1.
Johan Baptista van Uther
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Johan Baptista or Hans van Uther was a Dutch Renaissance painter, active in Sweden. No personal details are known about Johan Baptista van Uther, and he is thought to have been born in either Antwerp or Utrecht. He was active in Sweden, from 1562 as court painter, stylistically, portraits attributed to Johan Baptista van Uther show influences from the refined court style of Antonis Mor. In turn, Johan Baptista van Uther taught and influenced court portraitist Holger Hansson and, possibly, media related to Johan Baptista van Uther at Wikimedia Commons
2.
Coronation
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The ceremony can also be conducted for the monarchs consort, either simultaneously with the monarch or as a separate event. A ceremony without the placement of a crown on the head is known as an enthronement. Coronations are still observed in the United Kingdom, Tonga, in addition to investing the monarch with symbols of state, Western-style coronations have often traditionally involve anointing with holy oil, or chrism as it is often called. Wherever a ruler is anointed in this way, as in Great Britain and Tonga, some other lands use bathing or cleansing rites, the drinking of a sacred beverage, or other religious practices to achieve a comparable effect. Such acts symbolise the granting of divine favour to the monarch within the relevant spiritual-religious paradigm of the country, in the past, concepts of royalty, coronation and deity were often inexorably linked. Rome promulgated the practice of worship, in Medieval Europe. Coronations were once a direct expression of these alleged connections. Thus, coronations have often been discarded altogether or altered to reflect the nature of the states in which they are held. However, some monarchies still choose to retain an overtly religious dimension to their accession rituals, others have adopted simpler enthronement or inauguration ceremonies, or even no ceremony at all. In non-Christian states, coronation rites evolved from a variety of sources, buddhism, for instance, influenced the coronation rituals of Thailand, Cambodia and Bhutan, while Hindu elements played a significant role in Nepalese rites. The ceremonies used in modern Egypt, Malaysia, Brunei and Iran were shaped by Islam, Coronations, in one form or another, have existed since ancient times. Egyptian records show coronation scenes, such as that of Seti I in 1290 BC, judeo-Christian scriptures testify to particular rites associated with the conferring of kingship, the most detailed accounts of which are found in II Kings 11,12 and II Chronicles 23,11. Following the assumption of the diadem by Constantine, Roman and Byzantine emperors continued to wear it as the symbol of their authority. Although no specific coronation ceremony was observed at first, one gradually evolved over the following century, the emperor Julian was hoisted upon a shield and crowned with a gold necklace provided by one of his standard-bearers, he later wore a jewel-studded diadem. Later emperors were crowned and acclaimed in a manner, until the momentous decision was taken to permit the Patriarch of Constantinople to physically place the crown on the emperors head. Historians debate when exactly this first took place, but the precedent was established by the reign of Leo II. This ritual included recitation of prayers by the Byzantine prelate over the crown, after this event, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the ecclesiastical element in the coronation ceremonial rapidly develop. This was usually performed three times, following this, the king was given a spear, and a diadem wrought of silk or linen was bound around his forehead as a token of regal authority
3.
Eric XIV of Sweden
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Eric XIV was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1568. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg and he was also ruler of Estonia, after its conquest by Sweden in 1561. Some scholars claim that his illness began early during his reign, Eric, having been deposed and imprisoned, was most likely murdered. An examination of his remains in 1958 confirmed that he died of arsenic poisoning. Eric XIV was born at Tre Kronor castle, at 9 oclock on the morning of 13 December 1533, before the age of two, he lost his mother. In 1536, his father, Gustav Vasa, married Margaret Leijonhufvud, Erics first teacher was the learned German Georg Norman, whose services were shortly thereafter needed elsewhere within the Swedish state. He was replaced by French Calvinist Dionysius Beurraeus, Dionysius taught both Eric and his brother John, and seems to have been appreciated by both. Eric was very successful in foreign languages and mathematics and he was also an informed historian, a good writer and familiar with astrology. When Eric started to appear in public, he was referred to as the king and after the meeting of parliament in Stockholm in 1560. In 1557, Eric was assigned the fiefdoms of Kalmar, Kronoberg and he took up residence in the city of Kalmar. Against his fathers wishes, Eric entered into negotiations with the future Queen Elizabeth I of England. Tensions between Eric and his father grew, Eric also made unsuccessful marriage proposals to, among others, Mary, Queen of Scots, Renata of Lorraine, Anna of Saxony and Christine of Hesse. He was crowned as Eric XIV, but was not necessarily the 14th king of Sweden named Eric and he and his brother Charles IX adopted regnal numbers according to Johannes Magnuss partly fictitious history of Sweden. There had, however, been at least six earlier Swedish kings with the name of Eric, in domestic politics, Erics ambitions were strongly opposed by the Swedish nobility, including his half-brother, the later John III of Sweden. John was the Duke of Finland and was married to a Polish princess, John pursued an expansionist policy in Livonia which led to contention between the brothers. In 1563, John was seized and tried for treason by Erics order. This expansionism resulted in a clash with his cousin, Frederick II of Denmark, from 1563 onwards, his insanity became pronounced, his rule became even more arbitrary and marked by violence. In 1567, suspicious of high treason, he killed several members of the Sture family, the King probably thought of the killing as an execution rather than murder
4.
Sigismund III Vasa
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He was the son of King John III of Sweden and his first wife, Catherine Jagellonica of Poland. Elected to the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Sigismund sought to create a union between the Commonwealth and Sweden, and succeeded for a time in 1592. After he had deposed in 1599 from the Swedish throne by his uncle, Charles IX of Sweden. Shortly after his victory over his enemies, Sigismund took advantage of a period of civil unrest in Muscovy and invaded Russia. In 1617 the Polish–Swedish conflict, which had been interrupted by an armistice in 1611, while Sigismunds army was also fighting Ottoman forces in Moldavia, King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden invaded Sigismunds lands, capturing Riga and seizing almost all of Polish Livonia. Sigismund, who concluded the Truce of Altmark with Sweden in 1629 and his Swedish wars resulted, moreover, in Polands loss of Livonia and in a diminution of the kingdoms international prestige. Sigismund remains a controversial figure in Poland. His long reign coincided with the apex of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealths prestige, power, on the other hand, it was during his reign that the symptoms of decline leading to the Commonwealths eventual demise surfaced. However, the question of whether the Commonwealths decline was caused by Sigismunds decisions or had its roots in historical processes beyond his personal control and he was commemorated in Warsaw with Sigismunds Column, commissioned by his son and successor, Władysław IV. Sigismund was born on 20 June 1566 to Catherine Jagiellon and the Grand Duke John of Finland at Gripsholm and his parents, at the time, were being held prisoner by King Eric XIV, but despite the Protestant domination of Sweden young Sigismund was raised as a Roman Catholic. In 1567 Sigismund and his parents where released from prison, and in 1568 Erik XIV was deposed, from 1568 Sigismund was the crown prince of Sweden. His mother was the daughter of Polish king Sigismund I the Old, in 1587 Sigismund stood for election to the Polish throne after the death of his uncle, King Stephen Bathory. He was supported by his aunt Queen Anna, Hetman Jan Zamoyski and it seemed that the issue of who would be King of Poland had been settled when Maximilian III invaded Poland to claim the crown. Hetman Jan Zamoyski defeated Maximilian at the Battle of Byczyna and took him prisoner, however, at the request of Pope Sixtus V, King Sigismund III released Maximilian, who surrendered his claim to Poland in 1589. King Sigismund also tried to maintain peace with his neighbor by marrying Archduchess Anne Habsburg in 1592. It was always his intention to maintain an alliance with Catholic Austria against the Protestant forces, when his father died King Sigismund III asked the Sejm to be allowed to claim his inheritance as the rightful King of Sweden. When he promised to respect Lutheranism as the religion of Sweden. Sigismund was crowned King of Sweden in 1594 and he appointed his uncle, Duke Charles, to rule as regent on his behalf in Sweden while he remained in Poland, since Sweden and the Commonwealth were only in a personal union, not united in one state
5.
Stegeborg Castle
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Stegeborg Castle is a ruined castle in St Anna parish, Söderköping, Östergötland, located on an island in a narrow sound at the bay of Slätbaken. The oldest part of the castle is a brick tower in the southeast corner, built in the early 13th century. A simple fortified residence was added during the 14th century, expanded and supplemented by a wall, during the 16th and 17th centuries the building was further expanded, especially during the reign of John III of Sweden, when the round tower attained its present height. In addition, a church was added to the north wing. Several of the Vasa kings lived in Stegeborg, which was allotted 1652–1689 to the Palatine counts John Casimir, the crown sold the castle in the 1730s for building materials. The bottom floors large masonry protected it against complete destruction, until 1689 the castle was the center of the Östergötland archipelagos local government. The new castle, a whitewashed three-storey building in neoclassical style, the castle is mentioned in 1310 as Stækaborg, the name comes from stæk, mediaeval Swedish for stock, pile, or the other place name Stäket. Stäk refers to systems of pilings - stakes - submerged in the water which blocked the channel. The oldest of these systems has been dated between the 7th and 9th century, pilings dating back to the 11th century have been discovered in the waters north of the island. The purpose of the barriers was to prevent or hinder shipping. These pilings were still extant in the 19th century, and therefore vessels had to pass the island on the side to reach Söderköping. The early history of Stegeborg is tied with the estate of Skällsvik, a farm is attested as early as 1287, when it belonged to the Bishop of Linköping, Benedict Birgersson. His successor Lars Albrektsson kept the property and its strategic location at the entrance to Söderköping, at the time one of the countrys wealthiest cities, was obvious to Birger Magnussons guardianship, which was led by the marsk Torkel Knutsson. In 1305 at the latest the bishops farm was sold to king Birger, subsequently, a castle was built on the islet, which is in the sea channel leading toward Söderköping. Its appearance and extent are unknown, during the period 1310–1316 the king sent several letters from Stegeborg and one can assume that he remained there for long periods. After the Nyköping Banquet a rebellion broke out against King Birger and he left Stegeborg and sailed to Visby, but left his son Magnus Birgersson as commander of Stegeborg. The castle was besieged, presumably from Easter until the end of August 1318, Magnus was taken prisoner to Stockholm and was sentenced to death in June 1320. He is buried in Riddarholmskyrkan in Stockholm next to Magnus III of Sweden, according to the Eric Chronicles Stegeborg was demolished after the capitulation
6.
Tre Kronor (castle)
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Tre Kronor was a castle located in Stockholm, Sweden, on the site where Stockholm Palace is today. It is believed to have been a citadel that Birger Jarl built into a castle in the middle of the 13th century. The name Tre Kronor is believed to have given to the castle during the reign of King Magnus IV in the middle of the 14th century. Most of Swedens national library and royal archives were destroyed when the castle burned down in 1697, when King Gustav Vasa broke Sweden free from the Kalmar Union and made Sweden independent again, Tre Kronor Castle became his most important royal seat. The keep may have existed previous to the 16th century, but in a smaller form than on the pictures from the beginning. The tower was then about the half of the height in the end of the 16th century, the castle consisted of two parts, the main castle and the walled in gardens surrounding it with the high tower in the middle. On May 7,1697 a large fire broke out in Tre Kronor that completely demolished the majority of this now more-than-400-year-old castle, the fire was discovered by the castles keeper, Georg Stiernhoff. The fire marshal, Sven Lindberg, informed the staff that he could not get to the fire extinguishing equipment because the fire blocked his access to it. The royal family and court were forced to evacuate the castle, the servants attempted to save as much as possible of the royal possessions. The fire spread quickly to all parts of the castle, since the castle was made out of wood and copper, the hot copper plates set the roof on fire. As mentioned, due to the fire most of Swedens national library, shortly after the fire died out, the investigation into why it was not discovered before it was too late got underway. A royal court found three possible culprits, Sven Lindberg – the fire marshal for the castle – and Anders Andersson and Mattias Hansson, soldiers on fire watch for the night, reporting to Sven Lindberg. It is revealed that Anders Andersson was running an errand for the fire marshals wife, Mattias Hansson had left his post, going into the kitchen to get some food. Mattias claimed that the fire marshals wife had given permission to do so – a statement she denied, the royal court concluded that the fire marshal had used the soldier for his and his wifes private errands. It was also found that he had accepted bribes in exchange for hiring people into certain positions at the castle, in February,1698 the sentences were handed out. Sven Lindberg and Mattias Hanson were sentenced to death since they had neglected their duty. Anders Andersson was sentenced to run the gauntlet, the death sentences were both later commuted to running the gauntlet and six years of forced labour at Carlsten fortress. Sven Lindberg died while running the gauntlet, plans were made to rebuild a new castle on the old foundation
7.
Uppsala Cathedral
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Uppsala Cathedral is a cathedral located between Uppsala University and the River Fyris in the centre of Uppsala, southeastern Sweden. Controlled by the Lutheran Church of Sweden, Uppsala Cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Uppsala, the archbishop is Antje Jackelén and the current bishop is Ragnar Persenius. The cathedral dates to the late 13th century and at a height of 118.7 metres, originally built under Roman Catholicism, it was used for coronations of Swedish monarchs for a lengthy period following the Protestant Reformation. Several of its chapels were converted to house the tombs of Swedish monarchs, including Gustav Vasa, Carl Linnaeus, Olaus Rudbeck, Emanuel Swedenborg, and several archbishops are also buried here. The church was designed in the French Gothic style by French architects including Étienne de Bonneuil and it is in the form of a cross formed by the nave and transept. Most of the structure was built between 1272 and 1420 but the end was completed only in the middle of the 15th century. Twin towers were built shortly afterwards on the west end of the church, High spires were added later, but after a fire in 1702, they were adorned with low helms by Carl Hårleman in 1735. They were completely redesigned by Helgo Zetterwall who undertook substantial changes to the building in the 1880s, the cathedrals principal construction material is brick but the pillars and many details are of Gotland limestone. The vaults were all built according to the original 13th-century plan although some of them were erected as late as around 1440, in addition to the artwork in the funeral chapels, several of the churchs older furnishings can be seen in the Treasury Museum. In 1702, many features were destroyed in a major fire, during the renovation work carried out in the 1970s, many of the medieval frescoes which had been whitewashed over after the Reformation were uncovered and restored. At the end of the Viking Era, the temple at Gamla Uppsala. Although the exact date of its construction is not known, in 1123 Siward was ordained Bishop of Uppsala by the Archbishop of Bremen-Hamburg and it is however uncertain if Siward ever assumed office, as he had been expelled and was in Germany in the early 1130s. The catalogue of bishops mentions Severeinus as the first bishop, henrik, ‘Finlands Apostle’, was the fourth bishop. In 1164, Sweden became an archbishopric under the control of Lund, the first archbishop was the Cistercian monk Stefan of Alvastra. After the cathedral in Gamla Uppsala was damaged by fire in 1204, Pope Alexander IV granted this request in 1258 on condition that the name of Uppsala be maintained. At a meeting in Söderköping in September 1270, Archbishop Fulco Angelus, formal authorization of the move was issued in 1271 by Bishop Carolus of Västerås whom the Pope had appointed to oversee the case. About 1272, work began on building a new cathedral in Östra Aros near the Fyris River to the south and it was constructed on the site of the earlier stone church dedicated to the Holy Trinity, located almost exactly where the cathedrals chancel now stands. It was here that Swedens patron saint Eric Jedvardsson had attended mass before he was murdered in 1160, the name of Uppsala was kept, and the surrounding town Östra Aros soon changed its name accordingly
8.
Catherine Jagiellon
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Catherine Jagiellon was a Polish princess and the wife of John III of Sweden. As such, she was Duchess of Finland, Queen of Sweden, Catherine had significant influence over state affairs during the reign of her spouse, and negotiated with the pope to introduce a counter reformation in Sweden. Catherine Jagiellon was born in Kraków as the youngest daughter of King Sigismund I the Old of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Catherine became the spouse of King John III of Sweden and mother of the future Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland. After the death of her father in 1548, she and her sister Anna moved to Masovia with their mother, after their mothers departure to Italy in 1558, they lived there alone. The sisters were not close to their brother Sigismund II Augustus of Poland, Catherine could reportedly speak Italian and Latin, and was described as more attractive than Anna, and most marriage suggestions were directed toward her. Duke Albert of Prussia, Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria and Tsar Ivan IV of Russia were among her suitors, in 1560, John resumed the negotiations on his own initiative and without the consent of Eric XIV. On 4 October 1562, Catherine was married in the Lower Castle of Vilnius, Lithuania, to Duke John of Finland, John had not received his brothers permission for the marriage and there were already tensions between them, since John pursued an independent foreign policy. The marriage was conducted in a Catholic ceremony, Catherine brought a large entourage and luxurious possessions, but actually her dowry and inheritance after her mother was never given. The couple set up house in Turku Castle in Turku, Finland, Duke Johns dealings in Livonia caused King Eric XIV to declare war on his brother. Eric sent 10,000 men to besiege the castle, on 12 August 1563 the castle capitulated, Catherine and John were taken to Sweden and imprisoned in Gripsholm Castle. Catherine was offered by Eric to return to Poland, but chose to accompany John in prison. She asked for the part of her entourage to be sent home, only keeping some Polish ladies-in-waiting and her Court dwarf Dorothea Ostrelska. During her incarceration, Catherine gave birth first to her eldest daughter Isabella of Finland in 1564, Catherine was used as a valuable hostage by Eric, but because of her, the imprisonment was lenient. In October 1567, John reconciled with Eric, and the couple was released, Catherine and John apparently developed a close relationship during the years of imprisonment. Catherines unsuccessful suitor Tsar Ivan was in negotiations with Eric in hopes of separating her from John and this caused alarm with Catherine and her relations. In popular opinion, this discussion was one of the reasons for the Swedish peoples growing dissatisfaction with the increasingly insane Eric, King Eric agreed to hand over Catherine to Ivan, but the Swedish king was deposed before Catherine could be sent away. As his brother John succeeded him, the problem disappeared, Catherine was at Vadstena during the rebellion. According to a witness, she answered, Pontus, I have heard your advise and the reasons you present well and good, and they are all very correct and just, but hard to realise
9.
Gunilla Bielke
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Gunilla Bielke, Swedish, Gunilla Johansdotter Bielke af Åkerö was Queen of Sweden as the second spouse King John III. Queen Gunilla is acknowledged to have acted as the adviser to John III. Gunilla Bielke was the daughter of the cousin of John III, the governor of Östergötland Johan Axelsson Bielke. Early orphaned, she was raised at the court since she was ten years old as a playmate of the Kings daughter. In 1582, she was maid of honour to the Queen. About half a year after the death of his first queen in 1583, John III chose her to be his next consort, after first having considered Sigrid Brahe. Bielke is described by her contemporaries as a blonde, though the portraits preserved by her are considered to be to stylistic to give a true image of her appearance. Asked why he did not marry a member of a house, he openly stated that he wished to have a beautiful consort. Therefore, it would be wiser, To marry a person in this country, similar to the mother and step-mother of John III, Margareta Leijonhufvud and Katarina Stenbock, Gunilla was engaged when the King decided to marry her. She was engaged to the noble Per Jonsson Liljesparre, and initially refused the proposal on her own initiative. According to tradition, the King was so enraged by her refusal that he slapped her in the face with his gloves and her family, however, forced her to agree, retract her refusal and consent to the marriage. Her engagement was broken, and her wedding to the king was arranged, the marriage was controversial and regarded by the kings family, who opposed to it, to be a misalliance. They considered it a misalliance because of the difference in rank, despite the fact that their own mother was also a member of the nobility, the wedding ceremony took place in Västerås the 21 February 1585, followed by the coronation of Gunilla the following day. The Kings siblings, however, all refused to attend the wedding, the only exception was his sister Sophia, who was resident in Sweden and dependent upon his allowance for her income. For this, he punished his sisters economically and entered into a long going conflict with his brother Charles, Gunilla was given a very large allowance and is regarded as one of the richest of the queens of Sweden. Queen Gunilla had a significant influence on John III and she is credited with having influenced his policy regarding religion in favor of Protestantism, similar to the way his first spouse, Catherine Jagiellon, had influenced him in favor of Catholicism. Gunilla accompanied John III to the council in Reval in Swedish Estonia in 1589 and she acted as a mediator between the monarch and the deposed Councillors during the conflict. Eventually, in 1590, the King released the prisoners, members of the parliament, on her request
10.
Anna Vasa of Sweden
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Anna Vasa of Sweden was a Polish and Swedish princess, starosta of Brodnica and Golub. She was the youngest child of King John III of Sweden and she was close to her brother Sigismund Vasa, King of Poland and King of Sweden. Raised a Catholic, Anna converted to Lutheranism in 1584 which made her ineligible bride for many of Europes Catholic royals, Anna was the youngest child of Duke John of Finland and Catherine Jagiellon, sister of King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland. She was born in Eskilstuna just after her family was released from captivity at Gripsholm Castle and her father ascended in 1569 to the throne of Sweden as John III. Like her brother Sigismund, Anna was raised a Catholic by her mother, when her Catholic aunt Princess Cecilia of Sweden suggested a Catholic royal match for her in 1585, John III replied that Anna had converted to Lutheranism the year before. The queen sent the Jesuit away, but it made Anna feel distaste for the falseness of Roman Catholicism. After the death of her mother, her maternal aunt Queen Anna Jagiellon suggested that she be sent to Poland to be raised there and she had her own court, supervised by her mothers former Mistress of the Robes, Karin Gyllenstierna. In 1587, her brother Sigismund was elected King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania as Sigismund III, Anna left with Sigismund for Poland 12 September 1587 and was present at his coronation. During her stay at the Polish court, she attracted attention by celebrating Lutheran masses with her court. In 1589, Anna accompanied Sigismund to the meeting with their father in Reval and she was present during the stormy sessions of Riksråd where King John insisted that Sigismund abdicated the Polish throne and came back to Sweden. Swedish councilors protested the idea and furious John promised to persecute them, erik Sparre asked Anna to intercede as mediator and calm her father. While Sigismund returned to Poland, Anna followed her back to Sweden. In 1592, Anna returned to Poland to attend the wedding between her brother and Anna of Austria, the Archbishop was so provoked by her Lutheran services that he threatened both Anna and Sigismund with excommunication. Her sister-in-law Anna of Austria, however, prevented any persecution, in July 1593, she carried her new niece Anna Maria at her baptismal. Cardinal Andrew Báthory proposed a marriage for her with the Prince of Transylvania, however, Anna engaged herself to marry her fathers first cousin Count Gustav Brahe, son of Per Brahe the Elder and a future general in Poland. He was raised at the court and she fell in love with him as a child. The couple would meet at the house of Brahes sister Ebba, the meetings were considered scandalous and it was said that Brahe had plans for the throne through marriage with Anna. In 1589, Brahe came to Poland and her brother Sigismund was not averse to the idea of the marriage, although it was not the most desirable marriage proposed, Anna declined all other suitors
11.
Sofia Gyllenhielm
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Sofia Johansdotter Gyllenhielm in Reval, Estonia, was a Swedish noble. She was the daughter of King John III of Sweden. Sofia spent her childhood with her mother in Finland and she became a lady-in-waiting of her aunt Princess Elizabeth of Sweden in 1576. The same year, she was engaged by her father to her fathers favourite, sofia, her sister Lucretia and her brother Julius were ennobled in 1577 and given the name Gyllenhielm. The wedding was held in Vadstena on 14 January 1580 and it was a grand ceremony with many guests, and during the ceremony a gallery broke under the weight of the spectators at church, resulting in the death of one person. This was interpreted by present Catholics as a verdict of over the heretics. In 1581, she accompanied her spouse to his command in Swedish Estonia and she died in childbirth in Reval in 1583. Ericson Wolke, Lars, Johan III, en biografi, Historiska media, Lund,2004 Larsson, Lars-Olof, Arvet efter Gustav Vasa, berättelsen om fyra kungar och ett rike, Prisma, Stockholm,2005
12.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
13.
House of Vasa
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The House of Vasa was an early modern royal house founded in 1523 in Sweden, ruling Sweden 1523–1654, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1587–1668 and the Tsardom of Russia 1610–1613. Its agnatic line became extinct in Poland with the death of King John II Casimir of Poland in 1672, the House of Vasa descended from a Swedish 14th century noble family, tracing agnatic kinship to Nils Kettilsson, fogde of the castle Three Crowns in Stockholm. Several members held high offices during the 15th century, in 1523, after the abolishment of the Kalmar Union, Gustav Eriksson became King Gustav I of Sweden and the royal house was founded. Yet, his son, King John III of Sweden, married a Catholic Polish Queen Catherine Jagiellon, as a result, the dynasty was split into a Protestant Swedish branch and a Catholic Polish one, which would rival for royal titles in subsequent wars. The involvement of the famous Protestant General and King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in the Thirty Years War gave rise to the saying that he was the incarnation of the Lion of the North. Yet, notably, his daughter and heiress Queen Christina of Sweden abdicated from the Swedish throne in 1654 after converting to Roman Catholicism, in Poland, John II Casimir of Poland abdicated from the throne in 1668. With his death, the royal House of Vasa became extinct in 1672, Gustav Eriksson, a son of Cecilia Månsdotter Eka and Erik Johansson Vasa, was probably born in 1496. The birth most likely place in Rydboholm Castle, northeast of Stockholm. The newborn got his name, Gustav, from Eriks grandfather Gustav Anundsson, since the end of the 14th century, Sweden had been a part of the Kalmar Union with Denmark and Norway. The Danish dominance in this union led to uprisings in Sweden. During Gustavs childhood, parts of the Swedish nobility tried to make Sweden independent, Gustav and his father Erik supported the party of Sten Sture the Younger, regent of Sweden from 1512, and its struggle against the Danish King Christian II. Following the battle of Brännkyrka in 1518, where Sten Stures troops beat the Danish forces, it was decided that Sten Sture and King Christian would meet in Österhaninge for negotiations. To guarantee the safety of the king, the Swedish side sent six men as hostages to be kept by the Danes for as long as the negotiations lasted. However, Christian did not show up for the negotiations, violated the deal with the Swedish side, the six members of the kidnapped hostage were Hemming Gadh, Lars Siggesson, Jöran Siggesson, Olof Ryning, Bengt Nilsson – and Gustav Eriksson. The election of Gustav Eriksson as a regent made many Swedish nobles, some noblemen, still loyal to the king, chose to leave Sweden, while others were killed. As a result, the Swedish Privy Council lost old members who were replaced by supporters of Gustav Eriksson, most fortified cities and castles were conquered by Gustavs rebels, but the strongholds with the best defences, including Stockholm, were still under Danish control. In 1522, after negotiations between Gustav Erikssons people and Lübeck, the Hanseatic city joined the war against Denmark, the winter of 1523 saw the joint forces attack the Danish and Norwegian areas of Scania, Halland, Blekinge and Bohuslän. During this winter, Christian II was overthrown and replaced by Frederick I, the new king openly claimed the Swedish throne and had hopes Lübeck would abandon the Swedish rebels
14.
Gustav I of Sweden
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Initially of low standing, Gustav rose to lead the rebel movement following the Stockholm Bloodbath, in which his father perished. As King, Gustav proved an administrator with a ruthless streak not inferior to his predecessors. He worked to raise taxes, end Feudalism and bring about a Swedish Reformation, replacing the prerogatives of local landowners, noblemen and clergy with centrally appointed governors and bishops. Due to a vibrant dynastic succession, his three sons, Erik, Johan and Karl IX, all held the kingship at different points, Gustav I has subsequently been labelled the founder of modern Sweden, and the father of the nation. Gustav liked to compare himself to Moses, whom he believed to have liberated his people. As a person, Gustav was known for ruthless methods and a bad temper and he founded one of the now oldest orchestras of the world, the Kungliga Hovkapellet. Royal housekeeping accounts from 1526 mention twelve musicians including wind players, today the Kungliga Hovkapellet is the orchestra of the Royal Swedish Opera. Gustav Eriksson, a son of Cecilia Månsdotter Eka and Erik Johansson Vasa, was born in 1496. The birth most likely place in Rydboholm Castle, northeast of Stockholm. The newborn got his name, Gustav, from Eriks grandfather Gustav Anundsson, Erik Johanssons parents were Johan Kristersson and Birgitta Gustafsdotter of the dynasties Vasa and Sture respectively, both dynasties of high nobility. Birgitta Gustafsdotter was the sister of Sten Sture the Elder, regent of Sweden, being a relative and ally of uncle Sten Sture, Erik inherited the regents estates in Uppland and Södermanland when the latter died in 1503. Although a member of a family with considerable properties since childhood, according to genealogical research, Birgitta Gustafsdotter and Sten Sture were descended from King Sverker II of Sweden, through King Sverkers granddaughter Benedikte Sunesdotter. One of King Gustavs great-grandmothers was a half-sister of King Charles VIII of Sweden, since the end of the 14th century, Sweden had been a part of the Kalmar Union with Denmark and Norway. The Danish dominance in this union led to uprisings in Sweden. During Gustavs childhood, parts of the Swedish nobility tried to make Sweden independent, Gustav and his father Erik supported the party of Sten Sture the Younger, regent of Sweden from 1512, and its struggle against the Danish King Christian II. Following the battle of Brännkyrka in 1518, where Sten Stures troops beat the Danish forces, it was decided that Sten Sture and King Christian would meet in Österhaninge for negotiations. To guarantee the safety of the king, the Swedish side sent six men as hostages to be kept by the Danes for as long as the negotiations lasted. However, Christian did not show up for the negotiations, violated the deal with the Swedish side, the six members of the kidnapped hostage were Hemming Gadh, Lars Siggesson, Jöran Siggesson, Olof Ryning, Bengt Nilsson – and Gustav Eriksson
15.
Margaret Leijonhufvud
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Margaret Leijonhufvud was Queen of Sweden from 1536 to 1551 as the spouse of King Gustav I. She belonged to the early Leijonhufvud clan of Swedish nobility, in 1535, the King was widowed by Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg and left with only one legitimate child. A story describes how her sisters marriage came about, according to tradition, the King caught his new Queen and her former fiancé together alone, with the young man, Svante Sture, on his knees before the Queen. The King reportedly asked in a rage, What is this, upon which Queen Margaret swiftly answered, My Lord Sture is asking me for the hand of my sister. At this, the king just as swiftly answered, Granted, and so, Svante Sture hastily married the Queens sister Martha Leijonhufvud. It does not seem that Queen Margaret and Svante Sture ever again did anything that could be seen as improper, if they did, they were not discovered. Margaret married King Gustav 1 October 1536 in Uppsala, and was crowned Queen there the next day, Margaret was described as intelligent and beautiful, and the marriage was considered a happy one. The King was not known to be unfaithful to her, Queen Margaret is credited with meaningful influence over the monarch. Her influence was of the kind accepted for a queen consort — that of speaking to the King on the behalf of others and she was very active in this regard and often successful, something Gustavus himself admitted, when he reduced a sentence at her request. However, she is not said to have used her influence to any personal agenda of any kind. Her behavior contrasted with that of Queen Gunilla Bielke, who was said to meddle in politics, Margaret was not thus not considered politically active. Margaret allegedly had the ability to keep the monarchs temperament under control and she managed to get punishments he meted out reduced, and advised him to show mercy and leniency, all of which made her popular. Because of this activity, which is evident by her correspondence, she received a large number of petitions from supplicants who used her as a go-between for them. She made donations to the still active Vadstena Abbey, following the example of her family and she remained a Catholic her entire life. Among the objects of her charity were the remaining catholic convents, Queen Margaret devoted her life to domestic duties and family life. This did not apply only to her own children, but also to her family, to whom she was loyally devoted her entire life. Margaret was also a landlord in her own right, and she was involved in the management of her personal estates. He gave her tasks, such as supervising the governors of royal estates, in 1543, he asked her to send spies to Södermanland to investigate whether there was any truth in rumored plans for rebellion there
16.
Lutheranism
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Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestant Christianity which identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German friar, ecclesiastical reformer and theologian. Luthers efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched the Protestant Reformation in the German-speaking territories of the Holy Roman Empire. Lutheranism advocates a doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Scripture alone and this is in contrast to the belief of the Catholic Church, defined at the Council of Trent, concerning authority coming from both the Scriptures and Tradition. In addition, Lutheranism accepts the teachings of the first seven ecumenical councils of the undivided Christian Church, unlike Calvinism, Lutherans retain many of the liturgical practices and sacramental teachings of the pre-Reformation Church, with a particular emphasis on the Eucharist, or Lords Supper. Lutheran theology differs from Reformed theology in Christology, the purpose of Gods Law, the grace, the concept of perseverance of the saints. Today, Lutheranism is one of the largest denominations of Protestantism, with approximately 80 million adherents, it constitutes the third most common Protestant denomination after historically Pentecostal denominations and Anglicanism. The Lutheran World Federation, the largest communion of Lutheran churches, Other Lutheran organizations include the International Lutheran Council and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, as well as independent churches. The name Lutheran originated as a term used against Luther by German Scholastic theologian Dr. Johann Maier von Eck during the Leipzig Debate in July 1519. Eck and other Catholics followed the practice of naming a heresy after its leader. Martin Luther always disliked the term Lutheran, preferring the term Evangelical, which was derived from euangelion, the followers of John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, and other theologians linked to the Reformed tradition also began to use that term. To distinguish the two groups, others began to refer to the two groups as Evangelical Lutheran and Evangelical Reformed. As time passed by, the word Evangelical was dropped, Lutherans themselves began to use the term Lutheran in the middle of the 16th century, in order to distinguish themselves from other groups such as the Philippists and Calvinists. In 1597, theologians in Wittenberg defined the title Lutheran as referring to the true church, Lutheranism has its roots in the work of Martin Luther, who sought to reform the Western Church to what he considered a more biblical foundation. Lutheranism spread through all of Scandinavia during the 16th century, as the monarch of Denmark–Norway, through Baltic-German and Swedish rule, Lutheranism also spread into Estonia and Latvia. Since 1520, regular Lutheran services have been held in Copenhagen, under the reign of Frederick I, Denmark-Norway remained officially Catholic. Although Frederick initially pledged to persecute Lutherans, he adopted a policy of protecting Lutheran preachers and reformers. During Fredericks reign, Lutheranism made significant inroads in Denmark, at an open meeting in Copenhagen attended by the king in 1536, the people shouted, We will stand by the holy Gospel, and do not want such bishops anymore. Fredericks son Christian was openly Lutheran, which prevented his election to the throne upon his fathers death, however, following his victory in the civil war that followed, in 1537 he became Christian III and advanced the Reformation in Denmark-Norway
17.
Stockholm Palace
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Stockholm Palace or The Royal Palace is the official residence and major royal palace of the Swedish monarch. Stockholm Palace is located on Stadsholmen, in Gamla stan in the capital, the offices of the King, the other members of the Swedish Royal Family, and the offices of the Royal Court of Sweden are located here. The palace is used for representative purposes by the King whilst performing his duties as the head of state. This royal residence has been in the location by Norrström in the northern part of the Gamla stan in Stockholm since the middle of the 13th century when the Tre Kronor Castle was built. In modern times the name relates to the building called Kungliga Slottet, the palace was designed by Nicodemus Tessin the Younger and erected on the same place as the medieval Tre Kronor Castle which was destroyed in a fire on 7 May 1697. Due to the costly Great Northern War which started in 1700, construction of the palace was halted in 1709, when Tessin the Younger died in 1728, the palace was completed by Carl Hårleman who also designed a large part of its Rococo interior. The palace was not ready to use until 1754, when King Adolf Frederick and Queen Louisa Ulrika moved in, as of 2009 the interior of the palace consists of 1,430 rooms of which 660 have windows. The palace contains apartments for the Royal families, representation and festivities such as the State Apartments, the Guest Apartments, the National Library of Sweden was housed in the northeast wing, the Biblioteksflygeln, until 1878. As of 2014 it houses the Bernadotte Library, the Slottsarkivet is housed in the Chancery Wing. In the palace are the offices of the Royal Court of Sweden, the Royal Guards has guarded the palace and the Royal Family since 1523. A comprehensive renovation of the began in 2011, to repair weather damaged parts made from sandstone. The repairs are estimated to cost approx,500 million crowns during a period of 22 years. The first building on site was a fortress with a core tower built in the 13th century by Birger Jarl to defend Lake Mälaren. The fortress grew to a castle, eventually named Tre Kronor for the towers spire top decorated with three crowns. At the beginning of the 17th century, King Gustavus Adolphus made plans for a new royal palace, contemporaneous copperplates from 1654 shows de la Vallée’s idea of a more visible castle on a raised plateau with a connecting bridge over the Norrström. Queen Christina remodelled and embellished the castle extensively, but no new castle was built during her reign. In 1661, he presented the first draft for a conversion of the row which his son, Nicodemus Tessin the Younger, would later rework. A map of the Stadsholmen from the 1650s, illustrates de la Vallées suggestion for the conversion of the old castle, the project also brought about an adjustment of the Slottsbacken, making it partially enclosed by buildings
18.
Swedish language
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Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken natively by more than 9 million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, where it has equal legal standing with Finnish. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish, along with the other North Germanic languages, Swedish is a descendant of Old Norse, the common language of the Germanic peoples living in Scandinavia during the Viking Era. It is currently the largest of the North Germanic languages by number of speakers, Standard Swedish, spoken by most Swedes, is the national language that evolved from the Central Swedish dialects in the 19th century and was well established by the beginning of the 20th century. While distinct regional varieties descended from the rural dialects still exist. The standard word order is, as in most Germanic languages, V2, Swedish morphology is similar to English, that is, words have comparatively few inflections. There are two genders, no cases, and a distinction between plural and singular. Older analyses posit the cases nominative and genitive and there are remains of distinct accusative and dative forms as well. Adjectives are compared as in English, and are inflected according to gender, number. The definiteness of nouns is marked primarily through suffixes, complemented with separate definite and indefinite articles, the prosody features both stress and in most dialects tonal qualities. The language has a large vowel inventory. Swedish is also notable for the voiceless velar fricative, a highly variable consonant phoneme. Swedish is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages, by many general criteria of mutual intelligibility, the Continental Scandinavian languages could very well be considered dialects of a common Scandinavian language. In the 8th century, the common Germanic language of Scandinavia, Proto-Norse, had some changes. This language began to undergo new changes that did not spread to all of Scandinavia, the dialects of Old East Norse that were spoken in Sweden are called Runic Swedish while the dialects of Denmark are referred to as Runic Danish. The dialects are described as runic because the body of text appears in the runic alphabet. Unlike Proto-Norse, which was written with the Elder Futhark alphabet, Old Norse was written with the Younger Futhark alphabet, from 1200 onwards, the dialects in Denmark began to diverge from those of Sweden. An early change that separated Runic Danish from the dialects of Old East Norse was the change of the diphthong æi to the monophthong é. This is reflected in runic inscriptions where the older read stain, there was also a change of au as in dauðr into a long open ø as in døðr dead
19.
Duke of Finland
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Duke of Finland was an occasional medieval title granted as a tertiogeniture to the relatives of the King of Sweden between the 13th and 16th centuries. It included a duchy along with customs, and often represented a veritably independent principality. Grand Duke of Finland was a royal title used by Swedish monarchs from the 1580s until 1720, was revived again briefly 1802-1805 and was also used by Russias monarchs until 1917. In the late 15th century, historian Ericus Olai claimed that Bishop Kol of Linköping had been the Duke of Finland. In the late 12th century in Sweden, the Latin title dux was still used in the meaning of jarl, Ericus Olais claim is not supported by other sources. Noteworthy is also that the Bishop of Linköping had some sort of connection to eastern activities during the 13th century. The Pope used him in 1229 to assist the Bishop of Finland in organizing the diocese, the Bishop of Linköping had also accompanied the Swedish ledung on their unsuccessful Estonian expedition. Benedict, an eccleasiastic, the youngest brother of king Valdemar I of Sweden was granted the Duchy of Finland about 1284 by a subsequent brother on the throne, Benedicts appointment ended a 35-year-long period of episcopal rule in Finland, effective since the Second Swedish Crusade around 1249. Benedicts local reign did not last long, the Duke, a consecrated priest and the Chancellor of the Realm, was elected Bishop of Linköping in 1286. As far as is known, he bore revenues from Finland until his death and he was the first known holder of the appanage of Finland. The youngest son of the late King Magnus III of Sweden, valdemars elder brother Duke Eric in the 1310s was establishing a truly independent principality in Western Sweden, Duke Valdemar being his ally. On December 10,1317 he was imprisoned by King Birger in Nyköping together with Eric, sometime in 1318, Dukes Valdemar and Eric died while incarcerated. With his second wife Ingeborg of Norway, Duke Valdemar had a son, born in 1316, the Duke apparently never seriously attempted to establish himself as ruler of Finland, being satisfied to bear revenues from the duchy. He had his seat in Southern Sweden, where he acted as Viceroy of Scania. The Duke became the victim of certain opposition to King Magnus, was exiled in 1357. In 1357, his holdings, including Finland, had given to King Eric. Eric did not need the ducal title, and it was then vacant almost 200 years. In 1556, two hundred years after it was vacated by the removal of Duke Benedict, King Gustav I of Sweden gave the Duchy of Finland to his second son, John was the only holder of the title to establish a genuine princely rule of his own in Finland
20.
Finland
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Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north. Estonia is south of the country across the Gulf of Finland, Finland is a Nordic country situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia, which also includes Scandinavia. Finlands population is 5.5 million, and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region,88. 7% of the population is Finnish people who speak Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages, the second major group are the Finland-Swedes. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe, Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, from the late 12th century, Finland was an integral part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In the spirit of the notion of Adolf Ivar Arwidsson, we are not Swedes, we do not want to become Russians, let us therefore be Finns, nevertheless, in 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the nation in the world to give the right to vote to all adult citizens. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent, in 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Reds supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the Whites, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla and Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era, Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity, however, Finnish GDP growth has been negative in 2012–2014, with a preceding nadir of −8% in 2009. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, a large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, though freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution. The first known appearance of the name Finland is thought to be on three rune-stones. Two were found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have the inscription finlonti, the third was found in Gotland, in the Baltic Sea. It has the inscription finlandi and dates from the 13th century, the name can be assumed to be related to the tribe name Finns, which is mentioned first known time AD98. The name Suomi has uncertain origins, but a candidate for a source is the Proto-Baltic word *źemē, in addition to the close relatives of Finnish, this name is also used in the Baltic languages Latvian and Lithuanian
21.
Grand Duchy of Finland
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The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed between 1809 and 1917 as an part of the Russian Empire and was ruled by the Russian Emperor as Grand Duke. The new title Grand Duke of Finland did not result in any Finnish autonomy, during the next two centuries, the title was used by some of Johns successors on the throne, but not all. Usually it was just a title of the king, used only on very formal occasions. The title Grand Duke of Finland was added to the long list of titles of the Russian Tsar, after his return to Finland in 1812, the Finnish-born Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt became counsellor to the Russian emperor. The formation of the Grand Duchy stems from the Treaty of Tilsit between Czar Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon Bonaparte of France, the treaty mediated peace between Russia and France and allied the two countries against Napoleons remaining threats, Great Britain and Sweden. Russia invaded Finland in February of 1808, claimed as an effort to impose sanctions against Sweden, but not a war of conquest. The oath also dubbed anyone person who gave aid to the Swedish or Finnish armies a rebel, the Finns complied, bitter over Sweden abandoning the country for their war against Denmark and France, and begrudgingly embraced Russian conquest. The Diet of Finland was now to only meet whenever requested, further on, Alexander I requested a deputation of the four Finnish estates, as he expressed concern over continued Finnish resistance. The deputation refused to act without the Diet, to which Alexander agreed with, by 1809, all of Finland had been conquered and The Diet was summoned in March. Finland was then united through Russia via crown, and Finland was able to keep the majority of its own laws, the earlier years of the Grand Duchy can be seen as uneventful. In 1812, the area of Old Finland, known as the Viipuri Province was returned to Finland after being annexed by Russia in the Great Northern War, despite the outcry, the borders remained set until 1940. Moreover, Alexander moved the capital from Turku to Helsinki, a fortified town protected by Suomenlinna. Finlands main university also transferred to Helsinki after a fire out in Turku. Alexander went a step further to demand a Finnish House of Nobles, the house was designed to register all noble families in Finland, so that the highest Finnish estate would be representative of the next Finnish diet. As for Sweden, the majority did not think too much about Finlands conquest, as Sweden itself annexed Norway from Denmark in 1814, despite this, Alexander I ceased to give in to Finnish affairs and returned to governing Russia. In 1823, Arseny Zakrevsky was made general of Finland and quickly became unpopular by the Finns. Zakrevsky abolished the Committee for Finnish Affairs and managed to obtain the right to submit Finnish affairs to the Czar, bypassing the Finnish Secretary of State
22.
Church of Sweden
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The Church of Sweden is the largest Christian church in Sweden. A member of the Porvoo Communion, the Church professes the Lutheran branch of Christianity and it is composed of thirteen dioceses, divided into parishes. It is a national church which, working with a democratic organisation and through the ministry of the church. The Primate of the Church of Sweden is the Archbishop of Uppsala — currently Antje Jackelén, today, the Church of Sweden is an Evangelical Lutheran church. 6.2 million people are members of the Church of Sweden and it is liturgically and theologically high church, having retained priests, vestments, and the Mass during the Swedish Reformation. In common with other Evangelical Lutheran churches, the Church of Sweden maintains the historical episcopate, the Church of Sweden is known for its liberal position in theological issues, particularly the question of homosexuality. When Bishop Eva Brunne was consecrated as Bishop of Stockholm in 2009, despite a significant yearly loss of members, its membership of 6,225,091 people accounts for 63. 2% of the Swedish population. Until 2000 it held the position of state church, the high membership numbers are because until 1996 all newborn children were made members, unless their parents had actively cancelled their membership. Approximately 2% of the members regularly attend Sunday services. According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2009, 17% of the Swedish population considered religion as an important part of their daily life, King Gustav I Vasa instigated the Church of Sweden in 1536 during his reign as King of Sweden. This act separated the church from the Roman Catholic Church and its canon law, in 1571, the Swedish Church Ordinance became the first Swedish church order following the Reformation. The Church of Sweden became Lutheran at the Uppsala Synod in 1593 when it adopted the Augsburg Confession to which most Lutherans adhere, at this synod, it was decided that the church would retain the three original Christian creeds, the Apostles, the Athanasian, and the Nicene. In 1686, the Riksdag of the Estates adopted the Book of Concord, although certain parts, labelled Confessio fidei, were considered binding. Confessio dei included the three aforementioned Creeds, the Augsburg Confession and two Uppsala Synod decisions from 1572 and 1593, during the 20th century the Church of Sweden oriented itself strongly towards liberal Christianity and human rights. In 1957, the assembly rejected a proposal for ordination of women. Since 1960, women have been ordained as priests, and since 1994, a proposal to perform same-sex weddings was approved on October 22,2009 by 176 of 249 voting members of the Church of Sweden Synod. The Christian church in Scandinavia was originally governed by the archdiocese of Bremen, in 1104 an archbishop for all Scandinavia was installed in Lund. Uppsala was made Swedens archdiocese in 1164, and remains so today, the papal diplomat William of Modena attended a church meeting in Skänninge in March 1248, where the ties to the Catholic Church were strengthened
23.
Sture Murders
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The nobles, among them three members of the influential Sture family, had been charged with conspiracy against the king and some were previously sentenced to death. Eriks old tutor, who did not belong to group, was also killed when he tried to calm the king after the initial murders. In the 1560s, Erik XIV of Sweden was involved in the Livonian War, since he led many campaigns in person, his secretary Jöran Persson was left in charge of the administration. The king and his secretary used the High Court not only to enforce their financial, war-related demands on the nobles, though Erik distrusted the nobility as a whole, he became particularly suspicious of Nils Svantesson Sture, who was arrested and tried. Despite his many children, Erik lacked a legal heir. The Stures were an influential family, and Erik projected an astrological reading on Nils Sture saying that he would be succeeded by a light-haired man. His frustrations and anxieties gradually began to center on one person, thereafter, Erik sent Nils Sture to Lorraine, where he was to arrange the marriage of princess Renata to Erik. Secretary rule, reduction of the influence on politics. In July 1566, several influential nobles met near Stockholm, according to Geijer, this was a farewell party for Nils Sture, while Peterson refers to the meeting as a secret gathering where the magnates fear and hatred turned to organized resistance. Erik feared a conspiracy against him, particularly by the Sture family and their relatives, while Persson continued to collect evidence against Eriks perceived and real opponents, Erik summoned a riksdag in Uppsala in May 1567 to settle the quarrels. On their way to the riksdag, several magnates were invited by Erik to Svartsjö Castle, Erik was also present in Svartsjö, and though the invitation letters were written in an innocent style, the invited were to be arrested and tried before the High Court. Arrested at Svartsjö were, in order of their arrival, Nils Stures brother Erik Svantesson Sture, Abraham Stenbock, Sten Banér, Ivar Ivarsson, Sten Eriksson, the trial in Svartsjö is not documented, but the verdict that the estates were to sign at Uppsala has survived. Abraham Stenbock was forced to sign a letter to Josua Genewitz. According to Peterson, Erik Sture was sentenced to death, too, all prisoners were then sent to Uppsala Castle for further investigation. Martha sent an appeal to Karin Månsdotter to speak to the King in favor of the prisoners, when the prisoners were transferred to Uppsala, Martha were also taken there under guard and placed in house arrest in a house belonging to the Sture family. Also present in Uppsala were Ebba Månsdotter, married to Erik Leijonhufvud, when Erik XIV arrived at Uppsala on 16 May 1567, according to Robert Nisbet Bain he was in a condition of incipient insanity. The riksdag had meanwhile assembled, but only twenty nobles were among the attendees, on 19 May, when the death sentences were supposed to be endorsed by the riksdag, Erik collapsed after losing his notes for his speech and failing to manage without them. Two days later, Nils Sture was arrested upon his return from Lorraine by Persson, on 22 May, Erik wrote a letter to Svante Sture, rejecting the charges of treason brought up against the Sture family and announcing their reconciliation
24.
Northern Seven Years' War
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The Northern Seven Years War was the war between the Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck and Poland, fought between 1563 and 1570. The war was motivated by the dissatisfaction of King Frederick II of Denmark with the dissolution of the Kalmar Union, the fighting continued until both armies had been exhausted, and many men died. The resulting Treaty of Stettin was a stalemate, with neither party gaining any new territory, the Danish-ruled Nordic Kalmar Union lasted on and off from 1397 to 1523, until it finally collapsed following the continued Swedish resentment of Danish domination. A successful rebellion in 1471 led to Swedish victory at the Battle of Brunkeberg, in 1520, Christian II of Denmark reconquered Sweden and took a bloody revenge on the anti-Union faction at the Stockholm Bloodbath. More than 80 noble men and ladies, including leading citizens of Stockholm, were executed, the violence elicited strong reactions in Sweden for years to come, and the Union was broken by the successful Swedish War of Liberation from 1521 to 1523. Christian II was condemned by the Pope, and he abdicated in 1523, under Vasa, the Kalmar Union was finally dissolved, and Sweden began establishing itself as a rival power of Denmark–Norway. Furthermore, Denmark controlled the Baltic, limiting Swedish movement there, Gustav Vasa took an action which did not bear immediate fruit in the Nordic Seven Years War, but was to have a lasting impact on Sweden’s fortune, he changed the military structure in Sweden. In 1544 he used the old Scandinavian concept of Uppbåd to establish the first native standing army in Europe, the men served in standby, remaining at home in peacetime, and being paid by tax concessions, but were required to assemble and drill. This system was expanded as the Swedish allotment system. By 1560 when Gustav Vasa died, every ten peasants were required to one soldier who must serve anywhere domestic or foreign as required by the king. After the deaths of Christian III and Gustav Vasa – in 1559 and 1560, respectively, Frederick II envisioned the resurrection of the Kalmar Union under Danish leadership, while Eric wanted to finally break the dominating position of Denmark. During the next year, the Danish expansion continued with the possession of the Baltic Sea island of Ösel, during this conflict, King Eric of Sweden successfully obstructed the Danish plans to conquer Estonia. In February 1563, Swedish messengers were sent to Hesse to negotiate Erics marriage with Christine of Hesse, in retaliation, Eric added the insignia of Norway and Denmark to his own coat of arms, and refused Danish requests to remove these symbols. Lübeck, upset over obstacles of trade that Eric had introduced to hinder the Russian trade and withdrawn trade privileges, the Polish–Lithuanian union also joined, desiring control of the Baltic trade. Skirmishes broke out in May 1563, before war was declared in August that year. In May, the first movements of the war started, a Danish fleet under Jakob Brockenhuus sailed towards the Baltic. At Bornholm, on 30 May 1563, the Danish fleet fired on the Swedish navy under Jakob Bagge even though war had not officially been declared, a battle arose that ended with Danish defeat. German royal emissaries were sent to negotiate a peace, but at the place of Rostock no Swedes appeared
25.
Treaties of Roskilde (1568)
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Negotiated on Johns initiative, he refused ratification, viewing the concessions his envoys made in Roskilde as too far-reaching. Most notably, these concessions included Swedish obligations to pay Denmark her war costs, thus, the war dragged on until it was concluded by the Treaty of Stettin. After the Swedish king Erik XIV had become insane and murdered leading aristocrats in late 1567, when this was accomplished, he sent a delegation to Denmark to negotiate for an end of the Northern Seven Years War inherited from his brother. Furthermore, duke John maintained amicable relations to Sigismund II Augustus of Poland-Lithuania, the Swedish delegation in Roskilde consented to all Danish and Lübeck demands. Furthermore, the Swedish crown was obliged to pay for the Danish war costs from 1563 to 1568, in the treaty between Lübeck and Sweden, the latter confirmed Lübecks privileges as of 1523, and restored peace between the parties. By accepting the Danish terms, the members of the Swedish delegation had exceeded their competence, John had his refusal backed up by a declaration from a Riksdag of the Estates summoned in Stockholm, Frederick II was to receive powder, lead and pikes instead of war reparations. Likewise, Frederick II summoned a Danish riksdag, the one summoned between 1536 and 1627, in January 1570. By threatening to abdicate, Frederick II secured the riksdags and the Danish Councils consent to new taxes, Lübeck, in addition to war costs and losses amounting to more than 300,000 talers, lost much of her pre-war Swedish trade to other Hanseatic cities. On 13 December 1570, the parties settled for peace in the treaty of Stettin. Scandinavia, a Political History of Denmark, Norway and Sweden from 1513 to 1900, archival Guide to the Maritime Relations of the Countries Around the Baltic Sea 1450-1800. Scandinavia, Ancient and Modern, Being a history of Denmark, Sweden, War, State, and Society in Northeastern Europe, 1558–1721. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Pearson Education, odhner, Clas Teodor, ed. Meddelanden från Svenska Riksarkivet. Index chronologicus diplomatum et literarum, historiam danicam ab antiquissimis temporibus usque ad annum 1660, copenhagen, Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. Scan of the Dano-Swedish treaty at IEG Mainz Scan of the Lübeck-Swedish treaty at IEG Mainz
26.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
27.
Livonian War
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During the period 1558–1578, Russia dominated the region with early military successes at Dorpat and Narva. Russian dissolution of the Livonian Confederation brought Poland–Lithuania into the conflict while Sweden, Magnus attempted to expand his Livonian holdings to establish the Russian vassal state Kingdom of Livonia, which nominally existed until Magnus defection in 1576. This was followed by a campaign through Russia culminating in the long. Under the 1582 Truce of Jam Zapolski, which ended the war between Russia and Poland–Lithuania, Russia lost all its holdings in Livonia and Polotsk to Poland–Lithuania. The following year, Sweden and Russia signed the Truce of Plussa with Sweden gaining most of Ingria, by the mid-16th century, economically prosperous Old Livonia had become a region organised into the decentralised and religiously divided Livonian Confederation. Its territories consisted of the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order, the prince-bishoprics of Dorpat, Ösel–Wiek, as well as Courland, the Archbishopric of Riga and the city of Riga. Together with Riga, the cities of Dorpat and Reval, along with the knightly estates, the only common institutions of the Livonian estates were the regularly held common assemblies known as landtags. As well as a political administration, there were also persistent rivalries between the archbishop of Riga and the landmeister of the Order for hegemony. As war approached, Livonia had a weak administration subject to internal rivalries, lacked any powerful defences or outside support, and was surrounded by monarchies pursuing expansionist policies. Frost notes of the region, Racked with internal bickering and threatened by the political machinations of its neighbours. Only the archbishopric of Riga successfully overcame resistance of the lesser nobles, Wilhelm and Christoph were to pursue Alberts interests in Livonia, among which was the establishment of a hereditary Livonian duchy styled after the Prussian model. At the same time the Order agitated for its re-establishment in Prussia, by the time the Livonian War broke out, the Hanseatic League had already lost its monopoly on the profitable and prosperous Baltic Sea trade. While still involved and with increasing sales, it now shared the market with European mercenary fleets, most notably from the Dutch Seventeen Provinces, a long bar of Danish territories in the south and her lack of sufficient year-round ice-free ports severely limited Swedens access to the Baltic trade. Through its absorption of the principalities of Novgorod and Pskov, the Tsardom of Russia had become Livonias eastern neighbour, the conflict between Russia and the Western powers was exacerbated by Russias isolation from sea trade. The new Ivangorod port built by Tsar Ivan on the shore of the Narva River in 1550 was considered unsatisfactory on account of its shallow waters. The Livonians eventually promised to pay this sum to Ivan by 1557, Ivan continued to point out that the existence of the Order required passive Russian support, and was quick to threaten use of military force if necessary. The Polish King and Lithuanian Grand Duke Sigismund II Augustus was wary of Russian expansionist aspirations, expansion of Russia into Livonia would have meant not only a stronger political rival but also loss of lucrative trade routes. Therefore, Sigismund supported his cousin Wilhelm von Brandenburg, archbishop of Riga, in his conflicts with Wilhelm von Fürstenberg, Sigismund hoped that Livonia, just like the Duchy of Prussia under Duke Albert, would become a vassal state of Poland–Lithuania
28.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe
29.
Narva
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Narva is the third largest city in Estonia. It is located at the extreme point of Estonia, at the Russian border. People settled in the area from the 5th to 4th millennium BC, as witnessed by the traces of the Narva culture. The fortified settlement at Narva Joaoru is the oldest known in Estonia, the earliest written reference of Narva is in the First Novgorod Chronicle, which in the year 1172 describes a district in Novgorod called Nerevsky or Narovsky konets. The favourable location at the crossing of trade routes and the Narva River was behind the founding of Narva castle, the castle was founded during the Danish rule of northern Estonia during the second half of the 13th century, the earliest written record of the castle is from 1277. Narvia village is mentioned in the Danish Census Book already in 1241, a town developed around the stronghold and in 1345 obtained Lübeck City Rights from Danish king Valdemar IV. The castle and surrounding town of Narva became a possession of the Livonian Order in 1346, in 1492 Ivangorod fortress across the Narva River was established by Ivan III of Moscow. Trade, particularly Hanseatic long distance trade remained Narvas raison dêtre throughout the Middle Ages, however, due to opposition from Tallinn, Narva itself never became part of the Hanseatic League and also remained a very small town – its population in 1530 is estimated at 600–750 people. Captured by the Russians during the Livonian War in 1558, for a short period Narva became an important port and trading city for Russia, trans-shipping goods from Pskov and Novgorod. Russian rule ended in 1581 when the Swedes under the command of Pontus De la Gardie conquered the city, during the Russo-Swedish War, when Arvid Stålarm was governor, Russian forces attempted to re-gain the city without success. During the Swedish rule the Old Town of Narva was built, following a big fire in 1659, which almost completely destroyed the town, only stone buildings were allowed to be built in the central part of the town. Incomes from flourishing trade allowed rebuilding of the center in two decades. The baroque Old Town underwent practically no changes until World War II, the new defence structures were among the most powerful in Northern Europe. During the Great Northern War of 1700-1721, Narva became the setting for the first great battle between the forces of King Charles XII of Sweden and Tsar Peter I of Russia, although outnumbered four to one, the Swedish forces routed their 40, 000-strong opponent. Russia subsequently conquered the city in 1704, after the war the bastions were renovated. Narva remained in the list of Russian fortifications until 1863, though there was no military need for it. During Russian rule Narva formed part of the Saint Petersburg Governorate, in the middle of the 19th century, Narva started to develop into a major industrial town. Ludwig Knoop established the Krenholm Manufacturing Company in 1857, the factory could use the cheap energy of the powerful Narva waterfalls and at the end of the century became, with about 10,000 workers, one of the largest cotton mills in Europe and the world
30.
Poland
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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
31.
Convent
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A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers or religious sisters, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion. The term derives via Old French from Latin conventus, perfect participle of the verb convenio, meaning to convene, the original reference was to the gathering of mendicants who spent much of their time travelling. Technically, a monastery or nunnery is a community of monastics, whereas a friary or convent is a community of mendicants, and a canonry a community of canons regular. The terms abbey and priory can be applied to both monasteries and canonries, an abbey is headed by an Abbot, and a priory is a dependent house headed by a Prior. In English usage since about the 19th century the term convent almost invariably refers to a community of women, in historical usage they are often interchangeable, with convent especially likely to be used for a friary. When applied to houses in Eastern Orthodoxy and Buddhism, English refers to all houses of male religious as monasteries. Christian monasticism Enclosed religious orders Herbermann, Charles, ed. Convent, carmelite Monastery of the Sacred Hearts —- an example of a modern-day convent Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Convent
32.
Charles IX of Sweden
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Charles IX, also Carl, was King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I and his wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, brother of Eric XIV and John III. The Swedish kings Eric XIV and Charles IX took their numbers according to a fictitious History of Sweden and he was actually the third Swedish king called Charles. He came into the throne by championing the Protestant cause during the tense times of religious strife between competing sects of Christianity. In just over a decade, these would break out as the Thirty Years War and these conflicts had already caused the dynastic squabble rooted in religious freedom that deposed his nephew and brought him to rule as king of Sweden. His reign marked the start of the chapter of both the Reformation and Counter-reformation. With his brothers death in November 1592, the throne of Sweden went to his nephew and Habsburg ally, Sigismund of Poland, during these tense political times, Charles viewed the inheritance of the throne of Protestant Sweden by his devout Roman Catholic nephew with alarm. Thus, several years of controversy and discord followed. During the period, he and the Swedish privy council ruled in Sigismunds name while he stayed in Poland, after various preliminaries, the Riksens ständer forced Sigismund to abdicate the throne to Charles IX in 1595. In fact, it worsened European politics to the abandonment or prevention of settling events by diplomacy, in 1568 he was the real leader of the rebellion against Eric XIV. However, he took no part in the designs of his brother John III against the king after his deposition. Charless relations with John were always more or less strained and he had no sympathy with Johns High-Church tendencies on the one hand, and he sturdily resisted all the kings endeavours to restrict his authority as Duke of Södermanland on the other. The nobility and the majority of the Riksdag of the Estates supported John, however, in his endeavours to unify the realm, and Charles had consequently to resign his pretensions to autonomy within his duchy. But, steadfast Calvinist as he was, on the question he was immovable. The matter came to a crisis on the death of John III in 1592, the heir to the throne was Johns eldest son, Sigismund III Vasa, already king of Poland and a devoted Catholic. Under the agreement, Charles and the Swedish Privy Council shared power, in the ensuing years 1593—1595, Charless task was extraordinarily difficult. Finally, the Riksdag at Linköping,24 February 1604 declared that Sigismund abdicated the Swedish throne and he was declared king as Karl IX. Charless short reign was one of uninterrupted warfare, in all these struggles, he was more or less unsuccessful, owing partly to the fact that he and his forces had to oppose superior generals and partly to sheer ill-luck
33.
Riksdag of the Estates
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Riksdag of the Estates was the name used for the Estates of Sweden when they were assembled. Until its dissolution in 1866, the institution was the highest authority in Sweden next to the king, the actual first meeting is likely the one that took place at Uppsala in 1436 after the death of rebel leader Engelbrekt. At the Riksdag in 1517, regent Sten Sture the Younger, at Västerås in 1527 Lutheranism was adopted as the new state religion instead of Roman Catholicism. At Arboga in 1561, the term Riksdag was used for the first time, at Söderköping in 1595, duke Charles was elected regent of Sweden instead of king Sigismund, who was a Catholic and the king of both Sweden and Poland. In 1612 the Riksdag gave the nobility the privilege and right to all higher offices of government. The first open conflict between the different estates happened in 1650, at the Riksdag in 1680 a large scale reduction was enacted, and Sweden became an absolute monarchy. In 1719, the Riksdag elected Ulrika Eleonora as heir in place of her sisters son. In 1809, the Riksdag elected Charles XIII king after his nephew Gustav IV Adolf had been deposed, at the sessions in 1634,1719,1720,1772 and 1809 new constitutions were adopted. The constitution of 1809 divided the powers of government between the monarch and the Riksdag of the Estates, and after 1866 between the monarch and the new Riksdag. In 1866 all the Estates voted in favor of dissolution and at the time to constitute a new assembly. The four former estates were abolished, the House of Nobility, Swedish, Riddarhuset, remains as a quasi-official representation of the Swedish nobility. The modern Centre Party which grew out of the Swedish farmers movement, following the Finnish War in 1809, Sweden ceded its eastmost provinces to the Russian Empire. Comprising much of present-day Finland, these became a Grand Duchy under the Emperor, the Finnish estates assembled in 1809 at Porvoo to confirm the change in their allegiance. This Diet of Finland followed the forms of the Swedish Riksdag, however, during the reigns of Alexander I and Nicholas I it was not assembled and no new legislation was enacted. The diet was next assembled by tsar Alexander II in 1863, after this the Diet met regularly until 1905, when it passed an act forming a new unicameral parliament. That assembly has been Finlands legislative body since then, the Finnish House of Nobility — Finnish, Ritarihuone, Swedish, Riddarhuset — carries on the tradition of the Estate of Nobility, but no new families have been ennobled since 1906. History of Sweden History of Finland History of the Riksdag Riksdagsmusiken
34.
Christian II of Denmark
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Christian II was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He reigned as King of Denmark and Norway from 1513 until 1523, from 1513 to 1523, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig and Holstein in joint rule with his uncle Frederick. Christian was the oldest son of King John and belonged to the House of Oldenburg, Denmark was then an elective monarchy in which the nobility elected the new king, who had to share his power with them. He came into conflict with the Danish nobility when he was forced to sign a charter, more strict than any previous, through domestic reforms he later sought to set it aside. Internationally, he tried to maintain the Kalmar Union between the Scandinavian countries which brought him to war with Sweden, lasting between 1518 and 1523 and his problems grew as he tried to limit the influence of foreign trading nations in Denmark. His reign in Denmark and Norway was cut short in 1523 when his uncle deposed him, Christian was then exiled to the Netherlands, then ruled by his brother-in-law, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. After attempting to reclaim the thrones in 1531, he was arrested and held in captivity for the rest of his life first in Sønderborg Castle, supporters tried to restore him to power both during his exile and his imprisonment but they were defeated definitively in 1536. In 1515, he married Isabella of Austria, granddaughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, however, he is most known for his relation with Dyveke Sigbritsdatter, a commonner of Dutch ancestry who became his mistress before his marriage and whose mother became his closest advisor. When Dyveke suddenly died in 1517, Christian had the nobleman Torben Oxe executed, on dubious ground, dyveke’s mother would follow Christian in exile but his in-laws forced him to break their friendship. As a captive, he was treated well and as he grew older he was given more freedom. He died aged 77, outliving not only his uncle but also his cousin and he was intelligent but irresolute, which is also part of his legacy in fiction literature. His wife was offered to return to Denmark while in exile but declined and died in 1526, Christian tried to have his son John recognized as heir to the throne, however, this was denied and John died only a year later. His daughters, Dorothea and Christina, the only of his children to survive childhood, also claims to the throne on behalf of themselves or their children. Christian was born at Nyborg Castle in 1481 as the son of King John and his wife, Christina of Saxony. Christian descended, through Valdemar I of Sweden, from the House of Eric and his rival Gustav I of Sweden descended only from Sverker II of Sweden and the House of Sverker. Christian took part in his fathers conquest of Sweden in 1497 and he was appointed viceroy of Norway in 1506, and succeeded in maintaining control of this country. In 1513, he succeeded his father as king of Denmark, Christians succession to the throne was confirmed at the Herredag assembly of notables from the three northern kingdoms, which met at Copenhagen in 1513. The Swedish delegates said, We have the choice between peace at home and strife here, or peace here and civil war at home, a decision as to the Swedish succession was therefore postponed
35.
Erik Johansson Vasa
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Erik Johansson Vasa was the Lord of Rydboholm Castle in the Roslagen. He was born around the year 1470 to Johan Kristiernsson Vasa and Birgitta Gustafsdotter Sture in a village named Örby in the province of Uppland and he was one of four children from Johan and Birgitta, Johan was first cousin of Charles VIII of Swedens father, Knut. He assisted the Stures in fighting against the Danes, who controlled most of Sweden during the early 16th century, among those executed was Erik Johansson. His first son, Gustav Eriksson Vasa, had escaped from Denmark some time before this event, as Gustav I, he became the King of Sweden in 1523 and founder of the House of Vasa. He married Cecilia Månsdotter Eka and had eight children with her, all of their children were born in either Orkesta or Rydboholm Castle, in the present-day county of Stockholm. Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press,1940
36.
Jagiellonian dynasty
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The dynasty reigned in several Central European countries between the 14th and 16th centuries. Members of the dynasty were Kings of Poland, Grand Dukes of Lithuania, Kings of Hungary, one Jagiellonian briefly ruled both Poland and Hungary, and two others ruled both Bohemia and Hungary and then continued in the distaff line as a branch of the House of Habsburg. The cultural flowering had its base in the prosperity of the elites. The name comes from Jogaila, the first Grand Duke of Lithuania to become King of Poland, the rule of Piasts, the earlier Polish ruling house had ended with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Gediminids, the predecessors of the first Jagiellonian, were rulers of medieval Lithuania with the title of Grand Duke. Their realm, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, was inhabited by Lithuanians and Ruthenians. Jogaila, the eponymous first ruler of the Jagiellonin dynasty, started as the Grand Duke of Lithuania, as a result of the Union of Krewo he then converted to Christianity and married the 11-year-old Hedwig of Poland. Thereby he became King of Poland and founded the dynasty, angevin rulers were the second and Jagiellonian third dynasty of Polish Kings. In 1385 the Union of Krewo was signed between Queen Jadwiga of Poland and Jogaila, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, the last pagan state in Europe, the act arranged for Jogailas baptism and for the couples marriage and constituted the beginning of the Polish–Lithuanian union. The Union strengthened both nations in their opposition to the Teutonic Knights and the growing threat of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. Uniquely in Europe, the union connected two states located on the opposite sides of the great civilizational divide between the Western or Latin, and the Eastern or Byzantine worlds. The intention of the Union was to create a state under Władysław II Jagiełło. Geographic consequences of the union and the preferences of the Jagiellonian kings accelerated the process of reorientation of Polish territorial priorities to the east. The political influence of the Jagiellonian kings was diminishing during this period, the royal dynasty, however, had a stabilizing effect on Polands politics. The Jagiellonian Era is often regarded as a period of political power, great prosperity, and in its later stage. The offensive that followed lost its impact with the siege of Malbork. The failure to take the fortress and eliminate the Teutonic state had for Poland dire historic consequences in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, the Peace of Thorn had given Poland and Lithuania rather modest territorial adjustments, including Samogitia. Afterwards there were negotiations and peace deals that didnt hold, more military campaigns and arbitrations, one attempted, unresolved arbitration took place at the Council of Constance
