CHAPTER VIII.

INTERNAL ADMINISTRATION. 1525-1527.

Nature of the Period.--Translation of the Bible.--Quarrel between the

King and Brask.--Opposition to the Monasteries.--High-handed

Measures of the King.--Second Disputation between Petri and

Galle.--Opposition to Luther's Teaching.--Banishment of

Magni.--Further Opposition to the Monasteries.--Revolt of the

Dalesmen.--Diet of Vesteras.--"Vesteras Recess."--"Vesteras

Ordinantia."--Fall of Brask; his Flight; his Character.

In most instances the stirring periods of a nation's history are not the

periods in which the nation grows. Warfare, even though it end in

victory, must be accompanied by loss, and the very achievements that

arouse our ardor bring with them evils that long years of prosperity

cannot efface. Take, as a single example, the dazzling victories of

Charles XII. He was, beyond all doubt, the most successful general that

Sweden ever had. One after another the provinces around the Baltic

yielded to his sway, and at one time the Swedish frontiers had been

extended into regions of which no man before his age had dreamt. Yet

with what result? Sweden was impoverished, commerce was at a standstill,

education had been neglected, and the dominions for which his people had

poured out their blood during many years were lost almost in a single

day. His career shows, if it shows anything, that prosperity is

incompatible with war. No man can serve two masters. So long as nations

are in active and continued warfare, they cannot enjoy the blessings or

even the comforts that belong to them in time of peace.

A like argument may be drawn from the reign of Gustavus Vasa. The early

years of the Swedish Revolution were marked by bloodshed. The country

was in a state of famine, superstition was universal, literature was

almost without a champion, and art was practically dead. Not till the

warfare ceased did people turn their thoughts to matters of education,

of religion, or of other things that lend a charm to life; and even then

the country was hampered during a considerable period by poverty,--an

outcome of the war. It is in this last period of the Revolution--a

period of peace--that the chief work of Gustavus Vasa was accomplished.

Then occurred the great changes in Church government and doctrine that

made Lutherans out of Roman Catholics, and in place of accountability to

the pope made every soul accountable to God. In the first few years of

his supremacy the monarch's opposition to popery was based almost

entirely on politics, but by the middle of 1525 he began openly to

oppose the Romish Church on grounds of faith.

The heaviest blow to popery was the order issued by the king in 1525

that the Scriptures be translated into Swedish. This all-important

measure resulted doubtless from the general dissension that had arisen

about the Word of God. If, as Luther urged, the Scriptures were our sole

criterion of faith, it was obviously proper that they should be

published in a form which every one could understand. Luther had

already three years before translated the Bible into German, but in

Swedish the only effort at a translation was in a manuscript of several

centuries before, which even Brask knew only by report. Gustavus,

therefore, toward the middle of 1525, instructed Archbishop Magni to

have a new translation made. His purpose, he affirmed, was not merely to

instruct the people but to instruct the priests, for many of them were

themselves incompetent to read the Latin version. As shepherds their

duty was to feed Christ's flock with the Word of God; and if they failed

to do so, they were unworthy of their name. This reasoning the

archbishop was unable to refute. He was himself disgusted with the

ignorance of his clergy, and promised Gustavus that the translation

should be made. Not wishing, however, to undertake too much, he devoted

his attention wholly to the New Testament, dividing it into several

parts and assigning the translation of different parts to different men.

Matthew and the Epistle to the Romans he took himself. Mark and the

Epistles to the Corinthians were assigned to Brask, while Luke and the

Epistle to the Galatians were given to the Chapter of Skara, and John

and the Epistle to the Ephesians to the Chapter of Strengnaes. The

announcement of this choice was made to Brask on the 11th of June, and

he was asked to forward his translation to Upsala by September 10, when

a congress of the translators should be held to arrange the various

portions into one harmonious whole. This project was not received with

favor by the crafty bishop. He felt it to be the knell of popery, and in

writing to Peder Galle he inveighed against it. "We marvel much," he

wrote, "that the archbishop should enter this labyrinth without

consulting the prelates and chapters of the Church. Every one knows that

translations into the vernacular have already given rise to frequent

heresy.... It is said the Bible is capable of four different

interpretations. Therefore it would imperil many souls were a mere

literal translation made. Moreover, laymen cannot read the Bible even if

it be translated, and the clergy can understand it quite as well in

Latin as in Swedish. We fear that if this translation be published while

the Lutheran heresy is raging, the heresy will become more pestilent,

and, new error springing up, the Church will be accused of fostering

it." This letter was dated on the 9th of August. Clearly Brask's share

of the translation would not be ready by September 10. The fact was,

Brask had no notion of furthering the scheme. At every opportunity he

raised his voice against it, and the weight of his influence was such

that finally the whole project was given up. The Lutherans, however,

were not disheartened. Finding that nothing could be effected through

the Church, they proceeded to make a translation of their own. This was

published, though without the translators' names, in 1526. It did not,

of course, receive the sanction of the archbishop, but it paved the way

for new reforms by checking the Roman Catholics in their scholastic

doctrine and by educating the common people in the Word of God.[135]

Brask was now openly beneath the monarch's frown. The rupture between

them was becoming every day more wide, and both parties gradually grew

conscious it could not be healed. Brask had never forgiven the king for

sanctioning the marriage of Olaus Petri. Some six months after the event

he alluded to it in a letter to Peder Galle. "I am much troubled," he

declared, "that marriage is permitted to the clergy, and that no one

cries out against it. I have urged the king that Petri be excommunicated

for his act, that evil example may not spread, but have had only a

half-hearted answer from his Majesty." While this wrong still rankled in

the prelate's breast, his ire was further kindled by the monarch's

evident intention to rob the Church of several of her chief estates. As

an entering wedge Gustavus had pastured his soldiers' horses on the rich

but fallow lands belonging to the monasteries, and in some cases the

officers had been billeted in the monasteries themselves. Against this

practice Brask protested, and received this soothing answer: "When you

say that this mode of billeting cripples the service of God, you are

right, provided his service consists in feeding a body of hypocrites

sunk, many of them, in licentiousness, rather than in providing

protection for the common people. As to your assertion that the

monasteries were not founded by the crown, and hence are not subject to

our dominion, we will look into the matter, though our humble opinion is

that the monasteries were originally bound to pay taxes to the crown."

The argument which the monarch strove to make was this: Those

monasteries which were founded by individuals comprised estates held by

the donors in consideration of military service to be rendered to the

crown; and so soon as the military service ended, the tenure by which

the lands were held no longer existed, and the crown once more became

entitled to the lands. It is difficult to feel that the monarch's view

was right. In countries where there is no written law, all controversies

must be determined by the law of custom, and it is certain that for

centuries Swedish subjects had been allowed to dedicate for religious

purposes the property which they held by military tenure of the crown.

With Gustavus it appears that custom was of little moment. The

monasteries were wealthy, and could be encroached upon without directly

injuring the people. He resolved, therefore, as soon as possible to

confiscate their property, using a plausible argument if one was ready;

otherwise, to close their doors by force.[136]

In May, 1525, the king found pretext for interfering with the Dominican

monks of Vesteras. That order numbered among its brothers a very large

proportion of Norwegians; and one of them had assumed the generalship of

the order in Sweden, contrary to the mandates of the king. This seemed

an opportunity to play the patriot and at the same time secure a footing

in the monastery. So Gustavus wrote to the Swedish vicar-general and

declared: "We understand that the conspiracy in Dalarne and other places

is largely due to this man and several of the Norwegian brothers. We

have therefore appointed our subject Nils Andreae to be prior of

Vesteras, trusting that he will prove a friend to Sweden, by expelling

the foreigners and preventing all such conspiracies in future. We beg

you also ... to punish all offenders among your brotherhood, that we be

not forced to punish them ourselves."[137]

Later in the same year Gustavus asserted his claim with even more

distinctness to the monastery of Gripsholm. That monastery, it will be

remembered, was on the estate at one time belonging to the monarch's

father. It therefore was a special object of his greed. At a meeting of

the Cabinet he laid his case before them, and offered to abide by their

decree. There was, of course, no question what their decree would be.

The monastery was adjudged the property of the king, and all the inmates

were instructed to withdraw. This judgment naturally caused an outcry in

certain quarters. So Gustavus addressed the monks of Gripsholm with

unctious promises, and under the mask of friendship obtained from them a

written statement that they were satisfied of the justice of his claim.

This document, a copy of which was filed among the royal papers, bears

singular testimony to the meanness of the king. "Our title to Gripsholm

Monastery," the wretched victims wrote, "has been disputed, and, the

matter being laid before the Cabinet, they have determined that

Gustavus, as heir of the founder, is entitled to the premises. He has

offered us another monastery in place of this, but we feared lest that

too might some day prove to be the property of other heirs, and have

requested permission to disband and retire each of us according to his

own caprice. It has now been agreed that Gustavus shall provide us with

the money and clothing which we need, and in return that he shall be

entitled to the monastery together with all the property that we have

acquired." At the close of this affecting document the writers expressed

their gratitude to the monarch for his generosity. Armed with this

evidence of his good intentions, Gustavus addressed the Dalesmen with a

view to calm their wrath. "You are aware," he wrote with confidence,

"that the elder Sten Sture, who was a brother of our father's mother,

founded Gripsholm Monastery with property that would have descended by

law to our father, and that Sten Sture induced our father to append his

signature to the deed. The signature was obtained, however, only on

condition that if the monastery should be unable to keep up its

standing, Gripsholm and all its possessions should revert to the heirs.

Hence we have good right to protest and to claim the inheritance of

which our father was deprived by threats and fraud. Indeed, the good

brothers have considered the matter well, and have agreed to withhold no

longer property to which they have no right. We have therefore offered

them another monastery.... But they have not ventured to accept it,

fearing to offend the brothers already occupying it. So they have asked

permission to go back to their friends and to the posts which they held

before entering the monastery. This, at the desire of our Cabinet, we

have granted, since we are ever ready to listen to their counsel, and we

have furnished the good brothers with clothing and money to aid them. We

trust they will be grateful; and to prove to you that such is the case,

we enclose herewith an extract from the letter which they have written."

As the deed conveying Gripsholm to the brotherhood is lost, we cannot

discuss with thoroughness the merits of the case. It is enough that the

monarch's action accorded with the policy which he adopted later toward

all the monasteries in the land. The seizure of Gripsholm was justified,

at any rate, by a show of right. Of later cases it is difficult to say

even this. The Gripsholm Monastery had not been closed six months when

Gustavus claimed another monastery, this time in the diocese of Brask.

The abbot it appears had died, and Brask was busy making a list of the

monastery's property, that nothing should be lost. Gustavus wrote to

Brask with orders to leave the place alone. "Your fathers," he added,

"did not found the monastery; and even though your predecessors in the

bishopric may have founded it, they did so with money belonging to the

people.... We intend, therefore, to take charge of it ourselves." To

these imperative orders the wearied bishop answered: "I feel a special

obligation to this monastery, since it was founded by the yearly incomes

of the bishopric." This assertion, however, proved of no avail. Within a

year the monastery was yielded to the crown, and one of the monarch's

officers took the entire property in fee.[138]

All things apparently conspired to bring the aged bishop to the dust.

The seizure of his monastery occurred at a moment when he was in deep

distress about the newly levied tax. Early in 1525 Gustavus had written

him to surrender all the tithes accruing in his diocese for the year

last past; and following close upon this order, the royal stewards had

deprived him of a right of fishery which he possessed. The hapless

bishop murmured, but did not rebel. In writing to a fellow bishop, he

declared: "The king has recently demanded of us all our tithes, and the

chief prelates of Upland have yielded their consent. This policy appears

to me unwise. I dread an outburst from the people, and scarce have

courage to make the announcement to them." A few days later he said: "I

have written Gustavus about the tithes, but do not dare to discuss the

matter seriously with the people.... Only a year ago the officers seized

our tithes without consulting us. You can imagine, therefore, what the

people will say to this new levy. However, if his Majesty will not

countermand the order, we shall do our duty by writing and speaking to

the people. The feeding of the army, which he wishes by consent of his

advisers to impose upon the monasteries, we asserted at Vadstena was a

foreign practice that ought never to be introduced." Despite these

protests, Brask appears to have obeyed the monarch's orders. He wrote to

the clergy of his diocese urging them to send their quota, and to send

it quickly. "Bis dat qui cito dat," translated for the ignorant among

his clergy, "He gives nothing who delays." The result was precisely what

the bishop feared. The people fought against the imposition, and Brask,

as a reward for his efforts, was accused by Gustavus of being a party to

the revolt. The charge was utterly groundless and unfair. From beginning

to end the bishop's object had been to avoid friction, and finally he

had sacrificed his own interests in order to prevent friction with the

king. When in January, 1526, it was once more voted that the tithes be

given to the crown, he wrote to all his clergy urging them immediately

to obey. Gustavus, however, would not be appeased; and a parishioner

claiming that the bishop had withheld some jewels that belonged to her,

Gustavus, without examining the matter, wrote to Brask: "The law, as we

interpret it, gives you no power to take high-handed measures of this

sort." A few days later Brask asserted: "The royal officers are

beginning to enter upon the possessions of the Church, much to the

displeasure of the people." What he alluded to particularly was the acts

of Arvid Vestgoete, who had seized Church tithes and committed every sort

of violence to the priests in Oeland. Against this Brask protested, and

before the year was over Vestgoete was removed. By this time the spirit

of the aged bishop was well-nigh broken. In answer to a summons from

Gustavus in 1526, he wrote the king: "Though shattered by illness and

the infirmities of age, I will obey your orders with all the haste I

can, provided the weather or my death does not prevent me."[139]

Early in 1526, at one of the public fairs, an enthusiast came forward

and announced in public that a leading Lutheran in Stockholm was

preaching heresy, and that the king himself had violated old Church

customs in his food and drink. This silly assertion burst like a bomb

upon the town, and for a short period there was danger that the

fanaticism of the year before would be renewed. However, the excitement

soon died away; and Gustavus, when he heard of it, declared the story to

be a fabrication. "Would to God," he wrote, "that people would examine

into their own lives and not borrow trouble about the lives of others!

Let them first pluck the beam out of their own eye, and then they can

see clearly to pluck the mote out of their brother's eye." Lutheranism

had by this time attained so general acceptance that the monarch deemed

it unnecessary to offer arguments in its support. In August, 1526,

Laurentius Andreae forwarded to the archbishop of Trondhem the New

Testament in Swedish, and added that some two or three hundred copies of

the edition were still unsold, and could be had if he desired them. This

wide-spread distribution of the Scriptures produced its natural effect.

The flame of theological discord that had been slumbering for a year

broke out afresh. Brask, as an offset to the new translation,

interpreted into Swedish some tracts composed in Germany against the

Lutherans; and the monarch, hearing of this move, sent off a letter

commanding the aged bishop to desist. "Report has reached us, venerable

father," he began, "that you have translated into Swedish certain

proclamations of the emperor against the doctrines now current, ... and

that you have circulated them among the common people. We are well aware

that these proclamations are used to cast aspersions on us, since we are

not so zealous as he is in opposition to these doctrines. It is,

therefore, our desire and our command that you be patient, and send

hither certain scholars from your cathedral to prove that anything is

taught here other than the holy gospel. They shall be given a fair

hearing, and may postulate their views without prejudice in any way. And

if they can prove that any one preaches unchristian doctrine, he shall

be punished. Furthermore, we object to having a printing-press

established in Soederkoeping, lest it may do injury to the one established

here." Gustavus was determined that the enemies of Luther should defend

their faith. The disputation between Galle and Olaus Petri two years

before had been unsystematic, and had produced no permanent effect. So

the king resolved to force the parties to debate again. This time he put

down in writing certain questions, and sent them to the leading prelates

of the land, with orders to forward him their answers. The questions

were similar to those already raised; among them being these: Whether we

may reject all teaching of the Fathers and all Church customs that are

unsupported by the Word of God; whether the dominion of the pope and his

satellites is for or against Christ; whether any authority can be found

in the Bible for monastic life; whether any revelation is to be relied

on other than that recorded in the Bible; whether the saints are to be

considered patrons, or in any way are mediators between ourselves and

God. Gustavus intended that when the answers were all received, a public

hearing should be had, and every prelate given an opportunity to refute

the doctrines of his opponents. Some of the Roman Catholics, however,

refused to enter the arena. Brask, in writing to the monarch, declared

his clergy to be satisfied with their present doctrines, and unwilling

to discuss them publicly. The bishop also wrote to Galle, hoping to

dissuade him from the contest. But Galle, it appears, was eager for the

fray. He put his answers down in writing, and sent them to the king.

Other prelates, it is reported, did the same. The contest, however,

presumably from lack of combatants, did not succeed. Petri therefore

took the written answers filed by Galle, and printed them in book form,

along with comments by himself. This book does little credit either to

Petri or to the general intelligence of his time. Should any one ask

proof that we are more rational creatures than our fathers, he can do no

better than study in Petri's book the controversy that raged between the

intellectual giants of Sweden at the close of 1526. Of the positions

taken by the two contestants, Petri's was certainly less consistent than

that of his opponent. Galle declared explicitly: "Not everything done

by the Apostles or their successors is written in the Scriptures;"[140]

and on matters concerning which the Bible does not speak we must obey

the practices handed down by the Apostles through the Church. Petri,

while granting that many Fathers were inspired, declared we must not

follow their instructions, "lest we be led away by the devil;"[141] and

yet the Bible, compiled from various sources by the Fathers, he held

should be implicitly obeyed. In the light of recent scholarship, both

combatants were wrong. The Bible is no more intelligible without a

knowledge of its history than is the teaching of the Fathers without a

knowledge of the Bible.[142]

The contest has its chief value in the opportunity that it gives us to

study the methods of the king. From first to last it was a blow at

popery and the temporal supremacy of Rome. Each question was worded with

the very purpose of offering insult to the Church. Take for example the

second question: whether the dominion of the pope and his satellites is

for or against Christ. The monarch could not have thrown the question

into a more irritating form. Certainly Galle showed forbearance in

arguing the point at all. His answer was an appeal to history. From the

days of Gregory popes had enjoyed vast riches along with temporal power;

this showed that they were justified in possessing wealth.[143] Galle's

logic on the subject is not altogether clear. Petri's was somewhat

better. Christ had distinctly told the Apostles that his kingdom was not

of this world,[144] and Paul had declared that the Apostles were not to

be masters but servants.[145] Petri then broke out into a tirade against

his opponent's view. What right, he asked, had Galle to set up Gregory

against Christ and Paul? "What authority has he to expound the Word of

God according to the deeds of petty men? Rather, I conceive, are the

deeds of men to be judged according to the Word of God."[146] To an

assertion by Galle that the Church had held temporal power for the last

twelve centuries, Petri answered: "For that matter, the Word of God has

lasted still longer than twelve centuries.... However, the question is

not how old the thing is, but how right it is. The devil is old, and

none the better for it. That bishops are temporal lords is contrary to

the Word of God; and the longer they have been so, the worse for them.

Princes and emperors have granted the pope vast privileges, by which in

course of time he has become their master, till now all men bow down and

kiss his feet. Where he was given an inch, he has taken an ell....

Christ told Saint Peter to feed his lambs. But the popes with their

satellites have long since ceased to feed Christ's lambs, and for

centuries have done naught but fleece and slaughter them, not acting

like faithful shepherds, but like ravening wolves."[147] This vehement

language must have pleased the king. If bishops were not entitled to

worldly goods, it was an easy task to confiscate their property to the

crown. A like incentive called forth the question: whether any authority

can be found in the Bible for monastic life. The question, in that form,

permitted no reference to the Fathers. So Galle cited the command of

Jesus: "Go, sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor;" and he

further commended monastic life as a step on the way to heaven.[148]

Petri replied that monks did not sell all they had and give to the poor,

but clung fast to their possessions, bringing vast treasures into the

monasteries with them.[149]

The disputation, while strengthening the hands of Petri, caused a

momentary shout of opposition to the king. The cry arose that he was

introducing strange and novel faiths. His faiths perhaps were novel, but

they were not strange. The strangest feature in the matter was the

position taken by the king. By this time, there can be no question, he

was at heart with Luther; yet, judging from his own assertions, he was a

firm defender of the Church. The king's duplicity, of course, is easily

explained. He wished to rob the Roman Catholics of their power without

incurring their ill-will. He intended to reform their doctrines, and at

the same time spread abroad the notion that these doctrines had reformed

themselves. Some time before the disputation, he had written to the

north of Sweden to explain his views. "Dear friends," he courteously

began, "we hear that numerous reports have spread among you to the

effect that we have countenanced certain novel doctrines taught by

Luther. No one can prove, however, that we have countenanced aught

except the teaching of God and his Apostles. For the faith given us by

our fathers we shall battle so long as life remains, and die, as our

fathers died before us, in the faith. The seditious libels spread by

Sunnanvaeder and his followers have occasioned all the injury that has

fallen in days gone by upon this kingdom, as every reasonable man must

know. Doubtless there are among the clergy as well as among the people

many who are conscious of what they ought to do. But certain monks and

priests have raised this cry against us, chiefly for the reason that we

have denounced their ambitious projects and their unrighteous dealings

toward the people. If any person owes them anything, they withhold from

him the sacrament, and thus wring his money from him against the law of

God.... Again, if a man kills a bird or catches a fish on the Sabbath

day, they fine him in behalf of their bishop. This they have no right to

do unless the act is committed during church service, when the culprit

should have been listening to the Word of God. Again, whenever a priest

has wronged a layman, the layman is practically without a remedy. He

ought, however, to have the same remedy as the priest. Again, if a

layman kills a priest, he is at once put under the ban, whereas if a

priest kills a layman, he is not put under the ban. Yet God has

forbidden priests to kill laymen as well as laymen to kill priests,

making no difference in fact between them, but commanding all men to be

affectionate and peaceable toward one another. Finally, if a priest dies

intestate, his heirs lose their inheritance and his property is taken by

the bishop. Even the crown estates, which they know we are bounden by

our oath of office to protect, they have confiscated, and now they

proclaim that we have introduced new faiths and doctrines taught by

Luther. All we have done, as you already know, is to command them not to

carry on their ambitious practices to the ruin of our realm." This

explanation did not wholly calm the peasants; and when they found

Gustavus holding another contest over their religious tenets, their

suspicions were aroused again. Gustavus determined, therefore, that he

must take some drastic measure to prevent revolt. What he needed was a

vote of all the people to support his views. So he issued a proclamation

in January, 1527, informing the whole country that, since he was

reported to be introducing new beliefs, he should soon summon a general

diet to discuss the more important matters of belief, particularly the

overweening power of the pope.[150]

To this serious step Gustavus was impelled by several things. In the

first place he desired to fortify himself against the pope. During the

last three years the pope had practically been without authority in

Sweden. Gustavus had selected as his bishops men whose actions he was

able to control, and the pope had deprived himself of even the

semblance of authority by refusing to confirm them. However, the nominal

supremacy of Rome was not yet shaken off; and until it was so, there was

constant danger that her actual supremacy would revive. The monarch's

chief anxiety concerned Archbishop Magni. That prelate owed his

appointment mainly to the pliability of his temper, and to the

assumption on the monarch's part that he would prove a ready tool. In

this assumption Gustavus had soon discovered he was wrong. Magni, though

of pliant temper, was a thorough Papist, and, as time went on, displayed

a growing tendency to oppose the king. In consequence he gradually fell

from favor, till he became an object of open distrust. The earliest

evidence of this feeling appeared in 1525, when Magni, as one of the

envoys sent to Lubeck, was warned to take no action without the

acquiescence of the other envoys. This mandate was issued from a fear

lest Magni should encourage Lubeck to raise her voice against the spread

of Lutheranism in the Swedish kingdom. How far this fear was justified,

it is difficult to say. As Lubeck had not yet embraced the Reformation,

she doubtless sympathized in some degree with Magni, but there is not

the slightest evidence that Magni was unfaithful to the king. In

February, of the following year, when Magni was starting for the

Norwegian frontier to administer the rite of confirmation, he wrote the

archbishop of Trondhem that he would like to meet him and discuss the

dangerous condition of the Church. Gustavus, hearing of the contents of

this letter, was aroused again. The archbishop of Trondhem had given

offence by harboring Swedish refugees, and Magni's simple letter caused

the monarch to believe that the two archbishops were, as he expressed

it, "in secret negotiation." Some two months later, Gustavus being in

the archbishop's palace, a stately feast was given in his honor. This

only added to the feud. The monarch was incensed to find that Magni was

capable of such display. Hot words ensued between them, and finally the

archbishop was arrested and conveyed to Stockholm. There he was charged

with conspiracy against the king. Certain letters that had passed

between him and the Roman Catholics of Germany were produced; and though

they showed no evidence of fraud, the archbishop was remanded to his

prison to await the further disposition of his case. Never was greater

injustice done a worthy man. There was not a scintilla of evidence

against him. He was a generous, kindly, single-minded prelate, and the

only reason for this cruelty was that he had no sympathy with the

methods of the king. After some months in prison he was released upon

the pretext of an embassy to Poland. Nobody could be ignorant what this

pretext meant. He was to be an exile from his native land. He sailed

from Sweden in the autumn of 1526, never to return. By such ignoble

practices the monarch cleared his path.[151]

After the banishment of Archbishop Magni, Gustavus gave free rein to

his ambition. The principal object of his greed was still the

monasteries and convents. The practice of quartering his soldiers in

them was by this time accepted as a necessary evil. But in August, 1526,

he raised a new pretension. The provost of the Abo Chapter having died,

its members had chosen another in his stead, and had begun to distribute

his property in accordance with a will that he had left, when a letter

came from Sweden ordering them to stop. After expressing surprise that

they should have chosen a provost without consulting him, Gustavus

added: "We learn that your last provost left a large amount of property

by his testament to those persons to whom he wished to have it go. It is

clear, however, that it would do more good if given to the public, since

the kingdom is in a state of distress brought on by the long-protracted

war against King Christiern. We therefore command you, after

distributing the legacies given to his family and friends as well as the

poor, to hand the balance over to us to pay the nation's debt." Against

this high-handed measure there was no redress. It was but part of a

policy by this time well established in the monarch's mind. Some six

months later, the burgomaster and Council of Arboga wrote Gustavus that

affairs in their monastery were managed in a very slipshod way; that

when a brother died, the prior took possession of his estate, and the

monastery itself got nothing for it. To prevent this state of things,

Gustavus sent an officer to take up quarters in the monastery and send

him a list of all the property he could find. "You will discover also,"

he declared, "some chests belonging to foreign monks. Take a look at

them, and see what they contain." This letter, it should be remembered,

was not intended for the public eye. Gustavus was careful to keep his

actions dark, and, the monks of Arboga being accused of secreting

certain treasures, the royal officer was instructed to make a diligent

investigation, but to lay his hands on nothing until he received more

positive commands. He was careful, also, that his practice of

confiscating Church property should not be taken as an excuse for

private individuals to do the same. In one case, where such a thing was

done, he denounced the perpetrator in the strongest terms. Moreover,

when the monasteries began to murmur against the soldiers quartered with

them, he sent out an open letter to them, declaring that he had

instructed his officers to be as courteous to them as they could. It may

be noted, however, that he showed no signs of mitigating their

distress.[152]

Early in 1527 Gustavus determined that the crucial moment for the

Reformation had arrived. Dalarne, as usual, was in a state of

insurrection, and every effort which he made to check the Church called

forth a storm of imprecations from the northern provinces. The tax

imposed upon the Dalesmen being still withheld, it was particularly

necessary that the insurrection should be stayed. In February,

therefore, Gustavus wrote a letter to appease the people. "Dear

friends," began the monarch, "we understand a report is spread among

the people that some new creed is preached here to the dishonor of God,

the Virgin, and the saints. Before God we declare this rumor to be

false. Nothing is here preached or taught except the pure word of God,

as given by Christ to his Apostles.... It is indeed true, that

denunciations have been heard in public against the vice and avarice of

the clergy, and against the flagrant abuse of their privileges. They

have oppressed the ignorant with excommunication, withholding of the

sacrament, and all sorts of impositions. Wholly without authority from

Holy Writ, they have imposed their Romish indulgences upon you, carrying

vast treasures of gold and silver out of the kingdom, thus weakening our

realm and impoverishing our people, while the high prelates have grown

rich and haughty toward the lords and princes from whom these very

privileges were derived.... We therefore urge you all by your sworn

allegiance, not to be deceived by false rumors about us, doubting

nothing that we shall move heaven and earth to promote your interests.

And we beg you earnestly to believe that we are as good a Christian as

any living man, and shall do our utmost to promote the Christian faith."

Every one could see that this assertion was intended to persuade the

Dalesmen to pay the newly levied tax. As the effort proved without

avail, the monarch called a general diet to be held on the 9th of June,

the object being, as he declared, to put an end to the dissension that

had arisen in divine affairs. Later, the diet was postponed to June 15,

and, to appease the Dalesmen, was ordered to be held in Vesteras, a

city that was near their province.[153]

Before the day appointed for the diet, a long list of their grievances

was drawn up by the Dalesmen and sent to Stockholm to the king. To these

complaints Gustavus issued a reply, in which he strove to pacify the

malcontents and thus obtain their presence at the diet. The complaints

themselves are somewhat trivial, but the monarch's answer is important

as an instance of his peculiar power in avoiding discord without

directly compromising his affairs. To their murmur at the abolition of

the mint in Vesteras, and the scarcity of coins of small denominations,

he answered that the mint was closed because the mines adjacent were no

longer worked; so soon as the mines in question should be opened he

would reinstate the mint, and moreover he would please them by issuing

small coins. As to the complaint of heavy taxes, the Cabinet were

responsible for that. He would say, however, that he did not contemplate

any further tax. The practice of billeting in the towns and monasteries

was made necessary by the paucity of land about the royal castles, but

this necessity he hoped would not exist much longer. The charge of

reducing the number of monasteries and churches he denied. He had not

closed a single monastery except Gripsholm, which was the property of

his father and had been made a monastery against his father's will. To

the ludicrous charge that he was planning to restore Archbishop Trolle,

he made a flat denial. One thing, he said, was certain,--those who

favored Trolle favored Christiern; he could scarce be charged with that.

Finally, the Dalesmen complained of Luther's teachings, particularly the

doctrines that were taught in Stockholm and the practice of allowing

Swedish chants and hymns. To this he could say only that he had ordered

nothing to be preached except the Word of God; and as to Swedish chants,

he could see no reason for punishing in Stockholm what was permitted in

all other portions of the kingdom; it was certainly better to praise God

in a language that everybody understood than in Latin, which no one

understood. "I wonder much," he said in closing, "that the Dalesmen

trouble themselves concerning matters of which they have no knowledge.

It would be wiser to leave the discussion of these things to priests and

scholars.... I do not believe, however, that these complaints are made

of your own free will, but rather at the instigation of certain priests

and monks, whose desire is to keep the truth unknown." This sentence

with which he closed contains the pith of the entire letter. The monarch

felt that in the coming contest the opposing parties were to be the

Church and State. He endeavored, therefore, by every means to win the

Dalesmen to his side. Letters were despatched to Dalarne from various

portions of the realm, to instruct the peasants that if they persisted

in their opposition to Gustavus, they would have to fight alone. The

Dalesmen, however, were no more influenced by threats than by

persuasion. They stood firm in their determination; and when the diet

assembled on the 24th of June, no delegates from Dalarne appeared.[154]

The Diet of Vesteras is the bulwark of the Swedish Reformation. It is

the first embodiment in the Swedish law of the reforms of Martin Luther.

Gustavus had been making ready for this diet ever since the day of his

election, and at last the opportunity was ripe. One by one the prelates

that were hostile to his views had been removed; and Brask, the only man

of strength that still held out against him, was tottering to the grave.

His enemies abroad had been by this time silenced, and except in the

little province of Dalarne, Sweden was at peace. It was this revolt

among the Dalesmen that served as a pretext for the diet. Gustavus was

too shrewd a politician to make an open avowal of his aim. He announced

that the purpose of the diet was to quell the constant riots in the

realm, and hinted with mock innocence that he wished also to end the

dissension that had arisen in matters of the Church. Among the persons

who answered to the summons we find the names of four bishops, including

Brask, together with representatives from Upsala and all the other

Chapters excepting Abo. Beside these, there were present one hundred and

forty-four of the nobility (of whom sixteen were Cabinet members),

thirty-two burghers, one hundred and five peasants, and fourteen

delegates from the mining districts. The king's design had been made

manifest before the diet met; for on the previous Sunday, at a banquet

given by him to the delegates already arrived in Vesteras, he had taken

especial pains to show the bishops that their temporal supremacy was at

an end. Despising every venerated custom, he had ranged about himself

the higher members of the nobility, and had consigned the bishops to an

inferior position. The affront thus put upon them galled them to the

quick, and on the following day they held a secret meeting to discuss

their wrongs. All of the bishops present excepting Brask discerned the

hopelessness of their cause, and advocated a humble submission to the

monarch's will. But Brask was boiling over with indignation. He sprang

to his feet and shouted that they must be mad. If the king wanted to

deprive them of their rights by force, he might do so. But they ought

never to consent to such a course, lest they might thereby offend the

Holy See. In times gone by, princes had frequently attempted the same

thing that Gustavus was attempting now, but the thunders of the Vatican

had always overwhelmed them. If the bishops now should fall away from

their allegiance to the pope, their only refuge would be gone. They

would become mere puppets of the king, afraid to speak a word in favor

of their old prerogatives. These sentiments of Brask's were listened to

with favor. The warmth with which he spoke produced its natural effect,

and before the prelates parted they drew up a set of "protests," as they

called them, agreeing never to abandon the pope or accept a single

article of Luther's teaching. To these "protests" the prelates all

attached their seals; and fifteen years afterward the document was

discovered under the floor of Vesteras Cathedral, with all the seals

attached.[155]

Directly following this secret session of the prelates, the general diet

assembled in the grand hall of the monastery. The proceedings opened

with a laborious address from Gustavus,--his secretary, Laurentius

Andreae, acting as spokesman for the king. This address reviewed the

entire history of the monarch's reign. He began by thanking his subjects

for their presence at the diet, and went on to remind them that he had

already more than once expressed his willingness to resign the crown.

Nothing had induced him to retain it except their earnest prayer. He had

therefore striven, night and day, to promote the welfare of his people,

and in return for all his labors insurrection had sprung up on every

hand, till now, the Dalesmen having once again rebelled, he was

determined that he would no longer be their king. They charged him now

with imposing heavy taxes, with keeping up the price of food, with

billeting his soldiers in the towns and monasteries, with robbing

churches and confiscating religious property, with favoring new creeds

and sanctioning new customs. All these charges were untrue. He had

commanded that nothing should be preached except the Word of God; but

his orders had not been obeyed, for the people preferred to cling to

their ancient customs, whether right or wrong. As it was impossible,

under the present system, to avoid continual rebellion, he wished to

retire from the government. If they desired him to remain, some method

must be found to increase the royal income. He was at present wholly

unable to pay the expenses of his army, for war had grown to be a much

more costly matter than it was in former days. Other expenses, too, were

very heavy. The cost of embassies to foreign powers was a serious drain

upon his revenue. Moreover, the royal castles had all sunk into decay

and must be rebuilt; and if he married the daughter of some foreign

prince, a vast outlay would be required. The nobility also were

impoverished through constant warfare, and were calling on the crown for

aid. His present income was twenty-four thousand marks per annum, while

his expenses in round numbers amounted to sixty thousand marks.[156]

At the close of this address Gustavus called upon the knights and

bishops to reply. Although the monarch's speech had not in terms

denounced the bishops, it was clear to all men that his purpose was to

humble them. The duty of making answer, therefore, naturally fell to

Brask. That venerable prelate rose, and with his usual complaisance

declared that, having sworn allegiance to his gracious lord the king, he

felt in duty bound to honor his commands. He had, however, by his oath

of office promised to do nothing contrary to the will of Rome; and since

the pope had ordered him and the other prelates to defend all property,

whether real or personal, of the holy Church, they must not consent to

sacrifice their rights. But he would promise that any deacons, priests,

or monks who might devise tricks or superstitious practices not

prescribed by their superiors, should be ordered to desist and should be

punished.[157]

At this, Gustavus demanded of the Cabinet and nobility whether they were

satisfied with the answer. As none seemed eager to defend the monarch's

cause, Gustavus took the floor himself and said: "I have no further

desire, then, to be your king. Verily I had not counted on such

treatment at your hands. I now no longer wonder at the perversity of the

people, since they have such men as you for their advisers. Have they no

rain? They lay the blame on me. Have they no sun? Again they lay the

blame on me. When hard times come, hunger, disease, or whatever it may

be, they charge me with it, as if I were not man, but God. This is your

gratitude to me for bringing corn and rye and malt at great expense and

trouble from foreign lands, that the poor of Sweden might not starve.

Yea, though I labor for you with my utmost power both in spiritual and

in temporal affairs, you would gladly see the axe upon my neck; nay, you

would be glad to strike the blow yourselves. I have borne more labor and

trouble both at home and abroad than any of you can know or

understand,--and all because I am your king. You would now set monks and

priests and all the creatures of the pope above my head, though we have

little need of these mighty bishops and their retinue. In a word, you

all would lord it over me; and yet you elected me your king. Who under

such circumstances would desire to govern you? Not the worst wretch in

hell would wish the post, far less any man. Therefore I, too, refuse to

be your king. I cast the honor from me, and leave you free to choose him

whom you will. If you can find one who will continue ever to please you,

I shall be glad. Be so considerate, however, as to let me leave the

land. Pay me for my property in the kingdom, and return to me what I

have expended in your service. Then I declare to you I will withdraw

never to return to my degenerate, wretched, and thankless native

land."[158]

After this burst of passion, the monarch strode in anger from the hall.

He had studied his position well, and knew that his opponents in the end

must yield. No sooner had he left the meeting than his secretary rose

and sought to bring the members to the monarch's views. "My good men,"

he began, "let us arrive at some conclusion in this matter, seeking aid

from God. It is a weighty question that we are to answer, and one upon

which hangs the welfare of our people. You heard the king say truly

there were but two courses open. One was to follow his request,

imploring him to be our leader hereafter as heretofore; the other was to

choose the king's successor." But the delegates continued silent, and

adjourned toward evening without putting the question to a vote.[159]

During three whole days the deadlock lasted. From the inactivity of the

king's adherents, it would seem that they were acting according to

advice. Gustavus wished to force his enemies' hand. It was clear to

everybody that the blessings conferred by him on Sweden were beyond all

praise, and he was confident that no one would be rash enough to talk

seriously about selecting another for the throne. His object was to wait

until the patience of his enemies was exhausted, in the hope that

ultimately the offer of a compromise should come from them. If such

methods of procedure are to be allowed, it must be granted that the

monarch's policy was shrewd. During the three days following his stormy

action in the diet, he kept himself in the castle, entertaining his

trusty courtiers and feigning utter indifference to what was going on

outside. On the very day after his withdrawal, this independent policy

began to tell. The bishop of Strengnaes was apparently the first to

waver. He appreciated the folly of longer holding out against the king,

and rose to say that he regarded such a step as fraught with danger.

Something must be done, he said, without delay. To put aside Gustavus

and elect another king was simply childish, and to buy up all his

property would be impossible. While he wished the clergy's rights to be

protected, he asked for nothing that would be a detriment to the realm.

Matters in general were now improving, and the future apparently was

bright. If Gustavus should be permitted to withdraw, nations that had

ever coveted the kingdom would no longer leave it unmolested. The effect

of these words was in a measure lost through a wrangle that ensued

between Laurentius Petri and the Papist champion, Peder Galle. What they

were fighting over, no one knew, for Petri made his argument in Swedish

for the benefit of the people, and Galle would not answer in anything

but Latin. Nothing had been accomplished, therefore, when the

disputation ceased. And the morning and the evening were the second

day.[160]

When the diet once more came together, the battle opened with

replenished strength. By this time the peasantry and burghers had pretty

generally sided with the king, and threats were heard that, if the

knights persisted in their stubborn purpose, they would be made to

suffer for it. This language proved more efficacious than persuasion.

The knights and bishops could agree upon no policy, nor upon a leader.

They were terrified, moreover, by the preponderance in number of their

foes. As a consequence, they gradually weakened, till at last the

delegates all voted to obey the monarch's will. Andreae and Petri were

therefore chosen to approach Gustavus and inform him that the delegates

would now consent to his requests. Gustavus then indulged once more his

love of masquerade. He feigned reluctance to accept the proffered honor,

and scorned the delegates who came to him upon their knees. One after

another the recalcitrant members grovelled in the dust before him, and

begged that he would show them mercy. This was the sort of ceremony that

the monarch loved. He kept his enemies in their humble posture till his

vanity was glutted, and then declared that he would go before the diet

on the following day.[161]

Gustavus was at last in a position to dictate to the diet. The

opportunity for which he had been longing since his first acceptance of

the crown was now at hand. He had won an unconditional victory over

every one of his opponents, and he was minded to use this victory for

all that it was worth. It is matter of regret that practically no

account is given us of the steps by which the measures that he sought to

have enacted were attained. This very meagreness, however, is strong

evidence that the measures were enacted without much friction.

Apparently, the only object of the delegates now was to suit their

action to the monarch's will. They therefore adopted as their guiding

star the propositions with which the diet had been opened by the king,

and formulated a set of answers in conformity therewith. These answers

were drawn respectively by the Cabinet and nobility, by the burghers and

mountaineers, and by the common people. It is worthy of more than

passing notice that no answer was presented by the clergy. Indeed, the

clergy appear to have been regarded in the light of victims. The whole

object of the diet was to crush the Church, and the clergy were not

permitted even to have a hand in the proceedings. The monarch's notion

was to give the clergy no voice whatever in the diet, but after the lay

delegates had formulated their resolves, to force the bishops to issue a

proclamation certifying their assent.

It seems desirable to describe in brief the answers which the different

classes of delegates presented. The Cabinet and nobility began by

promising that, if the rebellion in Dalarne were not already quelled,

they would use every measure in their power to attain that end. They

were satisfied with the monarch's seizure of Gripsholm. They deemed it

proper, since the royal rents were small, that Gustavus be at liberty

to grant the monasteries of the land as fiefs, but not, however, to

expel the monks. In order to increase the wealth of the nobility, they

advocated that all property granted by former noblemen to churches or

monasteries since 1454 revert to the donors' heirs, though not until

such heirs should prove their title. To augment the crown's resources,

they believed the bishops, chapters, and cathedrals should surrender to

the king all that portion of their income which they did not absolutely

need. No one should be permitted to preach falsehood or anything beyond

the simple Word of God, and old Church customs ought to be

maintained.[162]

The burghers and mountaineers gave their answer in a similar vein. They

begged Gustavus to remain their king, and promised to defend him with

their blood. They would express no opinion concerning Dalarne till the

Dalesmen who were going thither should bring back their report. Since

the monks were clearly at the bottom of the trouble, no monk should be

permitted to leave his monastery more than twice a year. Gustavus should

be given the right of billeting whenever it were necessary. Before

deciding about the new beliefs they wished to hear a disputation on the

subject. As the rents of the nobility and crown had been diminished by

the Church, the Church ought certainly to restore them; and the mode of

restoration should be determined by Gustavus and his Cabinet. The royal

castles having been demolished, the prelates should surrender theirs

until the castles belonging to the crown could be rebuilt. Finally, from

that day forth no bishop ought to send to Rome for confirmation.[163]

The answer of the common people began with a promise that they would go

to Dalarne and inflict punishment upon the traitors; and since many

monks were in the habit of inciting the people to rebel, it seemed

desirable that they be permitted to leave their monasteries only twice

each year. Gustavus might quarter his soldiers in the monasteries

whenever it was necessary. The churches and monasteries near Stockholm,

having in times past given shelter to the enemy, should be torn down and

their materials used to repair the city walls. All matters of creed they

were willing to leave to the bishops and prelates, but asked that a

disputation on these subjects might be had in presence of

representatives of the people. The king should have authority to

increase his revenue in the way that seemed to him most fitting. The

king might take the bishops' castles till his own could be rebuilt. The

proper disposition of the Church incomes they were content to leave to

the king and his Cabinet.[164]

One cannot but be startled by the revolutionary tendency of these

replies. Never before had such a thing been dreamt of as the surrender

of all the bishops' castles to the crown. Gustavus must have been

bewildered by his own audacity. Within four days the diet that had come

together puffed up by a consciousness of its own magnificence, had sunk

into a position of absolute servility. Things had been granted by the

delegates which, when the diet opened, Gustavus had not even dared to

ask. The very mode in which the votes were taken and the acts were

passed, shows how completely everybody answered to the monarch's nod.

Instead of the answers being submitted to a general vote, they were laid

before the Cabinet to be passed upon by them. In defiance of every

precedent, the Cabinet usurped the right to clothe the diet's sentiment

in language of their own. The result was a decree promulgated in the

diet's name and celebrated in Swedish history as the Vesteras Recess. By

this decree the delegates asserted, every one of them, that they would

do their utmost to punish all conspiracies against the king. They

declared, moreover, that as the royal incomes were but meagre, the

monasteries and churches must come to the relief, and, to prevent all

danger, no bishop should keep up a larger retinue than the king allowed.

All bishops and cathedrals, with their chapters, must hand over to the

king all income not absolutely necessary for their support. Since many

monasteries were dilapidated and their lands were lying waste, an

officer must be appointed by the crown to keep them up and hand over all

their rents not needed for that purpose to the crown. The nobility were

declared entitled to all property that had passed from their ancestors

to the Church since 1454. Finally, Gustavus was ordered to summon the

two factions in the Church to hold a disputation in presence of the

diet, and the members promised to quell the outcry that had arisen

against Gustavus and to punish the offenders.[165]

It is reported that something in the nature of a disputation was now

held. But its significance, at any rate, was small. The bishops and

their clergy were to all intents and purposes without a voice; and ere

the diet closed, a set of resolutions had been passed which did away

with all necessity for further disputation. These so-called "Vesteras

Ordinantia" were even more far-reaching than the "Vesteras Recess."

Since they are the touchstone of the modern Swedish faith, the reader

will pardon prolixity if I give them all. They are as follows: (1)

Vacancies in the parish-churches are to be filled by the bishop of the

diocese. If, however, he appoints murderers, drunkards, or persons who

cannot or will not preach the Word of God, the king may expel them and

appoint other priests who are more fit. (2) Where a parish is poor, two

of them may be joined together, though not if such a step would be an

injury to the Word of God. (3) All bishops shall furnish the king with a

schedule of their rents and incomes of every kind. From these schedules

he shall determine the relative proportions for them to keep and to hand

over to the crown. (4) A similar course shall be pursued with regard to

the cathedrals and chapters. (5) Auricular confession must be given up

as already commanded, and an account must be rendered to the king of all

fines imposed. (6) An account must also be rendered to the king of all

fees received for remitting the ban, and bishops with their officers

must not inflict the ban for petty offences, as has been often done

hitherto. (7) Bishops shall have authority to determine as to the

legality of marriages, and may grant divorces, but an account shall be

rendered to the king of all fees received therefor. (8) Fees for

weddings, funerals, and churchings, may be taken as provided in the

Church ordinances, but no more. (9) Since it has been decreed that the

king and not the bishop is to receive all fines imposed in cases within

ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the provosts may hereafter hold court just

as the bishops have done hitherto, and shall render an account of their

doings to the king. (10) For desecration of holy days no penalty is to

be imposed on those who have been tilling the ground, or fishing, or

catching birds, but persons discovered hunting or quarrelling shall be

fined. (11) Priests shall be subject to temporal laws and temporal

courts, in all disputes, of their own or of their churches, concerning

property, torts, or contracts, and shall pay to the king the same

penalties as laymen. But all complaints against the clergy for

non-fulfilment of their priestly duties shall be laid before the bishop.

(12) If a priest and layman come to blows, one shall not be placed under

the ban any more than the other, for God has forbidden priests to

quarrel as well as laymen. Both shall suffer for their acts according to

the laws of the land. (13) Since it has been found that mendicant monks

spread lies and deceit about the country, the royal stewards are to see

that they do not remain away from their monasteries more than five

weeks every summer and five weeks every winter. Every monk must get a

license from the steward or burgomaster before he goes out, and return

it when he comes back. (14) Monks who receive rents shall not go out to

beg at all. (15) When a priest dies, the bishop is not to defraud the

priest's heirs of their inheritance. Priests shall be bound, in regard

to their wills, by the same law as other people. (16) If a man has

sexual intercourse with a woman to whom he is engaged, he shall not be

punished, since they are already married in the eye of God. (17) No

person who is infirm shall be compelled by priests to make a will. (18)

The sacrament shall not be withheld from any one for debt or other

reason. The church or priest has a remedy in court. (19) Fines for

adultery and fornication belong to the king, not to the bishop. (20) The

Gospel shall hereafter be taught in every school. (21) Bishops shall

consecrate no priest who is incompetent to preach the Word of God. (22)

No one shall be made a prelate, canon, or prebend unless he has been

recommended by the king, or his name submitted to the king.[166]

These ordinances were practically a signal for the death of popery. They

not only transferred to the king the rich emoluments on which for

centuries the bishops had grown fat; they transferred also to him a

right to superintend the actions of ecclesiastical authorities in

matters appertaining to the Church. It is hardly credible that so vast

an object should have been attained without more friction, and that it

was attained is a lasting testimony to the shrewdness of the king. We

may sneer at the childish indignation with which Gustavus strode forth

from the diet, but the fact remains that this pretended indignation

gained its end. Above all else, Gustavus knew the character of his

people. They were particularly prone to sentiment. A few sham tears or

an exuberant display of wrath had more effect upon them than the most

sagacious argument that the monarch could employ. His policy, therefore,

was to stir their feelings, and then withdraw to watch their feelings

effervesce. It is not too much to say that no monarch has ever in so

short a time effected greater change in sentiment than Gustavus effected

among the members of this diet.

Before the delegates departed, a letter was issued by all the bishops

present, and by representatives of the absent bishops, declaring to the

people that Gustavus had portrayed in graphic terms the evil inflicted

on the crown in former times by bishops; and that the lay members had

voted, to prevent such danger in the future, that the bishops' retinues

should be limited thereafter by the king, and that all their superfluous

rents and castles, as well as the superfluous rents of the cathedrals

and chapters, should be surrendered to the crown. "To this," the humbled

prelates added, "we could not, even if we would, object, for we wish to

dispel the notion that our power and castles are a menace to the realm.

We shall be satisfied whether we are rich or poor." To one who reads

between these lines, it is easy to discern the language of the king. He

also wrote, above his own name, to the people, informing them that the

diet had been held; and for details of the proceedings he referred them

to a letter which the Cabinet had penned.[167]

There was one man on whom the diet of Vesteras had fallen like a clap of

thunder from on high. His cherished dream of finally restoring Romanism

to her old position in the eyes of men was now no more. The knell of

popery had been sounded, and nothing remained for the aged bishop but

despair. True to the spirit of the ancient Church, he had looked askance

on every effort to discuss her faith. The doctrines handed down through

centuries appeared to him so sacred that in his eyes it was sacrilege to

open them again. In answer to the monarch's oft-repeated counsel that

the Church reform her doctrines, he had steadily asserted his

unwillingness to take that step, "for these new doctrines," he declared,

"have been investigated frequently in other countries and have been

condemned. No man of wisdom, I believe, will champion a doctrine that is

contrary to the mandates of the Christian Church." This constant

opposition on the part of Brask had brought him more and more beneath

the monarch's frown. Gustavus let no opportunity escape to add

humiliation to the venerable bishop. On one occasion Brask unwittingly

had consecrated as a nun a woman who formerly had been betrothed; and

when the woman later left the convent to become her lover's wife, the

bishop placed them both beneath the ban. This act called forth a

condemnation from the king. "The bearer tells us," were his words to

Brask, "that he has married a woman to whom he was engaged, and who

against her will was made a nun. We see no wrong in such a practice, and

wonder much that you did not inform yourself before the girl received

her consecration. The husband informs us, further, that you have placed

them both beneath the ban. This course appears to us unjust, and we

command you to remit the punishment.... We think it better to allow this

marriage than to drive the woman to an impure life." A little later,

when revolt arose in Dalarne, Gustavus fancied that he saw the bishop's

hand. "The priests," he said to one of his officers, "are at the bottom

of all rebellion, and the diocese of Linkoeping is the heart of this

conspiracy." Gustavus had no ground for this suspicion, and the charge

was utterly untrue. Brask thought the tax imposed upon the Dalesmen

altogether too severe, and did not hesitate to say so; but he was very

far from sympathizing with the rebels, and when it was ordered that the

diet should be held in Vesteras to please the Dalesmen, he was the first

person to suggest a danger in holding it so near the seat of the

revolt.[168]

Brask's influential position in the diet only added to the monarch's

wrath, and it was against him chiefly that the diet's acts were framed.

He was the wealthiest of the Swedish bishops. Hence the reduction in

their incomes, as commanded by the diet, fell heaviest on him. But even

here the monarch's greed was not assuaged. After the "Ordinantia" had

been passed, Gustavus rose and called upon the several bishops to resign

their castles. This step, though advocated by the burghers and

mountaineers as well as common people, had not been ordered by the diet.

Gustavus seems, therefore, to have made the demand upon his own

authority alone, and the issue proved that his authority was great. The

bishops of Strengnaes and Skara, on whom the demand was made first,

acquiesced as gracefully as was possible to so provoking a demand. But

when the monarch came to Brask, that prelate did not readily comply. One

of the nobility addressed the king, and begged him to allow the aged

bishop to retain his castle during the few short years that yet remained

to him of life. This reasonable request, however, the monarch would not

grant; and Brask persisting in his right to hold the castle, Gustavus

deprived him of his retinue and held him prisoner till he furnished bail

conditioned for his good behavior as well as for the surrender of his

castle. The diet then adjourned, Gustavus sending forth a body of men

who entered the bishop's castle by main force, and placed it under the

supremacy of the king.[169]

The ground of this barbaric treatment appears in a negotiation between

the king and Brask some five weeks later. By the Vesteras Recess

Gustavus was given a claim to all the income not needed by the bishops,

cathedrals, and chapters for their support. But since the sum required

for the prelates was not named, the field thus left for argument was

wide. The prelates took a much higher view of their necessities than was

taken by the king. Brask especially found it hard to do without his

ancient pomp and circumstance. Gustavus therefore put the screws upon

him to bring the lordly bishop to the ground. How well this plan

succeeded is shown in a document of the 2d of August--about five weeks

after the seizure of Brask's castle--in which the bishop is declared to

have come to an understanding, and to have promised the king fifteen

hundred marks a year beside some other tribute. In reward for this

concession, Gustavus declared himself contented, and received the bishop

once more into royal favor.[170]

There is now but little more to chronicle about the aged bishop. Beaten

at every point, and practically a prisoner at the monarch's mercy, he

had at last capitulated and granted to Gustavus all that he had asked.

The surrender, furthermore, was but the prelude to the bishop's flight.

Conscious that every hope was crushed forever, he craved permission to

visit Gotland and perform the sacred duties of his office. This request

was granted, and the venerable prelate set forth never to return. On

pretext of consulting eminent physicians, he sailed across the Baltic,

and watched the monarch's movements from afar. Gustavus, when he learned

of this escape, confiscated all the property of Brask that he could

find, and, worse than all, he issued a letter, filled with venom,

denouncing the perfidy of the aged bishop and telling the people of his

diocese that Brask had fled because of suits that certain persons were

about to bring against him for his wrongs.[171]

It is difficult to take our leave of Brask without a word in admiration

of his character. He was, in point of intellect, the most commanding

figure of his time. Though born and bred among a people strangely void

of understanding, he displayed some talents by which he would have stood

conspicuous in any court of Europe. His learning possibly was not so

great as that of Magni, nor did his eloquence by any means compare with

that of Petri. But in matters of diplomacy, in the art of comprehending

human nature, he was unsurpassed by any prelate of the day. He was

singularly acute in forming his conclusions. Rarely if ever did he

express opinions that were not ultimately verified by facts. His

versatility, moreover, was something marvellous. While weighted down

with every sort of trouble and anxiety, he spent his leisure moments in

writing perfectly delightful letters to his friends. These letters bear

the marks of suffering, but are calm in spirit, charitable, and replete

with thought. They treat of botany, of geographical experiments, and of

various schemes to benefit the Swedish nation. As specimens of

literature they are superior to any other documents of the time; and the

writer evidently took keen pleasure in their composition. "By means of

letters," he declared, "we keep our friends; and I would rather keep the

friends I have than make new ones." Brask's greatest fault was his

hypocrisy; but even this was due more to his education than to any

innate trait. He was a Romanist of the deepest dye, and along with

Romanism he inherited a tendency to sacrifice the means in order to

effect the end. His very earnestness impelled him to deceive. But his

deception, if only we may judge him leniently, was of a very pardonable

kind. Take him for all in all, he was an extremely interesting man; and

when he left the country, Sweden lost a valuable son.

FOOTNOTES:

[135] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 101-102; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes

registrat._, vol. ii. p. 138; and _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol.

xviii. pp. 295-303 and 315-316.

[136] _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 48-53 and vol. xviii.

pp. 300-303; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 83-86;

Linkoeping, _Bibliotheks handl._, vol. i. pp. 179-183; and _Skrift. och

handl._, vol. i. pp. 347-351.

[137] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 62-63; _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol.

xxiii. pp. 59-60; _Handl. roer. Sver. inre foerhall._, vol. i. pp. 5-8;

and _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 126-129.

[138] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 86-88; _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol.

xv. pp. 14-17 and vol. xv. pp. 15-16; _Handl. roer. Sver. inre foerhall._,

vol. i. pp. 22, 25-29, 42-43 and 109-110; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes

registrat._, vol. iii. pp. 24-25, 101-104, 263-264, 385-386 and 416-417,

and vol. iv. pp. 292-293, 321-322 and 357-358; and _Smal. archiv._, pp.

175-176.

[139] _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xiv. pp. 66-70, vol. xv. pp. 5-7,

13-15, 25-29 and 49-50, vol. xvi. pp. 11-14 and 59-62, and vol. xviii.

pp. 267-269, 276-282, 316-317, 320 and 341-342; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes

registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 29-31, 191-192, 214 and 277-278, and vol. iii.

pp. 166, 333-334, 406-408 and 425-428; and Linkoeping, _Bibliotheks

handl._, vol. i. pp. 199-201.

[140] _Skrift. och handl._, vol. i. p. 100.

[141] _Ibid._, pp. 19 and 118.

[142] _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iii. pp. 1075-1083; _Handl. roer.

Skand. hist._, vol. xvi. pp. 43-52, 59-62 and 76-78; _Handl. roer. Sver.

inre foerhall._, vol. i. pp. 20-21 and 46-48; _Kon. Gust, den Foerstes

registrat._, vol. iii. pp. 100-101, 313-314, 331-333 and 421-426 and

vol. iv. pp. 3-4; Linkoeping, _Bibliotheks handl._, vol. i. pp. 192-201;

and _Skrift. och handl._, vol. i. pp. 1-145.

[143] _Skrift. och handl._, vol. i. p. 71.

[144] _Ibid._, p. 28.

[145] _Ibid._, p. 33.

[146] _Ibid._, p. 76.

[147] _Ibid._, pp. 77-78.

[148] _Skrift. och handl._, vol. i. p. 87.

[149] _Ibid._, p. 96. Petri's book, entitled _Swar paa tolff spoersmal_,

published in 1527, is printed in _Skrift. och handl._, vol. i. pp.

1-145.

[150] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 95-96; _Handl. roer. Sver. inre

foerhall._, vol. i. pp. 33-36 and 53-56; and _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes

registrat._, vol. iii. pp. 162-164 and vol. iv. pp. 18-20.

[151] Johannes Magni, _Hist. pont._, pp. 76-80; Svart, _Gust. I.'s

kroen._, pp. 100-104 and 120-121; _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xviii.

pp. 341-342; _Handl. roer. Sver. inre foerhall._, vol. i. pp. 31-32;

_Handl. till upplysn. af Finl. haefd._, vol. ii. pp. 193-195; _Kon. Gust.

den Foerstes registrat._, vol. ii. pp. 185-186 and vol. iii. pp. 111-112,

193-194, 267-268, 287-289 and 378-379; and _Saml. til det Norske Folks

Sprog og Hist._, vol. i. pp. 487-488.

[152] _Handl. roer. Sver. inre foerhall._, vol. i. pp. 32-33, 40-42 and

53-54; _Handl. till upplysn. af Finl. haefd._, vol. ii. pp. 190-191; and

_Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. iii. pp. 124 and 260-261, and

vol. iv. pp. 70-71, 80, 91 and 130-131.

[153] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 102-104; _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._,

vol. xvi. pp. 115-119; _Handl. roer. Sver. inre foerhall._, vol. i. pp.

54-56 and 62-63; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp.

74-76, 135-136, 138-140, 147-150, 159-163 and 166-167; and _Svenska

riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 56-59.

[154] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 105-109 and 112-113; _Handl. roer. Sver.

inre foerhall._, vol. i. pp. 64-67; and _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes

registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 169-174, 177-180, 183-184 and 198-199.

[155] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 121-123; _Alla riksdag. och moet.

besluth_, vol. i. pp. 75-89; and _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._,

vol. iv. pp. 226-240 and 249-250.

[156] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 123-126; _Alla riksdag. och moet.

besluth_, vol. i. pp. 56-67; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol.

iv, pp. 200-215; and _Svenska riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 65-75.

[157] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, p. 126.

[158] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 126-128.

[159] _Ibid._, p. 128.

[160] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 128-131.

[161] _Ibid._, pp. 131-133.

[162] _Alla riksdag. och moet. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 67-70; _Kon. Gust.

den Foerstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 216-220; and _Svenska

riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 75-78.

[163] _Alla riksdag. och moet. besluth_, vol. i. pp. _70-72_; _Kon. Gust.

den Foerstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 220-222; and _Svenska

riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 78-80.

[164] _Alla riksdag. och moet. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 72-74; _Kon. Gust.

den Foerstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 223-226; and _Svenska

riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 80-82.

[165] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, p. 133; _Alla riksdag. och moet.

besluth_, vol. i. pp. 75-79; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol.

iv. pp. 226-231; and _Svenska riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 82-87.

[166] There is a Latin version of the "Ordinantia" containing certain

regulations not given in the Swedish. They are these: The contribution

known as "Peter's penning" shall not be given hereafter to the pope, but

shall go to swell the royal revenue. A like disposition shall be made of

the money which the monasteries are wont to send to the superiors of

their orders. Bishops and other prelates shall not hereafter pay

anything to the pope for confirmation. It will be sufficient if they

take their office by consent of the king. All property, real and

personal, donated to the cathedrals, monasteries, and parochial or

prebendal churches, shall belong to the descendants of the noblemen who

gave it, and if there is any residue, it shall be conferred by the king

on whomsoever he will. All real property sold or pledged to churches may

be redeemed on payment of the sum received for the property. To augment

the crown's resources the bishops, cathedrals, and canons ought to hand

over to the king as large a sum as they can spare. All these regulations

in the Latin version bear on their face the stamp of forgery. They are

drawn in a careless manner, and convey the impression of being part of a

rough draught that never was perfected. Certainly they never were

enforced. See _Alla riksdag. och moet. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 90-93; _Kon.

Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 241--247; and _Svenska

riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 89-96.

[167] _Alla riksdag. och moet. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 79-82 and 89; _Kon.

Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 249-256; and _Svenska

riksdagsakt._, pp. 87-88 and 96-100.

[168] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 110-112 and 115-116; _Handl. roer.

Skand. hist._, vol. xvi. pp. 70-75, 78-80, 98-100, 105-106, 119-122 and

124-127; _Handl. roer. Sver. inre foerhall._, vol. i. pp. 58-59 and 60-62;

_Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 3-4, 12-13, 42-43,

54-55, 111-112, 175-176, 400-404, 406-407, 417 and 419-420; _Monumenta

polit. Eccles._, pp. 10-11 and 17-18; and _Skrift. och handl._, vol. i.

pp. 352-353.

[169] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 133-134; and _Kon. Gust. den

Foerstes registrat._, vol. iv. p. 259.

[170] _Handl. roer. Sver. inre foerhall._, vol. i. pp. 105-107; and _Kon.

Gust. den Foerstes registrant._, vol. iv. pp. 287-289.

[171] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 134-135; _Handl. roer. Sver. inre

foerhall._, vol. i. pp. 120-123, 129 and 135-138; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes

registrat._, vol. iv. pp. 315-318, 325-326, 327-328, 340-343 and

391-394; and _Smal. archiv._, pp. 175 and 177.