Nordic Nightmare

A madman, incensed by the direction of politics in a charming Scandinavian country, killed 80 or 90 of its best and brightest citizens.

Norway in 2011? Actually, I was thinking of Sweden in 1520.


A little background is in order. In 1397 the three Scandinavian kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark formed a united kingdom. (The three crowns, a prominent Swedish national symbol, is a reminder of the once united North.) However, a century later Sweden had grown dissatisfied with the arrangement, in large measure because the Swedish aristocracy was used to playing a much more independent role in politics. While a significant portion of the Swedish aristocracy favored continuing the Union of Kalmar (as the united monarchy was called), many noblemen did not. In early November of 1520, Christian II of Denmark assembled many of the leading Swedish dissidents in Stockholm and ordered their execution. At least 82 people were executed and perhaps more.

What was the result? Christian II earned the title “Christian the Tyrant,” as he is still known in Sweden. (Contrary to popular Swedish opinion, Christian II is not called “Christian the Good” in Denmark.) Sweden was soon in revolt and even the Danes did not want him. He was driven from his throne and replaced by his uncle Frederick I. Christian II tried to regain his throne, now by claiming to favor the Lutheran cause, now the Roman Catholic, but neither side trusted him. (Christian II seems to have been as opportunistic in religious matters as his modern Norwegian counterpart, who is not personally religious but likes to think of religion as a placeholder for secular cultural values.) Eventually, things would turn out quite the opposite from what Christian II had wanted. The Swedes not only would gain their independence from Denmark, but they would begin a series of wars through which they would gobble up much formerly Danish territory. For example, Scania, formerly the heart of Danish culture and learning (as embodied by such cities as Malmö and Lund), would be lost in ensuing centuries to Sweden. Norway would remain part of the united monarchy, but eventually the Danes would lose that country, too. Christian’s bloodbath not only hurt Denmark, but eventually assured the rise of the unstoppable Vasa dynasty that built a Swedish empire that covered all the shores of the Baltic Sea.

Ever since Cain killed Abel and built the town of Enoch, people have thought that murder and intrigue could establish an eternal kingdom. How wrong they are.