The Stockholm Bloodbath () was a

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

that led to a series of executions in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

between 7 and 9 November 1520. The event is also known as the Stockholm massacre. The events occurred after the coronation of Christian II as the new

king of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. by law a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parl ...

, when guests in the crowning party were invited to a meeting at Tre Kronor castle. Archbishop Gustav Trolle, demanding economic compensation for things such as the demolition of Almarestäket's fortress, questioned whether the former Swedish regent

Sten Sture the Younger Sten Sture the Younger () (1493 – 3 February 1520), was a Swedish nobleman who served as the regent of Sweden, during the era of the Kalmar Union. Biography Sture was born in 1493, as the son of Svante Nilsson (regent of Sweden) and Iliana G ...

and his supporters had been guilty of

heresy Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Heresy in Christian ...

. Supported by

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

, nearly 100 people were executed in the days following the meeting despite promises of amnesty. Among those killed were many people from the aristocracy who had been supporting the ''Sture Party'' in the previous years. Thereafter King Christian II became known in Sweden as ("Christian heTyrant").

Background

Political factions in Sweden

The Stockholm Bloodbath was a consequence of conflict between Swedish pro-unionists (in favour of the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden as designed by Queen Margaret I of Denmark, Margaret of Denmark. From 1397 to 1523, it joined under a single monarch the three kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden (then in ...

, then dominated by Denmark) and anti-unionists (supporters of Swedish independence), and also between the anti-unionists and the Danish

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

, which in other aspects was opposed to King Christian. The anti-unionist party was headed by

, and the pro-unionist party by the

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

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 A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

in his

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

at Stäket. However, 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 French, German and Scottish

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

proved successful. Sture was mortally wounded at the Battle of Bogesund on 19 January 1520. The Danish army, unopposed, was approaching

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

, where the members of the Swedish

Riksdag of the Estates Riksdag of the Estates (; informally ) was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the King. It was a Diet made up of the Fou ...

had already assembled. The senators agreed to render homage to Christian, on condition that he give a full

amnesty Amnesty () is defined as "A pardon extended by the government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet be ...

for past actions and a guarantee that Sweden should be ruled according to Swedish laws and customs. A convention to this effect was confirmed by the king and the Danish Privy Council on 31 March. Sture's widow, Lady Kristina, was still resisting in

with support from the peasants of central Sweden, and defeated the Danes at Balundsås on 19 March. Eventually, her forces were defeated at Uppsala () on Good Friday, 6 April. In May, the Danish fleet, led by King Christian, arrived and Stockholm was attacked by land and sea. Lady Kristina resisted for four months longer, and in the beginning of autumn Kristina's forces began winning. The inhabitants of Stockholm had a large supply of food and fared relatively well. Christian realized that his stockpile was dwindling and that it would doom his army to maintain the siege throughout the winter. With the help of Bishop Mattias, Hemming Gadh and other Swedes of high stature, Christian sent a proposal for retreat that was very advantageous for the Swedes. During a meeting on what is thought to be Beckholmen, outside of

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...

, Christian swore that all acts against him would be forgotten, and gave pardon to several named persons (including

Gustav Vasa Gustav Eriksson Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), also known as Gustav I, was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560. He was previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm (''Reichsverweser#Sweden, Riksföreståndare'') fr ...

, who had escaped from Denmark, where he had been held hostage). Lady Kristina would be given Hörningsholm and all Mörkön as a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

, and was also promised Tavastehus (Hämeenlinna) in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. When this had been written down on paper, the mayor of the city delivered the keys to the city on

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...

and Christian held his grand entry. Shortly after, he sailed back to Denmark, to return in October for his coronation.

Massacre

On 4 November, Christian was

anointed Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a person's head or entire body. By extension, the term is also applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter, or oth ...

by Gustavus Trolle in Storkyrkan Cathedral and took the usual

oath Traditionally, an oath (from Old English, Anglo-Saxon ', also a plight) is a utterance, statement of fact or a promise taken by a Sacred, sacrality as a sign of Truth, verity. A common legal substitute for those who object to making sacred oaths ...

to rule the kingdom through native-born Swedes only. A

banquet A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes inc ...

was held for the next three days. Lots of wine and beer was drunk and jokes were cracked between Danes and Swedes. On the evening of 7 November, Christian summoned many Swedish leaders to a private conference at the palace. At dusk on 8 November, Danish soldiers, with lanterns and torches, entered a great hall of the royal palace and imprisoned several noble guests. Later in the evening, even more of the king's guests were imprisoned. All these people had previously been marked down on Archbishop Trolle's

proscription Proscription () is, in current usage, a 'decree of condemnation to death or banishment' (''Oxford English Dictionary'') and can be used in a political context to refer to state-approved murder or banishment. The term originated in Ancient Rome ...

list. The following day, 9 November, a council, headed by Archbishop Trolle, sentenced the proscribed to

death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

for being

heretics Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy. Heresy in Christianity, Judai ...

; 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 A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s of Skara and Strängnäs were led out into the great square and beheaded. Fourteen noblemen, three

burgomaster Burgomaster (alternatively spelled burgermeister, ) is the English form of various terms in or derived from Germanic languages for the chief magistrate or executive of a city or town. The name in English was derived from the Dutch . In so ...

s, fourteen town

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s and about twenty common citizens of Stockholm were then hanged or beheaded. The executions continued throughout the following day (10 November). According to the chief executioner, Jörgen Homuth, 82 people were executed. It has been claimed that Christian also took revenge on Sten Sture's body, having it dug up and burnt, as well as the body of his child. Sture's widow Lady Kristina and many other noblewomen were taken as prisoners to Denmark. Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, 1911
''Christian II'' profile
gutenberg.org; accessed 12 May 2015.

Aftermath

Christian justified the massacre in a proclamation to the Swedish people as a measure necessary to avoid a papal

interdict In Catholic canon law, an interdict () is an ecclesiastical censure, or ban that prohibits certain persons or groups from participating in particular rites, or that the rites and services of the church are prohibited in certain territories for ...

, but, when apologising to the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

for the decapitation of the bishops, he blamed his troops for performing unauthorised acts of vengeance.

was a son of Erik Johansson, one of the victims of the executions. Vasa, upon hearing of the massacre, travelled north to the province of

Dalarna Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...

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 Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

. The massacre became the catalyst that permanently separated Sweden from Denmark.

Later reception and propaganda

The Stockholm Bloodbath precipitated a lengthy hostility towards Danes in Sweden, and from then on the two nations were almost continuously hostile toward each other. These hostilities, developing into a struggle for

hegemony Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one State (polity), state over other states, either regional or global. In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of ...

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 Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

until the

Treaty of Roskilde The Treaty of Roskilde was negotiated at Høje Taastrup Church and was concluded on 26 February ( OS) or 8 March 1658 ( NS) during the Second Northern War between Frederick III of Denmark–Norway and Karl X Gustav of Sweden in the Danish ci ...

in 1658.

Christian the Tyrant and spurious "Christian the Good"

The event earned Christian II the nickname of ''Kristian Tyrann'' (''Christian heTyrant'') in Sweden, which is retained in the present day. It is a common misconception in Sweden that King Christian II is given the contrary byname (''Christian the Good'') in Denmark, but this is

apocrypha Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...

l. According to Danish historians, no bynames have been given to Christian II in Danish historical tradition. In an interview with Gunnar Richardson in 1979, Danish historian Mikael Venge, author of the article about Christian II in ''

Dansk Biografisk Leksikon ''Dansk Biografisk Leksikon'' (usually abbreviated DBL; title of first edition written ''Dansk biografisk Lexikon'') is a Danish biographical dictionary that has been published in three editions. The first edition, ''Dansk biografisk Lexikon, til ...

''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." Despite this, even today, tourist guides in Stockholm spice up their guiding of the Old Town (

Gamla Stan Gamla Stan (, "The Old Town"), until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna ("The Town between the Bridges"), is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla Stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. Gamla Stan includes the surrounding islets ...

) with the news about Christian II's "rehabilitation" back in Denmark.Gunnar Richardson
"Kristian II – Tyrann eller den gode?"
''Dagens Forskning'', 13 May 2002.

In fiction

The Stockholm Bloodbath has been depicted in several pieces of fiction: * The event is depicted in the 1901 novel '' Kongens Fald'' (''The Fall of the King''), by Nobel Laureate Johannes V. Jensen. * The bloodbath forms a large part of the 1948

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

'' The Adventurer'' (original title ''Mikael Karvajalka'') by the Finnish writer

Mika Waltari Mika Toimi Waltari (; 19 September 1908 – 26 August 1979) was a Finnish writer, best known for his best-selling novel ''The Egyptian'' (). He was extremely productive. Besides his novels he also wrote poetry, short stories, crime novels, plays, ...

. The events are depicted as seen by Mikael Karvajalka, a young Finn in Stockholm at the time. * A number of references to the Stockholm Bloodbath appear in '' Freddy's Book'' (1980) by American novelist John Gardner. * A 2005 book ''Bruden fra Gent'' (translated in Nl. ''De Gentse Bruid'', or ''The Bride From Ghent'') by the Danish writer Dorrit Willumsen, referenced these events. It illuminates the life of Christian II as seen from his relationship with his mistress, the Dutch Dyveke, and his wife

Isabella of Austria Isabella of Austria (''Isabel''; 18 July 1501 – 19 January 1526), also known as Elizabeth, was born an Archduchess of Archduchy of Austria, Austria and Infanta of Castile from the House of Habsburg, and subsequently became List of Danish consor ...

, sister of Charles the Fifth.. * The event is the subject of the 2023 film '' Stockholm Bloodbath'' directed by

Mikael Håfström Jan Mikael Håfström is a Sweden, Swedish film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the 2003 film ''Evil (2003 film), Evil'', and the movie adaptation of Stephen King's short story ''1408 (short story), 1408''. Early life Born in Lun ...

which depicts the events with

dark comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...

overtones.

References

Sources

*Wolke, Lars Ericson (2006) ''Stockholms blodbad'' (Stockholm: Prisma) *Larsson, Lars-Olof (2003) ''Kalmarunionens tid, Bokförlaget Prisma'' (Stockholm: Andra upplagan) . * Weibull, Lauritz (1949) ''Nordisk historia. Forskningar och undersökningar. Del III. Från Erik den helige till Karl XII, Natur & Kultur'' Stockholm . * Harrison, Dick (2002) ''Sveriges historia. Medeltiden'' (Stockholm: Liber) . * Harrison, Dick (1997) ''Uppror och allianser. Politiskt våld i 1400-talets svenska bondesamhälle'' (Lund: Historiska institutionen); .

External links

The Stockholm Bloodbath – 7 November 1520The Stockholm Bloodbath and information about Gustav I
{{Coord, 59, 19, 30, N, 18, 04, 15, E, type:landmark_region:SE, display=title Political history of Denmark History of Stockholm Political history of Sweden 1520 in Christianity 1520 in Sweden Conflicts in 1520 16th century in Stockholm 16th-century executions by Denmark Massacres in Sweden Persecution of Christian heretics 16th-century Catholicism Catholic Church in Sweden Denmark–Sweden relations Political and cultural purges Christian II of Denmark Military history of the Kalmar Union Attacks on official residences Attacks on residential buildings in Sweden Attacks on government buildings and structures in Sweden Public executions Decapitation