GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS Copyright 1899 By PETER FENELON COLLIER [Pg 1] [Pg 2] [Pg 3]...

The kingdom of Sweden occupies the eastern and larger part of the Scandinavian peninsula, covering an area of one hundred and seventy thousand six hundred and sixty square miles, with a population of somewhat more than five millions. Sweden is of nearly the same width, from east to west, throughout her whole length. If the country were divided into four equal parts, the southernmost part would correspond to the district of Gothaland, the next to the district of Svealand, consisting of most of wh

The Swedes, although the oldest and most unmixed race in Europe, realized very late the necessity of writing chronicles or reviews of historic events. Thus the names of heroes and kings of the remotest past are helplessly forgotten, and lost also the history of its earliest religion and institutions. But Mother Earth has carefully preserved most of what has been deposited in her bosom, and has repaid diligent research with trustworthy and irrefutable accounts of the age and various degrees of ci

Snorre Sturleson, the great historian and poet of Iceland, of the earlier half of the thirteenth century, is considered to be the author of the history of the kings of Norway which, after the first words of the first chapter, has been called Heimskringla. As an introduction to the work he has put the saga of the Yngling kings of Sweden, of whom many of the Norwegian kings were supposed to be descendants. The Ynglinga Saga is a paraphrase to the much older song of Ynglingatal, a poem composed by

“In the North there is a great ocean, and in this ocean there is a large island called Scandza, out of whose loins our race burst forth like a swarm of bees and spread over Europe.” These were the words the Gothic historian Jordanes put on parchment, inspired by the popular traditions of a Teutonic migration from the North. Historic evidence is lacking to prove or disprove the truth of these words. But they may be applied to the phenomenon which has given its name to the Viking Age . The Viking

The sources of Swedish history during the first two centuries of the Middle Ages are very meagre. This is a deplorable fact, for during that period Sweden passed through a great and thorough development, the various stages of which consequently are not easily traced. Before the year of 1060 Sweden is an Old Teutonic state, certainly of later form and a larger compass than the earliest of such, but with its democracy and its elective kingdom preserved. The older Sweden, such as it had existed at

With Eric Ericsson the royal line of Saint Eric became extinct. The crown was, on account of his birthright, offered to Valdemar , the oldest son of Birger Jarl. He was crowned in Linkœping in 1251. From this period on, a new historic source is found in the rhymed chronicles, of which Swedish literature possesses several elaborate ones of more than 22,000 verses in all. Of these the Old, or Eric’s, Chronicle, was written about 1320, and, like all the rest, anonymously. The verses are fine, the l

Queen Margaret, the successor of Albrecht, for the first time in history united the three Scandinavian countries and their dependencies under one rule. Born in a prison in which King Valdemar of Denmark had placed his consort, Queen Hedvig, there remained in the character of Margaret something of the rigor and chill of her uncomely birthplace. When she was seven, she was engaged to King Hakon of Norway, and married to him at eleven years of age. In Norway, her education was continued for several

Sten Sture the Elder was chosen regent by the council of state and elected by the people at the Riksdag of Arboga, in 1471. For more than half a century following upon the reign of Charles VIII., Sweden was governed by uncrowned kings, with the intermission of a few years. These regents had not any republican ideals in mind, nor were they secretly coveting the crown. Their ambition was simply to uphold a strong and firm national government by means of which foreign lordships could be made imposs

Gustavus Ericsson Vasa, the man whom Providence had selected to save his country from anarchy and ruin, belonged to a noble family of Unionist sympathies, his great-grandfather being Drotsete Krister Nilsson Vasa. But the Vasa family had joined the cause of the patriots during the reigns of the Stures, simultaneously losing some of its earlier importance. The Vasas prided themselves on being the descendants of St. Eric and his line, and of St. Birgitta and the Folkungs. Its coat-of-arms consiste

Eric XIV. succeeded his father in 1560, commencing his reign under the most brilliant of auspices. But the old King Gustavus had foreseen that his sons would cause danger to the realm which he with infinite care had built up. After his forty years’ work of construction followed forty years of destruction which his elder sons brought to bear upon it. Fortunately, that work was so solid that it withstood this bravely, to rise rejuvenated when loving hands anew were laid to it. King Eric was one of

Gustavus II. Adolphus is the greatest figure of Swedish history, revered and beloved as one of the noblest of heroes, a genius in whom the qualities of the great statesman and warrior were blended with the faith of a man ready to sacrifice his life for the loftiest of causes—religious liberty. Gustavus Adolphus was, by his own triumphant deeds and through his school of discipline, which turned out men worthy to follow up his work, destined to bring his country up to the fulfilment of its mission

Christine was six years old when she succeeded her father. Her armies stood scattered through foreign lands, surrounded by enemies and faithless allies. Her country was covered with glory, but in direst distress. The most remarkable aspect of her father’s greatness now was to become apparent. Gustavus Adolphus had left behind men whom he had educated as statesmen, and generals capable of bringing his work to a successful end. First among the former was the state chancellor, Axel Oxenstierna , th

Charles X. was one of the most ambitious men ever placed upon a throne, and Europe was soon to realize that a new war-lord was come. His ambition, so long unsatisfied and secreted, burst forth with uncontrollable strength, in compass only to be equalled by his rare gifts of mind and heart. Charles Gustavus had suffered a good deal of neglect, coldness and hatred, but when ascending the throne he seemed to have forgotten all this. Oxenstierna died a few months after the abdication of Queen Christ

Charles XII., the most famous of Swedish kings, was a boy of fifteen at the death of his father. He was born June 17, 1682, at the castle of Stockholm. The astrologers declared that Sweden was to receive a new war-lord, and that time they were not mistaken. Charles XII. was born in the same year as the absolute monarchy of Sweden, which power he was to abuse in such a great measure. Shortly after his birth, one of the speakers of the knightly chapter house, Justice Gyllencreutz, said while warni

Ulrica Eleonore succeeded her brother Charles XII as the sovereign of Sweden. She was proclaimed queen by birthright, and called the Riksdag, willing to cede the absolute power. When the Riksdag convened a disagreeable surprise met her. The Estates refused to acknowledge her right to the crown, stating that both she and her older sister had deprived themselves of their rights of succession by marrying without the consent of the Estates of the Riksdag. Princess Hedvig Sophie was dead, but her son

Gustavus III., with his brilliant endowment, one of the most illustrious, and, in spite of his glaring faults, one of the most beloved, of Swedish monarchs, was the first king since Charles XII. who was born in Sweden. For this very reason, and on account of his amiable and charming disposition, he had won for himself the sympathy of the people even before his succession to the throne. This nephew of Frederic the Great of Prussia had inherited the genius, ambition and pride of his gifted mother,

Charles XIII. succeeded his nephew. He was chosen king after a new constitution had been formulated and accepted by the Riksdag of 1809. Charles XIII. was one of the most unsympathetic of Swedish kings, but his reign marks a new period in Swedish history, commencing the era of constitutional government. The new constitution to which the king subscribed was not a radical document; it only reduced the power of the king. Hans Jærta, one of the nobles who had renounced their privileges and been acti

Charles XV., the eldest son of Oscar I., succeeded his father, having for two years presided over the government during king Oscar’s last illness. King Charles was of gigantic stature, exceedingly handsome and of a manly and noble bearing. There dwelt a fiery soul within him, conscious of its power, longing for heroic deeds and in sympathy with all that was noble in life and art. The king possessed an abundance of youthful energy and vivacity. He was a passionate hunter and a gay companion, who