THE UNION WITH DENMARK.
It has been said that, during the union with Denmark, Norway had no
history, and this is partly true. The history of the Oldenborg kings,
with their wars, and court intrigues and mistresses, is in no sense the
history of Norway. Nor was the social development of Norway parallel
with that of Denmark, during the reign of these kings. Though oppressed
and politically powerless, the remoter kingdom escaped the utter misery
and degradation which overtook its oppressor. The Danish nobility,
though, like hungry wolves, they consumed the people's substance, did
not succeed in reducing the Norse peasantry to serfdom, as they did
their own. The so-called _Vornedskab_[A] in Denmark was but another name
for serfdom. The nobles, who held the land, in a hundred ways oppressed
and maltreated their peasants; they could sell, though they were not at
liberty to kill them. Denmark, being an elective and not an hereditary
kingdom, afforded the nobility opportunities for continually
strengthening their position, by exacting an increase of their
privileges of each candidate for the throne, before consenting to elect
him. This contract or charter granted by the kings to the nobles
(_Haandfestning_) became a terrible instrument for the oppression of
those estates which were either unrepresented or without influence in
the Royal Council. From having been a body, subordinate to the king, the
council gradually became co-ordinate with him, and at last his superior.
From this state of things it followed that the king needed some
counterbalancing support against its overweening influence, and this
support he sought in Norway. Here the election was a mere form, the
succession being based upon hereditary right. The king could, if he was
minded to redress the grievances of the people, rely upon their loyalty.
Even if he was deaf to their complaints, they were disposed to excuse
him, and hold his councillors responsible for his shortcomings. But, as
a rule, the kings of the house of Oldenborg did pay more attention to
the complaints of their Norse subjects than to those of their own, and
they did this--first, because it was important to them to preserve the
loyalty of the Norsemen; secondly, because the Norsemen, if their
petitions were unheeded, stood ready to take up arms. They knew their
rights from of old, and a continued infringement of them, on the part of
the foreign officials, made sooner or later the war-arrow fly from farm
to farm; and the king was confronted with an armed rebellion. Again and
again the obnoxious magistrates, who had imagined that these sturdy
mountaineers were as meek and long-suffering as their Danish brethren,
were mercilessly beaten, maimed, or killed. Repeatedly the government
was forced to concede to rebels what they had not yielded to
supplicants. Unpopular laws were revoked, oppressive burdens removed,
and promises made of improved administration.
[Footnote A: Prof. J. E. Sars: "Norge under Foreningen med Danmark."
Nordisk Universitets-Tidskrift for 1858 and 1861.]
And yet, in spite of these ameliorating circumstances, Norway's
condition during the Danish rule was miserable. The revenues of the
country were spent in Copenhagen, and the people were heavily taxed to
support a foreign court and a hungry brood of foreign officials, whose
chief interest was to fill their own pockets. Danish nobles married into
the great Norwegian families, and secured, by bribery and intrigue in
Copenhagen, a virtual franchise for unlimited ill-doing. Great estates
were accumulated in the hands of men like Vincentz Lunge, Hartvig
Krummedike, and Hannibal Sehested, and the courts were prostituted to
favor the land-grabbing schemes of noble adventurers. The public spirit
which, in times of old, had jealously watched over the interests of the
realm, had already been weakened by the incipient despotism of the last
national kings; and what there was left of it now gradually expired. A
most striking proof of this is the fact that when, in 1537, Norway lost
the last vestige of her independence, being declared to be a province of
Denmark, the decree was accepted without protest, and caused no
perceptible excitement. So gradually had the change taken place, that no
one was surprised. The same peasants who boldly resented any
encroachment upon their personal rights and killed the magistrate who
overtaxed them, heard without a murmur of the extinction of their
nationality. It has been surmised, as a cause of their lethargy, that
they did not hear of it--at least, not simultaneously, but gradually and
casually, in the course of years; and it is not improbable that the
imperfect means of communication was responsible for their apparent
acquiescence.
No attempt will be made in the following pages to relate the history of
Denmark, except in so far as it directly affected that of Norway, and
the plan of the present work excludes any but the most general
characterization of the social conditions. The story of the Union will,
therefore, be disproportionately short.
The death of Christopher of Bavaria afforded the Swedes an opportunity
to assert again their independence. The common hatred of the Danes
enabled the hostile estates to forget their differences and to unite in
electing Charles Knutsson Peasant king of Sweden. The Norsemen had a
candidate for the throne of Norway in the regent, Sigurd Jonsson, a
descendant of Agnes, the daughter of Haakon Longlegs, but they failed to
support him. One party desired to make common cause with Sweden and
elect Charles Knutsson, while another favored Count Christian of
Oldenborg, who had just been elected in Denmark. This latter party,
supported by the Danish nobles, who already wielded a great influence,
was victorious. King Christian I. (1450-1481) arrived in Norway in the
summer of 1450, and was crowned in the cathedral of Drontheim. At a
meeting of the Council of Regency in Bergen, it was resolved that Norway
was to remain eternally united with Denmark under one king, but that
each kingdom should be free and the other's equal, and should be
governed in accordance with its own laws and by native-born officials.
[Illustration: Christianus. I. _Rex Daniae._]
Christian could not give up the thought of reestablishing the Kalmar
Union, and he therefore waged war for several years with King Charles
Knutsson. In 1452 the latter invaded Norway and conquered Drontheim, but
the commandant in Bergen, Sir Olaf Nilsson, again drove him back across
the frontier. Soon internal dissensions in Sweden enabled Christian to
defeat Charles and expel him from his country (1457); and, in 1458, the
three kingdoms were thus again united. Christian's extortions and
shameless breaches of faith made him, however, soon so detested both
among peasants and nobles, that a rebellion broke out; Charles was
recalled, and, though he did not at once become master of the situation,
he succeeded in keeping the Danes at bay. He died as King of Sweden in
1470. When Christian during the following year made an attempt to
conquer Sweden, he was overwhelmingly beaten at Brunkeberg near
Stockholm by the regent, Steen Sture the Elder.
In Norway Christian broke his promises with the same cynical disregard
as he did in Sweden. Instead of appointing native officials, he allowed
the Danish nobles to plunder as of old, and made no effort to discipline
them. The German merchants in Bergen also became constantly more
insolent in their behavior toward the citizens, whom they drove away
from the wharves and treated like conquered people; but Christian did
not dare to restrain them in their violations of law and order, because
he feared that the Hansa might avenge itself by interfering in his war
with Sweden. Even when the Germans murdered Sir Olaf Nilsson, his
friend, Bishop Thorleif, and sixty other citizens, and burned the
cloister of Munkeliv, the king refrained from punishing them.
Highly characteristic of the way the Danish kings regarded Norway was
Christian's transaction with James III. of Scotland. A marriage was
arranged with the latter and Christian's daughter Margaret, and the
dower was fixed at 60,000 guelden. As the Danish king was unable to pay
this amount, he remitted the tribute due from Scotland for the
Hebrides, pawned the Orkneys for 50,000 guelden and the Shetland Isles
for an additional amount. Thus Norway lost these ancient dependencies;
for it is needless to say that they were never redeemed.
Christian I. was succeeded by his son Hans or Johannes (1483-1513). The
Norsemen, who had now had a sufficient taste of Danish rule, were not
anxious to be governed by him, and a rebellion broke out, which,
however, was short-lived. The Danish nobles, who, by marrying Norwegian
women, could obtain citizenship, had by this time secured a
preponderating power in the Council of Regency, and had small difficulty
in getting their king acknowledged. The Swedes resisted until the year
1497, when Hans defeated Steen Sture's army and was declared king of
Sweden. Three years later, however, he suffered a terrible defeat in
Ditmarsken (1500), whose inhabitants opened the dikes and called in the
ocean as their ally. Four thousand Danes were here slain or drowned, and
enormous treasures were lost. This was the signal for renewed risings
both in Sweden and in Norway. The Norse knight, Sir Knut Alfsson, of
Giske, who derived his descent from the old royal house, united with the
Swedes and defeated Duke Christian, the king's son, in Vestergoetland.
Then he invaded Norway and captured the fortresses Tunsberghus and
Akershus; but was besieged in the latter place by the Danes under Henrik
Krummedike. Seeing small chance of taking the fortress, the Danish
general invited Sir Knut to a conference, under safe-conduct, but foully
slew him and threw his body into the water. The wretched king
apparently approved of this treason, for instead of punishing Sir
Henrik, he heaped honors upon him, and declared the great possessions of
the murdered man to be forfeited to the crown.
Once more the Norsemen attempted to throw off the detested Danish yoke
(1508), under the leadership of the peasant Herluf Hyttefad, but the
country was already too divided between the foreign and the native
interest to afford sufficient support for a successful rising. Duke
Christian came with a Danish army and quelled the rebellion, and
executed its leaders. He did not, however, satisfy himself with this. He
was a believer in radical measures. In order to break the rebellious
temper of the Norsemen, once for all, he captured and murdered as many
of the representatives of the great Norse families, as he could lay hold
of. With atrocious cruelty he raged in Norway until every trace of the
rebellion seemed extinct.
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 role 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 Luebeckers, 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 Luebeckers 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.
[Illustration]