Title: Sweden
Author: Nilsson, Victor
Language: English
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[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,





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