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Title: The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa

Author: Paul Barron Watson

Release date: August 30, 2007 [eBook #22458]

Language: English

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        Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION UNDER GUSTAVUS VASA ***




Produced by Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net









                        THE
                 SWEDISH REVOLUTION
                       UNDER
                   GUSTAVUS VASA


                         BY

                 PAUL BARRON WATSON
 AUTHOR OF "MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS" AND MEMBER OF
          AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION


                       BOSTON
             LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY




 _Copyright, 1889_,
 BY PAUL BARRON WATSON.


 UNIVERSITY PRESS:
 JOHN WILSON AND SON, CAMBRIDGE.




    Transcriber's Note

    Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note.
    Original spellings have been retained.

    The carat symbol [^] has been used to note 'superscript', whilst the
    following less common characters have been transcribed as follows:

      [oe] oe ligature
      [=a] a with macron
      [=e] e with macron
      [=n] n with macron
      [=o] o with macron




PREFACE.


No name in history lies deeper in Swedish hearts than the name Gustavus
Vasa. Liberator of Sweden from the yoke of Denmark, and founder of one
of the foremost dynasties of Europe, his people during more than three
centuries have looked back fondly to the figure of their great ruler,
and cherished with tender reverence every incident in his romantic
history. This enthusiasm for Gustavus Vasa is more than sentiment; it
belongs to him as leader in a vast political upheaval. When Gustavus
came upon the stage, the Swedish people had long been groaning under a
foreign despotism. During more than a century their political existence
had been ignored, their rights as freemen trampled in the dust. They had
at last been goaded into a spirit of rebellion, and were already
struggling to be free. What they most needed was a leader with courage
to summon them to arms, and with perseverance to keep them in the
field. Possessing these traits beyond all others, Gustavus called his
people forth to war, and finally brought them through the war to
victory. This revolution extended over a period of seven years,--from
the uprising of the Dalesmen in 1521 to the coronation of Gustavus in
1528. It is a period that should be of interest, not only to the student
of history, but also to the lover of romance. In order to render the
exact nature of the struggle clear, I have begun the narrative at a time
considerably before the revolution, though I have not entered deeply
into details till the beginning of the war in 1521. By the middle of the
year 1523, when Gustavus was elected king, actual warfare had nearly
ceased, and the scenes of the drama change from the battle-field to the
legislative chamber. In this period occurred the crowning act of the
revolution; namely, the banishment of the Romish Church and clergy.

The history of the Swedish Revolution has never before been written in
the English language. Even Gustavus Vasa is but little known outside his
native land. Doubtless this is due in large measure to the difficulties
which beset a study of the period. It is not a period to which the
student of literature can turn with joy. One who would know Gustavus
well must traverse a vast desert of dreary reading, and pore over many
volumes of verbose despatches before he can find a drop of moisture to
relieve the arid soil. Sweden in the early part of the sixteenth century
was not fertile in literary men. Gustavus himself, judged by any
rational standard, was an abominable writer. His despatches are in
number almost endless and in length appalling. Page after page he runs
on, seemingly with no other object than to use up time. Often a document
covers four folios, which might easily have been compressed into a
single sentence. Such was the habit of the age. A simple letter from a
man to his wife consisted mainly of a mass of stereotyped expressions of
respect. Language was used apparently to conceal vacuity of mind. Toward
the close of the monarch's reign there was a marked improvement in
literary style, and some few works of that period possess real worth.
These have recently been printed, and as a rule have been edited with
considerable care. The king's despatches are also being systematically
printed by the authorities of the Royal Archives at Stockholm, and the
cloud of ignorance which has hitherto hung over the head of Sweden's
early monarch is lifting fast. The tenth volume of the king's
despatches, known as _Gustaf I.'s registratur_ has now been published,
carrying this contemporary transcript of the king's letters down to the
summer of 1535. The only documents bearing on the Swedish Revolution and
not yet published, are the MSS. known as _Gustaf I.'s rådslagar_,
_Gustaf I.'s acta historica_, and _Gustaf I.'s bref med bilagor_,--all
to be found in the Royal Archives at Stockholm,--and the MSS. known as
the _Palmskiöld samlingar_ in the Upsala Library. All these I have
carefully examined. I have also browsed during several months among the
libraries of Sweden, and have spared no pains to get at everything,
written or printed, contemporary or subsequent, that might throw light
upon the subject. The most important of these materials are mentioned in
the bibliography inserted immediately before the Index to this work. In
order to add vividness as well as accuracy to the narrative, I have
visited personally nearly all the battle-fields and other spots
connected with this history. My descriptions of the leading
contemporaries of Gustavus are based on a careful study of the portraits
in the Gripsholm gallery, most of which were painted from life.

Finally, a word of thanks is due to the libraries and archives from
which I have derived most aid. Of these the chief are the British
Museum, the University Library at Upsala, and above all, the Royal
Library and the Royal Archives at Stockholm. To the last two
institutions I owe more than I can express. They are the storehouses of
Swedish history, and their doors were thrown open to me with a
generosity and freedom beyond all that I could hope. I wish here to
thank my many friends, the custodians of these treasures, for the
personal encouragement and assistance they have lent me in the
prosecution of this work.

_August 15, 1889._




CONTENTS.


 CHAPTER I.

 CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 1496-1513.
                                                                    PAGE
 Birth of Gustavus.--His Ancestors.--Anarchy in Sweden.--Its
   Causes: Former Independence of the People; Growth of
   Christianity; Growth of the Aristocracy; the Cabinet;
   Enslavement of Sweden; Revolt of the People against
   Denmark.--Christiern I.--Sten Sture.--Hans.--Svante
   Sture.--Sten Sture the Younger.--Childhood of
   Gustavus.--His Education at Upsala                                  1


 CHAPTER II.

 FIRST MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS;
 A PRISONER IN DENMARK. 1514-1519.

 Description of Stockholm.--Christina Gyllenstjerna.--Hemming
   Gad.--Christiern II.--Gustaf Trolle.--Dissension between
   Sten Sture and Gustaf Trolle.--Siege of Stäket.--First
   Expedition of Christiern II. against Sweden.--Trial of the
   Archbishop.--Arcimboldo.--Second Expedition of Christiern
   II. against Sweden.--Capture of Gustavus Vasa.--Resignation
   of the Archbishop.--Hostilities of Christiern II.--Farewell
   of Arcimboldo.                                                     28


 CHAPTER III.

 FLIGHT OF GUSTAVUS; UPRISING OF THE
 DALESMEN. 1519-1521.

 Escape of Gustavus from Denmark.--Lubeck.--Return of Gustavus
   to Sweden.--Excommunication of Sture.--Invasion of
   Sweden.--Death of Sture.--Dissolution of the Swedish
   Army.--Heroism of Christina.--Battle of Upsala.--Gustavus
   at Kalmar.--Fall of Stockholm.--Coronation of Christiern
   II.--Slaughter of the Swedes.--Flight of Gustavus to
   Dalarne.--Efforts to rouse the Dalesmen.--Gustavus chosen
   Leader.                                                            59


 CHAPTER IV.

 WAR OF INDEPENDENCE; ELECTION OF GUSTAVUS
 TO THE THRONE. 1521-1523.

 Causes of the War.--Character of the Dalesmen.--Growth of
   the Patriot Army.--Didrik Slagheck.--Battle of
   Köping.--Capture of Vesterås; of Upsala.--Skirmish with
   Trolle.--Skirmishes near Stockholm.--Siege of
   Stegeborg.--Norby.--Rensel.--Brask.--Progress of the
   War.--Coinage of Gustavus.--Christiern's Troubles in
   Denmark.--Siege of Stockholm.--Fall of Kalmar.--Diet of
   Strengnäs.--Fall of Stockholm.--Retrospect of the War.             90


 CHAPTER V.

 BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 1523-1524.

 Nature of the Reformation in Europe.--Cause of the
   Reformation in Sweden.--The Debt to Lubeck.--Riches
   of the Church.--Relations of Gustavus to the
   Pope.--Johannes Magni.--New Taxation.--Dissension
   among the People.--Opposition of Gustavus to the
   Pope.--Trial of Peder Sunnanväder.--Expedition against
   Gotland.--Repudiation of the "Klippings."--Berent
   von Mehlen.--Negotiations between Fredrik and
   Norby.--Congress of Malmö.--Efforts to appease the
   People.--Lutheranism.--Olaus Petri.--Laurentius
   Andreæ.--Brask's Efforts to repress Heresy.--Religious
   Tendencies of Gustavus.--Character of Brask.                      118


 CHAPTER VI.

 RELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 1524-1525.

 Riot of the Anabaptists.--Contest between Olaus Petri and
   Peder Galle.--Marriage of Petri.--Conspiracy of Norby; of
   Christina Gyllenstjerna; of Mehlen; of Sunnanväder.--Attitude
   of Fredrik to Gustavus.--Proposition of Gustavus to resign
   the Crown.--Norby's Incursion into Bleking.--Surrender of
   Visby.--Flight of Mehlen.--Fall of Kalmar.                        165


 CHAPTER VII.

 DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 1525-1527.

 Negotiations between Fredrik and Gustavus.--Treachery of
   Norby.--Sunnanväder and the Cabinet of Norway.--Overthrow
   and Death of Norby.--Trial and Execution of Knut and
   Sunnanväder.--Debt to Lubeck.--Treaty with Russia; with
   the Netherlands.--Dalarne and the Lubeck Envoys.--Swedish
   Property in Denmark.--Province of Viken.--Refugees in
   Norway.                                                           190


 CHAPTER VIII.

 INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 1525-1527.

 Nature of the Period.--Translation of the Bible.--Quarrel
   between the King and Brask.--Opposition to the
   Monasteries.--High-handed Measures of the King.--Second
   Disputation between Petri and Galle.--Opposition to Luther's
   Teaching.--Banishment of Magni.--Further Opposition to the
   Monasteries.--Revolt of the Dalesmen.--Diet of
   Vesterås.--"Vesterås Recess."--"Vesterås Ordinantia."--Fall
   of Brask; his Flight; his Character.                              220


 CHAPTER IX.

 CORONATION OF THE KING. 1528.

 Reasons for Delay of the Coronation.--Preparations for the
   Ceremony.--Consecration of the Bishops.--Coronation
   Festival.--Retrospect of the Revolution.--Character
   of Gustavus.                                                      268


 BIBLIOGRAPHY                                                        277

 INDEX                                                               293




ILLUSTRATIONS.


                                                                    PAGE
 Seal of Bishop Brask. Bears the inscription: S[IGILLVM]
   IOH[ANN]IS DEI GRA[CIA] EPI[SCOPI] LINCOPENSIS                    103

 "Klipping" issued by Gustavus Vasa in 1521 or 1522. On one
   side, the bust of a man in armor. On the other, crowns and
   arrows, with the inscription: ERI[KS]SO[N]                        107

 Medal struck in commemoration of the deliverance of Sweden
   in 1522. On one side, a half-length figure of Gustavus
   Vasa, with the date 1522 and the inscription: GVSTAF
   ERICSEN G[VBERNATOR] R[EGNI] S[VECIAE]. On the other,
   crowns and arrows, with the inscription: PROTEGE NOS IESV         116

 Coin issued in Stockholm in 1522. On one side, the
   inscription: GOSTA[F] ERI[KS] SO[N] 1522, and in the
   centre, G[VBERNATOR]. On the other, a crown, with the
   inscription: MONET[A] STO[C]KHOLM[ENSIS]                          122

 Coin issued in Stockholm in 1522. On one side, a full-length
   figure, with the inscription: S[ANCTVS] ERICVS REX
   SWECIEI. On the other, crowns and arrows, with the
   inscription: MONE[TA] STO[C]KHOLM[ENSIS] 1522                     122

 Coin issued in Stockholm in 1522 or 1523. On one side, three
   crowns, with the inscription: S[ANCTVS] ERICVS REX
   SVE[CIAE]. On the other, the inscription: MONETA
   STOC[K]HO[LMENSIS]                                                122

 Coin issued in Upsala in 1523. On one side, a bust with
   arrows and sheaves of corn, and the inscription: S[ANCTVS]
   ERICVS REX SWECIE. On the other, three crowns, with the
   inscription: MONE[TA] NOVA VPSAL[ENSIS] 1523                      123

 Coin issued in Vesterås in 1523. On one side, a crown, with
   the inscription: GOST[AF] REX SWECIE. On the other, three
   crowns, with the inscription: MONE[TA] NOVA
   WESTAR[OSIENSIS]                                                  123

 Coin issued at the coronation of Gustavus Vasa in 1528. On
   one side, a full-length figure of the king, with crown,
   sword, and sceptre, and the inscription: GOSTAVS D[EI]
   G[RACIA] SVECORVM REX. On the other, the inscription:
   MONET[A] NOVA STO[C]K[H]OL[MENSIS] 1528                           272




THE SWEDISH REVOLUTION.




CHAPTER I.

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 1496-1513.

 Birth of Gustavus.--His Ancestors.--Anarchy in Sweden.--Its Causes:
   Former Independence of the People; Growth of Christianity; Growth of
   the Aristocracy; the Cabinet; Enslavement of Sweden; Revolt of the
   People against Denmark.--Christiern I.--Sten Sture.--Hans.--Svante
   Sture.--Sten Sture the Younger.--Childhood of Gustavus.--His
   Education at Upsala.


The manor of Lindholm lies in the centre of a smiling district about
twenty miles north of the capital of Sweden. Placed on a height between
two fairy lakes, it commands a wide and varied prospect over the
surrounding country. The summit of this height was crowned, at the close
of the fifteenth century, by a celebrated mansion. Time and the ravages
of man have long since thrown this mansion to the ground; but its
foundation, overgrown with moss and fast crumbling to decay, still marks
the site of the ancient structure, and from the midst of the ruins rises
a rough-hewn stone bearing the name Gustavus Vasa. On this spot he was
born, May 12, 1496.[1] The estate was then the property of his
grandmother, Sigrid Baner, with whom his mother was temporarily
residing, and there is no reason to think it continued long the home of
the young Gustavus.

The family from which Gustavus sprang had been, during nearly a hundred
years, one of the foremost families of Sweden. Its coat-of-arms
consisted of a simple _vase_, or bundle of sticks; and the Vasa estate,
at one time the residence of his ancestors, lay only about ten miles to
the north of Lindholm.[2] The first Vasa of whom anything is definitely
known is Kristiern Nilsson, the great-grandfather of Gustavus. This man
became noted in the early part of the fifteenth century as an ardent
monarchist, and under Erik held the post of chancellor. After the fall
of his master, in 1436, his office was taken from him, but he continued
to battle for the cause of royalty until his death. Of the chancellor's
three sons, the two eldest followed zealously in the footsteps of their
father. The other, Johan Kristersson, though in early life a stanch
supporter of King Christiern, and one of the members of his Cabinet,
later married a sister of Sten Sture, and eventually embraced the
Swedish cause. Birgitta, the wife of Johan Kristersson, is said to have
been descended from the ancient Swedish kings.[3] The youngest son of
Johan and Birgitta was Erik Johansson, the father of Gustavus. Of Erik's
early history we know little more than that he married Cecilia, daughter
of Magnus Karlsson and Sigrid Baner, and settled at Rydboholm, an estate
which he inherited from his father. To this place, beautifully situated
on an arm of the Baltic, about ten miles northeast of the capital,
Cecilia returned with her little boy from Lindholm; and here Gustavus
spent the first years of his childhood.

Sweden at this period was in a state of anarchy. In order to appreciate
the exact condition of affairs, it will be necessary to cast a glance at
some political developments that had gone before. Sweden was originally
a confederation of provinces united solely for purposes of defence. Each
province was divided into several counties, which were constituted in
the main alike. Every inhabitant--if we except the class of slaves,
which was soon abolished--was either a landowner or a tenant. The
tenants were freemen who owned no land of their own, and hence rented
the land of others. All landowners possessed the same rights, though
among them were certain men of high birth, who through their large
inheritances were much more influential than the rest. Matters
concerning the inhabitants of one county only were regulated by the
county assemblies, to which all landowners in the county, and none
others, were admitted. These assemblies were called and presided over by
the county magistrate, elected by general vote at some previous
assembly. All law cases arising in the county were tried before the
assembly, judgment being passed, with consent of the assembly, by the
county magistrate, who was expected to know and expound the traditional
law of his county. Questions concerning the inhabitants of more than one
county were regulated by the provincial assemblies, composed of all
landowners in the province, and presided over by the provincial
magistrate, elected by all the landowners in his province. The power of
the provincial magistrate in the province was similar to that of the
county magistrate in the county; and to his judgment, with consent of
the assembly, lay an appeal from every decision of the county
magistrates. Above all the provinces was a king, elected originally by
the provincial assembly of Upland, though in order to gain the
allegiance of the other provinces he was bound to appear before their
individual assemblies and be confirmed by them. His duty was expressed
in the old formula, "landom råda, rike styre, lag styrke, och frid
hålla," which meant nothing more than that he was to protect the
provinces from one another and from foreign powers. In order to defray
the expense of strengthening the kingdom, he was entitled to certain
definite taxes from every landowner, and half as much from every tenant,
in the land. These taxes he collected through his courtiers, who in the
early days were men of a very inferior class,--mere servants of the
king. They lived on the crown estates, which we find in the very
earliest times scattered through the land. Besides his right to collect
taxes, the king, as general peacemaker, was chief-justice of the realm,
and to him lay an appeal from every decision rendered by a provincial
magistrate. Such, in brief, was the constitution of Sweden when first
known in history.

Christianity, first preached in Sweden about the year 830, brought with
it a diminution of the people's rights. When the episcopal dioceses were
first marked out, the people naturally kept in their own hands the
right to choose their spiritual rulers, who were designated
_lydbiskopar_, or the people's bishops. But in 1164 the Court of Rome
succeeded in establishing, under its own authority, an archbishopric at
Upsala; and by a papal bull of 1250 the choice of Swedish bishops was
taken from the people and confided to the cathedral chapters under the
supervision of the pope. As soon as the whole country became converted,
the piety of the people induced them to submit to gross impositions at
the hands of those whom they were taught to regard as God's
representatives on earth. In 1152 the so-called "Peter's Penning" was
established, an annual tax of one penning from every individual to the
pope. Besides this, it became the law, soon after, that all persons must
pay a tenth of their annual income to the Church, and in addition there
were special taxes to the various bishops, deans, and pastors. A still
more productive source of revenue to the Church was death-bed piety,
through which means a vast amount of land passed from kings or wealthy
individuals to the Church. By a law of the year 1200 the clergy were
declared no longer subject to be tried for crime in temporal courts; and
by the end of the thirteenth century the Church had practically ceased
to be liable for crown taxation. It requires but a moment's thought to
perceive how heavy a burden all these changes threw on the body of the
nation.

Simultaneously with the spread of Christianity still another power began
to trample on the liberties of the people. This was the power of the
sword. In early times, before civilization had advanced enough to give
everybody continuous employment, most people spent their leisure moments
in making war. Hence the Swedish kings, whose duty it was to keep the
peace, could accomplish that result only by having a large retinue of
armed warriors at their command. The expense which this entailed was
great. Meantime the crown estates had continually increased in number
through merger of private estates of different kings, through crown
succession to estates of foreigners dying without descendants in the
realm, and through other sources. Some of the kings, therefore, devised
the scheme of enlisting the influential aristocracy in their service by
granting them fiefs in the crown estates, with right to all the crown
incomes from the fief. This plan was eagerly caught at by the
aristocrats, and before long nearly all the influential people in the
realm were in the service of the king. Thus the position of royal
courtier, which had formerly been a mark of servitude, was now counted
an honor, the courtiers being now commonly known as magnates. About the
year 1200 castles were first erected on some of the crown estates, and
the magnates who held these castles as fiefs were not slow to take
advantage of their power. Being already the most influential men in
their provinces, and generally the county or provincial magistrates,
they gradually usurped the right to govern the surrounding territory,
not as magistrates of the people, but as grantees of the crown estates.
Since these fiefs were not hereditary, the rights usurped by the holders
of them passed, on the death of the grantees, to the crown, and in 1276
we find a king granting not only one of his royal castles, but also
right of administration over the surrounding land. Thus, by continual
enlargement of the royal fiefs, the authority of the provincial
assemblies, and even of the county assemblies, was practically
destroyed. Still, these assemblies continued to exist, and in them the
poor landowners claimed the same rights as the more influential
magnates. The magnates, as such, possessed no privileges, and were only
powerful because of their wealth, which enabled them to become courtiers
or warriors of the king. In 1280, however, a law was passed exempting
all mounted courtiers from crown taxation. This law was the foundation
of the nobility of Sweden. It divided the old landowners, formerly all
equal, into two distinct classes,--the knights, who were the mounted
warriors of the king; and the poorer landowners, on whom, together with
the class of tenants, was cast the whole burden of taxation. With the
progress of time, exemption from crown taxation was extended to the sons
of knights unless, on reaching manhood, they failed to serve the king
with horse. The knights were thus a privileged and hereditary class.
Those of the old magnates who did not become knights were known as
armigers, or armor-clad foot-soldiers. The armigers also became an
hereditary class, and before long they too were exempted from crown
taxation. In many cases the armigers were raised to the rank of knights.
Thus the wealthy landowners increased in power, while the poor, who
constituted the great body of the nation, grew ever poorer. Many, to
escape the taxes shifted to their shoulders from the shoulders of the
magnates, sank into the class of tenants, with whom, indeed, they now
had much in common. The sword had raised the strong into a privileged
aristocracy, and degraded the weak into a down-trodden peasantry.

The aristocracy and the Church,--these were the thorns that sprang up to
check the nation's growth. Each had had the same source,--a power
granted by the people. But no sooner were they independent of their
benefactors, than they made common cause in oppressing the peasantry who
had given them birth. They found their point of union in the Cabinet.
This was originally a body of men whom the king summoned whenever he
needed counsel or support. Naturally he sought support among the chief
men of his realm. As the power of the Church and aristocracy increased,
the king was practically forced to summon the chief persons in these
classes to his Cabinet, and furthermore, in most cases, to follow their
advice; so that by the close of the thirteenth century the Cabinet had
become a regular institution, whose members, known as Cabinet lords,
governed rather than advised the king. In the early part of the
fourteenth century this institution succeeded in passing a law that each
new king must summon his Cabinet immediately after his election. The
same law provided that no foreigner could be a member of the Cabinet;
that the archbishop should be _ex officio_ a member; that twelve laymen
should be summoned, but no more; and that, in addition, the king might
summon as many of the bishops and clergy as he wished. As a matter of
fact this law was never followed. The Cabinet lords practically formed
themselves into a close corporation, appointing their own successors or
compelling the king to appoint whom they desired. Generally the members
were succeeded by their sons, and in very many instances we find fathers
and sons sitting in the Cabinet together. A person once a Cabinet lord
was such for life. The law providing that the archbishop should have a
seat in the Cabinet was strictly followed, and in practice the bishops
were also always members. The other clergy seem never to have been
summoned except in certain instances to aid their bishops or represent
them when they could not come. The provincial magistrates were generally
members, though not always. As to the number of temporal lords, it was
almost invariably more than twelve, sometimes double as many. From the
very first, this self-appointed oligarchy saw that in unity was
strength; and while the different members of the royal family were
squabbling among themselves, the Cabinet seized the opportunity to
increase its power. Though not entitled to a definite salary, it was
regularly understood that Cabinet lords were to be paid by grants of the
chief fiefs; and when these fiefs were extended so as to embrace the
whole, or nearly the whole, of a province, the grant of such a fief
ordinarily carried with it the office of provincial magistrate. Thus the
Cabinet became the centre of administration for the kingdom. From this
it gradually usurped the right to legislate for the whole realm, to lay
new taxes on the people, and to negotiate treaties with foreign powers.
Lastly, it robbed the people of their ancient right to nominate and
confirm their kings. These prerogatives, however, were not exercised
without strong opposition. Throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries the peasantry battled with vigor against the arrogant
assumptions of the Cabinet, never relinquishing their claim to be
governed as of yore. This struggle against the encroachments of the
oligarchy at last resulted in the revolution under Gustavus Vasa. Hence
we may with profit trace the relation between the Cabinet and the people
from the start.

The first case in which the Cabinet distinctly asserted an authority
over the whole land occurred in 1319, when the king, after a long and
bitter struggle with different members of the royal house, had finally
been driven from the throne. The Cabinet then resolved to place the
crown on the head of the former monarch's grandson, a child but three
years old. With this in view, they called all the magnates in the realm
and four peasants from every county to a general diet, where the
chancellor of the Cabinet stepped forward with the infant in his arms,
and moved that this infant be elected king. "Courtiers, peasantry, and
all with one accord responded, 'Amen.'" This was the first general diet
held in Sweden, and it showed a marked decline in the people's rights.
From beginning to end the proceedings of this diet were regulated by the
Cabinet, and the people were practically forced to acquiesce. Even had
the people possessed a real voice in the election, their influence would
have been far less than formerly, since here they had but four
representatives from each county against the entire class of magnates,
whereas originally every landowner, whether magnate or peasant, had an
equal vote. During the minority of this king the power of the Cabinet
made rapid strides. He was forced to borrow from them enormous sums of
money, for which he mortgaged nearly all the royal castles; so that when
he came of age he was thoroughly under the dominion of the Cabinet. He
struggled hard, however, to shake off his shackles, and with some
success. Among other things, he passed a law which was intended to
restore to the people at large their ancient right to choose their
kings. This law provided that whenever a king was to be chosen, each
provincial magistrate, with the assent of all landowners in his
province, should select twelve men, who on a day appointed were to meet
in general diet with all the magistrates, and choose the king. Unhappily
this law was never followed, though the king by whom it was enacted
struggled hard to maintain the people's rights. In 1359, after a series
of internal disorders, his Cabinet compelled him to call a meeting of
all the magnates in the realm; but in addition to the magnates he
summoned also delegates from the peasantry and burghers, evidently with
a view to gain their aid in curbing the insolence of the Cabinet. This
was the second general diet. From this time forth the king did all he
could to strengthen the people, until at last he banished a number of
his chief opponents. They thereupon, in 1363, offered the crown to
Albert of Mecklenburg, who by their aid succeeded in overthrowing the
king and getting possession of the throne. For a time now the Cabinet
had things nearly as they wished. In 1371 they forced the king to grant
them all the royal estates as fiefs, and to declare that on the death of
any one of them his successor should be chosen by the survivors. This
astounding grant the Cabinet owed chiefly to the influence of their
chancellor, Bo Jonsson, who had done more than any other to set Albert
on the throne; and to him were granted as fiefs all the royal castles.
In 1386 he died, leaving all his fiefs, by will, to the chief magnates
of the land. Against this Albert ventured to protest. He called in a
large number of his German countrymen, and by their aid recovered a
large portion of his power. He then began distributing royal favors
among them with a lavish hand, to the detriment of the Swedish magnates.
These magnates therefore turned, in 1388, to Margaret, regent of Denmark
and Norway, and offered her the regency of Sweden, promising to
recognize as king whomever she should choose. In 1389 she entered Sweden
with her army, overthrew King Albert, and got possession of the throne.
In 1396 the Swedish Cabinet, at her desire, elected her nephew, Erik of
Pomerania, already king of Denmark and Norway, to be king of Sweden; and
on the 17th of June, 1397, he was crowned at Kalmar.[4] Thus began the
celebrated Kalmar Union, one of the greatest political blunders that a
nation ever made. It was the voluntary enslavement of a whole people to
suit the whims of a few disgruntled magnates.

The century following this catastrophe was marked by violence and
bloodshed. In all the setting up and pulling down of kings which ended
in the Kalmar Union, the Swedish peasantry, now the body of the nation,
had had no part. They had long watched in silence the overpowering
growth of the magnates and of the Church; they had seen their own rights
gradually, but surely, undermined; and they now beheld the whole nation
given into the hand of a foreign king. All this tyranny was beginning to
produce its natural effect. A spirit of rebellion was spreading fast.
However, open insurrection was for the moment averted by the prudence of
the regent; so long as she lived the people were tolerably content. She
ruled the Cabinet with an iron hand, and refused to appoint a
chancellor, the officer who had hitherto done much to bind the Cabinet
together. After her death Erik attempted to carry out a similar policy,
and introduced a number of foreigners into the Swedish Cabinet. But his
continual absence from the realm weakened his administration, and gave
great license to his officers, who by their cruelty won the hatred of
the people. At last, in 1433, the peasantry of Dalarne rebelled against
the tyranny of the steward whom their Danish ruler had put over them,
and in 1435, under the leadership of a courageous warrior, Engelbrekt
Engelbrektsson, compelled the king to call a general diet, the first
since 1359, consisting of all the people in the realm who cared to take
part. This diet, under the enthusiasm of the moment, elected Engelbrekt
commander of the kingdom. But the hopes of the peasantry were soon
blasted. In the next year Engelbrekt was murdered by a Swedish magnate,
and by a general diet Karl Knutsson, another magnate, was chosen to fill
his place. King Erik was now tottering to his fall. He was no longer
king in anything but name. His fall, however, benefited only the
magnates of the realm. By a general diet of 1438, to which all people in
the realm were called, Knutsson was elected regent. But his reign came
in the next year to an untimely end. His fellow-magnates, jealous of his
power, forced him to lay it down; and in 1440 the Cabinet called Erik's
nephew, Christopher of Bavaria, already king of Denmark, to the Swedish
throne. Thus ended the first effort of the Swedish peasantry to throw
off the Danish yoke. It had begun with high promises for the people, but
had ended in the restoration of the Cabinet to all its former power.
From this time forth the Cabinet was again practically the governing
body in the realm. But it was no longer at unity with itself. One party,
led by the great house of Oxenstjerna, was for preserving the Union. The
other consisted of the adherents of Karl Knutsson, who hoped to put the
crown on his own head. In 1448 King Christopher died, and, in the
difference of feeling which reigned, the Cabinet called a general diet
of all the magnates with representatives from the peasantry and
burghers, that the people at large might choose of the two evils that
which pleased them best. The result was that Karl Knutsson was elected
king. From this time till his death, in 1470, he was in perpetual
warfare with the king of Denmark, with the Swedish priesthood, who had
now grown fat under Danish rule and wished to continue so, and with the
hostile party among the magnates. Twice he was forced to lay down the
crown only to take it up again. Throughout his reign, though in some
regards a despot, he was, at all events, the champion of the Swedish
magnates as opposed to those who favored the continuance of foreign
rule. In 1470 he died, after having intrusted Stockholm Castle to his
nephew, Sten Sture. The dissension that now reigned throughout the land
was great. On one side were the powerful Vasa and Oxenstjerna families,
striving to put Christiern I. of Denmark on the throne. On the other
side was Sten Sture, the Tott, Gyllenstjerna, Bonde, Bjelke, and Natt
och Dag families, supported by the burgher element in Stockholm and the
peasantry of Dalarne. With such odds on their side the issue could not
long be doubtful. At a general diet held in 1471, Sten Sture was chosen
regent of the kingdom. It is impossible to overrate the significance of
this event. This was the first time that the burgher element played an
important part in the election of Sweden's ruler. The peasantry had once
before been prominent, but so long as the oligarchy held firmly
together, their actual influence had been slight. Now the ranks of the
oligarchy were broken. One party looked for supporters in Denmark and in
the Church; the other, now gaining the upper hand, was distinctly the
party of the people. The very name of regent, which was granted to Sten
Sture, bears witness to the popular character of the movement. And this
was destined to be the tendency of the current during the next
half-century. There were many difficulties, however, with which the
patriot party had to contend. In the first place, the Swedish party was
in lack of funds. An enormous proportion of the kingdom was exempt from
taxes, being held by magnates, who by this time claimed the right to
inherit their fathers' fiefs with all the ancient privileges, but
without the ancient duty to render military service. In this juncture
war broke out with Russia, at the same time that the kingdom was
continually harassed by Christiern, king of Denmark. It was clear that
some new mode must be discovered for raising money. The peasantry were
already groaning under a heavier load than they could bear. Sten
therefore turned to some of the magnates, and demanded of them that they
should give up a portion of their fiefs. They of course resisted, and
his whole reign was occupied with a struggle to make them yield. In 1481
Christiern, king of Denmark, died, and was succeeded by his son Hans.
The efforts of Sten Sture to curb the magnates had rendered him so
unpopular among them, that the Swedish Cabinet now opened negotiations
with the new king of Denmark. These negotiations resulted in a meeting
of the Cabinets of the three Northern kingdoms, held at Kalmar in 1483.
This body promulgated a decree, known in history as the Kalmar Recess,
accepting Hans as king of Sweden. To this decree Sten Sture reluctantly
affixed his seal. The main clauses of the decree were these: No one in
Sweden was to be held accountable for past opposition to King Hans; the
king was to live one year alternately in each kingdom; the high posts as
well as the fiefs of Sweden should be granted to none but Swedes; and
the magnates should be free to fortify their estates and refuse the king
admittance. This decree, if strictly followed, would have practically
freed Sweden from the yoke of Denmark. But as a matter of fact it was
several years before it was destined to go into operation at all. The
Swedish Cabinet were determined that no step should be taken to put the
decree into effect until certain preliminary duties were discharged;
among them, the cession of the island of Gotland to Sweden. These
preliminaries Hans was in no hurry to perform. Meantime Sten Sture
continued to act as regent. His path remained as rugged as before. Beset
on all sides by enemies, each struggling for his own aggrandizement,
Sten had all he could do to keep the kingdom from going to pieces. In
every measure to increase the income of the crown he was hampered by the
overweening power of the Cabinet, who were reluctant to give up a jot or
tittle of their ill-acquired wealth. Chief among his opponents was the
archbishop, Jacob Ulfsson,--a man of rare ability, but of high birth and
far too fond of self-advancement. Another enemy, who ought to have been
a friend, was Svante Sture, a young magnate of great talent, who first
became imbittered against his illustrious namesake because the latter,
on the death of Svante's father, in 1494, claimed that the fiefs which
he had held should be surrendered to the crown. Of Erik Trolle, another
opponent of Sten Sture, we shall see more hereafter. His strongest
supporter was one Hemming Gad, a learned, eloquent, and dauntless
gentleman, who also was to play a leading rôle before many years were
past. In 1493 war broke out again with Russia, and Hans resolved to
seize this opportunity to make good his claims in Sweden. He opened
negotiations once more with the disaffected members of the Cabinet,
still hoping to make compromise with Sture; they hesitated, they
promised, and then made new demands; and it was in the midst of this
elaborate trifling, while the regent was in Finland conducting the
Russian war, that Gustavus Vasa was born at Lindholm.

Affairs in Sweden were now fast coming to a crisis. The fitful struggle
of a century had at last assumed a definite and unmistakable direction.
All Sweden was now divided into two distinct and hostile camps, and to
the dullest intellect it was clear as day that Sweden was soon to be the
scene of open war. In the autumn of 1496 the Cabinet, seeing that Sture
was thoroughly determined to check their power, resolved to hesitate no
longer. They therefore despatched a messenger to Hans, inviting him to a
congress of the three realms to be held at midsummer of the following
year, when, as they gave him reason to expect, the Kalmar Recess should
be put into effect. This news being brought to Sture in Finland, he set
forth post-haste for Sweden, and called a meeting of the Cabinet. The
members failed to appear on the day appointed, and when at last they
came, they were accompanied by a large body of armed retainers. At a
session held in Stockholm on the 7th of March, the Cabinet declared
Sture deposed, assigning as reasons, first, that he had mismanaged the
war with Russia, and, secondly, that he had maltreated certain of the
Swedish magnates. The regent waited two days before making a reply, and
then informed the Cabinet that, as he had been appointed to the regency
by joint action of the Cabinet and people, he felt bound to hold it till
requested by the same powers to lay it down. The Cabinet had nothing for
it but to acquiesce, and letters were issued summoning a general diet.
That diet, however, was never held. On the very day when the Cabinet
made its armistice with Sture, Hans put forth a declaration of war, and
at once proceeded with his fleet to Kalmar. The enemies of Sture now
openly embraced the Danish cause; and the regent was forced to go to
Dalarne, to get together a force with which to defend the kingdom. Here
he was received with enthusiasm by the people, who saw in him the
defender of their rights. At the head of a detachment of Dalesmen,
reinforced by his army now recalled from Finland, he marched to Upsala,
and laid siege to the archbishop's palace. By the middle of July it
fell; and Sture advanced to Stäket, a strongly fortified castle of the
archbishop, about thirty miles south of Upsala. While beleaguering this
place, he learned that a portion of the Danish forces were advancing on
the capital. He therefore relinquished the siege of Stäket, and
proceeded to Stockholm, where he held himself in readiness to repel the
enemy. On the 29th of September, being led by a ruse outside the city,
he was surrounded by the Danes, and was able to recover the castle only
after heavy loss. This battle sealed his fate. Finding himself far
outnumbered, he deemed it wise to yield; and on the 6th of October,
1497, Hans was recognized by him as king.

The reign of Hans lasted about four years. At first he appeared desirous
to promote the welfare of Sweden and to conform to the terms of the
Kalmar Recess. But before long even the Cabinet began to grow weary of
their king. The benefits conferred upon them were not so great as they
had hoped. As for Sture, at his renunciation of the regency he had been
granted extensive fiefs both in Sweden and in Finland; but in 1499 the
king forced him to resign a large portion of these fiefs. The other
members of the Cabinet, now having less cause of jealousy, became more
friendly to Sten Sture. His old enemy, Svante Sture, was at length
reconciled to him through the mediation of their common admirer, Dr.
Hemming Gad. Even with the clergy Sten Sture was now on better terms;
and at his solicitation, in January, 1501, the Chapter of Linköping
elected Gad to fill their vacant see. The main ground of complaint
against Hans was that he disregarded the clause of the Recess which
forbade the granting of Swedish fiefs to Danes. Matters reached a crisis
in 1501, when Sten and Svante Sture, Gad, and three others met in
council and took oath to resist the oppression of their foreign ruler.
This step was the signal for a general explosion. On every side the
people rose in arms. Hans was in despair. He first took counsel with his
warm supporter, the archbishop, and then, on the 11th of August, 1501,
set off with his whole fleet for Denmark.

In the royal castle at Stockholm he left his wife Christina, who, with
Erik Trolle and a force of one thousand men, was determined to resist.
Gad, whose election to the bishopric of Linköping the pope refused to
ratify, undertook to besiege the castle. Meantime Svante Sture laid
siege to Örebro, and Sten proceeded to Dalarne and other parts to gather
forces. On the 12th of November the Cabinet again called Sten Sture to
the regency. In February the Castle of Örebro fell. And still Christina
with her brave followers held out. Not till the 9th of May, after a
bloody assault, could the patriots force a passage. Then they found
that, of the one thousand who had formed the original garrison, but
seventy were alive. Christina was conveyed to Vadstena, where she
remained several months pending negotiations. At the close of the year
1503 she was accompanied to the frontier by the regent, who however was
taken ill on his return journey, and died at Jönköping on the 13th of
December, 1503. Sten Sture had done much for Sweden. Though himself a
magnate, and ambitious to increase his power, he was zealous for the
welfare of his country, and did more than any other of his time to awake
Sweden to a sense of her existence as a nation. It was on the foundation
laid by him that a still greater leader was soon to build a mighty
edifice.

On the 21st of January, 1504, at a general diet of the magnates, with
delegates from the burghers and peasantry of Sweden, Svante Sture was
elected regent. His reign was even more warlike than that of his
predecessor. The Cabinet, it is true, had come to see the benefits
resulting from Sten Sture's rule, and the majority of them were lukewarm
adherents of the Swedish party. But Hans was more determined than ever
to seize the crown, and not only harassed Svante throughout his reign by
a long series of invasions, but did all he could to compromise him with
other foreign powers. Svante, however, succeeded in winning many
friends. In 1504 he concluded a truce of twenty years with Russia, which
was extended, by treaty of 1510, to 1564. In 1510 an alliance was also
formed between Sweden and the Vend cities. In 1506 the Dalesmen, at one
of their assemblies, issued a letter to the people of their provinces,
urging them to support Svante with life and limb. But this burst of
enthusiasm was short-lived. The war with Hans hung on. New taxes had to
be imposed, and several fiefs to which different magnates laid claim
were appropriated to the crown. Discontent spread once more, and at a
Cabinet meeting held in September, 1511, Svante was declared deposed. He
refused to yield till heard by a general diet of the kingdom, and while
negotiations were pending, on the 2d of January, 1512, he died.

Nothing could have given certain members of the Cabinet greater
pleasure. The clerical members especially, being warmly attached to the
Danish cause, thought they now saw an opportunity to set Hans on the
throne. About the middle of January the Cabinet came together and, at
the solicitation of Archbishop Ulfsson, resolved to intrust the
government for the time being to Erik Trolle. This gentleman, of whom we
have already seen something, was of high birth as well as talent,
thoroughly versed in affairs, and allied to the Danish party not only by
family connection, but also by reason of large estates in Denmark. He
was, moreover, a warm friend of the archbishop.

However, the hopes of Trolle were not destined to be realized. At the
death of Svante, the Castle of Örebro was in command of a daring and
ambitious youth of nineteen, known to history as Sten Sture the Younger.
He was Svante's son, and in the preceding year had married Christina
Gyllenstjerna, a great-granddaughter of King Karl Knutsson. Immediately
on hearing of his father's death, he hastened to Vesterås, took
possession of the castle, and despatched a messenger to convey the news
to Stockholm. On the 8th of January the steward of Stockholm Castle
declared his readiness to yield the command to Sture, and within a day
or two the castles of Stegeborg and Kalmar were also given up. The
energy with which this chivalrous youth seized the helm is all the more
astounding when we reflect that he stood almost alone against the
Cabinet. He could not even ask the advice of Gad, his father's trusty
friend, for that doughty patriot was at the moment outside the realm.
But his zeal won him numerous friends among the younger magnates, and
the peasantry throughout the country were on his side. All winter long
the battle raged between the two factions, but meantime Sture
continually grew in favor. No general diet of the kingdom was summoned,
but it was understood on every hand that the matter would be submitted
to the people when they came together on St. Erik's day at Upsala. On
that day, May 18, the archbishop and his followers addressed the people
in the Grand Square at Upsala, and announced that the Cabinet had
resolved to raise Erik Trolle to the regency. But they were met by
shouts from the crowd, who declared that they would have no Danes.
Meantime Sture had been holding a mass-meeting on the so-called Royal
Meadow outside the town, and had been enthusiastically applauded by the
people. Even yet, however, the conflict did not cease. The Cabinet still
clamored for Erik Trolle, and it was not till the 23d of July, when
every hope was gone, that they finally gave way and recognized Sture as
regent. Sture now set forth on a journey through Sweden and Finland,
receiving everywhere the allegiance of the people. All at last seemed in
his favor, when suddenly, on the 20th of February, 1513, the face of
things was changed by the unexpected death of Hans.

Before considering the effect of this catastrophe, let us return to the
little boy whom we last saw on his father's estate at Rydboholm. Even he
was not wholly outside the conflict. His father, Erik, whom we find in
1488 subscribing his name as a knight,[5] took an active part in the
commotions of his times, and early won ill-favor with King Hans. The
young Gustavus in his fifth year, so runs the story, happened to be
playing in the hall of Stockholm Castle, when King Hans espied him,
and, attracted by his winning manners, patted him on the head and said,
"You'll be a great man in your day, if you live." But when he found out
who the child was, he wanted to carry him off to Denmark with him. To
this the boy's great-uncle, Sture, raised serious objections, and lest
the king should use some treachery, hurried Gustavus out of the way at
once.[6] In the very next year, 1501, occurred the rebellion against
Hans, which resulted in the election of Sture to the regency. Erik was
one of the supporters of his uncle throughout this strife, and in 1502
we find him signing a document as member of the Cabinet.[7] About the
same time he was made commandant of Kastelholm Castle.[8] This post,
however, he held but a short time, and then retired to his old estate at
Rydboholm.[9] Among his children, besides Gustavus, were one younger
boy, Magnus, and several girls. Gustavus, we are told, was a handsome,
attractive little fellow, and it is added that in his sports he was
always recognized as leader by his playmates.[10] In 1509, when in his
thirteenth year, he was sent by his parents to Upsala, and placed in a
preparatory school.[11] Soon after, probably in the next year, Gustavus
was admitted to the University. This institution, which had been founded
in 1477, through the persistent efforts of Archbishop Ulfsson, and of
which the archbishop was chancellor, was at this time in a semi-dormant
state. Scarce anything is known either about its professors or about the
number of its students. It is probable, however, that Peder Galle, who
was cantor of the Upsala Chapter so early as 1504,[12] and whose powers
as a theological gladiator will become known to us further on, was one
of the professors. Another was Henrik Sledorn,[13] whom Gustavus later
made his chancellor. Of the progress made by Gustavus in his studies we
know nothing. It may well be surmised, however, that the politics of his
day engrossed a large share of his attention. Upsala was not then the
peaceful town that it now is, and the chancellor of the University was
in the very vortex of the struggle. If Gustavus was still connected with
the University in 1512, we may suppose with reason that he took his part
in the great demonstration which resulted in the election of the
chivalric young Sture.


FOOTNOTES:

[1] With regard to the date of his birth our authorities are hopelessly
confused. Karl IX., whom we should expect to know something about it,
says, in his _Rim-chrön._, p. 2, that his father was seventy-three at
his death, whence we should conclude that he was born in 1487. But
Svart, who was nearer the king's age, and was also the king's confessor
and preacher to the court, says, in his _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 1, that
Gustavus was born in 1495, on Ascension day; which in that year, he
adds, fell on the 12th of May. Tegel, _Then stoormecht._, p. 1, agrees
that he was born on Ascension day, and also that he was born on the 12th
of May, but gives, as the year, 1490. Ludvigsson, _Collect._, p. 83,
agrees with Tegel about the year, but says nothing about the day. Now,
it is noteworthy that while the authorities name three different years,
all of them who mention the day agree that it was Ascension day, which
in the year of his birth fell on May 12. Here, then, we have a clew. In
1487 Ascension day fell on May 24, in 1490 on May 21, and in 1495 on May
29; but, singularly enough, in 1485, in 1491, and in 1496 it fell on May
12. The years 1485 and 1491 must be discarded as too early; for the
mother of Gustavus was then not old enough to have a child, her parents
not having married till 1475. This is proved by the grant of dowry from
her father to her mother, which, according to the old law of Sweden, was
made on the day following the marriage. This grant, dated Jan. 16, 1475,
with the seals of Magnus Karlsson and witnesses attached, is still
preserved among the parchment MSS. in the Royal Archives at Stockholm.
It reads thus: "Jack Magens Karlsson i Ekae aff wapn gör vitherligat och
oppenbare thet jack meth mynae frenders och neste wenners godwilge oc
samtyckae vpa rette hindersdagh haffwer wntt och giffwet ... min
elskelikae hustro Siggrid Eskelsdatter efter skrefne gotz till heder och
morgengaffwer.... Som giffwit ok giortt er pa Ekae gard mandagen nest
fore sancti Henrici Episcopi dagh anno domini MCDLXXV." Hence the only
possible date of the boy's birth is May 12, 1496; and this, as we shall
see further on, harmonizes better than any other date with his later
history.

[2] Originally the Vasa arms were black, the bundle of sticks
representing one of the old fascines used in warfare to fill up ditches.
Gustavus changed the color of his arms to gold, and altered the old
fascine into a sheaf of grain.

[3] Svart, _Ährapred._, pp. 46-47; and Tegel, _Then stoormecht._, pp.
1-2. On this point our authorities agree. Tegel gives a table showing
Birgitta to have been a great-granddaughter of Karl Ulfsson, who,
according to the same table, was a great-grandson of King Erik X. As the
descent is traced through a line of females about whom history is
silent, we lack the means with which to disprove the assertion of our
chroniclers.

[4] Until recently, historians have asserted that Margaret, at the
coronation of her nephew, signed a document providing, among other
things, that the three kingdoms were thereafter to be governed by a
single sovereign, to be elected alternately, if his predecessor died
childless, by each kingdom; that, in case of war in one kingdom, both
the others were to come to the rescue; and that each kingdom was to be
governed strictly according to its own laws. As a matter of fact,
Margaret signed nothing of the kind. The document which gave rise to
this error is still to be seen in the Private Archives at Copenhagen. It
is dated at Kalmar, July 20, 1397, purports to be the work of sixteen of
the chief Swedish magnates, and declares that unless the terms which it
contains are drawn up in six copies, signed by the king, the regent, the
Cabinet, and others, there shall be no lawful union. These six copies,
so far as we know, were never drawn up or signed. But unhappily the
union had been already formed at the coronation a month before, and,
seven days before, these very magnates with fifty-one other persons had
attached their seals to an affidavit of allegiance to their new king.
This affidavit, dated at Kalmar, July 13, 1397, is also still preserved
in the Private Archives at Copenhagen. Both documents are printed in
full in O. S. Rydberg's _Sverges traktater med främmande magter_,
Stockh., 1877-1883, 2 vols. 8vo, vol. ii. pp. 560-585.

[5] _Handl. till upplysn. af Finl. häfd._, vol. i. p. 187.

[6] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 2, and Tegel, _Then stoormecht._, p.
3. Tegel makes this incident occur in the child's seventh year, in 1497.
Here we have another proof that Tegel places the birth of Gustavus too
early. If the child had been born in 1490, this incident could not have
taken place till still later than his seventh year, for Hans did not
become king till 1497.

[7] _Kongl. och furstl. förlijkn._, pp. 383-384.

[8] Tegel, _Then stoormecht._, p. 3.

[9] In Reuterdahl, _Swensk. Kyrk. hist._, vol. iii. pt. ii. pp. 558-559,
are two letters, dated at Rydboholm, from Erik and his wife to the
regent, Svante Sture.

[10] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 2.

[11] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 2, and _Ährapred._, pp. 50-51. Tegel,
_Then stoormecht._, p. 3, agrees that it was in 1509 that Gustavus was
sent to Upsala, but seems to assert that he was admitted at once to the
University.

[12] C. A. Örnhjelm's _Diplomatarium_, a manuscript preserved in the
Vitterh., Hist., och Antiq. Akad. at Stockholm.

[13] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 2, and _Ährapred._, pp. 50-51.




CHAPTER II.

FIRST MILITARY ADVENTURES OF GUSTAVUS; A PRISONER IN DENMARK. 1514-1519.

 Description of Stockholm.--Christina Gyllenstjerna.--Hemming
   Gad.--Christiern II.--Gustaf Trolle.--Dissension between Sten Sture
   and Gustaf Trolle.--Siege of Stäket.--First Expedition of Christiern
   II. against Sweden.--Trial of the Archbishop.--Arcimboldo.--Second
   Expedition of Christiern II. against Sweden.--Capture of Gustavus
   Vasa.--Resignation of the Archbishop.--Hostilities of Christiern
   II.--Farewell of Arcimboldo.


The old town of Stockholm was beyond all doubt the most picturesque
capital in Europe. Perched on an isle of rock at the eastern extremity
of Lake Mälar, it stood forth like a sentinel guarding the entrance to
the heart of Sweden. Around its base on north and south dashed the
foaming waters of the Mälar, seeking their outlet through a narrow
winding channel to the Baltic. Across this channel on the south, and
connected with the city by a bridge, the towering cliffs of Södermalm
gazed calmly down upon the busy traffic of the city's streets; and far
away beyond the channel on the north stretched an undulating plain,
dotted with little patches of green shrubbery and forest. On the west
the city commanded a wide view over an enchanting lake studded with
darkly wooded isles, above whose trees peeped here and there some grim
turret or lofty spire. Finally, in the east, the burgher standing on
the city's walls could trace for several miles the current of a silver
stream, glittering in the sunlight, and twisting in and out among the
islands along the coast until at last it lost itself in the mighty
waters of the Baltic.

The town itself was small. The main isle, on which "the city," so
called, was built, stretched scarce a quarter of a mile from east to
west and but little more from north to south. Nestling under the shadow
of the main isle were two smaller isles, Riddarholm on the west and
Helgeandsholm on the north, both severed from the city by a channel
about fifty feet in width. Through the centre of the main isle ran a
huge backbone of rock, beginning at the south and rising steadily till
within a few feet of the northern shore. The summit of this ridge was
crowned by the royal citadel, a massive edifice of stone, the northern
wall of which ran close along the shore, so that the soldier on patrol
could hear the ripple of the water on the rocks below. From either side
of the citadel the town walls ran south at a distance of perhaps a
hundred feet from the shore, meeting at a point about the same distance
from the southern channel. Within the triangle thus formed, not over
twenty-five acres all told, lived and moved five thousand human beings.
The streets, it need scarce be said, were narrow, dark, and damp. The
houses were lofty, generally with high pitch-roofs to prevent the snow
from gathering on them. The doors and windows were high, but narrow to
keep out the cold, and were built in the sides of the house, not in
front, owing to the darkness and narrowness of the streets. To economize
space, most of the houses were built in blocks of five or six, wholly
separated from their neighbors and forming a sort of castle by
themselves. The only church inside the walls was the so-called Great
Church on the summit of the hill. Adjoining this church on the south was
the old town-hall. As to public squares, there were but two,--the Grand
Square, on the summit of the hill immediately south of the town-hall;
and the so-called Iron Market, a smaller square just inside the southern
gate. These squares, the largest not more than eighty yards in length,
served at once as the market, the promenade, and the place of execution
for the town. The town-walls were fortified at several points by towers,
and were entered by gateways at the northwest corner and at the southern
point, as well as by several small gateways along the sides. The city
was connected with the mainland north and south by turreted bridges, the
north bridge passing across the island of Helgeandsholm. All around the
main island, some fifty feet from the shore, ran a long bridge on piles,
built as a safeguard against hostile ships. Protected thus by nature and
by art from foreign intrusion, the burghers of Stockholm learned to rely
on their own industry and skill for every need. They formed themselves
into various trades or guilds, each under the surveillance of a master.
To be admitted to a guild it was necessary to pass a severe examination
in the particular trade. These guilds were marked by an intense _esprit
de corps_, each striving to excel the others in display of wealth. Some
guilds were composed wholly of tradespeople, others wholly of artisans;
and there were still others formed for social or religious purposes,
comprising members of various trades. Of these latter guilds the most
aristocratic and influential was the Guild of the Sacred Body. Inside a
guild the members were bound together by the warmest bonds of
friendship. They ordinarily lived in the same quarter of the town; they
cared for their brothers in sickness or poverty, and said Mass in common
for the souls of their deceased. Each guild held meetings at stated
intervals to vote on various matters concerning its affairs. In case of
war the different guilds enlisted in separate companies. Over and above
all the guilds were a burgomaster and council elected by their
fellow-townsmen, their duties being to regulate the relations of the
various guilds to one another, and provide for the general welfare of
the city. Thus the inhabitants of Stockholm formed a miniature republic
by themselves. They governed themselves in nearly all local matters.
They bought, sold, and exchanged according to their own laws and
regulations. They married and gave in marriage after their own caprice.
Industrious, skilful, with little ambition, they bustled about their
narrow streets, jostling those at their elbow and uttering slander
against those out of hearing. In short, they led the humdrum life
incident to all small towns in time of peace, and were ever eager to
vary this monotony at the first sound of war.[14]

Into this community Gustavus was ushered in the year 1514. He was then
but eighteen, and was summoned by the regent to the royal court to
complete his education.[15] He found himself at once in clover. Three
years before, his mother's half-sister, Christina Gyllenstjerna, had
married the young regent; and the youth on coming to Stockholm was
received as one of the family in the royal palace.

Among all the personages then at court, the most interesting, by all
odds, was the regent's wife, Christina. This woman is one of the most
puzzling characters in Swedish history. On her father's side of royal
lineage, and on her mother's descended from one of the oldest families
in Sweden, she inherited at the same time a burning desire for personal
advancement and an enthusiasm for the glory of her native land. Wedded
to a handsome, daring, impetuous youth of twenty-one, the nation's
favorite, she entered with her whole heart into all his projects, and
was among his most valuable counsellors whether in peace or war. In
force of character and in personal bravery she was scarce inferior to
her heroic husband, and yet she lacked not discretion or even
shrewdness. She was the idol of the Swedish people, and before many
years were passed was to have an opportunity to test their love.

Another personage at court, with whom we have already become acquainted,
was Hemming Gad. Although of humble birth, this man had received a
careful education, and during twenty years of his early life had held
the post of Swedish ambassador at the court of Rome. On his return to
Sweden he had been elected bishop of the diocese of Linköping, but had
never entered on his duties owing to the opposition of the pope. He was
not indeed a priest. Diplomacy was above all else the field in which he
shone. A warm supporter of the Stures, he had more than once averted
trouble by his powers of conciliation, and was regarded as an
indispensable servant of the people's cause. Fearless, eloquent,
untiring, conciliatory, persuasive, perhaps not too conscientious, he
was the most influential person in the Cabinet and one of the very
foremost statesmen of his time. It was to this man, then seventy-four
years of age, that the care of the young Gustavus was intrusted when he
came to court.

Affairs at this time were in a state of great confusion. King Hans of
Denmark had died a year before, and after several months of hostile
demonstration had been succeeded by his son. This person, known as
Christiern II., was as vile a monster as ever occupied a throne. Gifted
by nature with a powerful frame, tall, burly, with large head and short
thick neck, broad forehead and high cheek-bones, prominent nose, firmly
compressed lips, a plentiful supply of shaggy hair on his head and face,
heavy overhanging eyebrows, his eyes small, deep-set, and fierce,--his
appearance furnished an excellent index to his character. Firm,
courageous, by no means wanting in intellect or executive ability, he
was sensual, gross, and cruel. Though often full of hilarity and hearty
animal spirits, there was ever hanging over him a cloud of melancholy,
which occasionally settled on him with such weight as to rob him wholly
of his reason. At such times he seemed transformed into some fierce
monster with an insatiable thirst for blood. When a mere boy in the
royal palace at Copenhagen, he is said to have amused himself by
midnight orgies about the city's streets.[16] He was well educated,
however, and early became a useful adjunct to his father. At twenty-one
he displayed much bravery in an assault which Hans then made on
Stockholm; and a few years later he became his father's deputy in the
government of Norway. While there, his secretary one day came to him and
portrayed in glowing terms the beauty of a maiden who had dazzled him in
Bergen. The sensitive heart of Christiern at once was fired. He left his
castle at Opslo without a moment's waiting, and, crossing hill and vale
without a murmur, hastened to feast his eyes on the fair Dyveke. Being
of a romantic turn of mind, he resolved to see her first amidst all the
fashion of the town. A splendid ball was therefore held, to which the
aristocracy were bidden with their daughters. Among the guests was the
renowned Dyveke, who outshone all in beauty. No sooner did Christiern
see her, than his whole soul burned within him. He seized her hand, and
led off the dance in company with his fair enchanter. Rapture filled his
soul; and when the ball was over, Dyveke was secretly detained and
brought to Christiern's bed. This incident had a far-reaching influence
on Christiern's later life. Though already betrothed to the sister of
Charles V., his passion for Dyveke did not pass away. He erected a
palace at Opslo, and lived there with his mistress until recalled to
Copenhagen, when he took her with him. The most singular feature in this
whole intrigue is that the royal voluptuary was from the outset under
the absolute sway, not of the fair Dyveke, but of her mother, Sigbrit, a
low, cunning, intriguing woman of Dutch origin, who followed the couple
to the royal palace at Opslo, and afterwards accompanied them to
Stockholm, the complete ruler of her daughter's royal slave. On the
accession of Christiern to the throne, he resolved, at the instance of
this woman, to add the Swedish kingdom to his dominions. In order to
comprehend the measures which he adopted, it will be necessary to trace
events in Sweden since the death of Hans.

The Danish party, in no way daunted by their futile effort to secure the
regency of Sweden, had kept up continuous negotiations with their
friends in Denmark, with the object ultimately to place the king of
Denmark on the throne. Owing, however, to the manifest and growing
popularity of the young Sture, they deemed it wise to wait for a more
auspicious moment before making open demonstration, and for the time
being yielded to the regent with the best grace they could command. The
thing which they most needed, in order to counteract the influence of
the chivalric young Sture, was the infusion of new life among their
ranks. The archbishop and Erik Trolle both were old, and, though in the
full vigor of their intellectual ability, lacked the energy and
endurance required to carry on a policy of active war. It was resolved,
therefore, to throw the burden of leadership on younger shoulders. There
was at this time in Rome a man who seemed to possess more qualifications
than any other for the post. This was Gustaf Trolle. He was young,
highly educated, energetic, and above all a son of Erik Trolle, the
powerful leader of the Danish faction. He had seen much of the world,
and had lived on terms of familiarity with some of the greatest men in
Europe. But his whole power of usefulness was lost through his
inordinate personal and family pride. Weighted down by the sense of his
own importance, with haughty overbearing manners, and a dogged obstinacy
in dealing with his inferiors, he was the last man in the world to be
successful as a party leader. Yet it was on this man that the Danish
party fixed its hopes. The matter first took shape on the 31st of
August, 1514, when the archbishop in conversation with Sture suggested
that old age was now coming on so fast that he desired to resign his
office, and asked whom Sture deemed most fit to serve as his successor.
To this the courteous regent answered that he knew no one better fitted
for the post than the archbishop himself. With this the conversation
ended. On the 12th of October following, the crafty archbishop, not
averse to feathering his own nest, formed a compact with Erik Trolle by
which Ulfsson was to commend the latter's son for the archbishopric, and
in return Erik promised to support Ulfsson to the utmost of his power
and to see that Gustaf Trolle did not deprive Ulfsson of the
archiepiscopal rents during the latter's life.[17] This done, Erik
Trolle went to the regent and asked him to recommend Gustaf Trolle for
the post of archdeacon of Upsala. This request was complied with. But
when, soon after, Erik appeared again before the regent with a letter
from the archbishop informing him that the Chapter of Upsala had decided
on Gustaf Trolle as the new archbishop, Sture was so startled that he
wrote to Upsala to say that he had never consented to such a
proposition, but nevertheless if God wished it he would raise no
opposition. The pope having already declared that no one should be
appointed without the regent's consent, no effort was spared to dispose
Sture well towards the new candidate, and with so good result that when
the archbishop's messengers went to Rome to secure the confirmation,
they carried with them a letter from Sture to his legate in Rome,
instructing him to do all he could before the pope in favor of Gustaf
Trolle.[18]

In May, 1515, the young man was consecrated archbishop of Upsala by the
pope,[19] and started in the following summer for the North. Passing
through Lubeck, where he is rumored to have had an audience of
Christiern,[20] he pursued his journey by water, and at last cast anchor
off the Swedish coast about twelve miles from Stockholm. Here he was met
by certain of the Danish party, who urged him to give the cold shoulder
to the regent. Instead, therefore, of proceeding to the capital, he
drove direct to Upsala, and was installed in his new office: all this in
spite of the fact that the old archbishop had assured the regent, before
he wrote to Rome, that he would not hand over Upsala nor Stäket to
Trolle till the latter had sworn allegiance to Sture.[21] The immediate
effect of his investiture was to augment the haughtiness of the young
archbishop. Scarcely had he become domiciled in Upsala, when he wrote a
letter to the regent warning him that he, the archbishop, was about to
visit with punishment all who had wronged his father or grandfather, or
his predecessor in the archiepiscopal chair. To this the regent, wishing
if possible to avert trouble, answered that if any persons had done the
wrong complained of, he would see to it that they should be punished.
But the archbishop was in no mood for compromise. The breach now opened,
he resolved to make it wider; and he had no difficulty in finding
pretext. The fief of Stäket had long been a bone of contention between
the Church and State. Though for many years in the hands of the
archbishops, it had never been clearly settled whether they held it as a
right or merely by courtesy of the crown; and at the resignation of
Archbishop Ulfsson the fief was claimed by his successor, Trolle, as
well as by the regent. In order to put an end to this vexed question,
the regent wrote to Ulfsson asking him to produce the title-deeds on
which his claim was based. After considerable correspondence, in which,
however, the deeds were not produced, Sture, deeming it unwise to leave
the fief any longer without a steward, entered into possession, and
applied the incomes to the royal treasury, at the same time assuring
Ulfsson that if he or the Chapter at Upsala could prove a title to the
fief, they should enjoy it. This only added fuel to the flame. Trolle,
unable as it seems to prove his title, assumed the posture of one who
had been wronged, and scorned the urgent invitation of the regent to
come to Stockholm and discuss the matter. Indeed, there were rumors in
the air to the effect that Trolle was engaged in a conspiracy against
the throne.[22]

In this way matters continued till February of the following year, 1516,
when Sture resolved to attend the annual Upsala fair and have a
conference with Trolle. The conference took place in presence of some of
the leading men of Sweden, in the sacristy of the cathedral. But it led
to no result. Trolle charged the regent with unfair dealing, which the
latter denied, at the same time demanding proof. None was furnished; and
the regent withdrew, feeling more than ever convinced that the conduct
of the archbishop boded ill. In this juncture he summoned a Cabinet
meeting, to be held at Telge in July following, to arrange the
differences between himself and Trolle, and to resolve on the stand to
be taken by Sweden in the congress of the three realms to be held at
Halmstad in the February following. The archbishop, by virtue of his
office, was a member of the Cabinet; but when that body met, it was
discovered that Trolle was not present. He was in Upsala, nursing his
wrath to keep it warm. The regent therefore wrote and begged him to
appear. "Whatever," he wrote, "the Cabinet here assembled shall decide
as right between us, I will do." But the proud archbishop would not
listen. He and his father kept away, together with one or two of their
adherents; and the Cabinet parted, having accomplished little.[23]

Meantime the archbishop was not idle. Shortly before the Cabinet met, he
with some of his adherents had held a conference at Stäket, where he had
persuaded them to renounce the regent and form an alliance with the king
of Denmark. While the Cabinet was in session, he despatched a messenger
to King Christiern, urging him to break the truce with Sweden, and
informing him that the Castle of Nyköping, now in the hands of one of
the archbishop's satellites, should be thrown open to him if he would
draw thither with his army. At the same time the archbishop began to
fortify himself in Stäket. Learning this, the regent saw that the hour
for compromise was past. He dissolved the Cabinet, and, advancing with
all speed to Nyköping, stormed the castle. So rapid had been his
action, that he took the archbishop's officers all unprepared, and at
the first assault the garrison surrendered. This was on the 15th of
August. After taking the officer in command of the garrison to
Stockholm, where he was consigned to prison, the energetic young regent
proceeded to Vesterås, where, on the 8th of September, in an address to
the populace, he rendered an account of his actions, and informed the
people that the archbishop and others were engaged in a plot to yield
the kingdom into the hands of Christiern. Thence he proceeded to an
island some six miles from Stäket, and remained there through the
autumn, keeping an eye on the archbishop's castle and preparing, if
necessary, to besiege it. The Danish party by this time saw that they
were dealing with a man of mettle, and began to change their tactics.
Hoping to gain time, they gave out that they would be glad to have the
burgomaster and Council of Stockholm act as mediators in the dispute;
and on the 20th of October Ulfsson wrote to Sture to appoint a time for
conference. The regent, however, was not so easily deceived. Trolle was
still adding to his strength in Stäket, and looking forward to aid from
Denmark. The regent therefore replied to Ulfsson that Trolle had brought
on the dispute, and he must answer for it. "As to a conference with
you," adds the regent, "my time is now so fully occupied that I can
appoint no day before the Cabinet meeting to be held shortly at Arboga."
About the same time he wrote to the Chapter at Upsala, insisting on an
answer to a former letter, in which he had called on them to declare
whether they proposed to side with him or the archbishop. In this letter
he informs them: "As to your question whether I intend to obey the
ordinances of the Church, I answer that I shall defend the Holy Church
and respect the persons of the clergy as becomes a Christian nobleman,
provided you will allow me so to do; and I have never purposed
otherwise." Still, however, the Chapter prevaricated, and gave no
answer; till finally the regent sent them his ultimatum, closed, like
all his letters, with the modest signature, "Sten Sture, soldier."[24]

On New Year's day, 1517, the Cabinet met at Arboga, where a general diet
of the kingdom was gathering to discuss the state of affairs concerning
Denmark. At this meeting, as at the one preceding, none of the
archbishop's followers were present. So soon as the Cabinet had
separated, the regent, in compliance with their suggestion, sent envoys
once more to Trolle, urging him to renounce his allegiance to the Danish
king and to surrender Stäket. To this the stubborn archbishop answered
that he would not yield Stäket so long as his heart beat within him. He
then turned his guns upon the regent's envoys, and fired on them as they
withdrew. A few days later the regent learned from one of Trolle's
officers whom he had taken prisoner that the archbishop had received a
letter from King Christiern promising all who gave their aid in
establishing him on the throne a double recompense for any loss incurred
in the attempt. No time was, therefore, to be lost. Collecting a force
with all haste from different parts of Sweden, the regent advanced on
Stäket to besiege the castle. Immediately on their arrival, Trolle sent
out word that he desired a parley. This was granted, and the archbishop
came outside the walls to a spot before the Swedish camp. In the course
of the discussion, Trolle, perhaps with a view to intimidate the regent,
declared that he had within the castle a letter from King Christiern
announcing that he would come to the relief before the 1st of May. But
the young regent was not so easily to be intimidated. His terms were
that Trolle and his men might withdraw unharmed from Stäket, and that
the archbishop might continue in possession of the Cathedral of Upsala
and all the privileges of his office; but that the Castle of Stäket,
long a prolific source of discord, should remain in the hands of Sture
till a tribunal composed of clergy as well as laity could determine
whether it should belong to Church or State, or be demolished as a
source of discord. These terms were not accepted, and the siege
continued. All through the winter and spring the Swedish army bivouacked
outside the walls; and Trolle, ever looking for aid from Denmark,
refused to yield. At last, at midsummer, having received tidings that
rescue was near at hand, his heart grew bold within him, and he resolved
to make a dupe of Sture. The latter not being at the time at Stäket, the
archbishop sent a messenger to say that he was ready for a parley. The
regent, daily fearing the approach of Christiern, received the messenger
with joy. He called together the burgomaster and Council of Stockholm,
and instructed them to select delegates to act in behalf of Stockholm.
With these delegates and a few advisers on his own account he proceeded
to Stäket, and after consultation as to the terms which they should
offer, signalled the guard on the castle walls that he was ready to
treat with Trolle. After standing some time in the midst of a pouring
rain, and without any prospect of an answer, the regent grew impatient,
and sent word to Trolle that he could offer no other terms than those
already offered. The charlatan then threw off the mask. He replied that
he placed implicit confidence in Christiern, and was in no hurry for a
parley. Any time within six weeks would do. At this announcement the
regent had nothing for it but to withdraw. Drenched to the skin, and
burning at the insult offered him, he returned to Stockholm.[25]

He did so none too soon. The Danish forces, four thousand strong, were
already off the Swedish coast. This was by no means the first proof of
actual hostilities on the part of Christiern. Six months before, while
the truce between the kingdoms was still in force, Christiern had seized
a Swedish vessel while lying in the roads outside Lubeck, and at the
general diet held at New Year's in Arboga, it had been voted to resist
the tyrant till the dying breath. As a result, the congress of the three
realms which was to have been held in February had never met. A
broadside was issued by the regent to all the men of Sweden, calling on
them to prepare for war. Throughout the spring and summer the advent of
the tyrant was expected, and the announcement that his army had at
length arrived was a surprise to none.[26]

It was early in the month of August, 1517, when the Danish fleet was
sighted off the coast twelve miles from Stockholm. Sture proceeded at
once to the point at which it was expected they would land, and thus
prevented them. The fleet hovered about the coast for several days,
sending out pillaging parties in small boats to the shore. One of these
parties was intercepted; and from a prisoner who was taken, Sture
learned definitely that the object of the expedition was to go to the
relief of Stäket. On this news Sture sent some members of the Cabinet to
Stäket to inform the archbishop that the Danish force was now off
Stockholm, and to urge him in behalf of the town of Stockholm to send
word to the Danish force that it could count on no aid from him, as he
was resolved to remain true to his native land. But this final appeal to
the archbishop's honor met with no response. The fleet meantime had
approached the capital, and was riding at anchor about two miles down
the stream. There the whole force landed, intending to march direct to
Stäket. But the young regent was again ahead of them. Scarce had they
set foot on shore when he fell upon them with his army. The conflict was
sharp and bitter, but at last the regent came off victorious. The Danes
were driven headlong to their ships, leaving many of their number dead
upon the shore, while others fell captives into the hand of Sture. This
was a red-letter day in the calendar of the regent, and is specially
memorable as being the first occasion on which the young Gustavus drew
sword in behalf of his native land.[27]

Elated by his victory, the regent now opened communications once more
with Trolle. With a view to frighten him into submission, he sent some
of the Danish captives to Stäket, that the archbishop might hear from
his own allies the story of their disaster. Even at this the proud
spirit of the archbishop was not humbled. He still persisted in his
determination not to yield, and it was only when his own officers began
to leave him that he signified his willingness to withdraw from Stäket
and retire to the duties of his cathedral. But now it was Sture's turn
to dictate. He answered curtly that a murderer could no longer be
archbishop, and proceeded at once to summon a general diet of the
kingdom. This diet met at Stockholm in the last days of November. It was
a notable gathering. Among those present were four of the six
bishops,--all except the bishops of Vexiö and Skara,--of laymen, Hemming
Gad and the father of young Gustavus, besides some ten other knights and
armigers, the burgomaster and Council of Stockholm, and a large number
of delegates from the peasantry. Before this assembly the archbishop
appeared, under safe-conduct from the regent, to plead his cause. Among
the witnesses produced in favor of the crown was a Danish officer
captured in the battle outside Stockholm. This man testified, among
other things, that before the Danish fleet set forth, a messenger from
Trolle had appeared before King Christiern to solicit aid for Stäket.
Indeed, the charge of conspiracy was proved beyond the shadow of a
doubt. The whole house rose with one accord in denunciation of the
traitor. Without a dissenting voice it was decreed that Stäket, "the
rebel stronghold," should be levelled to the ground; that Trolle should
nevermore be recognized as archbishop; that, though by the terms of his
safe-conduct he might return to Stäket, he should not come forth
therefrom till he had given pledge to do no further injury to the
kingdom; and, finally, that if Trolle or any other in his behalf should
solicit excommunication on any of those present for this resolve or for
besieging or destroying Stäket, or should otherwise molest them, they
all should stand firm by one another. This resolve, before the diet
parted, was put into writing, and to it every member attached his
seal.[28]

The archbishop, as had been promised him, was permitted to return to
Stäket, which was again put into a state of siege. The siege, however,
was of short duration. Deserted by the largest portion of his officers,
and with no immediate prospect of further aid from Denmark, the
archbishop had nothing for it but to yield. Stäket thus fell into the
hands of Sture; and the archbishop was placed in the monastery of
Vesterås, to remain there captive till further disposition should be
made of his archbishopric.[29]

The whole country was by this time overrun with rebels. Particularly
along the southern frontier the Danish party, in close alliance with the
king of Denmark, kept the inhabitants in a state of terror; and their
hostile demonstrations became at last so marked that the regent found it
necessary, in the autumn of 1517, to despatch his army thither to
repress them. This news was brought to Christiern's ears, still tingling
with the report of the disaster of his fleet. The monarch, having no
stomach for a winter campaign among the snows of Sweden, bethought him
of a truce until the coming spring. There chanced to be in Denmark at
the time a smooth-mouthed scoundrel with the unsavory name of
Arcimboldo. He was by trade a dealer in indulgences, having been
commissioned by Leo X. to vend his wares throughout the northern parts
of Europe. He had already spent some time in Lubeck, where he had reaped
a splendid harvest; and had now been carrying on his business about two
years in Denmark. On every church he had affixed a chest with notice
that all who would contribute to the sacred cause should receive full
absolution from their sins. It certainly was a tempting offer, and one
which the unwary believers in the papal authority were not slow to
seize. They poured in their contributions with a lavish hand, and the
legate soon amassed a princely fortune. At last, however, his goods
began to be a drug upon the market, and he prepared to transfer his
headquarters to another land. It was about this time, early in the
winter of 1518, that Christiern made up his mind to suggest a truce with
Sweden, and the grand idea occurred to him of enlisting the papal legate
in his service. He summoned the pardon-monger without delay, and
suggested that he should mediate with Sture. To this suggestion
Arcimboldo, by no means averse to turning an honest penny, gave his
assent. He sat down at once and wrote a letter to the regent,
instructing him that the pope desired to see peace made between the
kingdoms. He therefore, as ambassador from his Holiness, suggested that
Sture should observe a truce by land with Denmark till the 23d of April
next, and in the mean time should send delegates to the town of Lund
with full power to make a lasting peace between the kingdoms. To this
proposal the legate added that Christiern had given his consent. This
document was handed to the regent about the middle of February. He sent
back a despatch at once, thanking the legate for his efforts in behalf
of peace, and expressing a wish to accede in general to the proposition.
It would not be possible, however, to send delegates to a congress on so
short a notice. Before doing so it would be necessary to hold a general
diet, so that the people of Sweden might vote upon the matter; and as
some of the members would have to come from Finland, the diet could not
be held unless the truce was extended so as to embrace the sea. But he
should be pleased if Arcimboldo would effect a lasting treaty between
the kingdoms, or even a truce by sea and land to continue for the life
of Christiern. He, on his part, would summon a general diet as soon as
possible, with a view to bring about a lasting peace. Thus the peace
negotiations came to naught. Christiern had no intention of consenting
to a lasting peace, and Sture was not to be inveigled into a truce which
had no other object than to give the king of Denmark an opportunity to
recruit.[30]

And thus the winter wore away, and spring came, and both parties were
gathering up their forces to renew the war. In the little town of
Stockholm a spirit of patriotism was growing fast. It was felt on every
hand that the coming summer would forever settle the question of slavery
or freedom, and all were fixed in purpose to resist the tyrant till
their dying breath. Children, from fifteen upwards, were in arms,
momentarily expecting the arrival of the Danish fleet. But the agony was
prolonged day after day till the sturdy patriots were eager to have it
close. Excitement had been wrought up to a fever heat, when, in the
month of June, the news was shouted through the narrow streets that the
enemy's vessels were at hand. The report was true. There in the stream
below the town were visible the white sails of the Danish
squadron,--eighty ships in all,--slowly forging their way against the
current towards the town. It was a sight to make even the stout heart of
a Stockholm burgher quail. The fleet approached within a short distance,
and the troops were landed on the southern shore, separated from the
city only by a narrow channel. The Danish king himself was in command.
His forces consisted of five thousand Germans, besides a thousand
light-armed soldiers chiefly Danes, a hundred horse, and a vast
multitude of laborers for building dikes and trenches. Proceeding to the
west, he took up his position, June 29, on the hill opposite the city on
the north. But he soon discovered that this point was too far from the
town. He therefore crossed over to the southern shore, and pitched his
camp on the cliffs of Södermalm. From this point he began to bombard the
tower at the southern corner of the town. After battering this tower
near a month, he sent a force across the bridge with orders to burst
through the wall at the point which his guns had shaken. The effort,
however, was of no avail. His force was driven back and compelled to
seek safety beyond the bridge. At this juncture news arrived that a
detachment of the Swedish army was coming against him on the south.
Fearing a simultaneous attack on both sides, he hastily advanced in the
direction of the expected onslaught, and threw up a fortification at
Brännkyrka, about three miles south of Stockholm. On his right the land
was boggy and overgrown with brushwood, while on his left it was
somewhat higher and wooded. In these woods the Swedish army gathered. It
is reported that they were twelve thousand strong, but they consisted
chiefly of ill-trained and ill-armed peasants. The regent had joined
them, and was leading them in person. The royal banners of the first
battalion were in charge of Gustavus Vasa. After a few days'
skirmishing, in which the patriots were twice driven into the covert of
their woods, the Danes made a final charge upon them, and put them once
more to flight. This time, however, the Danish soldiers lost their
heads, and followed in hot haste through the forest. In this way they
lost all advantage from their superior arms and training. The Swedes,
nearly twice as numerous as their opponents, surrounded them, and closed
in upon them on every side. The forest was soon red with blood. The
patriots fought with vigor and determination; and at length, though
sixteen hundred of their companions were stretched upon the ground, the
day was theirs. Sture collected his men as quickly as possible and
returned to Stockholm, while Christiern took up his quarters again in
Södermalm. A few days later Christiern, his powder and provisions
failing him, ordered a retreat; but before his men were all embarked the
Swedes were on them, and killed or captured some two hundred on the
shore. After proceeding down the stream about twelve miles, the fleet
cast anchor near the northern shore, and a foraging party was sent out
towards Upsala for provisions. Some of these were captured, but the
majority returned with a rich booty to their ships. Nearly two months
had now elapsed since the arrival of the Danish fleet, and the cold
weather was approaching. Christiern, worsted at every point, was eager
to return to Denmark. But the equinoctial storm would soon be coming,
and he was afraid to venture out in rough weather on short rations. His
men too, suffering for food and clamoring for their pay, began to leave
him. He therefore resolved to play upon another string. On the 28th of
August he despatched envoys to the regent with the preposterous
proposition that he should be received as king, or that in lieu thereof
he should receive from the regent and Cabinet of Sweden a yearly
stipend, and that the losses which he and the Danish party in Sweden had
suffered should be repaid them. This ridiculous offer was of course
rejected. Christiern then came down from his high horse, and proposed a
cessation of hostilities till the difficulty could be settled. After
some bickering on both sides it was agreed that a congress of the three
realms should meet on the 10th of the following July, to determine
Christiern's right to the crown of Sweden or to tribute; and until that
day there should be peace between the realms. This agreement was put
into writing and signed and sealed by Christiern and the regent a few
days before September 8. The regent then ordered provisions sent out to
the Danish soldiers to relieve their want. And still the fleet continued
to hang about the coast, waiting, so it was given out, for fair weather.
In reality, the Danish monarch was dallying with the hope of putting
into effect a diabolical scheme which he had concocted. There being now
a truce between the kingdoms, he ventured to despatch a messenger to
Sture with hostages, to beg the regent to come out to the fleet and hold
a conference. After consultation with his Cabinet, the regent answered
that he could not accede to this request, and the hostages were
returned. Christiern then sent again to say that he would gladly meet
him at an appointed spot on land, provided six persons named--among them
Hemming Gad and the regent's nephew, Gustavus--should first be placed on
board the Danish fleet as hostages. A day was set and the hostages set
forth. All unconscious, the rope was already tightening around their
necks. On the 25th of September, as had been agreed, the regent rode to
the appointed place of meeting. But the Danish king was nowhere to be
seen. Two whole days the regent waited, and on the third discovered that
he had been entrapped. The fleet was on its way to Denmark, and the
Swedish hostages were prisoners on board. Before putting out to sea, the
monarch touched land once more to despatch a couple of letters,--one to
the burghers of Stockholm, the other to all the inhabitants of Sweden.
These letters are dated October 2. Their purpose was to make his
treachery seem less brutal. He declared that the regent had violated the
terms of the truce by ill-treating the Danish prisoners in his hands,
and not surrendering them as had been stipulated in the treaty. "On this
ground," said the tyrant, some four days after seizing the hostages, "I
declare the treaty off."[31]

Repairing with his captives to Copenhagen, the tyrant placed them in
confinement in different parts of Denmark. Gustavus was placed in Kalö
Castle, under the charge of the commandant, who was a distant relative
of the young man's mother. The commandant was under bonds for the
safe-keeping of his prisoner; but being a man of tender feelings, he
imposed little restraint upon Gustavus, merely exacting from him a
promise that he would make no effort to escape. His life therefore was,
to outward appearance, not devoid of pleasure. The castle was situated
on a promontory in Jutland, at the northern end of Kalö Bay. Its wall
ran close along the cliffs, a hundred feet above the sea. At either end
of the castle was a gray stone tower, and from the windows in the towers
was a charming prospect on every side. The promontory was connected with
the mainland by a low and narrow strip of land, and along the main shore
ran a dense forest belonging to the castle and plentifully stocked with
game. All these pleasures were at the free disposal of the captive. But
there was a canker ever gnawing at his heart. No matter which way he
turned, he heard only rumors of fresh preparations to conquer Sweden.
When guests visited the castle, they talked from morn till night of the
splendid armaments of Christiern. On one occasion he heard them declare
that so soon as Sweden fell, her aristocracy were to be put to the sword
and their wives and daughters parted out among the peasantry of Denmark.
The Swedish peasants, they said, would soon learn to drive the plough
with one arm and a wooden leg. Such jests made the young prisoner burn
with indignation. He felt it necessary to conceal his passion, and yet
he longed perpetually for a chance to burst his fetters and fly to the
rescue of his native land.[32]

Before tracing his adventures further, let us return once more to
Sweden. The dastardly escape of Christiern with the Swedish hostages had
stung the whole country to the quick. Even the Chapter of Upsala, which
had up to this time clung to the hope of restoring Trolle to his post,
began to yield to the oft-repeated exhortations of the regent, and
prepared to nominate a new archbishop. The man whom Sture urged for the
position was the bishop of Strengnäs, one of those who had voted in
favor of demolishing Stäket; and so early as the preceding February the
chapter had practically assented to this choice. Nothing further,
however, was done about it; and when, in the autumn of 1518, the papal
legate with his proclamations of pardon appeared in Sweden, the chapter
began to look toward him for help. Arcimboldo was not the man to let
slip an opportunity to aggrandize himself. He therefore was prepared to
listen impartially to the arguments on every side, and as papal legate
to use his authority in favor of the highest bidder. Now, it required
little sagacity to see that Trolle, whose cause the king of Denmark had
commissioned him to urge, but who was at this time stripped of his
prerogatives and in prison, could offer small reward; and from the king
of Denmark he had already received quite as much as he had reason to
expect. Moreover, it appeared from the experience of the last two years
that Christiern's hopes of Sweden were likely to result in air. Sture
was to all appearances the rising star, and on him the crafty legate
resolved to fix his hopes. There seemed no valid reason, however, for
deserting Christiern. It would be better so to trim his sails as to
receive any emoluments that might be forthcoming from either party. He
therefore approached the regent under the guise of mediator. The regent
received him kindly, and covered him with honors and rewards. In the
winter of 1518-1519 a meeting was held at Arboga at which the case of
Trolle was laid before the legate. The outcome of it was that Trolle
formally resigned his archbishopric and was restored to freedom. Shortly
after, on the 5th of February, we find the legate reappointing the old
archbishop, Ulfsson, to the post. Just why this course was taken it is
impossible to state with certainty. But the reasons which led to it may
easily be surmised. Ulfsson was a man of wealth, with few enemies and
many friends. He was, next to Trolle, the choice of the Upsala Chapter
and of Christiern, and he had already some time before been asked by
Sture to reassume the post. To one of Arcimboldo's compromising temper
it is not strange that Ulfsson should have seemed a person whose favor
it was desirable to win.[33]

Meantime the king of Denmark was not idle. He still clung to the strange
infatuation that the people of Sweden might be persuaded to accept him
as their king, and almost while in the act of seizing the Swedish
hostages instructed Arcimboldo to beg the regent for a friendly
conference. This wild proposal Sture treated with the contempt which it
deserved. He wrote to Christiern a straightforward letter in which he
refused to deal further with him, and demanded that the hostages be
immediately returned. Christiern of course did not comply. On the
contrary, he continued his warlike preparations, and throughout the
whole of the next year, 1519, his fleet was busy in making incursions
along the Swedish coast. These incursions, though they caused the regent
great annoyance, had little permanent effect. The king was still
smarting under his recent defeat, and did not venture at once to
undertake another campaign on an extensive scale.[34]

One thing the year 1519 did for Sweden. It ridded her of that consummate
scoundrel Arcimboldo. After he had fleeced the regent and his people of
every penny that they had to give, he set forth with his ill-gotten
gains for Denmark. He soon learned, however, that he had been serving
too many masters. Christiern had got wind of his ambassador's
familiarity with the regent, and had sent out spies to seize him on his
return. But the Italian proved more slippery than his royal master had
supposed. Scarce had he set foot on shore when he perceived that Denmark
was not the place for him. He embarked once more for Sweden, whence he
soon crossed over to Germany on his way to more congenial climes. The
last thing we hear of him is that the pope rewarded him with the
Archbishopric of Milan.[35]


FOOTNOTES:

[14] Olaus Magni, _Hist. de gent. Sept._, pp. 409-410. This curious
book, written by a contemporary of Gustavus, gives an invaluable picture
of the details of Swedish life.

[15] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 3, and _Ährapred._, p. 51; and Tegel,
_Then stoormecht._, p. 3. All authorities agree that this event took
place in 1514; but they differ as to the boy's age at the time. Svart,
who places his birth in 1495, says he was eighteen, which would be
equally true after May 12, 1514, even though the birth was in 1496.
Tegel says he was twenty-four, as he would be if born in 1490; but as
Tegel says in the very next sentence that he was sent to court to be
educated, it is clear he could not have been so old as twenty-four, and
hence could not have been born so early as 1490.

[16] Svaning, _Christ. II._, pp. 20-23.

[17] _Hist. handl._, vol. viii. p. 64. This is a deed to the effect
stated above, signed by Erik Trolle, and dated Oct. 12, 1514.

[18] _Svenska medeltid. rim-krön._, vol. iii. p. 203; Olaus Petri,
_Svenska krön._, pp. 305-306; Johannes Magni, _Hist. pont._, p. 72; and
_Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xxiv. pp. 45-47.

[19] _Svenska medeltid. rim-krön._, vol. iii. p. 203; and _Hist.
handl._, vol. viii. pp. 68-70.

[20] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, p. 306; and Laurent. Petri, _Then
Svenska chrön._, p. 141.

[21] _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xxiv. pp. 51 and 74-75.

[22] _Svenska medeltid. rim-krön._, vol. iii. p. 204; Olaus Petri,
_Svenska krön._, pp. 306-307; Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, p.
141; and _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xxiv. pp. 48-49 and 76.

[23] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, p. 307; Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska
chrön._, p. 141; and _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xxiv. pp. 39-40
and 76-77.

[24] _Svenska medeltid. rim-krön._, vol. iii. p. 205; Olaus Petri,
_Svenska krön._, pp. 307-309; Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, pp.
141-142; and _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xxiv. pp. 52-58, 62-71 and
77-81.

[25] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, pp. 309-310; Johannes Magni, _De omn.
Goth._, pp. 778-779; Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, p. 142; and
_Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xxiv. pp. 81-87.

[26] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, p. 310; Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska
chrön._, p. 142; and _Kongl. och furstl. förlijkn._, pp. 434-435.

[27] _Svenska medeltid. rim-krön._, vol. iii. pp. 205-206; Olaus Petri,
_Svenska krön._, pp. 310-311; Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, pp.
142-143; Svart, _Ährapred._, pp. 52-53; and _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._,
vol. xxiv. pp. 87-88.

[28] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, pp. 311-312; Laurent. Petri, _Then
Svenska chrön._, p. 143; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xxiv. pp.
94-105; and _Kongl. och furstl. förlijkn._, pp. 435-437.

[29] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, p. 313; Johannes Magni, _De omn.
Goth._, p. 779; and Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, p. 143.

[30] Svaning, _Christ. II._, pp. 106-107; and _Handl. rör. Skand.
hist._, vol. xxiv. pp. 112-117, 127-128, and 130-145.

[31] _Svenska medeltid. rim-krön._, vol. iii. pp. 207-209 and 232; Olaus
Petri, _Svenska krön._, pp. 313-314; Rensel, _Berättelse_, p. 15; _Märk.
händl._, p. 91; Johannes Magni, _De omn. Goth._, p. 780; Laurent. Petri,
_Then Svenska chrön._, pp. 143-144; Svart, _Ährapred._, p. 53, and
_Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 4-5; Ludvigsson, _Collect._, p. 86; _Acta hist.
Reg. Christ. II._, p. 1; _Danske Mag._, 3d ser., vol. ii. pp. 237-248;
and _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xxxii. pp. 58-63.

[32] Svaning, _Christ. II._, pp. 385-387, and Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._,
pp. 6-8.

[33] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, p. 313; Johannes Magni, _Hist.
pont._, pp. 71 and 73; Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, p. 143;
_Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xxiv, pp. 110-112, 117-130; and
_Skrift. och handl._, vol. i. pp. 363-364.

[34] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, pp. 315-316; and _Handl. rör. Skand.
hist._, vol. xxiv. pp. 245-247.

[35] Eliesen, _Chron. Skib._, p. 567.




CHAPTER III.

FLIGHT OF GUSTAVUS; UPRISING OF THE DALESMEN. 1519-1521.

 Escape of Gustavus from Denmark.--Lubeck.--Return of Gustavus to
   Sweden.--Excommunication of Sture.--Invasion of Sweden.--Death of
   Sture.--Dissolution of the Swedish Army.--Heroism of
   Christina.--Battle of Upsala.--Gustavus at Kalmar.--Fall of
   Stockholm.--Coronation of Christiern II.--Slaughter of the
   Swedes.--Flight of Gustavus to Dalarne.--Efforts to rouse the
   Dalesmen.--Gustavus chosen Leader.


One morning, in the early autumn of 1519, a young man, clad in the
coarse garments of a drover, made a hasty exit from the gate of Kalö
Castle, and turning into the forest proceeded along the western shore of
Kalö Bay. His step was firm and vigorous, and indicated by its rapidity
that the wayfarer was endeavoring to elude pursuit. Though apparently
not over twenty-four, there was something about the traveller's face and
bearing that gave him the look of a person prematurely old. Of large
frame, tall and broad-shouldered, with heavy massive face, high
cheek-bones, a careworn dark blue eye, large straight nose, and
compressed lips,--the under lip projecting slightly,--he would have been
pointed out anywhere as a man not easily to be led. The face would not,
perhaps, be regarded as particularly intellectual; but determination
and energy were stamped on every feature, and every movement of the body
displayed strength and power of endurance. It was pre-eminently the face
and body of one made to govern rather than to obey. Such, in his
twenty-fourth year, was Gustavus Vasa. He had made his escape from Kalö
Castle, and was fleeing with all speed to Lubeck, the busy, enterprising
head of the Hanseatic League.

His way led him through some of the most picturesque spots in Denmark.
It was a lovely rolling country, with fertile fields and meadows,
relieved in places by little clumps of forest, beneath which he could
often discern the time-worn front of some grim old mansion. Sheep and
cattle were grazing on the hillsides. Thatch-roofed huts, with plastered
walls, were all about him. The fields, in those September days, were red
with buckwheat. Occasionally a broad meadow spread out before him, and,
to avoid the husbandmen gathering in their crops, he was often forced to
make a long circuit through thick forests of beech and maple. Here and
there he came on mighty barrows raised over the bodies of Danish
warriors and kings. Well might it make his blood boil within him to
witness these honors heaped upon the Danes for their deeds of blood and
cruelty to his fathers. Through such scenes, weary and footsore, in
constant dread of his pursuers, and with dark misgivings as to the fate
before him, he pressed on, until at last, near the end of September, the
gray walls of Lubeck, to which he had looked forward as a refuge, stood
before him and he entered in.[36]

Lubeck, the capital of the Hanse Towns, and by virtue of this position
monarch of the northern seas, had been for three centuries a bitter foe
to Denmark. At intervals the Danish kings had sought to check the naval
supremacy of Lubeck, and more than once the two powers had been at open
war. Of late, by reason of dissensions among the Towns, Denmark had
gradually been gaining the upper hand. But Lubeck was still very far
from acknowledging the right of Denmark to carry on an independent
trade, and the growing power of the Danish kings only added fuel to the
flame. Lubeck was, therefore, at this time a peculiarly favorable asylum
for one who was at enmity with Christiern. Gustavus doubtless had
reckoned on this advantage, and had resolved to throw himself on the
mercy of the town. He went directly to the senate, laid his case before
them, and asked them boldly for a ship and escort to take him back to
Sweden. This request apparently was more than they were prepared to
grant. They hesitated, and in the mean time the commandant of Kalö
Castle tracked his prisoner to Lubeck, and appeared before the senate to
demand that he be surrendered. Many of the senators, unwilling to incur
the wrath of Christiern, were minded to give him up. Others, however,
were opposed to such a course. As a result, all action in the matter was
for the time suspended. Eight weary months dragged on, Gustavus
throughout that period remaining in Lubeck. Finally, in May, 1520, one
of the burgomasters, whose friendship the youth had won, espoused his
cause, and he was allowed to sail for Sweden. By good fortune he
steered clear of the Danish fleet, and on the 31st of May set foot
again on his native soil, near Kalmar.[37]

Meantime the Danish arms had not been idle. Soon after the overthrow of
Trolle and the destruction of his castle, the king of Denmark had
despatched a messenger to Rome, to enlist the Holy Father in his cause.
Pope Leo, reluctant to take upon himself to decide a matter of whose
merits he could know so little, appointed the archbishop of Lund, aided
by a Danish bishop, to investigate the question and report to him. A
tribunal so composed could scarcely be expected to render other verdict
than that which Christiern wished. They reported adversely to the
regent. Sture and his adherents were therefore excommunicated by the
pope, and all church ministrations interdicted throughout Sweden. To a
pious people such a blow was terrible in the extreme. All church bells
were for the moment hushed, the church doors barred, and the souls of an
entire nation doomed to eternal death. But even in the face of this
calamity the regent persevered. He refused to restore Trolle to his
post, or even to make him amends for his losses. On this news being
brought to Rome, the pontiff made no attempt to hide his wrath. He wrote
at once to Christiern, with instructions to enter Sweden and inflict
punishment on those who had thus set at naught the papal power.
Christiern was entranced. As champion of the pope he felt certain of
success. Without delay he collected all the forces in the kingdom, horse
and foot, and placed them under the command of a gallant young officer,
Otto Krumpen, with orders to invade Sweden from the south. They landed
in the early days of January, 1520, and proceeded northwards, ravaging
the country as they went. Sture at once issued a broadside to the
people, calling them to arms. He likewise sent his messengers to Trolle,
to beg him to use his influence against the enemies of Sweden. The
deposed archbishop, now cringing before his victor, yielded his assent.
Sture, thus emboldened, moved forward with his army to meet the Danes.
Knowing that they were advancing through the province of Vestergötland,
and that their line of march in the winter season would be across the
lakes, Sture took up his position in a narrow cove at the northern end
of Lake Åsunden. In the centre of this cove, through which the Danes
must pass, he raised a huge bulwark of felled trees, and within the
bulwark stationed his infantry, with provisions enough to last two
months. He then chopped up the ice about the fort, and retired to the
north with his cavalry to await the onset. It was not long he had to
wait. On the 18th of January the Danish army drew near, and seeing the
fortification began to storm it with their catapults. As they
approached, the Swedish cavalry, with Sture at their head, dashed out
along the shore to meet them. The regent was mounted on a fiery charger,
and carried into the very thickest of the fight. But scarcely had the
first shot been fired when a missile glancing along the ice struck
Sture's horse from under him, and in a moment horse and rider were
sprawling on the ice. So soon as Sture could be extricated, he was found
to have received an ugly wound upon the thigh. His followers bore him
bleeding from the field, and hastened with his lacerated body to the
north. But the battle was not yet over. Long and hot it raged about the
fortress on the ice. Twice the Danish troops made a mad assault, and
after heavy losses were repulsed. At last, however, their heavy
catapults began to tell. The sides of the bulwark weakened, and the
Danish army by a vigorous onslaught burst open a passage, and put the
Swedish infantry to the sword. This victory was followed by a night of
riot, the Swedes thus gaining time to collect the scattered remnants of
their army. With a single impulse, though without a leader, they fled
across the marshy meadows of Vestergötland to the north. Their goal was
Tiveden, a dreary jungle of stunted pines and underbrush, through which
it was expected the enemy would have to pass. Here after two days' march
they gathered, and threw up a mighty barrier of felled trees and
brushwood, thinking in that way to impede the passage of the Danes. All
about them the land, though not mountainous, was rough and rugged in the
extreme, huge bowlders and fragments of rock lying about on every side.
In spots the undergrowth was wanting, but its place was generally filled
by little lakes and bogs, quite as difficult to traverse as the forest.
In this region the patriots collected, and with undaunted spirit once
more awaited the coming of the Danes. Again they were not disappointed.
The Danish army, recovering from its night of revelry, proceeded on the
track of the fugitives, stormed their barrier, and on the 1st of
February put them once more to flight. This done, the invaders pressed
forward, burning, robbing, murdering, and affixing bans to every church
door, till they arrived at Vesterås.[38]

Let us turn for a moment to another scene. Sture, who had been carried
bleeding from the field of battle, had been taken first to Örebro. But
the journey over the ice and snow at the dead of winter so aggravated
his wound that it was clear to all he could take no further part in
carrying on the war. He gave orders therefore to be removed to
Stockholm, where he might be under the tender care and sympathy of his
wife. It was God's will, however, that he should never see her more. On
the 2d of February, when almost within sight of the castle walls, he
died; and the loved one for whose sympathy he had longed was given
nothing but her husband's lifeless corpse.[39] They buried of him all
that earth could bury; but his undaunted spirit remained still among his
people, cheering them in their misfortunes, and ever calling upon them
to resist the hand of the oppressor. Sten Sture's character is one which
draws forth a warmth of sentiment such as can be felt for no other
character of his time. Living in an age when hypocrisy was looked upon
with honor, and when falsehood was deemed a vice only when unsuccessful,
he showed in all his dealings, whether with friends or foes, a steadfast
integrity of purpose with an utter ignorance of the art of
dissimulation. Not a stain can history fix upon his memory. Highly
gifted as a statesman, courageous on the field of battle, ever courteous
in diplomacy, and warm and sympathetic in the bosom of his family, his
figure stands forth as one of the shining examples of the height to
which human character can attain. It is with a sigh we leave him, and
turn again to trace the history of his people.

Grim ruin now stared the patriot army in the face. Bereft of the only
person who seemed competent to guide them, beaten at every point,
without arms or provisions, and with a horde of trained and well-armed
soldiers at their heels, the fleeing patriots came straggling into
Strengnäs on the Mälar. Hubbub and confusion reigned supreme. Many of
the magnates counselled immediate surrender. Others, somewhat more loyal
to their country, raised a timid voice in favor of continuing the war,
but no one ventured to come forth and lead his fellow-countrymen against
the foe. Thus they frittered away the precious moments while the Danes
were getting ready for another onset. All this time there was one brave
heart still beating for them in the capital. The regent's widow, nothing
daunted by her own calamity or by the disasters that had come upon her
husband's people, kept sending messengers one after another to implore
them to unite in defence of their native land. At length it seemed as if
her supplications were destined to prevail. A firmer purpose spread
among them, and they girded up their loins for another conflict. Their
spark of courage, however, proved abortive. No sooner did the enemy
again appear than the patriots turned their backs and fled in wild
dismay. On coming once more together after this bloodless battle, they
resolved without further ado to lay down arms. A letter was despatched
to Krumpen requesting parley. This was granted; and on the 22d of
February it was agreed that the two parties should hold a conference in
Upsala on the 3d of March, for the purpose of making terms. The Swedish
party then urged Christina to attend the conference. She however turned
a deaf ear to their entreaties, and sent off a despatch at once to
Dantzic begging for aid against King Christiern; so the conference began
without her. As a preliminary, Krumpen produced a document from the king
of Denmark empowering him to offer terms of peace. This done, a
proposition to declare allegiance to King Christiern was at once brought
forward; and at the instance of Gustaf Trolle and the other
Danish-minded magnates present, the proposal was finally accepted,
though not until Krumpen had consented to certain terms on which the
patriots insisted. These terms were that all past offences against the
Danish crown should be forgiven, that all fiefs hitherto granted to
their fellow-countrymen should be preserved, and that Sweden should
continue to be governed in accordance with her ancient laws and customs.
The document reciting these terms was issued on the 6th of March, and on
the 31st it was confirmed by Christiern.[40]

The main body of the Swedish nation being thus again in the hand of
Denmark, it was expected that Christina would no longer dare to offer
resistance. It was therefore resolved to approach her once more upon the
subject. An armed body of some three thousand men was despatched
forthwith to Stockholm, a couple of ambassadors being sent ahead to
invite Christina to a conference outside the town. The reception which
they met was such as to convince them that the regent's widow possessed,
at any rate, a portion of her husband's courage. No sooner did they near
the capital than the portcullis was raised and a volley fired upon them
from within the walls. Thus discomfited, the ambassadors withdrew, and
Krumpen, having insufficient forces to undertake a siege, returned to
Upsala, and the Swedish forces that had joined him retired to their
homes.[41]

Christina was thus afforded a short respite in which to gather strength.
The bravery and determination which she had displayed, even from the
moment of her husband's death, already began to inspire confidence among
the people. Most of the great men in the realm, intimidated by the
threats or allured by the promises of Krumpen, had sworn allegiance to
the king of Denmark. But the chief castles were still held by the
patriots, and throughout the land there was a strong undercurrent of
feeling against the Danes. In most parts the people were only waiting to
see which way the wind was going to blow, and for the time being it
seemed likely to blow in favor of the Swedes. The regent's widow used
every effort to rouse the people from their lethargy, and with
increased success. All winter long the king of Denmark was burning to
send reinforcements, and dickering with the Powers of Europe to obtain
the necessary funds. But his credit was bad, and it was only with great
difficulty that he at last despatched a body of some fifteen hundred
men. Christina, on the other hand, was being reinforced by the Hanse
Towns along the Baltic, and in the early spring the current of sentiment
had set so strongly in her favor that a plot was formed to drive off the
Danish troops beleaguering the Castle of Vesterås, on the Mälar. So soon
as this plot reached the ears of the Danish leader, he resolved to break
the siege and hurry off to join the forces of Krumpen at Upsala. He did
so; but he did so none too soon. He found his path beset by the
peasantry lying in ambush in the woods, and before he succeeded in
pushing through them, he was led into a bloody battle from which the
patriots came off victorious, though their leader fell.[42]

Emboldened by this success, Christina now sent a messenger among the
peasantry to collect a force with which to attack the Danish army in
Upsala. In a short space of time he had gathered a strong band of
peasantry and miners, with whom, reinforced by a detachment from
Stockholm, he marched forward to Upsala. As the patriots approached the
town, a squad stationed by Krumpen outside the walls descried them and
sounded the alarm. This was on Good Friday, April 6, 1520, and Krumpen
was in the cathedral when the news arrived. Without delay he hurried
forth and gave orders that every man, both horse and foot, should gird
on his armor and assemble in the square. As soon as they had come
together, he led them outside the town and drew up his line of battle
close beneath the walls. In front of this line he formed a solid
phalanx, with a wing on either side composed of horse and foot. Still
farther ahead he placed his catapults, with the largest of which he
opened fire first, the sharpshooters at the same time picking off the
enemy. The sky was heavily overcast, and at the very beginning of the
battle a driving storm with rain and sleet came beating down in the
faces of the Danes, thus blinding them. Their cavalry, too, was almost
useless; for the ground was covered with melting snow, which formed in
great cakes under the horses' hoofs, and soon sent horses and riders
sprawling on the ground. The patriots, however, being without cavalry or
muskets, suffered little from the rain. They were not slow to take
advantage of the opportunity thus afforded them, and pressed forward
madly on the left wing until finally it began to yield. The
standard-bearer, half frozen, was about to drop the standard, when a
Danish veteran rushed forward, seized it from his hands, and fixed it in
the nearest fence, at the same time shouting: "Forward, my men! Remember
your own and your fathers' valor! Shall this standard of your country
fall unstained into the hands of the enemy?" At these words the company
rallied and, hacking at the hands of the patriots who strove to pluck
the standard from the fence, compelled them to withdraw. This company
then joined the others, and a long and bitter conflict followed, the two
armies fighting face to face. At length, as soon as the snow began to be
well packed, the Danish cavalry came to the front once more, and after a
series of violent charges, broke in two places through the enemy's
ranks. The patriots, now cut into three distinct bodies, fled in wild
despair. One body of them was surrounded and massacred on the spot.
Another fled to a brick-kiln near at hand, hoping thus to be sheltered
from the fury of the Danes. But they were pursued, the whole place was
set on fire, and all who issued from it were put to the sword. The third
portion of the Swedes fled in terror to the river, but many of them
weighted down by their arms were drowned. Thus ended a fearful battle.
The snow was literally drenched with blood. Of the Swedes, who numbered
30,000, it is said two thirds were killed; while the Danes, 8,000
strong, lost half.[43]

After this fearful slaughter both parties were for the nonce more
cautious. Messengers were sent by each throughout the land to gain
recruits, but they were careful to avoid a general conflict. Skirmishes
and trickery were the order of the day. The patriots were frittering
away their chances for lack of a leader, and Krumpen was waiting for the
arrival of King Christiern. This was delayed only till the breaking of
the ice. Towards the close of April, 1520, Christiern set sail with a
large fleet for Sweden, having on board the Archbishop of Lund and some
other influential prelates, to lend to his expedition the aspect of a
religious crusade. Proceeding first to Kalmar, he called upon the castle
to surrender, but in vain. Seeing that his only mode of reducing the
castle was by siege, he resolved for the present to give it up, and
after issuing a broadside to the people of Vestergötland, summoning them
to a conference to be held a month later, on the 3d of June, he advanced
to Stockholm and dropped anchor just outside the town. This was on the
27th of May, four days before the landing of Gustavus Vasa on the
Swedish coast.[44]

The arrival of Gustavus Vasa marks an epoch in the history of Sweden. It
is the starting-point of one of the most brilliant and successful
revolutions that the world has ever known. Other political upheavals
have worked quite as great results, and in less time. But rarely if ever
has a radical change in a nation's development been so unmistakably the
work of a single hand,--and that, too, the hand of a mere youth of
four-and-twenty. The events immediately preceding the return of Gustavus
prove conclusively, if they prove anything, how impotent are mere
numbers without a leader. For years the whole country had been almost
continuously immersed in blood. One moment the peasantry were all in
arms, burning to avenge their wrongs, and the next moment, just on the
eve of victory, they scattered, each satisfied with promises that his
wrongs would be redressed and willing to let other persons redress their
own. What was needed above all else was a feeling of national unity and
strength; and it was this feeling that from the very outset the young
Gustavus sought to instil in the minds of the Swedish people. As we now
follow him in his romantic wanderings through dreary forest and over ice
and snow and even down into the bowels of the earth, we shall observe
that the one idea which more than any other filled his mind was the idea
of a united Swedish nation. At first we shall find this idea laughed at
as visionary, and its promoter driven to the far corners of the land.
But before three years are over, we shall see a Swedish nation already
rising from the dust, until at last it takes a high place in the
firmament of European powers.

The memorable soil on which Gustavus disembarked lay two miles south of
Kalmar; and he hurried to the town without delay. Kalmar was at this
time, next to Stockholm, the strongest town in Sweden. Lying on two or
three small islands, it was guarded from the mainland by several narrow
streams, while on the east it was made secure through a stupendous
castle from attack by sea. This castle was at the time in charge of the
widow of the last commandant, and was strongly garrisoned, as was also
the town below, with mercenaries from abroad. On entering the town
Gustavus was received with kindness by the burghers, and sought in every
way to rouse their drooping spirits. He even approached the German
soldiers with a view to inspire comfort in their souls. But his words of
courage fell on stony ground. It is the nature of mercenaries to fight
like madmen when the prospect of reward is bright, but no sooner does a
cloud gather on the horizon, than they throw down their arms and begin
to clamor for their pay. Such at that moment was the state of things in
Kalmar. Christiern, backed by the leading powers of Europe, and upheld
in his expedition by the authority of Rome, had just arrived in Sweden
with a powerful army, and was now lying at anchor in the harbor of the
capital. The Swedish forces, broken in many places and without a leader,
were gradually scattering to their homes. The cloud that had long been
gathering over the head of Sweden seemed about to burst. The future was
already black, and a listening ear could easily catch the mutterings of
the approaching storm. The Kalmar mercenaries therefore were only
irritated by the importunities of the youthful refugee, and it was only
through the intercession of the burghers that he was saved from violence
and allowed to leave the town.[45]

To revisit the scenes of his boyhood and his father's house was no
longer possible. The brave Sten Sture, from whose palace he had been
stolen two years since, was lying beneath the sod; and Stockholm, held
by the young man's aunt Christina, was in a state of siege. All access
to her or to the capital would have been at the peril of his life. He
therefore; renounced for the time being his desire to see his family,
and proceeded stealthily to approach the capital by land. His way lay
first across the dreary moors and swamps of Småland. Here he went from
house to house, inciting the peasantry to rebel. Among others he sought
out some of his father's tenants, in the hope that they at least would
hear him. But he found them all sunk in lethargy, cowering under the
sword of Christiern. His voice was truly the voice of one crying in the
wilderness. The golden hope of lifting his country out of her misery
seemed shattered at a blow. Instead of being received with open arms as
a deliverer, he was jeered at in every town, and finally so bitter grew
the public sentiment against him that he was forced to flee. Hardly
daring to show his face lest he should be shot down by the soldiers of
the king, he betook himself to a farm owned by his father on the south
shore of the Mälar. Here he remained in secrecy through the summer,
hoping for better times,--an unwilling witness of the subjugation of his
land,--till finally he was driven from his refuge by an act of
Christiern so revolting in its villany that it made the whole of Europe
shudder.[46]

Christiern, on the 27th of May, was riding at anchor in the harbor of
the capital. Among his men was Hemming Gad, over the spirit of whose
dream had come a vast change since his capture some eighteen months
before. Just when this change began, or how it was effected, is unknown.
But already, in March of 1520, the report had spread through Sweden that
Gad had turned traitor to his native land, and we find him writing to
the people of Stockholm to tell them that he and they had done
Christiern wrong, and begging them to reconcile themselves to Christiern
as he had done. Gad was a statesman,--a word synonymous in those days
with charlatan,--and he did not hesitate to leave his falling comrades
in order to join the opposite party on the road to power. Doubtless
Christiern took care that he lost nothing by his change of colors, and
doubtless it was with a view to aid himself that he brought Gad back to
Sweden.[47]

No sooner did Christiern arrive off Stockholm than Krumpen came with
Archbishop Trolle from Upsala, to receive him. They held a council of
war on board the fleet, and resolved to lay siege once more to
Stockholm. The capital was by this time well supplied with food; but the
summer had only just begun, and Christiern thought by using strict
precautions to starve the town ere winter. Pitching his camp along the
shore both north and south, and blockading the harbor on the east, he
sent messengers through the land to enlist the peasantry in his cause.
Many of them he propitiated by a generous distribution of salt which he
had brought with him from Denmark. Things, however, were not entirely to
his taste. Christina too had ambassadors inciting the people to revolt.
On the 27th of June a large body of the patriots laid siege to the
palace of the bishop of Linköping. About the same time also the
monastery of Mariefred, inhabited by the old archbishop Ulfsson, was
threatened; and a throng of peasants marched to Strengnäs to burn and
plunder. How crude the patriot forces at this time were is apparent from
a letter from a Danish officer to Krumpen, in which it is said that out
of a body of about three thousand only one hundred and fifty were
skilled soldiers. Christiern finally deemed it best to send a force to
Vesterås to storm the castle. This was done, the castle fell, and the
officer in command was taken prisoner. It was now August, and the
Stockholmers, no aid thus far having come to them from abroad, were
losing heart. In this state of things the king sent Gad and others
inside the walls to urge the people to surrender. Christina and her
sturdy burghers received the messengers with scorn; but the magnates,
already more than half inclined to yield, vehemently advocated the
proposal. Soon the whole town was in an uproar. A riot followed, and
some blood was shed. But at last Christina and her adherents yielded,
and delegates were sent outside the town to parley. After several days
of bickering it was agreed that Stockholm should be surrendered on the
7th of September next, but on the other hand that all hostility to
Christiern and to his fathers, as well as to Archbishop Trolle and the
other prelates, should be forgiven.[48]

Two days later, on the 7th of September, the burgomasters crossed over
in a body to Södermalm, and delivered the keys of the city gates into
the hands of Christiern. Then, with bugles sounding and all the pomp and
ceremony of a triumph, he marched at the head of his army through the
city walls and up to the Great Church, where he offered thanksgiving to
Almighty God. That over, he proceeded to the citadel and took
possession. The same day and the day following he obtained two
documents,--one from the Cabinet members then in Stockholm, and the
other from the burgomaster and Council,--granting the castle to
Christiern during his life, and at his death to his son Hans, or, if he
should die before the king, then to the king's wife Elizabeth, to
revert, after the death of all three, to the Cabinet of Sweden.
Christiern then appointed his officers throughout the country, after
which he sailed away for Denmark.[49]

Not long, however, was Sweden freed from his contaminating presence.
Within a month he had returned, breathing out threatenings and slaughter
against the nation that he had vanquished. A general diet had been
summoned to meet at Stockholm on the first day of November. As this diet
was to be immediately followed by the coronation of the king, special
efforts had been made to secure a large attendance of the Danish party.
The venerable Ulfsson, now tottering to the grave, had recently written
to Christiern that he would be present at the triumphal entry into
Stockholm, "even if," as he says, "I have to crawl upon my knees;" and
he was present at the diet. When the appointed day arrived, the
delegates were summoned to a hill outside the town, and were shut in on
every side by the pikes and rapiers of the royal soldiers. The
proceedings were cut and dried throughout. A pompous oration was
delivered by one of the king's satellites, declaring the grounds on
which his master claimed the throne of Sweden, at the close of which the
people were asked whether they would have him for their king, and with
their tyrants' weapons brandished before their eyes they answered yes.
With this elaborate farce the ceremony ended and the people scattered,
being first ordered to return on the following Sunday and share in the
coronation festivities of the king whom they had thus elected against
their will. The ostentatious mummery of these mock ceremonies would
cause a smile but for the frightful tragedy with which they were to
close. None but the blindest partisans could have felt anything else
than aversion for this monster on whose head they were to place the
crown. Even his own friends hated him, and despised the very ground on
which he trod. But it was the age of heaven-born rulers; so the masses
bent their knee and sang their pæans to the demon whom fate had made
their king.[50]

It was on the 4th of November--a dreary Sunday--that the tragedy began.
On that day, with a great flourish of trumpets and display of power, the
monarch proceeded to the Great Church to be crowned. The huge edifice
was filled to overflowing. From north and south, from mountain and
valley, all of note in the three kingdoms had flocked thither on this
day to behold the imposing spectacle. Gustaf Trolle, now once more
archbishop, stood at the high altar, lined on either side by the six
Swedish bishops and the Upsala Chapter. The whole chancel was one blaze
of gold and silver; and as the king marched through the main aisle with
his splendid retinue, every eye was bent upon him and every whisper
hushed. Proceeding straight up to the high altar, he bent his knee
before the God whose name he was now so soon to desecrate. Then the
archbishop raised from the altar a crown of gold glittering with
precious jewels, and placed it reverently upon the monarch's brow. The
sacred rite of consecration over, the monarch rose and turning was met
by a herald of Charles V., who came from his master bringing a fleece
which he attached with chains of gold around the monarch's neck, thus
receiving him into the great Burgundian League. After this, a throne was
placed before the altar, and Christiern conferred the order of
knighthood on Krumpen and some of his other officers. It was observed,
however, that all thus honored were of Danish birth. With this the
ceremony of consecration closed, and the whole concourse poured forth
once more from the house of God.[51]

During three days the whole town now was given over to mirth and
merrymaking. These days seem like the lull that goes before a storm. All
strife was ended, all past injuries forgotten. The future seemed full of
promise, and the Swedish peasants went hurrying back to their firesides
to tell their wives and children of the peace and blessings promised
them by Christiern. But it was not yet. Scarce had the echo of warfare
died upon the wind when a frightful tragedy took place in Stockholm
which sent a thrill of horror to the heart of Europe. At noon on the
Wednesday following the coronation all the Swedish magnates with the
authorities of Stockholm were summoned to the citadel and ushered into
the august presence of their king. As they ranged themselves about the
great hall, the nobles and their wives, all wondering what this dismal
summons meant, they heard the castle gates grate upon their hinges, and
a cold shudder gradually spread among them, as the thought now flashed
upon them for the first time that they were no longer free. They had
been decoyed by the fulsome promises of their ruler into the trap which
he had laid. The noose was already tightening around their necks. Before
them, on the throne hallowed by memories of former rulers, sat their
tyrant, grim and lowering. Not a trace of mercy was visible in his
features. Through a long pause, awful in its uncertainty, they waited,
the cold sweat fast gathering on their brows. At length the pause was
ended. Archbishop Trolle, chuckling at the near prospect of his revenge,
stepped forward and addressed the throne. He began by portraying in
ardent language the sufferings he had undergone. He declared that the
cathedral at Upsala had been plundered while he was being besieged in
Stäket. He dwelt at great length on the wrong which had been done him in
the destruction of his castle. He drew attention to the conspiracy
entered into against him by certain of the magnates, and their united
oath never again to recognize him as archbishop. Finally, he denounced
the conspirators by name, and called upon the king to visit them with
the punishment which they deserved. At this Christina was summoned
before the throne and asked for an explanation of her husband's conduct.
She was at first struck dumb with terror; then, recovering herself, she
pleaded that her husband had been no more guilty than the other
conspirators, as would appear from the document which they all had
signed. Christiern, learning for the first time of this document,
demanded that it be produced. When this was done, and the king had
examined it to his heart's content, he gave it to his clerk to copy, and
called on each of the signers in turn to answer for his act. Christiern
with his Cabinet then withdrew, leaving the patriot leaders in the great
hall guarded by a body of Danish soldiers. At dusk two Danish officers
entered with lanterns, "like Judas Iscariot" says a contemporary, and
the doomed magnates were led out to the tower and thrown into prison to
await the morn. When day broke, Christiern ordered the trumpets sounded
and proclamation made that no citizen should leave his house. About noon
the condemned patriots were led from their dungeons to the Grand Square,
and huddled together beneath the platform on which they were to bleed.
The citizens had by this time been permitted to leave their houses and
had gathered around the foot of the scaffold, from which they were
addressed in soothing language by several of the Danish Cabinet, whose
words however were interrupted by constant cries of the victims calling
on their fellow-countrymen to avenge them. At last the agony of suspense
was over. One after another the condemned mounted the scaffold and were
decapitated with all the refinement of cruelty that the bloodthirsty
monarch and his satellites could devise. Over seventy in all were
slaughtered, and their gory bodies piled up in one promiscuous mass in
the centre of the square. On the following day the scene of carnage was
renewed, several suspected citizens being seized in their houses and
dragged to the place of blood. One poor wretch was executed for no other
reason than because he was discovered weeping at the sight of his
friends' death. Not till the following Saturday was the carnage over and
the weltering mass conveyed outside the town. The body of Sture,
together with the body of one of his babes, was dug up by Christiern's
orders and burned, and the property of all who were slaughtered was
seized and confiscated. Having thus effected his diabolical purpose and
ridded himself of the flower of the Swedish patriots, the gory monarch
set his officers at the head of affairs, and taking Christina and her
two boys with him, marched through the land to Denmark, where he threw
Christina and her children into prison.[52]

Through all that summer and autumn Gustavus Vasa had been cooped up in
his hiding-place on the Mälar. Once, in peril of his life, he had
approached the venerable Archbishop Ulfsson and solicited his advice.
But he found little comfort there. Ulfsson urged him to go boldly to
Christiern and beg for mercy. He even offered to intercede for the young
man, and encouraged him with the assertion that he had been included
among those to whom the king had promised immunity at the surrender of
Christina. Gustavus, however, knew too well what reliance he could place
on Christiern's word. With a downcast spirit he went back to his
hiding-place, resolved to await further developments before he ventured
forth. It was a time of harrowing suspense, the iron entering into his
very soul. Each day brought new intelligence of the victories of
Christiern and the gradual dismemberment of the Swedish forces. His
hopes were already well-nigh shattered when the report was wafted across
the lake that his father, along with the other patriot leaders, had been
slaughtered in the capital. Horror-stricken and overwhelmed with grief,
he sprang to his feet, resolved to brave death rather than prolong this
agony. Buckling on his sword, he mounted one of his father's steeds, and
set forth for the north, filled with the dream of rescuing his native
land. It was near the 25th of November, and the scenery was well in
keeping with the dreary thoughts that flooded the horseman's mind. The
stern gnarled oaks along the wayside, twisting their leafless boughs
athwart the sky, seemed as perverse as the Swedes whom he had vainly
sought to rouse. Even the frosty soil beneath him, unyielding to his
tread, recalled the apathy with which his fellow-countrymen had listened
to his cries. Had he been fired solely by a love of Sweden, he would
very likely long ere this have renounced his hopeless task. But a
selfish purpose kept him in the path. He was a pariah, hunted down by
his enemies, and driven through sheer necessity to play the patriot. It
was liberty or death. And so he pushed on, resolved to mingle among the
hardy mountaineers of Dalarne, and strive at all hazards to rouse the
flagging pulses of their hearts.[53]

Crossing Lake Mälar about four miles from his father's house, Gustavus
hurried through the forests north of the lake with all the speed that a
patriot's zeal could lend. To one companioned by happier thoughts the
journey in those late autumn days must have been filled with delight.
Dalarne, through which his journey lay, is the paradise of Sweden. As
its name imports, it is "the land of valleys." The whole province stands
high above the sea, rising higher as we travel farther north. The hills
which separate the valleys are mostly crowned with pine and fir, and
down their sides run broad and gently sloping fields. Here and there the
scenery is varied by a little hamlet nestling along the hillside. Little
lakes, too, dot the surface of the land, and tiny brooks go babbling
across the fields. One stream, famous in Swedish history, bisects the
district from north to south, passing through various lakes, and finally
pours its waters into the Baltic. This tortuous river, called the
Dalelf, is in some places broad and majestic, while in others it is
narrow and goes foaming like a cataract over the rocks. Along the banks
of this stream Gustavus traced his steps, making first for a village on
Lake Runn, where an old Upsala schoolmate dwelt. Here he arrived some
five days after he left his father's house, and presenting himself in
peasant's dress was given refuge. However, he declared to no one who he
was, probably wishing first to learn how his host and others were
affected towards the king. While yet uncertain what course he should
pursue, one of the servants noticed that he wore a gold-embroidered
shirt, and told her master; and this, coupled with his language and
general appearance, led to his discovery. He thereupon appealed to his
old schoolfellow to shield him from his enemies, but in vain. The danger
was too great; and though full of sympathy for the young refugee, he
told him he must leave the place. Thus once more an outcast, Gustavus
hurriedly skirted the south shore of the lake, and after a narrow escape
by breaking through the ice, reached the house of another schoolmate,
who offered him protection and then went off to inform the Danish
officers. From this catastrophe Gustavus was rescued by a warning from
his betrayer's wife, and had fled ere the officers appeared. His next
asylum was some twenty miles farther north, where he found protection at
the hands of the parish priest. The king's officers were now upon the
scent. The whole province was alive to the fact that it was harboring
within its borders the regent's ward. The strictest vigilance was
therefore necessary in order to save his life. So the priest kept him
but a week, and then hurried him some thirty miles farther through the
woods to Rättvik, a hillside village at the eastern extremity of Lake
Siljan. There he tarried several days, talking with the peasantry, and
urging them to rebel against the tyranny of their Danish ruler. He was
now on ground to be ever afterwards famous in Swedish history. Here for
the first time his words were heard with some degree of favor. The proud
spirits of these mountain peasants had been already often roused by
evidences of foreign usurpation, and it needed little to induce them to
rebel. But their isolated position in a measure saved them from the
burdens of the Danish yoke, and they answered they could venture nothing
till they had held a conference with their neighbors. The disheartened
outlaw therefore set forth once more. He traversed the icy meadows that
lie along the eastern side of Lake Siljan, and after a journey of about
twenty-five miles reached the village of Mora, lying at the head of the
lake. It was on Christmas day that he addressed the people of this
village. Knowing this to be his last hope of success, he took his stand
on an elevated mound, and gazed over the white fields, dotted here and
there with little hamlets, and to the snow-clad hills beyond. The
surroundings added even to the zeal with which his own needs made him
speak. He portrayed in burning terms the wrongs and insults that had
been heaped upon the Swedish people. He alluded to his own affliction
and to the general scene of carnage that had taken place in Stockholm.
He pictured the evils in store for the proud highlanders before him, and
appealed to them in the name of Almighty God to join him in a war for
liberty. But all this eloquence was wasted. His appeal struck no
responsive chord. The people flatly refused to give him their
assistance. He had, therefore, but one course left. With no further hope
of keeping his whereabouts unknown, he hastened with all speed from the
town, and fled over the ice-bound hills of the west, to seek a last
asylum in the wilds of Norway.[54]

Black indeed were the clouds now gathering over the head of Sweden. Even
the liberty-loving province of Dalarne had refused to strike a blow for
freedom. Soon, it seemed, the whole of Sweden would be groaning under
the burden of a foreign despotism. Yet such an issue was by the design
of Providence to be averted. But a few days after the flight of Gustavus
out of Mora news arrived that Christiern was preparing a journey through
the land, and had ordered a gallows to be raised in every province.
Rumor was rife, too, with new taxes soon to be imposed. Nor was it long
before a messenger arrived who confirmed the words of Gustavus as to the
cruelties in Stockholm, and added further that there were many magnates
throughout the realm who not only had not bowed the knee to Christiern,
but had declared that rather than do so they would die with sword in
hand. Then the blood of the villagers of Mora boiled within them.
Post-haste, and trembling lest it were now too late, they put men on the
track of the young fugitive with orders to push on by day and night and
not rest till they had found Gustavus and brought him back. They found
him on the very frontier of Norway, and announced to him that their
people were ready to join his banner and with him pour out their blood
for freedom. With a joyous heart he turned about and hurried back to
Mora. The whole province was now awake. Rättvik had already had a
conflict with a body of Danish horsemen; and when the outcast hero
appeared once more at Mora, he found a vast throng of peasants flocking
from every side to join his ranks. By common consent he was chosen to be
their leader and a body of sixteen stout highlanders selected to be his
guard. This was in the early days of 1521. The perseverance of the
stanch young outlaw was rewarded, and the supremacy of Gustavus Vasa had
begun.[55]


FOOTNOTES:

[36] Svaning, _Christ. II._, p. 387; and Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p.
8.

[37] Rensel, _Berättelse_, p. 17; Svaning, _Christ. II._, pp. 387-388;
and Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 8-9.

[38] _Svenska medeltid. rim-krön._, vol. iii. pp. 210-212; Olaus Petri,
_Svenska krön._, pp. 316-317; Johannes Magni, _De omn. Goth._, p. 780;
Svaning, _Christ. II._, pp. 173, 279, and 281-299; and Laurent. Petri,
_Then Svenska chrön._, p. 144.

[39] _Ibid._

[40] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, pp. 318-320; Johannes Magni, _De omn.
Goth._, p. 781; Svaning, _Christ. II._, pp. 299-315; Laurent. Petri,
_Then Svenska chrön._, p. 145; _Bidrag till Skand. hist._, vol. v. pp.
618-623; and _Kongl. och furst. förlijkn._, pp. 437-440.

[41] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, pp. 320-321; and Svaning, _Christ.
II._, pp. 316-320.

[42] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, pp. 321-322; Svaning, _Christ. II._,
pp. 320-329; Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, p. 145; _Christ.
II.'s arkiv_, vol. i. pp. 147-152; and _Nya Källor till Finl.
Medeltidshist._, pp. 704-705.

[43] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, pp. 322-323; Svaning, _Christ. II._,
pp. 330-341; Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, p. 145; and _Bidrag
till Skand. hist._, vol. v. pp. 631-632.

[44] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, p. 323; Svaning, _Christ. II._, pp.
341-353; Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, pp. 145-146; _Bidrag
till Skand. hist._, vol. v. pp. 632-634; _Christ. II.'s arkiv._, vol. i.
pp. 152-153; _Dipl. Dal._, vol. i. pp. 231-235; and _Kongl. och furst.
förlijkn._, pp. 440-442.

[45] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 9.

[46] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 9-10.

[47] _Bidrag till Skand. hist._, vol. v. pp. 624-627.

[48] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, pp. 323-326; Svaning, _Christ. II._,
pp. 353-362; Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, p. 146; Ludvigsson,
_Collect._, p. 87; _Bidrag till Skand. hist._, vol. v. pp. 637-648;
_Dipl. Dal._, vol. i. pp. 235-236; _Kongl. och furst. förlijkn._, pp.
444-450; and _Nya Källor till Finl. Medeltidshist._, pp. 705-708.

[49] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, p. 326; Svaning, _Christ. II._, p.
362; Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, p. 146; _Acta hist. Reg.
Christ. II._, pp. 3-4; and _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. i. pp. 153-157.

[50] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, pp. 326-327; Svaning, _Christ. II._,
pp. 363-366; and Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, p. 147.

[51] Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, pp. 327-328; Svaning, _Christ. II._,
pp. 366-369; and Laurent. Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, pp. 147-148.

[52] _Svenska medeltid. rim-krön._, vol. iii. pp. 218-219 and 233-234;
Eliesen, _Chron. Skib._ p. 569; Olaus Petri, _Svenska krön._, pp.
328-334; Johannes Magni, _De omn. Goth._, p. 781; Olaus Magni, _Hist. de
gent. Sept._, p. 612; Svaning, _Christ. II._, pp. 369-384; Laurent.
Petri, _Then Svenska chrön._, pp. 148-150; and _Handl. rör. Skand.
hist._, vol. ii. pp. 1-12.

[53] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 10-12.

[54] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 12-15.

[55] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 15-17.




CHAPTER IV.

WAR OF INDEPENDENCE; ELECTION OF GUSTAVUS TO THE THRONE. 1521-1523.

 Causes of the War.--Character of the Dalesmen.--Growth of the Patriot
   Army.--Didrik Slagheck.--Battle of Köping.--Capture of Vesterås; of
   Upsala.--Skirmish with Trolle.--Skirmishes near Stockholm.--Siege of
   Stegeborg.--Norby.--Rensel.--Brask.--Progress of the War.--Coinage
   of Gustavus.--Christiern's Troubles in Denmark.--Siege of
   Stockholm.--Fall of Kalmar.--Diet of Strengnäs.--Fall of
   Stockholm.--Retrospect of the War.


There are periods in the history of most nations when all that has been
hallowed by time and custom seems of a sudden to lose its sanctity and
bow down before the commanding influence of some new force. These
periods are of rare occurrence and generally of short duration. They
remind one of those thunderstorms which burst upon us at the close of a
sultry August day, unheralded but by the stifling heat of a burning sky,
and in a few moments leaving the atmosphere behind them pure and clear
and cool. Sudden and unheralded as they appear, they are yet the direct
result of a long series of forces, whose ultimate issue might have been
accurately predicted did we but thoroughly understand the forces
themselves. So, too, it is with great political upheavals. The
revolution which drenched the whole of France with blood in 1789 is no
more difficult to explain than the thunderstorm which drenches the
parched earth with rain on a hot midsummer night. It was simply the
reaction after a century of oppression, extravagance and vice. In like
manner the great revolution whose development we are about to trace was
merely the natural result of long years of tyranny culminating in the
fearful carnage of the autumn of 1520. The Revolution in Sweden is,
however, in one respect pre-eminent among the great crises known to
history. Never was a revolution so thoroughly the work of a single man
as that in Sweden. From beginning to end there was one figure whose
presence alone infused life into a lukewarm people, and who, working
upon the forces which had been forged by years of tyranny, shaped them
gradually to his own commanding will. The Revolution in Sweden is the
history of Gustavus Vasa. He it was who set the torch, and he, too,
pointed out the direction in which the flame should burn.

Early in January, 1521, the war of independence already had begun. By
this time news of the revolt in Dalarne had spread throughout the land,
and the Danish officers were wild with irritation that the young
Gustavus had escaped their clutches. The charge of affairs, at the
withdrawal of Christiern, had been placed in the hands of a wretch
scarce less contemptible than his master. This was one Didrik Slagheck,
a Westphalian surgeon who, we are told, had "ingratiated himself with
Christiern and ravished the wives and daughters of the Swedish
magnates." Gad, for a time the councillor of the Danish king, was now no
more. Christiern, shrewdly divining that one who had deserted his
former master might desert again, had used him to mediate for the
surrender of Stockholm and had then removed his head. In place of the
old burgomaster and Council of Stockholm, the city was now held by
satellites of Christiern, and any whose hearts revolted against his
sickening cruelties were discreet enough to hold their tongues. Dalarne
had become the only spot in Sweden where liberty still lived, and
thither all liberty-loving Swedes whose hands were not yet tied
repaired. Whenever these recruits appeared, Gustavus placed them in the
midst of his little army, and called upon them to declare what they had
seen of Christiern's deeds. It makes a striking picture, this little
band of patriots, in a far-off mountain region in the dead of winter,
with no arms but their picks and axes, strong only in their high
resolve, and yet breathing defiance against the whole army of the Danish
king. Gustavus knew the Swedish people well. He knew them slow to move,
dull of intellect, and averse from reason. But he knew also that they
were ardent in their emotions, permeated with a love of liberty,
courageous in defence of their ancestral rights; and he foresaw that if
he could once but rouse their passions by a vivid picture of Danish
tyranny, he could make of them the finest soldiers in all Christendom.
By Lent the little army was four hundred strong. With this force
Gustavus marched to the great copper-mine at Falun, where he seized the
Danish steward and took possession of the royal rents, as well as of a
quantity of clothing and some silk which he at once turned to a good use
as banners for his army. He then retired to his camp, but shortly after
returned, this time fifteen hundred strong. This rapid increase in his
forces produced an instantaneous effect. No sooner did he appear than
the miners joined his ranks, and further than that they wrote to their
friends in all the neighboring provinces to join him too. Gustavus then
fixed the headquarters of his army near the southern boundary of
Dalarne, and started, April 3, on a journey in person through several of
the northern provinces to enlist recruits.[56]

Meantime Slagheck had concentrated the Danish forces in and near the
Castle of Vesterås, deeming this the best point at which to hold the
patriots at bay. One detachment, indeed, proceeded north as far as the
Dalelf, on the southern frontier of Dalarne, and encamped there,
thinking to prevent the enemy from crossing. While waiting, the Danish
leader is said to have inquired the population of Dalarne, and on being
told that it was about twenty thousand, to have asked how the province
could support so many. The answer was that the people were not used to
dainties, that their only drink was water, and in hard times their only
food a bread made from the bark of trees. "Even the Devil," ejaculated
the officer, "could not vanquish men who live on wood and water;" and
with that he ordered a retreat. Before they got off, however, the Swedes
fell upon them and drove them home in flight. About the same time the
burgomaster and Council of Stockholm despatched a letter to the
northern provinces, urging them to pay no heed to the lies of Gustavus;
and Archbishop Trolle, after several epistles of a like nature, set sail
along the coast of the Baltic to the north to use his influence in
quelling the insurrection. But wherever he tried to land he was met by
the peasantry with threats and imprecations; and he soon beat a hasty
and ignominious retreat.[57]

On returning from his recruiting-tour to the headquarters of his army,
Gustavus put his men through a regular course of training. Most of them
were farmers, with scarce enough knowledge of military affairs to
distinguish a javelin from a flagstaff. Their weapons were of the rudest
sort,--axes and bows and arrows. He therefore taught them first of all
to forge javelin and arrow heads. He also introduced a pike with spiral
point which could be driven into a man's armor so as to hold him fast.
To meet the necessities of a soldier, who was prevented by his
occupation from paying for his goods with wheat or rye, Gustavus issued
a copper coin which was at once received as money. These preparations
seem all to have been made with the prospect of a long-continued war.
While they were in progress, a letter came from the burgomaster and
Council of Stockholm, dated April 10, and addressed to the people of
Dalarne, informing them that a number of vessels had just arrived from
the Hanse Towns, laden by order of Christiern with clothing and food,
which were to be distributed among the people. After administering this
mealy morsel the letter of the burgomaster and Council went on to urge
the Dalesmen to have nothing to do with the lies and treachery of
Gustavus, but to consider their own and their children's welfare and bow
humbly before their gracious king. This letter seems not to have
produced the effect that was intended. Another that came about the same
time was more effective. It was from some German soldiers who declared,
with more or less exaggeration, that they were four thousand strong,
that they had come to lend their succor to Gustavus, had already seized
nine of Christiern's best men-of-war, and expected within a few days to
get possession of Stockholm. The news of this marvellous achievement
seems never to have been confirmed, but at all events it fanned the
enthusiasm of the infant army.[58]

Discontent had by this time spread throughout the land. On the 18th of
April we find the Danish authorities in Stockholm writing that tumult
and confusion reign in all parts of the kingdom, and on the 23d of April
they write of an insurrection that has broken out in Stegeholm. This
rapid spread of the conflagration made it necessary for the Danish
officers to increase their vigilance, and on the 26th of April they
found an opportunity to win their spurs. It occurred in this wise. One
of the recruiting-officers of Gustavus, in his eagerness to advance the
patriot cause, had pushed south into the very heart of the enemy's
country, and finally burst into the town of Köping. Here, with all the
rashness of a new-made officer, he let loose his soldiers on the town.
The result was just what might have been expected. Ere nightfall the
whole army, officers and men, were drunk. They retired to their camp,
built blazing fires, and lay down to sleep without watch or guard. News
of the situation was carried at once to Vesterås, where a force of three
thousand men was got together and sent post-haste to Köping. It reached
the patriot camp soon after midnight on April 26. The scene of
debauchery was not yet past. The Danes fell upon them as they lay there
in their drunken stupor, and slew them.[59]

Three days before this catastrophe Gustavus divided his entire forces
into two parts, placing one under the command of an officer named Olsson
and the other under one Eriksson. He then reviewed his troops, and
prepared to march against the Castle of Vesterås. He had planned an
attack on the east side of the castle, and the force sent down to Köping
had been given orders to attack it simultaneously on the west. On
learning of the disaster at Köping he seems to have made no change in
his own manoeuvres. He waited till the 29th, and then advanced to the
walls of Vesterås. His design was not to attack the town that day. But
the Danish soldiers, chafing for the fight and already glorying in
success, gave him no choice. They came boldly forth to meet him, led by
a line of cavalry, who dashed upon the patriots, so runs the chronicle,
"like raging lions." The patriots received the charge like men. In
their front rank were the halberdiers, armed with sharp weapons some
fifteen or twenty feet in length. With these they kept the cavalry at
bay, and worried the horses till at length confusion began to spread
along the line. No sooner did the patriots see this than they discharged
a volley of arrows, hitherto reserved. Under this double discomfiture,
from their own horses and their opponents' arrows, the cavalry yielded,
then finally turned and fled, leaving four hundred dead upon the field.
Nor was this all. As the cavalry, frenzied with terror, dashed through
the town-gate, they found the narrow streets blocked with the infantry,
on whom their ungovernable steeds rushed with all the fury lent by fear.
A large number were thus trampled to death, while the rest were
precipitated into flight. Eriksson followed them a short distance, and
then retired; but meantime Olsson entered the city from another quarter,
and got possession of the enemy's cannon, ball, and powder. This he
carried to Gustavus, who had taken up his position on a ridge to the
north of the town. When now the garrison saw that they were worsted,
they set fire to the town and then retired to the castle. At this many
patriots rushed back into the burning town, burst open the shops and
wine-vaults, and parted their booty among them. As soon as the Danes saw
what was going on, their courage once more rose, and they fell upon the
plundering patriots, already half drunk with wine. Gustavus therefore
sent a detachment under Olsson into the town to drive the Danish
soldiers back. They met in the public square, and a long and bloody
battle followed; but at last the remnant of the Danish soldiers fled
and took refuge in the monastery. Here they remained three weeks, and
then escaped by boat to Stockholm. Gustavus, after the fight was over,
entered the town and destroyed every wine-cask in the place. Though the
town had fallen, the Castle of Vesterås still held out. Experience,
however, had made clear that it could not be reduced except by siege. He
therefore pitched his camp on the west side of the castle, and
despatched the main body of his forces to other parts.[60]

First of all, he ordered Eriksson and Olsson to attack Upsala. They
therefore proceeded with a body of infantry to a forest some twelve
miles from the city, and pitched their camp. As soon as the canons, with
the burgomaster and Council, heard that the city was to be attacked,
they sent a letter to the patriots urging them to postpone the onset
till after the 18th of May, Saint Erik's day, that they might celebrate
the festival. But their messenger brought back answer that as Saint
Erik's day was a Swedish festival, the patriots would enter the town
before that day and attend to the festival themselves. However, the
archbishop's steward, who held command of the town, felt no anxiety; and
out of bravado gave a sumptuous feast one evening on the esplanade. The
festivities were protracted with song and dance till after midnight; and
scarce had the sound of revelry died away, when the patriots, warned of
the midnight orgies, burst upon the town, beat down the guard, and held
possession of the streets before any of the carousers knew they were at
hand. So soon as they did come to their senses they poured a volley
from their arquebuses into the spot where they thought the enemy were
collected. But they were aiming in the dark, and not a finger of the
Swedes was hurt. The archbishop's steward then planned a strategic
movement on the rear, and endeavored to move his troops through a long
wooden passageway running from the palace to the cathedral; but the
Swedes, perceiving it, set fire to the passageway, and at the same time
shot blazing arrows up into the palace roof. The Danes retaliated by
setting fire to the buildings all about the palace; but the patriots in
each case extinguished the fire before it got fully under way. The
palace, however, was soon a mass of flames; and the archbishop's forces,
seeing all was lost, mounted their steeds, burst open the palace-gate,
and galloped in all haste over the fields to the south. The Swedes
pursued, but, finding the enemy's steeds too fleet for them, showered a
volley of arrows after the flying horsemen, and returned.[61]

Early in June Gustavus came from Vesterås, and opened negotiations with
the canons of Upsala, with a view to win them over to his side. As they
refused, however, to take action without consulting the archbishop, he
begged them to consult him at once, and he himself wrote a pacific
letter urging the archbishop to champion his country's cause. Trolle,
then in Stockholm, scorned the message and seized the messenger who
brought it. Then he placed himself at the head of a troop of three
thousand foot and five hundred horse, in glittering armor, and marched
to Upsala, declaring that his answer to the message he would convey in
person. Gustavus, expecting daily the return of his messenger, was taken
wholly unawares. The great body of his soldiers had gone back to their
farms, and he had but six hundred of them left. With these it would be
madness to withstand the archbishop's force. He therefore evacuated the
city, and hurried over the meadows to the west. As soon as he was out of
danger, he despatched officers to call back the farmers to his ranks,
and meantime drew up an ambuscade on the road between Stockholm and
Upsala, thinking to spring upon the archbishop as he returned. The plot
was discovered, and when the troops returned they took another path.
Gustavus, however, did not give up the chase. With his ranks once more
replenished, he pursued the enemy, and a battle followed so hot that
when the archbishop arrived at Stockholm, he entered the town with only
an eighth part of the glittering troop with which he had started
out.[62]

The patriot army now proceeded to the capital, and pitched their camp on
the hill north of the town. There they found four gallows from which
were hanging the bodies of four Swedes, murdered to glut the rapacity of
their Danish masters. One day, while encamped on this spot, the Danes
came out against them, and dividing their forces into two bodies stormed
the Swedish redoubt simultaneously on both sides. The charge was fierce,
and lasted half a day, when the Swedes were driven from their
stronghold with heavy loss, and forced to take up a new position about
twelve miles farther north. There they remained three weeks, battling
daily with the enemy with varying success. At last the commandant of
Stockholm had recourse to strategy. Advancing with a powerful army till
near the vicinity of the Swedish camp, he halted and placed his force in
ambuscade. He then pushed forward with some forty horse and a few weak
infantry to the enemy's earthworks, as if to storm them. After a slight
skirmish, in which some eight or ten of the horse were captured, the
Danish leader shouted that all was lost, and took to flight. The
patriots, all unsuspecting, dashed after them, and followed blindly into
the very midst of the Danish army, into the jaws of death. Thus ended
the first attempt of Gustavus Vasa to capture Stockholm.[63]

Better fared it with him in other parts. One of the most valiant
officers of Gustavus was Arvid Vestgöte. This man was despatched, about
the middle of May, to the provinces south of Stockholm, to enlist the
peasantry in the Swedish cause. Collecting his forces along the way, he
advanced from one town to another, plundering the estates of all who
would not join him, and before the end of June reached Stegeborg, a
strongly fortified castle on the Baltic coast. This he proceeded to
besiege. In July, Norby, the most famous naval officer of Christiern,
came to the rescue of the beleaguered castle with sixteen men-of-war.
Landing his forces on the shore, he drew them up in battle-array, three
hundred strong. The Swedes, however, rushed furiously upon them, and
drove them to the sea. A few days later, after provisioning the castle,
Norby sailed away to Denmark.[64]

[Illustration]

All through this spring and summer Gustavus was busy passing from camp
to camp, giving orders as to the disposition of his forces, and
receiving the allegiance of the people. His practice, as far as
possible, seems to have been to use persuasion, and only when that
failed did he resort to force. This method proved successful in a
marvellous degree. One after another the provinces recognized him as
their leader; and on the 14th of July we find him issuing a proclamation
as commander of five provinces, named in the order of their declaration
of allegiance. His greatest difficulty at this time was in finding the
means with which to pay his men. Possessing no authority to levy taxes,
he was often forced to close the mouths of his clamoring soldiers by
allowing them to plunder. The great body of his army was of course made
up of Swedes. These were fighting for the welfare of their wives and
children, and were content if he provided them only with the necessities
of life. The mercenaries whom he employed were few. One of them, a tough
old warrior named Rensel, has left us a chronicle of his life. He tells
us he came over from Livonia in the winter of 1521, and was among the
four thousand German veterans that counted on entering Stockholm in the
spring. Gustavus sent him back to the Continent for more men and
ammunition; and when he returned in July of that year, he brought back
sixty mercenaries with him. In August Gustavus made an inspection of
the camp at Stegeborg. While there, he learned that the Bishop of
Linköping was more than half minded to join the patriot cause. This
bishop, Hans Brask, was a man of rare shrewdness, excellent
common-sense, and as time-serving as any man in Europe. He had strong
convictions, but he always looked to see how the wind was blowing before
he spoke them out. He had, among others, signed the decree for the
demolition of Stäket, but had taken the precaution to place under his
seal a slip of paper declaring that he affixed his signature perforce,
and when his fellows were brought out to be beheaded, he removed the
seal; by this little bit of Romanism he saved his head and the
emoluments of his priestly office. To this man Gustavus wrote in August,
asking for a conference. The aspect of the heavens was not such as to
justify the wily bishop in refusing. The continued brutality of Didrik
Slagheck had raised such a storm of indignation in the country, that his
own followers had found it necessary, on June 16, to hurry him out of
Sweden, and announce that they had thrown him into jail. Nearly all of
Sweden, except the fortified castles, was in the patriots' hands. The
forces of Gustavus were growing stronger day by day, and in the
continued absence of Christiern the fortresses that still held out were
likely soon to yield for want of food and ammunition. In this state of
affairs Hans Brask made up his mind without delay. He granted the
interview with Gustavus, and was very easily persuaded to join the
Swedish cause. It now seemed best that the vague authority conferred
upon Gustavus by the different provinces should be defined, so that he
might as representative of the Swedish nation treat with foreign powers.
He therefore announced that a general diet would be held at Vadstena on
August 24, and all the chief men of different classes in the kingdom
were summoned to attend. By whom the delegates were selected we are not
told. Certainly they were not selected by Gustavus. At all events, they
came together in vast numbers, and, if we are to believe the chronicle,
urged Gustavus to accept the crown. This, however, he refused, but
accepted the title of Commander of the Swedish Army, at the same time
adding that after they had wholly freed themselves from Christiern, a
general diet might then be held to discuss the propriety of choosing
some man of their own nation king.[65]

While the patriots were occupied with their diet, the Danes in Stockholm
sent a force by water to the relief of Vesterås. The patriots, still in
possession of the town, sought by aid of their falconets to prevent a
landing, but without avail. The relief-party made its way into the
castle, replenished it with men and ammunition, and withdrew. Gustavus,
knowing that the Danes on their return to Stockholm must pass through a
narrow inlet some thirty yards in width, sent thither a force to throw
up earthworks on both sides of the passage and await the coming of the
enemy. The battle which ensued was fierce, and lasted two whole days;
but finally, having inflicted as well as suffered heavy loss, the Danish
fleet escaped. Shortly after, in September, Gustavus sent a force to
Finland. This force received large reinforcements from the people in
that province, and on the 24th of November, being furnished ammunition
by the bishop of Åbo, laid siege to Åbo Castle. On December 18 the
Castle of Stegeborg still besieged by Arvid Vestgöte, fell; and the
commandant, Berent von Mehlen, after two months in prison swore fealty
to Gustavus. Six days after the castle yielded, Norby, not having heard
of the disaster, came sailing boldly into the harbor with food and men.
The patriots soon informed him of his error by firing upon him from the
castle walls, and in the conflict which took place it is reported that
six hundred of his men were lost. Most of Vestgöte's forces, after the
fall of Stegeborg, were transferred to the vicinity of Stockholm, to
which Gustavus early in the autumn had again laid siege. The summer's
experience had made manifest that it would be useless to assault the
capital. Gustavus therefore held his forces several miles away from the
city, and with a view to cut off supplies divided them into three
camps,--one on the north, another on the south, and the third on an
island to the west. On Christmas eve the garrison, finding that no
assault was likely to be made, embarked some fifteen hundred men on
yawls and coasting-vessels, and proceeded against the island-camp. The
Swedish leader watched the preparations from a hill; and when he saw
that the enemy were coming against himself, divided his men into squads
of fourteen and sixteen, and placed these squads at intervals through
the woods with orders to sound their horns as soon as the neighboring
squad had sounded theirs. He then waited till the enemy were all on
shore, when he gave the signal, and in a moment it was re-echoed all
along the line. The effect was marvellous. The enemy, horrified by the
apparent number of the Swedes, turned and fled. The Swedes, who had but
about four hundred and fifty men in all, pursued them to their boats and
cut down two hundred of them on the shore. After this the garrison from
time to time made raids upon the northern and southern camps, and
generally got the better of the Swedes, though nothing of marked
importance was accomplished by either side. On the 30th of January the
Castle of Vesterås, hard pressed for food and cut off from supplies,
surrendered. Later in the winter, seemingly in March, Norby came from
Denmark with a large force to Stockholm, and replenished the garrison
with fresh men. About the same time the Swedish camp on the north was
moved nearer; and the Danes, thus reinforced by Norby, came out against
them April 17, and routed them with heavy loss. The day following, a
like sally was made on the southern camp with like result. Having thus
raised the siege of Stockholm, Norby set sail for Finland, and routed
the Swedish forces still besieging Åbo. The bishop of Åbo, finding his
own land too hot for him, embarked for Sweden; but his vessel foundered,
and all on board were drowned. In April Gustavus recruited a strong
force in Dalarne and the other northern provinces, and pitched his camps
once more to the north and south of Stockholm.[66]

[Illustration]

The war had now been raging over a year, and Gustavus had experienced
the utmost difficulty in obtaining money with which to pay his men. In
the absence of any authority to levy taxes, he had resorted to the
practice of coining money, and had established mints in several places
through the realm. His coins, which were known as "klippings," consisted
of copper with a very slight admixture of silver, and twenty-four of
them were issued for a mark. As a matter of fact their actual value fell
far below what they purported to be worth. For such a practice it is
difficult to find excuse, except that it was a practice universal at the
time. Why a monarch should be justified any more than an individual in
giving a penny where he owed a pound, is difficult to comprehend. Yet
this had been for centuries the custom, and each successive monarch had
pared a little from the standard, so that in the eight hundred years
preceding Gustavus Vasa the various monetary units all over Europe had
declined to little more than an eighteenth part of their original value.
In Denmark the debasement of the currency had been more rapid than in
almost any other land, and the "klippings" of Christiern II. fell
farther below their nominal value than any coin in Europe--till the
"klippings" were issued by Gustavus, which were a trifle worse than
those of Christiern. Of course, as the standard of currency is lowered,
its buying-power gradually declines, so that ultimately, under whatever
name a particular coin may go, it will buy no more than could be had for
the actual bullion which it contains. A mark in the sixteenth century
would have bought, provided the relative supply of bullion and
merchandise remained the same, only an eighteenth part of what it bought
originally. The aim of monarchs was, therefore, to get rid of their
debased coins at more than the real value, and after they had
depreciated, to get them back at the depreciated value, melt them down,
and lower the standard further. Precisely how much Gustavus made by
tampering with the currency is impossible to say, for there is no means
of determining how many of his "klippings" he threw upon the market. It
is clear, however, that the scheme was from a financial point of view
successful, and that a vast number of the "klippings" were absorbed
before the public detected their inferiority.[67]

Unquestionably the marvellous progress made by Gustavus in this first
year of the revolution was owing in great measure to the critical state
of things in Denmark. Christiern had by this time made enemies all over
Europe. Lubeck, always a latent enemy, was particularly imbittered by
Christiern's favoritism of the market towns of the Netherlands and his
avowed intention of making Copenhagen the staple market for his kingdom;
France hated him because he was the brother-in-law of her enemy, Charles
V.; Fredrik, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein, opposed him because he had laid
claim to those dominions; and his own clergy opposed him because of his
rumored leaning towards Lutheranism and his efforts to check their
power. All these things prevented his return to Sweden, and conspired
against his credit so that he was unable to raise an army of any
strength. Didrik Slagheck, too, whom he had placed at the head of
affairs in Sweden, had fallen into disgrace, and, to appease the public
clamor, had been beheaded. Even Gustavus Trolle, after several attempts
to exert his papal authority in Sweden, had found the land too hot for
him, and for the present had withdrawn to Denmark.[68]

Norby was at this time the most valuable officer that Christiern had. He
infested the shores of the Baltic with his fleet, making frequent
incursions on the land to plunder; and at length became so obnoxious
that Gustavus sent to Lubeck for a fleet. On the 7th of June it came,
ten ships of war, laden with all sorts of merchandise, and fully
equipped with powder, shot, and men. For this aid Gustavus is said to
have paid an enormous figure, giving his promissory note for the amount.
Picking out a battalion of five hundred men, he sent them down to
Kalmar, to which castle Vestgöte had just laid siege. The rest of the
reinforcements he despatched to Stockholm, quartering them in his
different camps, and then discharged all of the Swedish peasants except
the young unmarried men. Shortly after this change the commandant of Åbo
Castle crossed the Baltic with a powerful fleet, and sought to break the
siege of Stockholm. But the Swedish fleet met him outside the harbor,
captured or burnt his vessels, and took him prisoner. In October, seeing
that the garrison was losing strength, Gustavus advanced his camps
nearer to the town. His southern camp he moved to Södermalm, from which
he built a pontoon bridge to connect it with the west camp now on an
island some three or four hundred yards from Stockholm. Another bridge
he threw across the channel east of the city, and built upon it a turret
which he armed with heavy guns. The city was thus hemmed in on every
side, and a contemporary writes, "We cannot find in any of the old
chronicles that Stockholm ever was so hard besieged before." Unless
relief came it was merely a question of time when the garrison would
have to yield. Once, in November, Norby came sailing into the harbor
with five ships-of-war; but the Swedish fleet, consisting of fifteen
vessels, drove him off, and, were it not for the half-heartedness of the
German mercenaries, would very likely have destroyed his fleet.[69]

The high spirit of the garrison had fallen. Wasted in numbers, with
hunger and dissension spreading fast among them, and with scarce enough
ammunition to resist an assault upon their walls, they waited
impatiently for the army of Christiern, and marvelled that it did not
come. All servants, old men, monks, burghers, and prostitutes they sent
away, that there might be fewer mouths to feed. Each day, too, their
numbers were diminished through the desertion of able-bodied men who
escaped through the gates or over the walls and made their way by one
means or another to the Swedish camp. There being no longer possibility
of driving off the enemy by force, they felt that their only hope was
fraud. They therefore one day sent a Swedish magnate to the enemy, with
instructions to pretend that he had fled, and after finding out how
matters stood, set fire to the camp and either return to the garrison,
or, that being impossible, make his way to Denmark and induce the
monarch to send immediate relief. This piece of stratagem, however,
proved abortive; for two refugees from the garrison came forward and
denounced the magnate as a spy.[70]

When winter came, Gustavus sent a large part of his army, chiefly the
cavalry, to take up winter-quarters in Upsala. Others were sent to other
towns. Some, too, were sent, in February, 1523, to the Norwegian
frontier to gain the allegiance of the people. Towards the close of
winter Gustavus ordered his German troops to the south of Sweden on a
similar errand, but within six weeks they came back and reported that
the spring freshets had carried away the bridges and they could not
proceed. Norby meantime lay with a strong force in the town and castle
of Kalmar, and was making preparations to attack Vestgöte, who was still
carrying on the siege, as soon as spring should open. But just as he was
getting ready, he received word from the Danish Cabinet that Christiern
had been deposed in Denmark, and Fredrik, duke of Schleswig-Holstein,
summoned to the throne. At this news he set sail with all his force for
Denmark, leaving only sixty men to hold the castle and town of Kalmar.
Their orders were to form two garrisons of thirty each, one to guard the
castle and the other to guard the town; and if through assault or
failure of provisions they could not maintain the stronghold, they were
to slaughter all the Swedes in Kalmar, set fire to the town, and sail to
Gotland. As soon as the burghers of Kalmar learned of these
instructions, they sent a messenger to the Swedish camp to tell the
Swedes to enter the town by the north gate on the 27th of May, when the
burghers would take care that the gate should be opened for them. On the
day appointed Vestgöte advanced with all his cavalry, and drew them up
in battle-array along the west and south side of the town as if to storm
the southern gate. The garrison, all unsuspecting, flocked to that point
in order to receive the charge. But meantime the Swedish infantry had
massed themselves outside the northern gate, which at a concerted signal
was thrown open on its hinges, and the infantry pressed in. It was but
the work of a moment to put the little garrison to the sword. For a few
weeks more the castle refused to yield, and it was not till the 7th of
July that, reduced to the last extremity, it fell.[71]

Kalmar had not yet fallen when it became clear that the war of
independence was drawing to its close, and it was felt on every hand
that the country had been too long without a king. The powers which
Gustavus possessed as regent were too vague to meet the necessities of a
time of peace. While the army was in the field, he had authority, as
commander of the forces, to levy the taxes necessary to sustain his men;
but, so soon as the war was over, there would be no means for raising
the money needed to pay the nation's debts. He therefore, shortly before
the fall of Kalmar, summoned a general diet to be held at Strengnäs on
the 27th of May. Whether or not all the magnates of Sweden were summoned
to the diet is not known, but at any rate the peasantry were
represented. The wily Brask, who had once saved his head by a bit of
strategy, dared not put it in jeopardy again, and fearing that matters
of weight might be brought before the diet, was suddenly taken ill and
rendered unable to attend. The Cabinet, hitherto the sum and substance
of a general diet, was practically dead, having been carried off in the
fearful slaughter of 1520. One of the first things to be done,
therefore, after the opening of the diet, was to fill these vacant
seats. This was accomplished on the 2d of June, but whether the members
were chosen by Gustavus or by vote of the general diet we are not told.
Noteworthy it is, that the persons selected, nine in number, were all
of them laymen and warriors in the service of Gustavus. Four days later,
on the 6th of June, the question of electing a king of Sweden was
brought before the house. The proposal was received with shouts of
acclamation, and with one accord the delegates raised their voices in
favor of Gustavus. But the regent, so the reporter tells us, rose to his
feet, and, mid the deafening shouts of those about him, declared that he
had no wish for further honor, that he was weary of leadership, that he
had found more gall than honey in the post, and that there were others
more worthy than himself on whom to lay the crown. So importunate,
however, were the delegates, that at last he yielded, accepted their
allegiance, and took the royal oath. This done, the diet voted to levy a
tax to defray the expenses of the war. Among the very first Acts to
which the newly chosen monarch attached his seal was one which granted
the cities of Lubeck and Dantzic, with their allies, the perpetual
monopoly of all foreign trade with Sweden. At the same time it was
provided that Stockholm, Kalmar, Söderköping, and Åbo should be the only
ports of entry for foreign merchants in the realm. This Act was the
result of an application made by Lubeck the year before, and was carried
by the importunities of Lubeck's ambassadors to the diet. It was a sop
to stay the flood of their demands for immediate payment of the debt
incurred to Lubeck by the war. As it granted these Hanse Towns entry for
all goods free of duty, it must be deemed a marked concession. One
favorable clause, however, was incorporated in the Act, providing that
no alien should thereafter be a burgher either of Stockholm or of
Kalmar. Another measure of weight which the diet passed provided that a
tax payable in silver should be levied to defray the expenses of the
war, though apparently nothing was fixed by the diet as to the amount to
be raised or as to the mode of levy. With this meagre record our
information regarding this celebrated diet ends; but the new Cabinet,
before it parted, drew up a long-winded account of the cruelties of
Christiern, which it sent abroad among the people for a lasting memorial
of their tyrant king.[72]

No sooner had the diet closed its doors than the monarch sped with all
the haste he could command to Stockholm. That city had been for several
days in the last stages of despair. The garrison was miserably wasted in
numbers, and its food was gone. Longer to look for aid from Denmark was
to hope against all hope. Indeed, the wretched soldiers now thought only
of the terms on which they should capitulate. During a month or more
they had parleyed with their besiegers, but the terms which they had
offered had thus far been refused. As soon as Gustavus reached the spot,
negotiations were once more opened. The new monarch, fresh from the
honors of Strengnäs, seems to have shown them mercy. Apparently he
granted their requests; for on the 20th of June the castle yielded, and
the garrison, supplied with food and ships, set sail for Denmark. Three
days later, June 23, the monarch entered the capital in triumph, amid
the hosannas of his people. With this glorious issue the Swedish war of
independence closed.[73]

[Illustration]

In contemplating this struggle as a whole, the reader will doubtless be
impressed by the extraordinary ease with which the victory was won. In
less than two years and a half after the first blow was struck, the
Danish tyrants had been driven from every stronghold, and the patriots
had placed their leader on the throne. Indeed, eighteen months had
scarcely passed when the issue was practically decided. The remaining
year consisted mainly in the reduction of Sweden's strongholds, and was
marked by little bloodshed. It furnished small opportunity either for
brilliant strategy or for acts of startling courage. The enforced
absence of the Danish monarch prevented his army from entering the
field, and the patriots had neither arms nor ammunition with which to
storm the forts. Both parties, therefore, waited; and the last year was
little more than a test to determine the endurance of the contending
armies. While, however, this period wants many of the features that make
war grand, it is yet instructive if not interesting in its results. The
struggle at the beginning was against overwhelming odds. The patriots
had neither ammunition nor resources, and their leader was without
prestige. On the other hand the Danes were well supplied with men and
arms, and were led by one of the powerful monarchs of Europe backed by
all the authority and influence of Rome. In spite of all this, the
patriots grew in numbers day by day, while the Danish forces steadily
declined. The patriots succeeded in obtaining rich supplies of men and
arms from abroad, while Christiern was scarce able to keep his army from
starvation. One by one the strongholds which he had seized surrendered,
till finally his entire army was forced to yield, and Sweden, from her
place as a weak and down-trodden Danish province, attained an enviable
position among the great monarchies of Europe. The key to this
marvellous transformation in the two parties can be found only in the
characters of their respective leaders. The people were horrified by the
brutal cruelties of Christiern, while allured by the evident sincerity
and enthusiasm of Gustavus. In all history there is no more striking
example of the far-reaching influence which individual characters
sometimes exert upon a nation's growth.


FOOTNOTES:

[56] Svaning, _Christ. II._, pp. 432-433; Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp.
17-18 and 20-21; Ludvigsson, _Collect._, pp. 86-87; and _Sver. trakt._,
vol. iv. pp. 1-5.

[57] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 18-19 and 21-23; _Christ. II.'s
arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1340-1348; and _Dipl. Dal._, vol. i. pp. 237-238.

[58] Rensel, _Berättelse_, p. 19; Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 26;
_Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1338-1339 and 1353-1356; and _Dipl.
Dal._, vol. i. pp. 240-241.

[59] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 25-26; and _Christ. II.'s arkiv_,
vol. iv. pp. 1349-1350 and 1352-1353.

[60] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 24 and 26-30.

[61] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 31-34.

[62] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 35-37; and _Sver. trakt._, vol. iv.
pp. 7-15.

[63] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 37-39.

[64] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 30 and 42-43.

[65] Rensel, _Berättelse_, pp. 22-23; _Diar. Vazsten._, p. 217; Svart,
_Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 39-41 and 43-46; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv.
pp. 1356-1369 and 1374-1375; _Dipl. Dal._, vol. i. pp. 240-241, and
Suppl. p. 30; _Nya Källor till Finl. Medeltidshist._, pp. 708-709; and
_Sver. trakt._, vol. iv. pp. 5-6 and 27-35.

[66] _Diar. Vazsten._, p. 217; Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 43 and
46-55; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. i. pp. 197-211 and 214-220; and _Nya
Källor till Finl. Medeltidshist._, pp. 712-714.

[67] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 23 and 53; and _Christ. II.'s
arkiv_, vol. i. p. 214. See on this subject a most valuable discussion
by Hans Forssell in his _Anteckningar om mynt, vigt, mått, och varupris
i Sverige_, pp. 19-43, printed at the end of his _Sver. inre hist._,
vol. ii.

[68] Eliesen, _Chron. Skib._, p. 570; Rensel, _Berättelse_, p. 24;
Svaning, _Christ. II._, pp. 389-392 and 432-437; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_,
vol. i. pp. 159-196 and vol. iv. pp. 1369-1379; _Dipl. Dal._, vol. i.
pp. 242-244; _Nya Källor till Finl. Medeltidshist._, pp. 718-726; and
_Skrift. och handl._, vol. iv. pp. 351-357.

[69] Rensel, _Berättelse_, pp. 24-30; Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 51,
55-56 and 61-64; and _Sver. trakt._, vol. iv. pp. 15-27.

[70] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 65-66.

[71] Rensel, _Berättelse_, pp. 30-33; Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp.
67-69; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. p. 106.

[72] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 70-73; _Alla riksdag. och möt.
besluth_, vol i. pp. 1-17; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1457-1458
and 1677-1682; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 63-86;
_Svenska riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 8-9; and _Sver. trakt._, vol. iv.
pp. 55-60.

[73] Rensel, _Berättelse_, p. 34; Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 69-72;
_Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1452-1454, 1463 and 1474-1482; _Kon.
Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 90-95; and _Sver. trakt._,
vol. iv. pp. 61-65.




CHAPTER V.

BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 1523-1524.

 Nature of the Reformation in Europe.--Cause of the Reformation in
   Sweden.--The Debt to Lubeck.--Riches of the Church.--Relations of
   Gustavus to the Pope.--Johannes Magni.--New Taxation--Dissension
   among the People.--Opposition of Gustavus to the Pope.--Trial of
   Peder Sunnanväder.--Expedition against Gotland.--Repudiation of the
   "Klippings."--Berent von Mehlen.--Negotiations between Fredrik and
   Norby.--Congress of Malmö.--Efforts to appease the
   People.--Lutheranism.--Olaus Petri.--Laurentius Andreæ.--Brask's
   Efforts to repress Heresy.--Religious Tendencies of
   Gustavus.--Character of Brask.


We have now reached that point in our narrative where the history of
modern Sweden takes its start. With the close of the war of independence
those features which mark the face of mediæval Sweden disappear, and a
wholly new countenance gradually settles upon the land. Nor is this
transformation peculiar in any way to Sweden. Early in the sixteenth
century all Europe was passing from mediæval into modern history. In the
Middle Ages there was but one criterion for every question that arose,
and that criterion was the past. Whatever had been, should continue. All
Church dogmas were settled by an appeal to the ancient Fathers; all
political aspirations were fought out on the basis of descent. Tradition
was the god of mediæval Europe. At last, however, questions arose for
which tradition had no answer. On the Renaissance in Italy, on the
invention of printing and of gunpowder, on the discovery of America, the
ancient Fathers had not spoken. On these things, therefore, which raised
the greatest questions of the age, men had nothing for it but to do
their thinking for themselves. The practice thus evoked soon spread to
other questions, and gradually men grew bold enough to venture opinions
on certain stereotyped matters of religion. As all the world knows, the
Reformation followed, and from an age of blind acceptance Europe passed
to an age of eager controversy. Instead of searching to find out what
had been, men argued to determine what it was desirable should be. If
tradition was the characteristic of mediæval, policy is the
characteristic of modern, history. Some old dogmas, like the divine
right of kings, still linger; but since the fifteenth century kings have
had little chance whose claims conflict with the balance of European
power.

The beginnings of modern history are inextricably bound up with the
beginnings of the Reformation. It is a common belief that the
Reformation in Europe worked a radical change in the doctrines of
religious men, raising up two parties with diametrically opposing
creeds. Such a conception, however, is misleading. The Reformation was
not so much a religious as a political revolt. It was the natural
outcome of a growth in the power of northern Germany at a moment when
Rome was losing her political prestige. The alliance between the German
Empire and the popes of Rome had its origin in a need of mutual
assistance. Western Europe consisted, at the accession of Charlemagne,
of many independent principalities at war among themselves, and what
they needed was a powerful protector to adjust their various disputes.
Later this need of a protector became still more urgent, when Germany
and France fell under different rulers, and the German Empire began to
be threatened by the monarchy across the Rhine. Rome, by reason of her
spiritual supremacy, was the arbiter to whom the northern nations
naturally turned, and she found ready recompense for her services in the
treasures poured generously into her lap. Such was the basis of the Holy
Roman Empire. But by the beginning of the sixteenth century all this had
changed. Germany was no longer weak. Her little principalities had
become cemented together under an emperor well able to repel every
invasion of the French. Society had made vast progress, not only in its
comforts, but in its demands. Rome, on the other hand, had lost her
prestige. In Italy, where the brutality and licentiousness of the popes
were open to every eye, people had long since lost all reverence for the
Church. This feeling did not spread readily across the Alps; but it came
at last, and at a moment when Germany no longer needed aid. A nation
guarded by the strong arm of Maximilian could ill brook new levies to
feed the extravagance of its decrepit ally, and the infamous practices
of Tetzel served as a timely pretext to shake off the burdensome
alliance of the papal see. The abuses of popery were little more than a
war-cry, while the real struggle of the Reformation was against the
political supremacy of Rome.

In Sweden, more than in almost any other land, the Reformation was a
political revolt. Indeed, it may well be called a political necessity.
At the moment when Gustavus Vasa was elected king, Sweden was on the
verge of bankruptcy. The war just passed had drained the resources of
the country, and left her heavily involved in debt. The principal
creditor was Lubeck. Precisely how much had been borrowed from that town
it is impossible to determine, though it is certain the total amount
fell not far short of 300,000 Swedish marks.[74] One payment of about
17,000 Swedish marks Gustavus had made in 1522.[75] This of course was a
mere drop in the bucket, and other devices were necessary to relieve the
general distress. One favorite device, to which allusion has been
already made, consisted in a debasement of the currency. That device,
however, had soon lost its savor, and the coin which in 1522 Gustavus
had issued for an öre and a half, he was forced in 1523 to place upon
the market as an öre.[76] So that when the new monarch ascended the
throne it was manifest that the treasury must be replenished in other
modes. The natural direction was that in which the greatest wealth of
Sweden lay,--in other words, the Church. We have already seen how
completely, in the centuries preceding the Reformation, the Church in
Sweden had freed herself from all authority of the people, and had
gradually accumulated for herself a vast amount of wealth. Some
conception of this treasure may be had by comparing the edifices
belonging to the Church with those owned by individuals. Such a
comparison reveals at once an enormous disparity in favor of the Church.
At a time when well-to-do citizens dwelt in what would at this day be
known as hovels, they worshipped in churches that must have seemed to
them palatial. The six cathedrals that existed in the time of Gustavus
still remain, and even at this day compare favorably with the finest
structures in the land. In addition to a magnificent palace, the
archbishop and the five Swedish bishops each possessed a fortified
castle in his diocese. In each diocese, too, there were an enormous
number of estates belonging to the bishopric; those in the diocese of
Linköping, for example, numbering over six hundred. The rents and
profits from these estates went directly to the bishopric, and were
wholly exempt from taxation, as were also the untold treasures of gold
and silver belonging to the various churches. Beside all this tithes of
every species of farm produce raised in any part of Sweden were due the
Church, also tithes of all other personal property acquired. Further, a
small annual tax was due the Church for every building in the land from
a palace to a pig-sty; also a fee for every wedding, death, or
childbirth. No one could inherit property, or even take the sacrament,
without a contribution to the Church. And every peasant was bound one
day each year to labor for his pastor without reward.[77] How all this
money was disbursed, seems difficult to comprehend. Some clew, however,
may be gained when we consider what a vast horde of clergy the Swedish
people had to feed. Take, for example, the cathedrals. Most of them
formed a little hierarchy in themselves. First of all was the archbishop
or the bishop, who lived in regal splendor. Around him was his chapter,
comprising in one instance as many as thirty canons. Then there was the
archdeacon, the cantor, the scholasticus, and some thirty or forty
prebends. This little army of Church officers required to be fed, and
fed well--and the people of Sweden had to pay the bill. It was but
natural, therefore, that, Sweden being heavily involved in debt, the
monarch should seek to stay this wasteful extravagance and divert a
portion of the Church incomes to the crown.

By the war of independence the way had been already paved for a war
against the Church. Christiern had declared himself the champion of the
pope; and the higher clergy, as vicegerents of the pope in Sweden, had
generally allied themselves with the foreign party. So that the
rebellion had been in large measure directed against the authorities of
the Church itself, and the victory of Gustavus was felt distinctly as a
victory over the powers of the Church. The Chapter of Upsala had
therefore deemed it policy to please Gustavus, and were talking of
electing his chancellor archbishop in place of Trolle, who had fled the
realm. For a like reason the Chapter of Vesterås had chosen a former
secretary of Sture to their vacant bishopric. The bishoprics of
Strengnäs and Skara, made vacant by the expulsion of the Danes, had also
been filled by persons favorable to the general policy of Gustavus. So
that when the new monarch assumed control, the dignitaries of the Church
seemed likely to listen to his demands.[78]

It is not for a moment to be supposed that Gustavus at this time
contemplated an opposition to the pope. Such an idea had been spread
abroad by Christiern with a view to win sympathy in Europe; but Gustavus
had written to all the potentates of Europe to deny the charge, and had
sent a messenger to the pope to raise a counter charge against
Christiern as the murderer of two Swedish bishops in the slaughter of
1520. The pope, already distrustful of his Danish ally, had listened
favorably to the message, and in the following summer, 1523, had sent a
legate to Sweden to inform him further on the subject.[79]

This papal legate, Johannes Magni, was the son of a pious burgher of
Linköping, and along with his two brothers had been educated from
childhood for the Church. At the age of eighteen so marvellous was his
precocity that he was made a canon both of Linköping and of Skara.
Later, as was the practice with scholars of that period, he continued
his studies at several of the leading universities in Europe. But in
spite of a sojourn of some seventeen years away from Sweden, he never
ceased to keep up a fervid interest in the affairs of his native land.
As soon as the atrocities of Christiern reached his ears, he made a
personal visit to Pope Leo X. and denounced the practices of the Danish
king. The suggestions which he offered seem to have been scorned by Leo;
but in 1521 that pontiff died, and his successor, Adrian VI., listened
more readily to the Swedish canon. Adrian himself was from the north of
Europe, and had earlier been an instructor of Johannes in the University
of Louvain. The characters of the two were not unlike. Both held strong
theological opinions, and looked with dread upon all opposition to the
papal power. But they were both keenly alive to the abuses that had
gathered about the Church, and were eager to repress them. Johannes was
peculiarly suited by nature for a work of compromise. With no ordinary
talents, of untiring energy, sympathetic, generous, and conciliating,
but withal imbued with an ardent love of the Church, Adrian at once
discerned in him a valuable mediator. When, therefore, Gustavus wrote to
Rome to defend himself against the charge of heresy, the pope selected
Johannes as his legate, with instructions to proceed to Sweden and
investigate the charges made against each other by Christiern and
Gustavus. The legate, complying with these orders, arrived in Sweden
while the diet of Strengnäs was in session. He therefore made his way
directly to that town. While on the road the tidings reached him that
Gustavus Vasa had been elected king. As soon as the new monarch learned
of his approach, he sent for him to come before the house. There he was
overwhelmed with expressions of gratitude for his past interest in the
Swedish cause. In return the legate addressed the house at great length
in favor of Gustavus. The impression left upon his hearers was so
pleasing that the Cabinet drew up a letter to the pope requesting that
Johannes be given full authority, with the bishops of Sweden, to reform
the Swedish Church. In the same letter opportunity was taken to denounce
the vices of Archbishop Trolle, and to beg that, he having already
resigned and fled the kingdom, the pope should use his authority to
have a new archbishop chosen in his stead.[80]

This document bears strong evidence of the influence of the king. Its
allusion to the resignation of Archbishop Trolle was of course untrue.
That prelate had fled the realm to escape the fury of his opponents, but
he still looked for the restoration of Danish power and a return of his
own prerogatives in the Swedish Church. The king's desire, as reflected
in the letter of his Cabinet, was to secure from the pope a recognition
that the archbishopric was vacant, and then to use this recognition to
force the unwilling Chapter of Upsala to nominate as archbishop one who
was in the interests of the king. The scheme, however, failed; for Pope
Adrian died before he had had time to act, and was succeeded by a
pontiff who hated everything which savored of reform.

During the first months of his reign Gustavus was made wretched by the
importunate demands of Lubeck. Her ambassadors continually dogged his
steps, and declared they would not leave him till every cent that Sweden
owed was paid. After the fall of Kalmar the monarch needed his foreign
mercenaries no longer, and would gladly have cashiered them and sent
them off. But the "klippings" struck the year before had so far lost the
confidence of his subjects that the soldiers refused to take them at any
price at all, and Gustavus was compelled to keep his men on foot till he
could obtain the silver requisite to issue better coins. The diet just
dissolved had passed an act providing for the levy of new taxes to be
paid in silver, and the king apparently had been given power to fix the
mode in which the levy should be made. This was a matter which required
skilful handling; and it is fair to say that the policy which the king
pursued, if not perfectly straightforward, showed, at any rate, rare
skill. Fearing lest another direct call upon the peasantry would raise
an outcry, he resolved to make his application to the Church, and give
her the option of surrendering a portion of her riches or of losing her
prestige by laying new burdens on her devotees. With this in view he
wrote first of all to Brask, and after demanding some five thousand
guilders which he understood that prelate had stored away in Lubeck, he
called upon him to collect four hundred marks in silver from the clergy
of his diocese. He then issued a proclamation to the churches and
monasteries throughout the land to send him all the chalices, patens,
and ornaments that could be spared from the altars, as well as all the
silver coin that could be found; and along with this he published a
statement of the total amount which each diocese and monastery must
provide. Two things are noticeable in this proclamation: first, it does
not specify the amount which each particular church must furnish; and,
secondly, it distinctly states that the sums handed over are to be
deemed as loans, which he will duly acknowledge and ultimately pay in
full. In his letter to Brask, on the contrary, the exact amount for
which the bishop must be responsible is named, and no definite promise
is given to repay it. The document seems part of a deliberate plan to
crush the power of the crafty bishop. This Brask noticed, and in his
reply adverted to a suspicion lest for some reason he had incurred the
king's displeasure, which he would willingly avert. The simplest mode of
averting the king's displeasure would have been a speedy compliance with
the king's demand. For this, however, Brask had little relish. So
Gustavus, two weeks later, wrote again. "We are much surprised," he
said, "that you show no more concern while a weight like this rests upon
the kingdom. The amount which we must raise without a moment's delay is
two hundred thousand guilders, and the Lubeck ambassadors refuse
point-blank to depart unless they take that sum with them. If they don't
get it we fear open war, which God forbid! Therefore, by the allegiance
which you owe us and the realm, we exhort you, send the four hundred
marks' weight without delay." Even this appeal had no immediate effect,
and after two weeks more he sent Brask another despatch. "The Lubeck
ambassadors," wrote the king, "will not leave us till they get the money
which we owe in Lubeck,--a vast sum. It is, therefore, of necessity that
we lay this tax upon the churches and monasteries. Strain every nerve to
obtain some relief for us in your diocese, especially from your churches
and monasteries; the clergy we shall spare for the present." The bishop
finally complied, though with an ill grace; and on the 10th of August we
find Gustavus writing that he has so far satisfied the demands of Lubeck
that her ambassadors have parted from him on good terms.[81]

The tax had been collected, though not without much friction. It had
found the people in an irritable temper, and it had left them more
irritable still. The ruin which the war had caused was visible on every
hand, and the blessings that were expected to follow were not so easily
discerned. During two years the fields had been lying fallow, commerce
had steadily declined, and the people were actually suffering for food.
Stockholm had been rendered desolate. Its population had fallen to about
one quarter. "Every other house," wrote Gustavus, "is now empty;" and
there appeared so little chance of a revival that the king issued a
proclamation calling on the burghers of other towns as far as possible
to sell their houses and settle down in Stockholm. Another cause of
dissatisfaction was that, though the war was over in Sweden, the Swedish
possessions in Finland were still in the hands of the enemy, and a
considerable army was needed to reduce them. Fredrik, king of Denmark,
had resigned his claim to Sweden; but certain islands off the coast, as
well as some districts along the frontier of Norway, were still matters
of dispute. All these circumstances tended to raise a spirit of
discontent, which, though for the nonce restrained, was ready to break
out into violence at any moment. To prevent evil, Gustavus resolved to
issue a proclamation to the people.[82]

On the 8th of September the annual fair at Vesterås was opened, and
Gustavus seized this opportunity to make a public statement of his
doings. This statement was in the nature of an apology for the recent
tax. It declared in the first place that the expenses of the war had
reached a higher figure than had ever been incurred by Swedish king
before, amounting to a total of over nine hundred thousand marks. A
large part of this sum was for foreign troops, hired that the Swedish
peasantry might "stay at home in peace, tending their fields and
pastures, and caring for their wives and children." When the war was
over and the mercenaries were ready to depart, they had demanded with
threats of violence immediate payment for all the arms and vessels they
had furnished. Having no means to satisfy them, Gustavus had consulted
with his Cabinet, and by their advice had called upon the churches and
monasteries for a loan, "which with God's help shall be paid, if all
goes well." "Nor," continued the monarch, "was this tax in any way a
departure from the practice of former rulers, as may be seen by
referring to the ancient records.... Some there are among you who assert
openly or in private that we have fleeced the churches and monasteries.
This we assert distinctly we have not done, but have merely called upon
them for a loan, which shall be paid.... We trust you will give no heed
to such conspirators and traitors, but will aid us in bringing them to
punishment." The document closes with some remarks upon the coinage. "It
must be clear to all," it runs, "that with the enormous expenses which
have been rolling up against us we could not issue coins of the quality
which you are accustomed to of old. From sheer necessity we have issued
'klippings' after the pattern of King Christiern, though his coins are
now, thank God! departed from the realm.... These 'klippings' are at
present not accepted for more than half their worth; and while this has
been strenuously forbidden, the only result thus far has been that
traders have refused to trade at all, and have carried their salt and
hops and clothing back to Germany. We therefore intend at the first
opportunity to instruct our Cabinet with the most learned men of the
various classes to determine whether the 'klippings' shall be accepted
for their present value or for less; and whatever their decision, we
promise faithfully we shall obey."[83]

After administering this soothing drug, the monarch turned his thoughts
once more to the appointment of a new archbishop. The letter despatched
by the Cabinet to Pope Adrian immediately after the diet of Strengnäs
had proved of little service, for Brask on the 18th of July had secretly
sent a messenger to the pope with word that Church property was being
confiscated. Gustavus, ignorant of the bishop's perfidy and wondering at
the pope's delay, now wrote again. "For a long time, Holy Father," began
the courteous monarch, "our cathedral chapters have urged us to solicit
you in behalf of the persons elected by them to fill their vacant posts.
Trolle having resigned the archbishopric, the prelates and canons of
Upsala have chosen your legate Johannes Magni in his stead; the canons
of Skara have chosen their archdeacon Magnus Haraldsson to the bishopric
vacated by his predecessor's death; and the canons of Strengnäs have
chosen their provost Magnus Sommar. The prelates and canons of
Vesterås, their bishop having died, present the name of Petrus Magni for
the post. In Åbo, though the bishop died a year ago, no successor has as
yet been chosen, that church having only recently been captured from our
enemies. As the persons above named are satisfactory to us and to our
people, we beg you to confirm them as soon as possible, and thus avert
the danger to which vacancies in the episcopal office would expose the
Church." Whether or not the Chapters had actually elected all the
persons named, may well be doubted, and is, indeed, of little moment;
for their spirit was by this time broken, and if they cherished any
preferences they dared not speak them. The letter was intrusted to
Johannes Magni with orders to obtain confirmation from the pope and then
return to Sweden. But just as he was making ready to depart, the
long-awaited letter came from Adrian, though it differed much in tenor
from what had been expected. Instead of urging the Upsala Chapter to
choose a new archbishop, it commanded Gustavus to restore Archbishop
Trolle to his post, threatening him with punishment if he refused.[84]

This change of colors on the part of Adrian has been accounted for in
many ways. Johannes Magni himself suggested that it was the work of
evil-minded counsellors in Rome. The more probable supposition is that
Adrian had been influenced by Brask. If Church property was being
confiscated, as Brask declared, Archbishop Trolle could be relied on to
offer much more strenuous resistance than the prelate talked of as his
successor. But the very reason which induced the pope to favor Trolle
seemed to the king sufficient ground for supporting his opponent. It was
precisely because of Johannes Magni's pliable and compromising temper
that Gustavus would have rejoiced to see the mitre on his head. He was
determined that Trolle, at any rate, should not wear it. So he sat down,
as soon as Adrian's letter came, and wrote a warm reply to the College
of Cardinals in Rome. "If our Most Holy Father," he said, "has any care
for the peace of our country, we shall be pleased to have him confirm
the election of his legate Johannes to the archbishopric, and we shall
comply with the pope's wishes as to a reformation of the Christian
Church and religion. But if his Holiness, against our honor and the
peace of our subjects, sides with the crime-stained partisans of
Archbishop Trolle, we shall allow his legate to return to Rome, and
shall govern the Church in this country with the authority which we have
as king, and in a manner which we believe will please God as well as all
the princes of Christendom. We beg you, however, to use your authority
in the Apostolic See in such way as not to harm our state, nor give the
appearance of championing the crimes of Trolle against the tranquillity
of a Christian people." Three days after writing this vehement despatch,
the monarch sent off another, couched in language even more determined,
to the pope. "We shall never," he declared, "allow that man to return as
our archbishop. He not only is unworthy of the priesthood, he is
unworthy even to live. We respect the Roman Church, and if need be
would die in her behalf. But if she endeavors thus to ruin our country,
we shall resist her till the last drop of blood is shed." This document
was placed in the hands of Olaus Magni, brother of the proposed
archbishop, with orders to inform the pope of the evils to which the
Church in Sweden was exposed, and to use his utmost endeavor to secure
the confirmation of the bishops. The missive, however, never reached the
pontiff to whom it was addressed. Adrian was already dead and buried ere
the document was penned; and when the messenger arrived in Rome, he
found another pontiff, Clement VII., seated in the papal chair.[85]

The breach between the king and popery was now open. Gustavus had
actually flung down the gauntlet at the feet of Rome, asserting that if
officers satisfactory to him were not appointed by the pope, he would
take the duty of appointing them upon himself. Still he did not
relinquish hope that the breach might yet be healed; and on the 2d of
November he wrote again, this time requesting the pope to confirm the
election of Erik Svensson, a former secretary of Gustavus, to the vacant
bishopric of Åbo. "And if your Holiness," wrote the king, "shall delay
in confirming the bishops-elect, we shall ourselves undertake the
restoration of our ruined churches, and shall have the bishops confirmed
by Him who is our High Pontifex, that His Church and religion may not be
injured through the negligence of the Apostolic See. Moreover, Most Holy
Father, we hear from certain men of Lubeck that one Francisco of
Potentia has returned from Rome to Denmark with arguments in
justification of that tyrant Christiern's massacre of our bishops, and
that your Holiness has rewarded him with the bishopric of Skara. If this
be true, the Apostolic See has done us and the Church a wrong equal in
enormity to that of the Danish king, and we shall by God's aid avert it
if necessary with our blood. Let not your Holiness fancy that we shall
permit foreigners to rule the Church in Sweden." At about the same time
with this letter the monarch, in writing to Johannes Magni, uses even
stronger language. After suggesting that Christiern has so impoverished
the Church that it is unable to send its bishops elect to Rome for
confirmation, he asserts that it is rumored the real cause of the delay
is that the Church has not been able to furnish the pope the customary
fees for confirmation. "Some assert, too," he adds, "that there is no
authority in Scripture for all the dues that belong by custom to the
pope.... So soon as we find that our patience and moderation are of no
avail, we shall proceed to rigorous measures. We shall not suffer our
people to bend beneath a cruel foreign yoke, for we are confident that
Christ, who is our High Priest, will not let his people die to suit the
pope's caprice."[86]

These were bold words to use of the potentate whose command all
Christendom obeyed. The youthful monarch, it was already clear, intended
to rule his country with an iron hand. When only three months on the
throne, he chanced upon some letters in which the bishop of Vesterås
alluded to him in arrogant and contumelious terms. This bishop, who
gloried in the name of Peder Sunnanväder, had been at one time
chancellor of the young Sten Sture, and though elected in 1522 to the
bishopric of Vesterås, had suffered the same fate as the other bishops
and never been confirmed. Gustavus did not hesitate a moment. As soon as
the abusive letters reached him, he proceeded with the entire Cabinet to
Vesterås, and summoned the bishop with all his canons to the
chapter-house. There he laid before them the evidences of the bishop's
guilt. Unable to furnish satisfactory explanation, the bishop was
removed; and the Chapter, at the instance of Gustavus, elected Petrus
Magni in his stead. Even with this, however, the monarch's vengeance did
not end. Knut, the dean of Vesterås and a former chancellor of
Gustavus,--the man, indeed, who had been talked of for the archbishopric
of Upsala,--was indiscreet enough to come forward at the trial with an
apology for his bishop. The monarch wanted no other proof of his
complicity, and discharged him along with Sunnanväder from his post.[87]

Gustavus was spurred on in his campaign against the Church by a
continued need of money to keep his army in the field. Even after the
subjection of Sweden he had to carry on the war in Finland; and it was
not till nearly Christmas, and after he had sent a strong force of
mercenaries across the Baltic, that Finland was subdued.[88] After this
the great bone of contention was the isle of Gotland. This island, or
rather its capital, the town of Visby, had been in ages past the leader
of the Hanseatic League. Its situation in the Baltic, not far from the
east coast of southern Sweden, made it still of great value to
merchant-vessels passing between Sweden and the Hanseatic Towns. When
Christiern fled from Denmark, Gotland was under the control of Norby,
who continued after his master's fall to make depredations along the
coast of Sweden and seize all merchantmen that came within his grasp.
Danish, Swedish, and Hanse vessels were alike his prey, till Gotland
came to be known by all as a "nest of robbers." Fredrik and Lubeck,
unwilling though they were that Gotland should fall to Sweden, welcomed
any movement intended to root out this impediment to the Baltic trade,
and raised no opposition when Gustavus offered, in the winter of 1524,
to attack the island in the coming spring. The attitude of Fredrik to
Gustavus recalls the fable of the monkey and the cat. The Danish king
hoped ultimately to secure the chestnuts for himself, but in the mean
time was not sorry to see an army gathering in Sweden to bear the brunt
of the assault. Which party first proposed an expedition against Gotland
is not clear.[89] At the general diet held in Vadstena in January,
representatives from Fredrik were present, and it was agreed that the
expedition should be made as soon as the harbors opened. The quotas to
be furnished by the different parts of Sweden by the first week after
Easter were also fixed. The Danish envoys, it appears, made no promises
except that a congress of the two realms should be held on the 14th of
February to settle all matters of dispute. The passports for the Danish
envoys to this convention were issued by Gustavus on the spot. They were
never used, however; for just before the appointed day he received
notice from the Danish Cabinet that they wished the congress to be
postponed. This action caused Brask to suspect that Fredrik's sole
object was to use up time. Whatever Fredrik's object, the congress could
not be held without him. Gustavus therefore postponed it till the end of
April, and set about raising an army for himself.[90]

The first person to whom the monarch turned was Bishop Brask. It appears
that there had been some dispute between the bishop and one of the
hospitals in his diocese as to the tithes from certain lands. The shrewd
monarch conceived the notion that the simplest mode of settling the
dispute was to hand the disputed property over to the crown. He wrote,
therefore, to both parties to send him at once the original documents on
which they based their claims. "And meantime," he said, "we forbid you
positively to collect the disputed tithes. Should you touch them, we
shall be forced to take further steps. We have, indeed, been told that
in the times of our fathers the crown received from the canons
throughout the realm one fourth of their tithes under the name of 'the
poor man's portion,' with the understanding that the money should be
used to found hospitals, and over these hospitals the crown has ever
since held _jus patronatus_." To this demand Brask answered that he
would send the documents desired, but that the crown had never taken the
tithes from the canons except by force. A few weeks later, on the 18th
of February, the king wrote Brask that the expedition would start as
soon as the harbors opened, and that, as Brask had been one of the
promoters of the scheme, he must expect to contribute generously toward
it, especially since he and his diocese, being nearest to the isle of
Gotland, would be the ones most benefited by the overthrow of Norby.
Brask, in his answer of March 8, repudiated the idea that the expedition
was the fruit of his brain, and expressed the hope that the matter might
be settled without bloodshed. "'T is never wise," he said, "to break
down doors already open." Brask asserted, further, that he had never
received a penny of rent from Gotland, but promised to do all he could
to obtain aid from the churches of his diocese.[91]

By this time it had become rumored that the king was about to levy a new
tax upon the people, and a murmur of discontent had risen through the
land. To allay this, Gustavus issued several letters, declaring that
the contribution was to be wholly voluntary. One of the convents he
begged to send him all the silver collected for a certain shrine, and
offered to give the crown's note for the amount, secured, if the convent
wished it, by a mortgage of certain crown fiefs. In writing to the
people of Östergötland he pointed out that the expedition was
necessitated by the piracies of Norby, who had caused a dreadful
scarcity of food by checking imports; and he called upon the people to
have a detachment of armed men ready by the first week after Easter at
the latest, promising at the same time that as soon as the fleet should
put to sea the men would be provided for at the crown's expense. To the
people of Brask's diocese he wrote that he had heard a rumor to the
effect that he was imposing a new tax upon the people. This rumor the
king characterized as "a palpable lie." He declared further that he had
applied the crown rents to pay for the expedition, and had asked their
bishop to make a loan from his rents for the same purpose, to which
Brask had replied that he would lend the money, but would raise it by
imposing a tax upon his churches. This Gustavus declared was not his
desire; all he wished was a free-will offering. From this letter it is
clear the monarch sought to cast upon Brask the odium which this new
levy had brought upon himself, and it is equally clear that in doing so
he exceeded the bounds of truth. In calling upon Brask for a
contribution he had in no way specified the mode in which the money
should be raised; and Brask, so far from refusing to apply his own rents
for the purpose, had distinctly stated, in every letter which he wrote,
that he would do his utmost to furnish the desired sum.[92]

A further cause of disaffection lay in the general impression that the
monarch was tampering with the coinage. This impression had its origin
naturally enough in the fact that the general diet held in January had
repudiated the Swedish "klippings." The reason given for that act was
that, the Danish "klippings" having been repudiated in Denmark the year
before, merchants were bringing barrelfuls of them into Sweden; so that
the Swedish "klipping," being scarcely discernible from its Danish
namesake, fell constantly in value, its fluctuations depending upon the
importations of the repudiated coin from Denmark. In the Act repudiating
the Swedish "klipping" that coin was declared to be worth four "hvitar;"
that is, about one half of the amount which the crown had received in
issuing it. The outcry which this Act called forth was universal, and
the king was forced to issue a letter to the people in which he
endeavored to allay their wrath. "We have never," he declared with
brazen falsehood,--"we have never altered the coinage either by raising
or by lowering its value, but have permitted each coin to pass for the
same value as it had before;" and he added with bland simplicity, "the
coin has fallen by its own weight." The striking feature in this matter
is the audacity of the king. He trusted that the people generally would
not have access to the documents which we now possess to contradict him.
After issuing this mendacious letter, he approached the Stockholm
merchants, and, by certain persuasive arguments whose nature it is easy
to conceive, prevailed upon them to deposit all their "klippings" in the
treasury, to be weighed and bought by the Government at their actual
bullion value. He then began the issue of a new series of coins
approximating though still below their face value, and published another
letter, this time acknowledging that he had repudiated the "klippings,"
but asserting that the step was taken to comply with a suggestion made
him by the people.[93]

Late in March Gustavus received a note from Fredrik requesting a further
postponement of the congress till May 15. As the Vend Cities were to be
present, Gustavus answered that he would communicate with Lubeck, and so
soon as he had word from her would give a definite reply. He then
despatched the Danish monarch's letter to Bishop Brask. The answer of
that prelate was full of wisdom. "I marvel much," wrote Brask, "that his
Grace should call a congress of these three realms without first
consulting you.... He must be well aware that you cannot be present on
so short notice, especially since he knows that you are about to make an
expedition against Gotland. His real purpose, I suspect, is to induce
you to postpone your expedition." In this surmise the shrewd bishop
doubtless was correct. Fredrik, though satisfied that Sweden should go
to great expense in preparing for an expedition against Gotland, was
reluctant to see her armies actually land upon the isle, lest his own
claims to Gotland might thereby be lost. It seemed to him that Norby,
terrified by the armaments of Sweden, might be induced to go to Denmark
and yield the isle to him. He therefore wrote to Sweden, requesting that
the pirate be given a safe-conduct through the land. But the army was
already in the field, and Gustavus answered firmly that he would not
comply with the request. To this answer he was induced partly by a
suspicion that Denmark was already furnishing supplies to Norby.[94]

On the 8th of May Gustavus despatched his fleet, eight thousand strong,
to Gotland. The command he gave to a German adventurer who has already
figured in this story as Berent von Mehlen. This person, after breaking
faith with his former master, Christiern, had married a cousin of
Gustavus, and had become a trusted counsellor of the king. By what
traits he became attractive in his monarch's eyes it is at this day
difficult to conceive. Certainly as a general he knew as little as any
general possibly could know. Again and again he had been given
opportunity to display his warlike power, but thus far in every instance
he had failed. He now set forth, as admiral of the Swedish fleet, to
besiege the town of Visby. The siege began on the 19th of May, and was
enlivened during a few weeks by several skirmishes. Nothing of
importance, however, was accomplished. The siege was protracted through
the summer, and at last the besiegers showed so little life that their
leader, the favorite of Gustavus, was reported to have turned his coat
once more and joined the enemy.[95]

Not yet had the siege begun when evidence was furnished that Fredrik was
in league with Norby. So early as the 9th of May Gustavus wrote to Brask
that the Danes were rumored to be supplying Norby with stores and
ammunition. A few days later word arrived from Fredrik that he wished
once more to put off the congress, this time till the 24th of June.
Gustavus was now fairly mad with indignation, and declared to Brask that
he would neither be present nor allow his envoys to be present at the
proposed congress. He was discreet enough, however, to conceal his wrath
from Fredrik; and, without refusing the offer of the Danish king, he
called a meeting of his Cabinet, to which he urged Lubeck to send her
envoys. Fredrik in the mean time had been negotiating on his own
account with Norby, and had wrung promises from him which led to the
impression that Norby had thrown up his allegiance to Christiern II. and
was ready to accept the authority of Fredrik. Elated by this false hope,
the Danish monarch felt in a position to ignore the slight that had been
put upon him by Gustavus, and sent delegates, apparently unbidden, to
the Swedish king and Cabinet, proposing that a congress be held in
Denmark to settle all matters of dispute, the Swedish army in the mean
time to withdraw from Gotland, and Norby to be given safe-conduct from
the isle. These terms Gustavus rejected with disdain, declaring that he
had striven for the good of all to scatter Norby with his "nest of
robbers," and would consent to a meeting with Fredrik only on condition
that in the interval Norby should receive no aid of any shape or kind.
Fredrik, finding that Gustavus was determined, and that Norby's feigned
alliance was somewhat airy, yielded reluctantly to this condition. The
Swedish army continued in its camp at Visby; and the two monarchs,
attended by their Cabinets, proceeded to the town of Malmö in hope of
settling their disputes. The congress opened on the first day of
September. The two monarchs with their retinues were present, together
with envoys from the Hanseatic Towns. The meeting opened, as was usual,
with an interchange of courtesies and with mutual promises to resist
their common enemy, King Christiern. It was agreed, too, that all
renegades from either country should be returned, and that citizens of
one country should be entitled to any property belonging to them in the
other. As soon, however, as the question of disputed territory arose,
it became clear that no conclusion could be reached. It was therefore
resolved, after long debate, that this question be postponed, to be
decided by a congress of certain Hanse Towns, to be held in Lubeck in
June of the following year. Till then a provisional frontier agreed upon
by Norway, Denmark, and Sweden was to be observed; and Gotland was to
remain during the interval in the hands of that party which held it on
September 1. If it should be found that Norby held it on that day, he
should be called upon to surrender it to Fredrik, to be placed by him
under the temporary control of some person satisfactory to Sweden,
Denmark, and Lubeck. If Sweden should continue the war in Gotland, she
was to pay for all damage she might do. Either party by violating these
terms was to become indebted to the other to the amount of one hundred
thousand guilders. This conclusion reached, the congress was dissolved,
envoys being first sent to Gotland to carry out the terms. Finding that
Norby was still in possession, they entered into negotiations, and soon
obtained a contract, signed by Norby as well as Mehlen, that each should
withdraw his forces from the land. In conformity with this contract
Mehlen at once broke camp and sailed with all the Swedish fleet to
Kalmar; but Norby, laughing at the credulity of his opponent, continued
to dominate the island, and began his piracies afresh.[96]

This disastrous expedition caused a heavy drain upon the Swedish
treasury, an evil which the monarch sought to meet by new demands upon
the Church. On the 9th of May he wrote to Brask that he must have more
money, and that the bishopric of Linköping, being benefited more than
others by the expedition, must expect to bear the chief part of the
cost. To this Brask answered humbly that he had already furnished more
than his proper share, but would do his utmost to obtain the needed sum.
This promise, however, did not satisfy the king; and a few days later he
sent a letter to Brask's chapter, declaring that they had collected
certain rents belonging to the crown which must be yielded up without
delay. Brask appears to have been a special object of the monarch's
greed. On one occasion Gustavus seized some tithes belonging to that
prelate, and then had face enough to write him that he had done so, his
only excuse being that the army was in need of food. This high-handed
mode of dealing with the Church is in marked contrast to the monarch's
complaisance when dealing with the people. Before the common people
Gustavus grovelled in the dust. Every day nearly he despatched some
document granting new privileges to this town or to that; and when the
people of Kalmar refused to contribute on the ground that their trade
had been ruined by foreign merchants, Gustavus sent back answer that he
would remedy this wrong. The notion getting abroad in Brask's diocese
that new taxes were being levied, Gustavus insisted that the bishop
should counteract this view, thus practically forcing him to make the
contribution from his private means.[97]

In spite of every effort to appease the people, discontent was fast
spreading through the land. To attribute this entirely to the actions of
Gustavus is unfair. His expedition against Gotland, it is true, had
proved a failure, and had cost his country dear. The monarch should have
seen that, in the impoverished state of his finances, the duty of
destroying Norby belonged to Denmark or Lubeck. But, granted that the
expedition was ill-judged, its failure certainly did not justify revolt.
The truth is, the Swedish people were so used to insurrection that the
slightest disappointment sufficed to set the whole country by the ears,
and no sooner was the expedition brought to its humiliating end than the
people began to look about for pretexts for revolt. One of the first
cries raised against Gustavus was that he had transgressed the law by
admitting foreign citizens into the Cabinet of Sweden. To this charge
the monarch was unable to make a rational reply. At the very outset of
his reign, he had displayed his first infatuation for foreign men by
raising Mehlen to the highest honors of the state. Later another
adventurer, one Count Johan von Hoya, had appeared upon the scene. The
king had forthwith showered royal favors upon his head. Scarcely two
months after landing Hoya had betrothed himself to the king's sister,
and had been received by the infatuated monarch into the Swedish
Cabinet. Such a course appeared to the people in direct opposition to
the promise made by Gustavus that he would drive out foreign power.
This evil, however, was but slight, in comparison with others that the
people had to bear. In plain English, they were starving. The
long-protracted war with Denmark, followed by the brutal piracies of
Norby, had so reduced the supply of necessaries, particularly salt, that
few except the rich were able to get enough to stay their hunger. Hoping
to allay the people's indignation in these matters, Gustavus called a
meeting of his Cabinet in October, summoning at the same time two
Linköping burghers to advise the Cabinet as to the best methods of
improving trade. It is worthy of note, however, that though the meeting
was expressly announced to be called for the purpose of improving trade,
the documents describing the debate are devoted almost wholly to a
consideration of methods to augment the royal funds. The king, it seems,
came forward with a suggestion that, since he was likely soon to marry,
some, provision should be made for adding to his income, and some steps
be taken to reimburse him for the sums advanced by him to carry on the
war. What he particularly wanted was the right to fix, according to his
own judgment, the amount of rents to be paid by crown estates. He
suggested, further, that, since the pope would not confirm the bishops
till they paid their fees, his coronation should be delayed no longer,
but the bishops should perform the ceremony without the papal sanction.
He recommended also that, there being no satisfactory place in which to
keep the Swedish cavalry, they be quartered in the various monasteries,
"where," he added, "we find plenty of money, but very few monks." As to
Hoya, he requested the Cabinet's sanction of the proposed marriage,
shrewdly intimating that while he favored citizens of Germany, he
believed no marriage between a Swede and Dane should be allowed. The
answer which the Cabinet made to these proposals shows traces of a
feeble opposition along with a manifest endeavor to accommodate the
king. First of all, the Cabinet advised the king to appoint a few of the
most intelligent and able debaters in the realm to represent the cause
of Sweden at the congress to be held next year in Lubeck; and in
accordance with this suggestion the king named Hoya, and the new
archbishop, Johannes Magni. Regarding the matter of conferring fiefs on
Hoya, the Cabinet yielded to the king's desire. "Though the law
declares," they said, "that no foreigner shall enter the Cabinet or
govern land or castle, yet we shall gladly see you grant him both castle
and land as you deem best, doubting not that you will so watch over his
and all other grants that your subjects suffer not." In accordance with
this concession Hoya was given Stegeborg in fee, and his marriage with
Margareta was arranged to take place in January next. As to quartering
in the monasteries, the conservative element prevailed, the Cabinet
decreeing that it was not advisable to fill the monasteries with horse
and men. That the coronation take place at once, the Cabinet strongly
urged, though they refrained from expressing opinion as to the
confirmation of the bishops. The proposition that the king be given
power to regulate the royal rents was not rejected, but a hint was
thrown out that the proper step was rather to prepare an accurate list
of all crown property and collect the rents as due thereon of old.[98]

Clearly enough this meeting would not satisfy a hungry people. In fact
apparently it added to their rage, and we find the people of Dalarne at
this time drawing up a long list of grievances to be laid before the
king. Their first and weightiest complaint was that certain rich men,
stewards of the king, had bought up all the grain in their district, and
had made a corner in it so that the poor man could not get enough to
eat. Further than this, they protested against the king's practice of
admitting into the kingdom all sorts of foreigners, "who have put their
heads together to ruin the common people." This vehement lament aroused
Gustavus to the gravity of his position, particularly as he learned that
Sunnanväder was inciting the people to rebel. Hoping to quiet matters,
he despatched his messengers to all parts of the kingdom with soothing
words. He endeavored in every way to impress upon the people that the
high price of food was due entirely to the war between the emperor and
the King of France; and as to the repudiation of the "klippings," of
which some people had complained, he asserted that he had thereby
suffered far greater injury than his people. Sunnanväder's conspiracy
was the thing that caused him most anxiety, and on the 9th of December
he addressed the Dalesmen on that theme. "Dear friends," he suavely
wrote, "report has reached our ears that Sunnanväder has gone among you
with plots to throw the kingdom into strife once more. We beg you in the
name of God give him no heed. He has made statements about us, we are
told, which are absolutely false; among others, that we are about to
restore Trolle to his archbishopric,--the man who deprived us of father
and mother and threw our kingdom into ruin. As we have called a diet to
be held in January, to investigate these charges among other things, we
request you at that time or earlier to send representatives from every
parish to judge between us; and we hereby promise the said Sunnanväder
safe-conduct to and from Stockholm for this investigation. You may make
this proclamation to him; and if he will not come, you may know that he
is false.... Further, since we are informed that you are suffering from
great lack of salt, we have just despatched to you between ten and
twenty cargoes of salt to relieve your want."[99]

While Gustavus was thus dickering with the Dalesmen, a far more weighty
matter kept him continually on an anxious seat at home. This was the
Reformation of the Romish Church. It has been already noted that the
Swedish Reformation was a political revolt, and at its outset had but
little connection with theological dispute. The conflagration that had
raged in Germany since 1519 produced no immediate effect in Sweden, and
it was not till the spring of 1523 that the Swedish prelates felt real
dread of Martin Luther. The father of the Swedish Reformation was Olaus
Petri, a blacksmith's son, of Örebro. From his earliest years this
champion of Luther had been educated by a pious father for the Romish
Church. His childhood had been passed amid the religious influence of a
monastery in his native town. There, with his younger brother
Laurentius, he had shared the daily routine of a monk. When a mere boy
his father, little knowing the temptation to which his son would be
exposed, had placed him in the University of Wittenberg, where he sat
for some years at the feet of Luther. On his return to Sweden in 1519,
he was appointed to give instructions in the Bible to the youth of
Strengnäs. Though only twenty-two, he already showed such promise that
within a year he was chosen deacon of Strengnäs, and placed at the head
of the school belonging to the Chapter. The opportunity thus given him
was great. The bishopric being vacant, the charge of things in Strengnäs
fell upon Laurentius Andreæ, at the time archdeacon. Andreæ, though
fifteen years his senior, was of a kindred spirit, and by a contemporary
is described as a willing pupil of the young reformer. There can be no
question that even at this period Petri was regarded as a man of
strength. A portrait of him painted when still a youth shows in a marked
degree the traits by which he was distinguished later. The face is full
and round, with large, warm eyes twinkling with merriment, and a high,
clear forehead, from which is thrown back a heavy mass of waving hair.
The mouth is firm as adamant, and the sharp-cut lips and chin are
eloquent of strength. Altogether, it is the picture of just the man that
Petri afterward became,--a brilliant orator, daring, good-natured, and
gifted with a generous supply of common-sense. Precisely how much Petri
owed to Martin Luther we cannot know. It is not, however, likely that at
first his teaching in Strengnäs differed materially from that inculcated
by the Romish Church. At any rate, he taught four years before any
serious complaint was made. The first to charge him with heresy was
Bishop Brask. On the 7th of May, 1523, that much-enduring prelate wrote
to a member of the Upsala Chapter that a certain person in Strengnäs had
inflamed the people by preaching heresies; "and God knows," he added,
"we are grieved enough to learn that he is not silenced." What these
heresies preached by Petri were, appears from a polemic hurled at the
young reformer by Brask's deacon. They include, among other things, a
denial of the priest's authority to solicit alms, with assertions that
men should place no faith in the Virgin or in other saints, but in God
alone; that the priest's first duty is to preach, not pray, and that
confession should be made to none but God. Surely we have here the very
essence of the Reformation. Brask was already trembling with
apprehension, and despatched a letter to a brother bishop to say that
the heresies of Petri had begun to break out in Upsala. "We must use our
utmost vehemence," he gasped, "to persuade Johannes Magni to apply the
inquisition to this Petri; otherwise the flame will spread throughout
the land." Magni, it is clear, was deemed a little lukewarm by such
ardent men as Brask, and on the 12th of July we find Brask pouring out a
flood of Latin eloquence to excite the tranquil legate. In nothing is
Brask's sagacity more manifest than in the enthusiasm which he here
displayed. He discerned with perfect clearness that the battle must be
fought at once. If Petri should once gain the people's ear, all hope was
lost. Romanism was no match for Lutheranism in an open war. He therefore
sought to stamp out the new teachings without allowing them to be fairly
known; and had his superiors shown equal zeal, the Reformation might
have been delayed.[100]

A few days after his earnest appeal to Magni, Brask despatched to the
Vadstena Chapter a tract in refutation of the Lutheran doctrines, and
along with it a sermon preached by Petri, "in which," so wrote the
bishop, "you will observe his blasphemy of the Holy Virgin." Brask,
despite his spiritual duties, was no ascetic, and, though suffering at
the time from illness, added a postscript begging the Chapter to let him
have a box of nuts. Apparently these delicacies came; for the bishop's
next letter, written to the pope, was in a happier vein. "I have just
had from Johannes Magni a letter on exterminating heresy which fills my
soul with joy.... I grieve, however, to tell you that the heresy which
had its birth in Germany has spread its branches across this kingdom....
I have sought to the utmost of my power to stay the pestilence, but
through lack of authority outside my diocese, could not accomplish what
I would.... Give me your orders to act outside my diocese, and I will
crush the heresy with my utmost zeal." About this time the bishop
received a letter from Johannes Magni that must have soothed his
temper. "God knows," the legate wrote, "how eagerly I burn to effect the
hoped-for freedom of the Christian Church, had not circumstances been
adverse. I have at any rate pleaded with the king, and he has promised
to maintain our rights. He says that if any of his soldiers wrong our
tenants, they do so at their peril. When I spoke to him of the burdens
that had been put upon us, he exclaimed with tears in his eyes that no
one felt it more than he, that it had been necessary and contrary to his
will, and that it was his full intention so soon as peace was restored
to refund the money we had furnished. He promised also to repress the
Lutheran heresy, though he urged me to use persuasion rather than force,
lest by conflict of opinions the whole Church be overturned." The
impression left on Magni by his monarch's tears is probably the
impression that the monarch had designed. We have no reason to suppose
Gustavus cherished any affection yet for Luther, but neither is there
reason to suppose he hated him. What he hoped for above all else was to
keep the bishops under his control, and the surest way to do so was to
keep the Church at enmity with Luther.[101]

That Gustavus played his cards with skill is manifest from a letter
written by Magni to the Linköping Chapter. "I understand," he wrote,
"that you feel little anxiety at my proposed return to Rome, thinking
that I have not shown enough energy in restoring the disabled Church. I
may say, however, that I have pleaded and now plead for her before the
king, who protests that his whole heart is in her preservation, and that
any harm done by his officers to our tenants has been done against his
will. He says too, and with tears in his eyes regrets, that the
importunity of his soldiers has forced him to lay burdens on the Church.
Nor is it his Majesty's intention to compel our weary priests to give up
the care of souls. His excuse for exacting tribute from the churches to
aid the kingdom is that he undertook the war as much for the freedom of
the Church as for the safety of the kingdom. I give you this excuse for
whatever it is worth. His Majesty promises that when he has paid the
enormous debt contracted to Lubeck, and has wholly freed the kingdom,
both clergy and people shall rejoice as never they have rejoiced before.
In the extirpation of Lutheranism I am aided as much by the efforts of
his Majesty as by the authority of the pope. It seems to me that the
strife going on by letters among the clergy should be put to an end, and
more toleration shown. I know it will, if continued, spread
conflagration in other lands. The clergy of Strengnäs have promised me
firmly that they will abstain from all new doctrines, and will send out
no more letters unless they are harassed." This warning from the legate
proves that the Swedish prelates were already cutting one another's
throats. Apparently, too, it worked like magic in quieting their
disputes, for six months now elapsed before the charge of heresy was
raised again.[102]

On the 21st of February, 1524, Laurentius Andreæ returned to the assault
with a long epistle to the Vadstena Chapter. This epistle is moderate in
tone, and contains this sound advice: "His Majesty desires that when you
discover strange doctrines in the books of Luther or of any other, you
should not reject them without a fair examination. If then you find
anything contrary to the truth, write a refutation of it based on Holy
Writ. As soon as scholars have seen your answer and have determined what
to accept and what reject, you can preach according to their judgment
and not according to your individual caprice. I suspect, however, there
will hardly be many among you able to refute these doctrines; for,
though but little of the so-called Lutheran teaching has come to my
knowledge, I am convinced that Luther is too great a man to be refuted
by simple men like us, for the Scriptures get their strength from no
man, but from God. Even if we have the truth on our side, 'tis folly for
us who have no arms to attack those who are well equipped, since we
should thus do nothing but expose our own simplicity.... Prove all
things; hold fast that which is good. Search the spirit to see whether
it be of God. I would urge every one to read the new doctrines. Those
who persuade or command you otherwise, appear to me to act contrary to
the Scriptures, and I suspect they do not wish the truth to come to
light.... If there be any among you whom this letter offends, let him
write to me, pointing out where I am wrong, and I will withdraw my
statements." Brask, though offended deeply, scorned the challenge.
Instead of answering Andreæ, he wrote to the bishop of Skara, saying:
"Certain persons are beginning to urge that we should not banish
Luther's writings, but should study them carefully to the end that we
may write against them, as if, forsooth, we were simple enough to
trouble ourselves about the effrontery of Luther. He flatters himself
that he possesses greater wisdom than all the saints. But we shall bow
the knee to God, not man, and shall do our utmost that the kingdom be
not corrupted by this new heresy." Brask was now boiling with
indignation, and a few days later wrote a friend: "I have no fear of
Luther or any other heretic. Were an angel from heaven to predict his
victory, I should not waver."[103]

This feigned assurance on the part of Brask was not deep-set. In the
secrecy of his own cloisters he contemplated the issue with fear and
trembling. This is clear from a letter penned at this period to the
monarch. "By the allegiance which I owe you," wrote the bishop, "I deem
it my duty to urge you not to allow the sale of Luther's books within
the realm, nor give his pupils shelter or encouragement of any kind,
till the coming council of the Church shall pass its judgment.... I know
not how your Grace can better win the love of God, as well as of all
Christian kings and princes, than by restoring the Church of Christ to
the state of harmony that it has enjoyed in ages past." The same day
that this letter was despatched, Brask wrote to a friend in terms which
show that his anxiety was great. After intimating that the king's
constant demands on him for money were probably inspired by the friends
of Luther, he exclaimed: "This party is growing all too fast among us,
and I greatly fear lest some new heresy, which God forbid! may break out
soon." As the king appeared not likely to take very stringent measures
to repress the heresy, the bishop hastened to exert his own authority,
and issued a mandate, to be read from all the pulpits in his diocese,
forbidding the sale of Luther's books and teachings. A few days later
the monarch's answer came. It was couched in temperate language, but
offered little solace to the bishop. "Regarding your request," so wrote
Gustavus, "that we forbid the sale of Luther's writings, we know not by
what right it could be done, for we are told his teachings have not yet
been found by impartial judges to be false. Moreover, since writings
opposed to Luther have been circulated through the land, it seems but
right that his, too, should be kept public, that you and other scholars
may detect their fallacies and show them to the people. Then the books
of Luther may be condemned. As to your charge that Luther's pupils are
given shelter at our court, we answer that they have not sought it. If
indeed they should, you are aware it is our duty to protect them as well
as you. If there be any in our protection whom you wish to charge, bring
your accusation and give their names." The method of trial suggested in
this letter was not in harmony with the bishop's views. What he wanted
was an inquisition, and in writing to a fellow-bishop he did not
hesitate to say so. "I maintain that every diocese should have an
inquisition for this heresy, and I think our Most Holy Father ought to
write his Majesty to that effect." The mere prohibition of Luther's
writings was of no avail. As Brask declared to Johannes Magni, "The
number of foreign abettors of Lutheranism is growing daily, despite our
mandate, through the sale of Luther's books. I fear the remedy will be
too late unless it is applied at once."[104]

This letter was written on the 20th of June, 1524. About the same time
Petri was called to Stockholm to fill the post of city clerk, and
Andreæ, already secretary to the king, was made archdeacon of Upsala.
This double advancement of the Lutheran leaders left no room longer to
doubt the king's designs. From this time forth he was felt on every hand
to be an enemy to the Romish Church. The striking fact in all this
history is the utter absence of conscientious motives in the king.
Though the whole of Christendom was ablaze with theological dispute, he
went on steadily reducing the bishops' power with never a word of
invective against their teaching or their faith. His conduct was guided
solely by a desire to aggrandize the crown, and he seized without a
scruple the tools best fitted to his hand. Had Brask been more
compliant, or the Church less rich, the king would not unlikely have
continued in the faith. The moral of all this is to hide your riches
from those that may become your foes.

The part that Brask played in this drama calls forth a feeling of
respect. Artful and man[oe]uvring though he was, there were certain deep
principles within his breast that only great adversity could touch. Of
these the most exalted was his affection for the Church. Apart from all
her splendor and the temporal advantages to which her service led, Brask
loved her for herself. She was the mother at whose breast he had been
reared, and the feelings that had warmed his soul in childhood could not
easily be extinguished now that he was old. Every dart that struck her
pierced deep into his own flesh, and a premonition of the coming ruin
overwhelmed him with bitter grief. It was this very grief, however, that
raised him to rebel. The old vacillating temper that he had shown in
days gone by was his no longer. Drear and dismal though the prospect
was, he did not hesitate, but threw himself into the encounter heart and
soul. From this time forth, with all his cunning and sagacity, he was
the steadfast leader of the papal cause.


FOOTNOTES:

[74] July 13, 1523, a payment of about 17,000 marks having been already
made, Gustavus wrote to Brask that Lubeck still demanded 200,000
guilders, which was equivalent to about 300,000 Swedish marks. This
probably was an exaggeration for the purpose of getting a generous
contribution from Brask. Another source states it as more than 120,000
Swedish marks. Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 72. This clearly was too
low an estimate; for we know that Gustavus paid at least 42,945 Lubeck
marks (or 83,000 Swedish marks) in the course of 1523, and that in the
following spring the amount claimed by Lubeck was about 240,000 Swedish
marks. See _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 109-110, and
the documents in the Archives at Lubeck cited in Handelmann's _Die
letzten Zeiten der hanseatischen Uebermacht im Norden_, pp. 165-170. The
matter is ably discussed by Forssell in his _Sver. inre hist._, vol. i.
pp. 134-138. Much confusion is caused by the fact that the debtor and
creditor reckoned the sum each according to his own monetary standard,
and there can be no question, too, that between the parties there was
some dispute as to the exact sum due.

[75] See a document in the Archives at Lubeck cited in Handelmann's _Die
letzten Zeiten der hanseatischen Uebermacht im Norden_, p. 165.

[76] [Illustration]

Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 64-65. Svart, whose chronicle was written
with a view to flatter Gustavus, informs us of the reduction in the
value at which the coin was issued, and appears to attribute this
reduction to the generosity of his master. It was "a good fat coin," he
adds, which merchants carried out of the country as an excellent piece
of merchandise. The zeal with which the chronicler defends the coin is
enough to raise suspicion as to its true value. If it was really worth
an öre and a half, it is incredible that Gustavus in the strait in which
he then was should have ultimately given it for an öre. Forssell, in his
_Anteckn. om mynt, vigt, mått och varupris i Sverige_, pp. 44-51,
suggests that probably the coin was first issued for an öre and a half,
and then with the same size and weight but containing more alloy, was
issued for an öre. I think the true explanation is more simple. Gustavus
had been found out. The "klippings" which he had issued a year before
were such a palpable fraud that the Danish commandant of Stockholm had
actually forbidden their use, lest the Danish "klippings" (which were
about as bad as anything could be) might through association with the
others fall into ill repute. _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. i. pp. 214 and
218. So that when he issued a new coin and called it an öre and a half,
people were suspicious and refused to take it till he reduced it to
something like its value. This view is strengthened by the fact that of
the few extant coins of Gustavus, dated 1522, not one contains enough
silver to have been worth an öre and a half, and most of them fall
considerably below the value of an öre. It is noticeable also that those
stamped 1523, which were presumably issued for an öre, contain a trifle
more in value than those stamped 1522, and called an öre and a half. As
none of them have any value stamped upon their face, it was a simple
matter to start the figure high, and then reduce it to what the coin
would bring.

[Illustration]

[77] As to Church fees and incomes see a letter of Brask, dated Dec. 21,
1514, in _Hist. handl._, vol. viii. pp. 65-67.

[78] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 58.

[79] _Von der graüsamen tyrannischen myssehandelung_; Svart, _Gust. I.'s
krön._, pp. 56-58; and _Sver. trakt._, vol. iv. pp. 35-44.

[80] Johannes Magni, _Hist. pont._, pp. 74-75; Svart, _Gust. I.'s
krön._, p. 70; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp.
88-89.

[81] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 73; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. i. pp. 97, 99-101, 108-111, 114-115, 119, and 298-300;
and Linköping, _Bibliotheks handl._, vol. ii. pp. 204-205.

[82] _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 107-108 and
121-129; Forssell, _Sver. inre hist._, vol. ii. p. 72; and _Sver.
trakt._, vol. iv. pp. 44-55, 65-67, and 69-74.

[83] _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 121-129.

[84] _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 129-134 and
139-140; and Theiner, _Schwed. u. seine Stell. z. heil. Stuhl_, vol. ii.
pp. 6-11.

[85] Johannes Magni, _Hist. pont._, p. 75; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. i. pp. 143-150; and _Nya Källor till Finl.
Medeltidshist._, pp. 737-740.

[86] _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 172-174 and
178-181.

[87] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 74-75.

[88] _Ibid._, pp. 73-74; and _Sver. trakt._, vol. iv. pp. 67-69.

[89] No one apparently wished to father the expedition. Svart, who
presents the king's side of the case, says, in his _Gust. I.'s krön._,
pp. 78-81, that Gustavus undertook the campaign at the urgent
solicitation of Lubeck, who promised to defer payment of her loan for
several years without interest, provided Gustavus would undertake the
war. This proposition appears generous, but there is no trace of it in
the contemporary letters of the king. Those letters assert that Brask
was the prime mover of the scheme; but as Brask repudiated it at once,
the responsibility for it cannot be fairly laid on him. See _Kon. Gust.
den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 190 and 301.

[90] Rensel, _Berättelse_, pp. 34-35; _Acta hist. Reg. Christ. II._, pp.
4-9; _Alla riksdag. och möt. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 29-30; _Handl. rör.
Skand. hist._, vol. xvii. p. 172; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. i. pp. 182, 184-185, 187-189, and 301-302.

[91] _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 185-186, 189-191,
and 300-302; and Linköping, _Bibliotheks handl._, vol. i. pp. 153-155.

[92] _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 191-192 and
193-197.

[93] The documents relating to the repudiation of the "klippings" vary
somewhat in phraseology. In the Royal Archives at Stockholm is an
official contemporary statement of the business transacted by the
general diet in January, 1524, which declares: "The 'klippings' were in
so far repudiated as to be valued at only four 'hvitar,' though any
person may accept them for what he will." _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. i. p. 182; and _Svenska riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp.
17-20. Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 76, asserts that the diet
"repudiated the 'klippings.'" Tegel, _Then stoormecht._, p. 81, says,
"the 'klippings' were utterly repudiated." In a letter issued by
Gustavus to the people of Dalarne immediately after the passage of the
Act he says the diet advised "that the 'klippings' fall so that they
pass for only five 'hvitar,' to which we and our Cabinet consented."
_Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 182-183. In a letter
issued at about the same time to the people of Vadstena, Gustavus made
the same statement, except that he used the word "four" instead of
"five." _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. p. 184. The later
letters of Gustavus, in which he declares that he has not repudiated his
coinage, are printed in _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp.
196-197 and 202-207.

[94] _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 198-201, 211-212
and 303-306.

[95] _Diar. Minor. Visbyens._, p. 39; Rensel, _Berättelse_, pp. 36-38;
Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 81-82; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. i. pp. 218-219.

[96] Eliesen, _Chron. Skib._, p. 577; Rensel, _Berättelse_, pp. 38-40;
Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 82-83 and 93-96; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_,
vol. ii. pp. 688-765; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp.
223-224, 229-230, 236-241, 245-250 and 309-327; and _Sver. trakt._, vol.
iv. pp. 94-103.

[97] _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 223-225, 227-236
and 306-309.

[98] _Alla riksdag. och möt. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 31-35; _Kon. Gust.
den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 251-265; and _Svenska
riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 22-29.

[99] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 31-39; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. i. pp. 271-281 and 327-328.

[100] Johannes Magni, _Hist. pont._, p. 75; Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._,
p. 92; and _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xvii. pp. 117-119 and
135-148.

[101] _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xvii. pp. 151-155 and 157-159.
There is preserved among Brask's documents of this period a
proclamation, purporting to be issued by Gustavus, forbidding the sale
of Lutheran tracts within the realm. _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol.
xvii. pp. 159-160. No reference, however, is made to it in other
writings; and as it is clearly contrary to all the monarch's later
views, it is certain that it did not emanate from him. Probably it was a
mere concept drawn by Brask in the hope that it would meet with royal
favor.

[102] _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xvii. pp. 162-164.

[103] _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xvii. pp. 205-216 and 220-223.

[104] _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xiii. pp. 48-50 and 52-54, and
vol. xviii. pp. 234-236 and 237-239; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. i. pp. 231-233 and 306-309.




CHAPTER VI.

RELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 1524-1525.

 Riot of the Anabaptists.--Contest between Olaus Petri and Peder
   Galle.--Marriage of Petri.--Conspiracy of Norby; of Christina
   Gyllenstjerna; of Mehlen; of Sunnanväder.--Attitude of Fredrik to
   Gustavus.--Proposition of Gustavus to resign the Crown.--Norby's
   Incursion into Bleking.--Surrender of Visby.--Flight of
   Mehlen.--Fall of Kalmar.


By the autumn of 1524 the whole of Sweden was in a ferment of
theological dispute. When Gustavus returned from the congress of Malmö
to the capital, he found the people in a wild frenzy of religious zeal.
The turmoil was occasioned mainly by the efforts of two Dutchmen,
Melchior and Knipperdolling, who had renounced their respective callings
as furrier and huckster to spread abroad the teachings of a new
religious sect. The history of this strange movement has been so often
told that it is hardly necessary to waste much time upon it here. It
originated doubtless in the stimulus that Luther's preaching had given
to religious thought. As so frequently occurs, the very enthusiasm which
the Reformers felt for things divine led them to disregard their reason
and give their passions undivided sway. One of the chronicles puts it:
"Wherever the Almighty builds a church, the Devil comes and builds a
chapel by its side." The thing that most distinguished these weird
Dutchmen was their communistic views. They taught that, since we all
were equal in the eyes of God, we should all be equal likewise in the
eyes of men, that temporal government along with class distinctions of
every kind should be abolished, and that Christians should indulge in
absolute community of goods. In religious matters, too, they had
peculiar views, believing that only adults should receive baptism, and
that all adults who had been baptized in infancy should be baptized
again. By reason of this tenet they were known as Anabaptists. Their
first appearance in the Swedish capital occurred at a moment when the
monarch was away. In that, at any rate, they manifested sense. The
capital was all agog with Luther's doctrines, and everything that bore
the stamp of novelty was listened to with joy. Melchior and
Knipperdolling were received with open arms, the pulpits were placed at
their disposal, and men and women flocked in swarms to hear them. The
town authorities raised no opposition, believing the influence of these
teachers would be good. In a short time, however, they were undeceived.
The contagion spread like wildfire through the town, and every other
citizen began to preach. Churches, monasteries, and chapels were filled
from morn till eve, and pulpits resounded with doctrines of the most
inflammatory kind. All government was set at naught, and every effort to
stay the tempest merely added to its force. Finally these fanatics made
war upon the altars, throwing down statues and pictures, and piling the
fragments in huge heaps about the town. They dashed about like maniacs,
a witness writes, not knowing what they did. How far their madness
would have led them, it is idle to conceive. Gustavus returned to
Stockholm while the delirium was at fever heat, and his presence in an
instant checked its course. He called the leaders of the riot before
him, and demanded sharply if this raving lunacy seemed to them religion.
They mumbled some incoherent answer, and, the fury having spent its
force, most of them were reprimanded and discharged. Melchior with one
or two others was kept in jail awhile, and then sent back to Holland,
with orders not to return to Sweden on pain of death. Some ten years
later Melchior was executed along with Knipperdolling for sharing in the
famous riot of the Anabaptist sect in Münster.[105]

The hurricane had swept past Stockholm and was gone, but evils of every
kind existed to attest its force. Among the greatest sufferers from this
fanaticism were the partisans of Luther. Their attitude to the rioters
had at first been doubtful, and the condemnation heaped on Melchior and
Knipperdolling fell partially on them. People in general could not
distinguish between fanatics and Luther. They were all deemed heretics,
and Gustavus was roundly cursed for neglecting the religion of his
fathers. To soothe the people Gustavus planned a journey through the
realm, intending to set forth before the autumn closed. This journey he
was forced by stress of circumstances to postpone. He therefore turned
to other methods to effect his end. The strongest feature of the
Lutheran doctrine was that it purported to be based upon the Word of
God. To such a pretension no one but an unbeliever could object.
Lutheranism was opposed on the ground of its presumed basis in the
idiosyncrasies of men. Gustavus, confident that this idea was false,
resolved to put the question to a test. Accordingly, among matters to be
discussed at the Cabinet meeting in October, we find a proposition that
all priests be ordered to confine their teaching to the Word of God. The
fate of this sound measure is not known. It appears nowhere in the list
of subjects on which the Cabinet took a vote. A fair conclusion is that
the question was too broad to be determined at the time, and therefore
was omitted from the calendar by consent of all.[106]

Gustavus was determined, however, that the matter should not drop.
Convinced that any discord inside the Church would be a benefit to the
crown, he resolved to hold a theological disputation, and selected a
champion from the two chief factions, with orders to appear at Christmas
in Upsala and defend the doctrines of his party in open court. The
Lutheran gladiator of course was Petri, his opponent being one Peder
Galle, a learned canon of Upsala. The main points that were discussed
are these: man's justification; free will; forgiveness of sins;
invocation and worship of saints; purgatory; celebration of vigils and
masses for the dead; chanting of the service; good works, and rewards;
papal and monastic indulgences; sacraments; predestination;
excommunication; pilgrimages. The battle on these questions was fought,
December 27, in the Chapter-house at Upsala; and the chronicle tells
us, somewhat unnecessarily, that the fight was hot. Each party was
struggling for the very kernel of his faith. If the Bible were
acknowledged to be our sole authority in religious things, the whole
fabric of the papal Church was wrong. On the other hand, if power were
granted to the Fathers to establish doctrines and methods supplementary
to the Bible, the Lutherans had no right to disobey. As Gustavus was
arbiter of the battle, there could be no doubt of the result. Petri is
asserted to have come off victor, on the ground that his citations were
all from Holy Writ.[107]

Flattered by this great victory, the Lutherans grew bold. Though not so
turbulent as before the riot, they showed much indiscretion, and
Gustavus often found it necessary to interfere. What annoyed him chiefly
was their bravado in alluding to the popes and bishops. The hierarchy of
Romanism was fixed so firmly in people's hearts that every effort to
dislodge it caused a jar. Especially in the rural districts was it
necessary not to give alarm. A single deed or word might work an injury
which many months of argument could not efface. It is not strange,
therefore, that the king was troubled when Petri, in February, 1525,
violated every rule of Church propriety by being married publicly in
Stockholm. The marriage fell like a thunderclap upon the Church. Brask
apparently could not believe his ears. He dashed off a letter to another
prelate to inquire whether the report was true, and finding that it was,
wrote to the archbishop as well as to the king, denouncing the whole
affair. "Though the ceremony has been performed," he argued, "the
marriage is invalid, for such was the decree made by the sixth Council
of the Church." In his letter to the king, Brask used these words: "Your
Majesty must be aware that much talk has been occasioned by the marriage
in your capital of Olaus Petri, a Christian priest. At a future day,
should the marriage result in children, there will be much trouble, for
the law declares that children of a priest shall stand, in matters of
inheritance, on a par with bastards.... Even in the Grecian Church,
where persons who are married may be ordained on certain terms, those
already priests have never been allowed to marry. Petri's ceremony is
not a lawful marriage, and places him under the ban, according to the
doctrines of the Church. For God's sake, therefore, act in this matter
as a Christian prince should do." On receiving this letter, Gustavus,
who had been in Upsala when the act occurred, called for the offending
preacher and asked him what excuse he offered for violating the ancient
customs of the Church. To this the culprit answered that he was ready to
defend his conduct in open court, and prove that the laws of God should
not be sacrificed to the laws of men. The king then wrote to Brask and
assured him that if Petri should be shown to have done wrong, he should
be punished. The king's own prejudices are manifest in the words with
which his letter closed. "As to your assertion," he said, "that Petri's
act has placed him under the ban, it would seem surprising if that
should be the effect of marriage,--a ceremony that God does not
forbid,--and yet that for debauchery and other sins which are
forbidden, one should not fall beneath the ban.... In making this charge
concerning Petri, you appear elated at the opportunity thus given you to
censure me." This last insinuation the bishop strenuously denied. "God
knows," he wrote the king, "that I have acted for your welfare in this
matter, as well as for my own. What joy I or any other could feel in my
present age and infirmity, I leave to God. Petri has sent me an apology
for his act. It is full of words, but void of sense. I shall see to it,
however, that it gets an answer."[108]

These stormy scenes within the Church were but the echo of what was
going on outside. As the autumn advanced it became each day more clear
that Fredrik had victimized the king at Malmö. The Swedish army had
retired from Gotland, and Norby with his horde of pirates remained _in
statu quo_. Brask, who had the interests of Sweden constantly at heart,
was the first person to suspect foul play. So early as December 9 he
told a friend his fears had been aroused. Gustavus, if he had
suspicions, kept them dark. He opened correspondence with Norby, hoping
to inveigle him into a conference in Stockholm. Norby, however, knew the
trick himself. The weather was such, he answered, that he could not
come. Some few weeks later Gustavus wrote to Mehlen that the promises
made to him at Malmö had not been fulfilled. He also sent his messengers
to Denmark denouncing Norby's course. But all this time his
communications with Norby were filled with warm assurance of
respect.[109]

The truth was, Norby cherished a project far more ambitious than either
Fredrik or Gustavus could suppose. In January, 1524, the brave
Christina, widow of the young Sten Sture, had returned to Sweden after
her long captivity in Denmark. The same ambitious spirit that had filled
her breast in earlier days was with her still, and she longed to see
upon her son's head the crown that but for his early death would have
been worn by her husband. This son, a mere boy of twelve, had recently
returned from Dantzic, whither he had been sent as exile four years
before by Christiern. He had disembarked at Kalmar, and still remained
there under custody of Mehlen. In this state of affairs the piratical
Norby conceived the project of marrying Christina, and then of conjuring
with the name of Sture to drive Gustavus out of Sweden. To this bold
scheme Christina apparently gave her consent. At all events, the news of
her projected marriage was spread abroad, and nothing was done on her
part to deny it.[110]

Norby's chief anxiety was to get possession of the boy. Mehlen had
shown reluctance to give him to Christina, and one might readily
conclude his purpose was to hand him over to the king. Such a purpose,
however, Mehlen seems never to have entertained. He preferred to watch
developments, and at the proper moment resign his charge to the party
that should make the highest bid. The truth is, Mehlen had fallen into
disrepute. His pusillanimous conduct in the siege of Visby had gradually
dawned upon the king, and ere the close of 1524 report was spread that
Mehlen had incurred his monarch's wrath. Though summoned to Stockholm in
January to the marriage of the monarch's sister, he did not venture to
appear, but wrote a letter to Gustavus begging for a continuance of
favor at the court. The answer that came back was characteristic of the
king. Stripped of all its verbiage, it was an assurance that the general
report was wrong. Mehlen might still bask in the smiles of royalty, and
must pay no heed to public slander. In confirmation of these sentiments
Gustavus induced the Cabinet to enclose a letter. "Dear brother," the
Cabinet lovingly began, "we hear a rumor is abroad that you have grown
distasteful to the king, and you are said to shun his presence in fear
of danger to your life. We declare before Almighty God we never heard
the monarch speak one word in your disfavor, though we can well believe
there may be slanderers who would rejoice to see such discord spread. We
doubt not you will stamp out such discord with your utmost power.
Therefore we beg you pay no heed to evil messengers, but come here at
the earliest opportunity to the king." This urgent exhortation meeting
with no response, some three weeks later the monarch wrote again, still
with a show of friendship, but insisting on the immediate presence of
the erstwhile favorite in Stockholm. So imperative an order Mehlen dared
not disobey. Proceeding at once to Stockholm, he appeared before the
king, and soon discovered that his worst suspicions were not far from
true. The assurances of his monarch's favor had been a blind to decoy
the officer away from Kalmar. On the 12th of March Gustavus removed him
from the post, and appointed another officer, Nils Eriksson, in his
stead. Anticipating that the change might cause some friction, the
monarch sent off a whole batch of letters in explanation of his act. One
of these letters, though a trifle lengthy, is perhaps worth quoting. It
is addressed to the fief of Kalmar, and runs in this wise: "Dear
friends, we thank you warmly for the devotion and allegiance which you,
as true and loyal subjects, have exhibited toward us as well as toward
the kingdom of your fathers. You will remember that last summer, when we
despatched our fleet to Gotland to besiege Norby in the castle and town
of Visby, and when he found that he could expect no aid from Christiern,
he sent his ambassadors to take oath of allegiance to Fredrik, King of
Denmark. His purpose, which we clearly saw, was simply to cause
dissension between the kingdoms, thus giving Christiern opportunity to
come forward and seize the reins once more. It appearing to us and to
our Cabinet unwise to permit a new war at that time to spring up between
the kingdoms, we proceeded with delegates from our Cabinet to a congress
of the realms at Malmö. There we made a permanent alliance with each
other and the Hanseatic Towns against King Christiern. We agreed,
moreover, that our respective claims to Gotland should be left to
arbitration. When, now, Norby saw that the dissension which he had
longed for was not likely to ensue, he disregarded every oath that he
had made to Fredrik, and continued in his old allegiance to King
Christiern. He also feigned a willingness to come to terms with us, if
we would protect his interests in this kingdom. This he offered, as we
have now found out, in hope of causing discord between us and the
Hanseatic Towns. He has, too, spread a rumor among the Danes and Germans
that we had entered into an alliance with him against them. Of any such
alliance we assure you we are ignorant. Now, as to Mehlen, we are told
he does not wholly please you. We have therefore recalled him from his
post, and made Nils Eriksson commander of Kalmar Castle and governor of
the town and fief. We beg you be submissive and pay to him all rents and
taxes which fall due until we find an opportunity to visit you in
person. He will govern you, by God's help, according to Saint Erik's law
and the good old customs of your fathers. If any among you are found
encouraging dissension or engaged in plots, we pray you all be zealous
in aiding Eriksson to bring them to destruction." Along with this letter
Gustavus sent one to the burghers in the town of Kalmar. It appears they
had protested against the taxes imposed on them by Mehlen. There can be
little doubt these taxes were imposed by order of the king. As matters
stood, however, it seemed poor policy to claim them. These are the
monarch's words: "Some of your fellow-townsmen have let us understand
that taxes have been laid on you for which you are in no wise liable. We
have already written you that you are to be free therefrom; but that
letter, we now are told, has never reached you. God knows we grieve
extremely that any such burden should have been imposed against our wish
and orders, and we hereby notify you that we shall not claim these taxes
laid on you by Mehlen." Simultaneously with this document others of like
tenor were despatched to other persons to allay their wrath.[111]

These summary proceedings of Gustavus made Mehlen more ready to accept
proposals from the other side; and he was further impelled in that
direction by recent plots among the Dalesmen. The insurrection under
Sunnanväder, which the monarch had fancied he could extinguish by a
generous supply of salt, had not yet yielded to the treatment. Indeed,
according to the best reports, the malady had spread. How serious the
insurrection was, appears from the frequency of the monarch's
exhortations. All through the winter he was writing to the people,
condoling with them for the exorbitant price of food, and attributing
all their evils to the continuance of wars in Europe. The Cabinet also
addressed the Dalesmen, urging them not to ally themselves with
Sunnanväder, who was disgruntled, so they heard, because he had not been
given the bishopric of Vesterås. In one of his appeals Gustavus warned
the rebels to be still, lest Christiern might be encouraged to return.
The spectre of their gory tyrant seems not, however, to have haunted
them, and in February we find that Knut, the deposed dean of Vesterås,
had joined their ranks. To him Gustavus wrote a note, assuring him that
the archbishopric would have been conferred upon him had he but done his
duty. Knut, apparently, did no great benefit to his brother's cause.
Only a few days after he arrived, his leader wrote archly to a person
who had loaned him funds, that he could stay no longer in the land, for
certain peasants were already on his track, intending to capture him and
take him to the king. If these suspicions were correct, it was probably
as well for him that he escaped. Some two weeks later these two
scoundrels were both in Norway, waiting for a more auspicious moment to
return.[112]

Whether their movements were in any way inspired by Norby, is not clear.
One thing, however, is very sure. Whomever Norby thought could be of
service, he did not hesitate to use. In the previous summer, even while
truckling with Fredrik, he had been in steady communication with
Christiern, who was Fredrik's bitter foe. And now, though every one
believed him to have broken with Fredrik, there was a story afloat that
Fredrik's hand was really behind the pirate's opposition to Gustavus. No
one could place the slightest confidence in what he said. In January he
started a rumor that he was ready to give up Gotland, provided the king
would grant him a like domain in Finland; but soon it turned out that
the whole project was a ruse. In February he had so far befogged the
intellect of Fredrik as to induce that monarch to request of Gustavus a
full pardon for all of Norby's doings. It need scarce be added, this
ridiculous proposal met with no success; and Fredrik, almost as soon as
it was sent, had cause to rue it, for Norby toward the close of winter
sent an army into Bleking,--a province ceded to Fredrik by the Congress
of Malmö,--and there spread ruin far and wide.[113]

The relations of Fredrik to Sweden at this juncture are very strange.
Though nominally at peace, the two nations were utterly distrustful of
each other, and at frequent intervals tried in secret to cut each
other's throats. Their only bond of union was their common abhorrence of
the tyrant Christiern; and whenever Fredrik fancied that danger averted,
he spared no effort to humiliate his rival beyond the strait. One
instance of his treachery was noticed in the comfort given to Knut and
Sunnanväder when they fled to Norway. The treaty of Malmö had stated
with sufficient clearness that all fugitives from one country to the
other should be returned; and Fredrik, as king of Norway, was bound to
see to it that the treaty was observed. It cannot be stated positively
that he encouraged the fugitives himself, but it is very certain that
his officers in Norway did, and that he made no effort to restrain
them.[114]

The share Christina had in this conspiracy is likewise doubtful. So
early as February Gustavus suspected her, and ordered one of his
officers to keep spies upon her track. As a result one of her servants
was detected in treacherous proceedings and arrested. It appears,
however, that she did not merit all the king's severity; for Brask in
April wrote a friend, that the monarch was treating her with undue
harshness. She was widely popular, and Gustavus would have been more
wise had his hostility to her been less open. "Nescit regnare qui nescit
dissimulare," wrote the wily bishop. Christina was not, at any rate, on
the best of terms with Mehlen, for her boy was kept in Kalmar till the
castle passed from Mehlen's hands.[115]

This last result was not effected till a long time after Mehlen had been
deposed. Before leaving Kalmar he had intrusted matters to his brother,
with orders not to yield the castle to any but himself. As soon,
therefore, as the new officer approached to take his fief, the reply was
given him that the castle would not be yielded till Mehlen should
return. After some three weeks spent in futile negotiation, Gustavus
wrung from Mehlen a letter directed to his brother, instructing him to
yield. This the monarch sent to Kalmar, April 8, along with a letter of
his own. Convinced that the whole delay on the part of Mehlen was to use
up time, he instructed his messenger to warn the occupants that if the
castle were not surrendered by the 1st of May, he would make them smart
for it. In his letter, however, Gustavus used more gentle language. "We
have kept your brother here," he wrote, "in order to protect him from
the populace, whose mouths are full of scandal about our relations to
him. From your letter it appears you thought we held him in
confinement.... We are minded to treat him well and kindly, unless we
shall be forced by you to treat him otherwise. We warn you, however, we
shall deal with Kalmar in the way that we deem best, for the town and
castle belong to God, to us, and to the Swedish crown.... Our counsel is
that you obey our mandate, and the earlier you do so the better it will
be for you." Accompanying this letter was a passport, similar to one
drawn up for Mehlen, to take his brother from the realm. He was not,
however, to be allured by passports or even terrified by threats. The
castle continued firm, and Gustavus began to levy forces to besiege
it.[116]

While these forces were being gathered, Gustavus renewed his efforts to
gain favor through the land. This he soon discovered to be no easy task.
Surrounded by conspirators on every hand, he could not turn without
confronting some new rumor. Stories of the most contradictory nature
were set afloat each day. At one time the report was spread through
Dalarne that he had cast Christina into jail. After that it was rumored
that he was sending despatches frequently to Gotland, from which some
persons caught the notion he was in secret league with Norby. This
notion was so baleful that Gustavus felt it best to answer it. "No one
need think," he said, "we attach the slightest importance to anything
that Norby says. As he asked us for a hearing, we have promised to let
him have it. He used smooth words to us, and we have given him smooth
answers in return.... As to these slanderous stories," continued
Gustavus, in writing to an officer, "you are aware we cannot close men's
mouths. We believe our actions toward our people will bear examination
before both God and man." Such an examination he proposed to make, and
on the 25th of March he sent out notice of a general diet to be held in
the early part of May. This notice contained among other things these
startling words: "If it shall happen that the Cabinet and people then
assembled believe the present evils are in any respect the outcome of
our methods of government, we shall lay it before them to determine
whether they wish us to continue in the government or not. It was at
their request and exhortation that we assumed the reins at Strengnäs,
and whatever their judgment now may be, it shall be followed." In
addition to this notice, sent to all portions of the land, Gustavus
wrote to the people of Mora that he had heard of a complaint from them
that the kingdom was going to pieces and that he was causing it. He
assured them that the rumor was untrue, and that he was doing all he
could to hold the realm together. When these assurances reached Dalarne,
the poor peasants of that district were already starving. Half mad with
hunger, they called a mass meeting of their little parishes, and drew up
a heart-rending though unfair statement of their wrongs. A copy of these
grievances they despatched at once to Stockholm. It charged the king
with appointing German and Danish officers to the highest positions in
the state, and with quartering foreign soldiers in the towns and
villages till the inhabitants were constrained to flee. He had further,
they asserted, laid taxes on the monasteries and churches, and on the
priests and monks; he had seized jewels consecrated to God's service; he
had robbed the churches of all their Swedish money, and substituted
"klippings," which he then had repudiated; and he had seized the tithes.
Finally they charged him with imprisoning Christina and her boy. The
letter ended with a warning that unless he at once drove out all
foreigners, released Christina with the others whom he had in prison,
and took some measures to better trade, they would renounce allegiance
to him. Gustavus received this document while the diet was in session.
His answer to the people of Dalarne contained these words: "We cannot
believe this letter was issued by your consent. Rather, we think, it was
inspired by certain wiseacres among you hoodwinked by Sunnanväder and
the like. That the purpose of these men is to bring back Christiern we
have definite proofs, not only within the kingdom but without. Ever
since Sunnanväder went among you, letters and messengers have been
passing between Dalarne and Norby, the meaning of all which is that
Norby is to attack the government on one side and Dalarne on the other,
and that we are to be dragged down from the throne, which is then to be
handed over to Norby for the benefit of Christiern." This letter
reflected in some degree the spirit of the diet. The main object for
which it had been called was to spread an impression that the king was
acting as representative of his people. It was not asked to legislate,
and it did not do so. Gustavus, however, went through the farce which he
had promised, and asked the delegates if they wished him to resign the
crown. Of course the answer was a shower of plaudits upon the king. As
Gustavus modestly puts it, "The Cabinet and people over all the land
besought us not to resign, but govern them hereafter as heretofore; and
they promised obedience as in the past, swearing by hand and mouth to
risk in our service their lives and everything they had." With this
seductive ceremony the diet was dismissed.[117]

Ere the diet had come together, Norby had made a second irruption into
Fredrik's territory in the south of Sweden. Toward the end of March he
had sailed from Gotland with twelve men-of-war, had captured a couple of
the strongest fortresses in Bleking, and had enlisted many inhabitants
of that province in the cause of Christiern. Fredrik was by this time
fully alive to the error he had made in relying for a moment on the
promises of Norby. His anxiety was increased still further when the news
was brought him that Christiern's brother-in-law, the emperor, had
defeated the king of France, and was coming with all his forces to the
relief of Christiern. One drop of comfort was granted him when he heard
that a fleet from Lubeck had sailed to Gotland in Norby's absence, and
on May 13 had seized the town of Visby. In spite of this disaster,
Norby's hopes ran high. He sent letters every day to Christiern, telling
him that Denmark as well as Sweden was overrun with rebels, and that he
now had a chance of restoration such as he had never had before. But
Norby's hopes were at the very highest when the bubble burst. The
emperor proved too busy with his own affairs to send his army to the
North, and Christiern could not raise the armament requisite for a
foreign war. Gustavus, moreover, sent his troops to drive back the
invader, and the Danish nobility enlisted in behalf of Fredrik. The
result was that ere the close of May the pirate was routed in two
important battles. Gustavus literally hugged himself for joy, and sent
off a letter of congratulation to the army that had won the day. "My
good men," he began, "you may rest assured that if Norby shall escape
you and come this way, he will meet with a reception that will cause him
little joy. From his assertion that he expected aid from us, you will
perceive he sought to foster discord between your realm and us.... We
had already ordered our men in Vestergötland to go to your relief as
soon as you should need them, which now, thank God, we trust will never
be." The monarch's congratulation was a little premature. Norby's force
was scattered, but it was not lost. Retiring with his stragglers to one
of the Danish strongholds, he ensconced himself within, and there
remained,--a constant menace to the neighborhood. Late in June the
pirate, reduced to the utmost extremity, opened negotiations with
Fredrik. That monarch, still in dread of Christiern, readily complied.
Norby proceeded to Copenhagen, where it was finally arranged that he
should yield the castle of Visby, which the Lubeck army had been
besieging ever since the town of Visby fell; and that in return the
pirate should be granted the whole province of Bleking with all its
strongholds, to hold as a fief of Denmark. Norby was then conveyed to
Denmark, and before the first of August these terms were carried out.
Visby passed into the hands of Lubeck, and the pirate returned to
Bleking to guard his fief.[118]

Gustavus, it need scarce be said, was vexed. The congress which was to
have been held in Lubeck to discuss his claim to Gotland had been
indefinitely postponed. In place thereof, the island had been seized by
Lubeck, and Bleking--another of the disputed territories--had been
conferred upon a bitter foe. What most irritated him was the close
proximity of Norby's fief to Sweden. He was at a loss, moreover, to
understand the king of Denmark's motives. "It may be," he suggested in a
letter of July 9, "that Fredrik's purpose was to secure Gotland, and
then deal with Norby as he pleased. However this may be, we must keep
watch on every side." The same day he wrote to another person, "We are
in no wise pleased to have Norby for a neighbor, since we have noticed
that he always seeks to do us harm." Still, Gustavus believed in making
a virtue of necessity, and a few days later wrote: "We are glad that
hostilities between Fredrik and Norby are at an end, and that the
kingdom is once more on the road to peace and quiet."[119]

This letter was written by Gustavus in his camp at Kalmar. The castle
there was still in the hands of Mehlen's brother, though it had been
under siege about two months. Early in June Gustavus, unwilling to shed
more blood, had ordered Mehlen to proceed to Kalmar and bid the castle
yield. The confidence with which the monarch even yet regarded Mehlen is
astounding, and the issue proved at once the monarch's folly. On
reaching Kalmar, Mehlen, after a conference with Eriksson, was allowed
to enter the castle to persuade his men to yield. The following day, the
portcullis was lowered and Mehlen came out upon the bridge. But while he
pretended to be crossing, a portion of the garrison dashed out of the
castle and massacred a number of the people, all unsuspecting, in the
town. The alarm was then given to the royal guard, and Mehlen's
soldiers, finding themselves outnumbered, retired across the bridge.
Five days later, Mehlen, with his wife and brother, scaled the castle
wall and sailed for Germany, leaving his wretched soldiers to withstand
the siege. If ever there was a cowardly, bustling, impotent,
insignificant adventurer, Berent von Mehlen was that man. During his two
years' stay in Sweden he had dabbled in every project that arose, and he
had accomplished absolutely nothing. He had been the hero of a six
months' bloodless siege, that left matters precisely as they had begun;
and he had set on foot a conspiracy that had no object and that ended in
the air. It is a pleasure to dismiss him from our thoughts. His
subsequent career in Germany was of a piece with his career in Sweden.
He scurried about from one court to another, endeavoring to raise an
army with which to conquer Sweden. But nothing came of any of his
projects, and after a short period oblivion settled on his name.[120]

Gustavus now learned definitely that Norby, ever since his fleet left
Gotland, had been in secret conspiracy with Mehlen. He determined,
therefore, that, since the pirate had gained a foothold on the mainland,
Kalmar must be secured at any risk. So he collected men from every
quarter and sent them down to Kalmar to reinforce the town. Some few
weeks later, as the castle had not yielded, he proceeded to the town
himself. The burghers, hoping the conflict would now be ended, welcomed
him with joy. But the garrison still believed in Mehlen, and confidently
awaited his return with aid. Gustavus sent an envoy to the castle, to
persuade the garrison to yield. The answer was, the garrison would not
be yielded till every one of them was dead. But one course, therefore,
was open to the monarch,--the castle must be stormed. This, with the
guns which he possessed, demanded almost more than human strength. The
castle was surrounded on all sides by a moat, beyond which rose a
perpendicular wall of masonry twenty feet in height. This rampart was
washed on three sides by the sea, and on the other was protected by a
broad deep dike and then an outer wall. From within, the rampart was
guarded by eight huge towers that stood out from the castle-walls, and
the four corners of the ramparts were further strengthened by four more
towers with apertures for crossbows, cannon, and muskets. Such was the
fortress that Gustavus, late in July, resolved to storm. He began by
throwing up a line of earthworks, behind which he placed his heavy guns,
hoping to batter down the towers and ramparts, while his pikemen and
halberdiers were scaling the unprotected parts. But his men at first
were lukewarm. The task seemed herculean, and every effort to ascend the
ramparts met with certain death. Those in the castle fought like
maniacs, the men with guns and crossbows, and the women firing stones.
Gustavus, it is reported, stormed and swore, and finally put on his
armor, declaring that he would either have the castle or die within its
walls. His enthusiasm spread among his men, and they shouted they would
do their best, though every man of them should fall. The effect was
visible at once. Each charge left the ramparts weaker than before; and
when night closed in, there was not a tower or rampart whole. The next
morning, when Gustavus turned his culverins again upon the wall, the
flag of truce was raised. The garrison hoped that if they sued before
the ramparts actually fell, they might be granted favorable terms. But
the monarch, who had now lost nearly half his men, demanded an
unconditional surrender. As Norby had been conquered, and no signs of
Mehlen's succor had appeared, the garrison, after much palaver, threw
themselves upon the mercy of the king. The castle, on the 20th of July,
passed into the monarch's hands once more, and a large portion of the
rebel garrison was put to death. With this scene the conspiracy of
Norby, Mehlen, and their adherents was at an end.[121]


FOOTNOTES:

[105] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 96-98.

[106] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 98-99; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. i. p. 254.

[107] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 99-100.

[108] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 99; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol.
xiv. pp. 33-41 and vol. xviii. pp. 265-266 and 273-276; and _Kon. Gust.
den Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 83-86 and 272-276.

[109] _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xiii. pp. 107-110; and _Kon.
Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 281-284 and vol. ii. pp. 12
and 19.

[110] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. ii. p. 781 and vol. iv. p. 1530;
_Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 30-33, 41-44 and 61-65, and
vol. xvii. pp. 182 and 188-189; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._,
vol. ii. pp. 24-26. Some modern writers, unwilling to believe Christina
base enough to marry Norby, regard the whole story of her consent as
false. It seems impossible, however, that a false rumor should have been
so generally believed by those who knew her. The more natural assumption
is that her ambition caused her to accept the advances of her suitor
even if she did not positively yield to his request.

[111] Rensel, _Berättelse_, pp. 42-43; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv.
pp. 1520-1521 and 1527-1533; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp.
61-65; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 283-284 and
vol. ii. pp. 7-9, 23-24 and 36-42.

[112] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 86; _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp.
39-47; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xxiii. pp. 28-34; and _Kon.
Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 3-5, 10-12, 13-14 and 20-21.

[113] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1531-1532; _Handl. rör. Skand.
hist._, vol. xiii. pp. 124-127; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._,
vol. ii. pp. 28-29.

[114] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1485-1486; _Handl. rör. Skand.
hist._, vol. xxiii. pp. 65-67; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol.
ii. pp. 33-34, 46 and 49-50; and _Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog og
Hist._, vol. i. pp. 482-484.

[115] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. p. 1530; _Handl. rör. Skand.
hist._, vol. xiv. p. 64 and vol. xviii. pp. 269-270 and 276-277; and
_Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 24-25.

[116] _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. p. 45; and _Kon. Gust. den
Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 72-80, 91-93, 106-107 and 113.

[117] _Alla riksdag. och möt. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 36-37; _Christ.
II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1482-1487 and 1496-1497; _Dipl. Dal._, vol.
ii. pp. 50-51 and 63-64; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 41-44
and 60-61 and vol. xxiii. pp. 77-81; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 42-48, 52-57, and 110-118; and _Svenska
riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 32-39.

[118] _Diar. Minor. Visbyens._, p. 39; Rensel, _Berättelse_, p. 44;
Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 83-84; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. i. pp.
7-36; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 55-57 and 72-73; and
_Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 59-60, 89-93, 97-102,
119-120, 146-147, 167-168 and 170.

[119] _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 170-176.

[120] Rensel, _Berättelse_, pp. 43-45; Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp.
86-89; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 61-65; and _Kon. Gust.
den Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 143-144 and 160-161.

[121] Rensel, _Berättelse_, pp. 45-47; Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp.
89-92; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 72-73; and _Kon. Gust.
den Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 143-146, 155-158, 160-165,
168-169, 181-183 and 188.




CHAPTER VII.

DEALINGS WITH FOREIGN POWERS. 1525-1527.

 Negotiations between Fredrik and Gustavus.--Treachery of
   Norby.--Sunnanväder and the Cabinet of Norway.--Overthrow and Death
   of Norby.--Trial and Execution of Knut and Sunnanväder.--Debt to
   Lubeck.--Treaty with Russia; with the Netherlands.--Dalarne and the
   Lubeck Envoys.--Swedish Property in Denmark.--Province of
   Viken.--Refugees in Norway.


The Swedish Revolution was the work of three nations, all foes at heart,
endeavoring to effect a common object on utterly divergent grounds.
Gustavus wished to free his country from a tyrant's rule, while
Fredrik's purpose was to gain the throne of Denmark, and Lubeck's was to
crush her rival in the Baltic trade. Without the alliance of these three
parties, it is not likely that any one of them could have gained his
end. So long, therefore, as the common object was in view, each felt an
assurance that the others would not fail. It was only when Christiern's
power was altogether gone that this triple alliance was dissolved.

The varying hopes of Christiern may be gauged with singular accuracy by
Fredrik's show of friendship to Gustavus. One cannot read the despatches
sent from Denmark without observing a constant change of attitude; the
monarch's feelings cooling somewhat as the chance that Christiern would
recover Denmark grew more remote. At the moment when Norby returned to
Bleking, the movements of Christiern caused the monarch much alarm, and
his letters to Gustavus were filled with every assurance of good-will.
This assurance, however, Gustavus took at little more than it was worth.
So long as Knut and Sunnanväder were protected by Fredrik's officers in
Norway, the Danish monarch's assurances of friendship carried little
weight. Gustavus seems not to have appealed to Fredrik in this matter
till every effort to persuade the Danish officers in Norway had been
tried. He wrote even to the Norwegian Cabinet, and begged them to keep
the promises made to him in Malmö. While in the midst of these
entreaties, a letter came from Fredrik asking for the release of certain
prisoners, among them Norby's daughter, whom Gustavus had captured in
the war with Norby. This was the very opportunity which Gustavus craved.
He wrote back that in the same war in which these prisoners had been
taken, some guns belonging to him had been lost, and he offered to
exchange the prisoners for the guns. He requested, further, that Fredrik
command his officers in Norway to yield the refugees. While this answer
was on the road, Fredrik received a note from Norby, to whom Gustavus
had written to say that Fredrik had promised that the guns should be
returned. Fredrik, therefore, wrote Gustavus that these guns were not in
his possession, but if the Danish prisoners were surrendered, he would
try to get them. When this letter came, the monarch was indignant.
Fredrik, it was clear, was playing with him, and hoped to get the
prisoners and give nothing in return. The answer which the monarch made
was this: "We have just received your letter with excuses for the
detention of our guns and ammunition, along with a request for the
surrender of Søren Brun, whom you assert we captured in a time of truce.
Of such a truce we wish to inform you we are ignorant. He was lawfully
taken, inasmuch as he was one of Norby's men.... As to our ammunition
you say that it was captured from you and carried off to Gotland. If so,
it was no fault of ours. We have written frequently about it, but have
met with nothing but delays. If Norby, who you say has sworn allegiance
to you, holds this ammunition in Visby Castle, it is unquestionably in
your power to order that it be returned. So soon as this is done, the
prisoners shall be released." Before this determined letter arrived in
Denmark, Fredrik had modified his plans, for news had come that
Christiern's fleet was on the way to Norway, intending to winter there
and make an incursion into Denmark in the spring. Fredrik, therefore,
despatched a note to Norby telling him to yield the ammunition, and
wrote Gustavus that the guns were ready, and if he would send his
officers to Denmark for them they should be delivered. A few days later
an officer of Fredrik wrote Gustavus that property of Danish subjects
had been seized in Sweden, and begged that the persons wronged be
recompensed. To this Gustavus answered that Swedish subjects had been
treated in the same way in Denmark, and promised to observe the treaty
if the Danes would do so in return. He likewise wrote to Fredrik
thanking him for his action relating to the guns, declaring that he
would send for them as requested, and as soon as they were yielded
would set the prisoners free.[122]

This amicable adjustment of their difficulty was on paper, but much more
shuffling was required before it was reduced to fact. Gustavus feared
that Fredrik was in league with Norby, and rumor had it that Norby was
preparing for another war. Late in 1525, the pirate wrote the Swedish
officer in Kalmar that he had come to terms with Fredrik, and that all
the injury which he had done to Sweden had been forgiven. To this the
officer replied: "I fail to see how Fredrik can have promised that you
may keep our ammunition." Norby at all events did keep it, and early in
1526 Gustavus wrote: "We hear that Norby has let fall calumnies against
us. We place no confidence whatever in him, especially as he is growing
stronger every day.... From his own letters we discover he has no
thought of giving up our ammunition." To Fredrik himself the monarch
wrote: "From Norby's letters we learn he has no intention of obeying
your commands." In the same strain Gustavus addressed the Danish
Cabinet, and expressed the hope that Norby was not acting under their
behest. If the Cabinet's assertion can be trusted, he was not; for
several of the Cabinet wrote Gustavus to keep an eye on Norby, as he was
raising a large force in Bleking despite their orders to him to desist.
There being little hope that Fredrik would force the pirate to obey,
Gustavus ventured to arrange the matter for himself. It so happened at
this moment that one of Norby's vessels, laden with arms and ammunition,
stranded on the coast not far from Kalmar. The monarch's officers
hurried to the spot, and seized what ammunition they could find. This
stroke, however, was in some degree offset by a reprisal which Norby
managed to secure upon the coast of Bleking. Matters now appeared so
serious that the king addressed himself to Norby. "We find," he said,
"that a part of the ammunition taken from the wreck off Kalmar is our
own. All the rest of it you may have, provided we are given the guns and
ammunition promised us by Fredrik.... As soon as these are handed over,
your daughter and the other prisoners shall be freed." This proposition
would have satisfied any man but Norby. To him it seemed unfair. The
fleet of Christiern was looked for early in the spring, and Norby
thought by waiting to obtain more favorable terms. He wrote back,
therefore, that, though Fredrik may have told Gustavus he should have
his guns, he could not have them, for in the treaty recently drawn up
between himself and Fredrik, it had been stipulated that all injury done
by him to Sweden should be forgotten, and a part of this injury
consisted in the seizure of these guns. Norby closed his letter with an
offer to hold a personal conference with the king. The reply which Norby
had to this proposal was sharp and warm. "We shall permit no nonsense,"
wrote the king. If Norby wanted his daughter, let him return the guns.
"As to a personal meeting with you, we cannot spare the time." Norby's
pride apparently was not touched by this rebuke. He wrote again, simply
repeating what he had said before, and in reply obtained another letter
from the king. "We have already told you," wrote Gustavus, "that you may
have your daughter when we get our guns. We were promised them by the
treaty of Malmö, which we desire in every particular to observe. And we
will hand over the property belonging to you in the wreck off Kalmar, if
you will forward to that town our ammunition together with a promise in
writing never from this day forth to wrong us or our men." This letter,
dated on the 4th of March, was the last communication that passed
between the pirate and the king. Norby had at length discovered that he
could not dupe the king, and Gustavus deemed it folly to continue parley
with one whose only object was to use up time.[123]

Unable to accomplish anything with Norby, it was more than ever
important that Gustavus should be on terms of amity with Fredrik. For
the moment it appeared that Fredrik would be fair. At all events, he had
made Gustavus a generous promise about the guns, and his Cabinet kept
Gustavus constantly informed about the acts of Norby. In February, when
the lakes were frozen, the monarch sent, as Fredrik had suggested, for
his ammunition, and intrusted to the same emissary a letter for the
Danish king. This letter was in reply to one from Fredrik, asking for
the surrender of a Danish refugee. Gustavus could not comply with his
request, for the refugee was gone; but he seized again the opportunity
to mention Sunnanväder. "We earnestly entreat you," were his words, "to
write your Cabinet in Norway no longer to protect this man or any of his
party." It was certainly time that something should be done by Fredrik,
for at the very moment while Gustavus was writing this appeal, the
Norwegian Cabinet were issuing a passport for the traitors through their
realm; and to a request from Gustavus for their surrender, the Cabinet
offered the absurd excuse that the fugitives themselves protested they
were innocent. "However," it was added, "the fugitives will return if
they are given your assurance that they may be tried, as priests, before
a spiritual tribunal." In this reply the reason for the detention of the
fugitives leaked out. They were high in office in the Church, and the
archbishop of Trondhem, with whom they had taken refuge, feared the
Lutheran tendencies of the king. Fredrik did not wholly share this fear,
and on the 4th of March for the first time addressed the archbishop,
commanding him to revoke the passport of the renegades. This letter
producing no immediate effect, Gustavus waited about six weeks, and then
despatched to the Cabinet of Norway a safe-conduct for the renegades to
be tried before "a proper tribunal," and, if adjudged not guilty, to
return to Norway. The passport was directed to the Cabinet of southern
Norway, to whom the monarch used these words: "We marvel much at the
language of your northern brothers, and particularly that they are
deceived by the treachery of these rascals, which is well known hundreds
of miles from here, and might be known in Norway if the people were not
blind. I might tell you how they lay a long while in Dalarne, and in the
name of the people sent deceitful letters through the land, to stir up
hostility against us. But as soon as the people began to leave them, and
the Dalesmen announced that these letters were not issued with their
consent, they betook themselves to Norway.... If, now, the fugitives
will come before a proper tribunal, we cannot and we would not refuse to
let them do so. We therefore send a safe-conduct to guard them against
all wrong, according to their request. If they do not come, it will be
manifest whether they are innocent." The safe-conduct, it may be well to
say, ran only to the 10th of August following, and no notice apparently
was taken of it till near the expiration of that time.[124]

Gustavus now devoted himself to the task of fighting Norby. The pirate
had given the king of Denmark a written promise that he would do no
injury to Sweden, but it was very soon apparent that this promise was
not likely to be kept. By the end of January Norby's acts so far aroused
suspicion that Gustavus ordered spies to enter Bleking and discover
Norby's plans. No very definite information, however, was obtained,
probably for the reason that Norby did not know his plans himself. He
was waiting for intelligence from Christiern. Late in March Gustavus
fancied the pirate was preparing to depart for Norway. A few days
afterwards, Brask wrote the monarch: "A report is spread that Norby has
seized some seven or eight small craft and two large ships. I do not
comprehend his purpose. Merchants just arrived from Denmark add that the
Germans have handed Gotland over to the Danes, though on the other hand
it is declared that Lubeck has sent a strong force of men and ammunition
to the isle." The day following the writing of this letter, Gustavus
despatched a note to Finland, with a warning to beware of Norby, for the
news had reached him secretly that the pirate was about to make an
incursion into Finland. This was followed, after a week's interval, by
another letter announcing that Norby's fleet was lying at anchor, all
ready to set sail. The monarch's apprehensions proved to be unfounded.
Norby had important business nearer home. Christiern had not wintered in
Norway, as some persons had supposed he would, but had continued his
efforts to raise a force in Holland. His efforts had been attended with
some measure of success, and early in May the Swedish Cabinet had word
that Christiern had despatched a force of seven or eight thousand men
under Gustaf Trolle to make an attack on Denmark. While this fleet was
believed to be under sail, the tortuous Norby wrote to Denmark that he
was ready to sacrifice his life for Fredrik, and took the opportunity to
charge Gustavus with every sort of crime. The expedition of Christiern
appears to have miscarried, but it so startled Fredrik that he hastened
to rid himself of his doubtful ally, Norby. On pretence of wanting an
escort for his daughter, about to sail for Prussia, he asked the pirate
to come to Copenhagen. Norby, willing though he was to sacrifice his
life for Fredrik, thought he scented bait. He could not go, he said,
unless he did so in his own vessel attended by seven hundred of his men,
and as an additional guaranty demanded at the outset that his men be
paid. This was a little more than Fredrik could digest. His answer was a
letter to Gustavus, declaring that the pirate was in constant
communication with Christiern, and meantime spared no efforts to stir up
discord between Gustavus and himself. He was now preparing with a fleet
and body of seven hundred men to make an incursion into Sweden. Should
this occur, Gustavus might rely upon the aid of Fredrik. For this
generous assurance Gustavus in his answer thanked the king, and
promised, in return, that if the pirate should make war on Denmark,
Fredrik might count on him. Despite these mutual promises of fidelity,
neither party relied much on the other. Gustavus, in a letter to his
Cabinet in Finland, openly declared his discontent with Fredrik.
However, a common danger kept the allies together, and early in August
Gustavus sent a fleet to Kalmar Sound with orders to make an incursion
into Bleking on the north, at the same moment that Fredrik's fleet was
attacking Norby from the south. For some reason Fredrik did not hear of
the Swedish movement till the day was won. On August 24 the Danish and
Lubeck fleets were lying off the coast of Bleking, and, thinking that an
attack would soon be made by land, bore down upon the fleet of Norby. It
was an unequal contest, and the allied fleets were victorious. Seven of
Norby's vessels were captured, with four hundred of his men. The
conquerors then entered Bleking, and placed the district once more under
Danish rule. Norby himself escaped across the Baltic Sea to Russia.
There he expected to enlist the grand duke in a war against Gustavus. He
found, however, that he had mistaken the opinions of his host. The grand
duke threw him into prison, where he remained two years. At the end of
that time he was set at liberty by request of Charles V., under whose
banner he then enlisted. After serving about a year, he was killed
outside the walls of Florence, whither he had been sent with the
emperor's forces to storm the town. "Such was the end," so runs the
chronicle, "of one who in his palmy days had called himself a friend of
God and an enemy to every man."[125]

Meantime matters had progressed to some extent with Norway. On the 22d
of July, the passport issued for the refugees having nearly expired
without intimation that it would be used, Gustavus wrote to Fredrik:
"Sunnanväder and the other fugitives are still maintained with honor in
Norway, and are continually plotting new revolt. They receive especial
favor from the archbishop of Trondhem, who is said to have appointed one
of them his deacon. We have written frequently about them to the Cabinet
of Norway, but the more we write the more honor they receive." This
charge was proved by subsequent events to be a trifle hasty. Scarce had
the letter been despatched when Knut, who was probably the least guilty
of the two conspirators, arrived. He came by order of the archbishop of
Trondhem, and along with him came a letter from the archbishop,
declaring that, as the king had promised the fugitives they should be
tried by prelates of the Church, one of them was surrendered.
Sunnanväder would likewise have been handed over but that he was ill.
The archbishop closed by urging Gustavus to show mercy. It is to be
noted that the king had never promised that the tribunal should consist
of prelates. What he had said was that they should be tried before a
"proper tribunal." Doubtless it was customary that priests should not be
tried by laymen, but the practice was not invariably followed, and the
language of the passport was enough to throw the conspirators on their
guard. In a case of conspiracy against the crown, the Swedish Cabinet
would seem to be a proper tribunal, and as a matter of fact it was
before the Cabinet that this case was tried. The Cabinet consisted of
the archbishop of Upsala, three bishops, and eight laymen. Their decree
was, in the first place, that the passport did not protect Knut from
trial, and secondly, that he was guilty of conspiracy against the crown.
The decree was dated August 9. On that very day the king of Denmark
wrote Gustavus that he had ordered the archbishop of Trondhem to give no
shelter to the traitors, and added: "We are told that you are ready to
promise them a trial before yourself and the Swedish Cabinet, after
which they shall be permitted to go free." Gustavus had never promised
that they should go free, and it was preposterous for anybody to expect
it. The only object of the trial was to give the traitors an opportunity
to prove their innocence, and if they failed to do so, it was only fair
that they should suffer. As soon as the decree was signed, Gustavus
wrote the archbishop of Trondhem that Knut had been found guilty, but
that his life should be spared to satisfy the archbishop, at any rate
until Gustavus could learn what the archbishop proposed to do with the
other refugees. A similar letter was sent also by the Cabinet, declaring
that "many serious charges were made against Knut, which he was in no
way able to disprove." One of the Cabinet members, who had been asked by
the archbishop to intercede for Knut, wrote back: "His crime is so
enormous and so clearly proved by his own handwriting, that there is no
hope for him unless by the grace of God or through your intercession."
Even Brask wrote: "He has won the king's ill-favor in many ways, for
which he can offer no defence." Against such a pressure of public
opinion the archbishop of Trondhem dared no longer stand, and on the 22d
of September despatched Sunnanväder to the king, adding, with the
mendacity of a child, that he had detained him in Norway only in order
that he might not flee. Gustavus, with grim humor, thanked him for his
solicitude, and begged him now to return all other refugees. Sunnanväder
was kept in jail till the 18th of February, 1527. He was then brought
before a tribunal consisting of the entire Chapter of Upsala, two
bishops, and a number of laymen. The king produced some sixty letters
written by the traitor, establishing his conspiracy beyond the shadow of
a doubt. He was condemned at once, and executed the same day outside the
Upsala walls. Three days later, his accomplice, Knut, was similarly put
to death in Stockholm. Thus ended a conspiracy which had cost the
monarch infinite annoyance, and which during a period of three years had
been a constant menace to the realm.[126]

What most annoyed the king at this time was the importunate demands of
Lubeck. Ever since Gotland, in the summer of 1525, had fallen into the
hands of Lubeck, Gustavus had appreciated the necessity of keeping the
Hanseatic town in check. So early as August of that year the monarch
wrote Laurentius Andreæ: "You have advised us to cling to Lubeck and
place no confidence in the Danes, since they have always played us
false. We are not sure, however, that even Lubeck can be trusted, for we
have no certainty what she has in mind, especially as she is sheltering
in Gotland that outspoken traitor, Mehlen." The Swedish envoys, who had
arrived in Lubeck too late to meet the Danes, as had been agreed in
Malmö, seem to have reached no terms with Lubeck, and, when they
returned to Sweden in September, Gotland was in Lubeck's hands, and
Lubeck had announced her purpose of defending Mehlen. Her strongest hold
on Sweden lay in the fact that Sweden was still her debtor in a very
large amount. Early in 1526 this burden had become so great that the
Cabinet passed an act decreeing that two thirds of all the tithes
accrued for the year just ended should be surrendered by the Church to
meet the nation's debt. The announcement of this levy made Lubeck for
the moment more importunate than before. Believing that the money would
soon be pouring in, she kept her envoys constantly dogging the monarch's
steps, and in the month of April Gustavus wrote: "Our creditors will
scarce permit us to leave the castle-gate." They were, therefore, as
greatly disappointed as Gustavus when the money did not come. In June
Gustavus wrote that he had got together ten thousand marks,--a mere
nothing,--and that Lubeck had written to demand immediate payment of the
whole. "Her envoys have now closed our doors so tight that it is hardly
possible for us to go out." It was clear that some new scheme must be
devised, and on the 23d of June the king applied to certain members of
his Cabinet. "We have now," he wrote, "as frequently before, had letters
from Lubeck demanding in curt language the payment of her debt. You are
aware that we have often, especially in Cabinet meetings, asked you to
suggest some mode of meeting this requirement, and have never yet been
able to elicit any tangible response. Indeed, you have not had the
matter much at heart, but have rather left it to be arranged by us. You
have, it is true, suggested that the tithes be used, but we find that,
though we much relied upon them, they are but a tittle. Our entire taxes
for last year, including iron, skins, butter, salmon, amounted to
somewhat over ten thousand marks. This sum, which would naturally be
used to pay the expenses of our court, has been handed over to pay the
debt. The tithes received, which we were assured would be a considerable
sum, are shown by our books not to have exceeded two thousand marks in
all. The treasury balance has now run so low that we have but a trifle
left, and our soldiers, who are now much needed to keep off Christiern
and Norby, must be paid. We therefore beg you take this matter seriously
to heart, and devise some means by which the debt may soon be paid....
It is utterly impossible from the taxes alone to keep an army and pay
this heavy debt, for the taxes are no greater than they were some years
ago, though the expenses are very much increased; and, moreover, we have
no mines to turn to, as our fathers had." This urgent appeal inspired
the Cabinet to act, and at a meeting held in August they provided that a
new tax be laid on every subject in the realm. In the table that
accompanied this Act, the amounts to be contributed by the different
provinces were accurately fixed, as well as the amounts to be collected
in the towns. The bishops, too, were called upon to furnish each his
quota, based upon an estimate of his means: the archbishop of Upsala
paying four thousand marks, the bishop of Åbo three thousand marks,
Linköping two thousand five hundred marks, Skara and Strengnäs each two
thousand marks, Vesterås one thousand marks, and Vexiö five hundred
marks. The amount imposed on Åbo seems unreasonably large, which is
probably to be accounted for by the fact that Åbo was not present at the
meeting. Brask, in writing to Åbo, told the bishop that his quota was
three thousand marks, but did not name to him the individual amounts to
be contributed by the other bishops. Gustavus, in a letter to the
members of his Cabinet in Finland, was even more unfair. He told them
that Åbo was to pay three thousand marks, and added that Linköping and
Skara were to pay the same. Brask's letter is particularly important in
that it puts the balance of the debt to Lubeck at forty-five thousand
Lubeck marks, equivalent to ninety thousand Swedish marks, of which
amount the archbishop and bishops were expected to raise fifteen
thousand marks. Brask, with his usual shrewdness, urged the king to pay
the debt that autumn, and thus get rid of Lubeck before the winter came.
Gustavus doubtless shared with him this view, but there were several
grave difficulties in the way. Early in October the monarch held a
conference with the Lubeck envoys, and found the balance, as they
figured it, to be larger than he had supposed. Moreover, the peasants in
the north of Sweden declared they could not spare the funds, and urged
Gustavus to postpone the levy till a more convenient time. So that at
the close of 1526 the Lubeck envoys were still clamoring for their
pay.[127]

The cramped position in which Gustavus was held by Lubeck made it of
great importance that he should be on amicable terms with other powers.
So early as 1523, he had sent ambassadors to Russia to ratify the treaty
made by Sture. They had returned, however, with announcement that the
grand duke's envoys would come to Stockholm and arrange the terms. This
promise had never been fulfilled. As soon, therefore, as opportunity was
found, the monarch prepared to send ambassadors again. The person to
whom the matter was intrusted was the monarch's brother-in-law, Johan
von Hoya. In November, 1525, this officer, who had just returned from an
expedition to Lubeck, set sail for Finland, where he already had been
granted fiefs, with orders to determine whether or not it was desirable
that the embassy should go. Considerable delay ensued because Gustavus
was in want of funds. He thought that since the expedition would be
mainly for the benefit of Finland, the cost of sending it should be
borne by her. It was, therefore, not till May of 1526, when Russian
depredations became unbearable in Finland, that an arrangement could be
made. Envoys then were sent to Moscow, and presented to the grand duke a
letter from Gustavus under date of 20th of May. In this document the
monarch stated that his envoys had once before been sent to Moscow to
ratify the treaty made with Sture, but for some reason had never reached
the capital. Since then great injury had been done in Finland by Russian
subjects. Gustavus desired, therefore, to renew the treaty, and begged
the grand duke to recompense his subjects, and also to make known to him
in what towns in Russia his subjects would be allowed to trade. This
letter appears to have been some months upon the road, for the grand
duke's answer was not given till the 2d of September. In this answer he
declared that the previous embassy of Gustavus had held a conference
with Russian envoys, and by them the treaty made with Sture had been
ratified. Swedish merchants were allowed to trade in all the towns of
Russia, and all wrongs done to Swedish subjects should be punished and
the persons injured recompensed. On the other hand, he should expect
Gustavus to punish his own subjects for wrongs which they had done in
Russia, and all buildings by them erected on Russian soil must be torn
down. While the Swedish envoys were returning with this letter, Norby
reached the grand duke and complained that Swedes had injured Russian
subjects in Lapland. The grand duke therefore ordered that Gustavus be
notified of the complaint, and asked to punish the offenders if the
charge were true. When the embassy returned to Sweden, and the monarch
found they had not yet obtained the grand duke's seal, he resolved to go
to Finland in the spring of 1527 and meet the Russian emissaries there.
This plan, however, was given up for lack of funds, and the Russian
emissaries were asked to meet the king in Stockholm. The offer was
accepted, the emissaries came, and after an elaborate exchange of costly
presents, both parties signed a ratification of the treaty made for
seventy years with Sture. The ratification was dated on the 26th of
May.[128]

The main reason why Gustavus dreaded a rupture between himself and
Lubeck was that it would cause great injury to his commerce. Immediately
after his election in 1523, the monarch in a moment of enthusiasm had
conferred on Lubeck, Dantzic, and their allies a perpetual monopoly of
Swedish trade. In an earlier century, when these so-called Vend Cities
controlled the Baltic trade, Lubeck would have claimed the monopoly even
without a grant. But another branch of the Hanse Towns had ere this
grown up in Holland, with a power so formidable that the Vend Cities
dared not assert their claim. So long, however, as the privileges
granted Lubeck were unrepealed, the Dutch Towns were reluctant to incur
her enmity by sending ships to Sweden. The result was that practically
all imports came from Lubeck, and when relations between that city and
Gustavus became a trifle strained, great difficulty was experienced in
obtaining food. To remedy this evil, the envoys sent to Lubeck in 1525,
finding themselves too late for the congress with the Danes, entered
into negotiations with the Dutch envoys that happened to be there. They
found at once that Holland wished to trade in Sweden, and was ready to
do so if the terms could be arranged. As a provisional measure, the
ambassadors on both sides promised, August 17, that the two nations
should remain at peace during the next three years, and before the end
of that time another congress should be held to make a more systematic
treaty. It was agreed further that in the coming autumn a consignment of
salt and other wares should be forwarded by the Dutch to Sweden.
Apparently this consignment did not come till the spring of 1526, but
both parties were eager to arrange a treaty, and it was agreed that a
congress for this purpose should be held in Bremen, May 20, 1526. This
congress was afterwards postponed, though the Swedish envoy brought a
ratification of the former treaty signed by Gustavus under date of May
12, 1526, and promised further that salt should be admitted into Sweden
free. A similar ratification was signed by Charles V., Sept. 19, 1526.
This accomplished, Holland opened negotiations with Sweden to the end
that all articles of commerce be placed upon the free-list along with
salt; and she requested further that all the Swedish harbors be open to
her ships. So ambitious a proposal terrified Gustavus. He would have
been rejoiced to grant it, but he feared by doing so to irritate Lubeck.
It is somewhat amusing to trace the steps by which he convinced himself
that such a course was right. Brask, as usual, was the first to question
whether Lubeck would consent. On the 9th of December, 1526, he wrote:
"I advocate the treaty, but I doubt much whether Lubeck will not raise
objections, for she has wished to have the Baltic to herself." A few
days later Gustavus put out a feeler to his Cabinet in the south of
Sweden. "So far as we know," he wrote with caution, "our relations with
Lubeck and the Vend Cities do not forbid this treaty." By the spring of
1527 he had grown more confident of his position, and wrote as follows:
"The provisional arrangement made with Holland has proved greatly to our
advantage. We now desire to make a perpetual treaty with her before
Whitsunday next, and for this purpose recommend that Olaus Magni be sent
at once to Amsterdam." Two weeks after this he added: "The privileges
which the German cities wrung from us in Strengnäs are so grinding that
we can no longer adhere to them in all their points." On the 22d of
April the monarch had so far removed his doubts as to commission Magni
to negotiate the treaty, and he intrusted him with a written promise
over the royal signature and seal, conferring on Holland, Brabant,
Zealand, and East and West Friesland the right to enter all the Swedish
rivers and harbors, on payment of the customary duties. It is noticeable
that in this document Gustavus did not remit the duties, as had been
desired, nor even promise that salt should be admitted free; and in the
letter to his envoy the diplomatic monarch used these words: "Do not be
too liberal, especially in the matter of duties. If they really insist
upon free-trade, you must discreetly avoid promising it, and suggest
that probably the privilege will be granted them as a favor." Brask, who
feared lest these negotiations might cause trouble, hastened to throw a
favorable light upon his own position. "You will remember," he wrote his
fellow-counsellors, "that I opposed the grant of these great privileges
to Lubeck, believing them injurious to the welfare of our people."
Magni, in conformity with the king's injunctions, proceeded to the town
of Ghent, where he was given an audience of Margaret, regent of the
Netherlands. As soon as the letters of May 12, 1526, and April 18, 1527,
were translated for her, she raised a number of objections, chief of
which were that the latter letter did not provide that salt should be
admitted free, and did not seem to open to her vessels all the Swedish
ports. To these objections Magni answered that certain harbors were made
ports of entry out of convenience to Gustavus, and as to duties, Magni
seems to have assured her that they would probably be taken off. After
more palaver, Margaret signed a document accepting the offer assumed to
have been made by Sweden; namely, that vessels of the emperor might
enter all the rivers and harbors of Sweden, paying only the same duties
that were paid by Swedish subjects, salt, however, to be admitted free.
She expressed a hope, moreover, that other articles might be exempt from
duty too. To this document she attached her seal, July 29, 1527.[129]

It is particularly to be noted that Lubeck did not raise her voice
against the treaty. A probable solution is that she wished beyond all
else to secure her money, and felt that Sweden would be more able to
meet the debt in case she were allowed to trade with Holland. All
through the winter of 1527 Gustavus struggled to raise funds. Some
portions of the country seem to have responded freely, but in Dalarne
and other northern provinces it appeared likely that the levy would end
in actual revolt. In January Gustavus warned the people that all
responsibility in the matter lay with them. If Lubeck made war upon the
kingdom, it would be because of their unwillingness to pay the debt. As
a matter of fact, the Dalesmen had much reason for delay. The monarch,
by his ill-judged privileges to Lubeck, had kept the country in a state
of famine, from which it now was just beginning to emerge. Many of the
people were utterly devoid of means, and the new levy seemed like
wringing water from a stone. This in the course of time Gustavus
learned, and in March he prudently suggested to his officers that the
tax be modified in special cases. The Dalesmen, however, were not so
easily to be appeased. Other causes of complaint were rife among them,
and they formed a compact to the end that no tax should be paid until
these grievances had been redressed. On the 2d of April Gustavus
asserted that the Dalesmen had not contributed a cent. Brask, for
reasons that will be manifest later on, was in sympathy with the people,
and declared: "I fear danger, for the Dalesmen are reported to be
incensed, and rightfully incensed, against the king. If it lay with me,
I should remit a portion of the tax rather than give occasion for this
revolt." Gustavus, however, was still harassed by Lubeck, and dared not
take this step. As there were several matters to be straightened out in
Dalarne, he summoned a general diet of the realm. The Dalesmen showing
opposition, Gustavus urged the people in the south of Sweden to persuade
the people of Dalarne to come. "We should be glad," he urged, "if you
would write to the people of Dalarne, and ask them to lay their
complaints before the diet to be held in Vesterås. We shall there
explain our conduct, and if our people are not satisfied, shall gladly
resign the throne. The German envoys will be present, and the Dalesmen
can then adopt some means to quiet their incessant demands." All efforts
to persuade the Dalesmen failed. They despatched a long list of their
grievances to Stockholm, but they did not attend the diet. When the
other delegates came together, Gustavus laid these grievances before
them. The Dalesmen had complained, he said, that they were burdened with
heavy taxes. If they had been more obedient, a smaller army would have
been sufficient, and the taxes would not have been so heavy. He told
them, further, that the whole debt occasioned by the war amounted to
about one hundred thousand marks, of which sum a large portion was still
unpaid.[130] The outcome of the matter was that the delegates voted to
quell the insurrection in Dalarne, and if enough money could not now be
raised to pay the debt, to levy further taxes. These stringent measures
were not, however, put into effect at once. Gustavus was busy, in the
autumn of 1527, with other things; and furthermore a dispute had arisen
between himself and Lubeck as to the exact total of the debt. The year
closed, therefore, with the debt still hanging over Sweden's head. The
Lubeck envoys accepted all the goods and money they could get, the whole
amount thus paid in 1527 being in the neighborhood of 22,800 Swedish
marks.[131]

All through this period Gustavus was in constant negotiation with
Fredrik. Christiern's efforts to recover the crown had been brought to a
halt by the sudden collapse of Norby, and Fredrik had assumed in
consequence a more aggressive attitude toward Sweden. By the treaty
signed at Malmö each monarch promised to protect the interests which
citizens of the other held within his realm. But the ink was scarcely
dry when complaints were heard that Fredrik had failed to substantiate
this clause. The most flagrant breach occurred in the case of property
owned in Denmark by Margaret, sister of the king of Sweden. So great
difficulty was experienced by Margaret in protecting this estate, that
early in 1526 the monarch counselled her to sell it. He wrote also to
certain Danish officers, and begged them to defend her rights. These
exhortations proving futile, Margaret sent her agent to the spot to see
what he could do. This only irritated the natives, and they fell upon
the agent with their fists. It was reported, too, that the deed was
ordered by an officer of Fredrik. At all events, the agent was given no
redress, and Gustavus, after urging Margaret's husband to appeal to
Fredrik, wrote finally to the Danish king himself. He laid the whole
affair before him, and declaring that he had ever upheld the rights of
Danes in Sweden, urged Fredrik to investigate the matter and punish
those by whom the violence had been committed. With this request the
Danish monarch promised to comply; and as we find no further mention of
the case, it is probable the quarrel was adjusted and the rights of
Margaret maintained.[132]

Another dispute originating in the Malmö treaty concerned the province
of Viken, which lay along the Swedish frontier in the southeast part of
Norway. This province had joined Gustavus in the war with Christiern,
and after the war was over had continued under Swedish rule. In course
of time, however, the inhabitants grew eager to return once more to
Norway. With a view to satisfy their longing, Gustavus allowed them,
early in 1526, to be governed by Norwegian law and custom. Possibly this
would have appeased the natives, but Fredrik was desirous for more. He
thought that Viken, being originally a province of Norway, should be
ruled by him. He therefore wrote Gustavus, and begged a conference to
settle their respective claims. Gustavus, defrauded of his rights in
Gotland, answered that he would gladly hold a conference to settle all
matters of dispute between them. Fredrik waited nearly six months before
making his reply. He then informed Gustavus that the Danish envoys had
appeared in Lubeck at the day fixed for the conference, but that nothing
was accomplished simply because the Swedish envoys did not come. He
therefore urged Gustavus to name a time and place at which the question
of Viken should be settled. The Swedish monarch had learned by sad
experience that a conference with Denmark meant no benefit to him. He
answered that his envoys had been sent to Lubeck, as agreed, but had
failed through stress of weather to reach the place of meeting on the
day arranged. Gustavus appears not to have cared particularly to retain
the province, though he was not willing to yield it without obtaining
something in return. He saw no reason why Viken should be given up to
Fredrik unless Gotland should be given up to him. In answer, therefore,
to repeated solicitations, he declared his readiness to meet the Danish
king half-way; he would treat with him concerning Viken, but at the same
time some definite conclusion must be reached about the isle of Gotland.
When negotiations had reached this point, they were interrupted for the
moment by a new dispute.[133]

Ever since the fall of Kalmar, Christina's boy had been in Stockholm,
under the surveillance of the king. Gustavus for some reason had never
liked the boy, and in April, 1527, he sent him to his mother with a
reprimand, at the same time urging that he be placed for a period under
the quiet influence of some rural town. This incident was the signal for
another conspiracy against the crown. This time the aspirant was a gay
young hostler, who conceived the desperate project of posing as the
regent's son. Relying on his own audacity and on the perennial state of
insurrection in the north of Sweden, he went to Dalarne with the story
that he had escaped the clutches of Gustavus, whose orders were that he
be put to death. He then proceeded from one village to another,
extolling the virtues of the young Sten Sture, and urging the people,
since they had sworn allegiance to his father, to do the same to him.
The support which he received was small. One or two villages were at
first deceived, but the majority of them told him flatly that he lied.
He therefore followed the course of earlier impostors, and betook
himself to Norway. Approaching first the archbishop of Trondhem, he told
his story and awoke the archbishop's interest by announcing that
Gustavus had fallen from the faith. It being bruited that certain of the
church dignitaries were on terms of friendship with this impostor, the
archbishop received him kindly, and though he refused to give him
shelter, promised he would take no steps to harm him. Gustavus then
addressed the archbishop and the Cabinet of Norway, urging that the
traitor be returned. He pointed out, moreover, that, Sten Sture having
been married only fourteen years before, it was impossible that this
traitor was his son. This argument producing no effect, Gustavus
prevailed upon Fredrik's emissaries, then in Stockholm, to join him in
his appeal. An answer then came back from the archbishop of Trondhem
that he had refused to shelter the impostor, though he had promised that
he would not harm him. Since then a letter had arrived from Dalarne
saying that the Swedish king was dead. The impostor had therefore
collected a band of refugees in Norway, and was now once more in Sweden.
With this mendacious explanation Gustavus was forced to be content. The
fraud had been discovered, and by the close of 1527 the insurrection in
Dalarne was practically at an end.[134]


FOOTNOTES:

[122] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1510-1511, 1517-1588 and
1568-1575; _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 66-67; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._,
vol. xxiii. pp. 60-65; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp.
169-170, 187-188, 196-197, 204-206, 208-213, 218-219, 240-242, 252-257
and 278-285; and _Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog og Hist._, vol. i.
pp. 484-485.

[123] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1576-1584, 1587-1591,
1593-1596 and 1602-1605; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol.
iii. pp. 2-3, 13-15, 30-32, 38-39, 61-62, 78-80, 353-355, 364-365,
369-370 and 375-376.

[124] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1585-1587 and 1589-1593;
_Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 82-83 and 89; _Handl. rör. Sver. inre
förhåll._, vol. i. pp. 23-25; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol.
iii. pp. 50-51, 55, 57-58, 59-60, 71, 367-369, 372, 373-374 and 381-384;
and _Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog og Hist._, vol. i. pp. 485-486 and
488-495.

[125] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 84-85; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol.
i. pp. 1-144 and vol. iv. pp. 1584, 1606-1612, 1614-1626, 1633-1635,
1639-1643 and 1646-1651; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xv. pp. 5-7,
19-24, 27-29 and 32-47; _Handl. till upplysn. af Finl. häfd._, vol. ii.
p. 158; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. iii. pp. 46, 97-98,
110-111, 117, 167-169, 170-172, 188-190, 195-196, 199-200, 203-207,
218-220, 250-251, 256-260, 380-381, 386-393, 394-404, 406-407, 411-414
and 415-416; and _Sver. trakt._, vol. iv. pp. 104-105.

[126] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 112-114; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_,
vol. iii. pp. 1075-1083, and vol. iv. pp. 1627-1628; _Dipl. Dal._, vol.
ii. p. 92, and vol. iii. pp. 30-32; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol.
xvi. pp. 18-20; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. iii. pp.
207-208, 220-224, 326-327, 405-406, 408-410 and 419, and vol. iv. pp.
61-62; _Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog og Hist._, vol. i. pp. 496-513;
and _Skrift. och handl._, vol. ii. pp. 267-268 and 270-271.

[127] _Alla riksdag. och möt. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 42-56; _Christ.
II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1492 and 1613; _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp.
79-80 and _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 89-90, vol. xv. pp.
29-32, and vol. xvi. pp. 15-16; _Handl. rör. Sver. inre förhåll._, vol.
i. pp. 15-18 and 30-31; _Handl. till upplysn. af Finl. häfd._, vol. ii.
pp. 185-187; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 190-191,
222-223 and 229-231, and vol. iii. pp. 15-16, 18-21, 32-34, 109-110,
122, 173-176, 179-181, 236-243, 248-249, 294-295, 308-309, 324-326 and
416-417; and _Svenska riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 39-47.

[128] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1548-1553; _Handl. rör. Skand.
hist._, vol. xvi. pp. 107-113; _Handl. til uplysn. af Svenska hist._,
vol. i. pp. 121-123; _Handl. till upplysn. af Finl. häfd._, vol. ii. pp.
151-153, 156-157, 161-183, 193-195, 201-205 and 207-209, and vol. viii.
pp. 14-18; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 51-52,
225-226 and 242-244, vol. iii. pp. 132-135, 141-155, 287-288 and
429-430, and vol. iv. pp. 127-129, 147-148, 152-153, 196-198 and
411-413; and _Sver. trakt._, vol. iv. pp. 74-89.

[129] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1491-1492; _Dipl. Dal._, vol.
ii. pp. 90-91 and 115-116; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. i. pp. 1-35
and vol. xvi. pp. 45-52 and 124-127; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 201-204, 206-207, 227-228 and 262-265, vol.
iii. pp. 51-52, 111-112, 119-121, 308-309, 335-336 and 421-424, and vol.
iv. pp. 101-103, 113-116, 143-145, 413-414, 419-420 and 428-432;
Linköping, _Bibliotheks handl._, vol. i. pp. 193-199; and _Sver.
trakt._, vol. iv. pp. 106-124.

[130] This was clearly a misstatement. It has been already shown (p.
121) that in 1523 Gustavus put the debt at over 300,000 marks.

[131] _Alla riksdag. och möt. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 60-61; _Dipl. Dal._,
vol. ii. pp. 97, 99-101, 105-109 and 115-116; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 6-7, 22-23, 64-65, 66-67, 83-85, 95-96,
102-103, 113-117, 131-132, 163-165, 170, 206-207, 257-259, 333-334,
419-420 and 445-446; and the documents cited in Handelmann's _Die
letzten Zeiten der hanseatischen Uebermacht im Norden_, p. 170. The
question of the Lubeck debt is ably treated by Forssell in his _Sver.
inre hist._, vol. i. pp. 134-138.

[132] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1666-1668; and _Kon. Gust. den
Förstes registrat._, vol. iii. pp. 41, 57-58, 65, 76-78 and 291-292, and
vol. iv. pp. 48-49, 68-70 and 426-427.

[133] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. 1622-1626, 1662-1664, 1669-1670
and 1671-1676; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. iii. pp. 47-48
and 203-207, and vol. iv. pp. 45-47, 66-67, 102-103, 113-117, 285-286,
377-382, 398-399, and 439-440; and _Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog og
Hist._, vol. i. pp. 328-336.

[134] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 104-112; _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp.
115-116; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xvi. pp. 124-127; _Kon. Gust.
den Förstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 120, 348-349, 350-354, 415,
419-420, 438-439, 441-442 and 443-445; and _Saml. til det Norske Folks
Sprog og Hist._, vol. i. pp. 518-528.




CHAPTER VIII.

INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 1525-1527.

 Nature of the Period.--Translation of the Bible.--Quarrel between the
   King and Brask.--Opposition to the Monasteries.--High-handed
   Measures of the King.--Second Disputation between Petri and
   Galle.--Opposition to Luther's Teaching.--Banishment of
   Magni.--Further Opposition to the Monasteries.--Revolt of the
   Dalesmen.--Diet of Vesterås.--"Vesterås Recess."--"Vesterås
   Ordinantia."--Fall of Brask; his Flight; his Character.


In most instances the stirring periods of a nation's history are not the
periods in which the nation grows. Warfare, even though it end in
victory, must be accompanied by loss, and the very achievements that
arouse our ardor bring with them evils that long years of prosperity
cannot efface. Take, as a single example, the dazzling victories of
Charles XII. He was, beyond all doubt, the most successful general that
Sweden ever had. One after another the provinces around the Baltic
yielded to his sway, and at one time the Swedish frontiers had been
extended into regions of which no man before his age had dreamt. Yet
with what result? Sweden was impoverished, commerce was at a standstill,
education had been neglected, and the dominions for which his people had
poured out their blood during many years were lost almost in a single
day. His career shows, if it shows anything, that prosperity is
incompatible with war. No man can serve two masters. So long as nations
are in active and continued warfare, they cannot enjoy the blessings or
even the comforts that belong to them in time of peace.

A like argument may be drawn from the reign of Gustavus Vasa. The early
years of the Swedish Revolution were marked by bloodshed. The country
was in a state of famine, superstition was universal, literature was
almost without a champion, and art was practically dead. Not till the
warfare ceased did people turn their thoughts to matters of education,
of religion, or of other things that lend a charm to life; and even then
the country was hampered during a considerable period by poverty,--an
outcome of the war. It is in this last period of the Revolution--a
period of peace--that the chief work of Gustavus Vasa was accomplished.
Then occurred the great changes in Church government and doctrine that
made Lutherans out of Roman Catholics, and in place of accountability to
the pope made every soul accountable to God. In the first few years of
his supremacy the monarch's opposition to popery was based almost
entirely on politics, but by the middle of 1525 he began openly to
oppose the Romish Church on grounds of faith.

The heaviest blow to popery was the order issued by the king in 1525
that the Scriptures be translated into Swedish. This all-important
measure resulted doubtless from the general dissension that had arisen
about the Word of God. If, as Luther urged, the Scriptures were our sole
criterion of faith, it was obviously proper that they should be
published in a form which every one could understand. Luther had
already three years before translated the Bible into German, but in
Swedish the only effort at a translation was in a manuscript of several
centuries before, which even Brask knew only by report. Gustavus,
therefore, toward the middle of 1525, instructed Archbishop Magni to
have a new translation made. His purpose, he affirmed, was not merely to
instruct the people but to instruct the priests, for many of them were
themselves incompetent to read the Latin version. As shepherds their
duty was to feed Christ's flock with the Word of God; and if they failed
to do so, they were unworthy of their name. This reasoning the
archbishop was unable to refute. He was himself disgusted with the
ignorance of his clergy, and promised Gustavus that the translation
should be made. Not wishing, however, to undertake too much, he devoted
his attention wholly to the New Testament, dividing it into several
parts and assigning the translation of different parts to different men.
Matthew and the Epistle to the Romans he took himself. Mark and the
Epistles to the Corinthians were assigned to Brask, while Luke and the
Epistle to the Galatians were given to the Chapter of Skara, and John
and the Epistle to the Ephesians to the Chapter of Strengnäs. The
announcement of this choice was made to Brask on the 11th of June, and
he was asked to forward his translation to Upsala by September 10, when
a congress of the translators should be held to arrange the various
portions into one harmonious whole. This project was not received with
favor by the crafty bishop. He felt it to be the knell of popery, and in
writing to Peder Galle he inveighed against it. "We marvel much," he
wrote, "that the archbishop should enter this labyrinth without
consulting the prelates and chapters of the Church. Every one knows that
translations into the vernacular have already given rise to frequent
heresy.... It is said the Bible is capable of four different
interpretations. Therefore it would imperil many souls were a mere
literal translation made. Moreover, laymen cannot read the Bible even if
it be translated, and the clergy can understand it quite as well in
Latin as in Swedish. We fear that if this translation be published while
the Lutheran heresy is raging, the heresy will become more pestilent,
and, new error springing up, the Church will be accused of fostering
it." This letter was dated on the 9th of August. Clearly Brask's share
of the translation would not be ready by September 10. The fact was,
Brask had no notion of furthering the scheme. At every opportunity he
raised his voice against it, and the weight of his influence was such
that finally the whole project was given up. The Lutherans, however,
were not disheartened. Finding that nothing could be effected through
the Church, they proceeded to make a translation of their own. This was
published, though without the translators' names, in 1526. It did not,
of course, receive the sanction of the archbishop, but it paved the way
for new reforms by checking the Roman Catholics in their scholastic
doctrine and by educating the common people in the Word of God.[135]

Brask was now openly beneath the monarch's frown. The rupture between
them was becoming every day more wide, and both parties gradually grew
conscious it could not be healed. Brask had never forgiven the king for
sanctioning the marriage of Olaus Petri. Some six months after the event
he alluded to it in a letter to Peder Galle. "I am much troubled," he
declared, "that marriage is permitted to the clergy, and that no one
cries out against it. I have urged the king that Petri be excommunicated
for his act, that evil example may not spread, but have had only a
half-hearted answer from his Majesty." While this wrong still rankled in
the prelate's breast, his ire was further kindled by the monarch's
evident intention to rob the Church of several of her chief estates. As
an entering wedge Gustavus had pastured his soldiers' horses on the rich
but fallow lands belonging to the monasteries, and in some cases the
officers had been billeted in the monasteries themselves. Against this
practice Brask protested, and received this soothing answer: "When you
say that this mode of billeting cripples the service of God, you are
right, provided his service consists in feeding a body of hypocrites
sunk, many of them, in licentiousness, rather than in providing
protection for the common people. As to your assertion that the
monasteries were not founded by the crown, and hence are not subject to
our dominion, we will look into the matter, though our humble opinion is
that the monasteries were originally bound to pay taxes to the crown."
The argument which the monarch strove to make was this: Those
monasteries which were founded by individuals comprised estates held by
the donors in consideration of military service to be rendered to the
crown; and so soon as the military service ended, the tenure by which
the lands were held no longer existed, and the crown once more became
entitled to the lands. It is difficult to feel that the monarch's view
was right. In countries where there is no written law, all controversies
must be determined by the law of custom, and it is certain that for
centuries Swedish subjects had been allowed to dedicate for religious
purposes the property which they held by military tenure of the crown.
With Gustavus it appears that custom was of little moment. The
monasteries were wealthy, and could be encroached upon without directly
injuring the people. He resolved, therefore, as soon as possible to
confiscate their property, using a plausible argument if one was ready;
otherwise, to close their doors by force.[136]

In May, 1525, the king found pretext for interfering with the Dominican
monks of Vesterås. That order numbered among its brothers a very large
proportion of Norwegians; and one of them had assumed the generalship of
the order in Sweden, contrary to the mandates of the king. This seemed
an opportunity to play the patriot and at the same time secure a footing
in the monastery. So Gustavus wrote to the Swedish vicar-general and
declared: "We understand that the conspiracy in Dalarne and other places
is largely due to this man and several of the Norwegian brothers. We
have therefore appointed our subject Nils Andreæ to be prior of
Vesterås, trusting that he will prove a friend to Sweden, by expelling
the foreigners and preventing all such conspiracies in future. We beg
you also ... to punish all offenders among your brotherhood, that we be
not forced to punish them ourselves."[137]

Later in the same year Gustavus asserted his claim with even more
distinctness to the monastery of Gripsholm. That monastery, it will be
remembered, was on the estate at one time belonging to the monarch's
father. It therefore was a special object of his greed. At a meeting of
the Cabinet he laid his case before them, and offered to abide by their
decree. There was, of course, no question what their decree would be.
The monastery was adjudged the property of the king, and all the inmates
were instructed to withdraw. This judgment naturally caused an outcry in
certain quarters. So Gustavus addressed the monks of Gripsholm with
unctious promises, and under the mask of friendship obtained from them a
written statement that they were satisfied of the justice of his claim.
This document, a copy of which was filed among the royal papers, bears
singular testimony to the meanness of the king. "Our title to Gripsholm
Monastery," the wretched victims wrote, "has been disputed, and, the
matter being laid before the Cabinet, they have determined that
Gustavus, as heir of the founder, is entitled to the premises. He has
offered us another monastery in place of this, but we feared lest that
too might some day prove to be the property of other heirs, and have
requested permission to disband and retire each of us according to his
own caprice. It has now been agreed that Gustavus shall provide us with
the money and clothing which we need, and in return that he shall be
entitled to the monastery together with all the property that we have
acquired." At the close of this affecting document the writers expressed
their gratitude to the monarch for his generosity. Armed with this
evidence of his good intentions, Gustavus addressed the Dalesmen with a
view to calm their wrath. "You are aware," he wrote with confidence,
"that the elder Sten Sture, who was a brother of our father's mother,
founded Gripsholm Monastery with property that would have descended by
law to our father, and that Sten Sture induced our father to append his
signature to the deed. The signature was obtained, however, only on
condition that if the monastery should be unable to keep up its
standing, Gripsholm and all its possessions should revert to the heirs.
Hence we have good right to protest and to claim the inheritance of
which our father was deprived by threats and fraud. Indeed, the good
brothers have considered the matter well, and have agreed to withhold no
longer property to which they have no right. We have therefore offered
them another monastery.... But they have not ventured to accept it,
fearing to offend the brothers already occupying it. So they have asked
permission to go back to their friends and to the posts which they held
before entering the monastery. This, at the desire of our Cabinet, we
have granted, since we are ever ready to listen to their counsel, and we
have furnished the good brothers with clothing and money to aid them. We
trust they will be grateful; and to prove to you that such is the case,
we enclose herewith an extract from the letter which they have written."
As the deed conveying Gripsholm to the brotherhood is lost, we cannot
discuss with thoroughness the merits of the case. It is enough that the
monarch's action accorded with the policy which he adopted later toward
all the monasteries in the land. The seizure of Gripsholm was justified,
at any rate, by a show of right. Of later cases it is difficult to say
even this. The Gripsholm Monastery had not been closed six months when
Gustavus claimed another monastery, this time in the diocese of Brask.
The abbot it appears had died, and Brask was busy making a list of the
monastery's property, that nothing should be lost. Gustavus wrote to
Brask with orders to leave the place alone. "Your fathers," he added,
"did not found the monastery; and even though your predecessors in the
bishopric may have founded it, they did so with money belonging to the
people.... We intend, therefore, to take charge of it ourselves." To
these imperative orders the wearied bishop answered: "I feel a special
obligation to this monastery, since it was founded by the yearly incomes
of the bishopric." This assertion, however, proved of no avail. Within a
year the monastery was yielded to the crown, and one of the monarch's
officers took the entire property in fee.[138]

All things apparently conspired to bring the aged bishop to the dust.
The seizure of his monastery occurred at a moment when he was in deep
distress about the newly levied tax. Early in 1525 Gustavus had written
him to surrender all the tithes accruing in his diocese for the year
last past; and following close upon this order, the royal stewards had
deprived him of a right of fishery which he possessed. The hapless
bishop murmured, but did not rebel. In writing to a fellow bishop, he
declared: "The king has recently demanded of us all our tithes, and the
chief prelates of Upland have yielded their consent. This policy appears
to me unwise. I dread an outburst from the people, and scarce have
courage to make the announcement to them." A few days later he said: "I
have written Gustavus about the tithes, but do not dare to discuss the
matter seriously with the people.... Only a year ago the officers seized
our tithes without consulting us. You can imagine, therefore, what the
people will say to this new levy. However, if his Majesty will not
countermand the order, we shall do our duty by writing and speaking to
the people. The feeding of the army, which he wishes by consent of his
advisers to impose upon the monasteries, we asserted at Vadstena was a
foreign practice that ought never to be introduced." Despite these
protests, Brask appears to have obeyed the monarch's orders. He wrote to
the clergy of his diocese urging them to send their quota, and to send
it quickly. "Bis dat qui cito dat," translated for the ignorant among
his clergy, "He gives nothing who delays." The result was precisely what
the bishop feared. The people fought against the imposition, and Brask,
as a reward for his efforts, was accused by Gustavus of being a party to
the revolt. The charge was utterly groundless and unfair. From beginning
to end the bishop's object had been to avoid friction, and finally he
had sacrificed his own interests in order to prevent friction with the
king. When in January, 1526, it was once more voted that the tithes be
given to the crown, he wrote to all his clergy urging them immediately
to obey. Gustavus, however, would not be appeased; and a parishioner
claiming that the bishop had withheld some jewels that belonged to her,
Gustavus, without examining the matter, wrote to Brask: "The law, as we
interpret it, gives you no power to take high-handed measures of this
sort." A few days later Brask asserted: "The royal officers are
beginning to enter upon the possessions of the Church, much to the
displeasure of the people." What he alluded to particularly was the acts
of Arvid Vestgöte, who had seized Church tithes and committed every sort
of violence to the priests in Öland. Against this Brask protested, and
before the year was over Vestgöte was removed. By this time the spirit
of the aged bishop was well-nigh broken. In answer to a summons from
Gustavus in 1526, he wrote the king: "Though shattered by illness and
the infirmities of age, I will obey your orders with all the haste I
can, provided the weather or my death does not prevent me."[139]

Early in 1526, at one of the public fairs, an enthusiast came forward
and announced in public that a leading Lutheran in Stockholm was
preaching heresy, and that the king himself had violated old Church
customs in his food and drink. This silly assertion burst like a bomb
upon the town, and for a short period there was danger that the
fanaticism of the year before would be renewed. However, the excitement
soon died away; and Gustavus, when he heard of it, declared the story to
be a fabrication. "Would to God," he wrote, "that people would examine
into their own lives and not borrow trouble about the lives of others!
Let them first pluck the beam out of their own eye, and then they can
see clearly to pluck the mote out of their brother's eye." Lutheranism
had by this time attained so general acceptance that the monarch deemed
it unnecessary to offer arguments in its support. In August, 1526,
Laurentius Andreæ forwarded to the archbishop of Trondhem the New
Testament in Swedish, and added that some two or three hundred copies of
the edition were still unsold, and could be had if he desired them. This
wide-spread distribution of the Scriptures produced its natural effect.
The flame of theological discord that had been slumbering for a year
broke out afresh. Brask, as an offset to the new translation,
interpreted into Swedish some tracts composed in Germany against the
Lutherans; and the monarch, hearing of this move, sent off a letter
commanding the aged bishop to desist. "Report has reached us, venerable
father," he began, "that you have translated into Swedish certain
proclamations of the emperor against the doctrines now current, ... and
that you have circulated them among the common people. We are well aware
that these proclamations are used to cast aspersions on us, since we are
not so zealous as he is in opposition to these doctrines. It is,
therefore, our desire and our command that you be patient, and send
hither certain scholars from your cathedral to prove that anything is
taught here other than the holy gospel. They shall be given a fair
hearing, and may postulate their views without prejudice in any way. And
if they can prove that any one preaches unchristian doctrine, he shall
be punished. Furthermore, we object to having a printing-press
established in Söderköping, lest it may do injury to the one established
here." Gustavus was determined that the enemies of Luther should defend
their faith. The disputation between Galle and Olaus Petri two years
before had been unsystematic, and had produced no permanent effect. So
the king resolved to force the parties to debate again. This time he put
down in writing certain questions, and sent them to the leading prelates
of the land, with orders to forward him their answers. The questions
were similar to those already raised; among them being these: Whether we
may reject all teaching of the Fathers and all Church customs that are
unsupported by the Word of God; whether the dominion of the pope and his
satellites is for or against Christ; whether any authority can be found
in the Bible for monastic life; whether any revelation is to be relied
on other than that recorded in the Bible; whether the saints are to be
considered patrons, or in any way are mediators between ourselves and
God. Gustavus intended that when the answers were all received, a public
hearing should be had, and every prelate given an opportunity to refute
the doctrines of his opponents. Some of the Roman Catholics, however,
refused to enter the arena. Brask, in writing to the monarch, declared
his clergy to be satisfied with their present doctrines, and unwilling
to discuss them publicly. The bishop also wrote to Galle, hoping to
dissuade him from the contest. But Galle, it appears, was eager for the
fray. He put his answers down in writing, and sent them to the king.
Other prelates, it is reported, did the same. The contest, however,
presumably from lack of combatants, did not succeed. Petri therefore
took the written answers filed by Galle, and printed them in book form,
along with comments by himself. This book does little credit either to
Petri or to the general intelligence of his time. Should any one ask
proof that we are more rational creatures than our fathers, he can do no
better than study in Petri's book the controversy that raged between the
intellectual giants of Sweden at the close of 1526. Of the positions
taken by the two contestants, Petri's was certainly less consistent than
that of his opponent. Galle declared explicitly: "Not everything done
by the Apostles or their successors is written in the Scriptures;"[140]
and on matters concerning which the Bible does not speak we must obey
the practices handed down by the Apostles through the Church. Petri,
while granting that many Fathers were inspired, declared we must not
follow their instructions, "lest we be led away by the devil;"[141] and
yet the Bible, compiled from various sources by the Fathers, he held
should be implicitly obeyed. In the light of recent scholarship, both
combatants were wrong. The Bible is no more intelligible without a
knowledge of its history than is the teaching of the Fathers without a
knowledge of the Bible.[142]

The contest has its chief value in the opportunity that it gives us to
study the methods of the king. From first to last it was a blow at
popery and the temporal supremacy of Rome. Each question was worded with
the very purpose of offering insult to the Church. Take for example the
second question: whether the dominion of the pope and his satellites is
for or against Christ. The monarch could not have thrown the question
into a more irritating form. Certainly Galle showed forbearance in
arguing the point at all. His answer was an appeal to history. From the
days of Gregory popes had enjoyed vast riches along with temporal power;
this showed that they were justified in possessing wealth.[143] Galle's
logic on the subject is not altogether clear. Petri's was somewhat
better. Christ had distinctly told the Apostles that his kingdom was not
of this world,[144] and Paul had declared that the Apostles were not to
be masters but servants.[145] Petri then broke out into a tirade against
his opponent's view. What right, he asked, had Galle to set up Gregory
against Christ and Paul? "What authority has he to expound the Word of
God according to the deeds of petty men? Rather, I conceive, are the
deeds of men to be judged according to the Word of God."[146] To an
assertion by Galle that the Church had held temporal power for the last
twelve centuries, Petri answered: "For that matter, the Word of God has
lasted still longer than twelve centuries.... However, the question is
not how old the thing is, but how right it is. The devil is old, and
none the better for it. That bishops are temporal lords is contrary to
the Word of God; and the longer they have been so, the worse for them.
Princes and emperors have granted the pope vast privileges, by which in
course of time he has become their master, till now all men bow down and
kiss his feet. Where he was given an inch, he has taken an ell....
Christ told Saint Peter to feed his lambs. But the popes with their
satellites have long since ceased to feed Christ's lambs, and for
centuries have done naught but fleece and slaughter them, not acting
like faithful shepherds, but like ravening wolves."[147] This vehement
language must have pleased the king. If bishops were not entitled to
worldly goods, it was an easy task to confiscate their property to the
crown. A like incentive called forth the question: whether any authority
can be found in the Bible for monastic life. The question, in that form,
permitted no reference to the Fathers. So Galle cited the command of
Jesus: "Go, sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor;" and he
further commended monastic life as a step on the way to heaven.[148]
Petri replied that monks did not sell all they had and give to the poor,
but clung fast to their possessions, bringing vast treasures into the
monasteries with them.[149]

The disputation, while strengthening the hands of Petri, caused a
momentary shout of opposition to the king. The cry arose that he was
introducing strange and novel faiths. His faiths perhaps were novel, but
they were not strange. The strangest feature in the matter was the
position taken by the king. By this time, there can be no question, he
was at heart with Luther; yet, judging from his own assertions, he was a
firm defender of the Church. The king's duplicity, of course, is easily
explained. He wished to rob the Roman Catholics of their power without
incurring their ill-will. He intended to reform their doctrines, and at
the same time spread abroad the notion that these doctrines had reformed
themselves. Some time before the disputation, he had written to the
north of Sweden to explain his views. "Dear friends," he courteously
began, "we hear that numerous reports have spread among you to the
effect that we have countenanced certain novel doctrines taught by
Luther. No one can prove, however, that we have countenanced aught
except the teaching of God and his Apostles. For the faith given us by
our fathers we shall battle so long as life remains, and die, as our
fathers died before us, in the faith. The seditious libels spread by
Sunnanväder and his followers have occasioned all the injury that has
fallen in days gone by upon this kingdom, as every reasonable man must
know. Doubtless there are among the clergy as well as among the people
many who are conscious of what they ought to do. But certain monks and
priests have raised this cry against us, chiefly for the reason that we
have denounced their ambitious projects and their unrighteous dealings
toward the people. If any person owes them anything, they withhold from
him the sacrament, and thus wring his money from him against the law of
God.... Again, if a man kills a bird or catches a fish on the Sabbath
day, they fine him in behalf of their bishop. This they have no right to
do unless the act is committed during church service, when the culprit
should have been listening to the Word of God. Again, whenever a priest
has wronged a layman, the layman is practically without a remedy. He
ought, however, to have the same remedy as the priest. Again, if a
layman kills a priest, he is at once put under the ban, whereas if a
priest kills a layman, he is not put under the ban. Yet God has
forbidden priests to kill laymen as well as laymen to kill priests,
making no difference in fact between them, but commanding all men to be
affectionate and peaceable toward one another. Finally, if a priest dies
intestate, his heirs lose their inheritance and his property is taken by
the bishop. Even the crown estates, which they know we are bounden by
our oath of office to protect, they have confiscated, and now they
proclaim that we have introduced new faiths and doctrines taught by
Luther. All we have done, as you already know, is to command them not to
carry on their ambitious practices to the ruin of our realm." This
explanation did not wholly calm the peasants; and when they found
Gustavus holding another contest over their religious tenets, their
suspicions were aroused again. Gustavus determined, therefore, that he
must take some drastic measure to prevent revolt. What he needed was a
vote of all the people to support his views. So he issued a proclamation
in January, 1527, informing the whole country that, since he was
reported to be introducing new beliefs, he should soon summon a general
diet to discuss the more important matters of belief, particularly the
overweening power of the pope.[150]

To this serious step Gustavus was impelled by several things. In the
first place he desired to fortify himself against the pope. During the
last three years the pope had practically been without authority in
Sweden. Gustavus had selected as his bishops men whose actions he was
able to control, and the pope had deprived himself of even the
semblance of authority by refusing to confirm them. However, the nominal
supremacy of Rome was not yet shaken off; and until it was so, there was
constant danger that her actual supremacy would revive. The monarch's
chief anxiety concerned Archbishop Magni. That prelate owed his
appointment mainly to the pliability of his temper, and to the
assumption on the monarch's part that he would prove a ready tool. In
this assumption Gustavus had soon discovered he was wrong. Magni, though
of pliant temper, was a thorough Papist, and, as time went on, displayed
a growing tendency to oppose the king. In consequence he gradually fell
from favor, till he became an object of open distrust. The earliest
evidence of this feeling appeared in 1525, when Magni, as one of the
envoys sent to Lubeck, was warned to take no action without the
acquiescence of the other envoys. This mandate was issued from a fear
lest Magni should encourage Lubeck to raise her voice against the spread
of Lutheranism in the Swedish kingdom. How far this fear was justified,
it is difficult to say. As Lubeck had not yet embraced the Reformation,
she doubtless sympathized in some degree with Magni, but there is not
the slightest evidence that Magni was unfaithful to the king. In
February, of the following year, when Magni was starting for the
Norwegian frontier to administer the rite of confirmation, he wrote the
archbishop of Trondhem that he would like to meet him and discuss the
dangerous condition of the Church. Gustavus, hearing of the contents of
this letter, was aroused again. The archbishop of Trondhem had given
offence by harboring Swedish refugees, and Magni's simple letter caused
the monarch to believe that the two archbishops were, as he expressed
it, "in secret negotiation." Some two months later, Gustavus being in
the archbishop's palace, a stately feast was given in his honor. This
only added to the feud. The monarch was incensed to find that Magni was
capable of such display. Hot words ensued between them, and finally the
archbishop was arrested and conveyed to Stockholm. There he was charged
with conspiracy against the king. Certain letters that had passed
between him and the Roman Catholics of Germany were produced; and though
they showed no evidence of fraud, the archbishop was remanded to his
prison to await the further disposition of his case. Never was greater
injustice done a worthy man. There was not a scintilla of evidence
against him. He was a generous, kindly, single-minded prelate, and the
only reason for this cruelty was that he had no sympathy with the
methods of the king. After some months in prison he was released upon
the pretext of an embassy to Poland. Nobody could be ignorant what this
pretext meant. He was to be an exile from his native land. He sailed
from Sweden in the autumn of 1526, never to return. By such ignoble
practices the monarch cleared his path.[151]

After the banishment of Archbishop Magni, Gustavus gave free rein to
his ambition. The principal object of his greed was still the
monasteries and convents. The practice of quartering his soldiers in
them was by this time accepted as a necessary evil. But in August, 1526,
he raised a new pretension. The provost of the Åbo Chapter having died,
its members had chosen another in his stead, and had begun to distribute
his property in accordance with a will that he had left, when a letter
came from Sweden ordering them to stop. After expressing surprise that
they should have chosen a provost without consulting him, Gustavus
added: "We learn that your last provost left a large amount of property
by his testament to those persons to whom he wished to have it go. It is
clear, however, that it would do more good if given to the public, since
the kingdom is in a state of distress brought on by the long-protracted
war against King Christiern. We therefore command you, after
distributing the legacies given to his family and friends as well as the
poor, to hand the balance over to us to pay the nation's debt." Against
this high-handed measure there was no redress. It was but part of a
policy by this time well established in the monarch's mind. Some six
months later, the burgomaster and Council of Arboga wrote Gustavus that
affairs in their monastery were managed in a very slipshod way; that
when a brother died, the prior took possession of his estate, and the
monastery itself got nothing for it. To prevent this state of things,
Gustavus sent an officer to take up quarters in the monastery and send
him a list of all the property he could find. "You will discover also,"
he declared, "some chests belonging to foreign monks. Take a look at
them, and see what they contain." This letter, it should be remembered,
was not intended for the public eye. Gustavus was careful to keep his
actions dark, and, the monks of Arboga being accused of secreting
certain treasures, the royal officer was instructed to make a diligent
investigation, but to lay his hands on nothing until he received more
positive commands. He was careful, also, that his practice of
confiscating Church property should not be taken as an excuse for
private individuals to do the same. In one case, where such a thing was
done, he denounced the perpetrator in the strongest terms. Moreover,
when the monasteries began to murmur against the soldiers quartered with
them, he sent out an open letter to them, declaring that he had
instructed his officers to be as courteous to them as they could. It may
be noted, however, that he showed no signs of mitigating their
distress.[152]

Early in 1527 Gustavus determined that the crucial moment for the
Reformation had arrived. Dalarne, as usual, was in a state of
insurrection, and every effort which he made to check the Church called
forth a storm of imprecations from the northern provinces. The tax
imposed upon the Dalesmen being still withheld, it was particularly
necessary that the insurrection should be stayed. In February,
therefore, Gustavus wrote a letter to appease the people. "Dear
friends," began the monarch, "we understand a report is spread among
the people that some new creed is preached here to the dishonor of God,
the Virgin, and the saints. Before God we declare this rumor to be
false. Nothing is here preached or taught except the pure word of God,
as given by Christ to his Apostles.... It is indeed true, that
denunciations have been heard in public against the vice and avarice of
the clergy, and against the flagrant abuse of their privileges. They
have oppressed the ignorant with excommunication, withholding of the
sacrament, and all sorts of impositions. Wholly without authority from
Holy Writ, they have imposed their Romish indulgences upon you, carrying
vast treasures of gold and silver out of the kingdom, thus weakening our
realm and impoverishing our people, while the high prelates have grown
rich and haughty toward the lords and princes from whom these very
privileges were derived.... We therefore urge you all by your sworn
allegiance, not to be deceived by false rumors about us, doubting
nothing that we shall move heaven and earth to promote your interests.
And we beg you earnestly to believe that we are as good a Christian as
any living man, and shall do our utmost to promote the Christian faith."
Every one could see that this assertion was intended to persuade the
Dalesmen to pay the newly levied tax. As the effort proved without
avail, the monarch called a general diet to be held on the 9th of June,
the object being, as he declared, to put an end to the dissension that
had arisen in divine affairs. Later, the diet was postponed to June 15,
and, to appease the Dalesmen, was ordered to be held in Vesterås, a
city that was near their province.[153]

Before the day appointed for the diet, a long list of their grievances
was drawn up by the Dalesmen and sent to Stockholm to the king. To these
complaints Gustavus issued a reply, in which he strove to pacify the
malcontents and thus obtain their presence at the diet. The complaints
themselves are somewhat trivial, but the monarch's answer is important
as an instance of his peculiar power in avoiding discord without
directly compromising his affairs. To their murmur at the abolition of
the mint in Vesterås, and the scarcity of coins of small denominations,
he answered that the mint was closed because the mines adjacent were no
longer worked; so soon as the mines in question should be opened he
would reinstate the mint, and moreover he would please them by issuing
small coins. As to the complaint of heavy taxes, the Cabinet were
responsible for that. He would say, however, that he did not contemplate
any further tax. The practice of billeting in the towns and monasteries
was made necessary by the paucity of land about the royal castles, but
this necessity he hoped would not exist much longer. The charge of
reducing the number of monasteries and churches he denied. He had not
closed a single monastery except Gripsholm, which was the property of
his father and had been made a monastery against his father's will. To
the ludicrous charge that he was planning to restore Archbishop Trolle,
he made a flat denial. One thing, he said, was certain,--those who
favored Trolle favored Christiern; he could scarce be charged with that.
Finally, the Dalesmen complained of Luther's teachings, particularly the
doctrines that were taught in Stockholm and the practice of allowing
Swedish chants and hymns. To this he could say only that he had ordered
nothing to be preached except the Word of God; and as to Swedish chants,
he could see no reason for punishing in Stockholm what was permitted in
all other portions of the kingdom; it was certainly better to praise God
in a language that everybody understood than in Latin, which no one
understood. "I wonder much," he said in closing, "that the Dalesmen
trouble themselves concerning matters of which they have no knowledge.
It would be wiser to leave the discussion of these things to priests and
scholars.... I do not believe, however, that these complaints are made
of your own free will, but rather at the instigation of certain priests
and monks, whose desire is to keep the truth unknown." This sentence
with which he closed contains the pith of the entire letter. The monarch
felt that in the coming contest the opposing parties were to be the
Church and State. He endeavored, therefore, by every means to win the
Dalesmen to his side. Letters were despatched to Dalarne from various
portions of the realm, to instruct the peasants that if they persisted
in their opposition to Gustavus, they would have to fight alone. The
Dalesmen, however, were no more influenced by threats than by
persuasion. They stood firm in their determination; and when the diet
assembled on the 24th of June, no delegates from Dalarne appeared.[154]

The Diet of Vesterås is the bulwark of the Swedish Reformation. It is
the first embodiment in the Swedish law of the reforms of Martin Luther.
Gustavus had been making ready for this diet ever since the day of his
election, and at last the opportunity was ripe. One by one the prelates
that were hostile to his views had been removed; and Brask, the only man
of strength that still held out against him, was tottering to the grave.
His enemies abroad had been by this time silenced, and except in the
little province of Dalarne, Sweden was at peace. It was this revolt
among the Dalesmen that served as a pretext for the diet. Gustavus was
too shrewd a politician to make an open avowal of his aim. He announced
that the purpose of the diet was to quell the constant riots in the
realm, and hinted with mock innocence that he wished also to end the
dissension that had arisen in matters of the Church. Among the persons
who answered to the summons we find the names of four bishops, including
Brask, together with representatives from Upsala and all the other
Chapters excepting Åbo. Beside these, there were present one hundred and
forty-four of the nobility (of whom sixteen were Cabinet members),
thirty-two burghers, one hundred and five peasants, and fourteen
delegates from the mining districts. The king's design had been made
manifest before the diet met; for on the previous Sunday, at a banquet
given by him to the delegates already arrived in Vesterås, he had taken
especial pains to show the bishops that their temporal supremacy was at
an end. Despising every venerated custom, he had ranged about himself
the higher members of the nobility, and had consigned the bishops to an
inferior position. The affront thus put upon them galled them to the
quick, and on the following day they held a secret meeting to discuss
their wrongs. All of the bishops present excepting Brask discerned the
hopelessness of their cause, and advocated a humble submission to the
monarch's will. But Brask was boiling over with indignation. He sprang
to his feet and shouted that they must be mad. If the king wanted to
deprive them of their rights by force, he might do so. But they ought
never to consent to such a course, lest they might thereby offend the
Holy See. In times gone by, princes had frequently attempted the same
thing that Gustavus was attempting now, but the thunders of the Vatican
had always overwhelmed them. If the bishops now should fall away from
their allegiance to the pope, their only refuge would be gone. They
would become mere puppets of the king, afraid to speak a word in favor
of their old prerogatives. These sentiments of Brask's were listened to
with favor. The warmth with which he spoke produced its natural effect,
and before the prelates parted they drew up a set of "protests," as they
called them, agreeing never to abandon the pope or accept a single
article of Luther's teaching. To these "protests" the prelates all
attached their seals; and fifteen years afterward the document was
discovered under the floor of Vesterås Cathedral, with all the seals
attached.[155]

Directly following this secret session of the prelates, the general diet
assembled in the grand hall of the monastery. The proceedings opened
with a laborious address from Gustavus,--his secretary, Laurentius
Andreæ, acting as spokesman for the king. This address reviewed the
entire history of the monarch's reign. He began by thanking his subjects
for their presence at the diet, and went on to remind them that he had
already more than once expressed his willingness to resign the crown.
Nothing had induced him to retain it except their earnest prayer. He had
therefore striven, night and day, to promote the welfare of his people,
and in return for all his labors insurrection had sprung up on every
hand, till now, the Dalesmen having once again rebelled, he was
determined that he would no longer be their king. They charged him now
with imposing heavy taxes, with keeping up the price of food, with
billeting his soldiers in the towns and monasteries, with robbing
churches and confiscating religious property, with favoring new creeds
and sanctioning new customs. All these charges were untrue. He had
commanded that nothing should be preached except the Word of God; but
his orders had not been obeyed, for the people preferred to cling to
their ancient customs, whether right or wrong. As it was impossible,
under the present system, to avoid continual rebellion, he wished to
retire from the government. If they desired him to remain, some method
must be found to increase the royal income. He was at present wholly
unable to pay the expenses of his army, for war had grown to be a much
more costly matter than it was in former days. Other expenses, too, were
very heavy. The cost of embassies to foreign powers was a serious drain
upon his revenue. Moreover, the royal castles had all sunk into decay
and must be rebuilt; and if he married the daughter of some foreign
prince, a vast outlay would be required. The nobility also were
impoverished through constant warfare, and were calling on the crown for
aid. His present income was twenty-four thousand marks per annum, while
his expenses in round numbers amounted to sixty thousand marks.[156]

At the close of this address Gustavus called upon the knights and
bishops to reply. Although the monarch's speech had not in terms
denounced the bishops, it was clear to all men that his purpose was to
humble them. The duty of making answer, therefore, naturally fell to
Brask. That venerable prelate rose, and with his usual complaisance
declared that, having sworn allegiance to his gracious lord the king, he
felt in duty bound to honor his commands. He had, however, by his oath
of office promised to do nothing contrary to the will of Rome; and since
the pope had ordered him and the other prelates to defend all property,
whether real or personal, of the holy Church, they must not consent to
sacrifice their rights. But he would promise that any deacons, priests,
or monks who might devise tricks or superstitious practices not
prescribed by their superiors, should be ordered to desist and should be
punished.[157]

At this, Gustavus demanded of the Cabinet and nobility whether they were
satisfied with the answer. As none seemed eager to defend the monarch's
cause, Gustavus took the floor himself and said: "I have no further
desire, then, to be your king. Verily I had not counted on such
treatment at your hands. I now no longer wonder at the perversity of the
people, since they have such men as you for their advisers. Have they no
rain? They lay the blame on me. Have they no sun? Again they lay the
blame on me. When hard times come, hunger, disease, or whatever it may
be, they charge me with it, as if I were not man, but God. This is your
gratitude to me for bringing corn and rye and malt at great expense and
trouble from foreign lands, that the poor of Sweden might not starve.
Yea, though I labor for you with my utmost power both in spiritual and
in temporal affairs, you would gladly see the axe upon my neck; nay, you
would be glad to strike the blow yourselves. I have borne more labor and
trouble both at home and abroad than any of you can know or
understand,--and all because I am your king. You would now set monks and
priests and all the creatures of the pope above my head, though we have
little need of these mighty bishops and their retinue. In a word, you
all would lord it over me; and yet you elected me your king. Who under
such circumstances would desire to govern you? Not the worst wretch in
hell would wish the post, far less any man. Therefore I, too, refuse to
be your king. I cast the honor from me, and leave you free to choose him
whom you will. If you can find one who will continue ever to please you,
I shall be glad. Be so considerate, however, as to let me leave the
land. Pay me for my property in the kingdom, and return to me what I
have expended in your service. Then I declare to you I will withdraw
never to return to my degenerate, wretched, and thankless native
land."[158]

After this burst of passion, the monarch strode in anger from the hall.
He had studied his position well, and knew that his opponents in the end
must yield. No sooner had he left the meeting than his secretary rose
and sought to bring the members to the monarch's views. "My good men,"
he began, "let us arrive at some conclusion in this matter, seeking aid
from God. It is a weighty question that we are to answer, and one upon
which hangs the welfare of our people. You heard the king say truly
there were but two courses open. One was to follow his request,
imploring him to be our leader hereafter as heretofore; the other was to
choose the king's successor." But the delegates continued silent, and
adjourned toward evening without putting the question to a vote.[159]

During three whole days the deadlock lasted. From the inactivity of the
king's adherents, it would seem that they were acting according to
advice. Gustavus wished to force his enemies' hand. It was clear to
everybody that the blessings conferred by him on Sweden were beyond all
praise, and he was confident that no one would be rash enough to talk
seriously about selecting another for the throne. His object was to wait
until the patience of his enemies was exhausted, in the hope that
ultimately the offer of a compromise should come from them. If such
methods of procedure are to be allowed, it must be granted that the
monarch's policy was shrewd. During the three days following his stormy
action in the diet, he kept himself in the castle, entertaining his
trusty courtiers and feigning utter indifference to what was going on
outside. On the very day after his withdrawal, this independent policy
began to tell. The bishop of Strengnäs was apparently the first to
waver. He appreciated the folly of longer holding out against the king,
and rose to say that he regarded such a step as fraught with danger.
Something must be done, he said, without delay. To put aside Gustavus
and elect another king was simply childish, and to buy up all his
property would be impossible. While he wished the clergy's rights to be
protected, he asked for nothing that would be a detriment to the realm.
Matters in general were now improving, and the future apparently was
bright. If Gustavus should be permitted to withdraw, nations that had
ever coveted the kingdom would no longer leave it unmolested. The effect
of these words was in a measure lost through a wrangle that ensued
between Laurentius Petri and the Papist champion, Peder Galle. What they
were fighting over, no one knew, for Petri made his argument in Swedish
for the benefit of the people, and Galle would not answer in anything
but Latin. Nothing had been accomplished, therefore, when the
disputation ceased. And the morning and the evening were the second
day.[160]

When the diet once more came together, the battle opened with
replenished strength. By this time the peasantry and burghers had pretty
generally sided with the king, and threats were heard that, if the
knights persisted in their stubborn purpose, they would be made to
suffer for it. This language proved more efficacious than persuasion.
The knights and bishops could agree upon no policy, nor upon a leader.
They were terrified, moreover, by the preponderance in number of their
foes. As a consequence, they gradually weakened, till at last the
delegates all voted to obey the monarch's will. Andreæ and Petri were
therefore chosen to approach Gustavus and inform him that the delegates
would now consent to his requests. Gustavus then indulged once more his
love of masquerade. He feigned reluctance to accept the proffered honor,
and scorned the delegates who came to him upon their knees. One after
another the recalcitrant members grovelled in the dust before him, and
begged that he would show them mercy. This was the sort of ceremony that
the monarch loved. He kept his enemies in their humble posture till his
vanity was glutted, and then declared that he would go before the diet
on the following day.[161]

Gustavus was at last in a position to dictate to the diet. The
opportunity for which he had been longing since his first acceptance of
the crown was now at hand. He had won an unconditional victory over
every one of his opponents, and he was minded to use this victory for
all that it was worth. It is matter of regret that practically no
account is given us of the steps by which the measures that he sought to
have enacted were attained. This very meagreness, however, is strong
evidence that the measures were enacted without much friction.
Apparently, the only object of the delegates now was to suit their
action to the monarch's will. They therefore adopted as their guiding
star the propositions with which the diet had been opened by the king,
and formulated a set of answers in conformity therewith. These answers
were drawn respectively by the Cabinet and nobility, by the burghers and
mountaineers, and by the common people. It is worthy of more than
passing notice that no answer was presented by the clergy. Indeed, the
clergy appear to have been regarded in the light of victims. The whole
object of the diet was to crush the Church, and the clergy were not
permitted even to have a hand in the proceedings. The monarch's notion
was to give the clergy no voice whatever in the diet, but after the lay
delegates had formulated their resolves, to force the bishops to issue a
proclamation certifying their assent.

It seems desirable to describe in brief the answers which the different
classes of delegates presented. The Cabinet and nobility began by
promising that, if the rebellion in Dalarne were not already quelled,
they would use every measure in their power to attain that end. They
were satisfied with the monarch's seizure of Gripsholm. They deemed it
proper, since the royal rents were small, that Gustavus be at liberty
to grant the monasteries of the land as fiefs, but not, however, to
expel the monks. In order to increase the wealth of the nobility, they
advocated that all property granted by former noblemen to churches or
monasteries since 1454 revert to the donors' heirs, though not until
such heirs should prove their title. To augment the crown's resources,
they believed the bishops, chapters, and cathedrals should surrender to
the king all that portion of their income which they did not absolutely
need. No one should be permitted to preach falsehood or anything beyond
the simple Word of God, and old Church customs ought to be
maintained.[162]

The burghers and mountaineers gave their answer in a similar vein. They
begged Gustavus to remain their king, and promised to defend him with
their blood. They would express no opinion concerning Dalarne till the
Dalesmen who were going thither should bring back their report. Since
the monks were clearly at the bottom of the trouble, no monk should be
permitted to leave his monastery more than twice a year. Gustavus should
be given the right of billeting whenever it were necessary. Before
deciding about the new beliefs they wished to hear a disputation on the
subject. As the rents of the nobility and crown had been diminished by
the Church, the Church ought certainly to restore them; and the mode of
restoration should be determined by Gustavus and his Cabinet. The royal
castles having been demolished, the prelates should surrender theirs
until the castles belonging to the crown could be rebuilt. Finally, from
that day forth no bishop ought to send to Rome for confirmation.[163]

The answer of the common people began with a promise that they would go
to Dalarne and inflict punishment upon the traitors; and since many
monks were in the habit of inciting the people to rebel, it seemed
desirable that they be permitted to leave their monasteries only twice
each year. Gustavus might quarter his soldiers in the monasteries
whenever it was necessary. The churches and monasteries near Stockholm,
having in times past given shelter to the enemy, should be torn down and
their materials used to repair the city walls. All matters of creed they
were willing to leave to the bishops and prelates, but asked that a
disputation on these subjects might be had in presence of
representatives of the people. The king should have authority to
increase his revenue in the way that seemed to him most fitting. The
king might take the bishops' castles till his own could be rebuilt. The
proper disposition of the Church incomes they were content to leave to
the king and his Cabinet.[164]

One cannot but be startled by the revolutionary tendency of these
replies. Never before had such a thing been dreamt of as the surrender
of all the bishops' castles to the crown. Gustavus must have been
bewildered by his own audacity. Within four days the diet that had come
together puffed up by a consciousness of its own magnificence, had sunk
into a position of absolute servility. Things had been granted by the
delegates which, when the diet opened, Gustavus had not even dared to
ask. The very mode in which the votes were taken and the acts were
passed, shows how completely everybody answered to the monarch's nod.
Instead of the answers being submitted to a general vote, they were laid
before the Cabinet to be passed upon by them. In defiance of every
precedent, the Cabinet usurped the right to clothe the diet's sentiment
in language of their own. The result was a decree promulgated in the
diet's name and celebrated in Swedish history as the Vesterås Recess. By
this decree the delegates asserted, every one of them, that they would
do their utmost to punish all conspiracies against the king. They
declared, moreover, that as the royal incomes were but meagre, the
monasteries and churches must come to the relief, and, to prevent all
danger, no bishop should keep up a larger retinue than the king allowed.
All bishops and cathedrals, with their chapters, must hand over to the
king all income not absolutely necessary for their support. Since many
monasteries were dilapidated and their lands were lying waste, an
officer must be appointed by the crown to keep them up and hand over all
their rents not needed for that purpose to the crown. The nobility were
declared entitled to all property that had passed from their ancestors
to the Church since 1454. Finally, Gustavus was ordered to summon the
two factions in the Church to hold a disputation in presence of the
diet, and the members promised to quell the outcry that had arisen
against Gustavus and to punish the offenders.[165]

It is reported that something in the nature of a disputation was now
held. But its significance, at any rate, was small. The bishops and
their clergy were to all intents and purposes without a voice; and ere
the diet closed, a set of resolutions had been passed which did away
with all necessity for further disputation. These so-called "Vesterås
Ordinantia" were even more far-reaching than the "Vesterås Recess."
Since they are the touchstone of the modern Swedish faith, the reader
will pardon prolixity if I give them all. They are as follows: (1)
Vacancies in the parish-churches are to be filled by the bishop of the
diocese. If, however, he appoints murderers, drunkards, or persons who
cannot or will not preach the Word of God, the king may expel them and
appoint other priests who are more fit. (2) Where a parish is poor, two
of them may be joined together, though not if such a step would be an
injury to the Word of God. (3) All bishops shall furnish the king with a
schedule of their rents and incomes of every kind. From these schedules
he shall determine the relative proportions for them to keep and to hand
over to the crown. (4) A similar course shall be pursued with regard to
the cathedrals and chapters. (5) Auricular confession must be given up
as already commanded, and an account must be rendered to the king of all
fines imposed. (6) An account must also be rendered to the king of all
fees received for remitting the ban, and bishops with their officers
must not inflict the ban for petty offences, as has been often done
hitherto. (7) Bishops shall have authority to determine as to the
legality of marriages, and may grant divorces, but an account shall be
rendered to the king of all fees received therefor. (8) Fees for
weddings, funerals, and churchings, may be taken as provided in the
Church ordinances, but no more. (9) Since it has been decreed that the
king and not the bishop is to receive all fines imposed in cases within
ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the provosts may hereafter hold court just
as the bishops have done hitherto, and shall render an account of their
doings to the king. (10) For desecration of holy days no penalty is to
be imposed on those who have been tilling the ground, or fishing, or
catching birds, but persons discovered hunting or quarrelling shall be
fined. (11) Priests shall be subject to temporal laws and temporal
courts, in all disputes, of their own or of their churches, concerning
property, torts, or contracts, and shall pay to the king the same
penalties as laymen. But all complaints against the clergy for
non-fulfilment of their priestly duties shall be laid before the bishop.
(12) If a priest and layman come to blows, one shall not be placed under
the ban any more than the other, for God has forbidden priests to
quarrel as well as laymen. Both shall suffer for their acts according to
the laws of the land. (13) Since it has been found that mendicant monks
spread lies and deceit about the country, the royal stewards are to see
that they do not remain away from their monasteries more than five
weeks every summer and five weeks every winter. Every monk must get a
license from the steward or burgomaster before he goes out, and return
it when he comes back. (14) Monks who receive rents shall not go out to
beg at all. (15) When a priest dies, the bishop is not to defraud the
priest's heirs of their inheritance. Priests shall be bound, in regard
to their wills, by the same law as other people. (16) If a man has
sexual intercourse with a woman to whom he is engaged, he shall not be
punished, since they are already married in the eye of God. (17) No
person who is infirm shall be compelled by priests to make a will. (18)
The sacrament shall not be withheld from any one for debt or other
reason. The church or priest has a remedy in court. (19) Fines for
adultery and fornication belong to the king, not to the bishop. (20) The
Gospel shall hereafter be taught in every school. (21) Bishops shall
consecrate no priest who is incompetent to preach the Word of God. (22)
No one shall be made a prelate, canon, or prebend unless he has been
recommended by the king, or his name submitted to the king.[166]

These ordinances were practically a signal for the death of popery. They
not only transferred to the king the rich emoluments on which for
centuries the bishops had grown fat; they transferred also to him a
right to superintend the actions of ecclesiastical authorities in
matters appertaining to the Church. It is hardly credible that so vast
an object should have been attained without more friction, and that it
was attained is a lasting testimony to the shrewdness of the king. We
may sneer at the childish indignation with which Gustavus strode forth
from the diet, but the fact remains that this pretended indignation
gained its end. Above all else, Gustavus knew the character of his
people. They were particularly prone to sentiment. A few sham tears or
an exuberant display of wrath had more effect upon them than the most
sagacious argument that the monarch could employ. His policy, therefore,
was to stir their feelings, and then withdraw to watch their feelings
effervesce. It is not too much to say that no monarch has ever in so
short a time effected greater change in sentiment than Gustavus effected
among the members of this diet.

Before the delegates departed, a letter was issued by all the bishops
present, and by representatives of the absent bishops, declaring to the
people that Gustavus had portrayed in graphic terms the evil inflicted
on the crown in former times by bishops; and that the lay members had
voted, to prevent such danger in the future, that the bishops' retinues
should be limited thereafter by the king, and that all their superfluous
rents and castles, as well as the superfluous rents of the cathedrals
and chapters, should be surrendered to the crown. "To this," the humbled
prelates added, "we could not, even if we would, object, for we wish to
dispel the notion that our power and castles are a menace to the realm.
We shall be satisfied whether we are rich or poor." To one who reads
between these lines, it is easy to discern the language of the king. He
also wrote, above his own name, to the people, informing them that the
diet had been held; and for details of the proceedings he referred them
to a letter which the Cabinet had penned.[167]

There was one man on whom the diet of Vesterås had fallen like a clap of
thunder from on high. His cherished dream of finally restoring Romanism
to her old position in the eyes of men was now no more. The knell of
popery had been sounded, and nothing remained for the aged bishop but
despair. True to the spirit of the ancient Church, he had looked askance
on every effort to discuss her faith. The doctrines handed down through
centuries appeared to him so sacred that in his eyes it was sacrilege to
open them again. In answer to the monarch's oft-repeated counsel that
the Church reform her doctrines, he had steadily asserted his
unwillingness to take that step, "for these new doctrines," he declared,
"have been investigated frequently in other countries and have been
condemned. No man of wisdom, I believe, will champion a doctrine that is
contrary to the mandates of the Christian Church." This constant
opposition on the part of Brask had brought him more and more beneath
the monarch's frown. Gustavus let no opportunity escape to add
humiliation to the venerable bishop. On one occasion Brask unwittingly
had consecrated as a nun a woman who formerly had been betrothed; and
when the woman later left the convent to become her lover's wife, the
bishop placed them both beneath the ban. This act called forth a
condemnation from the king. "The bearer tells us," were his words to
Brask, "that he has married a woman to whom he was engaged, and who
against her will was made a nun. We see no wrong in such a practice, and
wonder much that you did not inform yourself before the girl received
her consecration. The husband informs us, further, that you have placed
them both beneath the ban. This course appears to us unjust, and we
command you to remit the punishment.... We think it better to allow this
marriage than to drive the woman to an impure life." A little later,
when revolt arose in Dalarne, Gustavus fancied that he saw the bishop's
hand. "The priests," he said to one of his officers, "are at the bottom
of all rebellion, and the diocese of Linköping is the heart of this
conspiracy." Gustavus had no ground for this suspicion, and the charge
was utterly untrue. Brask thought the tax imposed upon the Dalesmen
altogether too severe, and did not hesitate to say so; but he was very
far from sympathizing with the rebels, and when it was ordered that the
diet should be held in Vesterås to please the Dalesmen, he was the first
person to suggest a danger in holding it so near the seat of the
revolt.[168]

Brask's influential position in the diet only added to the monarch's
wrath, and it was against him chiefly that the diet's acts were framed.
He was the wealthiest of the Swedish bishops. Hence the reduction in
their incomes, as commanded by the diet, fell heaviest on him. But even
here the monarch's greed was not assuaged. After the "Ordinantia" had
been passed, Gustavus rose and called upon the several bishops to resign
their castles. This step, though advocated by the burghers and
mountaineers as well as common people, had not been ordered by the diet.
Gustavus seems, therefore, to have made the demand upon his own
authority alone, and the issue proved that his authority was great. The
bishops of Strengnäs and Skara, on whom the demand was made first,
acquiesced as gracefully as was possible to so provoking a demand. But
when the monarch came to Brask, that prelate did not readily comply. One
of the nobility addressed the king, and begged him to allow the aged
bishop to retain his castle during the few short years that yet remained
to him of life. This reasonable request, however, the monarch would not
grant; and Brask persisting in his right to hold the castle, Gustavus
deprived him of his retinue and held him prisoner till he furnished bail
conditioned for his good behavior as well as for the surrender of his
castle. The diet then adjourned, Gustavus sending forth a body of men
who entered the bishop's castle by main force, and placed it under the
supremacy of the king.[169]

The ground of this barbaric treatment appears in a negotiation between
the king and Brask some five weeks later. By the Vesterås Recess
Gustavus was given a claim to all the income not needed by the bishops,
cathedrals, and chapters for their support. But since the sum required
for the prelates was not named, the field thus left for argument was
wide. The prelates took a much higher view of their necessities than was
taken by the king. Brask especially found it hard to do without his
ancient pomp and circumstance. Gustavus therefore put the screws upon
him to bring the lordly bishop to the ground. How well this plan
succeeded is shown in a document of the 2d of August--about five weeks
after the seizure of Brask's castle--in which the bishop is declared to
have come to an understanding, and to have promised the king fifteen
hundred marks a year beside some other tribute. In reward for this
concession, Gustavus declared himself contented, and received the bishop
once more into royal favor.[170]

There is now but little more to chronicle about the aged bishop. Beaten
at every point, and practically a prisoner at the monarch's mercy, he
had at last capitulated and granted to Gustavus all that he had asked.
The surrender, furthermore, was but the prelude to the bishop's flight.
Conscious that every hope was crushed forever, he craved permission to
visit Gotland and perform the sacred duties of his office. This request
was granted, and the venerable prelate set forth never to return. On
pretext of consulting eminent physicians, he sailed across the Baltic,
and watched the monarch's movements from afar. Gustavus, when he learned
of this escape, confiscated all the property of Brask that he could
find, and, worse than all, he issued a letter, filled with venom,
denouncing the perfidy of the aged bishop and telling the people of his
diocese that Brask had fled because of suits that certain persons were
about to bring against him for his wrongs.[171]

It is difficult to take our leave of Brask without a word in admiration
of his character. He was, in point of intellect, the most commanding
figure of his time. Though born and bred among a people strangely void
of understanding, he displayed some talents by which he would have stood
conspicuous in any court of Europe. His learning possibly was not so
great as that of Magni, nor did his eloquence by any means compare with
that of Petri. But in matters of diplomacy, in the art of comprehending
human nature, he was unsurpassed by any prelate of the day. He was
singularly acute in forming his conclusions. Rarely if ever did he
express opinions that were not ultimately verified by facts. His
versatility, moreover, was something marvellous. While weighted down
with every sort of trouble and anxiety, he spent his leisure moments in
writing perfectly delightful letters to his friends. These letters bear
the marks of suffering, but are calm in spirit, charitable, and replete
with thought. They treat of botany, of geographical experiments, and of
various schemes to benefit the Swedish nation. As specimens of
literature they are superior to any other documents of the time; and the
writer evidently took keen pleasure in their composition. "By means of
letters," he declared, "we keep our friends; and I would rather keep the
friends I have than make new ones." Brask's greatest fault was his
hypocrisy; but even this was due more to his education than to any
innate trait. He was a Romanist of the deepest dye, and along with
Romanism he inherited a tendency to sacrifice the means in order to
effect the end. His very earnestness impelled him to deceive. But his
deception, if only we may judge him leniently, was of a very pardonable
kind. Take him for all in all, he was an extremely interesting man; and
when he left the country, Sweden lost a valuable son.


FOOTNOTES:

[135] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 101-102; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. ii. p. 138; and _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol.
xviii. pp. 295-303 and 315-316.

[136] _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 48-53 and vol. xviii.
pp. 300-303; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 83-86;
Linköping, _Bibliotheks handl._, vol. i. pp. 179-183; and _Skrift. och
handl._, vol. i. pp. 347-351.

[137] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 62-63; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol.
xxiii. pp. 59-60; _Handl. rör. Sver. inre förhåll._, vol. i. pp. 5-8;
and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 126-129.

[138] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 86-88; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol.
xv. pp. 14-17 and vol. xv. pp. 15-16; _Handl. rör. Sver. inre förhåll._,
vol. i. pp. 22, 25-29, 42-43 and 109-110; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. iii. pp. 24-25, 101-104, 263-264, 385-386 and 416-417,
and vol. iv. pp. 292-293, 321-322 and 357-358; and _Smål. archiv._, pp.
175-176.

[139] _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 66-70, vol. xv. pp. 5-7,
13-15, 25-29 and 49-50, vol. xvi. pp. 11-14 and 59-62, and vol. xviii.
pp. 267-269, 276-282, 316-317, 320 and 341-342; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 29-31, 191-192, 214 and 277-278, and vol. iii.
pp. 166, 333-334, 406-408 and 425-428; and Linköping, _Bibliotheks
handl._, vol. i. pp. 199-201.

[140] _Skrift. och handl._, vol. i. p. 100.

[141] _Ibid._, pp. 19 and 118.

[142] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iii. pp. 1075-1083; _Handl. rör.
Skand. hist._, vol. xvi. pp. 43-52, 59-62 and 76-78; _Handl. rör. Sver.
inre förhåll._, vol. i. pp. 20-21 and 46-48; _Kon. Gust, den Förstes
registrat._, vol. iii. pp. 100-101, 313-314, 331-333 and 421-426 and
vol. iv. pp. 3-4; Linköping, _Bibliotheks handl._, vol. i. pp. 192-201;
and _Skrift. och handl._, vol. i. pp. 1-145.

[143] _Skrift. och handl._, vol. i. p. 71.

[144] _Ibid._, p. 28.

[145] _Ibid._, p. 33.

[146] _Ibid._, p. 76.

[147] _Ibid._, pp. 77-78.

[148] _Skrift. och handl._, vol. i. p. 87.

[149] _Ibid._, p. 96. Petri's book, entitled _Swar påå tolff spörsmål_,
published in 1527, is printed in _Skrift. och handl._, vol. i. pp.
1-145.

[150] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 95-96; _Handl. rör. Sver. inre
förhåll._, vol. i. pp. 33-36 and 53-56; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. iii. pp. 162-164 and vol. iv. pp. 18-20.

[151] Johannes Magni, _Hist. pont._, pp. 76-80; Svart, _Gust. I.'s
krön._, pp. 100-104 and 120-121; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xviii.
pp. 341-342; _Handl. rör. Sver. inre förhåll._, vol. i. pp. 31-32;
_Handl. till upplysn. af Finl. häfd._, vol. ii. pp. 193-195; _Kon. Gust.
den Förstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 185-186 and vol. iii. pp. 111-112,
193-194, 267-268, 287-289 and 378-379; and _Saml. til det Norske Folks
Sprog og Hist._, vol. i. pp. 487-488.

[152] _Handl. rör. Sver. inre förhåll._, vol. i. pp. 32-33, 40-42 and
53-54; _Handl. till upplysn. af Finl. häfd._, vol. ii. pp. 190-191; and
_Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. iii. pp. 124 and 260-261, and
vol. iv. pp. 70-71, 80, 91 and 130-131.

[153] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 102-104; _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._,
vol. xvi. pp. 115-119; _Handl. rör. Sver. inre förhåll._, vol. i. pp.
54-56 and 62-63; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp.
74-76, 135-136, 138-140, 147-150, 159-163 and 166-167; and _Svenska
riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 56-59.

[154] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 105-109 and 112-113; _Handl. rör. Sver.
inre förhåll._, vol. i. pp. 64-67; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 169-174, 177-180, 183-184 and 198-199.

[155] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 121-123; _Alla riksdag. och möt.
besluth_, vol. i. pp. 75-89; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._,
vol. iv. pp. 226-240 and 249-250.

[156] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 123-126; _Alla riksdag. och möt.
besluth_, vol. i. pp. 56-67; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol.
iv, pp. 200-215; and _Svenska riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 65-75.

[157] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 126.

[158] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 126-128.

[159] _Ibid._, p. 128.

[160] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 128-131.

[161] _Ibid._, pp. 131-133.

[162] _Alla riksdag. och möt. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 67-70; _Kon. Gust.
den Förstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 216-220; and _Svenska
riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 75-78.

[163] _Alla riksdag. och möt. besluth_, vol. i. pp. _70-72_; _Kon. Gust.
den Förstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 220-222; and _Svenska
riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 78-80.

[164] _Alla riksdag. och möt. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 72-74; _Kon. Gust.
den Förstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 223-226; and _Svenska
riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 80-82.

[165] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 133; _Alla riksdag. och möt.
besluth_, vol. i. pp. 75-79; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol.
iv. pp. 226-231; and _Svenska riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 82-87.

[166] There is a Latin version of the "Ordinantia" containing certain
regulations not given in the Swedish. They are these: The contribution
known as "Peter's penning" shall not be given hereafter to the pope, but
shall go to swell the royal revenue. A like disposition shall be made of
the money which the monasteries are wont to send to the superiors of
their orders. Bishops and other prelates shall not hereafter pay
anything to the pope for confirmation. It will be sufficient if they
take their office by consent of the king. All property, real and
personal, donated to the cathedrals, monasteries, and parochial or
prebendal churches, shall belong to the descendants of the noblemen who
gave it, and if there is any residue, it shall be conferred by the king
on whomsoever he will. All real property sold or pledged to churches may
be redeemed on payment of the sum received for the property. To augment
the crown's resources the bishops, cathedrals, and canons ought to hand
over to the king as large a sum as they can spare. All these regulations
in the Latin version bear on their face the stamp of forgery. They are
drawn in a careless manner, and convey the impression of being part of a
rough draught that never was perfected. Certainly they never were
enforced. See _Alla riksdag. och möt. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 90-93; _Kon.
Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 241--247; and _Svenska
riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 89-96.

[167] _Alla riksdag. och möt. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 79-82 and 89; _Kon.
Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 249-256; and _Svenska
riksdagsakt._, pp. 87-88 and 96-100.

[168] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 110-112 and 115-116; _Handl. rör.
Skand. hist._, vol. xvi. pp. 70-75, 78-80, 98-100, 105-106, 119-122 and
124-127; _Handl. rör. Sver. inre förhåll._, vol. i. pp. 58-59 and 60-62;
_Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 3-4, 12-13, 42-43,
54-55, 111-112, 175-176, 400-404, 406-407, 417 and 419-420; _Monumenta
polit. Eccles._, pp. 10-11 and 17-18; and _Skrift. och handl._, vol. i.
pp. 352-353.

[169] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 133-134; and _Kon. Gust. den
Förstes registrat._, vol. iv. p. 259.

[170] _Handl. rör. Sver. inre förhåll._, vol. i. pp. 105-107; and _Kon.
Gust. den Förstes registrant._, vol. iv. pp. 287-289.

[171] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 134-135; _Handl. rör. Sver. inre
förhåll._, vol. i. pp. 120-123, 129 and 135-138; _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 315-318, 325-326, 327-328, 340-343 and
391-394; and _Smål. archiv._, pp. 175 and 177.




CHAPTER IX.

CORONATION OF THE KING. 1528.

 Reasons for Delay of the Coronation.--Preparations for the
   Ceremony.--Consecration of the Bishops.--Coronation
   Festival.--Retrospect of the Revolution.--Character of Gustavus.


There is but one scene needed now to bring the drama of the Swedish
Revolution to its close. During a period of over four eventful years
Gustavus Vasa had been seated on the throne, but the final act deemed
necessary in the election of a king had not yet taken place. Again and
again the people had urged Gustavus to be crowned, but on one pretext or
another he had put them off, and the ancient rite of coronation was not
yet performed. The mystery of this strange delay can easily be explained
by looking for a moment into the condition of the Swedish Church.

It was a time-honored theory all over Christendom that no person could
be legally installed in any royal post without first having the sanction
of the Church of Rome; and such sanction, it was held, could only be
conferred through the consecrated archbishop of the land. When Gustavus
was elected king, the Swedish archbishop was in voluntary exile, and
nobody expected that he ever would return. Indeed, he was so far an
object of suspicion at the papal court that, shortly after the election
of Gustavus, the pope appointed another prelate to perform the duties
of archbishop till the charges brought against Gustaf Trolle should be
set at rest. It is matter of common knowledge that Trolle never
succeeded in vindicating his position; and Magni, though not confirmed,
continued to perform the duties of archbishop.

In January, 1526, the Cabinet urged Gustavus to be crowned, and he
declared that he would do so in the coming summer, trusting presumably
that Magni would receive his confirmation ere that time. A tax was even
levied to defray the expenses of the ceremony. But some opposition was
encountered when the royal officers endeavored to collect the tax, and,
the kingdom being then in need of revenue, the project had to be
postponed. There is evidence, moreover, that Gustavus was not eager for
the confirmation of the prelates. On one occasion he expressed a fear
that they were seeking to obtain their consecration with a view to
transfer their allegiance from himself to Rome. Apparently his object
was, by continual postponement of the coronation, to have a standing
argument whenever he desired to obtain new funds.[172]

Matters therefore dragged on in the same way till Archbishop Magni had
been banished and the diet of Vesterås had voted an addition to the
income of the king. As the Cabinet had been beyond all others urgent in
their solicitations, the announcement of the monarch's resolution was
addressed to them. He would have still preferred, he said, to delay his
coronation till the summer of 1528; but fearing that at that time he
should be too busy, he had resolved to have the rite performed soon
after Christmas, and the day he fixed at January 6. Invitations were
then sent out to all the noblemen of the realm, who were instructed also
to appear with all their retinues, and to bring their wives and
daughters with them. Each town was asked to send two delegates to the
coronation, and a certain number of persons were to represent the
different parishes throughout the land. Sheep, geese, and hens were
ordered in enormous quantities to be collected by the royal stewards for
the festival. These the thrifty monarch arranged should be provided by
the parishes themselves. Lest the Dalesmen, already somewhat irritated,
should have new cause for discontent, Gustavus wrote them that they need
not take part in the contribution, nor even send their representatives
if they did not feel inclined.[173]

Although the Swedish Church was practically severed from the Church of
Rome, a doubt still lingered in the monarch's mind as to the propriety
of a coronation by prelates whose authority had not been sanctioned by
the pope. Therefore, to remove all chance of contest, he directed that
those bishops who had not received their confirmation should be
sanctified through laying on of hands by those who had. As a matter of
fact the only bishops whose authority had been derived from Rome were
the bishops of Vexiö and Vesterås. The former was too old to undertake
the active duties of his office. The bishop of Vesterås was selected,
therefore, to consecrate the bishops of Skara, Strengnäs, and Åbo. This
was effected on the 5th of January,--just before the coronation festival
began.[174]

The gorgeous ceremony was performed, according to ancient practice, in
the Cathedral of Upsala. Representatives from every portion of the realm
were present, and the huge edifice was filled from choir to nave with
all the wealth and beauty that the land could boast. It was the final
tribute of gratitude to one whose ceaseless energy had saved the nation
from long years of tyranny. Never had the Swedish people been more
deeply bounden to revere their ruler. If in the annals of all history a
king deserved to wear a crown, Gustavus Vasa was that king. The honor,
however, was not all his own. The ceremony of coronation over, Gustavus
selected from among his courtiers twelve to whom he granted the degree
of knighthood. Here again, as on the day of his election, he displayed
the sentiments that inspired his whole reign. No longer do we find among
the monarch's chosen counsellors the names of men illustrious in the
Church and Chapter. It was from the ranks of the lower classes that the
persons whom he was to knight were chosen, and from this time forward
the knights to all intents and purposes composed his Cabinet. No
stronger argument can be offered to show the utter humiliation of the
Church.[175]

The act of coronation was followed by a period of mirth. A rich repast
was offered by the king, at which the representatives of all the classes
were invited to be present. A new coin, also, bearing the full-length
figure of Gustavus, with his sword and sceptre, and wearing on his head
a crown, was issued and distributed gratuitously among the people. On
the following days the ceremony was prolonged by tilt and tourney. With
all the gallantry of a warmer climate two gladiators entered the lists
to combat for the hand of one of Sweden's high-born ladies. The
chronicler has immortalized the combatants, but the fair lady's name, by
reason of a blemish in the manuscript, is gone forever. From beginning
to end the scene was one which no eyewitness ever could forget. Years
later, it stirred the spirit of the author whose zeal has given us the
leading features of our narrative. It is a fitting picture with which to
close this tale.[176]

[Illustration]

The Swedish Revolution now was at an end, and the great achievements of
Gustavus Vasa had been done. Though not yet thirty-two, the youthful
monarch had already secured a place among the foremost leaders of the
world. We have watched the Swedish nation rise from insignificance,
through a series of remarkable developments, till its grandeur cast a
lengthened shadow across the face of northern Europe. In some regards
this revolution stands pre-eminent above all others known in history.
Few political upheavals have been more sudden, and few, if any, have
been more complete. Seven years was all Gustavus needed to annihilate
the ancient constitution, and fashion another structure of an absolutely
new design. The Cabinet, at one time the autocrat of Sweden, was now a
mere puppet in the monarch's hand. Under the guise of leader of the
people, Gustavus had crushed the magnates, with all their old
magnificence and power, beneath his feet. In place of bishops and
archbishops, whose insolence had been to former kings a constant menace,
his court was filled with common soldiers selected from the body of the
nation, and raised to posts of highest honor, for no other reason than
their obedience to the monarch's will. Of the old ecclesiastical
authority not a trace was left. Rome, in ages past the ultimate tribunal
for the nation, had now no more to say in Sweden than in the kingdom of
Japan. The Reformation was so thorough that from the reign of Gustavus
Vasa to the present day, it is asserted, no citizen of Sweden has become
a Romish priest.

       *       *       *       *       *

The Revolution whose main incidents have here been followed recalls
another Revolution enacted near three centuries later amid the forests
of the great continent of North America. Both originated in a long
series of acts of tyranny, and each gave birth to a hero whose name has
become a lasting synonym of strength and greatness. The lessons of
history, however, are more often found in contrasts than in
similarities, and the points of difference between these two upheavals
are no less striking than their points of likeness. The chief difference
lies in the individual characteristics of the leaders. George Washington
was pre-eminently a hero of the people. He embraced the popular cause
from no other motive than a love of what he deemed the people's rights;
and when the war of independence closed, he retired from public life and
allowed the nation whose battle he had fought to take the government of
the country upon itself. The result was the most perfect system of
republican government that the world has ever known. Gustavus Vasa, on
the other hand, though actuated in a measure by enthusiasm for the
public weal, was driven into the contest mainly by a necessity to save
himself. The calm disinterestedness which marks the career of Washington
was wholly wanting in the Swedish king. His readiness to debase the
currency, his efforts to humiliate the bishops, his confiscation of
Church property, his intimacy with foreign courtiers,--all show a desire
for personal aggrandizement inconsistent with an earnest longing to
benefit his race. One must regret that the rare talents which he
possessed, and the brilliant opportunities that lay before him, were not
employed in more unselfish ends. It is true he gave his country a better
constitution than it had before; he freed it from the atrocities of a
horrid tyrant; he laid the axe at the root of many religious
absurdities; and he relieved the people from a heavy load of religious
burdens. But he did not lay that foundation of public liberty which the
blood poured out by the Swedish people merited. Of all nations on the
face of the globe none are more fitted by temperament for a republican
form of government than the Swedes. They are calm, they are thoughtful,
they are economical, and above all else, they are imbued with an ardent
love of liberty. It is hard, therefore, to repress the wish that
Gustavus Vasa had been allowed, at the diet of Vesterås, to lay aside
the crown, and that in his place a leader had been chosen to carry on
the good work on the lines already drawn. The Revolution had begun with
a feeling that the Swedish nation was entitled to be ruled according to
its ancient laws,--that it was entitled to a representative form of
government; and it was only because of the nation's admiration for its
leader that this object was relinquished. The people, having expelled
one tyrant, chose another; and ere Gustavus closed his memorable reign,
the principle of hereditary monarchy was once more engrafted on the
nation. Nothing could demonstrate with greater clearness the extreme
danger that is always imminent in blind enthusiasm for a popular and
gifted leader.


FOOTNOTES:

[172] _Alla riksdag. och möt. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 37-39 and 45-47;
_Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 77, 80-81 and 93; _Handl. rör. Sver. inre
förhåll._, vol. i. pp. 19-20; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._,
vol. iii. pp. 12, 22-23, 95-96, 236-237 and 414-415.

[173] _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 334-335, 360-366
and 416-417; and _Svenska riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 102-107.

[174] Svart, _Gust. I.'s. krön._, p. 136; _Handl. rör. Sver. inre
förhåll._, vol. i. pp. 133-134; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat._,
vol. iv. pp. 368-369.

[175] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, p. 136; and _Kon. Gust. den Förstes
registrat._, vol. v. pp. 9-11.

[176] Svart, _Gust. I.'s krön._, pp. 136-137.




BIBLIOGRAPHY.


I. AUTHORITIES.

A. _Books and Pamphlets._

    [In this list are included all works written for publication,
    whether published or not, before the year 1600. The arrangement is
    strictly chronological.]

BEYER, Christopher. _Chronicon Gedanensis._ [In _Scriptores rerum
Suecicarum medii aeui_, ed. E. M. Fant. Upsal., 1818-1828. 2 vols. f^o.
vol. iii., ed. C. Annerstedt. Upsal., 1871-1876. f^o. sect. 1, pp.
339-340.]

The author was born in 1502, and died in 1518. His chronicle contains a
few allusions to events in Sweden from 1507 to 1515.

FERBER, Eberhard. _Chronicon Gedanensis._ [In _Scriptores rerum
Suecicarum_, vol. iii. sect. 1, pp. 340-341.]

Author died in 1529. A few statements in his chronicle refer to the
expedition of Christiern II. against Sweden in 1518.

_Svenska medeltidens rim-krönikor_, ed. G. E. Klemming. Stockh.,
1865-1868. 3 vols. 8^o.

This ancient collection of rhythmic chronicles, composed by various
unknown hands, is devoted chiefly to events occurring before the
sixteenth century; and most of the chronicles contained in it were
written before that time. Two of them, however, were written in the
monastery at Vadstena in 1520, one running through the reign of Karl
Knutsson, and the other running from 1452 to 1520. Beside these there is
a satire on Christiern II., written shortly after 1520. Although these
chronicles are little to be relied on, they are extremely valuable as
specimens of early Swedish literature.

KOCK, Reimarus. _Chronicon Lubecensis._ [In _Scriptores rerum
Suecicarum_, vol. iii. sect. 1, pp. 239-274.]

Author born at end of fifteenth century, lived in Lubeck, and died in
1569. His chronicle runs to 1521.

_Von der graüsamen tyrannischen myssehandelung, so Künig Christiern, des
nam[=e]s der Ander v[=o] De[=n]marck jm reich zu Sweden beg[=a]gen
hatt._

This little work, containing only twelve pages, bears no date or place
of publication on the titlepage, but at the end is dated at Surcöping,
Dec. 29, 1522. One copy of it is in the Royal Library at Stockholm. It
is merely a denunciation of the cruelties of Christiern II., and was
doubtless issued with a view to win friends for Gustavus Vasa in
different parts of Europe. It is written in High German, and has since
been translated and published several times in Dutch and also in
Swedish.

_Proelia inter Suecos et Danos annis 1452-1524._ [In _Scriptores rerum
Suecicarum_, vol. iii. sect. 1, pp. 33-34.]

A short list of battles believed to have been composed by Spegelberg,
the secretary of Bishop Brask, about the year 1524.

_Diarium Minoritarum Visbyensium ab anno 686 ad annum 1525._ [In
_Scriptores rerum Suecicarum_, vol. i. sect. 1, pp. 32-39.]

A meagre chronicle of events in Visby, composed by various unknown hands
in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries.

STEGMANN, Bernt. _Hanseatische Chronik._ [In _Scriptores rerum
Prussicarum_, ed. T. Hirsch, M. Töppen, and E. Strehlke. Leipz.,
1861-1874. 5 vols. 8^o. vol. v. pp. 492-528.]

This chronicle runs to the year 1525. It was probably collected by
Stegmann, a Dantzic burgher of the time of Gustavus, but it seems not to
have been written by him. It is in Low German. Pages 517-528 give the
story of Christiern's cruelties in Sweden, which the writer denounces in
unmeasured terms.

ZIEGLER, Jacob. _Crudelitas Christierni Secundi._ [In _Scriptores rerum
Suecicarum_, vol. iii. sect. 1, pp. 71-77.]

This description of the carnage of 1520 was written at some period
between that year and 1531.

_Chronicon episcoporum Arosiensium._ [In _Scriptores rerum Suecicarum_,
vol. iii. sect. 2, pp. 120-128.]

This consists of some extracts made by Peder Svart from a rhythmic Latin
chronicle of an unknown author. It runs to 1534.

ELIESEN, Povel. _Chronicon Skibyensis._ [In _Scriptorum rerum Danicarum
medii aeui_, ed. J. Langebek. Hafniae, 1772-1878. 9 vols. f^o. vol. ii.
pp. 554-602.]

This chronicle was written by Eliesen in the years 1519-1534, closing
abruptly with the year 1534, though it has been continued by a later
hand to the year 1555. The MS. was found in 1650, in the church at Skiby
in Seeland. Eliesen was a Danish priest, a Catholic, and a vehement
opponent of Christiern II.

PETRI, Olaus. _Svenska krönika_, ed. G. E. Klemming. Stockh., 1860. 8^o.

Born in 1497; died in 1552. Called the Luther of Sweden. Was a man of
determined character, great eloquence, and common sense. He wrote in a
strong, pure style, and with a critical judgment. His _Svenska krönika_
is the first history of Sweden written in modern Swedish. It was
completed in 1534, but runs only to the year 1521. It awoke the
hostility of Gustavus because of its leniency to the old bishops and
clergy.

RENSEL, Clement. _Berättelse hörande till Konung Gustafs I.'s historia._
[In _Handlingar rörande Skandinaviens historia_. Stockh., 1816-1865. 41
vols. 8^o. vol. ii. pp. 13-54.]

A native of Livonia, came to Sweden in 1521 to enlist under the banner
of Gustavus. He writes like a blunt soldier who revels in the story of a
battle. His _Berättelse_ seems to have been written for the king. It is
chiefly a chronicle of Swedish wars, running from 1518 to 1536. The
original MS. is in the University Library at Upsala, and seems to have
run later than the year 1536, a portion at the end of the MS. being
lost.

_Diarium Vazstenense ab anno 1344 ad annum 1545._ [In _Scriptores rerum
Suecicarum_, vol. i. sect. 1, pp. 99-229.]

A long chronology of Church affairs, chiefly relating to the monastery
at Vadstena. Written by unknown hands, and completed in the sixteenth
century.

_Märkvärdige händelser i Sverige ifrån 1220 till 1552._ [In _Scriptores
rerum Suecicarum_, vol. i. sect. 1, pp. 90-91.]

A very short chronology of general events in Sweden, by an unknown
author, written in the sixteenth century.

MAGNI, Johannes. _De omnibus Gothorum Sueonumque regibus qui unquam ab
initio nationis extitere, eorumque memorabilibus bellis late uarieque
per orbem gestis, opera Olai Magni Gothi fratris eiusdem autoris ac
etiam archiepiscopi Upsalensis in lucem edita._ Romae, 1554. 4^o.

The author, the last Roman Catholic archbishop of Sweden, was born in
1488 and died in 1544. The work is edited by his brother, Olaus Magni.
It runs to the year 1520. The writer lacks critical judgment, and his
work abounds in errors. He writes as one who, though wronged, is
unwilling to complain; yet he hints that later generations may not think
so highly of Gustavus as those living at the time.

MAGNI, Olaus. _Historia de gentibus Septentrionalibus, earumque diuersis
statibus, conditionibus, moribus, ritibus, superstitionibus,
disciplinis, exercitiis, regimine, uictu, bellis, fructuris,
instrumentis, ac mineris metallicis, et rebus mirabilibus, necnon
uniuersis pene animalibus in Septentrione degentibus, eorumque natura._
Romae, 1555. 6^o.

Author was a brother of Archbishop Johannes Magni. Born in 1490,
travelled through the northern portions of Scandinavia in 1518 and 1519
on a papal mission. As a canon of Upsala and Linköping was employed by
Gustavus Vasa in several missions, being sent to Rome in 1523 to obtain
papal confirmation of his brother's election to the archbishopric. After
his brother's disgrace he followed him, as his secretary, to Rome, and
at his brother's death was appointed archbishop of Upsala by the pope,
but never attempted to assert his right. Died in Rome in 1558. He was a
man of remarkable memory, and possessed strong powers of observation;
but he lacked his brother's even temper. His _Hist. de gent. Sept._ is
one of the most singular books ever written. It is an encyclopædia of
Sweden in the sixteenth century; and though filled with errors and
barefaced exaggerations, is invaluable to any student of Swedish
history.

MAGNI, Johannes. _Historia pontificum metropolitanae ecclesiae
Upsaliensis in regnis Suetiae et Gothiae._ [In _Scriptores rerum
Suecicarum_, vol. iii. sect. 2, pp. 5-97.]

This work was first printed at Rome in 1557, with a preface by Olaus
Magni. Reprinted at Rome in 1560.

PETRI, Laurentius. _Then Svenska chrönikan._ [In _Scriptores rerum
Suecicarum_, vol. ii. sect. 2, pp. 3-151.]

Born 1499, died 1573. First Protestant archbishop of Sweden, and brother
of Olaus Petri. Lacked his brother's eloquence, but surpassed him and
indeed all men of his time as a writer of Swedish prose. This work is
nothing but his brother's _Svenska krönika_, wholly revised, with the
omission of certain manifest errors. Like his brother's work, it runs
only to the year 1521, and is believed to have been completed about
1559.

SVANING, Hans. _Refutatio calumniarum cuiusdam Ioannis Magni Gothi
Upsalensis, quibus in historia sua ac famosa oratione Danicam gentem
incensit._ 1560. 4^o.

A Danish priest and royal historiographer; born 1503, died 1584. Was a
warm adherent of Fredrik II. of Denmark, and an opponent of Christiern
II. Wrote this book to refute the work _De omn. Goth._ of Johannes
Magni. It is so full of bitterness toward the Swedes that, while it was
going through the press, the Danish chancellor suppressed the pages
bearing Svaning's name, and the book was published under that of a
German professor named Rosefontanus, who had died in 1559. The name of
the printer and place of publication was also left out, and it was made
to appear as if compiled many years before from some documents which
Rosefontanus had seen when Christiern II. took refuge at his house. The
copy in the Royal Library at Stockholm contains the suppressed pages,
all soiled and torn. A second edition, bearing the author's real name,
was printed in Copenhagen in 1561.

SVANING, Hans. _Christiernus II. Daniae rex._ Francof., 1658. 12^o.

Published from an old MS. written by Svaning. Is written with much
vigor, though somewhat unfair both to Christiern II. and to Gustavus
Vasa.

SVART, Peder. _Ährapredikning öffwer then fordom stormechtigaste,
oöffwerwinnelige, och högloffligaste furstes och herres, H. Gostafs,
Sweriges, Göthes, Wändes etc. konungz och faders, christelige lijk._
Holmiae, 1620. 4^o.

This is the funeral oration delivered over the body of Gustavus in
Upsala Cathedral, Dec. 21, 1560, by Peder Svart, who had formerly been
preacher to the court and had been made bishop of Vesterås by Gustavus
in 1556. It is ornate and pretentious, and of little value.

SVART, Peder. _Gustaf I.'s krönika_, ed. G. E. Klemming. Stockh., 1870.
8^o.

This chronicle was begun in 1561, the year following the king's death;
and the author himself died in 1562, having brought his work down only
to the year 1533. The original MS. is in the Royal Library at Stockholm.
Svart writes in a forcible and at the same time easy style. Nor does he
lack good sense; though the work is marred throughout by a bitterness
toward popery and a total blindness to the errors of Gustavus.

SVART, Peder. _Historia om de forna Westerås stifts biscopar_, ed. A. A.
von Stiernman. Stockh., 1744. 4^o.

A history of the bishops of Vesterås, running to 1534.

TOXITES, Michael. _Epicedion sereniss. ac potentiss. principis, ac D. D.
Gostaui, Suecorum, Gothorum, atq: Vandalorum regis._

A copy of this rare little book is preserved in the British Museum. It
contains eight quarto pages without pagination, and is without date or
place of publication, though it is believed to have been printed in
Stockholm in 1561. It is a mere eulogy of Gustavus in Latin verse, and
is addressed to King Erik XIV.

GRIP, Birger Nilsson. _Calendarium Hammarstadense._ [In _Scriptores
rerum Suecicarum_, vol. i. sect. 1, pp. 237-239.]

This is a short calendar of the births and deaths of some eminent
persons arranged in the order of the days of the year. The compiler was
born about 1490, and died in 1565. He was a Cabinet member, and a warm
supporter of Gustavus Vasa, whose niece he married.

LUDVIGSSON, Rasmus. _Collectiones historicae._ [In _Scriptores rerum
Suecicarum_, vol. iii. sect. 1, pp. 79-87.]

Born probably at beginning of sixteenth century. When Gustavus,
according to Act passed at Vesterås, 1527, established the Royal
Archives, he employed Ludvigsson to collect all the old documents
belonging to the various churches. These were then deposited in the
Royal Archives. Ludvigsson also, by order of Gustavus, compiled a
genealogical table of the old nobility of Sweden, that Gustavus might
know what estates to claim. Under Erik XIV., as well as under his
brother Johan, Ludvigsson held the post of secretary to the king. He
died in 1594. As a writer he shows great industry and poor judgment. The
_Collectiones_ comprises a continuation of Svart's chronicle to 1560, a
chronicle of Erik XIV., and a compilation of the early Swedish
chronicles from 1362 to 1522. Of these the chief is the continuation of
Svart, which includes also Svart's chronicle slightly altered, and the
whole of it was long supposed to be Ludvigsson's own work, though the
name was erroneously spelt Rasmus Carlsson. The original MS. of this
continuation of Svart is in the University Library at Upsala. The MSS.
of Ludvigsson's other works are in the Royal Library at Stockholm.

KARL IX. _Rim-chrönika_, ed. B. Bergius. Stockh., 1759. 4^o.

This is a metrical chronicle, written by one of the sons of Gustavus
Vasa, and containing one or two references to Gustavus.


B. _Letters, Treaties, and other Documents._

    The contemporary documents bearing on the Swedish Revolution number
    several thousand. Nearly all of these have now been printed except
    the following  collections:--

_Gustaf I.'s registratur._

This consists of thirty-one MS. folios containing copies of the letters
written by Gustavus throughout his reign, and is preserved in the Royal
Archives at Stockholm. The letters are arranged in chronological order,
each folio as a rule embracing the letters of a year. Nearly all the
folios were compiled by the king's secretary in the course of the year
which they represent, though some of them were not compiled till 1600 or
even later; and portions of the contemporary folios, left incomplete at
the time, are filled out by a later hand. Besides this collection, the
_Registratur_ originally embraced fifteen folios of the king's letters
to foreign powers, and some folios of his letters on the crown estates;
but these are lost. The thirty-first volume of the extant portion of the
_Registratur_ does not properly belong there, being a transcription of
Claes Christersson's letters to Gustavus in 1558-1561. Of the
_Registratur_, ten volumes have now been published, extending through
the year 1535.

_Gustaf I.'s acta historica._

This is the name given to nine bundles of MSS., chiefly originals, in
the Royal Archives at Stockholm, bearing on the reign of Gustavus Vasa.
Many of them are found transcribed in the _Registratur_. Some, not so
transcribed, have been published in the already printed volumes of the
_Registratur_, as supplements, and in the _Svenska riksdagsakter_ edited
by Hildebrand and Alin.

_Gustaf I.'s bref med bilagor._

This is the name given to three bundles of MS. letters, chiefly
originals, of Gustavus Vasa. These, too, are preserved in the Royal
Archives at Stockholm. Most of them are found transcribed in the
_Registratur._ Some, not so transcribed, have been published in the
already printed volumes of the _Registratur_, as supplements, and in the
_Svenska riksdagsakter_ edited by Hildebrand and Alin.

_Gustaf I.'s rådslagar._

This is the name given to a bundle of original MSS. of the Cabinet
resolutions under Gustavus Vasa. It is preserved in the Royal Archives
at Stockholm. Most of these _rådslagar_ have been published in the
_Svenska riksdagsakter_ edited by Hildebrand and Alin.

_Palmskiöld samlingar._

This consists of over five hundred folios of documents collected and
copied by Erik and Elias Palmskiöld about the year 1700, and contains
copies of many original MSS. now lost. Portions of these folios have
been printed. As now bound, volumes 2, 3, and 4 of that portion of the
collection called number 1 are entitled _Acta ad historiam R. Gustaui
I._, and are devoted wholly to the reign of Gustavus Vasa.


    Apart from the above-named MSS., practically all documents bearing
    on the Swedish Revolution will be found printed in one of the
    following  collections:--

_Acta et litterae ad historiam Reformationis in Suecia_, ed. E. M. Fant.
Upsal., 1807. 4^o.

Contains documents on the Reformation in Sweden.

_Acta historiam Regis Christierni II. illustrantia_, ed. P. A. Adde.
Upsal., 1833. 4^o.

Contains a letter from Christiern II. to his queen, dated 1518, on the
day of the battle of Brännkyrka; also a document of 1520 resigning
Stockholm Castle to Christiern; also a letter from Gustavus Vasa, 1522;
and a letter from Norby to Christiern, 1523.

_Acta Tomiciana._ Posnaniae, 1852-1860. 9 vols. 4^o. vol. ix. 2a ed.
1876. 4^o.

A celebrated collection of documents in the Royal Archives of Poland.

_Aktstykker._ See ODENSE.

_Alla riksdagars och mötens besluth_, ed. A. A. von Stiernman. Stockh.,
1728-1743. 4 vols. 4^o.

A collection of documents issued by diets and conventions from 1521 to
1727.

_Bidrag till Skandinaviens historia ur utländska arkiver_, ed. C. G.
Styffe. Stockh., 1859-1884. 5 vols. 8^o.

A collection of foreign documents, chiefly from the Private Archives of
Denmark, relating to the history of Skandinavia, running to 1520.

_Breve og Aktstykker til Oplysning af Christiern den Andens og Frederik
den Førstes Historie_, ed. C. F. Allen, Kjøbenhavn. 1854. 4^o.

Contains documents from 1519 to 1530 on the history of Christiern II.
and Fredrik I.

CHRISTIANIA. SAMFUND FOR DET NORSKE FOLKS SPROG OG HISTORIE. _Samling
til det Norske Folks Sprog og Historie._ Christiania, 1833-1839. 6 vols.
4^o.

Contains documents on the surrender of the district of Viken by Sweden
to Norway, 1523-1535; also documents on the rebellion of Sunnanväder and
Knut.

_Christiern II.'s arkiv, 1e serien. Handlingar rörande Severin Norby och
de under hans ledning stående krigsföretagen mot Sverge_, ed. N. J.
Ekdahl. Stockh., 1835-1842. 4 vols. 8^o.

A collection of documents on Christiern II.'s expeditions against
Sweden.

COPENHAGEN. KONGELIGT DANSK SELSKAB FOR FAEDRELANDETS HISTORIE OG SPROG.
_Danske Magazin, 3e Raekke._ Kjøbenhavn, 1843-1860. 6 vols. 4^o.

This is the third series of the work mentioned under the preceding
title. It contains a few letters relating to Christiern II.'s relations
with Sten Sture in 1518.

COPENHAGEN. KONGELIGT GEHEIMEARCHIV. _Aarsberetninger_, ed. C. F.
Wegener. Kjøbenhavn, 1852-1883. 7 vols. 8^o.

A collection of documents in the Private Archives at Copenhagen.

_Corps universel diplomatique du droit des gens_, ed. J. Dumont. Amst.,
1726-1739. 13 vols. f^o.

A collection of European treaties from the reign of Charlemagne.

_Danske Magazin._ See COPENHAGEN.

_De la Gardiska archivet, eller handlingar ur Greft. De la Gardiska
bibliotheket på Löberöd_, ed. P. Wieselgren. Stockh. & Lund, 1831-1844.
20 vols. & bihang. 8^o.

A collection of documents on the history of Sweden, preserved in the
library of the De la Gardie family.

_Den Swenska Mercurius._ 4e årgång. Stockh., 1758. 8^o.

Contains a few letters from Gustavus Vasa.

_Diplomatarium Dalecarlicum._ _Urkunde rörande landskapet Dalarne_, ed.
C. G. Kröningssvärd & J. Lidén. Stockh., 1842-1853. 3 vols. &
Supplement, 4^o.

Contains documents relating to Dalarne from 1248 to 1560.

_Handlingar._ See STOCKHOLM.

_Handlingar til uplysning af Svenska historien_, ed. E. M. Fant. Upsal.,
1789-1802. 4 vols. 8^o.

_Handlingar till upplysning af Finlands häfder_, ed. A. I. Arvidsson.
Stockh., 1846-1858. 10 vols. 8^o.

_Handlingar till upplysning i Finlands Kyrko-historia_, ed. W. G. Lagus.
Ny följd. Åbo, 1836-1839. 4 vols. 4^o.

_Handlingar ur. v. Brinkman'ska archivet på Trolle-Ljungby_, ed. G.
Andersson. Örebro, 1859-1865. 2 vols. 8^o.

_Historiska handlingar._ See STOCKHOLM.

_Historiska märkwerdigheter til uplysning af Swenska häfder_, ed. S.
Lönbom. Stockh., 1768. 4 vols. 8^o.

_Historiska samlingar_, ed. C. Adlersparre. Stockh., 1793-1822. 5 vols.
8^o.

_Konglige och furstlige förlijkningar, föreningar, försäkringar,
dagtingan, förbund, förskrijffningar, legdebref, etc._, ed. J. Hadorph.
Stockh., 1676. 4^o.

A valuable collection of Swedish public documents running to 1523.

_Konung Gustaf den Förstes registratur._ See STOCKHOLM.

LINKÖPING. _Bibliotheks handlingar_, ed. J. A. Lindblom. Linköp.,
1793-1795. 2 vols. 8^o.

Contains a number of letters of Bishop Brask, badly edited, however.

_Monumenta diplomatica Suecana_, ed. J. H. Schröder. Upsal., 1822. 4^o.

Contains documents from 1441 to 1502.

_Monumenta politico-Ecclesiastica ex archiuo Palmskiöldiano_, ed. O.
Celsius. Upsal., 1753. 4^o.

_Nya Källor till Finlands Medeltidshistoria._ 1a Samlingen, ed. E.
Grönblad. Köpenhamn, 1857. 8^o.

Contains documents on the history of Finland from 1335 to 1524.

ODENSE. FYENS STIFTS LITERAERE SELSKAB. _Aktstykker til Nordens Historie
i Grevefeidens Tid_, ed. C. Paludan-Müller. Odense, 1850-1853. 2 vols.
4^o.

A very valuable collection of documents on the history of Denmark,
Norway, and Sweden, 1533-1536.

_Samling utaf kongl. bref, stadgar och förordningar etc. angående
Sweriges Riges commerce, politie och oeconomie_, ed. A. A. von
Stiernman. Stockh., 1747-1775. 6 vols. 4^o.

A valuable collection of Swedish public documents running from 1523 to
1746.

_Scriptores rerum Danicarum medii aeui_, ed. J. Langebek. Hafniae,
1772-1878. 9 vols. f^o.

_Scriptores rerum Suecicarum medii aeui_, ed. E. M. Fant. Upsal.,
1818-1828. 2 vols. f^o. vol. iii., ed. C. Annerstedt. Upsal., 1871-1876.
f^o.

_Skrifter och handlingar til uplysning i Swenska Kyrko och Reformations
historien_, ed. U. von Troil. Upsal., 1790-1791. 5 vols. 8^o.

A very valuable collection of documents on Church matters.

_Småländska archivet_, ed. C. G. Södergren. Vexiö, 1853-1874. 3 vols.
8^o.

A collection of documents relating to the history of Småland.

STOCKHOLM. KONGLIGA BIBLIOTEKET. _Tidningar om lärda saker._ År 1767,
ed. C. C. Gjörwell. Stockh., 1767. 8^o.

Contains a few letters from Gustavus Vasa.

STOCKHOLM. KONGLIGA RIKS-ARCHIVET. _Handlingar rörande Sverges inre
förhållanden under Konung Gustaf I._, ed. P. E. Thyselius. Stockh.,
1841-1845. 2 vols. 8^o.

These documents are in the Royal Archives at Stockholm.

STOCKHOLM. KONGLIGA RIKS-ARCHIVET. _Handlingar rörande Sveriges
historia. 1a serien, Konung Gustaf den Förstes registratur_, ed. V. G.
Granlund. Stockh., 1861-1887. 10 vols. 8^o.

A most valuable collection of documents in the Royal Archives at
Stockholm. Published thus far only from the year 1521 through 1535.

STOCKHOLM. KONGLIGA SAMFUNDET FÖR UTGIVANDE AF HANDSKRIFTER RÖRANDE
SKANDINAVIENS HISTORIA. _Handlingar rörande Skandinaviens historia._
Stockh., 1816-1865. 41 vols. 8^o.

A most valuable collection of documents from various sources on the
history of Sweden.

STOCKHOLM. KONGLIGA SAMFUNDET FÖR UTGIVANDE AF HANDSKRIFTER RÖRANDE
SKANDINAVIENS HISTORIA. _Historiska handlingar._ Stockh., 1861-1879. 11
vols. 8^o.

A most valuable collection of documents from various sources on the
history of Sweden.

STOCKHOLM. KONGLIGA SAMFUNDET FÖR UTGIVANDE AF HANDSKRIFTER RÖRANDE
SKANDINAVIENS HISTORIA. _Samling af instructioner rörande den civila
förvaltningen i Sverige och Finnland_, ed. C. G. Styffe. Stockh., 1856.
8^o.

STOCKHOLM. KONGLIGA VETENSKAPS-ACADEMIEN. _Praesidii tal om det förste
lycklige tidehvarf för Sveriges allmänna hushållning, under Gustaf d.
I.'s regering, af N. Bielke, Apr. 27, 1776._ Stockh., 1776. 8^o.

Contains a number of documents from the time of Gustavus Vasa.

_Supplement till Bishop Brasks brefväxling 1527-1528_, ed. J. H.
Schröder. Upsal., 1854. 4^o.

Contains a few letters between Bishop Brask and Gustavus Vasa. Is
supplementary to Brask's letters as published in LINKÖPING and in
_Handl. rör. Sver. hist._, vols. xiii.-xviii.

_Svenska riksdagsakter jämte andra handlingar söm höra til
statsförfattningens historia under tidehvarfvet 1521-1718._ Ie delen,
ed. Emil Hildebrand & Oskar Alin. Stockh., 1887-1888. 8^o.

_Sverges traktater med främmande magter_, ed. O. S. Rydberg. Stockh.,
1877-1887. 3 vols. 8^o.

THEINER, Augustin. _Schweden und seine Stellung zum heiligen Stuhl under
Johann III., Sigismund III. und Karl IX._ Augsburg, 1838-1839. 2 vols.
8^o.

Contains a few documents of the time of Gustavus Vasa relating to Church
matters.

VESTERGÖTLANDS FORMINNESFÖRENING. _Tidskrift_, ed. C. J. Ljungström.
Lund, 1869-1877. 3 vols. 8^o.

ÖSTERGÖTLANDS FORMINNESFÖRENING. _Tidskrift._ Linköp., 1875. 8^o.


II. AIDS.

    [In this list are included the chief works bearing on Gustavus Vasa,
    and written during or since the year 1600.]

ALLEN, Carl Ferdinand. _De tre nordiske Rigers Historie under Hans,
Christiern den Anden, Frederik den Første, Gustav Vasa, Grevefeiden._
Kjøbenhavn, 1864-1872. 5 vols. 8^o.

ANJOU, Lars Anton. _Swenska Kyrkoreformationens historia._ Upsal.,
1850-1851. 3 vols. 8^o. [Eng. trans., N. Y., 1859. 8^o.]

ARCHENHOLTZ, Johann Wilhelm von. _Geschichte Gustav Wasa's, König's von
Schweden._ Tubing., 1801. 2 vols. 8^o. [French trans., Paris, 1803. 2
vols. 8^o.]

BAAZIUS, Johannes. _Inuentarium Ecclesiae Sueo-Gothorum, continens
integram historiam Ecclesiae Suecicae libb. viii. descriptam._
Lincopiae, 1642. 4^o.

_Berättelse om oroligheterna i södra Swerige, til följe af Nils Dackes
upror, med flera märkelige händelser, som sig under K. Gustaf d. I.'s
regering tildragit. Utgifwen efter et gammalt manuscript._ Stockh.,
1781, 16^o.

_Biographiskt lexicon öfver namnkunnige Svenska män._ Upsal. & Örebro,
1835-1857. 2 vols. 8^o. & nya serien, Örebro & Stockh., 1857-1883. 9
vols. 8^o.

CELSIUS, Olof. _Konung Gustaf den Förstes historia._ 3e uplag., Lund,
1792. 2 vols. 8^o.

[CHAPMAN, Rev.] _The history of Gustavus Vasa, king of Sweden. With
extracts from his correspondence._ Lond., 1852. 8^o.

_Expeditio Danica aduersus Holmiam anno 1518._ [In _Scriptores rerum
Suecicarum_, vol. iii. sect. 1, pp. 29-32.]

From MS. of latter part of seventeenth century. Author and source
unknown.

FLAUX, Armand de. _La Suède au XVI^e. siècle. Histoire de la Suède
pendant la vie et sous la règne de Gustave I^er._ Paris, 1861. 8^o.

FORSSELL, Hans. _Sveriges inre historia från Gustaf den Förste, med
särskildt afseende på förvaltning och ekonomi._ Stockh., 1869-1875. 2
vols. 8^o.

FRYXELL, Anders. _Berättelser ur svenska historien._ Stockh., 1823-1848.
10 vols. 8^o. [Eng. trans., Lond., 1844. 2 vols. 12^o.]

GEIJER, Erik Gustaf. _Svenska folkets historia._ Örebro, 1832-1836. 3
vols. 8^o. [Eng. trans., Lond., 1845. 8^o.]

GIESELER, Johann Carl Ludwig. _Lehrebuch der Kirchengeschichte._ Bonn,
1824-1853. 3 vols. 8^o. [Eng. trans., N. Y., 1857-1880. 5 vols. 8^o.]

GIRS, Aegidius. _Konung Gustaff's den I. och Erich's den XIV.
chrönikor._ Stockh., 1670. 4^o.

GRUBB, Christopher Lorenz. _Breuiarium Gustauianum: thet är, ett kort
uthtogh aff K. Gustaffz den Förstes historia._ Linköp., 1671. 4^o.

HALLENBERG, Jonas. _Historisk afhandling on mynt och warors wärde i
Swerige, under Konung Gustaf I.'s regering._ Stockh., 1798. 8^o.

HALLMAN, Johan Gustaf. _The Twenne bröder och Neriksboer, som then
Evangeliska läran införde uti Norlanden, then äldre Mest. Oluff Petri
Phase, första Evangeliska Kyrkioherde öfwer Stockholms stad, then yngre
Mest. Lars Petri hin gamle, första Evangeliska Erkiebiskop uti Upsala._
Stockh., 1726. 4^o.

HVITFELD, Arild. _Danmarks Riges Krønike tilligemed Bispekrøniken._
Kiøbenhaffn, 1595-1604. 10 vols. 8^o.

JOHANSSON, Johan. _Om Noraskog. Äldre och nyare anteckningar._ Stockh.,
1875-1882. 2 vols. 8^o.

KEMPENSKIÖLD, Samuel. _Historiae serenissimi et potentissimi principis
ac domini, Domini Gustaui Primi, Suecorum, Gothorum, Wandalorumque
regis, libri V._ Strengnesiae, 1648. 12^o.

KEMPIUS, Samuel. _Historiae potentissimi et Christianissimi principis ac
domini Gustaui I._ Strengnesiae, 1629. 8^o.

LOCCENIUS, Johan. _Antiquitatum Sueo-Gothicarum, cum huius aeui moribus,
institutis ac ritibus indigenis pro re nata comparatarum libri tres._ 2a
ed., Holmiae, 1654. 8^o.

LOCCENIUS, Johan. _Rerum Suecicarum historia a Rege Berone tertio usque
ad Ericum decimum quartum deducta._ Holmiae, 1654. 8^o.

MESSENIUS, Johan. _Chronicon episcoporum per Sueciam Gothiam et
Finlandiam. Cuilibet successiue dioccesi, ab anno DCCCXXXV. ad
praesentem usque MDCXI. praesidentium uitam complectens._ Stockh., 1611.
8^o.

MESSENIUS, Johan. _Scondia illustrata, seu chronologia de rebus
Scondiae, hoc est, Sueciae, Daniae, Noruegiae, atque una Islandiae,
Gronlandiaeque, tam Ecclesiasticis quam politicis; a mundo cataclysmo,
usque annum Christi MDCXII._ Stockholmiae, 1700-1705. 15 vols. f^o.

MEURS, Jan de. _Historia Danica usque ad annum 1523._ [In his _Opera
omnia_, Florentiae, 1741-1763, 12 vols. f^o., vol. ix. pp. 1-992.]

_Nouvelle biographie générale._ Paris, 1862-1870. 46 vols. 8^o. vol.
xxii. pp. 863-872. _Gustave I^er Wasa_, par A. de Lacaze.

PALUDAN-MÜLLER, C. _Grevens Feide._ Kjøbenhavn, 1853-1854. 2 vols. 8^o.

_Relatio historica de duobus Gustauis regibus Sueciae, auo et nepote,
Augustanae confessionis, Augustis defensoribus. Das ist: historische
Relation, von Zweyen Königen in Schweden, Gustavo dem Ersten, und
Gustavo dem Andern._ Stralsund, 1632. 4^o.

REUTERDAHL, Henrik. _Swenska Kyrkans historia._ Lund, 1838-1866. 4 vols.
8^o.

RHYZELIUS, Anders Olofsson. _Episcoposcopia Suiogothica._ Linköp., 1752.
2 vols. 4^o.

RÖMER, Rudolf Cornelius Heinrich. _Specimen historico-theologicum, de
Gustauo I., rerum sacrarum in Suecia, saec. XVI. instauratore._ Traj. ad
Rhen., 1840. 8^o.

SCOTT, Sarah [Henry Augustus Raymond]. _The history of Gustavus Ericson,
king of Sweden. With an introductory history of Sweden, from the middle
of the twelfth century._ Lond., 1761. 8^o.

STRINNHOLM, Anders Magnus. _Svenska folkets historia under konungarne af
Wasa-ätten._ Stockh., 1819-1823. 3 vols. 8^o.

SVEDELIUS, Vilhelm Erik. _Om Konung Gustaf den Förste och hans tidehvarf
särdeles de tvenne förste s.k. Dalkarlsupproren._ Stockh., 1861. 8^o.

_Sveriges historia från äldsta tid till våra dagar._ Stockh., 1877-1881.
6 vols. 8^o. Vol. ii. by Hans Hildebrand, and vol. iii. by Oskar Alin.

TEGEL, Erik. _Then stoormechtighe, höghborne furstes och Christelighe
herres, der Gustaffs, fordom Sweriges, Göthes, och Wendes konungs etc.
historia._ Stockh., 1622. 6^o.

TENGSTRÖM, Johan Jacob. _Några blad ur Finnlands häfder för K. Gustaf
I.'s regeringstid._ [In _Suomi_, vol. xiii. pp. 101-287. Helsingfors,
1854. 8^o.]

TYPOTIUS, Jacobus. _Relatio historica de regno Sueciae et bellis
ciuilibus atque externis._ Francof., 1605. 16^o.

VERTOT, René Aubert de. _Histoire des révolutions de Suède._ Paris,
1695. 2 vols. 12^o. [Eng. trans., Glasg., 1761. 8^o.]

VINGQVIST, Olof. _Om svenska representationen i äldre tider, till och
med riksdagen år 1617._ Stockh., 1863. 8^o.

WEIDLING, Julius. _Schwedische Geschichte im Zeitalter der Reformation._
Gotha, 1882. 8^o.

WILLEBRANDT, Johann Peter. _Hansische Chronick._ Lübeck, 1748. f^o.

ÖRNHJELM, Claudius. _Relation om bispars, kanikers, praebendaters och
closters jordegods._ [In _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xxi. pp.
218-279.]

From a MS. written by command of the king of Sweden in 1691.

ÖRNHJELM, Claudius, and others. _Relation, med bijlagde documenter, om
biskops-canonie-prebende-sampt kyrckie och kloster-gods, och deras
reduction._ [In _Handl. rör. Skand. hist._, vol. xxi. pp. 280-357, and
vol. xxii. pp. 313-418.]

From a MS. written by command of the king of Sweden in 1691.




INDEX.


 Adrian VI., appoints Johannes Magni his legate, 126-127;
   death of, 128;
   orders Gustavus to restore Trolle, 134.

 Albert of Mecklenburg, king of Sweden, 12-13.

 Amsterdam, Magni is sent to, 211.

 Anabaptists, fanaticism of, 165-167.

 Andreæ (Laurentius), his friendship for Petri, 155;
   writes concerning Luther, 160-161;
   is made archdeacon of Upsala, 163;
   Gustavus writes to, 203;
   sends translation of New Testament, 231;
   addresses Diet of Vesterås, 248-249;
   is chosen to approach the king, 253.

 Andreæ (Nils) is made prior of Vesterås, 226.

 Apostles, authority of, 233-236.

 Arboga, Cabinet meeting at, 42;
   Gustavus quarrels with monks of, 241-242.

 Arcimboldo, is sent as ambassador by Christiern to Sture, 48-50;
   reappoints Ulfsson to the archbishopric, 56-57;
   his withdrawal from Sweden, 58.

 Aristocracy, origin of, 6-9.

 Armigers, origin of, 8.

 Assemblies (county), 4-5 and 8.

 Assemblies (provincial), 4-5 and 8.


 Baner (Sigrid), grandmother of Gustavus Vasa, 2.

 Bible, translation of, 221-223;
   authority of, 233-236.

 Birgitta, grandmother of Gustavus Vasa, 3 and note 2.

 Bjelke, influence of family of, 16.

 Bleking, is invaded by Norby, 178 and 183-184;
   is granted to Norby, 185;
   hostilities of Norby in, 193-194;
   Norby is driven from, 197-200.

 Bonde, influence of family of, 16.

 Brabant, privileges granted to, 211.

 Brask (Hans), places note under his seal, 103;
   joins the Swedish cause, 103-104;
   avoids the Diet of Strengnäs, 113;
   is called upon to aid the crown, 129-130;
   informs the pope that Church property is being confiscated, 133-134;
   is called upon to furnish aid for expedition against Gotland, 140-141
         and 142-143;
   denounces Fredrik to Gustavus, 145;
   is oppressed by Gustavus, 149-150;
   charges Petri with heresy, 156;
   writes to Magni concerning heresy, 157-158;
   writes concerning Luther, 161-163;
   his love for the Church, 164;
   protests against the marriage of Petri, 169-171 and 224;
   suspects Fredrik, 171;
   writes about Christina, 179;
   writes about Norby, 198;
   writes about Sunnanväder, 202;
   writes about the tax, 206;
   writes about the treaty with Holland, 210-211;
   writes about Dalarne, 213-214;
   opposes translation of the Bible, 222-223;
   his dispute with Gustavus about a monastery, 228;
   is oppressed by Gustavus, 229-231;
   incurs wrath of Gustavus, 232;
   protests against disputation, 233;
   his action at Diet of Vesterås, 246-250;
   fall of, 262-266;
   his character, 266-267.

 Brännkyrka, battle at, 51-52.

 Bremen, congress to be held in, 210.

 Brun (Søren), capture of, 192.


 Cabinet, its origin and constitution, 9-11;
   its encroachments, 11-25;
   slaughter of, 113;
   Gustavus admits foreigners into, 150;
   usurps authority in Diet of Vesterås, 257;
   its composition under Gustavus, 271;
   is humbled by Gustavus, 273.

 Cecilia, mother of Gustavus Vasa, 3-4.

 Charles V. receives Christiern into Burgundian League, 80;
   Norby enlists under, 200;
   signs treaty with Sweden, 210.

 Charles XII., his influence in Sweden, 220-221.

 Christianity, introduction of, into Sweden, 5-6.

 Christiern I., king of Denmark, 16-17.

 Christiern II., king of Denmark, his character, 33-34;
   his early life, 34;
   his passion for Dyveke, 34-35;
   his interview with Gustaf Trolle, 37-38;
   attacks Sweden, 44-45;
   is defeated by Sture, 45-46;
   seeks to form truce with Sture, 48-50;
   his expedition against Sweden, 50-51;
   is defeated at Brännkyrka, 51-52;
   treachery of, 53-54;
   renews his efforts to recover Sweden, 57-58;
   appeals to the pope, 62;
   sails with his fleet to Sweden, 71-72;
   lays siege to Stockholm, 76-77;
   enters Stockholm in triumph, 77-78;
   is crowned, 78-80;
   slaughters the Swedish magnates, 81-83;
   opposition to, 109;
   is deposed, 112;
   his failures, 117;
   is charged with murdering Swedish bishops, 126;
   opposition of Fredrik and Gustavus to, 147;
   Norby's alliance with, 175 and 177;
   his efforts to recover Sweden, 190-193 and 198-199.

 Christina. _See_ Gyllenstjerna (Christina).

 Christina, wife of King Hans, defends the castle of Stockholm, 22.

 Christopher of Bavaria, is elected king of Sweden, 15-16.

 Church, early encroachments of, 5-6;
   sides with Denmark against Sweden, 17-25;
   riches of, 122-124;
   Gustavus oppresses, 149-150;
   is taxed to pay Lubeck, 204;
   Gustavus opposes her on grounds of faith, 221-245;
   Gustavus deprives her of her power, 254-262;
   humiliation of, 271.

 Clement VII., pope, 136.

 Coinage, debasement of, 107-108;
   alterations in, 122 and note.

 Copenhagen, youth of Christiern II. in, 34;
   Norby proceeds to, 185;
   Norby is asked to proceed to, 199.


 Dalarne, rebellion in, 15;
   Sten Sture gains support in, 20;
   Svante Sture is supported by, 23;
   description of, 85;
   Gustavus seeks to rouse the people of, 85-87;
   Gustavus is recalled by the people of, 88-89;
   becomes the centre of the Revolution, 92;
   hardihood of people of, 93;
   Gustavus recruits forces in, 107;
   grievances of, 153-154;
   conspiracy in, 176-177;
   efforts of Gustavus to stay discontent in, 181-183;
   dissension in, 213-215;
   impostor goes to, 218-219;
   Gustavus writes to, 227-228;
   Gustavus tries to appease, 242-246;
   Andreæ condemns rebellion in, 248;
   Diet of Vesterås discusses rebellion in, 254-256;
   Brask is charged with conspiracy in, 263.

 Dalelf, description of, 85;
   Danish camp at, 93.

 Dantzic, Christina seeks aid from, 67;
   privileges granted by Sweden to, 114 and 209-212;
   Christina's son returns from, 172.

 Denmark, struggle between Sweden and, 13-25, and 35-117;
   "klippings" repudiated in, 143.

 Dyveke becomes mistress of Christiern II., 34-35.


 East Friesland, privileges granted to, 211.

 Engelbrektsson (Engelbrekt), rebellion under, 15.

 Erik of Pomerania, is chosen king of Sweden, 13;
   his career, 14-15.

 Eriksson, takes part in storming of Vesterås, 96-98;
   of Upsala, 98-99.

 Eriksson (Nils), is placed in command of Kalmar, 174-175.


 Falun, Gustavus plunders, 92.

 Fathers, dispute concerning authority of, 233-236.

 Finland, Gustavus sends force to, 105;
   Norby goes to rescue of, 106;
   Swedish possessions in, 131;
   is subdued by Gustavus, 138;
   Norby asks for land in, 178;
   Norby is said to be about to attack, 198;
   Gustavus writes to, 199;
   her part in the treaty with Russia, 207-208.

 France, her hatred of Christiern, 109.

 Francisco of Potentia, is said to have been made bishop of Skara, 137.

 Fredrik, duke of Schleswig-Holstein, his opposition to Christiern, 109;
   is chosen king of Denmark, 112;
   resigns his claim to Sweden, 131;
   delays matter of Gotland, 139-140;
   requests postponement of congress, 144-145;
   is said to be in league with Norby, 146-147;
   takes part in congress at Malmö, 147-148;
   his relations with Norby, 174-175;
   is deceived by Norby, 177-178;
   his treachery toward Gustavus, 178-179;
   makes war on Norby, 184-185;
   grants Bleking to Norby, 185;
   his show of friendship to Gustavus, 190-196;
   defeats Norby, 199-200;
   his action concerning Knut and Sunnanväder, 200-202;
   negotiates with Gustavus, 215-217.


 Gad (Hemming), supporter of Sten Sture, 19;
   reconciles Svante Sture to Sten Sture, 21;
   is elected bishop of Linköping, 21;
   his election is not ratified, 22;
   besieges Stockholm, 22;
   his character, 33;
   is captured by Christiern, 53-54;
   allies himself with Christiern, 75-76.

 Galle (Peder), professor in University of Upsala, 27;
   holds disputation with Petri, 168-169;
   Brask writes to, 224;
   holds another disputation with Petri, 232-236;
   wrangles at Diet of Vesterås, 252-253.

 Germany, her share in the Reformation, 119-120.

 Ghent, Magni goes to, 212.

 Gotland, Swedish Cabinet demands, 18;
   Gustavus plans expedition against, 138-141;
   opening of war against, 145-146;
   decision of congress at Malmö concerning, 147-148;
   folly of expedition against, 150;
   Norby offers to surrender, 178;
   retains ammunition of Gustavus in, 192;
   is said to have been handed over to the Danes, 198;
   Gustavus demands, 217;
   Brask goes to, 266.

 Gregory, authority of, 234-235.

 Gripsholm, Gustavus seizes monastery of, 226-228 and 244-245;
   Diet of Vesterås discusses seizure of, 254.

 Guilds, in Stockholm, 30-31.

 Gustavus. _See_ Vasa (Gustavus).

 Gyllenstjerna (Christina), marries Sten Sture the Younger, 24;
   her character, 32;
   her bravery, 66;
   refuses to parley with the Danes, 67 and 68;
   battles with the Danes, 68-69;
   surrenders Stockholm, 76-77;
   is summoned before Christiern, 82;
   is imprisoned in Denmark, 83;
   her projected alliance with Norby, 172;
   is suspected of conspiracy against Gustavus, 179;
   is said to have been imprisoned by Gustavus, 181 and 182;
   impersonation of her boy, 218-219.


 Hans, king of Denmark, 17;
   his hostility to Sten Sture, 18-21;
   is recognized as king, 21;
   is forced to flee, 22;
   death of, 25;
   his words about Gustavus Vasa, 25-26.

 Hanse Towns, send aid to Christina, 69;
   are said to have sent stores to Christiern, 94;
   privileges granted to, 114 and 209-212;
   importance of Gotland to, 139;
   their share in the congress at Malmö, 175.

 Haraldsson (Magnus), is elected bishop of Skara, 133.

 Helgeandsholm, island near Stockholm, 29-30.

 Holland, Christiern II. raises force in, 198;
   Sweden forms treaty with, 209-212.

 Hoya (Johan von), infatuation of Gustavus for, 150;
   honors conferred on, 152;
   is sent as ambassador to Russia, 207.


 Italy, her feeling toward the Church, 120.


 Johansson (Erik), father of Gustavus Vasa, his early history, 3-4;
   hostility to King Hans, 25;
   is member of Cabinet, 26;
   is commandant of Kastelholm Castle, 26.

 Jonsson (Bo), chancellor of the Swedish Cabinet, 13.


 Kalmar, landing of Gustavus at, 62;
   Christiern proceeds against, 72;
   rejects Gustavus, 73-74;
   is besieged by Vestgöte, 110;
   fall of, 112-113;
   Mehlen sails to, 148;
   liberality of Gustavus to, 149;
   Christina's son arrives at, 172;
   Mehlen is deposed from command of, 174;
   Gustavus writes to people of, 175-176;
   Christina's boy is kept in, 179;
   resists Gustavus, 179-180;
   treachery of Mehlen at, 186-187;
   siege of, 187-188;
   fall of, 189;
   wreck at, 194-195;
   Gustavus sends fleet to, 199.

 "Kalmar Recess," its nature, 18;
   violation of its terms, 19 and 21.

 Kalmar Union, its formation, 13-14.

 Kalö, the place of imprisonment of Gustavus, 54-55;
   escape of Gustavus from, 59-60.

 Karlsson (Magnus), grandfather of Gustavus Vasa, 3.

 "Klippings," their character, 107-108;
   are forbidden by Danish commandant of Stockholm, 122, note;
   are refused by the soldiers of Gustavus, 128;
   Gustavus apologizes for, 132-133;
   are repudiated in Sweden, 143-144 and note;
   Gustavus writes to Dalarne about, 153;
   Gustavus is denounced for, 182.

 Knights, origin of, 8.

 Knipperdolling, fanaticism of, 165-167.

 Knut, is deposed from deanery of Vesterås, 138;
   joins conspiracy against Gustavus, 177;
   is given comfort in Norway, 178;
   Gustavus demands surrender of, 191;
   execution of, 200-203.

 Knutsson (Karl), regent of Sweden, 15-16.

 Kristersson (Johan), grandfather of Gustavus Vasa, 3.

 Krumpen (Otto), is placed in command of Danish forces, 63;
   makes treaty with the Swedes, 67;
   his ineffectual effort to subdue Christina, 68;
   defeats the Swedes at Upsala, 69-71;
   holds conference with Christiern, 76;
   is knighted by Christiern, 80.

 Köping, battle at, 95-96.


 Lapland, Swedish depredations in, 208.

 Leo X., appoints Arcimboldo to sell indulgences, 48;
   appoints tribunal to investigate affairs in Sweden, 62;
   excommunicates Sture, 62;
   is approached by Johannes Magni, 126.

 Lindholm, description of, 1.

 Linköping, Gad is elected bishop of, 21;
   palace of bishop of, is besieged, 76;
   tax to be paid by bishop of, 205-206;
   is said to be at heart of conspiracy in Dalarne, 263.

 Louvain, University of, 126.

 Lubeck, flight of Gustavus to, 60-61;
   her hatred of Christiern, 109;
   sends fleet to Gustavus, 109-110;
   privileges granted by Sweden to, 114 and 209-212;
   debt of Sweden to, 121 and notes 1 and 2;
   demands payment of her loan to Sweden, 128-130;
   is asked to send delegates to congress at Malmö, 146;
   congress of Hanse Towns to be held at, 148;
   captures Visby, 184-185;
   her position in the Swedish Revolution, 190;
   is said to have fortified Gotland, 198;
   her negotiations with Gustavus, 203-206;
   tries to secure payment of debt, 213-215;
   her feeling toward the Reformation, 239.

 Lund, archbishop of, investigates affairs in Sweden, 62;
   accompanies Christiern II. in expedition against Sweden, 72.

 Luther (Martin), causes dread in Sweden, 154;
   Petri becomes pupil of, 155-156;
   feelings of Gustavus toward, 158;
   Andreæ writes concerning, 160-161;
   Brask writes concerning, 161-163;
   danger of his teaching, 165-168;
   his translation of the Bible, 221-223;
   Gustavus says he has not adopted teaching of, 236-238 and 245;
   his reforms are embodied in Swedish law, 246;
   clergy refuse to accept teaching of, 247-248.


 Magni (Johannes), early life of, 126;
   is appointed legate by Adrian VI., 127;
   is elected archbishop of Sweden, 133;
   is ordered to Rome to obtain confirmation, 134-135;
   Gustavus writes about the pope to, 137;
   his efforts to repress heresy, 156-158;
   his share in the translation of the Bible, 222-223;
   banishment of, 239-240;
   comparison between Brask and, 266.

 Magni (Olaus), is sent to Rome by Gustavus, 136;
   is sent to Amsterdam by Gustavus, 211-212.

 Magni (Petrus), is elected bishop of Vesterås, 134 and 138.

 Malmö, congress at, 147-148;
   Gustavus is deceived at, 171.

 Margaret, becomes regent of Sweden, 13 and note.

 Margaret, regent of the Netherlands, forms treaty with Sweden, 212.

 Margareta, is betrothed to Hoya, 152;
   is wronged by Fredrik, 215-216.

 Mariefred, monastery of, is threatened, 76.

 Maximilian, his share in the Reformation, 120.

 Mehlen (Berent von), swears fealty to Gustavus, 105;
   is given command of expedition against Gotland, 145-146;
   withdraws from Gotland, 148;
   infatuation of Gustavus for, 150;
   fall of, 173-176;
   treachery of, 179-180;
   his flight, 186-187;
   Lubeck defends, 204.

 Melchior, fanaticism of, 165-167.

 Middle Ages, nature of, 118-119.

 Mora, Gustavus at, 87-89;
   Gustavus writes to people of, 181.

 Moscow, Swedish envoys are sent to, 207-208.

 Mälar, pours its waters into the Baltic, 28;
   Gustavus takes up hiding-place on shore of, 75.


 Natt och Dag, influence of family of, 16.

 Netherlands, form treaty with Sweden, 212.

 Nilsson (Kristiern), great-grandfather of Gustavus Vasa, 3.

 Norby, is defeated by Vestgöte, 101-102;
   relieves Stockholm, 106;
   relieves Åbo, 106;
   infests shores of Baltic, 109;
   attempts to relieve Stockholm, 110;
   sails for Denmark, 112;
   makes depredations from Gotland, 139;
   is charged with checking imports, 142;
   Fredrik is thought to be in league with, 145-148;
   Gustavus tries to delude, 171-172;
   his projected alliance with Christina, 172-173;
   Gustavus denounces, 174-175;
   deceives Fredrik, 177-178;
   Gustavus is said to be in league with, 181;
   Dalarne conspires with, 182-183;
   invades Bleking, 183-184;
   is granted fiefs in Bleking, 185;
   negotiations between Fredrik and Gustavus concerning, 191-193;
   his negotiations with Gustavus, 193-195;
   fall of, 197-200;
   his complaint to the grand duke of Russia, 208.

 North America, Revolution in, 273-275.

 Norway, Gustavus flees to, 88;
   Knut and Sunnanväder flee to, 177-178;
   Gustavus writes to Cabinet of, 191;
   pretended son of Sture in, 218-219.

 Nyköping, surrender of Castle of, 40-41.


 Olsson, takes part in storming of Vesterås, 96-98;
   of Upsala, 98-99.

 Oxenstjerna, influence of family of, 15-16.


 Petri (Laurentius), early life of, 155;
   wrangles at Diet of Vesterås, 252-253.

 Petri (Olaus), his early life and character, 154-156;
   is charged with heresy, 156-157;
   is appointed city clerk in Stockholm, 163;
   holds disputation with Galle, 168-169;
   his marriage, 169-171 and 224;
   holds another disputation with Galle, 232-236;
   is chosen to approach the king at Vesterås, 253;
   comparison between Brask and, 266.

 Poland, Magni is sent on embassy to, 240.

 Popes, usurpation of, 234-235;
   Gustavus fears, 238-239.

 Prussia, Fredrik's daughter sails for, 199.


 Reformation, general character of, 119-120;
   spread of, 154-156.

 Rensel, enlists in the Swedish army, 102.

 Revolution, nature of, 90-91;
   evils of Swedish, 220-221;
   comparison of Swedish Revolution with others, 272-275.

 Riddarholm, island near Stockholm, 29.

 Rome, establishes archbishopric of Upsala, 6;
   Gad is sent as ambassador to, 33;
   her share in the Reformation, 120;
   opposition of Gustavus to, 136;
   Magni plans return to, 159;
   Brask champions, 247 and 249;
   necessity that kings be sanctioned by, 268;
   Gustavus fears, 269;
   Swedish church becomes independent of, 270-271 and 273.

 Runn (Lake), Gustavus at, 85-86.

 Russia, is at war with Sweden, 17;
   is again at war with Sweden, 19;
   forms treaty with Sweden, 23;
   Norby flees to, 200;
   Gustavus ratifies treaty with 207-209.

 Rydboholm, home of Gustavus Vasa, 3-4.

 Rättvik, Gustavus at, 86-87;
   skirmish of Danish horsemen at, 88.


 Scriptures, translation of, 221-223 and 231-232;
   authority of, 233-236;
   are to be taught in schools, 260.

 Sigbrit, her influence over Christiern II., 35.

 Siljan (Lake), Gustavus at, 86-87.

 Skara, election of bishop of, 125 and 133;
   Francisco of Potentia is said to have been made bishop of, 137;
   tax to be paid by bishop of, 206;
   part of Bible to be translated by Chapter of, 222;
   Gustavus oppresses bishop of, 264;
   bishop of Vesterås consecrates bishop of, 271.

 Slagheck (Didrik), is placed at head of affairs in Sweden, 91;
   concentrates his forces at Vesterås, 93;
   is removed from office, 103;
   is beheaded, 109.

 Sledorn (Henrik), professor in University of Upsala, 27.

 Småland, Gustavus seeks to incite the people of, 75.

 Sommar (Magnus), is elected bishop of Strengnäs, 133.

 Stegeborg, is besieged by Vestgöte, 101-102;
   Gustavus inspects camp at, 102-103;
   fall of, 105;
   is granted to Hoya, 152.

 Stegeholm, revolt in, 95.

 Sten. _See_ Sture (Sten).

 Sten Sture the Younger. _See_ Sture (Sten) the Younger.

 Stockholm, siege of castle at, 22;
   description of, 28-31;
   is held by Christina, 68;
   Christiern arrives at, 72;
   siege of, 75-76;
   Christiern's triumphal entry into, 77-78;
   festival in, 78-80;
   carnage in, 81-83;
   Gustavus fails to capture, 100-101;
   Gustavus again lays siege to, 105-106;
   Gustavus raises siege of, 106;
   Gustavus again lays siege to, 107;
   Gustavus continues siege of, 110-111;
   is captured by Gustavus, 115-116;
   desolation of, 131.

 Strengnäs, depredations at, 76;
   Diet of, 113-115;
   election of bishop of, 125 and 133;
   influence of Petri and Andreæ in, 155-156;
   Magni writes concerning clergy of, 159;
   tax to be paid by bishop of, 206;
   part of Bible to be translated by Chapter of, 222;
   address at Vesterås by bishop of, 252;
   Gustavus oppresses bishop of, 264;
   bishop of Vesterås consecrates bishop of, 271.

 Sture (Sten), is chosen regent of Sweden, 16;
   is opposed by the Cabinet, 17-19;
   by King Hans of Denmark, 20-21;
   fall of, 21;
   is re-elected regent, 22;
   death of, 22;
   Gripsholm Monastery is founded by, 227.

 Sture (Sten) the Younger, his war with Erik Trolle, 24-25;
   is elected regent, 25;
   recommends Gustaf Trolle for the archbishopric, 36-37;
   discord between Trolle and, 38-44;
   his peace negotiations with Christiern, 48-50;
   battles with the Danes, 51-52;
   is duped by Christiern, 53-54;
   writes to Christiern, 57-58;
   is excommunicated, 62;
   is wounded, 63-64;
   his death, 65;
   his character, 65-66;
   his body is exhumed, 83;
   pretended son of, 218-219.

 Sture (Svante), his hostility to Sten Sture, 18-19;
   is reconciled to Sten Sture, 21;
   besieges Castle of Örebro, 22;
   is elected regent, 23;
   is deposed, 23;
   death of, 23.

 Stäket, siege of, 20;
   dispute concerning, 38-39;
   Trolle fortifies, 40-42;
   siege of, 43-44;
   fall of, 47-48.

 Sunnanväder (Peder), is deposed from bishopric of Vesterås, 137-138;
   conspiracy of, 153-154 and 176-177;
   is given comfort in Norway, 178;
   Gustavus demands surrender of, 191;
   execution of, 200-203;
   Gustavus denounces, 237.

 Svante. _See_ Sture (Svante).

 Svensson (Erik), is elected bishop of Åbo, 136.

 Sweden, early constitution of, 4-5;
   introduction of Christianity into, 5-6;
   Reformation in, 121;
   is ruined by warfare, 220-221.

 Söderköping, printing-press of, 232.

 Södermalm, cliffs of, 28;
   Christiern pitches his camp at, 51.


 Taxation, exemption of knights and armigers from, 8;
   is provided for by Diet of Strengnäs, 115 and 128-129;
   Gustavus apologizes for, 131-133;
   people's opposition to, 141-142;
   is provided for by Cabinet, 205-206;
   trouble in Dalarne about, 213-215 and 242-244.

 Tetzel, his sale of indulgences, 120.

 Tiveden, battle at, 64.

 Tott, influence of family of, 16.

 Trolle (Erik), his hostility to Sten Sture, 19;
   endeavors to be appointed regent, 24-25;
   plans to have his son appointed archbishop, 36-37.

 Trolle (Gustaf), his character, 36;
   is appointed archbishop of Sweden. 36-37;
   hostility to Sten Sture, 38-45;
   appears before a diet in Stockholm, 46-47;
   is taken prisoner by Sture, 47-48;
   resigns his archbishopric, 57;
   becomes reconciled to Sture, 63;
   advocates declaration of allegiance to Christiern, 67;
   holds conference with Christiern, 76;
   denounces the Swedish magnates, 81-82;
   endeavors to check the power of Gustavus, 94;
   captures Upsala, 99-100;
   retires to Denmark, 109;
   Swedish Cabinet writes to the pope about, 127-128;
   Gustavus writes to Rome about, 135-136;
   Gustavus writes to Dalarne about, 154;
   is placed in command of Christiern's fleet, 198;
   Gustavus is said to favor, 245.

 Trondhem, archbishop of, protects fugitives, 196;
   returns Knut and Sunnanväder, 201-202;
   relations between pretended son of Sture and, 218-219;
   translation of Bible is sent to, 231;
   Magni communicates with, 239-240.


 Ulfsson (Jacob), archbishop of Sweden, 18;
   founds University of Upsala, 27;
   resigns the archbishopric, 36-37;
   is reappointed archbishop, 57;
   attends coronation of Christiern, 78;
   his advice to Gustavus, 83-84.

 Upsala, siege of archbishop's palace, 20;
   election of Sten Sture at, 25;
   University of, 27;
   battle at, 69-71;
   is captured by Gustavus, 98-99;
   is recaptured by Trolle 99-100;
   election of archbishop of, 133;
   heresy breaks out in, 156;
   disputation held in, 168-169;
   tax to be paid by archbishop of, 205;
   Gustavus is crowned in Cathedral of, 271.


 Vadstena, expedition against Gotland is determined at diet in, 139-140.

 Vasa, family of, 2-3;
   influence of family of, 16.

 Vasa (Gustavus), his birth, 1-2;
   his coat-of-arms, 2-3;
   his ancestry, 2-3;
   his meeting with King Hans, 25-26;
   his boyhood, 26;
   his education at Upsala, 26-27;
   is received at court, 31-32 and note;
   takes part in the battle of Brännkyrka, 51;
   is captured by Christiern, 53-54;
   is imprisoned in Denmark, 54-55;
   escapes from Kalö Castle, 59-60;
   appears in Lubeck, 60-61;
   lands at Kalmar, 61-62;
   his purpose, 72-73;
   seeks to incite the people of Småland, 74-75;
   solicits advice from Ulfsson, 83-84;
   flees to Dalarne, 84-85;
   seeks to rouse the Dalesmen, 85-87;
   flees to Norway, 87-88;
   is recalled, 88;
   is chosen leader, 89;
   recruits his army, 92-93;
   trains his soldiers, 94:
   captures Vesterås, 96-98;
   captures Upsala, 98-99;
   evacuates Upsala, 99-100;
   his unsuccessful effort to take Stockholm, 100-101;
   superintends the man[oe]uvres of his army, 102-103;
   wins Brask to his side, 103-104;
   accepts title of Commander of Swedish Army, 104;
   prepares ambuscade for Danes, 105;
   sends force to Finland, 105;
   lays siege to Stockholm, 105-106;
   issues "klippings," 107-108;
   sends to Lubeck for a fleet, 109-110;
   continues siege of Stockholm, 110-111;
   recruits his forces, 111-112;
   calls diet at Strengnäs, 113;
   is elected king, 114;
   enters Stockholm in triumph, 115-116;
   his successes, 117;
   charges Christiern with murdering Swedish bishops, 125-126;
   summons Johannes Magni, 127;
   is called upon to pay the debt to Lubeck, 128;
   calls upon Brask to aid the crown, 129-130;
   strives to improve condition of Stockholm, 131;
   endeavors to soothe the people, 131-133;
   writes to the pope for confirmation of the bishops, 133-134;
   writes to Rome about Trolle, 135-136;
   writes to Rome again and to Magni, 136-137;
   deposes bishop and dean of Vesterås, 137-138;
   subdues Finland, 138;
   plans expedition against Gotland, 138-140;
   appeals to Brask for aid, 140-141;
   lays the odium of the new tax on Brask, 141-143;
   communicates with Fredrik concerning Gotland, 144-145;
   begins war with Gotland, 145-146;
   takes part in the congress at Malmö, 147-148;
   oppresses Brask, 149-150;
   holds Cabinet meeting to improve trade, 150-153;
   his feelings toward Luther, 157-159;
   writes concerning Luther, 162-163;
   his purpose in opposing the Church, 163;
   his treatment of the Anabaptists, 167;
   holds a disputation, 168-169;
   discusses the marriage of Petri, 170-171;
   deposes Mehlen, 173-176;
   tries to quell insurrection in Dalarne, 176-177;
   his distrust of Fredrik, 178-179;
   his distrust of Christina, 179;
   is opposed in Kalmar, 179-180;
   summons diet to stay discontent, 180-183;
   fights Norby, 184;
   is displeased with Fredrik, 185-186;
   captures Kalmar, 186-189;
   his negotiations with Fredrik, 190-193;
   his communications with Norby, 194-195;
   his communications concerning Knut and Sunnanväder, 195-197;
   his movements against Norby, 197-199;
   executes Knut and Sunnanväder, 200-203;
   negotiates about debt to Lubeck, 203-206;
   forms treaty with Russia, 207-209;
   with Holland, 209-212;
   negotiates with the Dalesmen, 213-215;
   with Fredrik, 215-217;
   with the archbishop of Trondhem, 218-219;
   orders Bible to be translated, 222-223;
   oppresses the monasteries, 224-226;
   seizes Gripsholm, 228;
   oppresses Brask, 229-231;
   denies charge of favoring Luther, 231;
   calls a disputation, 232-234;
   seeks to soothe the Dalesmen, 236-238;
   oppresses Magni, 238-240;
   oppresses Åbo and Arboga, 240-242;
   communicates with the Dalesmen, 242-246;
   humiliates the Church at Vesterås, 246-247;
   opens the diet, 248-249;
   resigns the crown, 250-251;
   watches his enemies, 251-252;
   is begged to withdraw his resignation, 253-254;
   his demands are granted by the diet, 254-261;
   sends out announcement to the people, 261-262;
   oppresses Brask, 262-266;
   delays confirmation of the bishops, 269;
   sends out invitations to coronation, 269-270;
   consents to confirmation of the bishops, 270-271;
   is crowned, 271-272;
   considerations on his career, 272-275;
   bibliography of, 283-284.

 Vend Cities, alliance with Sweden, 23;
   privileges granted by Sweden to, 209-211.

 Vesterås, siege of, 69;
   fall of, 77;
   Danish forces are concentrated at, 93;
   Gustavus captures, 96-98;
   castle is reinforced by Danes, 104-105;
   castle surrenders, 106;
   election of new bishop of, 125 and 134;
   fair at, 131;
   Gustavus deposes bishop and dean of, 138;
   tax to be paid by bishop of, 206;
   trouble with the Dominican monks of, 225-226;
   closing of mint at, 244;
   Diet of, 246-262;
   consecrates the other bishops, 270-271.

 "Vesterås Ordinantia," terms of, 258-260.

 "Vesterås Recess," terms of, 257-258.

 Vestgöte (Arvid), lays siege to Stegeborg, 101-102;
   captures Stegeborg, 105;
   besieges Kalmar, 110;
   captures Kalmar, 112-113;
   his depredations in Öland, 230.

 Vexiö, tax to be paid by bishop of, 206;
   receives authority from Rome, 270-271.

 Viken, dispute between Fredrik and Gustavus about, 216-217.

 Visby, leader of the Hanseatic League, 139;
   siege of, 146-147;
   Mehlen's conduct in siege of, 173;
   is captured by Lubeck, 184-185;
   ammunition of Gustavus kept in, 192.


 Washington (George), comparison between Gustavus and, 274.

 West Friesland, privileges granted to, 211.

 Wittenberg, Petri studies at, 155.


 Zealand, privileges granted to, 211.


 Åbo, is besieged by Gustavus, 105;
   forces of Gustavus are routed at, 106;
   death of bishop of, 134;
   election of bishop of, 136;
   tax to be paid by bishop of, 205-206;
   Gustavus quarrels with Chapter of, 241;
   is not represented at Diet of Vesterås, 246;
   bishop of Vesterås consecrates bishop of, 271.


 Öland, depredations of Vestgöte in, 230.

 Örebro, siege of castle at, 22.




University Press, Cambridge: John Wilson & Son.








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