BY
AUTHOR OF "MARCUS AURELIUS ANTONINUS" AND MEMBER OF
AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
BOSTON
LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY
Copyright, 1889,
By Paul Barron Watson.
University Press:
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge.
NO name in history lies deeper in Swedishhearts than the name Gustavus Vasa. Liberatorof Sweden from the yoke of Denmark, andfounder of one of the foremost dynasties of Europe,his people during more than three centurieshave looked back fondly to the figure of theirgreat ruler, and cherished with tender reverenceevery incident in his romantic history. This enthusiasmfor Gustavus Vasa is more than sentiment;it belongs to him as leader in a vast political upheaval.When Gustavus came upon the stage,the Swedish people had long been groaning undera foreign despotism. During more than a centurytheir political existence had been ignored,their rights as freemen trampled in the dust.They had at last been goaded into a spirit ofrebellion, and were already struggling to be free.What they most needed was a leader with courageto summon them to arms, and with perseverance[Pg vi]to keep them in the field. Possessing thesetraits beyond all others, Gustavus called hispeople forth to war, and finally brought themthrough the war to victory. This revolutionextended over a period of seven years,—fromthe uprising of the Dalesmen in 1521 to the coronationof Gustavus in 1528. It is a period thatshould be of interest, not only to the student ofhistory, but also to the lover of romance. Inorder to render the exact nature of the struggleclear, I have begun the narrative at a time considerablybefore the revolution, though I havenot entered deeply into details till the beginningof the war in 1521. By the middle of the year1523, when Gustavus was elected king, actualwarfare had nearly ceased, and the scenes of thedrama change from the battle-field to the legislativechamber. In this period occurred thecrowning act of the revolution; namely, thebanishment of the Romish Church and clergy.
The history of the Swedish Revolution hasnever before been written in the English language.Even Gustavus Vasa is but little knownoutside his native land. Doubtless this is due inlarge measure to the difficulties which beset astudy of the period. It is not a period to whichthe student of literature can turn with joy. One[Pg vii]who would know Gustavus well must traverse avast desert of dreary reading, and pore overmany volumes of verbose despatches before hecan find a drop of moisture to relieve the aridsoil. Sweden in the early part of the sixteenthcentury was not fertile in literary men. Gustavushimself, judged by any rational standard,was an abominable writer. His despatches arein number almost endless and in length appalling.Page after page he runs on, seemingly with noother object than to use up time. Often a documentcovers four folios, which might easily havebeen compressed into a single sentence. Suchwas the habit of the age. A simple letter from aman to his wife consisted mainly of a mass ofstereotyped expressions of respect. Languagewas used apparently to conceal vacuity of mind.Toward the close of the monarch's reign therewas a marked improvement