The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa

by Paul Barron Watson

Ever since the fall of Kalmar, Christina's boy had been in Stockholm, under the surveillance of the king. Gustavus for some reason had never liked the boy, and in April, 1527, he sent him to his mother with a reprimand, at the same time urging that he be placed for a period under the quiet influence of some rural town. This incident was the signal for another conspiracy against the crown. This time the aspirant was a gay young hostler, who conceived the desperate project of posing as the regent's son. Relying on his own audacity and on the perennial state of insurrection in the north of Sweden, he went to Dalarne with the story that he had escaped the clutches of Gustavus, whose orders were that he be put to death. He then proceeded from one village to another, extolling the virtues of the young Sten Sture, and urging the people, since they had sworn allegiance to his father, to do the same to him. The support which he received was small. One or two villages were at first deceived, but the majority of them told him flatly that he lied. He therefore followed the course of earlier impostors, and betook himself to Norway. Approaching first the archbishop of Trondhem, he told his story and awoke the archbishop's interest by announcing that Gustavus had fallen from the faith. It being bruited that certain of the church dignitaries were on terms of friendship with this impostor, the archbishop received him kindly, and though he refused to give him shelter, promised he would take no steps to harm him. Gustavus then addressed the archbishop and the Cabinet of Norway, urging that the traitor be returned. He pointed out, moreover, that, Sten Sture having been married only fourteen years before, it was impossible that this traitor was his son. This argument producing no effect, Gustavus prevailed upon Fredrik's emissaries, then in Stockholm, to join him in his appeal. An answer then came back from the archbishop of Trondhem that he had refused to shelter the impostor, though he had promised that he would not harm him. Since then a letter had arrived from Dalarne saying that the Swedish king was dead. The impostor had therefore collected a band of refugees in Norway, and was now once more in Sweden. With this mendacious explanation Gustavus was forced to be content. The fraud had been discovered, and by the close of 1527 the insurrection in Dalarne was practically at an end.[134]

FOOTNOTES:

[122] Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1510-1511, 1517-1588 and 1568-1575; Dipl. Dal., vol. ii. pp. 66-67; Handl. rör. Skand. hist., vol. xxiii. pp. 60-65; Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat., vol. ii. pp. 169-170, 187-188, 196-197, 204-206, 208-213, 218-219, 240-242, 252-257 and 278-285; and Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog og Hist., vol. i. pp. 484-485.

[123] Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1576-1584, 1587-1591, 1593-1596 and 1602-1605; and Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat., vol. iii. pp. 2-3, 13-15, 30-32, 38-39, 61-62, 78-80, 353-355, 364-365, 369-370 and 375-376.

[124] Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1585-1587 and 1589-1593; Dipl. Dal., vol. ii. pp. 82-83 and 89; Handl. rör. Sver. inre förhåll., vol. i. pp. 23-25; Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat., vol. iii. pp. 50-51, 55, 57-58, 59-60, 71, 367-369, 372, 373-374 and 381-384; and Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog og Hist., vol. i. pp. 485-486 and 488-495.

[125] Svart, Gust. I.'s krön., pp. 84-85; Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. i. pp. 1-144 and vol. iv. pp. 1584, 1606-1612, 1614-1626, 1633-1635, 1639-1643 and 1646-1651; Handl. rör. Skand. hist., vol. xv. pp. 5-7, 19-24, 27-29 and 32-47; Handl. till upplysn. af Finl. häfd., vol. ii. p. 158; Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat., vol. iii. pp. 46, 97-98, 110-111, 117, 167-169, 170-172, 188-190, 195-196, 199-200, 203-207, 218-220, 250-251, 256-260, 380-381, 386-393, 394-404, 406-407, 411-414 and 415-416; and Sver. trakt., vol. iv. pp. 104-105.

[126] Svart, Gust. I.'s krön., pp. 112-114; Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. iii. pp. 1075-1083, and vol. iv. pp. 1627-1628; Dipl. Dal., vol. ii. p. 92, and vol. iii. pp. 30-32; Handl. rör. Skand. hist., vol. xvi. pp. 18-20; Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat., vol. iii. pp. 207-208, 220-224, 326-327, 405-406, 408-410 and 419, and vol. iv. pp. 61-62; Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog og Hist., vol. i. pp. 496-513; and Skrift. och handl., vol. ii. pp. 267-268 and 270-271.

[127] Alla riksdag. och möt. besluth, vol. i. pp. 42-56; Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1492 and 1613; Dipl. Dal., vol. ii. pp. 79-80 and Handl. rör. Skand. hist., vol. xiv. pp. 89-90, vol. xv. pp. 29-32, and vol. xvi. pp. 15-16; Handl. rör. Sver. inre förhåll., vol. i. pp. 15-18 and 30-31; Handl. till upplysn. af Finl. häfd., vol. ii. pp. 185-187; Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat., vol. ii. pp. 190-191, 222-223 and 229-231, and vol. iii. pp. 15-16, 18-21, 32-34, 109-110, 122, 173-176, 179-181, 236-243, 248-249, 294-295, 308-309, 324-326 and 416-417; and Svenska riksdagsakt., vol. i. pp. 39-47.

[128] Christ. II.'s arkiv, vol. iv. pp. 1548-1553; Handl. rör. Skand. hist., vol. xvi. pp. 107-113; Handl. til uplysn. af Svenska hist., vol. i. pp. 121-123; Handl. till upplysn. af Finl. häfd., vol. ii. pp. 151-153, 156-157, 161-183, 193-195, 201-205 and 207-209, and vol. viii. pp. 14-18; Kon. Gust. den Förstes registrat., vol. ii. pp. 51-52, 225-226 and 242-244, vol. iii. pp. 132-135, 141-155, 287-288 and 429-430, and vol. iv. pp. 127-129, 147-148, 152-153, 196-198 and 411-413; and Sver. trakt., vol. iv. pp. 74-89.