. According to the castle’s inventory, they belonged to Charles XII, and some were given by the king to his chancellor, Carl Piper (1647–1716). The portraits are currently on display on one of the walls of the library at Skokloster Castle, amongst other artefacts, including numerous volumes looted from the territories of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Portrait of Jordan, Bishop of Warmia (1327–1328)
Technique: canvas, oil
Date: c. 1688–1703
Dimensions: 50 x 60 cm
Collection: Skokloster Castle
Inv. no.: 11683

Portrait of Henry II Wogenap Bishop of Warmia (1329–1334)
Technique: canvas, oil
Date: c. 1688–1703
Dimensions: 49 x 59 cm
Collection: Skokloster Castle
Inv. No.: 11681

Portrait of Jan II Strympock Bishop of Warmia (1355–1373)
Technique: canvas, oil
Date: c. 1688–1703
Dimensions: 50 x 58.5 cm
Collection: Skokloster Castle
Inv. No.: 11670

Portrait of Paulus de Legendorff (Paweł Mgowski)
Bishop of Warmia (1458–1467)
Technique: canvas, oil
Date: c. 1688–1703
Dimensions: 50 x 58.5 cm
Collection: Skokloster Castle
Inv. No.: 11682

Portrait of Fabian Luzjański
Bishop of Warmia (1512–1523)
Technique: canvas, oil
Date: c. 1688–1703
Dimensions: 50 x 58.5 cm
Collection: Skokloster Castle
Inv. no.: 11677

Portrait of Maurycy Ferber
Bishop of Warmia (1523–1537)
Technique: canvas, oil
Date: c. 1688–1703
Dimensions: 50 x 57.5 cm
Collection: Skokloster Castle
Inv. No.: 11667

Portrait of Tiedeman Giese
Bishop of Warmia (1549–1550)
Technique: canvas, oil
Date: c. 1688–1703
Dimensions: 49.5 x 58.5 cm
Collection: Skokloster Castle
Inv. no.: 11668

Portrait of Szymon Rudnicki
Bishop of Warmia (1604–1621)
Technique: canvas, oil
Date: c. 1688–1703
Dimensions: 49 x 59 cm
Collection: Skokloster Castle
Inv. No.: 11669

Portrait of Jan Albert Vasa
Bishop of Warmia (1621–1633)
Technique: canvas, oil
Date: c. 1688–1703
Dimensions: 50 x 58.5 cm
Collection: Skokloster Castle
Inv. No.: 11678

Portrait of Wacław Leszczyński
Bishop of Warmia (1644–1658), Archbishop of Gniezno from 1658
Medium: canvas, oil
Date: c. 1688–1703
Dimensions: 48 x 57 cm
Collection: Skokloster Castle
Inv. No.: 11676

Portrait of Jan Stefan Wydżga
Bishop of Warmia (1659–1679)
Technique: canvas, oil
Date: c. 1688–1703
Dimensions: 49 x 56.5 cm
Collection: Skokloster Castle
Inv. no.: 11674

Portrait of Michał Stefan Radziejowski
Bishop of Warmia (1679–1688)
Technique: canvas, oil
Date: c. 1688–1703
Dimensions: 49 x 59 cm
Collection: Skokloster Castle
Inv. no.: 11671