The exaction of these sums for the ransom from the scaffold of the two men who had done the most good to Sweden did no honor to Gustavus. But he appears to have thought that strong measures were necessary for the purpose of maintaining himself on the throne to which he had been elevated. It was part of his system to strike and to strike hard.
Olaf’s Sermon.
Olaf subsequently resumed his functions as preacher at the cathedral. Was not the permission to reappear in the pulpit an acknowledgment of his innocence? On this occasion he delivered an affecting discourse by which the whole congregation was moved. He understood the lesson which Gustavus had given him, and acknowledged that henceforth resistance to the king’s authority in the church was useless. This resistance might sometimes have been not very intelligent, but it was always sincere and well meant. He could not begin again either to preach the Gospel or to reform Sweden unless he submitted. This, therefore, he did. Before every thing the Gospel must advance. The king did not conceal his intention of governing the Church as well as the State. He said to his subjects, ‘Take care of your houses, your fields, your pastures, your wives and your children, but set no bounds to our authority either in the government or in religion.[[483]] It belongs to us on the part of God, according to the principles of justice and all the laws of nature, as a Christian king to give you rules and commandments; so that if you do not wish to suffer our chastisement and our wrath, you must obey our royal commands in things spiritual as well as in things temporal.’ Olaf had learnt by experience that the wrath of a king is as the roaring of a lion. He had paid his debt to the liberty of the church. Henceforth he bowed his head; he gave himself wholly up to his ministry; to instruct, to console, to confirm, to guide, these tasks were his life, and in the discharge of his duty he won high esteem. As for Anderson, he never recovered from the blow which had fallen upon him. This fine genius was extinguished. He who had done so much towards giving a durable life to the church and to the State went slowly down to the grave, overwhelmed with sorrow. A strange drama, in which the actors, all in the main honest, all friends of justice, were carried away by diverse passions, the passion for power and the passion for liberty, and inflicted on each other terrible blows, instead of advancing together in peace towards the goal which both alike had in view.
Gustavus had won the victory. Olaf was not the only one who gave way. The blow which had fallen upon Olaf alarmed the other evangelical ministers so much that they abandoned the thought of taking any part in the control of the church, and left it all to the king. This pope was satisfied. The mock suns had disappeared one after another, and the sun left alone shone out in all his glory.
George Normann.
Gustavus, having thus broken down what threatened to be an obstacle in his way, took up his position as absolute monarch in the Church and in the State. In 1540 he obtained at Orebro a declaration that the throne should be hereditary; and taking in hand the ecclesiastical government he named a council of religion under the presidency of his superintendent-general, who was strictly speaking minister of worship. The king had engaged, as governor to his sons, George Normann, a Pomeranian gentleman, who had studied successfully at Wittenberg, and had come into Sweden with testimonials from Luther and Melanchthon. ‘He is a man of holy life,’ Luther had written to Gustavus Vasa, ‘modest, sincere, and learned, thoroughly competent to be tutor to a king’s son.[[484]] I recommend him cordially to your majesty.’ Luther, however, aimed at more than the education of the prince royal. Having had an opportunity of conversing with an envoy of the king, Nicholas, a master of arts, he wrote to Gustavus—‘May Christ, who has begun his work by your royal majesty, deign greatly to extend it, so that throughout your kingdom,[[485]] and especially in the cathedral churches, schools may be established for training young men for the evangelical ministry. Herein consists the highest duty of kings who, while engaged in political government, are friendly to Christian piety. In this respect your majesty has the reputation of surpassing all others, illustrious king! and we pray the Lord to govern by his spirit the heart of your majesty.’ Along with George Normann, Luther sent a young scholar, named Michael Agricola, whose learning, genius, and moral character he extols. In conclusion he says—‘I pray that Christ himself may bring forth much fruit by means of these two men; for it is he who through your majesty calls them and assigns them their duties. May the Father of mercies abundantly bless, by his Holy Spirit, all the designs and all the works of your royal majesty.’[[486]] It seems as if Luther had some fear that Gustavus might monopolize too much the government of the Church. In his view it is Christ who governs it, who calls and appoints his laborers.
Gustavus appreciated the abilities and the character of Normann, and saw in him an honorable but yielding man, at whose hands he would not encounter the resistance which Olaf had offered. The bishops gave him some uneasiness, and as he did not venture to suppress them, he resolved to neutralize their influence by placing the protégé of the Wittenberg reformer above all the clergy, including the bishops and even the archbishop. While allowing the episcopal order to subsist for form’s sake, he at the same time introduced a semblance of the presbyterian order. In 1540 he appointed in all the provinces conservators, counsellors of religion, and seniors or elders who under the presidency of the superintendent were to administer ecclesiastical affairs and make regular visitations in the dioceses. No change might be made or even proposed in the Church without the express permission of the king. The opposition of Olaf and other ministers to certain remains of popery was not, however, without effect. Gustavus abolished them. But this semi-episcopal and semi-presbyterian constitution could never be got to work perfectly; and at a later time fortunate circumstances restored to the Swedish Church a more independent standing. Gustavus continued to have at heart the serious fulfilment of the functions of supreme bishop. He made laws for the frequenting of the religious assemblies, for the observance of the rules prescribing a decorous behavior in the church, for the suppression of immorality both among the laity and among the ecclesiastics, for the improvement of teaching and for the spread of civilization and culture among the people. Desirous of seeing the extension of the kingdom of God, he sent missionaries into Lapland. In Sweden likewise he set the inspired Word above every thing. ‘Thou doest well,’ he wrote to one of his sons, ‘to read the writings of the ancients and to see how the world was then governed; but do not give these the preference over the Word of God. In this is found true instruction and reasonable morals; and from it we learn the best mode of governing.’
Excuses For Severity.
This zeal for good did not prevent him from hitting hard when he thought he saw any thing amiss. He could be calm, gentle, and tolerant, but also earnest, terrible, and swift as a thunderbolt. If he perceived any opposition he struck energetically. ‘It is not right,’ he said one day, ‘that the bishop of Strengnaes should dwell in a stone house. It appears to me that a wooden house might suffice for a servant of him who made himself poor.’ The bishop boldly answered—‘It is doubtless in the same chapter of Holy Scripture that it is said that to the king tithe ought to be paid.’ The bishop’s reply having offended the king, he was not slow to show his displeasure. The marriage of the bishop was at this time being celebrated. It was his wedding-day, and there was a large company and a grand feast in the stone house. Gustavus unhesitatingly sent his sergeants in the very midst of the rejoicings, with orders to carry off the bishop from the marriage table, paying no regard to the general alarm, and he cast him into prison. His benefice was given to another. The contemporaries of Gustavus might reproach him, and with good reason, for his severity; and yet this seems moderation in comparison with the ways of Henry VIII., Mary Tudor, Francis I., Henry II., Charles IX., and with those of his predecessor Christian II. ‘I am called,’ he said, ‘a harsh monarch; but the days will come when I shall be regretted.’[[487]] He had indeed other qualities which made people forget his severity. The beauty of his person predisposed men in his favor, and the eloquence of his speech carried away all with whom he had to do.
But there are other considerations which although they do not justify his rigorous measures, explain them.