The Stockholm Bloodbath

The year is 1519. In a castle in Denmark, the Swedish nobleman Gustav Eriksson Vasa has been imprisoned since the autumn of 1518. He has been deceived. He was told that he and five other prisoners would be held hostage on a ship while Sweden and Denmark negotiated peace. Then they would be released.

This does not happen. Gustav listens carefully as people who work at the castle discuss the conflict between Denmark and Sweden. He hears that the king of Denmark-Norway, Christian II, is gathering troops to march to Sweden and crush all resistance. He plans to make Sweden Danish forever. Gustav wants to stop this.

In September 1519, Gustav manages to escape. He heads to Lübeck in present-day Germany. He wants to gather an army of his own that can help the Swedes against Christian II. It proves difficult to find soldiers who want to fight. There are soldiers for hire in Lübeck - mercenaries – but Gustav has no money at the moment.

Gustav does, however, make some important contacts that will come in useful later. In May 1520, Gustav travels home to Sweden, there he keeps a low profile. In Sweden, meanwhile, Christian II’s troops defeat all Swedish resistance. On September 7th 1520, they take Stockholm. Now Christian promises not to hurt any more Swedes.

He invites all the nobles in Sweden to the castle in Stockholm. He will be crowned king of Sweden on November 4th. Gustav Vasa, who is staying with his brother-in-law Johan Brahe, hears about the planned coronation party. Brahe has been invited, but Gustav urges him: don't go, you can't trust Christian. Brahe goes anyway.

The party at Stockholm castle lasts three days. On the third day, the reinstated Archbishop Trolle rises to give a speech. He accuses several people of having broken the rules of the church, of being heretics. Breaking the church's rules is so serious that Christian's promise not to harm anyone no longer applies. This suits Christian well.

Now he can get rid of many former enemies. Trolle reads out the names of bishops, nobles and burghers who had previously deposed him and destroyed his estate. Now Trolle demands that they be sentenced to death. The accused are locked up in the castle. The next day, November 8th, the executions begin on the Grand square in Stockholm.

The first to be killed are two bishops. They are beheaded with swords. After them, fifteen nobles are beheaded, then Stockholm's mayor and those who rule Stockholm. Even bystanders are beheaded. Among the beheaded are Gustav Vasa's father, Johan Brahe, two uncles, and many other of Gustav’s relatives.

In total, at least 80 people are beheaded, maybe more. The beheadings last two days. On the second day it rains and the blood of the beheaded runs along the streets. Christian II, or Kristian Tyrant as he is now known in Sweden, appoints new bishops and mayors in Stockholm before returning home to Denmark. Gustav is at his family estate, Räfsnäs, outside Mariefred, when he hears about the bloodbath.

He learns that many of his relatives have been killed and that three of his sisters, his mother, and his grandmother have been thrown into prison. He also hears that Christian has decided that all his estates and his farms will be confiscated. The Danes are now looking for him throughout the country. Perhaps Christian thinks that the bloodbath will deter the Swedes from more rebellions. But he will soon find out that this is not the case… and that he now has a dangerous enemy, Gustav Eriksson Vasa.