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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa, by
+Paul Barron Watson
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa
+
+Author: Paul Barron Watson
+
+Release Date: August 30, 2007 [EBook #22458]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: UTF-8
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SWEDISH REVOLUTION ***
+
+
+
+
+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'.
+
+
+
+
+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 manœuvring 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
+namēs der Ander vō Den̄marck jm reich zu Sweden begāgen 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 manœuvres 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.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus
+Vasa, by Paul Barron Watson
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