and Catherine Stenbock by boat, and took them to the rebellious John in Uppsala. John officially claimed, that Eric had planned to give them as hostages to Russia, in place of John's own consort, which he had tried before. The marriage became extremely unhappy. Reports describe Magnus as a typical brutal German mercenary, notorious for his abuse of his subordinates. Early on, it became known that he subjected Sophia to spousal abuse—apparently motivated by severe jealousy. According to the chronicle of Aegidius Girs, Sophia became insane by the treatment she was given by Magnus, who: "...showed his princess all unkindness, spit and shameful slander, that she of the sorrow was caused great weakness of the head." In 1571, Magnus pawned her jewelry to finance his conquest of Sachsen-Lauenburg. He soon spent her money, and Sophia was forced to constantly ask her family to finance his ambitions. In 1575, her brother King John III granted Magnus the Swedish fief Sonnenburg on Ösel to make him leave Sweden, but he was soon cast out from Ösel because of his brutal rule. Magnus soon became unpopular with Sophia's family because of how he treated her. He also came in conflict with John III in 1576 when he forbid his subjects in Sophia's fief from paying taxes and executing their working duty for the crown. In 1577, reports said that Magnus prevented Sophia from receiving letters from her family and accepting invitations, and isolated her from the outside world. Later life In 1578, John III had Magnus arrested, imprisoned, and exiled from the country. He forced Magnus to leave his and Sophia's son in her care, and put Sophia's fiefs in her sole name. John III granted her the fiefs Ekolsund Castle and Venngarn Castle. In 1581, reports had Magnus spreading rumors in Germany about Sophia. John had the Emperor ban Magnus from making slanders against Sophia that could blacken her name and endanger her son's inheritance and her right to her dower lands. Sophia devoted later life to her son Gustav. She worked to ensure his rights in Sachsen-Lauenburg and his future. She kept Gustaf with her rather than send him away as was the custom, and was said to spoil him to a point where his character was destroyed. In 1595, she came into conflict when Gustaf persuaded her to grant him half of her fief—which she retracted with the assistance of