The Swedes were more fortunate in their resistance to this blood-thirsty tyrant. After the death of Steen Sture the Elder (1503), they elected Svante Nilsson Sture regent, and after his death, his son, Steen Sture the Younger. These brave and patriotic men conducted the government with wisdom and energy, and succeeded in maintaining themselves against the power of the Danes during the remainder of the reign of King Hans.
Christian II. (1513-1523, d. 1559), was forced, on mounting the throne, to grant a charter to the nobility, which nearly deprived him of all power. The rule of the nobles had by this time become so great a curse, both in Denmark and Norway, that any measure for its curtailment seemed justifiable. Their principle of government was that of hawks in a poultry-yard. Whatever the citizens undertook for their advancement was checked by the interference of the privileged classes; commerce and industry were discouraged, lest the bourgeoisie should gain power enough to assert itself. The peasantry were given absolutely into the barons' power, and their degradation was made complete by the so-called "right of neck and hand," which Christian II. granted as the price of his crown. By this concession the nobles acquired the right to sentence and punish their peasants at their own discretion, without the intercession of the courts. The king, however, felt the humiliation of this concession scarcely less than its victims. He determined to prepare himself for a life and death struggle with the nobility; and with this in view strove to increase his power. He secured foreign alliances and married the wealthiest princess in Europe, Isabella, sister of the German Emperor Charles V. In order to reach that summit of power from which he should be able to crush the refractory magnates he deemed it important to regain the crown of Sweden, and at Bogesund he defeated Steen Sture the Younger, who fell in the battle (1520). The latter had had a bitter enemy in the wily archbishop, Gustavus Trolle, who made common cause with Christian, and crowned him king of Sweden. The archbishop thought this a good chance to avenge himself upon his enemies, of Steen Sture's party, and at his instigation Christian executed fifty of the most eminent men in Sweden, among whom were two bishops, thirteen members of the Council of Regency, and many brave citizens.
This was the notorious Carnage of Stockholm. Secure in the thought that the Swedes were now cowed into submission, Christian II. returned to Denmark; but his dastardly deed had an unforeseen effect. A young nobleman, Gustavus Eriksson Wasa, whose father had been beheaded and who had himself been captured by Christian, escaped from his prison and became the deliverer of his country. The common indignation against the tyrant united once more all warring factions; the Danes were everywhere defeated, and Gustavus Wasa became first, regent, and later, king of Sweden (1523). From that time forth, the power of the Danes in Sweden was at an end.
The failure of his plans abroad discredited Christian II. at home. His overweening self-esteem and impetuosity led him to commit rash acts, whereby he gave his enemies an advantage. Also in inaugurating reforms, which would have been beneficial, if they could have been carried into effect, he failed to measure the strength of the opposition which he would be sure to encounter. He issued a decree abolishing serfdom, encouraged commerce and industry, and hoped in the impending struggle to find support among the bourgeoisie and peasants, whose gratitude he had earned. Nor did he in this respect deceive himself. But long oppression had made the people timid, and their support was largely passive, and could not, without energetic leaders, be made to assert itself. The upper estates were yet too powerful. Christian had, by his devotion to Luther's teachings, also added the clergy to the number of his enemies, and by his championship of Dutch and native commerce he had incensed the Hansa. His uncle, Duke Frederick, of Holstein, took advantage of his many blunders, made alluring promises to the nobility, allied himself with the Hansa and began a war against his nephew. Christian summoned an assembly of notables to meet him at Viborg, but the nobles of Jutland, fearing that he might repeat the Carnage of Stockholm, sent him a letter, revoking their allegiance. Christian lost his courage, and instead of summoning the citizens to his support gathered all his treasures and fled to Holland (1523).
Duke Frederick, of Holstein, now ascended the throne under the name of Frederick I. (1524-1533), and by the aid of the Danish nobleman, Vincentz Lunge, soon succeeded in gaining Norway. Sir Vincentz, who was a highly-cultivated but rapacious and unscrupulous man, had married the daughter of the Norse knight, Sir Nils Henriksson, whose wife, Inger Ottesdatter, was related to the old royal house. This remarkable woman, commonly known as Mistress Inger of Oestraat, played a prominent rôle in her day, but, unhappily, threw the weight of her wealth and influence on the side of the oppressors. One of her daughters married the Danish nobleman Erik Ugerup, another Nils Lykke, and a fourth was betrothed by her ambitious mother to a Swedish impostor who pretended to be a son of Steen Sture and a candidate for the Swedish throne.
The doctrines of Luther were at that time being zealously preached in Sweden and Denmark, and were favored by the king and the greater portion of the nobility. In Norway there was no effort made to introduce the Reformation, and the people there remained devoted to the Catholic faith. Christian II. saw in this circumstance a chance of regaining his lost throne. He had previously inclined toward Luther, but he now declared himself the champion of the old faith, arrived in Norway with a fleet (1531), and gained a large number of adherents. But the same incapacity and imprudence, which had wrecked his fortunes before, again precipitated his downfall. In the critical moment, when resolution and courage were required, Christian, as usual, showed himself a poltroon. When the fortress of Akershus, which he was besieging, was relieved by the Lübeckers, and a Danish fleet arrived under the command of Knut Gyldenstjerne, he began to despair and finally betook himself to Denmark under safe-conduct, in order to negotiate with his uncle. On arriving there he was unceremoniously thrown into prison. Frederick I., although he had pledged his royal honor, at the request of the nobility, broke his promise and Christian was held a prisoner until the day of his death (1559).
The Norsemen were severely punished for their alliance with the deposed king, although Frederick I. had promised them immunity, on condition of their returning to their allegiance.
At the death of Frederick I. an interregnum of four years occurred (1533-1537), before a successor was chosen. It was the religious question which had divided Denmark into two hostile camps. Christian, the oldest son of the late king, was devoted to Protestantism, while Hans, the younger, had been brought up in the Catholic faith. The nobles, accordingly, favored the former, and the clergy the latter, while the lower estates desired to reinstate Christian II. in the possession of his throne. In Norway there were but two parties, one headed by Vincentz Lunge, favoring Duke Christian, and a Catholic party, which pinned its hopes upon the imprisoned king. A sudden show of strength was imparted to the latter's faction, when the Lübeckers took up his cause, and their general, Count Christopher of Oldenborg, invaded Denmark, and gave the peasantry a chance to avenge themselves upon their oppressors. This opportunity was eagerly embraced; castles were sacked and destroyed, noblemen murdered, and the wildest atrocities committed. For a while civil war raged in Denmark with all its horrors, and in the presence of this calamity the opposing parties buried their differences and elected Christian III. king (1537-1559). By the aid of King Gustavus in Sweden he succeeded in defeating and expelling Count Christopher, after whom this war is called the Count's Feud. The Norwegians were not disposed to recognize the validity of King Christian's election, concerning which they had not been consulted; and when, after the capitulation of Count Christopher, the cause of Christian II. seemed hopelessly lost, they declared in favor of his son-in-law, Count Palatine Frederick, whose candidacy was supported by the German Emperor. The Danish nobles, headed by Vincentz Lunge, were, of course, adherents of Christian III., while the archbishop, Olaf Engelbrektsson, was the leader of the opposition. At a meeting in Bergen, called for the purpose of electing a king, the people grew furious at the sight of the Danish magnates, attacked them and murdered Sir Vincentz Lunge. Many others were imprisoned and otherwise maltreated. If the Count Palatine had now arrived in Norway and supported his adherents, there might have been a chance of his success. But unhappily he lacked money and was not effectually aided by the emperor. The archbishop had therefore no choice but to offer his allegiance to Christian III. on condition of his respecting the ancient liberties of the land. But the Danish King, though he seemingly acquiesced, had no intention of granting such easy terms. He sailed to Norway with his fleet (1537), and although he met with no opposition, he seemed to think that he had conquered the country and had the right to do with it as he chose. He abolished the Norwegian Council of Regency and henceforth administered the government through a viceroy and a chancellor, both of whom were Danes. The last vestige of Norwegian independence was thus lost, and Norway became a province of Denmark.
Archbishop Olaf, without awaiting the king's arrival, fled to Holland, taking with him the treasures of the cathedral, and died in exile.