INTERREGNUM—CIVIL AND FOREIGN WAR.
(1533.)
[Sidenote: Prince Christian.]
As soon as the wise Frederick had been taken from his people, the
conflict between the two great religious parties again began. The
bishops no sooner heard of his death than they lifted up their heads,
and held frequent conferences together. Under the late king Roman
Catholicism was moving at a slow pace to its fall; now they must save
it, they thought; and for this purpose, taking advantage of the election
which must be held after the death of the king for the appointment of a
successor, they wished at all cost to exclude from the throne his eldest
son Christian, whose attachment to the Reformation was well known; to
lengthen out the interregnum as much as possible; and meanwhile to put
forth all their efforts to place on the throne Prince John, a child ten
years old,[329] of whom they would make a good Roman Catholic. During
his minority it would not be difficult for the bishops to suppress the
Reformation. The scheme was clever and bold, but not so easy of
execution as some thought. A large number of the towns and the greater
part of the nobility professed the evangelical faith. But the bishops
were still in the enjoyment of all their privileges; and they flattered
themselves that they should rise to power and get the laws repealed
which under the late king had given religious liberty to the
Protestants.
Prince Christian, in conformity with the rules of succession, had
assumed the government of the duchies of Holstein and Schleswig for
himself and his brothers under age. He had not been able to do the same
in Denmark. But foreseeing the intrigues of the clerical party, he had
sent to Copenhagen the Vice-Chancellor, Johan Friis, and two
councillors, empowered to demand the assembling of an electoral Diet to
name a successor to Frederick, and to support his own interests. It
seemed as if he was to be disappointed in his hopes. His deputies were
coldly received: there was no hurry to give an answer, and it was agreed
that he should not be invited to the Diet. Indeed, the Vice-Chancellor
heard that young Duke John, the bishops’ candidate, had a very good
chance. He wrote immediately to his master. ‘If God and the Diet,’ was
the noble reply of the eldest son, ‘will confer the crown on my young
brother, I do not oppose it. All that I ask is that this important
matter may be settled without delay.’ Christian saw the clergy leagued
against him; but he believed from the bottom of his heart that
evangelical truth would triumph over the bishops.
[Sidenote: The Electoral Diet.]
On St. John’s Day, 1533, the Diet opened. The prelates went to it,
determined to do their utmost to crush evangelical religion, and to
re-establish everywhere the old pontifical system.[330] Hardly had the
assembly constituted itself when the bishops began the work. Ove Bilde,
the most learned and most highly esteemed of their number, was
apparently the first speaker. The clergy demanded that the election of
the king should be deferred to another time. In their name the speaker
claimed the entire restitution of churches, convents, and estates, in
one word, of every thing that Catholicism had lost; and he violently
inveighed against those whom he called the ministers of the new religion
and against those who supported them.[331] At the same time he exalted
the mass as being the very essence of the Christian religion; depicted
in strong colors the deplorable state to which, he said, the priests and
the monks were reduced; pointed to the heretics establishing themselves
in the monasteries which the holy men and the consecrated virgins had
been compelled to abandon; and described the excesses of the people in
casting down the images of the saints and breaking the sacramental
vessels. ‘The authority of the bishops is vilified,’[332] said he;
‘there are but few of the faithful who care for the services and still
fewer who dread the censure of the Church; while the number of those who
join the Lutherans is increasing day by day. Permit not, the bishops
implore you, this holy religion, which has formed part of your very life
from infancy, to be covered with opprobrium. Let the thunderbolts of
excommunication strike those who have fallen into heresy, that they may
feel the necessity of returning to their mother’s bosom, and let more
terrible penalties fall on those who are obstinately impenitent.’[333]
The evangelical members of the Diet listened with amazement to this
speech; and the gravity of the crisis caused them the greatest
perplexity.[334] It was not for the Gospel that they feared; but they
knew that if they yielded to the bishops, there would be an energetic
opposition. The people would rise and the nobles themselves would take
up arms if need were. Magnus Gjoë, the leading champion of Reform in the
Diet, rose and said—‘Conscript fathers and venerable bishops, let us not
draw down fresh calamities on the realm, which is already too sick.
Religion is a holy thing, and neither its origin nor its end lies within
the power of any man. If we unjustly seize its rights, God himself will
be its avenger. Liberty has been given to religion by the will of the
king, and this liberty cannot be taken away without the king’s
consent.’[335]
The bishops, who fully understood the importance of the moment, remained
deaf to all appeals. United with the laymen who had continued faithful
to them, they would be able to carry the vote. Their clamor increased.
The friends of the Reformation, therefore, judged it expedient to grant
part of their demands in order to save the vote. They allowed them to
draw up the compact. This seems an enormous concession, but
constitutional forms were not as yet very fully developed; and the Diet
reserved to itself the power either of amending the document or even of
rejecting it, if it did not suit it. The bishops made large use of the
power accorded to them. They stipulated, amongst other things, that they
should fulfil their functions without having to give account to any but
God alone; that every priest who should resist them should be
prosecuted; that the tithes should be restored to ecclesiastics, and
that whosoever refused to pay them should be summoned before the courts;
that the cathedrals, convents, churches, and hospitals should be given
up to the Roman clergy; and that in the next Diet a decision should be
formed respecting the restitution of such of these houses as had been
taken away from them. Nothing was stipulated about the rights of the
evangelical Church. This might be deprived of every thing, and indeed
they were already taking much from it.
The bishops brought this fatal project before the Diet and required the
members to set their seals to it. The evangelicals heard it with
astonishment, and the faithful Magnus Gjoë with the deepest emotion. He
spoke thus: ‘The bishops have inserted in this compact some provisions
which are in their favor and contrary to the decisions of the Reichstag;
and they have suppressed others which were favorable to the
evangelicals.’ Indignant at this fraud, the energetic Gjoë declared that
he would not set his seal to the instrument. Eric Baner did the same.
But the other Protestant members signed it, some of them from excessive
prudence which degenerated into weakness, others under the impression
that by granting to the Catholics what the latter regarded as necessary
to their Church, they were only pursuing the plan of freedom and balance
between the two confessions which the late king had designed. The
instrument, which was immediately published, had the force of law in the
kingdom.[336]
[Sidenote: Adjournment Of The Election.]
The bishops, proud of this first victory, believed that a second would
be easily won, and they unmasked their batteries. ‘Prince Christian,’
they said, ‘was born long before his father was king; he was educated
abroad; he is not a Dane. Duke John is the true heir, for he was born in
Denmark, and at a time when his father, the king, was already on the
throne.’ The lay senators, perceiving the injustice of this proposal,
and seeing to what it must come, took courage. They had made ample
concession on matters of religion; they were determined to make none on
matters of state. ‘The kingdom,’ said they, ‘is in a critical situation;
the partisans of Christian II. are threatening another invasion for the
purpose of liberating and reinstating on the throne this prince, whose
vindictive, violent, and cruel character we have so much reason to
dread. It is not wise at this critical moment to take a child for our
king. When a storm is gathering the helm is not placed in weak hands.
The wisdom, the valor, the experience of the eldest son of the deceased
king, and his travels to foreign courts, all mark him out for the choice
of the senate.’ The struggle between the two parties was very sharp. The
leaders assembled at Copenhagen as many of their respective adherents as
they could induce to leave their country homes. The citizens of the
capital began to murmur very loudly at the bishops. The latter were
intimidated and resorted to stratagem. Knowing that Norway was devoted
to Catholicism, they alleged that it was impossible to proceed with the
election without the deputies of that kingdom. Now as these deputies
could not be ready before the winter, the election was put off for a
year. The clergy vowed to make good use of this interval. Gjoë and Baner
contended against a resolution which appeared to them to be fraught with
danger. But the majority gave their decision in favor of the delay, and
a council of regency was appointed. The two energetic champions of the
Reformation still refused to affix their seals to the compact, and
quitted Copenhagen. Many lay deputies followed them; three only of their
number signed the instrument.[337]
The bishops, proud of their victory, were eager to profit by it. Tausen
was in their view the mainstay of reform; if they could but succeed in
getting rid of him, the evangelical work, they thought, would come to
nothing.[338] The reformer was cited to appear in the assembly hall of
the magistrature of Copenhagen. The bishops were present as his
accusers; the marshal of the kingdom, and some of the nobles and
magistrates who were devoted to them, were to be his judges.
Condemnation appeared to be inevitable. Was the blood of the reformers
about to be shed in Denmark as it had been in France, in the
Netherlands, in England and elsewhere? Tausen made his appearance before
his judges with calmness. ‘You are accused,’ they said to him, ‘of
having called the bishops tyrants and the priests idle bellies, and this
in a book published by you; of having taken possession of most of the
churches of Copenhagen; and of having attacked the sacrament of the
altar, both by word of mouth and in writing.’ ‘I have done nothing,’
said Tausen, ‘except for the honor of God and the salvation of souls.’
Then he cleared himself of the charges brought against him; but all was
useless. Tausen was condemned to death, in conformity with the canon
law, and orders were given that the mass should be re-established in all
the churches. The thought of Tausen being put to death, and that in the
midst of the population of Copenhagen, terrified the senators, the
laity, and the magistrates of the town. They conjured the bishops not to
set before the people the spectacle of an execution which must
inevitably excite indignation and, perhaps, occasion a revolt.[339] They
succeeded ultimately in getting the capital sentence commuted into
banishment, with a prohibition to preach, _to write books_, or to
publish them.
[Sidenote: Popular Rising At Copenhagen.]
Meanwhile, the report had got into circulation among the townsmen that
their beloved preacher had been taken to the town-hall, had there been
accused, put upon his trial, and condemned. Excitement was universal.
Every one left his business, the tradesman his shop, the merchant his
counting-house, and the artisan his workshop. They all hastened to the
square, asking questions of one another, and giving replies—‘Yes, the
enemies of evangelical doctrine have dragged our minister before the
court.’ They were filled with indignation, they murmured, they filled
the air with their outcries.[340] A party of them entered the court
where Tausen was. They exclaimed—‘Give him back to us!‘[341] and they
declared that if the priests made any attempt on the free preaching of
the Gospel, they should not do so with impunity. The tumult was
increasing in the square. The judges could hear the cries of the people
in arms demanding again and again their faithful pastor. The court in
alarm implored the lay members of the Diet to go and pacify the crowd.
They went, and as soon as they made their appearance the multitude was
silent. ‘Fear not,’ said the deputies, ‘Tausen is in no danger; we have
interceded in his behalf, and the churchmen have yielded. There is no
intention to prohibit evangelical worship. Go back, therefore, quietly
to your houses and attend to your business.[342] The Diet will take care
that nothing be done against religion.’ But these words did not satisfy
the townsmen; they could not trust the priests; they wanted their pious
pastor restored to them, and they charged the deputies who spoke to them
with connivance with the enemies of the faith.
They were in reality deceiving the people, for if Tausen was not going
to be taken from them by death he was to be so by banishment.
This persistent demand on the part of the people and their accusations
provoked the deputies of the bishops; the latter raised their voices and
threatened with severe punishment those who charged them with weakness.
There was so much noise that the multitude could not catch their words;
but their features, their gestures, and the sound of their voices all
showed that the delegates were angry. The people got excited in their
turn; they did not mean to be trifled with. Those who bore arms
brandished them; on all sides threats and outcries resounded. ‘Give us
back our pastor,’ said they, ‘or we will burst open the doors.’[343] The
delegates went in again and delivered to the court the message from the
crowd. Fear then did what justice had failed to do; and the persecutors
turning to Tausen, who had remained calm, in complete self-surrender to
the Divine will, announced to him that he was discharged. The reformer
passed out of the court, and the people, at the sight of the shepherd
whom they loved, shouted for joy.
[Sidenote: Bishop Roennov Threatened.]
As soon as the popular excitement had apparently subsided, the bishops
and their adherents determined to quit the place in which they were
assembled. Pale and trembling, says a historian, they regained their
homes, compelled on their way thither to pass through the groups of
people who still thronged the neighboring streets. Each of them
extricated himself more or less successfully, and pursued his path with
more or less peace of mind according to the degree of opposition which
he had shown to the Reformation. Roennov, bishop of Roeskilde, was
especially an object of hatred to the townsmen of Copenhagen, who were
better acquainted with him than with the others, because he was their
own bishop. When he made his appearance fierce glances were turned on
him. Violent, hot-headed men followed him, demanding his life as an
expiation for the crime of the priests. Their hands were already raised
threateningly against the bishop. Tausen, who was not far off, perceived
this, and instantly hastening up placed his own person between Roennov
and these misled men, whom he entreated not to give themselves up to
disgraceful acts of violence. His singular gentleness succeeded at
length in pacifying this excited crowd, which was like a sea driven
about by the wind.[344] He was not content with this. He would not leave
the prelate, but desirous of protecting him from other attacks,
accompanied him as far as his palace gate. Roennov, whose life he had
saved, gave him his hand and thanked him for the signal service he had
just done him. This Christian act touched the heart of the bishop. The
violence of the people had provoked him; but the charity of Tausen
softened him, and even changed for a time the course of his thoughts and
of his life.
Although the bishops, in the presence of danger, had yielded for the
moment, they nevertheless intended that the sentence against Tausen
should be carried out. He must leave Copenhagen. Roennov had an estate
called Bistrup, near Roeskilde, and to this place Tausen withdrew. He
was thus within reach of Copenhagen and was able to guide his flock. The
bishop consented to this choice of abode, perhaps even suggested it to
his deliverer. In order that the progress of the Reformation might not
be arrested in Copenhagen, and that the people might not rise in revolt
again, it was essential not only that friendly relations should be
established between Roennov and Tausen, the two bishops of the town, but
further that the prelate should place no obstacle in the way of the
preaching of the Gospel in the capital of the kingdom. Gjoë, Baner, the
bishop of Odensee, Gyldenstern, all devoted to the Gospel, earnestly
desired it; but the bishop entertained prejudices against them which
could not but prevent him from making any concession to them. It is well
known how useful the influence of Christian women has often been in the
church, and particularly how much they contributed to the establishment
of Christianity among the northern nations. A fresh instance of this
beneficial influence occurred at this time. Gjoë had a daughter named
Brigitta, of lively piety, of noble character, and of great beauty, who
afterwards became the wife of the naval hero, the celebrated Admiral
Herluf Troll. She had had some intercourse with the bishop, perhaps for
charitable objects. It was alleged, but erroneously as it seems, that
Roennov, before he had taken holy orders and while he was living at the
court, had met Brigitta at the sumptuous entertainments of which she was
the fairest ornament, and had wished to marry her. However this may be,
the beautiful and Christian Scandinavian undertook to get the bishop’s
sanction to the free preaching of the Gospel in the capital of the
kingdom, as it had been under the late king. Brigitta succeeded in this
important negotiation. Tausen pledged himself not to allow himself in
his preaching any insult against the Catholic priests, to oppose any
conspiracy that might be formed against the bishop and his clergy, to
defend Roennov against those who censured him for his tolerance, and in
all things to seek after the real good of the Church. The bishop on his
part gave Tausen permission to return to Copenhagen and to resume his
functions. It is clear that the admirable conduct of Tausen towards him,
and likewise a secret sense of the value of the truth, were the real
motives which prompted the bishop to this step. But the friends of the
priests, affecting to see something else in the case, were indignant
with the prelate, and declared sarcastically that the power of beauty
had led him to betray the cause of the faith. This arrangement had
important consequences. Brigitta was the worthy peer of her namesake, of
whose marvellous prophecy the monk Peter wrote, and whom Rome placed
among the saints.[345]
[Sidenote: Persecution Of Evangelicals.]
The other bishops were far from following the example of their
colleague. Filled with fear by the threats of the excited people, they
made haste to quit the capital in order to take their revenge in the
provinces and to stifle heresy. In the name of the Diet they promulgated
an edict enjoining that, on a day fixed, all the Lutheran preachers
should be removed from their churches, thrown into prison or banished,
and that Catholic priests should be everywhere settled in their places.
In addition to this, confiscation and death were pronounced against all
Danes who should continue to profess the Lutheran doctrine.[346] A
general persecution immediately began. The archbishop of Lund and the
bishops imprisoned or expelled all the evangelicals who fell into their
hands. A great number of the faithful succeeded in concealing
themselves. At Viborg, however, so numerous were the evangelicals that
the archbishop was obliged to give up the thought of reducing them to
submission, even by force of arms. At Copenhagen, the feeble and
vacillating bishop Roennov, overwhelmed with reproaches by his
colleagues, again turned about at the mercy of the wind, and undertook
likewise to expel the ministers and oppress the faithful. But a brave
burgess, Peter Smid, infused courage into his fellow-citizens and
energetically resisted the persecution; and the bishop recollecting the
disturbance of which, but for Tausen, he would have been the victim,
abandoned his attempt.
It was to the honor of Scandinavia that these religious struggles were
not disgraced by bloodshed, as was the case in the rest of Europe.
Wormorsen likewise made an attempt at reconciliation and peace by
publishing an evangelical apology addressed to the Diet and the bishops.
In this tract he spoke respectfully of the archbishop of Lund,
complaining at the same time of the canons who made a boast of confining
themselves to expelling the pastors instead of burning them alive. The
evangelical minister declared that his colleagues and himself would
render obedience to the Diet and to the bishops in every thing which was
not contrary to the Word of God. But this appeal remained without
effect.[347]
The bishops, thinking their victory secure, at length undertook to
justify their silence in the Diet of 1530, and to refute the apology
which the evangelical ministers had then presented. Eliæ was entrusted
with the drawing up of the plea. ‘These new preachers,’ said the
prelates, ‘transform the Christian Church and give it a new shape. The
predecessors of Luther are Eunomius, Manichæus, Jovinianus, Vigilantius,
the Waldenses, Wycliffe, Hus, and others of the same species, all
damnable heretics. Consider how many princes, nobles, kingdoms,
countries and towns have loyally adhered to the true Christian faith.
You are called to make your choice between these Catholic nobles and
excommunicated heretics. Decide for yourselves; make use in this case of
the same understanding which you apply to the things of this
world.’[348]
The Protestants on their part were not backward. They discharged, volley
after volley, their polemical pamphlets, sometimes theological,
sometimes popular, after the manner of Ulrich von Hutten or Hans Sachs.
Imaginations were stimulated, tempers were heated, and the country
swarmed with treatises, parables, and sarcastic sayings. While Peter
Larssen, professor at Malmoe, made a serious attack on ‘the sentence of
banishment against the ministers of the Word of God,’ a _Dialogue on the
Mass_ represented it as a sick man abandoned by his physicians and
breathing his last. A satirical piece on _superstitious vigils_ exposed
the notorious impositions of the priests. _One Hundred and Seventy
Questions_, with answers, elucidated various points of Christian
doctrine. _A Conversation between Peter Smid and Adzer Bauer_, which was
not wanting in wit, stigmatized purgatory, confession, feast-days, holy
water, tapers and other abuses of the papal church. Finally, a _Dance of
Death_, one of the favorite themes of the sixteenth century, brought on
the stage terrified popes, bishops, and canons, all trembling at the
sight of Death, while the evangelical ministers joyfully went forward to
meet him.[349]
Certain grave occurrences fraught with danger could not but have a
greater influence than these satires in putting an end to the strife and
in giving Denmark a new impulse.
[Sidenote: Invasion Of The Lubeckers.]
Lübeck, one of the Hanse Towns, at this time a rich and powerful place,
was discontented with the Danish government because it did not grant to
its ships sufficiently exclusive privileges. Desirous of profiting by
the weakness which was the consequence of the interregnum, the Lübeckers
resolved, in 1534, to invade the kingdom, under the pretext of
reinstating Christian II. on the throne. A leader must be found, and
Lübeck applied to the Count of Oldenburg, a kinsman of the unfortunate
prisoner, an able man, ready in action, ambitious, and a zealous
Protestant, though little worthy of the name. Christian had still
numerous partisans, and his restoration to the throne appeared to the
Danes to be a way of escape from a long and troublous interregnum. The
emperor, Christian’s brother-in-law, and the king of England favored the
enterprise. The Count of Oldenburg raised troops in Germany, invaded
Holstein, and then returning to Lübeck, embarked on board a fleet of
twenty-one vessels, well supplied by the Lübeckers with men and
munitions of war, and set sail for Denmark, which at this time had no
king, no army, and hardly a council. He made a descent on Zealand, took
possession of Roeskilde, deposed Bishop Roennov, the friend of King
Frederick and of his son, and appointed in his stead Archbishop Troll,
the faithful servant of Christian II. After making himself master of the
Sound, he marched on Copenhagen which opened its gates to him;
subjugated the whole of Zealand, and convoked at Ringsted a Diet the
members of which took the oath of allegiance to Christian II.
Oldenburg’s profession of Protestantism drew the townsmen to his side.
It was otherwise with the nobility, who had caused Christian to be put
in prison and now trembled at the thought of his liberation. The Lords
of the kingdom, therefore, in alarm, shut themselves up in their
castles. Oldenburg dispatched troops against them, an excited mob
followed, and on reaching any of these aristocratic abodes, gave
themselves up to brutal rage. Many of the nobles found themselves
compelled by violence to join the invader, and they stammered out with
trembling an oath of fidelity to Christian, their cruel and formidable
foe. Roennov, who played the weathercock in politics as well as in
religion, was among the first to take the oath; and his bishopric was
restored to him. The Count gave Troll, by way of compensation, the
bishopric of Fionia. The people of Malmoe, persuaded by the Lübeckers,
had already placed the government under arrest, and had demolished the
citadel built by Frederick. Oldenburg crossed the Sound, entered
Scandinavia, and went with a numerous escort of troops and of people to
Liber hill, near the primatial town of Lund, where the kings of Denmark
were accustomed to receive the homage of their States. He called upon
the crowd around him to acknowledge Christian II. They responded with
joyous acclamations. Ere long, the islands of Moen, Falster, Laaland and
Langeland were conquered, and Oldenburg was master of the greater part
of Denmark.[350]
[Sidenote: Escape Of The King’s Friends.]
Meanwhile, the friends of the late king and of the Reformation, and
particularly the Grand Master of the kingdom, the noble Magnus Gjoë, had
betaken themselves to Jutland, where they would be nearer to Frederick’s
eldest son. They were followed by the nobles, the bishops, and all the
enemies of Christian II., who in a state of despair made their escape
furtively into Jutland, a district remote from the storm which was
ravaging the island of Zealand and terrified them. The young duke John,
no longer feeling himself safe in Fionia, assumed the guise of a
peasant, his whole suite doing the same, and thus rapidly crossed the
Little Belt. The feeble Roennov, once more facing about as he so often
did, likewise reached Jutland in the suite of the bishops his friends.
Such members of the Diet as were present in Jutland, being determined to
provide for the safety of the realm by energetic measures, assembled
first at Skanderborg, on the lake of Mos, a little below Aarhuus; and
afterwards at Rye, several leagues distant, on the edge of a forest near
the lake of Juul. A multitude of the gentry, of the townsmen, and of
peasants had quitted their castles, their shops, and their rye fields,
that they might sooner learn what this assembly would resolve on. The
bishops, concerned only about their own power, had obstinately insisted
on having a child for king; and a factious spirit had clouded the
judgment of the nobles. But now the danger was displayed in all its
vastness, the veil was rent, the revolt would inevitably spread in
Jutland, and then it would be all up with the ancient kingdom, which
would fall a prey to greedy tradesmen and to a furious populace, and
would be given over to the sanguinary revenges of an implacable king.
What might not the terrible author of the massacre at Stockholm be
expected to do, if the Lübeckers should rescue him from the dungeon
which shut him in, and should place him on the throne?[351]
In crises of this kind there is one man predestined to save his
countrymen. In this case it was the noble Magnus Gjoë. He rose and
argued before the Diet that if the crown had been unhesitatingly given
to the eldest son of the deceased king, the great calamities which now
overwhelmed the kingdom would have been averted. He added that the only
means of saving it at this hour was a speedy recourse to that prince.
‘Most honorable lords,’ said he, ‘the salvation of our country now
depends upon the resolution which you are about to adopt.’ All the lay
members applauded this speech and proposed that without delay they
should call the duke to the throne of his father. But the prelates were
indifferent to any calamities but their own. ‘The safety of the Church,’
they said, ‘forbids our making choice of a heretical prince.’ Violent
debates now began. It was to no purpose that representations were made
to the priests that they were risking the sacrifice of the country to
their idle chimeras; their obstinacy only grew stronger.
While there was one assembly within the hall, there was a far more
numerous one outside. An immense crowd surrounded the Diet and waited
impatiently to see whether the country was to be saved or lost. They
pressed about the doors to learn the result of the deliberations and
wondered that they did not come to an end. Ere long, suspecting what
happened, these impatient men made their way into the hall and exclaimed
that it would not do to wait till the enemy fell upon those who were
still able to defend their country before appointing the only leader who
could save them. They asserted that the caprice of the bishops had
already cost the loss of half the kingdom, and declared that if the duke
was not that instant elected, those who opposed it should pay dear for
their resistance. The prelates began to tremble. They sat silent,
gloomy, and irresolute. Dread, however, of the tyrant’s return brought
them to a decision. They stammered out some excuses, they spoke of their
zeal for religion, and they added that if the nobles were determined to
elect the duke, they had only to do so on their own responsibility; that
as for themselves they would be content with the receipt of their tithes
and the maintenance of their own privileges and those of their Church.
No sooner had they spoken than the young Christian was proclaimed king
by the Diet; and the multitudes within and without the hall responded to
the announcement of this election with acclamations of joy. It was on
the 4th July, 1534, that this important step was taken.
Footnote 329:
The author appears to have written _deux ans_, but owing to the rather
hieroglyphic character of his handwriting, we can almost as well read
_dix_ as _deux_. Raumer (ii. p. 148) says:—‘Johann erst zwölf jahre
alt,’ child of twelve years: but this must be a mistake, because
Frederick reigned from 1523 to 1533, and John was born after the
accession of his father. See also p. 199 infra. (Editor.)
Footnote 330:
‘Ut religio evangelica . . opprimeretur et vetus illa restitueretur
sacrorum pontificiorum ratio.’—Gerdesius, _Ann._ iii. p. 391.
Footnote 331:
‘Invecti graviter in ministros novæ religionis.’—_Ibid._ p. 392.
Footnote 332:
‘Ita enim eviluisse antistitum auctoritatem.’—_Ibid._ p. 393.
Footnote 333:
‘Aliisque pœnis atrocioribus in pervicaces
animadvertendum.’—Gerdesius, _Ann._ iii. p. 393.
Footnote 334:
‘Magnitudine periculi vehementer sunt turbati.’—_Ibid._
Footnote 335:
‘Partam ei libertatem rege volente, non nisi rege in contrarium
sciscente puto eripi posse.’—_Ibid._ p. 394.
Footnote 336:
‘Multa antistitum astu erant interpolata.’—Gerdesius, _Ann._ iii. p.
394. Munter, _Kirchengeschichte_, iv. p. 394. Pontoppidan, p. 263.
Footnote 337:
_Danske Magazin_, iii. p. 106. Munter, _Kirchengeschichte_, iv. p.
399. Gerdesius, _Ann._ iii. p. 395.
Footnote 338:
‘Cum Taussanus in pontificiorum oculis sudes esset,’ &c.—_Ibid._
Footnote 339:
‘At senatores et reliqui magistratus plebeii _Taussani_ apud
antistites _supplicium_ deprecantur.’—Gerdesius, _Ann._ ii. p. 397.
Footnote 340:
‘Plebs forum tumultu ac clamoribus implet; indignari enim et
fremere.’—Gerdesius, _Ann._ iii. p. 397.
Footnote 341:
‘Audiebantur voces restitui Taussanum flagitantium.’—_Ibid._
Footnote 342:
‘Irent igitur pacati domum, et res suas agerent.’—_Ibid._, p. 398.
Footnote 343:
‘Inclamant exhibendum Taussanum aut se fores molituros.’—Gerdesius,
_Ann._ iii. p. 398.
Footnote 344:
‘Taussani mansuetudo turbidos compescuit.’—Gerdesius, _Ann._ iii. p.
398.
Footnote 345:
Huitfield, _Dän. Chronik_, ii. p. 1402 _et seq._ Munter,
_Kirchengeschichte_, iii. p. 406 _et seq._ Gerdesius, _Ann._ iii. p.
398.
Footnote 346:
‘Edita amissionem vitæ et bonorum profitentibus Lutheri doctrinam
denunciantia.’ (Chytræi _Saxonia_, lib. xiv. p. 362; Munter,
_Kirchengeschicte_, iii. p. 408.)
Footnote 347:
Munter, _Kirchengeschichte_, iii. p. 411.
Footnote 348:
Munter, _Kirchengeschichte_, iii. pp. 414, 415, 429; Gerdesius, _Ann._
ii. p. 400.
Footnote 349:
_Expostulatio adversus exilii sententiam._—_Dialogus missæ papisticæ
extremum spiritum trahentis._—_De vigiliis superstitiosis._—_Centum et
septuaginta quæstiones, &c. &c._—Munter, _Kirchengeschichte_, iii. p.
431.
Footnote 350:
_Dänske Magazin_, iii. p. 72. Mallet, _Hist. de Danemark_, iv. p. 201.
Munter, _Kirchengeschichte_, iii. p. 435.
Footnote 351:
Hamelman, _Oldenburgische Chronik_, p. 327. Mallet, _Hist. de
Danemark_, iv. p. 201.