Gustavus Adolphus: A History of Sweden, 1611-1632: Volume I, 1611-1626

607 Pages·1953·13.455 MB·English

by  Michael Roberts

GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS
VOLUME ONE

GUSTAVUS ADOLPHUS
A History of Sweden
1611-1632
by
MICHAEL ROBERTS
Professor of History, Rhodes University
Grahamstown, South Africa
VOLUME ONE
1611-1626
LONGMANS
LONGMANS, GREEN AND CO LTD
48 Grosvenor Street, London W. 1
Associated companies, branches and representatives
throughout the world
First published 1953
Second impression by photolithography 1962
Third impression 1965
Printed in Great Britain by
Lowe & Brydone (Printers) Ltd., London
To
my friends in Sweden
Gud glädje och styrke de män, som där bo
Vid älvom, pä berg och i dalom !

PREFACE
Everybody who has tried to teach the history of Europe in the
seventeenth century must at some time or other have felt the want of
an up-to-date account of Sweden’s ‘Age of Greatness’. No such
account, as far as I am aware, exists in English ; and a glance at the
very meagre sections devoted to Scandinavian affairs in such other­
wise reliable modern series as Peuples et Civilisations or Clio would
seem to suggest that the position is no better in France. In Germany,
indeed, there appeared in 1932 the third and final volume of
Johannes Paul’s Gustaf Adolf \ but this was a work devoted mainly
to diplomatic and military history, with the emphasis upon the
period from 1630 to 1632, and in any case it appears to be less well
known in England than it ought to be.
This book, then, is an attempt to fill a portion of the gap. It
makes no pretension to archival research (for which, indeed, a life­
time would be needed); but it is based as far as possible on the
printed sources (which are abundant), and it attempts to synthesize
the large body of research which has appeared since the corres­
ponding chapters in The Cambridge Modern History were written,
nearly half a century ago. It differs, perhaps, from many books on
the subject in treating the reign as a portion of the history of Sweden,
rather than as an episode in the history of Germany; but it has no
other claim to originality. To any Swedish readers I can but plead
that the book is written for an English public ; and add, in the words
of the author of The Swedish Discipline, that
I doe it not upon any vaine thoughts or presumption, to teach you
new way es: a many of you, and your Leaders especially, are so curious,
I know, and so skilful . . . that you need not my Booke for a Maister in
this kinde. *Tis meant for your Recreation, to put you in a Discourse now
and then: and to testifie withall, mine owne private respects both to your
Persons, and of your Practise ; thats the purpose of it.
I take this opportunity to return thanks to the Council of Rhodes
University, for their generosity in awarding me a Travelling Fellow­
ship to enable me to spend some months in Swedish libraries. Nor
can I omit to express my gratitude to the staff of Kungliga Biblio­
teket in Stockholm for their kindness and courtesy while I was
vii
PREFACE
working there. I am most grateful to those of my colleagues who
found time to read all or part of the MS. ; and especially to Mrs.
W. A. Maxwell, Mr. Godfrey Le May and Mr. Alan Hall, whose
criticisms have, I hope, been attended to.
The spelling of proper names in foreign languages is a perennial
problem. Since many Swedish and Danish names have no English
equivalent, I have thought it better to make it a rule to spell all
Scandinavian names as they are spelt in their own languages, including
that of Gustavus Adolphus himself, who henceforward will be
* Gustav Adolf’. There is, however, one Scandinavian name which
it would be pedantic not to write in its English form; and accord­
ingly I write ‘Copenhagen’ rather than ‘Kobenhavn’. Non­
Scandinavian proper names are, where possible, given in their
English form.
M. R.
viii
CONTENTS
PAGE
Preface . vii
Argument i
I. Introductory 6
(i) The Struggle for Baltic predominance, 1560-95 6
(ii) The Swedish Revolution, 1593-1600 14
(iii) The rule of Karl IX, 1600-11 . . 25
(iv) The international consequences of the Swedish
Revolution 29
(v) The drift to war with Denmark, 1595-1611 38
(vi) Sweden in 1611 47
II. The Legacy of Karl IX 49
(i) Accession Crisis . 49
(ii) The War of Kalmar 60
(iii) The Russian Imbroglio 72
III. Domestic Affairs, 1611-17 92
(i) Introductory 92
(ii) Polish Intrigues: the émigrés. 93
(iii) The Breakdown of Law and Order 112
(iv) Financial Difficulties: Älvsborg’s ransom 122
(v) The Problem of the Duchies 129
(vi) The Position in 1617 138
CONTENTS
PAGB
IV. Foreign Affairs, 1611-20 141
(i) The Period 1611-20 141
(ii) Relations with Poland, 1611-16 142
(iii) Sweden, Denmark and Europe, 1611-17 . 145
(iv) The Renewal of the War in Poland, 1617-18 158
(v) The Détente with Denmark, 1619 169
(vi) Gustav Adolf’s Marriage 174
V. Poland and the Palatinate, 1618-26 182
(i) The Opening of the Thirty Years’ War 182
(ii) The Livonian War, 1621-22,. 201
(iii) The Threat of Polish invasion, 1623 216
(iv) Gustav Adolf’s first plan for a Protestant
League, 1623 220
(v) Diplomatic Defeat of Denmark, 1624 228
(vi) The Anglo-Brandenburg Project for a Protestant
Alliance, 1624-25 234
(vii) The Livonian War resumed. The Hague
Congress. Wallhof . 245
VI. Constitutional Development 255
(i) The Charter, 1612 255
(ii) The Central Executive . 260
(iii) The Legislative 283
(iv) Local Government 315
(v) Justice 330
(vi) The ‘Form of Government’, 1634 342
VII. The Church 330
(i) From the Reformation to 1611 350
(ii) The Charter and the Church Ordinance . 360
(iii) Lutheran Orthodoxy and its Adversaries 369
(iv) The Bishops and the Church 380
x