Stockholm bloodbath
The Stockholm Bloodbath ( Swedish Stockholms blodbad ; Danish Det Stockholmske Blodbad ) was a series of executions that King Christian II had carried out at his coronation celebrations in Stockholm on November 8th and 9th, 1520.
procedure
Sweden had been a member of the Kalmar Union since 1397 , which was ruled by the Danish kings. However, there were strong independence movements in Sweden, which led to kings being deposed and Sweden being ruled temporarily by imperial administrators . When Christian II succeeded his father Hans on the throne in 1513 , Sweden had broken away from the Union and was ruled by Reichsverweser Sten Sture the Younger .
In 1517 the Swedish Imperial Council deposed the Union-friendly Archbishop of Uppsala Gustaf Trolle . That was the final impetus for Christian II to bring Sweden back under his control by force. In 1520 he defeated Sture in the battle of Bogesund , in which the imperial administrator was so badly wounded that he died shortly afterwards. Then surrendered the followers Sten Sture, and Christian II. Promised full amnesty for all they Christian II. And Union kings and Hans Christian I had done. Stubborn widow Kristina Gyllenstierna and all supporters were assured that they would be allowed to keep their property and all fiefs. In another letter, the city of Stockholm was also granted an amnesty. On November 4th Christian II was crowned King of Sweden in Stockholm. Most of the Stockholm bourgeoisie and the imperial nobility came to the ceremony, which was declared a celebration of reconciliation. Then a three-day festival began, but it turned out to be a trap for many guests.
On November 7, 1520, the reinstated Archbishop Gustav Trolle submitted an indictment in which he demanded the conviction of named persons as heretics . He demanded financial compensation for the demolition of the churches, the thefts from Uppsala Cathedral and the archbishop's court, and compensation for imprisonment for the elderly Jakob Ulfsson , his predecessor as archbishop, and Bishop Otto Olavi Svinhufvud of Västerås . These demands amounted to over a million marks in silver. Trolls also claimed his opponents had forced the priests of the diocese to hold church services, although the Archbishop of Lund had this prohibited by an edict, as Pope Sixtus IV. Sture the excommunication had occupied. A spiritual court was set up the next day. That same day, Sten Sture's followers were found guilty of heresy. The executions began on the same day with the beheading of the bishops of Skara and Strängnäs and culminated the next day. About 85 to 90 supporters of the Sture party were executed, including Gustav Wasa's father Erik Johansson and Joakim Brahe , the husband of Margaret Eriksdotter Wasa , but also members of the Stockholm City Council. The body of the fallen imperial administrator was excavated and burned on a pyre together with the bodies of those executed .
Historical evaluation
Although the external course of events can be reconstructed, it is difficult to determine whether the executions were planned in advance or were improvised. The trial was initiated by Archbishop Trolle, but most likely initiated by King Christian II. Since it was formally a heresy, Christian II did not see himself bound by his promise of amnesty. Danish historian Carl Ferdinand Allen believed that Christian II's bloodbath was planned in advance. The executions would therefore have been a targeted attempt to remove or intimidate possible opponents against the royal power. The Danish historian Caspar Paludan-Müller (1805–1882), on the other hand, said that the bloodbath was not planned, but that Christian II took advantage of the opportunity and was encouraged to do so by his advisors Didrik Slagheck and Jens Andersen Beldenak. The Swedish historian Lauritz Weibull (1863–1960) attributed the main responsibility to Gustaf Trolle. Lars-Olof Larsson (1934–2020) sees Gustaf Trolle's demand for financial compensation as a welcome opportunity for the king to get rid of the Sture party.
One consequence of the Stockholm bloodbath was the uprising of Gustav Wasa , who fled to Dalarna and finally led Sweden out of the Kalmar Union in 1523 (see → Swedish War of Liberation ). In 1523 the Danish and Norwegian nobility rose against Christian II and forced him to flee.
literature
- Lars Ericson Cloud: Stockholm's blodbad. Prisma, Stockholm 2006, ISBN 91-518-4380-3 .
- Lars-Olof Larsson: Kalmarunionens tid. Från drottning Margareta till Kristian II. 2nd edition, Prisma, Stockholm 2003, ISBN 91-518-4217-3 , p. 437 ff.
- Lauritz Weibull: Nordisk historia. Forskningar och undersökningar. Del III: Från Erik den helige till Karl XII. Natur och culture, Lund 1949. ( digitized on runeberg.org )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Weibull (1949) p. 191
- ↑ Ericson Wolke (2006), pp. 130-132.
- ↑ Weibull (1949), p. 202; Ericson Wolke (2006), pp. 136-137
- ↑ Ericson Wolke (2006), pp. 137-143
