RELIGIOUS DISCORD AND CIVIL WAR. 1524-1525.
Riot of the Anabaptists.--Contest between Olaus Petri and Peder
Galle.--Marriage of Petri.--Conspiracy of Norby; of Christina
Gyllenstjerna; of Mehlen; of Sunnanvaeder.--Attitude of Fredrik to
Gustavus.--Proposition of Gustavus to resign the Crown.--Norby's
Incursion into Bleking.--Surrender of Visby.--Flight of
Mehlen.--Fall of Kalmar.
By the autumn of 1524 the whole of Sweden was in a ferment of
theological dispute. When Gustavus returned from the congress of Malmoe
to the capital, he found the people in a wild frenzy of religious zeal.
The turmoil was occasioned mainly by the efforts of two Dutchmen,
Melchior and Knipperdolling, who had renounced their respective callings
as furrier and huckster to spread abroad the teachings of a new
religious sect. The history of this strange movement has been so often
told that it is hardly necessary to waste much time upon it here. It
originated doubtless in the stimulus that Luther's preaching had given
to religious thought. As so frequently occurs, the very enthusiasm which
the Reformers felt for things divine led them to disregard their reason
and give their passions undivided sway. One of the chronicles puts it:
"Wherever the Almighty builds a church, the Devil comes and builds a
chapel by its side." The thing that most distinguished these weird
Dutchmen was their communistic views. They taught that, since we all
were equal in the eyes of God, we should all be equal likewise in the
eyes of men, that temporal government along with class distinctions of
every kind should be abolished, and that Christians should indulge in
absolute community of goods. In religious matters, too, they had
peculiar views, believing that only adults should receive baptism, and
that all adults who had been baptized in infancy should be baptized
again. By reason of this tenet they were known as Anabaptists. Their
first appearance in the Swedish capital occurred at a moment when the
monarch was away. In that, at any rate, they manifested sense. The
capital was all agog with Luther's doctrines, and everything that bore
the stamp of novelty was listened to with joy. Melchior and
Knipperdolling were received with open arms, the pulpits were placed at
their disposal, and men and women flocked in swarms to hear them. The
town authorities raised no opposition, believing the influence of these
teachers would be good. In a short time, however, they were undeceived.
The contagion spread like wildfire through the town, and every other
citizen began to preach. Churches, monasteries, and chapels were filled
from morn till eve, and pulpits resounded with doctrines of the most
inflammatory kind. All government was set at naught, and every effort to
stay the tempest merely added to its force. Finally these fanatics made
war upon the altars, throwing down statues and pictures, and piling the
fragments in huge heaps about the town. They dashed about like maniacs,
a witness writes, not knowing what they did. How far their madness
would have led them, it is idle to conceive. Gustavus returned to
Stockholm while the delirium was at fever heat, and his presence in an
instant checked its course. He called the leaders of the riot before
him, and demanded sharply if this raving lunacy seemed to them religion.
They mumbled some incoherent answer, and, the fury having spent its
force, most of them were reprimanded and discharged. Melchior with one
or two others was kept in jail awhile, and then sent back to Holland,
with orders not to return to Sweden on pain of death. Some ten years
later Melchior was executed along with Knipperdolling for sharing in the
famous riot of the Anabaptist sect in Muenster.[105]
The hurricane had swept past Stockholm and was gone, but evils of every
kind existed to attest its force. Among the greatest sufferers from this
fanaticism were the partisans of Luther. Their attitude to the rioters
had at first been doubtful, and the condemnation heaped on Melchior and
Knipperdolling fell partially on them. People in general could not
distinguish between fanatics and Luther. They were all deemed heretics,
and Gustavus was roundly cursed for neglecting the religion of his
fathers. To soothe the people Gustavus planned a journey through the
realm, intending to set forth before the autumn closed. This journey he
was forced by stress of circumstances to postpone. He therefore turned
to other methods to effect his end. The strongest feature of the
Lutheran doctrine was that it purported to be based upon the Word of
God. To such a pretension no one but an unbeliever could object.
Lutheranism was opposed on the ground of its presumed basis in the
idiosyncrasies of men. Gustavus, confident that this idea was false,
resolved to put the question to a test. Accordingly, among matters to be
discussed at the Cabinet meeting in October, we find a proposition that
all priests be ordered to confine their teaching to the Word of God. The
fate of this sound measure is not known. It appears nowhere in the list
of subjects on which the Cabinet took a vote. A fair conclusion is that
the question was too broad to be determined at the time, and therefore
was omitted from the calendar by consent of all.[106]
Gustavus was determined, however, that the matter should not drop.
Convinced that any discord inside the Church would be a benefit to the
crown, he resolved to hold a theological disputation, and selected a
champion from the two chief factions, with orders to appear at Christmas
in Upsala and defend the doctrines of his party in open court. The
Lutheran gladiator of course was Petri, his opponent being one Peder
Galle, a learned canon of Upsala. The main points that were discussed
are these: man's justification; free will; forgiveness of sins;
invocation and worship of saints; purgatory; celebration of vigils and
masses for the dead; chanting of the service; good works, and rewards;
papal and monastic indulgences; sacraments; predestination;
excommunication; pilgrimages. The battle on these questions was fought,
December 27, in the Chapter-house at Upsala; and the chronicle tells
us, somewhat unnecessarily, that the fight was hot. Each party was
struggling for the very kernel of his faith. If the Bible were
acknowledged to be our sole authority in religious things, the whole
fabric of the papal Church was wrong. On the other hand, if power were
granted to the Fathers to establish doctrines and methods supplementary
to the Bible, the Lutherans had no right to disobey. As Gustavus was
arbiter of the battle, there could be no doubt of the result. Petri is
asserted to have come off victor, on the ground that his citations were
all from Holy Writ.[107]
Flattered by this great victory, the Lutherans grew bold. Though not so
turbulent as before the riot, they showed much indiscretion, and
Gustavus often found it necessary to interfere. What annoyed him chiefly
was their bravado in alluding to the popes and bishops. The hierarchy of
Romanism was fixed so firmly in people's hearts that every effort to
dislodge it caused a jar. Especially in the rural districts was it
necessary not to give alarm. A single deed or word might work an injury
which many months of argument could not efface. It is not strange,
therefore, that the king was troubled when Petri, in February, 1525,
violated every rule of Church propriety by being married publicly in
Stockholm. The marriage fell like a thunderclap upon the Church. Brask
apparently could not believe his ears. He dashed off a letter to another
prelate to inquire whether the report was true, and finding that it was,
wrote to the archbishop as well as to the king, denouncing the whole
affair. "Though the ceremony has been performed," he argued, "the
marriage is invalid, for such was the decree made by the sixth Council
of the Church." In his letter to the king, Brask used these words: "Your
Majesty must be aware that much talk has been occasioned by the marriage
in your capital of Olaus Petri, a Christian priest. At a future day,
should the marriage result in children, there will be much trouble, for
the law declares that children of a priest shall stand, in matters of
inheritance, on a par with bastards.... Even in the Grecian Church,
where persons who are married may be ordained on certain terms, those
already priests have never been allowed to marry. Petri's ceremony is
not a lawful marriage, and places him under the ban, according to the
doctrines of the Church. For God's sake, therefore, act in this matter
as a Christian prince should do." On receiving this letter, Gustavus,
who had been in Upsala when the act occurred, called for the offending
preacher and asked him what excuse he offered for violating the ancient
customs of the Church. To this the culprit answered that he was ready to
defend his conduct in open court, and prove that the laws of God should
not be sacrificed to the laws of men. The king then wrote to Brask and
assured him that if Petri should be shown to have done wrong, he should
be punished. The king's own prejudices are manifest in the words with
which his letter closed. "As to your assertion," he said, "that Petri's
act has placed him under the ban, it would seem surprising if that
should be the effect of marriage,--a ceremony that God does not
forbid,--and yet that for debauchery and other sins which are
forbidden, one should not fall beneath the ban.... In making this charge
concerning Petri, you appear elated at the opportunity thus given you to
censure me." This last insinuation the bishop strenuously denied. "God
knows," he wrote the king, "that I have acted for your welfare in this
matter, as well as for my own. What joy I or any other could feel in my
present age and infirmity, I leave to God. Petri has sent me an apology
for his act. It is full of words, but void of sense. I shall see to it,
however, that it gets an answer."[108]
These stormy scenes within the Church were but the echo of what was
going on outside. As the autumn advanced it became each day more clear
that Fredrik had victimized the king at Malmoe. The Swedish army had
retired from Gotland, and Norby with his horde of pirates remained _in
statu quo_. Brask, who had the interests of Sweden constantly at heart,
was the first person to suspect foul play. So early as December 9 he
told a friend his fears had been aroused. Gustavus, if he had
suspicions, kept them dark. He opened correspondence with Norby, hoping
to inveigle him into a conference in Stockholm. Norby, however, knew the
trick himself. The weather was such, he answered, that he could not
come. Some few weeks later Gustavus wrote to Mehlen that the promises
made to him at Malmoe had not been fulfilled. He also sent his messengers
to Denmark denouncing Norby's course. But all this time his
communications with Norby were filled with warm assurance of
respect.[109]
The truth was, Norby cherished a project far more ambitious than either
Fredrik or Gustavus could suppose. In January, 1524, the brave
Christina, widow of the young Sten Sture, had returned to Sweden after
her long captivity in Denmark. The same ambitious spirit that had filled
her breast in earlier days was with her still, and she longed to see
upon her son's head the crown that but for his early death would have
been worn by her husband. This son, a mere boy of twelve, had recently
returned from Dantzic, whither he had been sent as exile four years
before by Christiern. He had disembarked at Kalmar, and still remained
there under custody of Mehlen. In this state of affairs the piratical
Norby conceived the project of marrying Christina, and then of conjuring
with the name of Sture to drive Gustavus out of Sweden. To this bold
scheme Christina apparently gave her consent. At all events, the news of
her projected marriage was spread abroad, and nothing was done on her
part to deny it.[110]
Norby's chief anxiety was to get possession of the boy. Mehlen had
shown reluctance to give him to Christina, and one might readily
conclude his purpose was to hand him over to the king. Such a purpose,
however, Mehlen seems never to have entertained. He preferred to watch
developments, and at the proper moment resign his charge to the party
that should make the highest bid. The truth is, Mehlen had fallen into
disrepute. His pusillanimous conduct in the siege of Visby had gradually
dawned upon the king, and ere the close of 1524 report was spread that
Mehlen had incurred his monarch's wrath. Though summoned to Stockholm in
January to the marriage of the monarch's sister, he did not venture to
appear, but wrote a letter to Gustavus begging for a continuance of
favor at the court. The answer that came back was characteristic of the
king. Stripped of all its verbiage, it was an assurance that the general
report was wrong. Mehlen might still bask in the smiles of royalty, and
must pay no heed to public slander. In confirmation of these sentiments
Gustavus induced the Cabinet to enclose a letter. "Dear brother," the
Cabinet lovingly began, "we hear a rumor is abroad that you have grown
distasteful to the king, and you are said to shun his presence in fear
of danger to your life. We declare before Almighty God we never heard
the monarch speak one word in your disfavor, though we can well believe
there may be slanderers who would rejoice to see such discord spread. We
doubt not you will stamp out such discord with your utmost power.
Therefore we beg you pay no heed to evil messengers, but come here at
the earliest opportunity to the king." This urgent exhortation meeting
with no response, some three weeks later the monarch wrote again, still
with a show of friendship, but insisting on the immediate presence of
the erstwhile favorite in Stockholm. So imperative an order Mehlen dared
not disobey. Proceeding at once to Stockholm, he appeared before the
king, and soon discovered that his worst suspicions were not far from
true. The assurances of his monarch's favor had been a blind to decoy
the officer away from Kalmar. On the 12th of March Gustavus removed him
from the post, and appointed another officer, Nils Eriksson, in his
stead. Anticipating that the change might cause some friction, the
monarch sent off a whole batch of letters in explanation of his act. One
of these letters, though a trifle lengthy, is perhaps worth quoting. It
is addressed to the fief of Kalmar, and runs in this wise: "Dear
friends, we thank you warmly for the devotion and allegiance which you,
as true and loyal subjects, have exhibited toward us as well as toward
the kingdom of your fathers. You will remember that last summer, when we
despatched our fleet to Gotland to besiege Norby in the castle and town
of Visby, and when he found that he could expect no aid from Christiern,
he sent his ambassadors to take oath of allegiance to Fredrik, King of
Denmark. His purpose, which we clearly saw, was simply to cause
dissension between the kingdoms, thus giving Christiern opportunity to
come forward and seize the reins once more. It appearing to us and to
our Cabinet unwise to permit a new war at that time to spring up between
the kingdoms, we proceeded with delegates from our Cabinet to a congress
of the realms at Malmoe. There we made a permanent alliance with each
other and the Hanseatic Towns against King Christiern. We agreed,
moreover, that our respective claims to Gotland should be left to
arbitration. When, now, Norby saw that the dissension which he had
longed for was not likely to ensue, he disregarded every oath that he
had made to Fredrik, and continued in his old allegiance to King
Christiern. He also feigned a willingness to come to terms with us, if
we would protect his interests in this kingdom. This he offered, as we
have now found out, in hope of causing discord between us and the
Hanseatic Towns. He has, too, spread a rumor among the Danes and Germans
that we had entered into an alliance with him against them. Of any such
alliance we assure you we are ignorant. Now, as to Mehlen, we are told
he does not wholly please you. We have therefore recalled him from his
post, and made Nils Eriksson commander of Kalmar Castle and governor of
the town and fief. We beg you be submissive and pay to him all rents and
taxes which fall due until we find an opportunity to visit you in
person. He will govern you, by God's help, according to Saint Erik's law
and the good old customs of your fathers. If any among you are found
encouraging dissension or engaged in plots, we pray you all be zealous
in aiding Eriksson to bring them to destruction." Along with this letter
Gustavus sent one to the burghers in the town of Kalmar. It appears they
had protested against the taxes imposed on them by Mehlen. There can be
little doubt these taxes were imposed by order of the king. As matters
stood, however, it seemed poor policy to claim them. These are the
monarch's words: "Some of your fellow-townsmen have let us understand
that taxes have been laid on you for which you are in no wise liable. We
have already written you that you are to be free therefrom; but that
letter, we now are told, has never reached you. God knows we grieve
extremely that any such burden should have been imposed against our wish
and orders, and we hereby notify you that we shall not claim these taxes
laid on you by Mehlen." Simultaneously with this document others of like
tenor were despatched to other persons to allay their wrath.[111]
These summary proceedings of Gustavus made Mehlen more ready to accept
proposals from the other side; and he was further impelled in that
direction by recent plots among the Dalesmen. The insurrection under
Sunnanvaeder, which the monarch had fancied he could extinguish by a
generous supply of salt, had not yet yielded to the treatment. Indeed,
according to the best reports, the malady had spread. How serious the
insurrection was, appears from the frequency of the monarch's
exhortations. All through the winter he was writing to the people,
condoling with them for the exorbitant price of food, and attributing
all their evils to the continuance of wars in Europe. The Cabinet also
addressed the Dalesmen, urging them not to ally themselves with
Sunnanvaeder, who was disgruntled, so they heard, because he had not been
given the bishopric of Vesteras. In one of his appeals Gustavus warned
the rebels to be still, lest Christiern might be encouraged to return.
The spectre of their gory tyrant seems not, however, to have haunted
them, and in February we find that Knut, the deposed dean of Vesteras,
had joined their ranks. To him Gustavus wrote a note, assuring him that
the archbishopric would have been conferred upon him had he but done his
duty. Knut, apparently, did no great benefit to his brother's cause.
Only a few days after he arrived, his leader wrote archly to a person
who had loaned him funds, that he could stay no longer in the land, for
certain peasants were already on his track, intending to capture him and
take him to the king. If these suspicions were correct, it was probably
as well for him that he escaped. Some two weeks later these two
scoundrels were both in Norway, waiting for a more auspicious moment to
return.[112]
Whether their movements were in any way inspired by Norby, is not clear.
One thing, however, is very sure. Whomever Norby thought could be of
service, he did not hesitate to use. In the previous summer, even while
truckling with Fredrik, he had been in steady communication with
Christiern, who was Fredrik's bitter foe. And now, though every one
believed him to have broken with Fredrik, there was a story afloat that
Fredrik's hand was really behind the pirate's opposition to Gustavus. No
one could place the slightest confidence in what he said. In January he
started a rumor that he was ready to give up Gotland, provided the king
would grant him a like domain in Finland; but soon it turned out that
the whole project was a ruse. In February he had so far befogged the
intellect of Fredrik as to induce that monarch to request of Gustavus a
full pardon for all of Norby's doings. It need scarce be added, this
ridiculous proposal met with no success; and Fredrik, almost as soon as
it was sent, had cause to rue it, for Norby toward the close of winter
sent an army into Bleking,--a province ceded to Fredrik by the Congress
of Malmoe,--and there spread ruin far and wide.[113]
The relations of Fredrik to Sweden at this juncture are very strange.
Though nominally at peace, the two nations were utterly distrustful of
each other, and at frequent intervals tried in secret to cut each
other's throats. Their only bond of union was their common abhorrence of
the tyrant Christiern; and whenever Fredrik fancied that danger averted,
he spared no effort to humiliate his rival beyond the strait. One
instance of his treachery was noticed in the comfort given to Knut and
Sunnanvaeder when they fled to Norway. The treaty of Malmoe had stated
with sufficient clearness that all fugitives from one country to the
other should be returned; and Fredrik, as king of Norway, was bound to
see to it that the treaty was observed. It cannot be stated positively
that he encouraged the fugitives himself, but it is very certain that
his officers in Norway did, and that he made no effort to restrain
them.[114]
The share Christina had in this conspiracy is likewise doubtful. So
early as February Gustavus suspected her, and ordered one of his
officers to keep spies upon her track. As a result one of her servants
was detected in treacherous proceedings and arrested. It appears,
however, that she did not merit all the king's severity; for Brask in
April wrote a friend, that the monarch was treating her with undue
harshness. She was widely popular, and Gustavus would have been more
wise had his hostility to her been less open. "Nescit regnare qui nescit
dissimulare," wrote the wily bishop. Christina was not, at any rate, on
the best of terms with Mehlen, for her boy was kept in Kalmar till the
castle passed from Mehlen's hands.[115]
This last result was not effected till a long time after Mehlen had been
deposed. Before leaving Kalmar he had intrusted matters to his brother,
with orders not to yield the castle to any but himself. As soon,
therefore, as the new officer approached to take his fief, the reply was
given him that the castle would not be yielded till Mehlen should
return. After some three weeks spent in futile negotiation, Gustavus
wrung from Mehlen a letter directed to his brother, instructing him to
yield. This the monarch sent to Kalmar, April 8, along with a letter of
his own. Convinced that the whole delay on the part of Mehlen was to use
up time, he instructed his messenger to warn the occupants that if the
castle were not surrendered by the 1st of May, he would make them smart
for it. In his letter, however, Gustavus used more gentle language. "We
have kept your brother here," he wrote, "in order to protect him from
the populace, whose mouths are full of scandal about our relations to
him. From your letter it appears you thought we held him in
confinement.... We are minded to treat him well and kindly, unless we
shall be forced by you to treat him otherwise. We warn you, however, we
shall deal with Kalmar in the way that we deem best, for the town and
castle belong to God, to us, and to the Swedish crown.... Our counsel is
that you obey our mandate, and the earlier you do so the better it will
be for you." Accompanying this letter was a passport, similar to one
drawn up for Mehlen, to take his brother from the realm. He was not,
however, to be allured by passports or even terrified by threats. The
castle continued firm, and Gustavus began to levy forces to besiege
it.[116]
While these forces were being gathered, Gustavus renewed his efforts to
gain favor through the land. This he soon discovered to be no easy task.
Surrounded by conspirators on every hand, he could not turn without
confronting some new rumor. Stories of the most contradictory nature
were set afloat each day. At one time the report was spread through
Dalarne that he had cast Christina into jail. After that it was rumored
that he was sending despatches frequently to Gotland, from which some
persons caught the notion he was in secret league with Norby. This
notion was so baleful that Gustavus felt it best to answer it. "No one
need think," he said, "we attach the slightest importance to anything
that Norby says. As he asked us for a hearing, we have promised to let
him have it. He used smooth words to us, and we have given him smooth
answers in return.... As to these slanderous stories," continued
Gustavus, in writing to an officer, "you are aware we cannot close men's
mouths. We believe our actions toward our people will bear examination
before both God and man." Such an examination he proposed to make, and
on the 25th of March he sent out notice of a general diet to be held in
the early part of May. This notice contained among other things these
startling words: "If it shall happen that the Cabinet and people then
assembled believe the present evils are in any respect the outcome of
our methods of government, we shall lay it before them to determine
whether they wish us to continue in the government or not. It was at
their request and exhortation that we assumed the reins at Strengnaes,
and whatever their judgment now may be, it shall be followed." In
addition to this notice, sent to all portions of the land, Gustavus
wrote to the people of Mora that he had heard of a complaint from them
that the kingdom was going to pieces and that he was causing it. He
assured them that the rumor was untrue, and that he was doing all he
could to hold the realm together. When these assurances reached Dalarne,
the poor peasants of that district were already starving. Half mad with
hunger, they called a mass meeting of their little parishes, and drew up
a heart-rending though unfair statement of their wrongs. A copy of these
grievances they despatched at once to Stockholm. It charged the king
with appointing German and Danish officers to the highest positions in
the state, and with quartering foreign soldiers in the towns and
villages till the inhabitants were constrained to flee. He had further,
they asserted, laid taxes on the monasteries and churches, and on the
priests and monks; he had seized jewels consecrated to God's service; he
had robbed the churches of all their Swedish money, and substituted
"klippings," which he then had repudiated; and he had seized the tithes.
Finally they charged him with imprisoning Christina and her boy. The
letter ended with a warning that unless he at once drove out all
foreigners, released Christina with the others whom he had in prison,
and took some measures to better trade, they would renounce allegiance
to him. Gustavus received this document while the diet was in session.
His answer to the people of Dalarne contained these words: "We cannot
believe this letter was issued by your consent. Rather, we think, it was
inspired by certain wiseacres among you hoodwinked by Sunnanvaeder and
the like. That the purpose of these men is to bring back Christiern we
have definite proofs, not only within the kingdom but without. Ever
since Sunnanvaeder went among you, letters and messengers have been
passing between Dalarne and Norby, the meaning of all which is that
Norby is to attack the government on one side and Dalarne on the other,
and that we are to be dragged down from the throne, which is then to be
handed over to Norby for the benefit of Christiern." This letter
reflected in some degree the spirit of the diet. The main object for
which it had been called was to spread an impression that the king was
acting as representative of his people. It was not asked to legislate,
and it did not do so. Gustavus, however, went through the farce which he
had promised, and asked the delegates if they wished him to resign the
crown. Of course the answer was a shower of plaudits upon the king. As
Gustavus modestly puts it, "The Cabinet and people over all the land
besought us not to resign, but govern them hereafter as heretofore; and
they promised obedience as in the past, swearing by hand and mouth to
risk in our service their lives and everything they had." With this
seductive ceremony the diet was dismissed.[117]
Ere the diet had come together, Norby had made a second irruption into
Fredrik's territory in the south of Sweden. Toward the end of March he
had sailed from Gotland with twelve men-of-war, had captured a couple of
the strongest fortresses in Bleking, and had enlisted many inhabitants
of that province in the cause of Christiern. Fredrik was by this time
fully alive to the error he had made in relying for a moment on the
promises of Norby. His anxiety was increased still further when the news
was brought him that Christiern's brother-in-law, the emperor, had
defeated the king of France, and was coming with all his forces to the
relief of Christiern. One drop of comfort was granted him when he heard
that a fleet from Lubeck had sailed to Gotland in Norby's absence, and
on May 13 had seized the town of Visby. In spite of this disaster,
Norby's hopes ran high. He sent letters every day to Christiern, telling
him that Denmark as well as Sweden was overrun with rebels, and that he
now had a chance of restoration such as he had never had before. But
Norby's hopes were at the very highest when the bubble burst. The
emperor proved too busy with his own affairs to send his army to the
North, and Christiern could not raise the armament requisite for a
foreign war. Gustavus, moreover, sent his troops to drive back the
invader, and the Danish nobility enlisted in behalf of Fredrik. The
result was that ere the close of May the pirate was routed in two
important battles. Gustavus literally hugged himself for joy, and sent
off a letter of congratulation to the army that had won the day. "My
good men," he began, "you may rest assured that if Norby shall escape
you and come this way, he will meet with a reception that will cause him
little joy. From his assertion that he expected aid from us, you will
perceive he sought to foster discord between your realm and us.... We
had already ordered our men in Vestergoetland to go to your relief as
soon as you should need them, which now, thank God, we trust will never
be." The monarch's congratulation was a little premature. Norby's force
was scattered, but it was not lost. Retiring with his stragglers to one
of the Danish strongholds, he ensconced himself within, and there
remained,--a constant menace to the neighborhood. Late in June the
pirate, reduced to the utmost extremity, opened negotiations with
Fredrik. That monarch, still in dread of Christiern, readily complied.
Norby proceeded to Copenhagen, where it was finally arranged that he
should yield the castle of Visby, which the Lubeck army had been
besieging ever since the town of Visby fell; and that in return the
pirate should be granted the whole province of Bleking with all its
strongholds, to hold as a fief of Denmark. Norby was then conveyed to
Denmark, and before the first of August these terms were carried out.
Visby passed into the hands of Lubeck, and the pirate returned to
Bleking to guard his fief.[118]
Gustavus, it need scarce be said, was vexed. The congress which was to
have been held in Lubeck to discuss his claim to Gotland had been
indefinitely postponed. In place thereof, the island had been seized by
Lubeck, and Bleking--another of the disputed territories--had been
conferred upon a bitter foe. What most irritated him was the close
proximity of Norby's fief to Sweden. He was at a loss, moreover, to
understand the king of Denmark's motives. "It may be," he suggested in a
letter of July 9, "that Fredrik's purpose was to secure Gotland, and
then deal with Norby as he pleased. However this may be, we must keep
watch on every side." The same day he wrote to another person, "We are
in no wise pleased to have Norby for a neighbor, since we have noticed
that he always seeks to do us harm." Still, Gustavus believed in making
a virtue of necessity, and a few days later wrote: "We are glad that
hostilities between Fredrik and Norby are at an end, and that the
kingdom is once more on the road to peace and quiet."[119]
This letter was written by Gustavus in his camp at Kalmar. The castle
there was still in the hands of Mehlen's brother, though it had been
under siege about two months. Early in June Gustavus, unwilling to shed
more blood, had ordered Mehlen to proceed to Kalmar and bid the castle
yield. The confidence with which the monarch even yet regarded Mehlen is
astounding, and the issue proved at once the monarch's folly. On
reaching Kalmar, Mehlen, after a conference with Eriksson, was allowed
to enter the castle to persuade his men to yield. The following day, the
portcullis was lowered and Mehlen came out upon the bridge. But while he
pretended to be crossing, a portion of the garrison dashed out of the
castle and massacred a number of the people, all unsuspecting, in the
town. The alarm was then given to the royal guard, and Mehlen's
soldiers, finding themselves outnumbered, retired across the bridge.
Five days later, Mehlen, with his wife and brother, scaled the castle
wall and sailed for Germany, leaving his wretched soldiers to withstand
the siege. If ever there was a cowardly, bustling, impotent,
insignificant adventurer, Berent von Mehlen was that man. During his two
years' stay in Sweden he had dabbled in every project that arose, and he
had accomplished absolutely nothing. He had been the hero of a six
months' bloodless siege, that left matters precisely as they had begun;
and he had set on foot a conspiracy that had no object and that ended in
the air. It is a pleasure to dismiss him from our thoughts. His
subsequent career in Germany was of a piece with his career in Sweden.
He scurried about from one court to another, endeavoring to raise an
army with which to conquer Sweden. But nothing came of any of his
projects, and after a short period oblivion settled on his name.[120]
Gustavus now learned definitely that Norby, ever since his fleet left
Gotland, had been in secret conspiracy with Mehlen. He determined,
therefore, that, since the pirate had gained a foothold on the mainland,
Kalmar must be secured at any risk. So he collected men from every
quarter and sent them down to Kalmar to reinforce the town. Some few
weeks later, as the castle had not yielded, he proceeded to the town
himself. The burghers, hoping the conflict would now be ended, welcomed
him with joy. But the garrison still believed in Mehlen, and confidently
awaited his return with aid. Gustavus sent an envoy to the castle, to
persuade the garrison to yield. The answer was, the garrison would not
be yielded till every one of them was dead. But one course, therefore,
was open to the monarch,--the castle must be stormed. This, with the
guns which he possessed, demanded almost more than human strength. The
castle was surrounded on all sides by a moat, beyond which rose a
perpendicular wall of masonry twenty feet in height. This rampart was
washed on three sides by the sea, and on the other was protected by a
broad deep dike and then an outer wall. From within, the rampart was
guarded by eight huge towers that stood out from the castle-walls, and
the four corners of the ramparts were further strengthened by four more
towers with apertures for crossbows, cannon, and muskets. Such was the
fortress that Gustavus, late in July, resolved to storm. He began by
throwing up a line of earthworks, behind which he placed his heavy guns,
hoping to batter down the towers and ramparts, while his pikemen and
halberdiers were scaling the unprotected parts. But his men at first
were lukewarm. The task seemed herculean, and every effort to ascend the
ramparts met with certain death. Those in the castle fought like
maniacs, the men with guns and crossbows, and the women firing stones.
Gustavus, it is reported, stormed and swore, and finally put on his
armor, declaring that he would either have the castle or die within its
walls. His enthusiasm spread among his men, and they shouted they would
do their best, though every man of them should fall. The effect was
visible at once. Each charge left the ramparts weaker than before; and
when night closed in, there was not a tower or rampart whole. The next
morning, when Gustavus turned his culverins again upon the wall, the
flag of truce was raised. The garrison hoped that if they sued before
the ramparts actually fell, they might be granted favorable terms. But
the monarch, who had now lost nearly half his men, demanded an
unconditional surrender. As Norby had been conquered, and no signs of
Mehlen's succor had appeared, the garrison, after much palaver, threw
themselves upon the mercy of the king. The castle, on the 20th of July,
passed into the monarch's hands once more, and a large portion of the
rebel garrison was put to death. With this scene the conspiracy of
Norby, Mehlen, and their adherents was at an end.[121]
FOOTNOTES:
[105] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 96-98.
[106] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 98-99; and _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes
registrat._, vol. i. p. 254.
[107] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 99-100.
[108] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, p. 99; _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol.
xiv. pp. 33-41 and vol. xviii. pp. 265-266 and 273-276; and _Kon. Gust.
den Foerstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 83-86 and 272-276.
[109] _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xiii. pp. 107-110; and _Kon.
Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 281-284 and vol. ii. pp. 12
and 19.
[110] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. ii. p. 781 and vol. iv. p. 1530;
_Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 30-33, 41-44 and 61-65, and
vol. xvii. pp. 182 and 188-189; and _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._,
vol. ii. pp. 24-26. Some modern writers, unwilling to believe Christina
base enough to marry Norby, regard the whole story of her consent as
false. It seems impossible, however, that a false rumor should have been
so generally believed by those who knew her. The more natural assumption
is that her ambition caused her to accept the advances of her suitor
even if she did not positively yield to his request.
[111] Rensel, _Beraettelse_, pp. 42-43; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv.
pp. 1520-1521 and 1527-1533; _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp.
61-65; and _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 283-284 and
vol. ii. pp. 7-9, 23-24 and 36-42.
[112] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, p. 86; _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp.
39-47; _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xxiii. pp. 28-34; and _Kon.
Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 3-5, 10-12, 13-14 and 20-21.
[113] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1531-1532; _Handl. roer. Skand.
hist._, vol. xiii. pp. 124-127; and _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._,
vol. ii. pp. 28-29.
[114] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1485-1486; _Handl. roer. Skand.
hist._, vol. xxiii. pp. 65-67; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol.
ii. pp. 33-34, 46 and 49-50; and _Saml. til det Norske Folks Sprog og
Hist._, vol. i. pp. 482-484.
[115] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. p. 1530; _Handl. roer. Skand.
hist._, vol. xiv. p. 64 and vol. xviii. pp. 269-270 and 276-277; and
_Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 24-25.
[116] _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. p. 45; and _Kon. Gust. den
Foerstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 72-80, 91-93, 106-107 and 113.
[117] _Alla riksdag. och moet. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 36-37; _Christ.
II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1482-1487 and 1496-1497; _Dipl. Dal._, vol.
ii. pp. 50-51 and 63-64; _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 41-44
and 60-61 and vol. xxiii. pp. 77-81; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes
registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 42-48, 52-57, and 110-118; and _Svenska
riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 32-39.
[118] _Diar. Minor. Visbyens._, p. 39; Rensel, _Beraettelse_, p. 44;
Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 83-84; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. i. pp.
7-36; _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 55-57 and 72-73; and
_Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 59-60, 89-93, 97-102,
119-120, 146-147, 167-168 and 170.
[119] _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 170-176.
[120] Rensel, _Beraettelse_, pp. 43-45; Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp.
86-89; _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 61-65; and _Kon. Gust.
den Foerstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 143-144 and 160-161.
[121] Rensel, _Beraettelse_, pp. 45-47; Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp.
89-92; _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 72-73; and _Kon. Gust.
den Foerstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 143-146, 155-158, 160-165,
168-169, 181-183 and 188.