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The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa. Paul Barron Watson
Читать онлайн.Название The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa
Год выпуска 0
isbn 4064066225094
Автор произведения Paul Barron Watson
Жанр Документальная литература
Издательство Bookwire
In May, 1515, the young man was consecrated archbishop of Upsala by the pope,[19] and started in the following summer for the North. Passing through Lubeck, where he is rumored to have had an audience of Christiern,[20] he pursued his journey by water, and at last cast anchor off the Swedish coast about twelve miles from Stockholm. Here he was met by certain of the Danish party, who urged him to give the cold shoulder to the regent. Instead, therefore, of proceeding to the capital, he drove direct to Upsala, and was installed in his new office: all this in spite of the fact that the old archbishop had assured the regent, before he wrote to Rome, that he would not hand over Upsala nor Stäket to Trolle till the latter had sworn allegiance to Sture.[21] The immediate effect of his investiture was to augment the haughtiness of the young archbishop. Scarcely had he become domiciled in Upsala, when he wrote a letter to the regent warning him that he, the archbishop, was about to visit with punishment all who had wronged his father or grandfather, or his predecessor in the archiepiscopal chair. To this the regent, wishing if possible to avert trouble, answered that if any persons had done the wrong complained of, he would see to it that they should be punished. But the archbishop was in no mood for compromise. The breach now opened, he resolved to make it wider; and he had no difficulty in finding pretext. The fief of Stäket had long been a bone of contention between the Church and State. Though for many years in the hands of the archbishops, it had never been clearly settled whether they held it as a right or merely by courtesy of the crown; and at the resignation of Archbishop Ulfsson the fief was claimed by his successor, Trolle, as well as by the regent. In order to put an end to this vexed question, the regent wrote to Ulfsson asking him to produce the title-deeds on which his claim was based. After considerable correspondence, in which, however, the deeds were not produced, Sture, deeming it unwise to leave the fief any longer without a steward, entered into possession, and applied the incomes to the royal treasury, at the same time assuring Ulfsson that if he or the Chapter at Upsala could prove a title to the fief, they should enjoy it. This only added fuel to the flame. Trolle, unable as it seems to prove his title, assumed the posture of one who had been wronged, and scorned the urgent invitation of the regent to come to Stockholm and discuss the matter. Indeed, there were rumors in the air to the effect that Trolle was engaged in a conspiracy against the throne.[22]
In this way matters continued till February of the following year, 1516, when Sture resolved to attend the annual Upsala fair and have a conference with Trolle. The conference took place in presence of some of the leading men of Sweden, in the sacristy of the cathedral. But it led to no result. Trolle charged the regent with unfair dealing, which the latter denied, at the same time demanding proof. None was furnished; and the regent withdrew, feeling more than ever convinced that the conduct of the archbishop boded ill. In this juncture he summoned a Cabinet meeting, to be held at Telge in July following, to arrange the differences between himself and Trolle, and to resolve on the stand to be taken by Sweden in the congress of the three realms to be held at Halmstad in the February following. The archbishop, by virtue of his office, was a member of the Cabinet; but when that body met, it was discovered that Trolle was not present. He was in Upsala, nursing his wrath to keep it warm. The regent therefore wrote and begged him to appear. "Whatever," he wrote, "the Cabinet here assembled shall decide as right between us, I will do." But the proud archbishop would not listen. He and his father kept away, together with one or two of their adherents; and the Cabinet parted, having accomplished little.[23]
Meantime the archbishop was not idle. Shortly before the Cabinet met, he with some of his adherents had held a conference at Stäket, where he had persuaded them to renounce the regent and form an alliance with the king of Denmark. While the Cabinet was in session, he despatched a messenger to King Christiern, urging him to break the truce with Sweden, and informing him that the Castle of Nyköping, now in the hands of one of the archbishop's satellites, should be thrown open to him if he would draw thither with his army. At the same time the archbishop began to fortify himself in Stäket. Learning this, the regent saw that the hour for compromise was past. He dissolved the Cabinet, and, advancing with all speed to Nyköping, stormed the castle. So rapid had been his action, that he took the archbishop's officers all unprepared, and at the first assault the garrison surrendered. This was on the 15th of August. After taking the officer in command of the garrison to Stockholm, where he was consigned to prison, the energetic young regent proceeded to Vesterås, where, on the 8th of September, in an address to the populace, he rendered an account of his actions, and informed the people that the archbishop and others were engaged in a plot to yield the kingdom into the hands of Christiern. Thence he proceeded to an island some six miles from Stäket, and remained there through the autumn, keeping an eye on the archbishop's castle and preparing, if necessary, to besiege it. The Danish party by this time saw that they were dealing with a man of mettle, and began to change their tactics. Hoping to gain time, they gave out that they would be glad to have the burgomaster and Council of Stockholm act as mediators in the dispute; and on the 20th of October Ulfsson wrote to Sture to appoint a time for conference. The regent, however, was not so easily deceived. Trolle was still adding to his strength in Stäket, and looking forward to aid from Denmark. The regent therefore replied to Ulfsson that Trolle had brought on the dispute, and he must answer for it. "As to a conference with you," adds the regent, "my time is now so fully occupied that I can appoint no day before the Cabinet meeting to be held shortly at Arboga." About the same time he wrote to the Chapter at Upsala, insisting on an answer to a former letter, in which he had called on them to declare whether they proposed to side with him or the archbishop. In this letter he informs them: "As to your question whether I intend to obey the ordinances of the Church, I answer that I shall defend the Holy Church and respect the persons of the clergy as becomes a Christian nobleman, provided you will allow me so to do; and I have never purposed otherwise." Still, however, the Chapter prevaricated, and gave no answer; till finally the regent sent them his ultimatum, closed, like all his letters, with the modest signature, "Sten Sture, soldier."[24]
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