The Swedish Revolution Under Gustavus Vasa Part 5

[73] Rensel, _Berattelse_, p. 34; Svart, _Gust. I.'s kron._, pp. 69-72; _Christ. II.'s arkiv_, vol. iv. pp. 1452-1454, 1463 and 1474-1482; _Kon.

Gust. den Forstes registrat._, vol. i. pp. 90-95; and _Sver. trakt._, vol. iv. pp. 61-65.

CHAPTER V.

BEGINNINGS OF THE REFORMATION. 1523-1524.

Nature of the Reformation in Europe.--Cause of the Reformation in Sweden.--The Debt to Lubeck.--Riches of the Church.--Relations of Gustavus to the Pope.--Johannes Magni.--New Taxation--Dissension among the People.--Opposition of Gustavus to the Pope.--Trial of Peder Sunnanvader.--Expedition against Gotland.--Repudiation of the "Klippings."--Berent von Mehlen.--Negotiations between Fredrik and Norby.--Congress of Malmo.--Efforts to appease the People.--Lutheranism.--Olaus Petri.--Laurentius Andreae.--Brask's Efforts to repress Heresy.--Religious Tendencies of Gustavus.--Character of Brask.

We have now reached that point in our narrative where the history of modern Sweden takes its start. With the close of the war of independence those features which mark the face of mediaeval Sweden disappear, and a wholly new countenance gradually settles upon the land. Nor is this transformation peculiar in any way to Sweden. Early in the sixteenth century all Europe was pa.s.sing from mediaeval into modern history. In the Middle Ages there was but one criterion for every question that arose, and that criterion was the past. Whatever had been, should continue. All Church dogmas were settled by an appeal to the ancient Fathers; all political aspirations were fought out on the basis of descent. Tradition was the G.o.d of mediaeval Europe. At last, however, questions arose for which tradition had no answer. On the Renaissance in Italy, on the invention of printing and of gunpowder, on the discovery of America, the ancient Fathers had not spoken. On these things, therefore, which raised the greatest questions of the age, men had nothing for it but to do their thinking for themselves. The practice thus evoked soon spread to other questions, and gradually men grew bold enough to venture opinions on certain stereotyped matters of religion. As all the world knows, the Reformation followed, and from an age of blind acceptance Europe pa.s.sed to an age of eager controversy. Instead of searching to find out what had been, men argued to determine what it was desirable should be. If tradition was the characteristic of mediaeval, policy is the characteristic of modern, history. Some old dogmas, like the divine right of kings, still linger; but since the fifteenth century kings have had little chance whose claims conflict with the balance of European power.

The beginnings of modern history are inextricably bound up with the beginnings of the Reformation. It is a common belief that the Reformation in Europe worked a radical change in the doctrines of religious men, raising up two parties with diametrically opposing creeds. Such a conception, however, is misleading. The Reformation was not so much a religious as a political revolt. It was the natural outcome of a growth in the power of northern Germany at a moment when Rome was losing her political prestige. The alliance between the German Empire and the popes of Rome had its origin in a need of mutual a.s.sistance. Western Europe consisted, at the accession of Charlemagne, of many independent princ.i.p.alities at war among themselves, and what they needed was a powerful protector to adjust their various disputes.

Later this need of a protector became still more urgent, when Germany and France fell under different rulers, and the German Empire began to be threatened by the monarchy across the Rhine. Rome, by reason of her spiritual supremacy, was the arbiter to whom the northern nations naturally turned, and she found ready recompense for her services in the treasures poured generously into her lap. Such was the basis of the Holy Roman Empire. But by the beginning of the sixteenth century all this had changed. Germany was no longer weak. Her little princ.i.p.alities had become cemented together under an emperor well able to repel every invasion of the French. Society had made vast progress, not only in its comforts, but in its demands. Rome, on the other hand, had lost her prestige. In Italy, where the brutality and licentiousness of the popes were open to every eye, people had long since lost all reverence for the Church. This feeling did not spread readily across the Alps; but it came at last, and at a moment when Germany no longer needed aid. A nation guarded by the strong arm of Maximilian could ill brook new levies to feed the extravagance of its decrepit ally, and the infamous practices of Tetzel served as a timely pretext to shake off the burdensome alliance of the papal see. The abuses of popery were little more than a war-cry, while the real struggle of the Reformation was against the political supremacy of Rome.

In Sweden, more than in almost any other land, the Reformation was a political revolt. Indeed, it may well be called a political necessity.

At the moment when Gustavus Vasa was elected king, Sweden was on the verge of bankruptcy. The war just pa.s.sed had drained the resources of the country, and left her heavily involved in debt. The princ.i.p.al creditor was Lubeck. Precisely how much had been borrowed from that town it is impossible to determine, though it is certain the total amount fell not far short of 300,000 Swedish marks.[74] One payment of about 17,000 Swedish marks Gustavus had made in 1522.[75] This of course was a mere drop in the bucket, and other devices were necessary to relieve the general distress. One favorite device, to which allusion has been already made, consisted in a debas.e.m.e.nt of the currency. That device, however, had soon lost its savor, and the coin which in 1522 Gustavus had issued for an ore and a half, he was forced in 1523 to place upon the market as an ore.[76] So that when the new monarch ascended the throne it was manifest that the treasury must be replenished in other modes. The natural direction was that in which the greatest wealth of Sweden lay,--in other words, the Church. We have already seen how completely, in the centuries preceding the Reformation, the Church in Sweden had freed herself from all authority of the people, and had gradually acc.u.mulated for herself a vast amount of wealth. Some conception of this treasure may be had by comparing the edifices belonging to the Church with those owned by individuals. Such a comparison reveals at once an enormous disparity in favor of the Church.

At a time when well-to-do citizens dwelt in what would at this day be known as hovels, they wors.h.i.+pped in churches that must have seemed to them palatial. The six cathedrals that existed in the time of Gustavus still remain, and even at this day compare favorably with the finest structures in the land. In addition to a magnificent palace, the archbishop and the five Swedish bishops each possessed a fortified castle in his diocese. In each diocese, too, there were an enormous number of estates belonging to the bishopric; those in the diocese of Linkoping, for example, numbering over six hundred. The rents and profits from these estates went directly to the bishopric, and were wholly exempt from taxation, as were also the untold treasures of gold and silver belonging to the various churches. Beside all this t.i.thes of every species of farm produce raised in any part of Sweden were due the Church, also t.i.thes of all other personal property acquired. Further, a small annual tax was due the Church for every building in the land from a palace to a pig-sty; also a fee for every wedding, death, or childbirth. No one could inherit property, or even take the sacrament, without a contribution to the Church. And every peasant was bound one day each year to labor for his pastor without reward.[77] How all this money was disbursed, seems difficult to comprehend. Some clew, however, may be gained when we consider what a vast horde of clergy the Swedish people had to feed. Take, for example, the cathedrals. Most of them formed a little hierarchy in themselves. First of all was the archbishop or the bishop, who lived in regal splendor. Around him was his chapter, comprising in one instance as many as thirty canons. Then there was the archdeacon, the cantor, the scholasticus, and some thirty or forty prebends. This little army of Church officers required to be fed, and fed well--and the people of Sweden had to pay the bill. It was but natural, therefore, that, Sweden being heavily involved in debt, the monarch should seek to stay this wasteful extravagance and divert a portion of the Church incomes to the crown.

By the war of independence the way had been already paved for a war against the Church. Christiern had declared himself the champion of the pope; and the higher clergy, as vicegerents of the pope in Sweden, had generally allied themselves with the foreign party. So that the rebellion had been in large measure directed against the authorities of the Church itself, and the victory of Gustavus was felt distinctly as a victory over the powers of the Church. The Chapter of Upsala had therefore deemed it policy to please Gustavus, and were talking of electing his chancellor archbishop in place of Trolle, who had fled the realm. For a like reason the Chapter of Vesters had chosen a former secretary of Sture to their vacant bishopric. The bishoprics of Strengnas and Skara, made vacant by the expulsion of the Danes, had also been filled by persons favorable to the general policy of Gustavus. So that when the new monarch a.s.sumed control, the dignitaries of the Church seemed likely to listen to his demands.[78]

It is not for a moment to be supposed that Gustavus at this time contemplated an opposition to the pope. Such an idea had been spread abroad by Christiern with a view to win sympathy in Europe; but Gustavus had written to all the potentates of Europe to deny the charge, and had sent a messenger to the pope to raise a counter charge against Christiern as the murderer of two Swedish bishops in the slaughter of 1520. The pope, already distrustful of his Danish ally, had listened favorably to the message, and in the following summer, 1523, had sent a legate to Sweden to inform him further on the subject.[79]

This papal legate, Johannes Magni, was the son of a pious burgher of Linkoping, and along with his two brothers had been educated from childhood for the Church. At the age of eighteen so marvellous was his precocity that he was made a canon both of Linkoping and of Skara.

Later, as was the practice with scholars of that period, he continued his studies at several of the leading universities in Europe. But in spite of a sojourn of some seventeen years away from Sweden, he never ceased to keep up a fervid interest in the affairs of his native land.

As soon as the atrocities of Christiern reached his ears, he made a personal visit to Pope Leo X. and denounced the practices of the Danish king. The suggestions which he offered seem to have been scorned by Leo; but in 1521 that pontiff died, and his successor, Adrian VI., listened more readily to the Swedish canon. Adrian himself was from the north of Europe, and had earlier been an instructor of Johannes in the University of Louvain. The characters of the two were not unlike. Both held strong theological opinions, and looked with dread upon all opposition to the papal power. But they were both keenly alive to the abuses that had gathered about the Church, and were eager to repress them. Johannes was peculiarly suited by nature for a work of compromise. With no ordinary talents, of untiring energy, sympathetic, generous, and conciliating, but withal imbued with an ardent love of the Church, Adrian at once discerned in him a valuable mediator. When, therefore, Gustavus wrote to Rome to defend himself against the charge of heresy, the pope selected Johannes as his legate, with instructions to proceed to Sweden and investigate the charges made against each other by Christiern and Gustavus. The legate, complying with these orders, arrived in Sweden while the diet of Strengnas was in session. He therefore made his way directly to that town. While on the road the tidings reached him that Gustavus Vasa had been elected king. As soon as the new monarch learned of his approach, he sent for him to come before the house. There he was overwhelmed with expressions of grat.i.tude for his past interest in the Swedish cause. In return the legate addressed the house at great length in favor of Gustavus. The impression left upon his hearers was so pleasing that the Cabinet drew up a letter to the pope requesting that Johannes be given full authority, with the bishops of Sweden, to reform the Swedish Church. In the same letter opportunity was taken to denounce the vices of Archbishop Trolle, and to beg that, he having already resigned and fled the kingdom, the pope should use his authority to have a new archbishop chosen in his stead.[80]

This doc.u.ment bears strong evidence of the influence of the king. Its allusion to the resignation of Archbishop Trolle was of course untrue.

That prelate had fled the realm to escape the fury of his opponents, but he still looked for the restoration of Danish power and a return of his own prerogatives in the Swedish Church. The king's desire, as reflected in the letter of his Cabinet, was to secure from the pope a recognition that the archbishopric was vacant, and then to use this recognition to force the unwilling Chapter of Upsala to nominate as archbishop one who was in the interests of the king. The scheme, however, failed; for Pope Adrian died before he had had time to act, and was succeeded by a pontiff who hated everything which savored of reform.

During the first months of his reign Gustavus was made wretched by the importunate demands of Lubeck. Her amba.s.sadors continually dogged his steps, and declared they would not leave him till every cent that Sweden owed was paid. After the fall of Kalmar the monarch needed his foreign mercenaries no longer, and would gladly have cas.h.i.+ered them and sent them off. But the "klippings" struck the year before had so far lost the confidence of his subjects that the soldiers refused to take them at any price at all, and Gustavus was compelled to keep his men on foot till he could obtain the silver requisite to issue better coins. The diet just dissolved had pa.s.sed an act providing for the levy of new taxes to be paid in silver, and the king apparently had been given power to fix the mode in which the levy should be made. This was a matter which required skilful handling; and it is fair to say that the policy which the king pursued, if not perfectly straightforward, showed, at any rate, rare skill. Fearing lest another direct call upon the peasantry would raise an outcry, he resolved to make his application to the Church, and give her the option of surrendering a portion of her riches or of losing her prestige by laying new burdens on her devotees. With this in view he wrote first of all to Brask, and after demanding some five thousand guilders which he understood that prelate had stored away in Lubeck, he called upon him to collect four hundred marks in silver from the clergy of his diocese. He then issued a proclamation to the churches and monasteries throughout the land to send him all the chalices, patens, and ornaments that could be spared from the altars, as well as all the silver coin that could be found; and along with this he published a statement of the total amount which each diocese and monastery must provide. Two things are noticeable in this proclamation: first, it does not specify the amount which each particular church must furnish; and, secondly, it distinctly states that the sums handed over are to be deemed as loans, which he will duly acknowledge and ultimately pay in full. In his letter to Brask, on the contrary, the exact amount for which the bishop must be responsible is named, and no definite promise is given to repay it. The doc.u.ment seems part of a deliberate plan to crush the power of the crafty bishop. This Brask noticed, and in his reply adverted to a suspicion lest for some reason he had incurred the king's displeasure, which he would willingly avert. The simplest mode of averting the king's displeasure would have been a speedy compliance with the king's demand. For this, however, Brask had little relish. So Gustavus, two weeks later, wrote again. "We are much surprised," he said, "that you show no more concern while a weight like this rests upon the kingdom. The amount which we must raise without a moment's delay is two hundred thousand guilders, and the Lubeck amba.s.sadors refuse point-blank to depart unless they take that sum with them. If they don't get it we fear open war, which G.o.d forbid! Therefore, by the allegiance which you owe us and the realm, we exhort you, send the four hundred marks' weight without delay." Even this appeal had no immediate effect, and after two weeks more he sent Brask another despatch. "The Lubeck amba.s.sadors," wrote the king, "will not leave us till they get the money which we owe in Lubeck,--a vast sum. It is, therefore, of necessity that we lay this tax upon the churches and monasteries. Strain every nerve to obtain some relief for us in your diocese, especially from your churches and monasteries; the clergy we shall spare for the present." The bishop finally complied, though with an ill grace; and on the 10th of August we find Gustavus writing that he has so far satisfied the demands of Lubeck that her amba.s.sadors have parted from him on good terms.[81]

The tax had been collected, though not without much friction. It had found the people in an irritable temper, and it had left them more irritable still. The ruin which the war had caused was visible on every hand, and the blessings that were expected to follow were not so easily discerned. During two years the fields had been lying fallow, commerce had steadily declined, and the people were actually suffering for food.

Stockholm had been rendered desolate. Its population had fallen to about one quarter. "Every other house," wrote Gustavus, "is now empty;" and there appeared so little chance of a revival that the king issued a proclamation calling on the burghers of other towns as far as possible to sell their houses and settle down in Stockholm. Another cause of dissatisfaction was that, though the war was over in Sweden, the Swedish possessions in Finland were still in the hands of the enemy, and a considerable army was needed to reduce them. Fredrik, king of Denmark, had resigned his claim to Sweden; but certain islands off the coast, as well as some districts along the frontier of Norway, were still matters of dispute. All these circ.u.mstances tended to raise a spirit of discontent, which, though for the nonce restrained, was ready to break out into violence at any moment. To prevent evil, Gustavus resolved to issue a proclamation to the people.[82]

On the 8th of September the annual fair at Vesters was opened, and Gustavus seized this opportunity to make a public statement of his doings. This statement was in the nature of an apology for the recent tax. It declared in the first place that the expenses of the war had reached a higher figure than had ever been incurred by Swedish king before, amounting to a total of over nine hundred thousand marks. A large part of this sum was for foreign troops, hired that the Swedish peasantry might "stay at home in peace, tending their fields and pastures, and caring for their wives and children." When the war was over and the mercenaries were ready to depart, they had demanded with threats of violence immediate payment for all the arms and vessels they had furnished. Having no means to satisfy them, Gustavus had consulted with his Cabinet, and by their advice had called upon the churches and monasteries for a loan, "which with G.o.d's help shall be paid, if all goes well." "Nor," continued the monarch, "was this tax in any way a departure from the practice of former rulers, as may be seen by referring to the ancient records.... Some there are among you who a.s.sert openly or in private that we have fleeced the churches and monasteries.

This we a.s.sert distinctly we have not done, but have merely called upon them for a loan, which shall be paid.... We trust you will give no heed to such conspirators and traitors, but will aid us in bringing them to punishment." The doc.u.ment closes with some remarks upon the coinage. "It must be clear to all," it runs, "that with the enormous expenses which have been rolling up against us we could not issue coins of the quality which you are accustomed to of old. From sheer necessity we have issued 'klippings' after the pattern of King Christiern, though his coins are now, thank G.o.d! departed from the realm.... These 'klippings' are at present not accepted for more than half their worth; and while this has been strenuously forbidden, the only result thus far has been that traders have refused to trade at all, and have carried their salt and hops and clothing back to Germany. We therefore intend at the first opportunity to instruct our Cabinet with the most learned men of the various cla.s.ses to determine whether the 'klippings' shall be accepted for their present value or for less; and whatever their decision, we promise faithfully we shall obey."[83]

After administering this soothing drug, the monarch turned his thoughts once more to the appointment of a new archbishop. The letter despatched by the Cabinet to Pope Adrian immediately after the diet of Strengnas had proved of little service, for Brask on the 18th of July had secretly sent a messenger to the pope with word that Church property was being confiscated. Gustavus, ignorant of the bishop's perfidy and wondering at the pope's delay, now wrote again. "For a long time, Holy Father," began the courteous monarch, "our cathedral chapters have urged us to solicit you in behalf of the persons elected by them to fill their vacant posts.

Trolle having resigned the archbishopric, the prelates and canons of Upsala have chosen your legate Johannes Magni in his stead; the canons of Skara have chosen their archdeacon Magnus Haraldsson to the bishopric vacated by his predecessor's death; and the canons of Strengnas have chosen their provost Magnus Sommar. The prelates and canons of Vesters, their bishop having died, present the name of Petrus Magni for the post. In bo, though the bishop died a year ago, no successor has as yet been chosen, that church having only recently been captured from our enemies. As the persons above named are satisfactory to us and to our people, we beg you to confirm them as soon as possible, and thus avert the danger to which vacancies in the episcopal office would expose the Church." Whether or not the Chapters had actually elected all the persons named, may well be doubted, and is, indeed, of little moment; for their spirit was by this time broken, and if they cherished any preferences they dared not speak them. The letter was intrusted to Johannes Magni with orders to obtain confirmation from the pope and then return to Sweden. But just as he was making ready to depart, the long-awaited letter came from Adrian, though it differed much in tenor from what had been expected. Instead of urging the Upsala Chapter to choose a new archbishop, it commanded Gustavus to restore Archbishop Trolle to his post, threatening him with punishment if he refused.[84]

This change of colors on the part of Adrian has been accounted for in many ways. Johannes Magni himself suggested that it was the work of evil-minded counsellors in Rome. The more probable supposition is that Adrian had been influenced by Brask. If Church property was being confiscated, as Brask declared, Archbishop Trolle could be relied on to offer much more strenuous resistance than the prelate talked of as his successor. But the very reason which induced the pope to favor Trolle seemed to the king sufficient ground for supporting his opponent. It was precisely because of Johannes Magni's pliable and compromising temper that Gustavus would have rejoiced to see the mitre on his head. He was determined that Trolle, at any rate, should not wear it. So he sat down, as soon as Adrian's letter came, and wrote a warm reply to the College of Cardinals in Rome. "If our Most Holy Father," he said, "has any care for the peace of our country, we shall be pleased to have him confirm the election of his legate Johannes to the archbishopric, and we shall comply with the pope's wishes as to a reformation of the Christian Church and religion. But if his Holiness, against our honor and the peace of our subjects, sides with the crime-stained partisans of Archbishop Trolle, we shall allow his legate to return to Rome, and shall govern the Church in this country with the authority which we have as king, and in a manner which we believe will please G.o.d as well as all the princes of Christendom. We beg you, however, to use your authority in the Apostolic See in such way as not to harm our state, nor give the appearance of championing the crimes of Trolle against the tranquillity of a Christian people." Three days after writing this vehement despatch, the monarch sent off another, couched in language even more determined, to the pope. "We shall never," he declared, "allow that man to return as our archbishop. He not only is unworthy of the priesthood, he is unworthy even to live. We respect the Roman Church, and if need be would die in her behalf. But if she endeavors thus to ruin our country, we shall resist her till the last drop of blood is shed." This doc.u.ment was placed in the hands of Olaus Magni, brother of the proposed archbishop, with orders to inform the pope of the evils to which the Church in Sweden was exposed, and to use his utmost endeavor to secure the confirmation of the bishops. The missive, however, never reached the pontiff to whom it was addressed. Adrian was already dead and buried ere the doc.u.ment was penned; and when the messenger arrived in Rome, he found another pontiff, Clement VII., seated in the papal chair.[85]

The breach between the king and popery was now open. Gustavus had actually flung down the gauntlet at the feet of Rome, a.s.serting that if officers satisfactory to him were not appointed by the pope, he would take the duty of appointing them upon himself. Still he did not relinquish hope that the breach might yet be healed; and on the 2d of November he wrote again, this time requesting the pope to confirm the election of Erik Svensson, a former secretary of Gustavus, to the vacant bishopric of bo. "And if your Holiness," wrote the king, "shall delay in confirming the bishops-elect, we shall ourselves undertake the restoration of our ruined churches, and shall have the bishops confirmed by Him who is our High Pontifex, that His Church and religion may not be injured through the negligence of the Apostolic See. Moreover, Most Holy Father, we hear from certain men of Lubeck that one Francisco of Potentia has returned from Rome to Denmark with arguments in justification of that tyrant Christiern's ma.s.sacre of our bishops, and that your Holiness has rewarded him with the bishopric of Skara. If this be true, the Apostolic See has done us and the Church a wrong equal in enormity to that of the Danish king, and we shall by G.o.d's aid avert it if necessary with our blood. Let not your Holiness fancy that we shall permit foreigners to rule the Church in Sweden." At about the same time with this letter the monarch, in writing to Johannes Magni, uses even stronger language. After suggesting that Christiern has so impoverished the Church that it is unable to send its bishops elect to Rome for confirmation, he a.s.serts that it is rumored the real cause of the delay is that the Church has not been able to furnish the pope the customary fees for confirmation. "Some a.s.sert, too," he adds, "that there is no authority in Scripture for all the dues that belong by custom to the pope.... So soon as we find that our patience and moderation are of no avail, we shall proceed to rigorous measures. We shall not suffer our people to bend beneath a cruel foreign yoke, for we are confident that Christ, who is our High Priest, will not let his people die to suit the pope's caprice."[86]

These were bold words to use of the potentate whose command all Christendom obeyed. The youthful monarch, it was already clear, intended to rule his country with an iron hand. When only three months on the throne, he chanced upon some letters in which the bishop of Vesters alluded to him in arrogant and contumelious terms. This bishop, who gloried in the name of Peder Sunnanvader, had been at one time chancellor of the young Sten Sture, and though elected in 1522 to the bishopric of Vesters, had suffered the same fate as the other bishops and never been confirmed. Gustavus did not hesitate a moment. As soon as the abusive letters reached him, he proceeded with the entire Cabinet to Vesters, and summoned the bishop with all his canons to the chapter-house. There he laid before them the evidences of the bishop's guilt. Unable to furnish satisfactory explanation, the bishop was removed; and the Chapter, at the instance of Gustavus, elected Petrus Magni in his stead. Even with this, however, the monarch's vengeance did not end. Knut, the dean of Vesters and a former chancellor of Gustavus,--the man, indeed, who had been talked of for the archbishopric of Upsala,--was indiscreet enough to come forward at the trial with an apology for his bishop. The monarch wanted no other proof of his complicity, and discharged him along with Sunnanvader from his post.[87]

Gustavus was spurred on in his campaign against the Church by a continued need of money to keep his army in the field. Even after the subjection of Sweden he had to carry on the war in Finland; and it was not till nearly Christmas, and after he had sent a strong force of mercenaries across the Baltic, that Finland was subdued.[88] After this the great bone of contention was the isle of Gotland. This island, or rather its capital, the town of Visby, had been in ages past the leader of the Hanseatic League. Its situation in the Baltic, not far from the east coast of southern Sweden, made it still of great value to merchant-vessels pa.s.sing between Sweden and the Hanseatic Towns. When Christiern fled from Denmark, Gotland was under the control of Norby, who continued after his master's fall to make depredations along the coast of Sweden and seize all merchantmen that came within his grasp.

Danish, Swedish, and Hanse vessels were alike his prey, till Gotland came to be known by all as a "nest of robbers." Fredrik and Lubeck, unwilling though they were that Gotland should fall to Sweden, welcomed any movement intended to root out this impediment to the Baltic trade, and raised no opposition when Gustavus offered, in the winter of 1524, to attack the island in the coming spring. The att.i.tude of Fredrik to Gustavus recalls the fable of the monkey and the cat. The Danish king hoped ultimately to secure the chestnuts for himself, but in the mean time was not sorry to see an army gathering in Sweden to bear the brunt of the a.s.sault. Which party first proposed an expedition against Gotland is not clear.[89] At the general diet held in Vadstena in January, representatives from Fredrik were present, and it was agreed that the expedition should be made as soon as the harbors opened. The quotas to be furnished by the different parts of Sweden by the first week after Easter were also fixed. The Danish envoys, it appears, made no promises except that a congress of the two realms should be held on the 14th of February to settle all matters of dispute. The pa.s.sports for the Danish envoys to this convention were issued by Gustavus on the spot. They were never used, however; for just before the appointed day he received notice from the Danish Cabinet that they wished the congress to be postponed. This action caused Brask to suspect that Fredrik's sole object was to use up time. Whatever Fredrik's object, the congress could not be held without him. Gustavus therefore postponed it till the end of April, and set about raising an army for himself.[90]

The first person to whom the monarch turned was Bishop Brask. It appears that there had been some dispute between the bishop and one of the hospitals in his diocese as to the t.i.thes from certain lands. The shrewd monarch conceived the notion that the simplest mode of settling the dispute was to hand the disputed property over to the crown. He wrote, therefore, to both parties to send him at once the original doc.u.ments on which they based their claims. "And meantime," he said, "we forbid you positively to collect the disputed t.i.thes. Should you touch them, we shall be forced to take further steps. We have, indeed, been told that in the times of our fathers the crown received from the canons throughout the realm one fourth of their t.i.thes under the name of 'the poor man's portion,' with the understanding that the money should be used to found hospitals, and over these hospitals the crown has ever since held _jus patronatus_." To this demand Brask answered that he would send the doc.u.ments desired, but that the crown had never taken the t.i.thes from the canons except by force. A few weeks later, on the 18th of February, the king wrote Brask that the expedition would start as soon as the harbors opened, and that, as Brask had been one of the promoters of the scheme, he must expect to contribute generously toward it, especially since he and his diocese, being nearest to the isle of Gotland, would be the ones most benefited by the overthrow of Norby.

Brask, in his answer of March 8, repudiated the idea that the expedition was the fruit of his brain, and expressed the hope that the matter might be settled without bloodshed. "'T is never wise," he said, "to break down doors already open." Brask a.s.serted, further, that he had never received a penny of rent from Gotland, but promised to do all he could to obtain aid from the churches of his diocese.[91]

By this time it had become rumored that the king was about to levy a new tax upon the people, and a murmur of discontent had risen through the land. To allay this, Gustavus issued several letters, declaring that the contribution was to be wholly voluntary. One of the convents he begged to send him all the silver collected for a certain shrine, and offered to give the crown's note for the amount, secured, if the convent wished it, by a mortgage of certain crown fiefs. In writing to the people of ostergotland he pointed out that the expedition was necessitated by the piracies of Norby, who had caused a dreadful scarcity of food by checking imports; and he called upon the people to have a detachment of armed men ready by the first week after Easter at the latest, promising at the same time that as soon as the fleet should put to sea the men would be provided for at the crown's expense. To the people of Brask's diocese he wrote that he had heard a rumor to the effect that he was imposing a new tax upon the people. This rumor the king characterized as "a palpable lie." He declared further that he had applied the crown rents to pay for the expedition, and had asked their bishop to make a loan from his rents for the same purpose, to which Brask had replied that he would lend the money, but would raise it by imposing a tax upon his churches. This Gustavus declared was not his desire; all he wished was a free-will offering. From this letter it is clear the monarch sought to cast upon Brask the odium which this new levy had brought upon himself, and it is equally clear that in doing so he exceeded the bounds of truth. In calling upon Brask for a contribution he had in no way specified the mode in which the money should be raised; and Brask, so far from refusing to apply his own rents for the purpose, had distinctly stated, in every letter which he wrote, that he would do his utmost to furnish the desired sum.[92]

A further cause of disaffection lay in the general impression that the monarch was tampering with the coinage. This impression had its origin naturally enough in the fact that the general diet held in January had repudiated the Swedish "klippings." The reason given for that act was that, the Danish "klippings" having been repudiated in Denmark the year before, merchants were bringing barrelfuls of them into Sweden; so that the Swedish "klipping," being scarcely discernible from its Danish namesake, fell constantly in value, its fluctuations depending upon the importations of the repudiated coin from Denmark. In the Act repudiating the Swedish "klipping" that coin was declared to be worth four "hvitar;"

that is, about one half of the amount which the crown had received in issuing it. The outcry which this Act called forth was universal, and the king was forced to issue a letter to the people in which he endeavored to allay their wrath. "We have never," he declared with brazen falsehood,--"we have never altered the coinage either by raising or by lowering its value, but have permitted each coin to pa.s.s for the same value as it had before;" and he added with bland simplicity, "the coin has fallen by its own weight." The striking feature in this matter is the audacity of the king. He trusted that the people generally would not have access to the doc.u.ments which we now possess to contradict him.

After issuing this mendacious letter, he approached the Stockholm merchants, and, by certain persuasive arguments whose nature it is easy to conceive, prevailed upon them to deposit all their "klippings" in the treasury, to be weighed and bought by the Government at their actual bullion value. He then began the issue of a new series of coins approximating though still below their face value, and published another letter, this time acknowledging that he had repudiated the "klippings,"

but a.s.serting that the step was taken to comply with a suggestion made him by the people.[93]

Late in March Gustavus received a note from Fredrik requesting a further postponement of the congress till May 15. As the Vend Cities were to be present, Gustavus answered that he would communicate with Lubeck, and so soon as he had word from her would give a definite reply. He then despatched the Danish monarch's letter to Bishop Brask. The answer of that prelate was full of wisdom. "I marvel much," wrote Brask, "that his Grace should call a congress of these three realms without first consulting you.... He must be well aware that you cannot be present on so short notice, especially since he knows that you are about to make an expedition against Gotland. His real purpose, I suspect, is to induce you to postpone your expedition." In this surmise the shrewd bishop doubtless was correct. Fredrik, though satisfied that Sweden should go to great expense in preparing for an expedition against Gotland, was reluctant to see her armies actually land upon the isle, lest his own claims to Gotland might thereby be lost. It seemed to him that Norby, terrified by the armaments of Sweden, might be induced to go to Denmark and yield the isle to him. He therefore wrote to Sweden, requesting that the pirate be given a safe-conduct through the land. But the army was already in the field, and Gustavus answered firmly that he would not comply with the request. To this answer he was induced partly by a suspicion that Denmark was already furnis.h.i.+ng supplies to Norby.[94]

On the 8th of May Gustavus despatched his fleet, eight thousand strong, to Gotland. The command he gave to a German adventurer who has already figured in this story as Berent von Mehlen. This person, after breaking faith with his former master, Christiern, had married a cousin of Gustavus, and had become a trusted counsellor of the king. By what traits he became attractive in his monarch's eyes it is at this day difficult to conceive. Certainly as a general he knew as little as any general possibly could know. Again and again he had been given opportunity to display his warlike power, but thus far in every instance he had failed. He now set forth, as admiral of the Swedish fleet, to besiege the town of Visby. The siege began on the 19th of May, and was enlivened during a few weeks by several skirmishes. Nothing of importance, however, was accomplished. The siege was protracted through the summer, and at last the besiegers showed so little life that their leader, the favorite of Gustavus, was reported to have turned his coat once more and joined the enemy.[95]

Not yet had the siege begun when evidence was furnished that Fredrik was in league with Norby. So early as the 9th of May Gustavus wrote to Brask that the Danes were rumored to be supplying Norby with stores and ammunition. A few days later word arrived from Fredrik that he wished once more to put off the congress, this time till the 24th of June.

Gustavus was now fairly mad with indignation, and declared to Brask that he would neither be present nor allow his envoys to be present at the proposed congress. He was discreet enough, however, to conceal his wrath from Fredrik; and, without refusing the offer of the Danish king, he called a meeting of his Cabinet, to which he urged Lubeck to send her envoys. Fredrik in the mean time had been negotiating on his own account with Norby, and had wrung promises from him which led to the impression that Norby had thrown up his allegiance to Christiern II. and was ready to accept the authority of Fredrik. Elated by this false hope, the Danish monarch felt in a position to ignore the slight that had been put upon him by Gustavus, and sent delegates, apparently unbidden, to the Swedish king and Cabinet, proposing that a congress be held in Denmark to settle all matters of dispute, the Swedish army in the mean time to withdraw from Gotland, and Norby to be given safe-conduct from the isle. These terms Gustavus rejected with disdain, declaring that he had striven for the good of all to scatter Norby with his "nest of robbers," and would consent to a meeting with Fredrik only on condition that in the interval Norby should receive no aid of any shape or kind.

Fredrik, finding that Gustavus was determined, and that Norby's feigned alliance was somewhat airy, yielded reluctantly to this condition. The Swedish army continued in its camp at Visby; and the two monarchs, attended by their Cabinets, proceeded to the town of Malmo in hope of settling their disputes. The congress opened on the first day of September. The two monarchs with their retinues were present, together with envoys from the Hanseatic Towns. The meeting opened, as was usual, with an interchange of courtesies and with mutual promises to resist their common enemy, King Christiern. It was agreed, too, that all renegades from either country should be returned, and that citizens of one country should be ent.i.tled to any property belonging to them in the other. As soon, however, as the question of disputed territory arose, it became clear that no conclusion could be reached. It was therefore resolved, after long debate, that this question be postponed, to be decided by a congress of certain Hanse Towns, to be held in Lubeck in June of the following year. Till then a provisional frontier agreed upon by Norway, Denmark, and Sweden was to be observed; and Gotland was to remain during the interval in the hands of that party which held it on September 1. If it should be found that Norby held it on that day, he should be called upon to surrender it to Fredrik, to be placed by him under the temporary control of some person satisfactory to Sweden, Denmark, and Lubeck. If Sweden should continue the war in Gotland, she was to pay for all damage she might do. Either party by violating these terms was to become indebted to the other to the amount of one hundred thousand guilders. This conclusion reached, the congress was dissolved, envoys being first sent to Gotland to carry out the terms. Finding that Norby was still in possession, they entered into negotiations, and soon obtained a contract, signed by Norby as well as Mehlen, that each should withdraw his forces from the land. In conformity with this contract Mehlen at once broke camp and sailed with all the Swedish fleet to Kalmar; but Norby, laughing at the credulity of his opponent, continued to dominate the island, and began his piracies afresh.[96]

This disastrous expedition caused a heavy drain upon the Swedish treasury, an evil which the monarch sought to meet by new demands upon the Church. On the 9th of May he wrote to Brask that he must have more money, and that the bishopric of Linkoping, being benefited more than others by the expedition, must expect to bear the chief part of the cost. To this Brask answered humbly that he had already furnished more than his proper share, but would do his utmost to obtain the needed sum.

This promise, however, did not satisfy the king; and a few days later he sent a letter to Brask's chapter, declaring that they had collected certain rents belonging to the crown which must be yielded up without delay. Brask appears to have been a special object of the monarch's greed. On one occasion Gustavus seized some t.i.thes belonging to that prelate, and then had face enough to write him that he had done so, his only excuse being that the army was in need of food. This high-handed mode of dealing with the Church is in marked contrast to the monarch's complaisance when dealing with the people. Before the common people Gustavus grovelled in the dust. Every day nearly he despatched some doc.u.ment granting new privileges to this town or to that; and when the people of Kalmar refused to contribute on the ground that their trade had been ruined by foreign merchants, Gustavus sent back answer that he would remedy this wrong. The notion getting abroad in Brask's diocese that new taxes were being levied, Gustavus insisted that the bishop should counteract this view, thus practically forcing him to make the contribution from his private means.[97]

In spite of every effort to appease the people, discontent was fast spreading through the land. To attribute this entirely to the actions of Gustavus is unfair. His expedition against Gotland, it is true, had proved a failure, and had cost his country dear. The monarch should have seen that, in the impoverished state of his finances, the duty of destroying Norby belonged to Denmark or Lubeck. But, granted that the expedition was ill-judged, its failure certainly did not justify revolt.

The truth is, the Swedish people were so used to insurrection that the slightest disappointment sufficed to set the whole country by the ears, and no sooner was the expedition brought to its humiliating end than the people began to look about for pretexts for revolt. One of the first cries raised against Gustavus was that he had transgressed the law by admitting foreign citizens into the Cabinet of Sweden. To this charge the monarch was unable to make a rational reply. At the very outset of his reign, he had displayed his first infatuation for foreign men by raising Mehlen to the highest honors of the state. Later another adventurer, one Count Johan von Hoya, had appeared upon the scene. The king had forthwith showered royal favors upon his head. Scarcely two months after landing Hoya had betrothed himself to the king's sister, and had been received by the infatuated monarch into the Swedish Cabinet. Such a course appeared to the people in direct opposition to the promise made by Gustavus that he would drive out foreign power.

This evil, however, was but slight, in comparison with others that the people had to bear. In plain English, they were starving. The long-protracted war with Denmark, followed by the brutal piracies of Norby, had so reduced the supply of necessaries, particularly salt, that few except the rich were able to get enough to stay their hunger. Hoping to allay the people's indignation in these matters, Gustavus called a meeting of his Cabinet in October, summoning at the same time two Linkoping burghers to advise the Cabinet as to the best methods of improving trade. It is worthy of note, however, that though the meeting was expressly announced to be called for the purpose of improving trade, the doc.u.ments describing the debate are devoted almost wholly to a consideration of methods to augment the royal funds. The king, it seems, came forward with a suggestion that, since he was likely soon to marry, some, provision should be made for adding to his income, and some steps be taken to reimburse him for the sums advanced by him to carry on the war. What he particularly wanted was the right to fix, according to his own judgment, the amount of rents to be paid by crown estates. He suggested, further, that, since the pope would not confirm the bishops till they paid their fees, his coronation should be delayed no longer, but the bishops should perform the ceremony without the papal sanction.

He recommended also that, there being no satisfactory place in which to keep the Swedish cavalry, they be quartered in the various monasteries, "where," he added, "we find plenty of money, but very few monks." As to Hoya, he requested the Cabinet's sanction of the proposed marriage, shrewdly intimating that while he favored citizens of Germany, he believed no marriage between a Swede and Dane should be allowed. The answer which the Cabinet made to these proposals shows traces of a feeble opposition along with a manifest endeavor to accommodate the king. First of all, the Cabinet advised the king to appoint a few of the most intelligent and able debaters in the realm to represent the cause of Sweden at the congress to be held next year in Lubeck; and in accordance with this suggestion the king named Hoya, and the new archbishop, Johannes Magni. Regarding the matter of conferring fiefs on Hoya, the Cabinet yielded to the king's desire. "Though the law declares," they said, "that no foreigner shall enter the Cabinet or govern land or castle, yet we shall gladly see you grant him both castle and land as you deem best, doubting not that you will so watch over his and all other grants that your subjects suffer not." In accordance with this concession Hoya was given Stegeborg in fee, and his marriage with Margareta was arranged to take place in January next. As to quartering in the monasteries, the conservative element prevailed, the Cabinet decreeing that it was not advisable to fill the monasteries with horse and men. That the coronation take place at once, the Cabinet strongly urged, though they refrained from expressing opinion as to the confirmation of the bishops. The proposition that the king be given power to regulate the royal rents was not rejected, but a hint was thrown out that the proper step was rather to prepare an accurate list of all crown property and collect the rents as due thereon of old.[98]

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 Sunnanvader 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 a.s.serted that he had thereby suffered far greater injury than his people. Sunnanvader'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 Sunnanvader has gone among you with plots to throw the kingdom into strife once more. We beg you in the name of G.o.d 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 Sunnanvader 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 d.i.c.kering 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 orebro. From his earliest years this champion of Luther had been educated by a pious father for the Romish Church. His childhood had been pa.s.sed 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 Strengnas. Though only twenty-two, he already showed such promise that within a year he was chosen deacon of Strengnas, 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 Strengnas 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 ma.s.s 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 Strengnas 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 Strengnas had inflamed the people by preaching heresies; "and G.o.d 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 a.s.sertions that men should place no faith in the Virgin or in other saints, but in G.o.d alone; that the priest's first duty is to preach, not pray, and that confession should be made to none but G.o.d. 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. "G.o.d knows," the legate wrote, "how eagerly I burn to effect the hoped-for freedom of the Christian Church, had not circ.u.mstances 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 Linkoping 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 Strengnas have promised me firmly that they will abstain from all new doctrines, and will send out no more letters unless they are hara.s.sed." 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 a.s.sault 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 G.o.d. 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 G.o.d. 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 G.o.d, 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 a.s.surance 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 pa.s.s its judgment.... I know not how your Grace can better win the love of G.o.d, 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