Chapter V (2)

Clearly enough this meeting would not satisfy a hungry people. In fact apparently it added to their rage, and we find the people of Dalarne at this time drawing up a long list of grievances to be laid before the king. Their first and weightiest complaint was that certain rich men, stewards of the king, had bought up all the grain in their district, and had made a corner in it so that the poor man could not get enough to eat. Further than this, they protested against the king's practice of admitting into the kingdom all sorts of foreigners, "who have put their heads together to ruin the common people." This vehement lament aroused Gustavus to the gravity of his position, particularly as he learned that Sunnanvaeder was inciting the people to rebel. Hoping to quiet matters, he despatched his messengers to all parts of the kingdom with soothing words. He endeavored in every way to impress upon the people that the high price of food was due entirely to the war between the emperor and the King of France; and as to the repudiation of the "klippings," of which some people had complained, he asserted that he had thereby suffered far greater injury than his people. Sunnanvaeder's conspiracy was the thing that caused him most anxiety, and on the 9th of December he addressed the Dalesmen on that theme. "Dear friends," he suavely wrote, "report has reached our ears that Sunnanvaeder has gone among you with plots to throw the kingdom into strife once more. We beg you in the name of God give him no heed. He has made statements about us, we are told, which are absolutely false; among others, that we are about to restore Trolle to his archbishopric,--the man who deprived us of father and mother and threw our kingdom into ruin. As we have called a diet to be held in January, to investigate these charges among other things, we request you at that time or earlier to send representatives from every parish to judge between us; and we hereby promise the said Sunnanvaeder safe-conduct to and from Stockholm for this investigation. You may make this proclamation to him; and if he will not come, you may know that he is false.... Further, since we are informed that you are suffering from great lack of salt, we have just despatched to you between ten and twenty cargoes of salt to relieve your want."[99]

While Gustavus was thus dickering with the Dalesmen, a far more weighty matter kept him continually on an anxious seat at home. This was the Reformation of the Romish Church. It has been already noted that the Swedish Reformation was a political revolt, and at its outset had but little connection with theological dispute. The conflagration that had raged in Germany since 1519 produced no immediate effect in Sweden, and it was not till the spring of 1523 that the Swedish prelates felt real dread of Martin Luther. The father of the Swedish Reformation was Olaus Petri, a blacksmith's son, of Oerebro. From his earliest years this champion of Luther had been educated by a pious father for the Romish Church. His childhood had been passed amid the religious influence of a monastery in his native town. There, with his younger brother Laurentius, he had shared the daily routine of a monk. When a mere boy his father, little knowing the temptation to which his son would be exposed, had placed him in the University of Wittenberg, where he sat for some years at the feet of Luther. On his return to Sweden in 1519, he was appointed to give instructions in the Bible to the youth of Strengnaes. Though only twenty-two, he already showed such promise that within a year he was chosen deacon of Strengnaes, and placed at the head of the school belonging to the Chapter. The opportunity thus given him was great. The bishopric being vacant, the charge of things in Strengnaes fell upon Laurentius Andreae, at the time archdeacon. Andreae, though fifteen years his senior, was of a kindred spirit, and by a contemporary is described as a willing pupil of the young reformer. There can be no question that even at this period Petri was regarded as a man of strength. A portrait of him painted when still a youth shows in a marked degree the traits by which he was distinguished later. The face is full and round, with large, warm eyes twinkling with merriment, and a high, clear forehead, from which is thrown back a heavy mass of waving hair. The mouth is firm as adamant, and the sharp-cut lips and chin are eloquent of strength. Altogether, it is the picture of just the man that Petri afterward became,--a brilliant orator, daring, good-natured, and gifted with a generous supply of common-sense. Precisely how much Petri owed to Martin Luther we cannot know. It is not, however, likely that at first his teaching in Strengnaes differed materially from that inculcated by the Romish Church. At any rate, he taught four years before any serious complaint was made. The first to charge him with heresy was Bishop Brask. On the 7th of May, 1523, that much-enduring prelate wrote to a member of the Upsala Chapter that a certain person in Strengnaes had inflamed the people by preaching heresies; "and God knows," he added, "we are grieved enough to learn that he is not silenced." What these heresies preached by Petri were, appears from a polemic hurled at the young reformer by Brask's deacon. They include, among other things, a denial of the priest's authority to solicit alms, with assertions that men should place no faith in the Virgin or in other saints, but in God alone; that the priest's first duty is to preach, not pray, and that confession should be made to none but God. Surely we have here the very essence of the Reformation. Brask was already trembling with apprehension, and despatched a letter to a brother bishop to say that the heresies of Petri had begun to break out in Upsala. "We must use our utmost vehemence," he gasped, "to persuade Johannes Magni to apply the inquisition to this Petri; otherwise the flame will spread throughout the land." Magni, it is clear, was deemed a little lukewarm by such ardent men as Brask, and on the 12th of July we find Brask pouring out a flood of Latin eloquence to excite the tranquil legate. In nothing is Brask's sagacity more manifest than in the enthusiasm which he here displayed. He discerned with perfect clearness that the battle must be fought at once. If Petri should once gain the people's ear, all hope was lost. Romanism was no match for Lutheranism in an open war. He therefore sought to stamp out the new teachings without allowing them to be fairly known; and had his superiors shown equal zeal, the Reformation might have been delayed.[100]

A few days after his earnest appeal to Magni, Brask despatched to the Vadstena Chapter a tract in refutation of the Lutheran doctrines, and along with it a sermon preached by Petri, "in which," so wrote the bishop, "you will observe his blasphemy of the Holy Virgin." Brask, despite his spiritual duties, was no ascetic, and, though suffering at the time from illness, added a postscript begging the Chapter to let him have a box of nuts. Apparently these delicacies came; for the bishop's next letter, written to the pope, was in a happier vein. "I have just had from Johannes Magni a letter on exterminating heresy which fills my soul with joy.... I grieve, however, to tell you that the heresy which had its birth in Germany has spread its branches across this kingdom.... I have sought to the utmost of my power to stay the pestilence, but through lack of authority outside my diocese, could not accomplish what I would.... Give me your orders to act outside my diocese, and I will crush the heresy with my utmost zeal." About this time the bishop received a letter from Johannes Magni that must have soothed his temper. "God knows," the legate wrote, "how eagerly I burn to effect the hoped-for freedom of the Christian Church, had not circumstances been adverse. I have at any rate pleaded with the king, and he has promised to maintain our rights. He says that if any of his soldiers wrong our tenants, they do so at their peril. When I spoke to him of the burdens that had been put upon us, he exclaimed with tears in his eyes that no one felt it more than he, that it had been necessary and contrary to his will, and that it was his full intention so soon as peace was restored to refund the money we had furnished. He promised also to repress the Lutheran heresy, though he urged me to use persuasion rather than force, lest by conflict of opinions the whole Church be overturned." The impression left on Magni by his monarch's tears is probably the impression that the monarch had designed. We have no reason to suppose Gustavus cherished any affection yet for Luther, but neither is there reason to suppose he hated him. What he hoped for above all else was to keep the bishops under his control, and the surest way to do so was to keep the Church at enmity with Luther.[101]

That Gustavus played his cards with skill is manifest from a letter written by Magni to the Linkoeping Chapter. "I understand," he wrote, "that you feel little anxiety at my proposed return to Rome, thinking that I have not shown enough energy in restoring the disabled Church. I may say, however, that I have pleaded and now plead for her before the king, who protests that his whole heart is in her preservation, and that any harm done by his officers to our tenants has been done against his will. He says too, and with tears in his eyes regrets, that the importunity of his soldiers has forced him to lay burdens on the Church. Nor is it his Majesty's intention to compel our weary priests to give up the care of souls. His excuse for exacting tribute from the churches to aid the kingdom is that he undertook the war as much for the freedom of the Church as for the safety of the kingdom. I give you this excuse for whatever it is worth. His Majesty promises that when he has paid the enormous debt contracted to Lubeck, and has wholly freed the kingdom, both clergy and people shall rejoice as never they have rejoiced before. In the extirpation of Lutheranism I am aided as much by the efforts of his Majesty as by the authority of the pope. It seems to me that the strife going on by letters among the clergy should be put to an end, and more toleration shown. I know it will, if continued, spread conflagration in other lands. The clergy of Strengnaes have promised me firmly that they will abstain from all new doctrines, and will send out no more letters unless they are harassed." This warning from the legate proves that the Swedish prelates were already cutting one another's throats. Apparently, too, it worked like magic in quieting their disputes, for six months now elapsed before the charge of heresy was raised again.[102]

On the 21st of February, 1524, Laurentius Andreae returned to the assault with a long epistle to the Vadstena Chapter. This epistle is moderate in tone, and contains this sound advice: "His Majesty desires that when you discover strange doctrines in the books of Luther or of any other, you should not reject them without a fair examination. If then you find anything contrary to the truth, write a refutation of it based on Holy Writ. As soon as scholars have seen your answer and have determined what to accept and what reject, you can preach according to their judgment and not according to your individual caprice. I suspect, however, there will hardly be many among you able to refute these doctrines; for, though but little of the so-called Lutheran teaching has come to my knowledge, I am convinced that Luther is too great a man to be refuted by simple men like us, for the Scriptures get their strength from no man, but from God. Even if we have the truth on our side, 'tis folly for us who have no arms to attack those who are well equipped, since we should thus do nothing but expose our own simplicity.... Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Search the spirit to see whether it be of God. I would urge every one to read the new doctrines. Those who persuade or command you otherwise, appear to me to act contrary to the Scriptures, and I suspect they do not wish the truth to come to light.... If there be any among you whom this letter offends, let him write to me, pointing out where I am wrong, and I will withdraw my statements." Brask, though offended deeply, scorned the challenge. Instead of answering Andreae, he wrote to the bishop of Skara, saying: "Certain persons are beginning to urge that we should not banish Luther's writings, but should study them carefully to the end that we may write against them, as if, forsooth, we were simple enough to trouble ourselves about the effrontery of Luther. He flatters himself that he possesses greater wisdom than all the saints. But we shall bow the knee to God, not man, and shall do our utmost that the kingdom be not corrupted by this new heresy." Brask was now boiling with indignation, and a few days later wrote a friend: "I have no fear of Luther or any other heretic. Were an angel from heaven to predict his victory, I should not waver."[103]

This feigned assurance on the part of Brask was not deep-set. In the secrecy of his own cloisters he contemplated the issue with fear and trembling. This is clear from a letter penned at this period to the monarch. "By the allegiance which I owe you," wrote the bishop, "I deem it my duty to urge you not to allow the sale of Luther's books within the realm, nor give his pupils shelter or encouragement of any kind, till the coming council of the Church shall pass its judgment.... I know not how your Grace can better win the love of God, as well as of all Christian kings and princes, than by restoring the Church of Christ to the state of harmony that it has enjoyed in ages past." The same day that this letter was despatched, Brask wrote to a friend in terms which show that his anxiety was great. After intimating that the king's constant demands on him for money were probably inspired by the friends of Luther, he exclaimed: "This party is growing all too fast among us, and I greatly fear lest some new heresy, which God forbid! may break out soon." As the king appeared not likely to take very stringent measures to repress the heresy, the bishop hastened to exert his own authority, and issued a mandate, to be read from all the pulpits in his diocese, forbidding the sale of Luther's books and teachings. A few days later the monarch's answer came. It was couched in temperate language, but offered little solace to the bishop. "Regarding your request," so wrote Gustavus, "that we forbid the sale of Luther's writings, we know not by what right it could be done, for we are told his teachings have not yet been found by impartial judges to be false. Moreover, since writings opposed to Luther have been circulated through the land, it seems but right that his, too, should be kept public, that you and other scholars may detect their fallacies and show them to the people. Then the books of Luther may be condemned. As to your charge that Luther's pupils are given shelter at our court, we answer that they have not sought it. If indeed they should, you are aware it is our duty to protect them as well as you. If there be any in our protection whom you wish to charge, bring your accusation and give their names." The method of trial suggested in this letter was not in harmony with the bishop's views. What he wanted was an inquisition, and in writing to a fellow-bishop he did not hesitate to say so. "I maintain that every diocese should have an inquisition for this heresy, and I think our Most Holy Father ought to write his Majesty to that effect." The mere prohibition of Luther's writings was of no avail. As Brask declared to Johannes Magni, "The number of foreign abettors of Lutheranism is growing daily, despite our mandate, through the sale of Luther's books. I fear the remedy will be too late unless it is applied at once."[104]

This letter was written on the 20th of June, 1524. About the same time Petri was called to Stockholm to fill the post of city clerk, and Andreae, already secretary to the king, was made archdeacon of Upsala. This double advancement of the Lutheran leaders left no room longer to doubt the king's designs. From this time forth he was felt on every hand to be an enemy to the Romish Church. The striking fact in all this history is the utter absence of conscientious motives in the king. Though the whole of Christendom was ablaze with theological dispute, he went on steadily reducing the bishops' power with never a word of invective against their teaching or their faith. His conduct was guided solely by a desire to aggrandize the crown, and he seized without a scruple the tools best fitted to his hand. Had Brask been more compliant, or the Church less rich, the king would not unlikely have continued in the faith. The moral of all this is to hide your riches from those that may become your foes.

The part that Brask played in this drama calls forth a feeling of respect. Artful and man[oe]uvring though he was, there were certain deep principles within his breast that only great adversity could touch. Of these the most exalted was his affection for the Church. Apart from all her splendor and the temporal advantages to which her service led, Brask loved her for herself. She was the mother at whose breast he had been reared, and the feelings that had warmed his soul in childhood could not easily be extinguished now that he was old. Every dart that struck her pierced deep into his own flesh, and a premonition of the coming ruin overwhelmed him with bitter grief. It was this very grief, however, that raised him to rebel. The old vacillating temper that he had shown in days gone by was his no longer. Drear and dismal though the prospect was, he did not hesitate, but threw himself into the encounter heart and soul. From this time forth, with all his cunning and sagacity, he was the steadfast leader of the papal cause.

FOOTNOTES:

[74] July 13, 1523, a payment of about 17,000 marks having been already made, Gustavus wrote to Brask that Lubeck still demanded 200,000 guilders, which was equivalent to about 300,000 Swedish marks. This probably was an exaggeration for the purpose of getting a generous contribution from Brask. Another source states it as more than 120,000 Swedish marks. Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, p. 72. This clearly was too low an estimate; for we know that Gustavus paid at least 42,945 Lubeck marks (or 83,000 Swedish marks) in the course of 1523, and that in the following spring the amount claimed by Lubeck was about 240,000 Swedish marks. See _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 109-110, and the documents in the Archives at Lubeck cited in Handelmann's _Die letzten Zeiten der hanseatischen Uebermacht im Norden_, pp. 165-170. The matter is ably discussed by Forssell in his _Sver. inre hist._, vol. i. pp. 134-138. Much confusion is caused by the fact that the debtor and creditor reckoned the sum each according to his own monetary standard, and there can be no question, too, that between the parties there was some dispute as to the exact sum due.

[75] See a document in the Archives at Lubeck cited in Handelmann's _Die letzten Zeiten der hanseatischen Uebermacht im Norden_, p. 165.

[76]

Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 64-65. Svart, whose chronicle was written with a view to flatter Gustavus, informs us of the reduction in the value at which the coin was issued, and appears to attribute this reduction to the generosity of his master. It was "a good fat coin," he adds, which merchants carried out of the country as an excellent piece of merchandise. The zeal with which the chronicler defends the coin is enough to raise suspicion as to its true value. If it was really worth an oere and a half, it is incredible that Gustavus in the strait in which he then was should have ultimately given it for an oere. Forssell, in his _Anteckn. om mynt, vigt, matt och varupris i Sverige_, pp. 44-51, suggests that probably the coin was first issued for an oere and a half, and then with the same size and weight but containing more alloy, was issued for an oere. I think the true explanation is more simple. Gustavus had been found out. The "klippings" which he had issued a year before were such a palpable fraud that the Danish commandant of Stockholm had actually forbidden their use, lest the Danish "klippings" (which were about as bad as anything could be) might through association with the others fall into ill repute. _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. i. pp. 214 and 218. So that when he issued a new coin and called it an oere and a half, people were suspicious and refused to take it till he reduced it to something like its value. This view is strengthened by the fact that of the few extant coins of Gustavus, dated 1522, not one contains enough silver to have been worth an oere and a half, and most of them fall considerably below the value of an oere. It is noticeable also that those stamped 1523, which were presumably issued for an oere, contain a trifle more in value than those stamped 1522, and called an oere and a half. As none of them have any value stamped upon their face, it was a simple matter to start the figure high, and then reduce it to what the coin would bring.

[77] As to Church fees and incomes see a letter of Brask, dated Dec. 21, 1514, in _Hist. handl._, vol. viii. pp. 65-67.

[78] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, p. 58.

[79] _Von der grauesamen tyrannischen myssehandelung_; Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 56-58; and _Sver. trakt._, vol. iv. pp. 35-44.

[80] Johannes Magni, _Hist. pont._, pp. 74-75; Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, p. 70; and _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 88-89.

[81] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, p. 73; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 97, 99-101, 108-111, 114-115, 119, and 298-300; and Linkoeping, _Bibliotheks handl._, vol. ii. pp. 204-205.

[82] _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 107-108 and 121-129; Forssell, _Sver. inre hist._, vol. ii. p. 72; and _Sver. trakt._, vol. iv. pp. 44-55, 65-67, and 69-74.

[83] _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 121-129.

[84] _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 129-134 and 139-140; and Theiner, _Schwed. u. seine Stell. z. heil. Stuhl_, vol. ii. pp. 6-11.

[85] Johannes Magni, _Hist. pont._, p. 75; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 143-150; and _Nya Kaellor till Finl. Medeltidshist._, pp. 737-740.

[86] _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 172-174 and 178-181.

[87] Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 74-75.

[88] _Ibid._, pp. 73-74; and _Sver. trakt._, vol. iv. pp. 67-69.

[89] No one apparently wished to father the expedition. Svart, who presents the king's side of the case, says, in his _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 78-81, that Gustavus undertook the campaign at the urgent solicitation of Lubeck, who promised to defer payment of her loan for several years without interest, provided Gustavus would undertake the war. This proposition appears generous, but there is no trace of it in the contemporary letters of the king. Those letters assert that Brask was the prime mover of the scheme; but as Brask repudiated it at once, the responsibility for it cannot be fairly laid on him. See _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 190 and 301.

[90] Rensel, _Beraettelse_, pp. 34-35; _Acta hist. Reg. Christ. II._, pp. 4-9; _Alla riksdag. och moet. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 29-30; _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xvii. p. 172; and _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 182, 184-185, 187-189, and 301-302.

[91] _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 185-186, 189-191, and 300-302; and Linkoeping, _Bibliotheks handl._, vol. i. pp. 153-155.

[92] _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 191-192 and 193-197.

[93] The documents relating to the repudiation of the "klippings" vary somewhat in phraseology. In the Royal Archives at Stockholm is an official contemporary statement of the business transacted by the general diet in January, 1524, which declares: "The 'klippings' were in so far repudiated as to be valued at only four 'hvitar,' though any person may accept them for what he will." _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. p. 182; and _Svenska riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 17-20. Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, p. 76, asserts that the diet "repudiated the 'klippings.'" Tegel, _Then stoormecht._, p. 81, says, "the 'klippings' were utterly repudiated." In a letter issued by Gustavus to the people of Dalarne immediately after the passage of the Act he says the diet advised "that the 'klippings' fall so that they pass for only five 'hvitar,' to which we and our Cabinet consented." _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 182-183. In a letter issued at about the same time to the people of Vadstena, Gustavus made the same statement, except that he used the word "four" instead of "five." _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. p. 184. The later letters of Gustavus, in which he declares that he has not repudiated his coinage, are printed in _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 196-197 and 202-207.

[94] _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 198-201, 211-212 and 303-306.

[95] _Diar. Minor. Visbyens._, p. 39; Rensel, _Beraettelse_, pp. 36-38; Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 81-82; and _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 218-219.

[96] Eliesen, _Chron. Skib._, p. 577; Rensel, _Beraettelse_, pp. 38-40; Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, pp. 82-83 and 93-96; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. ii. pp. 688-765; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 223-224, 229-230, 236-241, 245-250 and 309-327; and _Sver. trakt._, vol. iv. pp. 94-103.

[97] _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 223-225, 227-236 and 306-309.

[98] _Alla riksdag. och moet. besluth_, vol. i. pp. 31-35; _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 251-265; and _Svenska riksdagsakt._, vol. i. pp. 22-29.

[99] _Dipl. Dal._, vol. ii. pp. 31-39; and _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 271-281 and 327-328.

[100] Johannes Magni, _Hist. pont._, p. 75; Svart, _Gust. I.'s kroen._, p. 92; and _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xvii. pp. 117-119 and 135-148.

[101] _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xvii. pp. 151-155 and 157-159. There is preserved among Brask's documents of this period a proclamation, purporting to be issued by Gustavus, forbidding the sale of Lutheran tracts within the realm. _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xvii. pp. 159-160. No reference, however, is made to it in other writings; and as it is clearly contrary to all the monarch's later views, it is certain that it did not emanate from him. Probably it was a mere concept drawn by Brask in the hope that it would meet with royal favor.

[102] _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xvii. pp. 162-164.

[103] _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xvii. pp. 205-216 and 220-223.

[104] _Handl. roer. Skand. hist._, vol. xiii. pp. 48-50 and 52-54, and vol. xviii. pp. 234-236 and 237-239; and _Kon. Gust. den Foerstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 231-233 and 306-309.