diff options
Diffstat (limited to '44624-0.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 44624-0.txt | 16257 |
1 files changed, 16257 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/44624-0.txt b/44624-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1a0c069 --- /dev/null +++ b/44624-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16257 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44624 *** + + Transcriber's Note: + + Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as + possible. Some changes have been made. They are listed at the end of + the text. + + Italic text has been marked with _underscores_. + + + + +[Illustration: GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS] + + + + + THE WORLD’S BEST HISTORIES + + SWEDEN + + BY + VICTOR NILSSON, PH.D. + AUTHOR OF “LODDFAFNISMAL, AN EDDIC STUDY” + + _WITH FRONTISPIECE_ + + THE CO-OPERATIVE PUBLICATION SOCIETY + NEW YORK AND LONDON + + + COPYRIGHT 1899 + BY PETER FENELON COLLIER + + + + +SWEDEN + + + + +CONTENTS + + + PAGE + + INTRODUCTION 5 + + + CHAPTER I + + SWEDEN IN PREHISTORIC AND EARLY HISTORIC TIMES--ARCHÆOLOGICAL + FINDS AND CLASSICAL TESTIMONY 11 + + + CHAPTER II + + DAWN OF SWEDISH HISTORY--HEIMSKRINGLA AND YNGLINGATAL 33 + + + CHAPTER III + + THE VIKING AGE--ANSGAR, THE APOSTLE OF SWEDEN 44 + + + CHAPTER IV + + EARLY CHRISTIAN ERA--STENKIL’S LINE AND INTERCHANGING DYNASTIES 64 + + + CHAPTER V + + THE MEDIÆVAL STATE--THE FOLKUNG DYNASTY 80 + + + CHAPTER VI + + UNIONISM VERSUS PATRIOTISM--MARGARET, ENGELBREKT AND CHARLES + KNUTSSON 100 + + + CHAPTER VII + + UNIONISM VERSUS PATRIOTISM--UNCROWNED KINGS OF THE STURE + FAMILIES 115 + + + CHAPTER VIII + + REVOLUTION AND REFORMATION--GUSTAVUS VASA 130 + + + CHAPTER IX + + REFORMATION AND REACTION--THE SONS OF GUSTAVUS I. 161 + + + CHAPTER X + + PERIOD OF POLITICAL GRANDEUR--GUSTAVUS II. ADOLPHUS 192 + + + CHAPTER XI + + PERIOD OF POLITICAL GRANDEUR--QUEEN CHRISTINE 220 + + + CHAPTER XII + + PERIOD OF POLITICAL GRANDEUR--CHARLES X. AND CHARLES XI. 242 + + + CHAPTER XIII + + PERIOD OF POLITICAL GRANDEUR--CHARLES XII. 268 + + + CHAPTER XIV + + PERIOD OF LIBERTY--THE ARISTOCRATIC REPUBLIC 310 + + + CHAPTER XV + + GUSTAVIAN PERIOD--GUSTAVUS III. AND GUSTAVUS IV. ADOLPHUS 343 + + + CHAPTER XVI + + THE CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY--CHARLES XIII. AND THE EARLY + BERNADOTTES 365 + + + CHAPTER XVII + + PARLIAMENTARY REFORM--CHARLES XV. 391 + + + CHAPTER XVIII + + PROGRESS AND PROSPERITY--OSCAR II. 414 + + + + +INTRODUCTION + + +The kingdom of Sweden occupies the eastern and larger part of the +Scandinavian peninsula, covering an area of one hundred and seventy +thousand six hundred and sixty square miles, with a population of +somewhat more than five millions. Sweden is of nearly the same width, +from east to west, throughout her whole length. If the country were +divided into four equal parts, the southernmost part would correspond +to the district of Gothaland, the next to the district of Svealand, +consisting of most of what is north of the lakes Venar and Vetter +and what is south of the Dal River, while the two remaining parts +together would make up the district of Norrland. Gothaland, in +ancient times called _Sunnanskogs_ (South of the Woods), consists of +the old provinces Scania, Bleking, Smaland and East Gothland by the +Baltic, Halland and Bohuslæn by the North Sea, and West Gothland of +the interior. Svealand, or _Nordanskogs_, consists of the provinces +Sœdermanland and Upland by the Baltic, south and north of Lake Mælar, +respectively, Dal, Vermland and Dalecarlia on the Norwegian frontier, +and Nerike and Westmanland of the interior. Norrland consists of the +provinces of Gestrikland, Helsingland, Medelpad, Angermanland and +Westerbotten by the Gulf of Bothnia, a branch of the Baltic, and +Herjedal, Jemtland and the Lapmark on the Norwegian frontier. A great +number of islands form part of the kingdom, of which the two largest, +Gothland and Œland, are situated in the Baltic. One-twelfth of the +area, or as much as the whole state of Denmark, consists of water. + +Sweden is politically united with Norway and ruled by the same king, +these united kingdoms forming the largest realm in Europe next to +Russia, Sweden herself ranking as the sixth in size. + +Sweden is a country which offers striking varieties in scenery and +conditions. In the southernmost province of Scania, an ancient home of +culture, the nightingale and the stork dwell in the fertile plains, +and the walnut, mulberry and chestnut trees render ripening fruit. +Central Sweden is a wooded plateau, rich in rocky hills and inland +seas. Although barren lands occupy large areas, these parts are +characterized by a loveliness and picturesqueness which are still more +pronounced in the northern provinces along the coast. Only in the inner +mountainous regions of Norrland is the scenery of real grandeur where +the white-capped giants appear in vast groups, or in isolated peaks +of six thousand to seven thousand feet in altitude, where a hundred +glaciers with glacier rivers, moraines and erosions cover a surface +almost as large as the glaciers of Tyrol, and where, in the turbulent +course of mighty rivers, are formed tremendous waterfalls, one of them, +The Hare’s Leap, being the largest in Europe. + +Geologically considered, Sweden is situated around the centre of the +ancient Scandinavian land-ice, and in the greater part of the country +only two of the geological series, the oldest and the youngest, are +represented. Thus the uneven, undulating surface of the Archæan rocks, +on which almost the whole country is firmly set, is in general covered +with quaternary deposits of gravel and clay. The mountains are rich in +iron ore, the streams and lakes in fish, the woods in game, but the +soil, itself of a good quality, unfortunately rich in stones. This +last-mentioned circumstance, together with the rather severe climate, +which yet is a good deal milder than might be expected, especially in +the southern and western parts of the country, makes agriculture, which +is the most important industry, profitable only on the extensive plains +of Scania, Upland and West and East Gothland. Still barley and rye are +cultivated within the Polar Circle, ripening in remarkably short time +under the nocturnal light of the Midsummer sun. Dense forests cover +Sweden in the very same latitude in which Greenland is clad by eternal +ice. The short summers are of a surpassing loveliness. In Norrland +there is a Swedish _læn_, or governmental district, of the size of +the State of Ohio, on which, between the 5th of June and the 11th of +July, the sun never sets. If the earth was perfectly plain and even +one would be able to see the sun above the horizon continually during +this period. But these northerly regions are very mountainous, and +consequently you will have to climb a high peak in order to see the +wonderful sight of a sun which stands still when it should set, and +which marks the difference between night and day only by a rolling +motion in the horizon. There is no country in the world where so many +places for such observation are reached so easily as in Sweden. One may +travel the whole distance from the southernmost point of the country to +the very base of a mountain, Gellivara, Sweden’s Klondike, from which +the midnight sun can be seen for thirty-seven nights in succession. +But although the sun itself is visible only from the mountain peaks +above the Polar Circle, the nocturnal light steeps the whole realm in +midsummer-night’s dreams of magic colors and reflections. + +The Swedish people are of Teutonic stock and have lived in the land +they still inhabit for at least four thousand years, during this entire +period not having assimilated other nationalities, or at least to no +extent worth mentioning, so that the Swedish nation is of an origin far +purer than any other at present existing. + +The kingdom of Sweden is the most ancient of the states still extant in +Europe, for all historical monuments prove that the Swedes have kept +to about their present territory, perfectly independent of foreign +nations, probably for a long time divided into lesser communities, +but for the past twelve hundred years united in one single realm. The +languages spoken in the Scandinavian North belong to the Teutonic +family of Indo-European languages, and seem to have been one and almost +homogeneous up to the time of the Viking Age (about 700-1060), when +various dialects commence to be distinguished. The old uniform language +has been preserved in Northern loanwords in the Finnish and Lap +languages and in about one hundred of the oldest Runic inscriptions. +The early Old Swedish, from the Viking Age to somewhat later than +1200, did not differ much from the Old Norse (the Old Norwegian and +Old Icelandic), while the difference from the Old Danish was almost +imperceptible. The sources for the study of this language period are +about two thousand later Runic inscriptions and nearly one hundred Old +Swedish loanwords, almost all proper names, in the Russian language. +The classical period of Old Swedish falls between 1200 and about 1350. +Its most important monuments are the provincial laws and a manuscript +collection of saintly legends, called Codex Bureanus. The language +of this period offers a number of dialects, of which only one, the +Gutnic, is strictly defined. In the next period of Old Swedish, from +1350 to the Reformation, a universal language for the whole country +is distinguished. The so-called Oxenstiern manuscripts and Codex +Bildstenianus are the chief sources of our knowledge of this language +period, mostly of religious contents. Modern Swedish dates from the +Reformation, its later period being counted from the publication of +the state law in 1734. The Swedish language seems to be based chiefly +upon the dialect of Sœdermanland, with influences from other dialects. +Among the Scandinavian languages, Swedish ranks next to the Icelandic +in point of purity, and is the foremost of them all in point of beauty. + +The Swedes are a hardworking, industrious and intelligent race, not +fully conscious of their own rich endowment and slow to push their +individual claims. In moments of danger and distress, this people +give evidence of an active heroism, which offers a great contrast to +their usual quiet and peaceful demeanor. The Swedish nation is endowed +with an unusual inventive power, which has placed it in the first +rank of scientific research, having produced a quota of initiative +spirits, as originators, founders and innovators of sciences, which +is considerably larger than that of any other modern country, in +proportion to the population. The national temperament is, like the +soil, composed of extremes. With the serene quiet and almost sullen +tranquillity goes a patience of extraordinary endurance which, when +it gives in, surprises by the passion which takes its place. To the +melancholy trait in the Swedish character is contrasted a great desire +for the pleasures of life and exuberant animal spirits. Under a quiet +surface, the Swede conceals a rapid comprehension and an almost morbid +sensitiveness, sometimes causing people of other nationalities to judge +him slow of intellect or perfidious, when he is only slow of action or +indisposed to show his feelings. The most valuable inheritance from +his ancestors is his moral courage, while the ancient Northern trait +of self-restraint is often carried to an extreme. Akin to both is his +dignity. He possesses great musical and improvisatorial gifts which +complete his lyric-rhetorical temperament. + +There are some 6,000 Laplanders and some 20,000 Finns living in the +furthest North, and foreigners to the number of about 20,000 dwell in +Sweden, mostly Norwegians, Finns and Danes. More than 99 per cent of +the population consists of native Swedes, and 99.9 per cent belong to +the Lutheran state church or the Protestant denominations. + +The principal towns are Stockholm, the capital, with 300,000 +inhabitants, enchantingly beautiful in situation, on the mainland and +islands at the outlet of Lake Mælar into the Baltic; Gothenburg, with +120,000 inhabitants, the chief commercial centre, at the mouth of the +Gotha River, by the North Sea; Malmœ, with 60,000 inhabitants, in +Scania, by the Sound. The university towns of Upsala, in Upland, and +Lund, in Scania, have 25,000 and 17,000 inhabitants, respectively. + + + + +HISTORY OF SWEDEN + + + + +CHAPTER I + +_Sweden in Prehistoric and Early Historic Times--Archæological Finds +and Classical Testimony_ + + +The Swedes, although the oldest and most unmixed race in Europe, +realized very late the necessity of writing chronicles or reviews of +historic events. Thus the names of heroes and kings of the remotest +past are helplessly forgotten, and lost also the history of its +earliest religion and institutions. + +But Mother Earth has carefully preserved most of what has been +deposited in her bosom, and has repaid diligent research with +trustworthy and irrefutable accounts of the age and various degrees +of civilization of the race which inhabited Sweden in prehistoric +times. Thus it has been proved that Sweden, like most other countries, +has had a Stone Age, a Bronze Age, and an Iron Age. But there is +absolutely no evidence to prove the now antiquated theories of various +immigrations into Sweden by different races on different stages of +civilization. On the contrary, the graves from the remotest times, +through all successive periods, prove by the form of the skulls of +those buried in them that Sweden has, through all ages, been inhabited +by the same dolichocephalic, or long-headed, race which constitutes the +overwhelming majority of her people to-day. + +Sweden, physically considered, is not of as high antiquity as some +countries of Europe. Yet it has been inhabited during the last four +thousand years, at least. In the quaternary period the Scandinavian +peninsula was a centre of a glacial movement which spread its +disastrous influences over Western Russia, Northern Germany and +Holland. In that period no vegetable or animal life was possible in +Sweden. From the fact that the earliest stone celts found in Sweden +and Denmark are not polished, archæologists were led to suppose that +the Stone Age of the North was contemporaneous with the Palæolithic +civilization in Western Europe. But this standpoint has been found +untenable, because it has later become evident that the fauna +surrounding the earliest inhabitants of the Northern countries was ours +and not a quaternary one. + +The oldest types of finds of _the Stone Age_ in the North have been +discovered in the refuse-heaps on the Danish coast. These refuse-heaps, +consisting of stone implements, shells, bones, etc., do not occur in +Sweden, but the implements characteristic of them are found scattered +over some parts of the southernmost Swedish province of Scania. The +shape of these earliest finds is exactly the same as of those of the +later Stone Age, the only difference being that the former are not +polished. But there are transitions between the classes, and the act of +polishing must be regarded as an important phase of progress. + +The Stone Age of Sweden is quite remarkable. If the remains of the +earlier period are scanty, the finds from the later one are all the +more numerous. With the exception of Denmark and a part of North +Germany, there is no European country which can boast of such rich and +beautiful relics from the later Stone Age as the southern part of +Sweden. The finds in the other countries mentioned are almost exactly +like those of Sweden from the Stone and the Bronze Ages, both as far as +implements and skulls are concerned, proving them to have been settled +by the same race. + +The weapons and implements from the Stone Age consist of axes, daggers, +spearheads, arrowheads, saws, and knives of flint; axes, gauges, +handmills of stone; fishhooks and arrowheads of bone; earthenware, +etc., etc. The graves of this period are dolmens, passage-graves, and +stone cists, the last mentioned either uncovered or covered with a +barrow. The different forms of burial places seem to indicate four +successive stages of the period. Through their existence it becomes +probable that the inhabitants of Sweden during the Stone Age had fixed +dwelling places. + +A dolmen is a grave-chamber of which the walls are formed of large, +thick stones set up edgewise, covered with one huge block of stone +as a roof, all the stones being rough outside and smooth inside. +The passage-graves are built in the same way, but are larger and +distinguished by a long covered passage leading to it. These graves are +surrounded by a low barrow, upon the top of which the huge roof-stones +were originally visible. Dolmens and passage-graves occur in Sweden in +considerable numbers along the coast of Scania, on the plains of West +Gothland and in Bohuslæn, more sparsely in other parts of West Gothland +and in Halland, with stray cases of graves of a similar construction in +Nerike and Western Sœdermanland. It is important to note the regions in +which these graves have been found, for they must be identical with the +parts of the earliest settlements. Such graves are also very common in +Denmark, while only one has been found in Norway. + +The stone cists resemble very much the chamber of a passage-grave. +They are larger and four-sided, and built of somewhat thinner stones. +Stone cists standing partly visible above the barrow constitute a +form peculiar to Sweden, occurring in great numbers in West Gothland, +Bohuslæn, Dalsland and Southwestern Vermland, while the covered stone +cists appear in the same provinces and in Nerike, East Gothland, +Smaland, Bleking and the Island of Gothland. + +During the Stone Age the bodies were buried unburned, in a recumbent +or sitting position. By the side of the dead body was usually placed a +weapon, a tool, or some ornaments, sometimes also earthenware vessels, +now filled only with earth. These vessels may once have contained +food. The elaborate graves seem to indicate a belief in a future life. +The food, if any such was placed by the side of the dead, would not +necessarily point to the fact that such a future life was imagined +merely as a continuation of earth life. The heathen Scandinavians of a +later age believed that the dead remained for some time in their burial +place before reaching their ultimate destination. For their possible +wants during this intermediate state food was left with the dead body. + +The total number of relics of stone found in Sweden is 64,000. Of these +only 4,000 belong to Svealand and Norrland, while of all the rest found +in Gothaland 45,000 belong to Scania alone. + +In a much later age the Scandinavians were regarded as pure barbarians. +For this reason it is important to observe that graves from the Stone +Age show that the Swedes in that remote period had several domesticated +animals, the dog, horse, ox, swine, sheep, and, perhaps, also the goat. +Hence they were certainly a pastoral people, not living exclusively +by hunting and fishing. But whether they practiced agriculture cannot +be decided in the present state of our knowledge. The fact that the +very oldest graves are found in the most fertile districts of Southern +Sweden seems to speak in favor of the supposition that agriculture was +known and appreciated. + +Of metals, even of gold, the people of the late Stone Age were entirely +ignorant, also of the art of writing. Hence no monuments of their +language will ever be found. Still it is highly probable that the +Teutonic ancestors of the Swedes began to settle in the land from the +beginning of the Stone Age. + +It is true that some skulls, very much like those of the Laps, have +also been found in the graves of the Stone Age; but it must be borne +in mind that these burial places, impressive through their size and +the amount of work and mechanical skill necessary for their erection, +can be believed to have been originally intended only for kings or +chieftains, and their families. It was probably a custom, as in later +heathen times, to bury with such distinguished people a number of +slaves, dead or alive. The presence of skulls of a non-Scandinavian +type can thus be explained, without the necessity of accepting the +theory of an early mixture of two races. + +In the northern part of Sweden have been found relics of stone, usually +of slate, which do not appear to have belonged to the people of the +dolmens or passage-graves. They bear a close resemblance to those found +in Finland and in other countries inhabited by Laps, Finns and peoples +related to them. This seems to prove that these so-called Arctic stone +implements are relics of the Laps and belong to the time when this +people was still ignorant of the use of metal. Judging from the number +of relics found on the coast, from Westerbotten to Gestrikland, and +in Dalecarlia, the Laps dwelt also in somewhat more southerly parts +of Sweden than at the present day. So far south as in the middle +provinces, no Arctic stone relics have been found, still less in any of +the southern provinces. This seems to indicate that the Laps and the +Swedes did not dwell in the same parts of the country during the Stone +Age, and their intercourse, if any, must have been of a very accidental +and casual nature. + +That the Stone Age lasted a very long time in the North is proved by +the fact that it reached a far higher development there than anywhere +else in Europe. The best authorities think that it must have ended +rather before than after 1500 B.C., or 3,500 years before our time. + +_The Bronze Age_ followed upon the Stone Age. Flint exists in Sweden +and was easily found. There are also copper mines, but their working +is of comparatively modern date. The copper of the Bronze Age must +have been brought from abroad, and tin, necessary for the production +of bronze, is foreign to Scandinavia. The knowledge of the working of +any metal proves an immense progress. Yet there are strong grounds +for the opinion that the beginning of the Bronze Age in Sweden was +not connected with any great immigration of a new race, but that the +inhabitants learned the art of working bronze by intercourse with other +nations. The resemblance of the graves during the last part of the +Stone Age and the early part of the Bronze Age points most strongly to +such a conclusion. From Asia the knowledge of bronze, and the higher +civilization dependent on it, had gradually spread itself over the +continent of Europe, in a northerly and northwesterly direction, until +it reached the coasts of the Baltic. + +The Bronze Age of Sweden began about 1500 B.C., and lasted for a +thousand years, or until the beginning of the fifth century before +Christ. The period has been divided into an Earlier and a Later +Bronze Age, a division which has been questioned as to its absolute +correctness. The works from the former are decorated with fine spiral +ornaments and zigzag lines. The graves generally contain remains of +unburned bodies. The antiquities of the Earlier Bronze Age, almost +without an exception, appear to be of native workmanship. They are +distinguished by artistic forms and point to a highly developed taste +in the working of bronze. They generally surpass in this respect the +relics of the Bronze Age found in almost all other European countries. +The works belonging to the Later Bronze Age are characterized by a +very different taste and style of ornamentation, though even they are +often the result of great skill. The spiral ornaments are no longer +predominant, but the ends of rings, knife-handles, and the like, are +often rolled up in spiral volutes. + +During this period the dead were always burned. Buttons, sword-hilts, +and other works of bronze were sometimes decorated with pieces of amber +and resin inlaid. Objects are also often found overlaid with thin +plates of gold. + +Remarkable are the rock-carvings from this period. The Swedes of the +Bronze Age understood, by a kind of picture-writing, how to preserve +the memory of important events, although an alphabet of any kind was +unknown. The rock-carvings have been found abundantly in Bohuslæn +(formerly a part of West Gothland) and East Gothland, but also occur +in Scania and other parts of Sweden. At the time of the arrival of +Cortez in Mexico the Aztecs were exactly on the same standpoint. In +spite of their high civilization, they were in the Bronze Age and +possessed a picture-writing, but were not acquainted with an alphabet. +In Sweden, as in Mexico, there certainly once existed an oral tradition +necessary for its interpretation, which, now lost, leaves little hope +for their present or future explanation. Yet they throw considerable +light on Swedish civilization during this remote period. Thus they +show that horses were already used for riding and driving. Cattle are +represented. In pairs these are harnessed to a plow, which is being +driven by a man. Boats are depicted, generally very large ones, without +masts, but with thirty pairs of oars or more. They are usually unlike +at the two ends, sometimes adorned with an animal’s head in the high +and narrow stem, sometimes with a similar decoration also in the stern. + +The rock-carvings tell us nothing of the dwellings or the dress of +the Swedes in the Bronze Age. All the instruments and tools necessary +for the construction of wooden houses existed and appear to have been +in use. The material was ever abundantly supplied by the Swedish +forests, but it was not strong enough to withstand the influence of +time. All the more surprising it is that articles of dress from such a +remote period as the Earlier Bronze Age, 1000 B.C., should have been +preserved to our time. Still such is the case, thanks to a combination +of exceptionally favorable circumstances. These garments are of wool of +a very simple substance; some have been worn by men, others by women. +The man’s dress consisted of an unbrimmed cap of thick woven wool, a +wide circular mantle, a kind of tunic, kept together with a woollen +belt, and some narrow strips of wool which probably covered the legs. +In a man’s grave was found a shawl of wool with fringes. The woman’s +dress consisted then, as it does now, chiefly of two garments, a jacket +with sleeves and a long robe, the latter held together with a belt of +wool, ending in ornamental tassels. Large mantles, of mixed wool and +cow hair, were used as wraps. The women wore splendid bronze ornaments, +such as finger-rings, bracelets, torques and brooches. From the finds +it becomes apparent that many women in those days carried weapons, a +dagger often being found at the side of the body. + +Besides swords and axes of beautiful workmanship, fishhooks, sickles +and the different parts of harness have been found; also vessels of +gold or bronze, evidently used for temple service. The Swedes of the +Bronze Age were not acquainted with the art of forging the heated +metal, but they possessed much technical skill in the art of casting. +When the implement was taken out of the mold it was dipped in cold +water, and very often the surface was ornamented by means of punches +made of bronze. Their good taste was as highly developed as their +skill. That the work was done in the North is proven by numerous +finds of the very molds in which weapons and agricultural implements +were cast. During the Stone Age only Gothaland and parts of Svealand +were inhabited. The finds of the Bronze Age prove that the limits of +the population were about the same during this period. The southern +provinces continued to be the more thickly settled. Twenty times as +many finds have been made in the soil of Scania as in the rest of the +country. Norrland was hardly settled to any extent until the Iron Age, +and has offered comparatively few finds from the Bronze Age, the total +of which for the whole of Sweden amounts to about 4,000. + +_The Iron Age_ followed upon the Bronze Age. It lasts to this very day, +we ourselves still living in the Iron Age; but the term is generally +applied to that part of the period which commences with the close of +the Bronze Age, and ends with the fall of heathendom. During the Iron +Age, the Swedes first became acquainted with iron, silver, brass, lead, +glass, stamped coins from foreign lands, and learned how to solder +and gild metal. Archæologists have divided the period into two main +parts, the Earlier and the Later Iron Age, both with subdivisions. The +Earlier Iron Age includes the time from the fifth century B.C. to about +the beginning of the fifth century A.D. The first half of the Earlier +Iron Age is characterized by swords with both blades and sheaths made +of iron, thin crescent-shaped knives, brooches of iron, collars, and +decorative plates overlaid with bronze. The graves resemble those from +the end of the Bronze Age, containing burned bones in urns, or laid +together in a heap. This circumstance makes it more than probable that +the first introduction of iron in the North was not connected with any +immigration of a new people. The finds of the earliest Iron Age are not +very rich, but they prove that the people who have left them behind had +been subjected to a very strong influence from the Gallic tribes living +close to the south of the Teutonic area of population. Then came the +second half of the Earlier Iron Age, characterized by a strong Roman +influence. It commences with the extension of the Roman empire toward +the North, about the beginning of the Christian era, and winds up +with the beginning of the fifth century, when Teutonic migrations and +invasions put an end to the power of Rome. In the hostile or friendly +relations between Romans and Teutons the Swedes were not involved. +But by the peaceful ways of commerce the influence of Rome penetrated +to the people of the North. Great numbers of Roman coins have been +found in Sweden, and also vessels of bronze and glass, weapons, etc., +as well as works of art, all turned out of workshops in Rome or its +provinces. Out of about 4,760 Roman coins of this time found in Sweden, +no less than 4,000 were found in the remarkable Island of Gothland, +in the southern half of the Baltic, 90 in the neighboring island of +Œland, 650 in Scania, but only 23 on the mainland of Sweden, excluding +Scania. About 250 were found in Bornholm, 600 in Denmark, but only 3 +in Norway. It becomes evident from these finds that there existed a +regular traffic over the Baltic, through Germany, between the Island of +Gothland and the Roman provinces, from the epoch of the Marcomannic war +down to the time of Septimius Severus. Similar finds have been made on +the southern shore of the Baltic, showing that the traffic came from +the southeast, along the valleys of the Vistula and the Oder. + +One of the most important discoveries of this period was the art of +writing, which the inhabitants of the North seem to have acquired soon +after the beginning of the Christian era. The earliest alphabetic +symbols in Sweden, and the only ones used there during the whole of +heathen times, were _runes_. These were probably invented a little +before the Christian era by a South Teutonic tribe, in imitation of +the Roman writing which the Teutons received from one of the Celtic +tribes living just to the north of the Alps. The Roman characters were +adapted for the use of inscriptions in stone and wood, the curves being +changed into straight lines. The Runic characters, in use among all +Teutonic tribes, were twenty-four in number; these older runes were, by +the Scandinavians, later simplified and reduced to sixteen. There is +a number of inscriptions in older runes in Sweden, dating from about +300 to 500 A.D. They are found chiefly on stones and gold bracteates, +also in England, France, Germany, Wallachia and the west of Russia. All +belong to about the same date, and are of Teutonic origin. The early +Runic inscriptions do not contain any accounts of historically known +persons or events. Yet they are of the greatest historical importance, +for they show that during the Earlier Iron Age, in the fourth and fifth +centuries, the language of Sweden, and consequently also the people, +were Teutonic. These inscriptions in Sweden and neighboring countries +give samples of the earliest known form of the Northern language, +which is considerably different from its descendants, the Old Swedish, +Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic, but very much resembling the language +spoken by the Goths on the Danube during the same period. + +The Later Iron Age commences with the fifth century and stretches to +the beginning of the eighth century A.D. When Italy had been overrun +by the “barbarians,” the centre of the old civilization shifted to +Byzantium, and there are many traces of an active intercourse with the +capital of the Byzantine rule in the finds made in Swedish soil. Most +of these finds consist of gold coins of the fifth century, the majority +of them having been found in the islands of Œland and Gothland. The +stream of gold coming from Byzantium must have been quite considerable, +having its source in the tribute which many of the Byzantine emperors +had to pay to the Goths on the Danube. They are the very same emperors +whose names appear on the coins found in Sweden. The great number of +costly and beautiful ornaments of gold found in Sweden, and dating from +this period, must have been made out of Roman and Byzantine coins, +melted down. One of the largest hoards of gold ever found in Europe +was discovered in the Swedish province of Sœdermanland. Its weight was +twenty-seven pounds, and it contained several ornaments of consummate +workmanship. + +Remarkable are the graves from this period, discovered in the province +of Upland. They are barrows containing the more or less mouldering +remains of a large boat in which the dead man has been buried unburned +with his weapons, horses, and other domestic animals. The swords found +in these graves are of iron with hilts of beautiful designs in gilded +or enamelled bronze. The shields and helmets are often of elaborate +workmanship. Unlike the swords, which mostly, or perhaps always, are of +foreign, generally of Celtic make, these ornaments and weapons are of +domestic origin. + +It appears, from the many beautiful and artistic finds in Swedish +soil, as if the inhabitants have benefited by their situation, +aside and outside of the rest of the world. Continual migrations +subjected the tribes of the continent to repeated changes and to a +never-ceasing series of new and heterogeneous impressions. The tribes +of the North remained on the same spot, and their whole development +was slower but more consistent. The foreign influences penetrated +slowly and gradually, without crushing the old civilization. The +industrial arts blossomed not so often in the North as in the South, +but steadier, giving a clearer expression of the national traditions +and peculiarities. These circumstances make the study of Northern +antiquities of absorbing interest. + +Before the end of this period, not only Gothaland and Svealand, but +also the coast of Norrland, as far north as the province of Medelpad, +were inhabited. As a whole, the first part of the Later Iron Age forms +a transition between the Earlier Iron Age and the Viking Age, the +archæological finds of which we must leave aside to take up the threads +of the earliest history. The Viking Age is exceedingly rich in stones +with inscriptions in the later runes, some of these inscriptions being +quite lengthy, and containing strophes of alliterative verse in Old +Swedish. + +Before entering into an account of early Swedish history, let us +gather what information the classical writers of history have to give +in regard to the countries of the North, or rather whatever of such +information that has been preserved to our day. + +The Scandinavian countries are for the first time mentioned by the +historians of antiquity in an account of a journey which Pyteas from +Massilia (the present Marseille) made through Northern Europe, about +300 B.C. He visited Britain, and there heard of a great country, Thule, +situated six days’ journey to the north, and verging on the Arctic Sea. +The inhabitants in Thule were an agricultural people who gathered their +harvest into big houses for threshing, on account of the very few sunny +days and the plentiful rain in their regions. From corn and honey they +prepared a beverage (probably the mead). By Thule is no doubt meant the +Scandinavian peninsula, or rather the western coast of it. Pyteas also +tells of the land of amber, or the southern shores of the Baltic, where +the _guttones_ are dwelling. As the northern and southern shores of the +Baltic from the very earliest period seem to have been inhabited by +the same race which has shared the same development and civilization, +there is every reason to recognize the name _guttones_ as identical +with the one given to the inhabitants of the Swedish Gothaland and +Island of Gothland. + +Several centuries pass without any notice of Scandinavia in the +classical literature. In the still preserved manuscripts of the +geographical work by Pomponius Mela, written in the middle of the +first century A.D., is found a reference to Codania, a large and +fertile island inhabited by Teutons. Codania is likely some scribe’s +misspelling of Scandinavia + +Pliny the Elder, who himself visited the shores of the Baltic in +the first century after Christ, is the first to mention plainly the +name of Scandinavia. He says that he has received advices of immense +islands “recently discovered from Germany.” The most famous of the +many islands situated in the Codanian Bay was Scandinavia, of as yet +unexplored size; the known parts were inhabited by a people called +_hilleviones_, who gave it the name of another world. When he speaks +of the British isles, Pliny again gives notice of islands, situated +opposite Britain in the Teutonic Sea, without suspecting their identity +with Scandinavia. He mentions Scandia, Nerigon, the largest of them +all, and Thule. Scandia and Scandinavia are only different forms of the +same name, denoting the southernmost part of the peninsula, and is yet +preserved in the name of the province of Scania. Nerigon stands for +Norway, the northern part of which is mentioned as an island by the +name Thule. It is not surprising to find the classical writers ignorant +of the fact that Scandinavia was not a group of large islands, but one +great peninsula, as the northern parts were as yet uninhabited and +their physical connection with Finland and Russia unknown. + +Tacitus is the first who mentions the Swedish name. In his work +“Germania,” of such great importance for the knowledge of the ancient +Teutons, their conditions and institutions, and written about 100 years +after Christ, the Baltic is described as an open sea called the Suevian +Sea, shut out from the west by the Danish mainland of Jutland, by the +Romans called the Cimbric Peninsula. The eastern shore is the country +of amber. The Swedes are by Tacitus called Suiones, and he speaks of +them thus: + +“Next occur the communities of the Suiones, seated in the very sea, +who, besides their strength in men and arms, also possess a naval +force. The form of their vessels differs from ours in having a prow +at each end, so that they are always ready to advance. They make no +use of sails, nor have they regular benches of oars at the sides: they +row, as is practiced in some rivers, without order, sometimes on one +side, sometimes on the other, as occasion requires. These people honor +wealth; for which reason they are subject to monarchial government, +without any limitations or precarious conditions of allegiance. Nor +are arms allowed to be kept promiscuously, as among the other Teutonic +nations: but are committed to the charge of a keeper, and he, too, +a slave. The pretext is that the sea defends them from any sudden +incursions, and men unemployed, with arms in their hands, readily +become licentious. In fact, it is for the king’s interest not to +intrust a noble, a freeman, or even an emancipated slave, with the +custody of arms.” + +These remarks by Tacitus, in all their brevity, are of great +importance. Boats, exactly corresponding to the description as given, +have been found in Swedish graves of this period, and that they were +used for river traffic, to bring the gold and products of Rome and +Byzantium up the Vistula and Oder, is evident. The great opulence +in dress and temple service of which the archæological finds bear +witness, and of which later writers also speak as characteristic of the +Swedes, is a proof of the wealth that at all times has attended naval +dominion. Thus far all the statements being fully corroborated, one +cannot but place great importance upon those that follow. The Roman +historian tells us that, on account of the honor which the Swedes held +for wealth, they were subject to a monarchial government, without any +limitations; that is, the crown was hereditary, not elective. This +coincides in every way with Swedish conditions of political affairs, +such as we know them from later times. The important conclusions to be +gathered from the statements of Tacitus, are that the Swedes already +at the dawn of the Christian era held the political supremacy in the +Scandinavian peninsula, or at least in its eastern and southern parts, +and that the various lesser communities stood in allegiance to the +hereditary king of the Sviar (Svear), or Swedes in a limited sense, the +inhabitants of Svealand. + +The psychological conclusions made by Tacitus, on the basis of his own +statements, hold good of the Swedes of to-day as well as of those of +2,000 years ago. They still honor wealth and a monarchial government +and consider the sea their best defence against foreign foes. + +Ptolemy, the Alexandrine geographer of the second century after Christ, +speaks of the Scandinavian islands, situated east of the Cimbrian +peninsula. The fourth and most easterly of these is the one originally +called Scandeia. He enumerates six tribes which inhabit it, the names +being unrecognizable, except the one of Gutai, Gauts or Goths, by him +for the first time mentioned as dwelling in Scandinavia. + +To this information, gathered from classical authors, nothing is +added for the next four hundred years in regard to the countries of +the North. Only in the sixth century, when Rome has succumbed before +the Gothic invasions, and the Teutonic tribes have divided between +themselves the provinces of the West Roman empire, new information +about Sweden is given by a Byzantine author, Prokopios, a contemporary +of emperor Justinian. He mentions Scandinavia by the name Thule, and +says he bases his statements upon information obtained from people “who +come from there.” + +Prokopios says that in the immense island of Thule, in the northern +part of which the midnight sun can be seen, thirteen large tribes +occupy its inhabitable parts, each tribe having its own king. One of +the largest tribes is the Gauts (the Gœtar, or the inhabitants of +Swedish Gothaland). These tribes very much resemble the people of +southern Europe, with the exception of the Skee Finns, who dress in +skins and live from the chase. + +Prokopios tells a remarkable story about an immigration to Sweden of +Herulians, a Teutonic tribe closely connected to the Goths on the +Danube. In the beginning of the sixth century, it happened that the +Herulians, after an unsuccessful war with the Longobardians, were +divided into two branches, of which the one received land from the +emperor Anastasius south of the Danube, while the other made a resolve +to seek a home in the Scandinavian peninsula. When they had passed +the Slavs, they came to uninhabited regions, whence they continued +to the country of the Varinians, and later to that of the Danes. The +Danes granted them a free passage and the use of ships, in which they +crossed to the island of Thule. Here the Herulians went to the Gauts +and were well received by them. Some decades later the Herulians in +South Europe were in want of a king. They resolved to send messengers +to their kinsmen who had settled in Sweden, hoping that some descendant +of their old royal family might be found there who was willing to +assume the dignity of king among them. The messengers returned with +two brothers who belonged to the ancient family of rulers, and these +were escorted by two hundred young Herulians from Sweden. That this +immigration really took place there is no doubt. The district of Sweden +where these kinsmen of the Goths settled was early distinguished +from the surrounding ones, inhabited by the Gauts of Sweden, through +the peculiarities of its laws and customs, of which some survived +into the commencement of the nineteenth century. This district forms +the southern part of the province of Smaland, called Værend, its +inhabitants Virdar, and the adjoining province of Bleking. + +The Gothic historian Jordanes, or Jornandes, called Master Ardan, who +was a contemporary of Prokopios, has taken upon himself to explain +the reason of the strange resolve of the Herulians to seek a home in +Sweden. He speaks of the traditions of the East Goths, which tell of +their descent from the people of the North. Similar traditions also +have existed among the West Goths, Longobardians, Gepidæ, Burgundians, +Herulians, Franks, Saxons, Swabians and Alemannians. Thus Jordanes: “In +the North there is a great ocean, and in this ocean there is a large +island called Scandza, out of whose loins our race burst forth like a +swarm of bees and spread over Europe.” The island of Scandza, he says, +has been _officina gentium_, _vagina nationum_--the source of races, +the mother of nations. And thence also the Goths have emigrated. + +Material is lacking to prove the historical truth of the Teutonic +traditions which point to Scandinavia as the cradle of the Teutonic +tribes. But Jordanes, the first historian of Teutonic birth who speaks +of Scandinavia, stands at the cradle of Swedish history, and, as a +modern historian has expressed it, his shadow throws an umbrage across +the whole field of Swedish historical research. The mistake, based upon +Jordanes’ history, of identifying the Swedish Gauts with the Goths has +caused a great deal of mischief and ridiculous chauvinism, Gothic and +Swedish history and royal lines being mixed up or put in connection +with each other. + +In leaving aside the Teutonic traditions of the island of Scandza, or +Scania, as the cradle of the race, let us quote a remark by Tacitus +which seems to point to the conclusion that such traditions were +current already in the first century of the Christian era: “I should +think that the Teutons themselves are aborigines, and not at all mixed +through immigrations or connections with non-Teutonic tribes. For those +desiring to change homes did not in early times come by land, but in +ships across the boundless and, so to speak, hostile ocean--a sea +seldom visited by ships from the Roman world.” + +The Old English poem of Beowulf must also be mentioned among the +sources which throw light on early Swedish history. Whether the Geátas +of Beowulf are identical with the Jutes of Denmark, or with the Gauts +of Sweden, is a much disputed question. Although, phonetically, the +Old English name Geátas corresponds to the Old Swedish _Gautar_, +it seems most plausible to suppose that by this term is meant the +Jutes, and not the inhabitants of Swedish West or East Gothland. This +accepted, the poem does not contain much about the Swedes. But the +information, therein given, of the Swedish kings is of great value, +because it renders the service of a firm chronological support to the +facts gathered from another source. This source, of vastly greater +importance, is the Ynglinga Saga, or rather the poem around which it is +spun, in Heimskringla, of which more in the next chapter. + +The first information of the religion practiced by the inhabitants of +Scandinavia is given by Prokopios, who says that they worshipped many +gods and spirits of the sky, air, earth, sea, and also some who were +supposed to dwell in springs and rivers. Offerings were constantly +made, the chief ones being of human beings, for which the first +prisoner made in a war was destined. This sacrifice was made to “Mars,” +who was the highest god. The statements of Prokopios without doubt +are correct. The Scandinavian war-god who corresponds to the Mars of +classical mythology was Tyr. Odin, originally the ruler of the wind, +became the highest god during the Viking Age. He is an aristocratic +god, the god of the select few, whose cult succeeded that of Tyr as the +cult of the latter had succeeded that of Thor, the thunderer, as the +highest god. The idea of a supreme God was probably unknown until the +contact with Christianity, or at least not common. Thor, the peasant +god, is probably the oldest of the gods of Teutonic mythology, the +representative of stern power and law-bound order. Thor was the most +popular god of the Swedes, to judge from the great number of ancient +Swedish proper names of which his forms a part. Besides Thor, Odin and +Frey were the most honored. All the other gods and goddesses mentioned +in Old Norse literature were probably known, but few of them much +worshipped in Sweden. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +_Dawn of Swedish History--Heimskringla and Ynglingatal_ + + +Snorre Sturleson, the great historian and poet of Iceland, of the +earlier half of the thirteenth century, is considered to be the author +of the history of the kings of Norway which, after the first words of +the first chapter, has been called Heimskringla. As an introduction +to the work he has put the saga of the Yngling kings of Sweden, of +whom many of the Norwegian kings were supposed to be descendants. The +Ynglinga Saga is a paraphrase to the much older song of Ynglingatal, +a poem composed by the Norwegian poet Thiodulf of Hvin (who lived +in the latter part of the ninth century) in praise of the supposed +Swedish ancestors of the Norwegian king Ragnvald. The Ynglings were +probably not identical with the kings of Upsala, who were of the +race of the Skilfings, but of South Swedish or Danish origin. It is +either out of ignorance, or out of sagacity, that the poet selected +the Upsala rulers as originators of the Norwegian line of kings, but +he has been unfortunate in the choice of a name for the dynasty. The +poem itself is a trustworthy historical document, at least as far as +the times are concerned which come comparatively close to the time +of its own composition, the first part containing many traits of a +mythical character. The saga spun around it is far from trustworthy. +Of the poem evidently the first, or first few, strophes are missing, +but the “historian” supplies the vacuum with stories of the gods Odin, +Niord and Frey, whom he, according to the ideas of his time, changes +from gods into historic kings, the first who ruled Svithiod (Sweden). +Among learned men in Snorre’s day there was a craze for tracing the +pedigree of all nations of any renown back to some of the heroes of +ancient Troy. Snorre serves us a saga of Odin’s migration from Troy +which, besides being confuse, would appear only ridiculous, if it +had not wielded about as highly disastrous an influence upon correct +conceptions of Swedish history as the work by Jordanes. This migration +saga is found in a still more elaborate form in an introduction to +Snorre’s Edda, and is responsible for the erroneous opinion held by +earlier Swedish historians, that the Swedes had migrated from Asia +under the leadership of a chief who called himself Odin, and that the +Swedes and the Gauts were, if not of different origin, at least of a +habitation of differing age in their present locations. + +Based upon the information found in Ynglinga Saga we will give a review +of the history of the early kings of Sweden, although the first dozen, +and more, of these kings are of a doubtful “historic” character. At +the dawn of history, Sweden was, like most other countries of Northern +Europe, divided into petty communities, each ruled by a king. These +communities seem to have been nearly identical with the “lands” +or later provinces into which Sweden is yet divided, although the +administrative divisions are different. In spite of the fact that it +is about 1,200 years since these communities were united into one +single realm, the inhabitants preserve to this day their respective +peculiarities of customs and language. + +The most important among the chieftains of Sweden was, since time +immemorial, the king of Upsala, who conducted the sacrifices and temple +service at Upsala, the oldest and most celebrated place of heathen +worship in the Scandinavian North. Originally, he had under his rule +only one-third of the present province of Upland, the chief settlement +of the Sviar, or Swedes in a limited sense. The Upsala kings belonged +to the ancient royal race of Skilfings (or “Ynglings,” according to +Snorre), who traced their origin from the gods. The founder of the +dynasty as accepted by Thiodulf and others was _Yngve_, who is said +to have built the great temple at Upsala, moving thither the capital +from the older Sigtuna and contributing to the temple all his lands and +riches. Yngve’s son was _Fiolner_. King Fiolner was drowned by accident +in a huge vessel full of mead, during a visit paid to King Frode in +Denmark. + +His son _Sveigder_ disappeared during a journey which he made in order +to find Odin, the old. Both the names Fiolner and Sveigder appear to +be mythical. Sveigder’s son _Vanlande_ was a great warrior. He is said +once to have taken up his winter abode in Finland, which, together with +several archæological finds, point to an early intercourse between +Sweden and Finland. _Visbur_ succeeded his father Vanlande, marrying +the daughter of Aude (the Rich), whom he afterward left and took +another wife, bringing on himself a curse by so doing. Visbur’s sons +fell unexpectedly over him, burning him in his house. _Domalde_, his +son, succeeded him. During a great famine in Svithiod he was offered +to the gods in order to obtain good seasons. Domalde’s son and +grandson, _Domar_ and _Dygve_, both reigned and died in peace. _Dag_, +the son of Dygve, was so wise a man that he understood the language +of birds. _Agne_, the son of Dag, was the ruler after him. One summer +he invaded Finland with his army. When the Finns gathered there was a +great battle, in which Agne gained victory, subduing all Finland. The +daughter of a conquered chief, Skialf, was carried back to Sweden as +his bride. But after a drinking feast, Agne was hanged in a tree by +Skialf and her men. The place where this happened was called Agnefit, +and is said to be identical with the site of Stockholm, the later +capital of the country. _Alrek_ and _Eric_ became kings after the +death of their father Agne. They got into a dispute one day while out +walking. Having no weapons, they assailed and killed each other with +their horses’ bridles. Their successors, _Yngve_ and _Alf_, the sons +of Alrek, shared a similar fate, killing each other in the royal hall +by the high-seat. After them _Hugleik_, the son of Alf, became king of +the Swedes. On the Fyrisvols, the plains by the river Fyris in Upland, +Hugleik was killed in battle against a famous sea-king Hake, who +subdued the country and became king of Svithiod. The saga mentions that +this Hake was a brother of Hagbard, whose love for the king’s daughter, +Signe, cost him his life. This love story is one of the most famous in +the North and much spoken of in saga and song. The spot where Hagbard +was hanged in a tree is still pointed out. When Hake had ruled as king +for three years, _Jorund_ and _Eric_, the sons of Yngve, returned +with warships and warriors. They had grown up and become famous by +conquering the king Gudlaug, of the Haleygians in Norway, whom they had +met in Denmark. Now they met King Hake and his army at the Fyrisvols. +In the battle, Eric was killed and Jorund fled to his ship. But King +Hake was himself so grievously wounded that he ordered a warship to be +loaded with his dead men and their weapons, and himself to be placed +upon it. The sails were hoisted and the ship set on fire, and out it +flew, with the dying king on board, between the skerries to the sea. +Jorund now became king in Upsala. When he was one summer marauding in +Jutland, he met a son of King Gudlaug, in the battle with whom he was +overpowered, captured and hanged. + +King _Aune_ or _Ane_ was the son of Jorund. He was a wise man who +made great sacrifices to the gods. Being no warrior he lived quietly +at home. Twice he fled from Upsala, on account of Danish invasions, +remaining in West Gothland twenty-five years each time, and holding +sway at Upsala for an equally long time between his periods of exile. +He lived to become 110 years of age. The secret of his longevity was +that he sacrificed one of his sons to Odin every tenth year, and was +granted in return a decade of prolonged life. When about to sacrifice +his tenth son, the people interfered, and he died from old age. The +last ten years of his life he was very feeble, drinking out of a horn +like an infant. He was buried in a mound at Upsala. + +King _Egil_ was the son of Ane, and, like his father, no warrior. +Under his reign and that of his son, king _Ottar_, Sweden suffered a +good deal of trouble from Denmark. The Danish king Frode had helped +Egil against the revolt of one of his subjects, and demanded from +his son a scat, or tribute, in return. Ottar fell in battle against +the jarls of Frode. Both he and his son _Audils_, who ruled Svithiod +after him, are mentioned in Beowulf as Ôhthere and his son Eadgils +of the royal Swedish line of the Scylfingas (Skilfings). This fact +gives to Swedish history its first reliable date. The Danish king +Hugleik, a contemporary of King Ottar, died in 515 A.D., which renders +with a certainty Ottar’s reign as falling in the first part of the +sixth century. Audils ruled for a long time and often went on viking +expeditions to Saxonland, Denmark and Norway. In Saxonland, Audils +captured the household of King Geirthiof, among whom was a remarkably +beautiful girl, called Yrsa. The king married her, but she was +afterward taken to Denmark by King Helge of Leire after a successful +plundering expedition in Svithiod. Helge had a son by her, Rolf Krake, +but Yrsa returned to her first husband, after being told by Queen Alof, +the wife of Geirthiof, that Helge was her father and Alof her mother. +When Rolf Krake later became king his men once helped King Audils in +one of his expeditions in Norway. King Rolf’s men did not receive the +compensation promised them, and Rolf came to Upsala to demand it for +them. King Rolf was warned by his mother Yrsa that Audils was not well +disposed, and he and his men made in haste for their ships. King Audils +and his men started out in their pursuit. Then Rolf took a horn filled +with gold, a recent gift of his mother, emptying its contents on the +plain. Audils and his men stopped to pick up the gold, and Rolf thus +made his escape. Rolf Krake is one of the most famous of Danish heroes. +In the poetic language of the Old Northern literature, gold is often +called “the seed of the Fyrisvols” or “Rolf Krake’s seed.” As King +Audils once rode around the hall at a sacrifice his horse stumbled and +fell, and the king was killed. + +_Eystein_, the son of Audils, ruled after him and was succeeded by his +son _Yngvar_. Eystein was never able to defend his people against the +Danes, while Yngvar was a successful warrior, both at home and abroad. +But one summer when he was fighting in Esthonia he was killed by the +Esthonians. He was buried in a mound close to the seashore. + +_Anund_ was Yngvar’s son and successor. He went to Esthonia to avenge +his father, ravaging the country and returning with great booty. In +his time there were fruitful seasons in Svithiod. On this account, and +because he made many roads, cleared the woods and cultivated the new +land, he became one of the most popular of early Swedish kings. He was +called _Brœt-Anund_, viz., Anund Roadmaker. + +_Ingiald_, the son of Anund, became king in Upsala after his father. He +was the most remarkable of all the Ynglings (Skilfings), for, through +violence and cunning, he united all the communities of Sweden into +one realm. When his father died, the king at Upsala was certainly the +supremely powerful ruler in Svithiod, but not the only one, for there +were many district-kings who were to a great extent independent. There +were not only kings in East Gothland, Sœdermanland, and Nerike, but +in Upland there were, besides the Upsala king, also kings in each of +the three “lands” into which this province was formerly divided; viz., +Tiundaland, Attundaland, and Fiedrundaland. Ingiald ordered a great +feast to celebrate the fact that he had come to the throne after his +father, and invited seven other kings, all of whom were present, except +Granmar, king of Sœdermanland. When the Brage-bowl, on which promises +were made, was carried in, King Ingiald made a solemn vow to enlarge +his dominions by one-half, toward all the four corners of the world, +or die. In the evening Ingiald set fire to the hall, and all the six +royal guests perished with their followers. Ingiald took possession +of all the dominions belonging to the unfortunate kings. In the next +year he surrounded the hall in which King Granmar found himself at the +time, killing him and taking his land in possession. “It was a common +saying,” Snorre tells us, “that King Ingiald had killed twelve kings +and deceived them all under pretence of peace; therefore he was called +Ingiald Illrade (the evil-adviser).” His daughter, Asa, was of the same +disposition as her father. She was married to Gudrod, king of Scania, +but had to flee from the land after having caused the death of her +husband and his brother. When it was learned that King Ivar, nephew of +Gudrod, had entered Svithiod with an army, Asa counselled her father to +set fire to the hall of the king after his men were drunk and asleep. +Thus perished Ingiald Illrade with his daughter, very much in the same +fashion in which he had killed so many of the petty kings. + +For the centuries following upon Ingiald’s death, Snorre has a very +short, or almost no account to give about Sweden and her rulers. What +can be gathered from other sources, principally from late Icelandic +sagas, is not trustworthy, mythical and fictitious elements being +discernible. + +After Ingiald, _Ivar Vidfamne_ (the Far-stretching) is said to have +ruled Sweden, “also Denmark, Saxonland, all of Austria and one-fifth +of England.” One account has it that Ivar was the head of a new +dynasty in Sweden. As he was originally king of Scania, perhaps these +were the real Ynglings. Another source claims for the succeeding +Swedish kings descent from the old race of the Ynglings (viz., the +Skilfings). Ingiald’s son Olof, according to Snorre, fled to the woods +of Vermland, until then uninhabited, and later came to Norway. But it +is a misunderstanding of Thiodulf’s lines which causes Snorre to say +that King Olof was buried close by the Lake Venar, in Vermland. The +province of Vermland was inhabited much earlier than in Olof’s time, +and the Olof who became the founder of a Norwegian dynasty was probably +a Danish prince. + +_Harald Hildetand_ of Denmark is said to have succeeded Ivar, and to +have ruled over as much territory as his mother’s father. Several +sources speak of King Harald and the battle of Bravols, in which his +life was ended and which battle generally is taken as a historic +milestone, marking the opening of the Viking Age. It was fought +somewhere about the year 740. King Harald had become old and almost +blind. In Svithiod and West Gothland, the kings Sigurd and Ring (by +the sagas made into one hero by the name “Sigurd Ring”) ruled under +Harald, while he reigned himself over Denmark and East Gothland. The +relations were good at first, but their aspect soon changed. After +great preparations on either side, Ring met Harald on the plains of +Bravik in East Gothland. The battle was a long and bloody one and the +most renowned in song and saga. King Harald, too old to take an active +part, mounted a chariot, which carried him into the midst of the fight. +When King Ring at last saw the chariot empty, he understood that the +aged king had fallen and gave the sign that the battle should come to +an end. King Ring caused the remains of his fallen foe to be burned +with great pomp and ceremony on a pile with his horse, weapons and many +a costly treasure of gold and silver. King _Ring_ was said to have been +ruler of Sweden and Denmark after King Harald. The sagas mention the +hero, _Ragnar Lodbrok_, as his son and successor. While this great +viking and sea-king appears to have been a historic personage in the +earlier half of the ninth century, it is impossible that he could have +been identical with King Ring’s son _Ragnar_, or that he or his sons +ever were kings in Upsala or Sweden. + +With the first attempts to introduce Christianity into Sweden (of which +more later) a more definite knowledge of Swedish rulers and conditions +is gained. When Ansgar, the apostle of Sweden, visited the country +for the first time, about 830, the ruling king was _Biœrn_. Shortly +afterward King _Anund_ is mentioned. He fled from his land, but was +reinstated with the help of the Danes. King _Olof_ was on the throne +at the time of Ansgar’s second visit to Sweden, about 850. These kings +must have been of the same family as those who held the throne up to +the middle of the eleventh century, for their names all occur again in +the line of later Swedish kings, the reigns of whom fall in the broad +light of history. + +We have seen how Ingiald Illrade joined the various communities into +one single realm. Although there is doubt whether this realm from the +start embraced all Sweden, there is no historical evidence or any +reliable traditions whatever to show that Sweden was ever divided into +smaller kingdoms after the death of King Ingiald. When Ansgar reaches +Sweden he travels through half of the country in order to reach the +commercial centre of Birka, where the king of Sweden is dwelling. +No other king, great or petty, is spoken of, while the contemporary +Icelanders mention jarls (earls) in Gothaland, which proves that the +once independent kings in that district were made away with. + +Of particular importance is the account of a journey which a certain +Wulfstan made to the North, at the close of the ninth century. This +account is given in an Old English translation of Orosii Historia, +credited to King Alfred of England. Thus it runs: “Wulfstan said that +he went from Schleswig to Truso in seven days, that the ship was all +the way running under sail. Wendland was on his right, but Langeland, +Lolland, Falster and Scania on his left, and all these lands belong +to Denmark, and then Bornholm was on our left, which has a king of +its own. Then after Bornholm, the lands of Bleking, Mœre, Œland, and +Gotland, were first on our left, and these lands belong to Sweden.” + +Wulfstan’s account, besides furnishing evidence to prove the political +consolidation of Sweden, also gives a good idea of the size of the +country in this period. The once independent province of Scania, which +had kings of its own, already belongs to Denmark. So does also the +province of Halland, while Bohuslæn belongs to Norway. Dal and Vermland +are contested provinces between the kings of Sweden and Norway, while +great parts of Norrland are yet uninhabited, except by Laps, who ramble +from one place to another, without a fixed dwelling place. In King +Alfred’s Orosius, Danish Jutland and Swedish Gautland (Gothaland) are +alike called _Gotland_, which recalls the supposition of the majority +of modern scholars that Gotland was in the earliest times the common +Teutonic name of the North, and Goths the common name of its Teutonic +inhabitants. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +_The Viking Age--Ansgar, the Apostle of Sweden_ + + +“In the North there is a great ocean, and in this ocean there is a +large island called Scandza, out of whose loins our race burst forth +like a swarm of bees and spread over Europe.” These were the words the +Gothic historian Jordanes put on parchment, inspired by the popular +traditions of a Teutonic migration from the North. Historic evidence is +lacking to prove or disprove the truth of these words. But they may be +applied to the phenomenon which has given its name to the _Viking Age_. + +The Viking expeditions seem to stand in connection with the great +Teutonic migrations, at least to be related to them in nature. The +Teutons of the North were not directly affected by the migrations, but +at the close of the eighth century the same restlessness and desire of +expansion appear to have taken possession of the Northmen as in earlier +times of their relatives in more southerly lands. And it was a timely +move, for the energy and strength with which these had in their time +suffused Europe were dying out. Europe was in need of new blood and +iron to wake her from her anæmia and to build up new institutions. The +North was freed from a turbulent and lawless element and was brought in +closer contact than ever before with the learning and culture of the +world. For centuries the Northmen had through their southern kinsmen +been in contact with continental culture. But now they came out to see +for themselves, to make themselves a place in a wider and richer world, +or to bring home from there what they most desired of beauty, riches +and culture. They were not delicate as to means. Violence was with them +as natural as their freedom of individuality was indispensable. Yet +they were to play a most important part in the cultural development +of Europe, furnishing her with institutions of imperishable iron and +changing the darkness of the Middle Ages into an era of chivalry in +spirit and in deeds. + +The Viking expeditions were always undertaken by free men, and were +in the North, from remotest times, considered not only an honest but +an honorable occupation. Slaves and freed men were excluded. The +leaders--often kings or their sons--were always men of noble descent or +of importance. As the Viking expeditions took on larger proportions, +they became more and more organized; from random expeditions, +undertaken by individuals, they developed into national undertakings, +led by the king or his chieftains, not for a pastime, but in completion +of a national policy. On account of this latest aspect, it is but +just to divide the field in which the Northmen were active according +to their respective nationalities. With such a division applied, the +Viking expeditions to the West, to Britain, France, Portugal and Spain +do not pertain to Swedish history, for they were planned and undertaken +principally by Danes and Norwegians. It is true that there were many +Swedish participants also in these expeditions, as the sagas and the +memorial stones on Swedish soil tell us; also true that some of the +later Swedish provinces, like Bohuslæn[1] and Scania, sent out their +large contingents of Vikings and sea-kings to the West, and that one of +the oldest Swedish homes of culture, West Gothland, had an appropriate +channel to the West, by way of the mighty Gotha River, through which +without doubt many a Viking expedition was sent; yet the leaders were +in a majority of cases Danish or Norwegian chieftains. For similar +reasons the Viking expeditions to the East belong by right to Swedish +history. In them the participants and chieftains were Swedes, to an +overwhelming majority, and, from time immemorial, Swedish districts +from which the expeditions were started. + +To Russia the Swedes first went on marauding expeditions; but after the +countries of the North had been shaped into three large monarchies, +they came to Russia upon special invitation, in order to found there a +realm of strong and consistent government. This becomes evident from +the testimony of the Russian historian Nestor, a monk in Kief, who +lived in the latter part of the eleventh century. About the founding +of the Russian empire by the Swedes he has the following remarkable +statements: + +“In the year 6367 (after the creation of the world, which is the 859th +after the birth of Christ) the Variagi (or Varangians) came across the +sea, taking tribute from the Tchud and the Slavs,” etc.--“In the year +6370 (862 A.D.) they chased the Variagi back across the sea, giving +them no tribute and commencing to govern themselves, but it turned out +badly with legal affairs, tribe rose against tribe, causing strife, +and a rebellion was started. Then they said between themselves: ‘Let +us seek a prince who will govern us and reason with us justly!’ And +they went across the sea to the Variagi, to the Russians, for thus +were the Variagi called, just as others were called Sviar, others +Nurmanni, others Anglii, and others Goths. And the Tchudi (the Slavs +of Novgorod), the Slavs, the Krivitchi and the Vessi said to the +Russians, ‘Our land is great and fruitful, but it lacks order and +justice; come and take possession, and govern us!’ And three brothers +with their followers were selected, and they took the whole of Rus with +them and came. And the oldest, Rurik, took his abode in Novgorod, the +second, Sineus, his in Bielo-Jesero, and the third, his in Isborsk; +his name was Truvor. After two years Sineus and his brother Truvor +died. Rurik then took the whole power into his hands and gave towns +over to his men, giving to one Polotsk, to another Rostof, and to a +third Bielo-Jesero. And into these towns the Variagi have migrated; the +earlier inhabitants in Novgorod were Slavs, in Polotsk, Krivitchi, in +Rostof, Meri, and in Bielo-Jesero, Vessi.” + +That the Variagi were of Swedish descent, and that it was they who +gave the name of Russia to the Slav countries, is proved beyond the +possibility of a doubt. A most weighty argument is the large number of +Swedish names in the list of Variag princes who reigned in Russia. It +would not have been possible for Nestor to devise the more than one +hundred leading names of Swedish origin which occur in his chronicle. +Furthermore, it has been shown that there are fifteen Swedish loanwords +in Russian. This is very much. Great and powerful nations have left +behind a good deal less in modern languages, the Vandals three words, +the Burgundians four or five, the Herulians one. Although the Swedes in +Russia had no literature in their ancestral language, they have left +behind more words than the majority of Teutonic tribes founding states +and nations. The Old Swedish equivalents to some of the most important +proper names which meet us in early Russian history are as follows: +Rurik--Hrœrekr, Sineus--Signjótr, Truvor--Tryggve, Oleg--Helge, +Olga--Helga, Igor--Inge, Ingvar. + +For two hundred years after Rurik, all the leading men in Russian +history carry Swedish names, and all the czars of Russia were the +descendants of Rurik, up to the year 1598. The emperor and historian +Constantine Porphyrogenitus, speaking of Russia, makes the distinction +between the Slavs and the Russians proper. In his description of the +cataracts of the Dniepr, he gives to each the Russian and the Slav +name, and these Russian names are nearly all understood by reference +to old Swedish roots. Examples are Gellandri (Gellandi)--the Noisy, +Eyfórr--the Always Turbulent. Luitprand, the Italian chronicler, +speaking of the Russians, says: “The Greeks call them Russians, we call +them properly Northmen.” The annals of St. Bertinus tell how Emperor +Theophilus recommended some Russian envoys to Louis le Débonnaire, but +how he, taking them for Norman spies, threw them into prison. The first +Russian Code of Laws, compiled by Iaroslaf, presents a striking analogy +to the Old Swedish laws. + +The Slavs must have originally borrowed the name Russian from the +Finns, who, up to the present day, call the Swedes _Ruotsi_. The name +is in Sweden connected with a part of the coast of Upland still called +Roslagen. The etymology of the name is Old Swedish _rodr_ (rudder) +and _roðsmenn_ (oarsmen). Roslagen means “associations of oarsmen.” +The district is famous for its large peculiar rowboats. By the term +Russians, the Slavs originally meant people from Roslagen, later Sweden +in general. But when these Russians had become the founders of a new +empire, south of the Baltic, it became necessary to devise a new name +for the inhabitants of Sweden. This name was found in Variagi. Only +the Swedes seeking employment as sworn warriors in the service of the +new Russian dynasty, or in the body-guard of the Byzantine emperors, +were originally thus called. But when the name of the new nation of +Swedes and Slavs became Russians, the Swedes, and the Scandinavians +in general, became known as Variagi. The etymology of the word has +been given as the Old Swedish _vár_ (_sacramentum_) and _væringar_ +(_sacramentarii_, soldiers bound by oath). The same name applied to +Swedes, or Northmen, occurs frequently in slightly altered forms in +Greek and Arabic manuscripts. + +While Rurik and his brothers were building towns, which probably +means the fortifying of ancient villages, two other Variagi, Askold +and Dir, who were not of the family of Rurik, went down to Kief, and +reigned over the Poliané. It was they who began the expeditions against +Byzantium in 865. In speaking of this, Nestor calls the Bosphorus +_Sud_, an Old Swedish word meaning a sound. The Bosphorus is also +called Sud on a Swedish memorial stone over a man who was killed in a +similar expedition. + +Oleg, the fourth brother of Rurik, was his successor, his son Igor +being yet a minor. He was an energetic man and a great administrator. + +Smolensk, Lubetch and Kief were captured, and Askold and Dir put to +death. Between the years 879-912, Oleg organized the Russian empire. +For the sake of commerce, he tried to preserve peace with the Greeks, +but when difficulties arose he called in new armies from Sweden and +great expeditions started against Byzantium. But these Variagi were +an unruly element, and, in order to satisfy their desire for war and +booty, the Russian rulers always let a plundering expedition to the +Caspian Sea follow every unsuccessful attack upon Byzantium; also when +war with the Greeks was avoided through decrees of peace, expeditions +to the Caspian Sea took place. + +These expeditions against the Arabs, who inhabited the coasts of the +Caspian Sea, were neither in any marked degree successful. Masudi +is the first author among the Arabs who mentions the expeditions of +the Swedes. They came down the river Volga in their ships. The Arabs +describe the “Rûs” as blond and “tall as palm-trees.” The burial of a +Rûs is described by Ibn Fosslan, who visited Bulgaria in 921. “The hero +was burned in a ship with weapons, horses, dogs and a woman.” In 965, +the Israelite, Ibrahim Ibn Jakub, made a journey to Germany. He tells +that the Arabs in his day with Rûs (Russians) meant partly the Swedes +of Sweden, “who often came in ships from the West to plunder,” partly +the Swedes settled in Russia, “who speak the language of the Slavs, on +account of admixture with them.” + +It was the destiny of the Swedes in Russia to exchange their language +for that of the Slavs and finally to absorb Slav customs. Such might +not have been the case if they had been greater in numbers, or if their +coming had been deferred to a later, Christian period, when to a strong +form of government would have been added a strong Church organization. +Yet their influence was greater than that of the Vikings in any other +country, for the Russian empire was entirely a Northern creation. + +To follow further the Rurik dynasty would lead us away from Swedish +into Russian history. But let us mention that Oleg was succeeded +by Rurik’s son Igor, who also was a great war-lord, and undertook +the third expedition of Russians and Variagi against Byzantium. His +widow was the celebrated Olga, who was converted to Christianity +and afterward canonized. She reigned during the minority of her son +Sviatoslaf, whose conversion she was never able to effect. Sviatoslaf’s +son and grandson, Saint Vladimir and Jaroslaf the Great, were the +Clovis and the Charlemagne of Russia. + +After the conquest of Kief, Oleg commanded a tribute to be paid to the +Variagi “for the preservation of peace.” This tribute to the Swedes +was paid up to the death of Jaroslaf, who in 1019 gave assurance to +the king of Upsala that it should be paid regularly, Vladimir having +neglected to do so. This tribute could be nothing else than a scat +paid to the king of Sweden by the rulers of Russia during the ninth +and tenth centuries. Sweden possessed in those days a large territory +south of the Baltic, which paid scat to the king of Upsala. It was +called Austria (_Austerike_), and reference to it under this name is +often made in sagas, chronicles and inscriptions. Ynglinga Saga gives +incidents of close Swedish connections to Finland and the Baltic +provinces, and archæological finds point to Swedish settlements in +Finland, already in the prehistoric period. Memories of conquests are +preserved in statements by the Icelanders and by Saxo, the Danish +historian, about the Austria of which the Swedish kings Ivar Vidfamne, +Harald Hildetand, “Sigurd” Ring and Ragnar “Lodbrok” were rulers. +Closest to an exact statement comes Snorre, who says that King Eric +Edmundson of Sweden ruled over Finland, Carelia, Esthonia, Courland +and “wide over all Austria.” These countries belonged to Sweden until +King Olof Skœtkonung “let all his scatlands get away from him.” The +chronicler Rimbert says that Courland, by which he means the Baltic +provinces, in 850 belonged to Sweden. Shortly after this date fall, +according to Nestor, those of the first Swedish contact with interior +Russia (859) and of the founding of the Russian empire by Rurik (862). +The Swedish dominion in the Baltic provinces, as well as the early +Russian empire, must consequently have held a position similar to the +one of Normandie to France and England. + +The old Swedish name for Russia was Gardarike, for Novgorod Holmgard +and for Byzantium Miklagard, which mean “Country of towns,” “Island +town,” and “Great town,” respectively. + +Vladimir of Russia, in 980, sent a number of Variagi to the emperor. +But already the emperors had probably surrounded themselves with +a small standing army of Variagi or Barangoi, as they were called +by the Greeks. They were treated with a good deal of respect and +consideration, and in the North it was considered a distinction +to have served in Miklagard, which even the sons of kings eagerly +sought for. Soon not only Swedes, but also Norwegians, Danes and +Icelanders were attracted, and Icelandic sources have a good many, +in part wildly exaggerated, accounts of the Variagi and their +experiences in Miklagard. The Northmen were relied upon to support the +tottering empire, and were despatched to the points where the hardest +combats were fought. They had officers of their own nationality, +and the strictest discipline was maintained. About the year 1050 +a detachment of Variagi were accepted into the body-guard of the +emperor, surrounding his person on all great occasions and in public; +also keeping watch over the imperial palace. When the emperor died, +they had, according to Snorre, the privilege of passing through his +treasury, each taking along all he could carry off. Another privilege +of theirs was that they were allowed to keep their heathen faith in the +midst of the Christian surroundings. + +Many and various as the reasons for the Viking expeditions must have +been, the principal cause that led to their abolition was the contact +with Christianity abroad, and the introduction of its teaching in the +heathen North. The first missionaries to Sweden were sent by Louis the +Pious, but Christianity was not entirely unknown before their arrival. +For centuries, the Swedes had through commercial expeditions stood +in direct or indirect contact with the Christian world, and this had +brought home some knowledge of “the white Christ” and his gospel of +peace. Many Northmen had been baptized while dwelling in foreign lands, +and many must the Christian thralls have been who continually were +brought into the country. The influence these elements exerted probably +could be traced to the ennobling and developing of heathen myths, +rather than to direct Christian conversions. And a similar influence of +Roman and Greek myths, without doubt, exerted upon the North in earlier +historic times. + +Ansgar, a learned and pious monk from the convent of Corvey, became the +apostle of Sweden. He had spent two years in Denmark as a missionary +when called upon by Emperor Louis to visit Sweden. Louis the Pious had +received the assurance by Swedish emissaries that the new faith would +not meet with any obstacle, and that many were willing to embrace it. +Ansgar started in the year of 830, accompanied by Witmar, also of the +Corvey convent. They were well received by King Biœrn, and were able +to comfort many Christians in Swedish captivity, besides converting +some of the inhabitants. Among the converts was the powerful Jarl +Herger, who for a long period was the chief supporter of Christianity +in Sweden. After about a year and a half, Ansgar and Witmar returned +to the emperor, who, satisfied with the result of their mission, +erected a special archbishopric in Hamburg for the spiritual needs of +the North. Ansgar was made the archbishop and, with Ebo, archbishop +of Rheims, apostolic legate among Swedes, Danes and Slavs. At the +same time, Gauzbert was made the first bishop of Sweden under the +name of Simon. He went to Sweden and was well received by its king +and people. But a revolt against the new faith soon rose among the +heathens, not issuing from the king but from the people. Gauzbert +was captured and with contumely escorted out of the country, while +his relative, Nithard, was killed, thus becoming the first Christian +martyr in Sweden. For seven years the country was without a preacher +of the Gospel, until Ansgar sent thither a new missionary, Ardgar, +who stayed there preaching until the death of Herger. In the meantime +Vikings had destroyed Hamburg, and not before its bishopric had been +united to that of Bremen was Ansgar in a position to visit Sweden for +a second time. This he effected early in the fifties of the ninth +century, coming this time as a kind of ambassador from the kings of +Denmark and Germany to give more importance to his mission. The heathen +partisans, who recently had accepted the departed King Eric among the +gods, resented, and the reigning king, Olof, dared not grant Ansgar +the right to preach. The difficulty was solved through the ancient +custom of throwing dice. Ansgar was successful in the proceedings, +and his cause was then brought before the Thing (or Assembly) for +deliberation. The people decided that permission should be granted to +preach the Gospel, principally on the grounds set forth by an old man +who rose to remind the Thing that the new God had already helped a good +many, and that it was a good thing to have him to fall back on when +the old gods failed. After having built churches and baptized a great +number, Ansgar returned home, leaving behind Erimbert, a relative of +Gauzbert’s. Archbishop Rimbert was Ansgar’s successor, himself visiting +Sweden. After his death, the archbishops of the North seem to have +ceased taking interest in Swedish missions. The little church, left +to itself, soon succumbed. When at last one of the archbishops, Unne, +woke up to the necessity of visiting Sweden, he found that the Gospel +was forgotten. He was himself surprised by death while in Sweden, and +buried in the town of Birka, in 936. Numerous graves of the earlier +Christians in Sweden have been found on the site of the old commercial +centre of Birka in the island Biœrkœ, in the Lake Mælar, unburned +bodies in wooden coffins, and the graves without mounds. + +King _Eric Edmundson_ was a contemporary of Rimbert. He was engaged in +building up a Swedish dominion in Finland and on the southern shores +of the Baltic. With King Harald Fairhair of Norway he was disputing +the supremacy over the province of Vermland. He was succeeded by his +son _Biœrn_ who is said to have reigned for fifty years. _Olof_ and +_Eric_, Biœrn’s two sons, succeeded him, the former dying suddenly at +a banquet. His young son, _Styrbiœrn Starke_ (the Strong), one of the +most famous of Swedish heroes, demanded his share of the kingdom when +only twelve years old. When King Eric told him he was yet too young, +Styrbiœrn two springs in succession installed himself on the mound of +his father, by so doing making claim upon his inheritance, according +to old usage. But when he came to the Thing to demand his share in the +government he was chased away with stone-throwing. King Eric gave him +sixty ships with men and weapons to try his luck in Viking expeditions. +Styrbiœrn won great fame during several years of continual warfare in +the Baltic, capturing the mighty Jomsborg, a celebrated Viking nest in +the island of Wollin, later turning his weapons upon Denmark, where he +made the Danish king Harald Gormson Bluetooth a prisoner. He now felt +strong enough to attack his uncle, King Eric. Harald Bluetooth was to +help him, but failed to do so. Styrbiœrn sailed with a fleet to Sweden; +after having landed he burned his ships to make a return impossible. +King Eric met him at the Fyrisvols and fought a battle which was said +to have lasted for three days. Styrbiœrn fell, and with him the larger +part of his army. His uncle, the king, was after this called _Eric +Segersæll_ (the Victorious). After the battle the king ascended a high +mound, promising a great compensation to the one who could compose a +song in praise of the victory. The Icelander Thorvald Hialte, who never +previously or afterward appeared as a scald, came forth and recited +two strophes which are preserved to our day, receiving a costly armlet +of gold as reward. This battle--next to the one at Bravols, the most +famous in the heathen North--was fought in 988. + +King Eric invaded Denmark and took possession of the country, making +the son of Harald Bluetooth an exile, to which facts Saxo, the Danish +historian, testifies. In Denmark Eric was baptized, the first Swedish +king about whom this is said. But upon his return to Sweden he also +returned to the old gods. Eric Segersæll was king of Sweden and Denmark +until his death, which occurred in 994. His first consort, Sigrid +Storrada (the Proud), from whom he later separated, played quite an +important part in the history of her time. After the death of Eric, +she married the exiled Svend Tjufvuskægg (their son being Canute the +Great), who through this matrimony came to the throne of Denmark. + +_Olof Skœtkonung_, the son of Eric and Sigrid, succeeded his father. +His surname is supposed to mean “the lap king,” but he was no longer +a minor at the death of King Eric. King Olof was not a powerful or +energetic ruler, like the father. He let go, one after the other, the +lands of his crown. Denmark regained its independence, and he lost +also the scat-paying dominions south of the Baltic. Shortly after Olof +ascended the throne, the Norwegian king, Olaf Tryggvason, had demanded +Sigrid Storrada in marriage and obtained her consent. But when King +Olaf asked her to become a Christian, she refused to change faith, +whereupon he insulted her. Sigrid told him that this should cause his +death. Two years later, when Sigrid was the wife of King Svend of +Denmark, she prevailed upon her son and her husband to join hands in +assailing Olaf Tryggvason, who was expected back from an expedition +to the lands of the Vends. The compact was made, and the Norwegian +jarls, Eric and Svein, entered it. These all collected an immense +fleet, which assailed the unsuspecting Olaf at Svolder, close by the +coast of Pomerania. The Norwegian king lost the day and his life. This +famous battle was fought in 1000, the kings of Sweden and Denmark also +taking a personal part in it. Norway was divided between the victors. +The Swedish king received as his share the districts of Drontheim and +Bohuslæn. These he granted to Jarl Svein, who was the betrothed of +his sister Holmfrid. Fifteen years later they were recaptured by the +Norwegian king. + +Olaf Tryggvason had been a devout Christian. His sister Ingeborg was +married to Jarl Ragnvald of West Gothland, who was baptized and invited +Christian missionaries to Sweden. Through such influences King Olof +Skœtkonung was at last converted and baptized by Sigfrid, a German +missionary, at Husaby in West Gothland, in the year 1008. Sigfrid, who +has been supposed to be of English parentage and a bishop of York, +evidently came from Germany. He preached for a long period in West +Gothland and Værend, in the latter district once being attacked by +heathen men, who killed three of his companions. King Olof himself saw +to it that the murderers were punished, and Sigfrid continued his noble +work without molestation. He was later worshipped as a saint. Among +other missionaries who were active in converting the various provinces +may be mentioned the Anglo-Saxon St. David, the apostle of Westmanland, +the Anglo-Saxon St. Eskil and the Swede St. Botvid, the apostles of +Sœdermanland, and the German Stenfi, or Simon, the apostle of Norrland. +St. David was a contemporary of St. Sigfrid, while the others were a +few generations younger. It was first through influence from England +and Denmark, during the reign of Canute the Great, that Swedish +conversions became more widespread and general. + +King Olof’s conversion met with a great deal of opposition, especially +in Svealand, which longest remained heathen. Upsala, with its temple, +was the heathen stronghold of the North, and there the king had always, +as one of his principal duties, to preside over the great sacrifices. +King Olof was forced to accept the decision of a Thing which granted +him freedom to select some part of the kingdom wherein to build +churches and perform the duties of the new cult, but which forbade +him to use his influence toward the conversion of his subjects. For +this reason Olof dwelt principally in the more and more christianized +West Gothland, in the capital of which province, Skara, a bishop +was installed. The name of the first bishop was Turgot. Only after +more than two centuries of endeavor was the Christian Church firmly +established in Sweden, in the middle of the eleventh century; but +even at that time the great mass of the people were heathen in name. +The heathen party was so strong that it could for a long time, and +occasionally with success, keep up the battle against Christianity. It +took yet another century before the complete victory of Christianity +was an assured fact. + +The reasons for the slow progress of Christianity in Sweden were many, +the principal one not being an opposition to the Christian doctrines. +The superstitious change easily from one cult to another. The sceptics +do not believe more in one god than in another. Of heathen sceptics +there were a great many in the North who believed in nothing else +than their own strength. But it was the Christian morals which were +so difficult for the Swedes to accept. Accustomed to great personal +liberty, they could not endure the restraint which Christian morals +placed upon the individual. The very spirit of Christianity, with its +kindliness and meekness, was not attractive to the Northman, who +in his own mental and physical force found a tower of strength. The +period of the first attempts at conversion was not well chosen. The +whole North was inflamed by the Viking rage for war and plunder. Then +followed a period of disinterestedness when the good seed was sown but +the field neglected. Later the too arduous zeal of the priests called +forth criticism and resistance from the Swedes, so tardy in making a +decision and so careful in weighing reasons for and against. + +To this must be added the great prestige of the Upsala temple as the +heathen arc of worship in the North, and the influence of the scalds +and saga men of Iceland. Iceland was discovered in 870, and settled +principally by Norsemen from the British Isles and from the western +coast of Norway, but also to some extent by Swedes and Danes. Sudden +and brilliant was the rise of Icelandic culture, and Icelandic scalds +overran the whole territory of the North. At the court of every king +and jarl these were at home, sometimes in great numbers, and soon +to the exclusion of the native poets. For their poetry, both as to +contents and form, they were chiefly dependent upon the heathen myths +and traditions, and the result of their popularity must have been a +perfect heathen revival in those days of growing scepticism. Through +intercourse with Christians in Britain, the Icelanders had borrowed +many a noble trait, and their taste found admirers in the old North, +where such influence must have been felt through centuries of indirect +contact with lands of classical or Christian culture. We are told +of the great number of southern coins found in Swedish soil. Which +travel further and faster, thoughts or coins, and which are the more +impressionable? So although it would be unjust to deprive the Icelandic +poetry, the impressive and grand Eddic songs and the more artificial +court-poetry, of any of its beauty or originality, it is not right to +ascribe all the culture, whose blossom it is, to Iceland, or Iceland +and Norway, to the exclusion of Sweden and Denmark, or the Teutonic +world at large. Good epic poetry has been written all over Teutondom. +In Sweden strophes in the very metre of the majority of Eddic poems +have been found on tombstones. In the same manner with the contents +of the Eddic poems. Granting important exceptions, we think that the +heathen myths have been the same in the East as in the extreme West. +The very fact that Icelandic court-poetry was accepted and enjoyed by +continental chieftains presupposes a thorough knowledge and mastery of +the more popular poetry of Eddic songs of gods and heroes. + +Hence the revival of heathendom in the North, by which a king like Olof +Skœtkonung for a long time was influenced, finding his chief delight in +the association with poets and saga men. + +In Norway, Olaf Haraldson had ascended the throne, and he put an end to +Swedish dominion in the Norwegian districts. This caused strife, and +also considerable annoyance to the provinces touching the frontier. +Popular feeling rose high in Sweden, when the demands for a peace +guarantee with Norway were disregarded by King Olof. Jarl Ragnvald +sided with the people, desiring a union between the Norwegian king and +King Olof’s daughter Ingegerd. At a great Thing held in Upsala, in +1018, King Olof listened to Norwegian emissaries pleading for peace +and a royal marriage. Jarl Ragnvald complained of the annoyance caused +to his people of West Gothland. King Olof became indignant, but was, +through the forcible yet dignified appeal for peace by Torgny, the +_lagman_ (justice) of Tiundaland, compelled to a promise of peace and +a concession of marriage. But the king did not keep his promises. A +betrothal was arranged but soon annulled by Olof, and the Norwegian +king was in vain expecting his promised bride. At the instigation of +Jarl Ragnvald, Olaf Haraldson married King Olof’s illegitimate daughter +Astrid. As this was done without the consent of her father, Ragnvald +dared not remain in Sweden. He went to Gardarike (Russia), where he +died shortly afterward, in 1019, his widow, the princess Ingegerd, in +Novgorod becoming the wife of the Russian ruler Jaroslaf. + +In Sweden, trouble was brewing against the king, who had broken faith +with his people, and in order to avoid open revolt King Olof was +forced to divide his power with one of his sons, who, although yet +a minor, was solemnly elected king. He had in baptism received the +name of _Jacob_, which so displeased his heathen subjects that it +was changed to _Anund_. King Olof also agreed to maintain peace with +Norway, meeting his son-in-law at Konghæll, in Bohuslæn, in 1019, for +a peace agreement. King Olof died two years later and was buried by +the church of Husaby, where he was baptized. He was the first king who +introduced coinage into Sweden. The earliest coins were made of silver +by Anglo-Saxons settled in Sigtuma, and resemble closely Anglo-Saxon +coins of the same period. + +After the death of his father King Anund ruled alone. He entered into +an alliance with his brother-in-law of Norway against Canute, who now +was king both of Denmark and England. During Canute’s absence, Anund +and Olaf invaded Denmark. In the subsequent strife between Olaf and +Canute, Anund took no active part. King Olaf had to flee to Russia. +Upon his return he gathered an army in Sweden, with the help of Anund, +and entered Norway through Jemtland. At Stiklastad he met the much +superior Norwegian army, and lost his battle and his life, in 1030. +After his death, the sentiment in Norway changed radically, and he was +worshipped as a saint throughout the North. + +Of Anund’s reign little is known. Adam of Bremen, an ecclesiastic, +whose history of the diocese of Hamburg and Bremen, during the period +788-1072, is one of the most important sources of Swedish history +in heathen times, says of Anund: “Young in years, he excelled in +wisdom and piety all his predecessors; no king was more beloved by +the Swedish people than Anund.” The historian gives as his authority +the Danish king Svend Estridsen, who as an exile stayed at Anund’s +court. Anund died in 1050 and was succeeded by his older half-brother +_Emund_, surnamed _the Old_. He was the son of a freed woman, the +daughter of a Vendish chief. For this reason he had been passed over +at the first election. Emund was educated by his mother’s relatives, +was baptized, but was not much of a Christian. He was popular neither +with the new Christian church nor with the people at large. Emund’s +unpopularity with the masses was caused by an agreement with Denmark in +regard to the boundaries when he ceded the province of Bleking. Emund +died in 1060. With him the old royal line became extinct. A new line +comes to the throne of Sweden, where, with the general acceptance of +Christianity, a new era commences. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +_Early Christian Era--Stenkil’s Line and Interchanging Dynasties_ + + +The sources of Swedish history during the first two centuries of the +Middle Ages are very meagre. This is a deplorable fact, for during that +period Sweden passed through a great and thorough development, the +various stages of which consequently are not easily traced. + +Before the year of 1060 Sweden is an Old Teutonic state, certainly of +later form and a larger compass than the earliest of such, but with +its democracy and its elective kingdom preserved. The older Sweden, +such as it had existed at least since the days of Ingiald Illrade, +was in regard to its constitution a rudimentary union of states. The +realm had come into existence through the cunning and violence of the +king of the Sviar, who made away with the kings of the respective +lands, making their communities pay homage to him. No change in the +interior affairs of the different lands was thereby effected; they +lost their outward political independence, but remained mutually on +terms of perfect equality. They were united only through the king, who +was the only centre for the government of the union. No province had +constitutionally more importance than the rest, no supremacy by one +over the other existed. On this historic basis the Swedish realm was +built, and rested firmly until the commencement of the Middle Ages. +In the Old Swedish state-organism the various parts thus possessed a +high degree of individual and pulsating life; the empire as a whole was +also powerful, although the royal dignity was its only institution. The +king was the outward tie which bound the provinces together; besides +him there was no power of state which embraced the whole realm. The +affairs of state were decided upon by the king alone, as in regard to +war, or he had to gather the opinion of the Thing in each province; any +imperial representation did not exist and was entirely unknown, both +in the modern sense and in the form of one provincial, or sectional, +assembly deciding for all the others. The latter form is one of +transition, the modern form the ripe fruit, both brought out by the +historic development. In society there existed no classes. It was a +democracy of free men, the slaves and freed men enjoying no rights. +The first centuries of the Middle Ages were one continued process of +regeneration, the Swedish people being carried into the European circle +of cultural development and made a communicant of Christianity. With +the commencement of the thirteenth century Sweden comes out of this +process as a mediæval state, in aspect entirely different to her past. +The democratic equality among free men has turned into an aristocracy, +with aristocratic institutions, the hereditary kingdom into an +elective, or, at least, into one close upon turning into an elective, +kingdom, while the provincial particularism and independence have +given way to the constitution of a centralized, monopolistic state. No +changes could be more fundamental. + +For lack of sources the historians were, until quite recently, led +to the belief that the change was due to one tribe in gaining the +ascendency over another, the political supremacy changing from one part +of the country to another. The epoch was called “The Struggle between +Swedes and Goths,” “The Struggle about the election of kings between +Swedes and Goths.” Now it is generally admitted that the struggle was +between principles, not between tribes. The circumstances sometimes +were such that one section or province opposed others, but these +divisions never were identical or at all depended upon racial or tribal +conditions. It was a struggle between heathendom and Christianity, +democracy and aristocracy, provincial particularism and centralized +state unity. + +The old provincial laws of Sweden are a great and important inheritance +which this period has accumulated from heathen times. The laws were +written down in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, but they bear +every evidence of high antiquity. Many strophes are found in them of +the same metre as those on the tombstones of the Viking Age and those +in which the songs of the Edda are chiefly written. In other instances +the text consists of alliterative prose, which proves its earlier +metrical form. The expressions have, in places, remained heathen, +although used by Christians, who were ignorant of their true meaning, +as, for instance, in the following formula of an oath, in the West +Gothic law: “Sva se mer gud hull” (So help me the gods). The laws show +a good many individual traits and differences, but these are not of +such a serious character as to give evidence of having been formulated +by tribes of different origin. A remarkable exception is formed by +the laws of matrimony and inheritance for the inhabitants of Værend +and Bleking, who, it will be remembered, are the descendants of the +Herulian immigration in historic times. In lieu of a missing literature +of sagas and poetry, these provincial laws give a good insight into +the character, morals, customs and culture of the heathen and early +Christian times of Sweden. From the point of philology they are also +of great value, besides forming the solid basis of later Swedish law. +How the laws could pass from one generation to another, without any +codification, depends upon the facts that they were recited from memory +by the justice (_lagman_ or _domare_), and that this dignity generally +was inherited, for centuries being carried by the descendants of one +and the same family. + +Interesting is the appendix to the law of the island of Gothland, +the Guta Saga, being the fragment of a history of the island and its +first contact with Christianity through a visit by St. Olaf of Norway. +The style is the same simple and serene one as in the Icelandic +sagas; while the Gutnic dialect, in which it is written, more closely +resembles the Gothic of Bishop Wulfila in vowel sounds than the +language of any other known dialect. Quite an important appendix is +found in the older form of the West Gothic law, consisting of lines of +the kings of Sweden, with short but highly valuable accounts of their +reigns and characteristics. + +_Stenkil_ was the name of King Emund’s successor. He was a jarl and +married to Emund’s sister. The statement that he was born in West +Gothland is not confirmed by the authorities. His father’s name was +Ragnvald, and it seems likely that this Ragnvald was identical with the +jarl spoken of above, who died in Russia. Stenkil had close relations +with Russia, for his son Inge was called in from that country to +succeed his father. If Jarl Ragnvald was Stenkil’s father, this only +made his selection as king more plausible, being then the half-brother +of Isiaslaf of Russia and the brother-in-law of the reigning kings of +Hungary, France and Norway. King Stenkil was a devout Christian, but +of a sagacious disposition, careful not to offend his heathen subjects +by any Christian propaganda. He was a giant in size, and although +phlegmatic, an ardent sportsman. Adalvard, exiled by Emund, returned +and did active work as bishop of Skara, also converting the population +of Vermland. Even among the heathen of Svealand, Christianity got a +foothold, Adalvard the Younger being established as bishop in Sigtuna, +close by the pagan centre of Upsala. But when he, in conjunction with +Egino, of the newly erected bishop’s chair of Lund, schemed for the +destruction of the heathen temple of Upsala, he was removed by the +command of the king, who found that such a plan, if carried through, +would prove disastrous to both Church and throne. + +During the short reign of Stenkil there was a conflict with Norway, an +exiled Norwegian jarl having been granted possessions in Vermland. King +Harald Hardrade invaded Gothaland, punishing this insult by a victory +over the Swedes. No further complications ensued, perhaps on account of +the close family relations of the two rulers. + +Stenkil died in 1066, leaving two sons, _Halsten_ and _Inge_, both +minors. During their minority two men, both named _Eric_, relatives of +Stenkil and the old royal line, fought for supremacy, and both fell +in the contest for the crown. Hakon of West Gothland took hold of the +reins of state and kept them for thirteen years, until King Halsten +became of age, Hakon himself dying. Halsten was a devout Christian +like his father, but less sagacious, trying to force the new faith +upon the heathen of Svealand. For this reason he was dethroned, and +his brother Inge called in from Russia. But King Inge was a Christian +enthusiast like his brother, and was subsequently driven away by +the irate inhabitants of Svealand, who now called to the throne his +brother-in-law _Sven_, surnamed _Blot-Sven_ (_Sven, the Sacrificer_), +of heathen faith. The royal brothers dwelt undisturbed among the +Christians, but after three years King Inge, in old heathen style, +surrounded and set fire to the domicile of Blot-Sven, who with all +his household perished within. King Inge resumed his reign, likely +very much in his old spirit, for two other pretenders, although less +formidable, appeared: _Olof Næskonung_ (_Nose-king_) and a son of Sven, +called _Kol_ or _Eric Arsæll_. Two papal documents are preserved from +Inge’s reign. They consist of letters from Gregory VII., making appeals +for closer relations between the pope and the Swedish king. + +An invasion was made from Norway, whose king, Magnus Barfod, subdued +the inhabitants of the province of Dal. King Magnus built a fortified +place on the island of Kollandsœ in Lake Venar, close to the shore of +West Gothland, but it was captured by King Inge, who set its occupants +free, but without their weapons. Two battles were fought at Fuxerna, +the Norwegians being victors in the first, the Swedes in the latter. +Peace was effected at a meeting between the two kings at Kunghæll in +the summer of 1101, when it was agreed that the frontiers should remain +as they were before the war. King Eric Ejegod was also present at +the meeting, where the betrothal between King Magnus and King Inge’s +daughter Margaret was agreed upon. On account of the original nature of +the meeting the Swedish princess was surnamed Fredkulla (Peace-Maiden). + +In 1103 the bishopric of Lund was raised to the dignity of an +archbishopric, yet not becoming perfectly independent of the +archbishopric of Hamburg-Bremen. The archbishop of Lund received the +title of Primas of Sweden, preserved long after Sweden had obtained its +own archbishop. + +King Inge died in 1111, receiving, by the appendix to the West Gothic +law, credit for “having ruled Sweden with manliness, without breaking +the law which governed each province.” About his brother Halsten, +who died before him, the same source says: “He was sagacious and +good-natured; the cases brought before him were bettered, and Sweden +became worse through his death.” At the time of Inge’s death, Jemtland +was persuaded to pay scat to the Norwegian king, but it remained in +connection with the church of Sweden. + +Inge’s son Ragnvald died before him, and Halsten’s sons, _Philip_ and +_Inge the Younger_, ascended the throne. They were of a more peaceful +disposition toward the heathen than their predecessors, Christianity +making great progress during their reigns. Philip died in 1118, Inge +following him in 1125; his death was said to have been caused by +poison. The epitaph over the two runs thus: “Sweden fared well while +they lived,” in the terse language of the source quoted above. With +them the race of Stenkil became extinct in the male line. + +In 1123 the Norwegian king, Sigurd Jorsalafare, undertook a crusade +to the eastern parts of Smaland, which were still heathen. “Crusades” +of this kind were not uncommon during that period, and were hardly +anything else than Viking expeditions in Christian disguise. + +Great confusion ensued through the extinction of Stenkil’s line. +_Ragnvald Knaphœfde_, probably the son of Olof Næskonung, was +chosen king, but lost his life through the contemptuous neglect of +an ancient custom. The newly elected king should always make a tour +of the realm, receiving homage and giving assurance of his good +faith to the population of the various provinces. The provincial +laws had stipulations as to the nature and number of the _gisslan_ +(hostages) to meet and escort him through each province. This tour, +called _Eriksgata_, Ragnvald undertook without accepting hostages upon +entering West Gothland. He was killed at Karleby, in 1130, by the +peasants, indignant at what they considered an insult to all the West +Goths. These had, moreover, made another choice in Magnus Nilsson, the +son of Margaret Fredkulla in her second marriage. Magnus never made +claim to the Swedish throne, endeavoring to become king of Denmark, +after his father, Nils Svendsen, but losing his life in the attempt. + +_Sverker_, who had married the widow of the younger Inge, was in 1133 +chosen king by the East Goths, and the Up-Swedes (in the provinces +north of Lake Mælar), having no special choice of their own, also +agreed on him. After the death of Magnus Nilsson, the West Goths joined +by formally acknowledging King Sverker, who, born in East Gothland, +has been supposed to be the son of Eric Arsæll, without solid reasons. +During Sverker’s reign ecclesiastical matters developed. The old +bishoprics of Birka and Sigtuna were changed into that of (Old) Upsala, +where the pagan temple seems to have been at last changed into a +church. New bishoprics were created in Linkœping, Strengnæs, Westeros +and Vexio. The whole of Swedish Finland formed one diocese. The famous +Bernard of Clairvaux was asked by King Sverker and his queen Ulfhild to +send monks of his order, and several Cistercian convents were founded. +The quiet and scholarly monks from France, no doubt, soon began to +exert a beneficial influence of importance, through the means of their +superior culture. A papal legate, Nicolaus of Alba (later Pope Hadrian +IV.), visited Sweden in 1152, meeting all the dignitaries of Church and +State for a conference at Linkœping. The legate was willing to give to +Sweden an archbishop, but the matter was postponed, since no agreement +could be reached in regard to the archbishopric’s seat. Measures for +the establishment of the Church on a firmer basis and the payment of +Peter’s pence to Rome were agreed on. + +Sverker was a good and peaceful monarch, but seems with old age to have +lost some of his authority. A war with Denmark was brought on through +an escapade of his son John, who had carried away two Danish women of +noble birth. He returned them, and was himself killed by the peasants +at a Thing. Yet the Danish king, Svend Grade, had the excuse for an +invasion and entered Smaland with an army in the winter of 1153-54. +The brave inhabitants of Værend gave him a hearty welcome, and he soon +returned to Denmark. It is an old tradition that a woman by the name +of Blenda was chiefly instrumental in this result. When the peasants +feared to attack the superior enemy, she had a splendid meal spread +for the foe. After the Danes had partaken heavily of its eatables and +drinkables, they were surprised and routed by their hitherto invisible +hosts and hostesses. + +King Sverker, now called “the Old,” was murdered by his valet while +starting for the Christmas matins in 1155 or 1156. The murder was, +without doubt, committed at the instigation of the Danish prince Magnus +Henricsson, who on his mother’s side was a great-grandson of Inge the +Elder, and who in this manner made his first attempt to reach the +throne of Sweden. + +Already, in 1150, the Up-Swedes had in _Eric_, the son of Jedvard, +found a man in their opinion better suited to rule Sweden than Sverker +the Old. His mother is said to have been the daughter of Blot-Sven +and the sister of Kol, while his father was “a good and rich yeoman.” +Through a mistake he was named _Eric IX._, but is more commonly known +as _St. Eric_. One source calls him “lawgiver,” although nothing is +definitely known of his activity in this direction. At the death of +Sverker, his son Charles was certainly of age, but the growing fame +of King Eric made it useless for him to force his right, and Eric was +recognized as king of the whole realm. + +King Eric was a warm friend of the Christian propaganda in his own +country, and by crusades spread the faith outside of its borders. It +was only natural that Sweden should turn its attention to Finland, +with which country it had stood in close relations since the remotest +period, and where Swedish settlements in all times existed. Accompanied +by Bishop Henric of Upsala, King Eric sailed with a fleet to the +southwestern part of Finland, or the province now called Finland +Proper, where the inhabitants were forced to receive baptism. This +crusade must have taken place late in the fifties of the twelfth +century. Eric soon returned, but Bishop Henric remained with other +priests to have Christianity firmly established. These efforts met +with considerable difficulty, and Henric was murdered by one of his +converts. He was later worshipped as the patron saint of Finland. + +The pious King Eric was attacked by the perfidious prince Magnus +Henricsson at East Aros (the present or New Upsala), in 1160. It is +said that Eric was attending mass at the Trinity Church, when he was +told of the approach of his enemy. He remained till the service was +over, after which he went to meet his fate. He was overcome and slain +by the superior force. His pious life and virtues and the miracles +which were said to have been worked at his grave made him the patron +saint of Sweden, although never canonized by the Church of Rome. His +bones are preserved in a shrine of gilt silver behind the high altar in +the cathedral of Upsala, and were in Catholic days objects of worship. +Oaths were taken “by the power of God and Saint Eric the King,” his +banner was carried in war, and the city of Stockholm still has his +image on its shield. + +_Charles Sverkersson_ (_Charles VII._) now made valid his claims, the +whole people rising to support him against the usurper Magnus. In the +following year Magnus was killed by the indignant people. During the +reign of Charles some important novelties in Church and State were +introduced. Sweden received, in 1164, her first archbishop in Stefan, +a monk of Alvastra. The archbishop’s seat was first Old Upsala. +Instead of jarls in the various parts, there is from this time on a +jarl for the whole kingdom at the side of the king, whom he assists +in the government of the state, sometimes obtaining a power rivalling +that of his master. The first jarl of the realm was Ulf, the second +Gutorm. The rivalry noticeable between the different provinces, which +all thought themselves called upon to select a new line to rule after +Stenkil’s, ceased at the death of Saint Eric. What follows is a rivalry +of interchanging dynasties. Charles Sverkersson was, in April, 1167, +surprised by a pretender to the throne, Knut Ericsson, who deprived him +of crown and life, while his little son Sverker was saved and carried +away to the queen’s uncle, Valdemar the Great of Denmark. + +_Knut Ericsson_ was the son of Saint Eric, and ruled Sweden for +twenty-five years in peace. In his youth he had made one unsuccessful +attempt to reach the throne, after which he fled to Norway. After the +death of King Charles he had to fight two pretenders, Kol and Burislev, +the latter said to have been a son of King Sverker. + +During this period the Baltic and its coasts were continually disturbed +by heathen sea-rovers from the southern shores. A fleet of this kind +entered Lake Mælar in 1187 and destroyed by fire the town of Sigtuna, +which, as a mercantile centre, had succeeded the earlier destroyed +Birka. The second archbishop of Sweden, John, was killed by the +invaders. The first preliminary plan for the fortification of the +present site of Stockholm was probably then laid, in order to prevent +further invasions, and a little town commenced to grow up. + +Conditions in Finland were not satisfactory. Invasions by Esthonians +and Vends were frequent, while the Finns themselves were troublesome +and little devoted to the new faith. Bishop Henric’s successor was +killed, but Sweden continued to send bishops during the next hundred +years. + +The relations with foreign powers were peaceable, the first known +treaty between Sweden and a German prince being entered into by King +Knut and Duke Heinrich of Saxony and Bavaria, in regard to trade +relations with Lubeck. King Knut died in the winter of 1195. He had +four sons, but although he had selected one of them for his successor, +“with general consent and through election by the foremost men in +Sweden,” _Sverker the Younger_, the son of King Charles, succeeded him. +That this could take place without serious objection of Knut’s sons +can only be explained by the influence wielded by the Church and the +nobles. The latter had already grown up to strength and importance. +Their leader was the mighty jarl, Birger Brosa, who had succeeded +Gutorm. He was of the influential family of Folkungs, which, one of the +first in the land, soon aspired to the throne. Birger, himself married +to a Norwegian princess, gave his own daughter Ingegerd in marriage to +the new king, and remained in power. + +King Sverker sought the favor of the Church by supporting its claims. +In a document of the year 1200, by which he donates some property to +the church of Upsala, historians have seen the privileges extended to +the Church as an independent power of state, whose members could be +arraigned before an ecclesiastic forum only, and whose property was +to be exempt from taxation. This is the spirit of the document; but +the king had not, at that period, the right to grant such extensive +privileges. King Sverker, and probably each of his successors, in turn, +gave only an assurance of their sympathy with the Church policy, which +was to its full extent an assured victory only toward the close of the +thirteenth century. + +In 1202, Birger Brosa died, and with him the firm support against the +pretenders had fallen. The sons of Knut now made open revolt, leaving +their places at Sverker’s court. In 1205, Sverker gave battle to them +at Elgaros, three of the brothers being killed and the fourth, Eric, +fleeing to Norway. But a few years later he returned with an army, +and Sverker found it safest to retire to Denmark, whence he returned +with a splendid army, which King Valdemar II. Seier, had placed at +his disposal. But this army was defeated at Lena, in West Gothland, +in 1208, and Sverker returned to Denmark, now turning to the pope, +Innocent III., who in vain threatened the pretender with his ban. +Sverker entered Sweden with a new Danish army, but was killed at the +battle of Gestilren, in West Gothland, in 1210. + +_Eric Knutsson_ now came to undisturbed possession of the throne and +thus remained until his death in April, 1216, his reign being short and +uneventful. He was the first king of Sweden of whom it is known with +certainty that he was anointed and crowned, thus placing himself under +the protection of the Church. His queen, Rikissa, a sister of Valdemar +II., returned to Denmark after his death, there giving life to a son, +who was named Eric, after his father. King Valdemar tried in vain to +have this royal babe placed on the Swedish throne. + +_John Sverkersson_ succeeded King Eric, being, on account of his +fifteen years of age, first surnamed the _Young_, later _the Pious_. +By confirming and extending the rights of the Church which his father +granted he won the favor of the ecclesiastics, and the attempts made +by Valdemar to have his consecration prohibited proved futile. Toward +the end of his short reign (in 1220) King John undertook a crusade +to Esthonia, where he left behind him his jarl, Charles, a brother +of Birger Brosa, and Bishop Charles of Linkœping, with a part of the +army. These all perished in an onslaught made on them by the heathen +in August of the same year, and the ravages by Esthonians continued as +before. King John died in the island of Visingsœ, in Lake Vetter, in +1222, like several of his predecessors, and was, like them, buried in +the monastery of Alvastra. + +_Eric Ericsson_ now became king of Sweden. The royal babe was then six +years of age, a halting and lisping little creature. The Church took +him under its protection, but there was no powerful man to take hold of +the government during his minority. A pretender rose in the person of +_Knut the Tall_, a great grandson of St. Eric, like the king himself. +He defeated Eric’s troops at Olustra, in 1229. Eric fled to Denmark, +where he remained until the short and restless reign of Knut came to an +end through his death, in 1232. Eric resumed the reins of government, +with the Folkung, Jarl Ulf, at the helm. + +Pope Gregory IX., in 1230, gave commandment to the Swedish bishops +to rouse the people to opposition against the ravages of the heathen +in the Baltic provinces in the further parts of Finland. In 1237 he +commands the Swedish bishops to have a crusade started against the +heathen Tavasti in the interior of Finland. This crusade took place +under the leadership of Birger Magnusson, who converted the barbarous +Finns by the sword and erected a fort on the site of the later +Tavastehus. Birger, according to Russian testimony, tried to extend +the dominion of Swedish supremacy as far as to the river Neva, but was +repulsed by the Russians. + +Peace had reigned in Sweden for some time when new conflicts ensued. +The peasants of Upland made an uprising in 1247, but were conquered +at Sparrsætra and punished by heavier taxes. A pretender rose in the +person of Holmger, the son of Knut the Tall. He was captured and +beheaded in 1248. + +A papal legate, Bishop William of Sabina, visited Sweden and arranged, +in 1248, an ecclesiastical meeting at Skenninge, effecting the +final separation of Church and State, and establishing the former +as an independent power at the side of the latter. Archbishops and +bishops were now to be elected by the ecclesiastics and not by the +king. Celibacy, previously not enforced in the Swedish church, was +then introduced, meeting with a good deal of opposition; for the +ecclesiastical offices had already commenced getting hereditary, as had +in earlier times the combined dignities of Asa priest and chieftain. +Birger Magnusson had, shortly before the meeting of Skenninge, +succeeded Ulf as jarl of the realm. This converter of the Tavasti was +destined to play a most important part in Swedish history, shaping its +destiny through the power of his iron will. He was the leader of the +Folkung family and party, a nephew of Birger Brosa, and married to +princess Ingeborg, a sister of the reigning king. _Birger Jarl_, as +he is generally called, effected a satisfactory agreement with Norway +at a meeting with Hakon in the summer of 1249, according to which the +enemies of one realm should have no refuge, or support, in the other. +Besides, it was agreed that the son of the Norwegian king should marry +Rikissa, the daughter of Birger Jarl. + +King Eric died in 1250, at the age of thirty-four. He called himself +Eric III., while in later times, when St. Eric was supposed to have +been the ninth king of that name, he has been called Eric XI. He was +said to have been peaceful, just and kind. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +_The Mediæval State--The Folkung Dynasty_ + + +With Eric Ericsson the royal line of Saint Eric became extinct. The +crown was, on account of his birthright, offered to _Valdemar_, the +oldest son of Birger Jarl. He was crowned in Linkœping in 1251. +From this period on, a new historic source is found in the rhymed +chronicles, of which Swedish literature possesses several elaborate +ones of more than 22,000 verses in all. Of these the Old, or Eric’s, +Chronicle, was written about 1320, and, like all the rest, anonymously. +The verses are fine, the language pure and powerful; the portraits of +historical personages are roughly drawn but interesting. Unfortunately +these rhymed chronicles in general, and the Eric’s Chronicle in +particular, dwell rather on the description of impressive events of +pomp and splendor than on historical facts; and the facts given are not +always reliable. The Eric’s Chronicle gives a brief review of events +during the reigns of Eric and Valdemar; then for the events up to 1319 +more fully. + +According to the Eric’s Chronicle, Birger Jarl wished to succeed Eric, +but had to step aside for his son, who was of royal descent through his +mother, King Eric’s sister. But Birger Jarl remained the all-powerful, +although uncrowned, ruler till his death. + +Many of the nobles were not satisfied with the election of Valdemar. +They joined forces, gathering hired troops from Denmark and Germany. +Birger met them at Hervadsbro and defeated them, capturing the leaders, +who were beheaded. Among these were Philip, a son of Knut the Tall, and +Knut Magnusson, with others of the Folkung family, which often was at +war between themselves when great interests were at stake. + +After this battle peace reigned under the powerful and sagacious rule +of Birger. An assault upon Denmark by King Hakon of Norway and Birger +jointly was planned, but a peace agreement took its place, in 1253. In +the further complications between Norway and Denmark, Birger took no +part. When later King Christopher of Denmark called upon his northern +neighbors for help against revolts in his own country, these were +ready to respond; but at the sudden death of King Christopher these +plans were frustrated. In 1260 Birger bettered the already friendly +relations with Denmark, by arranging the marriage between King Valdemar +and the Danish princess, Sophia, whereupon he, himself a widower, +married Mechtild, a queen-dowager of Denmark. In Finland, conditions +were the same as of yore, pagan tribes and Russian invasions rendering +everything unsafe and perilous. Birger renewed the trade agreement +with Lubeck, in 1251, with added privileges to Lubeck, but with the +stipulation that those of its citizens who settled in Sweden must +become Swedish subjects. In 1261 the same privileges were extended to +Hamburg. It was at this period that the Hanseatic League was formed +between the commercial centres of North Germany. The relations between +the league and the Scandinavian countries waxed quite intimate and, at +times, menacing to the political independence of the latter. But Sweden +derived many benefits through the contact with the reviving culture +of Southern Europe, which was brought about through the Hanseatic +League; the newly opened mining industry and the prosperity of Swedish +commercial centres particularly owing much to this influence. Stockholm +became the largest and most important of Swedish towns during the +days of Birger, although he was not its founder. Also with England, +Birger was carrying on peaceful proceedings; yet their purpose is +not known. In 1237, the king of England had granted the merchants of +the island of Gothland free trade privileges. Birger was a great and +sound legislator, although it is not known with certainty how many +of the judicial reforms accredited to him originated in these days. +He made the law that sister should have equal share of inheritance +with brother, and the laws of sanctity of home, Church, Thing and +woman, which formed the kernel of a set of laws, later called _Edsœre_ +(Pledged oath), which every crowned king and his foremost men must +pledge themselves to uphold. He tried to make away with the ordeal +of walking on, or the handling of, iron as a legal testimony of +guiltlessness. Further, he prohibited the custom of self-imposed +thraldom. + +The only act of Birger’s which has been condemned was his attempt to +introduce feudalism. His second son, Magnus, was created a duke, and +received, at Birger’s death, Sœdermanland, with the castle of Nykœping +as a duchy. This gave rise to much strife and many conflicts within +the new royal branch of the Folkungs, and endangered the unity of +the kingdom. Birger, the last jarl of the realm, was the first real +statesman of Sweden, whose stern intellect and integrity of character +won for his country an honored position among its neighbors, and for +himself the admiration of many generations to come. He died in 1266. + +The first few years after Birger’s death were peaceful. The archbishop’s +seat was removed to the present Upsala, where work was commenced on the +magnificent cathedral. In 1271 the commercial privileges held by Lubeck +and Hamburg were also granted to Riga. + +Valdemar was a weak and frivolous man, and his licentiousness gave +his brother Magnus the idea of pushing him aside, and later deprived +him of the loyalty and respect of his people. The difficulties with +his brothers ended in open conflict; Magnus and his younger brother +Eric turned to Denmark and Germany, where they hired an army, King +Eric Glipping of Denmark helping them with troops on promise of good +securities. The brothers invaded West Gothland and defeated a Swedish +army at Hofva, in 1275, while the king with his best troops remained +inactive at Tiveden. Valdemar fled to Norway, bringing his son Eric +with him. Venturing back into Vermland, he was captured and brought +before Duke Magnus. Valdemar went so far as to abdicate his throne, but +the meeting ended in an agreement according to which _Magnus_ was to +become king of Svealand and Valdemar to keep Gothaland. Eric was made a +duke, but died in the same year. Magnus was crowned at Upsala in 1276. + +King Valdemar did not long remain content with the new state of things. +One month after Magnus’s coronation he arranged a meeting with him at +Lœdœse, over which King Magnus Lagabœte of Norway presided, but without +being able to effect an agreement between the brothers. Valdemar now +turned to King Eric of Denmark, and won an ally in him because Magnus +had neglected to fulfil his promises. Magnus gained a supporter in Duke +Gerhard I. of Holstein, whose daughter Helvig he married in November, +1276. + +With the year 1277 war commences between Sweden and Denmark. Magnus +invades Halland and Scania, while Valdemar, with a Danish army, enters +Smaland, burning the town of Vexio. With King Eric, Valdemar enters +West Gothland, capturing Skara. At last the Danes are defeated at +Ettak. Early in 1278 peace is made at Laholm, Magnus promising to +pay his debt to Eric, leaving the castle of Lœdœse as security. Each +promises not to shelter the rebels against the other. Valdemar lost his +cause and had to give up Gothaland and his royal title, keeping only +his inherited estates. On account of his scandalous living, the nobles +insisted upon his imprisonment, and ten years after his abdication he +was placed in custody at the castle of Nykœping. He survived all his +brothers, dying in 1302. His son Eric was imprisoned at the castle of +Stockholm, receiving good treatment like his father. When his cousin +Birger was crowned, in 1302, he was set free, spending the rest of his +life in Sweden as a private citizen. During Magnus Ericsson’s minority +he was a member of the king’s council. When Magnus was sole occupant of +the throne he took the title of “King of the Swedes and Goths,” which, +occasionally used before, henceforward became the customary one. + +A revolt against King Magnus took place shortly after the meeting +at Laholm. Some of the nobles were dissatisfied with the favoritism +shown foreigners, a complaint which was only too often justifiable, +and forever repeated, in the course of centuries, against the +Swedish monarchs. Count Gerhard of Holstein was imprisoned, and the +Danish knight, Ingemar, killed. The king invited the rebels to him +at Gællqvist, where he in an unexpected way made them prisoners, and +had them beheaded, in August, 1280, confiscating their property. This +incident is characteristic of the time, but there is no other authority +for it than the Chronicle. The reign of Magnus was comparatively short, +but a happy and glorious one. The relations with the island of Gothland +were made closer and more intimate, although the proud independence of +its inhabitants remained largely intact. They were to pay increased +scat, but continued their government without royal officials. The Guts +were of Swedish origin, and their island formed since the ninth century +a part of Sweden, but their isolated position and great commercial +activity made them almost independent. About the year 1000 they seek +for themselves protection from the Swedish king, and after their +baptism they turn to the bishop of Linkœping for spiritual guidance. +Thanks to its position, halfway between Germany, Russia and Sweden, +Gothland gives rise to the most important commercial centre of Northern +Europe after Lubeck. The inhabitants of Visby were Germans, to a great +extent, and their conflicts with the rural population were frequent. +King Magnus appears as an arbitrator in such cases with an authority +great enough to impose his conditions. In spite of the inimical +relations between Denmark and Norway, Magnus held peace with both. + +As a legislator Magnus was even more important than his father, shaping +and reshaping laws which furthered the development of the country +and wielding an influence upon its jurisdiction reaching down to the +present day. At a meeting of nobles at Alnsnœ, in 1280, King Magnus +gave solemn pledge to the so-called Edsœre-laws of his father, and +made the nobility into a privileged class. All the men surrounding him +and his brother Bengt (made duke of Finland), and on their estates, +together with the trusted men in the service of a bishop, were freed +from paying taxes to the king. The same privilege was extended “to +all men who served with a horse, whosoever they serve.” The exemption +from taxes did not include those due the church or community, but only +those due the king. The horse service (_ross_ = later _rusttjenst_) +meant to provide for a cavalry force of iron-clad men for military +service, according to the demands of the time. The nobles saw to it +that this privilege was made permanent even after they had discontinued +the horse service, and that others were added to it. A law prohibiting +_voldgæstning_, the custom of travellers of taking by violence, or +without compensation, food and comfort from the rural population, was +also made at Alnsnœ, and won for King Magnus the rustic but beautiful +surname of _Ladulas_ (Barn-lock). “For he wished to place such locks on +the peasant’s barn, that no one should dare enter but at the will of +the owner,” wrote Olaus Petri, the historian and reformer. An official +was placed in every country town to see to the traveller’s comfort, and +to his payment for it. At a meeting in Skenninge, in 1285, a law about +_konungafrid_ (royal sanctity) was made in order to prevent strife +among the nobles and to make away with the ancient evil of revenge for +bloodshed. This period of royal sanctity, when between men of the most +strained relations peace should reign, commenced a fortnight after the +king’s arrival had been announced at the Thing and lasted until he had +by letter informed it of his departure out of the province. The one +who abused this sanctity, or only carried weapons, was exiled and his +property confiscated. Secret societies among the nobles were prohibited. + +Magnus was not only a great legislator, but saw to it that his laws +were not broken. Personally he loved splendor and dignity, another +trait through which he won the favor of the Swedes, who in all times +have been fond of seeing their highest representatives surround +themselves with impressive luxury and wealth. Magnus was in this +respect the first mediæval monarch of Sweden, who kept a brilliant +court, but at the same time was the pious and obedient son of the +Church. He augmented the ecclesiastical privileges and founded several +convents. In one of these, St. Clara of Stockholm, he installed his +daughter Rikissa. Upon his death, which deplorable event took place +in the island of Visingsœ, December 18, 1290, he was buried in the +Franciscan convent church (the Riddarholm’s) in Stockholm, according +to his own wish. He was the first monarch to be entombed in this the +present Pantheon of Sweden. Three sons survived him, Birger, Eric and +Valdemar. + +During the reign of Magnus, the development of mediæval institutions +took rapid strides. This is noticeable also in the offices of those +who surround the king. In the place of the jarl have been set two new +dignitaries the _drotsete_ and _marsk_, of the king, “the seater of +the retinue” and “marechal” or “servant of the horse,” respectively. +Circumstances heightened the importance of these offices and changed +them from court into state positions, the president of the state +council and the commander of the army. The _kansler_ (chancellor), +often a bishop, is another important royal office. The king’s council, +consisting of bishops, knights and men of social standing, surrounds +the monarch at his command and according to his selection, the +archbishop being the only ex-officio member. Important affairs of State +and Church are decided on at the meetings of nobles, _herredagar_, +no one taking part who is not asked, or not agreeable to the king. +These meetings later developed into _riksdagar_, at which all classes +of the people were represented. Taxes were collected for the king by +bailiffs, who in compensation received fiefs, sometimes consisting only +of certain estates, in other instances as much as a whole province +or district. The right of taxation belonged to the people. Only in +extraordinary cases the king was allowed to impose additional taxes, +although such were sometimes imposed wrongfully, in spite of a law +stipulated by King Magnus Barn-Lock. + +_Birger_ succeeded his father Magnus. He was only ten years of age, +but his father had placed by his side a man who was to reign during +his minority. Marsk _Tyrgils Knutsson_ was the second of the great +uncrowned rulers of whom Sweden was destined to receive a number +almost as large as that of illustrious monarchs. Tyrgils Knutsson +followed out the policy of peace and progress which Birger Jarl had +commenced and King Magnus continued, making in all the happiest era of +the Middle Ages. To Birger Jarl’s conquest of Tavastland in Finland, +Tyrgils added that of Carelia. Two expeditions were sent to Carelia, +in 1293 and 1299, whose savage inhabitants were converted and made +Swedish subjects. Viborg was built and formed a stronghold for further +operations, while Landskrona, another fortified place, erected by +Tyrgils, not far from the site of the present St. Petersburg, was soon +lost to the Russians. Through the conquest of Carelia, better times +commenced for the Church of Finland, whose bishopric, in 1300, was +moved to Abo. + +The legislative work of his great predecessors was continued by +Tyrgils, who made possible the union of the various “lands” of Upland +into one judicial district. The first justice was Birger Persson, who +was at the head of the work of preparing a common law for the whole +province (in 1296). Neutrality was preserved during the conflicts +between Norway and Denmark. King Eric Menved of Denmark was, in 1296, +married to King Birger’s sister, the pious Princess Ingeborg. In 1298 +Birger was married to Eric’s sister Margaret in Stockholm, over the +lavish splendor of which event the poet of the Chronicle goes into +ecstasies of delight and felicitous description. Both these unions were +prearranged by King Magnus, and the princess Margaret had been educated +in Sweden for the purpose of becoming its queen. + +The king was now of age, but Marsk Tyrgils continued for several +years at the helm. His relations to the Church show what a wise and +vigorous statesman he was. When in the name of the king the privileges +to the Church were once more granted, as by his predecessor, Tyrgils +made the important exceptions that the Church should fulfil for its +possessions the same military duty as all others in the country, +and that certain large fines should be reserved for the king. The +ecclesiastics took quietly to these restrictions at first, but soon an +open conflict ensued. Another and greater one arose between the king +and his brothers, Eric, duke of Sweden, and Valdemar, duke of Finland. +It resembles very much the conflict between their uncle Valdemar and +his brothers. In both cases there was a weak and deceitful king who +was inferior, if not in wretchedness, at least in courage, to one of +the brothers. After the first conflict was ended, the dukes selected +Marsk Tyrgils for their prey. In March, 1305, Tyrgils saw the king +grant to the Church the important privileges held back until then. In +December of the same year the king and his brothers came upon Tyrgils +unprepared. He was imprisoned, and in a shameful manner dragged to +Stockholm, travelling night and day through the cold of winter, +probably by some fraudulent legal process found guilty of treason, and +beheaded, February 10, 1236. As a climax to this foul political murder, +Tyrgils Knutsson was buried on the place of execution. Later, his body +was removed to the church of Riddarholm and placed at the side of King +Magnus, whose son he had served so faithfully. + +The conflict between the royal brothers burst into flame again, +revealing some of the darkest and most shocking scenes of deceit, +treachery and villany found in Swedish history. The strife commenced +in April, 1304, for the first time, and continued, with few and short +intermissions, until the autumn of 1318, with broken oaths and pledges, +which were renewed and broken again, alliances and royal betrothals +formed, ended and renewed, kingdoms and duchies divided and redivided, +endless intrigues, rebellion and mutual invasions. The kings of Norway +and Denmark, with their armies, and several German princes and hired +troops, became actors in this bloody tragedy, which ended in the +annihilation of the principals. The most dramatic incidents are known +as “the Play at Hotuna” and “the Feast of Nykœping,” both taking place +during the short intervals of peace. The former was enacted September +29, 1306, when the king invited his brothers to him at Hotuna in +Upland. They accepted the invitation, only to carry the king and +queen away as captives, forcing the former to give over to them his +kingdom and his power, only leaving him the royal title. “The Feast at +Nykœping” was held the night between December 10 and 11, 1317. The king +and queen invited the dukes to the castle, seized them in the night and +threw them into a dungeon, where they both perished after six months of +hunger and neglect. Birger did not derive any benefit from his fearful +crime. The whole country rose against him and he died, after several +years of exile, in 1321. Birger has generally been held forth as the +responsible party in the crimes and evils of the conflict, but his +brothers seem to have been guilty in about the same degree. Duke Eric +was one of the most brilliantly gifted princes of his age, and jealousy +on the part of the king was the spark that kindled the fire. But the +bad example set by their father of depriving an older brother of his +throne, and the great possessions and independence of the dukes, were +the underlying causes. The destruction of both the contending parties +was an unexpected solution and a great gain for Sweden, whose fate +appeared sinister, with the prospect of dismemberment or dissolution, +the dukes holding their vast possessions as heirlooms. + +During the conflict Norway had sided with the dukes, Denmark with the +king. Duke Eric was married to Ingeborg, only child of King Hakon of +Norway, and Duke Valdemar to his niece of the same name. _Mattias +Kettilmundsson_ was, in June, 1318, elected drotsete and regent. He led +an army against Denmark in the interests of the duchesses, invading +Scania and defeating the Danes near Hessleholm. November 11th of the +same year peace was made in Rœskilde between the kings, Eric and +Birger, on one side, and King Hakon and the heirs of the dukes, on the +other. May 8, 1319, King Hakon died, and _Magnus Ericsson_, the young +son of Duke Eric, inherited the crown of Norway, and July 8th of the +same year he was elected king of Sweden at Mora in Upland. + +For the attainment of this end Magnus’s mother, Duchess Ingeborg, and +seven Swedish councillors had worked with great activity. They had +taken part in shaping the first Act of Union of the North in June, +1319, and from Oslo, in Norway, hastened to have Magnus elected at +the Stone of Mora, where the Swedish kings since time immemorial were +nominated. The Act of Union stipulated that the two kingdoms were to +remain perfectly independent, the king to sojourn an equally long part +of the year in each, with no official of either country to accompany +him further than to the frontier. In their foreign relations the +countries were to be independent, but to support each other in case of +war. The king was the only tie to bind them together. + +There was another Magnus whose candidacy was spoiled by this union. +He was the son of King Birger, already, as a child, chosen king of +Sweden in succession to his father. Magnus Birgersson, a prisoner +at Stockholm, was beheaded in 1320, to make safe the reign of his +more fortunate cousin. King Magnus was only three years old, and +Drotsete Mattias Kettilmundsson presided over the government during +his minority, the nobles of the state council having great power and +influence. Both in Sweden and Norway the nobility had by this time +attained a supremacy which was oppressive both to the king and the +people, not so much through their privileges as through the liberties +they took. Their continual feuds between themselves disturbed the peace +of the country. + +In 1332, King Magnus took charge of the government. He was a ruler +of a benign and good disposition toward the common people, whose +interests he always furthered. But he lacked strength of character and +was not able to control the obnoxious nobles. The provinces of Scania +and Bleking suffered greatly under Danish rule, which was changed +into German oppression when handed over to the counts of Holstein as +security for a loan. The people of Scania rose in revolt and asked for +protection from King Magnus. At a meeting in Kalmar (in 1332) both +provinces were united to Sweden. But the king had to pay heavy amounts +in settlement, which were increased when Halland was procured in a +similar way. + +King Magnus was, at his height of power, one of the mightiest monarchs +of Europe, having under his rule the entire Scandinavian peninsula and +Finland, a realm stretching from the Sound at Elsinore to the Polar +Sea, from the river Neva to Iceland and Greenland. In 1335 King Magnus +rode his “Eriksgata,” when he announced that no Christian within his +realm should remain a thrall, thus practically abolishing the remnants +of slavery. In the following year he was crowned with his queen, +Blanche of Namur. + +Magnus took great interest in legislation. During his minority the +provincial laws were revised. The king himself accomplished the great +and noble task of having these united into a state law (_landslag_), +appointing a committee of three justices to do the work. The clergy was +consulted, but refused to have ecclesiastical laws made for the whole +kingdom. The state law was first considered in 1347, and was put in +practice in 1352, being both a digest and an elaboration of the ancient +provincial laws. In many an instance of foreign or domestic conflicts, +the people, through its enforcement, found help and shelter from the +national spirit of this law. + +To the financial difficulties which beset the reign of King Magnus and +made his life a burden the great plague was added. “The Black Death,” +in 1350, came from England to Norway and spread with great rapidity and +the most disastrous consequences throughout the North. In certain parts +of Sweden one-third of the population perished, in other parts even a +greater percentage, the plague raging with equal violence throughout +all classes of society. King Magnus had for a long time contemplated +revenge against the invasions made by the Russians into Carelia. He +undertook an expedition, under the pretext of a crusade, which ended +badly, the Swedish fleet being shut in by the Russians and saved only +by means of digging a canal. The king was severely criticised for +this crusade, which was construed as a punishment for his sins, and, +besides, largely increased his debts. The pope was among his creditors, +who, upon non-payment, placed Magnus under his ban. + +The union with Norway was not a happy one. As a minor, Magnus dwelt +most of the time in Norway, but later principally in Sweden. This +was contrary to the Act of Union, the state of things in Norway, +furthermore, necessitating the almost continual presence of the king. +For this reason his son, _Hakon_, was chosen king of Norway, in 1343, +Magnus remaining in power until Hakon became of age, and his older son, +_Eric_, chosen king, or heir-apparent, of Sweden, in 1344. It appears +that King Magnus was in favor of this separation and had preconceived +it in giving to his older son the Swedish name of Eric and to the +younger the Norwegian name of Hakon, both equally characteristic of +the royal lines of the respective countries. The two young kings caused +their father considerable annoyance; but, upon the early death of Eric, +Hakon entered more into harmony with King Magnus. Valdemar Atterdag, +the crafty and enterprising king of Denmark, took an active part in the +conflicts, pretending to support Magnus, while simultaneously depriving +him of Scania, Halland and Bleking, which he captured almost without +resistance. He landed in the island of Gothland, plundering Visby in a +treacherous way. Upon his departure, his ships perished in a storm, the +plundered treasures going down with these, the king himself escaping +with difficulty. Valdemar arranged a marriage between his little +daughter Margaret and King Hakon of Norway. Several Swedish nobles of +great influence considered the treachery and impudence of Valdemar +and the weakness of Magnus as going too far. They offered the Swedish +crown to Albrecht, the son of King Magnus’s sister Euphemia. The offer +was accepted by Duke Albrecht of Mecklenburg, the father of the young +Albrecht, in behalf of his son. He made a sudden assault upon Stockholm +in 1363, capturing it. At the Stone of Mora, Albrecht the Younger was +chosen king of Sweden. Magnus was defeated and made a prisoner at +Enkœping. + +King Magnus was taken to Stockholm and there imprisoned for some time, +heavily laden with chains. King Valdemar deserted his cause, but the +common people of Svealand, with whom Magnus had always been exceedingly +popular, rose in order to free him. Soon King Hakon reached the +very gates of Stockholm with a Norwegian army, whereupon Magnus was +released. But he had to abdicate his throne, leaving for Norway, where +he died, through an accident, in 1374. + +_Albrecht_ was the rightful king of Sweden. At the death of Eric he +became heir-apparent to the Swedish throne, but for having sped on +the course of events in his own interest, neither he nor his father +acquired any popularity. They surrounded themselves by a great number +of Germans, who, through their licentiousness and overbearing manner, +enraged the people. The country was practically in the hands of a few +Swedish nobles, among whom the drotsete, Bo Jonsson Grip, through his +high office and his immense wealth, bore the supremacy. Bo Jonsson +is said to have been the wealthiest man who ever lived in the North, +his possessions, fiefs and castles being of an astounding number, the +most famous among the latter being Gripsholm in the Lake Mælar. He +loaned money to the king against new castles and fiefs in security, +and held Albrecht in the most humiliating relation of dependence. +His enemies he persecuted without mercy, killing one before the high +altar in the Franciscan church of Stockholm. When Bo Jonsson died, in +1386, the king tried to better conditions by confiscating to the crown +some of his possessions. But he met with opposition from the nobles, +who claimed that he did so only to enrich his German favorites. The +king was helpless against his councillors, to whom he had handed over +all his power. They were in possession of all the fortified castles, +and if one of them died, the king had no right to select a successor +without their permission. The executors of Bo Jonsson’s will ended by +offering the crown to Margaret, Valdemar’s daughter, and queen-dowager +of Norway. She accepted, promising the nobles that they should remain +in undisturbed enjoyment of their great privileges. Margaret sent +an army into West Gothland, consisting of men from all three of +the Scandinavian countries, under the command of the Swede, Eric +Kettilsson. King Albrecht met with an army to a great extent composed +of German troops, and was defeated and made a prisoner at Falkœping, +February 24, 1389. Albrecht was imprisoned at Lindholm, in Scania, for +seven years, later returning to Mecklenburg. + +To the Folkung period belongs one of the most remarkable and renowned +of Swedish women, herself, on her mother’s side, a Folkung, _St. +Birgitta_, the daughter of the legislator and first justice of Upland, +Birger Persson. Her parents were both pious and devoted to ascetic +practices. As a child she had visions, the holy Mary appearing to her. +When thirteen years of age she was married to Ulf Gumundsson, later +justice of Nerike, also a pious man, with whom she made a pilgrimage +to Spain. Birgitta lost her husband shortly afterward. At the Swedish +court, where she was the highest functionary of Queen Blanche, she +had seen political life at close range, gathering a deep and strong +indignation against the mighty and powerful in the world. Her husband’s +death moved her deeply, and the religious mysticism of her youth now +burst forth with increased strength, her visions becoming numerous and +important. That she believed in them herself there is no doubt, and +she made the world believe her. At first she hurled admonitions and +curses against King Magnus and his court; but the wretchedness of the +whole world attracted her to its spiritual centre, Rome, where she +lived for twenty-three years in continual and open protest against +the vices of the popes and priests. She died in Rome, in 1373, at +the age of seventy, after a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, seeing the two +great ambitions of her life fulfilled: the pope returning to Rome from +Avignon, and her creation, the order of St. Salvator, sanctioned by +the pope. Birgitta was canonized by the pope in 1391, through the +influence of Queen Margaret. + +Birgitta was the greatest political-poetic genius of the mediæval +North. Her revelations fill eight volumes. She wrote them in Swedish, +and had a priest translate them into Latin. Some of her original +Swedish work is preserved. Birgitta appears to have thought in artistic +images, and these images are of plastic form, often of consummate +beauty, sometimes witty, sometimes avowedly comic, always effective. +The melancholy charm of Sweden’s nature suffuses all her writings and +renders to her peculiar mediæval mysticism a national temperament. From +Swedish sceneries and animal life she borrows her most beautiful images. + +St. Birgitta has by some been considered as a reformer before Luther, +but not quite correctly. Luther reformed the institutions; Birgitta +aimed at reforming their upholders, and used against the pope and the +priests a language almost as strong as Luther’s. Some of her ideas +were not strictly in harmony with the Catholic dogmas; she insisted on +a close personal union with God, without the mediation of priests or +saints, fought for a universal knowledge of the Bible and the preaching +of the Gospel in the popular vernaculars, and considered the sale of +indulgences a mortal sin. Four hundred and seventy convents of her +order, in which men and women were to collaborate for the instruction +and spiritual guidance of the people, were after her death founded in +the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Esthonia, Poland, Italy and the +Netherlands, one existing in England up to the time of Elizabeth. The +mother institution at Vadstena, in East Gothland, was of the greatest +importance to the cultural development of Sweden and the North. One +of the greatest libraries of the Middle Ages was reared, and the first +book-printing establishment of Sweden founded there in 1490. Within +its walls a considerable literary activity prevailed, the religious +literature of the time being copied, or translated into Swedish, +and many original works written. The Swedish language, used by the +Birgittine school of writers, tried, by approaching Danish forms, to +establish a common literary language in the North, the Norwegian having +approached the Swedish during the time of the close relations between +the courts of the two countries. These efforts, for a time furthered by +political relations, were unfortunately soon to be abandoned forever. + +Birgitta was a great genius in fetters. Her rare gifts were kept back +in their development through the idiosyncrasies of her period. She was +of an indomitable, aristocratic spirit, always remaining the noblewoman +to whom it was natural to speak the truth to the princes of State and +Church, because she considered herself their equal through the best +blood of the North, of which she had her share. This religious mystic +was a true child of her aristocratic age, which gave to Sweden two +parallel lines, sometimes identical, of great legislators and weak and +indulgent princes. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +_Unionism versus Patriotism--Margaret, Engelbrekt and Charles Knutsson_ + + +Queen Margaret, the successor of Albrecht, for the first time in +history united the three Scandinavian countries and their dependencies +under one rule. Born in a prison in which King Valdemar of Denmark had +placed his consort, Queen Hedvig, there remained in the character of +Margaret something of the rigor and chill of her uncomely birthplace. +When she was seven, she was engaged to King Hakon of Norway, and +married to him at eleven years of age. In Norway, her education +was continued for several years after her marriage under the stern +supervision of Dame Martha, a daughter of St. Birgitta, who often +applied corporal punishment to the young queen. Margaret early gave +evidence of self-control and power of reflection, and her mind +developed at the expense of her heart. Her son Olaf became king of +Denmark upon Valdemar’s death, in 1375, and king of Norway upon that of +Hakon, in 1380. Upon his death, in 1387, Margaret succeeded him, and +two years later laid Sweden under her sceptre. + +Albrecht was captured, but the Germans still were in possession of +several Swedish strongholds. These yielded to Margaret, one after +the other, except Stockholm. In the capital, the German influx of +soldiers and merchants had made the foreign population exceedingly +large. They now acted as oppressors. A secret league was formed which +captured a great number of prominent Swedish citizens, who were cruelly +tortured with wooden saws and then thrown into an old shed on the +islet of Kæpplingeholm. The shed was ignited and the poor prisoners +suffered a terrible death. German freebooters, especially the Vitalen +or Victuallen Brotherhood, who provided the fortress of Stockholm with +victuals, were plundering in the Baltic and Lake Mælar, and were the +allies of the Germans of Stockholm. Margaret was powerless against +them until she entered into an alliance with the Hanseatic towns. This +ended the war; Stockholm surrendered and peace was made, in 1395. +The plunders by sea-rovers in the Baltic were put an end to during +Margaret’s reign, but cost heroic efforts and much money, while the +influence of the Hansa grew into menacing proportions. + +Margaret was anxious to place the dynasty of the North firmly within +her line of descent. In 1389, she selected her sister’s grandson, +Eric of Pomerania, then six years old, her successor, and he was thus +proclaimed in Norway. In 1395, Eric was chosen king of Denmark and, +in 1396, of Sweden. At his Swedish coronation in Kalmar, in 1397, +Queen Margaret, who remained at his side as the real ruler, had the +outline drawn of an _Act of Union_, which should forever unite the +three Scandinavian kingdoms under one ruler. Each country was to +preserve its constitution, laws and traditions unmolested, but they +were to support each other in times of war. When a king was to be +chosen, representatives of equal numbers from each country were to +meet in Halmstad, the sons of kings to be favored by choice. This Act +of Union was never carried into effect, according to legal forms. The +sketch or outline of it, such as it is still preserved, was signed by +representatives of the three countries, although not in equal numbers; +but why Queen Margaret never allowed it to be enlarged into a legally +binding document is not known. Her favorite idea was therein embodied, +and she appeared to have an all-powerful influence over those necessary +to carry it through. + +Margaret made it her object to strengthen the crown and reduce the +power of the nobles. She cared naught about keeping her promises to the +latter, confiscating their castles and possessions, and annulling their +privileges. When they complained, reminding her of her promises in her +letters to them, she replied: “Keep my letters; I shall certainly keep +your castles.” All nobles created by Albrecht were entirely deprived +of their privileges if they could not prove their due qualifications. +The majority of forts erected during the war were pulled down. No taxes +were longer imposed, except through written order of the government. +These reforms were all rigorously carried out, according to the +“Restitution of Nykœping” of 1396. Margaret succeeded in a remarkable +way in reducing to normal proportions the power and influence of the +Swedish nobility. The nobles, who were all-powerful and absolutely +unyielding in Albrecht’s days, bowed to her gracefully and received +meekly her severe conditions. An explanation can be found in the fact +that they had no leader of authority and power among them, after the +death of Bo Jonsson Grip. Further, Margaret was careful not to fill the +important offices of drotsete and marsk, when vacant, thus making the +personal presence and interference of the sovereign necessary on all +important occasions. + +The love of the Swedish people should have been Margaret’s reward +for her abolition of aristocratic oppression, if she had not been +in a position which necessitated the imposition of heavy taxes. The +existence of the common people was made weary and troublesome through +the payment of the “queen’s tax,” the “stake tax” on each hearth, the +“rump tax” on each head of cattle, and, worst of all, the “Gothland’s +release.” Bailiffs, often of foreign birth, collected these taxes +with great severity. When the queen became aware of the complaints +against her and her bailiffs, she asked in a letter to the archbishop +that the people would forgive her in God’s name. “Some of it one has +not been able to better; some we and they might well have bettered, +although what is done is done.” Without doubt, there was due reason +for the heavy taxes in the unsettled relations with other countries +which existed during Margaret’s reign; the support of the Hansa and a +war with Holstein, commenced by King Eric, were expensive. The island +of Gothland had been captured by the so-called German Order in the +last days of Albrecht’s reign. When the island was redeemed through +the payment of Swedish money, Margaret made the mistake of installing +there a Danish bailiff, and it thus for a long time remained a Danish +province. Margaret believed in the Union and counted no Scandinavian +a foreigner in either country. But it was contrary to Swedish law to +install foreigners as bailiffs and vassals, and as she appointed a +great number of Danes to Swedish fiefs, and never a Swede to Danish +positions of the same or equal importance, the Swedish complaints, on +this point, were justified. + +Margaret was as severe toward the ecclesiastics as toward the nobles. +But when she noticed the forebodings of powerful resistance, she made +important concessions. She was anxious to observe religious practices, +joining the convent of Vadstena as a “worldly sister,” kissing the +hands of all the monks and nuns on that occasion. She took interest in +the conversion of the Laps, sending a baptized woman of their race, by +the name of Margaret, to preach the Gospel among them. + +The war with Holstein concerning the possession of Schleswig had been +brought to an armistice, and the queen sailed to Flensburg to conduct +further negotiations. While still on board of her ship, death surprised +her, in 1412. + +Margaret has been called the Semiramis of the North and well deserves +her widespread fame. During her reign, the Northern countries, through +her wisdom and strength, enjoyed a degree of order which they missed +both before and after. She put an end to the foreign influence which +had governed Sweden. Yet her rule was a disappointment, and the Union +also. She paved the way for a new foreign influence, by making a +German prince her successor and by leaning too much on the Hansa. The +aristocratic oppression was crushed by her, but she introduced the +oppression through royal bailiffs. She promised to preserve the old +territory of Sweden unmolested, but placed the island of Gothland +under Denmark. The Union of which Queen Margaret was the champion her +successors were not able to grasp or uphold in the spirit of her good +intentions. To Sweden it came in an inauspicious time when it was not +fit to receive it. Foreign oppression had irritated the people to +resistance, and discontent was to give life to patriotism. Sweden had +recently developed into one joint constitutional body, the various +provinces giving up their ancient laws for a state law, in which +the old individual traits were gathered and recognized. We know how +Sweden was settled, not by various tribes, but by pioneers who, from +the old home of culture, Scania, penetrated to the wilderness above, +settling one district after the other, which, one by one, developed +into provinces, little states by themselves, later united into one +realm with a common king. One by one these provinces had taken the +lead in the political and cultural development, often the youngest +before the oldest. Thus the Swedes, a younger branch of the Gauts, gave +their name to the country and furnished the rulers, the Guts of the +island of Gothland securing the commercial supremacy of the sea, and +the Rus of the outskirts of Upland founding the Russian empire. Now it +fell upon Dalecarlia, the most recently settled of Swedish provinces, +to save freedom and independence to a newly regenerated state which +was awakening to the consciousness of its solidarity of interests, +aspirations and duties. From Dalecarlia came the first great political +leader. From there he and his later successors received their chief +support. + +_Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson_ is the earliest and greatest of the +patriotic heroes of Swedish history. To the glory of his deeds and the +noble simplicity of his character the death of a martyr gives added +lustre. Engelbrekt was born at Kopparberg, in the mining district of +Dalecarlia, where there were many German settlers. Possibly his early +ancestors were among them; but for three generations at least they had +been native-born Swedes, Engelbrekt’s father, as he himself, belonging +to the Swedish nobility, although not of the influential families. +Engelbrekt had received the chivalric education of his time at the +courts of the great nobles, being next in rank to a knight, _væpnare_ +(squire), at the opening of his career. He was small of stature, +but eloquent, courageous and of a lofty mind. The integrity of his +character was absolute; his personal necessities were few and plain. + +King Eric was a highly educated and refined man, not without a certain +ability, but entirely without discernment and patience for the various +demands and conditions of the countries over which he was set to rule. +His foreign bailiffs in Sweden, mostly Danes, with a fair sprinkling +of Germans and Italians, were still less in sympathy with his Swedish +subjects. They tried to manage them as they did the Danes and the +inhabitants of more southern countries, for centuries accustomed to +slavery, ignorant of the ancient spirit of independence of the Swedish +yeomanry, abated but not suppressed. When oppression no longer kept +within reasonable bounds, the Swedish patience came to an end, and +first in the youngest and most solitary parts of the country. + +The most hated of Danish bailiffs was Jœsse Ericsson, of Westmanland +and Dalecarlia. After having confiscated the horses of the peasants, +he is said to have harnessed the men to plows and the women to +grain-loads, once suffocating five peasants. Engelbrekt felt compassion +for the misery of the suffering people and accepted the commission to +seek the king, to make complaints in their behalf. He appeared before +King Eric in Denmark, demanding punishment of the cruel bailiff and +offering to go into prison or surrender his life if not speaking the +truth, as was the custom of the time. The king gave him a letter to +the Swedish council of state, demanding an inquiry which was promptly +made. When Engelbrekt for a second time appeared with the corroboration +of his statements from the Swedish councillors, the king sent him away +in a fit of impatient rage. Upon his return, the Dalecarlians rose in +a body, selecting Engelbrekt as their leader and marching south to +Westeros. The councillors met and promised to have justice done in +the case. But things remained the same until the following spring, in +1434. At midsummer the Dalecarlians commenced operations. The fort of +Borganæs and the castle of Kœping were destroyed. Engelbrekt asked the +people of Westmanland to join him, which they did to a man, the nobles +also joining upon evidence of the determination of the popular leader. +In Upsala, Engelbrekt found the people of Upland ready to join, and he +made clear to the great multitudes the mission he had undertaken. He +now felt strong enough to take a hand in the affairs of state; with +the consent of the leading nobles reducing the taxes by one-third. +Engelbrekt called upon a young, high-spirited nobleman, Eric Puke, +to bring Norrland to revolt and destroy the forts of that district, +which commissions Puke fulfilled to the letter, thereupon reinforcing +Engelbrekt with his men. In the meantime, the people of western +Sœdermanland rose by their own determination, destroying Gripsholm; +the bailiff of the castle escaping with his treasures in boats over +Lake Mælar. In Vermland and Dal the people followed these examples +of revolt. The commander of the Stockholm fortress agreed upon an +armistice, other castles surrendering or promising to surrender. + +Engelbrekt met the council of state at Vadstena, escorted by 1,000 men +of his best troops. Without fear or haughtiness, he pleaded the cause +of his country, advising the councillors in firm and eloquent words +to see to it that the foreign oppression came to an end. The council +hesitated, Bishop Knut of Linkœping stating that the oath to the king +could not be broken. To this Engelbrekt answered that the king had +pledged many oaths but kept none, for which reason the people were +freed from their oath. Upon a wholesome demonstration of force the +councillors gave in and dictated a letter in which they broke their +pledge to King Eric, yet giving as an excuse that they were compelled +to do so. The revolt had now spread to all parts of the kingdom, at +least 100,000 being armed to meet the emergency. But so carefully +and quietly was the work of liberation performed that no harm was +done in the parts where the peasant armies were moving. After having +entered Halmstad, Engelbrekt returned to Westeros, where the army was +scattered, but soon gathered again upon the report that the king with +a fleet was approaching Stockholm. Upon his arrival, the king found +Stockholm enclosed by a peasant army and returned to Denmark, forced +to agree to an armistice. At a meeting in Arboga, Engelbrekt was +elected regent. This was the first meeting in which representatives +of the merchant class and the yeomanry took part, being thus the +first _riksdag_ or parliament composed of the four Estates--noblemen, +ecclesiastics, burghers, and yeomen. + +King Eric promised, upon his return to Stockholm, to govern the country +according to its laws and through Swedish men, appointing Krister +Nilsson Vasa drotsete, and Charles Knutsson Bonde marsk. But so badly +did he keep his promises that he was once more dethroned. The nobles +hastened to elect Charles Knutsson regent, but through pressure which +the peasants brought to bear it was agreed that he should share his +power with Engelbrekt and lead the siege of Stockholm, while the latter +should free the country from the bailiffs reinstalled by the king. + +Upon his second tour through the country, Engelbrekt was seized by +illness, but being called to Stockholm by an important state affair, +he started over the lakes thither from Œrebro. One evening he stopped +at an islet in Lake Hielmar for the night. When he saw a boat approach +with Mons Bengtsson on board he staggered on a crutch down to receive +him. This man sprang ashore and assaulted Engelbrekt, who tried to ward +off the blows of the axe with his crutch, but failing to do so he was +killed on the spot, in April, 1436. The perpetrator of this beastly +murder was a son of a noble with whom Engelbrekt had been engaged in +some controversy which he had recently settled to the satisfaction +of both parties. The murderer escaped; but, although shielded from +punishment by Marsk Charles Knutsson, he was shunned by everybody, his +high-born and wealthy relations for several centuries refusing to carry +the proud family name (Natt och Dag) upon which he had brought shame. + +The memory of Engelbrekt is one of the most honored and most beloved in +Swedish history. He waged the first battle against the oppression which +foreign intrigues had brought upon his country, and saved from the +peril of slavery the ancient freedom and independence of the Swedish +people. + +Through a remarkable coincidence, a cousin of Engelbrekt’s murderer, +Nils Bosson, a young follower of the popular hero, who took his +mother’s family name of Sture, was to become the father and grandfather +of two of the most revered of Engelbrekt’s successors; Nils Bosson +himself being as sympathetic and upright a type of nobleman as any +time or country has produced. + +Charles Knutsson, after Engelbrekt’s death, was the most influential +man in Sweden. But he was a very different man. Belonging to the +highest aristocracy, he was himself of great wealth, highly talented, +well read, and a great traveller. He was exceedingly handsome, +dignified, amiable, eloquent, and possessed a voice of unusual charm +and strength. But he was a prey to ambition, determined to make his +way to the throne, but little careful in the selection of his means +toward that end. He aroused the suspicion and hatred of Eric Puke, +whom he irritated to revolt only to get him in his power. This noble +but headstrong man was executed for treason, while Drotsete Krister +Nilsson, who signed the death-warrant in the interest of Charles, +himself was persecuted by the latter and deprived of all his fiefs save +one. Charles showed great severity in punishing the peasants, who were +Puke’s supporters, four of them being burned alive; thus losing the +popular sympathy, while becoming an object of envy in the eyes of the +nobles. These recalled King Eric, who was again found impossible and +soon dethroned also in Denmark. + +_Christopher of Bavaria_, a nephew of Eric, was elected to succeed him +(in 1440) by the nobles of Denmark and Sweden. He was a good-natured +man, who allowed the aristocrats of Sweden to rule as they pleased, +only keeping an eye on Charles Knutsson. Christopher died in 1448. +During his reign a new state law was issued in 1442, called “King +Christopher’s land’s law,” although the king probably had very little +to do with its form or stipulations. It offered a few improvements, but +in general so closely resembled the older state law that the one was +often mistaken for the other and both remained valid until 1736. + +_Charles Knutsson (Charles VIII.)_ returned from Finland, which duchy +had been held under his supremacy, four months after Christopher’s +death, and was by an overwhelming majority elected king of Sweden. +Shortly after his coronation at Upsala he was elected king of Norway +and crowned at Drontheim, in 1449. His reign opened with a lucky +expedition to the island of Gothland. But in the following year King +Charles lost both Gothland and Norway to Christian of Denmark, with +whom the Unionist party of Sweden entered into secret plots against +the king. Invasions and intrigues followed. Christian invaded Smaland, +East Gothland and Vermland, to which Charles responded by an invasion +of Scania, destroying the old town of Lund with nineteen of its twenty +churches, the cathedral alone being spared. Christian took revenge by +an invasion of West Gothland, capturing Lœdœse. Another Danish army +marched through East Gothland, but met defeat at Holaveden through an +onslaught made by Swedish peasants. The valiant Tord Bonde, a cousin +of King Charles, took the Danes by surprise, recapturing Lœdœse. An +armistice of two years was agreed on, in May, 1453. + +In the battle against open and secret enemies things turned out badly +for King Charles. The best supporter of his cause, his cousin Tord, was +murdered by a Danish traitor in his service, in 1456, and a new and +dangerous enemy was encountered in the Church. The king had confiscated +to the crown a number of estates which the Church had gained in an +illegal way. While preparing for an expedition to Œland, and having +instructed the archbishop to gather troops for him, Charles learned +that this man, Jœns Bengtsson Oxenstierna, had turned against him. The +archbishop deposited his ecclesiastical robe at the high altar of the +Upsala cathedral and started, sword in hand, with his forces to meet +the king. Charles tried to surprise him, but was himself caught in a +trap and met his enemy on the ice of Lake Mælar. The encounter proved +a defeat to Charles, who in haste stored his treasures in a convent in +Stockholm and sailed for Dantzic. + +_Christian_ of Denmark was called in by the archbishop and chosen king +of Sweden. Christian was a sagacious ruler, but his great need of +money, incurred by the redeeming of Schleswig and Holstein, made him +unpopular. As the easy-going Christopher had been surnamed “Bark-king,” +on account of dearth experienced in Sweden during his reign, when the +people had to mix bark with their flour, thus Christian, on account of +his avidity, was called “The Bottomless Purse.” During Christian’s war +with Russia, the archbishop was commissioned to collect the increased +taxes, but failing to do so, to the full extent demanded, he was +imprisoned at the command of the king. This caused indignation. + +Kettil Karlsson Vasa, a nephew of the archbishop, and the bishop of +Linkœping, revolted and defeated the king and his army at Haraker’s +church, in Westmanland, in 1464. The victors then marched on Stockholm. +The popular opinion of the country demanded the reinstallation of +King Charles. The peasants wanted him “because Sweden was of old a +kingdom, not a regent’s land or a diocese.” King Charles returned in +the same year, but soon left the throne again on account of a conflict +with Bishop Kettil. This latter turned to Christian, promising a +safe return to the crown if he set free the archbishop. Christian +immediately did so, the worthy bishops commencing operations against +Charles, who, defeated and forsaken by all, abdicated his throne, +January 30, 1465. The once upon a time richest man of Sweden was now +deprived of all, Christian having taken his hidden treasures. He +retired to Raseborg, a castle in Finland, which after some hesitation +was granted him. “We have,” wrote he, “in such manner departed from +Sweden, that never longeth us to return thither the third time.” He +also complained of his misery in the following strophe of assonance +verse: + + While I was lord of Fogelwick + Then I was both mighty and rich, + But since made the king of Svea land + I am a poor and unhappy man. + +Great confusion reigned in Sweden during the next two years. Bishop +Kettil, who styled himself regent, tried to conduct the government +in common with the archbishop, but the great nobles did their own +pleasure. At last one of them, Ivar Axelson Tott, who had the island of +Gothland in fief, joined the party of Charles, marrying his daughter. +His brother, Eric Axelson, was made regent. Nils Bosson Sture had +been repeatedly asked to accept this dignity, as also the crown, but +he refused. He and Sten Sture, of the original Sture family, who led +the army under Bishop Kettil at Haraker, now made possible the second +reinstallation of Charles, in 1467, the ambitious archbishop dying in +the same year. But Charles was old and weary of the vanities of life, +for which he had made so many sacrifices. It was only the valor and +strength of the two Stures that made it possible for him to keep the +crown and to die in the purple, in 1470. He designated Sten Sture as +his successor at the rudder of state, but warned him not to seek the +crown. “That ambition,” he said, “has crushed my happiness and cost my +life.” + +Charles is very sympathetically dealt with in the New Rhymed, or +Charles Chronicle, probably written by one of his men, who flatters +him, as did the Old Chronicle the ill-fated Duke Eric. Still the +Charles Chronicle and its continuations, the Sture Chronicles, are +very important historic sources of these periods of Unionism versus +Patriotism, from Margaret to Gustavus Vasa. The less reliable Prose +Chronicle and the later historic works by Ericus Olai, Johannis Magnus +and Olaus Petri, also throw light upon them. What all of these have +in common is a fiery patriotic spirit, entirely lacking in the placid +and artistic lines of the Old Chronicle as compared to the New. With +the seeds of patriotism were sowed those of national hatred against a +foreign foe. That the Dane and not the German was destined to be this +national enemy was disastrous to the Union of the North, but probably +a gain for the cultural development of Sweden. This period is rich +in shorter poems on political men and conditions, all of a strongly +democratic flavor. Among these the song about his friend Engelbrekt, by +Bishop Thomas of Strengnæs, occupies a high place, but a still higher +one the Song of Liberty, by the same high-minded patriot. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +_Unionism versus Patriotism--Uncrowned Kings of the Sture Families_ + + +Sten Sture the Elder was chosen regent by the council of state and +elected by the people at the Riksdag of Arboga, in 1471. For more than +half a century following upon the reign of Charles VIII., Sweden was +governed by uncrowned kings, with the intermission of a few years. +These regents had not any republican ideals in mind, nor were they +secretly coveting the crown. Their ambition was simply to uphold +a strong and firm national government by means of which foreign +lordships could be made impossible, the people enjoy their rights and +their liberty, and the government increase in power and authority +at the expense of Church and nobility. The policy laid down by Sten +Sture the Elder, and strictly adhered to by him and his successors, +was of the broadly democratic spirit of Engelbrekt. This policy was +strengthened by the high esteem in which the regents were held. Yet +their position was a very difficult one, for although enjoying the full +confidence of the people, they were regarded with envy and suspicion +by the aristocracy, who never could be persuaded but that these noble +uncrowned rulers were secretly scheming for obtainance of the royal +crown. + +Sten Sture had the good fortune to inaugurate his reign with a +glorious victory over King Christian, which put an end to Danish +invasions during a whole generation. Christian arrived at Stockholm +with a fine fleet and a magnificent army, taking his position at +Brunkeberg, close to the north of the capital. Here a long and fierce +battle was fought, October 10, 1471. Sten Sture commanded a large +army of peasants, attacking Christian’s fortified position from the +north, supported by Knut Posse, with burgher troops, from the south. +At the third attack victory was won, Nils Bosson Sture arriving on the +battle scene with an army of Dalecarlians. King Christian was wounded +in the mouth; the famous Danish Oriflamme, Dannebrog, was captured, +being surrounded by five hundred corpses of select Danish knights. +Through the prestige of the great victory at Brunkeberg, Sten Sture +managed to give Sweden ten years of undisturbed peace and comfort. +Encouraged by the victory over the foreign invaders, the city of +Stockholm took the lead in ridding the towns of undue influence, caused +by the supremacy of German commerce. The town laws held a stipulation +that half the number of councillors in each town council should be +Germans. A petition headed by the burghers of Stockholm and circulated +through the towns was acted upon, the council of state abolishing by +law the stipulation in question. Free markets were established in +the commercial centres Kalmar and Sœderkœping, and a new commercial +town was founded on the Gotha River, to be called Gothahamn, although +the name was changed to New Lœdœse. In spite of the supremacy of the +Hanseatic League, commerce was good, the iron mines of Dalecarlia, +Westmanland, Nerike and Eastern Vermland growing in importance, and +silver being produced by various mines in Dalecarlia. + +Lord Sten gave careful and loving attention to the needs of the +yeomanry and the common people. He kept an open and watchful eye on +the bailiffs, and carried out the demands of justice with severity. +Many farms, desolate and neglected during the times of war, were +brought under cultivation. Lord Sten made no decision in any matter +of importance without consulting the yeomen and the burghers, as well +as the nobles, at _Riksdagar_, the parliamentary nature of which was +further developed. With a firm hand he held the nobles down to order +and the requirements of a national democratic policy. The powerful +brothers Ivar and Eric Tott especially caused him annoyance, the former +holding the island of Gothland, the latter the duchy of Finland, in +fief. It came to open hostilities with Ivar Tott who, defeated and +deprived of his castles, fled to Denmark, taking revenge by turning the +much contested island over to said power. + +Lord Sten was a very pious man, but he held the ecclesiastics under +strict surveillance on account of their unpatriotic tendencies. But he +collaborated with them for the establishment of a state university at +Upsala, in which the archbishop, Jacob Ulfsson, was greatly interested. +Sanctioned by the pope, the university was opened in 1477, with great +ceremonies. One of its earliest professors was Ericus Olai, the author +of the first but rather uncritical work of Swedish history, Chronica +Regni Gothorum, written in awkward mediæval Latin, but in a style +attractive through its vivacity. Latin was chiefly used by the learned +and literary men. The cloisters and the cathedrals had schools where +the young people were trained for the learned professions, chiefly +the Church. For a university education, the institutions of Cologne, +Prague, Leipzig and Bologna, but chiefly Paris, the greatest of them +all, had been sought. The Swedes had three _collegia_ in Paris, and the +Scandinavians held there an honored position as scholars, the Swedes +three times filling the office of rector or president of the Paris +university, the highest dignity of learning in the world. Ingeborg +Tott, the wife of Sten Sture, was a great friend of learning, having +books printed at her expense and collecting a large library in the +convent of Mariefred, founded by Lord Sten. + +The peace of the country was disturbed by a war with Russia. Attacks +on the castle of Viborg had been made shortly after the battle of +Brunkeberg, but warded off by Eric Tott, who in return invaded Russian +territory. After his death the valiant Knut Posse was made commander of +Viborg. The Russians, in 1495, made a violent attack upon the castle, +damaging it considerably. But Posse led the defence with superior +skill, repulsing the enemy with astounding force. This deed has become +famous in popular traditions, both Swedes and Russians crediting Posse +with an alliance of a supernatural order. The regent himself twice +headed expeditions to Finland, forcing a new Russian army to retire +over the frontier. Affairs were going badly on account of unsafety +in Finland, and dearth and intrigues in Sweden. The council of state +accused Lord Sten of not doing all he could for Finland while secretly +fanning the discontent of the commanders, who made personal sacrifices +of time and money by remaining with the army. It came to hot words +between Lord Sten and the commander Svante Sture, the son of Nils +Bosson. He returned home, although Lord Sten told him he was a deserter +in so doing, “fleeing from the banner of state.” Svante Sture, who +with Posse had made a glorious inroad upon Russian territory, now +joined the aristocratic enemies of the regent, calling in King John +(Hans) of Denmark. John succeeded Christian in 1482, and commenced +intriguing for the Swedish crown. The Swedish nobles were anxious to +have this good-natured monarch for ruler. Lord Sten was too sagacious +to openly oppose them, when they, in the so-called _Recess of Kalmar_ +of 1483, declared _John_ king of Sweden, the king promising the island +of Gothland to Sweden, and all old privileges to the nobles. By means +of skilful diplomatic operations, Lord Sten delayed matters to such an +extent that it took fourteen years before John II. was king of Sweden +in anything but name. But the time was ripe for Svante Sture’s open +conflict with Lord Sten. The council, the archbishop leading, broke +their faith with the regent, offering King John the crown. He came with +an army to Stockholm, taking his position at Brunkeberg. An army of +Dalecarlians marched upon the capital at the solicitation of Lord Sten, +who awaited them with another army. The operations took an unfavorable +turn on account of misapprehended movements, Lord Sten with difficulty +saving his life. King John understood that a continued struggle would +lead to his ultimate defeat and made peace. Lord Sten retired, but +with the greatest fiefs given to any Swedish man; viz., the whole +of Finland, with large possessions besides. When the king entered +Stockholm, in October, 1497, it was at the arm of Lord Sten, to whom he +said jestingly: “Have you now prepared everything well for me at the +castle, Lord Sten; the table set with meat and ale, so that my guests +may make merry?” Lord Sten answered in the same light spirit, pointing +to the Swedish nobles who had joined the royal retinue: “That these +know best who stand there behind you. They have it all both baked and +brewed.” Later the king remarked: “Lord Sten, it is a bad inheritance +you have bequeathed on me in Sweden; the peasants whom God created +slaves you have made into lords, and those who should have been lords +you try to make slaves.” At his coronation in Upsala, the king bestowed +knighthood upon many Swedish nobles (something that had been beyond +Lord Sten’s authority to do), upon his return to Denmark appointing +Lord Sten to take the reins of government with three state councillors +at his side. + +King John’s reign in Sweden was of short duration. He failed to return +the island of Gothland to the Swedish crown and lost his prestige +through an unsuccessful war in Ditmarschen. Svante Sture, who had +not been dealt with according to his expectations, declared war upon +the king and joined Lord Sten, who was in an unenviable position and +glad to shake off the Union with Denmark, which he did, in 1501, when +made regent for the second time. With a peasant army siege was laid +to the castle of Stockholm, held by the energetic Queen Christine, +who capitulated after a heroic struggle. Three days later King John +appeared with an army, but returned, seeing that he came too late. +Lord Sten retained Queen Christine at Vadstena for some time, later +escorting her to the Danish frontier. Upon his return he was taken ill +and died suddenly at Jœnkœping, December 14, 1503. With him the older +or original line of the Sture family became extinct. Lord Sten was the +greatest ruler since Margaret, and his rule, being of a more patriotic +and democratic tendency, was of greater benefit to Sweden than hers. + +_Svante Sture_ succeeded Sten. He was of the younger Sture line, the +son of the noble patriot, Nils Bosson, who in the time of Charles +VIII., as the friend of Engelbrekt and Bishop Thomas, had taken stand +against the archbishop and the nobles, backed by the Dalecarlians, +who adored him. Lord Svante was a very quick-tempered man, which led +him into the conflict with Lord Sten. Unlike the regent and his own +father, he never had experienced what Danish oppression meant, which +accounts for his unwise decision in joining the Unionists. The war with +Denmark lasted eight of his nine years of reign, which proves him an +able soldier and a stanch patriot. His position from the start was less +favorable than that of his predecessor, who could reign in the glory of +his early victory at Brunkeberg. + +Lord Svante had in _Doctor Hemming Gad_ a patriotic adviser of rare +attainments and great learning. He had studied in Rostock, was for +twelve years Lord Sten’s representative in Italy, and later bishop of +Linkœping, although never sanctioned and finally placed under ban by +the pope. Hemming Gad was the first democratic agitator of Sweden, +a warm admirer of the Stures, and a good soldier. His statecraft he +had evidently learned in Italy with her traditions of Machiavelli. +His literary style is very characteristic, the language of a learned +ecclesiastic with the oaths of a soldier. Those of his writings which +are still extant prove a great love for the common people, a love which +was returned by them. Having organized the revolt against King John, he +evinced great slyness and presence of mind at the death of Lord Sten. +To preserve its secrecy until Svante was forewarned and in possession +of the castle of Stockholm, he had a man dress in the clothes of the +deceased regent and continue the journey to the capital with Sten’s +retinue. + +The Unionist party was as ready as ever to offer the crown to King +John, their representatives agreeing to pay a yearly tribute until +he or his son Christian was chosen king. This agreement was made in +1509, but it called forth a storm of indignation from the patriots and +the people, and was never considered by the government. Lubeck opened +hostilities against Denmark and was joined by Sweden, the Unionists +recommencing deliberations whenever it looked favorable for Danish +interests. Lord Svante made sure of peace and safety for Finland before +taking up the conflict with the Danes. On the eastern shore, Hemming +Gad led the operations against the town and castle of Kalmar, held by +the Danes. The town was soon captured, but the castle not before the +end of 1510. Ake Hansson (Natt och Dag) fought with great valor and +considerable success against the Danes on the western and southern +frontier, until this “Tormentor of Denmark,” as he was surnamed, was +killed in battle in 1510. On the sea the Danes were superior, a fleet +under the command of Otto Rud and Soren Norrby plundering Abo in +Finland. But when Lubeck’s fleet appeared the Danes were forced back. +Peace was made, but soon broken. Lubeck sent a fleet to invade the +coast of the Danish isles; Hemming Gad, with several Swedish ships, +taking part in the expedition. Denmark did her best to crush Swedish +resistance by inducing Russia to break the peace, the emperor to +declare Sweden the arch enemy of the German empire, and the pope to +place her under ban. + +More unfortunate to Sweden than these intrigues was the fact that King +John in his son Christian had an able warrior and a great organizer. +Prince Christian put down a revolt in Norway against Danish oppression, +entering West Gothland with a superior army. The Unionists assembled +to force the regent to abdicate, but he firmly refused to do so. A +rebellion seemed imminent, Lord Svante hastening to Westeros to confer +with the people of the mining districts. Shortly after the opening +of the meeting, Lord Svante died quite suddenly, after a stroke of +paralysis, in January, 1512. + +The council of state selected Eric Trolle, a learned but unfit man +of the Unionists, to succeed Lord Svante. But the popular opinion +condemned him, and the council was forced to choose Svante’s son as his +successor. + +_Sten Sture the Younger_ was barely nineteen years of age at his +father’s death. Knighted when only five, he early distinguished +himself as a warrior, winning fame for his chivalric spirit and +noble character, and, like his illustrious namesakes, his father and +grandfather, becoming the idol of the people. And he deserved their +idolatry. More resembling his grandfather in the sweetness of his +disposition than his sterner predecessors, he was as great a warrior as +his father, to which he joined the sagacity and power of self-control +characteristic of the elder Lord Sten. As a youth, he was made regent +of a country in war, distress and peril. He was called away by death +when only twenty-seven, leaving behind the memory of not one evil deed +to soil the glory of his fair name, although continually placed in +trying and dangerous positions of strife, rivalry, envy and rebellion. +He made his will respected by high and low with a temperance in spirit +and methods worthy of the highest admiration and the devoted love of +the people. The young Lord Sten had a tender heart for the lowly and +the suffering, never fearing to wring their rights from the oppressors, +whosoever they were. He took great interest in the pursuits of peace, +during the intervals allowed by his successful exploits in war. In +spite of the plague and other contagious diseases, which, together with +the destruction of war, ravaged the country, he left it in a better +condition than he received it. In many ways more farseeing than his +contemporaries, his name will live on for centuries as one of the most +beloved in Swedish history. + +With the younger Lord Sten, other new actors appeared upon the stage +of Scandinavian history. Christian II. succeeded his father upon the +throne of Denmark and Norway. In Sweden, Archbishop Jacob Ulfsson +retired and was succeeded by Gustavus Trolle, a son of Lord Eric. The +new archbishop was of a hateful and jealous disposition. He resolved to +avenge the treatment his father had received at the hands of Lord Sten +and the Swedish people by placing Christian on the throne. The young +regent made no less than four attempts to win over this formidable +enemy, but all in vain. He opened up a court at Stæket, in Upland, more +brilliant than that of Lord Sten, and accepted subsidies from Denmark. +At last, fully aware of the secret deliberations going on, Lord Sten +surrounded Stæket and called a Riksdag at Arboga, in 1517, where it was +resolved that Christian should never become king of Sweden, and that +the siege of Stæket should be continued. Christian sent a little army +to support his ally, but Lord Sten met it at Ladugardsland, outside of +Stockholm, completely routing it. A new Riksdag was called at Stockholm +before which the archbishop appeared upon truce. His language was +haughty and disdainful. He said he was in his full right to support +King Christian’s claims with mitre and sword, the pope sanctioning his +policy; and to the pope alone he was responsible. The indignant Riksdag +resolved that the archbishop should be deprived of his seat, being +guilty of high treason, and that his castle should be burned. The +resolution was written down and signed by all the bishops, none daring +to oppose the yeomanry. Bishop Brask, of Linkœping, managed to conceal +in the wax of his seal a paper with the words: “To this I am forced by +necessity.” The archbishop returned to defend Stæket, but soon had to +flee with his followers. It was only by using all his authority that +Lord Sten could save his enemy’s life from the irate people. Trolle +was forced to resign his seat and was imprisoned in a convent at +Westeros, while his castle was torn down. Lord Sten wanted to appoint a +successor to Trolle, but Bishop Brask objected that the pope might not +consent to his removal. To this Lord Sten uttered the following manly +words, hardly in touch with the policy of Rome: “I think that our most +holy father, the pope, and the canonic law should not tolerate as the +leaders of the Church, and as the precepts or mirrors to the people, +men who are infested by open treason, in particular against their own +country.” The Church tried various means to gain a settled condition of +things. When Sten refused the royal crown from its hand, he was at last +placed under ban. + +The hostilities with Denmark recommenced. King Christian appeared with +a fleet and an army, in June, 1518, laying siege to Stockholm. His +attacks were valiantly repulsed, and Christian, fearing to be encircled +by his enemies, marched away in a southeasterly direction, taking a +firm position at Brennkyrka. A Swedish army met him from the south +and gave battle one of the last days of July, 1518. It was a fierce +conflict, ending with a victory for the Swedes. The chief banner was +carried by the squire Gustavus Ericsson Vasa, who five years later was +to become king of Sweden. Christian returned to attack Stockholm, once +more in vain. He was to sail for Denmark, but was kept back by storms, +great suffering being experienced by his men. Christian was forced to +open deliberations, making very high demands. But Lord Sten refused to +hold a meeting, postponing it to the following year. A few days later, +King Christian sent word that he wanted the regent to visit him in his +ship on important affairs. Lord Sten, always good-natured and ready to +accept peace, thought that the king had changed his mind and was ready +to go. But the burgomaster and council of Stockholm prevailed upon him +not to go, sure that it would bring him into the enemy’s hands. Lord +Sten took their advice and arranged for a meeting on land, sending six +Swedish nobles as hostages to the king at his demand. Among these were +Dr. Hemming Gad and Gustavus Ericsson Vasa. For two days Lord Sten +waited in vain for the king to appear. Then he learned, to his dismay +and indignation, that King Christian had sailed to Denmark, taking the +hostages with him as prisoners, October 4, 1518. + +Christian collected all his forces and resources to crush Sweden. +The whole of the following year was spent in preparations. Sweden +was placed under ban by the pope, and Christian made himself his +representative, the one who was to fulfil the heavenly punishment. In +January, 1520, a large Danish army invaded Smaland and West Gothland. +Lord Sten made an appeal to the people and gathered a peasant army, +with which he met the superior force of the enemy at Bogesund, in +West Gothland. The Swedish forces were arranged in line on the frozen +surface of Lake Asund. Lord Sten rode in front of the line, encouraging +his men, but was seriously wounded during the very first engagement +and carried from the field. After two vain attempts, the Danes were +victorious in overthrowing the Swedes. These gathered in the wooded +hills of Tiveden for a last heroic resistance, which was broken; the +Danes taking possession of the provinces to the north. Lord Sten, +mortally wounded, died on the ice of Lake Mælar during his journey +to Stockholm. Christian continued his march on Stockholm, the castle +of which was heroically defended by Lord Sten’s consort, Christine +Gyllenstierna, who also tried by support and exhortations to encourage +other strongholds not yet surrendered to resist the Danes. The castle +of Kalmar was defended by another heroic woman, Anna Bielke. But +Christian won, through persuasions and deliberations, what he could +not take by violence. His operations were carried on by Dr. Hemming +Gad, who, for reasons unknown to history, had changed his old patriotic +views and become a friend of Christian. In September, 1520, Christian +won Stockholm by peaceful agreement. The 4th of November he was crowned +by Trolle, the reinstalled archbishop. At this occasion it caused +considerable surprise that only Danes and Germans were knighted, the +herald proclaiming that the country was won by sword, for which reason +no Swede could be thus honored. This was in striking contrast to +Christian’s proclamation of having ascended the throne by right of his +descent from St. Eric. Worse things were to follow. + +The 7th of November a great number of Swedish nobles were called to +the castle of Stockholm, where they were brought before a tribunal, +the king presiding. The archbishop asked for remuneration for the +sufferings caused him during Lord Sten’s reign. A jury of bishops and +nobles convened. Christine Gyllenstierna was the first to answer to the +accusations, holding forth that the Riksdag of Arboga was responsible +for the action taken against Trolle and bringing the signed document +in evidence. The king answered by announcing that all who signed were +under the ban of the pope; Bishop Brask was the only one acquitted, +producing his written slip of reservation from under his seal, besides +Bishop Otto of Westerns, who supported Trolle in his claims. In the +evening all the accused were imprisoned and judgment passed on them the +following morning. + +In the morning of November 8th, a solemn procession of convicts +started from the castle to the grand square, hedged in by soldiers +and executioners. The bishops Mattias of Strengnæs and Vincentius of +Skara, in their ecclesiastical robes, came first, followed by thirteen +noblemen and thirty-one town councillors and burghers of Stockholm. +In the square, a Danish councillor of state from the porch of the +court-house asked the masses not to be frightened. The archbishop, +he said, had three times on his knees implored the king that justice +should be done. Bishop Vincentius replied with great courage that the +king had committed treason against the Swedes and called down divine +punishment on him for such deeds. Two of the Swedish nobles followed +the bishop with short addresses, admonishing the people not to believe +in false letters and promises and to put down such tyranny as soon +as within their power. King Christian, who from a window of a house +facing the square looked down on the spectacle, now gave a sign for the +executions to commence. First the bishops, then the state councillors, +nobles and burghers were beheaded, among whom were two brothers of +Christine Gyllenstierna and the father and brother-in-law of Gustavus +Ericsson Vasa. Many burghers were captured in the street, or in their +homes, and brought in to be executed, others being killed on the spot. +Not less than eighty-two persons were that day executed, the number +being increased during the following days by people killed in various +ways. Olaus Petri, the reformer, who was an eyewitness, in his history +gives a graphic description of the terrible scenes. He adds: “Yes, this +was a horrible and cruel murder, such as no other prince who carried +a Christian name ever committed before.” The corpses were burned, the +remains of Lord Sten and one of his sons being taken from their graves +and thrown into the flames. Christine Gyllenstierna, and the mother +and sister of Gustavus Vasa, were with several other ladies carried +to Copenhagen and thrown into a miserable dungeon. The mass murder +has been called the Carnage of Stockholm, but it was extended also to +Finland--where Dr. Hemming Gad was executed at Raseborg--and to the +provinces. Christian marked his return through the Swedish mainland to +Copenhagen by executions and mass murder everywhere; six hundred are +estimated to have been killed through his order during his short stay +in Sweden. + +Archbishop Trolle had taken a terrible revenge, and Christian thought +he had crushed forever the stubborn Swedish resistance. But through +this excess of cruelty the Union became insupportable, and the Swedish +people resolved to throw off forever the connection with any foreign +ruler. In the woods of Dalecarlia a man was hiding who soon was to step +forward to lead the work of liberation and independence. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +_Revolution and Reformation--Gustavus Vasa_ + + +Gustavus Ericsson Vasa, the man whom Providence had selected to save +his country from anarchy and ruin, belonged to a noble family of +Unionist sympathies, his great-grandfather being Drotsete Krister +Nilsson Vasa. But the Vasa family had joined the cause of the +patriots during the reigns of the Stures, simultaneously losing some +of its earlier importance. The Vasas prided themselves on being the +descendants of St. Eric and his line, and of St. Birgitta and the +Folkungs. Its coat-of-arms consisted of a simple vase, or bundle of +sticks. Gustavus Vasa was born May 12, 1496, at Lindholmen in Upland, +at the mansion of his parents, Eric Johansson Vasa, state councillor, +and Cecilia of Eka, a sister of Christine Gyllenstierna. His earliest +years were spent with his mother at Rydboholm, another estate of his +father’s, beautifully situated on an arm of the Baltic, only ten miles +north of Stockholm. When a mere boy he was sent to the court of his +granduncle, Sten Sture the Elder, who was childless. King John of +Denmark noticed the bright little boy during a visit paid to Lord Sten. +Young Gustavus took the command of all the other children at play and +appeared to be a born leader. The king called the boy to him and asked +him what his name was. Gustavus answered frankly. King John smilingly +placed his hand on the boy’s head, saying: “Certainly thou shalt become +a man in thy day if preserved in life.” The king intimated that he +wanted to take him along to Copenhagen to supervise his education. But +Lord Sten, who did not like this idea, hurriedly had Gustavus sent +away, so that he could tell the king upon a second inquiry that the +boy had returned to his parents. The young Gustavus was described as +“attractive and welcome with everybody.” Gustavus was sent to Upsala +to study at the age of thirteen. The University of Upsala was at that +period in a state of stagnation. The first teacher who came in contact +with Gustavus was a Dane named Master Ivar. According to the Prose +Chronicle, he was a man who “was mean to everybody and who gave Gustavo +drubbings.” It seems that the patriotic spirit early woke in the +breast of this youth, who already in these days foreshadowed his own +mission in the following words: “I will betake myself to Dalecarlia, +rouse the Dalecarlians and batter the nose of the Jute.” When eighteen +years of age, he was accepted as a squire at the court of Sten Sture +the Younger, and Christine Gyllenstierna, his own aunt. He followed +the younger Lord Sten in all his expeditions of war, taking part in +the siege of Stæket and a battle of Dufnæs, and carrying the banner of +state at Brennkyrka. + +A second time in his life it came to pass that Gustavus Vasa was +considered a person whom the Danish king was desirious of carrying +away. This time the king was Christian II., who gained his object by +treachery and violence. Gustavus was one of the Swedish hostages who +were offered to King Christian and by him carried away to Denmark. + +Gustavus was handed over to Eric Banér, a relative of his, who held +in fief the castle of Kallœ in Jutland. The latter was placed under a +heavy fine in case he allowed his prisoner to escape. Gustavus received +a kind and generous treatment. He ate at the table of the lord and was +allowed to wander at liberty in the close neighborhood of the castle. +But the danger that menaced his country never left him in peace. He +heard repeatedly of the great preparations made by Christian II. to +crush the resistance of Sweden, and of the acts of violence to be +perpetrated. Gustavus remained at Kallœ for a year, when he resolved +to flee from a captivity which had become insupportable. One morning +at sunrise, Gustavus Vasa put on the garb of a peasant and disappeared +from the castle. He made good speed, reaching a seaport and escaping +to Lubeck with a merchant vessel. In this friendly Hanseatic centre +Gustavus expected armed support. Such was not granted, but he was +shielded against Danish pursuit. Eric Banér arrived, having followed +up his tracks, but his demands to have Gustavus surrendered were +refused. After eight months of delay in Lubeck, Gustavus obtained leave +and arrived in Sweden on board a German ship. He landed at Stensœ, +a promontory outside of the town of Kalmar, while Christian II. was +laying siege to Stockholm. Gustavus was resolved to do his utmost to +rouse the people to active resistance against the invaders. The castle +of Kalmar, next to that of Stockholm the firmest stronghold of Sweden, +was in charge of Anna Bielke, the widow of the last commander. Gustavus +strengthened the courage of the inhabitants of town and castle, but +finding it impossible to accomplish anything for the defence himself, +and unsuccessful in his attempts to bring the hired German troops up +to a point of enthusiasm for the Swedish cause, he left Kalmar and +continued his way through Smaland. But the population of this province +had no patience to listen to his appeals for a revolt. The peasants +answered him that if they remained faithful to the Danish king they +were never to be in want of herring and salt. Some of them in their +indignation sent arrows flying after the young patriot. In September +he reached the Terna estate in Sœdermanland, where his sister and +her husband, Joachim Brahe, resided. Lord Joachim had just received +an invitation to be present at the coronation of King Christian in +Stockholm. The attempts made by Gustavus to persuade the couple to +abandon their intended journey to Stockholm were futile. Reaching +his paternal estate of Ræfsnæs in Sœdermanland, he remained there in +concealment for some time. He visited the old archbishop Jacob Ulfsson, +who, after his retirement, lived in the neighboring monastery of +Mariefred. The old prelate tried his best to persuade him to seek mercy +and grace of King Christian, but the resolution of the young squire to +free his country was only strengthened into an iron-cast determination. +One of the servants who had followed Lord Joachim to the capital +managed to make a safe return to tell Gustavus the terrible news of +the Carnage of Stockholm. He was also told that a high price had been +placed on his own head. + +Gustavus at once prepared for flight. Accompanied by a single servant +he secretly left Ræfsnæs one day toward the end of November, travelling +on horseback northward to Dalecarlia. He arrived at Kopparberg in +Dalecarlia, where he had his hair close cropped and put on peasant’s +clothes. Putting an axe over his shoulder, he went about looking for +employment. The first man whom he tried was Andrew Persson, a wealthy +mine owner at Rankhytta. Gustavus found employment with him, taking +part in the threshing. But the other servants soon detected that the +new man had a carriage and habits different from their own, and they +commenced to watch him closely. They noticed that he was not accustomed +to the work, and one of the servant girls saw a collar of silk above +the coarse blouse. Andrew Persson called before him the suspect, and +was highly surprised when recognizing in him a comrade from the time +of his student days at Upsala. He was favorably disposed, but was +afraid of sheltering Gustavus, advising him to flee to the less thickly +settled parts of the province, and to change often from one place to +another. Gustavus continued his way in a westerly direction, following +the shore of a lake named Runn, and arrived at Ornæs the following day. +He knew he had an old comrade and friend in the owner of the place. +This man, Arendt Persson, received him in the most hospitable manner, +but was in his heart desirous of obtaining the price placed upon the +head of the young squire. Gustavus went to bed in the attic, not +suspecting treachery. The host himself accompanied him to his resting +place, according to the mediæval custom. This done, Arendt travelled +in great haste to one of his neighbors, the much-respected Mons +Nilsson of Aspeboda. Arendt asked him to assist in capturing Gustavus +Vasa; but Mons Nilsson flatly refused, taking no pains to hide his +indignation. Arendt left and went past his own home to Sætra, which was +the residence of the Danish bailiff. He started for Ornæs the following +morning, accompanied by the bailiff and twenty men ready to capture +the fugitive. But Arendt’s wife, Lady Barbro Stigsdotter (Swinhufwud), +had not been inactive. Her suspicion was aroused when she noticed +her husband travelling back and forth to disappear in the direction +where the bailiff resided. She divined that the safety of her guest +was threatened and decided to take action. Lady Barbro went to the +attic, roused her sleeping guest and told him of the impending danger. +Gustavus let himself down to the ground by means of towels fastened to +the window-sill, assisted by Lady Barbro, who had a horse and sleigh +in readiness for him, in charge of a faithful servant. He reached the +residence of John, the priest of Sværdsjœ. Arendt was enraged when he +found that Gustavus had made his escape. It is said that he from that +day refused to ever see Lady Barbro again. + +The priest of Sværdsjœ held Gustavus in concealment for three days, +but advised him to seek a more secure hiding place. He sent Gustavus +to Swan Elfsson, a hunter to the king, who dwelt in Isala, a short +distance from the church of Sværdsjœ. Gustavus had hardly reached this +place before the men sent after him by the bailiff arrived. Gustavus +stood by the oven warming himself after the ride. The wife of Swan +Elfsson was busy baking bread. The men entered, asking if any stranger +had been noticed in the neighborhood. The woman of the house saved +the situation by resolutely dealing a blow with the bread spade to +Gustavus, who was turning his back to her. In an irritated voice she +said: “Why dost thou stand here gaping at the strangers? Hast thou +never seen people before? Get thee at once out to the barn and do some +threshing.” The men did not suspect in the snubbed servant the noble +fugitive for whom they were looking. But Swan Elfsson was not sure +of the safety of his guest if he remained in Isala. So he concealed +Gustavus in a load of hay and left his house with the great unsettled +districts as his destination. He met some Danish spies on the way. +These suspected the peasant and pierced the load of hay with their +lances repeatedly. Gustavus was wounded in the leg, but kept his breath +and lay perfectly still. The spies were satisfied that everything was +right and told Swan Elfsson to move on. But the peasant noticed that +blood was dripping from his load, leaving scarlet tracks on the snow. +He quickly drew his knife and cut his horse a deep wound in one foot. +After a while the spies noticed the bloody tracks. They returned and +commanded Swan Elfsson to halt, inquiring about the blood. Swan Elfsson +pointed to the injured foot of his horse and succeeded in making them +believe that the horse had met with an accident. + +Swan Elfsson left Gustavus at the village of Marnæs, situated in the +Finn woods, where he was received by other hunters. These escorted the +noble outlaw to a place further away in the woods, where he for three +days remained in concealment under a big fallen fir tree. The peasants +in the neighborhood brought food to him. The still hunt seemed to be +at an end, and so Gustavus risked a visit to the church of Rettvik, +situated on the eastern shore of Lake Siljan. He spoke to the yeomanry +collected around the church after divine service, reminding them of +the stanch patriotism and manliness of their ancestors, and imploring +them to save their country from destruction. The yeomen of Rettvik gave +a satisfactory answer, telling him that they were ready to resist the +Danes. But as they had not heard the opinion of the people of the other +parishes, there was nothing to be done for the moment. + +Gustavus continued his way to Mora, one of the most densely populated +parishes of Dalecarlia and situated on the northern shore of Lake +Siljan. The priest of the parish was afraid to hide the outlaw, but +confided him to a peasant, Tomte Mats, in the village of Utmeland. +Gustavus remained for several days concealed in a vaulted cellar, which +was reached only through a hole in the floor of the cottage above. One +day the bailiff’s men entered to search for Gustavus. The woman of the +house was busy brewing the Christmas ale. She saved Gustavus by quickly +placing a big barrel over the hinged door, which covered the opening +to the cellar. One of the holidays during Christmas Gustavus addressed +the peasants of Mora when coming from church. He stood on a small hill +near the churchyard. The noonday sun was shining brightly over the +snowy landscape and a fresh northerly wind was blowing. Gustavus spoke +in a loud voice and with great eloquence. He asked the men to reflect +on what kind of government foreigners always had given Sweden, and to +remember what they had themselves suffered and risked for the liberty +of their country. He thought that the memory had not died either of +the deeds of violence perpetrated by Jœsse Ericsson or of the deeds of +heroism done by Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson. He then told them of the +treacherous villany of King Christian and of the Carnage of Stockholm. +“My own father,” he said, with tears in his eyes, “rather wished to +die with his brethren, the honest lords, in the name of God, than to +be spared and live in dishonor after them.” If the Dalecarlians wanted +to save Sweden from thraldom, he was ready to offer himself as their +leader in the name of the Almighty. The speech of Gustavus made a deep +impression upon the men of Mora, and some of them were anxious to rise +at once. The majority ruled, deciding that no action should be taken +before the other parishes of Dalecarlia had been heard from. They +advised Gustavus to seek a safer hiding-place further up in the woods. +Gustavus left Mora utterly discouraged, seeking the paths that led +along the Dal River into desert wilds. + +At New Year of 1521 Lars Olsson, a soldier who had done good service +in the times of the Stures, arrived at Mora, bringing particulars of +the doings of King Christian. He told the peasants that the king had +ordered gallows to be erected at every sheriff’s residence to mark +the way of his Eriksgata. The peasants were touched to the quick and +regretted having sent away the young nobleman. Lars Olsson advised +them to call him back. Two expert ski runners were sent after Gustavus +Ericsson, and after a ride of a night and a day through the woods, they +overtook him close by the Norwegian frontier, which he was ready to +cross in despair. + +Gustavus returned to Mora and was made the leader of the peasants in +that locality. With these men he started his work of liberation, which +was the commencement of one of the most remarkable of revolutions +that the world ever saw. In the beginning of February, 1521, Gustavus +marched southward with a few hundred men. At Falun he captured the +bailiff of the mines, confiscating the royal taxes. Returning to the +starting point, he left it again, with an army of 1,500 men. Entering +Norrland, where he was joined by the peasants of Gestrikland, and the +burghers of Gefle, while the people of Helsingland asked for time +to consider the matter, he learned upon his return how one of his +commanders, Peder Swensson, had won a glorious victory over a Danish +army 6,000 strong at the ferry of Brunnbæck, by the Dal River. Gustavus +began training his troops, enforcing severe discipline and providing +them with better arrows and longer lances. He declared war upon +Christian in a formal way and marched on Westeros, where the Danish +troops had centred. The town and castle were captured in spite of a +force of superior Danish cavalry. + +Gustavus shifted his army into divisions which marched in various +directions to capture the castles of surrounding provinces. The people +of Upland reinforced the Dalecarlians, who were sent home to tend +to their sowing. The Upland forces captured the archbishop’s seat +during his absence, and were joined by Gustavus at Upsala, who made +an exceedingly severe speech to the ecclesiastics, asking them to +decide their nationality, whether they were Swedes or not. They asked +permission to consult Archbishop Trolle, which was granted. “I will +bring the reply myself,” said Trolle, starting from Stockholm with +a splendid body of German troops. Gustavus was near being taken by +surprise, but gathering troops he fought the archbishop, whose force +met with a crushing defeat, and he escaped with difficulty to Stockholm. + +At midsummer, 1521, Gustavus arrived at Brunkeberg, laying siege to +Stockholm. The capital was strongly fortified, and Norrby with a +Danish fleet supported and relieved it. Twice the Danes routed the +Swedish troops with the intermission of one year, but Gustavus provided +reinforcements. He travelled through the country, visiting the forces +who laid siege to the various Danish strongholds, these surrendering +one by one. It was not a chain of glorious exploits, this work which +Gustavus carried to a successful end, but one of infinite patience and +sagacity, saddened by the news that the revengeful Christian had ended +the lives of his captive mother and sister in the miserable Danish +dungeon. Bishop Brask was scared into submission, turning his castle +Stegeborg and part of his troops over to Gustavus, who at a Riksdag at +Vadstena was elected regent in August, 1521. + +Gustavus entered into an alliance with Lubeck, and it sent a fleet +to Stockholm, thus encircling it also from the sea. Norrby left with +his ships and was nearly caught in the ice in the following spring. +In Denmark, Christian’s reign came to an end. With his usual violence +he attacked the nobles and the ecclesiastics in order to better the +conditions of the peasants, for whom he had a tender sympathy. In so +doing, he brought the nobles to open revolt against his rule. He left +his throne in April, 1523. Now Gustavus found the opportune moment to +accept the Swedish crown offered him. He called a Riksdag at Strengnæs, +in June, 1523, where Gustavus was chosen king of Sweden “by the +councillors of state with the consent of the common people.” At this +occasion a tax was agreed on to pay the German troops engaged in the +siege of Stockholm, and to Lubeck for its timely support. In that very +month Stockholm surrendered, and Gustavus held his proud entry into the +capital on the eve of Midsummer day. + +The position of the king was a most difficult one. The crown was ruined +through the previous state of anarchy and the expense of war. The +Church was in undisturbed possession of its wealth, but not willing +to yield any of its power or income. Christian was preparing a plan +by which to recapture his lost crowns. Norrby, who had aspirations of +becoming Christian’s regent in Sweden, tried to persuade Christine +Gyllenstierna, lately set free from her prison, to marry him in order +to obtain the prestige of the Stures. The common people, whom Gustavus +so recently used to free the country, grew restive and rebellious when +he could not at once grant them guarantees of comfort and prosperity +in return. In a marvellous manner Gustavus understood how to face the +situation and how to use to the utmost the resources within reach. + +When the outlawed youth of twenty-four spoke of revolt to the peasants +at Mora, Martin Luther was burning the ban placed on him by the pope. +There were several warm friends of Luther in Sweden, principally Olaus +Petri, himself a pupil and friend of the German reformer, his brother, +Laurentius Petri, and Laurentius Andreæ. Olaus was a soul of fire and +enthusiasm. He was lacking in self-control, but possessed a power which +if not restrained would have led him and his work of reform further +than the goal set by Luther. The two Laurentii were, like him, men of +learning and, in addition, of greater sagacity. The king took interest +in these men. He was contemplating a reduction of the ecclesiastical +power, and they were to prepare the soil by freeing the people from +undue respect for the Roman Church and its worldly power. Laurentius +Andreæ was made the king’s chancellor, and Olaus Petri secretary to +the town council of Stockholm, later pastor of the Cathedral Church. +Olaus preached in the Stockholm Cathedral fiery sermons against Rome +and the pope, responded to sometimes by irate monks, sometimes by +various projectiles from the audience. Gustavus took pains to fill the +vacancies of the Church, which were many, by appointing able men. But +he made two serious mistakes in making Master Knut, dean of Westeros, +archbishop, and Peder Sunnanvæder, formerly secretary to Svante Sture, +bishop of Westeros. He came in possession of a correspondence, which +proved that Bishop Peder tried to bring the Dalecarlians to revolt, and +when accusing him and finding Master Knut on the side of the defence, +Gustavus deprived them of their new dignities. The king commanded that +a new bishop should be appointed and himself selected Johannes Magni as +archbishop. This prelate, a very learned man, was the representative +of Sten Sture in Rome, returning to his native land as a papal legate. +Gustavus had a rupture with him when, according to his instructions, +he demanded that Trolle should be reinstated as archbishop. Archbishop +Johannes was lacking in moral courage; brushed aside by the tide of +Reformation, he retired to Rome, where he died after writing the +history of Sweden in Latin, _Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus_. +Master Knut and Peder Sunnanvæder turned their steps to Dalecarlia, +fanning the brewing malcontent and opening connections with Norrby, +who styled himself the betrothed of Christine Gyllenstierna and made +ready to attack Gustavus from the sea. Berndt von Melen, a German +commander, in whom Gustavus placed much confidence, was to chase +Norrby away from his stronghold, the island of Gothland, but turned a +traitor, joining Norrby instead, in 1524. Gustavus called a Riksdag +at Westeros, in 1525, resolved to use his diplomacy to the utmost. +Upon receiving a letter from the Dalecarlians, in which they stoutly +swore off their allegiance to him on account of heavy taxes, foreign +influence and disregard for the Church, the king offered to abdicate. +The representatives at the Riksdag persuaded him to remain, whereupon +the king sent the Dalecarlians a sagacious letter, promising to improve +the state of things as much as possible, but pointing out the two +prelates as traitors in conspiracy with the Danes. The Dalecarlians +were pacified, Knut and Peder finding it safest to leave for Norway. +In the following year the king met the revolting peasants of Upland +at Old Upsala, where he in a fiery speech unfolded his policy toward +the Church. The peasants resented; they wanted to keep their monks +and their masses. The king commanded one of his followers to make a +speech in Latin, the peasants shouting that they did not understand. +“Why do you, then, love so dearly your Latin mass?” the king asked +them smiling. A few days later Gustavus made a crushing speech against +lazy and worthless ecclesiastics before the chapter of Upsala. The +archbishop was sent away on diplomatic errands to Poland and Russia +never to return. After his departure Bishop Brask became the chief +representative of papal interests. He was patriotic, but never yielded +an inch of the worldly power of the Church except to force, opposing +the Reformation with his whole strength. + +The king followed up his policy by demanding for the crown two-thirds +of the ecclesiastic tithe and by placing the ecclesiastics under the +duties of _russtienst_, in 1526. The ex-prelates, Knut and Peder, were, +upon the king’s request of an extradition, given up and sentenced to +death for high treason. The king arranged for their triumphal entry of +mockery into Stockholm in a most humiliating fashion, for which he has +been criticised; also for the consummate manner in which the judges +were appointed and judgment passed. But he set an example of warning +to obnoxious and intriguing prelates that was appreciated by his +contemporaries. + +Gustavus gained the triumph of his policy by the famous Riksdag of +Westeros in 1527. It was nothing else than a coup d’état, a revolution, +which, with the establishment of the Reformation, gave his throne +solidity and resources. The Diet was called under the pretext of taking +measures against a new revolt in Dalecarlia and for the regulation of +dogmatic questions. There were present sixteen state councillors, four +bishops, one hundred and twenty-nine knights and nobles, one hundred +and five peasants, besides various priests, burghers and miners, but no +representatives from Finland or Dalecarlia. In the great hall of the +monastery the meeting was held, opening with a written address by the +king, read by his chancellor, in which the situation of the country +was set forth. The king refused to continue at the government, asking +to be remunerated for personal losses and expense, and given a fief +like any ordinary bailiff responsible to the crown. Only if fundamental +reforms were made would he remain, not being able otherwise to cover +the inevitable deficit of the treasury. Bishop Brask responded with the +statement that he for his part was in duty bound to the king, but that +Rome and its demands must, in the first place, be obeyed; showing by +his remarks that he understood that the question was one of reducing +the ecclesiastical power. The king rose and said in a burst of passion: +“We have no further desire, then, to be your king. Verily, we had +counted on quite another treatment at your hands. We now no longer +wonder at the perversity of the people, since they have such advisers. +Have they no rain, they blame us for it. Have they no sun, likewise. +For dearth, hunger and plague we are responsible, as if we were not a +man, but God. Yea, though we labor for you with our utmost power, both +in spiritual and in temporal affairs, you would gladly see the axe +upon our neck, but no one dares to grasp the handle. Monks and priests +and all the creatures of the pope are to be placed above us, though we +have little need of them. In a word, you all would lord it over us. +Who under such circumstances would desire to govern you? Not the worst +wretch in hell would wish the post, far less any man. Therefore we, +too, refuse to be your king. We cast the honor from us, and leave you +free to choose him whom you will. But be so kind as to let us leave the +land. Pay us for our property in the kingdom, and return to us what +we have expended in your service. Then we declare to you that we will +withdraw never to return.” With tears of anger and emotion the king +left the hall, leaving the assembly in consternation. + +After four days of pandemonium and deadlock, the representatives +decided to give in and ask forgiveness of the king, who long +disregarded the appeals made for his return. When re-entering he was +greeted by commotion and the humblest demonstrations of respect and +repentance. The next day, Midsummer day, votes were taken upon his +propositions, each Estate of representatives sending up their vote +with a written construction of the propositions. These were then +revised by the state councillors in their final form, called “Westeros +Recess,” with amendments called “Westeros Ordinantia.” The startling +revolutionary stipulations of the “Recess” were chiefly these: +Authority for the king (1) to take in possession the castles and forts +of the bishops, whose retinues he was to fix as to numbers; (2) to +dispose of the superfluous income of the clergy and to superintend the +administration of the monasteries; authority for the nobility to resume +title to all their property which had come in the possession of the +Church since 1454; authority to have the Gospel preached all over the +country in undefiled purity. Among the “Ordinantia” the most important +were: (1) Vacancies in the parish churches were to be filled by the +bishop under the supervision and right of suspension of the king; (2) +the king was to fix the amount of revenue due the bishops, chapters +and clerks, and be entitled to use the surplus for the crown; (3) the +priests were in secular suits to be responsible to secular courts; (4) +the Gospel should be read in the schools. The king asked the bishops in +person to surrender their castles, to which demand they all agreed. + +We may feel inclined to smile upon the drastic manner in which Gustavus +enacted this important drama of Revolution, but must bear in mind his +solitary position. He had no statesmen of ability at his side, nor men +of great intellect and power to sustain him. He stood alone, and few +knew as yet his superior qualities as a statesman and an organizer. +The tame opposition, soon yielding to the appeals of the burghers and +peasants, can only be explained through lack of leaders. Ture Jœnsson +(Tre Rosor), the aristocratic chief of the opposition, was a vain and +cowardly man. Bishop Brask, the head of the clergy, was old and more +of a diplomatist than a man of action. The latest stanch Romanist, he +gave up his cause, finding a pretext to leave the country and dying in +his self-imposed exile. The ecclesiastical reforms were definitively +arranged at a church meeting at Œrebro in the following year. + +It was one of the evils which beset the reign of Gustavus that revolts +constantly occurred in various provinces and for various reasons. +Dalecarlia took the lead. The inhabitants were not able to bear the +distinction won by their great patriotic services in the times of +Engelbrekt, the Stures, and Gustavus. Their complaints were mostly +unreasonable, sometimes ridiculous, as when they tried to prescribe the +kind of cloth and colors to be used at court, and so forth. There was +no fable, however stupid, which was not readily believed by them and +the responsibility placed on the king. Particularly was everything +eagerly swallowed which spoke of injustice committed against the +descendants of the Stures. A daring pretender took advantage of this +fact. He was born of the lowest peasant class, serving on an estate +in Westmanland, where he had stolen a sum of money from his master. +Appearing in Dalecarlia, where he claimed that he was a son of Lord +Sten and Christine Gyllenstierna, he gained a great deal of support +among the yeomen, who cried with him like children when he spoke +of his noble father and asked them to pray for his soul. The false +pretender had his instructions from Peder Sunnanvæder; he married in +Norway a woman of noble birth, and, upon his return to Dalecarlia, +surrounded himself with a regular court. An end was put to his career +by a letter from Christine Gyllenstierna, written at the request of +the king, in which she told the Dalecarlians that her son Nils, whom +the pretender impersonated, had recently died, and that an impostor +was misleading them. The false Nils Sture answered by claiming that he +was born before marriage, the would-be-reason why his mother did not +acknowledge him. This even the Dalecarlians found was a stretching of +truth. The pretender, who had been stamping coins with his image and +held the demeanor of a ruling prince, fled to Norway and thence to +Rostock, where he was captured and beheaded. No blood was shed during +this period of revolt; but the king, who was crowned at Upsala in 1528, +proceeded from his coronation to Dalecarlia with an army of 14,000 men. +He commanded the Dalecarlians to meet him, and forgave them after a +severe sermon of reproach, making them surrender the chief supporters +of the “Daljunker,” who were executed on the spot. + +No better was the outcome of a revolt prepared by some nobles of +West Gothland in the following year. They tried in vain to make the +population join with them. The king managed to obtain their secret +correspondence, and had the guilty ones arraigned before a meeting at +which he scrutinized and repudiated the false charges made against him. +The nobles asked forgiveness and were pardoned, with the exception +of two, who were beheaded. But the originators of the revolt had +fled. They were Ture Jœnsson and Bishop Magnus of Skara. The former +joined the deposed King Christian, who, in 1532, prepared an attack on +Sweden in his attempts to recapture his crowns. With him were other +such distinguished traitors as Gustavus Trolle and Berndt von Melen. +Gustavus I. sent a splendid army to meet Christian near Kongelf. +Christian withdrew in disappointment, leaving Ture Jœnsson behind in +the streets of Kongelf, minus a head. Christian was imprisoned by his +uncle, Frederic of Denmark, and died in captivity. + +In order to pay the debt to Lubeck it was decided at a meeting at +Upsala, in 1530, that the bells of the churches should be taken to be +melted down. Concessions to do so were asked and obtained from the +various communities. But upon the surrender of the bells discontent +grew up. In Dalecarlia it came to revolt and open violence. The people +refused to give up their bells or took the surrendered ones back +with force. Threatening letters were sent to the king, who at first +pretended to ignore the whole matter. Christian was preparing his last +attack, and prudence deemed advisable. The inducements made by the +Swedish traitors to support Christian’s claims were scornfully repulsed +by the Dalecarlians, who still continued with their insulting letters +to the king. Gustavus answered them in a peaceful way. In 1533, at +New Year, he suddenly appeared with an army in Dalecarlia, where the +revolters also this time received a severe reproach and were forced to +give up their leaders. These were executed, and that ended the last +revolt of Dalecarlia. + +In the following year Sweden was forced into a war which lasted up to +1536, the so-called “Feud of the Counts,” the chief participants being +the counts of Holstein, Oldenburg and Hoya. Sweden sided with Christian +of Holstein, who fought for his rights to the throne of Denmark after +his father Frederic, being opposed by the other counts and by Lubeck. +Hard and repeated pressure was brought to bear on Svante Sture, a son +of Lord Sten and Christine Gyllenstierna, to appear as a pretender +against Gustavus; but the noble youth, who was sojourning in Germany, +firmly withstood these temptations. His mother had married John +Turesson, a son of the traitor Ture Jœnsson, who was as able a man as +his father was a bad one, being the successful commander of a Swedish +army which invaded the Danish provinces held by the count of Oldenburg. +A Swedish fleet, created through sacrifices of nobles and peasants, +distinguished itself repeatedly. The war ended in the defeat of Lubeck. + +Gustavus had, since the end of the work of liberation, crushed the +power of the Church, punished the revolting peasants, kept the +aristocracy within bounds, and put an end to the supremacy of Lubeck. +But he went still further, trying to deprive the Church of its last +vestige of authority, to introduce a minute administration of the +provinces and to enforce the absolute power of the crown. To these +plans he was led by two foreign advisers, Georg Norman and Konrad +Pentinger. But it must be said to the credit of the king that their +influence vanished when he saw that their “reforms” were not acceptable +to the people. From this period of his reign, one noteworthy and +wholesome measure remains, the reintroduction of the former hereditary +order of succession to the throne. It was formulated and accepted +at the Riksdag of Œrebro (Jan. 4, 1540), memorable also through +death sentences pronounced upon two of the apostles of the Swedish +Reformation. The king had long regarded his chancellor and the two +brothers, Olaus and Laurentius Petri, the latter archbishop of Upsala, +with suspicion. The climax was reached when a conspiracy by German +burghers of Stockholm against the king’s life was discovered, and it +was proved that Olaus Petri and Laurentius Andreæ were conscious of +its purport, without making it known to the king. They were condemned +to death, Archbishop Laurentius being forced to take a seat as one of +the judges, but pardoned at the request of the burghers of Stockholm, +on the grounds that the ministers had received their knowledge on +the pledge of secrecy through confession. Laurentius Andreæ lost his +position as the king’s chancellor. In the following year each church in +the country was presented with a copy of the complete translation of +the Bible, the work of the two reformers. + +The greatest, most serious and most expensive of peasants’ revolts +was that called the Dacke Feud (1542 and 1543), after its leader Nils +Dacke, a peasant born in Bleking, emigrated to Smaland, which became +the scene of his revolt. The peasants were resolved to make war on the +royal bailiffs, the nobles and the new religion, and found in Dacke +an excellent leader, ferocious, daring and of some military ability. +The forces sent by the king to meet him were repeatedly routed. The +king was seriously alarmed, particularly since the revolt attracted +attention abroad and was encouraged by Emperor Charles V., in the +interests of the deposed Christian, his brother-in-law, and by several +German princes. The emperor wrote to Nils Dacke a letter, preserved to +this day, although it never reached its destination, in which Charles, +with pride, recalls his Gothic (that is, according to the views of his +time, Swedish) origin: “Sumus et nos de gente Gothorum.” Nils Dacke’s +plan was to place Svante Sture on the throne. He wrote him a letter to +this effect, which the noble Sture handed over to the king, together +with the messenger who brought it. After much effort the king gathered +an army of considerable strength, which was ordered against Dacke, who +was defeated at Lake Asund. He fled and was pursued by the troops into +Bleking, where he was captured and shot. This revolt cost Gustavus +dearly, but was a good lesson in regard to the more immature of his +reforms, against which it, to a great extent, was directed. + +Now the storms and trials of his reign were at an end, and Gustavus +allowed to gather the fruit of his wise management, which itself +grew wiser with his old age. In 1544 the Union of Succession of 1540 +was confirmed at Westeros. In matters of finance Gustavus laid the +foundations of the modern state. The bailiffs were multiplied and +made to give close accounts of the revenues. Fiefs granted to nobles +before were now kept by the crown. The great nobles who held fiefs +were placed under stricter control. The bloody Christian did useful +work for the crown by ridding it of many unruly heads. The privileges +granted by Westeros Recess were enforced, but the king saw to it that +the nobility received back only what was properly due. But when the +crown was concerned, property was taken from the Church to the greatest +tension of these privileges, and likewise for the king’s private +rights, by means of which less scrupulous tactics both the state +and the king were enriched. The former came in possession of 12,000 +farms, the latter of 4,000, in his case called “inherited estates.” As +Gustavus was a great economizer, he left a treasury replete with money +and uncoined silver, in spite of elaborate pomp on state occasions, +expensive royal marriages and wooings, and a feud with Russia. From +which of the two treasuries in his care expenses were paid, Gustavus +was not overparticular. He set a good example as a practical farmer +and agriculturist, the dairy at Gripsholm standing under the personal +supervision of the queen, with twenty-two less ladylike assistants. + +Gustavus created the nucleus to a standing army of hired troops, +of natives and foreigners, about 15,000 in numbers, and provided +Sweden with a considerable and well-equipped fleet. He encouraged the +mining industry by supporting the silver mines of Sala and the copper +mines of Falun. He introduced the working of iron, according to new +methods, calling in German experts whose work he superintended in +person. Putting an end to the supremacy of the Hanseatic commerce, +he made treaties of commerce with the Netherlands and France, making +Helsingfors in Finland the centre of the trade with Russia. On the +western coast he founded the new town of Elfsborg, and ordered the +inhabitants of New Lœdœse to move thither. To the common people +Gustavus held an attitude which shows evidence of love and confidence. +Many of his letters and messages to them abound in hints at practical +methods in farming. The schools were improved and partly reorganized +through the spirit of Reformation, while the University of Upsala lost +in importance and prestige, the students again going abroad. + +The war with Russia, commencing in 1554, and marked by mutual +invasions, offered no aspect of importance, and was ended by a treaty +of peace in 1557. + +The founder of the famous royal line of Vasa was, personally, a man +of prepossessing appearance, tall, and of commanding presence, having +blond hair and beard, sharp blue eyes, full lips, rosy cheeks and a +fine frame. He was fond of costly garments, and the styles of his +day were becoming to him. Gustavus was of an amiable and cheerful +disposition, although of a quick temper. He had a rare gift of winning +the goodwill and confidence of all classes by addressing everybody +according to their compass of intellect and conversation. He was fond +of music, and played and sang. The lute was his favorite instrument, +which he liked to play in his evenings of solitude. Gustavus possessed +a rare intellect and a remarkable memory. Well aware of his own +weakness to give way to his quick temper, he generally postponed +all decisive action in matters of importance until sure of his full +power of discernment. He was not a brilliant genius, but a typical +prince of the Renaissance epoch, never afraid of taking action in +instances without a precedence, or of the consequences of his actions. +His letters and addresses evince an unusual degree of common sense, +clothed in a language of manly vigor, terseness and humor, and are +fine specimens of the modern Swedish, such as it meets us in this its +period of rejuvenation, brought about by the spirit of the Reformation. +There is something in the oral and literary eloquence of Gustavus Vasa +which makes it easy to believe that he was a descendant of Birgitta. +Gustavus did not possess the fine erudition of his sons, who were +considered to be men of learning in their time, for he early left +his university studies for the court and the war; but he was able +to pass such good opinions upon subjects of art and science that he +astonished many who had made these a special study. He had the power of +recognizing people whose faces he once had noticed after ten to twenty +years of absence, and was also skilled in divining what character dwelt +behind every face. What he once heard he never forgot. Where he had +travelled once he could never mistake the road, and knew not only the +names of the villages but also the names of the peasants whom he had +met. His life was led by the unswaying principles of an earnest piety +and high morals. His nephew, Peter Brahe the Elder, who in a chronicle +has given the above picture of Gustavus Vasa, adds: “_In summa_, God +had bequeathed him, above others, with great ability, high intellect +and many princely virtues, so that he was well worthy of carrying +sceptre and crown. For he was not only sagacious and kind above others, +but also manly and able. He was sharp and just in passing sentences, in +many cases being charitable and merciful.” + +The royal court was characterized by a joyous and elevated spirit. +Every day after dinner all the courtiers collected in the dancing hall. +The lady of ceremonies then entered with the ladies of the court, and +the royal musicians dispensed music for dancing. Every other or third +day the king went out hunting or horseback riding with the gentlemen +and ladies of his court. The youths of the nobility once a week held +exhibitions of fencing and other knightly sport, the king taking an +interested and active part. Those who excelled received prizes in the +form of rings of gold or chaplets of pearls and led the dance of the +evening. + +Gustavus I. was three times married. His first consort was young +neurotic Catherine, princess of Saxony-Lauenburg, whom he married while +the “Revolt of the Bells” was going on in Dalecarlia, and who died four +years later, leaving him a son, Eric, of her own hysteric temperament. +Shortly after the death of Catherine, the king married a young lady +of the highest Swedish nobility, Margaret Leijonhufvud, with whom +he lived in a long and happy union, ended by her death in 1551, and +blessed by ten children, among whom the sons John, Magnus and Charles. +Lady Margaret had been in love with the oldest son of Christine +Gyllenstierna, Svante Sture, whom she renounced, and who married her +younger sister Martha. Queen Margaret was a tender and high-minded +woman, who won the love and absolute confidence of her royal consort, +on whose quick temper she exerted a quieting influence, comforting him +in hours of trouble and distress. She preserved as queen the plain and +severe habits of her youth, having a personal superintendence over +the dairies of the royal castles, especially those of Gripsholm and +Svartsjœ. She was interested in brewing, baking and other household +affairs, often making with her own hands the clothes of her children. +When the king referred to Queen Margaret, he always called her “our +dear mistress of the house.” The king remained a nobleman of his day +in the purple. Royal splendor was displayed on great occasions only. +Simplicity was the principle of every-day life. When entertaining his +friends, the king took great pains to please and arranged many details +himself. Upon one occasion of this kind at Gripsholm, Queen Margaret +carried in the sweetmeats and cookies, while the king served the wine +and asked his guests to be glad and make merry. + +Queen Margaret was suddenly taken ill while partaking in a pleasure +trip on Lake Mælar, and died in 1551, after a touching farewell to her +consort. In the following year the king married the young Catherine +Stenbock, a daughter of Gustavus Stenbock, an intimate friend to the +king, and Lady Brita Leijonhufvud, a sister of Queen Margaret. In the +lives and fate of Catherine and Margaret there are several remarkable +coincidences. Like Queen Margaret, Catherine was secretly in love with +some one else when the royal proposal was made. Strange enough the +object of Catherine’s secret affection was, like Margaret’s, a son of +Christine Gyllenstierna, Gustavus Johnsson Tre Rosor. This young man +was the grandson of conceited Ture Jœnsson and the son of able John +Turesson, the second consort of Christine Gyllenstierna. The family +name was Tre Rosor, after the coat-of-arms, which consisted of three +roses. As her aunt Margaret must renounce the hero of her dreams, so +also Catherine. Like his half-brother, Svante Sture, Gustavus Tre Rosor +married the sister of his first love, and this marriage, like that of +Svante, turned out a happy one. There was a last coincidence in the +life of the two queens. When Margaret heard that the royal sponsor +was coming, she knew his errand and concealed herself in an oak chest +in a distant part of the castle of Ekeberg. Catherine, upon a similar +occasion, ran down in the gardens of Torpa and hid herself behind a +bush. The third marriage of the king was a happy one, in spite of the +great difference in years between the consorts. The clergy tried to +raise objections, holding that Gustavus and Catherine were too nearly +related to make the marriage a legal one. After some severe pressure +these objections were finally dropped. + +Queen Catherine thus expressed the state of her feelings after her +marriage: “Gustavus is dear to me, but I shall never forget the Rose.” + +The king gave scrupulous attention to the education of his children. +They were brought up in simplicity and sternness, but received a +manifold training and a great amount of instruction. While they were +studying at Upsala, hams and butter were sent them from the royal +estates to make part of their breakfasts and suppers. In spite of these +patriarchal endeavors, Eric and John grew up to be typical Renaissance +princes, fond of extravagance and luxury. The king wrote once to Duke +Magnus: “Our dear Lady Catherine sends thee five shirts which thou +must bear in mind to take good care of; _item_, to keep thy head clean +and not ride or run too much.” When his sons grew older, King Gustavus +used to admonish them orally before the hearth or at the table, or by +letters. His wise counsel recalls the terse and sharp advice of Havamal +in the Edda: “Ye shall weigh all matters carefully, perform them +quickly and stand by it, putting nothing off to the morrow; counsel +not followed up in due time is like clouds without rain in times of +dearth.” “To speak once and stand by it, is better than to talk one +hundred times.” “Surround ye ever with able men of pure living; one +shall believe of ye what one knows about them.” Duke Eric early caused +him trouble by stubbornness, defiance and vanity. Duke John, the +oldest child of Queen Margaret, long remained his favorite, but ended +by causing him grief through disobedience and secret conspiracy with +Eric. In his old age, King Gustavus suffered through failing health +and melancholy. He complained because the fate of his country seemed +uncertain on account of the unstability of his sons, and because his +old friends, like John Turesson and Christine Gyllenstierna, passed +away before him, leaving him alone in the world. + +When King Gustavus felt that the end was drawing near, he sent word to +the four Estates or representative classes of the country, the nobles, +clergymen, burghers and yeomen, to meet him at Stockholm around the +Midsummer of 1560. He made known to the Estates his will, which his +sons pledged themselves by oath to fulfil. Eric should inherit the +crown, according to the will, but the three other sons were to receive +duchies which they should govern with a good deal of authority. It +became evident that the king had taken pains to provide liberally for +his sons. But it appears as if he intended to make them all responsible +in the maintenance of the work of their father, by distributing the +power between them. + +When the Estates had collected in the hall of state the old monarch +entered with his sons. After greeting those present he delivered his +farewell address: + +“I respect the power of God, which with me has reinstalled the ancient +royal line on the throne of Sweden. Ye have without doubt learned, +and those of you who are somewhat advanced in years have seen for +yourselves, how our dear fatherland, already for ages in distress and +misery through foreign lordship, at last suffered the same through +the grim despot King Christian, and how it pleased God to liberate us +from this tyranny through me. For this it behooves us, high and low, +master and servant, old and young, never to forget that same divine +help. For what of a man was I to set myself against a mighty king, +who not only ruled three kingdoms, but who also was related to the +powerful emperor Charles V. and the noble princes of Germany. But God +has performed the work, made me the worker of his miracle, and been my +help and comfort during a reign of forty years, the cares of which have +hastened me on with gray hairs to the grave. Forsooth, I could liken +myself to King David,” and the tears came to his eyes, “whom God from +a shepherd made to a reigning king over his people. I could not divine +that glory, when I in woods and desert fells must needs conceal myself +from the bloodthirsty swords of my enemies. Grace and blessing have +in a wide measure been granted both me and you through the knowledge +of God’s true Gospel, also in the shape of material abundance, which +is evident all through the land, thank the Lord. If during my reign +anything good has been accomplished, give ye God the glory of it. But +for what there has been of failure and fault, I beg you, as faithful +subjects, to forbear and forgive. God is my witness that it has not +been by meanness, but by human weakness, that I have not been able to +do better. My ambition has always been the improvement and welfare of +the people of my country. I know full well that I have been a severe +king in the eyes of many. Yet that day shall come when the children of +Sweden willingly would dig me up from under the sod if that they could. +My time soon is at an end. I need not in the stars or other signs +search for my last moment; my body is to me the trustworthy messenger +that I soon shall stand before the severe King of kings, to give +account for the glorious but earthly crown of Sweden which I have worn.” + +The Estates listened with great emotion to the words of the old +monarch. After the king had ceased speaking and his will had been +sanctioned, Gustavus left the assembly supported by his sons and +nodding his farewell to those standing near. Three months later he was +taken ill, and September 29, 1560, the great liberator, revolutionist +and organizer of his country expired. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +_Reformation and Reaction--The Sons of Gustavus I._ + + +Eric XIV. succeeded his father in 1560, commencing his reign under the +most brilliant of auspices. But the old King Gustavus had foreseen that +his sons would cause danger to the realm which he with infinite care +had built up. After his forty years’ work of construction followed +forty years of destruction which his elder sons brought to bear upon +it. Fortunately, that work was so solid that it withstood this bravely, +to rise rejuvenated when loving hands anew were laid to it. + +King Eric was one of the most gifted monarchs of his time, handsome, +eloquent, learned, a fine linguist, a musician and artist. But +his sharp reason carried him to the excess of suspicion, his +artistic temperament into hysterics, and he was vain, overbearing, +quick-tempered, licentious and cruel. His leaning toward mysticism made +him devoted to astrology. + +Eric’s first ambition was to reduce the power of the dukes, convoking a +Riksdag at Arboga, in 1561, where the “Arboga Articles” were formulated +for such purpose, the dukes being forced to acquiesce. In order to +reduce the distance between the dukes and the nobility, King Eric, at +his coronation--celebrated with a lavish display of pomp at Upsala +in June of the same year--instituted hereditary dignities of counts +and barons. Svante Sture, Peter Brahe the Elder and Gustavus Johnsson +Tre Rosor were created counts, the first and third one the sons of +Christine Gyllenstierna, Peter Brahe being a cousin of Gustavus Vasa. +Among the barons were Sten Leijonhufvud, Gustavus Stenbock, relatives +of the dukes, and Clas Kristersson Horn (of Aminne). Only small +fiefs were given with the new dignities, which were nothing but an +outward sign of the distinction existing between a higher aristocracy +already extant and the lower nobility. In order to strengthen his +connection with the nobles, Eric made the estate on which a noble +fixed his domicile exempt from _russtjenst_. He was jealous of his +power and dignity, for which reasons he held sharp supervision over +his officials. He instituted a supreme court, consisting of twelve +men of low birth, who every three years made a tour of the country to +hold court in the name of the king. These justices were the creatures +of Eric, and soon brought on themselves discredit and hatred through +their servile and cruel acts. Among these justices was Gœran Persson, +an able and powerful man, revengeful and cruel, who soon rose to be the +favorite and influential adviser of his master. + +Eric was intent upon making a great match, wooing Elizabeth of England, +Mary Stuart of Scotland, Renata of Lothringia and Christine of Hesse, +with more or less success, overlooking Margaret of Valois, who was +anxious to marry him. His mistress, Carin Monsdotter, a child of the +people, but beautiful and of a noble character, for whom he had formed +a secret attachment, finally was made his queen. + +The German Order which held Esthonia and Livonia suffered during this +period considerably through Russian invasions. The town of Reval, +with a large part of Esthonia, was ceded to Sweden in 1562, upon +the receipt of a loan, Eric immediately giving his attention to the +depressed and enslaved peasants of that section. Later the grandmaster +of the Order turned Livonia over to the king of Poland, who, in need +of money, placed seven castles of this province at the disposal of +John, duke of Finland. John had tendered a loan to the Polish king +and married his sister Catherine. Eric considered these negotiations +as harmful to his royal authority, and he asked his brother to give +account of them in person. John refused, making the royal emissaries +his prisoners. The Swedish Riksdag condemned John to death for high +treason, and an army was despatched to Finland, which carried back Duke +John and his consort as prisoners. John’s sentence was commuted to +imprisonment at Gripsholm, proud Catherine choosing to share the fate +of her husband (1563). The prison life of the ducal couple at Gripsholm +was not an unpleasant one. They enjoyed a great deal of liberty and +luxury at the splendid castle in Lake Mælar, King Eric sending his +brother a copy of Boccaccio’s “Decamerone” in German, to read for a +pastime. The duke read the work and translated it into Swedish. The +room called “king John’s prison,” which is still preserved with the +artistic decoration which Duke Charles later bestowed on it, served as +sleeping apartment for the prisoners, and there Catherine gave life +to two children, one of whom was to become the founder of the Polish +line of Vasa kings. It is said that Duke Magnus became a prey to the +disposition of insanity latent in his family, by being forced to +sign the death sentence of his brother John, King Eric being anxious +of having him share the responsibility. Magnus lived until quite an +advanced age, but was never cured of his mental ailment. Even in his +best hours he was not of very bright intellect. While sojourning at +the castle of Vadstena, by the Lake Vetter, he had the vision of a +mermaid, who coaxed him to follow her. The duke jumped from the window +of his apartment into the moat below. He did not sustain any serious +injury, but the incident made the unhappy prince famous in tradition +and song. + +In May, 1560, a war commenced with Denmark which, with several +intermissions, lasted for seven years. It has been called The Seven +Years’ War of the North. About the same time that Eric became king +of Sweden, the young ambitious Frederic II. ascended the throne of +Denmark. In the days of Gustavus I., Christian III. had appropriated +the Swedish emblem of three crowns for the Danish seal of state, as +if by this proclaiming that the Union was considered still extant or +that it could be re-established at the opportune moment. King Gustavus +had protested, but with no result. When King Frederic kept up the +irritating fact of preserving the Swedish emblem, King Eric answered by +placing the emblems of Denmark and Norway in the Swedish seal of state. +This made things worse and served as a nominal cause for war. The +principal interest at stake was the supremacy in the Baltic provinces. +The diocese of Œsel, which had accepted a Danish protectorate, was +governed by a brother of the Danish king, who had entered into an +alliance with Poland against Sweden, Denmark also joining it. + +In May, 1563, a Swedish fleet, commanded by Jacob Bagge, left Sweden +to bring Princess Christine of Hesse, the promised bride of King Eric. +A Danish fleet met them, at the island of Bornholm, and greeted the +Swedish ships with some shots from their sharply loaded cannon. The +Swedes returned the fire and a naval battle followed, which ended +in a defeat for the Danes, who lost their flagship. When Jacob Bagge +arrived in Rostock, where he was to meet the princess, her father was +found unwilling to let her sail on account of the insecurity brought +about by the commencing naval hostilities. This would under ordinary +circumstances have enraged the vain and sensitive king, but Eric forgot +his rage in his delight at the naval victory. Jacob Bagge was rewarded +with a triumphal entry into Stockholm upon his return. He entered +the city on foot with a golden chain round his neck, followed by his +sub-commanders and surrounded by the banners taken during the battle. +The prisoners followed, in chains and with shaved heads. The king’s +fool was dancing in front of them, playing on his fiddle. A Danish +herald soon afterward reached Stockholm, declaring war with great pomp +and ceremony on behalf of his royal master. The city of Lubeck sent a +messenger to Stockholm on a similar errand, but was not received by the +king. “Since he is sent by the mayor and council of his town and other +similar lard-mongers, let him be heard and answered by the mayor and +council of Stockholm,” was the royal order. + +Jacob Bagge was ordered to sea with the Swedish fleet later in the +summer of the same year. He met the united fleets of Denmark and Lubeck +at the island of Œland, in the Baltic. A terrible battle ensued, which +lasted until the fleets were separated by the darkness of the night, +without victory being won by either side. Jacob Bagge started out +with his fleet again in the spring of the following year, commanding +a new flagship, “The Matchless,” which carried two hundred cannon, +most of them made out of church bells confiscated by Gustavus Vasa. A +new battle was delivered between the islands of Gothland and Œland. +The majority of the Swedish ships had by a gale been separated from +the admiral and his flagship, but Jacob Bagge fought valiantly for +a whole day, continuing the battle the next morning. A catastrophe +brought it to a close. “The Matchless” caught fire through some act of +negligence, a barrel of powder exploding between the decks. Jacob Bagge +then surrendered, and was taken on board one of the ships of Lubeck. +The enemies took possession of the “The Matchless” in order to plunder +it, but the immense ship exploded with a tremendous roar, sinking with +everybody who was on board. Jacob Bagge did not long remain in Danish +captivity. He returned, to be greeted with the greatest distinction, +and died as governor-general of Stockholm. + +The war on land was at the beginning carried on only through mutual +invasions, both sides giving proofs of cruelty and vandalism. Elfsborg +surrendered to the Danes. A Swedish army, commanded by King Eric in +person, entered the province of Halland, pillaging and plundering +and laying siege to the town of Halmstad. King Eric suddenly raised +the siege, when news came that King Frederic was approaching with an +army. The Swedish troops scattered in various directions, one division +being met and defeated by the Danes. The whole of Northern Norway +was invaded by Swedish troops and temporarily subjugated. The entire +kingdom of Norway was very near being altogether absorbed by Sweden. +This would have been a happy solution of the Scandinavian question. +Norway would have become one in language with Sweden and would have +shared her glorious epoch of political grandeur which was to follow. +The best families of Norway would have been entered side by side with +the Swedish nobility at the knightly chapterhouse of Stockholm, and +the countries would have had their later democratic and cultural +development in common. But King Eric was too restless and undecided to +make any lasting conquest, or union, possible. When Claude Collard, a +young French nobleman, who was the conqueror of Northern Norway, was +taken by surprise and captured, King Eric, to avenge this, devastated +forty church parishes in Norway. The Danes invaded and plundered the +provinces of West Gothland and Smaland, while the Swedes pillaged +Bleking and Scania. The king had given orders that the population of a +whole district should be killed. He wrote later about the fulfilment +of this cruel command: “God granted luck, so that thousands of men +were killed on the road and in the woods.” The province of Scania +was devastated to a distance of one hundred miles from the Swedish +frontier. A new invasion into Halland was made, in 1565, when Duke +Charles, then fifteen years of age, commanded the artillery. The town +of Varberg was attacked, but valiantly defended by the Danes. The young +duke upon this occasion gave the first proof of his indomitable energy. +He led the attack and persuaded the Swedes, by word and action, not to +give it up. At last the walls were taken, the town being pillaged and +burned. All men who could carry arms were killed, except a force of +one hundred and fifty men of hired troops who entered Swedish service. +A young French captain, Pontus de la Gardie, of a noble family of +Languedoc, was among the latter. This man and his descendants were +destined to play an important part in Swedish history. + +Clas Kristersson Horn was made commander of the Swedish navy after +Jacob Bagge, in which position he covered his name with glory. He won a +naval battle at Œland (in 1564) which lasted for two days. In the next +year he added several victorious battles to his record, among which +the principal ones were fought at Buchow, by the coast of Mecklenburg, +and at the island of Bornholm. When he went to sea in the spring of +1566 no enemy dared appear. The united fleets of Denmark and Lubeck at +last started out, but were defeated by Clas Horn at the island of Œland +after a vehement battle. The vanquished fleets were caught in a gale in +which sixteen ships perished with seven thousand men. Clas Horn with +his Swedish fleet was master of the sea. In the following year no fleet +appeared to meet his. The efforts of Gustavus I. to set the Swedish +fleet in good order thus proved to be of the greatest consequence. + +The Danes were superior in the hostilities on land during the latter +part of the war, thanks principally to their eminent commander, Daniel +Rantzau. He made an unsuccessful attempt to recapture the town of +Varberg, but gained, at Axtorna, a battle over a superior Swedish army +(in 1565). When Rantzau saw the Swedes approaching for an attack, he +held prayer with his troops, whereupon he arranged them for resistance. +The Swedish infantry captured the Danish stronghold and artillery, +but the hired German troops of the Swedish wings turned into flight. +Rantzau made an attack upon the deserted infantry, and was victorious +when nightfall ended the battle. The Swedes lost thirty cannon, and +Nils Sture, the son of Count Svante Sture, was able to save the banner +of state only by severing it from the pole and hiding it on his person. +In the following year, Rantzau pillaged Smaland and West Gothland, and +in 1567 he penetrated as far as East Gothland, where he was very near +being caught in a trap by the Swedish troops. The interior struggle of +Sweden caused hostilities to cease for some time. + +The sad fate of his brother Magnus also befell King Eric. Evidences +of approaching insanity were frequent and brought on horrible +consequences. By licentiousness, mysticism and astrological speculations +his mind became unsettled. It had been predicted that a blond man would +dethrone him. Eric at first made his brother John the subject of his +suspicions. After the duke’s imprisonment he suspected a rival in Nils +Sture, who also was a blond. Eric accused him of ill behavior in the +battle of Axtorna. The king’s court sentenced him to death, but Lord +Nils escaped with a contumelious entry of mockery into Stockholm, on a +miserable horse, and a crown of straw on his head. But frightened at +the indignation aroused by his shameful act the king tried to undo it, +and sent Lord Nils on an embassy to Lothringia, to bring the king’s +proposal to Princess Renata. + +In the commencement of 1567, the king had several of the nobles +arrested, on the suspicion of conspiracy, and carried to the castle +of Upsala, where a Riksdag was convoked. Nils Sture arrived with the +consent and betrothal ring of Princess Renata, but was thrown into +prison. The king asked the Riksdag to pass a sentence of death upon the +accused nobles. When this was refused, he was seized by fear and rage. +Rushing into the prison of Nils Sture, he wounded him in the arm. Lord +Nils drew out the weapon, a dagger, kissing its handle and returning it +to the king, with a prayer for mercy, but was killed by the soldiers at +the command of the king. Eric’s disposition immediately was changed, +and he darted into Count Svante’s prison, begging forgiveness at his +feet. The aged Sture’s answer was that he would forgive all, granted +that no harm was done to his son. The king fled in despair from the +castle and town, followed by some of his soldiers, one of whom he +sent back with an order to kill all the nobles, “except Lord Sten.” As +there were two by that name, these were spared, but Count Svante and +his son Eric Sture, Abraham Stenbock and Ivar Ivarsson were killed. The +Riksdag was forced to pass sentence for high treason upon the murdered +men, at the instigation of Gœran Persson, whose perfidious advice +had continually inflamed the sickened brain of his master. King Eric +was for several days missing, and at last found wandering about in a +peasant’s garb. Cared for by Carin Monsdotter, he slowly regained his +reason, showing evidence of repentance by declaring the murdered nobles +innocent and promising to compensate their families. During this spell +he set free his brother John and dismissed Gœran Persson. But soon his +evil disposition returned, and the resolution of his brothers to free +the country from his rule must be acknowledged as a beneficent one. The +nobles were brought to revolt, when Eric, in July, 1568, proclaimed +Carin as his consort, and had her solemnly crowned Queen of Sweden. The +dukes John and Charles were at first unsuccessful in their efforts, +the king defeating their troops repeatedly. But in 1569 Stockholm was +captured, Gœran Persson killed and the king forced to abdicate. The +sentence passed upon Eric, by the Estates of the Riksdag, stipulated +that he should be “imprisoned, but sustained in a princely manner, for +the rest of his days.” + +Eric was at first held imprisoned in his own apartments at the +royal castle, but was transferred to two of the vaults, called the +“apartments of Lord Eskil.” They had served as a treasury during the +reign of Gustavus I., but now stood empty. Queen Carin and her children +were his company. After an unsuccessful attempt at flight, one room +was taken away from him and the windows in the remaining one reduced +in size. The table of the royal prisoner was well provided for, but +he was unmercifully treated by his warders. The cruel Olof Stenbock +once deprived him of all his clothes. In a struggle which followed, +he shot Eric in the arm and let him remain senseless in his blood for +several hours. Some of the members of the former body-guard of Eric +once attempted, but in vain, to set free the unhappy prisoner. In +1569 Eric was removed to Abo in Finland, where he was locked up in a +secure prison. Two years later he was taken to Castellholm, in the +archipelago of Aland, for fear that the Russian czar would liberate him +by violence. Shortly afterward he was removed to the lovely castle of +Gripsholm, where he had spent some of the happiest days of his youth, +and where he once upon a time held his brother John imprisoned. At +Gripsholm there is a gloomy dungeon which is said to have served as +the prison of King Eric, but this is not authentic. Eric was treated +comparatively well while at Gripsholm, enjoying the company of his +family, a good table and plenty of servants. The recording books of the +castle from this period speak of “the court of King Eric.” King John +was, in the meantime, irritated by Russian hostilities and intrigues, +the old supporters of Eric joining in the latter. The appeals of Duke +Charles for the improvement of the condition of his poor imprisoned +brother roused the suspicion of the king, who fostered dark plots +against the prisoner. Eric was removed from Gripsholm and its pleasant +associations, separated from his family and put in hard prison at +Westeros. The warders received instructions to take his life if +necessary. The state council and the archbishop sanctioned this order +of the king. The last prison of the unhappy King Eric was Œrbyhus, +where he suddenly died, exactly at a time when King John’s fears of a +revolt had reached a climax. Rumors that Eric had been poisoned were +current, and Duke Charles also gave utterance of his belief that such +was the case. In spite of the wars, cruelty and evil deeds of King Eric +XIV., the Swedish people of his time had a good deal of devotion for +him and his faithful consort. The country enjoyed good years during his +reign and profited by the wise measures of his father. + +Gustavus, the son of Eric XIV. and Carin Monsdotter, was born, in +1568, at Nykœping. When Queen Carin was separated from her imprisoned +consort, her children, Gustavus and Sigrid, followed her to Finland, +where she resided at Abo. In 1575 the young prince was harshly taken +away from his mother, at the command of the state council, and sent +to Prussia. The jealous and uneasy King John made him the subject of +cruel persecutions. In spite of these he received a fine education, +and is known to have embraced the Catholic religion. He was kindly +received by King Sigismund of Poland, his cousin, at whose coronation +in Cracow he is said to have been present, in the disguise of a beggar. +A relation of intimate friendship existed between the outlawed prince +and Emperor Rudolph of Austria, both of whom were devoted to the study +of alchemy. King John refused to listen to the appeals for grace and +support which Gustavus repeatedly made to him. Gustavus was not allowed +to see his mother until the year of 1596, when the two had a touching +meeting at Reval. He later made his home in Thorn, but left for Russia, +in 1600, upon an invitation from Czar Boris. He was received in Moscow +as a reigning prince; but when he refused to appear as a pretender to +the Swedish throne, he was imprisoned. At the fall of Boris, Gustavus +was set free, but again put in prison by Dimitri. At the fall of the +latter, in 1607, Gustavus once more regained his liberty, but died in +Casijn, in the same year. This unhappy Gustavus Ericsson Vasa was a man +of fine erudition and pure morals. He was a dreamer and of a sensitive +disposition, being an ardent Catholic and fondly devoted to the country +which had outlawed him. + +Sigrid Vasa, the daughter of Eric XIV., was twice married to members +of the Swedish nobility. Ake Henricsson Tott, her son of the first +marriage, was a distinguished warrior in the times of Gustavus II. +Adolphus. Queen Carin died, in 1612, beloved and highly respected, at +the beautiful estate of Liuksiala in Finland, given her in fief by King +John. + +_John III._ succeeded Eric, without sharing his power with his younger +brother Charles, as he had promised. John was as learned and highly +talented as Eric, and as vain, restless and unreliable. But while Eric +was a mystic and a sceptic by turns, John was a Catholic, or leaning +toward Catholicism, and a hypocrite who, under the pretence of meekness +and piety, tried to hide his vanity, bad temper and utter selfishness. +Like Gustavus I. and all his other sons, John was devoted to the +fine arts, particularly to architecture, with an ardor that reached +the vehemence of a passion. He planned a vast number of churches and +castles, which he completed, utterly regardless of cost. The Swedish +Castle Renaissance which was established by John and his brothers is +influenced by contemporary Flemish art, severe and majestic in outline, +graceful and profuse in interior decoration. Good specimens of it were +the earlier castles of Stockholm and Svartsjœ, the castle of Vadstena +remains so and, to a great extent, the beautiful and memorable castle +of Gripsholm. + +At his coronation, John issued hereditary privileges to the nobility. +_Russtjenst_ became no longer essential. Legal offices were preserved +for the nobles, the king’s supreme court being abandoned. John’s +policy was to win the support of the aristocracy against Charles, who, +indignant and sulky, kept within his duchy, consisting of the provinces +of Sœdermanland and Vermland, with the town of Œrebro in addition. + +In 1570, an unsatisfactory peace was made with Denmark, Sweden ceding +all the Norwegian and Danish territory in her possession, together +with the island of Gothland, and agreeing to pay something like one +hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the return of Elfsborg, held +by the Danes. A friendly relation to hostile Poland commenced with +John’s reign, but a long and bloody war with Russia began in 1570. The +Russians tried repeatedly, but in vain, to capture Reval, plundering +and killing the population of Esthonia, who remained faithful to +Swedish rule. Henric Horn and Clas Tott won laurels for their heroic +deeds, while the war was changed into more modern methods and to a +successful issue by the Swedish general Pontus de la Gardie, who +captured the provinces Keksholm and Ingermanland and the town of Narva. + +John III. had set two goals for his ambition: to return the Swedish +church to Catholicism and to make his son Sigismund king of Poland. +The latter he reached at the death of King Stephan in 1589, Sigismund +succeeding him upon the throne. The former ambition John never +attained, after years of stubborn and unreasonable perseverance giving +up this pet idea. John made some attempts to bring order in the +confused conditions of the church, but left it in a worse state of +confusion than he found it. The crown and the aristocracy had deprived +the church of nearly all its property and withheld its income from +it. Archbishop Laurentius Petri complained of the miserable state of +things, the ministers often being useless wretches and the service in +some churches impossible to uphold for sheer lack of money. In 1572 +the ecclesiastical matters were arranged at a meeting in Upsala, when +a new church law was introduced, demanding higher qualifications for +the ministers, who were to be elected by their congregations, and +enforcing a school law. Laurentius Petri died in 1573 and was succeeded +by Laurentius Petri Gothus. The new archbishop willingly subscribed +to a set of rules, laid before him by the king, which reintroduced +monasteries, worship of saints and the ceremonies of the Roman church. +Jesuits were invited to the country, but met with little encouragement +from the people. The very climax of John’s reactionary movements was +formed by the introduction of his ritual, Liturgia, which was nothing +else than an adaptation of the Catholic ritual. It was accepted by the +Riksdag of 1577, but Charles refused to accept it for his duchy. The +king had many conflicts with his brother, the latter always giving +in to his wishes, except on this point. Ministers and university +professors who refused to conform to the new ritual, or attacked it, +were sheltered by the duke and, in many instances, given high offices. +The king grew angry, but the duke remained firm and unyielding. When +Queen Catherine died, in 1583, John’s Catholic fervor suffered a +relapse, and ceased altogether after his marriage to young Protestant +Gunilla Bielke, in the following year. He stubbornly stuck to his +Liturgia for some time yet, but exiled the Jesuits, and dismissed with +contumely ministers who had joined the Roman Church. During the last +years of his reign, he said it was best to leave everybody a free +choice in religious matters, regretting his Liturgia--which he once +considered the gem of his own theological system--because it had caused +so much trouble and confusion. + +Sweden suffered a great deal through the slack and unsteady government +of King John. He spent unreasonable sums on his court and his craze for +architectural marvels, while always short of funds for the necessities +of war and internal improvements. Commerce and industries suffered and +were brought to a standstill by dearth, hunger and pest. The population +decreased; the towns were made bankrupt and many farms abandoned. Bad +and greedy officials and the recommencing war with Russia increased the +evils. After unsuccessful attempts to have his son leave Poland, where +he had met with many difficulties, John entered into more intimate +relations with his brother, who came to wield a beneficial influence on +the government. John III. died 1592, malcontent and tired of life, his +death being little regretted by the people. + +One of the most famous love episodes of Sweden dates from the reign +of John III. It has no bearing upon the affairs of state, but is not +devoid of value as an illustration of the history of civilization, +giving us a glimpse of the private life of the nobles of that period +and the standard of morals of their lives. The episode is told by +Countess Anne Banér in a manuscript by her hand with the title: “In +the following manner my blessed mother’s sister, Lady Sigrid Sture, +lady of Salestad and Geddeholm, related what took place when Lord Eric +Gustafson Stenbock carried away our blessed mother’s sister, Magdalen +Sture, from Hœrningsholm.” + +The dowager-countess, Martha Sture, resided at the castle of +Hœrningsholm, enlarged to a four-story structure and fortified with +four corner towers by her consort. She was a sister of Queen Margaret, +the second queen of Gustavus I., and was married to the renounced lover +of that sister, Count Svante Sture. The countess was called “King +Martha,” partly because of her stern power and great authority, partly +because it was known to have been her ambition to see her husband’s +family grace the throne of a country which their forefathers had ruled +as uncrowned kings. She had lived to see her husband and two sons +killed by the insane Eric XIV., but she had yet two sons who would +carry high the glorious name, on which there was not a stain of any +kind. There were five daughters, Sigrid and Anne, married to members of +the influential Bielke family, and Magdalen, Margaret and Christine, as +yet unmarried. There was another young lady at Hœrningsholm, besides +the daughters, the little Princess Sigrid Vasa, the daughter of King +Eric XIV. and Carin Monsdotter, who had received a home with the stern +“King Martha” while her mother was following the tracks of the deposed +monarch from prison to prison. + +Between Magdalen Sture and Lord Eric Stenbock a passionate love sprang +up. Lord Eric was a very fine young man, of an influential family and +the brother of the queen-dowager, Catherine, third consort of Gustavus +I. But, unfortunately, he was the nephew of Countess Martha, and, as +a cousin of Magdalen, considered to be too closely related to her to +make a marriage possible. Countess Martha was unwilling to listen +to any appeals, and she was strengthened in her resolution by the +old Archbishop Laurentius Petri, who still held the same opinions as +when he, once upon a time, refused to grant his consent to a marriage +between King Gustavus I. and young Lord Eric’s sister, because she was +a niece of Queen Margaret. The years passed by, but no change came in +the stubborn resistance of “King Martha.” Christmas eve of 1573, Lord +Eric visited Hœrningsholm to remain until New Year. He brought with +him costly presents which he offered as New Year’s gifts to Countess +Martha, her daughters, chaplain and servants. He left to return on Palm +Sunday with his sister Cecilia, the wife of Count Gustavus Tre Rosor. +One morning a few days later, Lady Sigrid Bielke, who was visiting +her mother, entered the so-called rotunda, a large room in one of +the towers which Countess Martha and her daughters used as sleeping +apartment. She was surprised to find her sister Magdalen kneeling and +in tears. Lady Sigrid greeted her: “God bless you, you have a good +deed in mind!” “God grant it were good,” answered Magdalen, rising. +“Certainly it is good to make one’s prayers amid tears,” Sigrid said. +Magdalen caught the hands of her sister and said: “My darling sister, +if all the rest forsake me, you will not turn away your faithful heart +from me.” Sigrid found the words and emotion of her sister strange, +but did not suspect anything. “Why do you use such words to me?” she +answered. “I do not believe that you are going to make an evil-doer +out of yourself; there are none in the Sture family who have carried +themselves in a way to make us turn our hearts away from them.” Tears +came again to the eyes of Magdalen, but Sigrid was called into an +interior room by her mother. Magdalen went to play with one of her +little nieces, when Lord Eric entered. “Dear lady,” he said, “would you +like to see the horse that I have given you? It is now waiting in the +court.” Magdalen rose and left, escorted by her cousin. They met two +of the women of the household, whom Eric commanded to follow them. A +horse and sleigh stood in the vaulted entrance. Magdalen was placed +between the two servants, while Eric took his position back of them +on the runners, holding the reins. In the castle court they met the +chaplain and several of the servants, who thought it a pleasure ride +and let them pass. When they rode down on the frozen lake, the two +servants in the sleigh grasped the importance of the situation for the +first time, and commenced praying Lady Magdalen to return. Lord Eric +silenced them by displaying his short musket. A few moments later they +were surrounded by a force of one hundred men on horseback, who formed +an escort. They were a loan to Lord Eric by Duke Charles. + +The excitement at Hœrningsholm was great when the elopement was +discovered. Margaret Sture happened to look through the window at the +moment when the sleigh reached the lake. At her outcry Countess Martha +and Sigrid joined her. The old countess fainted on the stairs when +making for the court, and Sigrid was ordered to follow up the eloping +couple. Countess Cecilia found her aunt on the stairs and hastened +to assure her of the mortification that she felt at the daring and +unsuspected deed of her brother, also expressing some surprise at the +bad manner in which it was accepted. But then the old countess became +wroth, exclaiming: “Go to the devil, and may God punish both you and +your brother! And if you have any part in his scheme of robbing me of +my dear child, betake yourself after him, so that no shame or dishonor +may happen.” Countess Cecilia hastened to her sleigh and reached +Sværdsbro, where her brother was stopping, ahead of Sigrid. + +When Lady Sigrid arrived at Sværdsbro, she was admitted through the +lines of soldiers only after some difficulty, finding tailors and +seamsters busy cutting and sewing precious stuffs for clothing for Lady +Magdalen and her servants, “for she left with uncovered head such as +she went and stood in her mother’s house.” Sigrid tried to persuade her +sister to return to her mother, who in her great sorrow was willing to +forgive all if she only came back. Magdalen sat silent for a long time. +Finally she said: “If you can vouchsafe me, that the lady, my mother, +will grant that we shall belong to each other, since I have so dearly +pledged myself to him, I shall return.” This Sigrid could not do, and +Magdalen added, weeping sorely: “The last complication is then as bad +as the first.” Lord Eric entered with his sister Cecilia. When Sigrid +asked where he intended to bring Magdalen, he answered: “To Visingsœ, +to the Countess Beatrix, my sister, where she shall remain until we +obtain the consent to marry of the lady, her mother.” It was arranged +that Cecilia should accompany Magdalen, and Sigrid try her best to win +her mother’s consent. Magdalen sent home to her mother a piece of horn +of the fabulous unicorn; “the only thing I have carried with me from +my father’s house,” she added. This horn, which really was taken from +the incisor of the narwhal, was in those days generally thought to be +authentic and of miraculous power. + +Countess Martha was, in her grief and dismay, taken ill. She soon +gathered strength enough to write to King John, her nephew, pleading +her cause. King John at once took action in the matter, calling Lord +Eric to account, and issuing a command to all ministers of the kingdom, +prohibiting them to unite in marriage the two cousins. Eric Stenbock +was on his way to Stockholm when he received the order of the king. +Upon his arrival at the capital, he was imprisoned and deprived of all +his offices. But Lord Eric had powerful friends in Duke Charles and +the Stenbock family. As the king himself did not wish to be without +his service, he was soon set free and reinstalled in his offices. He +succeeded in obtaining the goodwill of the whole Sture family, but +“King Martha” remained irreconcilable. More than a year had passed +since the elopement. One day Lord Eric suddenly appeared at the castle +of Visingsœ. He made, with Magdalen and his aunt, Lady Anne, a journey +into the province of Halland, where a Danish minister joined the two +cousins in marriage. The wedding was celebrated at the home of Eric’s +father, Baron Gustavus Stenbock of Torpa. But Lady Magdalen was not +happy. She grieved because of her mother’s hostile attitude, and +continued to dress in black colors, as she had done ever since she left +her mother. Duke Charles, the queen-dowager, the royal princesses, and +all the members of the state council, yea, the king himself, wrote +letters to the indignant countess, whose ire was rather increased than +diminished thereby. + +Finally, after another year and a half, “King Martha” gave in to +the tears and prayers of her daughters. Lady Magdalen returned to +Hœrningsholm after three years of absence. She was not allowed to come +up to the castle at first, but had to dwell in the building occupied by +the baths. As the winter was approaching, and Lady Magdalen was soon +to give life to a child, her brothers and sisters prevailed upon their +mother to receive Lord Eric and his wife at the castle. The event was +arranged in a conspicuous way. Countess Martha was seated in the place +of honor in the great hall of the castle, surrounded by her daughters +and sons-in-law, when Lord Eric entered with Magdalen. When the mother +saw her pale and thin features, she was moved to tears, exclaiming: +“Thou unhappy child!” Magdalen approached her on her knees, and the +countess embraced her, stammering her forgiveness between tears. +Magdalen remained at the castle, where she bore her husband a son, who +was called Gustavus. Lady Martha invited the king, the duke and the +princesses to be present at the baptism, at the same time granting +Magdalen an equal share of inheritance with the other daughters. Lady +Magdalen continued to dress in mourning as a self-imposed punishment +for her disobedience to her mother. One day she was preparing to leave +for a wedding, when her mother asked her the reason why she dressed +thus. When “King Martha” learned why, she took a costly cross of +diamonds intended for the bride and placed it on her daughter’s breast, +telling her to put aside her black dresses. From that day joy and +happiness seemed to return to Lady Magdalen, who commenced to put on +lighter colors and to wear diamonds. Of Magdalen Stenbock--a child of +these Stures, who so often had protected and preserved Sweden--Count +Magnus Stenbock was a lineal descendant, he who during the reign of +Charles XII. saved his country in the hour of its greatest peril and +distress. + +_Sigismund_, the son and successor of John III., was not apt to become +more popular than his father. Born at the pleasant prison of Gripsholm, +which yet was a prison, he was of a cold, unsympathetic disposition, +a king of few words and hard to approach. At John’s death, Sigismund +was twenty-six years of age and had reigned several years in Poland. +Charles stepped to the front as the head of the government until +Sigismund’s arrival. + +The Protestants, fearing the worst from their new Catholic king, +decided to take firm and early action. The duke ordered a Riksdag at +Upsala in February, 1593, the deliberations being held by the clergy +alone. The Liturgia was abolished with the majority of Catholic church +ceremonies, Luther’s catechisms, L. Petri’s ritual, church visitations, +etc., being reintroduced. Abraham Angermannus was elected archbishop, +and decision made for the re-establishment of the Upsala University. +The duke had not been present at the deliberations, and appeared +displeased because not consulted. He, who was secretly accused of being +a Calvinist, pointed out more Catholic ceremonies to be abolished, +whereupon the decisions won the sanction of the duke, the state council +and the bishops. By this act the Lutheran Church was re-established, +the Augsburgian Confession being laid down by the meeting as its +corner-stone. When this action had been taken, the chairman, Nicolaus +Bothniensis, a young Upsala professor, exclaimed: “Now Sweden has +become _one_ man, and we all have _one_ God.” + +In August, 1593, King Sigismund arrived in Sweden, surrounded by +Jesuits and Polish nobles, and with a sum of money wherewith to pay +the expenses of a Catholic revival. To the demands made to sign the +decisions of the Upsala meeting he gave a flat refusal. The conditions +in Stockholm grew perilous, Jesuits and Lutheran ministers preaching +denouncements upon each other in the churches and conflicts between +the Polish troops and the populace taking place. In January, 1594, +Sigismund, accompanied by the state councillors and the members of +the Riksdag, came to Upsala for his father’s funeral and his own +coronation. Duke Charles arrived with 3,000 men, whom he quartered +in the neighborhood. He dismissed the papal legate, Malaspina, and +his Jesuits from the funeral procession, before it entered the +cathedral, and told the king, in behalf of all, that no coronation +would take place before the confessional liberty of the Lutheran Church +was confirmed. The Estates declared themselves ready to sacrifice +their lives for the pure faith. The king still refused his sanction, +whereupon the duke replied that the Riksdag would be dismissed within +twenty-four hours if he insisted. Sigismund gave in, upon the advice of +the Jesuits, who told him that pledges to Lutherans were not binding. +Sigismund was crowned and returned suddenly to Poland. + +The king had left matters in an unsatisfactory condition, placing six +governors with great authority in various districts, but leaving the +government to be conducted by the duke and the state council in common. +This little pleased the energetic Charles, who soon called a Riksdag +at Sœderkœping, in 1595, forcing the councillors to sanction this act +and follow him to the Riksdag. In Finland, the governor, Clas Fleming, +had tried to have a peace agreement with Russia postponed as an excuse +to keep the navy and army at his disposal in the interest of the king. +At Sœderkœping, Charles had himself chosen regent, the last vestige of +Catholicism abolished, and the punishment of Fleming decided on. In +consequence, the Catholics were dealt with in a merciless way through +the instigation of the archbishop, whom the duke called an executioner +on account of his recklessness. The convent of Vadstena was closed, its +eleven nuns scattered and its property confiscated. In Finland a bloody +revolt against the oppression of Fleming cost 11,000 people their +lives. It was called the “War of Clubs,” on account of the rude weapons +used by the peasants. The state council refused to consent to Fleming’s +punishment, whereupon the duke suddenly resigned. But he convoked a +Riksdag at Arboga, in 1597, at which the councillors and nobles were +absent, also the burghers. The peasants and clergy were abundantly +represented and cheered the propositions of the duke to the echo. It +was then decided that the king should be asked to return, until which +event the duke was to remain regent, and that peace should be restored +in Finland. Fleming died in the meantime and was succeeded by Arvid +Stolarm, who also was one of the duke’s enemies. The Riksdag at Arboga +was the first in the deliberations of which the state council had not +taken a part. The councillors were disposed to punish the duke; but, +not agreeing as to means, they left the country to seek the king. + +King Sigismund arrived in the summer of 1598 with an army of 5,000 +Poles, gathering a good deal of strength by reinforcements from +Gothaland. The duke had his stronghold in Svealand, the Dalecarlians +rising to join him. The Uplanders warded off an attempt made by Stolarm +to land with his army; they were led by Nicolaus Bothniensis, the +Upsala professor, who called his exploit “a crusade.” The two princes +met in East Gothland, near Stegeborg. The duke and his peasant army +were surrounded by the king’s cavalry, and would have been doomed if +not for the outcry of one of the king’s followers that his subjects +would be killed on either side. The king gave order to stop the attack, +feeling pity at the sight. The duke was deeply moved by this act and +offered to leave the land with his family. But the deliberations which +followed were without result. + +On the 25th of September a battle was fought at Stongebro, near +Linkœping, ending in the defeat of the royal army. An armistice +followed. The conditions of peace were that the king should remain +in Sweden, dismissing his foreign troops, and take charge of the +government. No one should be punished except five of the nobles, +to be placed before a jury of ambassadors. The king agreed to the +conditions, but soon left Sweden never to return. A meeting of nobles +and clergymen, in 1599, accepted him as reigning king if willing to +return within four months. In July, a Riksdag was called at Stockholm, +which declared Sigismund dethroned and his son Vladislav king if sent +to Sweden to be educated in the Lutheran faith. Sigismund took no heed +of these stipulations, planning to regain his throne by force. + +Charles followed up the punishment with such unprecedented severity +that it has left a stain upon his memory. Three nobles were beheaded +after Kalmar was taken, and proceeding to Finland, the duke applied +capital punishment to a wide extent, in more than twenty cases at Abo +alone. At a Riksdag in Linkœping, in 1600, the duke appeared as an +accuser against the five imprisoned nobles and several others, eight +state councillors being among them. The accused, thirteen in number, +were sentenced to death for high treason, but the majority were +pardoned upon confession of guilt. The councillors Gustavus Banér, Eric +Sparre, Sten Banér and Ture Bielke were beheaded. They were all men +of learning and great ability, who had faithfully served their king. +During John’s reign they had already suffered years of imprisonment for +intrigues against a hereditary kingdom and a strong government. + +_Charles IX._ was chosen king at the bloody Riksdag of Linkœping, and +his son Gustavus Adolphus heir-apparent. The hereditary rights of +Duke John, second son of John III., were acknowledged, and a duchy, +consisting of East Gothland and Leckœ Castle, granted him; but he was +passed over as too young and too closely related to Sigismund. Measures +to strengthen the financial administration and the army were passed. + +Sigismund prepared, by alliances with Catholic powers, to gather +support, Charles turning to England and France for the same purpose. A +conflict was unavoidable, and Charles decided to invade the disputed +province of Livonia, which he captured, only to be ousted by the +Polish general, Zamoisky. The castle of Volmar was long and heroically +defended by the Swedes under Jacob de la Gardie, a son of General +Pontus, and Charles Gyllenhielm, an illegitimate son of Charles IX. +After their surrender the former received for five years a tolerable +treatment, the latter a most severe one for twelve years. After +attempts to place conditions on a better footing in Finland, where the +peasants had long suffered through aristocratic oppression, Charles +increased the army still further and invaded Livonia once more, in +1604. He met with a crushing defeat at Kerkholm, close by Riga, at the +hands of the Pole, Chodkiewitz, losing 9,000 men. But the Poles did not +understand how to use their victory, and the centre of the conflict +changed to Russia. + +On Russian territory, the troops of Sigismund and Charles were to meet. +The line of Rurik became extinct in 1598, its last descendant, Dimitri, +being murdered. Great complications ensued with usurpers and two “false +Dimitris” in succession. Sigismund supported the false Dimitris in +order to gain ground and place the royal line of Vasa upon the throne +of Russia after that of Rurik. Charles sided with Vassili Schuisky +against the second false Dimitri. In 1607 an agreement was made that +Sweden, upon the receipt of the province of Kexholm, should send an +army to Russia to support Czar Vassili. In 1609, a small Swedish army, +consisting of Swedes, Finns and some hired troops, entered Russia, +under command of Jacob de la Gardie. It was received at Novgorod with +the blaze of cannon and tolling of church bells. A victory was won at +Tver over the pretender, but further progress was impeded by mutiny +among the hired troops, the stubborn Finns returning home. With his +1,200 faithful Swedes, reinforced by hired troops to 5,000, De la +Gardie made a daring march eastward to Moscow, scaring away the Polish +army, attacking it and making a triumphant entry into the Russian +capital. Sigismund was at Smolensk, and met De la Gardie at Klusina, +winning the battle on account of renewed mutiny of the hired troops in +the Swedish army. De la Gardie was given free leave with 400 men, upon +pledge not to support Czar Vassili, and later captured the promised +Kexholm, while Sigismund’s son Vladislav for a short time became czar +of Russia. + +Although the short reign of Charles IX. was filled with continual +warfare, the king never for a moment lost interest in the peaceful +development of the country. He continued his father’s work in +furthering the mining industry, and tried to build up the commerce and +trade relations. He founded the city of Gothenburg, on the western +coast, in the island of Hising, opposite Elfsborg, also founding +the towns of Karlstad, Christinehamn, Mariestad and Philipstad. The +aristocracy looked upon his administration with coldness. It received +sanction of the privileges granted by John III., but nothing more, +except in return for additional _russtjenst_. The peasants were his +favorites and he was surnamed the “Peasant King.” To the Church, +Charles stood in a good relation, supporting its re-established +Reformation with his whole authority. Also the University had in him +a patron, although he severely criticised the too conservative spirit +in both, exchanging a series of pamphlets with the archbishop on +theological questions, firm in his Calvinistic tendencies. To make +the government stronger it was stipulated that four members of the +state council were always to hold the four principal offices, with the +titles of drotsete, kansler (chancellor), admiral and treasurer. The +greatest economy was enforced at court and throughout the whole system +of government, various minor country offices being established for the +enforcement of order, justice and economy. The king was liberal only +with severe orders and harsh words, the artistic tendencies of his +youth succumbing to the cruel necessities of his reign. + +In private he was as severe as in public life. His first consort, +Maria of the Palatinate-Zweibrucken, had a quieting influence upon +him, but the second, Christine of Holstein, stern and sharp like the +king, strengthened the harshness and violence of his disposition. +During the last years of his reign, Charles gave his attention to +the critical European situation, desiring to join the Netherlands, +England, France and the Protestant German princes into an alliance +against the forming Catholic league. This man, so assured of his power +to reign and so unscrupulous as to his means, was very careful not to +do any act of importance without the sanction of his people, and for +a long time refused to be called king. In 1604 he agreed to accept +that name, but was in 1606 ready to cede it to Duke John. Still, after +his coronation he admitted the hereditary right of his nephew, who +was a good-natured man without the qualifications of a ruler. At the +Riksdag of Norrkœping, in 1604, the crown was made hereditary among +the descendants of Charles, also in the female line, provided that +the monarch confessed the Lutheran faith and had not accepted the +government of, or residence in, any other country. + +The stress placed upon Charles was greater than his originally strong +health could carry. In 1609 he suffered a stroke of paralysis, which +deprived him of his full power of speech. He still stood firm at the +head of the government, with Prince Gustavus Adolphus, now sixteen +years of age, at his side, who took part in the affairs of State and +spoke for the paralytic king. The young and ambitious Christian IV. +of Denmark thought that the opportune moment was come to turn down +the rising power of Sweden. He declared war, in April, 1611, in spite +of the efforts made by King Charles to avoid the conflict, pointing +to Germany, where their joined forces would be needed. Christian +captured the town of Kalmar, while its castle withstood his attacks, +being handed over to him by treason. In his wrath and disgust, Charles +sent word to Christian to meet him in a duel face to face, which the +latter refused to do in a letter of abusive contempt. Gustavus Adolphus +had made a dash into Bleking, capturing the store of provisions at +Christianopel. In the autumn, the war came to a temporary standstill. + +Charles started for Stockholm from Kalmar, but was taken ill during +the journey and died at Nykœping, October 11, 1611, surrounded by his +sons and councillors. To his death-bed came the news that Jacob de +la Gardie had captured the important city of Novgorod, and that the +Russians offered the crown to either of his sons, Gustavus Adolphus or +Charles Philip. With Charles died the only worthy son of Gustavus I. +Vasa. In strength of intellect and stern power, he stands first among +Swedish rulers. Devoted to the work of his great father, he educated +the Swedish people, through hardships and sacrifices, to its political +grandeur. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +_Period of Political Grandeur--Gustavus II. Adolphus_ + + +Gustavus II. Adolphus is the greatest figure of Swedish history, +revered and beloved as one of the noblest of heroes, a genius in whom +the qualities of the great statesman and warrior were blended with +the faith of a man ready to sacrifice his life for the loftiest of +causes--religious liberty. Gustavus Adolphus was, by his own triumphant +deeds and through his school of discipline, which turned out men +worthy to follow up his work, destined to bring his country up to the +fulfilment of its mission in the history of human progress, and to +open for it an era of glory and political grandeur which its limited +resources made it impossible to preserve, but which was fruitful of +results for its later cultural evolution. + +The secret of Sweden’s success in solving the stupendous conflict +between Catholicism and Protestantism, between reaction and progress, +rested in the fact that this little country was eminently ready +to wage a war for religious liberty. It had been more perfectly +rejuvenated by the spirit of Protestantism than had, at the time, any +other country. The mediæval state, completed later in Sweden than on +the continent, also gave way there sooner and more completely than +elsewhere. The yeomanry, never fully suppressed, had preserved its old +spirit of independence, fostered and guided by patriotic leaders of +the nobility, with or without a crown. The population was suffering, +hungering, bleeding, but free, indomitable, and devoted to its once +more hereditary kings of Swedish birth and to their new faith, which +had made strong in them their old individuality of views and life. + +When Gustavus Adolphus ascended the throne, the country was in the +greatest peril and distress, and had many a lesson to learn before +entering the universal conflict of the Thirty Years’ War. + +Gustavus Adolphus was born, Dec. 9, 1594, at the castle of Stockholm. +When six years old, he followed his father to devastated Finland, +returning through Norrland, for the settlement and future of which +territory great plans were made. At ten, he was ordered to be present +at the deliberations of the state council; at thirteen, he received +petitions and complaints, rectifying wrongs and soothing suffering. +His father said of him, in speaking of the fulfilment of great works, +placing his hand on the curly blond head: “_Ille faciet._” The prince +received a severe and carefully supervised education, led by Johan +Skytte. He acquired knowledge of a considerable number of languages, +probably all in a mechanical way, except the Swedish and German, with +both of which he was made equally and thoroughly familiar, speaking +and writing the latter language with greater ease and perfection than +the emperor Ferdinand, or Maximilian of Bavaria. In the sciences of +economics and war he was well read, himself inaugurating novel theories +in both. In him the best traits of the Vasa dynasty were admirably +blended and enlarged. He possessed an acute intellect, far-reaching +views of almost prophetic discernment, a mastery and patience in +detail, and an indomitable strength of will. To the ceaseless and +painstaking care of the welfare of his subjects, characteristic of +his father and grandfather, were in him added a harmony of endowment +and a gentleness of disposition which made him their superior. In him +the turbulent blood of the Vasas was held in noble self-restraint. +After his rare outbursts of passion, he made good his faults in a most +royal manner. His youth was not without the temptations which beset +all richly endowed natures, but they were vanquished as he grew up to +the importance of his grand mission. He stood in the paternal attitude +to his people so becoming to his grandfather, but lacked the fiery +democratic tendencies and the sympathy for the untitled, unpretentious +and lowly, so strong in his stern father. To his relatives he was as +gentle as to his subjects, treating his resolute and ambitious mother, +Christine of Holstein-Gottorp, with love and respect; on her demand +sacrificing the love of his youth and intended bride, Ebba Brahe, +who became the consort of victorious Jacob de la Gardie. Also to his +brother Charles Philip he stood in an exemplary relation; but firmly +refused to grant him privileges for his duchy of Vermland which could +be injurious to the country at large. + +Gustavus Adolphus was a man of commanding presence, tall and of a heavy +frame. The color of his face was clear and light, his eyes blue, his +hair and beard blond. Foreign contemporary authors called him “the +golden king of the North.” He carried his head high, and his open, +frank eye, and the clear voice of manly resonance, gave added charm to +his noble appearance. Gustavus Adolphus possessed a majestic dignity of +bearing coupled with the unfeigned kindness of a noble heart. + +Charles IX. had left his son the Danish war as an inheritance. It was +carried on in the provinces of the frontiers, and consisted chiefly +in small conflicts, which caused fatigue and detriment without being +decisive. The Danes entered the interior of Smaland during the first +days of the year 1612. Gustavus Adolphus, in his turn, moved from the +fort of Ryssby into the province of Scania, destroying by fire the town +of Væ and several castles belonging to the wealthy nobility. During +a smaller conflict which then took place, Gustavus Adolphus was in +imminent danger of his life. + +The Swedes had made a camp for themselves at the cemetery of Vittsjœ, +when suddenly surprised by a force of Danish cavalry. The Swedes fought +with determination, but found it necessary to leave their camp. They +took a firm stand on the frozen waters of the adjoining lake, but were +forced to leave that position also. A tumult ensued, during which the +ice gave way on the spot where the king found himself, for the moment, +alone and without an escort. Per Banér, a son of Gustavus Banér, who +was executed at Linkœping at the command of Charles IX., perceived +the king in the moment of greatest danger, and hastened with Thomas +Larsson, a trooper from Upland, to rescue him. When in safety, the king +at once unbuckled his silver belt, and, handing it to the trooper, +said: “I shall remember thee with a piece of bread, which neither thou +nor thy children shall ever find lacking.” Thomas Larsson received in +the following year a farm in the province of Westmanland, which has +remained in the possession of his descendants to this very day. Per +Banér received in fief the estates which had been in the possession of +his uncle, Sten Banér, also executed at Linkœping, and rose to the +dignity of a state councillor during the minority of Queen Christine. + +It was the ambition of Christian IV. of Denmark to cut Sweden off from +any communication with the North Sea. As Bohuslæn and Halland both +were parts of the Danish dominion, there was only the small strip of +territory surrounding the mouth of the Gotha River to conquer. The +island of Hising constituted the larger part of it, and was the site +of the new town of Gothenburg, which was defended by the fortress of +Elfsborg. The town of New Lœdœse was situated on the opposite shore, +some few miles up the river, defended by the fort of Gullberg. The +Danish king approached Gullberg from Bohus, having with him a smaller +force, which he considered sufficient in numbers. Gullberg was only a +poor little nest, but it was valiantly defended by Morten Krakow and +his wife, the stanch Lady Emerentia Pauli. One day the Danes made a +violent attack. The ladders which they placed against the walls were +crushed by heavy beams which the Swedes let fall down on them. In spite +of this, the Danes succeeded in forcing the gates of the place. The +position was a critical one for the Swedes. The commander had met with +an accident and was unable to lead the defence. But Lady Emerentia +resolved to take the command. She gave orders to the wives of the +soldiers to fill up the vaulted passage of the gates with barrels, +washtubs, timber, etc. When the Danes stormed on in a compact body, +they were received by a downfall of scalding-hot lye, which the women +kept pouring down on them from behind their barricade. The daughter +of Lady Emerentia thus graphically describes the effect: “They lay in +the vault and around the gates like scalded hogs.” Lady Emerentia had +placed two pieces of artillery on the top of a small building fronting +the gates. They were loaded with broken horseshoes and the like and +sent out a disastrous fire. The few surviving Danes fled hurriedly for +their lives, leaving Lady Emerentia in proud possession of the fort. A +second attack which was made later on proved as futile as the first. +King Christian then gave command to abandon the plan of taking the +fort. The Danish army collected in a field in front of Gullberg. But +Lady Emerentia was vigilant. From the walls of the fort she espied a +man of prepossessing appearance who rode a white horse. “Shoot that +man!” was her immediate command to the nearest soldier. The shot took +effect, killing the white horse, whose brains and blood spattered the +king. For the man on horseback was King Christian. “That devilish crow +does never sleep!” exclaimed the king, referring to the commander. + +King Christian turned on New Lœdœse, killing without mercy all the +male inhabitants of the town. West Gothland was invaded, the province +appearing to be an easy prey because the Swedish army, commanded by +Duke John, had just left it to march into Halland. But the bailiff of +Hœjentorp called on the peasants to rise, which caused the Danes to +recede. The Danes next made an attack on the fortress of Elfsborg, +commanded by Olof Strole. Elfsborg was defended with heroism, but when +fire threatened to destroy the towers, Olof Strole at last surrendered. +On account of their valiant conduct the commander and his men, who were +reduced to 200, were granted free passage with their music and banners. +The able Morten Krakow of Gullberg had been promoted to the fortress of +Vaxholm. His successor surrendered Gullberg to the Danes shortly after +the fall of Elfsborg. King Christian planned a series of invasions in +the year 1612, but, thanks to the vigilance of Gustavus Adolphus, he +failed to accomplish the desired effect. + +Gustavus Adolphus wanted peace with Denmark, and such was made at +Knerœd in 1613, after a war of mutual invasions and without any +decisive battles or conquests of territory. The frontiers were to +remain the same as before the war; the Danish king was allowed to +keep the emblem of three crowns, but had to resign his claims upon +the Swedish crown. The fortress of Elfsborg remained in the hands +of the Danes for six years, until $1,000,000, an exorbitant sum in +those days, was paid for it. It cost the people of Sweden very dear +to pay this sum, sacrifices being made by the king and his friends +to contribute to it. But Elfsborg, the only approach to the North +Sea, was indispensable. It was returned in a miserable condition, and +Gothenburg, on the opposite side of Gotha River, destroyed. Gustavus +Adolphus ordered Gothenburg to be moved to its present site, on +the mainland, and endowed it with extensive commercial privileges, +encouraging Dutch merchants to settle there. + +The war with Russia began once more in 1614. Gustavus Adolphus not +having been found willing to accept the crown for his brother Charles +Philip, the negotiations were dropped. Count de la Gardie resumed +control of the movements, although the king was present in person. The +Swedes won a great victory at Bronitz and captured the fortress of +Augdof. An attempt to take Pskof was unsuccessful, Evert Horn, the hero +of a hundred battles, losing his life; but the Russians were willing +to make peace. Through the honorable peace of Stolbova, in February, +1617, Russia gave up all claims on Esthonia and Livonia, and ceded to +Sweden Ingermanland and Kexholm. This cut off the Russians from the +Baltic, fixed the Swedish frontier on the lakes Ladoga and Peipus, and +left Sweden in peace with the mightiest of her enemies during almost a +century. The armistice with Poland ended in 1616, but after two years +of insignificant movements it was continued up to 1620. + +Gustavus II. Adolphus with untiring energy continued the work of +building up the new state founded by Gustavus I. At the death of +his father, the royal youth had won everybody by his gentleness and +generosity. His first act was perhaps the wisest of all, in selecting +among the councillors the young, highly talented Axel Oxenstierna as +his chancellor. This couple have no peers in history, being united +by the firmest of friendships and rising simultaneously to the +highest ability of statesmanship, the gifts of the one wonderfully +supplementing those of the other. The chancellor was cooler and slower +than his royal friend. He placed supreme the duties to his country, +but was of very aristocratic tendencies, through his influence leading +the king still further away from the democratic principles of his +father. To the nobility were granted the old privileges, with others +in addition, which became menacing to the ancient freedom of the +peasantry. The management of internal affairs and all branches of +the administration were placed under various departments. They were +presided over by the high functionaries and their offices chiefly +filled by noblemen. A permanent supreme court was established in +Stockholm, with the Drotsete as president, in 1614. In 1623, a supreme +court for Finland was established and a governor-general for that +grandduchy appointed, who was also to be president of the court. +In 1630, a supreme court for the Baltic provinces was established +at Dorpat. The Riksdag, governed by the new rules of 1617, was to +convene yearly, and to consist of the four Estates of the kingdom: the +nobility, clergy, bourgeoisie and yeomanry, each divided into various +classes. These latter were as yet not quite distinct or organized, +except those of the nobility, who, in 1625, formed a knightly chapter, +the Riddarhus, which kept a register of the legitimate noble families +of Sweden and Finland and watched over the interests of its members. +The Estate of the nobility was divided in three classes, lords, +knights and squires. To the first belonged the holders of counties +and baronies, to the second those whose ancestors held the rank of +state councillors, and to the third the rest of the nobility. As each +class had one vote in the Riksdag, the supremacy of lords and knights, +called the “higher nobility,” was secure, when standing united, over +the more numerous third class, the “lower nobility.” The king appointed +the speaker of the nobility, the _landtmarskalk_, who also was the +president of their chapter. The Swedish church had its greatest +epoch during the period of political grandeur, being characterized +by a remarkable strength of faith and by a praiseworthy energy and +earnestness. The clergy, high and low, set beautiful examples of +piety, learning and patriotism. It was beloved by the people and spoke +in their behalf with authority and courage. Not able to win Gustavus +Adolphus over to more democratic views, it won his admiration, and he +surnamed the ministers “tribunes of the people.” The burghers, touched +by the patriotic spirit, developed great energy during this period, +trade and commerce having a devoted patron in the king, who, besides +the new Gothenburg, founded twelve other towns in Sweden and Finland. +The miners occupied of old an uncertain position between burghers and +yeomen. They were strengthened and encouraged by the personal interest +which the king took in the mining industry. He visited the mines +repeatedly, descending into the bowels of the earth to inspect the ore +and the new methods introduced from abroad by foreign miners. Among the +latter the immigrated Dutchman, Louis de Geer, exerted a beneficial +influence upon that industry. The factories producing clothing and +weapons for the army were also encouraged. The yeomen occupied a +difficult, almost desperate position between the increasing privileges +of the nobility and the increasing taxes of the crown. Their burdens +were doubled and their rights reduced; yet sustained by the church, and +believing in the lofty ideals of the king, they persevered, fulfilling +their duties with a high degree of patriotism. + +No Swedish king has done so much for education as Gustavus Adolphus. +To the University of Upsala he donated 300 of his hereditary estates, +founding its library, improving its courses, banishing misrule, and +appointing his old teacher, John Skytte, its chancellor. He created the +German University of Dorpat in Esthonia, in 1632; later for some time +moved to Pernau. Colleges were established in the larger towns. The +king was, through his thorough studies of Swedish laws and conditions, +in a position to take an active part in the reforms which he +promulgated, never resting long in one place, but travelling from one +point to another, where his presence was most necessary; shaping plans +and reforms by his own judgment, to have them indorsed by the next +Riksdag, and then enforcing them himself. Especially the army passed +through an evolution, thanks to new methods, devised by the king, who +was to win his victories through the introduction of improved tactics +and divisions, by means of which the troops were easier to move and the +co-operation between the various weapons increased. + +In 1618 the “Thirty Years’ War” began. The dethroned Frederic of the +Palatinate turned, among others, to Gustavus Adolphus for support, +which the latter was not able to give in a direct way. But he promised +to attack Poland as soon as the armistice was at an end, thereby making +it impossible for Sigismund to support Emperor Ferdinand with troops. +In 1621, Gustavus Adolphus commenced operations against Poland, taking +the command himself. Riga and Mitau were captured, the former important +commercial centre regaining its privileges, but sending representatives +to the Swedish Riksdag and accepting a Swedish governor. After having +conquered Livonia, Gustavus Adolphus entered Courland the following +year, when an armistice was agreed to. Gustavus followed the events +in Germany with increasing interest, forming the plan of an alliance +between the Protestant powers. Learning that the emperor was willing +to support Sigismund, Gustavus Adolphus offered to invade Silesia. +But as Christian IV. of Denmark was anxious to lead the Protestant +forces, Gustavus Adolphus quietly withdrew, resuming action against +Poland. After a victory at Wallhof, he entered Polish Prussia, where +he was dangerously wounded at Dirschau. The Poles were reinforced by +imperial troops, but suffered a defeat at Gurzo; the Swedish general, +Herman Wrangel, winning the day. When the considerable reinforcements +of 10,000 men joined the Poles, the Swedes receded in good order. A +smaller conflict occurred at Stuhm, famous because Gustavus Adolphus +was twice in danger of his life during the struggle, which otherwise +was of no importance. An imperial trooper caught him by the belt and +tried to drag the king with him. According to the report of Axel +Oxenstierna, the king loosened the belt and let it go. In so doing, he +also lost his hat, which was carried to Vienna and preserved as a token +of the “great victory.” Another trooper, shortly afterward, caught the +king by the arm, aiming at the head with his sword. In the critical +moment, Eric Soop, the colonel of a Swedish cavalry regiment, appeared, +killing the trooper with a pistol-shot. Gustavus Adolphus referred to +this struggle as the “hottest bath” that he was ever in. + +In September, 1629, an armistice was agreed to, at Altmark, to +last for six years, during which period Sweden was to keep Livonia +and the Russian towns of Elbing, Braunsberg, Pillau and Memel. The +new acquisition of territory was small, but the revenue from these +commercial towns, and from Dantzic, Libau and Windau, was considerable, +and went to pay for the army expenses of the German campaign. The +new temporary possessions in Prussia were formed into a Swedish +governmental section, over which Axel Oxenstierna was appointed +governor-general. + +What follows belongs to one of the most noted chapters of universal +history. The unbroken chain of Swedish victories, the noble character +of the king and the severe discipline upheld among his men, who +commenced and ended their battles with prayers and hymns, astounded +the world. The exalted nobility of Gustavus Adolphus appears to us +all the more striking, contrasted with the faithlessness, vanity and +cowardice of the contemporary reigning princes of Germany and Denmark. +His victories appear all the more remarkable because the greatest +warriors of the age--Tilly, Wallenstein and Pappenheim--were his +adversaries. He was received by the people of Germany as a liberator, +and his memory is blessed by every thinking German, who admits that +the Swedes, Gustavus Adolphus and Axel Oxenstierna, completed the work +which the Germans, Luther and Melanchthon, created. The loftiness of +the ideals which inspired Gustavus Adolphus have been doubted, but +not with justice. He was brought up in a severely Christian home and +the sincerity of his piety is unmistakable. His father’s clairvoyant +views upon the coming religious conflict were familiar to him since his +early youth, while he was, through his mother, related in blood to the +majority of Protestant princes. Thus apparently predestined, as the +greatest statesman and warrior of his age, to take up the cause of his +persecuted brethren, he did not do so before the ambitious Christian +IV. had utterly failed in his attempts and with contumely been forced +to retire. It is not probable that Gustavus Adolphus ever thought of +placing the crown of the Roman empire upon his head, but plausible to +suppose that he had in view the formation of a strong union of the +Protestant countries of Northern Europe. + +Before leaving Sweden, Gustavus II. convoked the representatives of +his people, holding on his arm his little daughter Christine, four +years old, for whom he asked their pledge of allegiance. His farewell +speech was touching in its simplicity and the premonition of his tragic +end. Not for worldly glory, but to save his country from peril and his +brethren from distress, he undertook this risky war. “Generally,” he +said, “it happens thus that the vessel hauls water until it goes to +pieces. With me likewise, that I, who in so many perils for the weal +of my country have shed my blood, and yet until this day have been +spared through the grace of God, now at last must lose my life. For +that reason I will this time commend you, the collected Estates of the +realm, to the hand of God, the Supreme One, wishing that we, after this +our miserable and burdensome life, according to the will of God, may +meet again, to dwell in the celestial and infinite.” These words do not +resemble the terse, striking speeches of his grandfather, but they bear +the stamp of sincerity, and by them Gustavus Adolphus, his work and his +purpose, are judged by the Swedish people. + +Midsummer Day, 1630, Gustavus Adolphus landed with his troops at the +island of Ruden, on the coast of Pomerania. Two days later he proceeded +to the larger island of Usedom. His troops consisted of 13,000 men. +Gustavus Adolphus was himself the first to land. He knelt on the shore +and prayed to God in a loud voice; his prayer moved those surrounding +him to tears. When the king noticed it he said: “Do not cry, but pray +to God with fervor. The more of prayer, the more of victory; the best +Christian is the best soldier.” Then he took hold of a spade and +commenced to assist personally in the work of building a camp. When +it grew dark, the heavens were illuminated by the fire of burning +villages, giving evidence of the manner in which the enemy conducted +his warfare. + +The supercilious Wallenstein had been dismissed by the emperor at the +time when Gustavus Adolphus landed in Germany, but his wild hordes were +pillaging Pomerania. Yet Gustavus Adolphus had great difficulty in +persuading the old duke of Pomerania to accept the alliance he offered +him. But when this was done, it took the Swedes only a short time to +clear the duchy of its enemies. The young landgrave of Hesse and the +free city of Magdeburg were glad to accept an alliance with Gustavus +Adolphus. A treaty was made with France, which country promised to pay +subsidies to Sweden as long as the German war lasted. Tilly, who was in +command of the imperial troops, approached Magdeburg. Gustavus Adolphus +sent proper provisions to Magdeburg with an experienced commander, as +he could not go himself, because the elector of Saxony refused to let +him pass with his army through Saxon territory. Magdeburg was captured +by Tilly, who sacked and destroyed it by fire in a most barbarous way. + +The discipline and moderation of the Swedish troops formed a great +contrast to the reckless behavior of the imperial army. The Swedes +left the peaceful inhabitants in undisturbed possession of their lives +and property; the strictest order was maintained within the army; each +regiment held morning and evening prayers in the open air; gambling, +carousing and plundering were sternly prohibited. For these reasons the +Swedish king and his army were received by the poor downtrodden people +as saviors and liberators. Gustavus Adolphus deeply mourned the fall of +Magdeburg, whose fate it had not been in his power to prevent. He took +a fortified position at Werben, where the river Havel is joined by the +Ube. Tilly entered Saxony with a hostile demeanor, not satisfied with +the lukewarm friendship of the elector. Burning villages marked the way +of his army. The poor elector, not knowing what to do, in his despair +turned to Gustavus Adolphus, whom he had treated so coldly and begged +him for help. The king at once was ready to forget past differences, +and, joining forces with the elector, he marched toward Leipsic. + +Tilly, with 35,000 men, occupied an advantageous position near the +village of Breitenfeld, not far from Leipsic, at the summit of a long +ridge of sandy hills. The infantry and the greater part of the cavalry +were grouped in heavy divisions, forming one single line of battle with +artillery behind at the very top of the hills. Tilly himself commanded +the centre, while his able and fiery sub-commander, Pappenheim, had the +command of the left wing, being in hopes to encounter the Swedish king +personally. The Swedish army consisted of 22,000 men, who were joined +by 11,000 Saxons. + +Early in the morning of September 7, 1631, the Swedes started toward +Breitenfeld. Tilly turned pale, it is said, when he saw the order and +firmness with which the Swedes marched up to take their positions on +the narrow slips of ground between the Lober brook and the reach of the +imperial cannon. The Swedes were arranged in a double line of battle, +infantry in the centre and cavalry on the wings. Between the squadrons +of cavalry divisions of musketeers were placed. The regimental +artillery was distributed over a number of places. The king commanded +the right wing in person, with John Banér as sub-commander. Teuffel led +the centre and Gustavus Horn the left wing. The king had no confidence +in the Saxons, for which reason he had arranged them by themselves at +some distance to the left of the Swedish army. When everything was +arranged, the king rode to the front. With his head uncovered, and +his sword pointing to the ground, he prayed: “Almighty God, thou who +holdest victory and defeat in the hollow of thy hand, turn thine eyes +unto us, thy servants, who have come hither from distant dwellings to +fight for liberty and truth, for thy holy Gospel. Give victory unto +us for the glory of thy hallowed name! Amen!” The prayer of the king +could be heard by almost every man of the army, and all were touched +and strengthened by his pious trust in a righteous cause. The Swedes of +the right wing were soon attacked by Pappenheim and his cavalry. But +the horses of the imperialists were frightened by the flashing fire of +the musketeers, and the attack failed to have an effect. It was ended +as quickly as it was begun. Pappenheim concluded to make an attempt +to surprise the Swedes from the left side. But the king divined his +plan. He ordered John Banér with the second line to make a movement by +which to turn at an angle with the first and face the attack from the +side. Pappenheim was surprised to find a new line facing him. A bloody +struggle ensued. Seven times his men made an inroad on the Swedish +line and were seven times repulsed, badly damaged by the fire of the +musketeers. The Swedes, in their turn, made an attack which scattered +Pappenheim’s forces from the field in wild flight. + +Tilly had with his light cavalry attacked the left wing of the Swedes. +His men were mostly made up of Croats and other semi-barbarous people. +When repulsed by the Swedes they concentrated their forces to crush +the Saxons. These withstood the first assault, but the second routed +them completely. The imperialists then made a second attack upon the +left Swedish wing, made up of only 2,500 men. Gustavus Horn acted +with coolness and great presence of mind. He let the first line close +in on the second till it was able to take a firm stand against the +heavy force of the attacking enemy. The Swedes never for a moment lost +their position, in spite of the frightful onslaught. The king arrived +and remained for some time with the left wing. He ordered the Scotch +brigade of hired troops to support him. The Scotch had cannon hidden +behind their lines. These had a telling effect upon the attacking +imperialists, who were thrown back, suffering great losses. Everywhere +the battle was fought with frenzy, the clouds of dust and smoke +changing the day into night. + +The king made sure that the left wing of the enemy’s army was engaged +in continued flight. Then he commenced an attack with his own right +wing upon the imperial artillery, which had kept up a steady fire +against the Swedish centre. Tilly’s cannon were captured at the first +attempt and turned on the imperial troops, causing consternation. +Horn opened an attack on his side and the king hastened to support +him with his troops. Tilly tried in vain to lead his troops into the +battle. Pappenheim had returned and gave brilliant proofs of personal +courage. The defeat of the imperial army was unavoidable; it scattered +in helpless confusion. Tilly lost his horse and was near being captured +himself. Four of his best infantry regiments took a stand and tried +to resist the conquering foe. These imperial soldiers, who never had +suffered a defeat, preferred death to surrender. Tilly fled at last, +followed by only 600 men. After five hours of fighting the Swedes had +won a glorious victory. They finished the day with prayer and remained +on the battlefield over night, arranged in order of battle. The +following morning they entered the deserted camp of the enemy where a +rich booty awaited them. + +The progress of Gustavus Adolphus along the shores of the river Main to +the towns of Frankfort and Mayence was a march of triumph. In capturing +Mayence, the Swedes fought the Spanish allies of the emperor. The towns +surrendered to violence or by their own consent. Gustavus Adolphus made +their inhabitants pledge their fidelity to him and strengthened his +power with the rich resources of the Frankish country. Then he turned +against Maximilian of Bavaria. Tilly, who was to defend Bavaria, was +again encountered and defeated at Lech. He was carried from the battle +mortally wounded and died soon afterward. Gustavus Adolphus made his +triumphal entry into Munich, with Frederic of the Palatinate at his +side. The danger to the crown lands of the emperor was imminent. + +Wallenstein was the most famous of German generals. Reticent and +secretive, he appeared to be unable to feel mercy. He was devoted to +the secret doctrines of astrology, which in him had taken the place +of religion. He cared naught for the cause of religious liberty or +the fall of the German empire, looking only for occasions to satisfy +his own ambition and the means of obtaining power and wealth. He had +served the emperor, who had raised him to the dignity of a duke of +Mecklenburg, but had been dismissed and deprived of his dignities +at the time of the arrival of Gustavus Adolphus on German soil. His +downfall was caused by complaints of his insolence and recklessness, +made by Maximilian of Bavaria and other German princes. Wallenstein +retired to Prague, at the castle of which town he surrounded himself +with princely luxury and comfort, scheming for revenge. His plan was +to join the enemies of the emperor. He approached Gustavus Adolphus +for such purpose, before the battle of Breitenfeld, and was delighted +to hear of the defeat of Tilly. Gustavus Adolphus seemed at first +inclined to take up relations with Wallenstein, but at the point where +an agreement was to be made he suddenly changed his attitude. The +king probably hesitated to accept the services of a man who had no +other aim than to satisfy his own ambition. The emperor was placed +in a bad predicament, at the second defeat of Tilly, for want of an +army to defend his lands and a commander to lead it. There was only +one way out of the difficulty, and that was to pacify the mortally +offended Wallenstein, and to persuade him to re-enter the service of +the emperor. The emperor resigned himself to accept this humiliating +condition, and Wallenstein agreed to resume command, but only at a +high price. The name of Wallenstein was enough to bring thousands +of warriors under the imperial banners, and Wallenstein was soon at +the head of an army of sufficient proportions. His doctrine was that +“the war should support itself,” according to which his soldiers were +allowed to sack and plunder at will the countries through which they +were passing. He cared naught for the recklessness of his subordinates, +if they only showed blind obedience to him. + +Wallenstein expelled the Saxons who had invaded Bohemia. But he showed +disinclination to assist the elector of Bavaria, who was compelled to +leave his country. At Eger, Wallenstein was reinforced and marched on +Nuremberg with an army of 60,000, prepared to meet Gustavus Adolphus. +He was confident of his superior force. “Within four days,” he said, +“it shall become evident whether I or the Swedish king is the master of +Germany.” Gustavus Adolphus hastened to relieve Nuremberg, taking his +position in the immediate neighborhood of said town. He had only 18,000 +men with him, but he surrounded this army with solid fortifications, +and Wallenstein dared not risk an attack, in spite of his superior +force. Wallenstein took his position at the summit of three steep +hills, surrounded by trenches and ramparts. His intention was to +cut off the Swedes from all sources of supplies and force them to +surrender by starvation. “I shall teach the Swedish king,” he said, “a +new method of warfare.” + +For nine weeks the two armies were facing each other. The suffering +became great in both camps. The Swedes suffered most, although the +inhabitants of Nuremberg tried their utmost to supply them with food. +When the provisions were diminishing, the bonds of discipline were +loosened. Especially the Germans of the Swedish army made themselves +conspicuous by licentiousness and plunder. Gustavus Adolphus decided +to try an attack on Wallenstein’s camp, in order to put an end to the +critical state of things. He was so much more anxious to risk it, as +his army had been considerably reinforced and was almost equal to +Wallenstein’s in numbers. At noon, August 24, 1632, the Swedish army +made ready for battle. The attack was first made on Burgstall, the most +important one of the three hills occupied by the enemy. The battle was +a fierce and bloody one, the whole mountain being clothed in fire and +smoke. Several of the most distinguished of the Swedish officers were +killed or captured. A bullet passed through the boot of the king; an +officer was killed at his side. The Swedes were thrown back on one +hand, while on the other, Duke Bernhard of Weimar, one of the German +commanders of the king, succeeded in capturing one of the forts built +on the Burgstall. But as the day was over and the army exhausted, +the Swedes were not able to profit by their success. A heavy rain +commenced, continuing through the night. This made it impossible to +haul any cannon up to the captured fort, which was then abandoned. The +Swedish army returned to the camp. This unsuccessful attack cost the +Swedes almost 2,000 men. Gustavus Adolphus wrote in regard to it: “It +was too much to be considered a page’s trick, but too small to be of +real earnest.” Wallenstein wrote of it. “Never in my life have I seen a +more desperate fire, but I hope that the Swedes have lost their horns +in this conflict.” + +The king broke camp a fortnight later, arranging his army into a line +of battle. For four hours he waited for Wallenstein to come forward, +but the latter did not risk an attack. Gustavus Adolphus intended +to enter Swabia, to complete the conquest of Southwestern Germany. +But Wallenstein, who soon afterward also broke camp, invaded Saxony. +This caused the king to change his plans. He was obliged to follow +Wallenstein in order to protect his ally and to avoid the danger of +being cut off from the connections with his own empire. Wallenstein +marked his way by cruel devastation, and the appeals of the unhappy +population persuaded the king to take an early decision. + +The people of Saxony received Gustavus Adolphus with great enthusiasm, +of which they gave evidence in the most exultant manner. People were +seen kneeling everywhere on his way, imploringly stretching their hands +toward him. The king was not content with their exaggerated devotion. +“I fear that God is offended by their vain demonstrations of joy and +soon shall show them that the one whom they adore as a god is naught +but a weak and mortal man.” + +Wallenstein was in the neighborhood of Leipsic, at the little town of +Lutzen. He had sent away Pappenheim, his best sub-commander, to Halle +with a considerable force. Gustavus Adolphus found this circumstance +favorable and decided on an attack. + +It was the 6th of November, 1632. A heavy mist covered the spacious +fields around Leipsic. Wallenstein was, with the right wing of his +army, close on Lutzen, the little town being set on fire, in order not +to shield a clandestine attack. The flame of the conflagration appeared +dull but magnified through the mists of the early morning. In front of +the imperial army was the highway. Musketeers were stationed in and +above the ditches, which were made deeper and provided with ramparts. +The musketeers were so arranged that higher lines could shoot over the +heads of the lower ones. Behind them was another chain of musketeers. +The artillery was placed partly behind the musketeers, partly on the +sides of a hill where some windmills were situated. The cavalry was +placed on the wings, the infantry in the centre, both arranged in great +square divisions. A courier had been sent to recall Pappenheim, as the +army without his force counted only 18,000 men. The Swedish army was +20,000 strong and was arranged according to a plan similar to the one +followed at Breitenfeld. It was arranged in two lines. Musketeers were +interspersed among the cavalry. The regimental artillery was placed +before the front. The king commanded the right wing, Nils Brahe the +centre, Kniephausen the second line of the centre, and Duke Bernhard +the left wing. + +The king, who for the time being had none of his best officers around +him, spent the night in a wagon, together with Duke Bernhard and +Kniephausen. He rose in the morning, dressed, without armor, in a +blouse and a gray coat, and mounted his usual white charger, without +having tasted food. He conducted in person the morning prayers of the +army, when Luther’s psalm, “Eine feste Burg ist unser Gott,” was sung. +After the song had ceased, the king made a short speech in Swedish, +which he repeated in German. He said: “There you have the enemy. He is +not now at the top of the hill or behind intrenchments, but in the +open field. You know well how eagerly he has sought to avoid a conflict +and that he is forced to fight because he cannot escape us. Fight, +then, my dear countrymen and friends, for God, your country and your +king. I will reward you all. But if you flinch, you know well that not +a man of you will ever see his country again.” Then the psalm, “Versage +nicht du Hæuflein klein,” the words of which were written in German by +Gustavus Adolphus himself, was sung. The king gave the sign of attack +by waving his sword over his head and cried: “Forward in God’s name; +Jesu, Jesu, Jesu, help us to-day to strive to the honor of thy holy +name!” + +It was eleven o’clock, and the mists had, to a great extent, scattered. +The Swedish centre, with the battery behind, marched toward the +highway. The left wing made an attempt to penetrate between the burning +Lutzen and the batteries below the windmills. A terrible fire from +muskets and cannon met the attacking Swedes. Whole lines of infantry +were killed. The left wing suffered in particular. But when the Swedes +reached their destination, the centre moved on with great force, +cleaning the ditches of musketeers, capturing seven pieces of artillery +and making two of the great squares of imperial infantry retire from +their position. While fighting the third, the Swedes were surprised by +the reserve and cavalry forces of the enemy, and had to abandon what +they had taken, retiring into the open field. + +The king had, in the meantime, with the cavalry of the right wing, +forced the ditches. When notified of the danger in which the centre +was placed, he hurried to assist his infantry. At the head of his +Smaland cavalry he moved on so quickly that he was separated from the +rest of his forces. The king was near-sighted and the mist once more +thickening. For these reasons he happened to ride close up to the +lines of the imperial cuirassiers. His horse was wounded, and the king +himself received a pistol shot in the arm. He turned to one of his +companions, Duke Frantz Albrecht, of Sachsen-Lauenburg, with a request +to be escorted out of the battle, but was at that instant wounded in +the back, immediately falling off his horse. Duke Frantz Albrecht, only +thinking of saving his own life, fled from the spot. But a German page, +eighteen years of age, who accompanied the king, jumped from his horse +and tried to assist the king in mounting it. Some imperial cavalrymen +passed by. They inquired for the name of the wounded lord. The page +tried to hide his identity, but Gustavus Adolphus answered: “I was once +the king of Sweden.” One of the imperialists attempted to drag the king +with him, but seeing some Swedish soldiers approaching, he sent in +leaving a bullet through the wounded hero’s brain. + +The Swedes had been thrown back from the highway all over the line. +The white horse of the king, with empty saddle and stained with blood, +was seen galloping before the front. The message of mourning spread +with lightning rapidity through the army, causing universal sorrow +and anger. The ambition to avenge the death of the beloved king was +kindled in every breast. Duke Bernhard at once assumed supreme command +when notified of the catastrophe. The sagacious Kniephausen thought +the battle lost and considered it best to retire in good order. The +duke answered: “Here is not the question of retreat, but of revenge in +victory or death.” The Swedish line of battle soon moved forward once +more and with redoubled strength. The right wing, commanded by the +valiant Stolhandske, threw back the imperial troops who had caused +the fall of the king. Nils Brahe once more carried the troops of the +centre across the highway and captured for a second time the seven +pieces of artillery. The left wing, commanded by Duke Bernhard, also +moved forward victoriously, capturing the batteries at the windmill +and pointing the cannon toward the enemy. When simultaneously some +wagons loaded with powder for the imperial artillery exploded with a +tremendous roar, the whole army of Wallenstein was thrown into a state +of confusion. It was thought that the Swedes had made an attack from +the rear. The cavalry fled in great numbers with the cries: “We know +the king of Sweden! He is worst toward the end of the day.” + +But now another cry was heard: “Pappenheim is coming! Pappenheim is +coming!” And so it was. Pappenheim arrived with his valiant cavalry at +this important juncture. “Where is the king of Sweden to be found?” +was his first question. When told that Gustavus Adolphus had been +seen leading the right wing, he hurried thither, not knowing the fate +that had befallen his royal enemy, and desirous of fighting him face +to face. The imperialists recommenced the battle with renewed vigor. +The scattered forces of cavalry and infantry were collected once more +and were joined by the fresh troops of Pappenheim. The attacking +Swedes met a stanch resistance. The latter were almost tired out, but +preserved their courage. A contemporary writer says that a battle was +never fought in a better way by troops who had for such a long stretch +been in the fire. The Swedish losses were exceedingly heavy. The royal +standard and several other banners were taken. The able Nils Brahe was +killed, and the division of which he was the head fell to the very last +man. But Pappenheim, who rushed forward blindly, in his eagerness to +meet the king of Sweden, was also killed, according to tradition, by a +bullet from Stolhandske. “Pappenheim has fallen! All is lost!” shouted +his men, and drew back discouraged. Wallenstein still thought there was +a chance to hold the field against the exhausted enemy. + +Kniephausen had preserved the second line of battle in good order, +resolved to cover the retreat he thought unavoidable. He had sent +away smaller divisions to support the first line, but not in numbers +enough to disturb the order of his own troops. Now he commanded his +men to the front, to fill all the gaps of the first lines. When this +was done, the Swedes made a third attack. The evening sun pierced +through the mists for a moment, and Wallenstein in this light saw the +Swedish army approach in a mighty solid line as at the opening of the +battle. He was greatly surprised. This time the Swedes were resolved +to conquer or die. Soldiers were heard to promise each other to stand +by that resolution. For a third time the Swedes passed the highway and +recaptured, after a bloody struggle, the disputed cannon. The wings of +Wallenstein’s army were both in a state of dissolution. But his centre +preserved two divisions which offered a stubborn resistance until +sunset, when they were ordered to retreat. The Swedes had won the day, +but were too tired to pursue the enemy. Following their custom, they +rested over the night on the battlefield they had bought by their blood. + +The loss of troops had been heavy on either side, amounting to about +6,000 men altogether, or about one-third of the whole number of men +engaged in the battle. The excitement was so great on both sides that +no prisoners were made. The corpse of Gustavus Adolphus, bruised and +mangled, was found during the night under a heap of dead soldiers. A +large monumental stone, with inscription, now marks the spot where the +hero king lost his life. The Gustavus Adolphus Society of Germany is a +living monument to his memory. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +_Period of Political Grandeur--Queen Christine_ + + +Christine was six years old when she succeeded her father. Her armies +stood scattered through foreign lands, surrounded by enemies and +faithless allies. Her country was covered with glory, but in direst +distress. The most remarkable aspect of her father’s greatness now was +to become apparent. Gustavus Adolphus had left behind men whom he had +educated as statesmen, and generals capable of bringing his work to a +successful end. First among the former was the state chancellor, _Axel +Oxenstierna_, the friend and adviser of the hero king. He managed to +keep the Swedish allies together and to establish harmony and unity of +action between the Swedish commanders, supplying funds to carry on the +war and strengthening the government at home with his courage and his +wisdom. Oxenstierna was a statesman of considerable power before the +death of the king; after it he grows in grandeur to carry the burden +of unlimited responsibility placed on his shoulders. His coolness and +dignity were a source of constant irritation to Richelieu, who said +there was “something Gothic and a good deal of Finnish” about his +proceedings in diplomatic affairs, while Mazarin said that if all the +statesmen of his time were to be put aboard of one vessel, Oxenstierna +should be placed at the helm. The great chancellor always upheld the +dignity of his country. When French diplomatists forgot themselves thus +far as to use, in correspondence, their own language, instead of Latin, +the recognized language of diplomacy in that day, Axel Oxenstierna gave +instructions that they should be answered in Swedish. + +After the death of Gustavus Adolphus, the war in Germany lost more +and more of its original aspect. The cause of Protestantism was +dropped out of sight for political interests. The battles of Sweden +were, to a great extent, and sometimes altogether, fought by foreign +troops; but Swedish were the generals and statesmen who led the +operations of the armies and the diplomatic deliberations. The success +of Sweden, at first, seemed to have passed away with her great hero +king. The imperialists won a great victory at Nœrdlingen in 1634. +The young archduke, Ferdinand, had succeeded Wallenstein as their +commander-general, the latter having been murdered at the request of +the emperor. Ferdinand marched on the town of Nœrdlingen with an army +of German and Spanish troops, the experienced Piccolomini being at +his side. Duke Bernhard, who with an army had been taking possession +of Franconia in his own personal interests, hastened to support +the town and was joined by Gustavus Horn, who, with another army, +had been stationed in Elsass. Count Horn gave the advice to await +reinforcements, but the excitable Duke Bernhard opened an attack on +the enemy, which necessitated an immediate battle. After eight hours +of hard fighting, the imperialists, who were 30,000 strong, entirely +routed the Swedish army of 18,000 men, not a single Swedish regiment +being among them. Horn was made a prisoner. Duke Bernhard, who soon +afterward with his troops entered French service, acknowledged his +fault, saying: “I was a fool, but Horn a wise man.” Sweden lost through +this terrible defeat an army and two able generals. The Swedish +conquests in South Germany were lost, and the German allies were +scattered, the elector of Saxony joining the cause of the emperor. The +armistice with Poland came to an end in 1635, and it was renewed for +twenty-six years, at the cost of the Prussian seaports, with their +lucrative revenues, which had paid for the expenses of the German war. +Oxenstierna returned to Sweden to gather means wherewith to continue +the war. The ordinary resources of Sweden were drained, and great +sacrifices were needed. The Riksdag declared itself willing to “risk +life, blood and means, until God grants a peace equal to the dignity of +Sweden.” + +John Banér was the man who re-established the success of the Swedish +arms. He resembled Gustavus Adolphus in greatness of mind and ability +in war, paying back the execution of his father under Charles IX., +by loyalty to the illustrious son of the latter. Banér was a typical +soldier of the Thirty Years’ War, amiable, but licentious, and cruel +to his enemies. An able tactician and strategist of inexhaustible +resources, he had distinguished himself in the Polish war and later +held many important commands. The death of Gustavus Adolphus stirred +this strong man to the very depths of his soul. He left his army in +Bavaria and arrived at Wolgast, resolved to leave the army. At the +sight of the body of his beloved king, he was overcome by a paroxysm of +grief. Axel Oxenstierna persuaded him to resume his command in order to +bring the work of their dead master to completion. He marched with his +army through Silesia to Bohemia, encamping before Prague. After the +battle of Nœrdlingen he retreated to Saxony, whose deceitful elector +he reproached with harsh words. Intrigues by the latter to bring the +German troops in Swedish service to mutiny were frustrated by Banér, +who had only 2,000 Swedes and Livonians with him. The Saxon army +followed Banér into Mecklenburg, but suffered a defeat at Dœmitz. Banér +marched eastward and joined the Swedish force, which met him, from +Prussia, commanded by Lennart Torstensson. The elector of Brandenburg +also declared war on Sweden, Banér answering by invading his country. +From the vicinity of Berlin, Banér continued his way through Saxony +back to Mecklenburg, his German troops marauding with such cruelty that +they were sharply remonstrated with by Banér, who said he found it +strange that God did not instantly punish them. + +Banér was followed by the united armies of Austria and Saxony, but, +having received reinforcements of Swedish troops, he turned on his +tracks and met the enemy at Wittstock, in Brandenburg, September 24, +1636. The Swedish army consisted of 20,000 men, while the opposing +force was much larger and occupied a favorable position on a hill. +Banér won a glorious victory, thanks to a skilfully executed manœuvre. +It grew dark, and the right wing of the Swedes was leading an almost +forlorn hope against the overwhelming forces, when their left wing, +after a difficult roundabout move, attacked the enemy from behind. Of +the hostile armies every man was killed except a detachment less than +1,000 strong. The baggage, artillery and banners were taken, even the +table silver of the elector and the imperial generals falling into the +hands of the Swedes, who by this victory had regained their supremacy +on German soil. + +Banér had commenced the siege of Leipsic, when, upon news of an +approaching army of the imperial allies, he was forced to undertake the +famous “Retreat from Torgau,” which made him more celebrated than any +of his great battles. He with his army was near being surrounded at +the river Oder, but saved himself through a series of movements of the +highest strategic skill. Cardinal Richelieu wrote that “this retreat, +by means of which Banér saved 14,000 men, less a few fugitives and +wounded, with cannon and baggage, against an army 60,000 strong, is to +be compared to the most glorious deeds in history.” The enemy prided +itself on having “caught Banér in a bag.” “Yes,” said Banér later, +“surely they had me there, but they forgot to tie the string around.” + +In Pomerania, Banér received the reinforcements from Sweden which +he had awaited, and once more invaded Saxony, where he won a grand +victory at Chemnitz, in 1639. The Swedish army invaded Bohemia, cruelly +devastating the country. Banér made a daring attack upon Regensburg +in order to make the emperor and the whole German diet his prisoners. +Sudden thaws frustrated the plans, making it impossible for the Swedes +to cross the Danube. A superior force was sent to meet Banér, who saved +his army by another famous retreat back to Saxony. On the way Banér +was attacked by a fever and died at Halberstadt, in 1641. When the +imperialists learned of the death of the Swedish Leonidas, they thought +they could easily defeat his army. The Swedes saw the approaching enemy +and collected around the coffin of their dead hero, offering solemn +pledges to fight for the glory of his name. They then made a sudden +attack upon the imperial army, which suffered a thorough defeat at +Wolfenbuttel. John Banér, triumphant in death like his great master, +was buried in the Swedish Pantheon of the Riddarholm. + +Banér had expressed the wish that Lennart Torstensson should succeed +him as commander-general of the Swedish armies. Lennart Torstensson was +a greater warrior even than John Banér; no Swedish general, Gustavus +Adolphus not excepted, ever reaching higher skill or perfection in the +science of war than this crippled hero. Torstensson was of a noble +although not influential family. He entered the service of Gustavus +Adolphus as a body page to the king, later distinguishing himself as an +artillery commander. Torstensson took an honorable part in the battle +of Breitenfeld, but made a prisoner at Nuremberg, he lost his health, +during one year’s captivity, in a miserable dungeon. During his later +brilliant career he suffered greatly from rheumatism, and was mostly +carried around in a litter throughout the battles which covered his +name with undying fame. He was a pious man of a gentle and cheerful +disposition, who tried his utmost to reintroduce among his troops the +excellent moral behavior and severe discipline which had been lost +after the death of Gustavus Adolphus. + +Torstensson with rigor suppressed the intrigues against Sweden which +were secretly carried on within the army. Brandenburg received a new +elector in Frederic William, who, ambitious and far-seeing, entered an +alliance with the victorious power of the North. Torstensson now was +enabled to invade the imperial crown lands, commencing with Silesia; +but finding it necessary to force a battle he met the imperialists +at Breitenfeld. October 23, 1642, the second great victory of +Breitenfeld was won by Swedish arms. Archduke Leopold and Piccolomini +led the imperial army, the latter general fighting as a common +soldier to inspire courage by his example, but with no effect. The +Swedes captured the baggage, cannon and banners of the enemy, taking +5,000 prisoners and leaving as many dead imperialists on the field. +Torstensson conquered Leipsic on the following day. + +Torstensson marched through Bohemia and Moravia with the rapidity which +characterized all his military movements, and penetrated to the very +gates of Vienna, the emperor with difficulty saving himself from being +made his prisoner. But suddenly he left and marched through Silesia +to North Germany. He had received an order from the state council to +attack Denmark. The great chancellor was out of patience with the +perfidy and intrigues of Christian IV., who stood in secret connection +with every one of Sweden’s enemies. No previous declaration of war was +made. Torstensson captured the Danish duchies of Schleswig and Holstein +before any one could prevent it, his army then taking possession of all +Jutland. Gustavus Horn invaded Scania, almost completely capturing the +whole province in spite of bands of freebooters among the peasants, +called _Snaphaner_. + +Denmark was in danger of its very existence, but King Christian IV. +did not forget his old wish to destroy the town of Gothenburg, whose +growing prosperity caused him envy. He approached Gothenburg with +a fleet, and viewed the town from the overlooking mountain of the +Ramberg. His demands for a surrender were refused. Patriotic Louis de +Geer had ordered from Holland a fleet at his own expense, which was +to go to the support of Gothenburg. It did not arrive in time, but +King Christian left to meet it, and it later proved of great value in +the Swedish movements at sea, joining the Swedish fleet in the Sound. +The latter, consisting of twenty-two ships under the command of Clas +Fleming, sailed to the Danish waters, capturing the island of Femern, +supported by Torstensson. An invasion of the island of Funen was +planned, but could not be effected. A great naval battle between the +Swedish and Danish fleets was fought July 6th. It caused great loss on +either side, without being decisive. King Christian, who commanded his +naval forces, lost one eye and received over twenty different wounds. +The Swedes kept the place of battle, but sought the Bay of Skiel for +repairs, where they were hedged in by the Danish fleet. Clas Fleming +encouraged his followers to cut through the line, in which they were +successful. A month later he was killed by a shot from the coast of +Holstein, where the Danes had erected a fort. The Swedes avenged the +death of their valiant commander by destroying the fort and killing +its defenders. Fleming was succeeded by Charles Gustavus Wrangel, who +saved the fleet to Sweden, returning to Femern in the autumn, joined +by the Dutch fleet of Louis de Geer. The Danish fleet was met with +October 13th, and at once scattered. The swift-sailing Dutch ships went +in pursuit and destroyed all the seventeen Danish ships but two, which +brought the news of the disaster to Copenhagen. + +King Christian, who had in vain expected support from the emperor, +found himself defeated on every point, and had no other choice than +to make peace. The treaty was signed August 13, 1645, at Brœmsebro, +Denmark ceding the provinces of Jemtland and Herjedal and the islands +of Gothland and Œsel. The province of Halland was to remain for thirty +years in the possession of Sweden, which country was exempt from duties +of toll for the traffic in the Sound. Denmark disavowed all claims of +supremacy over Holstein, the duke of said country two years later +formally placing himself under Swedish protection. + +Lennart Torstensson had fulfilled his task in Denmark and returned +to Germany. At Jueterbogk, in Brandenburg, he met the imperial army, +which had been sent to cut off his retreat from Denmark, and entirely +routed it. After this victory Torstensson hastened to Bohemia, resolved +to “attack the emperor in his heart and force him to make peace.” At +Jankowitz, in Bohemia, Torstensson administered a new and crushing +defeat to the imperialists, in 1645. The emperor, who himself had +ordered his army to battle, had arrived in Prague to witness the defeat +of the Swedes, which the Holy Virgin had promised him in a dream. He +soon learned the news, which was quite different from that expected. +The imperial commander-general, five generals and eight colonels were +made prisoners by the Swedes, who captured the artillery and baggage of +the enemy. The health of Torstensson was at that moment so good that he +was able to lead the movements on horseback. He said that such a bloody +battle would not be seen for a long time. + +Torstensson invaded Moravia, the fortresses surrendering and the +inhabitants fleeing in terror. For a second time he stood at the walls +of Vienna. The very fortifications which protected the bridge across +the Danube were captured by the Swedes. The enemy, whom the elector +of Saxony had promised to chase out of Germany, was now knocking at +the gate of the emperor, who heard the report with consternation. But +Lennart Torstensson was forced to surrender to a perfidious enemy, who +came to his door without knocking. His rheumatic ailment returned with +such violence that he was obliged to renounce his command and return +from the fields where he had led none but victorious armies. He was +succeeded by Charles Gustavus Wrangel. The latter had to give up the +siege of Vienna, but maintained, in connection with the French, the +supremacy in Germany until an honorable peace was won. Upon his return +to Sweden, Lennart Torstensson was covered with distinctions, being +made a baron and a count on one and the same day. He was appointed +governor-general of West Gothland, Vermland, and the lately conquered +Halland, with his seat at Gothenburg, where he built himself a palace +(still the official residence of the governor of Gothenburg and +Bohuslæn). Lennart Torstensson died in 1651, leaving behind the fame of +one of the greatest warriors known to history, and a spotless memory. + +The treaty of peace of Westphalia was signed in October, 1648. The +representatives of Sweden were John Oxenstierna, a son of the great +chancellor, and Adler Salvius. Sweden received, as a reward for her +decisive and glorious part in the Thirty Years’ War, the following +possessions: West Pomerania, with the islands of Rugen and Usedom; +the western part of East Pomerania, with the island of Wollin; the +town of Wismar, with surrounding territory, and the bishoprics of +Bremen and Verden. With these German possessions followed three votes +at the German Diet. The Swedish government was to receive a sum of +several millions to defray the army expenses, of which Queen Christine +recklessly ceded the larger part. + +Through these glorious conditions of peace Sweden rose to the rank +of one of the mightiest of European empires, which held the balance +of power in Northern Europe. Her possessions made the Baltic almost +an “inland lake of Sweden,” and efforts soon followed to make it +completely so. Sweden exerted a beneficent influence throughout her +large possessions, which, from a cultural point of view, hardly can +be overestimated. Her methods of planting the seeds of culture, by +establishing Swedish and German universities, and by abolishing serfdom +in the conquered lands, are worthy of the highest respect. But with +her new political grandeur Sweden acquired formidable enemies; she had +not the resources to sustain or defend her great possessions, and the +development of the mother country was for a time misdirected by dreams +of vain glory. + +The government of Sweden during Christine’s minority, according to the +directions left by her father, consisted of the five highest officials +of the realm. Among these the chancellor, through his experience and +his former intimacy with Gustavus Adolphus, was the leading spirit, +king in all except the name, and deserving the honorable surname of +“our greatest civilian,” given him by Swedish historians. Unlike the +majority of other uncrowned or crowned rulers, he did not use his power +to secure wealth or distinction for himself and his family until upon +his retirement. Offers to make him a ruling prince of Germany, and the +young queen his son’s consort, were coldly refused. While the war was +going on he strengthened the foundations of the centralization of the +state by the government regulations of 1634. At the side of the supreme +court of Stockholm another was established at Jœnkœping, for Gothaland, +with a state councillor as president. The system of various government +departments was enlarged upon.[2] The most important of these was the +chancery, in which all business to come before the government was +prepared. Departments for commerce and for mining were established. +Sweden was divided into eleven administrative districts, _læn_, +later increased to sixteen, each of these having a governor. Finland +was divided into five districts. Count Peter Brahe the Younger, as +governor-general of Finland, did more for this neglected country than +was ever done before to right wrongs and foster prosperity. Livonia and +Ingermanland received each their governor-general, the latter province, +by repeated wars brought into a devastated condition, serving as a +place of deportation. This system of administration won the admiration +of the Continent and was in many instances copied as a pattern of +perfection. The Swedish army was considered the finest in the world, +and troops better trained or more victorious did not exist. At the end +of the Thirty Years’ War about 100,000 men were under Swedish command. +The majority of these were foreigners, who afterward were enlisted +for continual service. Their officers were raised in great numbers to +the rank of nobles and endowed with dignities and estates. The army +was divided into twenty regiments, seven of which were Finnish. The +town and coast population regularly furnished able men for the navy. +Much was done to improve the interior communications by means of new +roads and canals. A postal route was established between Stockholm and +Gothenburg, and others followed. A Swedish postmaster in Hamburg had +charge of the foreign mails. Newspapers were published, the government +shaping for itself an organ for official announcement which is yet +published. + +Great improvements were made in the mining industry, thanks principally +to the efforts of the noble immigrant, Louis de Geer and his Walloons, +who made the mines of Dannemora a source of riches. Weapons and cannon +were manufactured not only for the army, but for exportation also. The +brass foundries were excellent. The towns began to flourish, especially +Stockholm and Gothenburg, through commerce with Holland and the Baltic +States. A Swedish colony, planned by Gustavus Adolphus through the +South Company, created by him in Gothenburg, was founded in North +America. In 1638 two ships, “Kalmar Nyckel” and “Fogel Grip,” arrived +at the mouth of the Delaware River, where territory was procured +through honest purchase from the Indians. The Dutch in neighboring +colonies tried to persuade the Indians to oust the newcomers, but the +Swedish governor, Peter Menuet, won their goodwill by fair dealing. The +members of the colony of New Sweden were honest, upright people, who +dwelt in peace with the natives. They accepted a governor appointed +by the government, in the person of John Printz, but refused to +tolerate among themselves criminals who later were despatched to their +colony, and these had to be taken back. New Sweden after a few decades +became the prey of the Dutch, but many American families point with +justifiable pride to their descent from these honest and industrious +Swedish settlers. A Swedish colony on the coast of African Guinea +existed between 1650 and 1663, but was through treacherous dealings +turned over to the Dutch. + +Much was done to build up the educational system, several new +colleges were established, and regulations made to instruct the +peasants. Peter Brahe founded the University of Abo, in 1640, while +in Finland, and the German University of Greifswald, in Swedish +Pomerania, was re-established. Swedish men of learning began to +attract attention, such as John Skytte, who was considered the most +brilliant Latin scholar of Europe in his day, Stiernhœk, the jurist, +Bureus and Messenius, the historians, and Georg Stiernhielm, poet and +antiquarian. The old Icelandic literature was discovered and began to +exert a strong influence on literature and science, to a great extent +strengthening their chauvinistic spirit. The Swedish poets Stiernhielm, +Runius, Holmstrœm, Lucidor and the poetess Brenner, from the Eddic +songs, which contain some of the oldest humorous poems in existence, +learned how to write in a humorous vein, something entirely unknown in +the German and French literatures of that day. + +The excellent government, of which Axel Oxenstierna was the leading +spirit, had its defects. In its perfect system of administration, which +in the main features stands unshaken to this day, there appeared to be +no room for the people themselves to be governed. On account of the +great allowances made to the nobles it was necessary to increase the +taxes of the peasants. Many had to leave their homes and farms for +want of resources to pay their taxes; others were forced away from +their property by the nobles. There was danger of the destruction of +the free, self-dependent yeomanry. A hatred against the nobility grew +up. The great lords returned from the wars laden with booty, erected +fine castles, and continued the high living to which they had become +accustomed while abroad. The power of the nobility was increased by +lavish donations from Queen Christine and by the appropriation of +other crown lands which the government was forced to sell or mortgage +on account of the wars. The clergy were the spokesmen of the peasant +class at the Riksdag, every year demanding with greater emphasis a +restitution to the crown of its property, which was held by the nobles. + +Queen Christine herself took the reins of government, in 1644, at the +age of eighteen. She had inherited from her illustrious father some +of his genius, and from her mother, Marie Eleonore of Brandenburg, a +peculiar nervous disposition. Her mother took no interest in her until +the death of Gustavus Adolphus, when a flood of exalted tenderness +suddenly was let loose over her. Count Jacob de la Gardie took the +lead in opposing the undesirable and unstable character of this +relation, Christine being separated from her mother and educated by +the Countess-Palatine Catherine, a pious and noble woman, the older +sister of Gustavus Adolphus. Greatly offended, Marie Eleonore left the +country never to return. Queen Christine showed a remarkable faculty +of absorbing knowledge. Well versed in a great number of languages, +and well read in various sciences, particularly mathematics, she soon +acquired fame as the most learned woman of her time. She was of frank +countenance, slept little, cared little for dress, and was passionately +fond of hunting and riding on horseback. Queen Christine possessed +a sharp intellect, was daring and resolute, but headstrong, fickle, +extravagant, and but little particular in her choice of favorites. Her +vanity and egotism knew no bounds. At the beginning of her reign she +took pains to give serious attention to the affairs of state. The great +chancellor had been her instructor in economics and statecraft, but +she repaid him by open coldness and secret antagonism. Her ambition to +surround herself with scientists of note, particularly foreigners who +flattered her vanity by blowing her fame to the four corners of the +earth, killed her interest for politics. Later she was seized by the +evil spirit of frivolity, abandoning herself to empty pleasures and to +excesses of extravagance when her learned admirers were forgotten for +unworthy favorites. Among the latter, Count Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie +was for a long time all-powerful. The grandson of General Pontus and +a daughter of John III., he was the son of Count Jacob de la Gardie +and Ebba Brahe, and one of the most brilliant noblemen of Europe. In +his youth he formed an intimate friendship with the dauphin of France, +later Louis XIV., who throughout his life honored him with the title +of “Mon Cousin,” or “Mon cher Cousin.” His ambition to become Queen +Christine’s consort was never satisfied, nor was he allowed to accept +the rank of a prince from the German emperor, but the queen made him +the richest man in her realm. Magnus de la Gardie did not possess the +sterling qualities of his ancestors, but was of great patriotism and +lavishly liberal toward educational institutions, in this respect +without a peer in Swedish history. In 1666 he founded the Academy of +Antiquities, which was the first archæological institution in Europe, +the Swedish antiquarians of the day, principal among them Bureus and +Stiernhielm, doing valuable antiquarian research. In 1664, Count de la +Gardie donated to the University Library of Upsala a highly valuable +collection of manuscripts and books, chiefly from Iceland. In the +collection was also the Gothic Bible translation of Bishop Wulfila +in the only copy extant. Liberal with his silver, Count de la Gardie +gave to the precious book a silver binding, as he had in earlier years +presented to Queen Christine a silver throne (which is still in use). +This book has an interesting history of its own. + +Codex Argenteus, the silver book, thus called on account of its +silver binding, contains fragments of the four Gospels in the Gothic +language. The translation was made from the Greek original by Bishop +Wulfila (b. 318-d. 388), the apostle of the Goths. The writing is done +in so-called encaustum (printing with heated stamps) of gold and +silver letters on vellum of scarlet color. This copy is considered to +have been made toward the end of the fifth or in the beginning of the +sixth century, when the East Goths still held sway in Italy. Its early +fortunes are unknown, but it is supposed that the book was found in +the possession of the Visigoths (or West Goths) when their empire was +seized by the Franks, and donated to the monastery of Verden by some +munificent Frankish chief. Here, in the Benedictine abbey of Verden, +on the river Ruhr, in Westphalia, the book was discovered at least as +early as 1554, when the scholars Cassander and Gualther of Cologne are +known to have had copies which can have been made from no other source. + +After the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War, the Codex was transmitted +to Prague for safety. In the year of 1648, Prague, or rather the older +portion of the town, was captured by the Swedish general, Count Hans +Christopher Kœnigsmark, who, among the vast treasures of the Bohemian +capital, found also the Codex Argenteus which he presented to Queen +Christine. All the books and manuscripts of the queen were in the care +of her librarian, Isaac Vossius, a learned but eccentric scholar of +Dutch parentage. Vossius was at first Queen Christine’s teacher of +Greek, not a very agreeable position, for the queen called him to the +castle at three o’clock in the morning for her first hour. In 1650 he +had to leave court and country on account of a quarrel with that light +of learning, Claude de Saumaise (Salmasius), another one of the foreign +scholars in favor with the queen. In 1653 he was called back, and again +took charge of the books of the queen, but soon returned to Holland. +Before his departure he gathered several costly books and manuscripts, +among which Codex Argenteus, with or without the queen’s private +permission, taking them with him. In 1670, Vossius came to England, +where he died, in 1688, as court chaplain at Windsor. King Charles II. +of England said of him: “Vossius believes in anything but the Bible.” + +When in Holland, the Codex Argenteus passed out of the hands of Vossius +after his uncle Franziskus Junius had made a complete copy of it. +Junius, called the “grandfather of modern philology,” published the +first edition of Codex Argenteus at Dortrecht, in 1665, providing the +beautiful fac-simile with parallel Old English texts and a Gothic +glossary. In Holland the Codex changed hands repeatedly until found +in Brabant by Samuel Pufendorff, in 1661, who, in the following year, +bought it for Count de la Gardie, paying a sum of something like $1,200 +for it. + +Once more in Sweden the Codex Argenteus was made the subject of close +attention, a new edition of it being published, in 1671, by Georg +Stiernhielm, the innovator of Swedish language and literature.[3] +That Bishop Wulfila’s Bible should ultimately harbor in Sweden does +not seem out of place, for of all languages now spoken the Swedish +comes closest to the language of the Goths as crystallized during its +classical epoch. The interest taken by Swedish scholars in the book has +always been great and fruitful of results, in times when it was thought +to be written in the mother tongue of all the Teutonic languages, as +well as later, when Gothic was found to be, not the mother, but the +oldest sister in the family. + +At the Riksdag of 1649 considerable dissatisfaction was directed +against the nobility and the extravagance of the queen in deeding over +to favorites all the possessions of the crown, in form of counties and +baronies. The nobility sided against the queen, desirous of reducing +her power. But Queen Christine received gracefully the complaints +made, and promised to institute a reduction of taxes and payments. In +the following year the commotion increased when the same taxes were +asked as in time of war. The queen continued her policy of earnestly +considering the requests of the lower Estates, thus gaining the +controlling power. The nobility, suffering strife between its various +classes, was forced to seek a shelter in the royal power it desired +to crush, and humiliated itself before the queen. Christine received +a joint appeal from the lower Estates for a restitution to the crown +of all property illegally turned over to the nobility, but she managed +to have the reform postponed upon promise of some minor privileges and +a reduction of taxes. She refused the appeals of the nobility to have +the clergymen and others punished who had used hard language against +the aristocrats. But the discontent was spreading and turned against +the queen personally. The ministers preached against the wrongs and +violence of the mighty ones; the nobles and the peasants threatened +each other. Peasants in Finland refused to work for aristocratic +masters, and a general rebellion seemed imminent. In the meantime +Queen Christine was crowned at Upsala amid great display and elaborate +festivities, the count-palatine Charles Gustavus, her cousin, being +installed as heir-apparent to the throne. + +But Queen Christine was not able to still the storm around her. The +finances of the crown were utterly ruined by her extravagance, and +she dared not take by violence from the nobility what she had given +by grace. In 1651 she declared it to be her intention to leave the +government, but was persuaded to remain. Her cousin was placed in a +very difficult position, apparently taking no interest in what was +going on, but following everything with the keenest attention. The +son of John Casimir, count of Palatinate-Zweibrucken, and Princess +Catherine, he was born at Nykœping in Sweden, in 1622, and designated +as the future consort of Queen Christine. Charles Gustavus was +educated in simplicity and rigor, and was, as his father before him, +utterly neglected by Axel Oxenstierna and the government. He slept in +a room without wallpaper, and when through with his lessons he sawed +wood with his teacher, Professor Lenæus. Burning with ambition, and +perhaps also in love with his brilliant cousin, he proposed to her +repeatedly, but in vain. After several years of extensive travel he +joined Lennart Torstensson, refusing a command and working himself up +through the military degrees. He took an honorable part in the victory +at Jankowitz, and was appointed supreme commander of the Swedish armies +shortly before the close of the German war. When the opposition against +Christine reached its climax a good deal was expected from Charles +Gustavus, which he, on account of his singular position, could not +undertake to do. A petition replete with abusive language about the +queen was sent him, asking him to take hold of the government. Charles +turned the document over to the queen. Its author, the promising young +Arnold Messenius, and his father, an able historian, suspected as +having inspired his son, were accused of high treason, condemned to +death and executed. + +This act of force produced an impression, and the new taxes demanded +at the next Riksdag were granted without opposition. But the queen +felt that the discontent was only subdued, not suppressed, and, having +no further means to keep up a luxurious court, she did the wisest act +of her reign, that of resigning, at Upsala, in June, 1654, Charles +Gustavus being crowned the same day. The scene of her abdication was +very impressive, Queen Christine carrying herself with noble and lofty +dignity, an inheritance from her father which she made use of when she +saw fit. Leaving the crown and the royal emblems, one by one, to the +Riksdrotset, she descended the throne, from the lowest steps of which +she spoke an eloquent and touching farewell to the four Estates of the +Riksdag. She suddenly left the country after having secured for herself +a princely income. At Innsbruck, the daughter of Gustavus Adolphus +joined the Catholic church, thereby, and by her fame as a learned +woman, creating a sensation. She died in Rome in 1689, after having +made two unsuccessful attempts to regain her Swedish throne, and one +equally unsuccessful to succeed the last king of the Polish line of the +Vasa dynasty, and was buried in the church of St. Peter. + +Among the many learned men who at one time surrounded Christine were +Vossius, Heinsius, Salmasius, Huet, Freinshemius, Loccenius, Meibom, +Bœclerus, Ravius, Schefferus, and others. The greatest of them all, the +philosopher Cartesius (René Descartes), died in Stockholm, in 1650. + +After the love-story of Gustavus Adolphus had come to an end, he long +felt a disinclination to marry. His sister Catherine is said to have +tried to rouse him to the necessity of choosing a consort. His answer +was always: “Never mind, dear sister, you shall yourself bring up a +son to inherit the crown and continue my work.” This son of Catherine +became Queen Christine’s successor. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +_Period of Political Grandeur--Charles X. and Charles XI._ + + +Charles X. was one of the most ambitious men ever placed upon a +throne, and Europe was soon to realize that a new war-lord was come. +His ambition, so long unsatisfied and secreted, burst forth with +uncontrollable strength, in compass only to be equalled by his rare +gifts of mind and heart. Charles Gustavus had suffered a good deal of +neglect, coldness and hatred, but when ascending the throne he seemed +to have forgotten all this. Oxenstierna died a few months after the +abdication of Queen Christine, deeply impressed by the magnanimity +and genius of the new sovereign. Charles Gustavus was one of the most +highly gifted of Swedish monarchs. He had a great deal of interest in +and rare discernment for the requirements of a peaceful development. +But reared in the most warlike of times, when a reputation could +be made only by winning so and so many “victorias” for the firm +establishment of a hero’s “gloire,” Charles Gustavus thought that only +the monarch favored by “Fama” would have the prestige to lead firmly +the fate of his people. He often expressed the wish to rest from his +campaigns in order to contemplate his work and make it beneficial to +his people, but such a rest he never gave himself time to enjoy during +his short and remarkable reign. + +Charles burned with desire to gain fame in war, taking for pretext +that the king of Poland, by his repeated claims to the Swedish throne, +made peace treacherous and impossible. But such was the condition of +affairs that something must be done to quiet the malcontent people, +restore peace between the quarrelling classes, and reimburse the empty +state treasury. At a Riksdag in Stockholm, in 1655, a restitution was +proposed by the king and agreed to, according to which all estates +which in earlier times had been rendering dues to the direct support +of the court, army, fleet, or administration, should be confiscated to +the crown; also one-fourth of the estates given away since the death of +Gustavus Adolphus, and all estates fraudulently obtained. A committee +to enforce the restitution was appointed, to be presided over by the +able Herman Fleming. The restitution, far from radical in itself, was +not completely carried through, thanks to the opposing nobles. But it +proved effective for the moment, the king securing the goodwill of the +people, temporary quiet and means to carry on the proposed war, to +commence which Charles Gustavus received the somewhat reluctant consent +of the faithful people whose financial state was a most despairing +one. Charles X. thought in new conquests to find means to better their +condition. Shortly after his coronation he married Hedvig Eleonore of +Holstein-Gottorp. + +John II. Casimir of Poland, the younger son of Sigismund, like +Vladislav, styled himself king of Sweden and had claims to Livonia. +For this he should be punished. It was not the original intention of +Charles X. to make himself king of Poland, but he was probably the +first who ever devised a division of that unhappy country. The success +of Charles X. was without a parallel. The strong fortresses were +captured, the armies surrendered and registered in Swedish service. +After two months Charles X. entered the old capital of Cracow, John +Casimir fled from his country, and, carried away by the frenzy of +success, Charles Gustavus had himself crowned king of Poland. West +Prussia was captured, and the elector of Brandenburg, who held East +Prussia in fief, and the duke of Courland were forced to become the +vassals of Sweden, in 1656. + +But Charles X. had roused an enemy that few invaders, however great, +have been able to successfully encounter, the spirit of patriotism. +The Poles, enticed to revolt by the Catholic clergy, found a leader in +the noble Czarniecki, who commenced a war of liberation on the Swedish +usurper. King John Casimir returned, and armies were gathered. Charles +Gustavus was yet to do wonders of strategy, which aroused the amazement +and fear of all Europe, but he was glad, when finding a good excuse, +to extract himself from the affairs of Poland. In 1656 he defeated +Czarniecki at Golumbo, undertook the adventurous crossing of the river +of San, and captured, and recaptured, the capital of Warsaw. The “three +days’ battle of Warsaw” (18th-20th of July, 1656) is one of the most +famous in modern warfare, by which the reputation of Charles X., as one +of the greatest warriors of his time, was firmly established. Charles +X. had joined forces with the “great elector” of Brandenburg, who up to +the last moment was unwilling to risk a battle of 22,000 men against +an enemy twice as strong. Charles Gustavus was unyielding and turned +it into a great victory. But his position became precarious, Russia, +Germany, Holland and Denmark being hostile, joined by Brandenburg, +the ambitious “great elector” not being satisfied with the Swedish +supremacy in East Prussia. To save himself from the dilemma with +untarnished glory, Charles X. decided to fight Denmark, which country +had declared war without suspecting the possibility of an attack. + +Lennart Torstensson, his master of strategy, had shown Charles X. how +Denmark was to be attacked. With an army of only 8,000, but consisting +of the choicest and most victorious troops in all Europe, Charles X. +hastened in rapid marches through Pomerania and Mecklenburg, recaptured +Bremen, and invaded through friendly Holstein all of Schleswig and +Jutland, defeating the larger but inexperienced Danish army and +capturing the strong fortress of Fredericia. + +Yet the new position was as precarious as the one in Poland, and +Charles had to use all the skill of his diplomacy to save his little +army from an assault by inimical Europe. France and England seemed +unwilling to render him effective help. But when the elector of +Brandenburg, who had taken upon himself the leadership of Sweden’s +enemies, turned to the emperor, emphasizing the necessity of crushing +the Swedish power in one blow, he received the following surprising +answer: “The king of Hungary has no reason to be the enemy of the king +of Sweden.” Charles had reached a secret understanding with Austria. By +this move he gained time. Through what seemed almost a miracle, he was +not only to save his army but lead it on to victory after a strategic +deed, in originality and daring unique in the history of the world. + +The year of 1658 commenced with severe frosts. Charles X. conceived the +daring plan of attacking the Danish isles by leading his army over the +frozen sounds. He concluded to cross the sound of Lille Belt, opposite +the islet of Brandsœ. His quartermaster-general, Eric Dahlberg, an +engineer of great genius, ascertained that the ice was safe. One frosty +winter morning, the 30th of January, the Swedish army, reinforced to +9,000 men, marched down on the ice, safely reaching Brandsœ at sunrise. +A Danish army, arranged in order of battle in the island of Funen, +was defeated. While crossing over to Funen, the ice cracked under two +squadrons of cavalry, those who followed not daring to proceed. The +king himself hurried past the dangerous place, pointing out a safe +course, and the troops followed him. + +The most dangerous part remained to cross, the much wider sound of +Store Belt, in order to reach Seeland. Charles first thought of taking +the direct route of two miles, but commissioned Dahlberg to explore +the condition of the ice across to the smaller islands to the south. +Dahlberg did so, and said he would wager his head for its perfectly +safe condition. In enthusiasm, Charles clapped his hands exclaiming: +“Now, brother Frederic, we will converse in good Swedish!” In the +night between the 5th and 6th of February, the Swedish army marched +from Svendborg in Funen over the ice to Langeland. “It was terrible,” +wrote an eye-witness, “to march through the night over this frozen sea, +where the horses’ hoofs had thawed down the snow on the ice, which +was below two feet of water, and where we, in every moment, were in +fear of striking the open sea.” At dawn the army landed in Langeland. +During the rest for breakfast, frozen beer was chopped and distributed +in pieces to the soldiers. The march continued over the still wider +sound to Laaland, Eric Dahlberg in front, directing the march. Reaching +Grimsted in Laaland at three o’clock in the afternoon, and proceeding +to Nakskov, Charles Gustavus was met, at midnight, by the burgomaster +and council of said town, who surrendered its keys. The 9th of +February, the army stood in Falster, and a few days later was collected +at the captured castle of Vordingborg in Seeland. Peace was hastily +offered and agreed to on the 17th, and the treaty of peace signed +the 28th of February, 1658, at Rœskilde. The conditions were severe, +Denmark ceding the provinces of Scania, Halland, Bleking and Bohuslæn, +the whole district or diocese of Drontheim in Norway, and the island +of Bornholm, and agreeing to hold the Baltic closed to hostile fleets +with the help of Sweden. The last clause was a piece of a Scandinavian +policy devised by the Swedish king. + +Charles X. now prepared to meet Brandenburg and Austria, once more +siding against Sweden. It was necessary to keep Holland out from +the Baltic, and when Charles X. found Denmark unwilling to keep the +conditions of the recent treaty on that point, the war-lord became +wrathful, dooming obnoxious Denmark to lose her very existence. But the +spirit of patriotism, which so often had saved Sweden in instances of +extreme danger, now sided with Denmark, as it had already sided with +Poland. King Frederic declared he would die like a bird in its own +nest, and roused the patriotism of the population of Copenhagen, which, +badly defended, was hurriedly fortified at the news of an intended +attack. Contrary to the advice of Eric Dahlberg, Charles X. made no +instantaneous attack, but commenced a siege, although he did not bring +with him the necessary means. The castle of Kronborg by Elsinore +was captured and its cannon used against Copenhagen. The greatest +enthusiasm prevailed in the Danish capital; the king slept in a tent by +the fortifications, and especially the students and Norwegian sailors +distinguished themselves by their valor and patriotism. Charles X. +found it impossible to take Copenhagen and retired to some distance +from the capital. What caused Charles to retire was the arrival of a +Dutch fleet. It had been met by the Swedish fleet, under command of +Charles Gustavus Wrangel, the hero of Fredericia and Kronborg. After +six hours of hard fighting the Dutch forced the entrance to the Sound. +Before leaving, the Swedish king resolved to make a desperate effort +to capture Copenhagen, defended by 13,000 troops and by a patriotic +population, with his 8,000 Swedes. The attack was made in the night +of February 11, 1659, but the city, forewarned by traitors, tendered +the Swedes a warm reception, consisting of artillery fire, stones, and +scalding hot water. The Swedes lost 600 men and suffered their first +and only defeat under the command of Charles X. + +The situation was grave. The Swedish army in Jutland was forced to +retire; the troops of 5,000 men in Funen were defeated and made +prisoners; a revolt took place in Bornholm, and the Danes recaptured +the district of Drontheim. The powers united in their efforts to force +Sweden and Denmark to a treaty of peace on the basis of the Rœskilde +stipulations. Charles still held his head high, declaring that he +would crush the fleets of the allies if they tried to interfere in +the affairs of the North, striking a sharply discordant note in the +concert of the powers. To Denmark he was willing to cede the district +of Drontheim, but prepared to occupy that of Akkershus instead, when he +was taken ill at the convening Riksdag at Gothenburg, dying February +11, 1660, in the palace erected by his friend Lennart Torstensson. + +Charles X. Gustavus was one of the most remarkable men of his day, +whose wonderful deeds of bravery and genius caused amazement through +their brilliancy, and anxiety through their recklessness. At the first +glance his appearance gave no idea of the real man. He was short, +and of an unusually square and clumsy build, with a head of coarse +proportions. But there was the fire of genius in his sharp blue eyes; +under the black hair, and below the thin black mustache, there was a +mouth of firm and resolute lines. In the versatility of his endowment, +he stands as one of the first among Swedish kings, the rich gifts of +the Vasas and the Wittelsbachs being united in him. As a warrior he was +great, yet more of a tactician than a strategist. As a statesman his +views were almost as clairvoyant as those of his grandfather, Charles +IX., but he gave way to the impressions and impulses of the moment. He +failed to make the Baltic a Swedish inland lake, but gained for his +country the inestimable gift of a natural frontier to the east and +south, by the acquisition of Bohuslæn, Halland, Scania and Bleking, +provinces more valuable to Sweden than a whole empire south of the +Baltic. + +_Charles XI._ was a child of four years at the death of his father; +his country at war with a world, and in a sorely afflicted condition. +In the will of Charles X., the queen-dowager, Hedvig Eleonore, was +named to preside over the government, with two votes, and the brother +of Charles X., the duke Adolphus John, was to take a seat with her as +Riksmarsk. This arrangement displeased the nobility, understanding that +it was directed against their influence, and they had the duke excluded +from the government. The lower Estates of the Riksdag sided with the +duke, but soon gave up his cause as they found that he was utterly +vain, quick-tempered, and without stability or genius. Lars Kagg, a +good warrior, was appointed Riksmarsk in his place. Herman Fleming, +the able state treasurer, was removed as disagreeable to the nobility, +his ill-health being taken as an excuse, and was succeeded by Gustavus +Bonde. Peter Brahe remained Riksdrotset, Magnus Gabriel de la Gardie +state chancellor, and Charles Gustavus Wrangel state admiral. Kagg died +in 1661 and was succeeded by Wrangel, Gustavus Otto Stenbock becoming +state admiral. + +The first duty of the new government was to make peace for the bleeding +country. This was effected in 1660 through the treaties of Oliva and +Copenhagen, and in a most satisfactory manner, speaking high for the +diplomatic ability of the governing ones, but also of the ignorance of +the powers of the utter helplessness of Sweden, in great contrast to +her outward political grandeur. Poland ceded Livonia to Sweden, and +Denmark all the territory gained by Charles X., except the district of +Drontheim and the island of Bornholm, while Russia was satisfied with +the boundaries set by Gustavus Adolphus. + +The government, with care and consideration, made the necessary +arrangements to have the new provinces intimately connected with the +country. Representatives were sent to the Riksdag of 1664, and the +University of Lund, in Scania, was founded in 1668. If to this is added +that a good deal was done to encourage art and science, principally +through Count Magnus de la Gardie, who was the Mæcenas of Sweden, the +meritorious deeds of the government during Charles XI.’s minority are +enumerated. The less that is said of it in addition, and of its leading +men, the better for these. They were men of some patriotism, but, +through their exceedingly aristocratic views and lack of stability, +unable to further the interests of their country, so badly in need +of reform. There was not one of them who possessed the abilities of +a statesman. They lived like princes in their counties, each holding +court and possessing various considerable castles, all the members +of the higher aristocracy upholding the same standard of luxury and +power, appointing clergymen and judges, founding towns, and discussing +the necessity of having mints and coins of their own. Magnus de la +Gardie, count of Leckœ, and married to a sister of Charles X., was +the greatest of these lords. Close to him came Peter Brahe, count of +Visingsborg, and Charles Gustavus Wrangel, count of Skokloster. The +barons approached the counts in their display of wealth. The lower +nobility, whose members often served at the courts of the great lords, +were not satisfied with this state of affairs. But in the contempt and +oppression in which they held the lower classes, they agreed with the +higher nobility, who made no secret of their intention to reduce the +peasants to slaves. The peasantry, suffering and neglected, became the +prey of a superstition which was shared by the more educated members of +society, accusations and legal executions of witches becoming numerous. + +The government was not agreed between themselves upon many questions +and turned to the state council for support. The old privileged class +of councillors forced their influence upon the government, and the +position between the two became quite intimate, at the same time +difficult to define. The state council was as divided in its opinions +as the government, which fact had a disastrous influence upon state +politics and administration. Great negligence was shown in the various +departments, the records of receipts and expenditures being imperfect, +and a constant lack of funds existing. Forgery and thefts were +committed by high and low officials. Administrative orders were not +obeyed. The army and the navy suffered utter neglect. + +During such a state of affairs the abominable practice of receiving +“subsidies” came into use. The government received, now from one +foreign power, now from another, a large sum of money to back its +respective interests with the military forces or the diplomatic +influence of Sweden. This practice, ignoble in itself, injured the +dignity of the state and had a demoralizing influence. Thanks to it, +Sweden sided sometimes against, but mostly with, France, her old ally, +who, in Count de la Gardie, had an enthusiastic friend. In 1662, +Sweden schemed with France for the election of a French prince as king +of Poland; in 1667, she formed, with England and Holland, a triple +alliance against France. Louis XIV. soon won back the friendship of the +government of Sweden, thus having this country as his only ally when +reaching the climax of his success. At last the Swedish promises to +send an army against the elector of Brandenburg were fulfilled. It was +under the command of the old and invalid Count Wrangel, and suffered +defeats at Ratenau and Fehrbellin, in 1675. These were of little +importance, or extension, in themselves, but they injured the prestige +of Sweden, so long supremely victorious on German soil, and caused +her enemies to combine their efforts in order to regain their lost +possessions. + +Charles XI. was declared of age at seventeen, in 1672, when he himself +took charge of the government, yet for a few years standing under +the influence of Count de la Gardie. King Charles was, as a child, +physically weak, and the astrologers had prophesied that he would +die an infant. For this reason the queen-dowager, a very ordinary +woman, gave all her attention to have her son develop a strong and +sound constitution. The child was given its own way in everything, +casting aside books and rules for his individual pleasures. King +Charles grew up an ignorant self-willed and headstrong youth, who +delighted in hunting and reckless riding on horseback. His companions, +manners and language were not of the choicest order, and he remained +all his life shy and awkward in demeanor. From his thirteenth year he +was made acquainted with the routine of state affairs, but he lacked +the qualifications to grasp them in detail. He surrounded himself +with members of the lower nobility, but was well at ease only among +ministers, burghers and peasants. Charles XI. was all his life of an +unrestrained temper and an indomitable will, coming to the throne the +most ignorant king Sweden had had for centuries. But he was pious, +sincere and just, and his morals pure and severe. Through the hardest +of lessons, Charles XI. was to develop his great uncultivated gifts, +to become the liberator of his people and one of its most remarkable +rulers. + +Sweden had to encounter many enemies after the battle of Fehrbellin, +and a chain of disasters followed, nearly crushing the young king under +their weight. Holland, Austria, Brandenburg and Denmark attacked the +Swedish possessions, which were all captured, one after the other. +Charles was not able to send reinforcements, the navy being in a +miserable condition, and when rejuvenated, through strenuous effort, +defeated by the excellent admirals Juel, of the Danish, and Tromp, +of the Dutch, navy. The treasury was empty, the administration in +disorder, and mistrust and strife reigned supreme. But the young king +showed that he wanted to be obeyed, and managed, by hard work, to +establish order, the Riksdag sacrificing means to organize the defence. + +The Danes were successful in their first expeditions on land also, +their army having undergone a reorganization. King Christian V. marched +into Scania, while his general, Gyldenlœve, invaded Bohuslæn and +West Gothland. The hostile fleets captured the islands of Œland and +Gothland. Charles XI., in a sinister state of mind verging on despair, +at last had his army collected, and entered Halland, where Danish +troops were encountered and defeated at Halmstad. This gave courage to +the Swedes, who soon thought themselves invincible, when commanded by +the young king himself. Charles received reinforcements through peasant +troops, and was desirous to meet Christian in open battle. But the +Danish army in Scania retreated until forced to meet the enemy near +Lund. Here a bloody and decisive battle was fought, more than 8,000 men +being killed, and resulting in a victory for the Swedes, who took 2,000 +prisoners, fifty-one cannon, and the whole hostile camp, December 3, +1676. + +In the following year Sweden suffered two defeats at sea, through the +hands of Juel, but won another victory on land, at Landskrona, when the +Danes lost 3,000 men. + +While Charles XI. fought with the courage of despair, Louis XIV. was +supremely victorious over his enemies, soon appearing as the dictator +of Europe, when peace was made at Nimwegen, in 1679. Finding Charles +XI. resolved not to cede any of his territory, King Louis took a +similar standpoint in his behalf, but contemptuously neglected to let +the Swedish ambassadors take any active part in the deliberations. +Louis XIV. made peace with the emperor, Brandenburg and Denmark +on behalf of Sweden, which country only ceded a small part of East +Pomerania to Brandenburg. Charles XI. deeply felt the insolence of the +benevolent dictator, and forced Christian V. to sign a treaty of peace +at Lund, in 1680, as if Louis XIV. had no part in it. An agreement was +made that Charles XI. should marry the sister of Christian V., the +beautiful Ulrica Eleonore. Through her gentleness, piety and great +benevolence, she soon acquired fame as one of the noblest queens of +Sweden. Ulrica Eleonore led a quiet life, seldom being seen at court, +where the vain and despotic queen-dowager held the first place. She +was never able to win the affection of her consort until during her +last illness. King Charles then, for the first time, understood what a +treasure he had held unappreciated at his side, and watched over her +with infinite care, bringing peace and sunshine into her last days. +After her death, in 1693, the king became a prey to deep sorrow and +remorse, which threw added gloom over his dark countenance. The queen +had been active in upholding a good relation between the Scandinavian +countries, often bitterly opposed by the queen-dowager, in the +interests of Holstein. + +When peace was made, Charles XI. immediately took action in the matter +of reform. He saw his country at the verge of utter ruin and the crown +unable to help it. The peasants were losing their rights, one by one, +and five-sixths of the crown lands were in the possession of the +nobles. Brought up in ignorance and isolation, finding rottenness and +incapability everywhere, it was no wonder that the king became strongly +imbued by the spirit of absolutism, which pervaded all Europe. He +followed the example of the monarchs of France and Denmark, learning +from them how, by secret agitation and pressure, to make the lower +classes fervently appeal to him to take the absolute power in his +hand. His principal adviser was _John Gyllenstierna_, a man of old, +celebrated stock, but belonging to the lower nobility. Gyllenstierna +was one of the greatest and most patriotic statesmen of his day. He +first attracted attention as a champion of the lower nobility against +the great lords for the restitution of crown lands. Raised to dignities +and a high station, he never changed his position to the aristocrats +in power, who thought they could win him over by favors. Seeing +the absolute impossibility of reform, with the help of the nobles, +Gyllenstierna turned to the king, whose whole confidence he won, +inspiring him with plans of a Scandinavian peace policy, and a reform +through the destruction of the aristocracy. Gyllenstierna died after +having brought to the king his bride, a union which was the work of +this able statesman. + +The Riksdag was convoked to meet October 5, 1680. Everything commenced +quietly. No royal proposition was made; but a strong agitation had been +set in motion among the four Estates, the three lower ones sending in +a petition to make the royal power absolute, to have a restitution +of crown lands made, and the government, during the king’s minority, +brought to answer for their acts. Similar requests were sent up +from the nobility, after many stormy scenes at the Riddarhus. Thus, +toward the end of the Riksdag, with the petitions in, came the royal +propositions which, when accepted, in one blow crushed the aristocracy, +as a ruling class, and the antiquated state council, as an institution, +and established the absolute power of the king. + +According to the resolutions of this memorable Riksdag, which marks a +new era in Swedish history, a “grand commission” was selected which +fulfilled its duties with the greatest severity. The members of the +former government and state council were made responsible for their +administration, and themselves, or their heirs, sentenced to pay +smaller or larger sums. Two-thirds of the whole amount was afterward +given up, but the fines were nevertheless great. Count Nils Brahe, +the heir of both Peter Brahe and Charles Gustavus Wrangel, and the +wealthiest man in Sweden, had to pay something like $600,000 in fines, +an immense sum in those days, and was reduced almost to poverty. The +restitution department, assisted by two commissions, did equally +thorough work under the pressure of the king. Ten counties and seventy +baronies, with a great number of other crown lands of various classes, +were confiscated. It cost the higher nobility dearly; Count Magnus +de la Gardie, the all-powerful favorite of three monarchs, lost his +immense wealth and died on a little estate left him, with one single +servant out of his former princely retinue. The work of restitution was +carried on without cruelty or injustice. + +A second restitution was to follow. The propositions were arranged at +the Riksdag of 1682, in the same way as in 1680. This time the lower +nobility was to suffer. All crown lands rendering less than $600 a +year of income had been spared; now these were confiscated, without +exception. In 1686 followed another blow. The dividends on the state +loans were reduced, and a stipulation made that holders of bonds must +refund what they, up to that date, had received above the new schedule. +The same principle was applied in the redemption of mortgaged state +lands. These new harsh measures were enforced with a great deal of +severity, with incidental cases of injustice. The king showed clemency +only to certain parties in stringent need. The discontent of the nobles +caused many of them to leave the country, as, for instance, Count Otto +William von Kœnigsmarck, son of the conqueror of Prague, and himself +the valiant defender of Pomerania against the hostile allies. Their +example was followed by many nobles of Livonia, the measures of the +restitution entirely crushing the nobility of that province, while its +peasants, who were slaves, gained their liberty, and had every reason +to bless the Swedish government. + +The power of absolutism grew steadily stronger. The king decided all +matters alone, and prepared in advance the measures he proposed to the +Riksdag, of whose sanction he was as independent as of that of the +old state council. All officers and institutions were also changed in +name from “state” to “royal” servants and instruments. The university +professors were instructed to impress the students with the necessity +and divine rights of an absolute ruler. The nobles were alone in their +discontent. The other classes, especially the peasants, looked with +satisfaction and approval on the work which crushed the enemies of +their liberty and prosperity, and submitted willingly to the absolute +power because it was in the hands of a patriotic king. + +Charles XI. used the revenues of the restitutions principally for +the reorganization of army and navy. For the former he reintroduced +a system which Gustavus Adolphus had applied, the so-called +_Indelningsverk_ (work of division), which, elaborated upon and firmly +established by Charles XI., became the foundation of the Swedish army +system. The whole country was divided into small sections, which were +each to support an infantry soldier, or a seaman, and larger ones to +support a cavalry soldier. This soldier received a hamlet with earth +to till within his section, paying for it by work to the farmers or +squires, while these paid for his equipment. In times of war the state +paid his expenses. This changed the troublesome army element into +useful members of state in times of peace. The officers were given +small estates by the crown for their support. The army consisted, at +the death of Charles XI., of 65,000 men, well equipped. On the coast of +Bleking extensive navy yards were built by Count Hans Wachtmeister and +Eric Dahlberg, in a new town called Carlscrona. At great expense, the +best fleet ever under Swedish command was constructed by Wachtmeister, +who enjoyed the full confidence of the king. His excellent means +wherewith to conduct a successful war, Charles XI. used to maintain +a dignified peace, of which his country was badly in need. Bengt +Oxenstierna held the reins of diplomacy, which had no attraction for +Charles XI. The old alliance with France was broken off and close +connections with William of Orange established for the maintenance of +peace. Sweden regained its prestige, rising to a power whose support +was sought by all. When William became king of England, Sweden was a +member of the alliance against Louis XIV., but contributed to the great +European war only a few thousand soldiers, according to agreement, +preserving, together with Denmark, an armed neutrality. Charles XI. +lived to the proud moment when the powers selected Sweden as an arbiter +in the deliberations for peace in Riswick, a worthy satisfaction gained +over the earlier insolence of Louis XIV. + +Charles XI. improved the administration by filling the offices of +the excellent institutions with excellent men. This he obtained by +enforcing the necessity of obeying orders, supplying officials of all +ranks, from the lowest upward, with new regulations which must be +obeyed, also regulating their salaries. Sweden never had a greater +lover of law and order than Charles XI., and he used his absolute +power in their interests, trying to remold the old laws to suit modern +requirements, and having a new church law, a masterpiece in its line, +introduced. The church itself and its men had in Charles XI. an +interested friend. New catechism, hymn book and ritual were prepared, +and a new translation of the Bible completed, being published after +his death. Commerce and mining industries were encouraged, while +agriculture improved with the improvement of the financial conditions +of the peasants. Charles XI. was not only a “peace king,” but a +“peasant king,” who was ardently devoted to the improvement of the +education and financial circumstances of the country population. He was +of broadly democratic inclinations, finding his delight in moving among +the humble and lowly as one of them. The peasants, who had been brushed +aside by the great and powerful, were now brought to the front and took +an active and important part in the affairs of state. Charles ruled +over them with a stern husbandry, and asked great sacrifices of them +for the maintenance of an armed defence; but no king has accomplished +more in their true interest than he, or remains more clearly in their +memory and traditions. He travelled continually through the country, +avoiding the places where he would be received with ceremony, stopping +in the houses of the farmers, and enjoying heartily what comfort these +offered. In his appearance he was far from prepossessing. His features +were not devoid of beauty, but gloomy; his figure strong and vigorous, +but not impressive. Through an accident while hunting he became +slightly lame. Although dearth and hard times set in during the last +years of his reign, causing terrible losses of life through hunger +and prostration, he could plainly tell the beneficent results of his +administration. Charles XI. took the reins of state when disastrous +war ravished a country which seemed doomed to destruction. He left it +reformed, reorganized, rejuvenated and prosperous at his death, in 1697. + +The Period of Political Grandeur in Swedish history falls within +the epoch of the history of art which has been called _Barocco_, an +unbalanced offspring of the Renaissance, and a style characterized by +great complicity, pretensions and ambitions, a renaissance in wigs +of formidable proportions. After the great victories of the Thirty +Years’ War, it seems as if the interchange of influences between art, +literature, science, politics and religion was increased. The whole era +becomes a Barocco period of bombast and chauvinism, the climax being +reached in the form of the absolute monarchy of the age. + +In Sweden, as elsewhere, there was no lack of men of ability and +brilliant genius; but, influenced by the spirit of their time, the +works of most of them were bombastic and chauvinistic, like the +artistic and political aspirations of the era. The artists were, as +were at first the scholars, mostly foreigners. The native and imported +scholars were characterized by great learning and versatility, but +abused their genius by Utopian theories and vainglorious dreams, and +violated the laws of history and sound research. + +Olof Rudbeck was not only the most learned and brilliantly gifted +scholar of his day, but his genius also embodies the eccentricities +of the period in gigantic outlines. He was born at Westeros, in 1630, +his father being the learned bishop, Johannes Rudbeckius. As a boy, he +gave evidence of rare artistic and mechanic talents. He made drawings +of exquisite designs, constructed clock mechanisms of wood, and was a +skilled musician. His character was proud and violent. At sixteen he +was through with his college course and ready to enter the university. +The youth could not stand the change from his coarse jacket and fur +coat into a coat of broadcloth with buttons such as the students wore, +and was for his overbearing manner punished by his severe father with +an additional year of college work. At the University of Upsala he +caused from the start great surprise by his knowledge in all subjects. +He devoted his attention chiefly to natural science, which, in that +day, was a neglected study, and soon excelled his professors. + +At twenty, Rudbeck made a scientific discovery of great importance, +which caused a stir in the whole learned world. By his discovery and +theory of the lymphatic ducts, the blood circulation of the human body +received a satisfactory explanation. Before the circle of scholars +which surrounded Queen Christine, Rudbeck was allowed to demonstrate +his anatomical discoveries, in 1652. Queen Christine, who earlier had +been an admirer of his beautiful voice and musical abilities, loaded +him with praise and gave him the means for a journey abroad. Rudbeck +returned, in 1660, to Sweden, and was appointed professor of medicine +at the University of Upsala. He planned the first botanic garden in +the country, donating it to the university. He had illustrations made +of the native plants and commenced a learned work on botany. The first +hall of anatomy was erected according to his proposition. As rector +of the university, he established several important reforms, in spite +of opposition, but supported by the chancellor, Magnus Gabriel de la +Gardie, who was his friend and protector. To the stupendous mastery of +all sciences, Rudbeck added a skill and cleverness in various branches +of practical activity which made him carry, with honor, the nickname of +“master at all trades.” He was an excellent financier, who succeeded +in restoring the sound economy of the university. He built a fish +pond, from which the tables of the learned professors were regularly +supplied with fish. A book store and a book-printing establishment +were erected by him, and for a time run at his expense. He repaired +windmills, built houses, provided the university town with water works +and street pavement, also arranging its postal service. Rudbeck was one +of the finest composers and singers of his day, conducting the musical +exercises at the university. He made fireworks and compasses for the +Swedish navy, built fountains and organs, was a good poet and painter +and an excellent etcher and drawer. + +Rudbeck does not owe his great renown to his mastery of any of these +trades, arts or sciences, nor to any discovery, reform or invention by +his versatile genius. It was his monumental work, “Atland or Manheim,” +generally called “The Atlantica,” which made him world-famous. For +centuries one had believed in the statement made by Jordanes, and +based upon traditions current among his people, that the Goths who +conquered Rome had migrated from the North, and that their ancestors, +from the remotest period, were inhabitants of Sweden. Johannes Magnus +constructed a line of Swedish kings, beginning with Magog, the son of +Japhet, on the basis of which the sons of Gustavus Vasa, Eric XIV., +and Charles IX., had accepted their high ordinals. In the time of +Rudbeck it was considered a supremely praiseworthy effort to glorify +the fatherland by strengthening its claims to a high antiquity. +Rudbeck, the remarkable savant and able poet, got his head turned by +the political grandeur of his country. He had in his youth read the +story of Atlantis, found in Plato. Rudbeck undertook to prove, in +“The Atlantica,” that the lost island, with its ancient ideal state +from which the gods of antiquity were supposed to hail, was identical +with Sweden. The work, in four large volumes, was written in Swedish +and Latin of parallel columns. The first volume was printed in 1675, +Rudbeck having made the types himself. In Sweden the work was greeted +with an enthusiasm which had no bounds. The second volume was published +by funds which Charles XI. with great generosity placed at the author’s +disposal. The third volume was dedicated to the youthful Charles XII., +a true child of the chauvinistic epoch, who hailed the book with +delight. The fourth volume was in press when Upsala was destroyed by +fire, in 1702. The aged Rudbeck led the battle against the ravaging +element, by supreme exertions saving the university halls, at the +expense of his home, his press and manuscripts, and the rest of the +town. Rudbeck died in the autumn of the same year. + +The elaborate construction which Rudbeck had completed by means +of ingenious deductions and learned guesswork succumbed with the +political grandeur of Sweden. “The Atlantica,” which once had its +place beside the Bible on the tables of the mighty ones, was ridiculed +and forgotten. On the continent of Europe, where similar books had +been written in Germany and Holland, making for these respective +countries similar claims, “The Atlantica” was at first received with +surprise and admiration, later with doubt and criticism. The work, in +spite of its mistakes, proved a foundation for archæological research, +which gradually was developed into a science. In order to support the +boldest and most impossible theories, the almost unparalleled power +of combination of an eminent genius has brought together material +which for the first time gave the suggestion of relationship between +the Teutonic and the classical languages of Greece and Rome. Rudbeck +was also the first to point out the unmistakable resemblance of the +Old Norse and classical mythologies, as to the origin of which modern +scholars have reached no absolute certainty, but radically different +conclusions. The importance which Rudbeck placed upon popular customs +and traditions was too great, but it has favorably influenced later +students of ethnography and folk lore. + +If Rudbeck had limited himself to the demonstration that Sweden has +been not the cradle of all races, but the original home of the Teutonic +branch of the Aryan race, he might have been able to offer a theory, +the truth of which modern science lacks, and forever may lack, the +resources to disprove. + +Rudbeck had not been entirely without opponents in Sweden. The most +noted among them was John Peringskiold, who criticised the opinion +expressed by Rudbeck that the Runes were the oldest alphabet of the +world. Peringskiold was a fine Icelandic scholar, and the first editor +of Snorre Sturleson’s “Heimskringla.” + +A typical and highly valuable illustrated work from this period is +the “Svecia Antiqua et Hodierna,” by Eric Dahlberg, the renowned +quartermaster of Charles X. The text, written by Dahlberg and +translated into Latin by several scholars, was never published, the +magnificent engravings not before 1716. The latter give an impressive +portrayal of architectural Sweden during the reigns of the three +Charleses, but are not quite reliable, as some of the castles and +palaces in this work are provided with additions and embellishments +which were never more than projected. + +There is no family who has wielded a greater influence over the Swedish +church than that of Benzelius. The founder of the house, Eric Benzelius +the Elder, and three of his sons were archbishops of Sweden, and two +of his grandsons bishops of the state church. The first Archbishop +Benzelius, born in 1632, was the son of a peasant, and took his name +from the farm of Bentseby, of Lulea parish, in Norrland, where he was +born; he and the three of his seven sons who were archbishops refused +to be ennobled, the other members of the family adopting the name of +Benzelstierna. The earlier generations of the family produced men of +great talent and power, to whom the third one, although consisting +of able men, could not be compared. The influence of this family in +matters of religion, science and culture was strongly felt during the +period of more than one century. The most remarkable member was Eric +Benzelius the Younger, one of the most learned, active and patriotic +men ever born in Sweden. Like the other members of the family, he +perfected his education at foreign universities and made the personal +acquaintance of Leibnitz, Thomasius, Malebranche, and other celebrated +scholars. He was a historian, literary critic and philologist of +merit, writing a history of Sweden and preparing an edition of Codex +Argenteus, published in London after his death. He was highly +appreciated by Charles XII., and was a friend of Polhem and Swedenborg, +being married to a sister of the latter. Eric Benzelius was appointed +archbishop, but died, in 1742, before he had entered office. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +_Period of Political Grandeur--Charles XII_ + + +Charles XII., the most famous of Swedish kings, was a boy of fifteen at +the death of his father. He was born June 17, 1682, at the castle of +Stockholm. The astrologers declared that Sweden was to receive a new +war-lord, and that time they were not mistaken. Charles XII. was born +in the same year as the absolute monarchy of Sweden, which power he +was to abuse in such a great measure. Shortly after his birth, one of +the speakers of the knightly chapter house, Justice Gyllencreutz, said +while warning against the consequences of an absolute power: “A king +may come who follows his own will, being more fond of war than peace, +or utterly extravagant. History proves that changes of the constitution +generally are beset by dangerous consequences; yea, that they often +have brought destruction to the country and its people.” These words +were prophetic. + +The early education of Charles was supervised by his mother, sweet +Ulrica Eleonore, who taught him piety, modesty, gentleness and justice +by her own example. He participated with earnestness in the morning and +evening prayers, kneeling before the only Lord he ever acknowledged +as his superior. His mother died when Charles was seven years of age, +but the devotion in which he held her he fixed upon his sisters, +Hedvig Sophie and Ulrica Eleonore, but especially upon the former. His +religious feeling was deep and sincere, and he evinced early a love +of truth, justice and pure morals which, like his brotherly devotion, +followed him through life. The most remarkable trait in a son of +Charles XI. was his power of self-control; but he was his father’s +superior also in intellectual gifts, such as a ready memory, a good +apprehension and a sharp discernment. His faults were early developed, +and met, after the death of his parents, no restraint. He was taciturn, +unapproachable, proud, self-willed and headstrong. He had from his +grandfather inherited an ambition for the vain glory of war, which +was led astray by his unrestrained power of imagination. From the age +of five he was taught by the learned professor, Andreas Norcopensis, +ennobled under the name of Nordenhielm, to whom he was very devoted +and under whose guidance he received a good general education. The +plain, able scholar influenced the young prince in a wholesome manner. +When his teacher asked him how an honest man ought to be, the pupil, +then seven years of age, answered: “He should be gentle but of great +courage; fierce like a lion to his enemies, gentle like a lamb to those +at home.” To the question if it were not better to avoid dangers in +order to save one’s life, the little Charles answered: “No, it would be +a shame to live in such a manner.” + +Charles XI. had drawn an outline of the course which the education of +his son was to follow. The first place was given to study of the Bible +and the Christian doctrines and the severe practice of religion. The +prince was to learn Swedish and German early, to receive instruction in +the laws and constitution of his country, and in the science of war, +and to be trained in the arts of military drill, fencing and riding on +horseback. He soon acquired the faculty of speaking Latin fluently, in +the ordinary mechanical way, and learned some French. When his first +governor, Eric Lindskiold, tried to interest him in the latter language +by pointing out its usefulness in diplomatic intercourse with the +French ambassador, the prince answered: “If I meet the king of France +I will converse with him in his own language. When a French ambassador +comes here, it is more appropriate that he learns Swedish on my +account than I French on his.” His favorite studies were strategy and +mathematics, which he made under the Swedish general, Charles Magnus +Stuart. He often said that the one who was ignorant of mathematics +was only a half human being. Charles was fond of riding the horses of +his father, and followed the latter on his adventurous journeys and +hunts. When only twelve years of age he killed his first bear. He early +developed the reckless courage which made him so famous. Charles was +exceedingly fond of reading the Eddic poems and the old hero Sagas of +the North. He said he wanted to resemble the ancient hero kings, and +wished he had, like many of them, a brother who would remain at home to +rule the country in peace, while he, with his warriors, made a tour of +the world. The prescription, made by his father, that the prince should +be taught to make a moderate use of his absolute power, was, if carried +out, of little consequence. Charles mourned deeply the losses of his +mother and of his first teacher, Nordenhielm, which followed close +upon each other, seeking, after that, more the company of his father. +Charles XI. had a long private conversation with his son shortly +before his death, pointing out the men in whom he could confide. +Among these Charles Piper occupied a conspicuous place. He remained +ever the adviser of Charles XII., but never had his full confidence. +The enigmatic king confided in nobody, and passed through life without +opening his heart to any one. + +Charles XI. had appointed a government to reign during the minority +of his son, to be presided over by Queen-dowager Hedvig Eleonore. But +the Estates of the Riksdag, at the request of the nobility, declared +Charles XII. of age when only fifteen. The young king placed the crown +upon his head with his own hands at the coronation, and took charge +of the government in November, 1697. Bengt Oxenstierna remained at +the head of foreign affairs as the president of the chancery, while +Charles took personal interest in continuing the life work of his +father, the restitution of crown lands, which still went on. Charles +Piper, who had been quite active in obtaining an early majority for the +king, was raised to the dignity of a count, and became one of the most +influential members of the state council. Charles was not influenced +by anybody in spite of his youth. He listened to what the councillors +had to say, then announced his resolutions with terse independence. He +refused firmly the appeals of the nobility to reduce the demands of the +work of restitution. He abolished the practice of torture, in spite of +the unanimous vote of the state council to the contrary. When the aged +Bengt Oxenstierna was anxious to have annulled a treaty with France, +already signed, the young king answered tersely: “You have heard my +opinion; I am the one who signed the treaty.” Charles took, in general, +little interest in foreign affairs, except those concerning Holstein, +to the duke of which country his elder sister was married. + +The exuberant spirits of the youthful Charles found an outlet in daring +exploits and plays of war. The somewhat older man, Count Arvid Bernhard +Horn, the commander of the royal body-guard, took an active part in +these as the most intimate comrade of the king. They went bear-hunting +together, with wooden forks as their only weapon, fought naval battles +with hand-spurts, made breakneck rides on horseback, etc. When the +king was near being drowned in one of these “naval battles,” the only +ones that Charles XII. ever fought, he was saved by Arvid Horn, who +pulled him up by the hair. When Horn in some other game was badly hurt +and taken ill, the king kept the night watch at his bedside. Upon the +visits of Duke Frederic of Holstein, the two young princes indulged +in escapades of the wildest kind, if one were to believe the reports +made by the foreign ambassadors at Stockholm to their respective +governments, and chiefly founded upon hearsay. His application to +state affairs was almost constant and very arduous, for which reason +these reports of the escapades and adventures of the youthful king are +probably wild exaggerations, or mere fables. + +The reports of a young inexperienced king who gave up his time to +sport and pastimes spread abroad, and the enemies of Sweden were led +to believe that an opportune moment was come for an attack on the +empire which held the balance of power in Northern Europe. Peter the +Great, one of the most remarkable men of modern history, was czar of +Russia. Engaged in his heroic task of reorganizing his barbarous empire +to a modern European state, he was desirous of obtaining harbors on +the coast of the Baltic, from which sea he was cut off by the Swedish +possessions. August, a cousin of Charles XII., who was elector of +Saxony and king of Poland, was anxious to take possession of Livonia. +King Frederic IV. of Denmark, also a cousin of Charles, wished to +suppress the duke of Holstein, who had gained independence, thanks +to the assistance of Sweden. Czar Peter and King August entered into +a secret alliance with each other. While negotiations for continued +peace with Sweden were still pending, the Russians secretly crossed the +boundary in Ingermanland, Saxon troops entered Livonia, and the king +of Denmark took possession of Holstein. The Swedish council of state +was amazed at this triple danger. Charles simply remarked that it was +strange that both of his cousins wanted war, and expressed the hope +that God would support him in his righteous cause. + +Charles XII. was eighteen years of age when he entered this stupendous +conflict. He was tall and slender, but broad-shouldered; he had a +sympathetic face, dark-blue eyes, thin brown hair, and a carriage +expressing courage and an indomitable spirit. Upon entering actual +warfare, Charles renounced all pleasures and comforts. Sharing the +severe discipline of his soldiers, he slept in a tent, ate of their +rude food, and drank nothing but water. The wig, considered so +indispensable in those days, was laid aside and he dressed, like the +men of his body-guard, in a coat of coarse blue cloth with large brass +buttons and yellow lining. His long sword was hung at a yellow leather +girdle. He wore high boots and yellow trousers made of skin. In battle +he was always found where the danger was most imminent. + +Charles turned first against Denmark. A Swedish fleet of forty-eight +ships joined the naval forces of equal strength which the Swedish +allies, England and Holland, had sent to meet it in the Sound. A +more powerful combination has never been seen before or after in +Scandinavian waters. Charles embarked with his troops on one hundred +Scanian ships and landed at Elsinore, August 4, 1699. He was impatient +to reach shore, jumped into the water, which reached to his arms, +and was followed by his troops, who carried their weapons high above +the water. A sudden attack was made on the Danish troops on shore, +who turned and fled. The Swedes made a temporary camp and prepared +themselves for a march on Copenhagen. King Frederic was struck with +terror and hastened to make peace with the duke of Holstein, who was +left in undisturbed possession of his country through the treaty of +peace at Traventhal. Charles withdrew his troops at once, although +reluctantly, having wished to crush the power of Denmark. He had +maintained the strictest discipline in his camp, and treated the +inhabitants of the country with gentleness. The Danish peasants, who +abundantly brought necessary provisions, said to the king: “You do us +no harm because you are the son of our pious Ulrica Eleonore.” The king +answered: “What I have done I have been forced to do. But rest assured +that I shall from this day be the upright friend of your king.” + +Charles now turned against Russia. With an army of somewhat more than +8,000 men he sailed for Ingermanland to attack the invaders, at least +five times as many in numbers, who were laying siege to the town of +Narva. The majority of the Russian troops consisted of serfs who were +taken directly from their work and were without any military training. +This army of undisciplined serfs was to a great extent commanded by +foreign adventurers. The news of the approach of the Swedish troops +brought consternation. Several of the Russian officers shed tears, +while the czar quickly left his army to gather more troops. The +remarkable battle of Narva was fought November 20, 1700. King Charles +offered the enemies a battle in the open field, but when they refused +to accept or to come out, he attacked them in their trenches, which +formed a semi-circle around the town of Narva, with the wings touching +the river of the same name. The war-cry of the Swedes was: “With the +help of God!” Their attack was favored by a snowstorm, which blew in +the faces of the Russians, blinding them. The enemies could tell that +the Swedes were few in numbers, but thought that reinforcements must +be on the way. The trenches were filled with bundles of fagots, the +ramparts were mounted, and the Russians thrown into confusion. The +Russian cavalry fled at the opening of the artillery fire. The rest, +crushed in between the walls of the town and their aggressors, tried to +escape on every side. The Swedes soon had cut the immense Russian line +of troops in twain at the centre. The half which consisted of the right +wing moved down to the bridge over the Narva River. But the bridge gave +way under the weight of the first 3,000 men, who found their graves in +the river below. The rest of the right wing was hedged in between the +Swedes and the river. The regiments of the Russian guards, who were +the most experienced of the troops, fought bravely for some time, but +great confusion ensued among the others, the soldiers wanting to kill +their foreign officers, whom they blamed for the catastrophe. The chief +commander, Duke de Croi, with several other foreigners, for this reason +surrendered to the king. + +The Russian soldiers of the right wing, abandoned by their superior +officers, made heroic efforts to defend themselves behind barricades +which they erected for the moment. King Charles hastened to the spot, +but was very near losing his life in passing through a swamp. He sank +so deep that the water rose to his neck, and he could save himself +only by leaving his horse, his sword, and one of his heavy boots +behind in the mud. Without in the least improving his condition, the +king took another horse and sought his way to the heart of the battle. +The Russians were killed in masses, but did not surrender before King +Charles had taken a Russian battery, thus depriving them of the last +hope of being reunited with the left wing. The latter, who kept in the +vicinity of their trenches, had fought with a good deal of courage. At +nightfall two officers were sent from the right wing to ask the king +for an armistice, which was granted. King Charles spent the night in +his wet clothes, by the bivouac fire, on the ground, his head resting +in the lap of one of his soldiers. In the morning, before dawn, two +Russian generals arrived, demanding free leave for the remainder +of the right wing. This was granted, but the superior officers had +to remain as prisoners of war. The commander of the left wing also +opened negotiations. Free leave was granted them upon the surrender +of their arms. It must have been an impressive sight to see the body +of 12,000 Russians, with heads uncovered, who passed in line by only +half as many Swedes, depositing their banners and arms at the feet of +Charles XII. It was a wise plan to keep as prisoners only the superior +officers, for the Swedes had not the means at hand to watch and feed so +many prisoners as those who were allowed a free leave. In the battle +of Narva 18,000 Russians were killed or captured; the hostile camp, +baggage and artillery fell into the hands of the victors. Charles +XII. made his solemn entry into Narva, where Te Deum was sung in the +cathedral. Charles with his own hand crossed out all expressions of +vainglory over the success or disdain of the vanquished which occurred +in the official account of the victory to be sent to Stockholm. + +In the following year Charles XII. turned against his third enemy, King +August. Saxon troops, 10,000 strong, were joined by 19,000 Russians, +and had taken a strongly fortified position on the southern shore of +the river Dvina. Charles decided to cross the river from Livonia and +attack the enemy. The famous crossing of the Dvina was planned in all +details by Eric Dahlberg, the venerable hero and engineer from the wars +of Charles X. and Charles XI. Baron Dahlberg died not long after this +memorable event. It was June 27, 1701. The Swedish infantry was carried +across in prams, the cavalry on fleet-bridges provided with wooden +walls on hinges, which, when erect, were a protection against the fire +of the enemy, and, when let down, formed gangways for the landing. +In front of all boats loaded with hay and straw were sent out, which +were ignited, sending a thick, disagreeable smoke in the face of the +enemy. The artillery in the prams kept up a disastrous fire. Charles +XII. was one of the first to land, and opened the attack when only half +of his infantry had reached the shore. The Russians soon scattered in +wild flight. The Saxons withstood three powerful attacks, but at last +followed the bad example set by their allies. The battle was fought and +won before the Swedish cavalry had reached the shore. The bountiful +provisions of the scattered army were captured. The crossing of the +Dvina was executed under the direction of Charles Magnus Stuart and +Count Magnus Stenbock. + +The victories of the young hero king and his valiant soldiers aroused +the admiration of all Europe, and much sympathy was expressed for +Sweden, who had so successfully warded off a deceitful and unjust +attack. Charles XII. received offers of peace from his enemies, but he +did not accept them. He did not believe that his treacherous neighbors +would keep their promises, and he was no doubt right. He ought to have +crushed Russia first, but his victory over Czar Peter had been too +easily acquired to make him realize the genius, power and resources +of this semi-barbarous enemy. Charles considered King August a more +formidable opponent, which was a mistake; but his suspicion that the +latter would attack him from behind if he entered Russia would probably +have proved to be well founded had circumstances permitted. So Charles +invaded Poland, resolved to gain by the interior conflict which was +disturbing the peace of that country. He wanted to dethrone August and +select a prince who would keep faith with Sweden. + +The Polish empire had not taken any active part in the war against +Sweden, but Charles XII. demanded that the Poles should prove their +good faith by dethroning August and by choosing a native king. When +they refused, he let his army enter Poland. For four years King Charles +remained there, marching from one part of the country to the other. +He conquered the Polish capitals of Warsaw and Cracow, and several +other fortified places, winning over a considerable group within the +nobility. In 1704 the Diet of Warsaw was called, at which the Polish +nobles, in the presence of Swedish troops under the command of Count +Arvid Horn, were compelled to deprive August of his crown and elect a +new king according to the instructions of King Charles. The new king +chosen was the noble, but incapable Stanislav Leczinski, who belonged +to an aristocratic family of little influence and few connections. He +was an upright and highly educated man, but lacked energy. King August +was not willing to abdicate, for which reason King Charles pursued him +into his hereditary land. The line of march to Saxony went through +Silesia, a neutral country belonging to the empire of Austria. As the +army of August had been allowed to pass this country, Charles argued +that the same right must be granted him and his troops. At the river +Oder, Charles was met by a number of persecuted Protestants, who, +kneeling and weeping, prayed for his assistance in pleading their cause +before the emperor. Charles promised them to do so, and kept his word. + +The Swedish army entered Saxony in the year 1706. The inhabitants, who +had in a clear memory the acts of recklessness and cruelty committed +by the troops of John Banér, fled for their lives, taking along all +the property that could be moved. To their great surprise, they saw +the Swedes encamp themselves as quietly as in time of serenest peace. +No violence was committed. Nothing was taken, except in exchange for +money. But a heavy war tax was imposed, which made both August and his +people inclined to seek an early end of the war. + +Thanks to the means raised in this manner, the Swedish army was +provided with an entirely new outfit of clothes and furnished with +necessary provisions. Every regiment established a savings bank of +its own, in which the soldiers deposited their earnings. The castle +of Alt-Ranstædt was the headquarters of Charles XII., situated close +by the memorable battlefield of Lutzen. The sojourn of Charles XII. +in Saxony was an incident of universal importance to the history of +Europe. He had with his soldiers approached the scene of a conflict +which was shaking the whole of Western and Southern Europe. The +situation was such that it for the moment hung at the point of the +victorious sword of Charles XII. The great question was whether he was +resolved to take an active part in the universal conflict. Charles +was besieged at his headquarters by princes, warriors and statesmen, +who came to pay their respects, desirous of winning his favor and of +getting an idea of his plans. The Swedish invasion of Saxony was highly +beneficial to the interests of France, and Louis XIV. was the first +to admit it, anxious to make the stay of Charles as long as possible, +because it had caused a standstill in the hostilities against France. +The Duke of Marlborough was among the visitors of Charles XII. He +brought a letter of courtesy from Queen Anne, who wrote that the letter +“came not from her chancery but from her heart, and was written by her +own hand.” She longed to meet the famous king personally. The duke’s +errand was to find out whether Charles was to join the fighting forces +of Western Europe or to attack Russia. He was glad to learn that the +latter move was the one which the king had in mind. Although the two +great warriors expressed mutual admiration, neither was sympathetically +impressed by the other. Charles XII. thought Marlborough looked “too +fine” for a soldier, while the latter thought the rude simplicity of +the king an affectation by which to obtain notoriety. On account of +the great influx of distinguished visitors, the style of living was +quite different at the royal headquarters of Alt-Ranstædt to what +it was during the Polish and Russian wars. But the king kept up the +heavy military drills and long individual expeditions on horseback, +which he thought indispensable. One of the first ones of the latter +which he undertook was to visit the battlefield of Lutzen. The king +remembered distinctly all that he had read about the famous battle, and +made clear to his generals the various positions of the two armies. At +Schwedenstein, the place where Gustavus Adolphus fell, he lingered for +a long while in silence. At last he said: “I always have tried to live +as he did. May God grant me the grace of dying in like manner.” + +King August was satisfied to conclude a treaty of peace, which was +signed at Alt-Ranstædt. He renounced the crown of Poland and recognized +Stanislav Leczinski as the legitimate king. August turned over John +Reinhold Patkul, a Livonian traitor, who during the reign of Charles +XI. had made himself disagreeably conspicuous, and who had been +intriguing against Sweden ever since. Charles XII. was, in gentleness +and justice, far in advance of his contemporaries, but he made an +exception to his ordinary course of clemency in the case of Patkul, +who was executed according to the cruel practice of the time. When the +Swedish army left their camp, after peace was made, the regiments were +for many miles followed by the grateful inhabitants, who, with tears in +their eyes, gave evidence of their friendship. The reason was that the +good-natured soldiers of the regular army had followed the habits of +their country in assisting their temporary hosts in their various rural +pursuits. The Swedes were greeted by the people of Silesia with great +enthusiasm, out of gratitude for the improved conditions which the +emperor had granted them, at the request of the king. Charles XII. thus +made good, in a measure, the acts of violence committed by the Swedish +army during the Thirty Years’ War, and proved that he had at heart the +cause of religious liberty. + +Czar Peter was now to be punished, when it was too late. The Russians +had invaded the Baltic provinces and captured the fortress of Nœteborg, +which Czar Peter gave the new and significant name of Schluesselburg. +The new Russian capital of St. Petersburg, with formidable fortresses, +was founded in 1703. The laborers were carried away by force from +the various parts of the immense empire. They died in great numbers +of prostration and of fevers, the Swedes also doing their best to +impede the progress of the work. The vacancies were rapidly filled by +new multitudes. While the Swedish king was fighting in Poland, the +provinces of Ingermanland, Esthonia and Livonia were overrun by the +Russians, who devastated the country with acts of cruelty. Dorpat was +captured and Narva fell after a bloody conflict, being bravely defended +by Rudolph Horn. The Russians destroyed the Swedish navy of the Lake +Peipus and penetrated to the province of Courland where Charles XII. +had left a considerable detachment of troops. The plan of Czar Peter +to conquer Courland and cut off Charles from the connections with his +empire was frustrated by General Adam Louis Lewenhaupt.[4] He met a +formidable Russian force, several times as numerous as his own, at +Gemauerthof, near Mitau, which he routed, in 1705. + +Sweden stood alone in her struggle with Russia. The old alliance with +England and Holland was no longer in existence. The continental powers +were too busily engaged in the West to assist in checking the rising +power of the Eastern giant. For the limited resources of Sweden he was +too big already. Charles XII. had with him a stately and well-equipped +army of 44,000, which, by contemporary authors, was pronounced to +have consisted of the finest soldiers of the world. Charles was to +attack Russia from Poland, for the devastated Baltic provinces could +no longer support an army with the necessary provisions. General +Lewenhaupt was to join him from Livonia with an army of 12,000 men and +ample provisions. Another Swedish commander, General Lybecker, was to +attack and destroy St. Petersburg, with an army of the same size, from +his headquarters in Finland. The total of Swedish troops distributed +in various directions amounted to 100,000, the largest regular army +Sweden ever had put up. Charles had concluded to engage semi-barbarous +allies in a battle against a semi-barbarous enemy. In 1707 he entered +into an alliance with Turkey, and, about the same time, another with +Mazeppa, an old ambitious Cossack leader who wanted to establish his +supremacy over the steppes of Russia. The plans of Charles XII. for the +invasion of Russia have often been severely criticised, but competent +judges of our day have declared that they were not only elaborate but +highly ingenious. They miscarried on account of arrangements which +could not be made according to expectations, and on account of Czar +Peter’s practice of laying bare and waste the parts of his own country +through which the invaders were to pass. Furthermore, Charles had sent +home to Sweden several of his best generals, such as Arvid Horn and +Magnus Stenbock. This was done after the successes in Poland, and was +a good thing in itself, for the men mentioned were exactly those who +were destined to save the very existence and honor of a country which +was deprived of its political grandeur through the heedlessness of +King Charles. But without them he was surrounded by inexperienced men +only. Charles Gustavus Rehnskiold was the most conspicuous of these, a +valiant but reckless man, who only understood certain details of the +elaborate expedition. + +When the Swedes were approaching Russian territory, Czar Peter made +offers of peace which the French ambassador urged Charles to accept. +Charles answered: “He does not mean it. He wishes the world to believe +that he wants peace and I war.” Czar Peter had organized his army +through a wonderful exertion of energy, built new fortresses and +strengthened the old ones, enforced discipline and gathered ammunition. +Able officers had been trained in the repeated conflicts with the +Swedes. These took the lead of the army movements. + +Charles left Poland with somewhat more than 30,000 men, entering +Lithuania and chasing the Russians before him. A last great victory +was won by Charles XII. at Holovzin in Lithuania, in 1708. The Swedish +army crossed the Dniepr and marched to Mohilev. Charles lingered in +this place for a month, anxiously awaiting the arrival of General +Lewenhaupt. The latter remained in Livonia during all this time, the +letter ordering him to join the central army not reaching him in due +time. The march was continued toward Smolensk, but King Charles thought +that he could only reach Moscow over that route with the greatest +difficulty, and changed his course, marching toward the Ukraine to +join Mazeppa and the Tartars. Mazeppa had been vexed by the long +delay, and was, besides, not able to gather the forces which he had +promised. Czar Peter captured his stronghold, and Mazeppa reached the +Swedish army more like a fugitive than an ally. The expedition of +General Lybecker against St. Petersburg proved a failure. Lewenhaupt, +who had at last received his order, moved into Russia. At Liesna he +met a hostile army considerably larger than his own. After a fierce +battle, which involved a great loss of life, Lewenhaupt broke through +the Russian lines. He had been forced to destroy the great amount of +provisions which he had gathered, and reached the army of King Charles +in a very different state than was anticipated. The king found himself +in a difficult position, being cut off from all connections with his +country and in want of provisions. + +The battle of Pultowa, which was fought June 28, 1709, decided for +centuries the contest over the political supremacy of Northern Europe. +Charles XII., with his army, which had been reduced to 18,000 men, +laid siege to the important town of Pultowa, by the river Vorskla. +The Russian army, 50,000 strong, under the command of Czar Peter, +hastened toward the enemy. The fear of the terrible Swedes was as +yet so strong in them that they did not risk an attack, but built a +strongly fortified camp. King Charles, with his army in distress, +further reduced to only 12,000 men, and in want even of ammunition, +saw no other way than to fight. He was himself wounded in the foot +and unable to take command in person. General Rehnskiold, who led the +cavalry, acted as general commander during the battle, which position +he was not able to fill; Lewenhaupt commanded the right wing with +decided success. He forced the enemy to abandon three of its seven +forts, and saw it once inclined to leave in flight. The left wing of +the Swedish army was brought into disorder and receded. King Charles, +who suffered greatly from his wounded foot, was carried on a litter +between the lines, encouraging his soldiers and dealing out new orders. +The litter was soon shattered, and the horse which the king mounted was +shot under him. He saved himself by accepting the horse of one of his +officers. Rehnskiold, who appeared nervous and confused, offered only +a lame assistance with the cavalry. While riding back and forth in his +heedless anxiety to be useful, without obtaining his object, he rode +into the Russian lines and was made a prisoner. The same fate befell +Count Piper, the aged adviser of King Charles. Lewenhaupt kept up his +heroic struggle on the right wing, but his forces were greatly reduced +by the fire of the Russian artillery. The Swedes had lost the battle. +Their infantry had especially suffered great losses. A great number of +the ablest officers were killed or made prisoners. As an illustration +may be quoted the fact that among the killed were twenty-two officers +of the Wrangel family. The Russians made no fierce pursuit, and the +remnants of the Swedish army were given time to recede to the shore +of the Dniepr where this river is joined by the Vorskla. The change +of route toward the Ukraine had been made contrary to the advice of +Count Piper; the march to the Dniepr was made contrary to that of Count +Lewenhaupt. The Swedish troops were in fact shut in between the mighty +rivers, which they lacked the means to cross, and the surrounding +mountains, lined with Russian artillery. Charles was unwilling to leave +his army, but Lewenhaupt persuaded him to save his life. Mazeppa had +crossed the Dniepr with his troops. Charles followed in the night +of July 1st with 1,000 of his men. With 500 Swedes Charles reached +the Turkish town of Bender, where he was at first resolved to remain +only until his wound was healed. Lewenhaupt, who now was in command, +surrendered to the Russians the following morning, with all the rest of +the army. This course was inevitable; another battle would only have +caused new and useless sacrifices of human lives. + +A sad fate awaited the Swedes in Russian captivity. Only a few saw +their homes again, after years of suffering. Rehnskiold was among +these. The majority, like Lewenhaupt and Piper, died in captivity. +Considerable information about the experiences of the Swedish prisoners +in Russia is found in their memoirs and note-books, preserved to +this day. It appears that the treatment which they received varied +greatly, according to circumstances. Czar Peter wished to keep the +Swedish captives in the country as long as possible, with the object +of favorably influencing his barbarous subjects by their superior +abilities and culture. He had commanded clemency in their treatment; +but his orders must have been disobeyed, for many Swedish soldiers +are known to have perished in the sulphur mines. In Tobolsk and other +towns of Siberia, Swedish majors and captains were in great numbers +occupied in the humble pursuits of teachers, barbers, tailors, painters +and blacksmiths. Some kept shops and others made articles of the +Swedish sloyd, in which there was no competition in the market. The +pastimes were music and theatricals. There were, among these thousands +of prisoners, 9 generals, 17 colonels, 27 lieutenant-colonels, 38 +majors, 494 captains, 975 lieutenants, 67 ministers of the Gospel, +etc. A good many of these were Swedish subjects of German descent, +or foreigners in Swedish service. The prisoners tried their best to +make it as pleasant for themselves as possible. They formed a little +community of their own in Moscow, with Piper and Rehnskiold as their +highest officials. Georg Nordberg, pastor of the body-guards, was made +the president of a chapter-house, which held church conferences, issued +texts for special services, examined and consecrated ministers. Czar +Peter tried to attract some of the ablest officers to him by promises +of liberty and remunerative positions. Many of the captives, seeing +no prospect of freedom, decided to remain in the country, entered the +Greek church and married Russian women. Some who could not endure +captivity made a revolt at Kasan, killing the armed troops, and making +an attempt to reach their own beloved country. The plot was frustrated +and was of sinister consequences, for the Swedish captives commenced +from that time, 1711, to be transported to Siberia in great numbers. +This was only to move the important work of civilization eastward. The +captives, instead of succumbing to the severe climate, unfolded the +great energy of their race, cheerfully accommodating their lives to +the new requirements and devoting their time to travels for scientific +research, or mercantile purposes, in Russian service, or on their +own responsibility. They made accounts and maps of undiscovered and +unexplored parts of Siberia, gathering results which have been of great +importance to later explorers, geologists and ethnographers. Principal +among these scientists are Philip John von Strahlenberg, whose great +book on Siberia was published in Leipsic in 1730, and John Anton Matérn +and Peter Schœnstrœm, his collaborators; John Gustavus Renat, made a +prisoner by the Kalmucks, whom he taught the secrets of manufacturing +cannon and bombs, and of printing books with movable types; Lorenz +Lange, who was secretary of several Russian embassies to the imperial +court of China, about which country he has given valuable information; +John B. Muller, John Schnitscher and Ambjœrn Molin. Tobolsk was the +centre of the Swedish colonies in Siberia, where a peculiar sect +grew up among those of deep religious sentiment. A sectarian school, +with more than 100 pupils, was established, and the German pietist, +Aug. Herrman Francke, for some time supported the movement. Governor +Gagarin, who wanted to make himself ruling sovereign of Siberia, +arranged a formidable conspiracy. It was discovered, the governor was +hanged, and the Swedish captives who were involved in it were sent +still further away to Nerschinsk. + +If Charles XII., up to the date of the terrible battle of Pultowa, +has deserved our sympathy, in spite of his faults and mistakes, it is +impossible to look upon him in the same charitable light for the rest +of his career. The great defeat and the loss of his army he described +in letters to his sister, Ulrica Eleonore, and the state council, as +small misfortunes, without consequence, which he was soon to repair. +Instead of trying his utmost to obtain peace on the best possible +conditions for his poor country, and instead of saving his unhappy army +from the miseries of captivity, he made plans for new campaigns and +demands for a new army. Czar Peter expressed more correct views of the +situation. A few hours after the battle of Pultowa he wrote to Admiral +Apraxin: “Now rests at last secure our city on the Neva.” And he was +right. The period of the political grandeur of Sweden was at an end. + +Great was the renowned heroism of Charles XII. and his warriors. Still +greater, although less renowned, the heroism with which his poor and +neglected country suffered the disasters which these glorious deeds +brought upon it. The regular troops of the army created by Charles +XI. had not been sufficient. New regiments were, one after the other, +created by means of increased taxes and repeated enlistments, until +it appeared as if the whole male population was to be sent out in the +endless wars, to be killed or imprisoned, and the distressed country +doomed to inevitable destruction. Plague, hunger and emigration +threatened to make away with those spared from military service. Swedes +of the nineteenth century have difficulty in apprehending how the +country was able to endure such terrible hardships. + +The consequences of the defeat at Pultowa soon became manifest. The +enemies of Sweden had formed a better idea of the resources of the +country than had its own ruler, and were resolved to profit by it. +King August at once declared the treaty of Alt-Ranstædt to be null +and void, and entered Poland, where he in a short time recovered +his lost authority. Stanislav fled and sought a refuge on Swedish +territory. King Charles later gave him his little hereditary land +of Palatinate-Zweibrucken. King Frederic of Denmark declared war +upon untenable grounds and had an army of 16,000 men invade Scania. +Helsingborg was captured without difficulty. Great consternation was +caused by this assault upon the unhappy and apparently defenceless +country. The state council was brought to despair. The situation was +saved by Count Magnus Stenbock, the able general. After having served +as quartermaster-general of the Swedish army in Poland, he was sent +back to Sweden, being governor-general of Scania at the time when this +province was invaded. He had not with him the necessary troops to meet +the enemy, but left for Smaland, where he gathered an army of peasants, +chiefly consisting of inexperienced but sturdy youths in wooden shoes +and coats of goatskins. From Vexio, where he had met his new mustered +troops, Stenbock returned to Scania, in February, 1710, obtaining the +reinforcements of a few additional regiments, which swelled his army +to the number of 14,000 men. The well-equipped Danish force, which, +after an expedition into Bleking, returned to Scania, made a good deal +of fun of the “Stenbuk og hands Gededrenge” (the mountain buck and his +goatherds). Governor Stenbock understood how to gain the confidence and +rouse the patriotism of his “goatherds.” He was soon sufficiently sure +of their ability to risk a battle, which was fought at Helsingborg, +February 28, 1710. The Danes, commanded by George Rantzau, were routed, +and sought a refuge behind the walls of the town. The Danish losses +were 4,000 killed and wounded and 3,000 prisoners, with their camp, +artillery and baggage. A few days later the Danes evacuated Scania, +returning to Seeland. The victory of Helsingborg was the most glorious +of the battles fought by Magnus Stenbock. It saved Sweden in the hour +of direst distress, rekindling the hope which the battle of Pultowa had +extinguished. It was the last time in Swedish history that the Danes +entered Scania as enemies. + +The victory at Helsingborg was only one bright star in a night of +darkness. In the Baltic provinces the disasters followed close upon +each other. Count Nils Stromberg, the governor-general of Livonia, +was forced to surrender the town of Riga, July 1, 1710, after having +fought the Russians for months with great bravery. The enemies which +forced the able Stromberg to give up his cause were hunger and +plagues. Not less than 40,000 Russians had lost their lives outside the +walls of Riga. Within a few months Duenamuende, Pernau and Reval also +surrendered. This made complete the Russian conquest of the Swedish +empire in the Baltic provinces. The operations against Finland, begun +earlier, were continued with success. The town and fortress of Viborg, +which never had been occupied by foreign troops, were captured in June, +and Kexholm in September. The country was unmercifully devastated, in +spite of solemn promises to the contrary. + +That under such circumstances discontent against the absolute ruler +was fostered seems only natural. During the first few years of the +Carolinian campaign the noise of the great victories was stronger than +the voices of discontent and complaint. When the glorious battles were +not followed by treaties of peace, the grumbling voices grew louder. +The king was at first not the object of the growing discontent, but +the state council, which was considered to make greater demands than +were necessary. The king was supposed to fight for a righteous cause +against treacherous enemies, but the truth dawned on a good many that +a government invested with absolute power was the cause of the misery. +The battle of Pultowa brought to a mature state the thoughts of a +change in the constitution, thoughts which for years had occupied the +ablest men of the country. The double government was to a great extent +responsible for the bad state of affairs. The king tried to rule with +absolute power from his headquarters in Saxony, Poland and the Ukraine, +with Piper as his adviser. At home the state council held the reins of +government and sometimes acted in direct opposition to the instructions +or intentions of the king. Charles XII. was very jealous of his power, +and the state council, foremost in which were a few men of the very +highest ability, like Count Arvid Horn, was on this account sometimes +unable to carry out its best endeavors. Charles by his methods brought +confusion and uncertainty into the deliberations and acts of the +government, injuring the commonwealth and the principles of an absolute +monarchy as well. The king was not able to supervise the details of his +administration, and unrighteous officers profited thereby, by their +unlawful collections of taxes, causing open revolts of the suffering +population in various parts of the country. + +The state council took no pains to hide the truth from the king, rather +using strong colors in their descriptions of the critical condition +in order to obtain the much-sought-for and needed peace, or at least +the gratification of seeing the armies of the country used exclusively +for the defence of its own possessions. King Charles considered the +members of the state council as a body of weaklings, cowards and fools, +who painted the devil on the wall because they lacked the courage +and endurance to await the final and infallible triumph of his royal +arms in a righteous cause. The climax was reached after the arrival +of Charles at Bender. The state council commenced to negotiate for +peace on its own responsibility. It also convoked a committee of the +Estates of the Riksdag to a meeting for deliberations on measures +which would better the hopeless conditions of the state and people. +King Charles learned of it and sent from Bender a remarkable order, in +which he absolutely forbade such meetings, “especially because the last +convention of the Estates,” he wrote, “had no other consequence than to +let them still plainer discover their impoverished condition.” + +King Charles lingered in Bender, fascinated by the plans made by +several Turkish princes of an armed support against his enemies, or +at least an escort of troops for his return through Poland. The king +succeeded in his efforts to force the sultan of Turkey to an attack on +Russia. The Turks, 200,000 strong, made an invasion, according to plans +drawn up by Charles, and were successful in completely surrounding a +Russian army, commanded by Czar Peter in person, at the shores of the +river Pruth. The czar saved himself by a supreme effort, sacrificing +all his gold and the jewels of the czarina as bribes to the grand +vizier, who commanded the Turkish army. This dignitary let the Russians +escape, thus spoiling the plans of the whole campaign. To Charles it +was a great disappointment. His hope to see the Russian giant crushed, +and the defeat at Pultowa avenged, was gone forever. His plan of +reaching Poland with Turkish troops to join Stenbock and a Swedish army +was shaken with the loss of confidence in his barbarous allies. The +perfidious grand vizier was punished, but the agreement of peace which +he had made with the czar was sanctioned by the sultan, in 1711. + +The Swedish state council was quite reluctant to obey the repeated +orders of the king for a new army, hesitating to impose new burdens +upon the suffering people. The king grew impatient and there was no +escape possible. Magnus Stenbock, the most popular man in all Sweden, +set an example of personal sacrifices which was followed by many +others, and a new army of 9,000 men was at last equipped with a navy to +carry it across the Baltic to Pomerania. Stenbock landed in the island +of Rugen, in September, 1712, and increased his army to 14,000. He +abandoned the idea to march toward Poland because the king remained at +Bender, and entered Mecklenburg after having skilfully avoided meeting +a superior force of Russian and Saxon troops, which followed him at a +distance. Negotiations of peace had been commenced before the arrival +of Stenbock, between the dethroned Stanislav of Poland, who was then in +Pomerania, and King August. This caused a standstill in the operations, +an armistice of a fortnight having been agreed to, with a prospect of +renewal. The Danes made an end to it, entering Mecklenburg in December. +When the armistice was at an end, Stenbock hastened with his troops +to Gadebusch, where the Danish army was encamped, by this rapid move +preventing the latter from joining the Russian and Saxon forces. Only a +detachment of Saxon cavalry had succeeded in reaching the Danish camp. +The battle of Gadebusch was fought December 9, 1712, and was the last +of the great victories on land that a Swedish army ever won on the +Continent. The Danes were crushingly defeated, and their allies found +it safest to return to their former fortified positions. The Swedish +artillery, commanded by Charles Cronstedt, distinguished itself in +this battle against an enemy of superior strength. But Stenbock could +not for any length of time keep up the struggle against the armies of +three countries, not receiving any support from Sweden, nor sufficient +provisions in Mecklenburg. When the Danes burned the town of Stade, +Stenbock in revenge burned Altona, toward the end of the year. His +army was reduced for lack of provisions, and Stenbock saw no other +course to take than to shut himself up with his troops in the fortress +of Tœnning, in the possession of the young duke of Holstein-Gottorp. +Stenbock persevered in his hopes for support from Sweden, or friendly +powers, in vain. Efforts were made in Sweden to send him troops and +provisions, but did not prove successful. When death from starvation +was impending, the valiant general concluded to surrender. May 6, 1713, +it was agreed that Stenbock and his army of 11,000 men should become +Danish prisoners, but that they should be exchanged at the earliest +opportunity. King Frederic IV. of Denmark dishonestly neglected to +fulfil this agreement, repeatedly and flatly refusing to exchange +any of the prisoners. The hero of the victories at Helsingborg and +Gadebusch at first received a tolerably good treatment in Danish +captivity, which later was changed in a horrible manner. After years +of cruel suffering, he died in a miserable dungeon, in 1717, one year +prior to the death of Charles XII. This great descendant of Eric +Stenbock and Magdalen Sture tried to kill the time of his captivity by +carving in ivory, some articles of exquisite design by his hand still +being preserved. + +At the surrender of Tœnning, Sweden lost her last army and her ablest +general. Her king dwelt among the Turks in circumstances fraught with +increasing dangers, and her enemies on every side stood ready for +attack, the country being a prey to discontent and despair. Still her +measure of misery and contumely was not filled. + +Charles XII. persevered in his strange sojourn at Bender, being +a guest who caused the sultan continual worry through his great +political influence. The king was resolved to leave Turkey only in one +manner, and that was escorted by a Turkish force. He was successful +in persuading the sultan to declare war on Russia once more, but +Czar Peter hastened to make so many concessions that peace was made +before any campaign was begun. King Frederic of Prussia offered +Charles an alliance on the condition that he should at once return +to Sweden. Charles seemed at last inclined to do so, but then a +conspiracy was brought to his notice, disclosing a plan by which the +perfidious Turkish princes of his intended escort were to deliver +him into the hands of King August of Poland. King Charles refused to +leave Poland, and the conspirators effected an order from the sultan +to attack Charles with an army of 10,000 men, and bring him, dead +or alive, to Adrianople. The order was executed February 11, 1713, +Charles defending himself with his few hundred Swedes and some Poles +of his escort against the overwhelming force of Turks and Tartars. The +house of the king, near Bender, had been strongly fortified for the +occasion. When the trenches were taken most of his men surrendered, +but Charles remained with fifty Swedes in the house, which was built +of wood, warding off the attack and putting the enemy to flight with +a heroism vividly recalling the tales of the ancient Sagas. The Turks +returned toward evening and ignited the building. The Swedes valiantly +continued their struggle, fighting with their swords against the Turks, +surrounded by heavy fire and by the smoke of the burning building. The +king at last was forced to leave the house and tried to make his way +to the neighboring chancery building, which was of stone and better +fit to withstand an attack. Charles stumbled and fell, and was at once +made prisoner, together with his followers. This peculiar incident, +which has been called the Kalabalik, or Popular Tumult, of Bender, +aroused universal surprise and dislike. Charles was conducted to a +Turkish pasha, who treated him with respect. He was under supervision +first at the town of Demotika, later at the palace of Timurtasz, both +in the vicinity of Adrianople. Charles considered it incompatible +with his royal dignity to call on the grand vizier. For this reason +it was given out that he was ill, and in his miraculous stubbornness +he persevered in keeping his bed for a whole year! During all this +time, Charles followed up his policy of governing Sweden from afar +with absolute despotism. He prepared new rules for the chancery, +attempting to change the form of administration from one of faculties, +or colleges, to one of departments, or bureaus. He made negotiations +of peace in the same spirit as of yore, viz., without being willing +to make any concessions, and planned new campaigns. For recreation he +played chess and listened to music. + +In Sweden the peculiar Turkish adventures of Charles XII. were not +understood or appreciated, and the country seemed forsaken by all, +even by the king, who by many was thought to be insane. The state +council saw no possibility of maintaining a government without the +consent and goodwill of the people. Plans for a new constitution, +a reduction of the royal power and a peace at any cost were in the +air. Princess Ulrica Eleonore was called as a member of the state +council and a Riksdag was convoked, to meet toward the end of 1713. +The Estates declared that they were, in case of necessity, ready to +seek peace under the auspices of the princess and the state council, +and were in favor of appointing the princess to the regency. Arvid +Horn, the leading spirit of the state council, used the utmost of his +influence in keeping the Riksdag from the revolutionary acts which +would be involved in making Ulrica Eleonore regent, but he saw to it +that the declaration of the Riksdag, of intended peace-making through +the princess and state council, was communicated to the king. Hans +Henric von Liewen, one of the state councillors, was selected to +carry this communication to the king, together with letters from the +queen-dowager and the state council. Count Liewen gave a full and true +account to the king, telling him in plain words that if he did not +return home without delay his kingdom would be lost to him. + +King Charles at last decided to return to his country. He sent an +embassy of seventy-two people to officially announce his departure to +the sultan at Constantinople, made a loan of a considerable sum of +money, and left Demotika with a large escort. In Wallachia he left the +Turks behind, and continued on his way through Hungary and Germany, +followed by two Swedish officers. The emperor of Germany, who was +desirous of winning over the Swedish king for his plans, prepared a +hospitable reception, but Charles passed Vienna _incognito_ as Captain +Peter Frisk. He rode on, through night and day, taking care of his own +horse and never changing his clothes. Charles arrived at the gate of +Stralsund, in Swedish Pomerania, in the night of November 11, 1714, +accompanied by one officer. In a fortnight he had, on horseback, +traversed a stretch of 1,300 miles. + +The situation at the arrival of Charles XII. in Stralsund was beset +with new dangers and complications. Prussia had ceased to be friendly +and was planning to seize the Swedish possessions in Germany. Hanover, +united with England under the same ruler, had the same ambition. The +dilapidated fortifications of Stralsund were attacked by Saxons and +Danes, commanded by their respective kings, August and Frederic. For +more than a year, Charles, with admirable heroism, withstood the siege. +Once, while the king was dictating a letter to a secretary, the latter +sprang to his feet in consternation, a bomb having shattered the roof +of the building. “The bomb, your majesty, the bomb!” exclaimed the +scribe. Charles answered: “What connection is there between the bomb +and my letter?” quietly continuing his dictation. The king found it +at last impossible to keep up the defence of Stralsund, leaving it a +stormy December night, and arriving safely in the town of Trelleborg, +on the southernmost point of Sweden, December 15, 1715. + +What a different country that Sweden was which Charles XII. left in +August, 1699, at the very summit of her political grandeur, to the +impoverished and suffering Sweden in which he had now landed! And +what a different man he had himself become during these sixteen years +of absence! Sweden had won a new hero king, of greater fame than any +of his predecessors or successors, but lost her prosperity for the +time being and her political grandeur forever. The people received +the king with demonstrations of joy and with reviving hope for an +honorable peace. The state council and the intelligent few received +him with badly concealed hopelessness and indifference. They knew that +although the young ambitious king had changed to a world-famous hero, +prematurely aged in victory and defeat, the unyielding stubbornness and +the never satiated desire for glory had remained unchanged in Charles +XII. Charles was met by a message from the dying queen-dowager, his +grandmother, with an ardent prayer for peace. Charles answered to hopes +and prayers, to silent indifference and despair, with a command of +more money and more troops! He wanted peace, but as he spoke in the +same terms as when he was the victorious commander of an apparently +invincible army, nobody cared to consider his demands in earnest. The +absolute power reached its last stage of development, a military +despotism which had no other policy than war, no other administration +than the one requisite to maintain and provide the requirements of war. +The state council fell in deepest disgrace, and its functions ceased, +in 1715. + +During the last years of his reign, Charles XII. took no advice of +Swedish men. Foreign adventurers and schemers were in charge of the +affairs of state, principal among whom was Baron George Henric Gœrtz. +This man was a minister of state of the young duke of Holstein-Gottorp, +in whose service he remained, and in whose interests, as a successor +to Charles XII. on the throne of Sweden, he zealously worked, while +developing into the all-powerful minister of the Swedish king. Charles +granted him authority to act in his name in almost every branch of +the government, interior as well as foreign. Gœrtz was a genius, but +utterly reckless. For his acts the king was responsible, not he. +Gœrtz was a foreigner and working for the cause of a foreign master. +He tried to obtain loans abroad, made compulsory loans within the +country, placed a tax on articles of luxury, and put in circulation +coins of copper which were a kind of “promissory notes,” worthless in +themselves, but each representing a Swedish dollar. At first these +“coins of need” were issued to the amount of a sensible sum, but were +soon increased in number at the command of Charles XII. himself, so +that they represented higher sums than the crown could redeem, and thus +lost their value. The people refused to take them, while the prices of +everything in the market rose to an astounding height. The government, +in order to save itself from this difficulty, took possession of all +coined money and uncoined silver, and gave the “coins of need” in +exchange, perpetrating several other scandalous acts of violence +against the rights of private property. + +The situation grew almost insupportable. Commerce and industry, injured +by the war, ceased entirely because nobody was inclined to sell, only +to receive in exchange worthless coins. Wars and hard years combined in +creating misery and distress everywhere. The peasants were recklessly +treated, and a disregard for moral obligations grew out of the bad +examples set by the government. The students and scientists had in +great numbers been carried away by the bloody wars, and the interest +in the fields of culture was slackened by the power of financial +depression. The wealthy and well-to-do saw their means daily diminish, +and, losing their interest in public welfare, they tried to save the +remnants of their own property. The members of the state council were +threatened by investigations which Gœrtz and his friends were scheming +to institute against them. In the nobility, the plans for a change of +the constitution matured, the leaders in this movement being Count Per +Ribbing and the old Gyllencreutz, who had prophesied the outcome of an +absolute monarchial government. + +Charles XII., in spite of his all-absorbing passion for war, did not +lack interest for the pursuits of peace. He encouraged several men +of genius, of whom two were eminently worthy of distinction; viz., +Nicodemus Tessin, Junior, the architect, and Christopher Polhem, the +engineer. + +Nicodemus Tessin was born in Nykœping in 1654. His father and namesake +belonged to an old Pomeranian family, and had come to Sweden during +the reign of Queen Christine. Nicodemus Tessin, Senior, was an able +architect, who built the castle of Drottningholm for Queen-dowager +Hedvig Eleonore, a moderately gifted but art-loving woman. The latter +gathered around herself artists and architects at her castle of +Drottningholm, in Lake Mælar, among whom were Ehrenstrahl, a famous +artist of German birth, who founded the first school of Swedish +painters. The younger Tessin belonged to this circle and was, in their +respective times, in the favor of Charles XI. and Charles XII., acting +as court architect to both. The work which won for him an immortal fame +is the royal palace of Stockholm, an architectural creation worthy of +the admiration of all Europe, and, in Sweden, standing unsurpassed +to this day. It was planned and commenced by Tessin, but completed +according to his plans a hundred years after his death. Charles XI. +ordered a reconstruction of the old castle, which enterprise Tessin +undertook. Shortly after the death of Charles XI., both the old and +the reconstructed parts of the palace were burned, and the body of +the king with difficulty saved from the conflagration. Charles XII. +ordered Tessin to build an entirely new palace. The work was commenced +in 1698, but was gradually abandoned during the war times, to cease +shortly before the battle of Pultowa. Charles was highly interested in +it and wrote from Turkey to Tessin about his views. Tessin intended +to decorate the exterior according to the taste of his day, but +Charles raised opposition, finding the severe beauty of the stern yet +graceful outlines perfect in themselves. The work on the new palace +was recommenced after the death of Charles XII. King Adolphus Frederic +was the first who took up his residence within its walls. Tessin rose +high on the social ladder. From Turkey, the king made him a count and +chancellor of the University of Lund; after his return to Sweden he +appointed him marshal-colonel. Tessin stood in strong opposition to +Baron Gœrtz, and after the death of King Charles joined the leaders of +the revolutionary nobles. He was of universal fame. + +Christopher Polhem was the first of great Swedish engineers and +inventors. He was born at the ancient town of Visby, in the island +of Gothland, in 1661, and was the son of a merchant, who died when +Christopher was a child. When only twelve years of age he had to make +his own living. As secretary to a widow of wealth, he early developed +his genius as a mechanician, building his own shop of carpentry, sloyd, +etc., making watches and devising smaller inventions. His want of a +classical education was detrimental to him, and he commenced, when +twenty-four years of age, to study Latin with various ministers in the +country, in exchange for works of his genius and handicraft. At last he +was able to enter the University of Upsala by means of recommendations +from his last teacher. Soon after his arrival he created considerable +attention and admiration by a proof of his ingenuity. Behind the +high altar in the Upsala Cathedral there was a clock of the finest +workmanship, devised in mediæval times by a monk of the monastery of +Vadstena. It was out of order, and not for a hundred years had anybody +attempted to set it right. Polhem undertook to reconstruct the whole +work, connecting with the main mechanism all the hands which pointed +out the hours of the day, the eclipses of the moon and the motions +of the “ruling” planets, according to the system of the astrologers. +Polhem succeeded in his task, and was allowed to test his invention of +automatic haulers of ore in the mines. The college of mining, before +which the invention was successfully demonstrated, accepted it, and +Charles XI. appointed Polhem a mining engineer. In 1694, Polhem made +an extensive journey through England and the Continent. In Paris +he learned that several mathematicians were in vain endeavoring to +construct a clock which would simultaneously show the time of the day +in various countries and strike the hours at the same time. Polhem +announced through the Swedish ambassador in Paris that he was willing +to solve the problem. He constructed a model which gave universal +satisfaction. Louis XIV. had a clock made after this model and gave it +as a gift of honor to the Turkish sultan. Upon his return he proposed +the founding of a _laboratorium mechanicum_, which in several respects +served as a pattern for the later technological institutes of Stockholm +and Gothenburg. The youthful Charles XII. embraced the idea with +interest, but the promising institution came to a standstill during the +wars. Among Polhem’s more remarkable inventions was one for the leading +of water-power, to be used at considerable distances. Charles XII. said +that a man like Polhem was not to be had for several centuries, and +that for this reason he ought to be made useful as long as he lived. +A task of gigantic proportions was intrusted to him--the construction +of a dock for the navy yards at Carlskrona. The great engineer filled +it in an admirable way, and was appointed councillor of commerce and +ennobled under the name of Polhem, his original name having been +Polhammar, which to modern ears sounds just as fine and a good deal +more suggestive. + +Another gigantic task worthy of the genius of Polhem was the +construction of a navigable route from the North Sea across the great +inland seas of Sweden to the Baltic, but he was not allowed to finish +it. Charles XII. intrusted the work to Polhem, who was to have it +ready in five years. In 1718, Polhem commenced by forming an immense +sluice, by means of explosions in the rock at Trollhetta. The great +waterfalls of said place were to be avoided and the work of completing +the sluice was begun, when it was all destroyed by unknown enemies, +who dropped beams and planks in the river above, which carried away +the dam. The death of King Charles and the impoverished condition of +the country made it impossible to continue the work on the great canal +system, which had to wait for more than a century for its ultimate +completion. With the death of Charles XII. the era of ambitious +enterprises came to an end; but Polhem was employed in various works +of mechanic improvements in the interest of agriculture, industry and +manufactures. Czar Peter of Russia, King George I. of England, and +several other monarchs made brilliant offers in order to win Polhem +for their countries. He executed several works and inventions abroad, +but loved his own country too much to leave it. Polhem exerted a +great influence in the interest of his science, both by instruction +and by the publication of technical works. Active to the last, he +died in 1751. Polhem was a man of a harmonious endowment, amiable +and dignified, and preserved his plain mode of living throughout his +brilliant career. + +Gœrtz led with superior skill the negotiations for peace, while the +impoverished country suffered untold miseries as a consequence of his +unscrupulous financial schemes. He tried to benefit by the sudden but +lasting enmity between Czar Peter and George I., desiring to gain the +support of either against the other. The deliberations were held in the +archipelago of Aland, with Gœrtz as the representative of the Swedish +government. Czar Peter wanted to keep Ingermanland, Esthonia and +Livonia, but was ready to cede Finland, which country he occupied, and +to assist King Charles with troops in an attack on Denmark. Norway was +to be the compensation for the lost Baltic provinces, and the attack on +Denmark was to be made from Germany. Charles XII. had no confidence in +the czar as an ally and had commenced the conquest of Norway directly +and without his aid. No decision was reached in the negotiations with +England. + +In February, 1716, Charles XII., from Bohuslæn and Vermland, made an +invasion into Norway, penetrating over the Glom River to Christiania. +He captured the capital, where he held his headquarters for several +weeks, but was not able to take the fortress of Akershus, which, with +its artillery, commanded the city. The Swedish army, 10,000 strong, +suffered a great deal from want of provisions and through a guerilla +war, skilfully conducted by the Norwegians. Charles was in danger +of being surrounded by the enemy, and with difficulty retreated to +Sweden, over the Strait of Svinesund. The dangers were increased by +the Norwegian naval hero, Peter Tordenskiold, who, with some Danish +ships under his command, had destroyed a flotilla of Swedish transport +vessels. An invasion into Scania by Denmark and her allies was planned +for the summer, but did not materialize. King Charles took up his +headquarters at Lund. + +The war offered no aspect of interest during the year 1717, except some +unsuccessful attempts made by Tordenskiold to capture the towns of +Strœmstad and Gothenburg. Charles prepared another attack on Norway, +and, by draining the last resources of his country, managed to equip +an army of 60,000 men. In August, 1718, a smaller army, under the +command of Charles Gustavus Armfelt, was sent through Jemtland over the +mountains into the diocese of Drontheim. King Charles, with an army of +30,000 men, invaded Norway from Bohuslæn, Dal and Vermland, and took +in possession the country east of the Glom River. Within a few days +the king laid siege to the fortress of Fredericsten, close by the town +of Fredricshall. November 27th the fort of Gyldenlœve was captured, +and the Swedes moved their trenches ever closer to the fortress, which +seemed doomed to surrender. In the evening of November 30th the king +was seen in one of the trenches watching the work of his soldiers, and +leaning against the rampart. He remained there a long time, not heeding +the appeals of his officers, who grew uneasy on account of the apparent +danger to his person. Suddenly his head sank down on his breast. A +bullet from the fortress had reached him, penetrating his temples and +causing instant death. He met death in the manner he most desired it, +although not while engaged in battle. + +Charles XII. was of an enigmatic character, which attracts, through +its strength and superiority over his contemporaries, but which +is repulsive through its tenacity, unyielding sternness and +inaccessibility to reason or persuasion. His moral greatness has won +admiration. It had its limitations, but was superior to the standards +of his time. His ideals were pure and lofty, but, through lack of +contact with the realities and facts of life, only assumed a tragic +grandeur, without proving beneficent to mankind. His faults were such +that his education and experience as an absolute monarch aggravated +them. Charles XII. was the most remarkable man of his age and one of +the greatest soldiers that ever lived. He was also a great general, +although the proper balance between the soldier and the field marshal, +perhaps, was to some extent lacking. The influence of his personality +and example had a miraculous effect upon his soldiers. He suffered his +one great defeat in open battle when wounded, suffering, and not able +to exert his usual influence to its full extent. + +Charles XII. has been idolized by his countrymen of all ages, who +in him have recognized an impersonation of all their chief national +virtues, with a few of their national faults, enlarged into the image +of a patriotic hero of almost supernatural grandeur. The Swedish people +were forced to accept absolute power as a salvation from the impending +thraldom of oligarchy. In Charles XII. it saw to what a climax of abuse +this power could attain, even in hands which were deemed righteous +and free from stains. With Charles XII. the political grandeur and +the absolute monarchy of Sweden came to an end, although attempts to +restore both were to be made. A new phase of her development, with +new improvements and new evils, commenced with the reign of Ulrica +Eleonore. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +_Period of Liberty--The Aristocratic Republic_ + + +Ulrica Eleonore succeeded her brother Charles XII as the sovereign +of Sweden. She was proclaimed queen by birthright, and called the +Riksdag, willing to cede the absolute power. When the Riksdag convened +a disagreeable surprise met her. The Estates refused to acknowledge +her right to the crown, stating that both she and her older sister had +deprived themselves of their rights of succession by marrying without +the consent of the Estates of the Riksdag. Princess Hedvig Sophie was +dead, but her son, the young Duke Charles Frederic of Holstein was +in Sweden, ready to claim the throne. Ulrica Eleonore was compelled +to yield gracefully. She sent a note to the Riksdag disclaiming her +hereditary right, but declaring herself willing to accept the crown, +with restriction of the absolute power. She was at once elected +queen by the Riksdag of 1719, which then proceeded to pass a new +constitution. Such a constitution had been formulated in advance by a +new party, chiefly consisting of nobles, who aimed at introducing a +royal government, restricted in its power by the state council and the +Riksdag. They were successful in their efforts, but unfortunately lost +their ablest leaders at the start, Per Ribbing dying soon after the +first Riksdag, and Arvid Horn retiring from the government and council +on account of a conflict with the queen. Thus the new government did +not open up under favorable auspices. Baron von Gœrtz was captured and +put to death for high treason without being granted the privilege of +an appropriate legal defence. The queen overstepped her limit of power +in being the active force in this illegal execution, anxious to rid +herself of Gœrtz because he was the ablest man among the supporters +of Duke Charles Frederic of Holstein. The duke gave up his chances +and left for Russia, where he married a daughter of Czar Peter. The +arrangements made to establish order in financial matters were not +satisfactory. The management of the war with Denmark was miserable. The +army was recalled from Norway and little done to protect the coast from +attacks by the Danish fleet under Admiral Tordenskiold. This valiant +naval hero, of Norwegian birth, who, during the reign of Charles XII., +had made unsuccessful attacks on Strœmstad and Gothenburg, through +cunning captured the strong fortress of Carlsten, but was unable to +take New Elfsborg. Danckwardt, the commander who surrendered Carlsten, +was executed by the Swedish government. The Swedish army of 6,000 +men, which had entered the district of Dronthiem by the command of +Charles XII., perished from hunger and cold when returning through the +mountains of Jemtland. Only a few hundred survived to tell the terrible +tale. The Russians sent a fleet to the Swedish shores with 40,000 men, +and burned, in two expeditions, twelve Swedish towns in the middle +and northern parts of the country. They avoided open battle, and when +landing in great numbers were effectively repulsed. + +Under such conditions Sweden was anxious for peace. In compensation +for various sums of money, Bremen and Verden were ceded to Hanover +in 1719, Pomerania, south of the river Peene, with Stettin, Usedom +and Wollin to Prussia, in 1720, and Ingermanland, Esthonia, Livonia, +with Viborg and Kexholm, and surrounding Finnish territory, to Russia, +in 1721. Denmark had to give up all territory captured from Sweden, +but received a sum of money in exchange for Carlsten, in 1720. Thus +the Baltic empire of Sweden was swept away. It had been of importance +during the time of the German war and for the shielding of new +conquests in the Scandinavian Peninsula itself. Now its loss was a gain +for Sweden, as it allowed her to concentrate her attention upon the +interior development of the country. + +The tendency of Ulrica Eleonore to exert more power than was within +her authority had created dissatisfaction, and when she commenced +an agitation to have her consort, Prince Frederic of Hesse, share +the throne with her, the crown was granted him only upon her own +resignation from the government. + +Frederic I. was crowned in 1720 and Ulrica Eleonore retired from +the government. Frederic left the Reformed and entered the Lutheran +Church. The crown was to be inherited by his male issues only, in the +union with Ulrica Eleonore. He showed a tendency for mixing in the +affairs of state to further his own interests, but soon gave in to his +easy-tempered, pleasure-loving nature, occupying himself exclusively +with his hunts and his mistresses. + +The real ruler of Sweden, during the first two decades of Frederic’s +reign, was _Arvid Horn_, one of the greatest of Swedish statesmen. +His was not the work of building up the government of a strong and +influential nation, like that of Oxenstierna or Gyllenstierna, nor were +his their grand, far-reaching views. But his mission was to raise +from the dust his bleeding, downtrodden country, and to reinstall +it in the honor and respect, not only of itself but of the world. +Count Arvid Bernhard Horn was an opportunist, but one of the noblest +kind, who by means of peace found the only way in which to protect +and further the financial and cultural development of Sweden. He was +an able soldier and a skilled diplomatist. The son of an illustrious +but poor family, of the Finnish nobility, he entered the military +service after a university course at Abo. He served in foreign armies, +but was with Charles XII. in Stockholm as the best companion of his +youth. As the commander of the royal body-guard he took an honorable +part in the early victories of Charles XII., later being chosen to +fulfil the delicate task of making the Polish nobles elect Stanislav +king, in which he was eminently successful. After a short captivity he +was released and returned to Sweden, where he became a member of the +state council and president of the state chancery. In this position +he repeatedly sent letters to Charles XII., in which he described the +distress of the country, in eloquent words pleading its need of peace. +Upon his return Charles XII. removed him from office with the other +councillors, although he was the one who had saved the tottering throne +for the king. Of this Ulrica Eleonore was aware and was glad to accept +his resignation; when reinstated in his position he found that he +could not preserve it with dignity in the face of the irregularities +committed by the queen. Count Horn was responsible for the exclusion +of Ulrica Eleonore from the government at King Frederic’s ascendency, +but the latter was forced to accept Horn in his former position as the +controlling power of the government. With due reason, the peaceful and +honorable decades of Frederic’s reign have been named the “Period of +Arvid Horn.” + +The new form of government introduced by Ribbing, Horn and others was +nothing else than that of an aristocratic republic. The rights of +the monarch, reduced in 1719, were still further reduced in 1720. He +had two votes in the state council and a deciding vote in deadlock, +but besides the authority to appoint councillors from the candidates +nominated by the Riksdag, and to appoint all higher officials, no +other rights. The government was in the hands of the state council, +consisting of sixteen members. The Riksdag decided all questions of +taxes and legislation, and settled issues of peace and war. Each of the +four Estates was represented in the committees, except in the “secret +committee,” for international affairs, to which no yeoman could be +chosen. Each Estate had its speaker. The president of the chancery was +the minister of foreign affairs and consulted the secret committee +on important questions, being the only head of a department who was +allowed as a member of the state council. The nobility held the balance +of power, much to the opposition of the lower Estates, who tried, by +repeated agitation, to invest the king with the authority held by him +before the days of absolute power. The nobility had done away with its +three classes, and, with these abandoned, it was the majority, viz., +the lower nobility, who were the governing class. The aristocracy tried +its best to regain the privileges enjoyed during the reign of Queen +Christine and Charles X., but Horn forced it to be satisfied with +those granted by Gustavus Adolphus. The power of the higher nobility +was forever crushed by the loss of their immense possessions. The +friction between the nobility and the lower Estates of the Riksdag was +constant, Horn siding with the former, but keeping them all in check. + +Arvid Horn led with superior skill and gentleness the management of +foreign affairs. All influences from the powers and from the restless +nobles to involve Sweden in a conflict of war were unsuccessful. A +treaty was never entered into with any one power without another one +formed with a power of the opposite continental party to counterbalance +it. Thus England, France and Russia were unable to make Sweden an +obedient ally, Horn upholding her independence, maintaining peace and +inspiring respect. Utterly refusing to accept the bribes which were +freely offered and considered the indispensable means of obtaining +diplomatic influence in that day, Horn himself distributed bribes +to gain his patriotic purposes. Horn’s great mistake was to refer +the decision of foreign affairs in which he was opposed by members +of the state council to the Riksdag and its secret committee. The +latter commenced to act independently in important foreign matters. By +signing an agreement with France, through which Sweden lost its former +privilege of an independent policy, the committee ultimately caused his +downfall, in 1738. Arvid Horn then retired, at the age of seventy-two, +and died a few years later. + +During Horn’s peaceful administration the financial conditions +improved, the state debt was reduced and the peaceful trades and +industries were furthered. The great deed accomplished was the +completion of a new state law which was published in 1734 and is in +force to this very day. Arvid Horn was a perfect type of the great +Carolin era, of pure and severe morals and modest requirements. In a +day of increasing scepticism and levity, he ostentatiously preserved +the rigid religious practices of his youth. He showed unreserved +indignation at the unworthy and immoral conduct of the king, for +which reason strained relations existed between them. Count Horn was +of impressive form and carriage, controlling the quick temper of the +warrior beneath the smooth and dignified bearing of the statesman. + +The decades which followed upon the fall of Arvid Horn were stormy +ones and full of miseries. The friends of peace were called Caps and +the warlike party Hats. The latter, now in power, commenced a war +against Russia, which turned out badly, the Swedes being defeated at +Vilmanstrand, in 1741, and at Helsingfors, in 1742. The government and +secret committee felt ashamed of their work and had the poor generals, +Charles Emil Lewenhaupt and Buddenbrock, executed for their lack of +martial skill and good fortune. Peace was made with Russia in 1743, the +towns of Fredericshamn, Vilmanstrand and Nyslott, in Finland, being +ceded by Sweden, and the river Kymene made the boundary line. + +Next the Hats had to face a rebellion. In order to please Elizabeth of +Russia, Czar Peter’s daughter, they had selected Charles Peter Ulric, +her nephew and the son of the duke of Holstein, as heir-apparent to the +Swedish throne, to which he was the nearest in right, Ulrica Eleonore +dying without issue, in 1741. But when chosen as Elizabeth’s successor +in Russia, the Hats selected Adolphus Frederic, prince bishop of +Lubeck, who on his mother’s side was a descendant of Gustavus Adolphus. +This caused popular discontent, the people, forgetful of past enmities, +desiring to make Crown Prince Frederic of Denmark heir-apparent. The +peasants at the Riksdag of 1742 proclaimed loudly their desire of a +personal union with Denmark-Norway, which would establish Scandinavia +as one solid power against Russia. The peasants of Helsingland and +Dalecarlia revolted. They gathered, and marching down to Stockholm, +placed the government in a dangerous position by demanding the +election of Crown Prince Frederic of Denmark and the execution of the +two imprisoned generals. In that very moment peace was obtained with +Russia, and the government persuaded the leaders of the rebellion, who +had obtained admission to the Riksdag, that Adolphus Frederic must be +chosen, since it was a part of the treaty of peace. Later the rebels, +3,500 in number, were forced to surrender. Their principal leader was +executed. + +The Hats were at first led by Count Gyllenborg, who was succeeded +by the brilliant Count Charles Gustavus Tessin, a son of the great +architect, Nicodemus Tessin the Younger. Although not a statesman of +any higher ability, Charles Gustavus Tessin was able to shake the +oppressive influence of Russia. He was assisted by Prince Adolphus +Frederic, who said he would rather resign than be a Russian vassal. A +war seemed imminent, but was averted, Finland in the meantime being +effectively fortified. The unconquerable fortress of Sveaborg was +built near Helsingfors, and was the creation of Augustinus Ehrensverd. +The Hats were eager in their attempts to encourage industry and +manufacture, but did so at the expense of agriculture, and placed +immense taxes on imported goods. A pioneer of industry was John +Alstrœmer, who, in his town of Alingsos, built factories of various +kinds. King Frederic died in 1751. + +_Adolphus Frederic_ was a good-natured and gentle man. He was not +averse to an increased royal authority, but was not energetic enough +to exert a controlling influence or to push his claims. His consort +was the ambitious and brilliantly gifted Louise Ulrica, the sister of +Frederic the Great of Prussia. She tried to inspire the king to action. +Continually occupied by ambitious schemes, she spoiled them herself, +through lack of caution and stability. As crown princess, she stood +close to Count Tessin, whom she hoped to win over for her plans. They +devised the institution of the knightly orders of the Seraphim, the +Sword and the North Star, the credit of their introduction being given +to King Frederic I. Adolphus Frederic was forced to subscribe to the +same minimum of royal privileges as those enjoyed by Frederic I. At +court a party was formed which supported the king, who soon commenced +to oppose the state council. In 1755 this went so far that he refused +to sign a document from the council. The case was brought before the +Riksdag, where, in spite of strong opposition from the peasants, a +resolution was passed indorsing the action of the state council. Count +Tessin, in friction with the court, resigned from all his positions. +The Riksdag tried to reinstall him as governor of the royal princes, +but gave in upon the request of Tessin. The Riksdag went to the extreme +of having a stamp made of the king’s signature, to use in cases where +he refused to sign, and also took upon itself to engage and dismiss +teachers for the royal princes. At court indignation rose high, and a +conspiracy was formed to take possession of the capital, with the state +council and the speakers of the four Estates, in order to bring about +a revolution with increased power for the king. The conspiracy was +discovered, and Count Eric Brahe, Count Jacob Horn and six others of +its leaders executed. + +A new humiliation to the court was Sweden’s alliance with Austria, +Russia and France against Frederic the Great of Prussia. The plans laid +out by the Swedes were as elaborate as those for the Russian war. But +on account of poor equipment and repeated change of commanders nothing +effective was done. When peace was made at Hamburg, in 1762, Sweden +neither lost nor gained anything. The Swedes had fought no battles, and +Frederic the Great said he would call the Swedish invasion of Pomerania +a private fight at the frontier. + +The great expense of the profitless war gave the Caps an occasion +to gain in influence, and at the Riksdag of 1765 they overthrew the +power of the Hats, in their turn summarily dismissing the councillors +of their opponents. They introduced perfect liberty of the press +in 1766, but went too far in their policy of economy, dangerously +injuring the new industries by the withdrawal of loans and subsidies. +The expensive factories came to a standstill and skilled workingmen +emigrated. Popular opinion turned against these repeated changes and +the endless strife of the parties, and felt inclined to criticise a +Riksdag which had attained such power without giving a prosperous and +secure administration in return. Foreign powers, encouraged by the +court, tried to gain adherents of their various policies by bribes +to councillors and members of the Riksdag, thus demoralizing state +politics. + +The king received a valuable supporter in the crown prince Gustavus, +who in 1767 became of age. He prevailed upon the king to resign when +the state council refused to call an extraordinary Riksdag for the +granting of added royal authority. The king did so, and the country +was without a monarch for six days (December 15-21, 1768). The crown +prince notified the presidents of the different administrative offices +in Stockholm that his father had ceased to reign. The state council +persisted; but had to give in, when the colonels of the regiments +reported that they could no longer answer for their troops, since also +the paymaster’s office was closed. The Riksdag convened in Norrkœping +in 1769. The Caps suffered defeat in spite of strenuous efforts made +for their preservation by the secret agents of the powers, anxious to +see the anarchic condition of the government continue. But the court +party failed in the exertions to have the royal privileges augmented. +The intrigues of the foreign powers continued, and the crown prince +left for France to insure her support in case of war. While the Hats +were once more in power, Adolphus Frederic died suddenly in February, +1771. + +Gustavus was to put an end to the party strife of the “Period of +Liberty,” as it has been called. His own reign belongs properly to it, +for he reaped the benefit of the seed it had been sowing. The Period of +Liberty, with all its faults, forms an important chain in the cultural +and political development of Sweden. Its form of government made +necessary a varied and active part in public affairs, educating all +classes of officials to a high degree of efficiency and the people at +large to self-government. The Riksdag, through parliamentary activity +and importance, developed an authority which, although too composite +to govern itself, was enabled to act as a shield of steel against +all abuse of the executive power. The national life never gathered a +richer harvest of men of genius who worked for the progress of their +country and for that of the world. The heroism of the Swedish people +during the preceding period of suffering and distress bore fruit in +men like Emanuel Swedenborg, the inventor, naturalist, philosopher +and founder of a new religion; Charles Linnæus; the founder of modern +botany; Andrew Celsius, Junior, the inventor of the centigrade +thermometer; John Ahlstrœmer, the pioneer of industry; John Ihre, the +able philologist, and Olof von Dalin, the poet, humorist, and, with +Sven Lagerbring, the first modern historian of Sweden. The Period of +“Liberty,” viz., of an Aristocratic Republic, was the golden era of +Swedish science, the latter for the first time becoming of universal +fame and of universal importance. The scientists of this period +belong to the fathers of modern research, basing their conclusions +upon personal observation, in strong contrast to _their_ fathers and +precursors of the chauvinistic barocco period. + +Emanuel Swedenborg, the most remarkable man whom Sweden has ever +brought forth, was born in Stockholm, June 29, 1688. His father was +Jesper Svedberg, bishop of Skara, in West Gothland, and his mother Sara +Behm. The tendency toward mysticism, an inheritance from his father, +was noticed in him at an early age. He has told of himself that between +the age of four and ten his thoughts were exclusively occupied with +religious subjects. While in prayer, he sometimes entered a somnambulic +condition, revealing things which surprised his parents, who said that +angels spoke through him. As a child, he had the idea of God as one, +without any conception of a Trinity. Later he received instruction in +the systematic theology of his day. His father gave him a thorough +training in the Oriental and classical languages. The early mysticism +of the boy was supplanted by a thirst for knowledge of the phenomena of +life and nature, coupled to a burning desire to illustrate his reading +by practical experiments. Having entered the University of Upsala, he +at first devoted himself to the study of the classical languages and +literature, later to that of mathematics and natural science. When the +university was visited by the plague in 1710, and almost all courses of +instruction were interrupted, Swedenborg made a journey for scientific +purposes to England, Holland, France and Germany. He returned in 1714, +enriched with valuable results. In 1716-18 he published the first +scientific journal of Sweden, “Dædalus Hyperboreus,” treating subjects +of mathematics and physical science. In 1716 he came in close personal +contact with Charles XII. at the university town of Lund. The king, +being deeply impressed by his great learning and practical ability, +appointed him assistant assessor of the college of mining. Swedenborg +had, by the scholar Eric Benzelius, been made acquainted with the idea +of the old Bishop Brask, of the time of Gustavus I., to “cut up the +land” between the North Sea and the Baltic to make a navigable route +through Sweden. Swedenborg gave close attention to this scheme, and +communicated his plans to Charles XII., who became very much interested +in them. Christopher Polhem was selected to build the great canal, and +Swedenborg was made his assistant. We know from the sketch of Polhem’s +life why the great work failed of accomplishment. Swedenborg gave a +proof of his superior genius as a practical engineer during the siege +of Fredericshall. Tordenskiold made the sea unsafe and had hedged in +the Swedish fleet at Iddefiord. The Swedish boats and galleys were then +carried overland to the town of Strœmstad, travelling the main road +for fifteen miles on rolling machines devised by Swedenborg. After the +death of Charles XII., whom he highly respected, Swedenborg travelled +to Saxony and Hungary to study the mining industry of these countries. +Returning in 1722, he entered for the first time upon his work of the +college of mining, becoming assessor a few years later. In 1719 he was +ennobled with his brothers and sisters, when the change of name from +Svedberg to Swedenborg was made. In 1724 he declined to accept the +chair of mathematics at the University of Upsala, dividing his time +between his official work and his studies, until 1747, when he resigned +from his position with a pension of the same amount as his salary. His +religious works were commenced in 1745, and after that time he made +repeated journeys to London or Amsterdam to have these printed, as they +could not be published in Sweden on account of the strict and highly +orthodox censure of that period. + +In 1744 the event occurred which Swedenborg in various places of +his works has described as the opening of his spiritual sight, or +the manifestations of the Lord to him in person. He had not, by +geometrical, physical and metaphysical principles, succeeded in +grasping the infinite and the spiritual, or their relation to the +nature of man, but he had touched on facts and methods which seemed +to conduct him in the right direction. He thought that God had led +him into the natural sciences in order to prepare him for his later +spiritual development. The visions of his boyhood returned, now +conceived by a nature enriched by the experiences of a life spent in +ardent and scientific research. The great seer remained a man whom +everybody loved and respected. People who did not believe in his +visions feared to ridicule them in the presence of this august savant. +His manner of life was simple, his diet chiefly consisting of bread, +milk and large quantities of coffee. He made little distinction between +night and day, and sometimes lay for days in a trance. His servants +were often disturbed at night by hearing him engaged in what he called +conflicts with evil spirits. His intercourse with spirits was often +perfectly calm, in broad daylight, and with all his faculties awake. +He held that every man and woman has the same power of spiritual +intercourse, although not developed in the same degree as it was found +in him. + +The work which established the scientific reputation of Swedenborg was +published, in 1734, in three massive folios, at the expense of Duke +Ludvig Rudolph of Brunswick. The second and third volumes describe +the best methods employed in Europe and America in the manufacture +of iron, copper and brass. The first volume contains a philosophical +explanation of the elementary world which has aroused admiration as a +beautiful, daring and consistent creation of human genius, worthy of +being placed side by side with the works of Newton, and replete with +remarkable ideas and anticipations of later discoveries. Swedenborg +indicated the existence of the seventh planet forty years before Uranus +was discovered by Herschel. He was the first to form an idea of the +development of nebulæ from chaotic masses to concrete heavenly bodies, +a hypothesis later perfected by Herschel, and the first to offer the +theory, later developed by Buffon, Kant and La Place, of the solar +origin of the planets and their satellites. As in astronomy, so also in +physics and geology he preconceived great discoveries. His experiments +and theories in physics have been confirmed by the discoveries +of the polarity of light and the galvanometer and its magnetic +properties. Swedenborg discovered before anybody else the great +importance of magnetism and the fact that magnetism and electricity +are manifestations of the same power. He made observations concerning +air and water which have been confirmed as to their correctness by +Priestley, Cavendish and Lavoisier, who long were supposed to have been +the first discoverers. In geology, he was the first to demonstrate +that the Scandinavian peninsula, except the southern part of Scania, +was a rising continent, proving the earlier level of the sea to have +been much higher and the inland lakes to have stood in connection with +the sea. Through his remarks on bowlders, he gave rise to the later +theories of Berzelius and Sæfstrom of a bowlder period. Upon these +researches followed great and remarkable works of anatomy, which, by +later anatomists of the first rank, have been declared to be classics +in the literature of physiology. His immense work, “Arcana Cœlestia,” +and other theosophical writings which he has placed as a foundation +for the New Church, and on which his present fame rests, were not so +celebrated in his days as his scientific works. Like the latter, they +were all written in Latin. + +The new religion, founded by Swedenborg, more spiritual than the old, +has proved equally attractive to the individual and idealistic thinkers +of all sects, Protestants and Catholics, Unitarians and Theosophists. +Swedenborg made no attempt to establish a sect, and the New Church as +an organization is the result of a movement which was started after his +death. + +In his personal appearance Swedenborg was a middle-sized man of strong +constitution. His head was of a fine shape, the color of his face +somewhat dark and its expression pensive, but his blue eyes were large +and radiant. His disposition was amiable. He was a man of the world, +fond of music and society, especially of that of cultured women, and +was often seen at court. He had a tendency to stutter when speaking +fast, for which reason he used a slow diction, characterized by choice +and mature expressions. In his youth, he frequented the house of +Christopher Polhem and fell in love with his daughter Emerentia. Both +Polhem and Charles XII. favored the idea of seeing them united, the +young girl of fourteen giving her consent. But young Emerentia was +secretly in love with somebody else, and her health and disposition +suffered under the strain. When Swedenborg discovered the truth, he +gave his betrothed freedom from her allegiance. He ceased to visit the +house of Polhem and never entered any other relation of love. + +In 1770, at the age of eighty-two, Swedenborg for the last time +visited Amsterdam. John C. Cuno, who then saw him, thus described the +impression which the aged visionary and thinker made upon him: “He +looked so touchingly pious, and when I gazed into his smiling eyes of a +heavenly blue, it always seemed to me that truth itself spoke from his +lips.” Swedenborg left Amsterdam for London, where, on Christmas eve, +1772, he was struck by hemiplegia. After a few weeks he recovered his +speech, and his faculties were clear to the last. The chaplain of the +Swedish legation asked him if he had not formulated the doctrines of +his new religion in order to gain fame, and if he wished to recall it +all before he died. The yet partly paralyzed man raised himself into +a sitting position, saying: “As true as it is that you see me here in +front of you, as true is also all that I have written, and in eternity +you will find a confirmation of it.” The chaplain asked him if he +wanted to receive the sacrament. Swedenborg answered: “I need it not; +for I am already a member of the other world; but your intention is +good, and I will with joy receive the sacrament in token of the bond +of unity between heaven and earth.” Swedenborg died March 29, 1772, and +was buried in the Lutheran church of London. + +Swedenborg was shrewd in worldly affairs and discussed politics and +finance in the Swedish Riksdag for nearly a score of years after his +visions and theological writings had begun to occupy most of his time. + +If the theological works of Emanuel Swedenborg at first were apt to +discredit the results of his manifold scientific research in the eyes +of those who did not share his theosophical views, the renown of the +great religious thinker in later times has outshone the fame of which, +as the versatile scholar and philosopher, he was so eminently worthy. +With his younger contemporary, Charles Linnæus (or Carl von Linné), the +case was different. There was in his career no radical change to divert +or throw an umbrage over the fame he had won as a scientist of the very +first rank. + +Charles Linnæus, the most celebrated of Swedish scientists, was born +at Rashult, in Smaland, in 1707. His father was a minister of a very +subordinate charge of the state church. The neighborhood in which the +young Linnæus grew up was not fertile, but rich in flowers, which were +the toys and comrades of his childhood. He made but little progress at +his work in the college of Vexio, being more fond of collecting and +examining plants than of studying Greek and Latin. It was the wish of +his parents that he should become a minister and the assistant of his +father; but the youth had so little inclination to pursue the life or +studies of a clergyman that he at last found it necessary to tell his +parents so. He had found a friend and protector in Doctor Rothman, +a district physician, who encouraged him to follow his ambition of +becoming a naturalist and physician. Doctor Rothman supervised his +studies in botany and succeeded in teaching him Latin by giving him +the natural history of Pliny to study. In this manner Linnæus, who at +college showed utter dislike for the classical languages, learned to +write and speak Latin with ease. His teachers, who at first had advised +his parents to let him quit the book, in order to take up some trade, +were made aware of his gifted nature, but as he was found deficient in +the regular courses, their recommendation, necessary for his admittance +to the University of Lund, was very carefully worded. “The youths +in our colleges may be likened unto little trees in a plant school, +where it happens, although but rarely, that young trees upon which the +greatest care have been lavished do not turn out well, but resemble +wild stems, yet, when removed and transplanted, change their wild +nature and develop into beautiful trees of agreeable fruit. Likewise, +and for no other purpose, this youth is sent to the university, where +he may venture into a climate favorable to his growth.” There was +an accurate but unconscious prophecy concealed in this beautiful +“recommendation,” which, curiously enough, has chosen the similes which +were considered indispensable in the artificial language of the period +from the world of plants, when speaking of the future flower king of +the North. + +The young Linnæus made his way to the university town of Southern +Sweden, walking the whole distance from Vexio to Lund, with a heavy +knapsack and a light pocket-book. He was in hopes to win the protection +of his uncle, the influential dean of the cathedral. Upon entering +Lund, he heard all church bells tolling, and, upon inquiry, learned +that they rang for the funeral of his uncle, the dean! A former +teacher of his managed to have him enrolled at the university without +having to turn in the diplomatic recommendation from his college. He +took his bachelor’s degree and was kindly encouraged by Professor +Chilian Stobæus, at whose house he was stopping. The mother of Stobæus +told him to look after the young man from Smaland, who was in the habit +of going to sleep with his candle left burning, thus liable to “lead +the whole house into adventure.” When the learned professor looked into +the matter he found his own works in the hands of the youth, who spent +his nights reading them. After that all the books and the heartfelt +sympathy of the scholar were at the command of Linnæus. + +In 1728 Linnæus, so advised by his earliest protector, changed his +place of study to the University of Upsala, which at the time was +better equipped and provided with a fine botanical garden. The young +scholar endured a great deal of suffering for lack of funds, his +father no longer being able to provide for his support. His diet was +very light, and he wrapped his benumbed feet in paper to keep them +from peeping out of his ragged shoes. His father called him home to +reconsider his resolution as to a ministerial calling. Linnæus was +ready to leave and paid a farewell visit to the botanic gardens. He +lingered in melancholy thoughts before a rare flower which he intended +to pluck. A harsh voice behind commanded him to leave the flower alone. +Linnæus turned and stood face to face with the dean, Olof Celsius the +Elder. In the interview which followed the young man surprised the +dean, who was an able and enthusiastic botanist, by his exceptional +knowledge of plants. Celsius inquired about his circumstances and ended +by taking him into his house and providing for his future. Shortly +afterward Linnæus published a short but important treatise on the +sexual life of plants, which he handed in to Professor Olof Rudbeck +the Younger. This able scholar was forcibly struck by the ingenuity +of the thoughts in the work, which contained the nucleus to the grand +scientific system which Linnæus later developed. When, in 1730, Rudbeck +obtained a vacation he had Linnæus installed as a lecturer of the +botanic gardens. Shortly afterward Linnæus received the commission to +pay a visit of botanic research to Lapland, on the plants of which he +published a remarkable work. The journey was made on horseback, the +young scholar returning deeply impressed by the grandeur of natural +sceneries in the extreme North. + +Linnæus had to fight poverty and adversity for some time still. His +mother, who always had regretted that he should “turn out a surgeon +instead of a minister,” was elated over his first triumph when opening +the field of a new science by his sexual system of plants. He suffered +all the more at her death, which he was forced to conceal because he +could not afford a mourning garb. Envious comrades put an end to his +lectures at Upsala by having enforced, through petitions, an order +against the filling of temporary vacancies by men who had not taken +the doctor’s degree. It was found necessary for Linnæus to go abroad, +and some money was subscribed by his friends for that purpose. In +Holland he met the learned Professor Boerhave, who, on being made +acquainted with his system of botany, which Linnæus then for the first +time published, received him with tokens of unlimited admiration and +friendship. It was by Boerhave that the continental fame of Linnæus +was founded. The latter found, in the arranging of the great gardens +of Hartekamp intrusted to him, a work both agreeable and instructive. +In London, Linnæus broadened his experience with study of the rich +collections of plants and naturalia which were made accessible to +him by the celebrated scholar Hans Sloane, later the founder of the +British Museum. The letter of recommendation from Boerhave was somewhat +different to the one Linnæus had received at Vexio: “Linnæus, who +hands you this letter, is the only one worthy to see you, and to be +seen by you. Those who see you together look upon two men the peers of +which the world does hardly possess.” After a stay in Paris, where the +greatest scientists of France treated him with distinction, he returned +to Holland, to find his friend Boerhave dying in Leyden. Linnæus kissed +the hand of the dying man, who insisted on kissing the hand of Linnæus +in return, pronouncing him the greater genius, of whom the world should +expect and receive more. + +Linnæus, the celebrated founder of a new science, returned home as an +unknown man. His ability as a physician, acquired at the University of +Leyden, and his growing continental fame soon made him distinguished. +In 1741 he was appointed professor of medicine at Upsala, but changed +chairs with the professor of botany. The study of the latter science +was highly developed through the continued research of Linnæus, and +became very popular, while giving a great impetus to the study of +medicine. The grace and animation of Linnæus as a lecturer caused +students and scholars to flock around him in hundreds. The botanic +excursions led by Linnæus resembled daily marches of triumphs, the +multitude of students escorting their beloved teacher back to the +botanic gardens with flowers in their hats and with music of drums +and French horns. Sweden, with Upsala as a centre, was for the first +time in history considered a home of scientific culture, to which +naturalists gathered from all parts of the world, America included. +Pupils of ability and distinction were sent by Linnæus to strange and +unknown quarters, from which they returned with new and unfamiliar +plants, which were examined and classified by the flower king of the +North. Linnæus was honored by his contemporaries in such a superlative +manner as no one of his countrymen, before or after, and few other +scientists of any age or country. Count Charles Gustavus Tessin has the +credit of having encouraged him in his work and improved his career +upon his return from the Continent. When ennobled, Linnæus changed his +name to Von Linné, the earlier form being the more familiar to English +readers. King Gustavus III. presented him with the estate Hammarby, +where he liked to dwell, surrounded by his flowers and his family, +resting from the fatigue caused by the endless stream of distinguished +pilgrims who came to visit his flower court at Upsala. The offers of +foreign monarchs to have him come and dwell with them were many and +liberal. In 1739 he married the love of his youth, Maria Elizabeth +Moræus, “and never since felt an inclination to leave Sweden.” + +Linnæus in many respects resembled Swedenborg, being convinced that +his acceptance of truth was the correct one and disliking disputes. +Like Swedenborg, he was pious, modest, benevolent and sincere. Of his +own exterior and disposition Linnæus has himself given the following +characteristic account: “Linnæus was not tall, not small, lean, +brown-eyed, light, quick, walked briskly, did everything promptly, +disliked slow people, was sensitive, easily moved, worked continuously +and could not spare himself. He was fond of good food and drank good +drinks, but never to excess. He cared little for exteriors, considering +that man should adorn his dress and not vice versa. Faculty meetings +were not his delight, or business, for he was made for quite other +things, and had other things in mind than those which there were +discussed and decided upon.” In the preface to the late edition of his +principal work, “Systema Naturæ,” the following noteworthy paragraph +is found: “I saw the shadow of the Supreme Being go past me, and I was +seized with respect and admiration. I searched for His footsteps in +the sand--what power, what wisdom! I saw how the animals existed only +by means of the plants, the plants by means of the lifeless particles, +and these in their turn constitute the earth. I saw the sun and stars +without number hanging suspended in the air, held by the hand of the +Being of beings, the artist of this grand masterpiece.” + +Linnæus died January 10, 1778, and was buried in the cathedral of +Upsala. His botanic system has been superseded by others, but the +influence that his researches and discoveries have exerted on the +natural sciences and medicine, has not ceased to be benignantly felt, +nor have the utmost results of his researches been as yet attained. + +Andrew Celsius, professor of astronomy at Upsala, acquired fame as +a writer on astronomy and was successful in his efforts to have +an observatory built at the university. In 1742 he introduced his +invention, the Celsius or centigrade thermometer, which is of almost +indispensable practical value in all physical and chemical experiments. +Olof Celsius, Senior, the able botanist, Orientalist and patron of +Linnæus, was his uncle, he thus being a cousin of Olof Celsius, Junior, +whose brightly written histories of Gustavus Vasa and Eric XIV. were +translated into contemporaneous French and German. + +John Ahlstrœmer accomplished more for the resurrection of the +downtrodden industry of his country than any one else, and therefore +justly deserves the name of the Father of Swedish Industry. This man, +who occupies an honored place in Swedish history, was born in 1685, of +poor parents, at the town of Alingsos, in West Gothland, his original +name being John Toresson. He worked himself up in various mercantile +positions in Stockholm and other towns, later coming to London, where +he engaged in business of his own and became an English citizen. He +saw with regret that his countrymen sent their money abroad to obtain +articles which they could manufacture at home, and was seized with the +ambition to introduce into Sweden the industries which constitute the +foundation of England’s mercantile wealth. + +When Charles XII. returned to Sweden, Ahlstrœmer went there also, +trying to win the king to his industrial plans. He did not succeed, +but found in Christopher Polhem a man who listened to and appreciated +them. Ahlstrœmer intended to return to England, but was captured by the +Danes during the journey. On account of his English citizenship he soon +regained his liberty, visiting England and the Continent, and carefully +selecting everything which he had in view of sending to Sweden as the +requisite instruments for his plans. This work sometimes involved great +danger, as the buying of looms for hose and ribbon, fulling vats, dyes, +etc.; for the great manufacturing countries were keeping jealous watch +that the secrets of their industries should not become known abroad. In +a town in Holland, Ahlstrœmer barely missed being pelted with stones +by the mob. Pursued by the revenue authorities, he managed to escape +with his ship, arriving safely in Gothenburg with the valuable cargo +and skilled laborers in his employ. Shortly afterward he arrived in +his native town of Alingsos, where the industrial enterprises were +established. The Riksdag at first was unwilling to grant him the +necessary concessions, the clergy especially being averse to allow so +many foreign workingmen free confession of their Catholic religion. In +1724 the concessions were at last obtained, and Ahlstrœmer began his +course, which he was resolved should result in the fostering of the +same industrial activity in his impoverished country, which he, with +surprise, had noticed in England and on the Continent. + +In establishing his enterprises, Ahlstrœmer exhausted his resources, +and when he tried to form a company to keep them going he was met with +stubborn resistance, caused by ignorance and jealousy. He succeeded at +last in obtaining the financial backing of some wealthy mine owners +of Vermland, who took shares in his enterprises. The Riksdag of 1726 +encouraged him by placing high protective or prohibitive tariffs +on foreign articles which could be produced in the country. In the +following year King Frederic paid a visit to Alingsos, spending a +whole day in looking over the mills and factories. The king said that +he would rather own the stock of goods of Ahlstrœmer than the largest +arsenal in his kingdom, and saw to it that his servants were dressed in +broadcloth manufactured at Alingsos. + +Alingsos saw its population suddenly increase from 300 to 1,800 and +entered upon an era of prosperity. Ahlstrœmer’s factories formed almost +a little town of their own beside the older one. There were twelve +looms for the manufacturing of broadcloth, forty-five looms for +wool, and, besides, cotton mills, dye works for wool and silk, hose +factories, an English tannery and various other industrial works. Also +a foundry, with eight communicating shops, where all kinds of household +articles of simple and composite metals were manufactured. Alingsos +was made a kind of normal school of industry for the whole country. +The foreign master workmen, who at the beginning had charge of the +factories, instructed in time a great number of native apprentices, who +later found employment elsewhere, thus distributing to various parts +the experience obtained at Alingsos. Wool was the principal material +in the factories, and in order to obtain a refined quality, Ahlstrœmer +imported stocks of foreign breeds. He commenced with English sheep, the +Riksdag of 1727 granting him the use of the royal estate Hœjentorp for +the purpose. Angora goats were later imported and seemed to thrive. + +Ahlstrœmer did his country a great service by introducing the +cultivation of potatoes. The first shipment of this useful plant +arrived in 1723, with workingmen imported from France. As soon as +the plant was seen to stand the climate, larger quantities were sent +for. Potatoes were cultivated in the vast fields around Alingsos +at a period when they were exhibited in the botanic gardens of the +Continent as rare plants from Peru. Prejudice at first interfered, +but when the soldiers returned home from Pomerania with the habit of +eating potatoes, and planted such around their cottages, the popularity +of the Peruvian plant was assured. Ahlstrœmer also introduced the +cultivation of tobacco and several dye plants. The coal mines, near +Helsingborg, in Scania, commenced to be operated at his instigation. +When the Academy of Science was instituted, in 1739, Ahlstrœmer was +made one of its members. The Academy of Science served originally and +in that era of utilitarianism a more practical purpose than later. The +Cap administration of Arvid Horn gave comparatively little attention +to the enterprises of Ahlstrœmer, having more in view to develop +agriculture than industry. When the Hats got into power the conditions +were reversed. Count Charles Gyllenborg, the successor of Arvid Horn +as president of the chancery, in order to set a good example, always +dressed in broadcloth of Swedish manufacture. Ahlstrœmer was made a +councillor of commerce, and ennobled, while his bust was placed in the +Exchange of Stockholm and medals issued in his honor by the Academy of +Science. + +Ahlstrœmer was a middle-sized man of a strong constitution. He was +amiable, courteous and hospitable, ever ready to conduct visitors +through his factories and warehouses. His energy was as great as his +kindness, and he refused to recognize an enemy in anybody. The large +profits of his plants he mostly spent on other patriotic enterprises, +leaving hardly any other inheritance to his sons than an excellent +education. During the last few years of his life he suffered the +consequences of a stroke of paralysis. He died in 1761, and thus was +saved from witnessing the destruction which was caused to the new +factory industry and his own works at Alingsos by the reckless policy +of the new Caps. + +Olof Dalin is the principal poet and writer of the Period of Liberty, +strongly influencing not only the creative minds of his own day, but +also those who with more or less right have been counted as belonging +to the Gustavian Period. Dalin was the son of a minister in the +province of Halland and a relative of Professor Andrew Rydelius of +Lund, a historian of the older generation, who conducted the course of +his studies. He came to Stockholm in 1726, where several positions in +various state departments afforded opportunity for study in libraries +and archives. Dalin, from the year 1732 to 1734, published a magazine +called “The Swedish Argus,” which, with the English “Spectator” as +a pattern, contained articles on public and individual morals, with +allusions to the facts of contemporary life. This publication caused a +great stir and became very popular on account of the acute logic and +excellent language of its editor. Dalin was appointed royal librarian +by the Riksdag, and, on the recommendation of Count Tessin, teacher to +the young crown prince Gustavus. + +Dalin was an enthusiastic admirer of the glorious epoch of Swedish +history and of the character of Charles XII., which caused him to join +the party of the Hats. When the latter utterly failed in their attempts +to restore the political grandeur of the past, and Dalin witnessed the +excesses of the rivalling parties, he joined the secret agitators for +an increased royal power. In the literary and artistic circle of the +brilliant Queen Louise Ulrica, Dalin was the leading spirit. He was +not unaware of the conspiracies and intrigues of the queen, and is +supposed to have been the author of several of the sharp notes which +the king added to the records of the state council. The Hats, who +took offence at his sharp satires, made him resign from his position +as the teacher of the crown prince. After the conspiracy of the court +party was detected, Dalin was called before a committee of the Estates +and by order dismissed from the court. Dalin used the time of his +compulsory isolation for the writing of a history of Sweden. This +work, which never was carried further than to the end of the Period +of Reformation, is characterized by an attractive style, but is not +reliable as to facts. + +Dalin was allowed to return to the court in 1761. He stood in great +favor and was covered with testimonials of appreciation. He died in +1763, at the moment when King Adolphus Frederic was resolved to make +him a state councillor. Dalin was the first writer who made Swedish +history popular, and exerted, by his poems and his magazine, and by his +education of Gustavus III., a considerable influence upon the history +of his own time. + +In point of scientific research the historical works of Sven Lagerbring +have a much higher value than Dalin’s history, although they lacked the +literary excellence of the latter. Lagerbring, who, born in Scania, was +professor of history at the University of Lund, carried his work to the +times of Charles VIII. A shorter history of his was translated into +French and long formed the chief source of continental knowledge of +Swedish history. + +As a poet Dalin had a rival in the somewhat younger Hedvig Charlotta +Nordenflycht, one of the most interesting characters in Swedish history +of literature. Her works, chiefly consisting of lyrics and idyls, +show a long chain of development from the taste of the Carolinian +period to that of the Gustavian epoch. In her deep emotional nature +and enthusiasm for all cultural movements she stands without a +rival. Receiving an annuity from the government, she was after many +adversities able to maintain a literary salon. The men who met there, +like Gustavus Philip Creutz and Gustavus Frederic Gyllenborg, were the +founders of an academic style in poetry, as was Charles Gustavus Tessin +in eloquence. + +John Ihre is perhaps the most highly gifted of Swedish philologists +and the first whose research had a lasting scientific value. He stood +at the summit of contemporary European study of language, and rose a +head or more higher than the philologists of his own country in that +day. The period was characterized by a movement for the purification +and analyzation of the language, Dalin expressing his wish to speak the +truth to the Swedes in pure Swedish, and the Academy of Science taking +pride in publishing their important papers in the mother tongue. Eric +Benzelius, an able critic of the Gothic, and interested in Swedish +dialect research, was one of the precursors of Ihre; and so was Olof +Celsius, Senior, professor of Greek, later of Oriental languages, who +was the first to fix the age of the majority of Runic inscriptions as +dating from the Christian era. + +John Ihre was born, in 1707, in Lund, where his father was a professor +of theology, a talented, witty and learned man. The young Ihre lost his +father in 1720, after which time his uncle, Archbishop Steuchius of +Upsala, had charge of his education. He later studied modern languages +at the University of Jena, made the acquaintance of the contemporary +philologists of Holland, and also studied at the universities of +London, Oxford and Paris. After an absence of three years he returned, +soon to be connected with the University of Upsala, where he remained +for forty-two years as professor of rhetoric and politics. Ihre was +a liberal, outspoken man, who was severely censured for his opinions +upon political and religious subjects, once by the Riksdag being +sentenced to pay fines and receiving a warning from the chancellor +of the university. When the clergy upon another occasion warned the +philosophers not to mix in theological subjects, Ihre defended himself +in the following terms in a letter to the chancellor, Count Charles +Gustavus Tessin. “Gracious lord! I teach _eloquentiam_, _politicam_ +and the states, with all things pertaining to them. To become a heretic +I possess neither genius nor stupidity enough, less an evil purpose. +Therefore I am willing to forego all theology, if only an allowance +of it be made large enough for my private practice and edification in +Christianity. I never intended to go any further.” + +Ihre left religion and politics alone, and received many high +distinctions in return for his great scientific merits. When ennobled, +he kept his old family name, stating that he was “somewhat known abroad +under the name of Ihre,” while if he changed it to Gyllenbiorn or +Vargstierna, it would take “some time to announce this new disguise.” +He was renowned for his ready wit, and wielded a considerable influence +in academic circles. Ihre was satisfied with his position and his +science, and was not willing to exchange them for a political career. + +Ihre was led to the study of the Teutonic languages in their oldest +forms by his desire to find a consistent spelling and correct +understanding of the words in his own language. He was desirous of +freeing it from foreign words, but only when those substituted were as +expressive and comprehensible as the old. Ihre was a pioneer in the +field of dialect lexicographers, publishing the outline of a Swedish +dialect dictionary in 1766, and wrote a number of works pertaining to +the historic forms of Gothic, Lappish, Finnish and Old Norse. Special +importance is due to his epoch-making research concerning the language +of the Codex Argenteus. He once for all settled the controversy, +proving the Codex to contain the Gothic Bible translation of Bishop +Wulfila against the assertions of M. Lacroze of Berlin, who claimed +that it was written in Frankish. In regard to the Edda of Snorre +Sturleson, he declared it to be intended as an introductory study +of poesy, a handbook of poetics for young scalds, an opinion which +has been fully established in a much later time. By these and other +theories Ihre attained a much higher standpoint as a scientific critic +than his contemporaries. He spoke of the resemblance between the +Teutonic and the classical languages, without being able to find the +reasons. He even to some extent anticipated the great discovery which +after its formulator has been called Grimm’s Law, by pointing out “a +certain regularity of consonant shift” in the Teutonic languages. + +The monumental work of Ihre and the crowning effort of his life was +prepared between the years 1750-1759. This Glossarium suiogothicum, +published at the expense of the government, is the best Swedish +dictionary of the eighteenth century. Ihre by his severe critical +method kills the wild etymologies of the “Rudbeckian philology,” +turning to Old Swedish for the derivations, and, where this gave no +satisfaction, to the Old Icelandic, “because this language nine hundred +years ago was separated from our own and has remained undisturbed +by foreign influence.” From the Old Northern dialects he turned to +Old High German, Old English and Gothic, the last mentioned of which +he considered the mother of the Teutonic languages. Many of Ihre’s +etymologies have not been able to withstand the scrutiny of later +criticism, but his great etymological dictionary is the product of +versatile knowledge and unusual insight, and has not only exerted a +profound influence upon his own period but also served as a model for +later epochs of philological research. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +_Gustavian Period--Gustavus III. and Gustavus IV. Adolphus_ + + +Gustavus III., with his brilliant endowment, one of the most +illustrious, and, in spite of his glaring faults, one of the most +beloved, of Swedish monarchs, was the first king since Charles XII. +who was born in Sweden. For this very reason, and on account of his +amiable and charming disposition, he had won for himself the sympathy +of the people even before his succession to the throne. This nephew +of Frederic the Great of Prussia had inherited the genius, ambition +and pride of his gifted mother, all enlarged and intensified, and the +gentleness and good nature of his father. He was in every particular +a child of his time, and every inch a king. Gustavus was decidedly +French in education, taste and superficiality, but had by his first +teacher Dalin been inspired with a deep love of his country, its +history, language and traditions. He handled the Swedish and French +languages with equal skill, and a more eloquent monarch has never +graced a throne. He was passionately fond of theatricals and impressive +ceremony, and, like his mother and illustrious uncle, he surrounded +himself with men of genius. Gustavus was betrothed to Princess Sophie +Magdalene of Denmark when only four years of age, and married her when +twenty. This union was arranged by the Riksdag, contrary to the wish +of Gustavus’s parents. Gustavus appeared at first to be deeply in +love with the gentle and unpretentious princess, but she soon found +herself as neglected by her consort as she was detested by his mother. +The crown prince early began to hate the form of government which had +brought so much humiliation to his parents. This absolutism of the +Riksdag, which could be bought and sold through bribery by foreign +powers, he considered dangerous to the independence and welfare of the +country, and was resolved to change the balance of power to the hands +of the king, of whose dignity and importance he held an exalted opinion. + +At the death of his father, Gustavus was in France, returning with +the agreement of a secret alliance. At the Riksdag of 1771, where the +Caps once more came into power, Gustavus III. signed a pledge with new +restrictions of the royal authority. But while the king officially +seemed to desire a pacification of both parties, and his time was +principally occupied with theatricals, embroideries and costumes, he +was secretly arranging a conspiracy. He was crowned in May, 1772, +and in August the news of a revolt in Scania, led by John Christian +Toll, reached the capital. The king feigned surprise, but waited for +similar news from Finland, whence Jacob Magnus Sprengtporten was to +bring troops to Stockholm. As Sprengtporten’s movements were somewhat +delayed, the king had to take action himself. In the morning of +August 19th he entered the officers’ hall of the body-guards, where +he delivered a patriotic address, asking the officers to follow him +as their ancestors had followed Gustavus Vasa and Gustavus Adolphus. +He was greeted with an enthusiasm which soon spread throughout the +capital, assuring the king of perfect loyalty. The state councillors +were quickly arrested and order given that no one should be allowed to +leave the capital. The Riksdag was called together August 21st, and +addressed by the king in an eloquent speech which gave a striking view +of the situation and its perils. He declared that he was not going +to touch liberty, only to abolish misrule by the establishment of a +firm administration. Then was read the proposition for a constitution +which the king had prepared. The king alone was to be the executive, +appointing higher officials and councillors, making alliances with +foreign powers, but not commencing any war of attack without the +consent of the Riksdag. The state council was to consist of seventeen +members with deliberative, but no executive, power. The Riksdag was +to convene at the order of the king, taxation and legislation to be +decided on by the king and Riksdag in common. The judicial power of +all committees was to be abolished. The Riksdag accepted the royal +propositions, and one of the most smoothly and skilfully managed _coups +d’état_ ever attempted was accomplished, much to the dismay of Russia, +Prussia and Denmark. During half a score of years the country enjoyed a +happy peace, the king winning the love of his people and being active +in administrative improvements. + +Gustavus III. was intensely interested in literature and art, and a +writer of considerable ability, composing dramatic works of French +pattern but with patriotic subjects. In his best creations he is +influenced by Shakespeare. Among the poets whom he encouraged were +Kellgren, Leopold, Creutz, Gyllenborg, Oxenstierna, Adlerbeth, the +creators of a classical school of Swedish poetry and drama, influenced +by the contemporary French writers. Above these towers Charles +Michael Bellman, who, with his composite and rich endowment, became +the first great national poet, and of an originality as remarkable +as that of any genius in the literature of the world. The humor +introduced into Swedish literature through the contact with the songs +of the Edda, in Bellman reaches its perfection, while his poetry +in exquisite and triumphant grace of form outrivals that of his +classical contemporaries. His poems were almost all produced under +the inspiration of the moment, even if later remodelled, and sung +to the lute to melodies of the day, or of his own composition. His +impressionistic power of description leads the thought to the modern +artists, while his ambition to unite the arts of poetry, music and +plastics makes him a precursor of Neo-Romanticism. There is not one +accent of chauvinism, not even a note of patriotism, in his songs, yet +he is the most beloved of Swedish poets, recognized as the highest +exponent of the lyrico-rhetorical temperament of his people, a mixture +of melancholy humor and exuberant joy in a graceful yet stately form. +Anne Marie Lenngren was a highly talented poetess, who preserves the +classic form for her verse, in which she ridicules the faults and +vices of her period. Thorild and Lidner were men of great genius, +but of somewhat bizarre and neglected literary form, influenced +by contemporary Romanticism in Germany. Sweden continues to add a +number of names to the galaxy of men distinguished in the service of +natural science, those of Bergman and Scheele, the founders of modern +chemistry, being the most renowned. To the Academy of Science and +Academy of Art, established during the Period of Liberty, Gustavus +added a Swedish Academy and a National Theatre for the encouragement +of poetry, eloquence, music and drama. It is during this period that +the Swedish language developed the beauty and plasticity for which it +holds the first rank among Teutonic dialects, and is considered one +of the most musical languages of the world. Of artists, the painters +Hœrberg, Hillestrœm and Roslin rose to great continental fame, while +Sergel, through the genius and tendencies of his works one of the most +remarkable sculptors of modern times, won renown for his name, but +hardly the very highest perfection within his possibilities. His statue +of Gustavus III. is the finest monument of Stockholm. + +Sweden, so rich in great poets, artists and scientists, is poor in +philosophers, content with the systems of thinkers in more favored +countries. Swedenborg is an important exception to this rule. Not +satisfied with an original system, with pure reason as the fundamental +principle, he divined a system in which philosophy and religion are +inseparably united. Kant, when made acquainted with Swedenborg’s +earlier system, was utterly astonished, expressing fear that he +himself had been an object of thought-transference, when writing his +celebrated work, “Kritik der reinen Vernunft.” The system of Descartes +was followed by Swedish philosophers of the Carolinian epoch. During +the Period of Liberty and the reign of Gustavus III., Locke, Voltaire +and Diderot were supreme. At the close of the eighteenth century, Kant +began to exert great influence, Benjamin Hœijer being his talented and +individualistic disciple, and enjoying the reputation of having been +Sweden’s greatest original thinker. Charles August Ehrensverd, an able +warrior and statesman of the Gustavian epoch, devised an attractive and +novel, although slightly dilettantic, system of his own, the Philosophy +of Fine Arts. + +The suspicions that Gustavus III. was not satisfied with the share of +power which he obtained in 1772, and that he was anxious to gain fame +by the means of war, were found to be justified. In 1786 he called a +Riksdag, at which most of his propositions, to his great surprise, +were stubbornly opposed. Catherine II. of Russia was intriguing with +the Finnish nobles for the purpose of establishing the independence of +Finland under Russian protection. But she was careful not to commence +hostilities. Attempts made by Gustavus III. to bring the Norwegian +people in revolt against Denmark failed. And so Gustavus, who had no +authority to begin a war of attack, arranged for a simulated Russian +assault on the Finnish boundary, executed by Finnish peasants in +disguise. He declared war on Russia, in June, 1788, although nobody +was found willing to believe in the feigned cause of it. The actual +hostilities were opened by a brilliant naval battle at Hogland, fought +with success by the Swedish fleet under command of Prince Charles, the +brother of the king, against the Russians. The king had arrived in +Finland resolved to attack St. Petersburg, which plan he was obliged +to change. All further operations came to a sudden standstill through +mutiny among the Finnish officers in the royal camp at Anjala, 113 +of them signing a document in which they pledged themselves to force +the king to make peace and to convoke the Riksdag. Another document +offering peace and a union of Finland to Russia was despatched to St. +Petersburg with Jægerhorn, one of the leaders. The officers received +a favorable answer from Russia, which was handed to the king, and the +whole army was made acquainted with the proceedings. The king found +himself in a most perilous position, out of which he was saved as by +a miracle. Denmark declared war, and the king hastened to embrace the +opportunity to leave with honor the trap in which his life and liberty +were in danger. + +Gustavus III. sent word to several provinces, asking the inhabitants to +rise in defence of their country. He went himself to Dalecarlia, where +he addressed the peasants when coming from church, as had Gustavus +Vasa. Everywhere the population rose in arms. The king hastened to +Gothenburg, which was threatened by the Danes, and had the city +strongly fortified. England and Prussia sided with Sweden, and the +Danes found it best to retire from Swedish territory. + +Gustavus had won the game. Now for the stakes! He called a Riksdag in +1789. Through his personal courage and patriotism, Gustavus III. had +recaptured the love of his people. The nobility was hated and despised +on account of its responsibility for the mutiny at Anjala and for its +intrigues with Russia. Gustavus III. consequently stood exceedingly +well with the three lower Estates of the Riksdag, but lost their +respect through the many violations of the law which he committed in +forcing upon the Riksdag a new constitution which made him a ruler +with almost absolute power. The nobility stubbornly refused to accept +any change in the constitution. There were many stormy scenes, both +among the nobles and in the presence of the king, who also paid a +visit to the Riddarhus, which he left with the statement that the +nobles were willing to subscribe, the latter loudly protesting. Axel +von Fersen the Elder and several other aristocratic leaders were held +in a prolonged arrest. Archbishop Troil told the king that he did not +wish to be the first archbishop after Gustavus Trolle to sell the +liberty of his country, and begged to be excused from being present at +the deliberations. The poet and royal favorite Adlerbeth, himself a +nobleman, pleaded in the Riksdag the right of his Estate to take action +on the royal propositions. These were in private signed by the speakers +of the four Estates and pronounced by the government as accepted, and +were called an “Act of Union and Security.” This new constitution gave +almost absolute power to the king. The state council was once more, +and forever, swept away and not even mentioned in the constitution. It +was divided into a supreme court and a department for “the preparation +of public affairs.” By taking half of their members only from the +nobility, the greatest privilege of that class was annulled. To the +peasants was extended the privilege of buying land originally belonging +to the nobility. By hard pressure, and in opposition to the nobles, the +king forced the Riksdag to take the responsibility for the state debt, +which had increased considerably. + +Gustavus III. opened the Riksdag as the most popular man of the +country. He closed it as an absolute sovereign who had lost the love +of his people and aroused the revengeful hatred of the nobility. +Gustavus III. was now enabled to continue the Russian war at will. His +sub-commander Stedingk won a victory over the Russians at Porosalmi, +the latter being led by Sprengtporten, the former supporter of Gustavus +III., now a soldier of Empress Catherine. He was killed in the battle. +Prince Charles won a victory at Œland, but was by negligence of his +sub-commander detained from reaping its benefits, Charles August +Ehrensverd defeated a superior Russian naval force at Svensksund with +the “Skerry Fleet,” the creation of his father, Augustinus Ehrensverd. +At the order of the king, he then met a still larger fleet and was +defeated. Dissatisfied with the king and the result, the valiant hero +and philosopher made his report in the following laconic phrase: +“Your majesty has no longer any Skerry Fleet,” and resigned from his +position as admiral-general. In the following year, 1780, the combined +naval forces of Sweden were shut up by the Russian fleet in the bay +of Viborg, and seemed doomed to destruction. But the king gave orders +that all the ships should force a passage, and this heroic effort was +successfully made, through the lines of colossal Russian warships +chained together. The Russian losses were great, and also those of +the Swedes, on account of an explosion on board one of the ships. The +Russians were anxious to gain the victory that escaped them at Viborg, +and decided on July 9th, the day of Empress Catherine’s coronation, as +an appropriate date. The battle was fought at Svensksund, and turned +into a humiliating defeat, the Russians losing 53 ships, 643 cannon +and 14,000 men, and the imperial flag of state; twenty-six of these +ships were entered in the Swedish navy. Peace was made at Værælæ a +month later. No change of territory was involved, but an end was put to +Russian intrigues, and Sweden had once more and forever demonstrated +her power of taking care of her independence. + +The revolution in France made a deep impression upon the factions which +in Sweden were secretly continuing their struggle. The nobility, in +their aristocratic republicanism, sided with the revolutionists, while +the king, an intimate friend of Louis XVI., tried to save the monarchy. +Gustavus III. left Sweden in the summer of 1791, in order to receive +Louis XVI. and his family at the frontier, while Count Axel von Fersen +the Younger, a son of the old aristocratic party leader who had taken +part with distinction in the American revolutionary war, was very near +to saving the royal family through a flight from Paris. King Gustavus +III. waited in vain for the royal fugitives, but commenced active +operations for the forming of an alliance between Sweden, Russia, +Prussia, Austria and Spain against republican France. Sweden and Russia +made a treaty of mutual defence, but the negotiations for a general +alliance were not at a favorable point when Gustavus III. himself fell +by the aristocratic republicans of his own country. + +A conspiracy between the nobles had been formed, the majority being men +of the highest station. Jacob John Anckarstrom, a retired officer, was +found willing to commit the deed of killing the hated despot. After +several unsuccessful attempts, the act was accomplished at a mask ball +in the Royal Opera, the king being shot through the hip. All of the +accomplices present were arrested, and, much to their disappointment, +the king not dying instantly, their plan for a revolution was thus +frustrated. Gustavus III. was shot March 16, 1792, and died March 26, +1792, suffering his fate with fortitude and great presence of mind. +He appointed his brother Charles and his favorite, Charles Gustavus +Armfelt, members of the government during the minority of his son, +Gustavus Adolphus. + +The devotion of his country returned to Gustavus III. at his deathbed, +never to leave him. In spite of his superficiality, violation of the +law, disregard for a constitutional government, and adventurous and +expensive wars, solid reasons remain to love and respect his memory. +His noble patriotism, frank heroism, brilliant genius and great +generosity are worthy of high praise. His revolution of 1789 brought +disastrous consequences, but he furthered the progress of democracy by +annihilation of the aristocratic republic and saved his country from +the tragic fate of Poland. Even if the Period of Liberty is to be +credited for a great deal of the cultural development during his reign, +Gustavus has a large share therein, and Esaias Tegnér is right in his +eulogy when he says: + + “There rests o’er Gustav’s days a golden shimmer, + Fantastic, foreign, frivolous, if you please; + But why complain when _sunshine_ caused the glamour? + Where stood we now if it were not for these? + All culture on an unfree ground is builded, + And barbarous once the base of patriotism true; + But wit was planted, iron-hard language welded, + The song was raised, life more enjoyed and shielded, + And what Gustavian was, is, therefore, Swedish too.” + +In the mixture of patriotism and unreserved cosmopolitanism, true +genius and superficiality, earnestness and recklessness in the +character of Gustavus III., the Swedes have recognized peculiarities +of their own national temperament, for which they are tempted to love +him as dearly, although not considering him to be as great, as his two +predecessors and namesakes on the Swedish throne. By his eloquence, wit +and amiability, his personality charmed even his enemies. In contrast +to the sombre autocrats of the Barocco period, Gustavus III. was a +typical Rococo monarch, and he tried to give the charms and grace of +the Rococo epoch to his surroundings. In appearance, he was of middle +size, slender and graceful, with a face which bespoke genius, and eyes +of unusual size and brilliancy. + +_Gustavus IV. Adolphus_ was a boy of thirteen at the death of his +father. His uncle, Prince Charles, was regent in name, but Baron +Reuterholm, the latter’s favorite, was the real head of the government. +Compared to the eccentric but energetic, generous and liberal +despotism of Gustavus III., Reuterholm’s was a rule of pettiness, +incapability, revenge and hypocrisy. Prince Charles was a good +soldier, but early lost all energy through dissipation and a natural +tendency to mysticism, secrecy and simulation. Reuterholm was a good +worker, but of no ability as a statesman, sharing and increasing the +love of mysticism and superstition characteristic of his master. The +new policy was to estrange the friends and favorites of Gustavus III. +as much as possible, they all being sent away under various pretexts. +Prince Charles had from the start declared invalid the postscript of +the king’s will, according to which Count Armfelt was to take part in +the government. Later a conspiracy, with Armfelt as the leader, was +detected, when he, who was abroad and later entered Russian service, +was declared to have forfeited his property, rank and life. A young +woman, Lady Madelaine Rudenschiold, who was one of the conspirators, +was punished by being exhibited to the mob on the place of execution +and afterward imprisoned. + +Prince Charles was criticised for the leniency shown toward his +brother’s murderers, perhaps without justice, for the dying king had +pleaded clemency in their behalf. Only Anckarstrom was executed, the +other conspirators all receiving surprisingly mild sentences. This was +contrasted to the petty and revengeful hatred shown the opponents of +the new government, and one now recalled the fact that Gustavus III. +in his last moments had refused to see the prince. That Charles also +had aspirations of his own seems evident from the fact that he had the +young king examined by physicians, raising doubt as to his physical and +mental fitness to ever take a hand in the government. + +Reuterholm made himself hated and ridiculous by his pettiness. Thus +restrictions were placed on extravagance in food and clothing, the use +of coffee for some time being entirely prohibited. The Swedish Academy +was disbanded because it did not make Reuterholm a member. The liberty +of the press was extended and then suddenly restricted. Thorild, the +writer and poet, was exiled for agitation against the old division +of the Riksdag into four houses, “because its four Estates always +have been bringing about one unsettled state.” Characteristic of the +opinion of Reuterholm’s administration are the words which the warrior +and philosopher, Charles August Ehrensverd, gave him in the course +of a quarrel between the two: “Monsieur is ambitious to govern, but +monsieur does not know how.” The best things accomplished during this +period were the establishment of a military academy at Carlberg, and +improvements of the Bible translation and the ritual and hymn-book of +the church. + +The attitude toward France was changed with the change of government, +Sweden being the first power to recognize the French republic. With +that country and Denmark close intimacy was formed, which enraged +Russia and England. In order to pacify the empress, old negotiations +for a marriage between King Gustavus Adolphus and Alexandra, a niece of +Empress Catherine II., were reopened and a decision reached. The king +left for St. Petersburg. When the great ceremony was to take place, the +empress sat there waiting with her brilliant court for several hours. +No Gustavus Adolphus appeared. In the last moment he had been asked by +a priest to grant his future consort, Alexandra, liberty to practice +her Greek Catholic faith in public, which he refused to do, thus +dropping the whole matter. The indignant empress was suddenly taken +ill and died a few weeks later. Soon afterward the king married the +beautiful princess Frederica of Bade. + +Gustavus IV. Adolphus was declared of age and took charge of the +government when eighteen (in 1796). Reuterholm was dismissed, and +Prince Charles retired. The king surrounded himself with the friends +of his father, Armfelt and Toll being recalled, the latter taking +excellent care of foreign affairs, as far as his authority went. But +Gustavus IV. ruled alone, without favorites or influential advisers. +This was most unfortunate, for he was entirely without the gifts of a +regent. He was a lover of order, economy, justice and pure morals, but +through lack of mental and physical strength his good qualities were +misdirected. His father’s tragic fate had a sinister influence upon +his mind, the equilibrium of which was shaken also by the outrages of +the revolutionists in France. Of a morbid sensibility, and without +inclination to confide in any one, his religious mysticism led him into +a state close to insanity. He imagined himself to be a reincarnation +of Charles XII., while in Napoleon he recognized the monster of the +Apocalypse, which he himself was sent to fight and conquer. + +Gustavus IV. went to an extreme in his fear of liberal movements, +placing severe censorship on the periodical press, book market and +universities. Benjamin Hœijer, the great philosopher, for some time +left his chair at Upsala and the country. A man who was resolved to +“go even to the doors of hell in search of truth” could not be in +sympathy with the bigot despot. Hard times, produced by failure of +crops and fisheries, and by maritime losses during the war between +England and France, threw added umbrage over the reign of Gustavus IV. +He convoked a Riksdag, in 1800, in order to raise money to cover the +debts involved by his predecessor. He never repeated the experiment. +The nobles sanctioned the absolute rule, but stormy sessions ensued +over the royal propositions, six nobles resigning from titles and +privileges, six others their seats in the Riksdag. The peasants, almost +as unyielding, were pacified by Toll. By his own authority, the king +mortgaged the Swedish city of Wismar, in Mecklenburg, to the ruler of +said duchy for a period of one hundred years, in receipt for a sum of +some two million dollars. + +There was no question in which the insanity of the king became more +apparent or disastrous than in his foreign policy. An alliance of armed +neutrality between Sweden, Russia and Denmark came to naught through +the inactivity of Gustavus IV., and he stubbornly refused to accept +the repeated offers of Napoleon of an alliance with France in the +combat with the powers. Things took a sinister aspect when an intimate +alliance was effected between Napoleon and Alexander of Russia, in +1807. Napoleon had lost patience with the lunatic king, and tried to +call forth a catastrophe by urging Alexander to capture Finland, which +he at first was unwilling to do. The French invaded Swedish Pomerania, +and Toll was able to save the little Swedish army of 10,000 only by +means of a most skilful diplomacy. Denmark, attacked by England, +declared war against Sweden. Gustavus IV. made great preparations, +sending Armfelt with one army to the Norwegian frontier and Toll with +another to Scania. The regular army counted 100,000 men, and a great +force of militia was organized. But through gross incapability of +the government the majority of troops were never used, the militia +suffering immensely through neglect and hunger. + +Czar Alexander at last decided to capture Finland. He called it +himself an act of bad faith and treason against a relative and +ally, and in a treacherous way he carried on his preparations. The +Swedish ambassador was misled as to the object of the latter, and +when informed received exaggerated accounts as to the force which +was to invade Finland. Gustavus IV. was alarmed and gave the old and +incapable field-marshal, Klingspor, appointed to command the army in +Finland, directions to save his troops in the best way possible. And +so commenced, in February, 1808, the war which after a heroic struggle +was to separate the Finns from their Swedish brethren. Not only were +the Finnish troops possessed of the noblest patriotic spirit, but +they had also courageous and distinguished commanders, who, if duly +supported and intrusted with more authority, would probably have been +able to ward off the attack. Conspicuous among the latter were C. J. +Adlercreutz, born in Finland, the hero of Siikajoki, Lappo and Oravais; +G. C. von Dœbeln, the victor of Juutas, and J. A. Sandels, the hero of +Pulkkila, Indensalmi and Virta, all three of them veterans from the war +of Gustavus III. + +The aged General Klercker commanded a Finnish army at Tavastehus, where +Klingspor arrived with his royal orders, which were for retreat and +evacuation of the country. The troops were deprived of their hopes of +a battle and forced to make a retreat of nearly 600 miles, suffering +from cold and hunger. The retreat continued without interruption for +two months, until the army, in April, found itself between Brahestad +and Uleoborg. A battle was fought at Siikajoki, April 18th, the +sub-commander, General Adlercreutz, receiving instructions to make a +stand against the enemy until the safety of the army supplies could +be insured. After five hours of fighting, the Finns won a glorious +victory over the Russians. But royal orders for a continued retreat +arrived, and the Russians took possession of Siikajoki. + +As long as Sveaborg, the Gibraltar of the North, was safe, the final +outcome of the struggle must remain undecided. Sveaborg, the creation +of Augustinus Ehrensverd, is situated on seven islets and consists of +several strong works partly cut out of the rock and in an admirable +way protecting and supplementing each other. The fortress was defended +by 6,000 men, with 1,000 cannon and ample provisions of all kinds; +in the harbor a division of the Swedish navy was at anchor. Olof +Cronstedt, the commander, was dissatisfied with the king and a secret +supporter of Prince Charles. His sub-commander, Jægerhorn, a brother +of the leader of the Conspiracy of Anjala, was a traitor, probably in +understanding with the Russians even before the war. A little army of +4,000 Russians under the command of Van Suchtelen was sent against +Sveaborg. This force was too small to make a serious attack; it was +not able to capture any of the fortifications; the naked rocks made it +impossible to build any earthworks. What the Russians could not effect +by force they accomplished by treachery, winning over the commanding +officers of Sveaborg through threats and promises. When the Swedish +and Finnish soldiers saw the queer behavior of their officers they +planned a mutiny; but this was not carried out on account of lack of +leadership. The officers tried by the most shameful lies to pacify +the soldiers, Jægerhorn taking the leading part in these proceedings. +Sveaborg surrendered May 3d, all Swedes being made prisoners of war, +but the Finns given free leave. When the troops saw the small force of +Russians and their miserable equipment they were enraged, breaking +their weapons and tearing their banners to pieces. Cronstedt, Jægerhorn +and the other commanding officers became Russian citizens, and received +high outward distinctions; but by both Russians and Finns they were +ever treated with cold contempt on account of their shameless treason. + +With the fall of Sveaborg, all hope of saving Finland was lost. In +the summer of 1808, her army fought several glorious battles under +the command of Adlercreutz, Dœbeln and Sandels, but in the autumn it +was attacked by a superior Russian force and was nearly closed in +between Old Carleby and Vasa. Gripenberg stood with one division at +Old Carleby, furthest to the north, Dœbeln lay prostrated by illness +at New Carleby, and Adlercreutz stood with the central body of troops +at Oravais, about twenty miles south from the latter town. The Russian +army attacked the force which was with Dœbeln, resolved to cut off +Adlercreutz from a retreat. One attack was already made at Juutas, +near New Carleby, when Dœbeln, alarmed by the news and heedless of +his serious illness, was seen approaching. His men received him with +enthusiasm, collected their scattering forces and proved victorious +over the attacking enemy. The Russians retreated and Adlercreutz was +saved. + +The famous battle of Oravais was fought the following day, September +14th. The Swedish army was arranged on a promontory in the sea, with +artillery on a hill to the north, close to which a detachment of the +regiment of Helsingland was arranged in an excellent position. Another +detachment of the same regiment was by a little brook at the south +base of the promontory, with two cannon, under the command of Count +William von Schwerin, a boy of sixteen years. At this latter point the +battle was begun at five o’clock in the morning. The Russians, 8,000 +strong, with twenty cannon and commanded by Kamenski, approached +a bridge leading over the brook. The 400 Swedes offered a plucky +resistance to the overwhelming force. Every time the bridge was filled +by Russians, Schwerin swept it clear with the fire from his two cannon. +This heroic struggle was kept up for four hours, when the Helsings had +no more cartridges for their guns wherewith to support the artillery +fire. The aide-de-camp Biornstierna, who was despatched thither by +Adlercreutz, saw a pitiable sight. Most of the officers of the 400 +Swedes were killed and the Russians were storming across the bridge +in heavy masses. “Now, count,” cried Biornstierna, “let us see what +your artillery amounts to!” Schwerin let the Russians approach until +only fifty feet from the cannon, when he ordered: “Fire!” The whole +first fine of the Russian column fell. Schwerin gave command to have +the cannon dragged a hundred yards back and then fired, with the same +disastrous effect. Thus the retreat was made from hill to hill. At last +the young hero received a mortal wound and his men were surrounded on +every side. With a final effort he rose to his feet, broke through the +lines with his valiant Helsings, and died in the midst of the Swedish +troops. + +Adlercreutz closely watched the movements of the Russians, and saw an +opportunity to break through their centre, which was successfully done, +the enemy turning into flight. It looked like an overwhelming defeat +for the Russians, when reinforcements arrived in the last moment, and +the exhausted Swedes had to stop fighting on account of the darkness of +the night. After a battle of fifteen hours the Swedes had lost 2,600 +men, or nearly one-third of their forces, but not one single cannon +or banner. The remnants of the army followed the “royal orders of +retreat,” crossing the Swedish frontier. Finland was lost and Sweden +proper in danger. + +Only a revolution could save the country. The republican aristocrats +were the ones to bring it about. A conspiracy among them was formed, +George Adlersparre and Ch. H. Anckarsverd being the leaders. When it +was rumored that the former, with the western army division, of which +he was the commander, had left the Norwegian frontier and was marching +on Stockholm, Gustavus IV. sent order to Toll in Scania to meet him +with his troops, while the king seemed to make preparations to leave. +Great excitement reigned in Stockholm, and General Adlercreutz, who +recently had been received in the capital with enthusiasm, resolved +to take action in preventing the king’s departure. Accompanied by +half a dozen officers, he entered the king’s bedchamber the morning +of March 13th, and took possession of the king in person, who made a +struggle and later a frustrated attempt to escape. The body-guards were +persuaded to remain inactive. Prince Charles was proclaimed regent. +Neither this fact nor the arrest of the king seemed to impress the +population, who received the news with ice-cold reserve. The king was +conducted to Drottningholm, and later to Gripsholm, where he signed the +document of abdication, finally to be escorted out of the country with +his family, never to return. He died in St. Gallen in 1837. + +The regent’s first duty was to ward off the Russian invasion of +Norrland and to obtain peace. Napoleon congratulated Sweden on having +got rid of the “supremacy of a fool,” and sanctioned an armistice, +granted by his general Marshal Bernadotte, who commanded an army in +Seeland, ready to attack Sweden. Peace was made in Paris, Sweden +receiving back Pomerania in return for a promise to close its own +harbors against English ships. Peace with Denmark was made, with no +change of territory on either side. Attempts to rout the Russian +army of invasion at Ratan, in West Bothnia, were unsuccessful, but +it withdrew by its own choice. In the treaty of peace signed at +Fredericshamn, September 17, 1809, Finland, the archipelago of Aland +and a part of Swedish Bothnia were ceded to Russia, the rivers of Torne +and Muonio to form the boundary line. + +Finland, since time immemorial in intimate relations with Sweden, from +whom she had received a portion of her population, had for 600 years +with her mother country formed integral parts of the same realm. Sweden +had given to Finland her religion, constitution, laws, privileges and +culture, and in return received her fidelity and a host of patriotic +men eminent in affairs of war and peace. Together the Swedes and Finns +had fought on the battlefields of Europe for the political grandeur +of their country and the religious liberty of the world. United to +Russia, Finland preserved her institutions and privileges unmolested, +and has, up to date, enjoyed a peaceful development greater than would +perhaps have been her share under Swedish rule. The mother country +was after this great loss forced to concentrate her energy on a more +solid material progress, and has, according to the prophecy of Esaias +Tegnér, “within the boundary of Sweden reconquered Finland.” The Finns +have proved themselves to be one of the most talented and energetic +of nations. Out of the two million inhabitants of Finland, two-fifths +are Swedish, forming the nobility and the majority of the cultured +classes. Already at the time of the separation from Sweden was born the +national singer of Finland, John Ludvig Runeberg, who was to become +the greatest poet that ever wrote in the Swedish language and one of +the greatest that ever lived. In his immortal songs of “Finland’s +latest war,” the two countries have a great common inheritance. Sweden +dreamed of reconquering Finland as soon as a good warrior ascended the +throne. This hope was given up forever. But the most intimate sympathy +still reigns between the two countries. In case that harm to Finland +or her home-rule should be done, and her independence be lost, the +Swedish people would not be in a position to avenge such a crime, but +it would cause profound grief and indignation, and would be considered +a shameful act of violence which the glory of no peace emperor would +suffice to cover. + +By the revolution of 1789, Sweden for a second time in her history +surrendered her liberty into the hands of an energetic and patriotic +ruler only to see the absolute power utterly abused by an incompetent +successor. The loss and suffering were almost as great as at the death +of Charles XII., but the era of democracy, peace and prosperity so much +closer at hand. It was the spirit of the aristocratic republicanism +which caused the timely downfall of absolute monarchy, but it was +in its turn destined to fall for the spirit of democracy and a +constitutional government. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +_The Constitutional Monarchy--Charles XIII. and the early Bernadottes_ + + +Charles XIII. succeeded his nephew. He was chosen king after a new +constitution had been formulated and accepted by the Riksdag of 1809. +Charles XIII. was one of the most unsympathetic of Swedish kings, but +his reign marks a new period in Swedish history, commencing the era +of constitutional government. The new constitution to which the king +subscribed was not a radical document; it only reduced the power of the +king. Hans Jærta, one of the nobles who had renounced their privileges +and been active in the conspiracy against Gustavus IV., was the leading +spirit of the constitutional committee and was appointed secretary +of state in the new cabinet. Urgent appeals of the peasant Estate to +reduce or abolish the privileges of the upper classes were of no avail, +no reform of state or society yet being made. A proposition by Count +von Platen to introduce a compulsory militia defence was voted down. +This Riksdag, which lasted for a year, gave fuller liberties to the +press, which at once used it to voice the popular dissatisfaction with +the state of affairs. It was necessary to select an heir to the throne, +as the old king was childless, Prince Christian August of Augustenborg +being chosen, much in opposition to the nobles, who wanted the son of +Gustavus IV. + +The prince of Augustenborg, who was Danish governor-general of Norway, +accepted, and was adopted by the king, changing his name to Charles +August. He was a plain, resolute and active man, unattractive in +appearance, but of a kind and noble character. Beloved by the lower +classes, who had effected his selection, he was treated coldly by the +Gustavian aristocrats and by Queen Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotte (Princess +of Oldenburg), who all favored the selection of young Gustavus, +the son of exiled Gustavus IV. Reports of attempts to poison the +heir-apparent were in circulation even before he arrived in Sweden. +Prince Charles August himself often said that he thought he would die +young by some stroke of paralysis, but he paid no attention to the +warnings given him. During a parade of troops at Qvidinge, in Scania, +he was suddenly seen to lose consciousness and dropped dead from his +horse. Peculiarities in the investigation of the corpse, led by his +physician, caused a second post-mortem examination, in which the +celebrated chemist Berzelius took part. The report seemed in favor of +the supposition that the death was caused by poison. The indignation +of the populace knew no bounds. The friends of the government tried to +coin political money by insinuating that the Gustavians, particularly +Count Axel von Fersen the Younger and his sister, Countess Piper, were +the responsible parties. At the burial of the dead prince the mob of +Stockholm perpetrated one of the most hideous murders of a man who was +without doubt innocent. When Count Fersen, in the capacity of marshal +of the realm, was to open the procession, he was warned not to do so, +but in pride and sense of duty resolved to meet his fate. Approaching +the church of Riddarholm, his carriage was pelted with stones, Fersen +himself seeking shelter in various places, but being pursued by the mob +and killed. Fersen had sought protection in a body of troops, whose +officers commanded them to turn him over to the mob. Thus perished a +man who, with Curt von Stedingk, had received the order of Cincinnatus +from the hands of George Washington, and who once was so near saving +Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette from their cruel fate. Fersen’s brother +was saved only by mere chance and his sister by a flight in disguise. +The mob now was resolved to attack Countess Piper, who was thought to +be at the castle, and the queen herself. But the authorities, who had +brought shame on themselves by their unwillingness to save Fersen, +interfered, directing a few shots of cannon against the mob, dispersing +it and killing many (June 10, 1810). + +Sweden was once more without an heir-apparent to the throne. Frederic, +the brother of Charles August, was favored by the king. Frederic +VI. of Denmark was a candidate, but the old national hatred against +the Danes was still too strong to make his selection possible. A +count of Oldenburg was also mentioned by some. The Gustavians, to +whom Adlercreutz belonged, dared not openly push their candidate of +the old royal line. The patriotic noblemen in power were anxious to +see some great general chosen, regardless of a royal pedigree, who +could recapture Finland. King Charles sent two emissaries to Napoleon +to notify him of the death of Charles August and the selection of +his brother. Then one of the most original and daring schemes ever +attempted on such a line was carried through by Count Otto Mœrner, one +of the emissaries. On his own responsibility, he inquired of Marshal +Bernadotte, one of Napoleon’s ablest generals, if he would consent to +become heir-apparent to the Swedish throne. Bernadotte consented, and +the consent of Napoleon was obtained through the Swedish ambassador +in Paris. Upon his return, Mœrner was ordered to leave the capital by +the minister of state, who blamed him for his unauthorized action. But +from Upsala Mœrner led an eager agitation, with the result that the +Riksdag of Œrebro selected Bernadotte, who was represented by a secret +emissary. Thus the two generals who, at the abdication of Gustavus IV., +were, one in Norway, the other in Denmark, with troops ready to attack +Sweden, both within one year were chosen to succeed Charles XIII. + +Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte was born at Pau, in South France, in +1764. The son of a lawyer, he worked himself up in the army and was by +the Revolution enabled to reach the high military stations for which +his eminent genius had destined him. Next to Napoleon the ablest of +French generals, he opposed the imperial tendencies of the latter, +but was later repeatedly used by the emperor to fulfil important +duties as a warrior, diplomatist and statesman, receiving the rank of +a marshal of France and the title of Prince of Ponte Corvo. Related +by marriage, the two were never on terms of intimacy, and the Swedish +politicians who thought to please the emperor, and gain a strong point +with him by the selection of Bernadotte, were mistaken. Bernadotte +joined the Lutheran church at Elsinore and landed in Sweden October +20, 1810. By his impressive appearance, his amiability and his genius, +he soon won all hearts. As he never acquired the Swedish language, +and as his superior ability as a statesman and warrior was not always +comprehended, he suffered often through misunderstandings by his new +countrymen, who never ceased to admire his eminent genius. Prince +Charles, or Charles Johann, as he called himself henceforward, was +of a commanding presence and had an interesting face, surrounded by +black curly hair. His fascinating ways and winning disposition held +captive the admiration even of his political opponents. Prince Charles +refused to submit to the undue influence with which Napoleon tried to +fetter him, and always carried high and with patriotic independence the +interests of his adopted country. + +Napoleon soon found reason to be offended with Sweden. Through the +peace of Paris, Sweden had agreed to close its harbors to England, but +in Gothenburg, which town had suffered destruction by fire and was +recently rebuilt, a lively traffic was secretly carried on, connecting +England with Northern Europe and enriching Gothenburg. Napoleon was +enraged and forced Sweden to declare war on England, which power, +realizing the circumstances, did not open any hostilities, and allowed +the commercial traffic to continue, although more secretly. Prince +Charles, who from the start exerted a strong influence upon the +government, effected an approach to Russia and England to save the +dignity of Sweden, much to Napoleon’s dismay. He also put the army in a +satisfactory condition by recruiting. This caused a revolt in Scania, +which was subdued with severity. The Riksdag of 1812 passed a law for +the establishment of a compulsory militia, all men between twenty-one +and twenty-five years old being registered in classes according to age +and instructed in military tactics and discipline. + +Napoleon tried by various methods to subdue and humiliate the +independence of his Swedish ally, which, when fruitless, led him +to acts of hostility. Prince Charles made peace with England and an +alliance with Russia, who promised 20,000 men to assist in the conquest +of Norway. When Napoleon and Alexander of Russia commenced war against +each other, popular opinion in Sweden sided with the former, but +Prince Charles, who knew in detail the nature of Napoleon’s power and +its lack of a solid foundation, tried to make his views clear. He met +Alexander personally, agreeing with him on plans of mutual action, +at Abo in 1812. After Napoleon’s unsuccessful march against Russia, +Swedish opinions changed and Bernadotte had free hands to follow up his +policy. England formed an alliance with Sweden, agreeing to support the +conquest of Norway and ceding the island of Guadeloupe (later sold to +France by Sweden). In 1813, 25,000 Swedish troops were sent to Germany, +joining the continental allies, who, divided in three armies, were to +attack Napoleon, according to plans mostly mapped out by Prince Charles +of Sweden. The latter was to command the Northern army of 100,000 +men, Swedes, Prussians, Russians and English, but his position was +a difficult one, for his superior tactics were misunderstood by his +subordinates and by Blucher, the valiant but headstrong commander of +50,000 Prussians, who formed the Silesian army. But through the battles +of Grossbeeren (August 23d), Dennewitz (September 6th), and Leipsic +(October 16-19), the eminence of Bernadotte’s genius was fully brought +out, his leadership and the Swedish troops taking honorable part in +each. Napoleon and his armies were defeated and pursued by the allies. +The monarchs voted a resolution of thanks to Prince Charles, who, with +his army, marched northward to carry out the ultimate object of his +policy, the conquest of Norway, the plans of which had been made by +Count Platen and handed him before he ever left Paris. + +Denmark had declared war on Sweden and sided with Napoleon. By turning +against Denmark the former Marshal Bernadotte saved himself from the +necessity of making an attack on the country of his birth. Lubeck +surrendered, the Danes were defeated at Bornhœved, Kiel and Glucksburg +were captured, and the whole of Holstein occupied. An armistice was +agreed to. Denmark offered the diocese of Drontheim, but Prince Charles +was resolved to expel Denmark from the Scandinavian Peninsula. January +14, 1814, peace was made at Kiel, Denmark ceding to Sweden the whole +of Norway, except Iceland and Fero Islands, and receiving Swedish +Pomerania and the island of Rugen in compensation. + +Norway, united with Denmark ever since the days of Queen Margaret, +in a relation of more or less neglected conditions, during which her +original independence was lost, had of late not been satisfied to +remain under Danish supremacy. The governing class of officeholders was +to a great extent of Danish origin and tendencies, and the patriotism +of the population at large dates from a later period. Among the more +cultured classes the revolution in France and close relations with +England had fostered a desire for political independence. The Danes +made use of this fact in order to try to maintain the relation with +Denmark in some way. The Danish crown prince, Christian Frederic, was +in 1813 made governor-general of Norway. He was a man of some brilliant +gifts, but without any great ability. By journeys in the country he +acquired popularity and adherents. In February, 1814, a meeting was +held at Eidsvold by men of prominence, who declared the prince regent. +May 17th a constitution was adopted and Christian Frederic elected +king of Norway. His courteous offer of extending his rule to Sweden +was there met by derision. After a triumphal return to Stockholm, +Prince Bernadotte gathered his forces and attacked Norway both by land +and sea, the aged King Charles XIII. having command of the navy. An +army of 20,000 Swedes entered Norway under command of Von Essen, who +captured the fortifications at Svinesund. The navy took possession of +the islands in the archipelago outside of Fredericstad, which town +was captured, with the fortress Kongsten, 100 cannon and considerable +stores of weapons and provisions. The Norwegian army of 30,000 men was +located in various places with the central body of troops at Moss. The +plan of Prince Charles was to enclose it from all sides. A smaller +Swedish force of 3,000 men was repulsed by the Norwegians in two +conflicts at Lier and Medskog, celebrated by the latter as important +victories. In the meantime the Swedish army proceeded northward and the +fleet penetrated to the bay of Christiania. The plan to enclose the +Norwegian army at Moss was being carried into effect in order to finish +the war by one single battle, when negotiations for peace were begun. + +Prince Charles was anxious to have the conflict brought to a rapid +close because he feared that the powers, envious of Sweden’s good +fortune and dissatisfied with the refusal of Prince Charles to join +in an attack on France, might take unfavorable decisions at the +approaching congress of Vienna. Prompted by these reasons, and perhaps +influenced by his experience of revolutionary movements, Prince Charles +offered to sanction Norway’s constitution only with such changes +as were necessary for a union with Sweden, besides demanding the +abdication and speedy departure of Christian Frederic. On these terms +peace was made at the convention of Moss, August 14, 1814. At the first +meeting of the Norwegian Storthing, or Diet, the terms of peace were +sanctioned and Charles XIII. chosen king of Norway. At the Congress of +Vienna, in 1815, treaties were signed between Sweden and Prussia and +between Denmark and Prussia, according to which Swedish Pomerania and +Rugen were ceded to Prussia on the payment of about $2,000,000, and the +duchy of Lauenburg ceded to Denmark. In the relation between Sweden and +Norway no change was made, and Denmark lost all hope of the restitution +of the latter country. + +The great moderation shown by Prince Charles in the acquisition of +Norway has been criticised in various ways, but none of the arguments +used against it have themselves been able to bear a critical test. +The idea of uniting the two countries as independent states was +older in Sweden than the very constitution of Norway which Prince +Charles accepted. It was the idea of the leading men in Sweden who +had dethroned Gustavus IV. in 1809. The Scandinavian Union is not the +best imaginable, has brought Sweden no added power or security, and +has placed her king in a difficult position. The only bond of union +is the king, the two countries each having their constitution, diet +and cabinet. There is only one department in common, the one of which +the Swedish minister of foreign affairs is the head and which settles +all relations with other countries for both Sweden and Norway. Three +members of the Norwegian cabinet are residents of Stockholm, to prepare +affairs pertaining to the Norwegian administration and to partake in +affairs involving both countries. These stipulations are made by +the Act of Union, accepted in 1815 by the Diets of both countries. +According to the Norwegian constitution, the king can use no greater +force than 3,000 men outside the Norwegian boundary, except with the +special consent of the Diet. Thus Sweden cannot in case of war expect +any solid support from her sister country. The loose connections of the +Union did not become apparent during the reigns of Charles XIII. and +his successor, and the powers of Europe were not aware of them. Thus +the Union served its purpose as offering a solid front of unity and +strength to the powers who were dividing and redividing almost every +territory on the map of Europe. + +Charles XIII. died in February, 1818, at the age of seventy, and his +talented queen followed him a few months later. + +_Charles XIV. Johann_ was fifty-four years of age when ascending +the throne, but a man in his prime. To the dignity of the crown he +brought a great personal influence, and his fame as a warrior, which +spread throughout Europe. The firm diplomatic relations with Russia +were continued, but approaches to England were also made. Charles +XIV. gave close personal attention to the administration, being +especially interested in the defence, finances, canals and roads. +With his brilliant genius, quick temper and sense of superiority, the +king sometimes reigned more alone and by his own decision than was +considered advisable; but in the majority of cases he was influenced +by the able men of his cabinet--Wetterstedt, Rosenblad, Skjœldebrand, +Cederstrom and Wirsén. An intimate friend of the king was Count +Magnus Brahe, who, though not a member of the cabinet, influenced the +government more than was thought compatible with its dignity. Count +Brahe, the head of one of the most distinguished of aristocratic +families, used his great influence over the king mostly in a noble +way, himself being raised to the highest dignities of the state. He +was blindly devoted to the king, followed him like a shadow, taking +infinite care of him during his last illness, and dying only a few +months after his royal friend. + +One of the most remarkable works carried on during the reign of Charles +XIV. was the Gotha Canal system, which was brought to completion. +The old bishop Brask had spoken of a connection between the lakes +of Venar and Vetter, and the great Oxenstierna thought of a canal +between the North Sea and the Baltic across Sweden. Charles XII. had +ordered Polhem to make a trafficable passage around the waterfalls +of Trollhetta, which was done after new plans during the reign of +Gustavus IV. During the Period of Liberty, Daniel Thunberg had made +plans for the whole canal system. But Count Balzar von Platen was the +man to make the great work a realized fact, devoting his whole life +to it, conquering distrust, opposition and lack of funds. He spent +six years in preliminary surveys before taking up the agitation for +the realization of his plans. During the whole progress of the work, +his efficient activity in looking after every detail could only be +compared to his constant agitation in the Riksdag for the support of +the immense enterprise and his scrupulous attention to the financial +part of it. When the great canal was opposed as an unpatriotic scheme, +endangering the defence of the country, Platen answered by completing +plans for a colossal fortress in the heart of the canal system, which, +when erected, became the strategic stronghold of Sweden, and was named +Carlsborg. Platen died as governor-general of Norway, seeing his great +life-work nearing completion. The Gotha Canal is the most remarkable +of its kind in Europe, being 259 miles long, with 74 locks, many of +which have been cut out of solid granite hills. It is of great value to +commerce and affords a most picturesque scenic tour. + +Charles XIV. met with a power in politics which, from the start not +strong enough to carry away victory, ended by attaining its goal. It +was the liberal opposition in the Riksdag, supported by a liberal +press. Charles XIV., in his native country, had seen to what an infamy +the abuse of liberal forms of government could lead, and he was +sternly resolved to antagonize any movement which aimed to introduce +more democratic principles in the handling of state affairs and in +the remodelling of the system of representation. Charles XIV. was in +a delicate personal position. He was the only one of the Napoleonic +marshals who preserved his throne after the fall of the emperor, and +the strong continental reaction looked askance at this new man who +wore one of the oldest crowns of Europe. But his great reputation as a +warrior and statesman, and his persistent peace policy, ought to have +been to him sufficient guarantees of the fidelity of his subjects. +Charles XIV., in the agitation against the self-willed cabinet, saw +an enmity against himself. By a network of secret detectives, the +king tried to uncover conspiracies and plots which existed in his +imagination only, or in that of those who were aware of his weakness +and sought to gain personal favors by making use of it. The severity +with which the press was censured and its members punished created +a bitterness against the king personally, which ceased only during +the few last years of his reign. With the new constitution a law +establishing full liberty of public utterance in print was enacted, but +a temporary restraint had been placed on this liberty, in 1812, on +account of violent newspaper attacks upon Russia. The government still +made use of this restraint, which caused many severe legal sentences +and subsequent bitterness. + +Among the press organs of that period the “Argus” and “Aftonbladet” +were the most conspicuous in their attacks upon the conservative +government; Lars Hierta, one of the ablest of Swedish editorial +writers, was the publisher of the latter. His paper was repeatedly +confiscated. Anders Lindeberg was the publisher of “Stockholmsposten.” +In an agitation against the royal monopoly in theatrical affairs, +Lindeberg threw out the accusation that the king, for purely economical +reasons, opposed a reform in those matters. He was arraigned and a +sentence of death passed upon him, which was commuted to three years’ +imprisonment. But Lindeberg refused to accept any clemency, declaring +himself ready and resolved to die. The government, who dared not take +his life, was in a delicate predicament, but saved itself and Lindeberg +by announcing pardon of “political criminals,” at the anniversary of +the king’s first arrival in Sweden. Jacob Crusenstolpe, a novelist +and writer of note, was one of the intimate friends and supporters of +the government, but turned liberal, attacking the king in a pamphlet. +He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, which created great +commotion and a revolt in Stockholm, not subdued except after a bloody +conflict with the troops (July, 1838). Crusenstolpe continued writing +from his prison. + +The principal leaders of the opposition in the Riksdag were L. Boye, +F. B. von Schwerin and C. H. Anckarsverd among the nobles, and +Anders Danielsson among the peasants. This opposition criticised the +government for negligence, extravagance and incompetency. Its policy +was an entire reconstruction of the state, politically, socially +and financially, on the basis of a constitutional government. The +opposition commenced by establishing the right of free deliberations +in the Riksdag. At the Riksdags of 1827 and 1828 the government was +severely taken to task on account of the sale of ships to the Spanish +insurgents in South America. The king was inclined to join England +against Spain, but had to recede on account of pressure from Russia and +the continental powers. The sales were partly annulled and the Swedish +government experienced a considerable financial loss. Cederstrom was +the responsible party, but upon his resignation his able successor +Wirsén was able to cover up his tracks. + +If Sweden was forced to change her policy in the South American affair +she was found unyielding in the settlement of the boundary questions +with Russia. This power was anxious to obtain a slice of the Norwegian +Finnmark, with excellent ice-free harbors at the bay of Varanger. In +the ultimate settlement with Russia, in 1826, a great territory was +ceded, but not any of the important harbors. + +In 1840 the opposition had waxed strong enough to effect one of its +most desired reforms, the constitutional reconstruction of the cabinet. +This body was made to consist of ten members, of whom seven were to be +the heads of the various state departments, those of justice, foreign +affairs, army, navy, civil service, finance and ecclesiastics.[5] As a +consequence of this change in the constitution, several cabinet members +resigned and were succeeded by men more in touch with the opposition. + +The greatest of contemplated reforms was a new system of representation, +but the opposition was not able to carry it through. At the first +revolution of Gustavus III., Stedingk favored a reconstruction of the +Riksdag after the model of the English parliament. Gustavus III, was +afraid to cause complications by the introduction of such a novelty, +but considered it gravely at the time of his second revolution. In +1830, the idea was taken up by the opposition, and Anckarsverd and the +eminent lawyer Richert made up a plan for a new Diet, according to +the plan of the Norwegian Storthing. This plan, with the idea of one +chamber, instead of two, was repeatedly discussed at the Riksdag of +1840, but not adopted. This remarkable Riksdag, which lasted seventeen +months, did considerable for the improvement of education and was +ultimately dismissed by Charles XIV., in a speech of a conciliatory +spirit, which went far toward restoring the old popularity of the king. + +Charles XIV. died March 8, 1844, at the age of eighty-one. During the +last years of his reign he received strong and repeated evidence of the +love of his people, especially upon the occasion of his twenty-fifth +anniversary as king of Sweden. “No one has made a career like mine,” +he said shortly before his death. He was a child of the revolutionary +epoch, favored by its opportunities to receive a high station, without +being sullied by any of its vices. If it be true that his position +often was made difficult through lack of appreciation by his new +subjects, it is not less true that he, through lack of intimacy with +the Swedish language, national character and traditions, was unable to +further the development of his new country, in the same degree as would +a native provided with such rich endowment. The sun of Charles XIV., +which rose in brilliancy, set in the glory of full appreciation. + +The reign of Charles XIV. produced a new line of eminent scientists and +was the golden age of Swedish literature. The remarkable genius of J. +J. Berzelius remolded the science of chemistry, placing it on a basis +where there are hardly any limits to its scope. Elias Fries devised a +new system of botany. Sven Nilsson, a distinguished zoölogist, also +became the founder of a new science, comparative archæology. K. J. +Schlyter edited a complete collection of the old provincial laws, a +work of equal importance to philology and jurisprudence. P. H. Ling +invented the Swedish system of gymnastics and founded the Central +Institute of Gymnastics in Stockholm, where the Swedish massage or +movement cure has won a scientific development worthy of its world-wide +fame. E. G. Geijer, as a philosopher, was a noble follower of Hœijer, +while as a historian he is the greatest genius of his country. As a +poet and composer Geijer is also noteworthy. Professor of history at +Upsala, he was once accused of heterodoxy, but acquitted. His political +career was remarkable. Geijer was a firm supporter of the government +and conservative principles, until fifty-seven years of age, when he +joined the opposition. + +The world of letters was divided in parties as bitterly opposed to +each other as those of the political world. The old Gustavian school, +of which Leopold remained the last representative, was attacked by +the “New School,” which, inspired by German Romanticism, was brimful +of inspiration, imagination and feelings, but very little that was +original, clear or national. Of this so-called “phosphoristic” school +Atterbom was the distinguished leader. Stagnelius, a poet of rare +attainments, but who died early, belongs in this group. The New School +was in turn attacked by the “Gothic Society,” a school of national +Swedish Romanticism, which introduced a cult of the Old Northern +spirit of individuality, terseness and power. Ling and Geijer were +among the leading men of this school, whose enthusiasm for everything +national had a lasting influence upon the research for, and gathering +of, folk lore, songs, traditions, customs, and every trait of the +popular culture of bygone days. In Franzén and Wallin, Sweden had +two religious poets of the very first rank. More famous than any of +these was Esaias Tegnér, the second great national poet of Sweden, +whose “Frithiof’s Saga” was destined to become the most celebrated +literary work of all Europe in its day, appearing in a vast number of +translations in a great number of languages. Tegnér was in sympathy +with the old Gustavian school, but a member of the Gothic Society, and +by his choice of subjects in harmony with the national school. There is +a wonderful richness of sparkling life and wit in Tegnér’s poems, but +they are sometimes overladen by the vivid ornamental images in which +they abound. Tegnér was a man of extremely broad and liberal views on +every phase of human life and effort. He hated with the whole power of +his fiery soul the mysticism, obscurantism and morbid sensualism of his +age. He was the sworn enemy of the “Holy Alliance” and the reactionary +powers in state, church and literature. In his chivalrous spirit and +love of the great individuals, he became the admirer of Charles XIV., +whose policy he therefore supported. Tegnér is not the one who in the +grandeur and faultlessness of his creations has attained the very +highest rank among Swedish poets, but is the greatest and most unbiased +thinker among them, and has as such exerted a beneficial influence +upon the national consciousness and cultural development. Tegnér’s +judgment upon one of his Gustavian precursors may be repeated in his +own case: “Perchance the greatest not as poet, but as genius.” + +_Oscar I._ was forty-five years of age at the death of his father. He +was the only son of Charles XIV. and Queen Desideria, the latter a +daughter of a French merchant by the name of Clary. Oscar was, in 1823, +married to Princess Josephine of Leuchtenberg, a granddaughter of the +French empress of the same name. It was a difficult position, the one +held by the heir-apparent. Charles XIV. was jealous of his own power +and popularity and suspected his son of being in sympathy with the +opposition. The prince, distanced as far as possible from the affairs +of state, devoted himself to the study of social and economic subjects. +He gave a great deal of attention to the study of prisons and the care +of prisoners, seeking by pamphlets to spread his sympathies for the +latter and to improve their conditions. Oscar I. was fondly devoted +to the fine arts, himself a talented painter and composer. He did not +possess his father’s brilliant genius or power of personal influence, +although an upright man of great talent and exceedingly prepossessing +in appearance. Oscar was of a mild, sagacious disposition, who liked to +go into detail and take time for investigation and decision. He was not +a man of action, and lacked somewhat consistency in carrying out plans +of a wider scope. Oscar I. had a little of the autocrat of the father +in him and often acted on his own judgment, without taking the advice +of his cabinet. Being the loyal, highly cultured and patriotic man that +he was, he in various ways furthered the development of his country. + +Few kings have ascended a throne under such enthusiasm and joyful +aspirations on the part of the people as King Oscar I. Several +important reforms were enacted at the Riksdag which met in 1844, and +the king gave his sanction to them all. It was decided that the Riksdag +should meet every third instead of every fifth year, the liberty of +the press was augmented, and to women were given equal rights in the +stipulations of inheritance and marriage. The last-mentioned reform was +bitterly opposed by the nobles, who feared it would, to a great extent, +annul their privileges. The law was passed by the three lower Estates, +in spite of the nobles, and was sanctioned by the king. Oscar I. took +great pains to have the industries freed from the restraint under which +they had been suffering during the reign of his predecessor. + +King Oscar surrounded himself with men of a more modern type than +his father’s advisers. They were in touch with the principles of the +opposition, although far from radical, and more respected for their +character than for their ability. The opposition, which had been +so harsh during the administration of Charles XIV., was toned down +considerably; but complaints were soon heard that the new government +was neither consistent nor resolute in its liberal policy and that +courtiers and young officers won an unduly rapid promotion. Soon an +opposition of a new order was organized against the administration. +The conservatives, finding that it leaned too much on the liberal +principles, attacked it for this reason. A powerful conservative +party at the Riksdag was organized, with Hartmansdorff as the leader +among the nobles and Archbishop Wingard among the clergy. Attacked by +liberals and conservatives alike, and not supported by either, the +government was of an undecided and vacillating tenor. + +The French revolution of 1848 influenced Swedish politics in several +ways. The “friends of reform,” viz., the party desiring a parliamentary +reorganization, were incited by the republican tendencies. The +masses of Stockholm on one occasion gave vent to their feelings by +demonstrations which were of a menacing character. Great crowds +collected outside the place where a “reform banquet” was held. There it +was resolved to attack the houses of Hartmansdorff and several other +leading conservatives. The owners placed themselves in safety, but the +windows of the houses were broken by the mob, who also threw stones at +the troops. The tumult was quenched, but not without bloodshed. The +press was greatly agitated for a long time afterward, using language +against the government that was by no means choice. The liberals in the +Riksdag commenced to take an attitude as decided as the one held by the +conservatives. From this time on King Oscar showed great coldness to +the liberals, and surrounded himself with advisers more in harmony with +the conservatives. + +The proposition for a reorganization of the Riksdag, made in 1840, +was not accepted, but a committee was appointed in 1848 to make a new +proposition, which failed to please either government or Riksdag. The +king then had a new proposition prepared, based upon general elections. +The liberals did not think the royal proposition democratic enough and +offered one of their own. Both of these were defeated at the Riksdag +of 1850, thanks to the opposition of nobility and clergy. A third +one was made by Hartmansdorff, but also failed to please, not being +conservative enough for the nobles. Hartmansdorff aroused so much +hatred among his fellow nobles that they refused to be seated on the +same bench with him during the sessions. After a period of perfect +isolation the old conservative leader was judged with greater leniency +by his former followers. Shortly before his death, in 1856, he sent +them the following greeting: “Ask the nobles not to stand up so long +for their privileges, they will lose nothing by surrendering them.” It +seemed as if the interest for parliamentary reform had died out during +the latter part of King Oscar’s reign, but such was not the case; it +only gathered force in the quiet, and the king was right when defining +it as a “question which could never fall.” + +The influence of the revolution of 1848 also was felt in the foreign +relations of Sweden. The German population of Holstein and Schleswig +tried to sever their connections with Denmark in order to effect a +union with Germany, Prussia taking upon herself to liberate said +provinces. Denmark made various efforts to gain the active support of +Sweden. The so-called “Scandinavism” was a good means to obtain this +end. This movement, which aimed at the establishment of a closer union +between the three Scandinavian countries, based upon the fact of the +common origin of their inhabitants, had originated at the University +of Copenhagen. The meetings of scientists and students, in 1842 and +1843, at Stockholm, had given growth to this movement, which was of +a very high-strung nature, but, as far as the Danes were concerned, +also of an egotistical motive. Charles XIV. had been averse to this +“students’ policy,” but Oscar I. was sympathetically impressed by it. +“Scandinavism” rose high in 1848, especially at the universities, and +King Oscar sent a communication to the Prussian government to the +effect that he was resolved to oppose any attack on the Danish isles. +An army of 20,000 men was ordered to Scania to give weight to this +statement. A smaller division of it was even for a time quartered in +the island of Funen. The German troops which had invaded Jutland soon +retired and hostilities ceased for some time. King Oscar effected an +armistice of seven months in August, 1848. As a result of the war +between Denmark and Germany during the next few years an agreement +followed, according to which Holstein and Schleswig would for some time +remain under Danish supremacy. + +King Oscar had, from the commencement of his reign, tried to meet all +demands for reform made by his Norwegian subjects, who were anxious to +demonstrate to the world the perfect independence of their country. +The king himself took the initiative steps to give Norway a national +flag of its own, the two countries up to the reign of Oscar having had +one common official flag. He also instituted the Norwegian knightly +order of St. Olaf in resemblance to the older Swedish orders of +Seraphim, Vasa, etc., and gave permission to place the name of Norway +before that of Sweden in the Norwegian royal title. For these reasons +public opinion in Sweden expected Norwegian concessions in regard to +the Act of Union, which seemed in need of revision. A committee of +men from both countries was appointed to make the revision, but the +Norwegian members opposed all measures involving any change, expressing +themselves in such emphatic terms that it was found best to leave the +deliberations of the committee unpublished. In 1854 the Norwegian +Storthing decided to abolish the office of a governor-general. King +Oscar refused to sanction this law, but allowed the office to remain +vacant during the rest of his reign. + +Intemperance had grown to be an evil from which the Swedish people +greatly suffered since the reign of Gustavus III., when alcohol began +to be produced in great quantities by the common people. The king +encouraged the temperance movement, which was very fruitful in results. +In 1853 the Riksdag abolished the free and unrestrained production +of alcohol, which was changed into a regular industry and placed +under heavy taxation. From 1855 onward, the principles of free trade +were adopted for commerce and trade through the influence of J. A. +Gripenstedt, the minister of finance, and seemed to have beneficial +results in every branch of industrial and commercial activity. The +state revenues were greatly increased and the surplus spent in +improvements of the widest scope. The means of interior communications +were vastly improved. In 1853 the network of the state electric +telegraph began to spread and now embraces every part of the country. +The agitation for the construction of railways had long been an active +one. The first one constructed was a private railway between Œrebro +and Arboga. In 1854 the Riksdag decided on the construction of trunk +lines in Southern Sweden, to be built and controlled by the state. The +Riksdag of 1856 appropriated a sum of $5,000,000 for that purpose. +The railways were rapidly and solidly built under the supervision of +Baron Nils Ericsson, the highly talented brother of John Ericsson, the +world-famous inventor of the propeller, the caloric engine, the steam +hose and the “Monitor.” + +The relations with Russia were not the best during the latter part of +King Oscar’s reign. The Russian claims on the harbors at the bay of +Varanger were repeated in 1847, and when deliberations for a settlement +were opened, in 1851, Russia showed a tendency to take possession of +the desired places. In the conflict between Russia, on one hand, and +Turkey, supported by England and France, on the other, Sweden sided +with the latter, especially after Russia had failed to recognize an +alliance of neutrality under arms formed by Sweden-Norway and Denmark. +In 1855 Sweden entered an agreement with France, promising not to cede +any territory to Russia in case of a conflict. In 1856 peace was made +at Paris; the only favor won by Sweden was a pledge made by Russia not +to fortify the archipelago of Aland. + +King Oscar was a very hard worker and also fond of the pleasures of +life. His health was injured through illness, in 1857, and he never +recovered. The premature death of his second son, Prince Gustavus, a +talented composer and highly popular, had a disastrous influence on +him. King Oscar I. died July 8, 1859, after a long illness, beloved by +the two nations who, during his reign, had enjoyed the happiest epoch +of their history. + +Romanticism in literature had an important second blossom during +the reign of King Oscar I. and his successor. With the exception of +Runeberg and Almquist, it offers no name of the very first rank. But +Runeberg, the Homer of the North, does not belong to Sweden alone, and +Almquist, the only great Romanticist, had made his appearance during +the preceding epoch. Charles John Ludvig Almquist was a genius of great +versatility and exceptional endowment. He wrote with equal force in all +branches of literature; besides the poet, dramatist and prosaist, being +a good philologist and well versed in a number of practical pursuits. +He anticipated the ideas of which George Sand became a champion, and +wrote charming peasant idyls long before Auerbach and Bjœrnson. His +most important work is an ambiguous creation, conceived somewhat in +the form of Boccaccio’s “Decamerone,” but much larger, and containing +productions in every imaginable artistic form. It is called _Tœrnrosens +bok_ (The Book of the Wild Rose). Almquist has not, like Bellman and +Tegnér, crystallized the Swedish national character in a lyrical form, +but he remains, in spite of glaring defects, the most versatile and +supremely gifted genius of Swedish literature. + +Nybom, Bœttiger, Malmstrœm, Sætherberg and Strandberg were talented +lyric poets of this epoch, Von Braun, Sturzen-Becker and Sehlstedt +good humorists, while Bœrjesson, Blanche, Jolin, Dahlgren and Frans +Hedberg wrote successfully for the stage. Swedish women were destined +to win fame for themselves by bringing the novelistic form to a +richer development; principal among whom were Frederica Bremer, +Sophie von Knorring, Emilie Carlén and Sophie Schwartz, while the men +Crusenstolpe, Sparre, Mellin, Ridderstad and Starbæck cultivated the +field of historical fiction, for which Swedish history offers such a +wealth of appropriate subjects. + +Swedish composers of note were becoming numerous, although the field in +which they chiefly excel is the rather limited one of lyric song, the +most spontaneous medium of expression for the lyrico-rhetoric Swedish +temperament. As the composer of “lieder” or _visor_, Adolphus Lindblad, +an intimate friend of Mendelssohn, occupies a revered place in the +history of music. Close to him stand Crusell, Nordblom and Josephsson, +while Hæffner, Otto Lindblad, one of the noblest composers in this +line, Prince Gustavus and Vennerberg are famous principally for their +part songs. + +The cultivators of dramatic and orchestral composition have as yet +been comparatively few. Chief among them is Bervald; further, Norman +and Hallstrœm. In a later contemporary epoch, Hallén, Aulin, Sjœgren, +Stenhammar have considerably brightened this aspect of cultural +development. Gunnar Vennerberg occupies an honored place as a poet, +humorist and composer in one. There seems to be a deeply rooted +tendency in the Swedish national temperament to unite the various +branches of artistic creation, which would stamp it as romantic in +its very essence if there did not run a vein of stunningly realistic +portrayals through the works of such composite nature. In the art of +Bellman this tendency has found its highest exponent. Bellman selected +for his subjects the life of the lower middle classes in the Swedish +capital of his day. His Fredman sings of the experiences of himself +and his friends. Vennerberg has chosen the student’s life at the +University of Upsala as the subject of his duets between two students, +“Gluntarne,” in which are mirrored as faithfully, and sometimes as +artistically, as by Bellman the humorous and pathetic scenes which have +fascinated the poet and composer. + +Swedish song for the first time acquired universal fame through Jenny +Lind, who has had many successors, but no peer as a dramatic singer. +Contemporaneous with Jenny Lind were a number of highly talented +histrionic artists, principal among whom were Lars Hjortsberg, +Nils William Almlœf, Olof Ulric Torsslov, Emilie Hœgquist and Carl +Georg Dahlquist. The Swedish stage has set a good example for the +preservation of the highest standards of the language, and in this line +exerted a great cultural influence. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +_Parliamentary Reform--Charles XV_ + + +Charles XV., the eldest son of Oscar I., succeeded his father, having +for two years presided over the government during king Oscar’s last +illness. King Charles was of gigantic stature, exceedingly handsome +and of a manly and noble bearing. There dwelt a fiery soul within him, +conscious of its power, longing for heroic deeds and in sympathy with +all that was noble in life and art. The king possessed an abundance +of youthful energy and vivacity. He was a passionate hunter and a gay +companion, who surrounded himself with men equally boisterous and gay. +He was fond of jokes and merry pastimes, and took no pains to hide his +weaknesses, which were of a convivial nature. In his social intercourse +the king was exceptionally open and frank, treating everybody alike +in a good-natured, hearty manner, winning the whole heart of his +people. He understood better than any king since Charles XI. how to put +himself in cordial relation with the masses of the people. But fond of +playing practical jokes on high and low, he did not like to receive +in the same measure. Charles XV. was devoted to the pursuits of art. +Especially in his youth, he wrote poetry and distinguished himself as +a landscape painter through his love for typical Swedish sceneries. +Sweden did not at first know what to expect of her new ruler, and no +one was able to predict the course of his policy. There were fears that +his youthfulness and his fiery southern temperament might lead him to +feel satisfied with the exterior of things or that he might give way +to the impulses of the moment. These fears soon proved to be without +foundation. The king had chosen as his maxim “Land shall with law be +built,” from the old provincial law of Upland, and he remained, with +very rare exceptions, true to the constitutional spirit of these words. +He had the good fortune to find highly capable advisers, in whose hands +he placed the details of the administration, and, in contrast to his +father, was satisfied to give his attention exclusively to matters of a +more general importance. He gave his unreserved support to his cabinet, +occupying a position above all party interests. Charles XV. often +sacrificed, sometimes only after considerable internal struggle, his +own personal sympathies and inclinations at the request of the advisers +when he saw that the welfare of his country and his own royal dignity +demanded such a sacrifice. On account of this, his true constitutional +spirit, he deserved as a ruler the blind adoration of his people. His +summer residence, the castle of Ulricsdal, in the neighborhood of +Stockholm, he changed into an artistic abode, with choice collections +in various lines. Charles XV. had, in 1850, married Princess Louise of +the Netherlands, of the royal house of Orange. Their daughter, Louise, +was married to the crown prince of Denmark, and is still in life, while +King Charles had to suffer the premature losses of his only son and of +his consort. + +The cabinet which surrounded Charles XV. was one of the strongest +bodies of its kind that ever controlled the government of Sweden. +During his regency, Crown Prince Charles appointed Baron Louis de Geer +minister of justice and Ludvig Manderstrœm minister of foreign affairs. +These men continued their duties during the reign of Charles XV., +while Gripenstedt, as minister of finance, followed up his beneficent +activity for the emancipation and development of the national +industries. The historian, Frederic Ferdinand Carlson, had been the +teacher of King Charles and had successfully continued the monumental +work of Swedish history, left unfinished by Geijer. Carlson occupied, +during the greater part of the reign of Charles XV., the position of +minister of ecclesiastics (church and education), in which capacity +he did great work for the improvement of educational affairs. The +high schools and colleges were reorganized through new regulations of +1859, being the work of Carlson before his appointment to the cabinet. +Carlson also improved the public, or common, schools. King Charles was +a warm friend of public instruction. In one of his speeches from the +throne he said: “This is my ambition that a true and living culture +shall penetrate our people and with its blessings reach the humblest of +its cottages.” + +The relations between Sweden and Norway, during the first few years +of the reign of Charles XV., were strained. The Norwegian Storthing +once more voted the abolition of the office of a governor-general. +It was thought that the king, who earlier, as viceroy of Norway, had +spoken in a spirit of acquiescence upon this question, would sanction +the vote of the Storthing. But in Sweden great indignation was felt. +It was known and understood that the Act of Union contained nothing +in regard to the office in question, but was created by a stipulation +in the constitution of Norway which admitted the possibility of its +being filled by a Swede. The Norwegian view was that the Storthing +had exclusive right to decide the question, while the Swedish view +was that it was a question concerning the Union and to be decided on +by the diets of the two countries. Practically the Swedes were right; +theoretically, and from a purely patriotic standpoint, which considered +necessary the development of a perfect national independence even at +the expense of the Union, the Norwegians were right. Ankarsverd, well +known since the days of Charles XIV., made a motion, at the Swedish +Riksdag of 1859, for the revision of the Act of Union on the basis of +the treaty of Kiel, which motion in Norway was accepted as an insult. +V. F. Dalman made a motion that the Estates should ask the king not +to render a decision in the question of a Norwegian governor-general +before the Riksdag had had an opportunity to look into the international +aspect of the question. Great was the commotion caused by this issue, +both in the diets and the press of the two countries. Swedish pamphlets +were circulated which accepted the possibility of a dissolution of +the Union. But in Norway, where the security of a union with Sweden +had become apparent, especially during the conflict with Russia, such +utterances were repudiated. Both of the motions in question were passed +by the four Estates of the Riksdag, but put in such a shape that a +request to have a revision of the Act of Union made was sent up to the +king, with the demand for a royal proposition on that issue. The king +was then asked to consider the question of a Norwegian governor-general +in connection with that revision. As there was a difference of opinion +also in the cabinets of the two countries, the final decision rested +with the king alone. The sagacity and discernment of which King Charles +gave evidence saved the situation and is worthy of praise. He declared +in the Norwegian cabinet that he could not sanction the abolition of +the office of a governor-general. Shortly afterward, he gave in the +Swedish cabinet as his opinion the advisability of postponing, for the +time being, all deliberations of a revision of the Act of Union. By +doing so, the king quieted the high feelings in both countries, and +peace returned. It had become apparent to both Swedes and Norwegians +that the Union was the result of great political foresight because +it was preserved through the increasing feeling of faith and of the +necessity of mutual protection. That great obscurity existed in regard +to the affairs regulating the Union had also become evident. + +The reforms and improvements which were effected during the reign of +Charles XV. were highly important. New criminal and maritime codes +were made at the Riksdag of 1862, and sanctioned by the government. +Through the new regulations passed in the same year the foundations +for increased municipal home rule were laid. Such home rule was as +old as the country itself, but, in the same degree as the state +organization, had attained a higher development, and the centralization +of the administration was realized; it had weakened and was in peril +of being entirely lost. Now the time was come for the powers of state +to give municipal home rule new strength, adapting its old forms +and creating new ones, in accordance with modern requirements. Laws +were made which gave the towns the right to elect members to local +assemblies (_stadsfullmœgtige_), with authority to act in behalf of +their communities. Similar institutions (_kommunalstæmmor_) were +arranged for the country communities. _Landsting_ were instituted +in every governmental district, or _læn_, at which representatives, +elected by the people, were to take action on the public affairs of +the district, especially on such that pertained to sanitary conditions, +communications, etc. The conditions for suffrage and elective franchise +in municipal affairs were based on personal income. The old class +distinctions were thus disregarded and a return made to the still older +democratic institutions of the ancient Teutonic communities, in which +every free man is entitled to his word and vote in public affairs. +But those only are considered “free” who by their work can gain +enough to pay their taxes in return for the privileges of a citizen. +The church got a representation of its own in the clerical assembly +(_kyrkomœtet_), which meets every fifth year and consists of equal +numbers of ministers and laymen. + +The government in the municipal reforms found a basis for the +reorganization of the Riksdag. The royal proposition for a new +parliamentary representation, placed before the Estates in 1862, was +built upon the municipal suffrage and the Landstings or district +assemblies, the latter being authorized to elect the members of +the senate, or First Chamber. The old system of representation +corresponded as little with the new municipal home rule as with the +general tendencies in politics and social life. The nobility had +lost its old importance. It was no longer advisable for the clergy +to take a leading part in political affairs. A new industrial class +of wealth and prominence had formed and demanded a representation in +the burgher class. The peasants had ever since 1809 been carrying on +their agitation for a reduction of taxes and abolition of the class +privileges. They had met with an overwhelming opposition, which would +fall with the old system of representation. A parliamentary reform +had been fervently discussed ever since 1840. The municipal home rule +reforms of 1862 had brought the question closer to a solution. The +burghers and peasants at the Riksdag of 1860 petitioned the government +to present a royal proposition for the reorganization of the Diet. +Baron Louis de Geer, the minister of justice, was the author of this +proposition, which was presented in 1862 and placed on the table +until the next Riksdag. The great question was acted upon at the +Riksdag of 1865. There was a great deal of commotion on account of +the opposition which was expected from the nobility and clergy. The +discussions in the periodical press and in pamphlet form were lively. +The country population preserved its peaceful and sensible demeanor, +but the excitement in the towns was considerable and increased as +the decision drew nearer. The majority of towns and several rural +communities in their close proximity sent deputations to Stockholm, +who tendered their best wishes to the able minister of justice for the +success of his proposition. The commotion in Stockholm was so great +that troops were ordered ready in case of an emergency. The 4th of +December the proposition was voted on by the burghers and peasants. +At the question of the speaker, whether they were willing to accept +the royal proposition, the peasants rose to their feet in a body and +gave their answer with one laconic yea. A few of the burghers spoke +against the proposition, but it was carried also in their Estate, and +by an overwhelming majority. Long and heated discussions took place +among the nobility and clergy. The clergymen were generally opposed +to the parliamentary reform, but feared to be found remaining as the +only opponents in the storm of disapproval which would follow. For +this reason they postponed their decision until the nobility had taken +action upon the proposition. + +There rested a spirit of real grandeur over the deliberations at +the Riddarhus upon this occasion, when the question of a voluntary +surrender of the aristocratic privileges was to be decided. The +Swedish nobility had its class instincts and prejudices, but very +rarely it had been found lacking in men of the loftiest patriotism and +highest attainments, ever ready to take the lead in the defence of the +independence of their country or to follow up faithfully the ambitions +of their great rulers. Arrangements had been made to allow noblemen +from distant parts and of very limited means to be present, if not +during the time of the discussions, which lasted four days, at least at +the casting of the vote. Never in the memorable history of the knightly +chapterhouse had more eloquent language or loftier thoughts been heard +than upon this occasion. Both supporters and opponents of the royal +proposition spoke with great sagacity and discernment. The former +spoke of the inadvisability of a representation by Estates and by +hereditary privileges, and of the dangers of a further postponement of +the needed reform. The latter nicely scrutinized the royal proposition, +which was considered to give too great influence to the peasants, to +weaken the executive power and to depend upon municipal reforms as yet +untried. They further considered the upper house, or First Chamber, too +homogeneous with the Second to be able to exert the conservative or +retaining power expected from it. The members of the cabinet all spoke +with fervor and persuasive power in favor of the royal proposition, +especially De Geer, Gripenstedt and Carlson. The outcome was that the +royal proposition was accepted by a vote of 361 yeas against 294 nays. +The nobility as a class thus left the political arena voluntarily +and with honor. Now the turn was come to the clergy, who unanimously +accepted the royal proposition without further discussion. The +result was accepted with outbursts of enthusiasm from all over the +country, but especially from the towns. The four Estates adjourned +June 22, 1866, forever, and the law of the new system of parliamentary +representation was sanctioned the same date. + +The royal proposition, which became the law of a new Diet, is based +upon the principle of general elections. The Riksdag meets at the +commencement of every year. It is divided into two houses or Chambers. +The members of the First Chamber, or upper house, are elected for a +term of nine years, partly by the Landstings, or district assemblies, +partly by the assemblies of towns which do not take part in a +Landsting. Elective to the First Chamber are those who have a yearly +income of at least $1,000 from some business or enterprise, or as the +interest on a capital of their own. These members, or senators, must be +at least thirty-five years of age; they do not enjoy any compensation. +The members of the Second Chamber, or lower house, are elected by +every judicial district in the country which has no more than 40,000 +inhabitants and by every 10,000 inhabitants of a town. Towns which have +a population of less than 10,000 inhabitants are joined into election +districts of from 6,000 to 12,000 inhabitants. Elective to the Second +Chamber are those who pay taxes on an income of at least $200 a year +and who are twenty-five years of age. These members are compensated for +the time spent at the Riksdag. The ordinary Riksdag, which meets every +year, lasts for a period of at least four months. The extraordinary +Riksdag is called by the king whenever he finds it necessary. The +members of the cabinet are elective as members of the Riksdag, and +should, during all sessions, be present at the deliberations of the +Chambers. The standing committees remain the same as during the time +of the old system. Special and temporary committees are appointed when +considered necessary. When the two Chambers end in a conflicting vote +upon one and the same subject, the committee which prepared it for +discussion should try to obtain a satisfactory solution. If such fails, +the question is dropped for that year. The expenses of state, the state +appropriations and the management of the national bank, when involved, +form exceptions to this rule and are voted upon by both Chambers +together, the majority of votes from both making the decision. + +A new era in Swedish history opens up with the acceptance of the +parliamentary reform. The constitution itself had suffered no change, +except in points of contact with the new rules of the Riksdag. But +the powers of state no longer held to each other the same position as +of yore. The government hitherto had, in the very division into four +Estates, a support against powerful class and party interests. An +equally solid support was not to be expected from a Riksdag of only two +Chambers, which in questions of state appropriations is practically +one. For this reason many would have preferred the establishment of a +system which, instead of abolishing the mediæval arrangement of four +Estates, would have added as many classes as there are really extant in +the modern state, to gain the desired equilibrium through a manifold +and dynamically operating representation. As things shaped themselves +after the two Chamber system, the government ought more than ever to +have a conservative, retaining power in order to preserve the proper +balance. But such was not the case, for the Riksdag had been placed in +a position to watch and control the executive power much closer than +before, thanks to its authority to fix for each year the appropriations +and expenditures of the state. The stipulation that the members of the +cabinet are to take part in the deliberations of the Chambers gives +another pillar of strength to the Riksdag. If the ministers of state +are to exert any influence upon the decisions of the Riksdag, it is +requisite to have its full confidence. The king is forced to select for +his cabinet such members as are supposed to have an influence with the +representatives of the people. The influence of the Riksdag has been +steadily increasing ever since 1867. + +While the issue of a parliamentary reform occupied the attention of all +public-spirited men, the interest in the political situation of Europe +was hardly less intense. The sympathy with the unhappy Poles was almost +feverish. In 1863 two motions were made at the Riksdag to petition the +government to take an active part in the restoration of the kingdom +of Poland, by means of diplomatic intervention. The position of the +government was a difficult one. The complications between Denmark +and Germany had recommenced, and it was important to stand in good +relations to Russia. The Swedish public did everything to make these +relations precarious, by demonstrations of various kinds in favor of +Poland, warlike newspaper articles and subscriptions of money to the +leaders of the revolt. Thanks to the sagacity and tactful demeanor +of Manderstrœm and the common sense of the Riksdag the motions in +question were defeated and a dangerous conflict avoided. Complications +of a more serious nature arose on account of the reopened conflict +between Denmark and Germany. The Danish government had failed in its +efforts to make a satisfactory arrangement in the relations between +the crown and the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. The Germans +repeatedly mixed themselves up in the interior affairs of Denmark, +and the Danes themselves were divided into several parties. King +Frederic VII. at last concluded to give up the idea of gathering in +the duchies as integral parts of the kingdom, satisfied to sacrifice +the ultimate connection of Holstein and Lauenburg with the crown, but +resolved to connect the originally Danish Schleswig with Denmark. +The purely German parts were, through the so-called “March Patent” +of 1863, separated from the rest of the monarchy, while Schleswig +was reunited with it, according to the constitution. This policy was +approved by the Scandinavian party in Sweden and Norway, supported by +Swedish diplomacy, and, in the first place, by Charles XV. himself. +King Charles was inspired by general sympathy with the Scandinavian +movement and by personal friendship for Frederic VII. to follow up the +Scandinavian policy of his father. The two Scandinavian monarchs met +twice during the summer of 1863 and influenced the Swedish-Norwegian +and Danish cabinets to draw the outline of a treaty of defence on the +basis of the river Eider as the Danish boundary to the south. The +Danish government made the proposition for a new constitution according +to which Schleswig was to be united to Denmark. This was contrary +to the promise made by King Frederic to the German powers in 1852. +The proposition for a new constitution was placed before the Danish +Diet and accepted. Two days later, November 15, 1863, King Frederic +suddenly died, before he had sanctioned the new law. This was a severe +blow. The popular king left his beloved people in a most inopportune +moment, fraught with peril and disastrous mistakes. The people of +Schleswig and Holstein renewed an old contention in regard to the right +of succession. The new Danish king, Christian IX., gave in to the +pressure brought to bear on him by his cabinet and the inhabitants of +Copenhagen. He signed the new constitution, which gave to the German +powers a valid excuse to interfere. The Prussian and Austrian troops +crossed the river Eider to make good the agreements of 1852. + +The Swedish-Norwegian government was placed in an embarrassing +position. The alliance of defence that was planned was to a great +extent based upon the relations of personal friendship between Charles +XV. and Frederic VII. Sweden was not legally pledged to shield Denmark +as a consequence of the acceptance of the new constitution. But Sweden +had taken a conspicuous part in the deliberations, for which reason a +change of policy could not be made without considerable difficulty. The +liberal organs of the Swedish press, headed by “Aftonbladet,” whose +editor was August Sohlman, did everything in their power to make such +a change an impossibility. But Sweden was not prepared to make war on +two of the great powers of Europe, especially as no other power was +willing to join in an alliance in behalf of Denmark. The change must be +made; and was effected, principally because of the persuasive arguments +and resolute demeanor of Gripenstedt. King Charles resolved to take +the painful measures of a retreat. The standpoint of his government +he gave to the Riksdag in the following words: “It cannot be expected +from us that we should place our sword on the scale of justice without +considering if the object can be attained with the resources at our +command.” It was a supreme sacrifice that Charles XV. made when, for +the safety of his countries, he was forced to draw back the hand of +support and comradeship which he had offered a brother in distress. +The noble-hearted king, in one of his poems, has given a touching +expression of the sorrow he felt in being unable to assist Denmark +in her hour of peril. King Charles might, with proper resources at +his command, have proved a formidable enemy. He had given evidence +of possessing all the qualities requisite for the make-up of a great +general, without doubt an inheritance from his two grandfathers, +Prince Bernadotte and Eugene Beauharnais. A few hundred Swedish and +Norwegian volunteers took an honorable part in the Danish war, which +was the only practical result of the Scandinavian policy. The Swedish +press was violent in its attacks upon the government for its change of +policy. In March, 1864, the mob of Stockholm assailed the residences +of Manderstrœm, Gripenstedt and other cabinet members, breaking the +windows with stones. + +Poor Denmark was left alone. Napoleon III. made the mistake of not +attempting to defeat Prussia before she had reached her climax of +strength. He was tied up with his Mexican adventure and unwilling +to help Denmark. Charles XV. could not endure to see Denmark thus +deserted. Privately he offered Christian IX. an alliance which +stipulated that the three Scandinavian kingdoms should be joined into +a union with one common foreign policy and common defence. Charles was +also willing to make the succession one, if necessary. This alliance +was to embrace only such parts of Denmark which were not to enter +the German union. Sweden-Norway would do their utmost to prohibit a +separation between Denmark and Schleswig. Denmark refused to accept +this offer. Her leading statesman, Monrad, held stubbornly to the idea +of an undivided Danish monarchy. For this reason, Denmark was for a +second time abandoned to fight out alone her uneven battle. It ended +in the loss of Holstein, Lauenburg and the greater part of Schleswig, +through the treaty of Vienna, October 30, 1864. In Denmark a hard +feeling against the Swedes and Norwegians sprang up as a consequence +of the disastrous war fought without allies; and the Scandinavian +policy and enthusiasm had received a blow from which they have never +fully recovered. Charles XV. did all in his power to revive them. He +had the pleasure of uniting the efforts of Sweden, Norway and Denmark +in a peaceful work of great significance, the first Scandinavian +Exposition of Industry and Art, which was opened at Stockholm in June, +1866. The consequence was a perfect Norwegian conquest of Sweden, in +a cultured sense. The painters Tidemand and Gude captured the prizes. +The composers Kierulf and Nordraak took the lead in song and music. +Ibsen and Bjornson became the craze in literature. The literary contact +with Norway was begun in 1861, when Lorenz Dietriechson was appointed +a docent at the University of Upsala, and for the first time made the +contemporary Norwegian and Danish poets acquainted in Sweden. What +Sweden received from Norway was a quaint, late-born Romanticism of a +strong national flavor. When this Romanticism was changed into stern +Realism its influence upon Swedish culture, especially her literature, +was only increased, Swedish literature receiving strong realistic +impulses from the neighboring Scandinavian countries. The Norwegian +influence ceased, when the Swedes at last became aware that there was +in it a deeply pessimistic trait, akin to the stern Norwegian and +Scotch Christianity, which is incompatible with the Swedish national +temperament, slightly inclined to melancholy, but of a robust and +irrepressible desire to live and enjoy. + +Charles XV. followed up his practical Scandinavian policy by marrying +his only daughter Louise to Crown Prince Frederic of Denmark. King +Charles was as unsuccessful in his noble efforts to unite more closely +his two kingdoms as in his foreign policy. The king allowed some time +to pass in order to let the ill-feeling, caused by the conflict of 1859 +and 1860, die out. In February, 1865, he considered that the moment +had arrived to institute the review of the Act of Union. He appointed +a committee of Swedes and Norwegians to prepare the proposition of a +new Act of Union, on the basis of perfect equality and right to decide +separately all matters, except such pertaining to the Union. The +committee performed the work, but their proposition was defeated at +the Norwegian Storthing of 1871, at the instigation of John Sverdrup +and K. Motzfeldt. The Swedish Riksdag for this reason also failed to +accept it. At the close of the Riksdag, King Charles made the following +utterance in regard to the defeated proposition: “What has now failed +to attain success shall perhaps win out without difficulty when the two +nations once have learned to place confidence in each other, as the +result of a more intimate intercourse.” He saw with great satisfaction +the completion of a railway which forever unites the Swedish and the +Norwegian capitals with ties of steel. + +The administration of Charles XV. persevered in its liberal policy +concerning questions of economy and jurisprudence. This was particularly +noticeable in commercial matters. The idea of free trade had won +ascendency in Europe. Napoleon III. had entered a treaty of commerce +with England, in strict opposition to the protective system. Other +nations were one by one admitted into the free-trade system by means +of new treaties. Sweden made a treaty of commerce and navigation in +1865. This step was severely criticised by the Riksdag of 1865-1866, +both from a constitutional and financial point of view. Gripenstedt was +accused of leading the way over demolished industries, but he defended +his position with great eloquence. The treaty was ratified in spite of +the powerful opposition in the Riksdag. The press condemned both the +treaty and the government in the most violent language. + +The first Riksdag of the new parliamentary system met January 19, 1867. +The “Landstings” had sent to the First Chamber the most prominent +men of the country. It was a truly representative gathering, a house +of peers elected by the people. Lagerbielke, the landtmarshal of the +preceding Riksdag, was appointed speaker. The Second Chamber counted a +larger number of peasants as representatives than of any other class. +Anton Nicolaus Sundberg, then bishop of Carlstad, now archbishop of +Sweden, was made speaker of the Second Chamber. The power of the +peasants made itself felt at once. There was formed a strong and +influential party, the _landtmanna_, or countrymen’s party, consisting +of small landowners. The peasants constituted the majority, but the +party also counted many titled and untitled country gentlemen in +interests united with them. The founder of the party was Count Arvid +Rutger Posse, later minister of state. Emil Key and the peasants +Charles Ifvarsson and Liss Olof Larsson were among the leaders of the +party. The policy of the Landtmanna party demanded simplification +of the administration, economy in the matter of appropriations and +a solution of the questions of the defence and taxation in harmony +with the interests of the owners of the soil. The party followed up +its policy with stern consistency from Riksdag to Riksdag, until in +perfect control of the whole government. The opposition consisted +of “the Intelligence” or intellectual party, which, without a solid +constitution or a fixed policy, has in vain fought the spreading +influence and power of the Landtmanna party. The latter has gone +almost too far in its endeavors for economical reform, but has also +given evidence of appreciation of the material needs of a cultural +development, appropriating large sums for the benefit of science and +education. + +The army question was the most important issue of Swedish politics. The +events of 1866 had made it evident that a strengthening of the defences +was necessary. King Charles was anxious to have the question solved in +a satisfactory manner, finding therein the only reliable safeguard for +the future independence of Sweden. It was apparent that any attempts to +settle the question in accordance with the system adopted by Charles +XI. would be devoid of result. It was based upon direct taxation of the +soil and must be opposed by the strong majority of small landowners of +the Landtmanna party. A compromise policy was for this reason begun in +1867, the question of an abolition of the land tax being connected with +the army question, although the two ought to have had no connection. +The question was started with promises of a reduction or exemption of +the duties of the old army system as compensation for the acceptance +of a new arrangement for the country’s defence. The government made an +army proposition to the Riksdag of 1869, promising several reductions +to the landowners who furnished soldiers according to the old system +(_indelningsverket_). The proposition was prepared by a committee, +of which the new minister of war, Gustavus Rudolph Abelin, was the +chairman. It was based upon the preservation of the old system for the +furnishing of the body force of officers and men. The larger force was +to be provided for through militia. The militia was to be drilled in +the neighborhood of their various homes during sixty days of the year. +The proposition was not accepted. The militia compulsory service, as +the duty of every citizen for the defence of his country, had nothing +to do with the regular army as provided by the stipulations of the old +system. But the majority of the Second Chamber confused the two and +refused to allow the establishment of the former on a wider basis, +because the offers made to reduce the burdens of the old system did +not appear to them liberal enough. In 1871 another proposition was +made by Abelin to the Riksdag. It was similar to the first one, and +its cause was eloquently pleaded by Abelin, Axel Gustavus Adlercreutz, +minister of justice, Peter Axel Bergstrœm, minister of civil service, +and Gunnar Vennerberg, minister of ecclesiastics. They warned against +the mistake of attaching impossible conditions to the acceptance of +the proposition. The proposition for an extended militia service was +accepted by both Chambers. But when the Second Chamber raised, as a +condition for its acceptance, the suspension, for fifteen years, of the +old system which provided for the regular army, the government found it +impossible to grant this, and the proposition was dropped. + +King Charles was grieved and vexed with the fate of the army bills. +The Franco Prussian war made it, in his opinion, of added importance +to Sweden to have her defences remodelled. He called an extraordinary +session of the Riksdag, in the autumn of 1871, when Abelin brought +out a third proposition. It was chiefly of the same contents as the +preceding ones. But a remarkable change in the public opinion had now +taken place, as to the advisability of retaining the old system. Men +who looked upon the question more from a military than an economic +point of view entertained doubts as to the practical value of the +old regular army as the body force of a compulsory militia. Military +officers commenced to attack the old system as the basis of a new army. +The Landtmanna party persevered in the request for an abolition of the +old system, and this killed the army bill at the extraordinary Riksdag. + +Together with the request for an abolition of the old army system, +demands for redemption from other burdens placed upon the owners of +the soil made themselves heard. The land-tax was the principal one of +these burdens and caused as much difference of opinion as the army +system. The Landtmanna party considered the land-tax to be of the +same nature originally as other taxes, which ought to be more evenly +distributed and shared by all classes in the same proportion. The +Intelligence party was of the opinion that the land-tax in the course +of time had come to be rents or mortgages which always were taken into +consideration at the exchange of property, as reducing the stock value +of the property in question. To free a present generation from the +payment of land-tax, was in the eyes of the opposition, an injustice +to the other classes whose taxes thereby were to be increased. The +Landtmanna party had, in 1869, commenced an agitation for the reduction +of the land-tax for shorter periods and on a small scale at first, but +with increasing demands at every new Riksdag. + +The government, whose members had been the champions of parliamentary +reform, was soon disregarded by the triumphant party, while its old +opponents never forgot it. The earlier advisers of the king retired +one by one when they saw their influence in the Riksdag vanish. King +Charles himself took the defeat of the army bills deep at heart. His +health commenced to fail in 1871, and when his faithful consort died, +in the same year, having exposed her own health in her attempts to +improve the condition of the king, the latter grew worse. After a trip +abroad for his health, King Charles XV. died at Malmœ, September 18, +1872, deeply mourned by the two nations. In the following year his +youngest brother Nicolaus August, duke of Dalecarlia, died, leaving +only two of the children of Oscar I., Oscar Frederic, duke of East +Gothland, and Princess Eugenie. The history of Charles XV. carries the +principal traits of his character. His sweeping reforms in social, +political and economical matters, and his great plans for the future, +even if sometimes immature, or high-strung, were always characterized +by loftiness of purpose. A typical Swede both in his merits and his +faults, this was the secret of the immense popularity of King Charles, +which always followed him, although he never sought it. + +The philosopher Christian Jacob Bostrœm is the most popular of Swedish +thinkers and the first who founded a national system and school of +philosophy, idealistic and rational, and in strict opposition to the +system of Hegel. Bostrœm was born in Pitea, in 1797, was the teacher of +the sons of Oscar I., and succeeded the able philosopher Samuel Grubbe, +a talented follower of Hœijer, as professor of philosophy at the +University of Upsala. Bostrœm was a highly fascinating and suggestive +teacher, while he neglected his literary production, which is neither +exhaustive nor quite representative of his philosophy. He exerted a +considerable influence by his outline of a philosophical state, which +pleased the conservatives, while a much more widespread and lasting +impression was produced by his criticism of the doctrines of a hell and +a devil. A whole literature sprang into life, discussing vehemently +the existence or non-existence of the fiend. To this literature and +the works and writings of Bostrœm is to be credited the spirit of +religious tolerance which characterized life and literature during the +reign of Charles XV. It fostered in the cultured few a leaning toward +Unitarianism or Theosophy, while it gave rise to a shallow materialism +and religious indifference in the less cultured classes and individuals. + +The artistic, literary and musical life bore a decided resemblance +to the intellectually interested but dilettantic king. Charles XV. +was surrounded by a great number of painters who, although possessing +a good deal of talent, succeeded only in the smaller field of genre +painting. Remarkable exceptions are J. F. Hœckert, Marcus Larsson and +C. H. L. D’Uncker, who possessed sterling genius and acquired great +fame. Several promising painters, like George von Rosen, developed +later the full scope of their power. The sculptor J. P. Molin was +highly talented, a worthy follower of B. E. Fogelberg, who had enriched +Swedish art with a number of highly important sculptures. + +In the world of letters, the spirit of dilettantism was more strongly +felt than in art, Swedish literature, after its several glorious +epochs, experiencing one of its most stagnant periods. A veritable +giant among pygmies was Victor Rydberg, whose remarkable novel, “The +Last Athenian,” appeared in 1859, but whose principal productivity as a +poet and scientist belongs to a later period. So do, to a great extent, +the best works of the poets Eduard Beckstrœm, also an able dramatist, +and Count Carl Snoilsky. Zacharias Topelius, the Walter Scott and +Hans Christian Andersen of Finland, must be mentioned here. Writing +in the Swedish language, and for his principal work using subjects of +Swedish history, he was as highly beloved in Sweden as in Finland. His +excellent series of historical novels, called “The Surgeon’s Stories,” +have been translated into several languages. His juvenile stories are +not characterized by the same degree of inventive power as are the +tales by Andersen, but Topelius had the latter’s ability of placing +himself in intimate contact with the pure minds of all ages. + +In the most national of Swedish cultural elements, the song, the epoch +of dilettantism found its most beautiful and lasting expressions. The +quartet and chorus singing at the universities of Upsala and Lund was +cultivated to the highest standards of excellence and had a splendid +repertory in the songs of Otto Lindblad, Vennerberg, Prince Gustavus, +Josephsson, Crusell, Cronhamn, etc. The Upsala students caused a +great sensation by their singing at the Paris Exposition of 1867, +and have repeated their successes at the Paris Exposition of 1878, +and in Berlin in 1898. Swedish quartets of men’s and women’s voices +have travelled all over the world and made a lasting fame for this +minor but bewitching branch of musical art. As dramatic singers of +the first rank, Louise Michaëli and Christine Nilsson have been the +worthy successors of Jenny Lind. To this period, as well as to the +next, belongs Elisa Hvasser, the greatest and most versatile actress +Sweden has ever had. This artist was equally at home in the farce +and melodrama, but excelled in the tragic parts of the Shakespeare, +Schiller, and Ibsen repertory. Indispensable in their positions at the +Royal Theatre of Stockholm, Michaëli, the songstress, and Hvasser, the +tragedienne, did not travel, thereby losing the fame a world would have +been only too glad to give them. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +_Progress and Prosperity--Oscar II_ + + +Oscar II. ascended the throne at a moment when universal peace was +restored after the great conflict between France and Germany, and when +an age of commercial prosperity for Sweden seemed to have begun. King +Oscar had received the same superior education as his older brothers, +is as brilliantly gifted as they were and of a more scholarly mind. +As a writer on scientific subjects, a poet and an orator, Oscar II. +had distinguished himself before his succession to the throne. The new +king offered the best of securities for a sound administration in his +thorough and versatile knowledge, wide experience in public affairs, +and rich and harmonious endowment. Oscar II. still did not find it easy +to gain the love and admiration of the Swedish people, of which he is +so eminently worthy. He was the successor of one of the most popular +of rulers that the country ever saw, but King Oscar has lived to see +his own popularity almost outrival that of his predecessor. King Oscar +is, at seventy, a handsome, spirited gentleman, with that dignity which +age, rare attainments, high intelligence and a noble soul grant their +common possessor. This the most learned and popular monarch of Europe +is of a tall, commanding figure, six feet three inches in height, of a +handsome, expressive face, with cheeks of a ruddy color and mild blue +eyes. + +Oscar II. has shown great discernment in his arrangement of dynastic +matters. Himself married to the fervently religious Princess Sophie +of Nassau, the king has married his oldest son, Crown Prince Gustavus +Adolphus, to Princess Victoria of Bade, a granddaughter of Emperor +William I. of Germany, and a great-granddaughter of Gustavus IV. of +Sweden. His third son, Prince Charles, duke of West Gothland, is +married to Princess Ingeborg of Denmark, a granddaughter of Charles +XV. of Sweden. These unions are well calculated to accentuate the +increasing political, commercial and cultural intimacy with Germany, +the Scandinavian policy of his predecessor and the desire of King Oscar +to see the descendants of the old royal line of Sweden as heirs to the +crown. In giving his consent to the marriage of his second son, Prince +Oscar (Bernadotte), to Lady Ebba Munck, of the Swedish nobility, King +Oscar has given evidence of the fact that he is not a match-maker +regardless of the feelings of the parties involved. Prince Oscar, +formerly Duke of Gothland, upon renouncing his share of inheritance to +the two thrones, was allowed to marry the choice of his heart. King +Oscar has tried to heal the wounds of the past by opening the vaults of +the church of Riddarholm to the sarcophagi of Gustavus IV. and his son, +and by giving Queen Carola of Saxony, the only living granddaughter of +the former, repeated proofs of esteem and considerate distinction. + +King Oscar with his crowns had received as an inheritance two important +problems to be solved--the reorganization of the Swedish army and the +settlement of the difficulties in the relations between the two states +of the Union. The latter has not yet found a satisfactory solution, +although the king has devoted to it his most strenuous attention and +the best of his efforts, in honest application to his royal motto: “The +Weal of the Brother Nations.” + +The reorganization of the Swedish army was not effected until after +twenty years of parliamentary struggle. The road of a compromise policy +which was opened in 1867 was followed up at the Riksdag of 1873, in all +the long chain of years royal army bills being repeatedly rejected. +In 1885 the government and Riksdag agreed on a remission of thirty +per cent of the military taxes of landowners in exchange for new +regulations for the militia compulsory service. In 1887 the Riksdag +sanctioned the total abolition of the “indelta,” or cantoned troops, +as far as the navy was concerned, which was the first step toward the +reorganization of the navy, and the same year the militia law of 1885 +went into effect. + +The old Landtmanna, or agrarian party, in 1888 gave place to a new +protectionistic party. A contested election of twenty-two members +from Stockholm gave a sudden majority to the protectionists, O. R. +Themptander, the able minister of state, resigning. The army bill did +not fare well at first. In spite of the fact that the Landtmanna party +was brushed aside, the old enemies of an army reform, the landowners, +nobles and peasants alike, still being strong enough to successfully +oppose it. The Riksdag of 1888 passed a grain tariff, which went into +effect February 14th of the same year, enforcing several other points +of a protective tariff system. + +King Oscar called an extraordinary, or special, session of the Riksdag, +October 18, 1892, when royal propositions were offered and accepted. +The land-tax was abolished and a new army bill passed. According +to the stipulations of the latter, the _beværingstid_, or period of +liability for every citizen to bear arms, was extended to embrace +twenty years instead of twelve, viz., eight years in the first ban of +the _landtværn_, or militia, four years in the second ban, and eight +years in the _landstorm_, or final levy. The first ban of militia is in +time of war to form an integral part of the first fighting line, the +second ban forming a reserve for the first fighting line. The final +levy is to be called out for garrison duty exclusively, and for the +defence of the country against foreign invasion. Six military districts +have been established, five distributed along the entire coast of +Sweden, the sixth inland in the western provinces to be a reserve +ready to be used at the point and moment most needed. The reorganized +army in active service is composed of _værfvade_, or enlisted troops, +and _indelta_, or cantoned troops, the expenses also of the latter +being paid by the government. The royal guards, chasseurs, hussars, +artillery, and engineers are enlisted for two years up to eight. The +militia troops are distributed among both the enlisted and the cantoned +troops, the length of service with the colors being ninety days in time +of peace. The infantry in which all the cantoned troops serve consist +of twenty-six regiments and two battalions. The line is armed with +Remingtons of 8.8 millimetres calibre. There are eight regiments of +cavalry and six regiments and six batteries of field artillery, forty +batteries in all, with 240 cannon. The effective of the active army, +in 1896, was 1,953 officers, 571 employees, 1,779 non-commissioned +officers, 1,641 musicians and 38,802 men, with 6,852 horses. The war +effective is 272,994 men, besides 180,000 in the _landstorm_. The chief +fortifications of Sweden are Carlscrona, on the south coast; two +fortresses outside of Stockholm, viz., Vaxholm and Oscar Fredericsborg; +and, in the interior, Carlsborg, near Lake Vetter. The navy comprises +4 turret ships, with 10-inch armor, armed each with 2 10-inch and +4 5.9-inch guns, and having a total displacement of 12,450 tons; 4 +armor clad monitors, 9 armored gunboats, 3 corvettes, 9 first-class +and 5 second-class gunboats, 2 torpedo cruisers, 7 first-class and 9 +second-class torpedo boats, 5 torpedo launches, and 12 school ships. +The navy is manned by 267 officers and about 4,500 sailors, not +including conscripts to the number of 8,500 men. The entire cost of the +defence of Sweden exceeds ten million dollars a year. + +The movement for a reorganization of the defences has not been caused +by any change in the policy of peace, which has faithfully been carried +out by all the rulers of the Bernadotte dynasty. The ruler of Sweden +and her people desire peace, but not as a gift of mercy from the great +powers, but as a self-chosen right which can be effectively defended +if necessary. The ever-increasing armament of the European powers +has made a strengthening of the Swedish arms unavoidable, but the +Swedish government was the first to announce its readiness to accept +the invitation of Czar Nicholas II. of Russia to a conference for the +discussion of a general reduction of the regular armies. Germany was +made the pattern for the reorganization of the army and navy, the +Swedish government having followed the German also in the treatment of +the labor question, with schemes of accident and old-age insurance, +accepted by the Riksdag. + +King Oscar, at his succession to the throne, gave evidence of his +desire to meet the reasonable demands of his Norwegian subjects. He +sanctioned, in 1873, the abolition of the office of a governor-general +of Norway, the government at Christiania to be presided over by a +Norwegian minister of state. To the later Norwegian demands for a +separate flag, consular service and ministry of foreign affairs, +King Oscar has been unyielding. The flag question is of subordinate +importance. King Oscar, in 1899, has refused to sanction the resolution +of the Storthing, three times passed, for a flag without the mark +of Union, for the reason that the flag with that mark was offered +to Norway by his father, Oscar I., and gratefully accepted when the +country had no colors at all, except the Swedish. The Swedish people +will carry their old flag with the mark of Union, irrespective of any +changes made in the Norwegian colors. More serious are the questions +of consular and diplomatic service. In 1893, the Swedish government +offered to compromise by establishing a common ministry of foreign +affairs whose head might be indifferently a Swede or a Norwegian. This +was rejected by the Norwegian Storthing. The same offer was made in +1837, when the dispute first arose, provided that the Norwegian troops +should share the duty of the common defence of both kingdoms. The +Swedish Riksdag of 1893 passed a resolution, in compliance with which +King Oscar for a second time refused to sanction the bill of Norwegian +consulates. + +The diametrically opposite views which are held in regard to the +relations of Sweden and Norway are, to a great extent, caused by +a misconception of the nature of the Union. In lack of a Union +parliament, it has by many been considered to be only a personal union +of two countries under the same king. Such is not the case. It is +true that the two countries are both free and independent states and +that the king is the only visible bond between them, according to +the Act of Union, but the Union is nevertheless an _actual_ and not a +_personal_ one. If it was only personal, the king could at will, or +when forced to do so, resign his power in one of the countries and +continue his reign in the other. The Act of Union cannot be changed +except upon a resolution, enacted in both of the respective diets, +and with the sanction of the king in behalf of the Union. A change +can be made at the same Swedish Riksdag at which it is proposed, at +the Norwegian Storthing not until the next regular session. As a +consequence the Union cannot be dissolved by the representatives of +either country alone, and the king cannot dissolve it by exercising +any power of his own. The king cannot abdicate one throne without +abdicating the other, for the first paragraph of the Act of Union +stipulates that the two countries shall be indissolubly and irrevocably +united under the rule of the same king. No abdication can be granted, +except by common consent of the two diets in joint session. When the +two thrones are empty, without an heir-apparent, a new king shall be +elected by the two diets in common. What underlies the Norwegian claims +of a separate foreign ministry is, besides to own an outward sign +of the country’s independence, a desire for a closer constitutional +control of diplomatic affairs. From the Swedish side the desirability +of a Union parliament and a greater authority for the Union government +has been expressed. The Swedes have been found unwilling to grant any +change of the constitution of the Union, except the right be added +for the Union government to dispose of the military forces of both +countries, in equal proportion, for the common defence. King Oscar’s +standpoint in the Unionist conflict has contributed much to increase +his popularity in Sweden, where his firm refusal to sanction any +measure which would cause a weakening to the Union has been received +with the highest approval. + +A committee to review the relations of the Union and propose a revision +of its charter was appointed in 1897, but failed to accomplish +anything, the views of the Swedish and Norwegian members differing +too radically in their opinions. It is to be hoped that the ultimate +solution of the unionist conflict, whensoever it come or whatsoever it +be, will bring the two countries of the Scandinavian peninsula closer +together, without any great sacrifice on either side, least of all of +their independence. + +During the more than eighty years of peace which Sweden has enjoyed +under the rule of the Bernadotte dynasty, she has developed her +constitutional liberty and her material prosperity in a high degree. +The dreams of glory by conquest belong to days gone by, but in the +fields of peaceable industries she has attained a greatness which the +world begins to realize. At the expositions of Paris in 1867, 1878 +and 1889, of Vienna in 1873, of Philadelphia in 1876 and of Chicago +in 1893, Swedish industry and art have taken part with honor in the +international competition. The railways of Sweden have incessantly spun +a more and more extended network of steel over the country, opening +connections for enterprises in new districts and furthering commerce +and industrial art in a wide measure. Oscar II. is an enthusiastic +friend of railway improvements, the state having built and acquired +a quite considerable length of road at his initiative. The length +of Swedish railways, in 1896, was 6,145 miles, of which 2,283 miles +belonged to the state, compared to a total of 1,089 miles of Norwegian +railways. + +The post-office, which was made a government department by Axel +Oxenstierna, in 1636, annually transmits 130 million letters and +parcels. The telegraph lines have not reached a very high state of +development; still there are 14,600 miles of telegraph. The telephone +has made much more progress, far surpassing that of any other country +in Europe. The total length of the connections exceeds 40,000 miles, +and the number of apparatus is more than 25,000. Stockholm makes the +widest use of the telephone of any city in the world, with her 300,000 +inhabitants having a telephone for every thirty. Sweden has developed +into a commercial country of no inconsiderable rank, notwithstanding +her isolated position. Exports and imports each exceed yearly in +value $100,000,000, the imports being 344,290,000 kronor and the +exports 311,434,000 kronor in value, in 1895, a Swedish krona being +about twenty-eight cents. The commercial value of the foreign trade +amounts to thirty-nine dollars in yearly average for each inhabitant +of Sweden, which is about as much as in France. The imports chiefly +consist of coal, coffee, salt, cotton and wool, while the exports are +timber products, about forty per cent of the whole, iron and steel, +the best in the world, machinery, butter, cattle, matches, etc. The +inland navigation and commerce are very lively. The state finances are +in a prosperous condition. The budget of 1898 showed total receipts of +120,086,000 kronor, of which 14,229,000 was surplus from proceeding +budgets. + +Thanks to the well equipped and regulated system of instruction, the +general education has been so highly advanced that Sweden, in this +respect, holds the very front rank among the nations. Besides the +national universities of Upsala and Lund and the state medical college +of Stockholm, city universities at Stockholm and Gothenburg have been +recently founded which are quickly developing. All study at the +universities consists of post-graduate work, there being about thirty +colleges in various parts of the country which lead their pupils as far +as the demands requisite for entering the universities. The Swedish +university courses are of unexcelled thoroughness and completeness. +The so-called Peasant High Schools are peculiar to Scandinavia, having +originated in Denmark. There are twenty-five such high schools in +Sweden, which give to young men and women of the peasant class a higher +education than is available in the common schools, of which latter +there are 10,702, with 692,360 pupils and 13,797 teachers. + +Scientific research progresses with energy and success, and Sweden +possesses to-day a great number of eminent scholars, even if the epoch +of men of universal genius appears to be a thing of the past there +as elsewhere. Swedish scientists have opened closer relations with +their co-workers in all parts of the world. The energy of King Oscar +has brought about several congresses of science at Stockholm. In the +natural sciences, Sweden still holds an honored place, in physics +offering two great names, Eric Edlund and A. J. Angstrœm, the latter +celebrated for his work on the solar spectrum, which forms the basis +for the spectral analysis. Death has claimed these men and also J. A. +H. Gyldén, an eminent astronomer; J. G. Agardh, C. W. Blomstrand, H. +O. Nathorst, J. E. Rydquist, able botanist, chemist, agriculturist, +and philologist, respectively; Pontus Wikner, the most remarkable of +the disciples of the philosopher Bostrœm, and Victor Rydberg, the +philosophical poet, novelist and polyhistor. + +Among the most noteworthy of living Swedish scholars are Adolph Norén, +Axel Koch and Esaias Tegnér, Junior, philologists; Hans Hildebrand and +Oscar Montelius, archæologists; P. Fahlbeck, Nils and Magnus Hœjer, +Martin Weibull, Ernest Carlson, historians; A. M. Mittag-Leffler, +mathematician; Hugo Hildebrandsson, meteorologist; E. A. H. Key, E. O. +T. Westerlund, Anton Wetterstrand, F. J. Biornstrœm, T. F. Hartelius, +Curt Wallis, prominent in various branches of medical science. + +King Oscar with fervent interest and unfailing liberality has +encouraged various scientific explorations, and has had the satisfaction +to see the greatest geographical discoveries of the century successfully +made by Swedes, the circumnavigation of Asia and Europe, and the +discovery of the Northeast Passage by Baron N. A. E. Nordenskiold, +and the exploration of Central Asia by Sven Hedin, which has forever +settled the learned disputes of ages. A third expedition, the most +daring of scientific exploits ever attempted, still keeps the world +in suspense as to its final outcome. July 11, 1897, S. A. Andrée, +a scientifically experienced aëronaut, with two companions, Nils +Strindberg and Knut Frænkel, started in a balloon constructed for +the purpose, and with provisions for three years, from an island +of Spitzbergen, with the purpose of reaching the North Pole. The +daring aëronauts have not been heard from since their departure, but +authorities like Baron Nordenskiold have expressed the best of hopes +that they may have reached Franz Joseph’s Land in safety, whence they +might regain settled regions.[6] S. A. Andrée belongs to a class of +men, the Swedish engineers, who have won distinction for their ability, +and on whom the examples set by Christopher Polhem and John Ericsson +have had a stimulating influence. There are among them two inventors +of the very first rank, who belong to the reign of Oscar II., Alfred +Nobel (d. 1896), the inventor of dynamite, and Gustavus de Laval, +the Swedish Edison. The latter is world-famous for his separator and +other inventions, which have revolutionized the dairy industry. Alfred +Nobel, the disciple of John Ericsson, has not only the glory of having +invented one of the most useful helpers of mechanic and industrial +progress, but also that of having set aside his vast fortune, amounting +to something like $12,500,000, for public purposes. The money is so +invested as to constitute a fund the interest of which shall be applied +to five equal annual prizes, to be awarded for the most important +discovery or improvement in chemistry, physics or medicine, for the +work in literature highest in the ideal sense, and to the one who shall +have acted most and best for the fraternity of nations, the suppression +or reduction of standing armies, and the constitution and propagation +of peace congresses. The first prize, physics and chemistry, shall be +awarded by the Academy of Science of Sweden; that for physiology and +medicine by the Carolin Institute of Stockholm; the literary prize +by the Swedish Academy; and that for the propagation of peace by a +commission of five members elected by the Norwegian Storthing. He +especially directed that in distributing these prizes no consideration +of nationality shall prevail, so that he who is most worthy of it shall +receive the reward, whether he be Scandinavian or not. It seems that +the sum of each of the five annual prizes thus instituted will amount +to $75,000. The inventor of dynamite was deeply interested in all +that was done to promote peace by congresses and societies. He always +considered that by improving war material, and thus increasing the +dangers of war, he was contributing his share toward the pacification +of the world. Alfred Nobel has, by the manner in which the Norwegian +Storthing is made an active party in the disposition of his will, +indicated _his_ view upon the Union of Sweden and Norway and his hopes +for a peaceful solution of their conflicts. + +Swedish literature, after the period of dilettantism and epigones, has, +during the reign of Oscar II., twice been rejuvenated and continues its +development on broadened paths and with a wider scope. The eighties +were characterized by a strong realistic movement, which went far in +daring truth of description and brought problems of a social, religious +and political nature under discussion in works of a novelistic or +dramatic form. In naturalism, it never went to the extremes of the +other Scandinavian literature. The movement was to a great extent +brought on by Norwegian and Danish influence, and soon subsided for +want of solid and fascinating art to maintain it. The Swedish champion +of this movement, although without the restrictions of any school, +was August Strindberg, a genius of extraordinary endowment. Through +the versatility and power of his talent, he created new forms for the +Swedish drama, novel, short story and essay. In his battle against +reactionary conservatism he went too far; an excitable nature, led +into extremes, but he has had the manly courage to confess and regret +his mistakes. Strindberg, who is an able historian, ethnographer, +naturalist and sinologue, is the most versatile and prolific of +contemporary writers. In the wide scope of his genius and originality +of his methods, Strindberg is one of the most remarkable dramatists +that ever lived. His autobiographical works are of supreme importance, +both to the students of literature and psychology. Among his +masterpieces are “Master Olof,” the great historic drama of his youth, +“Swedish Fates and Adventures,” and “Utopia Realized,” two series of +short stories, and “The Father,” a modern drama of unsurpassed tragic +grandeur. + +Several women took an active part in the literary discussion of social +problems, with more or less justice considered as the champions of +women’s rights. Among these Anne Charlotte Leffler, duchessa di +Cajanello, in spite of her premature death, developed into a novelist +of merit who will be placed side by side with Bremer, Knorring and +Carlén. + +The golden lyres of Romanticism were silenced and the epigones were +hushed by the sarcasms of Realism. Count Snoilsky and Victor Rydberg +were the only poets of the earlier period who sang with inspiration and +were listened to. After the realistic movement of the eighties came +a romantic reaction with new lyrics and new novelists, who avoided +the ruthlessness of the realists, but had profited by their merits. +This new movement cannot be called a school, for it is marked by its +great versatility of subjects and great elasticity of treatment. If +the definition of realistic art be “a piece of nature seen through a +temperament,” that of the new movement may be “an artistic temperament +attuned to pieces of nature,” a sensitive and supple talent which has +an almost unlimited capacity to tell every story just in the vein its +particular subject demands. Pre-eminent in this movement stand Ola +Hansson, Selma Lagerlœf, Verner von Heidenstam, Gustaf af Geijerstam, +Peter Hallstrœm, Thor Hedberg, Oscar Levertin, all fine novelists, +almost all good poets, and Geijerstam, an able dramatist. One of the +most interesting and supremely gifted poets Sweden has ever had is +Gustaf Frœding, who generally excels, sometimes abuses, his remarkable +versatility in finding a true lyric expression for the very widest +range of subjects. Sigurd Hedenstierna is the most popular humorist, +witty in his sketches, but impossible as a novelist. The greatest +humorists are August Strindberg and Gustaf Frœding. Contemporary Sweden +has very few and no great literary critics, but some good literary +historians in Henric Schueck, Karl Warburg and Oscar Levertin. She has +a number of able journalists, most distinguished among whom is their +Nestor, S. A. Hedlund, of Gothenburg, a fiery but dignified champion +of a liberal government, religious tolerance, social evolution and +cultural progress. + +Swedish literature has a long pedigree compared to Swedish art, which +is hardly more than two centuries old. All the more remarkable, then, +is its rapid growth and high degree of excellence. The first school +of Swedish painters was founded by the German Ehrenstrahl, giving to +Swedish art the cosmopolitan character it has preserved to this day, +influenced by continental but chiefly French art. Swedish painters +early attracted attention abroad. Gustavus Lundberg, with a picture of +Boucher and his wife, won the greatest success of the Salon of Paris, +in 1743. Peter Adolphus Hall, “painter to the king and the children +of France,” has been called the Van Dyck of the miniature painters. +He resided in Paris up to the time of the revolution and took part +in the storming of the Bastile. Alexander Roslin was, from the year +1760, installed in the Louvre as painter to the king and councillor +of the French Academy. In 1771 he carried home a prize which the +immortal Greuze could not capture, much to the dismay of Diderot, and +died as the most famous and wealthy artist of the period. In a later +period, Italy attracted many Swedish artists, and later still, in the +sixties of the present century, the influence of Germany, especially +of the Dusseldorf school, was strongly felt. John Frederic Hœckert +won the first prize of the Paris Exposition of 1855 with his large +picture “Divine Service in the Lapmark.” When the glories of Hœckert +were almost forgotten at home, Edward Wahlberg, in the seventies, was +ushered into celebrity as one of the greatest landscape painters of +modern times, equally appreciated in Germany, as later in France, and +new French laurels were won by Hugo Salmson, William von Gegerfelt +and August Hagborg. Since then French influences have become solidly +established, with a few important artists of the Munich school, like +C. G. Hellquist and Julius Kronberg. The climax of artistic honors +was reached by Nils Forsberg, whose picture, “The Death of a Hero,” +carried home the first prize of the French Salon in 1888 (not an +exposition medal), a distinction which no Swede and exceedingly few +non-French artists ever won. The repeated successes which Swedish +painters have won at expositions of Europe were more than duplicated by +the enthusiastic approval granted it at the World’s Fair in Chicago in +1893. The truth is that Sweden possesses a number of eminent painters +in every branch of painting, except the marine, which has been but +sparingly represented since the days of Marcus Larsson. The most +famous among them are, besides those already mentioned, Richard Bergh, +Oscar Biorck, Eva Bonnier, Gustavus Cederstrœm, Prince Eugene, Eugene +Jansson, Ernst Josephson, Nils Kreuger, Carl Larsson, Bruno Liljefors, +Charles Nordstrœm, Allan Œsterlind, Georg and Hanna Pauli, George von +Rosen, Robert Thegerstrom, and A. L. Zorn. It has been said of the +Swedish painters, by way of complaint, that they are not, as their +brethren in Denmark and Norway, in any marked degree national. Swedish +art has, for its characteristic boldness and superiority in modern +technique, loftiness of purpose, great individuality of expression and +depth of feeling. Be these characteristics national or cosmopolitan, +the Swedish painters are certainly a great credit to their country. To +King Oscar it must be in a high degree satisfactory to see the artistic +tendencies of his family culminate in the works of his youngest son, +Prince Eugene, who, being in the front line of the advance corps of +art, paints, from dreamy, inner life, pictures which are the delight of +artists and true connoisseurs. + +The sculptors are less numerous, but the art of Sergel, Fogelberg and +Molin have found worthy perpetuators and innovators in Per Hasselberg, +John Bœrjesson, Frithiof Kjellberg, Alfred Nystrœm, Christian Ericsson, +Th. Lundberg and Ingel Fallstedt. To the art of metal engraving on +coins and medals Sweden has offered some works of the very highest +value by J. E. Ericson, P. H. Lundgren, Lea Ahlborn and Adolphus +Lindberg. + +Architecture cannot boast of any continuous chain of brilliant +development. Since the days of Nicodemus Tessin there have been few +great architects until in very recent times, when architecture has +received a sudden impetus which has made its progress and results as +remarkable, or almost more so, than that of the other arts. To Helgo +Zettervall a number of elaborate national works of construction and +restoration have been intrusted and, as a rule, carried through in a +meritorious manner, although sometimes giving occasion for serious +criticism. An important influence was exerted by Frederic William +Scholander, more by his teaching than by his works. It is principally +his pupils who in the last few decades have almost revolutionized +the building methods and architectural aspect of the capital, and +endowed Gothenburg and other towns with works of architectural +distinction. Pre-eminent among modern architects are I. G. Clason, +Gustavus Wickman, K. F. von Gegerfelt, Adrian Peterson, Hans Hedlund, +Valfried Karlson, A. F. Anderberg, E. Lallerstedt. The Vasa, or Swedish +Castle Renaissance, which with good effect has been reintroduced for +monumental buildings, seems to lead architecture on to a wholesome +national development, combining impressive outlines and solidity with +elaboration and grace of interior decoration. + +The foremost composers of orchestral music have been mentioned +above. Sweden maintains her reputation as being the country of song +through the compositions by Hedenblad, Kœrling, Svedbom, Sjœgren and +Arlberg, while Sœderman has brought the form of the ballad, based on +national folk music, to the highest development. The royal opera of +Stockholm recently moved into new and elegant quarters erected on the +site of the old opera house built by Gustavus III. It possesses, in +Caroline Œstberg, Mathilde Linden, Arvid Œdman, C. F. Lundquist and J. +Elmblad, dramatic singers of high rank, while Sweden, in Louise Pyk, +Mathilde Grabow Taube and Solomon Smith, owns concert singers of great +eminence. The international firmament of song has two Swedish stars of +considerable magnitude in Sigrid Arnoldsson-Fischhoff, a colorature +songstress, and Ellen Nordgren-Gullbrandson, a Wagner singer. The +greatest actor is Emil Hillberg, a noble creator of Ibsen and +Strindberg rôles, while the country recently lost its ablest comedian +in the death of Knut Almlœf. + +Sweden of to-day offers an attractive picture of a country in a high +degree cultured and prosperous, but no country or period is entitled +to reap only benefits or enjoy undisturbed happiness. No progress +is obtained without struggle and relapses, and a good must give way +for something better. Beneath a surface generally smiling and serene +formidable religious and social forces are in motion. The Swedish +state church is divided into two camps, which resemble a high and +a low church, out of which the whole may come forward strengthened +and rejunevated. The various sects are not all satisfied with the +degree of liberty they enjoy. A shallow materialistic movement of +anti-religious tendencies, which styled itself Utilitarian, caused +some sensation in the latter eighties and early nineties, more through +the somewhat too severe manner in which it was suppressed than +through any of its own merits. There are agitators for a separation +of state and church who are opposed by some of the stanchest friends +of a constitutional monarchy. A separation of educational and church +affairs seems desirable. The yeomen have regained the predominant +position in political life which was theirs in the time of the ancient +Teutonic communities, using their power in a way which is not always +beneficial to the other classes or the state at large. The great class +of country population, which has been in vain striving to rise to the +privileged class of landowners, if even on the smallest scale, have +emigrated in vast numbers. The emigration, which has given America +at least 1,200,000 inhabitants of Swedish birth or parentage, is one +of the most astounding phenomena of the century. It has, to a large +extent, subsided, but may be revived if the pressure for social +improvement is found of no avail. The workingmen are resolved to +gain a representation and are striving to attain the introduction +of general suffrage. The weapons they use are principally strikes, +but may also turn to wholesale emigration. In 1893 the advocates +of universal suffrage arranged for the election of a convention by +popular vote, the first Folksriksdag, which addressed an appeal to +the legal Riksdag, to consider an amendment for the extension of the +suffrage. The liberals and radicals are interested in this agitation, +and brought out their full vote to the Folksriksdag. The conservative +party ignores the whole movement, probably not wisely. The towns are +seeking an extended representation and bitterly oppose the curtailment +of the rights already enjoyed, fearing the reactionary tendencies +of the conservatives, who have their strength in the large agrarian +population. Anarchism is something unknown in Sweden. The socialistic +agitation, which is spreading among the classes without a political +representation, is carried on without any great bitterness and entirely +without lawless means. + +Any practical or theoretical agitation for a republic there is none +in Sweden, the population as a whole not finding salvation from the +defects of government or society in any outward change of rule. Civil +service is enforced to the letter, and the social pressure from above +downward is of a nature caused by financial or educational supremacy +only and would remain the same under republican rule. The Swedes +are proud of their history and the long and unbroken chain of their +political and social development. Their neighbors accuse them of +having traces of the chauvinism of bygone days, but not altogether +with justice. The national anthem of Sweden can be quoted in their +justification. It speaks, in one instance, of the country as enthroned +on memories of a glorious past when its name filled the world; but +that name is the North, to whose grandeur and loveliness of nature the +whole song is a panegyric. The name of Sweden is not even mentioned, a +fact which does not point to a narrow or antiquated form of patriotism. +There is in the nature of the Swedes a tendency to delight in the +display of dignified luxury, which was known to Tacitus. The Swedes +love to see the crown of one of the oldest states of Europe carried +with dignity as an emblem of their ancient independence. The Swedish +king has in reality less power than the President of the United States, +but the Swedes have an inherited faculty of confidence and loyalty of +which their king receives his full share. The Swedes become excellent +citizens of a republic for that very reason: reverence for, and loyalty +to, the institutions and historial development of the country in +which they dwell. Among the Scandinavian nationalities, the Swede has +been characterized as the nobleman or aristocrat, on account of his +love of luxury and the joys of life, his dignity, diplomatic talent +and lyrico-rhetoric temperament. It is true that his dignity seldom +forsakes the Swede; when it does, something of the soldier of the +Thirty Years’ War comes to the surface. To her diplomatic talent, more +than to her glorious victories, Sweden owes her superiority in size, +prosperity and political importance, as compared to her Scandinavian +neighbors. + +The fundamental laws of the kingdom of Sweden are: 1. The constitution +of June 6, 1809; 2. The amended regulations for the formation of +the Riksdag of June 22, 1866; 3. The law of royal succession of +September 26, 1810; and on the liberty of the press of July 16, 1812. +According to these statutes, the king must be a member of the Lutheran +church, and have sworn fealty to the laws of the land. His person +is inviolable. He has the right to declare war and make peace after +consulting the state council. He nominates to all higher appointments, +both military and civil; concludes foreign treaties, and has a right to +preside in the supreme court of justice. The princes of the blood royal +are excluded from all civil employments. The king possesses legislative +power in matters of political administration, but in all other respects +that power is exercised by the Riksdag, in concert with the sovereign, +and every new law must have the assent of the crown. The right of +imposing taxes is vested in the Riksdag. The executive power is in the +hands of the king, who acts under the advice of a cabinet or state +council, the head of which is the minister of state. It consists of ten +members, seven of whom are ministerial heads of departments and three +without departments. All the members of the cabinet are responsible for +the acts of the government. + +Eric Gustavus Bostrœm is minister of state, holding office since 1891, +after the protectionists had got into power and the compromise cabinets +which followed were a thing of the past. The other ministers without +departments, Baron A. L. E. Akerhielm and S. H. Wikblad, have remained +in office since the days of compromise cabinets. The other members who +have been in office from five to eight years are as follows: Count +L. V. A. Douglas, minister of foreign affairs; P. S. L. Annerstedt, +minister of justice; Baron A. E. Rappe, minister of war; J. C. E. +Christerson, minister of marine; J. E. von Krusenstierna, minister of +interior; Count H. Hansson Wachtmeister, minister of finance; G. F. +Gilljam, minister of education and ecclesiastical affairs. + +King Oscar II., in the jubilee year of 1897, which marked the +completion of a quarter of a century of his reign, received innumerable +proofs of the love of the two nations under his rule and of the +high esteem in which he is held by the governments and citizens of +foreign countries. The occasion was celebrated by a large and highly +successful Scandinavian exposition at Stockholm in the summer, Russia, +with Finland, also taking part, and by a series of festivities about +September 21st, the date of his succession to the throne. King Oscar +has always given sympathetic attention to the United States, especially +to their citizens of Swedish birth. Several deputations from America +called upon the king in the jubilee year. Among these was a male chorus +of fifty-four members, belonging to the American Union of Swedish +singers. The singers were invited to the royal castle and received +and feasted by the aged monarch with cordial simplicity, in all royal +splendor, without any of its pomp or ceremony. To the hearty songs of +his unpretentious guests, King Oscar responded with one of the eloquent +speeches for which he is so justly famous, assuring them that, although +citizens of another land, they were still followed by the loving +interest of their mother country and her monarch. When the singers +intoned one of the songs by Prince Gustavus, the king joined them with +his sonorous tenor voice, smilingly calling their attention to the +fact that he had not forgotten his students’ songs. The anniversary of +the seventieth birthday of Oscar II. was celebrated January 21, 1899, +a slight gloom being cast over it on account of the temporary illness +of the king. Oscar II. fully recovered after a few months of rest and +recreation and bears every indication of attaining the same advanced +age, with the same unimpaired activity, as his grandfather, which +would mean another decade added to the era of undisturbed peace. Crown +Prince Gustavus Adolphus, who is yet little known in Norway, enjoys +great popularity in Sweden, where his harmonious, sagacious nature and +resolute energy are highly respected. + +The reign of Oscar II. in Sweden has been marked by reactionary +movements in Church and State, but the king has been in such close +contact with his people that they have recognized in him a sovereign +who stands above the parties. The king has used the conservative +elements of his country to strengthen her defences and to maintain the +Union with Norway, which have been the great goals of his policy of +peace. To sum up King Oscar’s standpoint in the Norwegian question, +he is willing to grant Norway home rule in its fullest extent, but +refuses to grant her separate control of foreign affairs, which he +considers incompatible with the idea of the Union. In this standpoint +King Oscar is backed by the convictions of the overwhelming majority +of Swedes, who see in the dissolution of the Union a danger to Sweden, +Norway, or both countries, of sharing the fate of unhappy Finland, +which the civilized world is now deeply deploring. The danger which +menaces the sons of Suomi has touched all Scandinavians to the quick, +and it would seem that the new century shall witness a restoration of +the Scandinavian policy. If the movement to bring this about meets with +success, it is to be hoped that, from the start, it shall have rather +the actual wants than the ideal rights of the independent Scandinavian +states in view. From the point of view of citizens of the United States +we cannot but sympathize with a movement which may establish a union +of independent states into a realm of imperial government, less an +emperor. Let there rather be two or three kings in the North, with one +solid union government and a common and equal defence in case of war, +than two or three foreign ministers with as many different policies and +a divided and unequal defence. + + + + +FOOTNOTES: + + +[1] The ancient name of this province, Viken, probably is the key to +the disputed etymology of the word _Viking_. + +[2] These were not departments in the sense of bureaus, but _collegia_. + +[3] Through the efforts of the Swedish scholar, Eric Benzelius, Junior, +a third edition was published at Windsor in 1750. J. K. Kohn’s edition +dates from 1805, founded on the works of the Swedish scholars Sotberg +and Ihre. Of later editions, the one by Professor A. Uppstrœm, of +Upsala, of 1854 to 1857, is considered to be the standard one. A fine +American edition has, in recent years, been published by Dr. G. H. +Balg, of Mayville, Wis. The history of Codex Argenteus, after once for +all being placed in the University Library of Upsala, has not been +altogether uneventful. In 1834 ten of the 187 leaves were stolen and +remained missing for twenty-three years. One of the trusted janitorial +attendants of the library had taken them in the hope of obtaining a +great sum of money for them, but later dared not dispose of them. On +his death-bed he surrendered the stolen leaves. + +[4] Lewenhaupt is a German translation of the old Swedish family name +of Leijonhufvud, and carried by a branch whose members held the dignity +of counts. Almost similar is the derivation of Von Rosen from Tre +Rosor, etc. During the Period of Political Grandeur, and later, it was +a habit of certain branches of the old Swedish nobility to translate or +Germanize their names in this way. The burghers and clergymen followed +the custom when being ennobled, Archaic spelling was preserved, or +adopted, in most cases. + +[5] The ecclesiastic department is also the department of education. + +[6] A. C. Nathorst, an able scientist and explorer, started in the +summer of 1899 with an expedition to Greenland in search of Andrée and +his companions. + + + + +INDEX + + + A + + Abelin, G. R., 408-410. + + Abo, 89, 122, 171, 172, 186, 232, 313, 370; + peace treaty (in 1743), 316, 317. + University of Abo (see Universities). + + Absolutism, Absolute Monarchy, 255-258, 260, 268, 293, 298, 300-301, + 302, 308, 309, 310, 314, 344, 349, 350, 357. + + Academic style, 339. + + Academy, of Antiquities, 235; + of Art, 346; + of Science, 336-337, 340, 346; + Swedish, 346, 355; + French, 428; + Military, 355. + + Adalvard, 68; + the Younger, 68. + + Adam of Bremen, 63. + + Adlerbeth, G. G., 345, 350. + + Adlercreutz, C. J., 358, 360-361, 362, 367; + A. G., 409. + + Adlersparre, George, 362. + + Admiral, 189; + State, 250. + + Adolphus Frederic of Sweden, 303, 316, 317-320, 339. + + Adolphus John, Duke, 249. + + Adrianople, 297-298. + + Africa, 232. + + Aftonbladet, 377, 403. + + Agardh, J. G., 423. + + Agne, 36. + + Agnefit, 36. + + Agriculture. See Sweden. + + Ahlborn, Lea, 430. + + Ahlstrœmer, John, 317, 321, 334-337. + + Akerhielm, A. L. N., 435. + + Akkershus, district of, 248, 307; + fortress of, 307. + + Aland archipelago, 171, 388; + peace deliberations at, 306. + + Albrecht the Elder, duke of Mecklenburg, 95; + the Younger, king of Sweden, 95, 96-97, 100, 102, 103. + + Alemannians, 29. + + Alexander I. of Russia, 357-358, 370. + + Alexandra, princess of Russia, 355-356. + + Alexandria, 27. + + Alf, 36. + + Alfred the Great, 43. + + Alingsos, 217, 334-337. + + Alliance, 187, 189, 202, 206, 225, 259, 273, 283, 296, 315, 319, 344, + 352, 357, 370, 388, 404; + Triple, 252. + + Alliterative prose, 66; + verse, 61, 66. + + Almlœf, N. V., 390; + Knut, 432. + + Almquist, C. J. L., 388-389. + + Alnsnœ, meeting at, 86. + + Alof, 38. + + Alps, 21. + + Alrek, 36. + + Altmark, armistice of, 203. + + Altona, 295. + + Alt-Ranstædt, 279-281; + peace treaty signed at, 281, 290. + + Alvastra, 74, 77. + + Ambassadors, 254, 269, 272, 305, 358, 368. + + Amber, 17, 24. + + America, 232, 324, 332, 351, 432, 436; + South America, 378. + + American Union of Swedish Singers, 436. + + Amsterdam, 323, 326. + + Anastasius, 28. + + Anatomy, 262, 325; + hall of, 262-263. + + Anckarstrœm, J. J., 352. + + Anckarsverd, C. H., 362, 377, 379. + + Anderberg, A. F., 431. + + Andreæ, Laurentius, 141, 150. + + Andrée, S. A., 424. + + Ane, or Aune, King, 37. + + Angermanland, 5. + + Angermannus, Abraham, 183, 184. + + Anglii, 47. + + Anglo-Saxon, 58, 62. + See also Old English. + + Angstrœm, A. J., 423. + + Anjala Conspiracy, 348-349, 359. + + Anne of England, 280. + + Annerstedt, P. S. L., 435. + + Ansgar, 41, 53-55. + + Antiquarian, 233, 235. + See also Archæology. + + Anund, Swedish kings: Brœt-Anund, 39; + Anund, 42; + Anund, or Jacob, 62-63. + + Apocalypse, 356. + + Apostles, Swedish, 41, 53-55, 58. + + Apraxin, Admiral, 289. + + Arabs, 49, 50. + + Arboga, 108, 115, 124, 127, 161, 185, 387. + + Arboga articles, 161. + + Arcana Cœlestia, 325. + + Archæan rocks, 6. + + Archæology, 20, 235, 265, 423-424. + + Archbishop, 54-55, 70, 72, 74, 78, 82, 87, 103, 111, 117, 124, 127, + 139, 143, 150, 175, 183, 189, 266-267. + + Architecture, 173, 176, 265-266, 302-303, 430-431. + + Arctic explorations, 424; + Sea, 24; + Stone Age, 15, 16. + + Ardan. See Jordanes. + + Ardgard, 54. + + Argus, 377; + the Swedish, 338. + + Aristocracy, 65, 66, 101, 104, 115, 119, 174, 175, 188, 199, 238-239, + 250-251, 256, 257, 314, 375. + + Aristocratic republic, republicans, 314, 321, 352. + See also Nobility, higher. + + Arlberg, Fritz, 430. + + Armfelt: Charles Gustavus, 308; + Gustavus Maurice, 352, 354, 356, 357. + + Army. See Sweden. + + Arnoldsson, Sigrid, 431. + + Aros, East (see Upsala). + Aros, West (see Westeros). + + Aryan race, 265. + See also Indo-European. + + Asa, Princess, 40. + + Asa creed, 31-34. + + Asia, 16, 34, 424. + + Askold, 49. + + Aspeboda, 134. + + Astrology, 161, 169, 252, 268, 304. + + Astronomy, 324, 333. + + Asund, Lake, 126; + battle of, 151. + + Atland, Atlantica, 263-265. + + Atlantis, 264. + + Atterbom, P. D. A., 380. + + Atterdag. See Valdemar. + + Attundaland, 39. + + Aude, 35. + + Audils, 37-38. + + Auerbach, B., 388. + + Augdof, fortress of, 198. + + Augsburgian Confession, 183. + + August II., elector of Saxony and king of Poland, 272, 277-279, 281, + 290, 295, 297, 299. + + August, Prince Nicolaus, 411. + + Aulin, Tor, 390. + + Aune. See Ane. + + Austria: Swedish empire in the Baltic provinces, 40, 51-52. + + Austria-Hungary, 172, 223, 245, 247, 253, 279, 319, 352, 403. + + Avignon, 97. + + Axelsson. See Tott. + + Axtorna, battle of, 168, 169. + + Aztec, 18. + + + B + + Bade, 356, 415. + + Bagge, Jacob, 164-166, 167. + + Bailiffs, 88, 103, 104, 106, 107, 109, 114, 137, 138, 150, 151, 197. + + Baltic dominion, 40, 51-52, 55, 57, 164, 199, 229, 249, 292, 312. + + Baltic Provinces, 52, 78, 198-199, 200, 232, 282, 283, 291-292, 307. + + Baltic Sea, 5, 21, 24, 25, 26, 49, 51, 75, 101, 130, 199, 229, 249, + 272, 294, 305, 322, 375. + + Ban, Militia, 417; + Papal, 77, 94, 121, 126. + + Banér, Sten, 170, 185, 195; + Anne, 176; + Eric, 131; + Gustavus, 185, 195; + Per, 195; + John, 207-208, 222-225, 279. + + Banner of State, 116, 118, 125, 168. + + Barangoi, 52. + + Barbro, Stigsdotter, 134-135. + + Bark-king, 112. + + Barn-lock, 86. + + Barocco, 261, 321, 353. + + Barons, Baronies, 162, 200, 238, 251, 257. + + Bastile, 428. + + Bavaria, 193, 210, 211, 222. + + Beauharnais, Eugene, 404. + + Beckstrom, Edward, 412. + + Behm, Sara, 321. + + Bellman, C. M., 345-346, 389, 390. + + Bells, revolt of. See Revolts. + + Belt, Lille, 245-246. + + Belt, Store, 246-247. + + Bender, 287, 293, 294, 295; + Kalabalik of, 297. + + Benedictine monastery, 235. + + Bengt, Duke, 86. + + Bengtsson, Jœns. See Oxenstierna. + + Bentseby, 266. + + Benzelius: Eric the Elder, 266; + Eric the Younger, 237 note, 266-267, 322, 340. + + Benzelstierna. See Benzelius. + + Beowulf, 30, 31, 37. + + Bergh, Richard, 429. + + Bergman, T. O., 346. + + Bergstrœm, P. A., 429. + + Berlin, 223, 341. + + Bernadotte, 365, 367, 418, 421; + Prince Oscar, 415. + See also Charles XIV. + + Bernard of Clairvaux, 71. + + Bernhard, duke of Weimar, 211, 214, 216, 217, 221. + + Bervald, F. N., 390. + + Berzelius, J. J., 325, 366, 380. + + Beværingstid, 417. + + Bible, 237; + Gothic (see Gothic); + translations of, 98, 150, 260, 355. + + Bielke, Anna, 127, 132; + Gunilla, queen, 175; + Sten, 170; + Ture, 185. + + Bielo-Jesero, 47. + + Biœrkœ, 55. + + Biœrn, Swedish kings, 42, 54, 55. + + Biorck, O., 429. + + Biornstierna, M. F. F., 361. + + Biornstrœm, F. J., 424. + + Birger, Brosa, 76, 77, 79; + Jarl, 77, 78-83, 86, 88; + King, 84, 87, 88-91, 92; + Persson, 89, 97. + + Birgitta, St., 97-99, 100, 130, 154. + + Birka, 42, 55, 71, 75. + + Bishops, 71, 78, 86, 87, 112-113, 127, 128, 145-146, 183. + + Bjœrnson, B., 388, 405. + + Black Death, 94. + + Blanche, queen of Sweden and Norway, 93, 97. + + Blanche, August, 389. + + Bleking, 5, 29, 63, 67, 93, 95, 150, 151, 190, 247, 249, 259, 291. + + Blenda, 72. + + Blomstrand, C. W., 423. + + Blot-Sven, 69, 73. + + Blucher, General, 370. + + Bo Jonsson. See Grip. + + Boccaccio, 163, 413. + + Bœclerus, 240. + + Bœrhave, 330-331. + + Bœrjesson, John, dramatist, 389; + John, sculptor, 430. + + Bœttiger, C. V., 389. + + Bogesund, battle of, 126-127. + + Bohemia, 210, 222, 224, 226, 228. + + Bohus, fortress of, 196. + + Bohuslæn, 5, 13, 17, 46, 58, 62, 196, 229, 247, 249, 254, 307, 308. + + Bologna, 117. + + Bonaparte. See Napoleon. + + Bonde, Charles Knutsson (see Charles VIII.); + Tord, 111; + Gustavus, 250. + + Bonnier, Eva, 429. + + Borgannæs, 107. + + Boris of Russia, 172. + + Bornhœved, battle of, 371. + + Bornholm, 21, 164, 247, 248, 250; + naval battle of, 168. + + Bosphorus, 49. + + Bosson, Nils. See Sture. + + Bostrœm, C. J., philosopher, 411-412, 423. + + Botany, 262, 321, 330, 331-333, 380, 423. + + Bothnia, Gulf of, 5. + + Bothnia, West, 363. + + Bothniensis, N. O., 183, 185. + + “Bottomless Purse,” 112. + + Botvid, St., 58. + + Boucher, 428. + + Bourgeoisie. See Burghers. + + Boye, L., 377. + + Brabant, 237. + + Brage-bowl, 39. + + Brahe, Joachim, 133; + Peter, the Elder, 154, 162; + Ebba, 194, 235; + Nils, the Elder, 214, 217; + Peter, the Younger, 231, 232, 240, 250, 251, 257; + Nils, the Younger, 257; + Eric, 318; + Magnus, 374-375. + + Brahestad, 258. + + Brandenburg, 223, 228, 234, 244, 247, 253, 255; + Elector of, 223; + Great Elector of, 225, 244, 245, 252. + + Brandsœ, 245-246. + + Brask, Bishop Hans, 125, 128, 139, 143, 144, 146, 322, 375. + + Braun, V. A. D. von, 389. + + Braunsberg, 203. + + Bravols, battle of, 41, 56. + + Breitenfeld, battles of. See Leipsic. + + Bremen, 54, 63, 70, 229, 245, 311. + + Bremer, Frederica, 389, 427. + + Brenner, S. E., 233. + + Brennkyrka, battle of, 125, 131. + + Bridget, St. See Birgitta. + + Bring. See Lagerbring. + + Britain, 24, 25, 45, 60. + + British Isles, 60; + Museum, 331. + + Brœmsebro, peace treaty at, 227. + + Brœt-Anund. See Anund. + + Bronitz, battle of, 198. + + Bronze Age, 11, 13, 16-20. + + Brunbeck, battle of, 138. + + Brunkeberg, 139; + battles of, 116, 119. + + Buchow, naval battle of, 168. + + Buddenbrock, M. H., 316, 317. + + Budget. See Sweden. + + Buffon, 324. + + Bulgaria, 50. + + Bureus, John, 232-235. + + Burghers, 108, 128, 144, 146, 158, 185, 200, 201, 253. + + Burislev, 75. + + Byzantium, Byzantine, 22-23, 27, 28, 49, 50, 51. + + + C + + Cabinet, 373, 403; + Swedish (see Sweden). + + Cadet School. See Carlberg. + + Calmar. See Kalmar. + + Caloric engine, 387. + + Calvinism, 183, 189. + + Canute the Great, 57, 58, 62. + + “Caps,” 316, 319, 320, 337, 344. + + Carelia, 88, 94. + + Carin Monsdotter, queen, 162, 170-173, 177. + + Carl. See Charles. + + Carlberg, 355. + + Carleby, Old, 360; + New, 360. + + Carlén, Emelie, 389, 427. + + Carlsborg, fortress of, 375, 418. + + Carlscrona, navy yards at, 259, 305. + + Carlson, F. F., 393, 398; + Ernest, 424. + + Carlstad, 188, 407. + + Carlsten, fortress of, 311, 312. + + Carnage of Stockholm, 128, 129, 133, 137. + + Carolin Institute, 425. + + Cartesius. See Descartes. + + Casijn, 173. + + Caspian Sea, 50. + + Cassander, 236. + + Castellholm, 171. + + Castles, 96, 102, 146, 173, 233, 251, 266. + + Catechismus, 183, 260. + + Catherine, Countess Palatine, 234, 239. + + Catherine (queens of Sweden), of Saxony-Lauenburg, 155, 156, 157; + Stenbock, 156, 157, 177, 181; + Monsdotter (see Carin Monsdotter); + Jagello, 163, 175. + + Catherine II. of Russia, 348, 350, 351, 355-356. + + Catholicism, Catholic, 98, 172, 173, 174, 182-184, 187, 189, 192, 240, + 244, 325, 335. + + Cavendish, 325. + + Cederstrom, O. R., 374, 378; + Gustavus, 429. + + Celibacy, 79. + + Celsius, Andrew, 321, 333; + Olof, Senior, 329, 333, 340; + Olof, Junior, 333-334. + + Celtic swords, 21; + tribes, 21. + + Chambers (of the Riksdag), 396, 398, 399-401, 407. + + Chancellor, of State, 87, 189, 199, 220, 250 + (see also President of the Chancery); + king’s, 14, 144, 150; + of the University, 263, 340; + the Great (see Axel Oxenstierna). + + Chancery, 297, 298; + president of the, 271, 313, 314, 317, 337. + + Charles (kings of Sweden): VII. Sverkersson, 73, 74, 75; + VIII. Knutsson, 108-114, 121, 339; + IX. 155, 157, 158, 163, 167, 170-174, 176, 179, 181-191, 204, 222, + 249, 264; + X. Gustavus, 239-241, 242-249, 251, 277, 314; + XI. 249-268, 269, 270-271, 277, 391, 408; + XII. 182, 264, 267, 268-309, 310, 313, 322, 326, 334, 338, 343, 356, + 364; + XIII. 348, 350, 352, 353, 356, 362, 365-374; + XIV. 367-373, 374-380, 382, 383, 404; + XV. 391-413, 415. + + Charles, Bishop, 77. + + Charles, Jarl, 77. + + Charles Philip, son of Charles IX., 190, 194, 198. + + Charles, son of Oscar II., 415. + + Charles V., emperor, 151, 158. + + Charles II. of England, 237. + + Charles’s Chronicle, 114. + + Charles Frederic of Holstein-Gottorp, 295, 301, 310, 311. + + Charles Peter Ulric of Holstein-Gottorp, 316. + + Chauvinism, 261, 264, 321, 346, 433. + + Chemistry, 333, 346, 380, 423, 425. + + Chemnitz, battle of, 224. + + Chicago, 421, 429. + + China, 289. + + Chodkiewitz, 187. + + Christerson, J. C. E., 435. + + Christian (kings of Denmark): I. 111-113, 116; + II. 122, 124-129, 131, 132, 133, 137, 138, 140, 148, 151, 158; + III. 149, 164; + IV. 190, 196-198, 204, 226-227; + V. 254, 255; + VIII. 371-373; + IX. 403-404. + + Christian August (Charles A.), Prince, 365-367. + + Christian Frederic, Prince. See Christian VIII. + + Christiania, 307, 372, 419. + + Christianity, 31, 42; + influence of, 52; + introduction of, 53-55, 58; + opposition to, 58-61. + + Christianopel, 190. + + Christine (queens of Sweden), 189, 194, 204; + 196, 204, 220-241, 242, 262, 302, 314. + + Christine of Denmark, 120. + + Christine of Hesse, 162, 164-165. + + Christinehamn, 188. + + Christopher, kings of Denmark, 81, and of Sweden, 110, 111, 112. + + Christopher’s, King, Land Law. See Sweden, State Law. + + Chronica regni gothorum, 117. + + Chronicles, prose, 114, 131; + rhymed, 80, 114. + + Church, 76, 77, 78, 85, 87, 88, 89, 111, 115, 117, 125, 140, 141, 142, + 144, 146, 149, 152, 174-176, 183, 188, 200, 201, 260, 266, 396, + 432, 437; + law, 93, 146, 175. + See also Clergy, Bishops. + + Cimbrian Peninsula, 26, 27. + See also Jutland. + + Cincinnatus, Order of, 367. + + Cistercians, 71. + + Civil service, 433. + + Clary. See Queen Desideria. + + Clason, I. G., 431. + + Clergy, 93, 104, 108, 117, 139, 143, 145-146, 156, 158, 183, 185, 186, + 200, 239, 251, 334, 340, 341, 396, 397, 398-399. + + Codania, Codanian Bay, 25. + + Codex Argenteus, 235-238, 266; + Bildstenianus, 9; + Bureanus, 9. + + Coffee prohibited, 355. + + Coins, 60, 62; + of need, 301-302. + + Collard, Claude, 167. + + Colleges, 201, 232. + + Collegia, 118, 230 note. + + Cologne, 117, 236. + + Colonies, Commerce, Communities, Constitution. See Sweden. + + Constantine Porphyrogenitus, 48. + + Constantinople, 295. + + Continent. See Europe. + + Copenhagen, 129, 131, 227, 274, 385, 403; + siege of, 247-248; + peace treaty of, 250. + + Corvey, 53, 54. + + Cossacks, 283, 285. + + Council, Councillors, State (or royal), 87, 92, 106, 107, 108, 115, + 116, 120, 122, 128, 183, 184, 185, 189, 190, 196, 199, 200, 230, + 251, 257, 258, 271, 272, 289, 290, 292-293, 298, 300, 301, 310, + 313, 314, 318, 320, 338, 339, 344-345, 350, 435. + + Council, Town, 116, 126, 128, 165. + + Councillor of Commerce, 337. + + Counties, counts, 162, 200, 238, 251, 257. + + Courland, 52, 202, 244, 282. + + Cracow, 244, 278. + + Creutz, G. P., 339, 345. + + Croats, 208. + + Croi, Duke de, 275. + + Cronhamn, J. P., 413. + + Cronstedt, Charles, 295; + Olof, 359-360. + + Crown prince, 316, 317, 319, 320, 371, 392, 406, 415, 437. + + Crown lands, 238, 255, 257; + restitution of, 96, 102, 111, 233, 238, 243, 256-258, 271. + + Crusades, 70, 73, 77, 78, 94, 185. + + Crusell, B. F., 89, 413. + + Crusenstolpe, M. J., 377, 389. + + Cuno, John C., 326. + + Czar (see Russia), Czarina, 289. + + Czarniecki, Stefan, 244. + + + D + + Dacke “Feud,” 150-151. + + Dacke, Nils, 150-151. + + Dag, 36. + + Dahlberg, Eric, 245-246, 247, 259, 265-266, 277. + + Dahlgren, Frederic Aug., 389. + + Dahlquist, C. G., 390. + + Dal, province of, 5, 107, 308; + River, 5, 138. + + Dalecarlia, Dalecarlians, 5, 16, 105, 106, 107, 108, 116, 119, 121, + 131, 133-139, 146, 147, 148, 149, 155, 185, 317, 349. + + Dalin, O. von, 321, 337-339, 343. + + Dædalus Hyperboreus, 322. + + “Daljunker,” 147. + + Dalman, V. F., 394. + + Danckwardt, Henric, 311. + + Danes, Danish. See Denmark. + + Danielsson, A., 377. + + Dannebrog, 116. + + Dantzic, 112, 203. + + Danube, 22, 28, 224, 228. + + David, St., 58. + + Dearth, 118, 176, 261. + + Decamerone, 163, 413. + + De Geer. See Geer. + + De la Gardie. See Gardie. + + Delaware River, 232. + + Democracy, Democratic, 64, 65, 66, 114, 115, 117, 120, 121, 199, 200, + 260, 352, 364. + + Demotika, 297, 299. + + Denmark, 6, 10, 12, 13, 21, 29, 30, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 52, 53, + 54, 56-57, 58, 60, 62, 63, 70, 72, 76, 77, 81, 83, 89, 90, 91, 95, + 100, 103, 105, 106, 108, 111, 116, 117, 120, 121, 122, 124, 125, + 126-127, 128, 131, 133, 135, 136, 148, 149, 164, 166, 167, 168, + 174, 195-198, 203, 226-228, 244, 245-248, 250, 253-255, 259, + 273-274, 290, 295-296, 299, 307, 311, 312, 316, 343, 345, 348-349, + 355, 357, 363, 366, 367, 368, 371-373, 385-386, 388, 392, 401, 405, + 406, 415, 426, 430. + + Dennewitz, battle of, 370. + + Descartes, René, 240-241, 347. + + Desideria, Queen, 382. + + Diderot, 347, 429. + + Diet, 374, 379, 392, 402. + See also Riksdag and Norwegian Storthing. + + Dietriechson, Lorenz, 405. + + Dilettantism, 412, 426. + + Dimitri, 173, 187; + false Dimitris, 187-188. + + Diplomacy, 252, 259, 313, 315, 367, 402, 434. + + Dir, 49. + + Dirschau, 202. + + Ditmarschen, 120. + + Dniepr River, 284, 286, 287; + cataracts of the, 48. + + Dœbeln, G. C. von, 358, 360. + + Dœmitz, battle of, 233. + + Dolmens, 13. + + Domalde, 35. + + Domar, 36. + + Dorpat, 200, 281, 282; + University of (see Universities). + + Dortrecht, 237. + + Douglas, L. V. A., 435. + + Drama, 345, 346, 388, 389, 390, 412, 413, 426-427, 431-432. + + Dramatic singers, 390, 413, 431. + + Drontheim, diocese or district of, 58, 112, 247, 248, 250, 308, 311, + 371. + + Drotsete, Drotset (Riks-), 87, 91, 96, 102, 108, 189, 199, 240, 250. + + Drottningholm, castle of, 303, 362. + + Duchies, 82, 158, 161, 185-186. + + Duenamuende, 292. + + Dufnæs, battle of, 131. + + D’Uncker, C. H. L., 412. + + Dusseldorf School, 429. + + Dutch, Dutchman. See Holland. + + Dvina, crossing of the, 277. + + Dygve, 36. + + + E + + Eadgils. See Audils. + + East Gothland. See Gothland. + + Ebo, 54. + + Ecclesiastics. See Clergy. + + Edda, Eddic songs, 61, 66, 157, 233, 270, 346; + Snorre’s, 34, 342. + + Edlund, Eric, 423. + + Edsœre laws, 82, 86. + + Education, 117, 201, 232, 260, 379. + + Eger, 211. + + Egil, 37. + + Egino, 68. + + Ehrenstrahl, D. K., 303; + School of Painters, 303, 428. + + Ehrensverd, Augustinus, 317, 350, 359; + Ch. A., 347, 350-351, 355. + + Eider, River, 402. + + Eidsvold, meeting held at, 371. + + Eka, Cecilia of, 129, 130. + + Ekeberg, 156. + + Elbing, 203. + + Elective kingdom. See Kingdom. + + Electricity, 324. + + Elfsborg, 152, 166, 174, 188, 196, 197, 198; + New, 311. + + Elfsson, Swan, 135-136. + + Elgaros, battle of, 76. + + Elisabeth of Russia, 316. + + Elizabeth of England, 98, 162. + + Elmblad, Johannes, 431. + + Elsass, 221. + + Elsinore, 93, 247, 368. + + Emigration, 290, 319, 432-433. + + Emund, 63, 67, 68. + + Engelbrekt, Engelbrektsson, 105-109, 110, 115, 121, 137, 146; + song about, 114. + + England, English, 22, 40, 52, 58, 82, 98, 187, 189, 237, 245, 252, 259, + 283, 299, 305, 306-307, 315, 322, 334, 349, 355, 356, 357, 363, + 369, 370, 371, 374, 379, 388. + + Eric (Danish kings): Ejegod, 69; + Glipping, 83, 84; + Menved, 89, 91; + of Pomerania (see Swedish King Eric XIII.). + + Eric, Norwegian Jarl, 57. + + Eric (Swedish kings): 36; 36-37; 54; + Edmundsson, 52, 55; + Biœrnson Segersæl, 55-57; 68; + Arsæl, 69, 71; + IX. (St. Eric), 73-74, 75, 78, 80, 127, 130; + X. 67, 77; + XI. 77-79, 80; + XII. 94-95, 96; + XIII. 101-110; + XIV. 155, 157, 158, 161-173, 177, 264, 334. + + Eric (Swedish princes): Birgersson, 83; + Magnusson, 87, 89-92; + Valdemarsson, 83, 84. + + Eric’s Chronicle, 80, 85, 89, 114. + + Ericson, J. E., 430. + + Ericsson, Joesse, 106, 137; + John, 387, 424, 425; + Nils, 387; + Christian, 430. + + Eriksgata, 71, 93, 138. + + Erimbert, 55. + + Eskil, St., 58. + + Eskil’s apartments, 170. + + Essen, H. H. von, 372. + + Estates, 108, 158, 159, 184, 200, 204-205, 238, 240, 249, 256, 271, + 278, 293, 310, 314, 318, 338, 349, 350, 355, 383, 394, 398-399, + 400. + + Esthonia, Esthonians, 39, 52, 75, 77, 98, 162, 174, 198, 201, 282, + 307-312. + + Ethnography, 265. + + Ettak, battle of, 84. + + Eugene, Prince of Sweden, 429, 430. + + Eugenie, Princess, 411. + + Euphemia, Princess, 95. + + Europe, 6, 12, 16, 17, 28, 44, 82, 93, 189, 204, 229, 235, 242, 245, + 254, 255, 259, 264, 272, 278, 285, 303, 324, 334, 335, 336, 363, + 369, 374, 376, 381, 401, 414, 424, 429. + + Expositions, Scandinavian, 405, 436; + World’s, 413, 421, 429. + + Eyfórr, 48. + + Eystein, 38. + + + F + + Fahlbeck, P., 424. + + Falkœping, battle of, 97. + + Fallstedt, I., 430. + + Falster, 247. + + Falun, 138, 152. + + “Father, The,” 427. + + Father of Swedish Industry, 334. + + Fehrbellin, battle of, 252, 253. + + Femern, naval battles of, 227. + + Ferdinand (emperors): II. 193, 202; + III. 221, 228. + + Fero Islands, 371. + + Fersen, Axel von, the Elder, 324; + the Younger, 351, 366-367. + + Feudalism, 82. + + Feud of the Counts, 149. + + Fiedrundaland, 39. + + Fiefs, 96, 103, 151, 162, 244. + + Finance. See Sweden. + + Fine Arts, Philosophy of, 347. + + Finland, Finns, Finnish, 10, 15, 26, 35, 36, 48, 55, 71, 73, 75, 78, + 81, 88, 89, 93, 111, 113, 118, 119, 122, 152, 163, 171, 172, 184, + 185, 186, 187, 188, 193, 199, 200, 220, 231, 232, 238, 283, 292, + 307, 312, 313, 316, 317, 348, 357-364, 367, 412-413, 436, 437; + language, 8, 341. + + Finnmark, 378. + + Finn woods, 136. + + Fiolner, 35. + + Fleming, Clas Ericsson, 184; + Clas Larsson, 227; + Herman, 243, 250. + + Flemish art, 173. + + Flensburg, 104. + + Flower king of the North, 332. + + Fogelberg, B. E., 412, 430. + + Fogel Grip, 232. + + Fogelwick, 113. + + Folk lore, 265, 381. + + Folksriksdag, 433. + + Folkungs, 76, 78, 79, 81, 97, 130. + + Folkung dynasty, 80-99. + + Forsberg, Nils, 429. + + France, French, 22, 45, 52, 68, 72, 152, 187, 189, 206, 221, 222, 229, + 233, 245, 252, 255, 270, 271, 315, 318, 322, 331, 339, 343, 344, + 345, 351, 352, 355, 356, 357, 368, 371, 372, 382, 388, 414, 422, + 428, 429. + + Franciscan, convent, 87; + Church (see Riddarholm’s Church). + + Francke, A. H., 289. + + Franconia, 221. + + Franco-Prussian War, 409. + + Frankfurt, 209. + + Franks, Frankish, 29, 210, 236, 341. + + Frantz, Albrecht, 216. + + Franz Joseph’s Land, 424. + + Franzén, F. M., 381. + + Frederic I. of Sweden, 312-317, 318, 335. + + Frederic (kings of Denmark): I. 148; + II. 164, 166; + III. 246, 247; + IV. 273-274, 290, 295, 299; + V. 316, 317; + VI. 367; + VII. 402, 403. + + Frederic of Augustenborg, 367. + + Frederic, crown prince of Denmark, 406. + + Frederic of Holstein, 272-274. + + Frederic of the Palatinate, 202, 210. + + Frederic (kings of Prussia): I. 296; + II. (the Great), 318, 319, 343. + + Frederic William, the Grand Elector. See Brandenburg. + + Frederica, Queen, 356. + + Fredericia, fortress of, 245, 248. + + Fredericshall, 308, 322. + + Fredericshamn, 316; + peace treaty at, 363. + + Fredericstad, 372. + + Fredericsten, 308. + + Fredkulla. See Margaret. + + Fredman, 390. + + Free trade, 387, 407-408. + + Freinshemius, John, 240. + + Frey, 32, 34. + + Friedland. See Wallenstein. + + Fries, Elias, 380. + + Frithiof’s Saga, 381. + + Frode (Danish kings): 35, 37. + + Frœding, Gustaf, 428. + + Funen, island of, 227, 246, 248, 386. + + Fuxerna, battles of, 69. + + Fyris, River, 36. + + Fyrisvols, battles of, 36, 37, 56. + + + G + + Gad, Dr. Heming, 121, 122, 126, 127, 129. + + Gadebush, battle of, 295, 296. + + Gagarin, governor, 289. + + Gallia, Gallic, 20. + + Gardarike, 52. + + Gardie, Pontus de la, 167, 174, 187, 235; + Jacob, 187-188, 190, 194, 198-199, 234, 235; + Magnus Gabriel, 234-235, 237, 250, 251, 252, 257, 263. + + Gautland. See Gothaland. + + Gauts, 28, 29, 30, 31, 47, 105. + + Gauzbert, 54. + + Geátas, 30-31. + + Geer, Louis de, 201, 226-227, 231; + Louis, 393, 397, 398. + + Gefle, 138. + + Gegerfelt, K. F. von, 431; + William, 429. + + Geijer, Eric Gustavus, 380, 393. + + Geijerstam, Gustaf of, 427. + + Geirthiof, 38. + + Gellandri, 48. + + Gellivara, 7. + + Gemauerthoff, battle of, 282. + + Geology, 324, 325. + + George I. of England, 306. + + George Sand, 388. + + Gepidæ, 29. + + Gerhard, Count of Holstein, 84. + + Germania, 26. + + Germans, Germany, 12, 21, 22, 54, 58, 75, 80, 81, 83, 85, 90, 93, 96, + 97, 98, 100, 101, 104, 105, 106, 116, 122, 127, 132, 150, 151, 152, + 158, 168, 189, 190, 193, 202, 203, 204, 205, 210, 213, 214, 221, + 222, 223, 224, 226, 228, 229, 230, 233, 239, 244, 252, 264, 287, + 299, 303, 307, 321, 346, 370, 380, 385-386, 401-405, 414-418, 428, + 429; + emperor, 122, 151, 158, 193, 202, 209, 210, 211, 212, 224, 228, 235, + 245, 281, 299, 415; + Order, 162-163. + + Gestilren, battle of, 77. + + Gestrikland, 5, 16, 138. + + Gibraltar of the North, 359. + + Giljam, G. F., 436. + + Gisslan. See Hostages. + + Glaciers, 6. + + Glipping. See Eric (Danish kings). + + Glom River, 307, 308. + + Glossarium sviogothicum, 342. + + Glucksburg, 371. + + Gluntarne, 389. + + Goertz, G. H., 301-302, 304, 306-307, 311. + + Gœtar. See Gauts. + + Gold finds, 22-23. + + Golumbo, battle of, 244. + + Gospel, 53-55, 104, 146, 207. + + Gotha Canal, 305-306, 322, 375-376. + + Gotha River, 10, 46, 116, 196, 198. + + Gothahamn, 116. + + Gothaland, 5, 14, 19, 24, 25, 28, 42, 43, 68, 83, 84, 185, 230. + + Gothenburg, 10, 188, 196, 198, 200, 226, 229, 231, 232, 249, 254, 335, + 349, 369, 422, 428. + + Gothenburg University. See Universities. + + Gothland, East, 5, 7, 17, 31, 39, 41, 71, 98, 111, 168, 185, 186; + West, 5, 7, 13, 17, 31, 37, 41, 46, 58, 59, 61, 67, 68, 70, 76, 77, + 83, 84, 96, 111, 126, 148, 167, 168, 197, 229, 321, 334, 415; + Island of, 6, 21, 22, 25, 66, 82, 85, 95, 103, 105, 111, 113, 117, + 120, 142, 165, 227, 254, 304, 415. + + Goths, of Continental Europe, 22, 28, 30, 235-236, 263; + of Sweden (see Gauts); + Teutons, 43; + East, 29, 71; + West, 29, 70, 71. + + Gothic, 151, 220, 238, 341, 342; + Bible, 67 (see further Codex Argenteus); + invasions, 28; + language, 235, 237-238; + society, 381; + glossary, 237. + + Gothic law, West, 66, 67, 70. + + Gotland, 43. + + Gottorp. See Holstein-Gottorp. + + Government. See Sweden. + + Governor, 184, 202, 231, 232. + + Governor-general, 199, 203, 229, 231, 290, 291, 371; + of Norway, 366, 375, 386, 394-395, 418-419. + + Grabow, Mathilde, 431. + + Grammar, 40. + + Greece, Greek, 49, 50, 52, 235, 237, 265; + myths, 53; + church, 288, 355. + + Gregory, VII. 69; + IX. 78. + + Grimm’s law, 342. + + Grimsted, 246. + + Grip, Bo Jonsson, 96, 102. + + Gripenstedt, J. A., 387, 393, 398, 403, 404, 407. + + Gripsholm, 96, 107, 152, 155, 163, 171, 173, 182, 362. + + Grossbeeren, battle of, 370. + + Grubbe, Sam, 411. + + Guadeloupe, island of, 370. + + Gualther, 236. + + Gude, 405. + + Gudlaug, 36-37. + + Guinea, African, 232. + + Gullberg, fort of, 196-197. + + Gullbrandson, Ellen, 431. + + Gunilla, Queen. See Bielke. + + Gurzo, battle of, 202. + + Gustavian period, 337, 339, 343-364. + + Gustavus, Adolphus Society, 219. + + Gustavus (kings of Sweden): I. Vasa, 125, 126, 128, 129, 130-160, 161, + 165, 168, 170, 173, 177, 178, 199, 263, 322, 334, 344, 349; + II. Adolphus, 173, 190, 192-219, 220, 222, 225, 230, 232, 234, 240, + 243, 250, 258, 314, 344; + III. 319-320, 332, 334, 339, 343-353, 354, 379, 387, 431; + IV. Adolphus, 352, 353-362, 366, 373, 375, 415. + + Gustavus (princes of Sweden): Ericsson (see Vasa); + Prince of Vasa, 366; + Frans G. Oscar, 388, 389, 413, 436; + Oscar G. Adolphus, crown prince, 414, 437. + + Guta, Saga, 67. + + Gutai, 28. + + Gutnic, Guts, 67, 87, 105. + + Gutorm, Jarl, 74, 76. + + Guttones, 24, 25. + + Gyldén, J. A. H., 423. + + Gyldenlœve, general, 254; + fort of, 308. + + Gyllenborg, Charles, 317, 337; + G. F., 339, 345. + + Gyllencreutz, Charles G., 268, 302. + + Gyllenhielm, C. C., 187. + + Gyllenstierna, Christine, 127-129, 130, 131, 140, 142, 147, 149, 155, + 158; + John, 256, 312. + + Gymnastics, 380; + Central Institute of, 380. + + + H + + Hadrian IV. See Nicolaus of Alba. + + Hæffner, 389. + + Hagbard, 36. + + Hagborg, A., 429. + + Hake, 36-37. + + Hakon (Norwegian kings): 79, 81, 91, 92; + Magnusson, 94-95, 100. + + Hakon, Swedish regent, 68. + + Halberstadt, 224. + + Haleygians, 36. + + Hall, P. A., 428. + + Halland, 5, 13, 43, 84, 93, 95, 167, 196, 197, 227, 229, 247, 249, 254, + 337. + + Hallén, Andreas, 390. + + Hallstrœm, Ivar, 390; + Peter, 427. + + Halmstad, 108, 166, 254. + + Halsten, 68, 70. + + Hamburg, 54, 63, 70, 81, 82, 83; + peace treaty of, 319. + + Hammarby, 332. + + Handbook. See Ritual. + + Hanover, 299, 311. + + Hans. See John II. + + Hansa, Hanseatic, 81-82, 101, 103, 104, 116, 132. + + Hansson, Ola, 427. + + Haraker, battle of, 112. + + Harald, king of Denmark, 56. + + Harald (kings of Norway): Fairhair, 55; + Hardrade, 68. + + Harald, Hildetand, king of Sweden and Denmark, 41, 51. + + Hare’s Leap, 6. + + Hartekamp, 331. + + Hartelius, T. J., 424. + + Hartmansdorff, J. A. von, 383, 384-385. + + Hasselberg, Peter, 430. + + “Hats,” political party, 316, 317, 319, 320, 337, 338. + + Havamal, 157. + + Havel River, 206. + + Heathen Revival, 59-61. + + Hedberg, Frans, 389; + Thor, 427. + + Hedenblad, Ivar, 431. + + Hedenstierna, A., 428. + + Hedin, Sven, 424. + + Hedlund, S. A., 428; + Hans, 431. + + Hedvig, queen of Denmark, 100. + + Hedvig, Eleonore, of Sweden, 243, 249, 253, 255, 271, 299, 300; + Elisabeth Charlotte, 366. + + Hedvig, Sophie, Princess, 269, 310. + + Heidenstam, V. von, 427. + + Heimskringla, 31, 33-41, 265. + + Heinrich (the Lion), 75. + + Heinsius, 240. + + Heir-apparent, 316-317, 365-366, 367, 368, 420. + + Helga. See Olga. + + Helge. See Oleg. + + Helge, Danish king, 38. + + Hellquist, C. G., 429. + + Helsingborg, 290, 336; + battle of, 291, 296. + + Helsingfors, 152, 317; + battle of, 316; + University of (see Universities). + + Helsingland, Helsings, 5, 138, 317, 361; + regiment of, 360-361. + + Helsingœr. See Elsinore. + + Helvig, Queen, 84. + + Henric, St., 73, 75. + + Herger, 54. + + Herjedal, 5, 227. + + Herredag (-ar), 88. + + Herschel, 324. + + Herulians, 28, 29, 48, 66. + + Hervadsbro, battle of, 81. + + Hesse, 205. + + Hessleholm, battle of, 91. + + Heterodoxy, 380. + + Hielmar Lake, 109. + + Hierta: Hans (see Jærta); + Lars, 377. + + Hildebrand, Hans, 423. + + Hildebrandsson, H. H., 424. + + Hillberg, Emil, 431. + + Hillestrœm, Peter, 347. + + Hiortsberg, L., 390. + + Hising, island of, 188, 196. + + Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus, 142. + + History, Historians, 11, 24-32, 33-34, 44, 46-47, 48, 50, 64, 80, 114, + 142, 232, 321, 333-334, 337-339, 380, 389, 393, 412-413, 423, 424, + 426. + + Hœckert, J. F., 412, 429. + + Hœgquist, Emelie, 390. + + Hœijer, B. C. H., 347, 356, 380, 411. + + Hœjentorp, 197, 336. + + Hœjer, Nils, 424; + Magnus, 424. + + Hœrberg, Peter, 347. + + Hœrningsholm, 176, 177, 178, 179, 181. + + Hofva, battle at, 83. + + Hogland, naval battle at, 348. + + Holaveden (Holavid), battle at, 111. + + Holland, 12, 198, 201, 226, 227, 232, 236-237, 245, 247, 248, 252, 253, + 264, 283, 322, 330, 331, 334, 340. + + Holmfrid, 58. + + Holmgard, 52. + + Holmger, 78. + + Holmstrœm, 233. + + Holovzin, battle of, 284. + + Holstein, 103, 104, 112, 226, 227, 244, 255, 271, 273, 274, 385, 402, + 405; + counts of, 84, 93, 149, 228, 271, 272. + + Holstein-Gottorp, 243, 295, 301. + + Holy Alliance, 381. + + Holy Virgin, 228. + + Horn: Clas Kristersson, Baron, 162, 167-168; + Henric, 174; + Evert, 198; + Gustavus, 207-208, 221-222, 226; + Arvid Bernhard, 272, 278, 284, 293, 298, 310-311, 312-316, 337; + Rudolph, 282; + Jacob, 318. + + Hotuna, play at, 90-91. + + Hoya, counts of, 149. + + Huet, 240. + + Hugleik (O. E. Hygelâc): Swedish king, 36; + Danish king, 38. + + Humor, 233, 346, 389, 390, 428. + + Hungary, 68, 245, 299, 322. + + Husaby, 58, 62. + + Hvasser, Elisa, 413. + + Hvin. See Tiodolf. + + Hygelâc. See Hugleik. + + + I + + Iaroslaf, 48, 51, 62. + + Ibn, Fosslan, 50. + + Ibsen, H., 405, 431. + + Iceland, Icelanders, Icelandic, 33, 52, 56, 60-61, 93, 235; + language, 9; + sagas, 40, 52, 67, 297; + scalds, saga men, 60-61. + + Iddefjord, 322. + + Ifvarsson, Charles, 407. + + Igor, 48, 51. + + Ihre, John, 321, 339-342. + + Illrade. See Ingiald. + + Imperial army: Imperialists, 202, 203, 209, 216, 217, 221, 224, 225, + 228; + crown lands, 210, 225. + + Imports. See Sweden. + + Indelningsverk, Indelta, 258, 408, 417. + + Indensalmi, battle of, 358. + + Indians, 232. + + Indo-European language, 8. + + Industry, 176. + + Inge (Swedish kings): the Elder, 68-70, 72; + the Younger, 70. + + Ingeborg, duchesses, 91, 92; + princesses, 58, 78, 80, 89, 415. + + Ingegerd, Princess, 61-62; + Queen, 76. + + Ingemar, 84. + + Ingermanland (Ingria), 174, 199, 231, 273, 274, 282, 307, 312. + + Ingiald, Illrade, 39-40, 42, 64. + + Ingria. See Ingermanland. + + Ingvar. See Igor. + + Innocent III., 77. + + Intelligence party, 408, 410. + + Interchanging dynasties, 74-79. + + Interdict. See Ban. + + Iron Age, 11, 19, 20-24. + + Isala, 135. + + Isborsk, 47. + + Isiaslaf, 68. + + Italy, Italians, 22, 98, 106, 121, 236. + + Ivar, Master, 131. + + Ivar, Vidfamne, 40, 51. + + Ivarsson, Ivar, of Strœmstad, 170. + + + J + + Jacob. See Anund Jacob. + + Jacobi, Petrus. See Sunnanvæder. + + Jægerhorn, G. H., 359-360; + J. A., 348. + + Jærta, Hans, 365. + + Jagello. See Catherine. + + Jankowitz, battle of, 228, 239. + + Jansson, Eugene, 429. + + Japhet, 263. + + Jarl, jarls, 42, 57-58, 74, 87; + of the realm, 74. + + Jaroslaf. See Iaroslaf. + + Jedvard, 73. + + Jemtland, 5, 63, 70, 227, 308, 311. + + Jerusalem, 97. + + Jesuits, 175, 183, 184. + + Jœnkœping, 120, 230. + + Jœns, Bengtsson. See Oxenstierna. + + Jœsse, Ericsson. See Ericsson. + + Johannes, Magni (Johannes Magnus), 114, 142-143, 263. + + John, archbishop, 75; + duke, 186, 189, 197; + prince, 72. + + John (kings): I. 77; + II. Hans, 119-120, 122, 130-131; + III. 155, 157, 158, 163, 169, 170-172, 173-176, 180, 182, 186, 188, + 235. + + John, Casimir, count of Palatinate-Zweibrucken, 239. + + John, Casimir, king of Poland. See Vasa. + + Jolin, J. C., 389. + + Jomsborg, 56. + + Jordanes, 29, 34, 44, 263. + + Jornandes. See Jordanes. + + Jorsalafare. See Sigurd. + + Jorund, 36-37. + + Josephine, Queen, 382. + + Josephsson, J. A., 389, 413; + Ernst, 429. + + Juel, Niels, 253, 254. + + Jueterbogk, battle of, 228. + + Junius, Franziskus, 237. + + Justinian, 28. + + Jutland, Jutes, 26, 30, 31, 37, 43, 131, 132, 226, 245, 248, 386. + + Juutas, battle of, 359, 360. + + + K + + Kæpplingeholm, Massacre of, 101. + + Kagg, Lars, 250. + + Kalabalik of Bender. See Bender. + + Kallœ, 132. + + Kalmar, 93, 101, 116, 122, 132, 133, 190; + Nyckel, 232; + Recess of, 119; + Union of (see Union). + + Kalmucks, 288. + + Kamenski, M. K., 361. + + Kansler. See Chancellor. + + Kant, 324, 347. + + Karelen. See Carelia. + + Karin. See Carin. + + Karl. See Charles. + + Karlberg. See Carlberg. + + Karleby, 71; + see also Carleby. + + Karlskrona. See Carlskrona. + + Karlson, Valfried, 431. + + Karlsson. See Carlsson. + + Karlstad. See Carlstad. + + Kasan, 288. + + Katarina. See Catherine. + + Keksholm. See Kexholm. + + Kellgren, J. H., 345. + + Kerkholm, battle at, 187. + + Kettilmundsson, Mattias, 91, 92. + + Kettilsson, Eric, 97. + + Kexholm, 174, 188, 199, 292, 302. + + Key, Emil, 407; + E. A. H., 424. + + Kief, 46, 49, 59. + + Kiel, 371; + Bay of (see Skiel). + + Kierulf, Halfdan, 405. + + Kingdom, elective, 64, 65, 310; + hereditary, 65, 150, 151, 186, 189, 190, 310. + + “King Martha.” See Leijonhufvud. + + Kjellberg, F., 430. + + Klercker, Charles N., 358. + + Klingspœ, W. M., 358. + + Klusina, 188. + + Knaphœfde. See Ragnvald. + + Knerœd, peace treaty of, 198. + + Kniephausen, Dodo von, 214, 216, 218. + + Knights, 200. + + Knightly Chapter (see Riddarhus); + orders, 318. + + Knorring, Sophie von, 389, 427. + + Knud. See Canute. + + Knut (Swedish kings), Ericsson, 74-76; + the Tall, 78, 81. + + Knut, Folkung, 81; + Bishop, 108; + Master, 141-143. + + Koch, Axel, 423. + + Kœnigsmarck, von, H. C., 236, 258; + O. W., 258. + + Kœping, 107. + + Kœrling, Aug., 431. + + Kol, king (Eric Arsæl), 69, 73; + pretender, 75. + + Kolbrænna. See Anund Jacob. + + Kollandsœ, 69. + + Kommunalstæmmor, 395. + + Konghæll, Kungkæll, 62, 69. + + Konungafrid, 86. + + Kopparberg, 105, 133. + + Krakow, Morton, 196-197. + + Kreuger, Nils, 349. + + Kristian, Kristiern. See Christian. + + Kristina. See Christine. + + Kristofer. See Christopher. + + Krivitchi, 47. + + Kronberg, Julius, 429. + + Kronborg, fortress of, 247, 248. + + Krusenstierna, J. E. von, 435. + + Kyrkomœtet, 396. + + + L + + Laaland, 246. + + Labor question, 418, 433. + + Lacroze, M., 341. + + Ladoga, Lake, 199. + + Ladugardsland, battle of, 124. + + Ladulas (Barn-lock). See Magnus. + + Læn, 7, 231, 395. + + Lagerbielke, Gustavus, 407. + + Lagerlœf, Selma, 427. + + Laholm, 84. + + Lallerstedt, E., 431. + + Landskrona (in Sweden), battle of, 254; + (in Finland), 88. + + Landsting, 395-396, 399, 407. + + Landstorm, 417. + + Landtmanna party, 407-408, 410, 416. + + Landtmarskalk, 200, 407. + + Landtværn, 417. + + Lange, Lorenz, 289. + + Langeland, 246. + + Languedoc, 167. + + La Place, 324. + + Lapland, Lapmark, Laps, 5, 10, 15, 16, 104, 330; + language, 8, 341; + “Divine service in the Lapmark,” 429. + + Lappo, battle of, 358. + + Lars. See Laurentius. + + Larsson, Thomas, 195; + Liss Olof, 407; + Marcus, 412, 429; + Carl, 429. + + Latin, 98, 117, 142, 220, 265, 328. + + Lauenburg, 402, 405. + + Laurentius. See Andreæ and Petri. + + Laval, Gustavus de, 425. + + Lavoisier, 325. + + Laws. See Sweden. + + League, Catholic, 189. + + Lech, battle of, 210. + + Leckœ, 187, 251. + + Leczinski (see Stanislav), 427. + + Leffler, A. M. (Mittag-), 424; + Anne Charlotte, 427. + + Leibnitz, 266. + + Leijonhufvud, 282 note; + Margaret (see Margaret, queens of Sweden); + Martha (King Martha), 155; + Sten, baron, 162, 170. + + Leipsic, 117, 213, 224, 288; + first battle of, 206-209; + second battle of, 225-226. + + Leire, 38. + + Lena, battle of, 76. + + Lenæus, J., 239. + + Lenngren, Anne Marie, 346. + + Leonidas, the Swedish, 224. + + Leopold, C. G., 345. + + Leopold I., emperor (1640-1705), 225. + + Leuchtenberg, 382. + + Levertin, Oscar, 427, 428. + + Lewenhaupt, 282 note; + A. L., 282, 283, 284, 285-287; + C. E., 316, 317. + + Leyden, 331. + + Libau, 203. + + Liberty, song of, 114; + period of, 310-342, 320-321. + + Libraries, 99. + + Lidner, Bengt, 346. + + Liesna, battle of, 285. + + Liewen, H. H. von, 298-299. + + Liljefors, Bruno, 429. + + Lind, Jenny, 390, 413. + + Lindberg, A., 430. + + Lindblad, A. F., 389; + Otto, 389, 413. + + Lindeberg, A., 377. + + Linden, Mathilde, 431. + + Lindholm (-en) in Scania, 97; + in Upland, 130. + + Lindskiold, E., 270. + + Ling, P. H., 380, 381. + + Linkœping, 71, 77, 80, 85, 108, 112, 121, 185, 186, 195; + conference at, 72. + + Linnæus (von Linné), Charles, 327-333. + + Literature. See Sweden. + + Lithuania, 284. + + Liturgia, 175-176, 183. + + Liuksiala, 173. + + Livonia, Livonians, 162, 163, 187, 198, 202, 203, 223, 231, 250, 258, + 273, 277, 281, 282, 283, 290-291, 307, 312. + + Lober Brook, 207. + + Loccenius, John, 240. + + Locke, 347. + + Lodbrok. See Ragnar. + + Lœdœse, 83, 84, 111; + New, 116, 152, 196, 197. + + London, 267, 323, 326, 327, 331, 334, 340. + + Longobardians, 28, 29. + + Lord, 200. + + Lothringia, 162, 169. + + Louis le Débonnaire (the Pious), 48, 53; + XIV. 235, 252, 254-255, 259, 280, 305; + XVI. 351-352, 367. + + Louise, Princess, 406; + Queen, 392, 411. + + Louise Ulrica, Queen, 217, 338. + + Lovisa. See Louise. + + Lubeck, 75, 81, 82, 85, 122, 132, 140, 148, 165, 166, 168, 316, 371. + + Lubetch, 49. + + Lucidor, Lasse (Johansson), 233. + + Ludvig Rudolph of Brunswick, 324. + + Luitprand, 48. + + Lulea, 266. + + Lund, 10, 70, 111, 250, 304, 307, 322, 328, 329, 337, 340; + battle of, 254; + peace treaty at, 255; + University of (see Universities). + + Lundberg, Gustavus, 428; + Theodor, 430. + + Lundquist, C. F., 431. + + Luther, Lutheran, 98, 140, 183, 184, 186, 190, 204, 214, 312, 327, 368, + 435. + + Lutzen, battle of, 213-219; + battlefield of, 279, 281. + + Lybecker, George, 283, 285. + + Lymphatic ducts, 262. + + + M + + Machiavelli, 121. + + Mæcenas of Sweden, 250. + + Mælar, Lake, 5, 10, 55, 71, 96, 107, 112, 127, 156, 163. + + Magdeburg, 205-206. + + Magnetism, 324. + + Magnus (Danish princes): M. Nilsson, 71; + M. Henricsson, 72-74. + + Magnus, Bishop, 148. + + Magnus (kings of Norway): M. Barfod, 69; + M. Lagabœte, 83. + + Magnus (kings of Sweden): M. Ladulas, 82-88, 89, 90; + M. Ericsson, 84, 92-95, 97. + + Magnus (princes of Sweden): Magnus Birgersson, 92; + M. Vasa, 155, 157, 158, 163-164, 169. + + Magog, 263. + + Main, River, 209. + + Malaspina, 183. + + Malebranche, 266. + + Malmstrœm, B. E., 389. + + Malmœ, 10, 411. + + Manderstrœm, Count, 393, 401, 404. + + Manheim. See Atland. + + Margaret, missionary to the Laps, 104. + + Margaret Fredkulla, Princess, 69, 71. + + Margaret (queens of Sweden), 89; + Valdemarsdotter, 95, 96, 98, 100-105, 120, 371; + Leijonhufvud, 155, 156, 177, 178. + + Margaret of Valois, 162. + + Maria, queen of Sweden, 189. + + Marie Antoinette, Queen, 367. + + Marie Eleonore, Queen, 234. + + Mariefred, 118, 133. + + Mariestad, 188. + + Marlborough, 280. + + Marnæs, 136. + + Mars, 31. + + Marsk, 87, 102, 108, 249. + + Martha, Dame, 100. + + Massilia, 24. + + “Master Olf,” 427. + + Masudi, 50. + + Matchless, The, 165-166. + + Materialism, 412, 432. + + Matérn, J. A., 288. + + Mathematics, 270, 322. + + Mattias, Bishop, 128. + + Maximilian of Bavaria, 193, 210, 211. + + Mayence, 209. + + Mazarin, 220. + + Mazeppa, 283, 285, 286. + + Mechtild, Danish queen, 81. + + Mecklenburg, 95, 97, 168, 210, 223, 244, 295, 357. + + Medelpad, 5, 24, 303. + + Mediæval. See Middle Ages. + + Medical science, 262, 331, 333, 424, 425. + + Meibom, 240. + + Melanchthon, 204. + + Melen, Berndt von, 142, 148. + + Memel, 203. + + Mendelssohn, 389. + + Menuet, Peter, 232. + + Meri, 47. + + Messenius, John, 232; + Arnold J., 240; + Arnold, the Younger, 240. + + Metals, 15, 16, 116. + + Mexico, 18, 404. + + Michaëli, Louise, 413. + + Middle Ages, 45, 64-129, 134, 192, 400. + + Midsummer, Midnight, sun, 7. + + Miklagard, 52. + + Mines, miners, mine owners, 123, 144, 152, 200-201, 305, 323, 335; + Mining, College of, 304-305, 322, 323. + + Ministers, church, 175, 183, 253, 287, 304, 327, 337, 396; + state (secretary), 365, 401, 407, 416; + of foreign affairs, 373, 393, 435; + of justice, 393, 397, 409, 435; + of finance, 393, 435, 436; + of ecclesiastics, 393, 409, 436; + of war, 408, 435; + of civil service, 409; + of marine, 435; + of interior, 435. + + Missionaries, 53-55, 58, 104. + + Mitan, 202, 282. + + Mœrner, Otto, 367-368. + + Mohilev, 284. + + Molin, Ambjœrn, 289; + J. P., 412, 430. + + Monitor, 387. + + Monrad, D. G., 404. + + Mons Bengtsson. See Natt och Dag. + + Montelius, Oscar, 423. + + Mora, in Dalecarlia, 136-138, 140; + Stone of, in Upland, 92, 95. + + Moravia, 226, 228. + + Moræus, Maria Elis, 332. + + Moscow, 172, 188, 284, 288. + + Moss, Convention of, 372-373. + + Motzfeldt, K., 406. + + Muller, J. B., 289. + + Munck, Lady Ebba, 415. + + Munich School of Painters, 429. + + Muonio, River, 363. + + Music, 263, 346, 380, 382, 388, 389-390, 412, 413, 431; + national folk, 431. + + Mutiny, 188. + + Mysticism, 98, 99, 161, 169, 321, 354, 356. + + Mythology, classical, 31, 265. + Swedish (see Sweden). + + + N + + Nakskov, 246. + + Namur, 93. + + Napoleon I., 356, 357, 362, 367, 368, 369-371. + + Napoleon III., 404, 406. + + Narva, 174, 282; + battle of, 274-277; + river, 275. + + Nassau, 415. + + Nathorst, H. O., 423; + A. C., 424 note. + + Natt och Dag, Mons Bengtsson, 109; + Nils Bosson (see Sture); + Ake Hansson, 122 (see also Sture). + + Nerigon, 25. + + Nerike, 5, 13, 39, 97, 116. + + Nerschinsk, 289. + + Nestor, 46-47, 49, 52. + + Netherlands, 98, 152, 189. + + Neva, 78, 93, 289. + + New Church, 325. + + New Rhymed Chronicle. See Charles Chronicle. + + New School, 380-381. + + Newton, 324. + + Nicholaus II. of Russia, 418. + + Nicolaus of Alba, 72. + + Nils Bosson (Natt och Dag). See Sture. + + Nils, king of Denmark, 71. + + Nilsson, Mons, 134; + Sven, 380; + Christine, 413. + + Nimwegen, peace treaty of, 254-255. + + Niord, 34. + + Nithard, 54. + + Nobel, Alfred, 425-426. + + Nobility, Nobles, 76, 86, 87, 88, 92, 95, 96, 102, 105, 108, 110, 113, + 115, 117, 119, 120, 126, 127, 128, 144, 148, 150, 151, 158, 166, + 169, 173, 174, 185, 186, 193, 199, 200, 231, 233, 238, 239, 243, + 250, 255, 256, 258, 271, 302, 304, 310, 314, 349, 350, 352, 357, + 365, 367, 383, 384, 385, 396, 397, 398, 416; + higher, 200, 251, 256-257, 314; + lower, 200, 251, 253, 256, 257, 314, + speaker of (see Landtmarskalk). + + Nœrdlingen, battle of, 221, 223. + + Nœteborg, 282. + + Norcopensis. See Nordenhielm. + + Nordanskogs, 5. + + Nordberg, G., 288. + + Nordblom, J. E., 389. + + Nordenflycht, Hedvig Charlotta, 339. + + Nordenhielm, Andreas, 269, 270. + + Nordenskiold, Baron, 424. + + Nordgren, Ellen, 404, 406, 431. + + Nordraak, 405. + + Nordstrœm, Charles, 429. + + Norman, Normandie, 48, 52. + + Norman, Georg, 149; + F. V. L., 390. + + Norén, Adolph, 423. + + Norrby, Sœren, 122, 139, 140, 142. + + Norrkœping, 190, 320. + + Norrland, 5, 6, 7, 14, 24, 43, 107, 138, 193, 266, 362. + + North, the Scandinavian, 16, 21, 29, 35, 42, 43, 44, 52, 53, 54, 56, + 59, 60, 61, 94, 96, 101, 104, 114, 225, 248, 263, 305, 330, 434, + 438. + + North Pole, 424. + + North Sea, 5, 10, 196, 198, 322, 375. + + North Star, Order of the, 318. + + Northeast Passage, 424. + + Northern language, common, 99; + oldest form, 8, 22; + tribes, 23; + industrial arts, 23; + literature, 36, 38, 41. + + Northmen, 45, 52, 53, 59. + + Norway, Norwegians, 5, 6, 10, 13, 21, 25, 33, 36, 38, 41, 43, 45, 52, + 55, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 70, 75, 76, 79, 83, 89, 90, + 91, 92, 94, 95, 96, 100, 111, 142, 147, 164, 166-167, 174, 247, + 307, 308, 311, 348, 357, 362, 366, 370, 371-374, 375, 386, 393-395, + 402, 404, 405, 418-421, 430; + governor-general question, 386, 393-395, 418-419; + constitution, 373-374, 393; + cabinet, 373, 394-395, 402; + consular and diplomatic service, 419, 420, 437; + defence, 419; + flag, 386, 419; + culture, 405; + government, 373; + king, 373-374; + Minister of State, 419; + railways, 421; + royal title, 386; + Storthing, 373, 379, 386, 393-394, 406, 419, 420, 425-426; + viceroy, 393. + + Novgorod, 47, 52, 62, 188, 190. + + Nuremberg, 211-212, 225. + + Nurmanni, 47. + + Nykœping, 82, 84, 172, 190, 239, 302; + Feast of, 90; + Restitution of, 102. + + Nyslott, 316. + + Nystrœm, Alfred, 430. + + + O + + Oder, River, 21, 27, 224, 279. + + Odin, 31-32, 34, 35, 37. + + Œdman, A., 431. + + Œland, island of, 5, 21, 22, 111, 254; + naval battles of, 165-166, 167-168, 350. + + Œrbyhus, 171. + + Œrebro, 109, 146, 150, 174, 368, 387. + + Œsel, island of, 164, 227. + + Œstberg, Caroline, 431. + + Œsterlind, A., 429. + + Ohio, 7. + + Ôhthere. See Ottar. + + Olaf (Norwegian kings) Tryggvasson, 57-58; + Haraldsson, 61-62, 67; + Hakonsson, 100. + + Olai, Ericus, 114, 117. + + Olaus, Petri (Master Olof). See Petri. + + Oldenburg, 366; + counts of, 149, 367. + + Old Chronicle. See Eric’s Chronicle. + + Old Danish, 8, 22, 99. + + Old English, 237, 342. + + Old High German, 342. + + Old Icelandic. See Old Norse. + + Old Norse language, 8, 22, 99, 341, 342; + literature, 32, 232, 270; + mythology, 265. + + Old Swedish language, 8, 9, 22, 24, 48, 49, 99, 342; + literature, 8, 9, 66-67, 80, 98, 114, 121; + laws, 48, 66-67, 380, 391. + + Oleg, 48, 49, 51. + + Olga, 48, 51. + + Oligarchy, 309. + + Oliva, peace treaty of, 250. + + Olof (Swedish kings), 40-41, 42, 54, 55; + Skœtkonung, 52, 57-62; + Næskonung, 69, 70. + + Olsson, Lars, 138. + + Olustra, battle of, 78. + + Opposition, Conservative, 383, 384; + Liberal, 376-378, 379, 380, 382, 383, 384. + See also Intelligence Party. + + Orange, 259, 392. + + Oravais, battle of, 358, 360-362. + + Ordeals, 82. + + Orientalists, 333, 340. + + Ornæs, 134. + + Orosius, 43. + + Oscar Fredericsborg, 418. + + Oscar (kings of Sweden): I. 382-390, 391, 411; + II. 411, 414-438. + + Oscar, Prince. See Bernadotte. + + Oslo, 92. + + Ottar, 37-38. + + Otto, Bishop, 128. + + Oxenstierna, Jœns Bengtsson, 112-113; + Axel, 199, 203, 204, 220-221, 222, 226, 229, 230, 233, 234, 239, 242, + 312, 375, 421; + John, 229; + Bengt, 259, 271; + John Gabriel, 345; + Oxford, 340. + + + P + + Palæolithic Civilization, 12. + + Palatinate-Zweibrucken, 189, 239, 290. + + Pappenheim, 203, 207-209, 213, 214, 217-218. + + Paris, 118, 305, 331, 340, 368, 371; + expositions, 413, 421, 429; + peace treaties, 362-363, 369, 388; + University, 118, 340. + + Parliament, Parliamentary Reform, 108, 111, 376, 379, 384-385, 396-401. + + Passage-graves, 13. + + Patkul, J. R., 312. + + Patriotism, 104, 114, 120, 130, 131, 200, 201, 235, 244, 247, 248, 250, + 258, 309, 352, 358, 367, 398, 434. + + Pau, 368. + + Pauli, Emerentia, 196-197; + George, 429; + Hanna (Hirsch-P.), 429. + + Peasant. See Yeoman. + + Peasant High Schools, 423. + + Peasant-king, 188. + + Peene, River, 312. + + Peipus, Lake, 199, 282. + + Pentinger, Konrad, 149. + + Peringskiold, John, 265. + + Pernau, 201, 292. + + Person, Andrew, 133-134; + Arendt, 134-135; + Gœran, 162, 170. + + Peru, 336. + + Peter Frisk, 299. + + Peter’s Pence, 72. + + Peter the Great, 272-273, 277, 282, 283, 284, 285, 287, 288, 289, 296, + 306, 307, 311, 316. + + Peterson, Adrian, 431. + + Petri, Olaus (Master Olof), 86, 114, 128, 141, 150; + Laurentius, 141, 150, 175, 177, 183; + Laurentius P. Gothus, 175. + + Philadelphia Exposition, 421. + + Philip, king, 70; + Folkung, 81; + Duke (see Charles, Princes of Sweden). + + Philipstad, 188. + + Philology, 67, 237, 265, 266, 320, 339-342, 380, 388, 423. + + Philosophy, 240-241, 321, 327, 340, 411-412, 423. + + Phosphoristic School, 380-381. + + Physical science, 322, 324-325, 333, 423, 425. + + Physiology, 325. + + Piccolomini, General, 221, 225. + + Pillau, 203. + + Piper, Charles, 271, 286, 287, 288, 292; + Louise Sophie, 366-367. + + Pitea, 411. + + Plague, 94, 124, 176, 290, 323. + + Platen, Baltzar B. von, 365, 371, 375. + + Plato, 264. + + Pliny, the Elder, 25. + + Poland, Polish, 98, 143, 163, 164, 174, 175, 182, 183, 184, 185, 187, + 199, 202, 222, 243-245, 247, 250, 252, 273, 278-279, 281, 282, 283, + 284, 290, 292, 294, 295, 297, 313, 401. + + Polar Circle, 7, 8; + Sea, 93. + + Polhammar. See Polhem. + + Polhem, Christopher, 267, 302, 304-306, 322, 326, 334, 375, 424; + Emerentia, 326. + + Poliané, 49. + + Polotsk, 47. + + Pomerania, 5, 7, 205, 224, 229, 232, 245, 255, 258, 294-295, 299, 302, + 313, 319, 336, 357, 363, 371. + + Pomponius Mela, 25. + + Ponte Corvo, 368. + + Pope, 69, 77, 78, 94, 97-98, 117, 121, 124, 126, 144. + + Porosalmie, battle of, 350. + + Porphyrogenitus. See Constantine P. + + Portugal, 45. + + Posse, Knut, 116, 118; + Arvid, 407. + + Potatoes, 336. + + Powers, Continental, 187, 248, 250, 252, 319, 320, 344, 345, 372, 374, + 378, 403, 418. + + Prague, 117, 210, 222, 228, 236, 258. + + Press, 231, 365, 376-377, 383, 384, 396, 397, 403, 404, 407, 428; + law, 434-435. + + Pretenders, 55-56, 74, 75, 78, 147, 187-188. + + Priestley, 325. + + Priests, 98, 144. + + Primas of Sweden, 70. + + Printz, John, 232. + + Prisons, 382. + + Prokopios, 28, 31. + + Propeller, 387. + + Prose Chronicle. See Chronicle. + + Protective system, 406, 416; + protectionistic party, 416. + + Protestantism, 175, 182-184, 189, 192, 202, 204, 221, 279, 281-282, + 325. + + Province, Provincial, 5-6, 64-65, 66, 86, 89, 93, 105, 149, 249; + laws (see Sweden). + + Prussia, 172, 202, 203, 222, 223, 244, 296, 299, 311, 345, 349, 352, + 370, 385-386, 403. + + Pruth, River, 294. + + Pskof, 198. + + Ptolemy, 27. + + Pufendorff, S., 237. + + Puke, Eric Kettilsson (see Kettilsson); + Eric (Nilsson), 107, 110. + + Pulkkila, battle of, 358. + + Pultowa, battle of, 285-286, 289, 290, 291, 292, 294, 303. + + Pyk, Louise, 431. + + Pyteas, 24. + + + Q + + Quaternary period, 12. + + Qvidinge, 366. + + + R + + Ræfsnæs, 133. + + Ragnar, Swedish king, 41-42; + R. Lodbrok, sea-king, 41-42. + + Ragnvald, jarl, 58, 61-62, 67; + king, 70-71; + prince, 70. + + Railways. See Sweden. + + Ramberg, 226. + + Rankhytta, 133. + + Rantzau, Daniel, 168; + George, 291. + + Rappe, A. E., 435. + + Raseborg, 113, 129. + + Rashutt, 327. + + Ratan, 363. + + Ratenau, battle of, 252. + + Ravius, 240. + + Realism, 405, 426-427. + + Reform Banquet, 384. + + Reform, Parliamentary. See Parliament. + + Reformation, Reformers, 98, 140-146, 150, 153, 339; + language, 9. + + Reformed Church, 312. + + Regensburg, 224. + + Rehnskiold, C. G., 284, 285-286, 287, 288. + + Renaissance, 153, 157, 261; + Swedish Castle, 173, 431. + + Renat, J. G., 288. + + Renata of Lothringia, 162, 169. + + Restitution. See Crown Lands. + + Rettvik, 136. + + Reuterholm, G. A., 353-356. + + Reval, 162, 172, 174, 292. + + Revolts, 76, 78, 81, 84, 107-108, 121, 141-143, 146-151, 288, 293, + 316-317, 344, 369; + of Bells, 148-149, 155. + + Revolution, French, 351, 368, 384, 428; + Swedish, 138, 143, 146, 344, 345, 349-352, 362, 379. + + Rheims, 54. + + Ribbing, P., 302, 310, 314. + + Richelieu, 220, 224. + + Riddarholm’s Church, 87, 90, 96, 225, 367, 415. + + Riddarhus, The, 166, 200, 256, 268, 398. + + Ridderstad, C. F., 389. + + Riga, 82, 187, 202, 291-292. + + Rikissa, princess, 87; + queen, 71; + Birgersdotter, 79. + + Riksdag, 88, 108, 115, 117, 124, 140, 142, 143, 150, 151, 161, 169, + 170, 175, 183-184, 200, 201, 202, 222, 238, 240, 243, 248, 249, + 250, 254, 256, 257, 258, 271, 293, 298, 310, 314, 315, 316, 317, + 318, 319, 335, 336, 338, 340, 344, 345, 348, 349-350, 355, 356-857, + 365, 368, 369, 376, 378, 383, 384, 387, 394-395, 396-401, 403, 406, + 407-411, 416-418, 420, 433, 435; + regulations of the, 434. + + Riksdrotset. See Drotsete. + + Riksmarsk. See Marsk. + + Rimbert, Archbishop, 52, 55. + + Ring (“Sigurd Ring”), 41, 51. + + Riswick, peace treaty of, 259. + + Ritual and hymn-book, 175, 183, 260, 355. + + Rock-carvings, 17, 18. + + Rococo, 353. + + Rœskilde, peace treaties of, 91, 247. + + Rolf Krake, 38. + + Romanticism (Neo-), 346, 380-381, 388-389, 405, 427. + + Rome, Roman, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28, 72, 74, 97, 125, 141, 144, 175, 204, + 263, 265. + + Rosen, von, 282 note; + George von, 412, 429. + + Rosenblad, M., 374. + + Roslagen, 48-49. + + Roslin, Alex., 347, 428. + + Rosstjenst. See Russtienst. + + Rostock, 121, 147, 165. + + Rostof, 47. + + Rothman, Dr., 327-328. + + Royal offices, 87; + sanctity, 77, 85; + title, 84. + + Rud, Otto, 122. + + Rudbeck, Olof, the Elder, 261-265; + Olof, the Younger, 330. + + Rudbeckius, J., 262. + + Ruden, Island of, 205. + + Rudenschiold, Madelaine, 354. + + Rudolph, emperor, 172. + + Rugen, Island, 229, 294, 371. + + Ruhr, River, 236. + + Runeberg, J. L., 364, 388. + + Runes, 8, 21-22, 340. + + Runius, 233. + + Runn, Lake, 134. + + Ruotsi, 48. + + Rurik, 47-49, 51, 52, 187. + + Rus, Rûs, 47, 50, 105. + + Russia, Russians, 6, 12, 22, 26, 43, 46-52, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 78, 81, + 88, 94, 105, 112, 118, 119, 122, 143, 152, 153, 162, 171, 172, 174, + 176, 184, 187, 188, 190, 198, 199, 203, 244, 250, 272, 273, + 274-277, 278, 280, 282-287, 291-292, 294, 295, 306, 311, 315, 316, + 317, 345, 348-349, 350-351, 352, 357-362, 369, 370, 374, 377, 378, + 387-388, 394, 401, 418, 436; + captivity, 287-289; + language, 8; + names, 48. + + Russtienst, Rusttjenst, 86, 143, 162, 174, 188. + + Rydberg, Victor, 412, 423. + + Rydboholm, 130. + + Rydelius, Andrew, 337-338. + + Ryssby, 193. + + + S + + Sachsen (Saxony)-Lauenburg, 155, 216. + + Sæfstrom, 325. + + Sætherbey, H., 389. + + Sætra, 134. + + St. Gallen, 362. + + St. Olaf, Order of, 386. + + St. Peter of Rome, 240. + + St. Petersburg, 88, 282, 283, 285, 289, 348, 355. + + St. Salvator, Order of, 98. + + Sala, 152. + + Salestad, 176. + + Salmasius, 236, 240. + + Salmson, H., 429. + + Salon, French, 428, 429. + + Salvius, A., 229. + + San, River, 244. + + Sandels, J. A., 358, 360. + + Saxo, 51, 57. + + Saxons, Saxonland, Saxony, 29, 38, 40, 206-208, 211, 213, 222, 223, + 224, 228, 272, 273, 277, 279-282, 292, 295, 299, 322, 415. + + Scandia, 25. + + Scandinavia, Scandinavian, 14, 16, 24, 25, 28, 100, 101, 124, 166, 255, + 317, 423, 437; + languages, 9, 99, 166; + peninsula, 5, 12, 25, 27, 93, 312, 325, 371, 421; + policy, 247, 402-406, 415, 437-438; + religion, 31. + + Scandinavism, 385-386. + + Scandza, 30, 44. + + Scania, 5, 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, 18, 21, 25, 40, 43, 46, 84, 91, 93, 95, + 97, 105, 111, 167, 195, 226, 247, 249, 254, 290-291, 307, 325, 336, + 344, 357, 362, 366, 369, 386. + + Scheele, C. W., 346. + + Schefferns, 240. + + Schleswig, 104, 112, 126, 245, 385, 386, 402, 404, 405. + + Schluesselburg, 282. + + Schlyter, K. J., 380. + + Schœnstrœm, P., 288. + + Scholander, E. W., 431. + + Schools, school laws, 117, 146, 175, 393, 423. + + Schueck, H., 428. + + Schuisky, Vassili, 187-188. + + Schwartz, Sophie, 389. + + Schwedenstein, 281. + + Schwerin, von W., 360-361; + F. B., 377. + + Scotland, 208, 405. + + Scylfingas. See Skilfings. + + Secret Committee, 314, 315, 316. + + Seeland, 246-247, 291, 362. + + Sehlstedt, Elias, 389. + + Semiramis of the North, 104. + + Separator, 425. + + Seraphim, Order of the, 318. + + Seven Years’ War, of the North, 164-168; + Continental, 319. + + Siberia, 287-289. + + Sigfrid, St., 58. + + Sigismund of Sweden and Poland, 174, 182-186, 187, 188, 202. + + Signe, 36. + + Signjótr. See Sineus. + + Sigrid Storrada, 57. + + Sigtuna, 35, 62, 68, 71, 75. + + Sigurd, King, 41. + + Sigurd Jorsalafare, 70. + + Siikajoki, battle of, 358-359. + + Silesia, 202, 222, 225, 226, 279, 281-282. + + Siljan, Lake, 136. + + Simon. See Gauzbert and Stenfi. + + Sineus, 47, 48. + + Sjœgren, Otto, 390, 431. + + Skara, 59, 68, 84, 128, 148, 321. + + Skee Finns, 28. + + Skenninge Conference, 78; + meeting, 86. + + Skerry fleet, 350, 351. + + Skialf, 36. + + Skiel (Kiel), Bay of, 226. + + Skilfings, 33, 35, 37, 39, 40. + + Skjœldebrand, A. F., 374. + + Skokloster, 251. + + Skytte, Johan, 193, 232. + + Slavs, 28, 47-50, 54. + + Sloane, Hans, 331. + + Smaland, 5, 14, 29, 70, 72, 84, 111, 126, 133, 150, 166, 195, 215, 291, + 327, 329. + + Smith, S., 431. + + Smolensk, 49, 188, 284. + + Snaphaner, 226. + + Snoilsky, 412, 427. + + Snorre Sturleson, 33, 34, 35, 40, 41, 52, 265, 349. + + Socialism, 433. + + Sœderkœping, 116, 183. + + Sœderman, August, 431. + + Sœdermanland, 5, 9, 13, 23, 39, 58, 107, 133, 174. + + Sohlman, Aug., 403. + + Soop, Eric, 303. + + Sophia (queens of Sweden), 81; 415. + + Sophie Magdalene, queen of Sweden, 343. + + Sound, the, 10, 93, 227; + naval battle of, 248. + + South Company, 232. + + Spain, Spanish, 45, 97, 209, 221, 352, 378. + + Sparre, P. G., 389. + + Sparrsætra, battle of, 78. + + Spectator, 338. + + Spitzbergen, 424. + + Sprengtporten, J. M., 344, 350. + + Squire, 106, 131, 200. + + Stade, 295. + + Stadsfullmægtige, 395. + + Stæket, 124, 125, 131. + + Stagnelius, E. J., 380-381. + + Stanislav of Poland, 279, 281, 290, 295, 313. + + Starbæck, George, 389. + + Steam hose, 387. + + Stedingk, C. von, 350, 367. + + Stefan, 74. + + Stegeborg, 139, 185. + + Stellin, 312. + + Stenbock (see Catherine, queens of Sweden), Brita, 156; + Gustavus, Baron, 156, 162, 181; + Olof,171; + Eric, 176-182, 296; + Magdalen (see Sture); + Cecilia, 178-180; + Beatrix, 180; + Anne, 181; + Gustavus, 182; + Gustavus Otto, 250; + Magnus, Count, 182, 277, 284, 290, 291, 294-296. + + Stenfi (Stephan), 58. + + Stenhammar, W., 390. + + Stenkil, 67-68, 70. + + Stensœ, 132. + + Stephan of Poland, 174. + + Steuchius, Archbishop, 340. + + Stiernhielm, Georg, 233, 235, 237. + + Stiernhœk, 232. + + Stiklastad, battle of, 62. + + Stobeus, Chilian. 329. + + Stockholm, 10, 36, 74, 75, 82, 84, 87, 90, 92, 95, 96, 100, 101, 107, + 108, 109, 112, 116, 119, 121, 124, 125, 126, 127, 130, 133, 139, + 140, 141, 143, 150, 158, 165, 169, 173, 180, 186, 190, 193, 199, + 231-232, 272, 313, 317, 320, 321, 334, 338, 344, 362, 366, 373, + 377, 384, 391, 397, 405, 418, 422; + Royal Palace, 303; + City University (see Universities); + Exchange, 337; + Posten, 377; + Royal Theatre, 346, 352, 413, 431. + + Stolarm, Arvid, 185. + + Stolbova, peace treaty of, 198. + + Stolhandske, Torsten, 216-217, 218. + + Stone Age, 11-16; + cists, 13. + + Stongebro, battle of, 185. + + Strahlenberg, J. von, 288. + + Stralsund, siege of, 299-300. + + Strandberg, C. W. A., 389. + + Strengnæs, 71, 114, 128, 140. + + Strindberg, August, 426-427, 428, 431; + Nils, 424. + + Strœmstad, 307, 322. + + Strole, Olof, 197. + + Stromberg, Nils, 291-292. + + Stuart, Mary, 162; + Charles Magnus, 270, 277. + + Stuhm, battle of, 202-203. + + Sture, 130, 140, 146, 181, 182; + original line: Sten Sture, the Elder, 113, 114-120, 121, 123, + 130-131; + Natt och Dag branch: Nils Bosson, 108-109, 116, 118, 120, 123; + Svante Nilsson, 118-123, 141; + Sten Sture, the Younger, 123-129, 131, 142; + Nils Stensson, 147; + Svante Stensson, Count, 149, 151, 155, 156, 162, 168, 169-170, 177; + Nils Svantesson, 168, 169; + Eric, 170; + Martha (see Leijonhufvud); + Sigrid, 176-182; + Magdalen, 176-182, 296; + Anne, 177; + Margaret, 177, 179; + Christine, 177. + + Sture Chronicles, 114. + + Sturzen-Becker, O. P., 389. + + Styrbiœrn Starke, 55-56. + + Subsidies, 252, 316, 319. + + Succession, Royal, 150, 151, 190, 310; + law of, 434. + + Suchtelen, von, 359. + + Sud, 49. + + Suevian Sea, 26. + + Suiones, 26. + + Sundberg, Archbishop, 407. + + Sunnanskogs, 5. + + Sunnanvæder, Peder, 141-143, 147. + + Suomi, 437. + + Supreme Court. See Sweden. + + “Surgeon’s Stories,” 413. + + Sværdsbro, 179. + + Sværdsjœ, 135. + + Svartsjœ, 155, 173. + + Sveaborg, fortress of, 317, 359-360. + + Svealand, 5, 14, 19, 24, 27, 58, 68, 69, 83, 185. + + “Svecia,” 265-266. + + Svedberg, Jesper, 321. + + Svedbom, 431. + + Sveijder, 35. + + Svein, Norwegian jarl, 57-58. + + Sven. See Blot-Sven. + + Svend (Danish kings): Tjufvuskægg, 57; + Estridsen, 63; + Grade, 72. + + Svendborg, 246. + + Svensksund, naval battles of, 350-351. + + Sverdrup, J., 406. + + Sverker, the Old, 71-73, 75; + the Younger, 74, 75-77. + + Sviar, 27, 35, 47, 64. + + Sviatoslaf, 51. + + Svinesund, 307, 372. + + Svithiod, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41. + + Svolder, battle of, 57-58. + + Swabia, 29, 213. + + Sweden, 5, 11, 21, 26, 27, 31, 34, 42, 58, 64, 75, 90, 105, 126, 188, + 192, 214, 221, 222, 223, 229-230, 250, 265, 272, 289, 291, 296, + 298, 300, 309, 320-321, 363-364, 374, 403, 418, 432-434; + administration (see Government); + agriculture, 15, 117, 152, 260, 306, 317, 423; + alcohol industry, 387; + architects (see Architecture); + army, 152, 186, 201-202, 203, 231, 258-259, 283, 290, 296, 307, + 408-410, 415-418; + art, 261, 303, 347, 382, 391, 412, 421, 428-431; + botanists (see Botany); + broadcloth, 335, 336, 337; + budget, 422; + cabinet, 365, 374, 376, 378, 382, 383, 391-392, 394-395, 399-400, + 402, 404, 435, 436; + canals (see Gotha Canal); + civilization (see Cultural Development); + climate, 7; + colonies, 232; + commerce, 81-82, 85, 105, 116, 152, 176, 188, 198, 200, 260, 288, + 302, 376, 387, 406, 407, 414, 421, 422; + communications, 374, 387, 406, 421; + communities, 39, 42, 64, 105, 396, 432; + composers (see Music); + constitution, 64, 65, 105, 255-258, 268, 292-293, 302, 310, 314, + 318, 344, 349-350, 366, 378, 400, 434; + court, 87, 146, 154, 189, 240, 255, 318, 319, 338, 339; + court party, 318-320, 338; + criminal code, 395; + crown, 144, 149, 174-175, 201, 239, 255 + (see also Crown lands, restitution of); + cultural development, 14, 18, 23, 30-31, 59-61, 68, 71-72, 98-99, + 105, 114, 117-118, 141-142, 173, 188, 201, 232-233, 261-267, + 302-306, 313, 320, 321-341, 345-347, 353, 380-381, 382, 388-390, + 393, 405, 408, 411-413, 422-433; + dairy industry, 152, 425; + defence, 254, 260, 293, 374, 375, 408, 417-418; + departments, state, 199, 230, 298, 314, 378, 421, 435 + (see also Cabinet and Ministers); + dialect research, 340, 341; + electric telegraph, 387, 422; + emblem, 164, 197; + engineers, 424-426; + estates (see Estates); + exports and imports, 422; + finance, 94, 187, 239, 243, 301-302, 306, 311, 313, 315, 319, 374, + 407, 408, 422; + forests, 7, 18; + fundamental laws, 434-435; + geographical discoveries, 288, 424; + geology, 8, 12, 325; + government, 64, 65, 74, 85, 87, 88, 91, 92, 93, 96, 101-104, 108, + 114, 115, 123, 149-150, 152-153, 161-162, 174, 176, 188, 189, 190, + 203, 230, 233, 249-252, 253, 256-257, 258, 259-260, 271, 292-293, + 300-302, 310-311, 312, 313, 315, 816, 317, 319, 320, 345, 354-355, + 374, 378, 383-384, 390, 391, 395-401, 403, 404, 407, 409, 410-411, + 416,418, 419, 435; + graves, 18, 14, 16, 17, 19, 23, 27; + historians (see History); + industries, 302, 306, 317, 319, 334-337, 383, 387, 393, 407, 421; + inland seas, 305, 325; + inventors, 304, 321, 322, 425-426; + kings, 26, 31, 40, 41, 42, 64-65, 67, 84, 85, 87, 92, 96, 99, 115, + 125, 145, 150, 158, 189, 190, 191, 201, 242, 249, 253, 263, 268, + 300, 308, 343, 382-383, 391, 401, 411, 414, 415, 434-435; + land-tax, 408, 410, 416; + language, 8, 9, 15, 47-48, 99, 153, 237, 238, 330, 340, 346-347, 390; + legislation, 82, 85-86, 89, 93, 105, 110, 314, 315, 383, 395-401, + 416-418; + literature, 66-67, 80, 89, 98, 99, 121, 155, 233, 237, 261, 263, + 337-339, 345-347, 380-382, 388-389, 405, 412-413, 414, 426-428; + loanwords, 8, 47; + manufactures, 306, 317, 335-336; + maritime code, 395; + metal engraving (see Art); + migrations, 34; + military districts and divisions, 417-418; + militia, 357, 365, 369, 409, 410, 416, 417; + mining industry, 82, 116, 152, 188, 201, 230-232, 260, 336; + municipal government, 395-396; + mythology, 31-32, 53; + national anthem, 434; + national character and temperament, 9, 10, 98, 354, 389-390, 405, + 433-434; + naturalists (see Science); + navigation, 407, 422; + navy, 94, 149, 168, 226-227, 231, 253, 258-259, 416, 418; + one realm, 39, 42, 43, 64-65, 105; + painters (see Art); + philologists (see Philology); + philosophers (see Philosophy); + political grandeur, 191, 192-309; + population, 5, 8, 16, 94, 176, 193; + possessions, 253, 272, 292, 293, 299, 312 + (see also Territory, Finland, and Baltic Dominion and Provinces); + postal service, 231, 421; + proper names, 32, 47, 48; + provincial laws, 8, 66-67, 70, 89, 98, 380, 392; + railways, 387, 406, 421; + regent, 68, 79, 88, 91, 108, 109, 113, 115, 120, 122, 124, 126, 140, + 184, 353-356, 362-364, 391, 392-393; + Riksdag (see Riksdag); + scenery, 6, 98, 330, 391; + science, 9, 232, 240, 261, 265, 288, 302, 304-306, 321, 324-325, 332, + 339, 340, 346, 380, 408, 414, 421, 426; + sculptors (see Art); + seal of state, 164; + sects, 432; + singers, song (see Music); + sloyd, 287; + state, 8, 64-65, 151, 192, 199, 230; + state law, 67, 98, 105, 110, 315; + state treasurer, 189, 250; + statesmen, 82, 87, 89, 146, 192, 199, 204, 220, 251, 312, 315-316, + 317, 368, 392-393, 437; + suffrage, 396, 399, 433; + supreme court, 162, 174, 199, 200, 230, 350; + taxes, taxation, 76, 88, 103, 107, 201, 288, 238, 240, 279, 290, 293, + 314, 317, 387, 396, 408, 410; + telephone system, 422; + territory, 6, 93, 104, 434; + towns, 10, 75, 82, 85, 116, 152, 176, 188, 311, 395, 397, 399; + town laws, 116; + tribes, 66, 105. + + Swedenborg, E., 321-327, 332, 347. + + “Swedish Fates and Adventures,” 427. + + Swinhufvud. See Barbro Stigsdotter. + + Sword, Order of the, 318. + + Systema Naturæ, 330, 333. + + + T + + Tacitus, 26, 27, 30, 434. + + Tartars, 285. + + Taube, Mathilde. See Grabow. + + Tavastehus, 77, 358. + + Tavasti, Tavastland, 77, 78, 88. + + Tchudi, 47. + + Te Deum, 277. + + Tegnér, Esaias, 353, 363, 381-382, 389; + Esaias, Junior, 423. + + Telegraph. See Sweden. + + Temperance movement, 387. + + Terna, 133. + + Tessin, Nicodemus, Senior, 302-303; + Nicodemus, Junior, 302-304, 317, 430; + Charles Gustavus, 317, 318, 332, 336, 339, 340. + + Teuffel, General, 207. + + Teutons, Teutonic, 8, 21, 22, 25, 26, 28, 44; + ancestors, 15; + languages, 8, 238, 342; + communities, 396, 432; + migrations, 20, 23, 44; + mythology, 30; + origin, 30, 265; + sea,25; + state, 64-65; + traditions, 29-30; + tribes, 30, 43. + + Thegerstrom, Robert, 430. + + Themptander, O. R., 416. + + Theology, 340-341. + + Theophilus, Emperor, 48. + + Theosophy, 325, 412. + + Thermometer, Centigrade, 321, 333. + See Celsius. + + Thing (Assembly), 55, 56, 58, 61, 65, 72, 82, 86. + + Thiodulf of Hvin, 33, 35, 41. + + Thirty Years’ War, 193, 202-229, 231, 236, 261, 281, 312, 434. + + Thomas, Bishop, 114, 121. + + Thomasius, 266. + + Thor, 30-31. + + Thorild, T., 346, 355. + + Thorn, 172. + + Thorvald, Hialte, 56. + + Thraldom, 82, 93, 137, 309. + + Thule, 24, 25, 28, 29. + + Thunberg, D., 375. + + Tidemand, 405. + + Tilly, 203, 206-209, 210-211. + + Timutarsz, 297, 298. + + Tiundaland, 39, 62. + + Tiveden, 83, 127. + + Tobacco, 336. + + Tobolsk, 287. + + Tœnnig, fortress of, 295-296. + + “Tœrnroseus bok,” 389. + + Toll, J. C., 344, 356, 357. + + Tomte Mats, 137. + + Topelius, Z., 412-413. + + Tordenskiold, Peter, 307, 311, 322. + + Toresson. See Ahlstrœmer. + + Torgau, retreat from, 224. + + Torgny, 62. + + Tormentor of Denmark, 122. + + Torne, River, 363. + + Torpa, 156, 181. + + Torsslov, O. U., 390. + + Torstensson, Lennart, 223, 225-229, 239, 245, 248. + + Tott, Eric Axelson, 113, 117; + Ivar Axelson, 113, 117; + Ingeborg, 118; + Ake, 173; + Clas, 175. + + Traventhal, peace treaty of, 274. + + Tre Rosor, 282 note; + Ture Jœnsson, 146, 148, 149, 156; + John Turesson, 149, 156, 158; + Gustavus Johnsson, Count, 156, 162. + + Trolle, Eric, 123, 124; + Gustavus, Archbishop, 124-125, 127-128, 129, 139, 142, 148. + + Trollhetta, waterfalls of, 306, 375. + + Tromp, Admiral, 253. + + Truso, 43. + + Truvor, 47, 48. + + Tryggve. See Truvor. + + Turgot, 59. + + Turkey, Turks, 283, 287, 293, 294, 296-298, 299, 303, 305, 388. + + Tver, battle of, 188. + + Tyr, 30. + + Tyrol, 6. + + + U + + Ube, River, 206. + + Ukraine, 285, 286, 292. + + Uleoborg, 358. + + Ulf, jarls, 74; 78, 79. + + Ulf Gudmundsson, 97. + + Ulfhild, 71. + + Ulfsson, Jacob, 117, 124, 133. + + Ulrica Eleonore, queens of Sweden, 255, 268, 274; 269, 289, 298, 309, + 310, 311, 312, 313, 316. + + Ulricsdal, 391. + + Union, Act of, 4, 92, 93, 94, 101-102, 104, 114, 120, 129, 151, + 166-167, 317, 372-374, 393, 395, 420; + nature of the, 419-421, 437; + revision of the, 386, 394-395, 406, 421. + + Union government, 420, 438; + defence, 420, 438; + parliament, 420, 438. + + Unionism, Unionist party, 110, 111, 114, 120, 121, 122, 123, 130, + 393-395, 415-416. + + Unitarianism, 325, 412. + + United States, 436, 437-438 (see also America); + President of, 434. + + Universities, 117, 131, 153, 183, 189, 230, 235, 250, 304, 322, 327, + 329, 339, 340-341, 356, 380, 385, 390, 405, 411, 413, 422-423. + + Unne, 55. + + Upland, 5, 10, 23, 35, 39, 48, 73, 78, 89, 90, 97, 105, 107, 110, 124, + 139, 185, 391. + + Uppstrœm, A., 137 note. + + Upsala, 10, 33, 35, 37, 38, 39, 42, 51, 68, 71, 74, 107, 120, 131, 134, + 139, 142, 143, 147, 153, 157, 161, 175, 183, 201, 235, 240, 262, + 264, 304, 322, 323, 329, 330, 331-332, 340, 356, 380, 413; + cathedral, 82, 112; + meeting, 183; + University (see Universities); + University Botanical Garden, 329, 362; + Library, 201, 235; + Observatory, 333; + temple, 59, 60, 68, 71. + + Uranus, 324. + + Usedom, island of, 205, 229, 312. + + Utilitarianism, 337, 432. + + Utmeland, 137. + + “Utopia Realized,” 427. + + + V + + Vadstena, 98-99, 104, 107, 120, 140, 164, 173, 184, 304. + + Værælæ, peace treaty of, 351. + + Værend, 29, 58, 66, 72. + + Værfvade, 417. + + Væringar, 49. + + Valdemar of Sweden, 80-84, 89. + + Valdemar (kings of Denmark): Seier, 76, 77; + Atterdag, 95, 100. + + Valdemar, Prince, 87, 89-91. + + Vandals, 47. + + Vanlande, 35. + + Varanger Bay, 378, 387-388. + + Varberg, 167, 168. + + Variagi, Varangians, 46-53. + + Varinians, 29. + + Vasa dynasty, family, 130, 163, 187, 193, 194, 249; + Original line: Krister Nilsson, 108, 110, 130; + Kettil Karlsson, 112-113; + Eric Johansson, 128, 130; + Gustavus Ericsson (see Gustavus I.); + Eric (see Eric XIV.); + John (see John III.); + Magnus (see Magnus, Princes of Sweden); + Charles (see Charles IX.); + Gustavus Ericsson, 172-173; + Sigrid, 172-173, 177; + Sigismund (see Sigismund); + John, Duke (see John); + Charles Philip (see Charles); + Catherine (see Catherine, Countess-Palatine); + Gustavus Adolphus (see Gustavus II. Adolphus); + Christine (see Christine, queens of Sweden); + Polish line, 163, 240; + Sigismund (see Sigismund); + Vladislav, 186, 188, 243; + John II. Casimir, 243-244. + + Vasa Renaissance. See Renaissance. + + Vasa, town, 360. + + Vassili, Czar. See Schuisky. + + Vaxholm, fortress of, 197, 418. + + Venar, Lake, 5, 69. + + Vends, Vendish, 57, 63, 75. + + Vennerberg, Gunnar, 389-390, 409, 413. + + Verden, 229, 235, 312. + + Vermland, 5, 40, 41, 43, 55, 68, 83, 107, 111, 116, 174, 194, 229, 307, + 308, 335. + + Vessi, 47. + + “Verzage nicht,” 215. + + Vettar, Lake, 5, 77, 164, 418. + + Vexio, 71, 84, 291, 327, 328, 331. + + Viborg, fortress of, 88, 118, 292, 312, 351. + + Victoria, crown princess of Sweden-Norway, 415. + + Vienna, 203, 226, 299; + Congress of, 372-373; + Exposition, 421; + peace treaty of, 405; + siege of, 228-229. + + Viken 46. + + Viking Age, Vikings, 8, 24, 41, 44-63, 66, 70. + + Vilmanstrand, battle of, 316. + + Vincentius, Bishop, 128. + + Virdar, 29. + + Virta, battle of, 358. + + Visbur. 35. + + Visby, 85, 95, 304. + + Visigoths, 236. + + Visingsborg, 251. + + Visingsœ, 77, 87, 180. + + Vistula, 21, 27, 31. + + Vitalen, or Victualen Brotherhood, 101. + + Vitesjœ, battle of, 195. + + Vladimir, St., 51, 52. + + Vladislav. See Vasa, Polish line. + + Voldgæstning, 86. + + Volga, 50. + + Volmar, 187. + + Voltaire, 347. + + Vordingborg, 247. + + Vorskla, River, 285, 286. + + Vossius, 236-237. + + + W + + Wachtmeister, Hans, 259; + Hans Hansson, 435. + + Wahlberg, Edward, 429. + + Wallachia, 22, 299. + + Wallenstein, 203, 204, 210-218, 221. + + Wallhof, battle of, 202. + + Wallin, J. O., Archbishop, 381. + + Wallis, Curt, 424. + + Walloons, 231. + + War of Clubs, 184. + + Warburg, K., 248. + + Warsaw, battle of, 244; + conquest of, 244, 278; + diet of, 278. + + Washington, George, 367. + + Weibule, M., 424. + + Weimar. See Bernhard, Duke of Weimar. + + Wendland, 43. + + Werben, 206. + + Westerbotten, West Bothnia, 5, 16. + + Westerlund, Dr., 424. + + Westeros, 71, 107, 108, 128, 124, 128, 139, 141, 143, 151, 171, 262; + Ordinantia and Recess, 145-146; 151. + + West Gothland. See Gothland. + + Westmanland, 5, 58, 106, 107, 112, 116, 147, 195. + + Westphalia, 236; + Peace of, 229. + + Wetterstedt, G. af, 374. + + Wetterstrand, Dr., 424. + + Wickman, G., 431. + + Wikblad, S. H., 435. + + Wikner, Pontus, 423. + + William, Bishop of Salima, 78. + + William I. of Germany, 415. + + William of Orange, 259. + + Windau, 203. + + Windsor, 237. + + Wingard, C. F. af, 383. + + Wirsén, G. F. af, 374, 378. + + Wismar, 229, 857. + + Witches, 251. + + Witmar, 54. + + Wittelsbachs, The, 249. + + Wittstock, battle of, 223. + + Wolfenbuttel, battle of, 224. + + Wolgast, 222. + + Wollin, island of, 56, 229, 312. + + Women’s rights, 383. + + Wrangel, 286; + Herman, 202; + Charles Gustavus, 227, 229, 248, 250, 251, 252, 257. + + Wulfila, 67, 235, 287, 341. + + Wulfstan, 43. + + + Y + + Yeoman, Yeomanry, 72, 73, 78, 106, 108, 111, 114, 186, 144, 146, 149, + 158, 192, 199, 201, 233, 238, 251, 253, 255, 258, 260, 314, 316, + 318, 350, 357, 397, 407, 416, 432. + + Ynglinga Saga, 31, 33-41, 51. + + Ynglingatal, 33-41. + + Ynglings, Yngling kings, 33-41. + + Yngvar, 38-39. + + Yngve, Swedish kings, 35; 36. + + York, 58. + + Yrsa, 38. + + + Z + + Zamoisky, 187. + + Zettervall, H., 430. + + Zoölogy, 380. + + Zorn, A. L., 430. + + + + + Transcriber's notes: + + Some entries in the index appeared out of alphabetical order. They + have been moved. + + The following is a list of changes made to the original. + The first line is the original line, the second the corrected one. + + Page 252: + + in 1672, whon he himself took charge of the government, + in 1672, when he himself took charge of the government, + + Page 429: + + Prince Eugene, Eugene Jansson, Ernest Josephson, Nils Kreuger, + Prince Eugene, Eugene Jansson, Ernst Josephson, Nils Kreuger, + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Sweden, by Victor Nilsson + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 44624 *** |