Stockholm Bloodbath

[[Image:Stockholm Bloodbath.jpg|thumb|300px|Stockholm Bloodbath]] The '''Stockholm Bloodbath''', or the '''Stockholm Massacre''' (Swedish: '''Stockholms blodbad''', Danish: '''det stockholmske blodbad'''), took place as the result of a successful [[invasion]] of [[Sweden]] by [[Denmark|Danish]] forces under the command of King [[Christian II]]. The bloodbath itself was a series of events taking place between November 7 and November 9 in 1520, climaxing on the 8th, when around 80-90 people (mostly [[nobility]] and [[clergy]] supporting the [[Sture|Sture party]]) were [[Execution (legal)|executed]], despite a [[promise]] by King Christian for general [[amnesty]]. ===Political factions in Sweden=== The Stockholm Bloodbath was a consequence of conflict between Swedish pro-unionists (in favour of the [[Kalmar Union]], then dominated by Denmark) and anti-unionists (supporters of Swedish independence), and also between the anti-unionists and the Danish [[aristocracy]], which in other aspects was opposed to King Christian.{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} The anti-unionist party was headed by [[Sten Sture the Younger]], and the pro-unionist party by [[archbishop]] [[Gustavus Trolle]]. ===Military interventions of King Christian=== King Christian, who had already taken measures to isolate Sweden politically, intervened to help Archbishop Trolle, who was under [[siege]] in his [[fortress]] at [[Stäket]], but he was defeated by Sture and his peasant soldiers at [[Vedila]], and forced to return to Denmark. A second attempt to bring Sweden back under his control in 1518 was also countered by Sture's victory at [[Brännkyrka]]. Eventually, a third attempt made in 1520 with a large army of [[France|French]], [[Germany|German]] and [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[mercenary|mercenaries]] proved successful. Sture was mortally wounded at the [[Battle of Bogesund]], on January 19. The Danish army, unopposed, was approaching [[Uppsala]], where the members of the Swedish [[Parliament of Sweden|Riksdag]] had already assembled. The senators agreed to render homage to Christian, on condition that he gave a full [[indemnity]] for the past and a guarantee that Sweden should be ruled according to Swedish laws and custom. A convention to this effect was confirmed by the king and the Danish [[Danish Council of State|Privy Council]] on March 31. Sture's [[widow]], Dame [[Christina Gyllenstierna]], was still resisting in [[Stockholm]] with support from the peasants of central Sweden, and defeated the Danes at Balundsås on March 19. Eventually, her forces were defeated at the [[Battle of Uppsala]] (''långfredagsslaget vid Uppsala'') on Good Friday, April 6. In May, the Danish fleet arrived and Stockholm was attacked by land and sea. Dame Christina resisted for four months longer, finally surrendering on September 7, on the condition that an amnesty would be granted. On November 1, the representatives of the nation swore [[fealty]] to Christian as [[hereditary monarchy|hereditary king]] of Sweden, though the law of the land actually provided that the Swedish crown should be [[elective monarchy|elective]]. == Massacre== On November 4, Christian was [[anointing|anointed]] by [[Gustavus Trolle]] in the [[Storkyrkan]] (the "grand church" in Stockholm), and took the usual [[oath]] to rule the kingdom through native-born Swedes only. A [[banquet]] was held for the next three days. On November 7, the events of the Stockholm bloodbath began to unfold. On the evening of that day, Christian summoned many Swedish leaders to a private conference at the palace. At dusk on November 8, Danish soldiers, with lanterns and torches, entered a great hall of the royal palace and took away several noble guests. Later in the evening, many others of the king's guests were imprisoned. All these people had previously been marked down on Archbishop Trolle's [[proscription]] list. The following day, November 9, a council, headed by archbishop Trolle, sentenced the proscribed to [[death penalty|death]] for being [[Christian heresy|heretics]]; the main point of accusation was their having united in a pact to depose Trolle a few years earlier. However many of them were also leading men of the Sture party and thus potential opponents of the Danish kings. At noon, the anti-unionist [[bishop]]s of [[Skara]] and [[Strängnäs]] were led out into the [[Stortorget (Stockholm)|great square]] and [[decapitation|beheaded]]. Fourteen noblemen, three [[burgomaster]]s, fourteen town [[councillor]]s and about twenty common citizens of Stockholm were then [[Hanging|hanged]] or decapitated. The executions continued throughout the following day (November 10). According to the chief executioner Jörgen Homuth 82 people were executed. It is said that Christian also took revenge on Sten Sture's body, having it dug up and burnt, as well as the body of his little child. Sture's widow Dame Christina, and many other noble Swedish ladies, were sent as prisoners to Denmark. ==Aftermath== Christian justified the massacre in a proclamation to the Swedish people as a measure necessary to avoid a papal [[Interdict (Roman Catholic Church)|interdict]], but, when apologising to the [[Pope]] for the decapitation of the bishops, he rather blamed his troops for performing unauthorised acts of [[Revenge|vengeance]]. If the intention behind the executions had been to frighten the anti-unionist party into submission, it proved wholly counterproductive. [[Gustav Vasa]] was a son of [[Erik Johansson Vasa|Erik Johansson]] one of the victims of the executions. Vasa, upon hearing of the massacre, travelled north to the province of [[Dalarna]] to seek support for a new revolt. The population, informed of what had happened, rallied to his side. They were ultimately able to defeat Christian's forces in the [[Swedish War of Liberation]]. The lasting irony of the Bloodbath is that an act which was intended to strengthen the position of the unionist party turned out to be the catalyst that permanently separated Sweden from Denmark. ==Later reception and propaganda== The Stockholm Bloodbath precipitated a lengthy hostility towards Danes in Sweden, and thenceforth the two nations were at almost continuous hostility with each other (each with the objective of conquest or revenge upon the other). These hostilities, developing into a struggle for [[hegemony]] in the Scandinavian and North German area, lasted for nearly three hundred years. Memory of the Bloodbath served to let Swedes depict themselves (and often, actually regard themselves) as the wronged and aggrieved party, even when they were the ones who eventually took the political and military lead, such as the conquest and annexation of [[Scania]] until the [[Treaty of Roskilde]] in 1658. ===Christian the Tyrant and Christian the Good=== The event earned Christian II the nickname of ''Kristian Tyrann'' in Sweden which he has retained till this day. It is a common misconception in Sweden that King Christian II, contrarily, is bynamed ''Christian den Gode'' ("the Good") in Denmark, but this is merely a myth. Christian II was, however, a popular monarch among the peasantry of both countries in his lifetime. According to Swedish historian and professor, [[Gunnar Richardson]], this myth was first presented in Swedish textbooks and promoted by Swedish authors such as [[Alf Henrikson]]. Richardson wrote: "Why has this myth become so widespread and beloved in Sweden? The answer is simple: it fulfills both an ideological and didactic function. In the history education of schools and in the education of teachers you will hardly find any more rewarding matter in order to show the presence of nationally and ethnocentrically oriented history writing". According to Danish historians, no bynames at all have been given to Christian II in Danish historical tradition. In an interview with Richardson in 1979, Danish historian [[Mikael Venge]], author of the article about Christian II in ''[[Dansk Biografisk Leksikon]] ''said: "I think you ought to protest the next time the Swedish radio claims anything so utterly unfounded that could be understood as if the Danes approved of the Stockholm bloodbath." Even today, tourist guides in Stockholm spice up their guiding of the old town ([[Gamla Stan]]) with the news about Christian II's "rehabilitation" back in Denmark. ==In fiction== The Stockholm Bloodbath forms a large part of the 1948 historical novel ''[[The Adventurer (novel)|The Adventurer]]'' (Original title ''Mikael Karvajalka'') by the [[Finnish people|Finnish]] writer [[Mika Waltari]]. The events are depicted as seen by Mikael Karvajalka, a young Finnish man who is in Stockholm at the time. The event is also depicted in the 1901 novel [[The Fall of the King|''Kongens Fald'']] (''The Fall of the King'') by [[Johannes V. Jensen]] (Collier-MacMillan Canada Ltd; 1995. ISBN 978-0964339422). A number of references to the Stockholm Bloodbath appear in ''[[Freddy's Book]]'' (Knopf, 1980, ISBN 9780394509204; White Pine Press, 2007, ISBN 9781893996847) written by American novelist [[John Gardner (novelist)|John Gardner]]. ==See also== *[[Kalmar Union]] *[[Sten Sture the Younger]] *[[Swedish War of Liberation]] *[[Sture Murders]] *[[Åbo Bloodbath]] *[[Linköping Bloodbath]] ==Sources== *Wolke, Lars Ericson (2006) ''Stockholms blodbad'' (Stockholm: Prisma) ISBN 9151843803 *Larsson, Lars-Olof (2003) ''Kalmarunionens tid, Bokförlaget Prisma'' (Stockholm: Andra upplagan) ISBN 9151842173. *[[Lauritz Weibull|Weibull, Lauritz]] (1949) ''Nordisk historia. Forskningar och undersökningar. Del III. Från Erik den helige till Karl XII, Natur och kultur'' Stockholm ISBN 9968047465. *[[Dick Harrison|Harrison, Dick]] (2002) ''Sveriges historia. Medeltiden'' (Stockholm: Liber) ISBN 91-47-05115-9. *[[Dick Harrison|Harrison, Dick]] (1997) ''Uppror och allianser. Politiskt våld i 1400-talets svenska bondesamhälle'' (Lund: Historiska institutionen) ISBN 91-85057-37-1. ==External links== *[http://members.tripod.com/Strv102r/stockholm_bloodbath.htm The Stockholm Bloodbath— 7 November 1520] {{coord missing|Sweden}}