Märta Berendes was the daughter of nobleman Johan Berendes and Ingeborg Kurck. She became lady-in-waiting to Queen Christina in 1652 and in 1662 married the nobleman and baron Gustaf Posse, who died in 1676. In 1687 she was appointed first lady-in-waiting.
Manuscripts of prayers and observations written by Märta Berendes have survived as well as a biography, which shows how sacred texts in particular, as well as French novels and literature of antiquity, provided linguistic and literary inspiration for her use of her native language.
