His teachings spread throughout Germany, bringing about a peasant revolt in 1525 that was suppressed ruthlessly by the nobility. The Schmalkaldic War began in 1546 (the year of Luther’s death) and ended a year later with Charles V defeating the Protestant princes. Despite these military setbacks, Lutheranism continued to spread. Sometimes its propagation was due to sincere religious beliefs, but often it was for political or economic advantage. Religious wars continued on and off in Germany until the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, by which Charles V granted each German state the right to choose between Catholicism and Lutheranism. This peace was to last for over fifty years, until the outbreak of the Thirty Years’ War, a war that was to involve Sweden directly.
Martin Luther’s counterpart in Sweden was Olaus Petri (Olof Persson or Petersson in Swedish, but better known as Petri, the Latin form of his name). Like Luther, Petri came from the lower classes, the son of a blacksmith in Örebro. He also showed early aptitude in letters. After schooling in Sweden, he went to the University of Wittenberg where he studied under both Luther and Phillip Melanchthon, the theologian of the German Reformation. After receiving a magister degree, he returned to Sweden in 1519 imbued with the ideas and enthusiasm of the early movement. He was appointed chancellor to the bishop of Strängnäs and immediately began collecting about him others of his belief, including his brother Laurentius Petri. Soon their preaching and publications drew the attention of Bishop Brask, who was building a coalition of bishops, priests, nobles and laymen to fight the “German heresy.” Brask would no doubt have moved against Petri, but the king’s chancellor, Laurentius Andreae, interceded and arranged the appointment of Petri as town clerk of Stockholm. In 1525 Petri married. In 1526 a printing press was brought to Stockholm and the new town clerk almost monopolized it publishing a Swedish translation of the New Testament and many of the German Lutheran hymns. He and his followers published and circulated pamphlets and books on the new theology. Through his prolific writing and wide distribution, thanks to the new printing press, Petri reformed the Swedish written word from its clumsy ancient form to a much more readable, useful style. Although he was certainly an advocate of making changes in the Church of Rome, he did not accept the German Lutheran teachings uncritically. He put his own stamp on them based on his Swedish background and what he saw as the needs of the Swedish people. He retained those early Lutheran ideals all his life and in the end was bitterly disappointed they did not bring about a recreation of a truly righteous, humanitarian society.
Even as religious foment brewed in his realm, Gustav was faced once again with an outbreak of the continually smoldering revolution in Dalarna. This time it was the high taxes and objections to the new religion that drove the rebellion. The instigator is known in Swedish history as the Daljunker, an energetic and charismatic figure who first gained support among the Norwegian nobility, even marrying the daughter of a Norwegian lady who was proud of her dashing son-in-law and had visions of him occupying the Swedish throne. Crossing into Sweden, in 1527, he fanned the flames of discontent in Dalarna claiming to be Nil, the elder son of Sten Sture the Younger and Kristina Gyllenstierna. He was not. The real Nil died a year later and his brother Svante remained loyal to Gustav, even serving foreign missions in the king’s behalf. The impostor may have been an illegitimate son of Sten’s. Whoever he was, he managed to set the province ablaze with attacks on the king’s men.
Gustav used this outbreak as an excuse to gather a Riksdag. He called a meeting of all the Estates and bade the nobility to come armed and ready for action. The Riksdag was held in a monastery in Västerås within striking distance of the uprising. Though the reason for the Riksdag was ostensibly to quell the rebellion, Gustav knew other grievances would be presented. Bishop Hans Brask of Linköping made the journey to voice his concerns. The clergyman had no independent vote, but he could speak as part of the Nobility Estate. He would be backed by a faction of the aristocracy that felt the king was concentrating too much power in the central government. Their leader was Ture Jönsson Tre Rosor, lagman and great landowner in Västergötland, the same Jönsson Gustav had acceded to during the revolution. Representatives from the peasantry and miners would be there denouncing high taxes and the heretical preaching emanating from Stockholm.
It seemed Gustav’s only allies would be the burghers from Stockholm and other towns, a faction of the nobility concerned with the loss of lands to the church and the delegates from Lübeck who had no vote.
The general format for a Riksdag was that the king presented his proposals to the assembly, which discussed them, then approved or disapproved them. In this case Gustav had read to the Estates assembled his proclamation, a stinging indictment of his subjects. The king had fulfilled his obligation to the people, but the people had not reciprocated. He had driven out the Dane, he said, and secured their freedom, but he had not received sufficient resources to defend the country or to pay the Lübeck debt. The problem, he went on, lay in the loss of properties by the nobles and gentry to the churches and monasteries through sale, donation and foreclosures. Now they wanted compensation from the crown, but the king could not even pay the war debt let alone return property or money to the nobles. He ended with an offer to abdicate and let the Estates deal directly with the Lübeck debt owners, who had representatives right there at the assembly.
Hans Brask could see where this was going and replied that no church property or possessions could be turned over to any lay faction without express permission from Rome. Ture Jönsson and his party of nobles applauded the bishop of Linköping’s response and offered their support.
Gustav then retorted with a scathing attack on those assembled as to their ingratitude, disloyalty and open rebellion, no better than the Dalarnian outlaws they had come to suppress. He announced that he would consent to have such subjects no longer and asked for appropriate compensation so that he could leave the country and never return. He then left the monastery and took up residence in the Castle of Västerås.
Discussions and arguments rang in the halls of the monastery and schisms began to develop between the factions. As the days went by, the peasants swung into Gustav’s camp, believing it was vital to keep Gustav as king. This left the great nobles backed by the clergy as the holdouts.
Finally a couple of the bishops broke ranks and urged the nobles to reconsider. These were the same clergy who had split with Gustav Trolle over his wholehearted support of Christian II. Eventually the promise of church lands overcame the nobles’ fear of a too powerful king and they capitulated. Gustav had won.
The Västerås Recess was drawn up, with a great deal of help from the king no doubt. The provisions were first, all assembled promised to cooperate to stamp out sedition and rebellion. Secondly, all castles owned by the bishops would be turned over to the crown. The king was to determine the number of soldiers church officials needed—namely none. Sufficient revenues were to be retained by the cathedrals, bishops and parishes to sustain them; all surpluses would go to the state for maintenance of a standing army and other national services. The monasteries would be turned over to the nobles intact as fiefs, and lands lost to the church through donation or sale since the mid–fifteenth century were to be returned. Finally, it was agreed that accusations of heresy against preachers would stop, and that the word of God would be preached plainly throughout the kingdom. This last came to mean Swedish would replace Latin in church services.
Later, a corollary of ordinances to the recess was issued with council approval. These ordinances, probably drawn up by Olaus Petri and Laurentius Andreae, clarified the structure of the church. The old organization of archbishop, bishops and priests remained, but it was no longer subject to the authority of the pope in Rome. In 1531 Laurentius Petri was chosen to be the Swedish archbishop by Gustav. He was consecrated by Petrus Magni, bishop of Västerås, who had been consecrated in Rome in accordance with canonical law in 1524. Thus the apostolic succession was maintained unbroken in Sweden. Ecclesiastical courts were to be c
onfined to issuing church discipline. Finances of the church would be administered by the crown. It made clear that the main duties of bishops were to oversee the clergy in looking after the spiritual needs of the people, and to see that children were taught the fundamentals of the faith and morality.
These ordinances were too much for Bishop Brask and he asked leave to visit Gotland Island. Though Danish territory, it was part of his diocese. He traveled with a large amount of money to Viborg and from there escaped to Danzig. Gustav was relieved to be rid of him, but unhappy about all the money that had slipped from his grasp, money that was destined to be used against him in the future.
Having handled ecclesiastic matters at Västerås, Gustav turned again to the Daljunkern revolt in Dalarna. He first issued a series of letters and proclamations to the provincial officials and leaders denouncing the imposter, and reminding the inhabitants of their obligations to and advantages in remaining loyal to the crown. Again, he was aided by his old allies Anders Persson, Mans Nilsson and Ingel Hansson who took the lead in convincing the miners to stand with the king. Support for the insurrection fell away until the Sture pretender could only flee the country. He escaped to Germany where, under pressure from Gustav, he was captured and executed.
Next Gustav entered Dalarna at the head of an army. There he called a meeting of the people, rounded them up, placed them in the middle of his soldiers and threatened them with cannon fire. The ringleaders were selected out and summarily executed. Dalarna was once again subdued, but the implementation of the provisions of the Västerås Recess continued to be deeply resented in many parts of the country, especially the rural areas.
Upon his return to Västergötland, Ture Jönsson began to incite an uprising against the new power of the king and the heretical new church practices. He found a ready confederate in Bishop Magnus of Skara. In 1529 a rebellion erupted and spread to the ever-restive Småland. Led by the nobility, the outbreak was picking up adherents in Östergötland and Hälsingland, but now Gustav had the nucleus of his planned standing army. He recalled additional troops from Finland. Again Gustav’s propaganda machine was employed and the peasantry was persuaded to drop out of the fight. Then he moved aggressively against the rebellious nobles. Jönsson and Bishop Magnus escaped the country, but most of the other leaders were captured and brought to a Riksdag at Strängnäs that same year. All were found guilty of treason and executed, their properties confiscated and turned over to the crown. Gustav was learning to be ruthless in dealing with rebellion and also how to turn adversity to his advantage.
In 1530 Gustav decided on a unique approach to settling the remainder of the Lübeck debt. He ordered the monasteries and city churches to give up one of their bells to the state for this purpose. This worked so well that the next year Gustav extended the bell tax to the country churches. The outcry was tremendous. The pious country folk, already reeling from changes in the church so central to their spiritual and social lives, were now being asked to give up the bells that called them to service and drove away the evil spirits. The clear clanging purified the air and gave a sense of community to the housewife in her kitchen and the farmer in the field. They had seen decorations and service pieces confiscated and now they were to lose their bells? It was too much. In Dalarna the king’s agents were met with sledgehammers and ax handles. The borders were sealed off. The miners of that province would not give up their bells. Among the leaders of this latest uprising were Gustav’s longtime friends and supporters Andres Persson, Måns Nilsson and Ingel Hansson.
In the middle of the Bell Revolt, Gustav received word that Christian II was making his move. He had finally gotten the backing of Charles V, assistance he had sought for so long. Charles, as head of the Hapsburg Empire, now ruled the largest empire the world had ever seen. Gold from his American domains and silver from Spanish Asia were pouring into his coffers. The holy Roman emperor was holding his own against the French and had stopped the advance of the Turks coming north through Hungary. His war against the Lutheran princes of Germany was going well. He could afford to finance his brother-in-law’s expedition. He might arrest the spread of Protestantism in these northern countries and even make this territory the northern flank of his Hapsburg Empire.
In October 1531 Christian II set sail from the Zuider Zee with 7,000 men and thirty ships purchased with Spanish gold. With him were Gustav Trolle and several of the nobility that had escaped capture after the collapse of the Västergötland revolt. Upon landing in Norway they picked up popular support from the Norwegian aristocracy, but the force failed to take Fort Akershus at Oslo. Having added a strong Norwegian contingent, they pushed on into Viken on their way to Skåne and Västergötland. Here, however, the expedition bogged down. For once the border clan’s opposition to an invading army favored Gustav. Communication and supply lines were cut and foraging parties ambushed. Roads and trails were barricaded and made impassable. Gustav rushed all the troops he could spare from the Bell Rebellion to help the peasant guerillas. Then in early 1532, Christian’s fleet was defeated by a combined Lübeck-Danish fleet that landed Danish reinforcements at Oslo. Cut off in the rear and bogged down at the front, Christian disengaged and pulled back from Swedish forces on his front leaving Ture Jönsson’s decapitated body behind. Cornered on foreign soil and now cut off from supplies, Christian succumbed to an offer from Frederick to come to Copenhagen and work out a peace. Upon his arrival, however, the former Danish king was thrown into prison at Sønderborg Castle where he remained until his death in 1559. The war had forced an alliance between Denmark and Sweden for the first time in the modern era. Sweden had come a long way from being merely a Danish possession.
Having dispatched a contingent of troops to fight Christian’s invasion, Gustav turned to dealing with the insurgent Dalesmen who had called a Riksdag at Arboga. Gustav outmaneuvered them by calling his own Riksdag in Uppland and applied pressure on Stockholm to cut off all support to the rebellious miners. The Stockholm burghers and merchants, now dependent on the king for the continuation of the Protestant practices they had become accustomed to, obliged. Gustav had broken the traditional Bergslag-Stockholm tie by exploiting their religious differences. By the end of 1531, Dalarna had capitulated, paying the king 2,000 marks in place of the bells demanded.
Gustav accepted the payment and let the matter rest until the threat from Christian was removed, then he exacted retribution upon the offending Dalesmen. Perhaps he was stung by the defection of his longtime allies or just fed up with Dalarnian intransigence. In any case, in February 1533, he marched his army through the province to Kopparberg where he convened court and summoned the peasant miners. The leaders were taken to Stockholm where they were tried and condemned to death. Among those executed were Gustav’s old supporters and early leaders of his war against Denmark, Andres Persson, Måns Nilsson and Ingel Hansson. The effect on the province was profound. Never again would Dalarna rise in rebellion against the king.
Gustav Eriksson Vasa was now in firm control of his realm. Rebellion had been crushed; the powerful and wealthy church state-within-a-state had been smashed. The nobility had been brought to heel. Much of their property had been confiscated. Crown castles and fiefs that had been parceled out to the noble magnates to oversee were back under the king’s control, administered by his bailiffs. Gustav had a standing army and the beginnings of a navy at his disposal and the resources to pay for them. The central government was now the strongest entity in Sweden. Gustav had the luxury of turning his attention to his country’s debt and trade restrictions, and in these matters he was about to get some help from events unfolding outside Sweden.
As early as 1525 Gustav had encouraged trade between the Netherlands and his only western port, Lödöse, in defiance of his treaties with Lübeck. Cooperation between Denmark and Sweden had loosened the restrictions on shipping through the Danish straits from the Baltic to the North Sea. These changes along with rising Dutch mercantile power meant Lübeck and the Hanseatic League were losing th
eir control of northern commerce.
These stresses plus some internal matters led to a change in government in the German merchant city. The old conservative council was thrown out in favor of a more progressive, Protestant leaning group headed by an enterprising if somewhat unscrupulous Jörgen Wullenwever. His ambition was to lead the city back to dominance of the northern maritime trade. Conflicts with the Netherlands soon led to open war and Lübeck appealed to Sweden for help. Chafing under Lübeck’s trade constraints and the continual undervaluation of goods sent to pay the debt, Gustav saw his chance to settle accounts. He refused to support the warring city and what’s more, declared the debt paid. Even Gustav’s counselors objected to such high-handed tactics. Johan av Hoya, Gustav’s brother-in-law and governor of Finland, had personally pledged this repayment and felt so strongly he left his position in Sweden and went to Germany where he joined the anti–Gustav group in exile.
Meanwhile, events in Denmark were also moving precipitously. Frederick I had died in 1533. The nobility favored his son, Christian of Holstein, as successor, but he had shown decidedly Protestant leanings opposed by the strongly Catholic ruling Danish Council. The towns and particularly the burghers on the council also objected to the strong hand Frederick had given the nobles. The council deferred his coronation and ruled in his stead. There were now three potential heads of government in Denmark: the de facto ruler (the council); Frederick I’s son, supported by the nobility; and Christian II (still in Danish prison), supported by the towns and serfs. Jörgen saw this confusion as an opportunity to strike. He concluded a peace treaty with the Netherlands and attacked Denmark. Thus began the so-called Count’s Feud, named after the Lübeck army commander, Christopher, the count of Oldenburg. Lübeck had raised a large mercenary army to augment its powerful navy. These forces were thrown into invasions of the Danish Baltic islands, Holstein, Halland, Skåne and Zealand, whereupon Copenhagen and Malmö rose in support of the return of Christian II. The Lübeck navy next moved to take control of the Sound, capturing most of the Danish navy. The serfs of the eastern counties revolted, spreading terror and taking bloody revenge for years of repression.
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