YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Gift of Dr. James A. Kleeman In Memory of Walter B. Kleeman M tf£w/«b> 3 THE NORTHMEN; THE SEA-KINGS AND VIKINGS, THEIR MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, DISCOVERIES, MARITIME EXPEDITIONS, STRUGGLES, AND WARS. • THE DISCOVEET, AND THE THOUSAND YEARS' ANNIVERSARY OF ICELAND. PAUL C SINDING, OF COPENHAGEN, DENMARK. Hon. Member of the Quebec Historical Society. SIXTH EDITION. NEW YORK : PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR. 1883. PREFACE. Although I soon learned by experience, after my arrival in the city of New York what indeed had been long before reported to me, that the enlightened people of the United States pay great attention to science and the arts, and specially among their intel lectual pursuits, have explored some of the wide fields of history with zeal and success, T was yet almost immediately aware that Scandinavian affairs — the past history and present condition of a kindred people — were too little known in this country. Indeed by that ardent love of my native land, which might well prompt me to effort in suck a case, and which is a feeling said to be peculiarly strong VI PEEFAOE , in the race of the Northmen, I resolved, a3 fai as lay in my power, to throw some light on this here, almost terra incognita, by writing a brief history of the people of Scandinavia — a people and a land neither unknown nor undistin guished in the history of the past, having not only played an important part in the history of Europe, being even at one time the arbiter of the European system, but having also amongst their archives authentic records of early voy ages of adventure and discovery extending to this new Western world, even as much as five centuries before Columbus reached St. Salvador or Guanahany. But while thus making refer ence to these interesting traditions, which trace the discovery of this great western continent to the hardy and adventurous " Kings of the Northern Sea," let me not be understood as say ing that these traditions, though certainly exist ing, and possibly even well known to Columbus himself, when he undertook his remarkable voyage, have at all eclipsed the splendor which never will cease to invest the name of this un exampled discoverer. Should the result of my labor — the work PREFACE. Vll which I here offer only as an Introduction to the History of Scandinavia — be found calcu lated to promote even a little interest in the subject, my desire and purposes will be fully realized. THE AUTHOR. PROF. PAUL C. SINDING. My Dear Sir: The Scandinavian peninsulas — one hanging down from the mys terious North, the other jutting forth from the central mass of civilized Europe, to meet its comrade — are emblematic (in their geographical position) of the twofold historic interest with which they are clothed. While the legendary period of other peoples occupies a place subordinate to their clearer history, Scandinavia calls up before us, with equal power, the mist-robed Odin and the mail-clad Vasa. The strange adventures amid Northern seas, in a primitive age, are as prominent as the leadership of European poli tics in an age ofe remarkable light. We oddly mingle the old and the new, the dim and the bright, when we turn to Scandinavia, as we do with no other land. This double character naturally lends peculiar attraction to its history. Yet, with all this attraction, the history of no part of Europe is less familiar to the general mind ; probably because the Scandinavian countries lie somewhat off from the world's' great highways, and participate but moderately in the world's chief commerce. This should not be. The ignorance is a fault, especially among us of English descent, whose ancestral history is so intimately and variously associated with that of Den mark, Sweden, and Norway. The Norsemen have left the memo rials of their habitation on the coasts and islands of Scotland, where Runic inscriptions tell the story of their prowess, while through much of England the familiar names of towns and hamlets are purely Norse. These are the fruits of the wild adventures of the Vikings. A Danish dynasty once ruled our fatherland, and the Con queror who founded the present succession of British monarchs, was himself of Scandinavian blood, transplanted to a more southern 9 X LETTER FROM PROFESSOR CROSBY. clime. The stalwart men, who could venture upon unknown, cold, and stormy seas, in their small barks, on lengthy voyages, until passing the new-found shores of Iceland, they landed among the green leaves of the Viinland coast, deserve to be known and saluted by every succeeding age. And their posterity, still maintaining the best characteristics of the fathers, invite our regard and claim our encomiums. The names of Tegner, Hans Andersen, Fredericka Bremer, in literature ; of Clausen, Madvig, and Rafn, in theological, philological, and archse- ological research ; of Thorvaldsen in art, and of Ole Bull and Jenny Lind in music, are as household words in our American homes. Our merited regard for these well known worthies of our own day, must render keener our appetite for Scandinavian knowledge. This 'ppetite amounts to a necessity, when we mark, that our ancestral jistory and mythology, and our composite philology, must be eluci dated by the light of these chronicles and languages of the Norse men. It is, therefore, full time that our Universities should have their chairs of Scandinavian literature, as a needful part of the apparatus for a thorough English education, to render more complete the ex animation of the roots of our speech and race. While this want is felt, we may gladly hail any contribution to American literature which tends to open this interesting field of research. In your vol ume, my dear sir, I recognize such a pioneer, and rejoice to give ' welcome. In it may many laggards in this lore find an introduc tion to the old romantic legends of the Skalds, as well as to th more recent but no less romantic stories of the great and magnani mous Gustavus Vasa, Gustavus Adolphus, and the brilliant cometa Tordenskjold (Thundershield) and Charles the Twelfth HOWARD CROSBY, D. D., Chancelor of the University of the City of New Tori. SUMMARY OP CONTENTS. Tho Origin of the People — Mythology — Language — Skalds or Bards — Runes — The Warfaring Life — Piracy — Duels — Fostar-forx.tb.er Covenant — State and Condition of the Female Sex — Means of getting a Livelihood by — Victuals — Trade — Dwelling-places — Weapons — Funeral Solemnities — State Affairs — King — Pea sants and Prefects — Slaves — Viking Expeditions — The Oldest Kings Page 19-49 First Period, from A. D. 811-1241. 1, Promulgation of the Gospel by Ansgarius — Gorm the Old and his Queen Thyra Dannebod — Harold Bluetooth — Christianity — Civil War — Palnatoke — Swen Splitbeard — Viking Association — Battle by Svolder — Conquest of England — Harold — Canute the Great — England and Denmark united — Pilgrimage to Rome — Battle by Helge-River — Ulf Jarl (Earl) — Conquest' of Norway — The Discovery of America by the Northmen — The Union with England ceases 60-86 2. Magnus the Good — Swen Estrithson — Expedition to England — Ecclesiastical Affairs — Canute the Pious — NewExpedition against England — Eric the Good — Expedition to Venden — Canonization of Canute the Pious— Canute Lavard — Nicholas — Civil War be tween Swen Grathe, Canute Magnusson, and Waldemar — Frede rick Barbarossa — Battle on Grathe-heath in Jutland 87-108 3. Waldemar I. the Great — Absalon — Canute VI. — Bugislaw, of Pomerania — Waldemar II. the Conqueror — Conquests along the Baltio— Euthonia— The Captivity of the King— Science and the Arts 109-130 Xll SUMMARY OF CONTENTS. Second Period, from A. D. 1241-1536, the Introduction of tha Reformation. 1. Eric Ploughpenning — Expedition to Esthonia — Abel — Christo pher I. — Conflict with the Clergy — Archbishop Jacob Erlandson — Interdict — Eric Glipping — Battle on Loheath — War with Nor way — Eric Menved — The Regicides — Archbishop John Grand — Peace with Norway — Expedition to Pomerania and Mecklenburg — The Hanseatic League 131-14., 8. Christopher II.— Charter— War with Geert, Count of Holstein— Battle on Tapheath— Niels Ebbeson — Waldemar IV., Atterdag — Insurrection in Jutland — Magnus Smek of Sweden — War with the Hanseatic Towns — Rebellion — Waldemar leaves the country — Olaf— Queen Margarethe (the Semiramis of the North) — King Albrecht of Sweden— The Battle at Falk6ping in Sweden— The celebrated Union of Calmar 145-107 8. Queen Margarethe — Attempts to regain Schleswig — Eric of Pomerania — Dispute about Schleswig — War with the Hanseatic Towns — Rebellion in Sweden — Engelbrechtson — Charles Canut- son — Dethronement of the King in Denmark and Sweden — Chris topher of Bavaria acknowledged King of all three Kingdoms — Rebellion of the Peasantry 168-182 4. The House of Oldenburg — Christian I., the first King of the House of Oldenburg — Charles Canutsou — Archbishop Jens Bengtson — Steno Sture, the Elder — Battle on Brunkehill — Pilgrimage to Rome — University of Copenhagen — The Charter of King Hans (John) — Division of the Duchies — Expedition to Ditmarsh — Re bellion in Sweden and Norway — War again with the Hanse Towns— Christian II. the Tyrant — Expedition against Sweden — Archbishop Gustav Trolle — The Slaughter of Stockholm — Sigbrit- Dyveke — Torben Oxe — The Beginning of the Reformation — Re-i bellion — The King flees — Frederick I. — Civil War — Rebellion in Skane — S6ren Norby — The Reformation spreads — John Tausen — Diet of Odensee — Diet of Copenhagen — The War of the Count — Christian III. — Shipper Clemens — Battle by Oxenhill — Litera ture and Language 183-236 Third Period, from A. D. 1536-1660; the acknowledgment of Lutheranism until the Introduction of Absolute Sovereignty. 1. Christian III. — Diet of Copenhagen — Charter — The Reforma tion introduced into Iceland — Intolerance — University and School , SUMMARY OF CONTENTS. XUJ Affairs — Alliance with Sweden — New Division of the Duchies — Frederick II. — Conquest of Ditmarsh — Three Crowns — The Northern Seven Years' War — Daniel Ranzau — Peace in Stettin — Peter Oxen — Foundation of Kronborg — The Sound Dues — Lttbeck — Hamburg — Science and Arts — Henrik Ranzau — Tycho Brahe — Christian IV. — The Queen-Dowager Sophia of Mecklen burg — Guardianship — Peasantry — Nobility 237-266 2 Christian IV. — Care and Interest for Norway — Variance with Sweden — Calmar War — Peace at Knoer6d — He encourages Science and the Arts — Commercial Affairs — Discoveries— Regulation of the Post Affairs — Manufactures — Buildings — Participation in the Thirty Years' War — Battle by Lutter, near the Barenberg — Peace of Liibeck — Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden plays a prominent part in the Thirty Years' War — Dissatisfaction amongst the Peasantry and Burgher Class with the Aristocracy — Dispute with Hamburg - terms of the king. Soon after Waldemar the Great expired, after a glorious reign of twenty-five a. D., years. The respect in which he was held was 1182. strikingly exhibited at his death. The peasants drew the hearse, and his remains were interred in the church of Ringsted, and it was ordained by the citizens that his memory should be held in reverence. Canute VI, his son, already chosen to succeed him to the throne, began his reign with pursuing the same course as his great father, guided and assisted by the same faithful counselors and brave warriors, archbishop Absalon and his brother, Esbern Snare, to whom was soon added the king's own brother, the victorious Waldemar. His reign was uni versally acceptable to the people, as he appeared equally remarkable for his firmness, clemency, liberality, acti vity, and justice. The first business he was engaged in, after his ascending the throne, was to answer the Ger man emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, who, through an embassy sent to Denmark, had enjoined on the young king the duty of acknowledging himself a vassal of the Roman empire. His answer, in this emergency, shows the energy of Canute's character. " Please to inform your emperor," he said, " that the king of Denmark is just as independent in his kingdom as the German or Roman emperor in his empire, and that it were better HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 119 for me to resign my crown, than to submit myself to him, even if he should declare war against mt for reject ing his impudent enjoinment. I am ready to put my army in motion, and thus decide the fate of my king dom." This answer highly exasperated the haughty- emperor, who now stimulated Bugislaw, Duke of Pome rania, to attack Denmark. The Duke prepared himself to attack the isle of Rygen with five hundred men of war, but Absalon, informed of it, and seeing that no moment was to be lost, fitted out a fleet and overtook the surprised Venders, who lost four hundred and sixty- A. d., five ships, threw down their arms and sued for 1184 quarter, and the proud spirit of the duke began to give way. After this glorious victory, Pomerania and the Obotritic Venden had to submit to Denmark, Canute VI. now taking the title, King of the Slavi and Venders. Afterwards Canute made several expeditions to the eastern coasts of the Baltic, made conquests in Esthonia, and forced the inhabitants to embrace Christianity, but the Danes no sooner left, than they returned to heathen ism and piracy. The war being ended between Den mark and Venden, a profound peace ensued for some years ; the Danes thus having an opportunity of turning to the arts of peace. But while they were thus cultiva ting peaceful occupations, the vigilant king was not unmindful of making fresh preparations for war, well lcnowing that these intervals of ease would not fad to give his enemies fresh vigor for new designs. Adolph, Count 120 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. of Holstein, the archbishop of Bremen, the Margrave of Brandenburg, and several princes of Northern Germany, happened to make depredations on the Danish coasts, wishing to arrest the strongly rising power of Denmark. This mighty aUiance became the more dangerous, as bishop Waldemar, of Schleswig, an illegitimate son of Canute Magnusson, above mentioned, was meditating treacherous plans, and intended to take part with the German enemies of Denmark, and with king Sverre of Norway. But nothing was capable of subduing the courage of the king and of his undaunted brother, Wal demar, Duke of Schleswig, who captured and imprisoned the rebellious bishop, and defeated the other foes. The bishop was put into a gloomy prison, where he was compelled to pine for many years. Adolph had to yield himself prisoner of war ; Holstein, Liibeck, Hamburg, and Lauenburg to submit to Denmark, and the Count of Schwerin to acknowledge himself a vassal of the Danish king ; Denmark thus now being invested with a greater power than ever before. But towards the close of the reign of Canute VI., a marriage between Inge- borg, a sister to Canute, and Philip Augustus of France, occasioned a vehement dispute, Philip repudi ating the princess, and not till a papal edict from Inno cent III. had compelled him to join her again, was the dispute abated, and a threatening war avoided. After an active reign of twenty years, Canute VI. died, a. d., universally lamented. A year before, Absalon, 12M- HISTORY OF SCANDOAVIA. 121 his friend and wise counselor, had been stricken by the hand of death. This extraordinary man — the greatest man the North had produced in the Middle Ages — was possessed of the greatest courage in opposing danger, and the greatest presence of mind in retiring from it. No fatigue was able to subdue his body, nor any misfor tune to break his spirit ; and moreover, he was a wise counselor in public and ecclesiastical concerns, and a great friend of science and the arts. Under the power ful direction of such influential archbishops as Eskild, Absalon, and his successor, Andrew Suneson, the eccle siastical affairs gained a firm footing, Eskild composing a canon law for Skane, and Absalon one for Denmark ; both of which were admitted of by the people and con firmed by the king. But, unfortunately, the power of the clergy was now increasing too much. In exclusive possession of the learning of the time, and from the Pope invested with the power of deciding the salvation of men's souls, the clergy acquired very easily a vast authority over the illiterate people of the Middle Ages ; and the superior clergy, besides their ecclesiastica . dignities, were frequently in possession of the most influential and lucrative offices of the state, and the archbishoprics, bishoprics, and abbacies, gradually ob tained great possessions, so as to be nearly raised to an equality with principalities. The archbishops and bishops had fortified castles, kept soldiers, and were ready at a moment's notice, to make head against the 122 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. kings. As the church increased in intrinsic strength, sc she grew in riches and external power. Both kings and privafe people endowed her with an immense deal of real estates ; and by the immunity conferred by the kings upon the church, she attained a degree of opulence and splendor nearly unrivaled, unless in Italy, during the Middle Ages ; while unfortunately the augmentation of the wealth of the church brought with it a detrimental appetite for expensive and demoralizing pleasures amongst the clergy. At the period under con sideration, the nobility, equal in rank to the clergy, but above the burgher class and the peasantry, commenced to be a peculiar class, with peculiar privdeges ; the whole population of Denmark thus being divided into nobility, clergy, burghers, and peasantry. The nobles possessed considerable estates in land, and were dis tinguished from the rest of the people, not by know ledge and cultivation of mind, but only by their superior luxury, and they often ruled the public affairs by the weight of an authority gained from riches and merce nary dependents. In short, the kingdom came now for many centuries under the tyranny of a hateful aristo cracy, which the kings themselves often could hardly master, afterwards bitterly repenting of having raised such dregs of society. At first the nobflity was only personal, but became in the period following hereditary, the obligations being few, but the prerogatives and pri> vileges not to be numbered HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 123 Cotemporary with Canute VI. of Denmark was Sverre A. D., Norway's estimable and memorable king. He was 1151. Dorn lisij and a son of king Sigurd Haroldson and queen Gunhild. After the death of king Sigurd, the queen married a plain comber or hair-dresser, and, hearing that the mighty earl Erling Skakke meditated the extinction of the whole royal Norwegian family, she represented the young prince Sverre to be the son of the hair-dresser. However, not believing herself safe in Norway, she went with her husband and the prince to the Faroe Isles, where her brother-in-law was bishop. The bishop adopted Sverre, caused him to study theo logy, and ordained him a priest. But he was soon in formed of his royal extraction; for his mother had, on a pilgrimage to Rome, disclosed this secret to a priest in the confessional, who compelled her to relate it to Sverre. The life of an ecclesiastic now became distaste ful to him, and he returned to Norway to claim his an cestral throne. After being exposed for many years to continual vicissitudes of fortune, and after the death of the mighty and crafty Erling Skakke, Sverre at length A. D., succeeded in being proclaimed King of Norway. 1177. He was, however, far from finding his throne a bed of roses. Throughout the whole course of his reign he had to struggle against internal foes, often baffling his best designs. In the first place, he had to fight with the expelled king, Magnus Erlingson, a son of Erling Skakke, who returned from Denmark with a mighty fleet; but, fortunately for Sverre, Magnus was, after 124 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. much shedding of blood, drowned, when, after a lost nava' battle, he was trying to save himself by swim- a. d., ming. Afterwards a legion of spurious princes nii- arose, all of whom, with fictitious and ill-founded preten sions to the crown, knew how to raise factious parties, the worst of whom were the rebellious Baglers, who fre quently eluded his vigilance. But, under perilous cir- sumstances, Sverre was never irresolute. With fresh and undismayed troops, and with large and well-built men-of- war, he fought battle after battle, till finally the rebels were entirely routed and had to flee to Denmark. Yet the peace which the subjugation of the Baglers gave him was only of short duration; for no sooner had Sverre gained the ascendency over all those pretenders and factious parties than he had to endure a long and weari some contest with the clergy, whose enormous preroga tives, which the expelled king, Magnus Erlingson, had conferred on them, he tried to restrict. The archbishop Erik exceeded all bounds in impudence and unyielding obstinacy. He taxed the people without the consent of the king, cursed him from the pulpit because he had, without the pope's permission, left the clerical order, and prevailed upon the pope to interdict the king and the whole kingdom. However, this interdict, or ban, — the very first in Norway, — did not produce the effect intended: the people did not know its meaning; the clergy did not venture to carry it into effect; and the sagacious king delivered an eloquent speech, in which he proved from holy writ that the pope had no author- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 125 ity to interfere with his mode of ruling. Afterwards a cardinal came to Norway. He was cordially received, and promised to crown the king, — a ceremony in those days of great importance to establish a king's authority. But the rebellious bishops persuaded the cardinal to break his promise, under the pretext that the king was hostile to the whole clergy. On hearing that the car dinal had violated his promise, Sverre became provoked to rage, summoned the clerical knave before him, and said, "I understand that thy errand to my country is like that of other impostors : thou wilt enrich thyself at my expense, thereafter to deride me. Begone, I bid thee, and nevermore venture to set thy foot on the soil of my country." But, in spite of the many difficulties with which Sverre had continually to contend, he did not neglect to provide for the internal welfare of his kingdom. He restrained the prevailing drunkenness by forbidding German mer- shants to import wine and liquor ; he improved the public ,'oads and promoted literature. Being a man of letters himself, and well versed in Latin, theology, and the old saga-literature, Sverre caused the celebrated work called the Royal Mirror (Kongespeilet) to be published, written in the old Norse language and containing most valuable information of the manners, morals, and history of that age. This noble, gallant, and magnanimous king died in the city of Bergen. On his death-bed he for- a. d., gave all his enemies, and, to prevent new contro- 12(l2- Versies about the succession to the throne, he solemnly 126 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. declared that he had but one son alive, who was elected king under the name of Hakon III. ; but after a peace ful reign of two years he departed life, and Norway was again, for thirty-three years, harassed by civil wars, which brought her to the very verge of ruin. Finally, however, a deliverer was raised up, in the person of king Hakon Hakonson, or Hakon IV., a grandson of Sverre. Only sixteen years old, he was proclaimed a. d., king. For more than twenty years the young Jo king had to battle with factious parties, with the whole clergy, and with his own father-in-law, the mighty duke Skule. At length he succeeded in subduing all of them, and in finishing the disastrous internal wars that for more than a century had ravaged and desolated Norway. In activity and ability Hakon Hakonson holds perhaps the foremost rank of all the kings of old Norway on record. He improved agriculture, enacted judicious laws, erected churches and cloisters for the promulgation of Chri 'tianity, surrounded the cities of Bergen and Tons- berg with stronger fortifications, and kept a fleet of three hundred ships of war. He enlarged his dominions by ai nexing the island of Iceland to Norway; and the Greei landers swore allegiance to him. Even abroad Hakoi enjoyed such respect that Pope Innocent IV. courted his friendship, and promised him the imperial crown of Germany if he would help him to subdue the haughty Frederick the Second of Hohenstaufen. But Hakon refused to intermeddle with the pope's private affairs. Louis I he Holy of France invited him to par* HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 127 ticipate in a crusade for the recovery of the Holy Land, and offered him the chief command of the united French and Norwegian fleet. But Hakon declined accepting the glorious offer, believing it preferable to remain and dis- charge his royal duties. Even the King of Tunis did not consider it below his dignity to receive embassadors and presents from the king of this remote quarter of the globe ; and Philip, a brother of King Alphonso of Cas tile in Spain, considered Norway important enough for him to come to her for a bride, Hakon's lovely daughter Christina. Of literature he was a munificent patron. The celebrated Icelandic historian, Snorre Sturlason, enjoyed his intimate friendship, and was even appointed the king's court-marshal and invested with a fee or cor poreal hereditament. After a glorious, useful, and vic- A. D., torious career, Hakon Hakonson, also called 1263- Hakon the Old, died, A. D. 1263, and was suc ceeded by his son Magnus Lagabeter, — i.e. the im prover of laws, because he revised and improved the ancient laws of Norway. But, however much good he did in this respect, he cannot claim any part of the great honor which deservedly invests the name of his father; for under his administration Norway's prosperity de clined, the nobility and the clergy usurped all civil and political privileges, while the burgher class and the pea santry were treated with no marks of respect, the navy decreased, and the Norwegian commerce came under the entire control of the mighty Hanse league. But we re sume the history of Denmark. 128 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA Canute VI. being childless, his brother, Waldemar H., the Conqueror, ascended the throne, receiving in Liibeck homage from the subjugated lands and princes. Hol« stein, which Count Adolph, to regain his liberty, resigned, was given to Waldemar's nephew, Albert of Orlamiinde. Waldemar II. prosecuted the conquests of his father and grandfather. The affairs in Germany were very favorable for Waldemar in carrying out his designs. Philip of Schwaben, Otto IV. a son of Henry Lion of Saxony, and Frederick II. of Hohenstaufen, who disputed for the dominion, all attempted to gain the friendship and protection of Waldemar II. Wal demar resolved to assist Frederick II., who returned to the Danish king, as a sign of gratitude, an imperial letter of confirmation in his German and Vendish conquests. Saxony, Bremen, Brandenburg, and several A. D., countries in Northern Germany joined together 12U- to oppose this monarch's power and progress, and raised a strong army, ready to act wherever its services should be required, which was, however, too weak to re sist his victorious arms. Waldemar had long been bent upon humbling the rebellious bishop Waldemar of Schleswig, who, after being set at liberty, had again taken part with the enemies of his fatherland, and got himself appointed archbishop of Bremen. But Wal demar the Conqueror understood how to teach him obedience, and at length he was obliged to have re« course to a cloister, where, showing a very bad moral HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 129 aonduct, and sinking even to the level of vulgar men, he terminated his dishonorable life. No sooner had the 3-erman affairs permitted Waldemar to breathe a little freely, than he undertook several expeditions to the remoter coasts of the Baltic, conquering considerable tracts of Prussia ; but most remarkable is his great expedition to Esthonia (called the Northern Crusade) under the command of the archbishop Andrew Suneson Neither Denmark nor the other Scandinavian a. d., countries having taken any share in the great 1219- European crusades for the recovery of the Holy Land, Waldemar the Conqueror considered himself greatly indebted to the Christian Church. He went, therefore, to Esthonia, to christen the heathen inhabitants. The Esthlanders, at first pretending subjection, fell suddenly upon the Dariish army, near to Reval, and a great confusion ensued ; but the archbishop inspired the Danes with courage, persuading them that a flag, with a white cross interwoven on a red ground (later called Dannebrog), which the Pope had sent, had fallen down from heaven; to which statement, and the effect pro duced by it, the successful issue of the battle, and the conquest of the whole of Esthonia, are chiefly to be ascribed. The kingdom of Denmark now included Denmark, Holstein, Ditmarsh, Lauenburg, Schwerin, Mecklenburg, Rygen, Pomerania, Esthonia, Oesel (an island close by Russia), and several tracts of Prussia and Curland. But Waldemar the Conqueror was form- 130 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. ing still more gigantic plans, love of dominion being the chief passion of his heart, when one disastrous night annihilated the fruits of the tods of three kings and of the victories of sixty years. Whilst engaged in the chase on a little island, Lyo, by Fjunen, the king A. d., and his son fell into the power of Count Henry, 1223. 0f Schwerin, were gagged, put on boara a ship and carried to Germany, where they were kept priso ners for three years in the castle of Daneberg. A general confusion arose, the princes who were his vas sals revolted from him, Hamburg and Lubeck fell away and became free cities, establishing, in conjunction with other maritime towns, a mighty alliance, called the Hanseatic League, and the emperor, Frederick II. of Hohenstaufen, formerly Waldemar's confederate, re joiced now at seeing his disaster and calamity. Under such circumstances Waldemar had to subscribe to the hard conditions his enemies exacted for his release. The terms were severe, but were the best that could be procured. He should lay down to Count Henry forty-five thousand ounces of sdver, resign Holstein to Count Adolph, quit his other German and Vendish possessions, except Esthonia and Rygen, and never make war again. Promising inviolably to observe these A. D , severe conditions, he came back to his kingdom 1226- on Christmas-eve, disconsolate and enraged, but more than ever beloved by his subjects, who now be- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 131 same better acquainted with the sublimity of his virtue* by this trial of adversity. But Waldemar's patriotism, swallowed up in one great ruling affection, the love of his country, could not allow him to keep his promise. He applied to the Pope, Was absolved from his engagements, made preparations for war, raised at length a great army, and entered Holstein, with all the resentment of a prince highly injured. Multitudes were flocking to his standard, and in the beginning, he was crowned with success. But leading his army back from Itzeho, which he had con quered, he was met by the bishop of Lubeck, the arch bishop of Bremen, the duke of Saxony, the duke of Holstein, the Ditmarshers, the earls of Schwerin, Olden burg and Mecklenburg, at the head of a prodigious army. A battle was fought at Bornhbved in a. d., Holstein, with incredible fury on both sides ; but 1227- here Waldemar was totally defeated, and lost one eye. Being very much blamed for the perfidious breaking of his promise, he answered that a dispensation given him from the Pope, Honorius III., should be a sufficient excuse. After this transaction the king had the soul- rending misfortune to lose his eldest son, Waldemar, who was shot accidentally at a hunting-party, and from that time Waldemar the Conqueror dropped all intention of pursuing revenge. " Now," he said, " if God con tinues fife and health, I will have nothing more to do with warfaring life, but for the remainder of my days 132 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. employ all my efforts to promote the internal welfare of my kingdom." And so he did. His very first care was to give wise and beneficial laws, amongst which were the Skanish and the Jutlandish law, which he, shortly before his death, laid before the people, at a diet in Vordingborg, the Jutlandish law, even to this day, being valid in Schleswig, and not before 1685 abrogated in Denmark. Waldemar the Conqueror was twice married : first to the Bohemian princess, Dagmar, and next to Beren garia, from Portugal, who became mother to Erik, Abel, and Christopher, one by one succeeding to the throne. Dagmar was highly beloved, but Berengaria much hated on account of her pride ; and it became a proverb among the peasantry : " Blessed be Dagmar, cursed be Berengaria the old hag, the Lord be with the king." Waldemar had now attained to an ad vanced age. He had seen his kingdom raised to the highest pitch of glory and power, he had seen it sink A. d., into the deepest distress, and now he saw it 12il- again restored to peace and felicity, when death claimed him. The means by which the inhabitants got their liveli hood in this period were, agriculture, breeding of cattle, fishing and commerce, but all as yet on a small scale. The fishing was an important means of subsistence, and the Lymfjord and Earsound (Oeresund) were known for their abundant herring grounds. The trade was driven HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 133 with Northern Germany and England; and between Jutland and Norway was a lively intercourse. Fish, cattle and horses were the most important articles of exportation. The most ancient coins of the North are from the time of Swen Splitbeard. Not only the kings, but also the bishops were permitted to coin. Learned literature was cultivated exclusively by the clergy. Nevertheless the arts of poetry passed at an early period into the hands of the nobles, chiefly because love (minne) and devotion to the ladies were the soul and essence of the latter. In general they were called Minnesongers, or the Nightingales of the Middle Ages, considering the whole female sex as a sacred virgin. But on the whole, neither science nor the arts had reached a very high point, and young people being desirous of a deeper knowledge than they could acquire at home, had to go to the celebrated University of Paris, and at the close of the twelfth century a special college for Danish students was founded in Paris. Here, for instance, Absalon and Andrew Suneson completed their studies. Absalon, a man of letters himself, favored learned literature, and encouraged the renowned Saxo Grammaticas to compose a history of Scandinavia, which he did, in elegant Latin, he, therefore, being sur- named Grammaticus. Cotemporaneously with Saxo, the Icelandic writer, Snorre Sturlason, lived : a man of rare talents, who has made himself famous by composing Heimskringla, or " The Sagas of the Norwegian Kings," 134 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA down to Magnus Erlingson, A. D. 1162; a work that meritoriously has styled him the " Herodotus of Northern A D history." At the age of sixty-three this eminent 1241. man was assassinated by his own relatives on hia manor, Reykiaholt, in Iceland. The celebrated work called the Edda (the word Edda betokening the great- grandmother of poetry), where we see, amidst many absurdities, the traces of a luminous and rational sys tem of religion, and which therefore long was con sidered the sacred book of the Scandinavians, is often ascribed to Snorre Sturlason, while it more probably was composed by Saemund, a clergyman in Iceland, who died A. D. 1133. The whole doctrines of the ancient religion and mythology are unfolded in this celebrated specimen of national poetry. The Edda consists of two parts : — the Younger Edda in prose, and the Elder Edda in verse. The Younget Edda, generally ascribed to Snorre Sturlason, and called Snorre' s Edda, consists of three divisions : — 1. A complete synopsis of Scandinavian mythology. 2. A catalogue of deities and kings, and a collection of poetic expressions, together with an explanation ; for instance : the wagons of the waves and the horses of Neptune are ships ; the daughters of calamity are arrows ; the hand of the homicide is the battle-axe ; the lamp of the face and the diamond of the head is the eye ; the ferocious lion who attacks houses and ships is the hurricane ; and so forth. 3. A treatise on poesy and prosody, and an account of the Icelandic art of poetry. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 135 The Elder Edda, called the Poetic, consists of thirty nine poems, collected by the above-named Saemund, most probably from oral tradition, and is the most ancient work in the old Northern language, most of it being written before the discovery of Iceland. The two most remarkable poems herein are : — 1. The Vo- luspa, i.e. the song or' foretelling of the old Northern prophetess Vala. This is, properly speaking, a cos- mogonic poem describing chaos, the creation of the world, the different races on earth, — jetters or giants, men and dwarfs, — and concluding by a prophecy of the destruction and renovation of the Universe, and by a glowing description of the eternal bliss awaiting the brave and honest in Gimli, — the highest heaven, — ¦ and of the eternal misery awaiting murderers, per jurers, and seducers, in Nastrond, — the subterranean region where the fire is never quenched. 2. The Hava- mal, an ethic poem, signifying the song or speech of the sublime, i.e. Odin. It contains a rather complete code of moral precepts, as : — " He who travels stands in need of wisdom ; nothing is more detrimental to human beings than drunkenness ; it is appointed unto all men once to die: one thing alone never dies, and that is the verdict which posterity pronounces upon the dead; praise the ice when once you have crossed it, and the liquor after it is drunk," &c. For a deeper and more comprehensive insight into the Eddaic literature, I must refer the inquisitive reader to the celebrated critical productions of the great phi- lologers and antiquaries of Copenhagen, Mask, Rafn, and P. E. Mutter, Jacob Grimm of Berlin, and to the English Bishop Percy's excellent translation of Mallet's Northern Antiquities. SECOND PERIOD. »ROM THE DEATH OF WALDEMAR THE CONQUEROR, AND THE BE GINNING OF THE DISPUTES ABOUT SCHLESWIG, UNTIL THE INTRODUCTION OF THE REFORMATION, 1241 1536. 1241—1319. Erik Ploughpenning — Expedition to Esthonia*— Abel — Christopher I. — Conflict with the Clergy — Archbishop Jacob Erlandson — Interdict — Erik Glipping — Battle on Loheath — War with Norway — Erik Menved — The Regicides — John Grand — Peace with Norway — Expedition to Pomerania and Meck lenburg — The Hanseatic League. Erik, later surnamed Ploughpenning, some years before chosen successor, took upon him the title of king after the death of Waldemar the Conqueror, his father. A great error ascribed to him is the dividing of the kingdom among his brothers: Schleswig was given to Abel, and Laaland and Falster to Christopher. This division contributed very much to the declension of the king dom, and to the diminishing of the royal power; and especially in reference to Schleswig, this system of division had ruinous consequences ; for Abel and his sue- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 137 cessors tried now to make Schleswig an hereditary and independent possession in their family, all of which re sulted in a series of destructive internal wars, Schleswig thereby more and more being alienated from the king dom. Under these circumstances, Abel soon assumed a hostile position towards Erik, the more as he claimed the Duchy of Schleswig as an independent sovereignty. A A. D., war broke out, in which, however, the king got 1249- the better, Abel being obliged to submit. Next year a Diet was held in Roeskilde, in which the king ex pressed his eager desire to reclaim all the former posses sions of Esthonia and Livonia, which had been lost amidst the late civil commotions. The Diet giving its assent to his proposal of undertaking an expedition thither, he then laid before them the necessity of raising the proper supplies by an additional tax of a certain sum to be paid by each plough, under the name of ploughpenning, by which term the king was afterwards surnamed. After returning from Esthonia, the king marched his army against the counts of Holstein, who had laid siege to the fortress of Rendsburg. On his arrival at the Danevirke, that strong wall above mentioned, he bethought him of a visit to his brother Abel in Schleswig, who had taken no part in this quarrel. He entered, however, into an A. d , altercation with Abel, who caused the king to be 1250. killed in a boat, and his body thrown into the river Sley. Abel endeavored to screen his shocking crime by promulgating a report, that the king had 138 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. perished in the river by the boat's foundering, but shortly after all was discovered by the mangled body of the king, which was thrown by the waves on the shore, and taken up by some monks. Erik Ploughpenning falling without male issue, tho states, though they detested Abel, on account of the unnatural crime he had committed, chose him king to avoid a civd war, which would certainly have ensued on setting him aside. By these means they also indispu tably re-united the duchy of Schleswig to the crown. After a reign of two years, neither active nor a. D., useful, he was killed in an expedition he under- 1252- took against the Friesers, leaving the state in a most declining condition. If the royalty had remained in Abel's family, Schleswig would have been . re-united with the kingdom, and all future contests prevented ; but Christopher I, the third son of Waldemar the Con queror, was happy enough immediately to be acknow ledged king, although the throne was promised to Abel's sons, Waldemar and Erik. Both parties exerted all their power to gain the ascendancy. The king encom passed Schleswig with his army, and claimed, as uncle, the guardianship of Abel's children, but these were sup ported by the counts of Holstein. Seasonably for the king, some of the German princes offered their medi ation, and a peace was concluded on these terms : that Christopher should have the guardianship, but restore the duchy of Schleswig as a fief to Waldemar, the eldest HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 139 son of Abel, when he had attained to his majority About the same time Christopher was entangled in a sharp contest with the clergy. The imperious Jacob Erlandson, without the king's consent or knowledge, was chosen archbishop of Lund. Descended from a conspicuous family, and very well versed in the ecclesiastical laws, he was, on account of his long stay in foreign lands, strictly acquainted with the condition of the Church everywhere. Secure of the Pope's pro tection, he not only disregarded all forms, but totally changed the ecclesiastical laws and statutes of Skane, and took the liberty, of his own accord, to substitute some new ones of his own. He consecrated other bishops without asking the royal consent, brought secular affairs under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and usurped fines and other perquisites belonging only to the king. He forbade the peasantry of his archbishopric to perform- military service ; and when the king had summoned a diet of the people at Nyborg, the archbishop, as a mark A. d., of disrespect, convoked at the same time a synod 1256- at Weile, Jutland, called the Weile Constitution; where it was decided that, when a bishop was impri soned, or in any way molested by the king, an interdict should be laid upon the kingdom, and all divine service cease. Christopher I., highly incensed at this haughty con/lujt, would now confiscate all the fiefs formerly given to the archbishopric of Lund, but a violent riot arose amongst the archiepiscopal peasants, who ravaged 14:0 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. the country with unheard-of cruelty; and as now the archbishop also declined crowning Erik, the long's son, and threatened to ban the bishops who might do so, the king caused him to be imprisoned. Agreeably to the resolution of the synod of Weile, the whole kingdom was immediately interdicted. The king now wrote to the Pope, representing to him the haughty conduct of the archbishop, the injustice and absurdity of a prelate's assuming to himself a share in the royal prerogative, and the hardship, that he should have it in his power to lay a whole people under interdiction. These remon strances were no sooner dispatched to Rome, than the Pope commanded that the ban should be intermitted, and all the priests within the kingdom should administer the communion, under the penalty of losing their tithes and stipends. At the same time the king fell a victim to the plot of a canon by the name of Arnfast, who poisoned him, and as a reward, was promoted by the rebellious archbishop to the bishopric of a. D., Aarhuus, in Jutland. Christopher I. had found 1259- the treasury exhausted on his accession ; at his death he left things in much the same situation — the treasury exhausted, and the nation split into two powerful fac tions. In the doubt and dismay which followed the death of Christopher I., a few voices saluted his son, Erik dipping, with the title of king, but the majority would not ratify the choice, as he had not yet attained to full age, and the queen dowager, the manly Marga- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA 141 relhe of Pomerania, called Sorte Grethe (Black Grethe) on account of her dark complexion, had to assume the reins of government. She commenced her guardianship with a signal instance of clemency, on pardoning the haughty Jacob Erlandsen ; who, nevertheless, after being set at liberty, treacherously joined the duke of Schleswig, avowing his intention to dethrone the king and replace the duke. Shortly after a new faction arose, headed by count Jarimar, of Rygen, who, gathering multitudes of robbers and murderers, and making an inroad into Sjelland, defeated, at Nestved in Sjelland, the peasantry, which the queen dowager had raised, where ten thousand peasants lost their fives. Thereupon Jarimar went to Skane, where he, fortunately for Den mark, was kiUed by a country-woman. The country was soon after alarmed by a dangerous irruption of Erik, a son of Abel, who, because the queen dowager would not comply with giving him Schleswig as an hereditary fief, but only as a personal, joined the counts of Holstein, and commenced a war, in which the royal A. D., troops were totally defeated at Loheath, close by 1261- the city of Schleswig. The queen dowager and her son, the minor king, were taken prisoners, she being sent to Hamburg, and he closely confined on Alsen, an island in the Baltic. The queen dowager was, however, soon released, but the young king not till the expiration of three years, during which time the queen dowager governed the kingdom, assisted by the duke Albert of 142 HISTORY OF SCANlHNAVLk Brunswick, to whom the prefectship had been entrusted. The young king, now past minority, was scarcely settled on the throne, when his kingdom was again alarmed by the rebellious Jacob Erlandson rejecting repeated pro posals of agreement, and even bidding defiance to the commands of the Pope ; and not tdl the queen dowager herself deterrnined on going to Rome, was a reconcilia tion made, according to which the king had to pay the archbishop the sum of fifteen thousand ounces of a. d., silver, and replace him in his ecclesiastical dig- 127i- nities. When Jacob Erlandson was returning home from Rome, he died by the way before reaching Den mark, the king rejoicing very much at having got rid of this spiritual tyrant. But, unfortunately, the king had, both within his own land and abroad, other foes not less to be feared. With Magnus Lagabceter, King of Nor way, married to Ingeborg, a daughter of Erik Plough- penning, a dispute arose, Erik Glipping, in the con fused condition of the kingdom, not being capable of paying the dowry. The Norwegian king arriving with a great fleet in Skane, was, however, defeated by the Danish army ; but under the sons of Magnus a destruc tive war commenced, during the course of which the defenceless Danish coasts and maritime towns were grievously vexed by the piracies and formidable pillages of the Norwegians. Nevertheless, Erik Glipping en gaged himself in the civil disturbances of Sweden, where the brothers Waldemar and Magnus Ladelaas were HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 143 disputing for the throne ; but he reaped neither honor nor profit by his interference, and the power of the state began to decline. Magnus defeated Waldemar at Hove, a. d., in Westrigothland, and was acknowledged King 1275. 0f Sweden, the agriculture of which he vigor ously promoted; the peasantry, therefore, surnaming him Ladelaas, i. e. the protector of the barns. With these disturbances in Sweden, in which Erik Glipping involved himself, came a war with Erik, Duke of Schleswig, who continued to sow the seeds of dissen sion ; but the king entering the duchy with a powerful army, and seizing upon the fortress of Tonder, which he razed, the duke was constrained to submit, and lost his duchy a short time before his death ; after which Schles wig, for thirteen years, remained united with the king dom, untd unfortunately again Waldemar, called Duke Waldemar IV., a son of Erik, above named, was invested with Schleswig as a fief. But not content with it, he now also laid claim to Aro, Alsen, and Femern, three islands in the Baltic. He fell, however, into the hands of the king, had humbly to throw himself at his feet, resign his claim, and make a confession in writing of his want of loyalty to his sovereign. Besides these in cessant contests and disputes, Erik Glipping was fre quently at variance with the noblemen, because of his A. D., violence and want of candor, and he was, at a 1282. diet of Nyborg, compelled to promise, in writing, to rule more justly, and in accordance with the laws of 144 HHTOHY OF SCANDINAVIA. the state. The same year a pestilential disease occur. red, by which great numbers of men and cattle were swept off; terrible fires also happened in different parts of the kingdom; and, to crown the misfortunes of this year, Margarethe, the queen dowager, died, after hav ing, with great discretion and policy, governed the king dom and her son for the space of twenty-three years. Erik Glipping now comforted himself with the pleasing hope of enjoying the remainder of his life in tranquillity, but his subjects growing more and more weary of him and his transgressing the limits of his authority, and disgusted at his debauching several wives and daughters of the nobility, formed a conspiracy against the king, privy to which were James, count of Halland, and Stig Anderson, who ran him through the body with a sword fie fell beneath the blow at Fihderup, by Wi- a. d., borg, in Jutland, where he was diverting himself 1286- with hunting for a few days. Thus, in less than fifty years, four Danish kings were dispatched by assassi nation. These events having occurred, the situation of the kingdom became yet more gloomy, Erik Menved, likewise surnamed the Pious, being only twelve years of age at his father's death. In want of a leader, the affairs of government fell into the hands of the queen- dowager, Agnes of Brandenburg, whose respectable qualities were universally esteemed. Being, however, without that firmness of mind which perseveres in HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 145 difficult times and cases, she imprudently made duke Waldemar IV. of Schleswig, joint guardian, even re signing to hin: the disputed islands, Aro, Alsen, and Femern, so that he acquired a power in the state which properly belonged to better men. A formal sentence cf death was pronounced against the regicides, who, escap ing to Norway, appealed to the king, Erik Prcestehader (i. e., the hater of the priests), to whom they swore allegiance, and received from him the fortress of Kongs- hel, strong by nature and art. Besides that, they brought into their occupancy several fortified places of the Danish coasts and islands, whence they, for a space of nine years, ravaged their native country with fire and sword, breathing vengeance wherever they went, and seeming to threaten to depopulate the kingdom by a continual drain of its forces. One of the conspirators, however, was, some years after, taken in Roeskilde, and broken upon the wheel. About the same time a new contest with the clergy ensued. John Grand, a kinsman of Jacob Erlandson, and related to the regi cides, had been appointed archbishop of Lund, although highly against the consent of the king and the queen- dowager. No sooner had he reached this dignity, than he joined the regicides and the Norwegians, doing all within his power to injure the king and blast his credit. But at last the king caused him to be appre hended and imprisoned in Soborg, a castle in North Sjelland, where he was placed in a subterranean dun- 146 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. geon and treated with the utmost severity. He was, however, fortunate enough to escape to Bornholm, a remote island in tho Baltic, from whence he repaired to Rome, to appeal to ' the Pope himself, at that time the imperious and domineering Bonifacius VIII. By his coloring the facts, he incensed his Holiness violently against the king, and was acquitted of all guilt, while a penalty of forty-nine thousand ounces of silver was inflicted upon the king, which he, however, decidedly declined paying. Erik Menved, rightly imagining the Pope had been deceived by a false representation of the nature of the dispute, remitted to Rome an appeal, and heavy complaints of the archbishop. But without avail. The whole kingdom was, by the papal a. d., legate, Isarnus, laid under a new interdict of 1298- five years. After a lapse of some years the king, in order to be reconcfied with the Pope, sent a most suppli cating letter, entreating that he would be pleased to remove the heavy curse, and receive himself and his sub- jects again into the bosom of the church. His Holiness granted the request ; the interdict was taken off, the payment of forty-nine thousand ounces of silver reduced to ten thousand, and John Grand was transferred to an archbishopric in France. The duke of Schleswig, Waldemar IV., sided for a while with Norway and the regicides, but being totally defeated in Greensound, he was obliged to conclude peace, and give back Aro, Alsen and Femern. With fllSTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 147 A. D, Norw ») ,. the long war was finished by the treaty 1309. 0f Copenhagen, by which the province of Hal- .and was ceded to the Norwegian king, Hakon V., and made over to him in perpetuity. But it was only a short time that Denmark enjoyed the blessings of peace, which were soon interrupted by her restless Swedish neighbors. The dukes Waldemar and Erik, brothers to Birger, king of Sweden, occasioned great disturbances. Erik, a crafty and ambitious young prince, who, on account of his being married to Ingeborg, a daughter of Hakon V., had expectations of ascending the throne of Norway, was anxious to dethrone Birger, and thus also become king of Sweden. Erik Menved, the Danish king, married to a sister of king Birger, took part in the Swedish disturbances, and made several expensive expe ditions to Sweden, to defend his brother-in-law and preserve to him his throne. The rebellious dukes had surprised Birger in his castle Hatuna, and imprisoned him Erik Menved raised an army, and led his troops to the frontiers of West Gothland, where he was met by the enemy. Both armies encamped within sight of A. D., each other for some days, and at length a peace 1310. was agreed to, in Helsingborg, in consequence of which king Birger was restored to a part of his dominions, and the dukep received the remainder, on oath of fidelity and homage, as vassals of the crown. But Birger, breathing vengeance, invited his brothers to a drinking-bout in Nykbping. After having treated 148 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. them with magnificence, he suddenly ordered a. d, his people to break into their apartments whde m7- they were asleep, to seize them, to strip them, and fettel their necks and heels with iron chains. They were thrown into a dark dungeon, where they died of hunger But a sedition now arose against Birger, who had to flee from his kingdom, and died a fugitive in Denmark. To regain the great territories in Germany which Waldemar I. and Waldemar the Conqueror" had con quered, was a favorite thought of Erik Menved ; where fore he, through a series of years, made frequent expe ditions to bring the cities and princes of Pomerania and Mecklenburg under subjection, but without avad. Towards the close of his reign, he had a new dispute with the clergy, in which, however, he got the better, the rebellious archbishop of Lund, Esger Juel, being compeUed to refrain from war and leave the country But soon the kingdom was distracted with interna] dissensions, which had broken out amongst the stirring noblemen, who formed a conspiracy against the king's life, and caused a great insurrection in North Jutland where the people refused payment of the taxes imposed by the king and the diet, of which Christopher, the king's own brother, dishonoring himself by treacherous connections with the insurgents, was the ringleader Not being capable of realizing what he had expected, he went over to Sweden, where he lived in exile till the year 131S, A. D. Upon his death-bed the king wished, HISTORY OT SCANDINAVIA. 149 however, to be reconciled to his brother, and accordingly granted him a free pardon, without stipulating any terms. Though having fourteen children by his queen, a. d., Ingeborg, Erik Menved died childless, after a 1319. reign of thirty-three years, leaving his kingdom in a most declining condition, on account of the many external and internal wars, and of the general abandon ment of all the virtues by which, under the two great Waldemars, it had risen to power and greatness. Tc procure money to defray the charges of these wars, a great deal of the royal fiefs and other revenues had been mortgaged to native and foreign magnates, by all of which the kingdom had become weakened. Contempo raneously with this, a mighty league was formed in the northern part of Germany, called the German League of the Hanse-towns, which, in process of time, became extremely dangerous to the northern countries. It arose in the middle of the thirteenth century, when several seaport towns joined together to defend their mercantile neutrality. By degrees this league increased its mili tary resources, and after the middle of the fourteenth century it comes clearly into view as a domineering policy in the North, acquiring a great superiority in the Baltic, and gaining a permanent footing in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Russia, where the league, com prising the important commercial cities, Hamburg, Lubeck, Bremen, Rostock, Wismar, Stralsund, and Novgorod, mastered all mercantile affairs; and theil 150 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. power increased so rapidly, that five hundred men-of- war could soon be mustered from these cities ; and the imprudent Danish kings, Abel, Erik Glipping and Erik Menved, during whose internal and external wars the star of the League was in the ascendant, had often to have recourse to the assistance of the Hanseatic towns, which understood how to fish in foul water. Upon the whole, the superiority of the Hanse-league was the chief cause that Denmark's cities and burgher class in the Middle Ages never rose to any power or impor tance, the German merchants importing almost al] articles manufactured. II. 1319—1397. Christopher II. — Charter — War with Geert, Count of Holstein — Battle on xap. heath — Niels Ebbeson — Waldemar IV., Atterdag — Insurrection in Jutland — Magnus Snwk of Sweden — War with the Hanseatic-towns — Rebellion — Waldemar leaves the country — Olaf— Queen Margarethe (the Semiramis of the North) — King Albrecht of Sweden — The Battle at Falkoping — The Union of Calmar. Upon the death of Erik Menved, Christopher II., his brother, was elected and declared king, although Erik, even while lying in his last gasp, had, knowing by ex perience his brother's mean and base disposition, tried to dissuade the people from electing him. His rf'gn was miserable, the lower orders of the State being bj HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 151 his ojrruption and inability reduced to a degree of hope* less subjection, while he entrusted the rich noblemen with uncontrollable power, which he had no strength to withdraw from them when danger was coming. Before his accession to the throne, he had to subscribe to a very severe charter, containing, in substance, that the clerg) should be preserved in the full possession of all their earlier privileges and immunities ; that a clergyman should, on no account, be tried in a civd court, but be subject only to the laws of the ecclesiastical court ; that the king should not be permitted to declare war or con clude peace except by consent of the nobility and the clergy ; that the noblemen should not be obliged to serve in the wars beyond the frontiers of the kingdom, and that an annual diet should be held at Nyborg. On the whole, tne power of the nobility and the clergy attained to such a height as never before or after him. The king and the archbishop, Esger Juel, came, through the papal mediation, to an agreement, and from that very time matters assumed a better aspect between the kings and the church, because the clergy, in fear of the increasing power of the nobflity, began to attach them selves closer to the kings. Although Christopher II. had promised the nobility, under the sanctity of an oath, that he would inviolably keep the charter t© which he had subscribed, he did not do so, but gave a finishing stroke to his wickedness and absurdity by saying, that he did not consider the breaking of an oath of any con- 152 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. sequence. Several powerful noblemen, therefore, the bafliff Lauritz Jonsen, the field-marshal Louis Albert- son, and Canute Porse, Duke of Halland, flew imme diately to arms, and when the king soon after entered into a dispute with Count Geert (Gerhard) the Great, of Holstein, conoerning the guardianship over the young Duke of Schleswig, Waldemar V., the displeased noble men joined Count Geert, who raised a body of forces in Holstein, gave battle to the king at Gottorp, defeated him, and raised the siege. Christopher now levied, in spite of his charter, a tax upon his subjects, by renew ing the ploughpenning. To this was added another piece of misconduct, which enraged the clergy. He made some alterations in a monastery, without con sulting the bishops, who began to fulminate threats, and the king was accused of intending to trample on the neck of liberty. The nobles exclaimed that he aimed at the ruin of the nobility, and the people murmured at the weight of taxes, and especiaUy at the ploughpenning, the most grievous of all taxes, because it fell whody on the poor laborers. Discontent appeared in every quarter, end a confederacy was formed to depose Christopher, who, finding himself unequal in strength to his subjects, fled to Mechlenburg, after which he was unanimously divesteM of his royalty, and the young Duke a.d., Waldemar elected king under the guardianship 1326' of Count Geert. But a charter was now issued in which it was decreed that as long as the king was alive, his HISTORY OF SCANDINAVU. 153 successor could not be elected, nor any certain promise be given of the succession to the throne. The friends of the new king were richly rewarded. He made over to Count Geert the whole Duchy of Schleswig, to be held as a fief of the crown ; to Canute, Porse, Halland, Samso, and the earldom of Kallundborg ; to John, a half-brother of the deposed Christopher, Laaland and Falster ; and Louis Albertson and Lauritz Jonson were likewise re warded. Thus a genera] peace was concluded, to the great satisfaction of the people, who now expected an end to aU their calamities. Nevertheless, a dispute soon arising among them about this division, Christopher II. came, by the aid of his half-brother, back again to his a.d., kingdom, and an agreement was concluded at 1330. Ripen, according to which Waldemar again should have Schleswig, and Count Geert, as an equiva lent, have Fjunen as a hereditary fief, together with a great part of Jutland ; and if Waldemar should die without leaving inheritors behind him, then Schleswig should devolve to Count Geert, and Fjunen to Den mark. John, who had assisted the king in regaining his kingdom, was rewarded with Sjelland (Zealand) and Skane. A new contest, in which Christopher im- A. d., prudently involved himself with Count Geert, 1331. was ended by a decisive defeat of the royal troops on Loheath, in Schleswig. The battle continued for a whole day. Geert was near being worsted, but finding means to bribe the king's troops, he soon re« 154 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. trieved his affairs, and gained a complete victory, the king escaping from the field with great difficulty. Next year proved fatal to the liberty and life of Chris topher, for, going to the island of Laaland with a smaL retinue, he was seized by John Ellemose, a friend oi Count Geert, and carried prisoner to the strong castle of Aalholm, close by the city of Nysted. The king was, however, again set at liberty, but did not live a. d. long to enjoy his freedom. He fed ill, and died 1334- in a few days, and was buried in Soro, in Sjelland, at his death owning only the city of Skanderborg, in Jut land, a piece of Laaland, and a few possessions in Esthonia ; the kingdom having thus sunk into nothing. A greater complication of folly and inabfiity than there was about Christopher II., no Danish king has been possessed of, wherefore the account of his death pro duced the greatest jubilation. Pontanus says, that he was so much hated, that his memory was stigmatized with bitter lampoons, Upon the death of Christopher II., an interregnum of seven years ensued. Erik, the eldest son of Chris. topher, had been mortally wounded on Loheath ; Otho, the next but one, attempting to regain his ancestral kingdom, was defeated and captured on Tapheath, by Wiborg ; and Waldemar, the youngest son, sojourned ax the court of Louis of Bavaria. The cruel Geert, pres- sing and impoverishing the inhabitants, now disposed of the country at pleasure. Skane, Halland and Blecing HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA 155 shook off his cruel yoke, and submitted themselves to Magnus Smek, at that time king of Sweden and Norway. A complete annihilation of the Danish king dom seemed to be unavoidable, the more as Geert enrolled an army of ten thousand German soldiers, and ravaged the whole of Jutland with the utmost cruelty, sparing neither women nor tender children. But the Jutlanders were not inclined to submit to a tyrant upon whom they already had long looked with the greatest aversion, and at the head of them a knight, Niels Ebbeson of Ndrreriis, rose and became the deliverer of his fatherland. Instead of yielding to despondency he employed his hours of retirement to revolve in his mind what was to be done. After debating some time with himself, he rose and called together several of his most esteemed countrymen. He told them that all now depended on their own exertions. If they yielded to the cruel Geert, they had nothing to expect but to be treated tyrannically. But if, on the contrary, they acted with vigor and union, their numbers and courage were still sufficient to rescue them from this scourge of oppression. They willingly adopted the suggestions of the noble knight, who wrote a letter to Geert, in which Niels Ebbeson's plan was communicated to him. Thus says the letter : " To Count Geert : Sir, I hereby swear, by God, in whom I believe, but you do not, thou bbod-thirsty tyrant, that wheresoever and whenso ever I can get hold of you, be it either at midnight o» 156 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. at cock-crowing, either at your table or in your princely bedchamber, or even at the foot of the holy altar, you shall fall by my hand. Your sworn and mortal enemy, Niels Ebbeson." Collecting a body of sixty trusty retainers, he left his manor for Randers, in Jutland, where GeerJ; had fixed his head-quarters, seized the sentinels, and pushed on to Geert's lodging, which he forced open. Geert was awakened with the noise, and seeing Niels Ebbeson enter with armed men, began to supplicate him, in the most humble terms, to save his life. But considering the life of the tyrant a just atonement for the cruelties the people had suffered, he plunged his sword a. D., into his breast, and then made his retreat with 134°- all possible expedition, after having given the alarm to the whole army, by sounding horns and beating drums. The notice of the death of the tyrant was followed by a general acclamation. But the brave and fearless deliverer of his fatherland soon after lost his life by Skanderborg in Jutland, in a battle against Geert's sons, who would avenge the death of their father. But Niels Ebbeson has never lost the grateful memory of the Danes, who, in a charming forest, close by hi? manor-seat, have erected a marble column, on which an inscription, with Spartan brevity, tells his patriotic exploit ; and yearly, in the summer-season, the citizens of Aarhus, and the scholars of the Latin school, take a walk to Norreriis, where, by spirited songs, they calj HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 151 Lack to their minds, his magnanimous and heroic deed. Geert having been killed, the way to the throne was A. D., paved for Christopher's third son, Waldemar 1341. jy Afterdag, who was recalled from Bavaria. To Waldemar's elevation the emperor Louis, at whose court Waldemar was bred, greatly contributed. His elder brother Otho, having renounced his claims to the throne, Waldemar received the homage in Wiborg. Uniting great vigor with the most refined policy, hu manity and affabdity, he conciliated good wfil on all sides, and came into possession of a popularity, which gave him means more powerful than arms for the future improvement and extension of his kingdom. His vigi lance was equal to his valor, and he quickly made himself master of Jutland, Sjelland, Fjunen, Laaland and Falster ; and the Danish dominions, so lately divided among a number of petty tyrants, were now again united into one sovereignty. For a number of years, as we have seen, Denmark had been the theatre of con tinual domestic and foreign wars, which filled every place with confusion. One of the most powerful king doms, after having given laws to such a number of other nations, had at length fallen under the scourge of some petty vassals, who laid desolate her fairest pro vinces. But now she again began to taste the sweets of liberty and resume her old influence. Waldemar IV. sold immediately the remote Esthonia to the Teutonic Orde! 158 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. (a confraternity of German knights, institi'.ted by Pope Ceiestin III., A. D. 1192,)' for nineteen thousand ounces of sdver, to be enabled to redeem more important provinces; and by marrying Hedevig, a sister to the duke Waldemar V, of Schleswig, who brought him a considerable dowry, he acquired great wealth. The most considerable enemies he conquered were the inva ders of his frontier, or the internal disturbers of his kingdom, and, on the whole, he only made war to secure peace. The Jutlandish nobflity, accustomed to disobedience to the laws, headed by Claus Limbek, raised a rebellion, and entered into an alliance with the counts of Holstein, and other enemies of the kingdom, but the powerful Waldemar compelled them to comply with his dictates. Among all the exertions of his active life, he was also very attentive to the improvement of the internal welfare of his kingdom. He frequently traveled round to have an eye upon the execution of the laws, he settled the civil concerns, which were in a boundless chaos, he erected castles and fortresses, he laid out highways, and caused canals to be dug, and to his people, who, under such circumstances, were obliged to pay high taxes, he gave a detailed account of the spending of the taxes he had levied. At this time Magnus Smek was king of Sweden ; of whose improvidence and stupidity Waldemar avafled himself to regain the Swedish provinces, Skane, a. i)., HaUand, and Bleking, thus encompassing his 136°- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 159 great aim — the re-union of the Danish kingdom. A marriage was also agreed upon between Hakon VI., king of Norway, and a son of Magnus Smek, and Mar garethe, a daughter of Waldemar ; a basis thereby being laid for a continual union of Norway with Denmark. Next year Waldemar seized upon the Swedish island, Gulland (Gothland), the capital of which, Wisby, then one of the richest and most flourishing Hanse towns, he demolished, assuming now the title, " King of the Goths." But, upon the taking of the great island of Gulland, a mighty alliance arose against Waldemar Atterdag, between Magnus Smek, the counts of Hol stein, and the Hanseatic towns, (which are said to have sent him at once seventy-seven declarations of war,) and Albrecht the elder, of Mecklenburg. Matters being thus disposed, the allies put to sea, attacked Copenhagen, took the citadel, and plundered the city. But Walde mar rushed fearlessly on his many enemies, attacked the squadron of Lubeck, took six ships, burned several a.d., others, and forced the Hanseatic towns and his 1362- other enemies to raise the siege. The regency of Lubeck were so incensed at their defeat, that, accusing the admiral of neglect of duty, they ordered his head to be struck off. A peace was concluded between the king and the Hanse towns, Waldemar thus reaping the harvest of glory, and gaining the great honor of having put a prompt end to this dangerous war. We have seen that the king of Norway, Hakon VI., 160 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. was contracted to the princess Margarethe. Yet, tc oblige the Swedish nation, who insisted on his renoun. oing the alliance with Denmark, he consented to marry Elizabeth, a princess of Holstein, instead of Waldemar's daughter. Every circumstance seemed favorable to the conclusion of this alliance, as both the Swedes and Hol- steiners were equally desirous of it. She was now embarked on the Trave, to pass over to Sweden ; but Heaven disposed events otherwise. Boisterous weather drove the ship on the coast of Denmark. Waldemar Atterdag received the princess with aU the honors due to her rank, but still he kept her under a gentle con straint, in the meantime hurrying Magnus Smek and Hakon VI. to come to Denmark, where then, by con sent of the foolish Swedish king, the nuptials between Margarethe and the Norwegian king were cele- a. d., brated. But this affair deprived Magnus Smek 1363- of his throne, the people electing in his stead his nephew, Albrecht, duke of Mecklenburg. Nevertheless Magnus resolved to make vigorous efforts for the recovery of his throne. Having received aid from Walde mar and his son, Hakon VI. of Norway, he took the field, gave battle, but was defeated at Tillinge, near a. d., Jonkoping, and conducted prisoner to Stock- 1365- holm, where he was confined for seven years, till he at length was delivered by his son, Hakon. Upon the whole the cunning Waldemar bore up well against his a. d , many enemies, until the Jutlandish nobility, 136S HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 161 headed by Claus Limbek, excited a fresh rebelliun, join ing Henry, duke of Schleswig, the counts of Holstein, the Hanse towns, Sweden and Mecklenburg, who all had concluded a formidable alliance against him. At the sight of such a league Waldemar's courage forsook him. Finding himself unable to resist this cloud of enemies, he determined to abandon all. He left his kingdom for four years, after having previously appointed the sagacious Henning Podebusk viceroy — A. D., who was happy enough to prevail with the Hanse 1370. towns to conclude the peace of Stralsund, after which the other enemies broke off all hostilities. By this peace it was decided that the Hanseatic towns should, for fifteen years, possess the maritime towns of Skane, and enjoy special commercial privileges over the whole of Denmark. A. D., Upon his returning home Waldemar found his 1372 kingdom in the greatest confusion, but this un tiring king signalized himself by a successful and active endeavor to re-establish order, strengthen the enervated country, and infuse into the souls of his subjects a por tion of that spirit of independence and patriotism of which he was possessed himself. Henry, duke of Schles wig, being childless, there was a good prospect of again getting this duchy re-united with the kingdom ; upon which important point Waldemar, in his last days, directed all his attention; but, unfortunately, he only Burvived Henry so short a time, that the question 162 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. whether Schleswig should belong to Denmark or be yielded to the counts of Holstein (who, pursuant to the treaty of Ripen, 1330, laid claim to it,) could not be decided, but was deferred to the following reign. During the thirty-four years he wore his crown, he devoted himself to reform all abuses, and to revive the whole some laws of the country. He increased the publio revenues, and applied them to the adorning of the cities with public buildings, while at the same time he con demned the expenditure of the public money for mere show. He also paid particular attention to the com forts of the poorer citizens, and took care that they should be maintained at the public cost. Altogether, he seems to have been a man superior to the time in which he lived. He had built a beautiful country seat in tho neighborhood of Elsinore, caUed Gurre, and a. d., there he breathed his last. From the time of 1375- his return from abroad, he was constantly afflicted with the gout ; recourse was had to a variety of medicines, but without effect. His death was greatly lamented. He had shown him self a brave, active, and just ruler, and in private inter course he was always cheerful, jovial, and often witty. A nobleman by the name of Calf — his intimate friend — the king presented with the castle of Ripen, in Jutland. But Calf proved faithless, and allied himself to the Count of Holstein, who, delighted with Calf's conduct, made him a present of two strong castles. However, Calf HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 163 soon after felt the stings of conscience, repented of his perfidy, surrendered himself with his three castles tc the king, and took again the oath of allegiance. On re ceiving the intelligence of this, Waldemar exclaimed : " This calf is, indeed, worth breeding ; he went away a calf, but has returned a cow with two calves." Before leaving Waldemar IV., (surnamed Atterdag, because he used to say, when a misfortune happened, " To-morrow it is again day,") it may be observed, that under his reign an enemy more destructive than war visited both Denmark and Norway. This was a fright ful disease, called the Black Death, {den Sorte Dod,) because people, before they died, broke out with black freckles over the whole body. The plague is supposed to have originated in Asia Minor, and to have been transmitted from Constantinople to the European coun tries. It raged in Denmark with the most destructive effect, taking off a great deal of the population, and the mortality was increased by the crowded and comfortless manner in which the people at that time lived. The plague spread so violently and so rapidly, that physi cians were of no use. In Lubeck, for instance, there died in one day to the number of 1,500. There might be seen in one place wretches lying in the streets in the agonies of death, deserted by their nearest friends through fear of infection, or crawling to the brink of some stream or fountain, in the vain hope of quenching the intolerable thirst with which they were parched. By a ship going adrift this horrible disease came, A. D 164 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 1349, to Bergen, Norway, whence it spread round ic the country, nearly dispeopled Norway, annihilated all industry, and enervated everything irreparably. But it should be mentioned here, that Waldemar, during the whole time of the plague, regardless of his own safety, Was only anxious to lessen its increase and spreading abroad, by unremitting and judicious exertions. Waldemar Atterdag left no male issue, but his two grandsons, Albrecht the Younger, of Mecklenburg, a son of Ingeborg, Waldemar's eldest daughter, and of Henry of Mecklenburg, and Olaf, a son of Margarethe, his younger daughter, and of Hakon VI., of Norway, were now claiming the hereditary succession to the throne. One party declared for Olaf, but as he was the son of the younger daughter, his right was consequently very doubtful. But because the house of Mecklenburg had acted hostdely towards Denmark, and Olaf had expectation of Norway and claims to the crown of Sweden, as a grandson of Magnus Smek, Denmark was, by his election, in hopes of one day seeing the three crowns united on the same head. It was, therefore, not long before this important affair was determined. The preference was given Olaf, who, although only six years of age, was, under the name of Olaf V., a. d., elected king of Denmark, under the guardian- 1376- ship of Margarethe, his mother ; and after the death of his father, Hakon VI., he became also king j. d., of Norway, the two kingdoms thus being united : 13S0 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 105 a union which, till the expiration of four hundred and thirty-four years, was not dissolved. When Olaf V. seven years after died in Falsterbo, both king- a. d., doms elected Margarethe their queen, though 1387- custom had not yet authorized the election of a female During the reign of this great princess, who de servedly has been called the Semiramis of the North, Denmark and Norway exercised an influence in Eu rope, the effects of which long vibrated throughout the Scandinavian countries, their vast extent and rival races. Uniting wisdom and policy with courage and determi nation, having strength of mind to preserve her recti tude of character without deviation, and her efforts being crowned by Divine Providence with success, she is duly considered one of the most illustrious female rulers in history, her renown reaching even the By zantine emperor Emanuel Palseologus, who called her " Regina sine exemplo maxima.'1'' But under her suc cessors, destitute of her high sense of duty, great ability and consistent virtue, her triumphs proved a snare instead of a blessing; the great Union she created lissolved in a short time, and its downfall was as sud den as its elevation had been extraordinary. She was born in the year of our Lord 1353. Her father was, as we have seen, Waldemar Atterdag,' her mother A. d., queen Hedevig, and she became queen of Den- J387- mark and Norway in the year 1387. No soonei elected queen of Denmark, and homaged on the hill of Sliparehog, near Lund, in Ringsted, Odensee and Wi' 166 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. borg, than she sailed to Norway to receive its homage But a remarkable occurrence is mentioned by historians to have occurred about this time. A report prevaded that king Olaf, the queen's son, was not dead ; it was propagated by the nobility, and very likely set on foot by them, in order to punish Margarethe for her liberality to the clergy. The impostor claimed the crown of Den mark and Norway, and gained credit every day by making discoveries which could only be known to Olaf and his mother. Margarethe, however, proved him to be a son of the nurse of Olaf, who had a large wart between his shoulders, which mark did not appear on the impostor. In fine, the false Olaf was seized, broken on the wheel, and publicly burnt at a place between Falsterbo and Skanor, in Sweden, and Margarethe con tinued uninterruptedly her regency. But the queen not wishing to contract a new mar riage, and comprehending the importance of getting a successor elected to the throne, proposed her nephew, Erik, Duke of Pomerania, of which proposal a.d., the clergy and nobdity approved by electing him 1388- king of Denmark and Norway after Margaret-he's death. Meanwhile Albrecht, king of Sweden, having, on ac count of his preference given to his German favorites, incurred the hatred of his people, the Swedes requested Margarethe to assist them against him, which she promised, if they in return would promise to make her queen of Sweden. Moreover, Albrecht had highly of fended the Danish queen ; had, though hardly able to HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 167 govern his own kingdom, assumed the title, " King oi Denmark," and laid claim to Norway too; and when she blamed him for it he had answered her disdainfully In a letter he had used foul and abusive language, calling her " a king without breeches," and the " abbot's concubine" (abbedfrillen), on account of her particular attachment to a certain abbot of Soro, who was her ispiritual director. It is, however, true, that her inti macy with this monk gave room for some suspicion that her privacies with him were not all employed about the care of her soul. Afterwards, to ridicule her yet more, king Albrecht sent her a hone to sharpen her needles, and swore not to put on his night-cap untd she had yielded to him. But under perilous cir cumstances Margarethe was never at a loss how to act. She acted here with the utmost prudence, trying first to gain the favor of the peers of the state, and solemnly promising to rule according to the Swedish laws. The war now broke out between Albrecht and Margarethe, whose army was commanded by Jvar Lykke. The en- A. D., counter of the two armies, about 12,000 men on 1388. eaeh side, took place at Falkoping, 21st of Sep tember, 1388. A furious battle was fought, in which the victory for a long while hung in suspense. But Marga- rethe's good fortune prevailed: Albrecht was routed and his army cut in pieces, and Margarethe was now alsc mistress of Sweden. While this was passing, the queen tarried in Word- ingborg, Sjelland, longing with ardent desire to learn 168 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. the result. But no sooner hearing that the victory was gained, and the Swedish king and his son, Erik, taken prisoners, than she hastened to Bahus, in Sweden, where the king and his son were brought before her. Lost in joy and amazement at having her enemy in her power, the queen now retorted upon king Albrecht by uttering some reviling and sarcastic expressions, and in causing a large night-cap of paper, nineteen yards long, to be put on him ; a retaliation proportioned to his offen sive words. He and his son were, thereupon, brought to Lindholm, a castle in Skane, where they were kept prisoners for seven years. On entering the castle, a lark, square-shaped room was assigned them, and when the king said, " I hope that this torture against a crowned head will only last a few days," the jador replied : "I grieve to say that the queen's orders are to the contrary ; anger not the queen by any bravado, else you wdl be placed in the irons, and if these fad, we can have recourse to sharper means." To the ex cessive self-love, intemperance, conceitedness, and want of foresight, which had characterized aU his actions, the unhappy Albrecht had to ascribe his being here. The year following, the queen stormed the important city of Calmar, yet siding with the imprisoned a. D., king, and made several wise alliances with 1392- Richard II., of England, and other potentates, and concluded a truce for two years with the princes of Mecklenburg, and the cities of Rostock and Wismar, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 169 which had begun to raise fresh levies in favor of the unfortunate Albrecht. This period expired, she laid siege to Stockholm and other fortified places, of which John, Duke of Mecklenburg, and other friends of the imprisoned king had become masters. But the cause of Albrecht was but little forwarded, and his opponent, Margarethe, gained ground every day. She compelled the capital to surrender to her and do homage to her as its sovereign, whereafter a peremptory peace was a. D., concluded on Good Friday, which restored tran- 1395' qudity to the three kingdoms. The imprisoned king and his son were delivered up to the Hanseatic towns, aud they obtained their liberty for sixty thousand ounces of sdver, upon condition that they should resign all claims to Sweden, if said amount were not paid within three years. As soon as the king and his son were delivered to the deputies, they solemnly swore to a strict observance of this article, the Hanse-towns en gaging themselves to guarantee the treaty. The money, however, not being paid by the stipulated time, Mar garethe became an undisputed sovereign of Sweden, the third Scandinavian kingdom. About this time the Victuals-brethren, called so be cause they, from the Hanse-towns, brought victuals ta Stockholm whde besieged, began to imperil Denmark, plundering the Danish and Norwegian -coasts, and destroying aU commercial business along the Baltic But Margarethe, always able to act properly in unex 1'" HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. pected difficulties', ordered the harbors of the maritime towns to be blocked up, thus putting a quick stop to their cruelties and piracies. The queen's principal care was now to visit the different provinces, to administer justice and redress grievances of every kind. Among other salutary regulations, the affairs of commerce were not forgotten. It was, for instance, decreed that aU maimer of assistance should be given to foreign mer chants and sailors, particularly in case of misfortune and shipwreck, without expectation of reward ; and that pirates should be treated with the greatest rigor, in order to deter them from that dishonorable profession. Erik of Pomerania, was, as we have shown, elected king of Denmark and Norway, after Margarethe's death; but also wishing to have him elected her successor to the Swedish throne, she brought this, her nephew and foster-son, to Sweden, and introduced him to the deputies, one by one, whom she requested to confirm his election to the succession. The majesty of the queen's person, the strength of her arguments, and the sweetness of her eloquence, gained over the a. D., deputies, who, on the 22d of July, 1396, elected 1396- him at Morasione, by Upsala, to succeed her also in Sweden. But Margarethe, soon discovering his inabdity and impetnousness, took pains to remedy, as much as possible, this evil, by procuring him as a wife, the intel ligent and virtuous princess Philippa, a daughter of Henry V. of England ; and shortly after she got Catha- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 171 rine, her niece and Erdi's sister, mamed to Prince John, a son of the German emperor, Raprecht, John being promised to assume the Scandinavian crowns if Erik of Pomerania should die childless. Thus having strengthened and consolidated her power by the way of influential connections and relationships, the queen, upon whose head the three northern crowns were actu . ally united, now proceeded to realize the great plan she already had long cherished : to get a fundamental law established for a perpetual union of the three large Scandinavian kingdoms — the realization of which has immortalized her, and secured for her admiration in the eyes of the world and of the most thorough historians, who do not hesitate to surname her " the Great," and to compare her with the great Greek and Roman heroes Union of Caimar, and statesmen. On the 17th of June, a. D., 1397. 1397; Margarethe summoned to an as sembly in Caimar, in the province Smaland of Sweden, the clergy and the nobility of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and established, by their aid and consent, a fundamental law. This was the law so celebrated in the North under the name of the Union of Caimar, which afterwards gave birth to wars between Sweden and Denmark that lasted a whole century. It con sisted of three articles. The first provided, that the three kingdoms should, thenceforward, have but one and the same king, who was to be chosen successively by each of the kingdoms. The second article consisted 172 HTST0R.Y OF SCANDINAVIA of the obligation upon the sovereign to divide his tima equally in the three kingdoms. The third, and most important, was, that each kingdom should retain its own laws, customs, senate, and privileges of every kind ; that the highest officers should be taken of the natives ; that an alliance being concluded with foreign poten tates should be obligatory upon all three kingdoms, when approved of by the council of one kingdom ; and that, after the death of the king, his eldest son, or if he died childless, then another wise, intelligent, and able prince, should be chosen common monarch ; and if any one, because of high-treason, was banished from one kingdom, then he should be banished from them all A month after, on the queen's birth-day (13th of July), a legitimate charter was drawn up, to which the queen subscribed and put her seal ; on which occasion Erik of Pomerania was anointed and crowned by the arch bishops of Upsala and Lund as king of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Te Deum was sung in the churches of Caimar, the assembly crying out- : " Haecce unio esto perpetual Longe, longe, longe, vivai Mar garethe, regina Danice, Norvegice et Svecice!" This strict union of the three large states became a potent bulwark for their security, and made them, in more than one century, the arbiter of the European system; the three nations of the northern peninsula presenting a compact and united front, that could bid defiance to any foreign aggression. HISTORY OF SCANDIN4.VU. 1 4 C III. 1397—1448. 3ueen Margarethe — Attempts to regain Schleswig — Erik of Pomerania — Dis pute about Schleswig — War with the Hanseatic Towns — Rebellion in Sweden — Engelbrechtson — Charles Canutson — Dethronement of the King in Denmark and Sweden — Christopher of Bavaria acknowledged King of all three Kingdoms — Rebellion of the Peasantry — The House oi Oldenburg. Although Erik of Pomerania was elected king, and in the year 1407 past minority, Margarethe continued governing until the day of her death. " You have done all well," wrote the people to her, " and we value your services so highly, that we would gladly grant you every thing." The union of the three Scandinavian kingdoms having been established in Caimar, all her efforts now aimed at regaining the duchy of Schleswig, A. D., which circumstances had compelled her to resign lm- to Gerhard IV., Count of Holstein. For such a reunion with Schleswig a favorable opportunity ap peared, when Gerhard was killed in an expedition agamst the Ditmarshers, leaving behind three sons in minority. Elizabeth, Gerhard's widow, fled to Marga rethe, for succor against her violent brother-in-law, Bishop Henry of Osnabriick. Margarethe, fond of fishing in foui water, was very willing to help her, but avaded herself of the opportunity to annex, successively, dif ferent parts of Schleswig. The dethroned Swedish king, Albrecht, never able to 174 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. forget his anger with Margarethe, or her severity against him, and continually cherishing a hope of re-ascending the Swedish throne, and considering the Union of Cai mar a breach of peace, contrived to make the Swedish people displeased with her, and thought it a suitable time to revolt from her dominion. He established a strong camp before Visby, the capital of the island of Gulland, having six thousand foot and, at some distance, nine thousand horse. Determined to engage before this junction could take place, the queen's commander-in- chief, Abraham Broder, immediately advanced until in sight of the enemy, and then endeavored to gain pos session of Visby and the ground near by. In this he was so far successful, that Albrecht and his army had to leave the camp, and conclude a truce. But, neverthe less, he did not, till after a lapse of seven years, give up his hope of remounting the throne of Sweden, a. D., making a final peace with Margarethe, and hence- U05- forward living in Gadebush, Mecklenburg, where he, in the year 1412, closed his inglorious life. Soon a. d., after (27th of October) queen Margarethe died on 1412- board a ship in the harbor of Flensburg, fifty-nine years of age, and after an active and notable reign of thirty- seven years. Her funeral was performed with tho greatest solemnity, and her corpse was brought to the cathedral of Roeskilde, where Erik of Pomerania, her successor, in the year 1423, caused her likeness to be carved in alabaster. Her acts show her character : HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 175 judiciousness, united with circumspection, wisdom in devising plans, and perseverance in executing them; skill in gaining the confidence of the clergy and pea santry, to have a weight sufficient to counterbalance the imperious nobility. On the whole, she applied herself to the civilization of her three kingdoms, and their improvement by the enactment of excellent laws, the great aim of which was to undermine the nobdity. She pursued the plan of her great father, to recaU aU rights to the crown-lands, which, during the reign of her weak and inefficient predecessors, had been granted the nobility. The prosecution of this plan for the perfect subversion of the feudal aristocracy was unfortunately interrupted by her death ; her imprudent and weak sue jessor having no power to restrain the turbulent spirit of a factious nobility. Previous, however, to giving an account of his rule of the internal aftairs of the states, it is necessary to take a connected view of the reign at large of this mean and base monarch. Erik of Pomerania's inability in ruling the three Northern kingdoms, now appeared more and more dis tinctly ; for during the reign of Margarethe, all his under takings were mostly under her guidance. He possessed no vigor of mind, no bold and enterprising spirit, and was never guided by prudence. The three sons of the duke Gerhard IV. took advantage of his inability, endea voring to withdraw themselves from his yoke, and to oe enfeoffed with the duchy of Schleswig. At a Diet of 176 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Nyborg the king cited the young dukes, and open- a. d., ed the assembly himself with a full explanation of 1413- the circumstances of the dispute. When he had finished his speech, the archbishop, in a fulminating harangue, declared, that the duchess-dowager, Elizabeth, and her brother-in-law, Henry of Osnabriick, as tutors and coun selors to Gerhard's children, had forfeited all right to the duchy of Schleswig, in consequence of having, before Margarethe's death, taken arms against their lawful sovereign, and that Schleswig should, therefore, be an nexed to the crown of Denmark. Scarce had the arch bishop pronounced this sentence, when the eldest son of the deceased duke, Gerhard, threw himself at the king's feet, and besought him to grant the investiture of the duchy as a fief ; but the king replied in the negative The three young dukes now began to concert measures for shaking off his yoke ; and, although Erik of Pome rania had the military power of three large kingdoms at command, and marched an army of a hundred thousand men against them, he was defeated near Immer- a. D., vad, in Schleswig, with great loss, insomuch that U21- his flight became a proverb : "At Immervad the Danes were driven to the devil." Although this defeat did not terminate the war, it produced a truce, in order to settle preliminaries for a peace. Arbitrators were chosen, and the whole affair of the duchy of Schleswig was again canvassed. Nevertheless, the young dukes embraced every occasion of frustrating the intention of the truce HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 17? ana chose to decide the difference by the sword Erik lerceived their aim, and equipped a fleet with the design to invade the island of Alsen. Here he met with n« success ; the admiral, Ivar Brusk, died on board, and a hurricane dispersed and shattered the whole fleet. Erik now took the course of appealing to the German empe- A.D., ror, Sigismund, and repaired to Of en (Buda), U24. where the emperor then resided. Construing the appeal in favor of the king, Sigismund declared, that all Schleswig should henceforward be annexed in full right to the crown of Denmark, and that the dukes Henry, Adolphus, and Gerhard, had, by their conduct, divested themselves of their right to Schleswig. The king, now A. D., believing the whole to be settled, resolved upon a 1425. pilgrimage to Palestine. But, after returning, he found the ancient leaven of contest revived and violently fermenting in the breasts of the dukes, who, making alliance with the Hanse-towns, continued the war ; and though king Erik collected all his strength to oppose them, and even gained a complete victory over the Hanse fleet, yet at last they overmatched him, and weakened the kingdoms by horrible ravages. However, their attempts to seize upon Copenhagen failed ; the city being saved by the bravery and intelligent pre parations of his queen, Philippa, of England. At length the unlucky war with the dukes was ended by the treaty A. D., of Wordingborg, by which Adolphus, the only 1435. one yet alive, should enjoy, during his life, the 178 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA duchy of Schleswig, except the city of Haderslev and the island of Aro, and his heirs, for two years after his decease ; Denmark thus again being dispossessed of Schleswig. Some disturbances in Sweden had accele rated the peace of Wordingborg. Sweden, from the very beginning displeased with the Union of Caimar, was embroiled in commotions, which chiefly proceeded from the mean policy of the king in bestowing his offices of trust on foreigners, in usurping the rights and preroga tives of the Swedish people, and from disproportional taxes. Encouraged by the weakness of their sovereign, they resolved to attempt a change in the government, and to wrest the sceptre from the hand of Erik, whom they generally nicknamed "the Pomeranian knave." The circumstance which caused the first operations of the Swedes towards the recovery of their lawful privi leges, was the tyrannical oppression exercised by Jens Erikson, the royal bailiff, in the province of Dalecarlia. A mountaineer and miner, Engelbrecht Engelbrechtson, accused the bailiff before the king. The officer was de posed, but Engelbrechtson had spoken with such ardor and bluntness, that the king forbade him his presence, and ordered him to leave Denmark "That I will," replied Engelbrechtson, "but to return in a different manner." The Dalecarlians, ever watchful of their liberties, resolved to throw off the Danish yoke, and to die like free men, rather than live like slaves undei the lash of Erik's tyranny ; and the disturbances were HISTORY Or SCANDINAVIA. 179 carried on, headed by Engelbrechtson, whom Erik Iuke, an influential nobleman, had joined. It went so far that a.d., Engelbrechtson forced the Senate to send the 1436. ]jjng a forrnal sentence of deposition. In a meet ing, however, of the Council of all three kingdoms, Erik of Pomerania was again acknowledged King of Sweden. To appease the growing displeasure, the king summoned a Diet at Vadstena, where he agreed that Charles Canutson Bonde ¦ and Christiern Nielson Vasa should be appointed to digest a new plan of government. But the rebellion soon broke out with renewed power. A rivalship commenced between Canutson and Engel brechtson. Both were fired with the glorious emulation oi being the deliverer of their country. Engelbrecht son, in particular, was extremely successful, when he was suddenly murdered by the artifice of his rival ; between whom and Erik Puke a new dispute arose, that once more restored the king's affairs. Canutson and Christiern Vasa, however, soon seemed resolved to over turn the whole arrangement of the offices of goveiii- ment, and to substitute creatures of their own in place of those who formerly had filled them ; wherefore the nobdity and the clergy, perceiving their aim, remonstra ted against the continuance of this junta in office, and A. d., summoned a general Diet at Caimar, where the 1437- senators of all three kingdoms met together to draw up more precise terms for the Union. Here it was stipulated, that after the death of the king, forty men 180 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. of each kingdom should meet together in Halmstad, to elect, the new ruler ; that the king should always have two intelligent men with him, and war could not be declared, or peace concluded, without the consent of aU three kingdoms ; and that the king should never prefer to the offices of trust any foreigners within the limits of the Swedish monarchy. This delineation, in some respects more accurate and complete than that of Cai mar, 1397, never gained, however, any validity; and the rupture between the kingdoms was incurable, until at length the Union of Caimar, which had promised the North so great blessings and stabdity, after a series of wars and immense bloodshed, and only after a course of one hundred and twenty-three years, was broken and nullified. Even in Denmark a great dissatisfaction with the reign of Erik of Pomerania began to appear, occa sioned by the long and unlucky wars, by the debase ment of the coin, and by the heavy taxes lavished on unworthy favorites of the king, or wasted in idle exhi bitions of magnificence. The people were also highly displeased with his bestowing the highest offices on Ger man noblemen, and with his endeavors to get his cousin- german, Bugislaw of Pomerania, appointed his joint governor and successor. Vexed at the senators' non compliance with his request about that, Erik of Pome rania left Denmark, repairing to the island of a. d., Gulland with a large body of troops, with aU the 1439- jewels of the crown, and with his concubine, Cecilia, of HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 181 whom he was passionately enamored. He was now 29th June,dethroned m au three kingdoms, and his name a. d., rendered both odious and despicable. It was th6 ' time for a competitor to start forth, and to avail himself of this general disaffection to the dethroned king, who had no more expectation of re-ascending the throne. This competitor was Christopher of Bavaria, a son of Erik's sister, Catharina, and Pfalzgrave John. Erik being childless, Chiistopher, who now returned from Bavaria, stood thus plainly in the hope of succession, A. d., and the regency of the three Scandinavian king- 1439- doms was, at the Diet of Halmstad, conferred upon him. The despicable Erik of Pomerania lived for ten years on Gulland, where he, with ignominy, dragged on a life of piracy, from whence he went to Pomerania, A. D., where he, having no resource but in the society 1459. 0f his concubine, at the expiration of ten years, died unlamented. His noble and magnanimous queen, Philippa, whom he often had treated unkindly, betook herself to the monastery of Vadstena, which she herself had founded, and here she expired, on the fifth of July, 1430. The king perceiving his loss, and repenting of his conduct, caused many requiems to be sung for a speedy entrance of her soul into the dwellings of the blessed. The taste for classical learning, at this time, was far from being universaUy diffused in the Scandinavian 182 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. countries, and it is, therefore, highly to be appreciated that some monkish writers preserved alive the embers of the literary spirit, and contributed to the preserva tion of such of the Greek and Roman authors as we now possess entire ; and however miserable an indi- tddual Erik of Pomerania rightly may appear, he seems, nevertheless, to have had some taste for literature, or disposition to patronize science and the arts, since he prevailed with the Pope, Martin V., to permit him tc found a University in Copenhagen, which, however, on account of his tumultuous reign, was not carried into effect. Christopher of Bavaria succe.eded now to the throne a.d., of his uncle, and received homage in Wiborg. 1440. Immediately on his arrival in Denmark, the senate published a decree, whereby aU those were declared enemies to their country who should visit Erik's court on Gulland, and a manifesto was issued containing the articles of accusation against Erik of Pomerania, which were affixed on the gates of aU the northern Hanse-towns. Although Christopher of Bava ria was elected by the senators, the peasantry being yet regarded as too inconsiderable to have any voice, he fol lowed, nevertheless, the old custom, to travel round to receive homage in the different kingdoms. In Sweden there were some hindrances to his election ; but the clergy, taking as much pains in preserving the union of the three kingdoms as the nobility did in nullifying it, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA 183 prevaded upon the senate to acknowledge Chiistopher king of Sweden, and to swear allegiance to him as A. D., their sovereign, whereafter he was orovmed in 1441- Stockholm. In the year following Christopher went from Sweden to Norway, and received, at Opslo, the crown of that kingdom. Thence he passed to Den- a. d., mark, and was crowned at Ripen, by the arch- 1443. bishop of Lund. Charles Canutson Bonde re signed his office, but the Diet declared, that, in conside ration of his services, he should enjoy Finland and the island of Oland, but on condition, that the crown should, at any time, have power to redeem them for the sum of forty thousand marks in silver. Christopher confirmed this donation of the Diet, and granted, thereafter, the investiture of Schleswig, as a hereditary fief, to duke Adolphus, in order to have a support in him, if need be. In the beginning of his reign a violent rebellion broke out amongst the peasantry of Jutland, who re fused paying taxes, unless they were permitted to pay them to their late king Erik, of whom they yet were in favor. The peasants, whose army is said to have amounted to the number of twenty-five thousand men, routed the royal troops, slew the commanders, and put to death all the noblemen they could catch, with every circumstance of cruelty. Incensed at their obstinacy, Christopher marched against them in person, gave them battle, and obtained a complete, but bloody victory. Henry Togon, a senator, who had always espoused the 184 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA cause of the dethroned king, together with several others of his adherents, was taken prisoner, and broken alive upon the wheel. But the main body of the rebellious peasants, called the Vendelbo'ers, who lived north of the Lymfjord, gained a neighboring hill, which they so intrenched with wagons and trains, as to withstand all the attacks of the king's cavalry. At last, Christopher was advised to offer them pardon, if they would submit, which expedient induced them to throw down their arms. To pay tithes to the clergy, of which there so long time had been a dispute, and with which the peasants were yet highly displeased, was decided upon under Christopher, by a sentence from the senate. He also tried to limit the commercial privileges of the Hanse-towns, confirming their privileges only upon con dition that they should interpose no obstacles to the trade of other nations, and that Scandinavian merchants should enjoy the same privileges in the Hanseatic har bors. In Sweden they were not satisfied with Christo pher's reign, though it came not to any rebellion. He was there surnamed the bark king (Barkekongen), be cause an unfruitful year happened, in which the people, to get sufficient bread, had to grind flour of bark. But, in all reason, his subjects were very much displeased with his connivance at Erik of Pomerania's piracies, which he passed over, saying : " My uncle must also do something for the support of his life." Chiistopher of Bavaria received an embassy from the Sultan of Turkey, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 18£ A. D., who offered him his daughter; but the king de. 1444. 0lined accepting the offer, Dorothea, a daughter of the markgrave, John of Brandenburg, surnamed the Alchymist, being more agreeable to his inclinations. Before leaving Christopher, it may be added, that he removed the royal residence from Roeskdde to Copen hagen, where, since that time, the kings of Denmark have resided, and that he entered upon a treaty of Roeskdde, whereby Copenhagen, until then a dependency A. D., on that diocese, was ceded to the crown. After l448- a reign of eight years he died. On assuming the reins of government he gave some indications of a vigorous administration ; but this was only of short duration. He was abandoned to his pleasures, and, like most kings, a slave to unworthy favorites. The prosperity and esteem of the peasantry, who tilled the ground and constituted the majority of the nation, seem to have been very lightly considered in this period. Frequent rebellions of the peasants, quelled by much bloodshed, under Erik Ploughpenning, Chris topher I., Erik Glipping, Erik Menved, Waldemar At terdag, and Christopher of Bavaria, prove that the peasants were sensible of the yoke resting upon them, but in vain tried to shake it off. The almost uninter rupted internal disturbances and external wars, of which the nobility and the clergy availed themselves to enlarge their power and riches, weakened and impover ished the peasantry, ana they were considered only a 186 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. part of the property belonging to the noblemen, trans ferable along with horses, cows and other movables, at the wid of the owner ; while, on the other hand, the clergy and the nobility were floating in riches and ex tensive privileges. The clergy were allowed a free election to aU vacant church preferments, the king renouncing his power of presentation. No tax could be imposed upon the clergy, except in one particular case —the king's captivity. No freeman (nobleman) could be taken or imprisoned, or dispossessed of Ms free tene ments or liberties, or outlawed, or banished, or any way hurt or injured, unless by the legal judgment of his equals ; the clergy and the nobility thus being set far above the common level. In this period, about the end of the twelfth century, the commercial spirit had begun to make some progress toward the North. The Baltic was then infested by pirates, who ravaged the < coasts. The city of Lubeck, on the Baltic, and Hamburg, at the mouth of the Elbe, were obliged to enter into a league of mutual defence for the protection of their merchantmen against these piracies. This association, which was, as before men tioned, termed the League of the Hanse-towns, became soon so formidable in the eyes of the kings and states of Europe, that they even courted its alliance. The burgher class of Scandinavia and the cities were very much pressed by the Hanseatic towns, which had made themselves masters of all trade with foreign countries, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 187 and imported German commodities to the Scandinavian cities ; and the condition of the burgher class was about on a level with that of the peasantry. During the greater part of this period, the general state of literature was at a very low ebb ; but a brighter period was now at hand, and classical learning began to be universaUy diffused, and a more genuine taste was revived for polite literature, when the admirable invention of the art of printing was made, in the year 1436, by John von Sor- genlock, called Gansefleisch, from Guttenberg, gene rally, therefore, caUed John Guttenberg. This inven tion was, as is well known, considerably improved by John Faust, a rich jeweler, and Peter Schdffer, an ecclesiastic from Gernsheim. In the year 1457 the first book was printed, in Latin, namely, the Psalms of David, of which five copies yet remain — in Gottin- gen, Vienna, Mainz, Paris, and in the royal library in Copenhagen. 188 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. THE HOUSE OF OLDENBURG. IV. 1448—1536. Christian I — Charles Canutson — Archbishop Jens Bengtson — Steno Stuie tho Eldor — fiattle on Brunkehill — Pilgrimage to Rome — University of Copen hagen. — flans-Charter — Division of the Duchies — Expedition to Ditmarsh — Rebellion in Sweden and Norway — War with the Hanse Towns — Chris tian 11. — Expedition against Sweden — Archbishop Gustav Trolle — The Slaughter at Stockholm — Sigbrit-Dyveke — Torben Oxe — The Beginning of the Reii/rmation — Rebellion — The King flees — Frederick I. — Civil War — Rebellion in Skane — Soren Norby — The Reformation spreads — John Tau- sen — Diet of Odensee — Diet of Copenhagen — The War of the Count (Grevens Feide) — Christian III.— Shipper Clemens — Battle by Oxenhill — Literatuie and Language. Christopher of Bavaria, dying without issue, the advantages which would have accrued from annexing the duchy of Schleswig to the crown, made the senate first cast their eyes on Adolphus. But because of old age, declining accepting the crown offered him, Adolphus proposed to them his nephew, Christian, a son of Count Diderick the Happy, of Oldenburg, whose answer to the ambassadors is remarkable: "I have three sons," said he, " of very opposite qualities ; one is passionately fond of women, another breathes nothing but war, tut the third is moderate in his disposition, prefers peace to the din of arms, and is generous and magnanimous." With HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 189 one voice, of course, the senate deolared for that prince whose panegyric the father had drawn ; and the house of Oldenburg, at this day seated on the throne of Den- A. D., mark, assumed the government ir the person of 1448. Christian L, Count of Oldenburg, and a nephew to Adolphus, duke of Schleswig and count of Holstein Willingly accepting the offer, Christian I. sought to enter into favor with the people by marrying the queen-dowager Dorothea. Next he gave a communication in writing to the Diet, declaring Denmark an elective kingdom, and binding himself not to impose taxes, not to declare war, and not to grant any deed of feoffment, unless con sented to by the Diet ; after which he was anointed and 28th Oct °r°wned in Copenhagen, and received from the A. D., archbishop, Yvon, the standard of the kingdom, 1448. Christian I. now sought the affection and friend ship of the Swedish nation, in order to pave the way for an unshaken union of the three crowns. But the Swedes endeavoring to break the Union of Caimar, which they considered a thorn in their flesh, rose in rebellion, and chose, diametrically opposite to the statutes of said Union, and against the express wish of arch bishop Jens Bengtson Oxenstjerna, and the whole Swe dish clergy, their grand mareshal, Charles Canutson, for their king. Even in Norway, assisted by his kins man, the archbishop Aslach Bolt, Charles Canutson was a. D., crowned in Drontheim as king of Norway. But 1449 in the following year, at a meeting in Halmstad, 190 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. the Swedish and Danish senators agreed that Charles Canutson had to renounce all claim to Norway, to which it was certain he had no manner of right, and that Den mark and Sweden, after the death or deposition of Charles Canutson, were to be re-united. Although Charles Canutson did not approve of that agreement, yet Christian I. was declared king of Norway, and a. d., crowned in Drontheim. At the same time an U5°- agreement was made in Bergen, that Norway and Den mark should always be ruled by one king, happen what might to Sweden. But the Swedes, disgusted with the despotic government of Charles Canutson, determined at length to throw off his yoke. The archbishop Jens Bengtson Oxenstjerna, on account of some personal grievances, headed the insurrection, entered the metro politan church, put on his high-priest ornaments, and prostrated himself before the high altar ; then laying aside his habit, he swore he would never again resume it, untd Charles Canutson was driven out of the throne of Sweden. Charles Canutson, finding the greater part of the Swedish nation disaffected, concealed the public treasure in the house of some Dominican friars, and embarked with all his private riches in a ship, with which a. d., he set sad to Dantzic, in Western Prussia, where 1457 he sojourned for seven years. Christian I. was now unanimously elected king of Sweden, conducted into the church by the archbishop, and crowned, amidst HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA 191 the acclamations of the people. The crown of aU three kingdoms was thus now placed upon his head, and the Union of Caimar re-established. His little son, Hans, only three years of age, was elected his successor to all three kingdoms. Shortly after, at the death of Adolphus, who died A. D., without issue, there seemed to be a sure prospect 1459. 0f re-uniting South Jutland (Schleswig) with the Kingdom, but instead of incorporating it with the Danish crown as an escheated fief, Christian I. unwisely engaged himself in negotiations with the nobility and the clergy, to be elected duke of Schleswig and count of Holstein, to which latter, however, Otho of Schaumburg was more entitled ; wherefore he had to purchase Holstein for the sum of forty -three thousand florins, and to buy off the pretensions #f Gerhard and Maurice, nephews to the late Adolphus, for an equivalent of forty thousand florins. Christian I. thus became king of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, duke of Schleswig and count of A. D., Holstein ; whereupon he forced the Dominicans 1460. to refund the treasure lodged in their hands by Charles Canutson, after they had for a long time denied the fact. But in a short time new disturbances broke A. d. out in Sweden, where the nobility still sought to 1463. prevent a firm union of the three kingdoms, and the people complained of the king's absence from Swe den, and of burdensome taxes. The king, imagining that the archbishop was concerned in it, ordered him to 192 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. be brought a prisoner to Denmark ; whereupon a vio. lent rebellion arose, headed by the archbishop's nephew, Ketil Carlson Vasa, bishop of Linkoping, who invited Charles Canutson to return to the throne, and he was a second time acknowledged king of Sweden ; but his good fortune was of short duration, for when Christian I. released the archbishop, and reconcded himself with him, Charles Canutson had to renounce the crown, and swear that he would never again aspire to re-ascend the throne. Finally, he was sent a prisoner to Finland, with a certain appanage for his subsistence. Neverthe less, assisted by the lord high treasurer, Erik Axelson, Charles Canutson, whose affairs were ruined in appear ance, was a third time called back to the Swedish a. d., throne, and died as king of Sweden. His death, 147° however, did not procure Christian I. the Swedish throne, which got a sagacious ruler in Steno Sture the Elder, a nephew to Charles Canutson, who for twenty- six years governed the kingdom with wisdom, curbed the insolence of the nobdity, elevated the peasantry and the burgher class, and founded the celebrated a, D., University of Upsala. Christian I. determined to 1476 support his claim to Sweden by force of arms, set a powerful armament on foot, with which he saded to Stockholm, but was in the bloody battle on a. d., Brunkehill totally defeated and dangerously 14n- wounded, thenceforward desisting from any claim to Sweden. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 193 Christian I. had promised to undertake a pilgrimage A.D. to the Holy Land, but to be released from it he 1474. took a journey to Rome. On his way thither he visited the German emperor Frederick III., who, upon his request, elevated Holstein, Storman, and Ditmarsh to a dukedom, enfeoffing the king with the country last mentioned, which for a long space of time had been a republic. But the Ditmarshians did not submit to Denmark till the next century, after a most bloody contest for their liberty. He then pursued his journey to Rome, where he was received with extraordinary dis tinction by his Holiness and the College of Cardinals. The Pope, Sixtus IV., permitted him to found a uni versity in Copenhagen. Immediately upon his return from Rome, the king went to Cologne to compose some controversies between the Emperor and Charles the A.D., Bold, duke of Burgundy. The university was 1479. at length established, the bishop of Roeskilde being appointed chancellor, but on account of its narrow means it had in the beginning only three prof essors, and gained no fame till after the introduction of the Re formation. The young students, therefore, visited so frequently foreign universities, that the king deemed it necessary to lay it upon them as a duty first for some years to be in a course of study at the University of Copenhagen. Christian I. resolved now to strengthen the succession by the marriage of his son, and sent, therefore, an embassy to Saxony, to demand Christina, 194 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. daughter to the elector Ernst, for his son. The pro posals were accepted, and the marriage ceremony per formed, on which occasion the Order of the Elephant was first instituted. Originally this order bore a pa triarchal cross, which after the Ref orcnation was changed for a gold chain with an elephant suspended to it. The Danish kings confer this order only upon princes and noblemen of the first distinction, observing, however, one rule, which is, never to confer it upon those who have not first been favored with the order called Danne- brog. Christian I. was in a continual want of money, occasioned by his two expensive journeys, and by the amount he had to pay for being elected Count of Hol stein. The unfavorable consequences of this want of money appeared, when the king's daughter, Margarethe, was married to James III. of Scotland ; for as the king was not able to pay down more than 2,000 florins of the dowry, which amounted to 60,000 florins, the Ork ney and Shetland islands were mortgaged for the 58,000 florins ; and as Denmark for a long series of years was not able to redeem them, and Scotland, because this debt had waxen so old, raised difficulties in giving them back, these possessions, which originally belonged to Norway, were lost forever. The power and arbitra riness of the Hanse-towns yet continuing under Chris tian 1. appeared strikingly by the violent acts which their officers and stewards exercised unpunished in HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 195 Bergen. Falling upon the royal constable, Olaf Niel son, they murdered him, the bishop, and sixty other per sons. Their power and tyranny, however, did not long continue, their trade began to be limited, and their de clension to draw near, other lands, particularly Holland and England, beginning to trade in the North, and ex change commodities from India and the Orient for the produce and manufactures of the North ; and every variety of useful merchandise, was now, by means of the Baltic and the great continental rivers, easily con veyed through most of the kingdoms of Europe, all of which successively annihilated the superiority of the Hanse-towns ; and in order to destroy entirely their detrimental influence in Denmark, Christian I. entered into alliance with England, Scotland, France, and Bur gundy. He also enacted a commercial law containing many regulations favorable to the mercantile affairs of Denmark ; for instance, that German merchants should not be permitted to travel round in the country and en gross commodities for the purpose of making their profit by enhancing the price, but should buy them in the towns. The Hanseatic confederacy had, from the year 1438, begun to decline, and it is not to be denied, that it is to this decline Scandinavia and many other European states owe their domestic manufactures and the increase of their real wealth. After having pursued the true ' interests of his people, and sought to establish order, tranquility, and an equal administration of justice, 196 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Christian I. died, after a reign of thirty-three May 2, years, and lies buried in the Cathedral of Roes- A. D., kdde. 1481. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Hans (John), as we have seen, already in his father's life time elected successor in all three kingdoms. He was immediately acknowledged king of Denmark, but in the two other kingdoms, especially in Sweden, he met with considerable difficulties, Steno Sturo the Elder not being disposed to resign. Even in Norway the interest of Steno Sturo was promoted by the aid of the Archbishop of Drontheim. Nevertheless, at a meeting in A. D., Halmstad, king Hans was declared king of Nor- 1483. way, but had to sign and seal a charter which bears witness to the increasing power of the nobility and the clergy. All the old privileges of the clergy were con firmed ; the king could no more meddle with the election of a bishop ; the peasants and attendants belonging to the nobility and the clergy were to be exempted from paying taxes. The king could not confer a feoffment upon any one, or deprive any of the fief he had, unless the members of the Diet had consented to it. No serf could obtain a demesne, nor the king himself mortgage it ; and the right to fortify manors, abrogated by queen Margarethe, was in this charter restored to the nobility. But about any privileges for the commons, who yet were considered in a very abject and despicable light, was not one word spoken ; and if the king, so run the words, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 197 should dare to violate this charter, the inhabitants were entitled to apply violent means, without being im peached of having broken their oath of allegiance. In the same year, at a meetnig in Cal/mar, the Swedish Diet declared Hans king of Sweden, but Steno Sturo set all engines at work to frustrate the resolution of the Diet, his arts succeeding so happily, that for fourteen years the king hoped in vain to ascend the Swedish throne. In the duchies, king Hans met with great difficulties in getting elected, his brother Frederick, whom the influential queen-dowager ardently assisted, withstand ing his election. At length both of them were elected A.D., dukes, the duchies being divided into Gottorp 1490. and Segeberg. Frederick chose the Gottorp part, but was, however, not satisfied, and continued long to show himself very grasping and presumptuous. He assumed the title, " Inheritor of Norway," and laid claim to the islands of Laaland, Falster, and Mona ; but A.D., at the Diet of Callundborg these insolent claims 1494. were rejected, as being entirely unauthorized. Nevertheless, the two valuable duchies were unfortu nately again dismembered from the crown, notwith standing the inconveniences lately felt from the grant made to the children of Gerhard. King Hans, having now, through fourteen years, in vain hoped that by the way of negotiations he might ascend the throne of Sweden, resolved to enforce his right by arms. His 198 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. mother, Dorothea, who had continually dissuaded him from war, and entreated him to rest satisfied with his present dominions, was now dead and gone, and Steno Sture the Elder was just now very critically situated, being at variance with several influential members of the senate, and with Svante Nielson Sture, who en gaged in his interest the archbishop of Upsala, Jacob Ulf son, and all the clergy, who upbraided Steno Sture the Elder with having occasioned numberless losses and disgraces to the kingdom. Hans thought it, there fore, a favorable opportunity to try the chances of war. The Danish army advanced upon Stockholm, opened the gates of the capital, and cut to pieces an army from Dalecarlia, consisting of thirty thousand men, A.D., in the memorable battle of Podebro, where 1496. many of the brave Swedish Dalecarlians sacrificed their lives with the most desperate courage ; whereafter Steno Sture, encouraged by the Dalecarlians, attacked the royal Danish army at Nbrdermalm, but was again defeated. Despairing now of being able to make head agamst the king's army, the administrator, Steno A.D., Sture, signed a treaty, by which he acknowl- 1497. edged king Hans king of Sweden, agreeable to the Union of Caimar, which thus, a hundred years after its founding, was re-established, Steno Sture getting Fin land, the city of Nykdping, and some other lands and cities assigned for his maintenance. King Hans was now immediately crowned king of Sweden, and hia HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 199 son Christian elected his successor. The king now probed the wounds of the state, applying the most moderate and the wisest remedies to compose the controversies in Sweden, and effect a more friendly spirit, . The Swedish affairs settled, the king engaged in a war, which terminated little to his honor or advantage. It was occasioned by the grant made by the emperor to the late king of that country inhabited by the people called Pitmarshians. For many ages this brave people had thrown off the Danish yoke, and aspired to perfect independence. A considerable royal army was now equipped, the greatest part of which consisted of levied troops, under the command of George Stents, a Ger man nobleman. To cooperate with this enormous force, duke Frederick, the king's brother, arrived, together with the flower of the nobility of Schleswig and Holstein. So sure did the Danes make themselves of victory, that they had shared the booty before the engagement, and every one brought carriages for mov ing off his proportion of the spoil. But their expecta tion was dissipated like a summer's cloud. In fact, few enterprises were preceded by more immense prep arations, and as few, perhaps, attended with a moro unfortunate issue, the great object falling altogether short of its aim. It has been mentioned, that Dit marsh had been a republic (a district not seven Danish aides in extent), which now the Danish king was de- 200 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. sirous of subjugating. The Ditmarshians, penetrated with love of liberty, threw down the dykes, which restrained the encroachments of the North Sea, and the whole country was laid under water. A smaU body of one thousand men, headed by Wolf Isebrant, opposed boldly the royal army, and a murderous battle was fought, the Danes attempting all the time to drain off the inundation. But the sluices being opened, and the water gushing in from all parts, the confusion among the Danes reached the highest pitch, and the great royal army was totally routed near Hem- a., d. mingsted, in Holstein. Whole ranks of the 1500. Danes were swept down by the grape-shot of the Ditmarshians; king Hans himself made a narrow escape ; the old banner, Pannebrog, was lost, and an immense number of German and Danish noblemen covered the battle-field. The Ditmarshians committed all sorts of cruelties on the bodies of the wounded ; their eyes were plucked out, their noses slit, and their ears cut off. This great and decisive victory secured the independ ence of the little republic; and for many years no superiority of numbers could overcome the irresistible bravery of the intrepid Ditmarshians. No sooner the Sweeds, dissatisfied with king Hans and with the out rages of the royal bailiffs, had been informed of the defeat of the Danish army at Hemmingsted, than they revolted again, judging this a favorable opportunity to HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 201 shake off the Danish yoke. Steno Sture was re-elected administrator, and the rebellion increased to such a degree, that soon the king was master of only the castles of Caimar and Stockholm, which, with great courage and perseverance, were defended by Hans' queen, Christina of Saxony, untd, after a siege of eight months, the whole garrison wasted away by sickness and hunger. The revolt in Sweden was the signal for another in A.D., Norway, which, however, soon ceased, when the 1502. plot was discovered, and the ring-leader, Canute Alfson put to death ; and a later rebellion, headed by Herluf Hydefad and Bishop Charles of Hammer, was quelled with great severity and frequent executions, by the king's son, Christian, who, since the year 1501, had been appointed administrator of Norway. Prince Chris tian took Herluf Hydefad and the bishop prisoners, con demned them to death, and ordered them to be broken on the wheel. In a word, the rigor with which his Highness treated the rebels, and especially the nobility, a great number of whom he put to death, gave so rapid a progress to his arms, that he soon saw himself A. D., master of all Norway. Meanwhile Steno Sture 1503. the Elder had died, and was succeeded in the administratorship by Svante Nielson Sture. A new ring-leader now appeared in Sweden, Hem ming Gad, bishop of Linkoping. Possessed of engag ing manners, of great ingenuity, of military talents, 202 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. and being a decided adversary of the Union of Ca".mar, and bearing an inveterate hatred to Denmark, the bishop was very fit for infusing a rebellious spirit into the Swedish nation ; upon which, by his uncommon eloquence, he exercised a great influence. The nego tiations were carried on through several meet- A. D., ings, but without settling the disputes. At 1505. length, at a meeting in Caimar, the council of all three kingdoms agreed to compose and accommodate the differences between king Hans and the disobedient Swedes. The Swedish senators not appearing, the Danish and Norwegian senate pronounced the sen tence, that Svante Nielson Sture and his partisans were guilty of high treason and rebellion; and after the scandalous conduct of Sweden had been represented in its strongest colors to the German emperor, Maximil ian, he confirmed this sentence, and forbade all Ger man countries and cities to have anything to do with the factious Sweden. A war now also broke out be tween Denmark and the Hanse-towns, which would not break off their commercial connections with Sweden. Moreover, the Hanse-towns were exasperated at the increase of other nations' trade in the North, and espe cially at a treaty concluded by Hans with England, by which this country was granted the same privileges as the Hanse-towns had hitherto exclusively enjoyed. In this naval war the Danish sea-heroes, Otto Pud, Siren Norby, Andrew Bilde, and Holger Ulf stand, signalized HISTORY QF SCANDINAVIA. 203 themselves by the bravest exploits ; and by the peace of MoMm a war with the HaDse-towns for the A.D., first time ended successfully for Denmark ; the 1513. merchantmen of which now rode triumphant in the Baltic. The Hanse-towns had to promise to break off all mercantile connections with Sweden while rebel lious, and to defray the charge of war by paying thirty thousand florins. It also came in Malmo to an agree ment with Sweden, which, however, put no end to the contests ; the Swedes, in spite of this agreement, elect- A.D., ing, after the death of Svante Nielson Sture, 1513. bis son, Steno Sture the Younger, administrator. 20th Feb. "^ne nex* year hing Hans died, after a reign of A.D. thirty -two years. Without any brilliancy of talents, his character is generally said to have been tempered with piety, moderation, and simplicity of manners. He was so great an admirer of the sim plicity of the ancient Danes, that he even imitated their dress, and always wore an antique sword hung over his robe. Nevertheless, for having caused his treasurer, Anders, to be beheaded, only on account of a loose suspicion of embezzlement, king Hans is blamed very much, the majority considering the treasurer in nocent. On his death-bed the king was also so touched with remorse at having been instrumental in the treas urer's death, that he often called upon his name in a kind of frenzy, and ordered, before breathing his last, requiems to be sung for the rest of the soul of the inno cent treasurer. 204 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. During the reign of king Hans, two Norwegian noblemen stabbed the grand marshal, Paul Laxmand (Salmon), as he was passing over a bridge in Copenha gen, and flung his body into the sea, saying that land was not so natural an element for a fish as the sea ; al luding to Laxmand, which was the marshal's name. The king commenced a lawsuit against the murdered man, who was declared guilty of treacherous connec tions with the Swedish rebels, and his large estates were adjudged to the king. Christian 21., his son, in Sweden generally called Christian the Tyrant, was now raised to the throne ; a man in every respect opposite to his father. He was of high genius, ability and judgment, but not possessed of any mild and humane disposition. His administration was like Cromwell's in England, arbitrary, cruel, and vigorous, and he made no scruple to use religion for reaching his aim. In political matters he was both a leveler and a tyrant. He was born on the 2d of July, 1481, two years before the great reformer, Martin Lu ther. His father, king Hans, put the young prince out to board with a wealthy citizen in Copenhagen, called Hans Bookbinder, where George Hinse, an ecclesiastic, dafly came to teach him. The prince being of a wild character, and by his dissipations often hazarding his own life, Hans Bookbinder was desirous of being freed from the burden of having supervision over him, and proposed, therefore, to the king to place him with Hinze. He neither being able to moderate the prince, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 205 had to have a watch upon his actions, to take him along with him to church, and make him sing in the choir together with the other singing boys. The king con sidering it below the prince's dignity, took him again to the royal palace, and caused him to be taught by a German master of arts, in general called Master Con rad, who instructed him so thoroughly and carefully in Latin, that the young prince spoke it with the greatest volubility and wrote it with classical elegance. On account of his being trained amongst the commons, he had sucked in, as with his mother's milk, a great predi lection for the burgher class and the peasantry, while he, on the other hand, cherished a strong antipathy to the nobility and the clergy, who restrained his power and oppressed the lower orders. When twenty years of age, he was, as before mentioned, sent to Norway, to quell a rebellion there, which he performed with great courage, but also with the utmost severity. Thereafter appointed administrator of Norway, he became ac quainted with Pyveke, a handsome girl, whose mother, Sigbrit, had moved from Amsterdam to Bergen, where she kept a tavern. Both of them exercised, from that time, a great but corruptive influence upon Christian A. IX, II. On the death of King Hans, he was, with- 1513. ouf. anv opposition, acknowledged king of Den mark and Norway, but Sweden, as usual, raised diffi culties concerning his election, and several years passed away before he could ratify his claims there. Meantime 206 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. A.D., Christian resolved to strengthen his power by 1515. marrying the noble and gentle princess Eliza beth, a sister to the celebrated Charles V., emperor of Germany and Holland. Studious to please his young queen, the king sent to Holland for gardeners and a colony of Dutch to cultivate all sorts of fruits and other vegetables for her table, and assigned them the little island of Amager, close by Copenhagen, where they highly improved the horticulture, hitherto little known in the North. Notwithstanding his marriage, the king's unlawful connection with his concubine, Dyveka, con tinued, until a sudden death took her off. Many be lieved that she had been killed by poison slowly infused into her by the family of a rich nobleman, Torben Oxen, who had fallen in love with Dyveka, and would marry her. Torben confessed that he had solicited her favor, but never obtained it. Immediately the king's countenance altered, and he was provoked to such a degree, that he resolved to put Torben Oxen to death without mercy. He was arrested and imprisoned. The affair was tried by the senate, where he was unanimous ly acquitted, the law having assigned no punishment for simple concupiscence. When the senate's decree was related to the king, he flew into a passion, saying, that if his friends had been as numerous in the senate as Torben's, their judgment would have been different ; adding : " Even if he had a neck as thick as that of a bull, he shall lose it ; and when did I ever say a thing, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 207 make a promise, or utter a threat, that I did not fulfill my word ? " He proceeded to assemble twelve peasants of the neighborhood before the gate of the citadel, and ordered them to pass sentence on Torben. Dreading his majesty's resentment, and thinking they would be sacrificed if they did not comply with his humor, they gave their verdict in the following terms : " We do not judge Torben, but his own words condemn him;" whereafter he was immediately beheaded. This despotic act irritated the nobility yet more with the king, who during his whole reign strove to restrain the extravagant power and influence of the nobility and clergy, and to elevate the peasantry and the burgher class. It is here not out of place to remark that many of his laws bear witness to a sound judgment, mainly aiming at removing and reforming the degene racy of manners and morals among the clergy, and at diminishing their exorbitant riches and power, which rendered them odious to the people and prevented them from being examples of the virtues they had to preach. Of the school affairs the king took a peculiar care. He increased the salary of the teachers, and commanded them to prove their qualification by submit ting to a public examination. Considering the great influence and power of the nobility and clergy a blight upon the social condition of the mass and an obstacle to the progress of society, he struggled, during his whole reign, against the encroachments of the aristocracy, 208 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. until, at last, because of his despotism and cruelty, a general insurrection broke out, which retarded him in realizing his many salutary reforms. But now an epoch commenced, the most important of any in the history of the North. The great Re formation, which Martin Luther had begun in Saxony, was early introduced into the Scandinavian countries, and Christian II. received with joy this new religious system of liberty, which he considered conducive to pro mote his plans. Endeavoring in vain to induce Luther to visit Copenhagen, he prevaded upon his A.D., uncle, Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony, 1520. to send him Martin Reinhardt, who for a short time preached the new doctrine ; but not being able to preach correctly in Danish, and, therefore, often ex citing the mirth of his hearers, he left Denmark ; whereafter Carlstadt, another disciple of Luther's, arrived in Copenhagen ; but he also returned soon to Germany without having performed anything worthy of notice. Nevertheless, Christian II., though in favor of the Reformation, felt obliged to keep on good terms with the Pope, Leo X., who might perhaps be useful to him in regulating the Swedish concerns, and he permitted, therefore, the abominable Arcemboldus, a seller of in dulgences, to travel throughout his dominions to make sale of releases from the pains of purgatory, which this pious robber said every one might purchase for a small HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 209 sum of money. The form of the absolution issued by Arcemboldus was as follows : " I absolve thee from all thy sins, how enormous soever, and remit thee all man ner of punishment, which thou oughtest to suffer in purgatory, and at death the gates of paradise shall be opened to receive thee. In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit ; " even adding, the same as Tetzel, the Dominican friar, in Germany : " As soon as the money clinks in the coffer the soul springs out from purgatory." The king, however, soon fell out with Arcemboldus, and deprived him of a great portion of the money he blasphemously had col lected. The Swedes continued showing themselves unwilling to acknowledge Christian II., who was, however, fortu nate enough to find a zealous partisan in Gustavus Trolle, Archbishop of Upsala, who carried on a corres pondence with the king to extinguish the liberties of his native country. Steno Sture the Younger encom passed now the Archbishop's castle, Steka, and the senate of Sweden deposed him from his dignities. The mighty prelate had immediate recourse to the Pope, Leo X., who granted him a bull, laying the kingdom of Sweden under the sentence of excommunication. The affrighted Swedes returned to their allegiance, Gustavus Trolle was restored to his archiepiscopal functions, and Christian II. succeeded by the aid of the archbishop in establishing the supremacy of Sweden. Seven hostages 210 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. were given Christian as a security for the loyalty of the Swedes, and amongst these was the young Gustavus Erikson Vasa, who was destined by Providence to be the deliverer of his country. Christian ordered A.D., the fleet to get under sail, and steered straight 1519. to Denmark, where he arrived safe with the 'hostages. The king perceiving young Gustavus Yasa's patriotic feelings and skill, and, therefore apprehending him, confined him immediately in prison in the castle of Kalo, in Jutland, from which this noble youth at a later time found opportunity to escape, and to gain a considerable number of adherents, and take the field against the generals of Christian . The king, whose intention it was now, at one blow, to bring the rebellious Steno Sture to subjection, equipped a powerful armament, and commanded his general, the brave Otho Erumpen, to march a nume rous army to Sweden, while the fleet was harassing the coasts. Steno Sture gave battle at Bogesund, A. D., in Yisi-Gothland, but fell into an ambush laid 1530. for him, and received a wound of which he soon after died. Sweden was now left without a head, and the Senate fell into a violent dispute about a successor, while Christian was marching unopposed to Stockholm, which he blockaded on the sea side. After being long and bravely defended by the heroic Chrutino Gyldenstar, Steno Sture's widow, Stockholm had at last to yield to the king, who, by the archbishop, Gus- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 211 tavus Trolle, was proclaimed, in the name of the states, king of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, and crowned with the usual ceremonies, the archbishop of Lund and the bishops of Roeskilde and Odensee glorifying the solemn act by their presence. Although he, on the day of his coronation, had proclaimed a general par don of the offences of the Swedish people, he continued to thirst for vengeance, and resolved, if possible, tc suffocate in blood the rebellious spirit in Sweden, and extirpate, at one stroke, all the Swedish nobility, in revenge for the troubles they had excited. In his meditated schemes the king got an adviser in Pidrik Slaghak, doctor of the canon law, whom Arcemboldus had brought along with him to Denmark, and who had attained a very great degree of the king's favor and esteem. He was a man of a deep and subtle reach, and being skilled in kindling discontents, he insinuated himself into the king's mind by soothing flatteries, and 8th Nov., persuaded him to use the papal bull as an in- A- D-> strument of vengeance. The third day after °' the crowning, Christian II. invited the princi pal senators and nobles to a brdliant entertainment, in the royal palace of Stockholm, and bestowed the Order of the Elephant on a great number of the German and Danish nobility, but not on a single Swede. The gates of the capital were locked, the streets beset with guards, and every citizen, under pain of death, forbid den to leave his house. Amidst the most unbounded 212 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. festivity, the archbishop, Gustavus Trolle, made his entrance into the great saloon of the palace, the Pope's bull in his hand, and in the name of the Holy Church, demanded satisfaction for the usage he had sustained. The sentence of excommunication was read aloud ; the archbishop concluded his crafty oration with a pathetic request that justice might be granted and the criminals punished. The king now ordered his guards to seize the whole senate and nobility and imprison them, and a tribunal was erected to pass sentence. Jens Anderson Beldenak, bishop of Odensee, being the only Dane present, now interrogated, by virtue of his office, the rest of the assembly, whether they, who had opposed the Pope in deposing the archbishop, were heretics or not ? The answer being in the affirmative, the king considered it a sentence of death, and under the pre tence of extirpating heresy and impiety, he ordered ninety-four senators and a great number of the nobility and the clergy to be beheaded on the market-place of Stockholm. Christian made no distinction between friends and enemies, the better to convince the people that he acted less from motives of vengeance than obedience to the Holy See. Only to signify dis pleasure, or show compassion, cost the life. A citizen of Stockholm was drawn along and beheaded, because he shed tears over these dreadful scenes. Among those who were the victims to this infernal revenge, was Erik Vasa, father to young Gustavus Yasa, and HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 213 nephew to the former Swedish king, Charles Canutson. On the whole, the fortunes and the lives of individuals were entirely at the mercy of the cruel king, who him self witnessed these horrors from a window in the palace. The whole city of Stockholm was a scene of blood and heart-rending calamities. To hold out jet more distinctly the appearance of having exercised, not his own vengeance, but that of the Church, Christian II. ordered the noble-minded bishop, Matthew of Strengnces, and bishop Hemming Gad, of Finland, to be beheaded; while the subtle Didrik Slaghak, who had aided him in carrying out the Slaughter of Stock holm (generally called so), was rewarded with the arch bishopric of Lund. Thus having, as he thought, con solidated his supremacy in Sweden, the king left Stock holm for Denmark. In his passage from Sweden, in stances of his cruelty are to be met with. Gibbets were erected wheresoever he passed along, and the in human tyrant ordered even the mother and sister of Gustavus Yasa, both of whom he had long confined in prison, together with five monks of the monastery of Nydal, to be sewed up in a great sack and thrown into the sea. The abbot found means to escape out of the hands of the ruffians employed to bind him. He ran towards the river, but was pursued and murdered by the king's order, before he could save himself by swim ming. At Jonkoping he caused two noblemen to be scourged to death, and the Swedish historian, Lager- 214 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. bring, says, " Massacres and calamity marked the way wheresoever the Danish monarch passed along." Some Swedish writers even affirm that, not content with the barbarous revenge taken on the living, the king ordered the dead body of Steno Sture to be dug up, and divest ing himself of humanity, flew like a wild beast upon the corpse, which he tore and mangled with his teeth and nails. To complete the measure of his barbarity, he ordered the widow of Steno Sture, Christine Gyldenstar, to be.brought before him, and asked her whether she chose to be burned, flayed, or buried alive ? His savage intention was, however, altered by the strong interest made in behalf of that unfortunate lady. But the despotism and cruelty of a king is no uncom mon prelude to a revolution, which now took place under Christian II., whose cruelty forever dissolved the bonds between Denmark and Sweden, and the Union of Caimar was irreparably broken by the Swedes, who recovered their ancient independence. Young Gustavus Erickson Yasa escaped from his prison in Denmark and from Christian's emissaries, who were continually at his heels, fled disguised to Flensburgh in Schleswig, where he hired himself to some merchants, under whose pro tection he escaped out from the Danish territories, and arrived in Lubeck, where the regency gave him a ship to convey him to Sweden. He now went to the moun tains of Dalecarlia, where he, for some time, concealed himself, in the disguise of a workman, in the mines. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 215 He found aid and protection from the valiant inhabi tants of Dalecarlia, to whom he opened his project and disclosed his name and rank, and with a band of these hardy peasants he repulsed the Danes and took a. d., Upsala. Aiter being elected, at the Diet of 1531- Yadstena, administrator of Sweden, and two years after, at the Diet of Strengnses, Mng, by the unanimoua A. D„ suffrages of his fellow-citizens, Gustavus Vasa 1533. made his entry into Stockholm, and the words " Saviour and Deliverer," echoed to him from every quarter. Thus Sweden was now emancipated from Denmark, and the Union of Caimar annihilated. Norway remained connected with Denmark till 1814, when the allied powers, by the treaty of Kiel, gave it to Sweden, as an indemnity for Finland, which Russia had taken. Gus tavus Yasa reigned in peace for a long space of years, and is the founder of the celebrated House of Vasa, which has given Sweden so many excellent kings, amongst whom was the great and famous Gustavus Adolphus, who made foreign nations sensible of the weight which Sweden might have in the affairs of Europe. The slaughter of Stockholm had produced a general astonishment throughout all Europe, and had, as even two bishops had been beheaded, exasperated the Pope to such a degree, that he sent a nuncio to Copenhagen, to examine into the death of the bishops who had been 216 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. massacred at Stockholm. Christian II. treacherously threw the whole blame on his friend Didrik Slaghak, A. D. who was sentenced to be beheaded and to be 1523. burnt ; which sentence, in the king's justifica tion, was executed in the market-place of Copenhagen ; after which the imperious and arbitrary king appointed his personal attendant, John Veza, archbishop of Lund. Christian's outrageous and cruel proceedings had pro duced, even in the minds of the Danes, the greatest disgust toward him, and rendered his name hateful. He trampled upon all law and government ; he endeav ored, by menaces, to extort from his uncle, Frederick, his dukedom of Schleswig, and of the archbishopric of Lund he disposed at pleasure. The number of the disaffected increased, therefore, daily ; and the Danish nobility, exasperated at his oppressions, and not expect ing any good from him, determined to risk all, rather than tolerate so intolerable a yoke. The nobility and clergy of all Jutland rose in one general revolt, and wrote a formal sentence of deposition, which they trans mitted to the king in Veile, in Jutland. Mogens A. D. Munh, chief-justice of Jutland, was entrusted 1533. with the dangerous commission of making him ac quainted with the resolution. He dined with the king, and, after dinner, left the decree in a glove on the win dow. It had not lain long in that place, before the king, observing a large scroll of parchment, ordered it to be read, and no sooner perceived the contents than HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 21? he ordered search to be made for Mogens Munk, but that nobleman had meanwhile removed himself out of the reach of danger. The king now repaired to Copen hagcn. Although, as yet, Copenhagen, Malmd, all Norway, and the whole peasantry and burgher class were loyal to him, he felt discouraged and behaved like a coward, as he had reigned like a tyrant. Attended by his queen, children, and Sigbrit, the mother of his concubine, he betook himself to Holland, where he, ia vain, solicited assistance from his brother-in-law, the A.D., emperor Charles Y. His uncle, Frederick, duke 1523. of Schleswig and Holstein, was now offered the throne of Denmark and Norway, which he accepted without any hesitation. Upon his return from Holland, Christian II., however, collected an army to invade Holstein and oppose his uncle, but his troops forsook him, and his general, Henry Gjoe, after an obstinate A.D., defence of eight months, had to surrender Copen- 1534. hagen to Frederick I. Nevertheless, a great part of Denmark sided yet with Christian II., and one of his most faithful adherents was the noble and brave Soren Norby, a general of consummate ability and of indefatigable activity. In Skane he collected an army ot twelve thousand men, who, however, were entirely A.D., cut to pieces by Frederick's general, John 1525 Panzau, first at Lund, and then at Brunktoft- lund, near Landscrona, and Soren Norby was, at length, obliged to leave the country and flee to Russia, where 218 HISTORY OF SCANIINAVIA. he was imprisoned by the Czar Yasdius Iwanowitch. Being at length set at liberty, he entered into military service under Charles Y., and fell at the siege of Florence. Notwithstanding all these disadvantages, Christian II. hoped and projected to regain his dominions, A.D., and went now to Norway, where he was elected 1631. in Opslo. But here his success was of short duration. Bishop Canute Gyldenstar arrived in Norway with troops, and Christian had to submit. Christian H. went now, with a safe-conduct, to Copenhagen, to negotiate in person with his uncle, Frederick L, but anchoring in the harbor of Copenhagen, he was, in spite of the warrant of security given him by the bishop, A.D., taken prisoner and carried to Sonderburg, on 1532. the island of Alsen, in the Baltic, where he was com pelled to pine for seventeen years in a gloomy tower, with no other companion than a Norwegian dwarf. Frederick I. and the nobility engaged themselves, re ciprocally, never to release him. First when Christian III. had ascended the throne, more freedom was A.D., given him ; the castle of Callundborg, in Sjel- 1549- land, was granted to him, where he, under continual inspection, lived ten years, till the beginning of the reign of Frederick II. (1559). His body was brought to the church of St. Canute, in Odensee. He left be hind him two daughters : Dorothea, married to the elector of Saxony, and Christina, to the duke of Loth- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 219 ringen. The bad use Christian II. made of his many great qualities, of which a single one might have im mortalized another prince, became his ruin, and he left a most piteous monument of the effects of cruelty and despotism, exerted over a free-spirited and warlike people. Immediately after the downfall of Christian's royalty A.D., Frederick I. ascended the throne of Denmark 1528-33. and Norway. On mounting the throne he. had to sign a charter containing several new articles, and he was to be declared an enemy of the kingdoms, and deprived of the throne, in case he manifestly violated his engagements. In this charter it was determined, that bishops and archbishops should be of noble descent, and that the king should patrocinate the Romish Church, punish all Lutheran heretics, solemnly promise to show a deadly emnity to the dethroned and imprisoned king, Christian II., and declare Denmark and Norway elec tive kingdoms. The legislative authority was to be in the Diet, which should consist of a certain number of deputies, chosen amongst the nobility and the clergy ; but the burgesses could not be invested with any public office, or in any way be on a footing of equality with the nobility. Finally, the king could not declare war or conclude peace without the consent of the nobility ; and if the king delayed his signature to laws or ordi nances, sixteen noblemen should be empowered to supply the want of it, and sign for him. 220 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA Except Copenhagen and Malmo, which still adhered to the dethroned king, and for eight months gallantly bore up against the royal troops, untd all hope of assist ance was gone, both Denmark and Norway proclaimed Frederick I. king, with the usual formalities. Besides having an able and courageous general in John Ranzau, Frederick I. was energetically assisted by Lubeck, be cause he had restored to that city the commercial privi leges of which Christian II. had deprived it. Frede rick I. of course could not see Gustavus Yasa raised to the throne of Sweden but with an eye of jealousy ; he eagerly wished, from motives of ambition and interest, to see the three kingdoms reunited, and with that view he wrote to some of the chief nobility of Sweden. But the answer he received was not agreeable to his wishes, the Swedes being no longer in a disposition to give ear to such hopes. " The Union of Caimar," wrote they, " had more than once proved fatal to their liberties, which they now enjoyed with the greatest felicity, under a king possessed of every quality which could engage their affection." Frederick I., comprehending that there was no hope for him in this respect, a.D., made, at Malmo, a strict alliance with Gustavus 1524. Yasa against their common enemy, Christian II. Notwithstanding the efforts of the dethroned king to promote the Reformation had almost proved fruit less, yet there were not wanting those who deeply felt the necessity of embracing the new religious principles, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 221 which day by day were advancing in strength in Ger many, and thence easily propagated to the Scandina vian countries by the young students who pursued their studies at Wittemberg, and other German Universities. The people's mind had grown weary of the bondage of spiritual despotism which the Popes had established, and a doctrine adulterated and tricked out with false additions, was not more satisfactory to the religious want. The fear of God consisted in external ecclesias tical actions, and remission of sins might be had for money from the seller of indulgences. The public worship was conducted in Latin, and the people were not permitted to read the Bible in the vernacular tongue. The ministerial order did not enjoy any esteem or love, and the lower ranks of the clergy made themselves despicable by their ignorance, drunkenness, and excesses in indulging in concubinage. The higher ranks of the clergy, enjoying at ease their rich revenues, were neglectful of their duties, which very often were discharged not by themselves but by their vicars. Many curateships were often conferred on one curate to enlarge the revenues, the bishops even causing the curateships to be vacant through a whole series of years, in order thereby to arrogate the incomes to themselves. The avarice and extortions of the bishops were excessive almost to a proverb ; their wealth was, therefore, often exorbitant, and their power and privi leges enormous. All church property was exempt from 222 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. taxation, while on the other hand the laity were loaded with excessive impositions. All clergymen were ex empted from criminal process in the courts of law, and delivered over to the ecclesiastical tribunal, so that the Church alone took cognizance of the crime. Different orders of lazy monks, Augustmian, Framciscian, and Pominioan friars, who aheady during the reign of Waldemar the Conqueror had crept into the country, rambled about and made considerable profit from the sale of indulgences, performing their mean-spirited acts with little regard to discretion or decency, and describ ing the value of the indulgences in such a disgusting and blasphemous style of exaggeration, that even the ignorant began to suspect the worth of the remission of sins dispensed by them ; all of which gathered into a heap, prepared the minds of the people wdlingly to listen to the bold attacks of Luther and the other great Reformers against all these outrageous and unchristian acts. Even the nobility were in favor of the Reforma tion, hoping thereby to re-obtain the great property that their ancestors had bestowed upon the Church ; and the kings could not but wish the liberal principles of the Reformation introduced into their countries, which would not fail to lessen the exorbitant power and influence of the bishops. All these causes were adequate to the effects attributed to them, and the Lutheran doctrine and form of wor ship gained, therefore, very soon a complete triumph HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 223 in the three Scandinavian kingdoms, and already in the year 1527, the magnanimous Gustavus Yasa obtained from an assembly of the state the declaration, that the Lutheran doctrines should be the established religion of Sweden. Frederick I., who previous to his ascending the throne had secretly embraced the Protestant faith, concurred with Gustavus Yasa in the design, and although wanting his spirit and genius, he conducted the religious affairs of Denmark and Norway with more prudence and sagacity than was to be expected. The clergy now lost the greater part of their posses sions to the crown and the nobility, and the bishops (whose titles, however, were retained in all three Scan dinavian kingdoms, Sweden even keeping the title of archbishop,) fell almost into a complete dependence upon the government, their large revenues and eccle siastical jurisdictions being considerably retrenched and curtailed. Next to Switzerland, the Scandinavian kingdoms were the first of the European countries that embraced Lutheranism ; and in Denmark, Hans Tausen, whose parents were only poor peasants, became the most im portant instrument in spreading the Protestant faith. While a monk in the cloister of Antvorskov, in Sjel land, he won the prior's favor to such a degree that he allowed Tausen to go abroad at the expense of the cloister. Luther's renown brought him to Wittemberg, where, on hearing his preaching, he became convinced 224 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. of the truth of the doctrines Luther proclaimed. No sooner had the prior heard it than he suddenly recalled him from Wittcmberg, and committed him to the cus tody of the abbot of the cloister. The following year he was sent to Wiborg, in Jutland, where the prior of the cloister of the Hospitalers (the Knights of St. John) promised to keep a strict eye upon him. He was, how ever, permitted to preach, and interested the citizens of Wiborg so much that they not only gave him asylum in the city, but even protected him against several attempts of the bishop, George Frils, to lay a d., hold on his person. Frederick I., being 1536. secretly a convert to the doctrines of Luther, and by whose protection Herman Tast already had spread the Reformation throughout the Duchies, (1522-1525,) interested himself for Hans Tausen, issuing a warrant of security for him, and licensing him to preach the Gospel in Wiborg. At the same time George Sadolin, also a hearer of Luther in Wittemberg, appeared, a mighty champion of the Reformation, and the new doctrine soon found advocates and adherents in other cities, particularly in Malm6, where two unlearned but highly gifted and eloquent men, Glaus Mortenson T6n- debinder (cooper), and Hans Spandmayer (pail-maker), assisted by the learned Franz Wormordson, rose as undaunted proclaim ers of the Reformation, and in vet ¦ erate enemies of the Pope's jurisdiction, and of his sellers of mdulgencies. But the circumstance which, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 223 of all others, most conduced to the advancement and universal dissemination of the Lutheran Reformation, was the excellent translation of the New Testament, which the ex-mayor of Malmo, John Michaelson, who had accompanied Christian II. in his exile, published in Leipzic, and which by foreign merchants was brought to Denmark. This translation opened the eyes of the people to the papal deviations from the evangelical truth, and gave security for the perpetuation of the Reformation in the North ; and now it profited nothing that the bishops forbade the use of this dangerous book, as they termed it. A mean fellow, Paul EUason, a Carmelite from the cloister of Elsinore, who had em braced Lutheranism, but soon again changed color, and was, therefore, called Paul Vendekaabe (turncoat), ram bled about in the country and preached violently against the new doctrine ; but he performed as little by his de nunciatory sermons as the bishops by their fulminating pastoral letters, which they dispatched to their dioceses. The difficult position of the Catholic clergy increased also very much by the dispute about tithe, which the people decidedly declined paying ; and the controversies were increasing day by day, and internal disturbances would undoubtedly have broken out, had not both the king and the nobility feared the exded Christian II., and, therefore, moderated themselves. It came, there fore, to a sort of agreement, when Frederick I., af ter great opposition, effected the publication of a 226 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 1527.' fam013s edict, sanctioned at the general Piet o) Odensee, by which every subject of Denmark and Nor way was declared free to adhere either to the tenets of the Church of Rome or to the doctrines of Luther; that no person should be molested on account of his religion, and that the clergy should be permitted to marry ; all of which contributed considerably to pro mote the Reformation, the adherents to which were dady increasing, both in the country and in the towns. In consequence of this decree of the Diet, all abbeys and cloisters were deserted, and celibacy in particular disregarded. Lutheranism was publicly preached and embraced. At last the city of Malmo erected the standard of Luther, prohibited mass, idols, and the other superstitions of the Romish Church. Also a new and more literal translation of the New Testament and the Psalms of David into the vernacular tongue, pub lished by a canonist, Christen Pedersen, likewise one of the guides of the exiled king, conduced to the ad vancement of this important matter. Hans Tausen, who now had established the Reformation in Wiborg, was by the king called to Copenhagen to preach a. D., the new doctrine. Finding a better spirit than 1529. Reinhardt and Carlstadt eight years before had found, he soon gained the majority of the citizens of the cap ital over to the new doctrine, the Reformation thua having gained a firm footing in the three most impor tant cities: Copenhagen, Wiborg, and Malmo. The HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 227 bishops excited an alarm, but could obtain nothing more than that the affairs of religion should receive farthei regulation at the next general Diet. But the Diet of Augsburg, at this time assembled in Germany to try the great cause of the Reformation, and expected to result in condemning the doctrines of the Protestants, as they were termed since the year 1529, was, by the Catholics in Denmark considered a favorable opportunity to oppress their opponents. No reconciliation, however, of the opposing opinions being1 effected in Augsburg, the prelates prevailed, therefore, A. D., upon the king to convoke a Diet in Copenhagen, 1530. that the new doctrines might be debated, and, as the Catholics hoped, thoroughly condemned. But the Protestants displayed great power and firmness at the Diet. They gave in their Confession of Faith, con sisting of forty-three articles, stirred up the people by ardent sermons, and above all, inveighed bitterly agamst the traffic in indulgencies, and the worship of images. The Catholics tried in vain to refute the Protestant Confession of Faith, but their attempt occasioned a< defence in writing from the Protestants, accompanied by a vehement complaint of the bad administration and gross immorality of the clergy. The bishops now re minded the king repeatedly of his promise to defend the Cathode doctrine, but without avail. The discus sions were carried on in the Danish language ; but the Catholics, missing thereby the help they had expected 228 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. from their pleader, Pr. Stagefyhr, whom they had called in from Germany, required the use of the Latin language. But this the Protestants would not grant, as they thereby would lose the important assistance which they hitherto had had from the commonalty. At length the Diet dissolved without having accommodated the differing points ; the king declaring that he would pro tect both parties in the free exercise of religion, but that neither party should be allowed to seek proselytes at the expense of the other. However trifling the result of this Diet of Copenhagen may seem to be, yet it was a clear gain for the Protest ants, whose doctrines soon began to prevad in all the cities of the kingdom, and to show the Catholic bishops that the end of the mighty power, which they long had wielded, was fast approaching. But this was not pass ing without great tumidts and violence. The monks particularly, exposed to great persecution, were often so teased and vexed that they left their cloisters. In Copenhagen, the citizens, headed by the mayor a. D., of the city, Ambrosius Bookbinder, broke, on 1530. the 27th of December, into Our Lady's church, causing great devastation, and cutting to pieces all the images of the saints ; and the Catholic clergy, were, just now, less able to make sufficient resistance. Their chief, the archbishop Aage Sparre, was not acknowledged by the Pope; Jens Andersen Beldenak, bishop of Odensee, who, as we have seen, had been present at the slaughter HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 229 of Stockholm, was, at the Diet of Copenhagen, dis graced with a mark of infamy, for having used inju rious language agamst the king ; George Frus, bishop of Wiborg, was, for a violation of his duty, excommu nicated by the Pope ; Laga Urne, bishop of Roeskilde, the most undaunted champion of Catholicism, had ex pired a year before the Diet of Copenhagen, and his successor, Joachim Ponnow, was consecrated, upon condition that he would not impede the spreading of the Reformation in his diocese. The Cathode affairs were thus considerably on the decline, and the Protest ant faith commenced to get a permanent footing in April 13, Denmark and Norway. It was three years A. D., after these important events, that Frederick 1533. I.5 who had openly avowed himself a Protest ant, died at Gottorp, close by the city of Schleswig, where he frequently resided, and lies buried. He is not mentioned by historians in language of eulogy, but in general considered deficient in moral force and clear judgment. Nevertheless, it is not to be denied that he conducted the religious affairs of his kingdom with much greater prudence than his more talented predecessor, Christian II., but whether he was a sincere favorer of the Reformation, or not, is very questionable, the more as he seems to have temporized with both parties. At all events, his religious opinions were dim and be nighted. He knew the words of Christ, Matthew ix. 15 : " The devil departs not out of a man but by prayer 230 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. and fasting." Being prompt in compliance with them, but not finding it convenient or comfortable to fast himself, the king hired seven boys to fast in his place, believing thereby to have done justice to the words of the Saviour. The Roman Catholics detest, of course, his memory, to this day, while the Protestants, in no less degree, detest him as a contemptible and consummate hypocrite. Frederick I. left behind him two sons, Chris tian and Hans, and one daughter, married to the duke Ulrick, of Schwerin. Updn the death of Frederick I., an interregnum fol lowed of three years, accompanied by a sanguinary war. At a general Diet assembled in Copenhagen in June 24, order to deliberate on the election of a king, A- !>¦» the nobility would select Christian, Fred- 1533. erick's eldest son, but the clergy, entertaining fear of him who had been a hearer of Luther in Wittemberg, and was in favor of the Reformation, voted for his younger brother, Hans, whom they hoped to bring up in the Catholic faith. A third party were for recalling the imprisoned king, but this faction was yet small, and partly absorbed in the two others. Not being able to agree, the election of the king was postponed to the following year, in order that the senators of Norway might be assembled, and the same king seated on the throne of both kingdoms. The Catholic party now beginning to recover their courage, passed several reso- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 231 lutions tending to stop the spreading of the Reforma tion. It was determined that no priest could be appointed in any diocese without the consent of the bishop, that the mass should be re-established, and the existing monasteries and ecclesiastical institutions con tinue uninjured. Hans Tausen, the most dangerous opposer of the Catholic church, was charged with offensive language against the bishops, and sentenced to leave the diocese of Sjelland, and nowhere in the kingdoms, either verbally or in writing, to interfere with religious affairs. The condemnation of the uni versally esteemed Hans Tausen, occasioned a great riot in Copenhagen, the bishop Joachim Rdnnow even run ning the hazard of being mobbed by the exasperated citizens. Tausen, however, left Copenhagen, but Rdn now had, for fear of his own life, to permit him to return. The burgher class and the peasantry, not having yet forgotten the imprisoned king, Christian II., who so valiantly had taken their part, began, while the nobility and the clergy were at variance concerning the election of the king, to think of restoring him to the crown ; the regency of Lubeck, which hitherto had opposed him, but was now displeased with some commercial liberties granted to the Dutch, also projected the resto ration of the imprisoned king, and Denmark was in the most perilous and distracted condition. Lubeck was governed by two talented men, the mayor, George 232 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Wullenvever, and the admiral, Marc Meyer, who from an obscure birth had risen to the highest dignities in LiibeGk. Both of them made an alliance with Ambro- sims Bookbinder, Mayor of Copenhagen, and with George Munter, mayor of Malmo, declaring their object to be to replace Christian II. upon the throne, and to introduce the Reformation. They complained that Christian II. was confined, contrary to the faith of a treaty and to the safe-conduct granted him by Frede rick's general, Canute Gyldenstar. Upon receiving in telligence of this design, the senate renewed the alli ance with Gustavus Yasa, and concluded a union be tween Denmark and the Duchies, in order to deter their enemies from attempting the restoration of the imprisoned king, but without effect. The regency of Lubeck and the popular party appointed Count Chris topher of Oldenburg, a relative to Christian H., com mander-in-chief, after whom the whole war is called Grevens Feide (the War of the Count). He was a nobleman of great courage, fond of glory, of a most enterprising disposition, and deeply interested in releas ing the imprisoned king. He landed troops in Sjelland, and by assistance of the citizens made himself master of Copenhagen and Malm6 ; all Skane, Sjelland, Fjunen, and the adjacent islands yielded within a short time, and paid their homage to Christian II., who, on hearing what was passing in his favor, exulted for joy, crying: " May be the crown can be replaced upon my head ; then once more I shall teach the nobility how to obey." HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 233 The most horrible outrages were committed on the no. blemen, who were filled with astonishment at the arbi trary manner in which they were treated, and with fear of the imprisoned king's reassuming the reins of gov ernment. To put a stop, if possible, to these terrible scenes, the nobility and bishops of Jutland resolved to meet for the election of a sovereign. Holstein took the same resolution, and they assembled in a small town, June 4th, called Pye, by the city of Skanderborg, A.D., where they elected the eldest son of Frederick 1534. I.5 Prince Christian, king, and committed to him the charge of the war, and transferred to him the whole military and executive power of the crown. He immediately laid hold of the offer, ascended the throne of Denmark and Norway, and was crowned in Horsens, Jutland, by the name of Christian III. Troops were now levied with the utmost industry and alacrity, arms provided, and all military stores furnished from the royal magazines of Jutland. Then Christian III. complained to Gustavus Yasa, his brother-in-law, of the irregular conduct of the Liibeckers, in order to ex hort him to enter Skane with a force sufficient to wrest that province out of the hands of the enemy, and re- annex it to Denmark. But these measures to affright the rebels had not the effect for which they were in tended, but cemented yet more the alliance between the regency of Lubeck and the popular party, which, alarmed by the preparations of the king, transferred their arms to Jutland, which now for a while became 234 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. the theatre of a bloody war. Shipper Clement, an ad herent of the imprisoned king and of Count Christo pher of Oldenburg, went to Jutland, where he brought the peasantry together, took the city of Aalborg, and defeated the nobdity and the royal troops. Christian III., informed of it, marched immediately an army into North Jutland, under the command of the celebrated general John Pansaw. The royal cause was supported by all the nobility, and by a great portion of men of landed property in Jutland, and by all the members of the clergy. The first military operations were favora ble to the king. Rantzau took possession of Aalborg, where a great carnage took place ; the peasants were forced to submit, and Clement, who escaped out of the battle, was afterwards taken prisoner and beheaded. His head was fixed on a stake in the market-place, and crowned in derision with a leaden crown, on account of his insolence in defending the imprisoned Mng. In Skane and Halland Christian III. was aided by the noble Gustavus Yasa, who of course did not wish the cause of the imprisoned king to succeed at all. Gus tavus Yasa gained a complete victory at Hel- A.D., singborg, in Skane over the Count of Olden- 1535. burg and the forces of Lubeck, and Marc Meyer was taken prisoner. About the same time the brave and undaunted John Rantzau brought the whole island of Fjunen under subjection, in the celebrated bat- A.D., tie of Oxebjerg (Oxen Hill), where an old cler- 1535. gyman, Hans Madson, a beautiful model of the most HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 235 exalted and virtuous patriotism, arrived half naked and barefooted from the hostile camp, disclosing to Rantzau the plans of the enemy, which contributed considerably to the happy issue of the battle. A great number of soldiers and officers were killed or taken prisoners, and among the latter the old archbishop of Upsala, Gusta vus Trolle, who again had proceeded on the stage to operate in favor of the imprisoned king. Meanwhile the royal cause had also met with great successes from the military abilities of the brave old admiral, Peter Skram, surnamed Panmarks Vovehals (the Desperado of Denmark), who won a glorious vic tory at the island of Bornholm over the Lubeck fleet, and cleared the Baltic, so that John Rantzau could pass over to Sjelland and lay siege to Copenhagen, where Ambrosius Bookbinder was yet defending the cause of the imprisoned king. Also the Southern part of Nor way submitted to Christian III. ; and the archbishop of Drontheim, Olaf Engelbrechtson Lunge, who in the Northern part maintained the cause of Christian II., had to flee from the kingdom to Holland, where he died. Thus all the schemes of the popular party beginning to prove abortive, Albrecht of Mecklenburg, who was married to a niece of the imprisoned king, was appoint ed lieutenant-colonel to assist the chief-commander, Count Christopher. But this, however, did not alter the circumstances, which day by day turned so much to their disadvantage, that they soon found it necessary to solicit terms of peace. Deputies now met at Hamburg, 236 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. and ordained, that hostilities should cease between Den mark and Lubeck, and that their ancient friendship should be renewed, upon condition that the island of Bornholm should be ceded to the regency of Lubeck for the space of fifty years. Christian III. acceded readily to this peace. Only Copenhagen and Malmo were yet faithful to the cause of the imprisoned king. At length George Miinter surrendered Malmo after a long siege, but Copenhagen held out constantly a whole year, untd the famine, which reached such a degree that the inhabitants were reduced to such straits that dogs, cats, rats, and the most loathsome ani- July 29, mals were used as food, compelled Ambrosius A.D., Bookbinder to surrender the capital to Chris- 1536. tian III. Albrecht of Mecklenburg and Count Chris topher of Oldenburg were forced to throw themselves at the king's feet to obtain pardon. A few of the most stubborn ringleaders were beheaded, but the great body of- the revoltef s were conciliated by an act of amnesty. The intellectual excitement occasioned by the intro duction of the Reformation, exercised a useful influence upon the improvement of the Scandinavian literature, which, as well as all progress of literature, was highly favored by the spirit of free inquiry fostered by the Reformation. In the last centuries of the Middle Ages there was less scientific activity than before ; historians, as Saxo Grammaticus, Snorro Sturleson, and Andrew Suneson, appeared no more, and the fatherland's his tory was only told in brief chronicles and dry annals, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 237 mostly written by monks in corrupt Latin. At the foreign universities — Paris, Bologna, Cologne, and Loven— where young men pursued their studies even after the erection of the universities of Copenhagen and Upsala, only the canon law and scholastic phdoso- phy were taught. But the Reformation, rightly called the great genius of all genuine liberty, emancipated the human mind from the thraldom which ages of spiritual despotism had imposed upon it, discarded the subtleties of the schools, and sent science and the arts forth into the wide world of humanity. Only a few ecclesiastics cultivated medicine. Henry Harpestreng, canon in Roeskilde, composed in the thirteenth century a remarkable medical work in Danish, yet extant. Danish writings were also very rare, everything being recorded in Latin. King Olaf, Margarethe's son, highly disliking this putting aside the mother tongue, enjoined that public documents should be issued in the Danish language ; but, however, Latin continued to prevail. German merchants and mechanics settled in almost all cities of the country ; German noblemen emigrated in multitudes from Holstein and other German countries, and except king Hans and Christian II., all the kings of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were Germans, not so much as able to speak Danish with their subjects Under these circumstances, the Danish language was more and more depraved ; German words and phrases crept int ) it, and the original phrases and forms of ex pression disappeared. 238 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. But the Reformation, that great principle of Christian liberty which restored to every mother tongue its rights, and the progress of the art of printing, which now also had become known in Scandinavia, arrested the ap proaching dissolution of the Danish language. The Bible was now translated into Danish, and Danish books were published. John Snell, a traveling printer, was the very first who in Denmark printed a Latin book, published in Odensee, in the year 1482. The very first printing office was established by Gotfred of Ghemen in Copenhagen, where, in the year 1495, the first Danish book was printed and published, by the name of The Panish Rhyme Chronicle, i. e., The Danish History put into Rhyme ; which, during the reign of Christian I., was composed by the Abbot of Soro, Nicolaus. But none has rendered himself more eminent in regenerat ing the language than Christen Petersen, above men tioned, who not only during his exile published a trans lation of the New Testament and of the Psalms of David, but even upon his return to Denmark continued to enrich the literature with several literary works, all excelling in a pure and elegant style. Peter Lolle, also, who collected the heroic songs of the Middle Age? and the old Danish sayings, has distinguished himself by the purity and splendor of his style. The morality of the Middle Ages could not but suffer by the degeneracy of religion' and by the increasing corruption". The scandal of the crimes committed by many of the ecclesiastics, was increased by the facility HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 239 with which such as committed them obtained pardon. A bishop, for instance, might assassinate for a small sum of money. Any clergyman might violate his vows of chastity likewise for a little money ; and it is, on the whole, easier to conceive than to describe the gross immorality which such a system introduced into society at large. The kings often had the mortification to see all their laws overthrown by insurrections of the peas ants, goaded to madness by the oppressions of their lords. Murders, and other dreadful crimes, therefore, occurred frequently, private vengeance often supplying the impotency of the laws. Scarcely any institutions existing for the instruction of the commonalty, the greatest number of the people were growing up in the deepest ignorance. Through all classes of society gross superstition was prevailing, especially appearing in belief in witchcraft and enchant ment. Sorceresses were tried by an ecclesiastical tri bunal, condemned and burnt. Christian II. forbade, indeed, that superstitious cruelty ; but, however, long after his time, it continued, and even as late as 1675, two sorceresses were burnt alive in EJSge, a few mdes from Copenhagen. Intemperance and gluttony, and, among the higher classes of society, an excessive luxury in dress and equipage, were characteristics of the four teenth and fifteenth centuries. Drunkenness was here, as in other northern countries, a prevailing vice, both among the higher and lower classes, among clergy and laity. Mead and strong beer were the usual drinks to 240 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. be taken, either for quenching thirst or for medicinal purposes ; mead being prepared in the country itself, beer imported from Germany. Beer was taken so ex cessively, that a man daily consumed twelve pints, and to a nun in a nunnery five hundred and four gallons were annually allotted. Brandy, in the north of Europe, a spirit obtained from grain, was only known as a medicine ; and coffee, tea, and chocolate were unknown in Scandinavia before the seventeenth century. Vege tables were, comparatively speaking, used very little, whereas fish and meat formed the principal food, strongly seasoned with spices. Luxury in entertain ments was very much in use ; Christian II., therefore, enacted a law that a wedding-party must not last more than two days. The extravagance of the rich nobility in dress and ornaments exceeded all bounds. Immense amounts of money were squandered away on ornaments of gold and silver, gems, dresses embroidered with pearls, sflk, velvet, damask, brocade variegated with gold, and furs of ermine and sable ; even the servants of the nobility being sometimes dressed gorgeously, and their horses, on festival occasions, covered with costly cloth and ornaments of gold and silver. The general dwell ings in the towns were plain, usually built of timber- work, and thatched, wherefore destructive conflagrations frequently happened. Panes of glass were yet, in the fifteenth century, rare and expensive ; skin and horn being, therefore, used instead of glass. The opulent HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 241 noblemen erected castles, fortified with towers, ram parts and moats, where they lived in princely magnifi cence. But the Reformation, rightly called the principle Df equality, compelled the nobility to renounce a great many prerogatives which they had hitherto exercised over the poor and ignorant population, and to use a more temporizing policy. THIRD PERIOD. FROM THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF LUTHERANISM AS THE ESTAB. LISHED RELIGION C-F DENMARK UNTIL THE LNTRODTJCTIOM OF THE ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY. 1536 — 1660. 1536—1596. Christian III.— Diet of Copenhagen— Charter— Bugenhagen— The Re formation introduced into Iceland — Intolerance— University and School Affairs— Alliance with Sweden— New Division of the Duchies —Frederick //.—Conquest of Ditmarsh— Three Crowns — The North ern Seven Years' War— Daniel Ranzau— Peace concluded in Stettin —Peter Oxen— Foundation of Kronborg— The Sound Dues— Lubeck Hamburg— Science and Arts — Henrik Ranzau— Tycho Brahe — Christian IV.— Queen-Dowage Sophia of Mecklenburg— Guardian ship— Peasantry— Nobility. The war now being at an end and Copenhagen surrendered, the king Christian III., came to an agree ment with the senators about abrogating the power and authority the bishops hitherto possessed, thereby facilitating the introduction of the Reformation, and completing the religious revolution. The bishops of the whole kingdom, therefore, were imprisoned, but soon again set at liberty, after, by oath, having promised neither to act nor to speak against the new doctrine. Only Joachim Rurmov, bishop of Roeskilde. proving HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 243 very refractory, was confined in prison till his death, A. j}., Thereafter, in a general assembly of the states 1536' in Copenhagen, at which all the nobility and deputies of the burgher class and peasantry met to gether, the noble king procured the suppression of the Romish worship, and the abrogation of episcopacy and the episcopal hierarchy; the titles, however, of the bishops being retained, which more easily reconciled the clergy to it. The castles, fortresses, and vast domains of the bishops were now reunited to the crown, and the rest of their revenues applied to the maintenance of Lutheran ministers, the purposes of general education, and charitable institutions. From Denmark the revolution extended to Norway, where the Reformation was introduced without any opposition ; but about the same time this kingdom, for having, as we have seen, supported the deposed Chris tian II., was deprived of its independence, and reduced to a Danish province; the king of Denmark, however, continuing to call himself king of Norway, but being no more crowned in Trondhjem, only in Copenhagen, the crowning there giving validity to both kingdoms. At that important general assembly, or Diet of Copenhagen, the aristocracy lost the vicious supremacy over the pre rogatives of the crown and the rights of the people which they had established ; the senate was no more to be composed entirely of nobles; national assemblies should be convoked, and the elections of the kings should 244 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. not alone be confined to the aristocratic order. Never theless the nobility continued to keep a good deal of that ascendancy which they had too long maintained : and the royal power, a long time after, was restricted by charters and capitulations, which the nobility pre scribed to the kings on their accession to the throne, the burgher class and the peasantry being very little noticed. Before closing the Diet, where the papal hierarchy in Denmark and Norway was entirely overthrown, Chris tian III. sealed and signed a charter, containing nearly the same clauses and articles as the earlier ; yet with the exception that the subjects were not permitted to rebel, even if the king might not rule in conformity with the charter. For the rest, the power of the crown was very much limited by this charter, containing very fittle to support the dignity of the king, but too much to gratify the nobility and secure to it the chief powers of the state ; the whole reign of Christian III., there fore, being a continued struggle against the encroach ments of the aristocracy, which had taken too deep root to be eradicated at one blow. The Lutheran or Evangelical doctrine which, accord ing to the Decree of the Diet of Copenhagen, h ad become the established religion in Denmark and Norway, was, as we have seen, introduced without considerable oppo sition in both kingdoms ; only in Iceland, an island in the northern part of the Atlantic ocean, noted for its vol canic mountain, Hekla, the Catholic party fell with the HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 245 sword in their hands ; John Areson, bishop jf Holum, and Ogmund, bishop of Skalholt, who withstood the introduction of the Reformation into Iceland, falling by the stroke of an executioner ; whereafter the new doc trine got a firm footing and Iceland fell into complete dependence upon the Danish government, promising never to carry resistance so far as to employ the sword against the king of Denmark. Popery had now been overthrown in Scandinavia, but the Protestantism erected in its stead was for a long time just as bigoted and intolerant as the Catholic creed had been in the worst of times, several severe laws being passed against other Protestant sects, which only in a few points dissented from the established church. There was a division between the Calvinists and Lutherans, and an unhappy animosty of one party against the other, which the Form of Concord, a confession of faith that was sub scribed on the 28th of May, 1577, had not been able to compose ; and it was in vain that some exiled Calvinists, headed by a Polish nobleman, John a Lasco, who had been cruelly persecuted in England, took refuge in Den mark, hoping to induce the else kind-hearted king, Christian III., to show them protection and toleration. But all in vain ; and although only disagreeing about a few points concerning the Lord's Supper, and the doc trine of predestination, they were mercilessly banished from Denmark, and, in the midst of the sternest winter, forced, with infants and sick women, to emigrate to 246 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Germany. Flatterers extolled the king as the extermi« nator of heresy, but sincere and true Christians heJd Christ's words before him : " Be ye merciful, as your father also is merciful." In order to regulate the ecclesiastical affairs and com pose a liturgy according to the doctrines of the Refor mation, Christian III. induced Luther's friend, John Bugenhagen, theological professor at Wittemberg, to come to Copenhagen. He crowned and anointed a. d., the king, inaugurated the new Protestant bishops, 1537- and made himself highly famous by composing a liturgy and ritual conformed to the Lutheran system of refor mation. Regarding a strict observance of the Sabbath as a safeguard of public order and virtue, and deeply con vinced that God, who is the Giver of aU time, never has surrendered to ordinary use this His own reserved sea son, but appointed it for collective prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings, and considering the Sabbath Day a season when labor may wipe off its grime, Bugenhagen prevailed upon the king to enact a Sabbath law adapted to the wants of the people, the king himself promising to enforce by his own example the observance of the Lord's Day. For the rest, the meek and pious Bugen hagen advised against persecution of those who proved themselves good and quiet subjects, whatever were their opinions on controverted points of theology ; a warning, however, very little listened to in Scandinavia. The ecclesiastical affairs having now been regulated* HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. ' 247 and the laws having given their countenance to the established mode of worship, the king abolished the cloisters of the mendicant monks, the Dominicans and Franciscans, applying the revenues of their large estates to the maintenance of literary men, Protestant minis ters, and school affairs, and teaching those idle, rebel lious, and licentious friars how to submit themselves to his decision with unconditional compliance. Also, the prebends granted to the cathedral churches of Lund, Roeskilde, Ribe, Aarhuus and Wiborg, were confiscated, and applied to literary purposes, especially to the advancement of the University of Copenhagen, which, during the civil disturbances, had sunk into nothing; Christian III., therefore, in aU reason, being considered A. d., the proper founder of the University, which now 1539. from this period slowly advanced for about two centuries, tdl it was brought to great perfection in the age of Christian YI. He appointed a greater number of professors than before, and applied the estates of the " cathedral churches to pay the salaries of the professors, and to exempt meritorious and suitably qualified young students, whose circumstances required it, from charge for tuition. The efforts of Christian II. for improving the school affairs being broken off by his banishment, it was re served to Christian III. to give the Latin schools a better regulation by proposing more proper school-books and a better method of instruction. But it was a pity **° HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. that in these schools, of which one was erected in each commercial town, the Latin language continued, almost exclusively, to be cultivated, the other branches being neglected altogether. In this manner the Latin lan guage was strained to the highest pitch, and a classical Latin style became the distinguishing mark of profound scholarship : an opinion which, although somewhat modi fied, has been maintained in the Scandinavian countries. Of erecting country schools, no mention was made in this period. But civilization and religious enlightenment received 8 mighty impulse in Denmark during the sixteenth century by that translation of the Bible, which a D., Christian III. ordered, and which Palladius, 155°- theological professor at the University of Copenhagen, performed in a masterly manner ; it being thus the first Danish translation of the Bible, which, hitherto, had been a book unknown to the commonalty and the burgher class. Although Christian III. had not been involved in any war since the civil war had terminated, yet the peace of the kingdom had a long time been threatened by Duke Franz of Lothringen, and Frederick, Elector of Saxony, sons-in-law of the imprisoned king, bofh laying claim to the throne, and both having a powerful support in the emperor, Charles V., brother-in-law of Christian II. To strengthen himself against these pretenders, Christian III. entered into an alliance with Francis I HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 21 0 of France, an enemy of the emperor, and with Gustavus Vasa of Sweden, with whom he, of late, had had some discord concerning the possession of Gulland. These contests, however, were soon composed, a strict alliance a. d., was made between Denmark and Sweden, in 1541. Bromsebro, and the plans of the two pretenders did not conduce to the desired result. This alliance, so promising for the strength and harmony of the North, and affording so just expectations of a permanent peace, soon lost its effect, the Danish king assuming three crowns in his coat of arms, thereby indicating his pretensions to all three kingdoms. The inveterate jealousy anew broke out, and although the peace of Bromsebro had put an end to the open contest between the two monarohs, the hereditary animosity between the royal houses of Denmark and Sweden was not extinguished, but, after a few decennaries, broke out in a destructive seven years' war, exhausting the re sources of both kingdoms, and at last forcing Denmark to recognize the independence of Sweden by the treaty of Stettin. The emperor, Charles V., at length withdrawing from A. d., all fellowship with his brother-in-law, Christian 1544. jj ( made peace with Denmark, in Spire,, where Christian III. had to promise to mitigate the rigid a. D., imprisonment of Christian II., in the gloomy 1549. tower in Sonderburg, where he already had pined away for seventeen years. He was now brought to 250 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Kallundborg, in Sjelland, where he ended his a. i days after he had attained nis seventy-eighth 1659 year. Christian III. was a member of the League of SmaU cald, which the Protestant princes had formed for their mutual defence, in case any of them should be attacked for the Word of God's sake ; but as the war of Smalcald broke out between Charles V. and the Protestant princes, the situation of the Danish king, who had lately made peace with the emperor, became very critical. He sent, therefore, no troops to Germany, but instead, a sum of money, which yet the royal embassador wisely withheld, the war being ended in the battle of Muhlberg, a. d., where the elector of Saxony, John Frederick, an 15i7- intimate friend of the Danish king, was taken prisonei after a brave defence. Christian III. purchased for the crown the two dioceses, Oesel and Curland ; but to avoid offending the Russian Czar, Ivan Vasilievitch, declined accepting the large city of Reval, which voluntarily offered to submit to Denmark. That division of the duchies, Schleswig and Holstein, which had taken place during the reign of king Hans, was again annulled, at the accession of Frederick I., to the Danish crown ; but Christian III. undertook a new division between his brethren, although the old and expert general and statesman, John Ranzau, strongly advised against this imprudent step. Adolph, obtaining the Gottorp part, became founder of the house of HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 251 Holstein- Gottorp, the dukes of which so often waged war with Denmark ; Hans the Elder got the Haderslev part, and the king himself the Sonderburg part. To the fourth brother, Frederick, was only given the diocese of Schleswig, and later, that of Hildesheim. Owing to these divisions and parties, the affairs in Schleswig- Holstein have often taken a disastrous turn for Den mark, and occasioned sanguinary national wars, the kings often not knowing how to keep the rebellious dukes within due bounds ; and I grieve to say, that Christian III., in many other respects so invaluable a king, by that division of the duchies between his brethren, has sown the seeds of that spirit of resistance and discord, which, though it did not break out in his time into acts of violence, afterwards proved fatal to his successors, and became the principal cause of the violent revolutionary storms and convulsions in the years 1848, '49 and '50. The commercial industry in Denmark was roused considerably in every quarter of the country during the reign of Christian III., and not only foreign trade, but domestic manufactures made a rapid progress. Copen hagen, Aalborg, and Kj6ge, hitherto having manifested very little of the spirit of commerce, began to be remarkably distinguished for their trade and manufac tures ; and the international trade between Denmark and Norway was considerably increasing, the favorable location of Denmark and Norway at the Baltic and the 252 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. North sea, giving them every advantage in mercantde respects. The herring-fishery in the Lymfjord, and the salmon in Guden river, at Randers, were sources of riches for Denmark, as iron, copper, lead and potashes were for Norway. The Hanseatic League, which had begun to decline from the year 1428, and was now fast sinking into decay, transferred to Denmark and Norway a great part of their trade, and the declension of the Hanseatic Confederacy, the unwise attempt of which to enforce monopoly proved fatal to then- privdeges and their power, was the commencement of the splendor of Copenhagen, that for a long series of years rivaled the most eminent commercial cities of Europe, and speeddy attained to a very high degree of wealth and elegance. A general commercial intercourse began between the North and other countries, and Denmark and Norway found London, Antwerp and Amsterdam the most convenient entrepots in transmitting their productions. Christian III. encouraged, also, domestic manufactures by many excellent laws, and it became of great conse quence for the increase and growth of commercial affairs, that he caused good money to be coined, and made weights and measures uniform for both kingdoms. It may not be improper to conclude this sketch of the reign of Christian III. with a few observations on his ¦diaracter and private life. During his wlide reign he proved intent or projects of real utility, and distin guished himself by rectitude of mind and conduct, by HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 253 unfeigned piety to God and love to men, and by care. fulness for the prosperity and well-being of his king dom ; he loved the arts and sciences, and promoted them ; his habits were economical, and his manners plain and familiar ; he was a decided hater of false hood and low flatteries, which he on taking the Lord's Supper strikingly exemplified. The court chaplain ad dressed the king whfle kneeling before the altar : " Most high and mighty Prince, most gracious King;" but Christian, rising, reprimanded him directly, saying, " I have knelt down here as a poor sinner ; here I am neither high nor mighty. Don't address me in such a manner ; cad me here plainly Christian." He exhibited himself often to his people, conversed with them, and shared in their innocent tastes and amusements. His queen, Dorothea, exercised perhaps a greater influence over him than was desirable, the king's severity against the exiled Calvinists, who had taken refuge in Den mark, being mainly ascribed to her. Being jealous ol the great consideration and honor conferred upon the A. d., eminent financier and statesman, Peter Oxen, 1559. sfie prevailed also with the king to banish him. Ou new-year's day Christian III. died in Copenhagen, after having borne the agonies of protracted sickness with Christian patience and resignation. He is buried in the Cathedral of Roeskdde, where a splendid vaulted mar ble repository is erected to receive the earthly remains of tho kings and queens of the house of Oldenburg. 254 HISTORV OF SCANDINAVIA. The crown of Denmark and Norway was now con. lerred upon his son, who was elected and crowned by the name of Frederick II, after having subscribed to a charter not very different from that of his father. Having as crown-prince always been on the best terms with the Danish and Norwegian people, his accession gave great satisfaction. He was soon crowned, and commenced his reign by liberal promises, and showed a wise policy in weakening the powers of the nobility and reuniting the great fiefs to the crown ; the nobility, however, understanding how to turn something to then advantage. Anxious to relieve Denmark from the ignominy it had undergone in Ditmarsh at Hemmingsted under king Hans, and at the same time desirous to subdue that rebellious little republic, the king, in conjunction with his uncles, Hans and Adolph, made the most vigorous military preparations for washing out the ig nominy and subjugating the unmanageable inhabitants. The warlike duke, Adolph, had already often tried to influence Christian III. to make an expedition against Ditmarsh, but this peaceable king could not be induced to take any part in the contest ; after his death, Adolph proposed to make himself master of the re public ; but Frederick II. being seasonably informed of ;t, resolved to ead the undertaking himself, and go in front of his army. War was declared, of which the abject and prize was the sovereignty of Ditmarsh, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 255 Though alarmed at the prospect of their destruction, the valiant Ditmarshians would listen to neither reasons nor suggestions, but with desperate bravery defended A. D„ their liberty against the superior royal army, 1560. beaded by the old John Ranzau. After a most heroic resistance at Heide, where women fought as well as men, they were forced to succumb to overwhelming numbers, and with white staffs in their hands to implore the king's mercy; after which peace was soon concluded on terms advantageous to the king and the dukes, who now divided the country between themselves. The tal ented historian, Professor Molbech, of Copenhagen, has eloquently described and particularized that heroic de fence of the little people, who had determined either to conquer or to die ; and he has properly compared their heroism with that of the immortal three hundred, who at Thermopylae, under Leonidas, gloriously fell, op posing the countless hosts of Xerxes. A marble column, as we know, was erected in honor of Leonidas and his brave Lacedaemonians, but no monument has pointed out to the traveler the spot where the heroio band of the Ditmarshians fell. About the same time as the war against Ditmarsh was ended, A. D., 1560, the noble-minded Gustavus Erikson Vasa, of Sweden, died, sixty- four years of age having established Sweden's prosperity by wise laws and founded the hereditary succession of the crown which afterwards was extended to females. His son, 256 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. the passionate, cruel, and at last almost insane Erik XIV., ascended the throne, during whose reign a. d., the horrible Danish Seven Year's War broke iscs-70. out. A dispute about the use of the three crowns in the Danish coat of arms was the main motive of the war ; to which may be added, that the Swedish king would usurp feudal rights over the dioceses of Oesel and Curland, which the Danish king, Frederick II., had re signed to his brother, Magnus, who in return renounced all claim to the duchies. Besides that, Erik XIV. had personally offended Magnus. The Seven Year's a. d., War now breaking out between Denmark and 1563- Sweden, was waged both on land and sea. At sea the Danes were led by the great sea heroes, Peter Skram, Herluf Trolle, and Otto Rud ; but the first one being ninety years of age, soon resigned the staff of command. In a naval engagement at Oeland the Danes, indeed, cap tured the Swedish admiral's ship, called the Matchless, having three benches of oars, an equipment of 1,800 ma rines and 120 pieces of ordnance, but Herluf Trolle was soon after mortally wounded on the Pomeranian coast, and Otto Rud was made prisoner in a battle by Bornholm, and carried to Sweden, where the enraged and cruel king, Erik XIV., would have killed him with his sword, had not Otto Rud undauntedly addressed him, saying " Be not wholly guided by your passionate temper, but remember, I pray your royal Majesty, what you owe to a warrior, who has discharged his duty to his HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 257 king and fatherland." Afterwards the Danish fleet was destroyed by a violent hurricane, not far from Gulland. In consequence of all these misfortunes, the Swedes were, beyond doubt, superior to the Danes at sea. The land force performed nothing as long as it was conducted by the inefficient general, Count Gunther of Schwarzburg ; the command was therefore given to Otto Krumpen, who, forty years before, during the reign of Christian II., had conquered Stockholm, but on account of old age he soon retired to private life, where upon the chief command was entrusted to the brave and A. d., magnanimous Daniel Ranzau, who immortalized 1565. ;hjs name in the battle of Svarteraa, in Sweden, where he, with five thousand Danes, totally defeated the Swedish army, consisting of twenty-five thousand wed disciplined soldiers. Notwithstanding this pro digious inequality, Daniel Ranzau resolved to indulge the ardor of his few troops, but before commencing the battle he tried to inspire them with still more courage, by addressing them as follows : " Soldiers ! The enemy, whose cruel hands are reeking with the blood of your brethren, is impending over your heads. You must either battle as heroes or fight as poltroons. On the one hand is honor and a clear conscience ; on the other, in famy and remorse. It concerns your king and your fatherland. ' Therefore, join together in the bravest defence, keep your eyes undauntedly fixed on the "°° HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. enemy, and have a watch upon all his evolutions. In me you will find both the soldier and the general. I shall conduct myself in such a manner that I may be accountable for my conduct, here to my king, and in heaven to my God. Now, soldiers, forward ; let the ememy see the white of your eyes ; rush straightway on him. The Lord of Hosts will be with us !" The Danish soldiers, animated by these words, fought like lions, and gained a complete victory ; and the celebrated Swedish historian, Dr. Gejer, says, that the Danish infantry wrought miracles. Within three hours four thousand Swedish bodies covered the battle-field. Having thus Iriumphed over that great superiority, Daniel Ranzau, together with Franzis Brockenhuus, another famous Danish commander, made an inroad into Smaland, a province of Sweden ; and, having passed into the interior of the country, he defeated, after sanguinary engagements, two Swedish armies ; where after both those generals undertook a most difficult retreat, in the heart of the winter, through regions filled with mountains, forests, and hollows ; a retreat often compared by historians with that of the Ten Thousand from Cunaxa to Colchis, on the Euxine, and thence along the Euxine to the Hellespont, about the year 40C B. C. Unfortunately for Denmark, both Daniel Ranzau and Francis Brockenhuus fell at the close of the war in the siege of Varberg, in the province of Hal- a. d„ land, in Sweden; but the successful issue of the 1569- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 259 War was chiefly owing to their skillful tactics. Erik XIV., of Sweden, having reigned very imprudently and cruelly, and even having with his own hand murdered the young Niels Sture, a grandson of Steno Sture the Younger, before mentioned, and having caused all the nobles to tremble in anticipation of a simdar fate, was placed in confinement by his brothers, John and Charles, and sentenced to suffer death. The only favor shown him was to choose the manner of it, and he chose a. D., to empty the cup of poison. On his confinement 15,?7- John III. had ascended the Swedish throne in the year 1569. He wished to make peace with Den mark, and after one year of negotiations the seven years' a. d., war ended in the peace of Stettin. Sweden had 1570 to pay down to Denmark one hundred and fifty thousand rixdollars ; each kingdom should be entitled to use three crowns in its coat-of-arms, and the preten sions which both kingdoms, since the Union of Caimar had been irreparably broken, had still mutually made to each other, should cease : Denmark recognizing the inde pendence of Sweden, and Sweden, in return, disclaim ing every pretension to Norway, Skane, Halland, Ble king, and the island of Gulland. The happy issue of the war was owing, in a great measure, to the wisdom, firmness, and prudence of the skillful statesman, Peter Oxen, who had been recalled from his exile, and now, by his judicious management of finances and taxes, procured means of defraying the 260 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. great charges of the war. He also made himself well known by introducing several fruit trees, as also the carp, the pike, and the craw-fish. The little sconce or fortification called Krogen, at Earsound, (the smaU Sound between Denmark and Swe den), having proved insufficient to command the naviga tion through the Sound, Frederic II. built the strong fortress called Kronborg, close by the city of Elsenore. The origin of the tax known as the Sound Dues of Ear- sound, goes back upwards of six hundred years, and is founded in that ascendency which the kings of Denmark, from time out of mind, have exercised over the narrow and smaU sounds and belts streaming through their lands ; an ascendency which the principal maritime powers, through a series of treaties, have acknowledged, and the tolls levied by the Danish Government on all ships passing through the Sound, were considered an equitable compensation for the expenses which Denmark incurred in the erection and maintenance of light-houses, buoys, and landmarks, to protect the navigation of the different sounds ; and this compensation has been paid to Denmark by the several nations interested, according to a graduated scale, but always, however, considered a thorn in the side of the commercial nations of Europe, During the reign of king Hans it was decided, by a commercial treaty made with England, that the ships only in 3ases of utmost necessity could pass through the Danish sounds and belts, and should then pay tolls in HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 261 iN) Dorg, situated on the large belt. From the time of Christian II. the sound dues were paid down in pure sdver, while in earlier times goods were taken. The enhancing of the Sound Dues in the following age occasioned many complaints, and as Frederick II. raised it considerably, the Liibeckers made a complaint to the German emperor, which, however, resulted in its enhancement particularly for the Liibeckers, who had to submit, their political influence being now almost undone. But Hamburg commencing again to occupy an influential rank amongst the commercial towns, had already, during the reign of Christian III., arrogated a right, called the compulsive right, in pursuance of which Hamburg would compel the Holsteinish towns situated on the Elbe to carry their grain and other merchandises to this city. But Frederic II. forced Hamburg to give up that usurped right, and pay ten thousand rixdollars, and afterwards one hundred thousand rixdollars. Yet older than the sound dues at Elsenore is the Stade toll levied by the Hanoverian Government on all ships passing up the river Elbe. Stade is a small town situ ated on the Elbe. It originally belonged to the king of Sweden, but was subsequently seized by Denmark and sold to the elector of Hanover (George I. of England) in 1715. In the time of Conrad II, emperor of Germany (1040), permission was given to the archbishop of Ham burg to establish a market in Stade, and to levy a tax on all goods offered for sale there, with the understand- 262 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. ing that the revenue of the tax should be devoted to the use of the Roman Catholic Church in Hamburg. But the toll thus established as a market tax for religious purposes, has been enforced by the successive owners of Stade down to the present day, and has been converted into a transit duty on all vessels bound for the large cities of Hamburg and Altona, which yields the .king dom of Hanover an enormous annual income, for which it returns no compensation of any sort. But Hanover's pretended right to exact a tax for the navigation of the Elbe, is not entitled even to the consideration extended to Denmark ; because Hanover does not contribute a single dollar towards keeping the river in a navigable condition, or maintaining light-houses and buoys, tho free city of Hamburg having for centuries borne all such expenses. The fatal division of the two southern duchies of Denmark, was continued under Frederick n., he granting to his brother, Hans the Younger, who a. d., became the founder of the Sonderburg lineage, 1504- the counties of Sonderburg, Nordburg, and Aro, a small island in the Baltic. Upon the death of this Hans the Younger, this house was divided even into four others : Sonderburg, Nordburg, Ploen and Glucksburg ; the first of which was afterwards divided into five new lines, all, however, now extinct, with the exception of tho Sonderburg (Augustenburg), and the Glucksburg (Beck), the possessions of the extinct lineages suoces- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 263 sively being reunited to the crown. Nevertheless, Hans the Younger and his successors took no share in ruling the duchies, but were only considered proprietors of the allodial estates. The protracted disputes between the king and his uncles, concerning the enfeoffment a. d., of Schleswig, were ended at an agreement in 1579. Odensee, after which the dukes, Adolph and Hans the Elder, took the oath of allegiance, thirty-six years after they had received their fiefs. Upon the death of Hans the Elder, his possessions were, after some variance, divided between the king himself and Adolph : a. d., Hans the Younger obtained nothing but, in com- 1580. pensation, some scattered possessions of the royal part of the duchies. It is easy to see of what vast detriment this division was to the solid interests of the Danish body. Frederick II. was, like his father, liberally disposed tc encourage science and art, and, by his own example, to promote a fashionable relish for literary productions. He founded a cloister, also called the Community, a massive building, where a hundred students received free house and board ; and in Soro, a town forty English miles from Copenhagen, he established an academy for thirty chddren of noble descent and for thirty descended from the burgher class. The Academy of Herlufsholm, the environs of which are celebrated for their beauty, was founded by the great sea hero, Herluf Trolle, who liberaUy spent all his great riches 264 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. to establish this yet celebrated institution. At this time lived also several men eminent in the various departments of literature, sciences, and the arts ; as Henry Ranzau, Tycho Brahe, Niels Hemmingson and Anders Sorenson Vedel, the latter of whom has deserved well by an excellent translation of the Latin original of Saxo Grammaticus. Henrik Ranzau, surnamed the Learned, a son of the celebrated com mander, John Ranzau, rendered himself known, both by his extensive learning and immense riches, which he applied to promote and encourage science and the arts, and to bring about undertakings of general usefulness. The great astronomer, Tycho Brahe, has gained the most unlimited reputation abroad, his name being known to the whole civilized world. In the thirteenth year of his age he entered the University of Copenhagen, and after there having passed his examination highly satisfactorily to his examiners, whose attention he at tracted, particularly by his deep knowledge in the classics and mathematics, he visited several foreign Universities. Upon his return, the king, Frederic II., presented him with Hwen, a beautiful little rock-island, in the sound between Denmark and Sweden, where Tycho Brahe erected a castle named Uraniaburg, and an observatory called Stjerneburg (star-burg). He occu pied these for twenty-one years in profound studies concerning the motions of the planets and the form of the heavens. This great man, whose genius far out HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 265 shone all who had gone before him in the path of astronomy, so as not to leave to posterity the possibility of eclipsing his fame, discovered that the planets moved in a circular orbit round the sun ; and he discovered, likewise, the analogy between the distances of the several planets from the sun and their periodical revo lutions, thus paving the way for the immortal Newton. He not only influenced his contemporaries "by astro nomical works, but instructed, also, many young men; and he enjoyed so high a reputation, that even foreign potentates visited him on his astronomical island, amongst others, James VI. of Scotland, who had come to Denmark to celebrate his marriage with princess Anna, daughter of Frederick II. The Scottish king requested Tycho Brahe to ask a favor of him, and Tycho begged two English dogs, which became the innocent cause of his ruin. The lord high chancellor, Christopher Walkendorph, visiting him, the dogs, lying at the door, barked at the chancellor, who kicked them. Tycho Brahe, in general easily provoked, was so exasperated, that he severely rebuked Walken dorph, who, greatly offended by this harsh language, tried to disgrace him with the young king, Christian IV. At Walkendorph's request, the king sent Thomas Finche, professor of mathematics at the University of Copenhagen, to Hwen, to examine Brahe's astronomical instruments. The Professor, jealous of all the honor and esteem conferred upon Brahe, declared that they J"; HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. were too expensive and superfluous ; all which mortified the latter so much as to make him weary of his father land, which he left in the month of Aprd, 1597. He now repaired to Bohemia, where the emperor, Rudolph II., highly instructed in learning and science, cordially received him, and gave him a large yearly salary, and a palace caUed Benach, close by Prague, where he lived till his "death, 1601. His cotemporary, the great as tronomer, John Kepler, lodged in Brahe's house in Benach, both applying themselves to the deepest astro nomical speculations. The emperor caused him to be buried with great pomp, in the principal church of Prague, called Church am Thein, where a marble monument is erected, on which his image is engraven, as also his usual motto : " Non videri, sed esse." Dr. lessen delivered the funeral sermon, explaining in classical Latin, how his great genius had proceeded, step by step, from the simplest principles to the most sublime conclusions. The emperor, Rudolph II., bought his astronomical instruments. Notwithstanding his high genius and deep erudition, he wanted very much of that which is consistent with real greatness of soul. He was, for instance, very superstitious, considering certain days of the year pregnant with misfortune; wherefore it has become a proverb in the Scandinavian countries, when an unhappy accident happens, " This day is a Tycho Brahe's day." Niels Hemmingson (Hemmingius), one, for his age, HISTORY OF HCANDINAVIA. 267 of the most learned and talented divines, renowned, both in his fatherland and foreign lands, met with the same bitter fate, with the same disappointments and neglect of merit, as Tycho Brahe. Suspected of being inclined to adopt the Calvinistic meaning about the Lord's Supper in the sense of " This represents my body," and of not asserting, as Luther, the bodily presence of Christ in the Sacrament, and arraigned by August, elector of Saxony, and brother-in-law to the Danish king Frederic II. , for this crime, the generous and learned Niels Hemmingson was suddenly, in the sixty-third year of his age, without proof and passing of any sentence, deposed from his professorship at the university, it being the reward with which Denmark, both now and afterwards, has often distinguished lit> rary genius. Upon tne whole, intolerance was a prominent feature of this perior The Form of Concord [Formula Con cordia?) , a book in which the Lutheran doctrines, to- gether with some now subtle additions, were explained, which James Andrea, professor at the University in Tubingen, Wirtemberg. tried to introduce into Denmark, was not only not introduced, but the king himself, with bis own royal hand throwing a copy of that book into the fire, even commanded that clergymen, in whose houses it was found, should be deposed from the ministry, and booksellers attempting to sell it should suffer death without mercy. Aheady Christian III. had passed a law 268 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. forbidding any foreigner to settle in the country before he was examined in the Creed, and Frederick II issued twen ty-five articles, which every foreigner intending to settle in Denmark should affirm by oath ; whosoever might de cline doing so, had to leave the country within three days, and for apostacy capital punishment was to be inflicted. Frederick II. was married to Sophia of 'Mecklenburg ' a daughter of Ulrich of Schwerin ; a wise, pious, and intelligent queen, by whom he became father of the famous king of Denmark, Christian IV.* He died in Cogenhagen, fifty-three years of age, his son a d., Christian yet being a minor, only ten years of age. Upon the whole, Frederick II. ruled his kingdoms with justice vigor, and vigilance. In his private life he was frugal without avarice, enterprising without teme rity, and of an active and pious temper. The king drawing his last breath, and the court physician who came to feel his pulse remarking, " The beating of the pulse is weak," he answered, " Be it as it may, but we know the mercy of God shall not fail ;" and when he had said this he fell asleep. But it was his misfortune, that with his many good qualities, and a large share of mental endowments, he wanted that toleration towards other religious denominations, which should have taught him moderation; and it was his misfortune, too, that in his latter days he indulged in the frequent use of strong spirituous liquors, which abridged his life and undermined his naturally healthy constitution. * And of the Princess AnDa, in Danish Ane, the Queen of James I. of England, and the mother of the much lamented Charles L Stuart. See Lives of Queens of England, by Agnes Strickland. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 269 Christian IV. now mounted the throne, with the en tire approbation and even affection of his subjects ; but, being a minor, a guardianship was appointed, consisting of Niels Kaas, counsellor of state, Peter Munk, admi ral, Christopher Walkendorph, superintendent of finance, and baron George Rosenkranz, lord high chancellor ; all ruling the kingdoms carefully, and taking the utmost interest in educating the young king, and inspiring him with good and firm principles. He was not only taught Latin, German, French, Italian, and Spanish, but also mathematics, in which he made great proficiency. Early manifesting a great propensity to naval affairs, he exercised himself in them on Lake Skander- burg, in Jutland, where a ship was built for that pur pose ; thu^ in his youthful years acquiring no little insight into the science of naval affairs. He was often charged, under his minority, to consider and make answer to embassies, and give audience to the foreign officers who came to Denmark ; and he often sat in councd to profit by what passed. After having attained the legal age prescribed by the Danish law (eighteen) A. d., Christian IV. assumed the government ; the old, 1596. dignified counsellor of state, Niels Kaas, address ing him in the following soul-moving words : " By vir tue of my office, I hereby deliver to your Majesty the key to that vault, where the royal crown, the imperial globe, and tho golden sceptre have been preserved since the death of your royal father of glorious memory. Let 270 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. the crown never fall from your head, grasp the globe with genius and circumspection, wield the sceptre with wisdom and justice, and impair no man's well won privdeges. May our God, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords enlighten you, and fill you with wisdom to promote the welfare of your two kingdoms, and may you never forget the great account you have to make in the last day. May your Majesty be crowned abundantly with all the blessings of this life !" Christian IV. now commenced his reign, after having sealed and subscribed a charter corresponding altogether with that of his father, and has distinguished himself among the sovereigns of the North by the superiority of his talents, and the zeal that he showed in reforming the different branches of the administration. He is often compared by histo rians with his cotemporary, the magnanimous Gustavus Adolphus, who raised Sweden to the summit of its great ness, and whose very name has awakened in generous hearts the liveliest emotions of respect and admiration. Christian IV. was a remarkable linguist, illustrious commander, and an indomitable, fearless soldier ; but whether he was, as Gustavus Adolphus, an exemplary Christian, we are permitted to entertain some doubts ; and when, therefore, a Danish historian, Frederick Sne- dorph, says : "I boldly, in every respect, compare him with Gustavus Adolphus," we believe he asserts too much. After having assumed the government himself he married the Prussian princess, Anna Catharina^ HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 27l whereafter his mother, the noble-minded queen-dowager Sophia, repaired to Nykjobing palace, on the island of Falster, with which the king, her son, had presented ner, and where she lived in the exercise of secret charity till her death, in 1631. II. 1596—1660. Christian IV. — Care and interest for Norway — Variance with Sweden — Caimar War — Peace at Kncerod — He encourages Science and the Arts — Commer cial Affairs — Discoveries — Regulation of the Post Affairs — Manufactures — Buildings — Participation in the Thirty Years' War — Battle by Lutter, near the Barenberg — Peace of Lubeck — Dissatisfaction amongst the Peasantry and Burgher Class with the Aristocracy — Dispute with Hamburg — Sound Dues at Elsenore — War with Sweden — Inroad of the Swedish General, Torstenson — Battle at Colberg — Peace of Bromsebro — Frederick III. — Election of King — The Charter — Alliance with Holland — Corfitz Ulfeldt-- Rupture with Sweden — Peace of Roeskilde — Renewal of the War — Siege of Copenhagen — Admiral Opdam — Battle at Nyborg — Peace of Copenhagen. After having taken his seat at the helm of govern ment, Christian IV. commenced to act with great dili gence and vigor, paying a particular attention to the many complaints that in Norway had been put up against the oppressive treatment of the royal bailiffs, who, when found guilty, were punished and deposed. Upon the whole, there was a prepossession of mind about him in favor of this kingdom, which he during his reign visited fifty times. Under the title of Cap- a. d„ tain, he saded straight to Kola, in Russia, and 1599- 272 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA- at Vardo ran the risk even of his life, his ship run ning aground and losing the keel ; but he succeeded in getting off, without receiving any injury. Sweden for some time having disagreed with Denmark concerning tbe northern bounds of Norway, Cliristian IV., for getting an exact knowledge about this important matter, saded himself by North Cape and along the coast of Finn- mark, where the Norwegian, Swedish, and Russian borders are adjoining to each other. The misunder standing increased, when Charles IX., a son of Gus tavus Erikson Vasa, having received the Swedish crown, which he had long been striving for, assumed the title-, " King of the Norwegian Laplanders," and even levied taxes in Finnmark, and posted placards on the custom house of Elsenore, forbidding the Danish vessels to trade in Lifland and Curland. The dignity of the Danish crown being hereby highly offended, a. d.. Christian IV. declared war agamst Sweden, and 161L m arched a powerful army against the strong fortress, Caimar, which after a terrible siege of three months had to surrender, although the old and brave Swedish king, Charles IX., spared no labor, and even hazarded his own person, in rescuing this principal Swedish place of arms, Theltaking of Caimar, which has given this war the name of the Caimar War, exasperated the old Charles IX. to such a degree, that he wrote a very unpolite letter to Christian IV., in which he even challenged the Danish king to fight a duel. In reply to HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 273 this letter, Christian told him, that it would be much better for him, being now so far advanced in years, to sit like an old woman behind a warm stove, than to risk a blow with a vigorous man, even abusing him in calling him a crafty old knave. Shortly after, October 30th, 1611, died Charles IX., his son, the great Gus tavus Adolphus now assuming the Swedish government on the 26th of December, 1611. Quitting now the council board for the scene of battle, Gustavus Adolphus stormed Christianopel, the principal depot of arms in Skane, and re-conquered Oeland. Nevertheless, the war continued successful for Denmark, Christian IV. taking by storm the Swedish fortresses, Guldborg and Elfsborg, and demolishing the large city, Gothenborg, which Charles IX. had erected ; also at sea the Danes had the preponderancy in this war. The king of Swe den had now levied 1,400 Scottish soldiers, as auxiliary troops, who, headed by Colonel Sinclair, from Caithness- shire, Scotland, landed in Norway, devastating whereso ever they went, and rushing forth like madmen. The Norwegian peasants, highly provoked at their plunder ings and cruelties, took up whatsoever arms they could lay hold of, boldly encountering the Colonel and his , j) Scotsmen in Guldbrandsdalen (the Guldbrand 1612. valley), in a mountainous pass called Kringelen, south of the mountain Dovrefield, where the Scottish chief and his 1,400 soldiers, save two, in the most horrible massacre were formally butchered. The one went home to Scotland to tell his countrymen of the desperate 274 HISTORY OF SCANLtNAVIA. bravery with which the people of the North had de fended their national rights ; the other remained in Norway, \vh«re he founded a glass furnace. In memory of that heroic exploit, a monument has been erected with the following plain inscription : " Here was Colo nel Sinclair shot on the 26th of August, 1612." A Norse ballad, composed by the Norwegian poet Storm, has immortalized this ill-fated Sinclair expedi tion, and it still resounds up to this very day from the lips of the peasants throughout old Norway, of which a free English translation,, from the pen of a poet whose name I have not been able to ascertain, well deserves to be quoted : " To Norway Sinclair steered his courso Across the salt sea-wave, But in Kringelen's mountain-pass He found an early grave. To fight for Swedish gold he sailed, He and his hireling band : Help, God ! and nerve the peasant's arm To wield the patriot brand. 'Neath the pale moon, the billowy surge Around the tall ship broke, When from the deep the mermaid rose, And thus to Sinclair spoke : — ' Speed back, speed back, thou Scottish yoatib My warning do not spurn ; For if thou touchest Norway's strand, Thou never shalt return.' 'Vile wretch,' the angry chief replied, ' Thou ever bodest ill. If I but bad thee in my power, Thy heart's blood I would spill.' Three days he sailed the stormy sea; Tho fourth day saw him land, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 27^ With twice seven hundred stalwart men, Equipped with spear and brand He flung his banner to the breeze, Laid many a hamlet low, And marked his route with blood and spoil*— The mercenary foe. The warriors of the land are far, They and their kingly lord ; But shall her peasant sons not rise, And draw the avenging sword ? On rock and hill the beacons blazed, ' Up, Norsemen !' was the cry ; And at the summons, mustering strong, They met, to do or die. In ambush close, 'mong Gulbrand's cliffs, Five hundred rifles lay ; The vulture smelt the game afar, And hastened to his prey. The fated band are in the pass ; Up rose the peasants round, And poured on them a storm of fire, When Sinclair bit the ground. Woe to his hapless followers now ! By hundreds dropping fast, — They fell as thick as autumn leaves Before the polar blast. In slaughtered heaps their bodies lay By Lougen's darksome flood, While the ravens from a thousand billd Gorged in the feast of blood. They lay unburied where they fell, 4. sad and ghastly show, tlntil the storm-king pity took, And shrouded them in snow. Oh ! many a maid and mother wept, And father's cheek grew pale, When from the two survivors' lips Was heard the startling tale. • A monument yet marks the spot, Which points to Sinclair's bier, And tells how fourteen hundred men Sunk in that pass of fear." 276 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. As commonly stated and generally believed, the num ber of Sinclair's men was 1,400. However, this is most likely an exaggeration, as, from the best historic sources, the real number was only 900. The learned Scotsman Mr. Laing, so well versed in Northern antiquities, even thinks that the number did not exceed 150 men. Upon the inteUigence of that frightful defeat, Gustavus a. d., Adolphus made peace with Denmark in Knarod, 16ls- in the province of Halland, on the following terms, sc advantageous for Denmark : both kingdoms were per mitted to use three crowns in their coat of arms ; the king of Sweden was not to call himself king of the Laplanders, nor to exact tribute in the Norwegian Finn- mark ; Sweden had to pay to Denmark one million of rix-dollars. But Christian IV. was not so successful in the Thirty Year's "War, during which he undertook the defence of the Protestant party against the German emperor Ferdinand of Steiermark, who was a zealous Catholio ; and the Protestants of Bohemia, who had suffered under the government of his predecessor, Matthias, were appre hensive of stiU greater restraint under Ferdinand. The religious dissensions continued daily to increase in ac rimony and animosity, and at length the Catholic and Protestant leagues plunged Germany into a civil war of thirty year's continuance (1618-1648), the horrors of which make the very flesh quiver. The Bohemians de posed Ferdinand II., and chose Frederick V., of Pfalz^ HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 277 the elector Palatine, son-in-law of the English king, James I., for their sovereign ; but Frederick soon lost the battle of "White Hill, near Prague, 7th November, 1620, where the imperialists determined the fate of Pro testantism in Bohemia, the emperor compelling Fred erick to seek refuge in Holland, and banishing the Protestant clergy from the country. Thirty thousand famdies were driven out, and had to flee to the Pro testant states of Saxony and Brandenburg. The Pro testant party now seeing its future shrouded in the darkest gloom of an impending tempest, and almost overpowered by the imperialists, formed a new Pro- testant union, of which Christian IV. was chosen the head, and the war burst forth with fresh violence. Eng land, Holland and France also encouraged the gallant Danish king to defend the oppressed Protestants, promis ing him support of money and troops. Relying on these promises, and actuated by compassion toward the un- a.d., happy Protestants, the Danish king was made 1625. captain-general of Lower Saxony, and crossed the Elbe with an army of 25,000 men, joined by 7,000 Saxons ; but, after some successes, the king fell head long with lis horse from the high ramparts of the fortress, Hameln, in Hanover, which accident for a timo disabled him from leading his army, and shortly after he A. D., was defeated by the imperial general, Tilly, near 1G26. Lutter-am-Barenberg, (August 26, 1626,) with the loss of 4,000 men, the imperial general being far 278 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. superior to his Protestant adversaries. Nevertheless it deserves to be remarked, that the Danish army fought with the most undaunted bravery, the king himself setting forth a glorious example. By the two imperial commanders, Tilly and Wallenstein, the Danes were in the following year driven from Germany, and the imperial troops, consisting of 100,000 men, overflowed the whole of Holstein, Schleswig and Jutland, so that Christian IV., threatened with the loss of his own a. D., dominions, was forced to purchase peace in Lii- 1629- oeck by renouncing all right to interfere in the affairs of Germany, and on the condition of abandoning his German allies, especially the Duke of Mecklenburg. Furthermore, Christian had to resign his pretensions to • the dioceses of Bremen, Verden, and Schiuerin, which he had acquired for his sons, Frederick and TJTrik. Thus ended the Danish period of the thirty years' war, which undoubtedly would have been more successful for the brave Danish king had he been assisted by his allies according to their promise ; but the Duke of Luneburg treacherously fell off, and Charles I, of Eng land, who in 1625 had ascended the British throne, was almost immediately involved in a contest with his parliament, which diverted his attention from foreign affairs. But to Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, perhaps the greatest and noblest warrior the world has Beeli, often called the Lion of the North and the bul wark of the Protestant faith — to him it was reserved to HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 279 be tb.3 deliverer of the Protestants. He taught the haughty emperor, whose general, "Wallenstein, in deri sion called him the Snow-King, that the snow does not easdy thaw in the North, defeating his mighty armies m almost every engagement, until at Liltzen, a small town of the present Prussian Saxony, on the 16th of November, 1632, he was shot through the left arm, body and head, and wounded in four other places before he died. But even in death he conquered, and for about sixteen years after, his spirit led his country's hosts to victory, until the emperor, tired of an unsuccessful war, concluded the remarkable peace of Westphalia, in the year 1648, the religious dissensions being finally put an end to. The three religions, the Catholic, the Lutheran, and the Reformed, were equally established. Although the terms of peace were not severe for Den mark, yet this war of four years' continuance, made with great efforts and enormous expenses, had desolated the Danish countries and destroyed some of the most opu lent and flourishing towns. Industry was at a stand, agriculture neglected, commerce and manufactures to tally annihilated. Hamburg had arrogated to itself a right called jus restringendi ; that is, that all the inhabi tants along the Elbe should carry their merchandises to Hamburg and there sell them for such a price as the Hamburg merchants thought proper to prescribe To this despotic act the vigilant and active king Christian sought to put a stop by erecting the fortress Gluckstadl, 280 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. where he levied toll on all the vessels wl.ich trafficked with Hamburg, which now, after its fleet was a.d, defeated on the Elbe, had to submit, and even 1643 pay down an indemnity of two hundred and eighty thousand rix-dollars. Denmark, at length, graduady recovering from her wounds and misfortunes, became again a powerful and wealthy nation, so much the more as Christian IV., for remedying the evils of the war and the scarcity of money, through several years had raised the sound dues at Elsenore. But HoUand and Sweden, highly displeased with this, watched eagerly for a proper opportunity to deprive Denmark of the Eastern Sound provinces, and a most formidable combination seemed now ready to overwhelm Christian IV, under which a monarch of less spirit and ability than himself must certainly have succumbed at once. Axel Oxenstjern, chancellor of the kingdom of Sweden, and during the minority of queen Christina, daughter of Gustavus Adolphus, commissioned governor of the Swedish realm, a statesman whom posterity considers a man second to none, resolved to weaken the power of Denmark by a sudden invasion, commanding the famous Swedish general, Lennert Torstenson, to leave Germany, and, without any declaration of hostilities, to carry the torch of war, into the very heart of Denmark. Christian IV. had, indeed, long dreaded Sweden's hostile intentions but the careless senate and nobility, having placed too many "estrictions on his power, would not grant him the HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 2S1 necessary pecuniary means to put the kingdom into a due posture of defence. Torstenson, therefore, meeting with no obstacles, burst with the rapidity of lightning into Holstein, Schleswig and Jutland, another division of the Swedish army making an inroad into the Danish provinces in Sweden, Skane, Halland and Blcking; and had these two mighty armies jointly come over to the Danish islands, which, however, the insecure state of the ice and the activity of the Danish fleet prevented, it had been all over with Denmark. But all the towns and castles in the two duchies of Holstein and Schles wig, except Gliickstadt, had to surrender to the advancing Swedes ; and Rendsburg, on the Eider, one of the strongest Danish fortresses, opened its gates to the enemy, and in the month of January, 1644, Torstenson stood on the Middlefartssound, a point of the island of Funen. Under all these perilous cir cumstances the old king, Christian, did not relax in any of his royal duties, but evinced the most indefatigable activity, making everywhere in the provinces the most needful defensive preparations, and despite his advanced age, now almost seventy years old, going on board his fleet to command in person, and keeping a strict eye upon the movements of the enemy. But everything seemed to look very gloomy for Denmark. On the other side of the Kattegat, in the Swedish peninsula, Gustavus Horn, field-marshal of Sweden, and genera] Lars Kagge, with an army of fourteen thousand horse 282 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. and foot, had made an irruption into Skane, in the beginning of the year 1644. Horn occupied Helsing- borg, situated on the sound, across from Elsenore, and after having defeated the Danish troops who ventured into the field, he took Landscrona, a seaport in Skane, whence he advanced to the siege of Malmo, a very strong fortress, defended on the landside with walls, ditches and bastions, and on the seaside by a strong castle, whither the brave old Danish king, with numerous forces, had repaired, which enabled the garrison to defy the utmost efforts of the Swedes. But in the mean time a fleet arrived from Holland to assist the Swedes, obliging the Danes to raise the blockade of Gothenburg, which king Christian had commenced ; but the Danish fleet encountering it off the coast of Jutland, prevented it from transporting Swedish troops into the island of Funen, and compelled the Hollanders to take refuge under the island of Syll, on the west coast of Schleswig, where they were cannonaded by the gallant Danish king. Meanwhde the Swedish fleet, numbering forty men-of-war, put to sea, under the command of Admiral Claus Flemming, a tried naval officer, and having arrived on the coast of Holstein, near the island of Femern, met the Danish fleet, numbering thirty a.d., men-of-war. On the 6th of July a terrible 1Gii- engagement took place, king Christian, despite his old age, commanding in person. The king himself, stand ing at the foot of the mast of his admiral ship, and HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 283 encouraging his mariners to persevere manfully to the end, was dangerously wounded, losing an eye and two teeth, a splinter from the ship having killed twelve men immediately around him. The king, however, con tinued to command untd the enemy was put to flight. This glorious victory has given rise to the magnificent Danish war-song, composed by the Danish poet, Ewald, of which the following is a translation, made by Prof. Longfellow : KONG CHRISTIAN STOD VED HOIEN MAST. (King Christian stood by the High Mast.) King Christian stood by the high mast, 'Mid smoke and spray ; Hi3 fierce artillery flashed so fast That Swedish wrecks were round him oast. And lost each hostile stern and mast 'Mid smoke and spray. F]y, Swedes, fly! No hope to win Where Christian dauntless mingles in The fray! Niels Juul beheld the tempest grow. " The day is right !" Aloft he bade the red flag glow, And shot for shot he dealt the foe. They shout, whilst fiercest perils grow, "The day is right!" Fly, Swedes, in safest refuge hide ; What arm shall stand 'gainst Christian's pride In fight ? 0 North Sea ! Vessel's thunders light Thy murky sky ! 284 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. His foemen shrunk with strange affright, For death and terror round him fight; Sad Gothland hears the bolts that light Thy murky sky ! He gleams, proud Denmark's shaft of war . The foe must own his brightest star: They fly ! Thou road for Danes to power and praise, Dark heaving wave ! Receive thy friend, by valor's rays Led through thy wild and boisterous ways ! Guide the bold youth to power and praise, Dark heaving wave ; And free, through storm and tempest, through Dangers and glory, waft him to His grave ! It affords me much pleasure to quote this excellent translation, in which the Danish original has not lost more of its power than is the case with every transla tion. But, as previously stated, everything seemed to look dark lor Denmark, and the victory gained by Femern was only a momentary blaze. After being defeated, the Swedish high admiral, Flemming, repaired to Christiansprus, now called Fredericksort, to repair damages, where he, in the bay of Kiel, was immediately blockaded by the Danish fleet, whence the Swedes could not escape on account of the adverse wind. King Christian opened a fieioe cannonade upon the Swedish fleet in the harbor, in which bloody engagement fhe valiant Swedish admiral, Flemming, fell, turning ovei the command, before he expired, into the hands of Charles Gustavus Wrangel, who had acquitted himself in th6 most satisfactory manner in the battle of LiiLzen, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 285 1632, where his master, the great and noble Gustavus Adolphus, breathed out his illustrious life. It being, of course, of the greatest consequence to keep the Sweiish fleet enclosed in the bay of Kiel, to prevent it from uni ting with the Hollandish fleet, commanded by Martin Thysen, Christian IV. entrusted this important matter tc .he charge of admiral Peter Gait, and had he acted with due vigilance, the Swedish fleet would have been irretrievably lost. But an unpardonable negligence of Gait, for which king Christian immediately ordered the admiral, although seventy-two years of age, to be be headed, united the Swedish naval forces with the Dutch squadron. The combined fleet, consisting of sixty-four men-of-war in all, met that of Denmark, numbering seventeen ships-of-war, between the islands of Femern and Laaland, on the 13th of October, 1644, and obtained over it so complete a victory that only two men-of-war escaped, and the heroic Danish admiral, Prosmund, fell, after having given the most extraordinary proofs of dauntless spirit. The combined fleet then saded for Kieler harbor to refit, after which the Hollanders returned home. At length the emperor, Ferdinand III, envious and jealous of the progress of the Swedes in Denmark, ordered his general, Matthias Gallas, to collect all his avadable forces in Bohemia, and move towards Holstein. He entered Kiel, and obtained some few other unimpor tant advantages, but the Swedish general, Torstenson, sffered him battle, which ha did not dare to accept; 286 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. and Gallas, says a German historian, made his way out of Holstein, having actually been of more detriment than benefit to the Danes, whom he had been sent to assist. The misery of Denmark increasing day by day, and the Swedish general, Wrangel, in the spring of 1645, as soon as the season would permit, taking the island of Bornholm, and disputing successfully the sovereignty of the Danish seas, while Torstenson, on the land, kept most of the Danish islands blockaded, the gallant Danish monarch, Christian IV., was compelled to uiakeA 13th a disadvantageous peace at Bromsebro, on the A. D, following terms : Sweden should be exempted 1645' from paying Sound Dues ; Denmark should forevei renounce her claims to Herjedalen and Jemteland, (two provinces in the Swedish district, Northland, Nor- landia), also to the two islands in the Baltic, Oeland and Gulland. In the same year the Danish king was also compelled to adjust a pacification with Holland in Christianopel, where the Sound Dues for the Dutch merchantmen were considerably abated. When the sanguinary and expensive wars, mainly arising out of the thirty years' war, terminated, the Danish and Norwegian kingdoms were so enfeebled and harassed, that they, during the last three years of the reign of Christian IV., sunk into inactive repose. Such a complete change in all commercial transactions had taken place, that credit was shaken, trade injured, manufactures checked, the publio treasury exhausted, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 287 and thousands reduced to beggary. Several energetic measures for remedying the evils of the war, and bring ing the countries into a better condition, were taken by the active old king; but meeting with opposition and obstinacy on the part of the senate and the nobdity, which had been invested with undue power and influ ence, they ad sunk into nothing. The nobility were displeased with the king for bestowing the highest offices alone on his sons-in-law, who were married to daughters of his concubine, Christine Munck, with whom the king, upon the death of his queen, Anna Catharina, had contracted a morganatic marriage. Thus, for instance, Count Pentz was governor of Holstein, Hannibal Sehestedt governor of Norway, and Corfitz Ulfeldt, married to the king's dearest daughter, Eleonora Christina, was lord high chancellor, exer cising an all-powerful influence upon state affairs. Although the nobdity might have some reason for com plaining of the favor shown to the king's bastards, yet it is not to be denied, that the sad condition of the kingdoms was owing rather to the many restrictions which the nobility had placed on his power, than to any want of talent in the king himself; the nobility continu ally trying to restrict the royal authority, to secure the chief powers of the state to the aristocracy, and destroy even the best plans of the king. The noblemen had brought their influence even to that point that neither the clergy nor the burgher class and peasantry conld 288 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA write any application to the king unless signed by a nobleman. George Dybvad, theological professor at the University of Copenhagen, published a work about this unjust tyranny, but the nobdity convinced the king that Dybvad's modus operandi was not in accord ance with the spirit' of the times, and that it was repug nant to their privileges, and the king, had to depose him from his office. Christopher Dybvad, not intimi dated by his father's fate, spoke of the nobility in the bitterest terms, and composed a work in which he con demned the prerogatives of the nobility as destructive to the kingdom ; but he was imprisoned for life. Even the best efforts of the king for the improvement of his country were opposed by the nobility. He tried to improve the circumstances of the peasantry, but met with so much opposition, that he was forced to give it up ; and his anger was often wound up to such a pitch as to exercise despotic authority against some noblemen. Thus, for instance, baron Christopher Rosenkrantz was beheaded for having committed only a trifling fraud. Besides all these disagreeable terms on which he was with the nobility, and which often darkened his days. he had, in his old age, the heart-rending grief a.D„ to lose his eldest son, crown-prince Christian, 1G47- his long elected successor to the throne. We have next to examine the king's conspicuous abilities in leading the internal affairs of his kingdom. In peace he was as unceasingly active as in war and HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 289 military preparations. Having enjoyed, himself, a care ful education, and being well versed in languages, both the ancient and modern, he had a high appreciation of learning, and was, therefore, a judicious and munificent patron of science and literature. He appointed more professors at the University of Copenhagen than before, furnished the University with new incomes taken from the ecclesiastical estates, which were vacant from the time' of the Reformation, enlarged the University library, and built a spacious building called Regentsen (domus regia), for indigent students. The Royal Observatory of Copenhagen, called the round tower, was built at the king's expense, and a botanic garden and an anatomical theatre were founded. In order to give the young noblemen that education at home which they fre quently sought at foreign Universities, Christian IV. erected in the town of Soro an Academy (Academia Sorana), exclusively for noblemen, commanding that for the future no nobleman should go abroad before reaching the nineteenth year of his age. Among the learned men who lived during the reign of Christian IV., we ought not to forget to name Ole Worm, distin guished both as physician and antiquarian ; Caspar Bartholin, a famous anatomist, has become progenitor of a whole generation of learned men ; Tycho Brahe, above mentioned, acquired an immortal renown by his astronomical researches and discoveries. Longoman- tanus, a disciple of Tycho Brahe, gained reputation as a 290 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. great mathematician. Hans Paulson Resen and Brock' man, bishops in Denmark, have signalized themselves by deep theological learning, of whom the first trans lated the Bible out of the original tongues ; the learned Icelandic clergyman, Arngrim Jonson, commenced fun damentally to explain the remarkable Icelandic Edda, composed by Snorro Sturleson, A. D. 1218, and con taining the system of the Scandinavian mythology, and specimens of the poetry of the ancient Northern Skalds Of consequence for the history of the fatherland was the Chronicle of Denmark, composed and published by Arild Hvitfeld, a short time lord high chancedor of the kingdom. Also royal historiographers were appointed ; but it is remarkable that it was incumbent on them, as a duty, to write in Latin, and several of them, as Meursius and Pontanus, were foreigners. The mother tongue as yet enjoyed very little esteem, nearly all books being written in Latin. Christian IV. being also a promoter of fine arts, prevailed upon Charles van Mandern, the famous Dutch painter, to visit Denmark, to whom the church of Soro owes its greatest beauty. He left many scholars of great reputation, who distin guished themselves by a graceful and correct design, and several, that, in one single department, may be found to surpass even Charles van Mandern. The active king also invited foreign enterprising merchants and mechanics to Denmark, and established salt and saltpetre manufactories, paper mills, sugar houses, pow- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 291 der mills, and several copper works in Norway. Under A. d., him, also, were the important sdver mines near 1623. Kongsberg in Norway discovered. In his reign, also, .the Danes first directed their attention to the Asiatic trade, and founded an East India Company, and tried to procure possessions in the East Indies, the king dispatching, for that purpose, the Admiral Ove Gjedde, to the island of Ceylon, situated in the Indian ocean. This attempt, however, proving abor tive, the admiral formed a commercial establishment at Tranquebar, on the coast of Coromandel, which was ceded to the company by the rajah of Tanjore. The king also attempting all means possible for renewing the navigation to Greenland, which aheady in the tenth century was discovered and peopled by Norwegians from Iceland, the navigation to it, however, being inter rupted by the frightful disease called the Black Plague, under Waldemar IV., dispatched the captain, Jens Munk. to Greenland, where he established the Company of Greenland, which carried on a profitable whalb fishery in those regions. That Denmark's own inhabitants might profit by the Icelandic trade, which the greedy Hanse towns and the English had almost exclusively appropriated, Chris tian IV. founded the Icelandic Company. Also, many public buildings, cities, and fortresses were founded by this wise monarch : as the Merchants' Exchange, the Church of the Trinity, the Church for Seamen, the ^92 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Palace of Rosenborg, and the splendid palace of Frede- ricksborg, sixteen English miles from Copenhagen, which his father, Frederick II., had commenced. He founded, in Norway, Christiania, the present capital of Norway, Christiansand, and Kongsberg ; and the fol lowing fortresses : Gliickstadt, on the Elbe, Christians- priis, now called Fredericksort, at the bay of Kiel, Chris- tianopel, in Bleking, and Christianstad, in Skane ; for the greater number of which the king himself made tho plans. He established a school for the art of navigation, and raised a standing army, consisting of five thousand foot, steadily trained in military exercises. The king himself, very skillful in the art of ship-building, modeled many of his men-of-war, which were considered the most beautiful and the best in Europe ; and the Danish navy was in an excellent condition, and the strongest bulwark of both kingdoms. He also distinguished him self by his zeal for the propagation of the Christian religion, and notwithstanding his limited means, he succeeded in diffusing the Christian principles through a considerable portion of the East Indies ; and if the Danish East India Company had not been injured by the pertinacious jealousy of the Dutch, who excluded them from the most profitable branches of trade, he would have been able to do much more. It may not be without interest to learn that Christian IV. was a warm advocate of colonial enterprise, and considering America a gold mine, the idea of planting a colony in the new i HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 295 world held* a conspicuous place in the mind of the Danish monarch ; and the State of New Jersey was first settled by the Danes, about the year 1624, making their abode in the town of Bergen ; but as Peter Stuyvesant, the Dutch Governor of New- York, conquered New Jersey in 1655, most of the Danes left the country. The great Gustavus Adolphus, of Sweden, conceived the same idea, and a Swedish colony was planted in 1627 in the State of Delaware ; but the Dutch disputing the possession of it with them, the Swedes, after the Dutch conquest, 1655, returned to Sweden. He was a great hater of superstition and deceitful dealing, and the years 1572-1648 were signalized in the annals of Denmark by vehement and severe trials for witchcraft. This fanatic and shameful delusion went on increasing until, in the city of Ribe, in Jutland, not less than twelve women were burned alive. After a memorable reign of sixty years, and after having him self governed his kingdoms through half a century, A. d., Christian IV. died on the 28th of February, 1648, 1648. age(j seventy-one years, an object of the love and affection of his subjects, and of the honor and regard of the whole of Europe, the policy of which he often had powerfully influenced. Frederick III. After an interregnum of three months Christian IV.'s second son succeeded his father to the throne of both kingdoms, by the name of Frederick III. ; during which interval the state affairs were controlled 294 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. by Corfitz Ulfeldt, lord high chancellor, Christian Se hested, lord high treasurer, Ove GJedde, ord high admi ral, and Anders Bilde, commander-in-chief; and having first sealed and subscribed a very severe charter, restrict ing the royal authority much more than before, and increasing the power of the nobdity, which charter has mainly been ascribed to Ulfeldt, Frederick III. ascended the throne. The events of the last time having shown how dangerous the enmity of Holland was, the king wisely sought to persuade that realm to join his party ; the more since Sweden, because of her triumphs in the thirty year's war, and last successful war with Den mark, almost became the arbiter of the European destiny, and was elevated to a pinnacle of glory and power which proved dangerous to Denmark's peace and security. The learned and intelligent Corfitz Ulfeldt, therefore, was sent to Holland to negotiate an alliance of mutual defence against every enemy. The aUiance made, a Treaty of Redemption was concluded, accord ing to which Holland, instead of Sound Dues yearly, had to pay one hundred and fifty thousand florins. Corfitz Ulfeldt, towards the close of the reign of Christian IV., having often given the king reason to be displeased with him, and lost very much of his affection, occupied a position yet more dangerous and slippery during Frede rick III. The great power his high office gave him, his immense riches and high connections, struck with fear ana jealousy both the king and his proud queen, Sophia HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 29S Amalia, a princess of Brunswick Liineburg, who all the time was cherishing a personal aversion and dislike to Ulfeldt's lady, Eleonora Christina, the virtuous, handsome, and ingenuous daughter of Christian IV. A. d., Upon his return from his embassy, with the re- 1649. suit 0f -which the king on the whole was dis pleased, an action at law was entered against lum, as he had, during his administration of the finances, been suspected of embezzlement and peculation ; both of which, together with other humiliations, induced him to leave the court entirely, and retire to private life. About the sam6 time a lascivious girl, Dina Winhofer, being in an unbecoming intimacy with Colonel Walter, in formed the king, that Ulfeldt and his lady had prepared a subtle draught for his Majesty. This, however, being proved false, Dina, on the 11th of July, 1651, was pub licly beheaded, and Walter banished ; but Corfitz Ulfeldt continued to be suspected and disliked, wherefore he, with his wife and four sons, suddenly left Denmark for Holland. King Frederick, highly exasperated at his leaving without permission, deposed him from his digni ties and deprived him of his estates of Hirchholm. Cor fitz Ulfeldt, however, not thinking himself safe in Hol land, fled for shelter to Sweden, where queen Christina, fondly attached to learned and talented men, received him and his family with every circumstance of honor But here he became guilty of treason, not alone provo king the Swedish king, Charles Gustavus X., Christina's 296 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. successor, to war against Denmark, but even aiding hnn ;n making inroads into the Danish dominions. Charles Gustavus X., a nephew of the great Gustavus Adoiphus, who, at the abdication of Christina, a. d., seized the reins of government of Sweden, pos- as sessed all the qualities and talents requisite to follow in the footsteps of his uncle, his reign being one succession of hardy enterprises and remarkable exploits. He indulged the martial spirit of his people by declaring war against Poland; where John Casimir, descended through Sigismund, his father, from the race of Vasa, revived his pretensions to the throne of Sweden, pro testing against the nomination of Charles X. Poland was then invaded by Charles ; the progress of the Swedes was rapid ; they obtained two brilliant victories in the field, captured Cracow, the former capital of Poland, and compelled the terrified John Casimir to fly into Silesia. Thereafter the king entered Prussia, where he compelled Frederick William, elector of Brandenburg, to acknowledge himself the vassal of Sweden. Meanwhile, John Casimir having returned to Poland, the people rushed to arms, and the country was on the point of being reconquered from the Swedes, when Charles X. led back an army to the assistance of his troops, and fought a terrible battle near Warsaw, 1656, which, after having lasted three days, was ulti mately decided in favor of the Swedes, and Poland had again to submit. His great success in Poland had HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA 297 already7 excited the apprehensions of the emperor cl Austria, of HoUand, and Brandenburg, and rekindled the jealousy of Denmark, which, desirous of profiting by the complicated embarrassments of Sweden, and hoping now easily to regain the lost provinces, declared a. d., war against Sweden, although her defensive 165T- affairs were in the most miserable condition. But Charles Gustavus, who had fought in Germany under the illustrious Torstenson, soon convinced the Danish king, Frederick III, that he was able to chastise his temerity. Concluding an armistice with Poland, he repaired to Pomerania, and then into the duchy of Bremen, which the Danish army had conquered. Thence he marched with 12,000 men into Jutland, where the Danish commander-in-chief, Anders Bilde, defended the fortress of Fredericia, which, however, was taken by the Swedish general, Herman Wrangel, who was now made Lord High Admiral of Sweden. Charles Gustavus X., with astonishing rapidity, made himself undisputed master of Holstein, Schleswig, and Jutland, the treacherous Ulfeldt, who was minutely acquainted with the interior parts of the country, assisting him with his advice and actual help. But Charles X. could not yet pass over to the small islands, as his fleet, numbering fifty-nine men-of-war, in a horrible engage- ment with the Danish navy close by the island ol Falster, was so out up and crippled as to be obliged to make port to refit, this disadvantage being about 298 HISTORY OP SCANDINAVIA. the only one he had in this war, while the prospects of the Danish king had become dark as midnight. After being defeated at the island of Falster, a.d., Charles Gustavus, in the month of January, 1658- drew up his victorious forces on the shore of the * Little Belt, which was completely bridged with ice. The extremely rigorous cold, twenty-four degrees of Reaumur, which had thus fettered the strait, still con tinuing, and giving no signs of relaxing in severity, Charles, having tested the strength of the ice, and measured its thickness, weighed the matter carefully for a short time in his mind, and determined to pass over it with his army. With the king at their head, the Swedish troops, numbering 20,000 men, advanced, in separate columns, accompanied by aU then- horses, baggage, trains and artfllery, combating, even upon the ice, (where two divisions of his dragoons were sub merged and drowned,) the detachments of the Danish troops, which bravely endeavored to arrest their advance, and at last, victorious over the enemy and the ele ments, Charles Gustavus entered the island of Fyen (Funen). At the eastern coast of Fyen, separated from the island of Sjelland (Zealand) by the Great Belt, the Swedes discovered this water, sixteen English mdes wide, likewise entirely frozen. Charles at once de termined to attempt the passage, taking, nevertheless, such precautions as prudence demanded. In place of crossing directly from Fyen to Sjelland, where the cur- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 299 rents are too rapid to afford sure passage on the ice, he marched his army by a circuitous route between tho islands of Langeland, Falster and Laaland, where the well fortified city of Nakskov, imprudently listening to the crafty and subtle demonstrations of the treach erous Ulfeldt, unresistingly surrendered to the Swe dish king, whose cards were almost all trumps in this war. Only the Danish Admiral Bredahl distinguished himself by heroically and successfully defending the Danish fleet, which was ice-bound in the gulf of Ny- borg. At length, arrived in the island of Sjelland, the Swedes, to whom the ice and the deep snow presented no obstacles, advanced upon Copenhagen, a prey to the greatest terror, and unprepared for the event of a siege. In fact, so general was the consternation, that, within ten days after the landing of the Swedish army in Sjelland, Frederick III. sent commissioners to the city of Wordingborg to negotiate with Charles Gustavus, whose conditions, however, were too severe to be agreed to by the Danish commissioners. But Charles Gus tavus, tenax propositi, advanced further towards Co penhagen, and Frederick III. had to offer humiliating proposals of peace, signed by the commissioners at the smad village of Hoie Tostrup, eight English miles from Copenhagen, and afterwards affirmed and signed by the king Idmself in the definite treaty subsequently con- A. D., eluded at Roeskilde, on the 26th of February, 1658. 1658. So humdiating were the conditions for 300 HISTORY OF SO;. NDINAVIA Denmark, and so glorious for Sweden, that one of the Danish envoys exclaimed, as he affixed his signature, like the usually cruel Roman emperor, Nero, when a warrant for the execution of a criminal was brought to be signed: " Would to Heaven that I had never learned to write." Said peace of Roeskdde was concluded on the following terms : Denmark should give over to Sweden Skane, Halland, Bleking, Bahus, Trondhjem, in Norway, and the island of Bornholm, in the Baltic ; as also deliver twelve men-of-war and two thousand horsemen, and, finally, replace the treacherous Corfitz Ulfeldt in his dignities. Shortly after both mon- archs met together, for the first time, with great pomp and ceremony, at a splendid entertainment in the royal palace of Fredericksborg, amusing themselves by friendly conversation, as though living in the best harmony. The base and contemptible Corfitz Ulfeldt was now re placed in his dignities, his estate, Hirchholm, restored to him, and his lady, Eleonora Christina, was granted the title of Countess of Schleswig-Holstein. But to return to Charles Gustavus. Repenting that he had omitted the convenient opportunity of subduing all Denmark and Norway, and pleading that the twu thousand horsemen had not been delivered duly equip ped, he broke the peace a few months after, landed with his army in Korsor, and advanced upon Copenhagen. But this insincere peace, which proved to be only a suspension of arms, stirred up a new spirit among the HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 301 Danish people, now uniting the most enterprising and heroic spirit with the greatest prudence and moderation, and clearly comprehending, that it had come to sad extremities, and that the existence of Denmark and Norway, as independent states, was at stake. In Copenhagen every one prepared himself for the most determined defence ; no one spared himself; even the young students of the University took up arms, the king's own example being the most effectual encourage ment to the promotion of a courageous defence. Several citizens advised the king to leave the capital, but he answered: ''Even if the worst comes to the worst, I sill not leave, but die in my nest." Charles Gustavus X. commenced to lay siege to Co penhagen, and also sent a body of hardy Swedish soldiers to take possession of the important fortress, Kronborg; it being of the more consequence, as a strong Dutch fleet was expected to relieve the besieged city of Copenhagen. Wrangel was sent to besiege the fortress of Kronborg, which he took from Colonel Beenfeldt in less than three weeks' siege, acquiring thereby enormous booty of can nons and powder, which enabled the Swedes to carry on the siege of the Danish capital with yet more energy ; Charles Gustavus being so confident of winning the horrible game, as to write to king Frederick III. that his life and liberty lay at the mercy of the Swedes, and that he (Frederick) might easily comprehend that Den mark was undone, and like a patient past recovery ""2 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. But king Frederick did not despair ; the citizens and students of Copenhagen made several sudden and suc cessful sallies on the enemy ; and three patriots, the engineer Steenwinkel, the bailiff Hans Lostgaard, and the clergyman Henry Gerner, hazarded their lives for reconquering Kronborg, which, however, fell short of success, their patriotic design being too early discovered. Steenwinkel was decapitated by the enraged Charles Gustavus, Hans Rostgaard escaped by flight, but the magnanimous minister of the gospel, Henry Gerner, was put on the rack, and asked questions about the plans and operations of the Danish army, which he, nevertheless, obstinately declined revealing. Under command of the generals Schack and Gylden- love, the chief captain of the city, Thureson and the king himself, the citizens of Copenhagen continued to defend the city in the most heroic manner, but began soon to suffer from want of provisions. Meanwhde the Dutch fleet arrived, under Admiral Opdam, to thd assistance of the Danes, carrying brave soldiers and plenty of victuals. On the 24th of October the a. d., fleet came booming through the narrow sound, 1658- under a terrible shower of cannon balls from Kronborg, whence the Swedish general, Wrangel, tried to prevent the passage of Opdam and his fleet, but in vain. After having totally defeated Wrangel, Opdam arrived safe in Copenhagen, where the most boundless rejoicing took place. Te Deums were sung hi all the churches, and fresh spirit and courage quickened every soul. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 303 The siege having lasted half a year without any is^ue, Charles Gustavus now resolved to take the capital by a general storm and a violent onset, .making the most desperate preparations, and promising his troops, if victorious, the plunder of Copenhagen for three days. He ordered his soldiers to put on white shirts, that 'he besieged might not distinguish them on the snow-covered ground, and bade them not to spare even the child in A. D., the mother's womb. The night between the 10th 1659 anc[ nth of February was appointed for that wholesale slaughter, which he had in view. But the result disappointed his expectations. The undaunted Frederick III. being informed of the plans of the Swedes by the patriotic Lorentz Tuxen, receiver of taxes in Hirchholm, made the most skillful preparations, and his military talents had here, undeniably, the noblest field for their exertion, as his antagonist, Charles Gustavus, was deservedly ranked among the greatest commanders inEurpe. In that frightful night king Frederick III. was present himself wheresoever the danger was greatest, and the talent he displayed in bringing the siege of Copenhagen to a happy issue has immortalized his memory, as well as that of its brave citizens. Even the queen, the proud Sophia Amalia, arrayed in a mili tary dress, was all the night on horseback, encouraging both the soldiers and citizens to shed the last drop of theh Mood for king and fatherland. If \ddened by the thirst for vieto-y, the Swedish sol- 304 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. iiers fought with a bravery almost unheard of; the massacre was dreadful, and the Swedish historian, La- gerbring, says, that Charles Gustavus kept up so con stant a discharge of artillery, that had each hundredth bad hit the mark, not a single Dane would have been left. The Danes, excited to frenzy by the agonies their eyes beheld and the lamentations their ears drank in, fought with the most desperate bravery, and after a heroic resistance forced Charles Gustavus to raise the siege of Copenhagen. For the important services the citizens of Copenhagen had rendered, Frederick III. conferred upon them great prerogatives and privileges, equal to those of the nobility. Few enterprises were ever more deeply weighed than that of Charles Gustavus, few preceded by more im mense preparations, and few, perhaps, ever attended with a more unfortunate issue. And here it may not be out of place to use the words of the Spanish writer, Bentivoglio : "So often the Divine Providence, in the wisdom of his impenetrable decrees, has determined the fate of an enterprise quite contrary to the presumptuous expectations of human foresight." Also, in other places lid the Swedes suffer great losses. The inhabitants of the island of Bornholm drove out the Swedish garrison, and threw off the Swedish yoke. Likewise, from the diocese of Trondhjem, Norway, the Swedes were turned out, and the citizens of Frederikshald, Norway, bravely defended their town against three different attacks of HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 30S the Swedes. Nakskoio, on the island of Laaland, which in the former war so rashly had surrendered, now compensated for it by a heroic and obstinate defence of thirteen weeks ; even the small island Moen, South of SjeUand, made a valiant resistance. Finally, the con federated troops arrived to the assistance of Denmark ; the elector Frederick Wilhelm, of Brandenburg, at the head of thirty thousand men, clearing almost the whole peninsula of Jutland from enemies. Undaunted by. all these misfortunes, Charles Gusta vus, although finding himself surrounded with mighty enemies, formed a new plan for the destruction of his hated rival, Frederick III. Marching a considerable body of soldiers to the island of Fyen (Funen), where, close by the city of Nyborg, a Danish army of ten thousand men was encamped, Charles ordered his gene ral, Count Steenbuck, to attack the Danes in theii iHtrenchments. A battle was now inevitable, and both armies prepared for the contest with equal courage. The battle was brief, but fierce, and after a dreadful combat of about four hours' duration, the Swedish army was irretrievably ruined ; four thousand of their best troops were left dead on the field, three thousand were taken prisoners, and about two thousand of the fugitives were soon after forced to surrender on the coast, from want of boats to cross the Great Belt. Only General Steenbuck escaped by flight. When intelligence of this defeat was conveyed to Charles Gustavus, who tarried 306 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. in Korsdr in Sjelland, he laconically exclaimed : " Since the devil has taken away the sheep, he might as wed also have taken the buck." Charles Gustavus now repaired to Gothenburg, from whence he made an irruption into Norway, but without avail, only to iearn the downfall of all his expectations. Shortly after, he died, in ths yeai 1(360, full of grief that Ida visionary designs had proved unsuccessful ; whereafter negotia tions for peaw were commenced . with Sweden, a. d., and a treaty was concluded in Copenhagen on 166°- the 27th of May, on terms, which, though severe, were more favorable than Frederick III., under the circum stances, could reasonably have hoped. Sweden retained Bahus, as also the three fertile provinces, Skane, Hal- land and Bleking, which Denmark never has got again ; only Trondhjem in Norway, and the island of Bornholm were restored to Denmark, the execution of this treaty being guaranteed by Holland, England and France. Thus the bloody war with Sweden terminated, just as Denmark was upon the very brink of her ruin. FOURTH PERIOD, FROM THE INTRODUCTION OP THE ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY CN" TIL THE YEAR 1852. 1660—1863. 1660—1766. F-ederick III. — The Diet of Copenhagen — The Charter annihilated and Abao lute Sovereignty introduced — Kay Lykke — Corfitz Ulfeldt — Eleonora Christina — Dispute with Christian Albrecht of Gottorp — Christian V. — Acquisition of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst — War with Sweden and France — Niels Juel — Peace of Lund and Fontainebleau — Griffenfeldt— Ole Romer — The Peasantry — Oluf Rosenkranz — Masius and Bagger — Frederick IV. — War witb the Duke of Gottorp — Peace of Travendal — Eleven Years* War with Sweden — Tordenskjold — Peace of Fredericsborg — Hostile Terms with Russia — Hans Egede — Science and the Arts — Christian VI. — The Peasantry — Ecclesiastical Affairs — School Affairs — Science and the Arts — The Navy — Count Danneskjold Samso — Frederick V. — Hostile Terms with Russia — Peter III. — Manufactures — Commercial and Financial Affairs — The Peasantry — Science and the Arts. The sanguinary struggle ended, a period followed, scarcely to be called a peace, although there was a ces sation from open hostilities. Both kingdoms, Denmark and Norway, were in a sadly depressed condition ; the scone, that was everywhere presented, was a wide waste of ruin; the countries were sunk in debt, and the 308 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. soldiers had not received their wages, the commercial affairs were decaying, and the agriculture, of course, neglected. The nobility, enjoying all privileges and prerogatives, would, as usual, be exempted from taxes, although best capable of paying them, and the popular frenzy was inflamed to the highest pitch. To pacify the minds and to find out means to remedy the misera ble condition of his kingdoms, King Frederick IH. convoked a Diet at Copenhagen on the 8th of a. D., September, being called the Revolution of Den- 166°- mark. During the sitting of the Diet the tyranny and unbecoming haughtiness of the aristocracy arose to such a height, that the clergy, the burgher class, and the peasantry, headed by Hannibal Sehested, the only no bleman siding with the king, the senator, Henrik Bjelke, the honest mayor of Copenhagen, Nanson, the learned bishop Svane, and pastor Willadson of Slagelse, voted for the surrender of sovereignty to the king, and Jan. 10, Frederick III., at the close of the Diet, almost a.d., without any effort of his own, was thus invested 1661- with absolute power, Denmark being now as absolute a monarchy as any other in the world. But it deserves here to be remarked, that the Danish sovereigns have generally exercised their extensive power with great moderation. Nevertheless, this excessive power of the orown, produced, at length, in the year 1849, the liberty of the people, gave rise to a spirit of union, and opened their eyes to the natural rights of mankind. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 309 The sovereignty thus surrendered to the king a new and solemn contract between the king and the people, called Law for the King, and composed by the talented secretary, Peter Schumacher, under the following king Nov. 14, ennobled by the name of Griffenfeldt, was sub- A. D., scribed to by Frederick III., and declared an 16G5. inviolable law for both kingdoms, the principal articles of which law were : 1. The king of Denmark and Norway shall indis pensably profess the articles of the Lutheran creed, known by the name of the Confession of Augsburg (Confessio Augustana). 2. The king must neither divide the kingdoms nor separate any province from them, but shall preserve their integrity. 3. The king shall reside in Copenhagen, Denmark. 4. The king is of age at thirteen years old, to contro! all affairs. 5. The throne is hereditary, both in the male and female line, but it being never vacant in the eye of the law, the queen-dowager shall, if the king before his death should not have regulated the guardianship, from the very moment of his death, in conjunction with seven counselors of state, assume the reins of government as long as the young king is in his minority, and take care of his education. 6. The most unlimited power of the government, both in ecclesiastical and secular matters, shall be S10 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVL* lodged in the person of the king, who is above the reach of all courts of law, and not personally responsi ble to any judicature but the bar of God for his acts and conduct in the administration of government. It need not be explained how greatly this investment of the king with absolute sovereignty curbed the no bility, whose shameful ignorance, meanness and rebel lious spirit had rendered them useless and contemptible both to the king and the nation. The praiseworthy men, above mentioned, who had mainly raised the king to an absolute sovereignty, obtain- <• ed the most palpable evidences of his gratitude : Svane being given the title of archbishop and extensive real estates ; and Nanson, Hannibal Sehestedt, and Willad- son likewise presented with donations and high offices, in reward of their important services. New measures for improving the administration of the state affairs were now taken. The whole frame of government was altered altogether, many' affairs, which before had be longed to the senate, being divided amongst various colleges (collegia), in which, by authority of the king's writ, the burgher class as wed as the nobility could be invested with offices. Said colleges were : the college of slate, intrusted with the administration of foreign affairs and with the care of maintaining the new con stitution and the interests of the royal house ; the sacred college, invested with power to confer the ecclesiastical offices on qualified persons ; the college of justice, to HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 311 which pertained the judicia power and the regulation of the police; the college of treasury, to administer the finances and the levying of taxes ; the college of war, to which the army was subject ; and the admiralty college, having the naval affairs under its direction. But whatsoever the colleges had decided upon, was, for getting legal strength and force, first to be laid before the king himself, and have his signature affixed to it. The legislative power belonged to the king alone, that is, the power of making laws, of abrogating them, or of changing them. Besides these codeges, the supreme court was in stituted, which became the highest tribunal, its presi dent being the king himself. Frederick III. now em ployed all his efforts for introducing a more economical system, and remedying the prevading scarcity of money, the proud nobility, hitherto exempt from taxes, being de clared tributary as well as the peasantry, which consid erably contributed to settle the confused financial affairs. There remains to be mentioned, that the code of posi tive law needed a transformation according to the ma terial alteration the government had undergone, for the performance of which the king appointed a committee, which reviewed the earlier laws and elaborated a new coda or collection of laws ; which important work was finished in the space of eight years by Rasmus Windin j; professor of law, and Peter Lasson, justiciary of the supreme court, the code itself, however, first being pub lished during the reign of Christian V. B12 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. We must now take a brief retrospect of the affairs of the treacherous Corfitz Ulfeldt, one of the most ex traordinary men that ever appeared on the stage of hu man life. After the peace was concluded in the year 1660, Ulfeldt had made himself suspected even in Swe den of being a clandestine adherent of Denmark. His property, therefore, being confiscated in Sweden, he fled with wife and children to Copenhagen, just at the time the sovereignty wras to be surrendered to the king. Being here at liberty for a short time, he and his wife; through the instrumentality of his sworn enemy, Hannibal Sehestedt, were suddenly imprisoned in the castle of Rosenborg, on the 3d of March, 1660, from whence they soon after were brought to the castle of Hammershus, on the island of Bornholm, and locked up in a dark, subterranean prison, where Henry Fuchs, the lieutenant of the castle, for a time of fifteen months, treated them with such inhumanity and severity that Ulfeldt had to make a very submissive request to the king himself for a mitigation of their severe treatment. Count Frederick Ranzau was now sent to Bornholm to inquire into the matter. Ulfeldt and his wife were set at liberty on condition that he would solemnly promise never to undertake anything detrimental to the sovereign power of the king, and never, without permission, to leave the country. They arrived now again in Copen hagen, whence they, on the 27th of December, 1661, went to the island of Fyen, to their beautiful manor HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 313 Ellensborg. Some time after, Ulfeldt, upon request, obtained permission to go to Spaa, a celebrated watering- place in Belgium, but instead of it, he went with his wife and four sons to Amsterdam, where his lady, the magnanimous and faithful Christina Eleonora, left him for England, in order to claim a large amount of money with which Ulfeldt had supplied Charles II. On taking leave of her, 7th July, 1662, his parting words were as follows : " You have been united with me in love, you have suffered with me in patience, you have shared my hardships with manly perseverance, you have assisted me with kind advices in difficult cases, you have tried to lead my heart unto Him by whom kings reign and princes decree justice ; you have loved me even in the utmost miseries. I am now parting with you, but whatsoever might happen, do not forget to adhere to Him who is the ruler of adversities and the strengthener of love." They never more met each other on this side the grave. After she left, Ulfeldt, whose heart was full of hatred against the Danish king, engaged himself in treacherous negotiations with Holland, France, and Brandenburg, aiming at overthrowing the new constitution of Den mark. But the elector of Brandenburg, Frederick Wilhelm, a personal and intimate friend of Frederick III., informed, without delay, the Danish court of Ulfeldt's high treason, who instantly was sentenced tr 8uffer death ; but it being impossible to get hold of bim '' HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. he was decapitated in effigy, his sentence of condemna tion being written on the scaffold, his house in Copen hagen pulled down, and a monument of infamy erected on the void place. No sooner was Ulfeldt informed of the sentence of death pronounced against him in Denmark, than he left Amsterdam and fled, crossing the Rhine to Brisac, where he died, aged sixty years, his conscience a. d., being burdened with the memory of crimes of 1G64- the deepest dye. His corpse was brought to a cloister near Neuburg, in Bavaria, whence his sons brought it, interring it secretly under a tree. He was a man of the greatest talents, a great linguist, an accomplished noble man, and a sagacious diplomate ; but he was headstrong in his passions, imprudent, treacherous, and capricious, and his romantic spirit often led him into the most extravagant excesses. Ulfeldt's wife, the noble-minded Eleonora Christina, a splendid example of conjugal love, was by -the English government delivered up to Denmark, and sent on board of a ship to Copenhagen, where the queen, Sophia Amalia, ordered her maid of honor to strip Eleonora of her clothes, after which she was imprisoned for twenty-three years in Bluetower, and ad the time treated with every circumstance of severity. This action is the greatest stain upon the memory of the queen, who ought to have respected the unhappy lady for that which was her only offence — a noble faithfulness in sharing the fate of her husband. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 315 Immediately after the death of the queen, the suc ceeding king released Eleonora from imprisonment, in 1685, presenting her with the palace of Maribo, on the island of Laaland, and with an annual allowance of fifteen hundred rixdollars. Here she lived for thir teen years in literary occupations and pious contempla tions, until she died on the 16th of May, 1698, aged seventy-seven years. Her biography, composed by herself, she finishes with the following words : " Per secutions followed my husband of blessed memory ; I followed him, and afflictions, therefore, followed me : mais la tristesse donne occasion a la patience. Death will be acceptable to me ; nevertheless I do not wish for it, but agree with the Latin proverb : Rebus in adversis facile est contemnere mortem: Fortius ille facit qui miser esse potest." She is buried in Maribo cemetery, the words she herself had wished being engraved on the tombstone : " Unless Thy law had been my delight, I should have perished in mine affliction. Ps. cxix. 93." Although the absolute power, as above mentioned, was generally exercised by Frederick III. and his suc cessors with great moderation, he seems, nevertheless, especially immediately after having obtained this power, to have held the highest notions of his sove reignty, and to have exerted his authority with rigor. A rbh and esteemed nobleman, Kay Lykke, had in a 316 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. private letter mentioned the queen in offensive terms Though humbly imploring mercy and forgiveness for his temerity and inconsiderateness, he was sentenced to suffer death; but having seasonably escaped by flight the capital punishment, he was executed in effigy, his large estates being confiscated in behalf of the crown. Gunde Rosenkranz, an accomplished and honest nobleman and senator, having often deserved wed of his country, was without mercy banished, only for being at variance with the king's favorite, Henry Gabel; and for the unexampled severity shown against the innocent countess, Eleonora Christina Ulfeldt, the king is highly to be blamed. For the rest, Frederick III took energetic care for the welfare of his kingdoms, commencing rapidly, during his reign, to emerge from the weakness and enervation into which they had been plunged by the Swedish invasion and subsequent wars. He reformed the laws, and encouraged commerce by establishing trade with Guinea, on the western coast of Africa, and with the West Indies. The king himself, being a man of letters, patronized science and the arts, and estab lished the royal library, one of the greatest in Europe, now containing four hundred thousand volumes, and the university library was considerably enlarged. The fleet, almost entirely disabled in the last war, was excellently fitted up by a Norwegian, Cort Adler, who in Venetian service against the Turks, had immortalized HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 317 nimself by the most undaunted courage in many naval engagements. But a most heavy burden on the country was the standing army, which was now aug mented to twenty-four thousand men, kept in constant pay ; and the king, who, with all his superiority of genius and extensive knowledge, firmly believed in the possibility of the transmutation of metals into gold, wasted not a little of the national revenue in vain on costly alchemical experiments, conducted by Burrhi, an Italian professor of that imaginary science, with which so many of even the superior minds were in that age infatuated. Frederick III. inherited Oldenburg and Delmenhorst and bought Sonderborg, Nordborg, and the island of Aro, in the Baltic. In the latter part of his reign hostdities were about to break out with Charles II. of England, as an English admiral had attacked a Dutch commercial fleet, which had fled for refuge to a harbor in Norway ; a. d., the conclusion, however, of a peace at Breda, 1667. jn Holland, dissipating the alarm. But soon a serious misunderstanding arose between Frederick and Christian Albrecht, duke of Gottorp. The new relation into which the dukes of Gottorp, because of the sove reignty surrendered to the king, had come to Denmark, occasioned frequent collisions ; and Christian Albrecht having made an alliance with Charles XL of Sweden, was moro prcne to strife than to submission. The 318 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. dispute, however, was settled by the Recess of A. q* Glucksiadt, the friendship being confirmed by a 1G67- marriage between the duke and the daughter of the king, Fredericka Amalia. Frederick III. died after a remarkable reign a. d, of twenty-two years. Upon the whole, having 167°- distinguished himself by firm principles, manliness, prudence, and judiciousness, he nevertheless often showed, as above mentioned, a blamable severity, mainly, perhaps, to be ascribed to the undue influence his queen, the haughty Sophie Amalia, exercised upon him. He is also to be blamed for having surrounded himself too much with German favorites, and neglected the mother tongue to such a degree, that the crown prince for a long while did not understand Danish. Neither was it slightly to his discredit that he nearly all the time lived in prohibited sexual commerce wdth different concubines. Christian V. succeeded to the Danish crown a. d: on the death of his father. He commenced his 167°- reign by adopting a policy entirely contrary to that system of equality, which had begun to take place during the reign of Frederick III., the new king being unfavorable, as it will appear, to the people's liberties, but in favor of the higher orders of the state, which now again would have everything at their disposal. The nobdity, having been made tributary from compulsion, during the reign of Frederick III., was now, by Chris- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 319 tian V., exempted from paying taxes, and not alone restored to their ancient rights and privileges, but several new prerogatives were conferred upon counts and barons, the lower orders of the state being consid ered only as a part of the property belonging to the real estates. Amongst these prerogatives were : Right of patronage (jus vocandi), consisting in freedom to confer a vacant pastorate on their estates upon any candidate for orders the nobleman might please to select — a right very often misapplied in the most shameful and conscienceless manner, the noble man frequently offering a pastorate to a young candidate upon condition that he should marry a woman de bauched by the lewd nobleman himself ; right of juris diction, that is, an exclusive privilege of appointing any judge on their estates they might wish — a right, likewise, often misused ; exemption from paying tithes of their manors to the clergy ; and power of life and death over their peasants, that is, it was left to the disposition of the nobleman to order a peasant to be scourged and beheaded. AU these shameful privileges granted to these dregs of society were, in fact, the very cause of the subsequent freedom of the Danish nation, which at length, roused out of sleep, shook off the unjust yoke to which they, for centuries, had been subjected. Christian V. established also a distinction of ranks and honor, which he considered an essential benefit to 32C HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. the state, as furnishing a reward for public services and captivating to the ambition of individuals, who thereby might be prompted to distinguish themselves in service of their country ; but although undeniably thereby was given an incitement to many to exert themselves lauda bly, it nevertheless imposed a great burden on the com munity, a new order thereby being established, invested with new privileges and immunities, not to mention the impure emulation and vanity it produced. He also instituted two new orders of knighthood : the orders of Dannebrog and of the Elephant, with the latter of which only kings, princes, dukes and noblemen were decorated. Upon the whole, the gay humor of the French, and that spirit of levity and luxury which was prevading at the court of Louis XIV., was never more conspicuous in Denmark than during the reign of Christian V., who himself loved the lusts of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, but cared not very much for matters relative to salvation. The good terms on which Denmark, by the Recess of Gluckstadt, had come to Christian Albrecht, duke of Gottorp, commenced now again to be subverted by disputes concerning Oldenburg and Dehnenhorst, which the last count, Anthon Giinther, by his will before his death, had divided between the king of Denmark and the duke of Gottorp ; but Joachim Ernst, duke of Ploen, in Holstein, believing himself more entitled, laid claims to the said earldoms, and appealed to the empe- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 321 ror's bench. For averting the danger, which was threatening, the wise diplomate, Griffenfeldt, whom Louis XIV. called the world's greatest statesman, nego tiated with the duke of Ploen and prevailed upon him to resign his claims, by which means Christian V. decidedly became the master of both earldoms; which exasperated Christian Albrecht to such a degree as to prepare himself to strike a decisive blow against Den mark. But Christian V., by virtue of his au- a.d., thority as sovereign king, cited him to meet in 1675- Rendsburg, where he was compelled to make an agree ment, according to which he had to give up his troops and fortresses to the king, as also to pass his word for refraining from all hostilities. At the same time the arbitrary designs of Louis XIV. had excited universal dissatisfaction, and alliances were formed to resist his designs and successes, which alarmed all Europe. A triple alliance was formed be tween England, Holland and Sweden, to compel Louis to make peace with Spain, and the union of these powers being too formidable to be opposed, a treaty was signed. But other projects soon occupied the monarch of France, whose designs against the dominions of Spain had been checked by means of the triple alliance. He meditated now the conquest of Holland, and took every measure necessary for so great an enterprise. England and Sweden entered into his views, while the German em peror, Leopold I., and the Elector of Brandenburg, 322 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Frederick Wilhelm, took up arms to protect Hollaed and rescue it from destruction. Griffenfeldt advised the Danish king, Christian V., to maintain a wise neu trality, and keep up good terms with Sweden, which had joined the mighty France. But from an ardent desire of reconquering the lost provinces in Sweden, Christian V., disposed to war himself, and instigated by the Elector of Brandenburg, declared war against France and Charles XL of a. D., Sweden, whose troops lately had been defeated 1675- at Fehrbellin in Brandenburg, Denmark thus again being involved in a horrible war. The Danish king, not daunted by the power of his enemies, opened the theatre of the war in Germany, although Griffenfeldt advised the king rather to invade Skane, the inhabitants of which were yet in favor of Denmark. After many toilsome tasks, the strong fortress, Wismar, was taken, especially by Griffenfeldt's constancy, and Bremen and Werden were also conquered by the Danish and Bran denburg troops. Next year the war commenced in Skane, and Christian V. launched his fleet, now excel lently equipped and fitted out, into the Baltic, and during the continuance of this war, the Danish navy rode triumphant, and gained a decided superiority over the Swedish fleet. The great Danish admiral Niels Juel, in whom every endowment of nature necessary to form a consummate warrior seems to have been cen tered, conquered the imoortant island, Gulland, and HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 323 a D., co-operating with the Dutch admiral, Tromp, he 1676- totally defeated, in a most desperate engagement, the whole Swedish fleet at the island of Oeland, whereby the king was enabled to carry his army to Skane, where in the beginning, he went on with brilliant success conquering the greatest part of Skane and Bleking, and several strong fortresses. But fortune soon turned her back upon him. The Swedish king, Charles XL, endowed with military talent, as were almost all the kings of the dlustrious house of Vasa, and with an intrepid and enterprising mind, arose now like a phenix from its ashes, and defended himself with great ability and success. A Danish army was a. d., defeated by Charles, at Halmstad, and in the 1676. next year two battles were fought near Lund and Landscrona, where both kings commanded in per- a. d., son. The battles were brief, but, for their dura- 1677- tion, the most sanguinary on record; the victory, towards the last, remained doubtful, when suddenly, Charles XL, amusing the Danish left wing by a feigned attack, poured his infantry, in masses, on the centre ; they encountered the bravest resistance, but the Swedish king, bringing up the cavalry just as the Danish lines began to waver, broke through them with a headlong charge, and in a few moments the Danish army was a helpless mass of confusion. The result of this brilliant victory was the immediate conquest of the lost fortresses, except Christianstad, 324 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. which for a long time was defended with great heroism by the Danish general, Von Osten; who, nevertheless, as his assistant, General Ahrensdorff, neglected his duty altogether, had to surrender that strong fortress to the Swedish king, and every thing now seemed short of success for Denmark. The wise and intelligent Griffen. feldt stood no more by the king's side ; he had been removed partly by his own crimes, partly by secret intrigues of his enemies, the king now trusting only in his inefficient German favorites, Hahn, Ahlefeldt, and Ahrensdorff, who assisted him in his immoral dissipa tions and irregular course of life. Notwithstanding aU looking very dark for Denmark, Christian V. attempted to retrieve his losses in a new campaign, and sent his half brother, Ulrik Frederick Guldenlove, a natural son of Frederick III., to Norway, which had been attacked by the Swedes. Guldenlove acquitted himself bravely and with success, soon after conquered Jemteland, made his way through Bahus and Halland, and took by storm the strong rocky fortress, Carlsteen, situated by the Cattegat, while at the same time the brave General Lovenhjelm entirely defeated a superior Swedish army at Uddevalle, in the province of Bahus. The rays of the sun seemed again to smile on Denmark, her navy continuing to ride triumphant wheresoever she came in engagement. The celebrated Niels Juel gained a new victory over the Swedes at Kolberg Rhed, close by the island of Femern, and a HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 325 a.d., month after, he immortalized his name Dy en. 1677- tirely destroying the Swedish fleet in the bay of Kjoge, by SjeUand. The latter, numbering forty-six men-of-war, attacked the Danish fleet, moored in a formidable position in the bay, but, after a desperate contest, every Swedish ship that had a share in the engagement was taken or destroyed, the Swedes being humbled considerably by this loss. A. d., In the meantime, conferences taking place at 1678. Nimvegen, and peace with France being made, Denmark also had to consent to peace with Sweden, in A. D., Lund, and the same year with France, at Fon- 1679- tainebleau. On account of the interference of France, who would not permit her ally, Sweden, to suffer any loss, Denmark got nothing for all her great victories at sea, but had even to promise to replace the rebellious Christian Albrecht of Gottorp in his former rights. The good footing between the two neighboring kingdoms now seemed to be firmly established, Charles V. marrying Ulrikka Eleonora, a sister of the Danish king. After the restoration of peace, the king of Sweden tried to make himself as absolute as the kings of Den mark, but he died prematurely, leaving his crown to his son, Charles XII, who has deservedly been styled the Alexander of the North, and who rivaled the fame of the most celebrated conquerors of antiquity. We shall now dwell a little on the fortunes and fate of the chief minister of Christian V., tie great Peter 826 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Griffenfeldt, whose Christian name was Schumacker. His father was a wine merchant in Copenhagen. His education commenced in the house of bishop Brock- man, where king Frederick III. saw him, bestowed his favor upon him, and, perceiving him to be a young man possessed of a very considerable share of learning, and of uncommon acuteness of understanding, per mitted him, at royal expense, to visit foreign universi ties. Upon his return he was ennobled by Christian V., decorated with the order of the Elephant, and made lord high chancellor. Even the German emperor, Leo pold I., conferred upon him the title of landgrave. But there are never wanting those who are envious and jealous. His success procured him powerful ene mies, who tried to get rid of him, and cast an aspersion upon his honor in the eyes of the king, who was weak and of a changeable mind. Guldenlove, half-brother of the king, bore an inveterate hatred against Griffenfeldt, because the latter had tried to counteract the detri mental influence Guldenlove exercised on the king's morality. Another dangerous enemy was John Adolph, duke of P16en, whose daughter he had refused to marry ; Alilefeldt, Hahn, Knuth, and other German favorites, alsc tried to undermine Griffenfeldt, in hope of profiting by his declension from greatness ; and the king himself appears not to have seen through the ungenerous policy of these crafty knaves, who were possessed of neither abilities nor virtue. Griffenfeldt was suddenly impris- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 321 A.D., oned, charged with leze majesty and simony, 1676. an(] aiso with using abusive language against the king himself, the following words being found in his diary : " To-day the king has spoken as a child in the council of state ;" a circumstance which contributed in no slight degree to heighten the king's animosity against Griffenfeldt. He was sentenced to suffer death, and his property to be confiscated ; a sentence, however, which three members of the Supreme Court deemed so iniquitous that they refused to subscribe to it. But only the minority of the court being in his favor, the king said, " Justice will take its course," and signed the warrant for the execution of the great statesman. A high scaffold was erected, but just as the executioner was about to strike the mortal blow, voices were heard on the staircase, crying "Pardon, in the name of his Majesty!" Griffenfeldt, on hearing that the sentence of death was commuted to imprisonment for life, cried, " This mercy is more cruel than the capital punish ment." Then he was brought to the citadel of Copen hagen, where he was imprisoned for four years, whence he was sent to a prison on the island of Munkholm, in Drontheim Fjord, Norway, where he was kept for eighteen years, (1679-1698), and treated there all the time with the utmost degree of barbarous cruelty. He was set at liberty only a few months before his death, and died in Jutland, on Steensballe, a beautiful manor belonging to his son-in-law, baron Krag, with whom he 328 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. passed the last days of his wretched and toilsome life From his early youth he distinguished himself by remark able talents ; he spoke almost all modern languages, and even in his fourteenth year he wrote Latin with Cicero nian perfection ; as a statesman he has never been surpassed. Louis XIV., of France, looked upon him as a genius of the highest order, and he undeniably wielded the diplomatic sceptre with a discrimination which no doubt saved Denmark and Norway from being involved in one common ruin. After his fall, the want of his rare talents was often deeply felt, the king him self saying, " Griffenfeldt alone better understood the welfare of my states than all my other counsellors to gether." His administration was vigorous and useful, but his haughtiness and imprudence gave great offence to the Danish nobles, and was mainly the cause of the conspiracy being formed against him, of which Giilden- love, above mentioned, was the principal instigator ; and it is not to be denied that he wanted that prudence which should have taught him rather to yield to the necessity of the times, than, by obstinately maintaining his power, to risk an entire deprivation of it. According to the pacification of Lund, Chris- a. d., tian Albrecht was as we have seen to be replaced 1679- in his former rights, but new disputes arising, Christian V. marched his army into Schleswig, when, by the interference of other realms, the treaty of Allona a. d., was brought about ; agreeably to which the 1689 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 329 rudely treated 'duke was allowed to return to his duke dom from Hamburg, where for several years he had lived a retired life. Upon his death his son a. d, Frederick, married to Hedevig Sophia, a sister 16M- to Sweden's warlike king, Charles XII., succeeded to the rule of the duchy, and relying upon his affinity to the king of Sweden, he picked a new quarrel with Den mark, which shortly after the death of Christian V. created a most dangerous war. Like many of his predecessors, Christian V. had earnest controversies with Hamburg, which were com posed, however, by an agreement of Pinneberg, Ham burg obliging herself to pay Denmark two hundred and twenty thousand rixdollars. The mighty Hanse Con federacy now gradually declined, and this league, once so extensive as to preserve a monopoly of the Baltio trade, was now forced to share it with the merchants of England, Hodand, Sweden, and Denmark, and included, in the seventeenth century, only the cities of Hamburg, Lubeck, and Bremen. In many branches of the internal administration of Denmark and Norway, important improvements were made during the reign of Christian V. The new code, published in 1683, by name of Christian V.'s Danish Law, has been before mentioned. The celebrated mathematician, Ole Romer, acquired great fame throughout Europe, by his ingenious astronomical in struments, and by discovering the swiftness of the """ HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. emanation of light from the sun, from whence the most important conclusions have been deduced. He also composed a new terrier, which became the basis of a more exact taxation of the lands of private persons. The navy and admiralty were exceUently administered by Span and Janus Juel, a brother of the great admiral, and at the close of the Swedish war the Danish fleet numbered forty-eight men-of-war, duly equipped and fitted out. The able statesman, Sigfried Pless, regulated skill fully the financial affairs, which had faUen into great disorder during the war with Sweden. Nevertheless, at the death of Christian V., Denmark had run into a debt of one million of rixdollars, mainly to be ascribed to the king's military enterprises, which had been attended with a prodigious waste of treasure. To improve trade and manufactures, a College of Commerce was estab lished, the East India Company was renewed, and commercial houses erected for Iceland, the Faroe isles, and Greenland. The trade with the West Indies was enlarged by acquiring the two islands of St. Thomas and St. John ; and, on the whole, the Danish commerce was vigorously promoted in the latter part of the reign of Christian V., while most other maritime powers of Europe were entangled in wars. Fairs, or great mar kets, were held at stated times, to which traders resorted from different quarters, and interchanged their several produots or manufactures. This trade, however, being HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 331 A. D., exposed to much trouble from the privateers of 1691- the belligerent nations, Denmark made an alii ance with Sweden, for the mutual protection of their commerce. For defence the old fortresses were refitted and some new ones founded ; amongst others, the for tress of ChristiansS, near the island of Bornholm. The police and the fire-companies were better regulated, and Copenhagen was beautified by laying out new streets and by the erection of the splendid palaces, Charlotten- borg and Amalienborg. Uniform measures .and weights were fully introduced, the common roads measured, and the means of conveyance bettered. But the peasantry and agriculture, during the reign of Christian V., were in a most lamentable condition, the country not producing sufficient to satisfy her own necessities. The peasants were compelled to serve without wages, whenever the noblemen thought it proper to send for them, their own work often thereby being neglected. The overweening self-confidence and pride of the nobles disdained any co-operation with the lower orders ; the nobles filled the highest offices in the state ; they appointed judges in their domains for the cogni zance of certain civil causes, and exercised an unlimited criminal jurisdiction over their peasants, on whom they occasionally inflicted even capital punishment. The nobility were also exempt from taxation, except in case of war, nor could they be imprisoned, though their estates might be sequestered for debt. The peasants 332 HISTORY OF SCAIVDINAVIA. were in perfect bondage to their masters, who, when displeased with them, could, without any judicial inquiry, fetter them, and send them for one year to the house of correction. The whole was a system of oppres sion, and exerted a fatal influence on the character of society in general, the great mass of the population, under the thraldom of this system, sinking into the deepest ignorance. Nevertheless, while inhumanity and oppression held undisputed £way, the sentiment of independence, and the feelings of personal consequence and dignity, were fermenting in the mass of the people, and at length let in those first rays of light, which dispelled barbarism, and introduced that liberty of which %the Danish nation, since the year 1849, can rightfully boast. Science and the arts were not patronized by Christian V., who himself had no relish at all for them, whereas some private men protected literature and took care of its cultivators. Ole Borch erected a spacious building, called the Collegium Mediceum, appropriated to the use of sixteen indigent students, and George Ehlers, a like edifice, called Collegium Ehlertii, both of them be queathing rich legacies to the students. But the liberty of the press was under the severest control, censors being appointed and empowered to examine all manuscripts before they were printed, and to see that they did not oontain anything offensive to the king's absolute power, svery expression containing the least opposition to the HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 333 sovereignty being looked suspiciously upon, and at times severely punished. A learned nobleman, Oluf Rosen- kranz, published a small book entitled, " Defence of the Danish Nobility," which historical work caused a law suit against him, and by the supreme court he was sentenced to be deposed from his office, to recant, and his fief to be confiscated, all of which was executed except the forfeiture of the fief, which was commuted for a penalty of twenty thousand rixdollars. A like instance did appear in a literary controversy between Masius, court-chaplain of Copenhagen, and the great philosopher, Thomasius, of Halle, Germany: Masius having explained, that the king's absolute power origi nated immediately from God, while Thomasius insisted that it was originally yielded to the king by the people. This work of Thomasius was publicly burnt by the exe cutioner. In reference to religious matters a mean intolerance prevailed. The celebrated edict of Nantes, 1598, had, as we know, been issued by Henry IV., of France, giving the Huguenots (Protestants) liberty of conscience, and had been confirmed by Louis XIIL, under certain restrictions with regard to public worship. But Louis XIV., by a display of ferocious bigotry, revoked the edict, and nearly four hundred thousand of the Hugue nots abandoned their country, some of whom solicited the Danish king, Christian V., for permission to settle in Denmark. The Huguenots being of the Reformed 334 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Church, were, however, by the bigoted interposition of Bishop Bagger, and the court chaplain, Masius, not granted their request, but had to remove into other lands, Denmark thus losing many subjects of wealth, commer cial intelligence, and manufacturing industry. Never theless, some time after, the queen, Charlotte Amalia, belonging herself to the Reformed Church, interceded for them with the king, and procured them permis sion to settle in Copenhagen, and a Reformed a. d., church was erected, the queen herself paying two 1698- clergymen, a Frenchman and a German, a yearly salary, and at her death bequeathing a considerable sum of money to the congregation. But not many avaded themselves of this permission, and those who arrived in Copenhagen were oppressed in different ways. Christian V. was married to Charlotte Amalia, a daughter of Landegrave Wilhelm IV., of Hesse Cassel, an intelli gent, pious, and virtuous queen, exercising, however, only a little influence upon the king, who lived in open concubinage with a lascivious girl, Sophia Amalia Moth, whom he exalted to be Countess of Samso, and by whom he begot several spurious children. After a. d., a reign of twenty-nine years, Christian V. died, 1699- leaving his kingdom greatly indebted, and a court highly corrupted in morals. The German language got a greater ascendency over the mother tongue than ever before ; German was the court language, and Germana filled the highest offices iu the state. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA 335 After the death of Christian V., the sceptre passed to A. D., the hands of his son, Frederick IV., who, not- 1699. withstanding the rudeness and imperfection of his education, very soon exhibited proofs of that genius, frugality, and assiduity by which he became one of Denmark's most able and excellent kings. The first object of his attention was how to manage the rebel lious duke, Frederick of Gottorp, who, relying on his affinity to Charles XIL, of Sweden, defied Denmark in every way, made alliance with Hanover, erected fortifi cations, and carried Swedish troops into the country. To compel the duke to submit, Frederick IV. entered into a secret alliance against Sweden with Peter the Great, of Russia, and Augustus, elector of Saxony, who had succeeded John Sobiesky on the throne of Poland, marched an army to the duchy of Schleswig, and commenced to lay siege to the fortress of Ton- ningen, and it was not doubted, that the duke and Sweden both would fall victims to so formidable an alliance. But the progress of the .Danes was slower than they expected, the duke being supported by Swedish and Hanoverian troops, and, in the midst of his career, the Danish king was arrested in his opera tions by intelligence of the dangers which menaced his own capital, which was just now on the point of being taken. The young king of Sweden, Charles XIL, only eighteen years of age, soon unveiling his admirable military talents, and undaunted by the power of thf 336 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. league, resolved to carry the war into the dominions of Denmark, and landed immediately upon the island of Sjelland, on which Copenhagen is situated, while his fleet, strengthened by a Dutch and English squadron of ships, which William III., kmg of England and stadtholder of Holland had sent, bombarded Copenha gen. Frederick IV., cut off from his dominions by the Swedish cruisers, and alarmed by the imminent danger of his navy and beautiful capital, thought himself happy to save his kingdom by indemnifying the a. D., Duke of Gottorp, and purchasing a peace at 170°- Travendal, highly honorable to the Swedes, and left his Russian and Polish allies, who had not duly assisted him, to continue the contest with Charles XIL, the young Alexander of the North, who for a long time did not permit them to enjoy a moment of ease or re laxation. The terms of peace were : Denmark should acknowledge the Duke's sovereignty in his dukedom, and his right to erect fortresses, keep troops, and make alliances with foreign powers, and pay him two hundred and sixty thousand rixdollars, to defray the charges of the war. But two years after the peace of Travendal, duke Frederick of Gottorp, who fought for his a. d., brother-in-law, Charles XIL, fell in the battle 1702- of Clissaw, in Poland, and the duchess-dowager gov erned the dukedom in the minority of her son, Charles Frederick, when events soon now came to pass, un expectedly deciding the long contests between the dukes HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 337 ' of Gottorp and the kings of Denmark. After having humbled Denmark, and already, at the age of eighteen, rendered his name the terror of the North, and the ad miration of Europe, Charles XII. resolved to turn his arms against the Russians, whom the heroic king of Sweden totally defeated at Narva, after a contest of three hours' duration, all the artdlery, baggage, and ammunition of the Russians becoming the prey of the Swedes. Having wintered at Narva, Charles XII. marched agamst the Poles and Saxons, and formed the project of dethroning king Augustus, and placing another upon the throne. His designs were seconded by the misera ble state of Poland, and by the dissatisfaction of the Poles with their king, Augustus, from the undisguised preference which he showed for his Saxon subjects ; and to add to this, the primate of Poland, Radzrewisky, secretly meditated a revolution, and entered immediately into the views of the king of Sweden, who, without difficulty, made himself master of Warsaw, in July, 1702. Augustus, convinced that he could only protect his crown by the sword, led his army to meet the Swedes at Clissaw, above mentioned, where he, how ever, was forced to fly, after having made in vain the most heroic efforts to rally his troops. A second triumph at Pultusk gave such encourage ment to the enemies of Augustus, that in the year 1704 the throne of Poland was declared vacant, which Charles 338 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. XII. now gave to Stanislaus Leczinski, a young noble- jaan of Posnania ; and when the Poles hesitated a little on account of his youth, Charles XII. said: "If I am not mistaken, he is as old as I am." Then the king of Sweden turned his arms against Peter the Great of Russia, who was making some ineffectual efforts to re vive the party of Augustus, and at the head of forty-five thousand men he entered Lithuania, and carried every thing before him, defeating an army of twenty thousand Russians strongly entrenched. Intoxicated by success, he rejected the Czar's offers of peace, bluntly declaring that he would negotiate with the Czar in his capital of Moscow. When Peter the Great was informed of this haughty answer, he coolly replied : " My brother Charles affects to play the part of Alexander, but I hope he will not find in me a Darius." Peter prevented the advance of the Swedes, on the direct line, by breaking up the roads and wasting the country, and Charles XIL, after crossing the Dnieper, and en during great privations in the midst of a hostile and almost desolate country, and in the midst of one of the severest winters ever known in Europe, found it im practicable to continue his march to Moscow. Nevertheless, undaunted by these obstacles, he adopted the extraordinary resolution of passing into the Ukraine, and laying siege to Pultowa, a fortified city on the frontier. Leaving some thousand men to guard the works, Charles ordered his soldiers to march and meet HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 339 A. D , the Russians, who were advancing to raise the 1709. siege. On the 8th of July, a desperate contest took place, but after a dreadful combat of two hours the Swedish army was irretrievably ruined, and Charlea XIL. who thus in one day had lost the fruits of nearly nine years of successful warfare, had to escape as a helpless fugitive with three hundred horsemen to Ben der, a Turkish town in Bessarabia, abandoning all his treasures to his rival, Peter the Great, whom he now had taught how to conquer him. Under these circumstances, Denmark thought it a proper opportunity to regain the lost provinces of Skane, Halland, and Bleking, and king Frederic IV., after a short interview with Augustus in Dresden, entered into a league with Poland, Saxony, and Russia agamst Swe den. The Danish monarch invaded Skane, but his troops were in the beginning of the following year de feated by the Swedish army, principally consisting of young boys, commanded by the brave General Steen buck. This victory again quickening the Swedes, was A.D., won close by Helsingborg, over against Else- 1710. nore, and transported Charles XII. to such a degree, that when intelligence of it was conveyed to lum in his exile he exclaimed, "My brave Swedes! should God permit me to join you once more, we will beat them all !" Then the war was carried over to Ger many, where the Danes conquered the two comities, Bremen and Werden, together with other Swedish pos- 340 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. sessions, while the fortresses, Stettin and Stralsund, in Swedish Pomerania, were besieged in vain ; and next year the Swedes, under General Steenbuck, gained a brilliant victory over the united forces of the a. d„ Danes and Saxons, at Gadebusch, in the duchy 1712- of Mecklenburg. Not able, however, to master the troops of the allied powers, Steenbuck had to retire to the fortress of Tonnmg, in Schleswig, but on the way thither he sullied his fame by burning the defenceless city of Altona, an outrage which excited the indigna tion not only of the king of Denmark, but of all Eu rope. Although the government of Gottorp had engaged itself to maintain a strong neutrality, Steenbuck, never theless, was received into Tonning. In retaliation, Frederick IV. immediately took possession of the Got torp part of the duchy of Schleswig. The burning of Altona, however, was the last service that the cruel general could perform for his exded master ; unable to prevent the junction of the Russians with the Danes and Saxons, he retreated before superior numbers, and the brave king, Frederick IV., of Denmark, pur- a. d„ sued his advantages so vigorously, that Steen- 1713. buck, at Tonningen, was forced to yield himself a prisoner of war to the Danish king in person, who car ried him to Copenhagen, where he died in captivity in the citadel. The Danish fleet, commanded by the illustrious he- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 341 roes, Gabel, Sehested, Raben, and Tordenskjold, rode triumphantly throughout nearly the whole of this war. Gabel annihilated a Swedish fleet in Femern Sound, and Sehested and Raben discomfited, off the island of Riigen, another Swedish fleet, which had to retire to the harbor of Carlscrona to refit. The commander, Hvitftldt, has left behind him a never-dying remem brance in the mind of the Danish nation by heroically sacrificing his life in the desperate battle in the bay of Kjoge. Dannebrog, the admiral ship, on which he was, A. D., had taken fire. Hvitf eldt could have saved his 1714. life, but in fear of thereby setting the whole Danish fleet on fire, he resolved heroically to sustain the whole fury of the assault, till he, with three hun dred men, was blown up. The young Norwegian, Peter Vessel, so distinguished himself by heroic ex ploits, that he from a low office rose to the dignity of an admiral, and was ennobled by the name of Tor denskjold (thundershield). On receiving this honor, he exclaimed: "Tordenskjold! A beautiful name, your Majesty ; and I promise to thunder so in the ears of the Swedes, that your Majesty shall not have to say that you have given me that name in vain." The Swedish monarch continued to linger in Turkey until the end of 1714 ; but when he then learned that the Swedish senate intended to make his sister regent in his absence, and to make peace with Russia and Denmark, his indignation induced him to return home. 342 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. He traversed Germany incognito, and toward the close of the year reached Stralsund, the capital of Swedish Pomerania, which was besieged by the united armies of the Prussians, Danes, and Saxons. After an obsti nate defence, in which Charles XII. displayed all his ac customed bravery, Stralsund was compeUed to capitulate after a siege of two months, whde at the same time the Danish and Russian fleets swept the Baltic and threat ened Stockholm. A firmer aUiance was now concluded between Den mark, Saxony, and Russia, which also soon after was joined by Prussia and Hanover, the elector of which had ascended the throne of England under. the name of George I. Stralsund having surrendered, Charles es caped in a small boat to his native shores, and now prepared himself to pass over the ice and make an irruption into Sjelland, from which he, however, was prevented by an unexpected thaw. All Em-ope be lieved Charles XII. undone, when, to the inexpressible astonishment of every one, it was announced that he, whose anger with Denmark was now wound* up to the highest pitch, had declared war against Denmark, and invaded Norway. But his army was soon driven back, greatly diminished in numbers. Anna Colbjdrtisen, a clergyman's wife, a patriotic, fearless woman, led astray by cunning pretences the Swedish colonel, Lowen, so that he desisted from his plans to destroy the sdver mines of Kongsberg. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 343 Charles' XII. now laid siege to the city-of Fredericks- A D., hold, a maratime town of Norway, near the 1716. Skaggerack, defended by the strong fortress of Fredericksteen, but the two brothers, John and Peter ColbjSmsen, prevailed on the inhabitants to fire the city, to prevent the Swedes from having any hold there. A bloody battle ensued ; Charles galled the Danes and Norwegians with a continual fire ; the slaughter was equal on both sides, till at last, however, the Danes claimed the victory. Crowds of hungry wolves, issu ing in the midst of the severe winter from the Nor wegian forests, howeled over the dying remains of tho Swedish soldiers. Charles XII. was driven to seek a temporary refuge for his army in the country. In the meantime, the vigilant Danish admiral, Tor- denksjold, with a daring hardly ever heard of, running a Danish fleet into the harbor of Pynekiel, and, after a desperate contest of a few hours, destroying the Swedish men-of-war and store-ships, Charles XII. was compelled for this time, to leave Norway. But no way yet intimi dated by his misfortunes, and stiU determined upon taking Denmark, he commanded his mariners to seize every Danish vessel, even if the king of Denmark him self might be on board. Frederick IV. now launched into the Baltic a mighty fleet, commanded by Torden skjold, who acquired great fame for his courage and strategic skill in conquering Marstrand, and the strong rocky fortress, Carlesteen, although meeting with the 344 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. most terrible fire from the Swedish batteries. While Charles XII. had been taken up with his attempts at conquering Norway, Frederick IV. and Peter the Great of Russia prepared themselves to march an army to Sweden, Peter himself arriving in Copenhagen with a fleet, and disembarking a powerful Russian army on the shores of Sjelland, seemingly in assistance of the Danes. But soon learning that the cunning Czar, who, under the mask of friendship, requested the keys to the four gates of Copenhagen, intended to seize upon the Danish capital and the fortress of Kronborg, the neces sary preparations were made to oppose this treacherous plan, Peter the Great being suddenly compelled to leave Sjelland. Then secret negotiations commenced between Russia and Sweden, conducted by the Swedish prime minister, Baron de Gortz, a native of Franconia, a man of an artful, active, and comprehensive genius, whose plan was to unite the king of Sweden and the Russian Czar in strict amity, who then not only would dictate laws to Europe, but wrest the kingdom of Nor way from Denmark, and force the Danish king to renounce the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein to the Duke of Gottorp. The Czar readily joined in the scheme, and a dark storm was gathering for Denmark, when the sudden death of Charles XII. rendered abor tive a plan that might have thrown Denmark, and perhaps all Europe, into a state of political combustion, Charles XIL, in the prosecution of his views against HIST RY OF SCANDINAVIA. 345 Norway, a second time invested the castle of Fredericks- hald, in the very depth of winter, but while engaged in viewing the works, and in conversation with his engi neer, in the midst of a tremendous fire from the enemy, A. D., he was struck dead by a ball from the Danish 1718. batteries. His sister, Ulrikka Elenora, suc ceeded to the throne, and raised it to her husband, Frederick of Hesse Cassel, who first had to swear, that he never would attempt the re-establishment of abso lute power, which was now fully abolished in Sweden, and a new form of government modeled. The Swedish senate showed little grief for the loss of this warlike king, who had only involved Sweden in miseries and wars. Upon the intelligence of the death of Gustavus Adolphus at Liitzen, 1632, the inhabitants of Stockholm shed tears ; upon that of Charles XII. they jubdated. Some have believed, that he was not struck by a cannon ball from the Danish artillery, but was shot by a traitor, a Swedish Colonel Seeker, which, however, has never been proved. Be it as it may, the kingdom of Sweden gained by his death. On the first news of the king's death, his favorite minister, Baron Gortz, was arrested, brought to trial for having projected a dangerous war when the Swedish nation was exhausted and ruined, and was publicly be headed in Stockholm. The death of Charles XII. was a great relief to Denmark, and when Tordenksjold, the very first who conveyed the intelligence of it, entered 346 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. the king's audience chamber, saying, " Charles XII. is dead, and there is not one Swede in the whole of Nor way," Frederick IV. embraced him joyfully, and hung a gold chain round his neck. The new government of Sweden now looked with an ardent desire for peace with Denmark, which was established by the treaty of Fredericksborg, the a. D. terms of which were, that Sweden should pay 1720. Denmark six hundred thousand rixdollars to defray the charges of the war, and acknowledge the sale of Bremen and Verden, which, with their dependencies, George I., king of England and elector of Hanover, had purchased from Denmark for eight hundred thousand rixdollars ; Sweden should renounce her exemption from paying Sound Dues, which she has enjoyed since the peace of Br6msebro, 1645 ; and finally Sweden pledged herself not to assist any more the Duke of Gottorp ; France and England securing to Denmark the permanent possession of the duchy of Schleswig. So happy an issue for Den mark had this eleven years' war, though no accession of territory was gained. The appearance of an English fleet in the Baltic, coming to aid Sweden, finally disposed Czar Peter to pacific measures, and he consented to grant peace in Nystad, a town of Finland, 1721, on condition of being permitted to retain Esthonia, Livonia, Ingria, part of Finland, and dominion over the Gulf of Finland, a highway for his commerce to the Baltic sea. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 347 The war thus being ended between Denmark and Sweden, a profound peace ensued. Denmark, however, had soon after to empty a bitter cup. The patriotic, brave, and magnanimous Tordenskjold, who had raised his fatherland by many victories to a great height of naval glory and greatness, and was almost adored by the king and the people, asked permission to go abroad. In Hamburg he met with a Swedish colonel, Stahl, a mean-spirited scoundrel, who tried to impose upon a young rich Danish nobleman, by name of Lehn, who accompanied Tordenskjold. Exasperated at such con duct, and exchanging high words with Stahl, who called the admiral a vulgar sailor, Tordenskjolk gave him a sound beating, and knocked him down in the kennel, after which he left Hamburg for Hanover. A few weeks after, he unfortunately met here again with Stahl, who, bringing the old quarrel again upon the carpet, challenged Tordenskjold to answer for his offence by a duel with rapiers, in using which Stahl was a great master. Tordenskjold, of course, answering the chal lenge in the affirmative, appeared the next morning at the appointed place, close ¦ by Hildesheim. The two first thrusts he parried, but then Stahl ran his sword under Tordenskjold's right arm, pulling it back in tierce. Torkenskjold, perceiving his death ivevitable, calmly disposed himseK to meet it with decency, and covering his wound with his handkerchief, resigned himself to his fate. As he expired from the loss of blood, 348 HISTORY OF SCANDIN 4.VXA. he exclaimed : " God be. merciful to me for the ^ov 20" sake of my Redeemer." On hearing this sad A.D. 1720 event, king Frederic IV. shed tears and ordered the corpse to be brought to Copenhagen and buried in the mariner's church, where Tordenskjold now rests in the same vault with Otto Rud, Niels Juel, Cor I Adeler, Raben, Sehested and Gabel, who all so often had led the blood-red Danish flag from victory to victory on the Baltic sea, the dark heaving wave. By the peace of Fredericksborg, the duchy of Schles wig was once more reunited to the kingdom ; but for the many centuries through which the Counts of Hol stein and the German-minded dukes of Gottorp had swayed the sceptre, the Danish nationality had had a difficult fight to wage. In the southern part of Schles wig the German language at length prevaded, whde in the northern part the inhabitants were attached to their native tongue, and. to the manners and habits inherited from their forefathers, although the dukes of Gottorp, by appointing German clergymen and intro ducing German schoolmasters and German legal pro cedure, sought to naturalize the German language, even in this part of the dukedom. Notwithstanding Schleswig was now reunited to the kingdom and for all subsequent time governed by the Danish kings, that unnatural state of lauguage, how ever, continued for more than one century, and first in modern times energetic regulations have been issued HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 349 to protect the Danish nationality in the northern part of Schleswig. But the reunion of Schleswig to the king dom put Denmark, throughout a long series of years, to very much trouble and heavy expenses. The duke of Gottorp, Charles Frederick, making now the city of Eeil his residence, would neither subscribe to the resig nation of Schleswig, nor come to any amicable agree ment, and became a very dangerous enemy by marrying the Russian princess Anna, a daughter of Peter the Great. Frederick IV. had continually to keep fleets ready in the Baltic to secure Denmark against Russia, as Peter the Great and his successor, the empress Catharine I., threatened to establish by force the claims of the duke. Certainly amicable terms were afterwards contracted with the court of St. Petersburg, but in course of time the strife was renewed in such a manner as to be very dangerous for Denmark. Frederick IV. A. D. gained an accession of territory for the kingdom 1725. by laying hold on the fertile county of Ranzau as the latter count had been killed, and his younger brother, on being brought to trial, found an accomplice in this crime. During his whole reign, Frederick TV. was actuated by sincere and earnest motives to introduce useful insti tutions and remedy old mistakes. He deserved well of the Danish peasantry, by abrogating their slavish de pendence on their masters. He enacted a law, that all peabants born after his accession to the throne should be 350 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. free ; concerning the others, it was determined that they, on reasonable terms, could buy their freedom: the tenants should be permitted to keep their farms for life, and neither could they involuntarily be deprived of them, nor be forced, as before, to accept of desolate and barren farms ; and on the whole this law contained very considerable mitigations of those feudal rights claimed by the noblemen over their peasants, Avhich either were the most burdensome in their own nature, or had been made so by an abusive extension. Already during the first war which Frederick TV. waged, his attention had been directed to several defi ciencies in the military affairs, which he immediately tried to remedy ; and after the treaty of peace (1700), he employed the interval of tranqudity in raising a mditia of eighteen thousand men, in equipping a respec table fleet, and upon the whole, in paying close atten tion to the posture of defence. Besides this militia, there was kept a considerable army of levied soldiers ; the cavalry was augmented by twelve regiments, each consisting of eight companies. He established two cadet schools in Copenhagen, to educate young men both for the fleet and the army ; schools never organized before, and the want of which had been deeply felt. In order to protect the capital and the navy against the renewal of the dangers to which they had been exposed, when, in the year 1700, a Swedish, Dutch, and English fleet bombarded Copenhagen, ho erected two sea HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 351 batteries, Tre Kroner (three crowns), and Provestenen (touchstone). The navy was put in a good posture, and the number of marines was considerably increased. To augment the revenues of the kingdom, Frederick IV. had supplied Austria, England, and Holland with twenty thousand men, who acquitted themselves with great courage in the war of the Spanish succession. Under the illustrious heroes, prince Eugene, of Savoy, and the duke of Marlborough, commander-in-chief of the forces of England, the Danish soldiers had shared the glory of the battles of Hochstedt, Ramillies, Oude- narde, and Malplaquet; and the duke of Marlborough, upon whom now the emperor of Austria had conferred the dignity of a prince of the empire, wrote to king Fred erick IV., that for the gaining of the victory in those cele brated battles he was mainly indebted to the lion-hearted bravery of the Danes, who likewise, under the great Eugene, fought gallantly in Hungary against the Turks. Frederick IV. made many improvements in the regu lation of the different colleges, and caused justice to be duly and quickly administered, and the laws carried into execution. He was very active himself, and sought to acquire a knowledge of all matters of conse quence. To the administration of the finances he paid a strict attention, and kept the pecuniary affairs in an exemplary order. As economical as the king was in spending the public means, as particular was he in conferring titles and badges of honor. At his death 352 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. the kingdom had incurred a debt of three millions of rix-dollars ; which, however, when it is considered, that Frederick IV. Avaged expensive wars, and even after the peace, for many years, had to keep a standing army and fleet against Russia, and that many disasters visited the country, is only a trifle, and not to be laid to his charge. An enemy more fatal than the swords of the Swedes, a frightful pestilence, raged from 1710 to 1712, in Copenhagen and on the island of Sjelland, with the most destructive effect, and took off great numbers ; the North Sea breaking through the dykes in the marsh lands on the western coast of Schleswig, destroyed property to the amount of one mdlion of rix-dol- A-D., lars, and Copenhagen was visited by a destructive l?28- fire, continuing for several days and consuming nearly two-thirds of the city ; on which occasion science and the arts suffered a great loss, as a great deal of the large University library, with its many rare manuscripts, was destroyed. Notwithstanding all these heavy losses, and his many great expenses, the king found, however, by his econ omy, means to erect the splendid palaces of Fredens- borg and Frederiksberg, as also the spacious exchequer. Commerce and manufactures were vigorously promoted by Frederick IV. The trade with Greenland was re newed, and the East India Company, for a great while ruined altogether, was, at the close of his reign, again put in motion. The post-office department, having for HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 353 a long time been entrusted to private men, was again administered at royal expense, the surplus being ap plied to pension civil and military officers, or their in digent widows. Previous, however, to giving an account of the private life and character of this excel lent king, we must take a short connected view of the standing of school affairs and literature during his reign. The public instruction had, hitherto, almost entirely been neglected in Denmark, the commonalty growing up in the grossest mental darkness. But Frederick IV. merited highly the grateful thanks of the peasantry by erecting two hundred and forty brick school buddings, and assigning money to keep them in repair and pay the teachers. Amongst other charita ble institutions, ought to be mentioned the founding of Vaisenhuset (the Orphanotrophy), for the education of orphan children, with which hospital an excellent school is connected. In Greenland, Christianity was spread by the noble and pious Hans Egede, who left his pastorate in Nor way, and went to Greenland with his wife, Gertrude Rask, a Christian heroine, " whose adorning did not consist in putting on of apparel, but in the hidden man of the heart, and in the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is, in the sight of God, of great price." From 1721 to 1736, Hans Egede, enduring inexpressi ble privations, opened his mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the Gospel amongst the heathen- 354 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. iuh and savage Greenlanders. His faithful wife, who had shared his hardships, died in Greenland ; soon after which he went down to Denmark, where, on the fifth of November, 1758, he departed from life, aged seven ty-three years, to receive the crown of righteousness, which the Lord shall give unto all them that have loved his glorious appearing. Pursuant to his proposal, a Greenlandish seminary was established in Copenhagen, to educate missionaries, Egede himself teaching the Greenlandish language. His son, Paul Egede, con tinued for six years, with Christian fidelity, his father's missionary work in Greenland, to the great good and profit of many souls ; and when he left them, his part ing words were : " Preserve with meekness the ingraft ed word, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption." Upon his arrival in Copenhagen, in 1742, Paul Egede was appointed minister of the Church of Vartov (the church of charity), where he, renouncing the vanities of all worldly pomp, showed himself an able minister of the New Testament, not of the letter, but of the spirit, whose praise is not of men, but of God. Besides dis charging his pastoral duties, he translated the New Tes tament into the difficult language of the Greenlanders, and published other works of consequence for the Greenlandish mission. For advancing learning and the arts, nothing of con sequence was done during the reign of Frederick IV., HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 355 as the king himself had not enjoyed any scientific edu cation. Nevertheless, there lived during his reign several men of letters : Peter Hansen Resen, who has distinguished himself by standard works on the North ern history and antiquities; Thomas Bartholin de serves particular regard for the universality of his genius, which embraced a wide circle of history, phil osophy, and physic; Niels Steno, who, after having embraced the Catholic faith, passed the remainder of his days in foreign countries, acquired fame as an anatomist; the Icelander, Torfceus, who successfully applied the Icelandic sources to throw light on the his tory of the North, and preseiwed alive the embers of that literary spirit which already early had been stir ring on that distant island, evinced a zeal for the cul tivation of letters, which does him the highest honor ; the Icelander, Arne Magnusson, deserved well of men of letters by collecting a great number of Icelandic manuscripts, and bequeathing the greatest part of his means to publishing them. Thomas Kingo, bishop of Fjunen, acquired the fame of being an unsurpassed hymnologist, his hymn book being in use for a long time. Shortly after the death of his first queen, Louise, the king took in marriage Anna Sophia, a daughter of the deceased lord high chancellor, Count Conrad Revent- low. This marriage caused great disagreement in the royal family, particularly provoking the crown prince, Christian, because the king had cohabited with Anna Sophia, even while queen Louise was living. 356 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Frederick IV., before his death, saw his kingdoms in the possession of every happiness which could flow from economy, frugality, laboriousness, and from the salutary laws and institutions which he had established, when he died, aged fifty-nine years, after a glorious reign a. d., of thirty-one years. Whether we view him in 1730. his public or private character, he deserves to be esteemed as one of the most useful of the Danish kings. He united an enterprising spirit with the greatest pru dence and moderation, the utmost vigor of authority with the most exemplary justice, and brought his king doms to a pitch of eminence and wealth which, till then, they had never attained. War was not his ruling pas sion, but he was able to meet it with firmness and valor. Nought but the memory of soldier-like bravery survives Charles XIL, but Frederick IV. has left behind the memory of a life of restless activity, perpetually labor ing for the improvement .and prosperity of his coun tries ; and while Charles left behind him nothing but ruins, Frederick IV. left two kingdoms in a flourishing condition, and with a well regulated administration. But his admirable institutions were but partially and feebly enforced under his son and successor, Cliristian VI, Denmark and Norway relapsing again into a. d., confusion and pauperism. No sooner had he 1730. obtained the sovereignty than he treated with great severity the queen-dowager, his stepmother, Anna So phia, above mentioned, rightly accounted a stain on the royal family, removed her from the court to Clausholm, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 357 a lonely manor in Jutland, and immediately dismissed a great number of the higher officers of state, who had enjoyed his father's confidence, entrusting the public affairs to the ministers of state, Baron Ivar Rosenkranz the Counts Louis Pless, Charles Pless, Schulin, and John Louis Holstein, all of whom exercised a strong influence upon the government. In the beginning, it was likely that the peasantry would flourish during the reign of this king, for he instantly abrogated the militia, above named, which on account of the feudal bondage therewith connected, had been greatly burdensome to the peasantry, and per mitted every countryman to settle wheresoever he might desire. By this change the peasantry got complete per sonal freedom, as well as the other orders ; but, unf or- tunately, after a few months, he enacted a new law, forbidding, upon severe punishment, the country lads to abandon their native county, unless permitted by the noblemen concerned ; and after a couple of years the militia was re-established, the time of military ser vice being prolonged from six to eight, and thereafter to twelve years ; and when a countryman, after his term of service had expired, would not receive whatsoever farm the nobleman might think proper to give him, he had to submit to military service for ten years more. The enrollment was extended to the fortieth year of age, and from his ninth year the country lad was bound to remain in his native county ; thus again the liberal 358 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. and salutary regulations of king Frederick IV. bein^ annihilated, and the peasantry anew sinking under the domineering spirit of the aristocracy. Several other regulations affected detrimentally the peasantry and the agriculture. Many noblemen, for instance, were permitted to break up the farms and unite the ground to their manors, the peasantry, of course, thereby decreasing, and the bond service in creasing. Such were the stipulations in favor of the higher orders of the state, which the king promoted to all offices of honor and emolument, and to which from the very beginning of his reign, his partiality was abun dantly conspicuous, while the peasantry was in the low est stage of degradation. Upon the whole, the government under Christian VI. seems to have been extremely aristocratic. It was also of very detrimental consequences, that the long passed a law by which the merchants were restrained from im porting grain into Denmark, the prices of corn thereby rising, and the progress in agriculture, of course, decreasing, as the greater certainty thereby produced for making a market, did not make it a matter of greater moment for the husbandman to prepare the. ground sufficiently for a rich crop, and could not fad to excite somewhat of a spirit of ease and inactivity. But let us now observe some particulars of the re ligious life, perhaps worthy of more note than any other circumstances during the reign of Christian VI., since HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 359 it will be found to have received a very great influence during the period under consideration. There are periods in which the human mind seems more thai usually to turn strongly to religion and spiritual con cerns, and to feel that the Heavenly Majesty must be worshipped in spirit and truth, and the flesh crucified, with the affections and lusts thereof, and such a period in Denmark was the reign of Christian VI. In oppositipn to the unsubstantial trusting to the letter which had long prevailed, and to the exorbitant weight laid on the ecclesiastical formulas and symbols, all of which kill, while only the spirit gives life, there appeared in Denmark, as well as a little earlier in Ger many, a revival, in general called the pietistic disposi tion of mind, which endeavored to remove that luke- warmness and stagnation, which undeniably in a great measure had long prevailed in the Lutheran churches. Great variances arose in the Church between the differ ent parties, and separatistical conventicles were formed in many places. The king himself, being of a stern, religious mind, was highly in favor of the revival, which he regarded as a recovery from death to life, and tried in different ways to promote the religious spirit ; but the means he used were almost altogether external, and not to the purpose at all, failing therefore entirely of the effect intended. The court chaplain, Bl/uhme, and the queen, Sophie Magdalena, exercised a great in fluence upon the foolish ordinances issued in reference to ecclesiastical matters. 360 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Going to church every Sabbath was peremptorily commanded by law, the withdrawal from which being in the oities punished by fines, and in the country by pillorying the peasants outside the church door. Danc ing, masquerades, comedy, Christmas games, and like amusements were forbidden, as hindering the attain ment of spiritual and heavenly grace, and the alienation from selfishness and the world ; the church discipline was vindicated by public penance and rebukes from the pulpits. These ordinances very likely arose from the king's own unf eignedly religious mind ; nevertheless the happy mean was not found, and even his best advocates will find no apology for applying such compulsion in re ligious affairs, and cannot regard it as a commendable method of propagating the mild and pure religion of Christ, who will not have involuntary professors ; and it was a matter of course, that instead of a real and pure fear of God, there appeared everywhere a feigned devoutness and a false piety, the people to please the king, making use of the most melting religious terms of this valley of misery, of the heavenly Jerusalem, and the celestial Canaan, and so forth, to profit substantially by his grace ; paying tithe, as Christ says, of mint, and anise, and cummin, but omitting the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith. But, in spite of the many mistakes above mentioned, it is not to b > denied that Christian VI., in many other HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 361 respects, exercised a highly beneficial influence upon the spread of true Christianity, by introducing the Act A. D., of Confirmation, by which the young, after 1736. having attained to mature years, should confirm and ratify themselves the solemn promises made by others at their baptism ; and by appointing a Board of Inspectors, which had to superintend the clergymen's and schoolmasters' administration of their offices, and to keep a watchful eye over their preaching the doctrines of the Church purely and genuinely, as also to ascer • tain that the books which were to be published were not of immoral or impure contents. The king also patronized highly the public instruc tion, by enacting a law that public schools for the peas antry should be erected round about in the country, and by issuing useful rules for the method of teaching ; a law, however, often meeting with great opposition, on account of the great expenses therewith connected ; and although the king here ought to have made use of his absolute power to establish this important institution, the opposition, nevertheless, gained the victory, in many places no schools being erected. The reign of Christian VI. may be considered as the epoch of the revival of literature in Denmark from that lethargy in which it had continued under Christian V. and Frederick IV., both of whom were not. very much interested in literary affairs, and whose incessant wars diverted their attention from them. The University, 362 HISTCRY OF SCANDINAVIA. which had suffered by the fire (1728), and was in a declining state, was restored; more professors were appointed, and given better salaries than before; the examinations were made more strict, and a new consti tution was drawn up in writing, and published. An examination in law was for the first time instituted ; and the science of law being considered the most impor tant, next to that of theology, recovered a new life from the learned Andreas Hoyer, a man extensively versed in the European jurisprudence. The legal pro cedure was highly improved by a new regulation of the supreme court, and particular attention was given to the study of medicine, and its connection with the sci ences of botany and human physiology ; at the same time the subserviency of the studies to the practical uses of life being an object not to be neglected. The Latin schools, of which there was one in each city, were diminished, some of them being changed into common schools, and the Academy of Soro (Academia Sorana), which was founded by Christian IV. exclu sively for young noblemen, but since the year 1665 had been out of use, was recalled to life and inaugu- a. D., rated a year after the death of Christian VI. 1747. To promote the fine arts the king erected the Royal Academy for painting and drawing, the Venetian and Flemish manner of tempering the colors with oil instead of water, being introduced, an invention which undeniably gave to painting a greater durability, as well as a warmth more approaching to nature. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 363 During the reign of this king two learned societies were formed, the Literary Society of Copenhagen, and the Society of the Panish Language and History, from both of which excellent treatises have been and still are published. Among literary men of this period deserve to be mentioned Andreas Hoyer, above named, distinguished both as jurisconsult and historian, and remarkable for his great judgment and perspicuity ; Erik Pontqppi- dan, chancedor of the University, has composed, His tory of the Danish Church, History of Norway, Origines Hafnienses, and an Explanation of Luther's Catechism, all works classical in point of style, and to be depended on in point of facts ; John Gram, royal Historiographer, possessed not alone of great philological erudition, but also of rare knowledge in the history of the North, on which he has composed many critical dissertations, all written with great judgment and impartiality ; Andreas Samsing,- for fifty years a faithful minister of the Gos pel, has left behind him an excellent Latin translation of some of the best Danish hymns, of which I may be allowed to cite a proof : " Tua, Jesu, mors omenta et profunda vulnera, Grata menti dant fomenta contra quaevis tristia, Si quid mali cogito, tua jubet passio, Semper Tui reoordari, et peccata detestari." But all these authors wrote mostly either in German or Latin, thus exercising, properly speaking, no infln- 364 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. ence upon the Scandinavian literature. We have, therefore, so much the more to pay attention to Louis Holbcrg, born in the city of Bergen, Norway, 1684, who has made a great epoch in the historical and dramatic literature of the Scandinavian countries, and not alone deserves, but will keep a lasting memoriaL In the year 1718 he was appointed, first, Professor of Metaphysics, then Professor Eloquentias, and at length, Professor Historiarum et Geographic. During his pro fessorship (1718-1747) he has influenced the Danish nation as hardly any one, either before or after him, partly by his historical, partly by his dramatical writ ings, being both original and the results of deep study. His Description of Denmark and Norway, his History of Norway, his History of the Church Universal, and his History of the Jews, are fruits of his indefatigable study and cultivated judgment, and of a purity and flexibility of language remarkable for the time in which he lived. His heroi-comic poems, Peter Paars and Niels Klim (the last written in Latin), in which he strikingly and wittily ridicules all that foolish pedantry, pertness, and vanity that prevailed amongst the higher classes of his time, and in which he sometimes soars to a pitch of the sublime equal to the finest flights of Homer and Virgil, whose kind of style he in a mas terly manner has imitated, have the most captivating charms to all who are possessed of the smallest degree of genuine taste, and have, by an uncommon degree HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. BG6 of candor, humor, and impartiality, preserved their value long after their immediate interest has ceased. But the merit of the dramatic pieces of Louis Hoi berg is still much higher. Having taken the French somedian, Moliere, as his pattern, he ridicules, unde niably sometimes in too low a language, the fashionable women, who were overrun with a pedantic affectation of learning, and that arrogant and supercilious de meanor of the nobility, which demanded respect from the consideration of birth or fortune, without the pos session of a single laudable or valuable quality. He certainly possessed that invention, which is the very first quality of a dramatic poet ; he is never deficient in the expression of passion, and in his most laughable scenes we have to admire the art of the poet, and to participate in the delineation of his characters, every person of which is very often a highly-finished picture. Upon the whole, in most of his pieces we cannot but discern the marks of a great and comprehensive genius, an inexhaustible fund of imagination, the most aston ishing ebullition of ridiculous representations, and an infinite knowledge of human nature; and when pic turing the pedantry of the ladies, the pathetic style of ordinary writers, and the absurd pride of the ignorant nobdity, he calls often to our memory, the words of Horace : " Parturiunt monies, nascitur ridiculus mus" In his youth he had visited four times the Universi ties of Oxford, Leyden, Paris, and Florence ; he spoke 366 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. fluently nearly all modern languages, not to mention that he, as every distinguished Scandinavian scholar, wrote and spoke Latin with the highest degree of cor rectness and volubility. After having been exalted to the rank of a baron, he repaired, because of physical infirmity, to his manor, Terslose, on the island of Sjel land, where he died, unmarried, on the 27th of Jan uary, 1754, bequeathing his large real estates and ex tensive library to the Academy of Soro. His last words were : " I have always endeavored to be a useful citizen to my fatherland ; now I am feeble and weak, and my only desire is to depart and be with Christ." Christian VI. took a praiseworthy care of diffusing a spirit of commercial industry, and the prodigious in crease of the commerce of Denmark is mainly to be ascribed to his reign. The trade of the East India Company was extended to China, and vigorously earned on ; and that of the West India Company was consider ably enlarged by buying the island of St. Croix of Louis XV. of France. A bank was founded in Copenhagen, exercising through a series of years a favorable influence upton trade and industry, and facilitating in a high de gree the currency. The king put himself to great expenses in improving domestic manufactures. But although many manufacturers of cloth and silk were encouraged by the king's liberality, these efforts, how ever, fell short of success ; their manufactures not be ing so cheap and good as to compete with the produc tions of foreign countries. Various expedients were HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 367 thought of to obviate that rivalry, but for a long time without avail. Much money was also spent on foreign projectors, who, too willingly, were supported by the government, and became a very great drain to the wealth of the kingdoms. The navy has hardly ever been better administered than under Christian VI., by the talented Frederick Panneskjold, Count of Samso. In the latter part of the reign of Frederick IV. the navy had been neglected, consisting, when Dannesk- jold undertook the management, only of seven men-of- war and two frigates, but numbering, when he left, thirty men-of-war and sixteen frigates. A dry dock was established, many new storehouses were erected, and important break-waters reared to shelter the navy. Notwithstanding these expensive undertakings, the abilities of the good financier, Danneskjold, husbanded so well the amount of money he had to dispose of, that on his leaving the administration, one million rixdollars was saved. Danneskjold, a man of great address and extensive knowledge, who had gained upon the favor of the king, also influenced other branches of the state concerns, and had the principal share in setting on foot the Bank of Copenhagen, above mentioned, and in granting protections to trade and industry ; though he deserves highly to be blamed for his conduct toward two deserving naval officers, Benstrup and Frederick Lutken, with whom he had become at variance, and who, through his interference, suffered severe and in equitable treatment. 368 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Although Denmark and Norway, during the reign of Christian VI., continued to enjoy the blessings of tranquility, and their commerce grew with their navy, and Danneskjold labored with indefatigable industry in the finances, the king, however, was in perpetual want of money, the kingdoms, at his death, being in debt for two and a half millions of rixdollars ; about the same as during his predecessor, who had not reigned under so favorable conditions, but was involved in ex pensive wars. The reason was the king's boundless desire of raising new buddings and costly palaces, mainly to be ascribed to his ostentatious queen, Sophie Magdalena. The palace of Copenhagen, which Fred erick IV. with great expense had enlarged and repaired, was pulled down, a new one, called the palace of Chris- tiansburg, being erected, and fitted up with such an excessive magnificence, that it rivaled the most splendid of Europe, and cost the kingdom the enormous sum of three millions of dollars. Furthermore, were built the palaces of Fredericksruhe, Sophienberg, Eremitage, and, twelve English miles from Copenhagen, the pompous palace of Hirschholm, erected on so miry a ground as soon after to be pulled down. Large amounts of money were also squandered away on relatives of the queen and other foreigners, who crowded into the country, and upon whom donations, pensions, and high offices were profusely bestowed. The German language pre vailed again very much at the Danish court ; Christian VI. himself spoke and wrote only German ; neverthe- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 369 less he was interested in the Danish literature, and took care to diffuse the Danish language in the northern part of Schleswig, while the queen professedly despised Danish. Christian VI. had several difficulties with his neigh bors. From his father he inherited a dispute with Hamburg, respecting an alteration made in the currency, and with Hanover a dispute arose as to the possession of the county of Steinhorst, in the duchy of Lauen- burg, both of which, however, were composed. With Charles Frederick, the late duke of Gottorp, the king was continually on an unpeaceable footing, and al- A.D., though an alliance was made between Denmark, 1732. Russia, and Austria, which secured to Denmark the possession of the Gottorp part of Schleswig, and put an end to the dispute for a season, and Charles Frederick was offered a compensation of one million of rixdollars, he, nevertheless, obstinately rejected- every proposal for an amicable agreement. Under his son and successor, Charles Peter Ulrick, these dissenting terms were about to turn highly dangerous for Den mark, as Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, was raised to the Russian throne, and now secured the A.D., inheritance of the imperial purple to her nephew, 1743. the above named Charles Peter Ulrik, and to the Swedish crown for her favorite, Adolphus Frede rick, a prince of the younger line of the house of Gotr torp, and through the Swedish king, Charles IX.'s daughter, Catharina, a descendant from the warlike 370 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. house of Vasa. The election of Adolphus Frederick to fill the throne of Sweden after the death of king Frederick of Hesse, came within a hair of occasioning a dangerous war between Denmark and Sweden, where a considerable part of the Swedish nobility, clergy, and peasantry, wished to secure the succession to the Swe dish throne to the Danish crown prince, Frederick, of whose amiability, kind disposition, and popularity, favorable opinions were in vogue in Sweden. Par ticularly amongst the brave peasantry from the province of Dalecarlia a violent movement arose, five AJ>., thousand of them advancing upon Stockholm, to 1743. force the election of the Danish crown prince. A most fearful and bloody conflict ensued within the city, and after several days of fighting, the undaunted peasants from the mountains of Dalecarlia were overmatched and compelled, to submit. With a loss of two thousand five hundred men their military operations terminated, and Sweden, in order to please the Russian empress, and avoid hostilities, consented to elect Adolphus Frederick successor to the crown of Sweden, excluding the Danish crown prince. Dejected, melancholy, and even enraged at seeing his son's expectations frustrated, and yet cherishing a glimpse of hope of his success, Christian VI. equipped his army and fitted out his fleet, threatening to wage a sanguinary war ; but Swe den making great preparations, and Russia promising to march twenty thousand auxiliary troops against HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 371 Denmark, the Danish king deemed it unsafe to bid de fiance to so mighty an alliance. The strife dropped fortunately, and amity was entertained with Russia during the reign of the empress Elizabeth, although Charles Peter Ulrick, the elected successor to the Rus sian throne, was highly exasperated at Denmark, and looked out for every opportunity to rekindle the flame of war. Christian VI. was of a gentle, pious, and sincere dis position, and preferred and cherished the arts of peace ful industry to those of selfish and destructive war. He gained the affection and confidence of his subjects by many good institutions, tending to promote litera ture, public instruction, commerce, and naval affairs ; and there is more pleasure in contemplating such a man's character than that of a mad conqueror like Charles XII. of Sweden, the one producing happiness, and the other misery in the world. The king himself was of an unfeigned piety to God, and an exemplary Christian, and his mistakes in promoting a true re ligious fife are more to be ascribed to the artful and nypocritical insinuations of his court chaplain, .A.D., Bluhme, than to himself. After a reign of 1746. sixteen years, he died in the vigor of his age. No sooner had Frederick V. succeeded his father to A.D., the throne of Denmark and Norway, than that 1746. seriousness and formality of manner which, during his father's reign, had prevailed at the Danish 372 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. court, was done away, and a more jovial life took place, comedies and concerts being again represented, and other public amusements permitted. During the reign of Christian VI. there had been upheld a great distance between the people and the royal family, the members of which never appeared in public except when accompanied and attended by costly liveried servants and soldiers ; the palace of Christians- berg, also, was surrounded by numerous sentinels ; all of which ceased during Frederick V.'s reign, who re garded all stiffness and affected precision as not com patible with modern civilization, and married the jo vial princess Louise, a daughter of George II. of Eng land, both of whom, free from all pride and vain am bition, made themselves extremely beloved of their subjects. To see the royal couple making their appear ance in the theatre, the celebrated Louis Holberg, be fore mentioned, called a fascinating sight. On the 10th of September, 1747, Frederick V. and his queen, Louise, were crowned and anointed in the palace of Fredericksborg, the bishop of Copenhagen, Dr. Hersleb, performing the solemn act. In the beginning, many tried to • insinuate themselves into the queen's favor, thereby to obtain rank, dignities, and high offices, but she answered that she had come to Denmark to embel lish the days of her royal consort, not to interfere in public affairs, which did not appertain to her sex. Count Schulin, one of the few able and skillful Ger HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 373 mans who, during Christian VI.'s reign, had arrived in the country, and risen from a plain and poor student to the highest dignities, kept his situation under Frede rick V. After him, the great politician and acute diplomat, John Hartvig' Ernst, Count of Bernstorf gained com pletely the confidence of bis royal master, and signally displayed his splendid abilities, while, on the other hand, the highly deserving Panneskjold, above named, without any competent reason, was discharged. The financial affairs were exceUently administered by the baron, Olto Thott. Also, the great favorite of the king, Adam Gotllob Moltke, later exalted to Count of Bregentved, a beautiful estate in the island of Sjelland, exercised a considerable influence upon the state affairs. A.D., The dearly-beloved queen Louise became, on 1149. the 29th of January, mother to crown-prince Christian, afterwards king of both kingdoms by the name of Christian VII. ; but two years after, the twin- kingdoms had to lament her death, shortly after her delivery of a still-born prince. That spirit of disagreement which had so long ex isted between Denmark and Sweden, was done away A.D., with by the wise diplomatic efforts of Schulin 1750. and Bernstorff, a treaty being concluded, by which Adolphus Frederick, the elected successor to the Swedish crown, and the head of the younger line of the dukes of Holstein, renounced his claims to Schleswig, 374 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. and engaged himself to exchange the ducal part oi Holstein, when this soon, by inheritance, might devolve to his line, for the two counties, Oldenburg and Del- menhorst. The want of certain limits between Norway and Sweden, which long had caused violent disputes, was, in the following year, adjusted by plenipotentiaries from both kingdoms ; and, to contract a yet firmer union between Denmark and Sweden, espousals were arranged between the Danish princess, Sophie Magda- lena, and the Swedish crown-prince, Gustavus, a son of Adolphus Frederick, afterwards king of Sweden, by the name of Gustavus III. The wedding ceremony was, how ever, not performed till after the death of Frederick V. At this time, nearly all Europe was involved in the devastating Prussian seven years war, which A.D., the talented warrior, Frederick the Great, 1756-63. waged triumphantly against Austria, Russia, France, Sweden and Poland, all regarding with jealousy the increase of the Prussian monarchy ; and the empress Elizabeth of Russia entertaining a personal hatred to Frederick the Great, who had often made her the ob ject of his political satires, and the empress of Austria, Maria Theresa, still being dissatisfied with the loss of Sfiesia by the peace of Dresden, 1745. Although Denmark, through Bernstorff' s wise diplo macy, was happy enough not to be involved in this destructive war, it was, nevertheless, the cause of heavy expenses, it being deemed necessary, to secure the frontiers, to keep a considerable standing army in Hoi* HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 375 Btein. Besides, an alliance was made between Den- mark and Sweden, both joining together in having their fleets in the Baltic during the war, to protect the commerce of the North against the hostile privateers, all of which was a great drain on the public treasury. The war, at length, approached to the Danish fron- A. D., tiers. The French troops had entered Hanover, 1757. where the French general, B'Etree, defeated, near Hastenbek, an army of Prussians and Englishmen, commanded by the Duke of Cumberland ; but Frede rick V. of Denmark was happy enough, through the A. D., interference of Count Lynar, to effect the con- 1757. vention of Zeven, in Hanover, pursuant to which the allied army had to separate ; a convention, however, neither ratified by the English nor the French king, and, therefore, of no long duration. But it was the fate of Denmark soon to enter into a yet more critical situation. An unexpected event deliv ered the king of Prussia from the ruin that seemed to threaten him at the close of his last campaign. Eliza- A. D., beth, the empress of Russia, died, and was suc- 1762. ceeded by her nephew, Charles Peter Ulrik, who now mounted the Russian throne by the name of Peter III, and who entertained a romantic admiration of the Prussian king, but an unquenchable hatred against Denmark. He immediately re-demanded Schles wig, which Adolphus Frederick had renounced in 1750. Denmark peremptorily refusing his demand, Peter III 376 HISTORY CF SCANDINAVIA. marched an army to Germany to attack Denmark, and, as he declared, entirely to turn away the Danish royal family, against which he cherished the most inveterate hatred. Meanwhile Denmark had made strenuous military preparations to meet the threatening tempest, Frederick V. launching his fleet in the Baltic, numbering thirty- six men-of-war excellently equipped, and marching to Mecklenburg, his army consisting of seventy-one thou sand men, commanded by the French general St. Ger main, who, upon request of the Danish king, had un dertaken to conduct the military operations. The Russian and Danish armies approaching each other in Mecklenburg, a bloody battle was impending, when the Budden intelligence was conveyed to the Danish court, that Peter III., who, by his imprudent reforms, had given offence to a great body of his subjects, had a. D., been dethroned, mainly by his wife, and killed 1763. in prison a few days after his deposition. It has, how ever, not been fully ascertained, whether he was tho victim of disease or violence. Be it as it may, his death delivered Denmark from the imminent danger that threatened her, the more so, as the empress, Catha- rina II, who now usurped the Russian throne, renewed friendship and peace with Denmark, and resolved to observe a strict neutrality. Nevertheless, it was easy to foresee that the peace with Russia was not to be trusted, as long as the dispu- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 377 table point concerning Schleswig was not settled. The celebrated Bernstorff, therefore, deserved highly of Denmark for getting this point satisfactorily deter mined. After long negotiations he was happy enough to adjust a treaty, by which the House of Holstein re nounced all claims to the former Gottorp part of Schles wig, and Denmark obtained the ducal part of Holstein in exchange for the counties of Oldenburg and Del- menhorst, but had, at the same time, to pay the great debt of the house of Holstein, and to resign the diocese of Lubeck, which Frederick V., with great expense, had purchased for his younger son, the crook-backed prince, Frederick, whom the king had by his second queen, Juliane Marie, of Brunswick-Liineburg-Wolfen- buttel, to whom he had been married on the eighth of July, 1752. This treaty being subscribed to a year after the death of Frederick V., was first ratified some years after, when the Russian crown-prince Paul, in whose behalf bis mother, Catharina II., had concluded it, was past minority. On the same occasion was Hamburg, after some controverted points were settled, unbound from her dependence on Holstein, and declared a free imperial city. Frederick V. bought that part of the island of Aro which belonged to the duke of Gliicks- burg, with the proviso that he paid the debt contracted, amounting to about one million of rix-dollars. During the reign of this king, as during that of his predecessor, large sums were spent in promoting do- 378 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. mestic manufactures in Denmark ; but however well- meaning these endeavors might be, particularly origi nating from the great Bernstorff, their consequences were not profitable nor permanent ; the manufacturing of many things, as silks, and other fine manufactures, with which many thousands in Copenhagen were occu pied, was unnatural to Denmark, and only brought to pass by large expenses, and by forbidding the import of foreign articles. These being cheaper, were, of course, imported into the country in great quantities, and greedily sought after, ignoring the severe punishments inflicted upon those who were found gudty of such importations. Of greater use was the foundation of the armory near Elsenorc, and of the cannon foundry and the powder mUls near Fredericksvoerk, by which the army was pro vided with arms and ammunitions. In spite of the high tariff placed upon trade and other ways of living, in order to create for manufactures and home-bred com modities a home market, nevertheless the great juris consult, Henry Stampe, who was attorney-general, and exercised a beneficial influence upon many branches of the state affairs, effected a modification of the pressing restrictions which hitherto had been placed on commer cial and mechanical corporations. Also trade and. navigation were highly patronized under this king. Already Christian VI., towards the close of his reign, had contributed not a little to increase the Danish com- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 379 merce in the Mediterranean, and in his name a treaty was concluded with Algiers, confirmed by Frederick V., who meantime had ascended the throne, and on the whole, continued his father's endeavors, concluding commercial treaties with Morocco, Tunis, Tripoli, the Tukish Sultan, Mustapha III., Genoa and Naples. Hereby a foundation was laid for the important con veyance of freight, which Denmark had in the Medit erranean, but the immediate trade with Africa became of no consequence, though Denmark spent immense sums on equipping merchantmen for that purpose; while on the other hand the East and West Indian trade flourished, and, at length, was raised to a height hitherto unknown, and could not fad to be an inex haustible source of wealth to the nation ; and it cannot be denied, that during the reign of Frederick V. a variety of excellent laws were enacted for the encour agement of trade. But the financial affairs grew still worse during the reign of this king. In the first eight years the debt was reduced to one million of rix-dollars, but afterwards grew, year by year. The reason was the great expenses in fitting out the army and the fleet on account of the Prussian seven years' war, and yet more, the necessary preparations for the war against Russia; finally the king's splendid court, as also the considerable amounts of money spent on supporting manufactures, mechanical occupations, and expensive commercial undertakings. Another hardy ei-terprise, on which was spent more 380 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. than a million of rix-dollars, was the attempt at break ing and cultivating the vast heaths of Jutland, by Ger man colonists. The attempt, however, falling short of success, contributed, nevertheless, to make the cultiva tion of potatoes more known in Denmark, which now produces the finest kinds of this vegetable. The public treasury was also very much encumbered by the purchase of the possessions which belonged to the' duke of Ploen, and of the allodial estates of- the duke of Glucksburg. To remedy the increasing scarcity of money, it was, therefore, resolved, upon the propo sal of Count Schimmelmann, who, in the latter part of the reign of Frederick V., tried to put the finances upon a better footing, to dispose of the large estates which the crown possessed. These estates hitherto having only yielded very small revenues, were now sold with great profit, and amounted to considerable sums ; moreover, an extra tax was imposed, which, to many, became very burdensome, every person, after having attained to the twelfth year of age, without respect of person, being forced to pay a tribute of one rix-dollar yearly. But although this taxation was complied with, with out the faintest murmur on the part of the people, and afforded the king the most abundant supplies for the accomplishment of all his designs, and for the enjoy ment of the pleasures of his splendid court, the disor der of the finances was, nevertheless, so great, that at the expiration of the reign of Frederick V. the debt of HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 381 the state had reached the immense amount of twentv millions of rix-dollars ; a debt which ever since has been too heavy a burden for Denmark to get rid of, the king himself being most to blame in this matter, as his desire to imitate the luxurious court of Louis XV. of France, had highly contributed to exhaust the wealth of his kingdoms. The severe restrictions placed on the peasantry by Cliristian VI. continued yet during the reign of Frede rick V., and became yet severer than before, a law being enacted, that the country lad, from the very time he had fiUed his fourth year, should be bound to remain in Ms native country. The peasants groaned yet under all the miseries flowing from the despotic power of the nobility. The severe treatment to which they were exposed occasioned many to concert measures for run ning from their native place and emigrating from the country, notwithstanding they, if apprehended, had to undergo the severest punishment. Many estates, there fore, were so deserted that the government found it necessary to permit the administration of alms-houses and orphanotrophies to convey poor children to the noblemen to farm their estates. The sale of the large estates belonging to the crown, also, had unfavorable consequences on the peasants, who in very few places were able to buy their farms them selves. Many new manors, therefore, were erected on the crown estates disposed of, and numerous farms 382 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. pulled down, the peasants often, under these new mas ters, not getting so good terms as during the royal ad ministration. But notwithstanding these encroachments so highly unfavorable to the peasantry, an active interest com menced just at this time to manifest itself for this class of society, and caused the attention of the government to be drawn to their pitiable condition, and to the gross deficiencies and abuses which prevaded among all the agricultural classes. The enlightened Count, A. G. Moltke, before mentioned, was desirous of making the best possible improvements in agriculture, and pre vailed upon the king to give the liberty of the press to such authors who published books on state affairs and agriculture; on which occasion several writings and treatises were issued, not only throwing light upon the bad condition of agriculture, but also proving this to be founded in the many restrictions and oppressions placed on the peasantry. A royal committee was ap pointed, which particularly had to attend to the eco nomical part of agriculture, causing several laws to be enacted aiming at abrogating that hitherto existing com munity of ground, in so high a degree detrimental to agriculture. The new spirit of liberty, which in view of the pea santry began to stir, did also appear in the efforts of several noble-minded lords to improve the economical situation of their peasants. Amongst these, Bernstorff minister of state, deserves to be mentioned, who, upon HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 383 advice of his nephew, A. P. Bernstorff, parceled the grounds, and abrogated all community on his estates, and granted his peasants freedom from bond-service. Frederick V., though not a man of letters himself, was, nevertheless, a munificent patron of science and the arts. The Academy of Soro, the re-establishment A.D., of which Christian VI. had prepared, was re- 1747. called to life and inaugurated, which is especial ly to be ascribed to Holberg bequeathing his immense riches of estate and money and his large library to this institution. There lived under Frederick V. and the following king many celebrated men of learning, of whom I shall enumerate a few of the most eminent and remarkable. In the science of law Ebfod Ancher and Andreas Schytte excelled, not to forget Henrik Stampe, before named, who all made an equally eminent figure in the political as in the literary world, their works being the fruit of mature study, and written in a refined and classical style. As historians, we have to mention the fundamental investigator, Langebek, who has gained a great reputation, both at home and abroad, by his work, Scriptores rerum Panicarum Medii ^Evi, and Peter Suhm, whose favorite subject was the Northern mythol ogy, on which he had published a work of deep erudi tion, which entitles him to the character of a thorough historian. Erik Pontoppidan, above named, continued to enrich the literature by eminent productions ; for in. 6tanee, his work, Exploits of the Danes abroad, writ- 384 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. ten in Latin, acquired for him a great fame. Pro fessor Oeder has, by his work, Flora Panica, distin guished himself as a great botanist. Cramer was a famous ecclesiastical orator — even known abroad. The German poet, Klopstock, who was supported by Frede rick V., by his immortal works is known to the whole civilized world. In point of fancy and imagination hardly any poet has gone beyond him ; and his poetry exhibits the most beautiful examples of the true pathetic. His lyric poem, Messias, has raised him an everlasting monument. The Danish poet, John Her man Vessel, born in Norway, 1742, died in Co- A.D., penhagen, whose genius and humor are never 1785. to be forgotten, has delivered masterpieces in dramatic literature, all distinguished for a correctness of lan guage, a harmony of numbers, and a brilliancy of metaphor hardly ever surpassed, not to mention the striking wit which he in a masterly manner knew how to apply. The great politicians, also, Schlegel, Mallet, Roger, and Rcverdil, ought to be cited. Reverdd was appointed teacher in French to the young crown-prince, Christian, and afterwards availed himseK of the great influence he exercised upon his pupil, to act in behalf of the oppressed peasantry ; in which respect Oeder, also, the great botanist, merits an everlasting remembrance. The great statesman, Bernstorff, influenced the king to send the learned Professor Niebuhr to Arabia, whose re searches have thrown a new light on mineralogy and HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 385 oriental history. The celebrated Icelanders, John Erich- ion, Skule Thorlacius, Grim Thorkelin, and Sandvig, applied themselves diligently to examine the northern •mtiquities. Sandvig has made himself famous by his translation of the Edda, or sacred book of the Scandi- lavians, whose author, Snorro Sturleson, lived in the beginning of the thirteenth century, and was supreme judge of Iceland. Mallet, above named, has given an abridgment of this remarkable book, and shown that Snorro had composed it with the sole purpose of preserv ing the memory of the ancient Scandinavian poetry, and of the wild and massive mythology therewith insepa rably connected. During ¦ the reign of Frederick V., two important societies were formed in Copenhagen, and Throndhjem, Norway : the Society of Belle Lettres, and the Lite rary Soc iety of Norway. Physics and cameralistics, for which Count A. G. Moltke had -great affection, were vigorously pursued. Upon the proposal of Oeder, a cabinet for natural curiosities was erected in the palace of Charlottenborg, more professors being appointed to dev rer lectures on the sciences of nature. Oeder laid the oround-plot of a botanic garden, and commenced to publish his famous work, Flora Danica, i. e., a descrip tion of Danish herbs. Frederick's Hospital, founded during the reign of Frederick V., was not only a highly beneficial institution, but also of great importance for the study of medicine. The fine arts were promoted by 386 H!=TO*!Y OF SCANDINAVIA. enlarging the school of painting and drawing, erected bj Christian VI., and by changing it to an academy of sculpture, painting, and architecture, in which the im mortal Thorioaldsen, who in sculpture stands unrivaled among the moderns, afterwards displayed his rare talents. After a reign of twenty years, Frederick V. died on the 14th of January, 1766. Although not dis- ad, playing any considerable degree of self- activity, 1766- he entirely possessed the affections of his subjects by his engaging affability, which in him deriving its origin from a native goodness of heart, was very different from that colored complaisance, the usual courtly engine for acquiring popularity, and which, therefore, was the sub ject of panegyric among his people, and has continued to be the object of honorable. mention by posterity. He appeared just, liberal, and humane ; and when a war rant for the execution of a criminal was brought to him to be signed, his courtiers often saw him walking lonp to and fro on the floor, before affixing his royal signa ture, entertaining a continual doubt of his right to take human life. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 387 II. 1766—1863. Christian VII. — Alterations among the Higher Officers of State — Caro for the Peasantry — The King's going abroad — Struensee and Brandt — Ove Guld- berg, Minister of State — The Queen-dowager, Juliane Marie — Prince Pre- derick — Deed of Exchange with Russia — A. P. Bernstorff — The Armed Neutrality — The Finances — The Press — The Peasantry — Care for the Danish Language and Literature — The Charter of Naturalization — Crown Prince Frederick, afterwards Frederick VI. — A. P. Bernstorff — Henrik Stampe — Reventlow — C. Colbjornson — Hostilities with Sweden — Neu trality during the French Revolutionary War — Independence of the United States acknowledged by Denmark — Tripoli — Hostilities with England — Renewal of the Armed Neutrality — Horrible Battle at Copenhagen — Co penhagen cruelly Bombarded, and the Fleet carried away — War with Sweden — Peace of Jonkoping — Prince Christian August, of Augustenburg — His Death — War with Sweden, Russia, and Prussia — Alliance with France — Fierce Fight at Sehestedt — Peace of Kiel — Norway Lost — Eman cipation of the Peasantry from Feudal Bondage — Other Important Altera tions in Different Branches of the Government — Care of the King for Public Instruction — University and School Affairs — Literature — Pecuniary Af fairs — Representative Council — Christian VIII. — School Affairs in Copen hagen and in the Country — Iceland — The Danish East India Possessions disposed of — Care for the Danish Language in the Northern part of Schleswig — Railroads — Frederick VII. — Horrible War with the Rebel lious Duchies — Marriage of Princess Alexandra with Prinoe of Wales. Christian VII, a son of Frederick V. and his first queen, Louise, succeeded his father to the throne of both kingdoms, in the seventeenth year of his a. d., age. Soon after his accession, Christian VII. 1706 married Caroline Mathilde, a sister of the magnani mous king of England, George III. ; and the engaging 383 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. manners of this young princess, only sixteen years of age when married to the king, won her the favor of the Danish king and people. Shortly after Christian VII. had mounted the throne several alterations amongst the higher officers were made. The well deserving Count Danneskjold Samso, who, during the reign of Christian VI., had so gloriously managed the naval affairs, but under the whole royalty of Frederick V. had been removed from any share in the government, now regained the administration of the navy, and was again introduced into the privy councd. Prompted by Reverdil, who was now appointed secre tary of the cabinet councd, the young king, by nature possessed ' of uncommon endowments of mind, took an energetic care of the peasantry, which be rightly re garded the majority of the nation. A committee, in which Reverdil and Henrik Stampe presided, was appointed to propose improvements in the condition of the peasants, who, in the whole county of Copenhagen, were emancipated from bond-service, and declared owners of their farms. Soon after, however, new alte rations were made at the court. Reverdil was dis charged, the deserving Danneskjold Samso was sud denly, without any fault, deposed from all his offices, and banished from Copenhagen; likewise St. Germain, before mentioned, who for some years had commanded the land forcev was dismissed. After Reverdd's dis- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 389 charge, Count Hoick exercised a detrimental influence upon the morality of the young king, and led him into dissipated habits. a.d., Soon after the king undertook a tour through 1768. Europe, for the purpose of acquiring more in struction and experience, and bringing back to his sub jects the improvements of more refined nations. Having established a regency, to direct the government during his absence, he departed from his dominions in the train of his courtiers and numerous attendants. In Altona the young king contracted familiarity with the talented physician, John Frederick Struensee, who was appointed to accompany the king as physician in ordinary. Shortly before the king left Denmark, his queen, Caro line Mathdde, had on the 28th of January, 1768, been delivered of the crown prince Frederick, afterwards king of Denmark and Norway, by the name of Frederick VI. From Altona Christian VII. went to England, where he, by his handsome appearance, natural wit and enga ging manners, won universal favor, the University of Oxford even conferring upon him the honorary diploma of doctor juris. On account of his talents and insin uating manners, and of his availing himself of every opportunity to please his royal master, Struensee became a great favorite with the king, and upon returning he monopolized the favor of the king and the queen to such a degree, that he was raised to the office of prime minis- 390 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. ter, or rather, sole ruler of Denmark and Norway, ex alted to the rank of a count, and decorated with the order of the Elephant, exercising an omnipotent influ ence, and being able to undertake a complete revolution of the state affairs ; the easier, as the king himself, by dissolute, licentious manners, had fallen into a temporary insanity. To accomplish his schemes, Struensee availed himself of his intimate friend, Enevold Brandt, who entertained the greatest familiarity with the king, had likewise been exalted to the rank of a count, and decorated with the order of the Elephant, and mastered Christian VII. so completely as to make him comply with his humor ; Struensee and Brandt thus being the real rulers of the kingdom, the king himself only nomi nally. The old, generally-esteemed Bernstorff, being a stumbling-block to Struensee's carrying out his plans, was suddenly removed, through the interference of Count Ranzau Ascheberg, also striving for power and influ ence. The privy council was annulled, and its a. d. members, among whom was baron Thott and 177°- count A. G. Moltke, dismissed ; a cabinet council being erected instead of it ; which, however, signified nothing, Struensee himself deciding all matters of consequence, without any consultation either with the king or with the royal colleges, and soon gaining such an a. D., ascendency as to be authorized to pass com- 1771- mandb in his own name with the same validity as if HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 391 they were subscribed by the king himself. Jealous of the unheard-of power and influence extended to Struen- see and Brandt, count Ranzau Ascheberg soon became one of their most mortal enemies, and afterwards privj to the horrible conspiracy, which brought them to trial as criminals, and to suffer a dreadful death. Intoxica ted with joy at the immense influence they exereised, they did not suspect that fearful event which was at hand. Struensee's administration was vigorous, and, in many respects, very useful, many alterations which he made being highly laudable, while others were of doubt ful utility, and some altogether injurious. One of the greatest benefits which the ministry of Struensee effect. a. D., ed was the liberty of the press. Immediately 177°- after he had assumed his power, a royal rescript emanated, giving every individual right to express his opinion on the whole conduct of the government, with out reserve, by word or writing ; the press should be open to every thing, but after publication, such writings as offended in the particulars, should be subject to the penalties of the law ; thus, at length, that tie was now untied, which for two centuries had retarded the free progress of literature and science, and furnished unjust officers with the most powerful impulse to every species of malversation. A better regu.'ation of the finances was a main object of his attention, and to accomplish his plans in this °*7,a HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA respect, he employed the skdlful Oeder, and his efficient brother, Peter Struensee, counselor of state. A col lege of finances was erected to undertake the adminis tration of all the revenues and expenses of both king doms, which formerly had been divided between different codeges; a more economical system was adopted and a fixed sum of money assigned for the expenses of the royal court. As to the conferring of badges of honor and honorary titles, it was resolved henceforth to ascertain more minutely than before the worthiness of the persons on whom those titles were to be conferred, and no more to allow servants of the nobility offices in the kingdoms, the practice of which aheady long had intruded upon the patience of the people. In reference to the magistrate of Copenhagen, im portant alterations took place, all the members of the magistracy being deposed and the councd of the thirty- two men removed, after which the whole administration was regulated in a new and better way. Of great importance was the erection of the municipal court, from which the defendant could appeal to the supreme court, if not content with the sentence of the municipal court. Formerly the law-suits in Copenha gen had been divided between many different tribunals ; a great hindrance for quick and due procedure. It was also forbidden by law to put the criminals to the raok to compel them to confess then orimes. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 3bS Struensee was also highly desirous of improving the condition of the agricultural classes. In the beginning of the reign of Christian VII. something had been done for this purpose, but afterwards this important matter had again been dropped, only some few laws being passed as to improvements in agriculture, while the personal condition of the peasantry continued as before. But, prompted by Struensee, a new committee was appointed, in which Oeder, uniting a deep insight into agricultural affairs with ardent love of the peas antry, presided. Upon the recommendation of this committee a law was enacted, that the bond-service should be adjusted to their acres of land, as also other regulations favorable to the peasantry. Besides that, it was proposed by this committee, shortly before Struen- see's declension, to emancipate the peasantry from all feudal bondage. It also conduced to the advancement of manufactures in Denmark, that the Moravian brethren, distinguished for their industry, were permitted to settle in Chris- tiansfeldt, in the duchy of Schleswig. Struensee's attention was also directed to the many deficiencies in the regulation of the University, and to remedy them he called down from Norway the learned bishop Gunnerus of Trondhjem, who, with deep inspec tion, elaborated a proposal for a reformation of the University, which, however, at Struensee's declension, shortly subsequent, was laid aside. 394 HISTORY OF SCAMJINAVIA. But although these excellent improvements met wiJi great approbation amongst the sensible and educated people, nevertheless, he incurred their displeasure and censure for having made them too precipitately, without preparation and assurance for the future. All eyes were bent jealously upon him, and misfortunes were accumulating fast upon his head. During the continu ance of Struensee's useful designs, his friend, Count E nevoid Brandt, a man of weak intellect, and without any vigor of mind, had plunged into the pleasures of the court, and in the midst of luxury and festivity indulged the king's passions, often taking advantage of his famil iarity with him to forget the distance between himself and his royal master, while many looked jealously upon him, and he stood over a hidden volcano. To return to Struensee ; several of his institutions gave great offence to the manners and habits of his age ; for instance, that he abrogated by law (26th of October, 1770) the following holy days : the third Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost days, the Epiphany, the Purifica tion of St. Mary the Virgin, the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, St. John Baptist's day, and St. Michael's and All Angels, alleging that they were only used for idleness and vices, and not for true worship ; that he annulled all difference between legitimate and illeeiti mate children, and finally commanded to bury ad corpses early in the morning, aiming thereby, it should be observed, at diminishing that luxury and funeral HISTORY OF SCANDINA\-A. 395 pomp which long had taken place ; all of which gave the more offense as Struensee was a known despiser of all religion and a man of immoral principles. He is also blamed for having introduced the corrupt ing system of raising money by lotteries, and there soon appeared a general dissatisfaction with the reign of Struensee, the more as he was a professed despiser of the Danish language. The royal orders were issued in German,- the royal colleges had to present their pro posals in German, and applications and supplications from private people had to be written in German, if they might expect them to be taken notice of. Struensee had formally monopolized the favor of the young queen ; wheresoever she was, he accompanied her ; he approached her without sufficient respect, and he was generally charged with having defiled the royal bed, which, however, never was clearly proved. Many officers had been despotically deposed from their offices, often without any pension ; his haughtiness had given great offense to the Danish nobles, and the most influ ential families of the country had lost their influence. During some agitations arising from a few mariners and workmen, Struensee proved himself faint-hearted, which inspired his enemies with courage to precipitate him from his high place. His friend, Count Enevold Brandt, was charged with having taken advantage of the king's momentary insanity, even so far as to have beaten his majesty. 396 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. A conspiracy was formed against them, the principa. .eaders of which were the king's stepmother, the queen- dowager, Juliane Marie, and her son, the crook-backed prince, Frederick, both of whom, during the ministry of Struensee, had been neglected and stripped of all influence ; Ove Guldberg, private secretary with Prince Frederick, whose teacher he had been ; the two counts, Ranzau Ascheberg and Osten, Colonel Koller, Genera) Eichstddt and Commissary-General Beringslcjold ; who all had before enjoyed the king's bounty, but by the influence of Struensee and Brandt had lost it. It was resolved to involve the unfortunate young queen, Caroline Mathilde, in their fate, preparations being made to strike a decisive blow. The plot was laid with a depth equal to the atrociousness of a.d., the design. In the night, between the 16th and 1772- 17th of January, the infernal scheme was carried out. Soldiers appeared in the streets and round the royal palace of Christiansborg, barricades were erected, popu lar commotions took place in the capital, and the cry, " Down with the traitors ! " resounded throughout Co penhagen. Struensee and his friend Enevold Brandt, not at all suspecting the peril to which they were expo sed, were suddenly arrested at midnight, by virtue of an order which had been extorted from the imbecile king. While this was passing, Ranzau Ascheberg and Koller, guided by numerous soldiers, repaired tc the royal palace, entered the queen's bed-chamber and dragged hei HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 397 naked out of her bed and commanded her to follow them. Pleading her complete innocence and appealing to her royal dignity, she cried : "I will speak with the king, my royal consort ; " but they answered : " His majesty is asleep, we dare not awake him ; " after which they placed her by force in a carriage, and sent her, a prisoner, to the fortress of Kronborg, near Else- nore, where she remained for six weeks. Dread of British vengeance saved her, perhaps, from personal violence. While a prisoner in Kronborg, she was, under the pretence of having committed adultery with Stru ensee, divorced, by a judicial sentence, from the imbecile king, Christian VII., and then permitted to retire to Hanover, where, from 1772 to 1775, in a small town called Zelle, the remainder of her life was spent in comparative obscurity, pious contemplations, and in the exercise of secret charity. She died at the age of twenty-four. Even when breathing her last she assert ed her innocence of the crime with which she had been charged, declaring solemnly that she had been sacrificed by a base plot. When she was carried away by force from Copen hagen, her little son, the crown-prince Frederick, after wards king by the name of Frederick VL, was only four years of age. She saw him no more. She is buried in a plain vault in the church of Zelle, with the laconic inscription on her coffin : " Carolina Mathilda, Regina D anise et Norvegku " 398 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. While this was passing with the young queen, Stru ensee and Brandt were sitting in their prisons, wrapped in gloomy thoughts and awaiting their horrible sentence of death, at the circumstances of which abominable tragedy we cannnot but shudder. They were insulted with the mockery of a trial, and their sentence was : " Struensee and Brandt have forfeited honor, life, and property ; their right hands shall first be stricken off, then their heads ; their bodies be divided into four parte and exposed on the wheel to public view;" to which cruel sentence the deranged king was easily brought tc affix his signature. Dr. Hee, minister of the church of the mariners, and Dr. Miinter, minister of the German church, and father of the learned bishop of Copenhagen, Dr. Frederick Miinter, were commanded to prepare the victims a. D., for death. On the 28th of April, the cruel 1772- sentence was literally carried into effect. Struensee, whose religious views had taken a happy change under his imprisonment, when ascending the scaffold, cried out : " The power of the blood of Christ speaks comfort to me." This horrible scene excited horror and detestation in aU the courts of Europe, calling it the Danish judiciary murder. The hard-hearted queen-dowager, Juliane Marie, who was seen looking from a window of her palace upon the dreadful spectacle, now usurped the royal authority fcr a long time, after having removed HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 399 ner rivals, and the young and talented nobleman, named Bernstorff, a nephew of the before mentioned count, was appointed minister of foreign affairs, which he conducted with excellent discretion. Struensee thus removed, the former principles of government were introduced, the privy council was re established by the name of council of state, the royal colleges were replaced on their old footing, most of Struensee's institutions being abrogated, the good as well as the bad, and nearly all the men whom he had employed in carrying out his reforms, deposed and removed, although many of them were highly efficienl and deserving officers. Besides the queen-dowager, Juliane Marie, baron Otto Thott, Schack Rathlau, and count Schimmelmann, exercised until 1784 the most important influence upon the government; while, on the other hand, Ranzau Ascheberg, and several others of the most efficient coadjutors in removing Struensee, were soon dismissed. Only Ove Guldberg was gradually raised to greater and greater dignity and influence, his authority becoming so considerable that this whole period has been called the period of Guldberg. Andrew Peter Bernstorff, a nephew of the elder Bernstorff, skillfully administered, (1773- 1780,) as above mentioned, the foreign affairs, but afterwards laid down his office, not approving of the principles which Guldberg followed. But the adminis- tration of Bernstorff is remarkable for the fact that the 4:00 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. treaty which his uncle, in 1767, had concluded with Russia, concerning the exchange of the ducai part of Holstein for Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, was a.d., now accomplished, the crown prince of Russia, 1773- Paul Petrowitch, now passing his minority. Denmark hereby coming into an undivided possession of Holstein, the motives for future disputes with Russia were removed; the more so, as the house of Holstein-Kiel renounced its claims to the duchy of Schleswig. The counties, Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, were, by Paul Petrowitch, resigned to the young Frederick August, a prince of the younger line of the house of Kiel, and on this occasion elevated to a grand duchy, by the title of the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg. Six years after, also, the Glucksburg posses- a. d., sions, at the death of the last duke, by inheri- 1779- tance devolved to the Danish crown ; ad the small par- eels which by earlier divisions had been separated from the crown were reunited to it, except the possessions of the duke of Augustenburg. In 1775, twelve years from the peace of Paris, by which Nova Scotia, Canada, Cape Breton, and all othei islands in the gulf and river St. Lawrence were ceded to the British crown, the American revolutionary wai began, which, by the indefatigable efforts of the noble George Washington, and many other patriots, termi nated in the final separation of the United States from the British empire. Several of the European maritime HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 401 powers sharing in this memorable war, the Danish and Northern commerce was highly molested by the priva teers of the belligerent powers, France, Spain, and especially England. To remedy this evil, A. P. Bern storff labored energetically for effecting an alliance between Denmark, Sweden, and Russia, to protect the neutra- commerce. His endeavors met, for a while, A. D., with difficulties, but at length a treaty was con- 1780. eluded, called the Act of the Armed Neutrality, by which these three maritime powers jointly engaged themselves in maintaining the axiom, that a free ship makes free cargo, or that all merchandise, when not contraband, freely and without any control, could be carried on neutral vessels, to and from the countries of the belligerent powers. This alliance, entered upon by several states, exercised a highly beneficial influence upon the Danish commerce, England now altering her policy in this respect, and France and Spain acknow ledging the principles of the armed neutrality. Espe cially the lines of transportation in the Mediterranean and the West Indies were very flourishing, which latter was carried on to a great extent, and with considerable profit. For the advancement of the commerce, a chan nel was formed between the bay of Kiel and the Eider river, a conjunction being thereby effected between the Baltic and the North Sea. But, nevertheless, finan- cial affairs grew stdl worse during this period. In the first years several considerable expenses occurred, which 4:02 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. increased the debt, but even in the following years the debt was continually increasing, notwithstanding the sources of wealth were pouring in abundantly. In the year 1784 the debt, which from 1766-1772 had been reduced to sixteen millions, amounted to twenty-nine millions of rix-dollars. The government tried to remedy the scarcity of money by redeeming the private bank, which, during the reign of Christian VI., had been esta blished, and changing it to a royal bank. This altera tion, though undertaken diametrically opposite to the charter of the bank, and detrimental to the shareholders, made it possible for the government, wdien want of money might happen, to issue out bills without having a corresponding value of silver ; which expedient, in the following time, was used to such an extent as to ruin altogether the pecuniary affairs of the country. The period of Guldberg is distinguished by a great care for the Danish literature. Guldberg himself was a man of extensive learning, and an active promoter of scientific undertakings. The Danish language, which long had been neglected, and during the ministry of Struensee entirely trampled under foot, regained esteem. In the army the German drill words were exchanged for Danish ; at the court the Danish language was spoken ; the Latin schools were reorganized, on which occasion the mother tongue and history of Denmark were introduced as the objects of instruction. Also, the fJniversity was reformed, though not to that exfenf HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 403 which bishop Gunnerus, during the ministry of Struen. see, had in view. The charter of naturalization, issued during the period of Guldberg, bears a strong witness to the patriotic mind of the government. By this law which the king enjoined his successors to regard as an unalterable radical law, it was determined, that only Danes, Norwegians and Holsteiners should have access to the offices of the state ; such men, however, excepted, as by rare talents, uncommon knowledge, or great wealth, might be of great service to the kingdoms. Notwithstanding science and the arts being protected and promoted, the government, nevertheless, during the ministry of Guldberg, was very disaffected toward the liberty of the press. That liberty which, under Struen see, had been given to every individual to express his opinions without reserve, by word or writing, ceased a. d., unfortunately again altogether. A law was now 1773- enacted, forbidding to insert in the newspapers or periodicals anything concerning the government and public institutions, the mayor of Copenhagen being en titled to punish the violators of this law, either by fine or imprisonment, without allowing any appeal to the tribunals. Also, against larger works, a high degree of arbitrary power was exercised, the government encroach ing upon them, either through immediate orders from the cabinet council, or in other ways preventing them from being published. In reference to the peasantry, also, during the ministry 404 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. if Guldberg, principles were established diametrically ipposite to those of the former government. Guldberg himself was fully convinced, that the yoke of the pea santry could not be taken off without entirely subverting the state. The committee which, under Struensee, had neen appointed to propose improvements in the condition oi the peasantry, was dissolved, professor Oeder, its most active and skillful member, being discharged, with the notification, that he had forfeited the king's favor. The law concerning the bond-service, so favorable to the peasants, which had been enacted during the ministry of Struensee, was annulled, the bond-service again being made indefinite, and replaced on its old despotic footing. The pressure on the peasantry also grew stid worse by the erection of many new manors, which came up by continually disposing of the crown estates. Neverthe less, after count Joachim Gotshe Moltke had been appointed president of the exchequer, a law for the abrogation of the community of ground was enacted, highly important and beneficial for the agricultural classes. The revolutionary war in America, of seven years auration, had been waged vigorously, and successfully in its results to the cause of freedom. Misfortunes seemed to attend almost every scheme undertaken by England for coercing the Americans into obedience. The great continental powers, jealous of the maritime and commercial prosperity of England, and dissatisfied HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 405 with her policy, ardently desired her humiliation, and rejoiced heartily at every misfortune that befel her, and the northern kingdoms shared in the universal joy, and mentioned Washington's name with respect and admira tion; and when the proclamation of the cessation of hostilities was made to the army, on the 19th of April, 1783, Sweden had already, by virtue of the articles of peace, signed on the 30th of November, 1782, acknow ledged, 5th of February, 1783, the independence of the United States ; whereupon Christian VII, on the 25th of February, 1783, for Denmark and Norway, subscri bed to the independence of this great Union. Already, the year before, Holland had, 19th of April, 1782, ac knowledged said independence. The expenditure of blood and money which this war had cost England was enor mous. Of course, also, the United States had suffered during the war ; the trade and the commerce of the country were almost destroyed, and agriculture was greatly interrupted and depressed, and the great Union was burdened with an immense debt, from which they, however, soon recovered, by maintaining a strict neu trality, and engaging themselves in an extensive and profitable carrying trade. , Crown-prince Frederick, son of Christian VII. and the unfortunate queen Caroline Mathdde, had now A. D„ grown up and been confirmed by the court chap- IT84' lain, Dr. Bastholm, whereupon he conducted the reign ; his father, Christian VII., being so mentady 406 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. deranged as not to be able to rule the k.ngdoms. A few days after his confirmation, the crown-prince removed Ove Guldberg, whose ministry ceased pursuant to an order in writing, signed by the imbecile king and the crown-prince, who now created a new ministry of state, into which were admitted the great and liberal jurisconsult, Henry Stampe, and the celebrated diplo- mate, Andreas Peter Bernstorff, who, after an absence of four years, returned to Denmark to conduct again the foreign affairs. The peaceable terms on which Denmark was with Sweden, were for a little while interrupted, Sweden having attacked Russia, which Denmark, according to an earlier alliance, had to assist. Consequently a. d., a Danish army made from Norway an inroad 1788- into Sweden, and, commanded by crown-prince Frede rick, advanced briskly into the Swedish frontier-pro vinces, which were unable to make any resistance, tho Swedish troops having pitched their camp in Finland, in order to attack the Russians. A victory was obtained over the Swedes at Qvistrum Bridge, by the Danes, who advanced upon Gothenburg ; but England interfering, and threatening Denmark with war, the hostilities soon ceased. This short campaign, however, had cost Den mark the considerable sum of seven millions of rix dollars. Shortly after, the unfortunate Louis Jan 21 XVI. of France was guillotined in Paris, and the a. d, democratic spirit, which had called forth the revo- 1793 HISTORY OF SCANDINAMA. *"' lutionary war of America, was borne back to France by her chivalrous sons, who, in aiding the oppressed Ame ricans, had imbibed their principles. The ancient con stitution of France was overthrown, and the French Revolution was hm-ried forward, involving most Euro pean powers in a sanguinary war. But Denmark, through A. P. Bernstorff's wise diplomacy, being happy enough to maintain an unshaken neutrality, abundantly enjoyed the blessings of peace, carrjTing on the most flourishing commerce. The East India and China trade was so profitable, that for many years merchandise was yearly brought to Copenhagen, to the amount of five millions of rix-dollars ; and the carrying trade in the Mediterranean, together with the North American and West Indian commerce, was likewise pursued with great profit. The trade, however, in the Mediterranean, was for a long time greatly molested by the Dey of Tripoli violently outraging the Danish merchantmen. But, not withstanding peace having long reigned, the Danes had not degenerated from the ancient Northern bravery. The undaunted Admiral, Steen Bille, gained a complete A.D., victory over a superior Tripolitan fleet, and oom- 1797. pelled the Dey to pay respect to the Danish flag, thus securing to the Danish trade in the Mediterranean due freedom and progress. The victory gained, the Dey presented Steen Bille, to show him his esteem, with a costly sabre. But, in the course of the French revolutionary war *®° HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Denmark had a difficult game to play, frequent col lisions occurring with the bedigerent powers, especially with England, who despotically treated the nentral merchant nen. England now extending the fist of con traband goods, by which before only munitions of war were meant, to meal, grain, and other bread-stuffs, and claiming the right of searching neutral ships for contra band articles, and of seizing vessels not laden with exceptionable cargoes, attempted to forbid Denmark to enjoy free navigation from one port to another, and to bring meal and grain, her most important articles of exportation, to France or other countries, which were waging war with England. Nevertheless, the wise Bernstorff succeeded in getting it determined, that aU effects conveyed by Danish merchantmen, excepting only warlike stores, should be free, and in maintaining the peace and dignity of Denmark and Norway, a. D., But, unfortunately, Bernstorff died amidst these 1793- critical circumstances. To protect the merchantmen against future outrago, Denmark now commenced to convoy them by ships of war; but England stubbornly claimed the right of searching even such merchantmen as were convoyed Mutual recriminations were, therefore, almost constantly passing between the Danish and the English govern nrients, the former complaining, that great numbers of JJanish vessels, not laden with contraband goods, had been seized and carried int ¦> the ports of England ; the HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 409 latter accusing the former of supplying the enemies of A. d., England with naval and mditary stores. A 1800. slight collision in the English Channel, between Freia, a Danish man-of-war, and a superior English vessel, which, after a brave resistance, at last captured her, together with the merchantmen sailing under her convoy, increased the hostile feelings of the two nations ; a war being about to break out, when fortunately a Convention was concluded, pursuant to which England returned the captured vessels, and Denmark promised not to convoy her merchantmen by ships of war until the matter in question was settled. In the meantime, Napoleon, since the 10th of No vember, 1799, seated on the consular throne of France, was successfully planning a union of the northern A.D., powers against England, and on the 16th of 1800. December, a Maritime Confederacy was signed by Russia, Sweden, Denmark, and soon after by Prussia, on principles similar to the Armed Neutrality of 1780, and its effect would have been, if fully carried out, to deprive England of her naval superiority. Denmark having lately concluded a convention with England, was not inclined to accede to this new confederacy, but gave way, however, to the wish of the Russian emperor, Paul, who was highly exasperated at England ; the Danish government now ordering her armed vessels to resist the search of the British cruisers, and the Russian 9mperor issuing an embargo on id the British ships in his harbors. 410 HISTORY OF SCAN JIN AVIA. Still, England maintained her superiority at sea, and, determined to anticipate her enemies, despatched, as soon as possible, a powerful fleet to the Baltic, a. d., under the command of Sir Hyde Parker and 1801- Nelson. Passing through the sound at Elsenore under a tremendous fire from the Danish batteries, on the 30th of March, the English fleet, numbering fifty-one men-of-war, came to anchor opposite the harbor of Copenhagen, which was protected by an imposing array of forts and floating batteries ; but the Danish men-of- war were old and almost unmanageable, commanded by admiral Olfert Fisher. It is an interesting fact, that Charles G. Sommers, a Baptist minister in the city of New-York, still living, was in Copenhagen on the eventful day of the 2d of April, 1801. I cannot refrain from quoting the fodowing graphic words from the " American Pulpit," published by Henry Fowler, Professor of the University of Ro chester, N. Y. : " Within two miles from Copenhagen the British fleet came to anchor, in the evening of the first of April. Here these mighty battle-ships lay all night, in a fore boding silence, broken only by the dash of waves against their huge black sides, or by sound of revelry, and low murmur of preparation, which ever and anon issued from the open port-holes. In the British fleet it was a night of wild joy and hope, and glorious antici pation of the morrow's victory, with the thrilling excite HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 411 ment which nerves the arm and steels the heart of soldier and seaman in the prospect of desolating contest, But the gloom of night, which settled over the doomed oity of Copenhagen, was but a faint image of the fore- bodings shutting down so darkly on the hearts of all its desperate defenders. About ten o'clock on the A ril 2 foUowing morning (Good Friday), Lord Nelson's A.D., ships had taken their allotted places, and at the 1801' signal opened their tremendous fire on the Danish armament. It was returned by the shot of one thousand guns, which spoke in terms not to be misun derstood, of the desperate bravery with which the Danes would defend their native land, and of the terrible destruction through which the British flag must pass, ere it waved in triumph over the citadel of Copen hagen. For more than five hours did these two mighty combatants, the flower of the English navy, and the concentrated strength of Denmark, wage upon each other a warfare of magnificent bravery, but of awful carnage. It was one of the hardest fought battles that humanity ever has been called to mourn over. Young Sommers was witness of it all, in its terribleness, its havoc, and its magnificence. When Nelson came on shore, Sommers had a good sight of him. Villemoes, too, he often saw, and describes him as of a very modest and retiring appearance, of whom the following is told A Danish youth of seventeen, named Villemoes, par ticularly distinguished himself on this memorable day 412 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. fie ha 1 volunteered to take the command of a floating battery, which was a raft, consisting merely of a num ber of beams nailed together, with a flooring to support the guns; it was square, with a breastwork full of port-holes, and without masts, carrying twenty-four guns and one hundred and twenty men. With this he got under the stern of the Elephant, below the reach of the stern-chasers, and, under a heavy fire of smad arms from the marines, fought his raft tdl the truce was announced, with such skill and bravery as to excite Nelson's warmest admhation. Nelson requested of the crown-priuoe of Denmark, that Vfllemoes might be introduced to him ; and shaking hands with this young northern hero, told the prince, that Villemoes ought to be made an admiral. The prince replied : ' If, my Lord, I am to make all my brave officers admirals, 1 should have no captains or lieutenants in my service.' " After a continued fight of five hours the Danish fleet was almost altogether destroyed, but Nelson had under gone so great a loss as not to be able to continue the battle, his largest men-of-war being in a dangerous situation. The formidable fire from the Danish batte ries being silenced, Nelson sent a white flag ashore, and negotiations were transacted. Nevertheless, it is not to be denied, that the victory in this horrible engagement rested with the English, but the Danes had .fought with such courage and obstinacy as to procure thorn flveriasting honor, to which Nelson's words to the crown HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 413 prince bear witness : " Your royal highness 1 I have been in one hundred and five engagements, but tnat ot Copenhagen was the most terrible of them all." Six thousand of Denmark's bravest sons were taken trom her ; the English loss was two thousand two hundred men, but many of their men-of-war had Mown up. Against each other were arrayed men who knew no inspiration equal to that of their country's call, and paid no heed to personal safety, when her safety was endangered. Nelson, a man of refinement of manners, humanity, and with studied courtesies of polished life, was, aftei the battle, cordially received in Copenhagen; and as an instance of his courtesy, it is related, that in the very midst of the battle, when the work of carnage and destruction was the hottest around him, and he judged it expedient to propose a cessation of hostilities, a wafer being brought to him to seal his communication to the Danish authorities, he rejected it, directing the wax and a taper to be brought, saying: " What ! shall I send my own spittle to the crown-prince ? " An armistice was now concluded for fourteen weeks, during which time Denmark abdicated active participa tion in the Armed Neutrality. This armistice soon led June 24 ^° a complete peace, when the Russian emperor, A. D., Paul, the founder and head of the Northern Con- 180L federaey, who had provoked the indignation of the nobles and the people, was murdered by a party of 414 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. oonspirators, who placed upon the throne his son, Alexander I., who immediately resolved to abandon the armed neutrality, and to cultivate the friendship of Great Britain. Sweden, Denmark, and Prussia fodowed his example, and thus was dissolved the League of the North, the most formidable confederacy ever arrayed against the maritime power of England. Denmark soon retrieved the consequences of this war, and her commerce continued to flourish as before ; but the incessant wars in the north of Germany occasioned immense expenses, Denmark deeming it necessary to keep her army in Holstein to protect the frontiers. Meanwhile Napoleon had rapidly extended his suprem acy over tho continent of Europe, and when the a. d., German empire was dissolved, and fourteen 18C6- princes of the south and west of Germany were induced to form the Confederation of the Rhine, and place them selves under the protection of France, that feudal obligation in which Holstein had been to the German emperor ceased, and Holstein was now incorporated as an inseparable part of the Danish monarchy. Denmark having hitherto sought, as far as possible, to keep out of the terrible war in which the French Revo lution had involved most of the other states of Europe, was suddenly thrown into the middle of the great movements, which then shook Europe ; and the blessed ueace which Denmark, except a few short interrup tions, had enjoyed since the y^ar 1720, was now ex- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 413 ohanged for a seven years' war of the most lamentable consequf-nces. It was generally believed that Napoleon intended to blockade all the harbors of the continent against Great Britain, and that he would compel Denmark to give up her neutrality, and probably avad himself of the Danish navy to execute his old project of an invasion. To prevent such an enterprise England sent, without any previous declaration of war, a powerful armament against Den mark, under the command of admiral Gambier and general Cathcart. An imperious demand for the in stant surrender of the Danish fleet and naval stores, to be retained as a deposit by the English until the con clusion of the war, being peremptorily rejected, the Danes were briskly attacked by land and sea ; but as their army was in Holstein to protect the frontiers, and was prevented by English men-of-war, cruising round in the Belts, from coming to the assistance of the capital, they could only make a very weak resistance. Be t 2-5 After Copenhagen had been furiously bom- a. d., barded for three days, general Peymann was 1807' constrained to submit to the demands of the British, and the Danish fleet was, six weeks after, removed, while the indignant people could scarcely be prevented from avenging the national insult, even by the presence of a superior force. A militia, consisting principally of men who had never stood under fire, commanded by general Castenskjold, tried at Kjoge. 416 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. four Danish miles from Copenhagen, to make head against the British troops, but were immediately routed. The enemy carried away thirty-three men-of-war and several frigates, besides a great store of ammunition. Here I may quote the following graphic account from the American Pulpit : "It was six years after the horrible battle of 1801, that a British fleet suddenly appeared off Elsenore, the toll-gate city of Denmark. It amounted to nearly a score of line ships, a large number of frigates and gun-boats, with transports car rying some twenty thousand men. As they swept into the straits under a light wind, with all sails spread, flags, pennants, and streamers flying from mastheads, bows, and sterns, every yard throughout the whole fleet manned with seamen, Mr. Sommers describes it a mag nificent sight. And when the bands of eleven regiments struck up the national air : ' Rule, Britannia, Britannia rule the Waves,' the effect was thrilling. With his usual enterprise in search of incident or information, Sommers jumped into a skiff with a companion, and pulled off for the Prince of Wales, a ninety-eight gun ship. Going on board, he was most kindly received, and invited below to a repast with the officers. He frankly inquired where they were going with such a fleet. An officer replied : " We do not know ; sealed orders have been given us, which wdl be opened this afternoon ; and we hope it is not to Copenhagen." But alas, it was. That afternoon tho fleet weighed HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 417 anchor for that unfortunate capital, and the next morn ing the booming of cannon was heard at Elsenore, twenty-four English miles distant, and Copenhagen was bombarded. " This attack was made under the command of Lord Gambier. It was done for the purpose of getting pos session of the Danish fleet, which lay dismantled in its harbor. This fleet the English government was inform ed by their active minister abroad, Jackson, was to come into possession of the French, which John Bull could not, and would not allow. The fleet was captured ; English sailors swarmed on board of the stripped vessels, rigged them, fitted them for sea, and the two fleets passed over to England. In this engagement, the enthusiasm of young Sommers would not allow him merely to sit quietly on the end of a ship-crane, but he must assist in the defence of Denmark, his adopted country. So he joined the company which manned the old fort of Kronborg, the guns of which swept the straits, and there played away at the ships as they passed." This act of violence against Denmark, called so by the whole of Europe, furnished the Russian emperor with a pretext for breaking off his connection with Great Britain. He complained, in strong language, of the disregard which England had ever shown for the rights of nsutral powers, and the unscrupulous use that had been made of her naval supremacy, and many of 418 HIsrORY OF SCANDINAVIA. the maritime states seconded his remonstrances. Den mark, though deprived of her navy, resented the blow inflicted on her by England, by throwing herself without reserve into the arms of France. Shortly after, a. d., Denmark declared war against Sweden, whose 180a king, Gustavus IV., a son of the celebrated Gustavus III., who, in 1792, at a masked-ball, had been mur dered by Captain John Jacob Ankarstrom, was in the closest connection with England, and strove for the possession of Norway. A few days after the breaking out of the war with Sweden, the imbecile Chris- a.d., tian VII. died in Rendsburg, Holstein, and his 1808 son, who, since 1784, had ruled Denmark and Norway as crown-prince, ascended the throne of both kingdoms by the name of Frederick VI. The kingdoms were, at that time, in a very critical situation, involved in a double war, and on account of the loss of the fleet not able to undertake anything of consequence against England, their most dangerous enemy ; their commerce was weakened by England's capturing many hundred merchantmen, and their agri culture was greatly interrupted and depressed. The capital had suffered greatly by the English bom bardment ; and some years before, 1794, it had been greatly injured by a fire, which even consumed the splendid palace of Christiansbnrg, considered one of the most costly and beautiful in Europe. French reinforcements arrived in Denmark under the HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 419 command of Charles John Bernadotte, prince of Pon- tecorvo, one of Napoleon's1 most celebrated marshals, and preparations were made to make a descent upon Skane in Sweden. The reinforcements consisted mostly of Spanish soldiers, who mutinied, and the expedition was abandoned. But on the Norwegian frontier, the war was waged very successfully by the skdlful, tal ented, and generally beloved prince, Christian August, of Augustenburg. Meanwhile the eccentric Gustavus Adolphus IV., who, by his imprudent reign, had brought Sweden into the most miserable condition, had been deposed on the 13th of March, 1809, and his uncle, Charles XIII, raised to the Swedish throne. After his accession to . a. d., the crown of Sweden, peace was concluded with 1809. Denmark, in Jonkoping, by which everything remained as before the war, and with Russia the same year, in Frederikshamn, by which peace Sweden lost Finland, which for six hundred and fifty years had belonged to Sweden' — the most unfortunate peace Swe den has ever concluded. Charles XIII. being old and childless, the Swedes A. d., elected prince Christian August, of Augusten- 1810. burg: successor to the throne. By the name of Charles August he arrived in Sweden, where he, by his mild and unaffected deportment, made himself highly beloved; but whde he was reviewing a regiment of hussars in Skane, at Quidinge Heath, he died suddenly, 420 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. not without some suspicion of poison. Count a d . Axel Fersen, suspected of having poisoned him, 181°- was, when the body of the dearly beloved crown-prince was escorted to the tomb, cut to pieces by the mob of Stockholm. The Swedish senate feeling convinced that a tried warrior was, under the sad circumstances, neces sary for Sweden, tendered the succession to Charles John Bernadotte, who had won their favor by the leni ency and prudence he had displayed some years before in the North of Germany. Bernadotte, willingly accepting the glorious offer, to the secret annoyance of Napoleon, who had long been jealous of his military fame and Independent spirit, arrived in Sweden in October, 1810, by the name of Charles John. To return to Denmark : against England the war could only be waged very weakly, Denmark being deprived of her fleet ; and the few men-of-war which had escaped the attention of the English in 1807, were suc cessively captured, amongst others, the Prince Christian, which, after a most heroic resistance under admiral lessen, was entirely cut up on the northern coast of Sjelland. But, notwithstanding Denmark had nothing out a few small vessels and gun-boats, which had been built by patriotic private people, to oppose the English men-of-war cruising all the time round in the Danish sounds and belts, the Danish sea- warriors often battled bravely against the enemy, and caused him, in the course of the war, many severe losses. But an attempt HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 421 made by the Danes to recover the island of Anholt, in the Cattegat, was defeated by the English garrison ; a great loss to the international commerce. Sweden could scarcely be said to be at war with Great Britain. Bernadotte soon discovered that subser- "riency to France was inconsistent with the interests of his adopted country,, and he secretly entered into nego tiations with the Russian emperor for restoring their mutual independence. In the year 1812 the situation of Denmark became yet more critical. On the 24th of June, 1812, Napoleon crossed the Niemen at the head of " the Grand Army," and entered upon his ever-memorable Russian campaign. On the morning of the 7th of September the great battle was fought at the small village of Borodino, seventy mdes from Moscow, where neither side gained a decisive victory. Napoleon now approached Moscow, the ancient capital of the Czars, revered by the Russians as Jerusa lem by the Jews. The citizens resolved not only to abandon their beloved metropolis, but to consign it to the flames ; and Napoleon, not able to check the conflagra tion, had to undertake his perilous retreat. Exasperated at Napoleon, and to acquire assistance against this his enemy, and, if possible, to break him entirely, the Russian emperor, Alexander, although there was at that time peace and amity between Denmark A. d., and Russia, offered Sweden his aid in depriving l813- Denmark of Norway. The following year Den- 122 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. mane was summoned to share in the war against Napo leon, and resign Norway to Sweden. This iniquitous request left nothing to Denmark but to take a yet closer part with France, whereby aU the powers which were allied against France now became Denmark's enemies ; and after Napoleon, on the 18th of October, 1813, had been signally defeated at Leipsic, an immense army of Swedish, Prussian, and Russian troops, commanded by the elected crown-prince of Sweden, Prince of Ponte- corvo, now called Charles John, rushed upon the fron tiers of Denmark. The Danish army, which had pitched its camp in Holstein, had to retreat, but fought bravely against superior numbers. A division of the army had on its retreat been cut off from the fortress of Rends- burg, but, after an honorable and obstinate battle a. D., at Sehestedt, won the field. 1813- Denmark having now, through seven years, endured a desolating war, could no longer afford to con- Jan u tinue the contest, and Frederick VI. submitted to A. D., conclude the peace of Kiel, by which Denmark 18U' resigned Norway to Sweden. Thus the close union which, for four hundred and thirty-four years, had existed between Denmark and Norway, was dissolved, and Denmark lost a large kingdom, the inhabitants of which had always obeyed the Danish kings with lovo and loyalty ; and the allies have incurred just censure for aiding in this forcible annexation of Norway to Swe den, against the earnest remonstrances of the inhali HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. , 423 tants As a sort of compensation for the loss of Norway, Denmark obtained Swedish Pomerania, which was afterwards exchanged with Prussia for the duchy of Laiienburg and a sum of money. Peace was also con cluded with England at Kiel, by which Denmark had to concede Helgoland, a rocky island in the North Sea, to Great Britain. Nevertheless the Norwegians tried to defend their independence under the Danish hereditary prince, Chris tian Frederick, who gave Norway a free constitution, and was proclaimed king, but never acknowledged by any European state. The Swedish crown-prince, Charles John (Bernadotte), now marched his victorious army into Norway, and the Swedish fleet conquered Frederickstad. The fortress of Frederickshald was be sieged, and the Swedish army advanced upon Christiania, the capital of Norway. The superiority being too large, the Norwegians hastened to secure their persons and August ProPerty by a capitulation in Moss, upon condi- a. D., tion that Norway should belong to Sweden, and 1814" Christian Frederick immediately leave Norway ; the Swedish king, however, confirming that free constir tution which Christian Frederick had given to Norway. Although Norway is now under the same crown with Sweden, it is in reality little connected with the latter country Its democratic assembly, called the Storthing, meets for three months once in three years, by its own right, and not by any writ from the king.- If a bd! 424 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. ¦ passes both divisions of this assembly in three successive Storthings, it becomes a law of the land without the royal assent ; a right which no other monarchico-legis- lative assembly in Europe possesses. In the meantime the fate of France was decided ; Napoleon was, on the 2d of Aprd, formally de- a. d., posed, and, by a treaty between him and the 1S14- allies, promised the sovereignty of the island of Elba and a pension. But when he suddenly landed at Frejus, (March 1, 1815), and soon again found himself at the summit of power, and re-ascended the throne of France, Denmark took part with the other European powers in fighting against him ; and after having lost the memo rable battle of Waterloo, nine miles south of Brussels (18th of June, 1815), Napoleon a second time abdicated the throne of France, and was banished by the allies tc St. Helena, where he died on the 5th of May, 1821. At the general congress of the adied powers, a. d., which assembled at Vienna, the Danish king, 1815- Frederick VI., was present, and subscribed to the incor poration of the duchy of Holstein into the Germanio Confederation. Of Scldeswig not a word was spoken, it being considered an inseparable part of the Danish body. Since that time the peace of Denmark has not been interrupted until 1848, when the rebellious duchies tried to shake off the Danish yoke, and erect themselves into independent states, and waged a sanguinary three years' war against the Danish king, being assisted by mora than twenty thousand Prussians and Hanoverians HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 425 Of the favorable period previous to the breaking out of the war. the government had availed itself, to make important improvements in agriculture and in other matters. When crown-prince Frederick, in the year 1784, during his father's imbecility, assumed the reins of government, the peasantry was in a most lamentable condition, and agriculture very defective. Community of ground still prevailed in most places, although in 1781 a strict law had been enacted against it, but on account of prevailing prejudices, it had been very difficult to carry this law into execution. Not less detrimental for the advancement of agriculture was the bond-service, with a few exceptions, yet in use. The number of owners of farms decreased more and more, and the tenants were in most places impoverished and oppressed. Many sorts of grain were not cultivated at all, and when sterile years happened, the country could not supply itself with provisions. Public instruction was yet at 8 very low ebb, though Frederick IV. and Christian VI had made active efforts for improving it. As far as the personal relation to the nobdity was concerned, the tenants were subject to the greatest despotism. When the nobleman was just and well-minded, the tenants did tolerably well ; but if he would intrude upon them, it was difficult for the peasants to be protected against oppression and injustice. After military service of many years, the country lad was obliged to return to that estate from which he was enlisted, and then to take 426 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. what farm soever the nobleman might please to give him, and on whatsoever terms. The bond-service being indefinite, the nobleman exercised the most unlimited power over the tenants' time and labor, and was autho rized to lash them and punish them with the wooden horse and jail ; a right which the nobility often exer- oised in its full extent, and occasionally with circum stances of peculiar atrocity. But the crown-prince, a warm and munificent patron of the peasantry, appointed (1784) a committee, consist ing of Christian Frederick Ditlev Reventlov, Andrew Peter Bernstorff, and Chr. Colbjornsen, who, by their skdl and activity in improving the condition of the agri cultural classes, have acquired an immortal name. The beginning was made in the counties of Kronborg and Fredericksborg, near Copenhagen ; the ground was parceled, bond-service abrogated, the tithes changed to a money tribute, and the farms were given to the pea sants as property. As the result of this reform, a general improvement took place among the peasantry. Next year a a. D., law was immediately enacted, which forbade the 1785 nobility to exercise any despotism over them, their mutual rights and duties being exactly fixed. The noblemen were now forbidden to inflict punishment upon the peasants, either oy stripes or imprisonment, and it was decided that the farms, previous to being given to the peasants, should be examined by umpires ; HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 427 controversies respecting the farming out should be deci ded upon by the magistracy, and no longer left to the sentence of the despotic nobleman. Yet more important was the emancipation of the jxmew,Peasantry from feudal bondage. A law wa? A. D., enacted enfranchising all the peasantry who were under fourteen or above thirty-six years of age, and all others from the first of January, 1800. This memorable law restored personal liberty to the Danish peasantry, and made the peasant a free citizen of the state, as well as the other inhabitants of the country. The government also extended its care to the peasantry of the duchies, where an abominable slavery resting upon the peasantry, and depriving not only the males but also the females of personal liberty, was entirely abolished. All these thorough reformations in the condition of the agricultural classes, met; however, with great oppo. sition from a great part of the nobility, an application signed by one hundred and two noblemen being tendered to the crown-prince, to repeal the new laws, which they particularized as detrimental to the country, and repug nant to their own privileges ; but, fortunately, the crown- prince had firmness enough to answer in the negative, and the government continued to follow the humane principles it had adopted. Those inequalities in burdens and privileges among the citizens of the state, which through centuries had been kept up, were now succcs- 428 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. sively diminished. The great privilege which the nc bility had of appointing clergymen and judges on their estates, gave no assurance that these important offices would be filled by qualified persons, and had often occasioned the grossest abuses. No sooner, therefore, had the a. D., crown-prince ascended the throne, than he 1809- changed this detrimental privdege to a right of nomi nating (jus proponendi), upon the practice of which, moreover, many restrictions were placed. The Jews, in Denmark as well as in most other states, deprived of all civil privileges, and excluded from exer cising any profession and filling any offices, were now placed nearly on equal terms with the other inhabitants, and Frederick VI. already, when crown-prince, testified to his humane and philanthropic principles, by a. d., putting a stop to the slave-trade in the Danish 1782- West Indies ; and it is remarkable that Denmark and the United States preceded England in declaring the slave-trade unlawful. But the example thus set forth has afterwards been followed by all the great maritime countries of Europe and America. At length, in the year 1807, under the Grenville administration, an act for the abolition of the slave-trade passed the British legislature, to which the impulse was given in the year 1784, when Dr. Peckard, vice-chancellor of the Univer sity of Cambridge, proposed as the subject of a Litin assay, for which a gold medal was to be given, an an swer to the qu jstion : Anne liceat invitos in servitutcm HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 429 dare? or, "Is it right to make slaves of others against their will?" But, although both the king and the people of Denmark have manifested the strongest repug nance to the traffic in human beings, this trade lingered in her colonies in the west for years after it had been declared dlegal. So difficult is it to enforce just laws in distant possessions, demoralized by a vicious and crimi nal system. Besides the institutions above mentioned, Frederick VI. made, in other respects, many important improve ments. The criminal code was highly improved by a new law on theft. The tribunal of inquisition, also caUed the sharp examination, the branding, and the barbarous running the gantlet, were abrogated. Of great importance for commerce was the new tariff, which regulated the commercial affairs according to sounder principles than before. Useful alterations were also made in the organization of the army ; the enrollment of foreign soldiers was abrogated, the army now consist ing exclusively of the native subjects, while formerly German soldiers comprised a considerable part of the Danish army. The military officers' higher scientific education was provided for by the erection of a Military Academy, where the young engineers learn mathematics, and to unite mobdity of manoeuvre with rapidity of fire and precision of aim. That the peasantry might enjoy the right fruit of the many improvements which had been made for their 430 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. advancement, Frederick VI. deemed it necessary tho roughly to organize and ameliorate the public instruc tion. To train up qualified teachers for the peasantry, normal schools (seminaries) were established in various sections of the country ; many new schools were built and money was assigned for the salaries of the teachers. A new school-law was enacted, and every peasant was enjoined to send his children to school for instruction. The Polytechnic School, founded upon the recom mendation of the celebrated natural philosopher, Hans Christian Oersted, has exercised a considerable influ ence in promoting the study of the science of nature, and spreading useful knowledge and greater skiL amongst mechanics. The University and the learned schools were thoroughly reorganized, mainly to be ascribed to the active and skillful Frederick Christian duke of Augustenburg, who, in the beginning of the present century, was appointed patron of the University The examinations were made more strict, and a special examination was enjoined upon those, who intended to be teachers in the learned schools, called Examen •philologicum. The Academy of Soro, consumed by fire in 1813, was rebuilt and recalled to life in 1822, and solemnly inaugurated in 1827. It deserves g t 2 also to be remarked, that Frederick VI. founded a. d., the University of Christiania, in Norway, which l the Norwegians, therefore, cad the Frederick's Unu versity. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 431 Although Frederick VI. had not himself had the benefit of a thorough education, we have to observe how much literature was indebted to him for its ad vancement and dissemination in Denmark. Classical learning, the art of criticism, poetry, and history, began from his time to make a rapid progress. The two learned bishops of Copenhagen, Frederick Miinter and Peter Erasmus Moller, enriched the historical, antiqua rian, and theological literature with invaluable treasures. Miinter is also celebrated for his extensive knowledge in the oriental languages. Malte Conrad Bruun, who, for having by his writings offended the government, was banished, acquired in Paris an immortal name as the greatest geographer of the world. Rask is cele brated as a great linguist. Brondsted has immortalized himself by deeply searching into the curiosities of the Greek antiquities. Finn Magnusson and C. Rafn, both yet living, unite deep knowledge in the antiquities of the North, with perspicuity of narration and force of language. The study of jurisprudence was vigorously promoted by Kongslev, E. Colbjornson and F. Schlegel ; that of medicine by Tode, Saxtorph, F. L. Bang, Winslow, and Herholdt. H. C. Oersted is known over the whole civilized world, for his deep knowledge, and discoveries in physics. Tetens, Bugge, and Degen have signalized themselves as great mathematicians, and Abildgaard and Viborg, af superior veterinarians. Bertel Thorvaldsen has placed himself at the head 432 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA of all the sculptors that ever the world produced. Oehlenschlager has won a great name as a poet, and the strict unity of his pieces demonstrates a thorough ac quaintance with the rules of the classic tragedy. His genius was original, and he disdained to imitate. Coeval with OehlenschlEeger was his friend, the dlustrious theologian and poet of Sweden, bishop Esajas Tegner. He was born on the 13th of Novem ber, 1782. In the year 1824 he was appointed bishop of Vexo, and justified this promotion by the most zealous guardianship of the educational institutions of his large diocese. His spirited speeches on public occa sions often excited an extraordinary sensation, and his eloquent address to the assembly of the Swedish clergy, in Vexo, in 1836, has not been confined within the Simits of his diocese, but convinced all classes, that he no less deserved consideration as a deep and fearless theologian, than as an accomplished and nearly une- qualed poet. In his charming poem, Frithiofs Saga, he has bequeathed a poetic inheritance to posterity, never to be lost, in which he, in a masterly manner. resolved the epic form into free lyric romances. The noble, the high-minded, the bold, the great features of all heroism, are not wanting there. His is, therefore, a perpetual glory, " cui neque profuit quisquam lau- dando, neque vituperando quisquam nocuitp Hans Christian Andersen has, by his poems and novels, made an agreeable impression upon his readers, and has acquired a great name in Europe and even now HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 433 in the United States. His productions are not the fruit of deep study or learning, but of native talent ; and it ie to be observed to his honor, that in all his works, good ness and virtue are inculcated, as he himself is the impersonation of goodness and morality This charac teristic distinguishes him from the many worthlese novelists, who, in a variety of licentious novels, have prostituted excellent talents in the service of rice. As Latinist, J. N. Madvig stands nearly unsurpassed, and has acquired such a renown, that the great German phdologers, when uncertain how to interpret a difficult passage in the Latin classics, write : " Consulamus juniorem Madvigium Danice." Dr. Jacob Peter Mynster, bishop of Sjelland (ob. 1854), has, as a learned linguist, theologian, and talented pulpit-orator, gained a name never to be forgotten. The truth of Chris tianity, which he, after a deep philosophic searching, had embraced with all his heart, appears eloquently and powerfully embodied in his edifying sermons and theological writings, in the clear reflections of which a rich fullness of sublime thoughts and a deep insight into the human heart are manifest.' The strength of his pious and devout feelings warmed his audience ; a mild, but ministerial earnestness gave his words dignity, and in short, he had a strong and vigorous intellect, rendered, by scientific culture, capable of clear discrimi nation, correct analysis, and happy combinations. His views of the Christian doctrines were clear and decided ; 4^4 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. he received the great system of evangelical truth in its simplicity, and he defended that truth with modesty and gentleness. In all his preparations for the pulpit, his great and leading desire and purpose were to set forth Christ, the great high-priest of our profession. When he departed this life, the great theologians of Germany wrote : " Who can predict the day when Mynster's name shall be forgotten ? " Nicolai Frederick Severin Grundtvig, still living, equally remarkable as a pulpit-orator, poet, and deep historian, has exercised a mighty influence upon the religious and literary life, and in his learned explana tions of the massive Northern mythology, he is generally considered unrivalled. As elegant and thorough histo rians, L. Englestoft, E. Werlauf and C. Molbeck in Denmark, and Geyer in Sweden, deserve to be men tioned, who all have sought to inspire their readers with esteem for history, to warm their hearts and strengthen their moral power. But I shall not close this hasty sketch of Scandina vian literature, without mentioning Henry Nicolai Clausen, supreme theological professor at the University of Copenhagen. Richly endowed with gifts and graces, he has published, both in Latin and Danish, many learned works, which have gained him a great number of disciples and admirers, both at home and abroad. He ascended, in early youth, to the post of a theological professor, and there he has stood, from week to week HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 433 during a period of nearly thirty-two years, reflecting from his own clear and polished mind the light of divine truth, and communicating it to his numerous disciples, who, after having sat at the feet of this approved master in Israel, have come forth from his instruction able minis ters of the New Testament. Besides his theological erudition he has excited admiration by managing the Latin language with an uncommon degree of volubility and genius, and, on the whole, I can convey but a faint idea of that portraiture of the Christian and the learned professor, which his life has exhibited. There have rarely been combined such simplicity and spirituality, such youthful elasticity and manly vigor, such gentle ness of manners and decision of character, as are seen in him. The seven years' unfortunate war, terminating in so heavy losses, had excessively enervated the state. Agriculture was in a most lamentable condition, com merce almost annihilated, industry was stagnant and money matters deranged. The interest of the public debt remained unpaid, the certificates of it depreciated every day, and many, who held them, were obliged to sed them for almost nothing. To remedy these evils, A. d.; the surplus revenue from the duties on imports, 1818- and the change of the royal bank to a national bank, administered without the control of the govern ment, were appropriated. This measure immediately restored public credit, certificates of public debt rose to 436 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. par, and those who had purchased low realized immense fortunes. Business of all kinds revived, and the country , entered upon a career of prosperous activity and enter prise. Nevertheless, the national debt yet amounted, in 1847, to one hundred and six mdlions of rix-dollars. « Sweden having also suffered very severely by her war with Russia and Denmark, was, however, this year, happy enough to get rid of her inefficient and demorali zed king, Charles XIIL, who expired in February, 1818, and John Baptista Julius Bernadotte, prince of Ponte- corvo, who already (21st of August, 1810,) had been elected Swedish crown-prince, ascended now the throne oi Sweden and Norway, and was solemnly crowned on the 11th of May, 1818. His personal influence, due alike to his diplomatic wisdom, his virtues, and his eminent military talents acquired in Napoleon's school, became of the utmost importance to Sweden. During the twenty-six years of his wise administration, aU differ ences with foreign nations had been settled ; public and private credit was restored, and aniple provision made for the payment of the public debt. When ascending the throne, he assumed the motto : " The love of my people is my reward," and he fully realized it. This celebrated monarch, to whom Sweden is indebted for her present influence and temporal happiness, was born on the 26th of January, 1764, in the city of Pau in the southern part of France, and married to Eugenia Bern- hardina Desideria, daughter of a rich merchant in HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 437 Marseilles, by whom he only had one son, prince Oscar, afterwards the talented and highly beloved king of Sweden and Norway, by the name of Oscar I. Although, as above mentioned, the kingdom of Den mark had commenced to enter upon a career of activity and enterprise, its rapid thriving was highly retarded by a series of unfavorable years, through which the grain prices were so low, that the king had to lighten the taxes for the peasants. The flourishing commerce which Copenhagen had carried on with China, America, and the East and West Indies, and which had been a rici: .-ifir-ce of wealth for the whole kingdom, had, during the war, been utterly ruined, and since that time the commerce of Copenhagen has not been of any conse quence. Only in the last decennary of the reign of Frederick VI., the country recovered a little strength, the commerce of the cities increased, and on account of the improvements which had been made in agriculture and in the condition of the peasantry, the productions of the country increased to such a degree that the exports almost doubled; even in industry and home trade a brisker life began to stir up. But the very last part of the reign of Frederick VI. has been remarkable for an institution which became of great .nfluence upon Denmark's felicity and advancement. Since the introduction of the absolute power, 1660, the people had been deprived of all influence upon the legis lation and the rule of the state ; this was altered by the 438 HISTORY OF SGANDINAVI k introduction of a council representative of the people Already, in the year 1720, Sweden, under Frederick of Hesse Cassel, had become a hereditary monarchy, with a representative Diet consisting of four chambers, formed respectively of deputies from the nobility, clergy, burgh ers, and peasants, and in a great part of Europe the people had obtained either a deciding or an advising influence upon the government ; and the Danish people, influenced by the European culture and by the increas ing enlightenment, had gradually come to such a matu rity as to make its co-operation in the government highly desirable. Frederick VI., though as fond of his sove reignty as a baby of his puppet, resolved, nevertheless, to meet the demand of the time by the introduc- M 28 tion, both for Denmark and the Duchies, of a A.D., council representative of the people ; a resolution received with every demonstration of joyous enthusiasm throughout the whole kingdom. All measures respect ing government, all questions regarding public affairs. all propositions for the public good, might take their rise indifferently in this council and be discussed there, and then presented to the king's consideration. But being only a deliberative assembly, the king was not compelled to admit the proposals cf the council, but had promised to take all proposals, which had taken their rise from this council, into serious consideration, and make theih laws, if his wisdom thought it proper or pru dent to do so. This inestimable privilege of the Danish HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 439 subjects was productive of very much good, and made Frederick VI. yet more beloved and popular than he already, by his unassuming manners, his national and sincere mind, had been, when, at the age of seventy > two, and after a remarkable reign of fifty-five years first twenty-four years as crown-prince, then thirty-one Dec. 3 years as king, the Lord removed him from this a.d., scene of trial to inherit life everlasting. His 9' people mourned for him, but offered thanksgiv ing to God that he had raised up for them so good and so faithful a steward, who had always been found wil ling to share their hardships. Twelve peasants from the county of Copenhagen asked permission to bear the royal coffin, on which was written " The memory of the just is blessed." Prov. x. 7. His queen was the virtu ous and intelligent Marie Sophie Fredericka, a princess of Hesse Cassel, who survived him thirteen years. Hav ing no sons by her, he was succeeded in the reign by his cousin, Christian Frederick, ascending the throne by the name of Christian VIII Enriched by nature and cultivation, he was, when assuming the reins of govern ment, considered one of the most enlightened monarchs of Europe ; and added to this his prepossessing appear ance and engaging manners, and that, from his shoul ders and upward he was, like Saul, higher than any of the people, he was received everywhere with the greatest enthusiasm and veneration, Denmark flattering herself with the prospect of enjoying golden days under his 440 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. sway, and of profiting by the liberal spirit to whiih he, twenty-five years ago, had testified in Norway. Puffed tip, as we have noticed before, by a transient gleam of prosperity, he had in Norway, 1814, assumed the title of king, but was after a little while, by Bernadotte, whose star was then on the ascendant, compelled to resign the crown of Norway. But, however short his reign was in Norway, he has left behind him an undying monument in the hearts of the Norwegians, by giving them the free Constitution above mentioned, by which he sowed the seeds of freedom, and produced a rich harvest in the blessings of independence, which spread quickly over the whole kingdom. The Danish people, on good grounds expecting that the new king, Christian VIIL, would bless them with a like freedom, were nevertheless highly deceived in their expectations, as the king, having confined all his ideas to the powrcr, dignity, and splendor of the crown, deci dedly declined giving a free constitution, asserting that the people had not yet attained to such a degree of intel lectual maturity as to be capable of duly enjoying the blessings of freedom. A spirit of opposition, which con fined itself to complaints under this reign, began in the next to break out into active efforts. But, although declining to bless Denmark with the privilege of liberty, and unwilling to renounce even the smallest particle of the royal prerogatives, he was in many other respects a useful ruler. He reformed the laws, encouraged corn HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 441 merce ; and science and the arts, which the king himself loved dearly, were munificently patronized by him. During his reign Dr. Hans Larsen Martensen, now bishop of Sjelland, commenced to draw the attention of the learned of Europe to his brilliant talents. After having, in the year 1832, passed his theological examination at the University of Copenhagen, to the greatest satisfac tion and admiration of his examiners and the faculty, he went to Berlin, where he deeply profited by the instruc tion of the great theologians and philosophers, Neander, Marheinecke, Schelling, and Twesten, and joined their scientific debates. Upon his returning, Christian VIII appointed him theological professor at the University, where Martensen, to the most crowded and refined audience, delivered his spirited lectures on the strict conjunction of the scientific theology with philosophy, and on the exegesis of the New Testament. His bril liant gifts as a public orator induced the king to appoint him court chaplain, expecting in him an able champion and defender of the Christian faith. The king was not disappointed in his expectations. In the king's chapel he mounted the pulpit, where he did not shun to de clare the whole counsel of God, proclaiming His severity m due conjunction with His loving- kindness. Peculiarly skilled in setting forth the awfulness of Sinai, and in launching forth the terrors of the law, he never fails in the tender presentation of the great sufferings and love of our Saviour, and of the attractions of his cross to 442 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. dying men. In the year 1846 he published his Dog matics, a clear and learned work, which immediately was translated into German, and received with great Applause among the learned theologians of Germany. Christian VIII. not only patronized literary men, but also directed his royal attention to other brandies of his kingdom's welfare and advancement. Railroads were laid down in Holstein and Sjelland, the Sound Dues at Elsenore were reduced, the public and learned schools were re-organized, a new seminary (normal school) was erected in Jutland, Iceland was given a council repre sentative of the people, and the East India possessions no longer being of any pecuniary profit to Denmark, were disposed of to England. Many circumstances had long contributed to check the prosperity of the Danish East India Company, but none more than the pertinacious jealousy of the Dutch, who excluded them from the most profitable branches of trade ; and Christian VIIL, there fore, did well in selling them. But, although tho kings of Denmark were not successful in carrying out any considerable commerce there, they have honorably dis tinguished themselves by their zeal for the propagation ~>f the Gospel ; and, notwithstanding their limited means. they have diffused the principles of true religion through a considerable portion of the south of India and of the east of Africa. In North Schleswig, where the Danish language was used in divine service and school-teaching, Christian HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 443 VIII. commanded it to be used also in lawsuits and public affairs, instead of the German language, before used, as he also in other ways has promoted the interest of the mother-tongue. During his reign the neigh boring kingdom, Sweden, lost, on the 8th of March, 1844, her great and talented king, Charles John XIV., once, as we know, Napoleon's celebrated marshal. He was succeeded in the Swedish throne by his son, Oscar I., born on the 4th of July, 1799, and married to Josephine Maximiliane Eugenie, princess of Leuchten- berg, daughter of Napoleon's step-son, prince Eugene. By her King Oscar has four sons and one daughter. Sweden thus now ruled by French blood, and no moro by the descendants of the celebrated house of Vasa, has, nevertheless, not had any reason of complaining over it, Charles John XIV. being an excellent king, and his son, Oscar I., having wielded the sceptre with clemency, wisdom, and justice. In the year 1859, Sweden and Norway had to mourn for the loss of this high-minded and accom plished monarch. His son, the crown prince Carl Eugene, then ascended the throne of the twin-king doms, on the 8th of July, of the same year, under the name of Carl the Fifteenth, whose genius and talent for government, combined with knowledge of the eminent masters of antiquity, will enable him to redeem the expectations of his dear Swedish and Norwegian subjects. * In the year 1874, Carl XV. died in Malm6, opposite to Copenhagen, and leaving no sons, his brother Oscar succeeded him on the throne of Sweden, under the name of Oscar the Second, a man of high scholarship and deep respect for it. 444 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. Christian VIIL, although declining to give Denmark a free constitution, thought, however, at the close of his life, of meeting the demand of the time, and had him- Jan 20 se^> delineated such a one, when, in an earlier A. D., hour than he and his people expected it, death 4 ' claimed him. He was married to Caroline Amalie, a princess of Augustenburg, and sister to the rebellious duke who mainly involved Denmark in the hourible war with the Duchies. She is still living, and has, loving her God and her Redeemer, done, and is doing, very much to promote a true religious life. After the death of Christian VIIL, the crown was placed on the head of his only son, Frederick VII, born on the 6th of October, 1808. No sooner had he ascended the throne, than he yielded to the clamors of his subjects, dismissed his father's old aristocratic min istry, appointed a new one, and gave Denmark the long desiderated free constitution, which made him very popu lar and beloved, Denmark now being no more an abso lute, but a constitutional monarchy. The Constitution, freed from all those despotic restraints with which it had been fettered by the Act of Sovereignty in 1660, was now fixed on a basis more favorable to the people's liberties than had ever been known in the annals of the nation. Undeniably, a few men, who had put this important wheel in motion, had made patriotism a cloak for their views of private interest, and made a great harvest ; but, be it as it may, it is sufficient to say, that, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 44§ under the influence of this Constitution, of which Den mark now, together with the United States and Norway, has to boast, the condition of societr, whatever fluctua tions it must, from the constitution of our frail human nature, be liable to, has been such as to answer all the wishes of the good, the virtuous,, and the industrious part of the community, and its restraints have proved grievous to the overweening nobility alone, on whom restraint was necessary. Frederick VII. mounted the throne under critical circumstances, but before entering on the abominable war with the Duchies, wrought by the treacherous policy of the rebellious duke of Augustenburg, it will be neces sary to cast a brief glance at the affairs of Europe. A revolutionary spirit pervaded, in the year 1848, nearly all Europe, like an epidemic fever. Louis Phi lippe, of France, having acquired a high reputation for wisdom and firmness, was, however, far from finding his throne a bed of roses. In the beginning of his reign, zealously supported by the middle classes, who looked upon him as their guarantee for constitutional freedom, he soon lost their favor, as they believed themselves deceived in their expectations, and an all-pervading feeling of discontent taking place, led to the Revolution of February, 1848. On the 23d of February, crowds appeared in the streets of the capital, barricades were erected, and the cry : " To arms ! Down with Louis Philippe ! Down with the Bourbons ! " resounded 446 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. throughout Paris. The troops allowed themselves to be disarmed by the mob, who then demanded the abdica tion of the king, who, with his queen, escaped to St. Cloud, and thence, in disguise, to England. Royalty nad vanished, and France was again a Republic. No sooner had the accounts of the affairs in Paris reached Germany, than popular commotions took place, and the people demanded a political constitution, that should give them a share in legislation, establish the liberty of the press, and otherwise secure them their rights. The grand-duke of Baden had to yield to the demands of his people, and appoint a ministry from the popular party. The king of Saxony was compelled to grant the requests of his subjects. At Munich, the capital of Bavaria, the people stormed the arsenal, and forced from the king the concessions in question. The elector of Hesse-Cassel yielded, after a severe conflict. The king of Hanover also yielded, when he saw that resist ance would have cost him his throne. Frederick William IV., of Prussia, vainly and foolishly resisted a popular revolution in Berlin. In Vienna, the capital of Austria. - the citizens, headed by the students of the University, sympathized with the Parisians, and expressing them selves openly upon the great subject of reform, pre sented their petition for a constitutional government, a responsible ministry, liberty of the press, and religious freedom. After a formidable struggle in Vienna, during which many vict'ms fell, the Emperor was comoeUed, HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 447 on the 15tl of March, to comply with the demands of the people. Also, the subjects of Ferdinand II., king of Naples and Sicily, had revolted early in 1848, and their request for a constitution was granted. That victory which had followed the popular commotions of France and Germany, was an inducement for the two southern duchies of Denmark, Schleswig and Holstein, to revolt. The duke 'of Augustenburg had already long, through speeches and periodicals, sown that seed of resistance and discord which now commenced to break out into acts of violence. The two Duchies, long, without any reason, dissatisfied with the Danish rule, and irritated by the refusal of the king to accede to any of their imperious demands, declared the new ministry appointed by Frederick VII. hostile to their privileges A. d., and themselves independent of Denmark. On 1848. the 24th of March, 1848, a message was written from Rendsburg to Copenhagen : " Schleswig-Holstein twenty-four hours ago became an independent state, shook off the Danish yoke, and appointed a provisional government." On the 25th of March, the duke of Augustenburg arrived in Rendsburg, where the provis ional government resided, and the insurgents assembled under the command of his brother, Prince Frederick On the 26th of March, there was written : " The king of Prussia has ordered his army to check the Danish troops, if they make their appearance." The king of Denmark, Frederick VII., of course not 448 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. evincing any inclination to abate his pretensions to the Duchies, guaranteed him by England and France, and decidedly declining the admission of Schleswig into the Oermanic Confederation, to which it had never belonged, marched his army into Schleswig, where it arrived be tween the 28th and 29th of March, under the command of the generals Hedemann and Meza. Meanwhde Ger man volunteers, amongst whom were many enthusiastio young students, resorted now from all parts of Germany to assist the rebellious Duchies, whose interest they joined. The first battle between the Danes and the Schleswig-Holsteiners was fought at Bau, near to F lens- burg, on the 9th of April, 1848. The battle was a. d., brief, but for its duration sanguinary enough; 1848- the insurrectional troops were entirely routed, and eight hundred prisoners of war carried to Copenhagen. From Prussia numerous troops now arrived, under the com mand of General Bonin, declaring that any attack of the Danish army on the Schleswig-Holsteiners would be regarded a declaration of war against Prussia, a d., Easter Day, 23d of April, 1848, eleven thousand 1848- Danes, while preparing to attend divine service, were unexpectedly attacked by nineteen thousand Prussians, close by the city of Schleswig. The combat was very obstinate ; the Danes, although fighting as madmen, and with the greatest contempt of death, were defeated, and General Hedemann had to yield to superior numbers ; but, as the Roman senate formerly thanked Varro, quia HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 44(>* de republica non desperasset, so Frederick VII, rendered thanks to his soldiers for that bravery they had display ed at Schleswig — a good omen of future success. Norway and Sweden now sided with the Danes, and two thousand Norwegians and Swedish volunteers arrived in Schleswig, to join the Danish army. Shortly after the unfortunate battle of Easter Day, the Danes gained a glorious victory at Diippel, 28th of May, a. d., over the Prussian general, Wrangel, though hav- 1848' ing a difficult game to play — twelve thousand Danes against sixteen thousand Prussians. Proposals of medi ation were now made by Russia, which sided with Den. mark, and on tne 26th of August an armistice was A.D., agreed on. The insurgents, nevertheless, con- 18i8- tinuing to cherish a revolutionary spirit, and the partisans of anarchy taking advantage of the popular A. d., excitement, the king of Denmark declared, 26th 1849. 0f March, the armistice invalid, ordered the for tress of Fredericia to be more strongly fortified, and his army to enforce the royal authority, and prepared to strike a decisive blow against the insurgents, who at first gained some advantages at the towns of Ulderup and Kolding, and threw a strong garrison into Frede. ricia, which they seized. The Danes, seeing that nc moment was to be lost, determined to defy the whole A. n., strength of the insurgents, and on the 6th of July 1849- the Danish army attacked the Schleswig-Hol. steiners at Fredericia. The garrison was numerous, the 450 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. resistance obstinate, and the insurgents fought as lions ' but the Danish artillery made so dreadful a havoc in the hostile line, that after a most safiguinary combat, of more than eight hours' duration, the insurrectionary army was irretrievably ruined ; six hundred of their best troops were left dead on the field, and two thousand were taken prisoners. The Danes lost three hundred men, and sixteen hundred severely wounded, but had to mourn over the loss of Olaf Rye, a native of Norway, one of their most gallant officers. Prussia having more seemingly than sincerely assisted the Schleswig-Holsteiners, now settled (10th of a.d, July) the preliminaries to a peace with Denmark, 1849- and a convention of truce, pursuant to which the king of Prussia promised to withdraw his forces, and no more to act in concert with the insurgents, whose affairs seemed to be more and more on the decline. Their chief leaders, the Duke of Augustenburg, and his brother, Prince Frederick of Noer, to the latter of wdiom the insurgents had committed the command of their army, had, in a military point of view, accomplished very little, Prince Frederick being a wretch without spirit, courage, or tactical ability,' who, after the lost battle of Bau, fled into the city of Flensburg, narrowly escaping being made prisoner ; and the duke, for his personal safety, select ing the securer occupation to travel round to fan the flame of insurrection. The revolutionary spirit con tinued, and Schleswig-Holstein was in a ferment HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 451 Through immense exertions the insurgents raised an army of thirty thousand men and eighty-two field-pieces, under the command of General Willison, and formed a bold plan for carrying on the war against Denmark ; but the end "of the mighty power, which the rebellious Duchies had tried to wield, was fast approaching. As it was impossible, save in blood, to quench the re volutionary spirit, and compel the Duchies into subjec tion to their hereditary monarch, Frederick VII. ordered an army of thirty-eight thousand men and ninety-six great guns, to march out of the camp under the com mand of the noble and undaunted warrior, General a. d.. Krogh, and the brave Assistant-General, Schlep- 1850. pegrei On the 13th of July, 1850, the rebel troops crossed the Eider river, frequently skirmishing A. D., with the Danes, until, on the 24th of July, the 1850. r0yal army gained, at the town of Idsted, the most brilliant victory that had been obtained during the war, over the united forces of the Schleswig-Holsteiners. This dreadful battle, lasting two days without intermis sion, and attended with a most cruel carnage, cost Den mark three thousand six hundred and fifty-seven men and one hundred and forty officers ; amongst whom were the magnanimous General Schleppegrel, and the skillful tactician, Colonel Lsessoe. The insurgents were, however, not yet tranqudized, but, to the inexpressible astonishment of every one, formed a new plan for the destruction of the Danes On 452 HISTORY OP SCANDINAVIA. a.d. the 29th of September, 1850, they laid a terrible 1850. siege to the city of Frederickstad, situated on the Eider. Through five days they showered fire-balls upon the unfortunate town, and vast clouds of smoke arose in awful sublimity over the bloody scene, untd the Danish artillery, commanded by the courageous Nor wegian, General Helgesen, after having made a most dreadful havoc amongst the insurgents, compelled them a. D., to raise the siege and order a retreat. Finally, 1851- next year, on the 1st of February, 1851, after almost one continued battle of three years, the insurrec tion ceased, the royal authority and the whole state thus again being considered re-established. But the turmoil of the war had not diverted the new ministry's attention from the internal affairs of the country. The free constitution, which the king had promised his subjects, had been elaborated and finished, to which, on the 5th of June, 1849, the royal signature was affixed ; and the same year the possessions on the coast of Guinea, proving unprofitable to Denmark, were disposed of to England for the amount of ten thousand pounds sterling. Frederick VII. having, when crown-prince, been twice married — first to the Danish princess, Wdft^lminfi, daughter of king Frederick VI., and then to princess Caroline Charlotte Mariane, daughter of the grand duke of Mecklenburg- Strelitz, but on account of domestic disagreement, divorced from both of them — was, 7th of HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 453 August, 1850, bv the bishop, Dr. Mynster, solemnly joined in a morganatic marriage to Louise Christine, Countess of Danner, nee Miss Rasmussen. She had for some years back, kept a millinery shop in Copen hagen. The insurrection having been crushed (1st of Feb ruary, 1851), the cessation of hostilities taken place-, and the king of Denmark thus having regained his authority over the Duchies, a treaty was concluded in London, on the 8th of May, 1852, between a. D, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, England, Austria, 1852- France, Russia, and Prussia, which yet more firmly than before by the peace of Fredericksborg in 1720, guaranteed the integrity of the Danish monarchy. The line of Augustenburg was set aside because of the duke's treacherous conduct, and the succession to the crown of Denmark, and to the ducal dignity of the three duchies, — Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg, — settled on the loyal Prince Christian, of the Sonderburg-Gliicks- burg line, and his male heirs, upon whom in the next year, 1853, according to a law passed in the diet and subscribed to by the king himself, the title of Prince of Denmark was conferred, his civil list being fixed to the amount of 50,000 rix-dollars annually. Though a recon- ciliation was thus established, the revolutionary spirit still fermented in the minds of the Schleswig-Holsteiners, waiting only for a favorable opportunity to break out into anew rebellion. The perfidious Duke of Augustenburg, of 454 history or scandixavia. course, deprived of his ducal possessions, and now an exile traveling round in Europe with the stigma of Judas Is- cariot on his forehead, is still fanning the flame of re bellion ; and what the future conceals in its bosom He only knows, who, as David sings, "shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath, and turn their hearts Whithersoever he will." An event of no ordinary importance to Denmark took place March 10, 1863, when the Danish princess a. d., Alexandra Caroline Mary Charlotte Louise Julia, 1863- born in Copenhagen December 1, 1844, daughter of the intelligent and refined Prince Christian of Glucksburg, proclaimed Prince of Denmark July 31, 1853, was mar ried to Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the heir-appa rent to the throne of England. February 26, the young and amiable princess left the shores of the Baltic, where her infant years had been watched by parental care, to become the wife of the future king of Great Britain, accompanied by the warmest wishes of the whole Danish nation for cloudless days in the illustrious country of her adoption; and on the momentous 10th of March, which bound them together for better and for worse, fervent orisons to the royal throne of mercy went forth from the king's costly palace, from the nobleman's stately manor, from the clergyman's quiet parsonage, and from the thatch-covered cot of the poorest husbandman, for bless ings to be vouchsafed to this union. The magnificent and hearty reception which the Danish princess had in England could but immediately convince her that she HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 455 «vas already the darling of this great nation, that they cherished her as the apple of their eye, and that they united in prayers for Heaven's blessings on her bridal contract. And that such a benison will be bestowed, and that the union of Albert Edward and Alexandra wdl be as peerless in bliss as in splendor, all Britons seem to be glad both to hope and to believe. On the 15th of November, 1863, King Frederick VII. died from erysipelas. By his mildness of temper and decision of character, and by his readiness to identify himself with the nation, he had gained the attachment and respect of his subjects, who with heartfelt grief re ceived the sad intelligence of the sudden termination of his earthly career. Frederick VII. dying without issue, the throne of Denmark devolved, by virtue of the treaty of 1852, and of the law of 1853, to Prince Christian, the father of the Princess of Wales and the new King of Greece, who immediately was proclaimed King of Denmark, and Duke of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauen- burg, under the name of Christian IX., whose national mind and clear intellect will, no doubt, easily enable him to redeem the expectations of his subjects, and manly and justly to encounter every contingency. He began his reign with the menace of a second " occupation " impending over the southern provinces of his kingdom. " May the cloud hanging over him be dispelled !" This was the prayer of the whole kingdom. But, alas! alas' the cloud was not dispelled, but war 456 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. gathering blacker and blacker, and the so-called second Sleswick-Holstein war commenced. And here is the proper place, I think, to take a retrospective view of this intricate controversial point, and to bring together all the feeble and scattered rays which may throw any light upon it, serve to bring order out of confusion, and view the whole question in its naked reality. The history of the two dukedoms — Sleswick and Holstein — is like the history of human achievements, a history of great results from small beginnings. For centuries Sleswick has been subject to the rule of the Danish kings. Sleswick was anciently called Anglia, held as a Danish province of the Danish Crown, ruled according to the code of the Jutland law-book, given by the Danish king, Waldemar the Second, in the year 1239, up to this very day, an almost entire Danish- speaking province, with the exception of the southern districts, where only German is spoken, and considered by all European Powers and treaties an inseparable part of the Danish body. Holstein, anciently called North- albingia, being, it is true, a male fief of the German em pire, was at times subject to the Danish kings as Counts of Holstein, at other times to counts independent of Denmark, untd the year 1459, a.d., when the Danish king and his successors' male descendants were elected Dukes of Holstein, an election ratified by the German Emperor, Frederick the Third, who then, upon the request of the Dauish King, Christian the First, elevated 2 f 3 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 451; Holstein from an earldom to a dukedom. Violently to wrest these two provinces from the Crown of Denmark, to annex the entire Danish province, Sleswick, to the German Confederacy, to which it has never belonged ; and by its close annexation to Holstein, to create a large so called Sleswick-Holstein Dukedom, which was to be entirely severed from the Danish Crown, for all time to come, was, as we have seen, the object of the scandalous crusade waged against Denmark in 1848, and the two subsequent years, by the treacherous Duke of Augusten burg, the ringleader of the rebeUion, and supported well nigh by all Germany. The knavish duke, though nearly related to the Royal Danish house, and having sworn the usual allegiance to the Danish king, had already long — through a host of periodicals, in which stupendous lies, gibings, and mockeries were summed up, the most unerring arrows in the hands of revolu tionists at every era, sown that seed of discord, which now commenced to break out into acts of violence. This ungodly crusade was, however, crushed by the un daunted bravery and perseverance of the Danes, and resulted in the maintenance of Denmark's independence, nationality and ancient territories, the result thus prov ing that the Danes, only a handful of people when com pared with all Germany, had not degenerated from the well-known bravery, constancy, and intrepid spirit of tnerr fearless ancestors, the grim-visaged Seakings and bearded Vikings, the result at the same time confirming 458 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. the truth of the words of the royal sage of Israel, that the battle is not always to the strong, but to whomsoever the Lord willeth to exalt. But a new crusade from Ger many, based upon the same villainous principles as the former one, recommenced, at the close of 1863, to threaten Denmark's integrity and nationality, and con summated, this time, I grieve to say, its nefarious designs. Little Denmark, being rendered no assistance from her allies, and although wont to defend herself bravely against two, and not yield to three, as the old sagas tell, could not withstand the innumerable com pany of Prussians and Austriaiis inundating the Danish dominions, and committing the most mercdess devasta tions and cruelties. But I now propose to enter upon the survey of the merits of this intricate historical question, and to let history speak somewhat in detail; and an intelligent reader may judge for himself. However, I shall not attempt to give a sketch of these two disputed pro vinces, before the dawn of authentic history, as I would then be obliged to cite a number of hypotheses, that, after all, would prove inconclusive. Charlemagne had with violence ¦ compelled the Holsteiners, then caded Saxons, to embrace Christianity, and thus deprived the people of its independence. But the daring and efficient Godfred, King of Denmark, protected Holstein, and commenced war. Malting large progress, and even threatening to visit Charlemagne in his residence, Aix- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 459 la-Chapelle, the Emperor was happy enough to get rid of that intelligent and brave enemy — Godfred, unfor tunately, being treacherously killed by one of his own people. His successor, Hemming, made peace with Charlemagne in the year 811, by which peace the river Eider, which separates Sleswick from Holstein, was appointed the limit between Denmark and Germany ; and in the year 920, Thyra Dannebod, the queen of the Danish king, Gorm the Old, founded the celebrated Dannevirke, a fortified wall of earth and stones across Sleswick, strengthened by moats and tower bastions,' to protect Denmark against inroads of the Germans. The aforesaid Godfred had erected a similar fortification, called Kurvirke; but the invasion of the German Em peror, Henry the Fowler, had proved that Denmark needed a stronger bulwark, wherefore the queen, Thyra, erected the famous Dannevirke. But, Sleswick border ing on Germany, the German emperors were continually eager of getting possession of this fertile province, when finally in the year 1026, Canute the Great, King of Denmark and England, visited the Emperor Conrad the Second, and induced him to renounce both for himself and his successors, all future claim to the Margraviate of Sleswick, as it then was termed. In the twelfth century Sleswick was mercilessly dealt with by the Venders or Vandalians — a rapacious set of pirates occupy ing the coast of the Baltic, right from Denmark up to the Gulf of Finland — tdl at length the warlike Danish 460 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. prince, Canute Lavard, a son of the Danish king, Eric the Good, conquered the Venders, and not only secured the Margraviate of Sleswick to the Crown of Denmark, but prevailed upon the German emperor, who by virtue of his dignity as Roman emperor, was acknowledged the secular head of the whole Christian world, to elevate Sleswick to a dukedom ; and Canute procured for him self the dignity of a duke, and the ducal dignity of Sleswick has since invariably been invested, either in the Danish king himself, or in whomsoever of his rela tives he was pleased to invest it, the dukes, of course, always taking the oath of allegiance to the Danish Crown.* Thus the Danish king, Canute VI., made his brother Waldemar Duke of Sleswick; Eric Ploughpence made his brother Abel Duke of Sleswick, and so forth. Nevertheless, this system of dividing Sleswick amongst the king's brethren or relatives, a system adopted and adhered to for a long series of years, was pregnant with the most ruinous consequences to the solid interests of the Danish body, contributing very much to the diminishing of the royal power ; for Abel, recently men tioned, and his successors, tried now to make Sleswick an hereditary and independent possession in their famdy, all of which resulted in a series of destructive internal wars, Sleswick thereby more and more being alienated from the kingdom. Abel soon assumed a hostile posi tion to his brother Eric, the king, the more, as ho * See Suhm's and Allen's History of Denmark and tlie Duchies. Royal Library of Copenhagen. HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 461 claimed the Dukedom of Sleswick as an independent sovereignty. Abel assassinated the king, who left no male issue ; and the States, though detesting Abel on account of the unnatural crime he had committed, chose him king, to avoid a civil war. By this means they also indisputably reunited Sleswick to the Crown ; and, had the royalty remained in Abel's family, Sleswick would, of course, have been with the Crown, and all future contests prevented. But Christopher I., the third son of Waldemar the Victor, was happy enough, after Abel's death, immediately to be acknowledged king ; although the throne was promised to Abel's sons, Waldemar and Eric. Both parties exerted all their power to gain the ascendancy. The king encompassed Sleswick with his army, and claimed as uncle the guardianship of Abel's children, whom the mighty counts of Holstein supported. Seasonably for the king, some German princes offered their mediation, a peace being concluded on these terms, that Christopher, the king, should have the guardian ship, but restore the dukedom of Sleswick as a fief to Waldemar, the eldest son of Abel, when he had attained his majority. After the demise of this Waldemar, the kingdom was soon alarmed by a dangerous irruption of Eric, the second son of Abel, because the then King of Denmark, Eric Glipping, would not comply with giving him Sleswick as an hereditary fief, but only as a per sonal. The young preposterous claimant, assisted by the Counts of Holstein, commenced a war, in which the 462 histoih of scandinaviA. royal troops were totally defeated at Loheath, 1261, close by the city of Sleswick. The king re-entered the dukedom with a powerful army, seized upon the fortress of Tonder, which he razed, and constrained the rebellious duke to submit, who lost his dukedom ; and Sleswick remained for thirteen years united with the kingdom, until unfortunately again Waldemar, a son of the rebel lious Eric, was, according to the aforesaid ruinous system of division, invested with Sleswick as a fief. But, not content with it, he now also laid claim to Aro, Alsen, Femern, three islands in the Baltic. . He fell, however, into the hands of the king, had humbly to throw himself at his feet, resign his brazen-faced claim, and confess in writing to his want of loyalty. Thus Denmark had for a num ber of years been the theatre of continual domestic wars with the rebellious dukes. In the year 1372, there was a good prospect of getting the dukedom of Sleswick reunited with the kingdom, as Henry, the then Duke of Sleswick, was old and childless. Upon this important point, the efficient king, Waldemar IV., directed ah his' attention ; but he only survived Henry so short a time, that the question could not be decided, but had to be deferred to the following reign. The great Queen Margaretha, the daughter of Waldemar IV., styled the Semiramis of the North, now ascended the throne, and aimed all her efforts at regaining the dukedom of Sleswick, which circumstances had compeUed her in the beginning of her reign to resign to Gerhard IV., HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 463 Count of Holstein. But the prosecution cf her plan for the perfect reunion of Sleswick was unfortunatelv interrupted by her death, 1412 ; and her imprudent and weak successor, Eric of Pomerania, had no vigour of mind to restrain the turbulent spirit of the three sons of the deceased duke, who, taking advantage of his inability, endeavoured to withdraw themselves from his authority, and to be enfeoffed with Sleswick. At the diet of Nyburg, in the isle of Funen, the king sum moned the young dukes to appear, and opened the assem bly himself with a full explanation of the dispute. 'When he had finished his speech, the Archbishop, in a fulmina ting harangue, declared that the dukes had no right whatever to be enfeoffed with Sleswick, but that it should be annexed to the Crown of Denmark. No sooner had the archbishop pronounced this sentence, than the eldest son of the deceased duke, Gerhard, threw himself at the king's feet, and besought him to grant the investiture of the dukedom as a fief. The king's reply was in the negative. The three young dukes now began to concert measures for taking it by force ; and, although Eric of Pomerania had the mditary power of three kingdoms — Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, at command, he was defeated near Immervad, in Sleswick. Although this defeat did not terminate the war, it pro duced a truce, in order to settle preliminaries for a peace. Umpires were chosen, and the whole question was again canvassed. The young dukes embraced every oppor- 464 history of scaxdinavta. tunity to frustrate the intention of the truce, and chose to decide the difference by the sword. The king, per ceiving their aim, now took the course of appealing to the German emperor, Sigismund, and repaired to Ofen, Hungary, where the emperor then resided. Construing the appeal in favour of the king, the emperor declared that all Sleswick should henceforward be annexed in full right to the Crown of Denmark, and that the dukes, Henry, Adolphus, and Gerhard, had, by their rebellious conduct, divested themselves of their rights to Sleswick. The king now believing the whole dispute to be settled, resolved upon a pilgrimage to Palestine. But after returning he found the ancient leaven of contest revived, and violently fermenting in the minds of the dukes, who, making alliance with the Hanse towns, a mighty league in the northern part of Germany, continued the war ; and, although Eric collected all his strength to oppose the dukes, and even gained a complete victory over the Hanse fleet, yet at last the dukes got the better of him, and weakened the kingdom by the most destructive ravages. However, their attempts to seize upon Copenhagen failed, the city being saved by the bravery and intelligent preparations of Eric's queen Philippa, a daughter of Henry V. of England. At length the war with the Danes was ended by the treaty of Wordingburg, in the isle of Zealand, 1435, a.d., by which Adolphus, the only one yet alive, should enjoy, during his life, the dukedom of Sleswick, and his heirs, for two years after HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 465 his decease, Denmark thus again being dispossessed of Sleswick. Finally a surer prospect than ever before of reuniting Sleswick permanently with the kingdom, and thus of terminating the incessant contests, presented itself at the death of this Adolphus, called Adolphus VIIL, who died without issue, 1459. But Christian I., then King of Denmark, the first king of the House of Oldenburg, instead of incorporating Sleswick as an escheated fief, very unwisely engaged himself in negotia tions with the nobility and clergy to be elected Duke of Sleswick and Count of Holstein, to which latter, how ever, Otho, of Schaumburg, was more entitled ; where fore the Danish king had to purchase Holstein for the sum of 43,000 florins, and to buy off the pretensions of Gerhard and Maurice, nephews of the late Adolphus, for an equivalent of 40,000 florins. Thus Christian I. became Count of Holstein, which now the German em peror, upon the king's request, elevated to a dukedpm, the representatives of the political body of Holstein binding themselves to choose their following dukes amongst the Danish kings and their successors' male heirs, according to the Salic law. This year 1459 is, therefore, an essential year in the history of Denmark and the dukedom of Holstein, the stipulation showing that the kings of Denmark should be dukes of Holstein, as long as they left male issue. Of Sleswick not one word was spoken in this stipulation, it being regarded for centuries back as pertaining to the Danish body. 466 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. One should now think that the ruinous consequences which the system of dividing Sleswick among the king's brethren and relatives had had, would have taught the following kings a lesson ; but no, they all seem to have been blindfolded and deaf to the lessons of experience, for Christian III. undertook, 1557, a new division amongst his brethren, although the old and expert general, John Ranzaw, strongly advised against this imprudent step. His son, Frederic II., continued the fatal division, and so it went on. Owing to these divisions and parties, the affairs in Sleswick continued to take a disastrous turn for Denmark, and occasioned sanguinary national wars, the king often not knowing how to keep the rebellious dukes within due bounds. At length all controversy concerning Sleswick was brought to a close by the treaty of 1720, when Sweden, who had sided with the then rebellious duke, Frederick, pledged herself no more to assist the duke, and England and France guaranteed to Denmark the dukedom of Sleswick, binding themselves to defend Denmark's right to this entire Danish province against all whc directly or indirectly should dare to invade it. And seven years after, 1727, a special treaty was signed by the two powers, England and France, to which Russia acceded, binding themselves to oppose by an armed force, by sea and by land, all and sundry the powers who should dare attack the Danish dukedom of Slesioick. As to Holstein, being a male fief of the German empire, it HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA, 461 had, of course, its final court of appeal in Germany; while Sleswick, held of the Danish crown as a Danish province, was never called to a German diet, and in law questions the appeal has invariably been to its own Supreme Court. Hence it follows that Holstein is a German province, but whose duke is, according to the stipulation of 1459, above stated, the king of Denmark and his male heirs. Various changes, however, took place in the sequel, in consequence of the division of the ducal Holstein families into different branches, and the sub sequent extinction of collateral lines ; and it was not before the year 1750, that all Holstein came per manently under the Danish sway, when Adolphus Frederick, the elected successor to the Swedish throne, and the head of the younger line of the dukes of Hol stein, engaged himself to exchange the ducal part of Holstein for the two counties of Oldenburg and Del menhorst, Denmark thereby coming into an undivided possession of Holstein. Some years after, 1779, a.d., the Glucksburg possessions of Sleswick, at the death of the last duke, devolved by inheritance to the Danish crown, and all the smaU parcels of Sleswick, which by earlier division had been separated from the crown, were re-united to it, except the possessions of the duke of Augustenburg, which remained in his family as allodial estates. As duke of Holstein, the king of Denmark had a seat in the German diet ; but on the dissolution of the German empire, 1806, that feudal obligation, in 468 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. which Holstein had been to the German emperor, ceased, and Holstein was incorporated as a part of the Danish monarchy. However, on the formation of the German Confederacy in the year 1815, at the General Congress of the allied powers at Vienna, the king of Denmark, Frederick VI., was present, and subscribed there to the re-incorporation of Holstein into the Germanic Con federation, upon condition that he and his male heirs should continue to be dukes of Holstein, and as such be members of the confederacy, having three votes in the full Council, and binding themselves, if need be, to fur nish a contingent of 3,600 men, and to rule Holstein as a male fief of Germany, according to its peculiar German laws, all of which that noble and simple-hearted monarch faithfully fulfilled, no complaints of oppression being ever made by the inhabitants of the dukedom. At the Congress at Vienna, no single syllable was spoken of Sleswick, it being considered an entire Danish province, and an inseparable part of the Danish monarchy. Since the Congress of 1815, the peace of Denmark was not disturbed tdl 1848, when the treacherous duke of Augustenburg — the only surviving lineal descendant of the dukes of Sleswick, and brother of the queen- dowager of Denmark — revolutionized the two dukedoms, and tried to shake off the Danish yoke, as he was pleased to call it, and erect for himself an independent Sleswick- Hohtein state. That victory which in the beginning of HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 469 1848 had followed the popular commotions of France and Germany, was a bait for him to induce the duke- doms to revolt. A sanguinary three years' war was waged against Denmark, the insurgents being aided by more than 20,000 Prussians and Hanoverians. What did England do ? Did she act according to the great covenants of 1720 and 1727 ? " All the time it was said " — writes the able English historian, Mr. Laing — " England is negotiating ! Mirabile dictu! What was there to negotiate about ? Negotiating ! while she was bound by sacred treaties to protect the dukedom of Schleswig from all invasion." France acted no better. Russia was the only power which did something to vin dicate Denmark's right. Little Denmark had to do it almost alone, and struggled hard, but successfully, to maintain her integrity. England and France remained quiet beholders of all the innocent blood that manured the fields of Fredericia, Duppel, Idsted, and so on. Denmark had, I repeat it, to do it alone ; did it, defeated the insurgents and the German troops almost in every engagement, crushed the rebellion, regained the authority over the dukedoms, and May 8th, 1852, a treaty, generally called the London Protocol, was con cluded in London between Denmark, Norway, Sweden, England, France, Austria, and Prussia, guaranteeing the integrity of the Danish monarchy, setting aside the line of Augustenburg, because of the duke's treacherous conduct, and settling the succession to the crown o {.fO HISTORY OF SCANDDJAVIA. Denmark and to the ducal dignity of the dukedoms upon the loyal Prince Christian, of the Sonderburg- Gliicksburg line, and his male heirs. On the 15th of November, 1863, the king of Den mark died without issue ; the throne, according to the aforesaid London Protocol of 1852, devolving to Prince Christian, who immediately was proclaimed king of Denmark and duke of Sleswick and Holstein, under the name of Christian the Ninth. But I must bestow a few words more upon Prince Christian, the present Mng, the father of the Princess of Wales, and also some upon the crafty Duke of Augustenburg, and my words concerning them I quote from the Edinburgh Review. They are too true and too good to be omitted here. " The Prince Christian of Glucksburg, as a descendant of Christian III., stood high in the male succession, and most of them who stood before him had been guilty oj treason in 1848, and had rendered themselves liable to for feiture of all their rights. Accordingly, renunciations were obtained from Prince Frederick of Hesse, from his sisters, from the emperor of Russia, and, finally, from the duke of Augustenburg himself, who, of course, had fled the country. For this, and for the cession of all claims to his estates, which were of small value to him, as lie had forfeited them by his rebellion, he received a sum of rather more than £400,000 sterling. It is a curious coincidence that the Prussian plenipotentiary at Frankfort, who negotiated thit 2 G HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 471 renunciation with the duke of Augustenburg, ivas Herr von Bismark. In consideration of this enormous indemnity, the duke made the following promise : — " ' We promise for us and our family, by our princely word and honour, not to undertake anything whereby the tranquillity of His Danish Majesty's dominion and lands might be disturbed, nor in any wag to counteract the reso lutions which His Danish Majesty might have taken, or in future might take, in reference to the arrangement of the succession of all the lands now united under His Danish Majesty's sceptre, or to the eventual organization of his monarchy.' " In the vocabulary of the duke of Augustenburg, it is, of course, to be presumed that the word 'family' does not include sons, since it is just his son who is now revolutionizing Holstein. It is, however, right to say, that said son has protested against the above renunciation ; but it is also right to add that he kept his protest to himself till six years after the deed had been signed, and the money paid. The protest was issued on the 15th of January, 1859." Thus far the Edinburgh Revieiv. Pretty smart piece of business. And what did now the perfidious duke do ? After having pocketed the enormous sum of money, and after having given the above solemn and affecting declaration, he made it his business to travel round in Germany, and by fulminating harangues and periodicals stuffed with the most stupendous lies to fan the flame of rebellion agamst his fatherland, that had nurtured hiro, 472 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. intending to grasp the very first opportunity to recom mence his former schemes for establishing for himself and family an independent Sleswick-Holstein dukedom. Such an opportunity offered itself when Frederick VII., on the 15th of November, 1863, breathed his last. Instantly the crafty duke, in spite of the money paid him for the cession of all his claims, and in spite of his solemn declaration, put in claims in favour of his son Frederick — a worthy imp of a glorious father — in order to dislodge the new king, Christian IX., from his position as duke of the dukedoms. Alas ! he was this time too successful. The horsemen and all the host of the Prussians and Austrians rushed upon little Denmark, - under pretence of vindicating the rights of the dukedoms against Danish oppression — of vindicating the rights of the German Confederation by incorporating Sleswick (an entire Danish province) into said Confederation, and of making the son of the nefarious duke the duke of both dukedoms, but secretly intending, after the conquest hoped for, to overlook both ¦ the old duke and his son, and the Germanic Confederation, in the division of the spoil. Hoping that also this time no foreign aid would be rendered to Denmark, the Prussians and Austrians, confiding in the overwhelming forces they could bring to bear upon the conflict, and in their superior artillery, entertained a glorious anticipation of a complete victory. As the cause of their attack upon Denmark was given that the Danish Government had treated the dukedoms HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 473 as conquered provinces — had forced the Danish lan guage upon the southern part of Sleswick, and intended to incorporate Sleswick into the monarchy. Be that as it may, Prussia and Austria had no business to inter meddle with His Danish Majesty's rule of his own ¦Danish province, Sleswick, as little as Denmark has any right to interfere with the French emperor's rule of his province, Alsace. To prevent a destructive war from breaking out, the Danish Government argued long calmly with them, and made even great and liberal con cessions ; but all of no avafl ; for as the fixed eye of prejudice and malice can see nothing but its own idea — however contrary to truth that idea may be, and how ever clearly the actual truth may be presented to the view — so it was here. The Prussians and Austrians were deaf to all sound reasoning, marched legions upon legions of troops into Holstein, and threatened the Danish province Sleswick with invasion. The Danes, considering themselves most outrageously treated, and always wont to stare an enemy right in the face, bravely to attack two, and not yield to three, and expecting, according to the treaties of 1720 and 1727, and the London Protocol of 1852, British and French aid, rushed into the conflict with the thrilling excitement which nerves the arm and steels the heart of soldiers and seamen in the prospect of desolating contest. The Danish army marched down to meet the Prussian and Austrian legions, and the fleet was launched into the Baltic, and 474 HISTORY OF SCANDlNAViA. the defence of the Danes ranges high, wrote the English journalists, in the annals of warfare. On February 2nd, 1864, they gave such evidencs of old Scandinavian bravery as may be sought for in vain, even in the annals of the Romans and Carthagenians ; the innumerable multitude of Prussians and Austrians stormed, and stormed, and stormed, but were each time met with a most murderous fire from the Danes— eleven hundred Prussians and Austrians covering the battle-field. But now the Austrians and Prussians poured in like a host , of locusts, and their artillery being much superior to that of the Danes, there was very little, or, so to speak, no prospect of success for Denmark. The enemy invaded Sleswick, and the Danish General De Meza gave up his strong position at the famous Dannevirke, of which the enemy took possession. For this he was highly blamed, and was superseded by General Gerlach. Everything had come to sad extremities. Nevertheless the Danes would not yet yield, but retreated in good order, in the heart of the winter, over the desolate heath of Sleswick, which for miles preseuts a desert of furze, fern, and stunted heath, fighting, all the time bravely against vastly superior numbers, and hoping confidently, when worst came to wrorst, for British aid. But, alas ! they were greatly and bitterly disappointed. Certainly, the whole British nation was deeply interested in the fate of their ancient kinsmen ; the learned Earl of Derby opened his mouth boldly in favour of Denmark ; the HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 475 noble Marquis of Clanricarde started a subscription in assistance of the wounded Danes and their famdies ; but the Government was but a quiet beholder of the dreadful tragedy. Lord Russed held out the most glorious promises — issued threatening notes against Germany : the English papers guided thereby wrote : " Take heed to yourselves ; believe, we are in earnest," and so forth. However, nothing was done for redressing the enormous wrongs inflicted upon little Denmark. A destructive doom seemed to hang over her. Never theless, she was not dispirited, but kept on fighting valiantly by land and by sea, and in the month of May the Danish fleet gained a decisive victory over the Austrian fleet at Heligoland. But this was but a single shooting star on the beclouded firmament. Denmark could not abide the unequal contest. She was left alone — was overpowered by numbers, brutally treated, and had to yield. The Prussians went even so far as to invade the peninsula of Jutland, where they committed such acts of merciless ravage and depredation, unheard of even in the time of an Alaric and Tamerlane. How ever, I shall pass over the detads of the ruthless havoc they perpetrated — a havoc that continued until the peace of October 30th, 1864, was concluded, in which Denmark lost the fertile Sleswick, with its adjacent islands, which had belonged to her for centuries, and Holstein also, which was guaranteed her in the London Protocol of 1852. Treaties and guarantees seem now- a-days to be just as evanescent as the favour of princes. 476 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. The peace document, dictated by Prussia and Austria, # who soon, it is to be hoped, will fight amongst them selves over their iU-gotten and nefarious booty, has the blasphemous superscription — " In the name of the holy and invisible Trinity." And, indeed, scarcely two years had elapsed, when Austria and Prussia, who could not agree amongst themselves as to the division of the spoil, were waging a war of awful carnage. The Austrians were worsted in almost every engagement, the battle at Sadowa sum ming up the bloody tragedy. The Austrians had to submit to superior numbers and superior tactics, and to surrender the disputed and ill-starred duchies to Prussia. However, through the influence and media tion of Louis Napoleon, Paragraph 3, in the prelimi nary articles to the peace-treaty, drawn up in July, 1866, at Nicolsburgh, Moravia, came to read as fol lows : " The Emperor of Austria resigns to the King of Prussia all the claims to the duchies, Slesvic and Holstein, which he acquired by the Peace of Vienna, October 30, 1864 ; yet with this proviso, that the north ern Danish-speaking districts of Slesvic shall be given up to Denmark, if the inhabitants of said districts, by free suffrage, indicate it to be thefr wish to be united to Denmark." In the final peace-document at Prague, Bohemia, August 25, 1866, Prussia would fain have ex empted herself and skulked away from this inconveni ent Paragraph 3, but Napoleon would not yield, and HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 477 Paragraph 3 was accordingly verbatim entered into the peace-document at Prague as Paragraph 5. Eight years have now passed away since the peace of Prague was concluded, but the negotiations between Denmark and Prussia, concerning the ratification of Paragraph 5 of the Treaty of Prague, have hitherto proved abortive, Bismarck, the well-known great statesman,' and equally well-known artful plotter, and, as we know, the Em peror of Germany in re, evading the question all the time and seeking miserable shifts and subterfuges to avoid the force of that, for Denmark, important Para graph 5. Little Denmark is deeply agonizing ; yet its root is still whole and sound, and its hopes for brighter days it will not — it cannot — forego. " On the very verge of ruin," said once the great statesman Talleyrand, " the Almighty has always a miracle in His pocket to save Denmark." Acquiescing in this conviction, I look safely forward for the fate of Denmark, my native country, where my cradle was rocked, and where I received blessings upon blessings ; and the words by which the Norwegian orator and divine, W. H. Wexels, concluded a speech he delivered on the subject of the deeply-wronged Denmark, I shall here allow myself to make mine : " Live the warrior Danes ; live the gifted and warm-hearted people of the champaign country ; five the cradle of all lofty Skaldic literature^ gently wafted over from the Danish meadows to rocky Nor- 478 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. way and Scotland ; live it in spite of all direful Ger man prophecies of destruction and annihdation ! " But before concluding, it will not be out of place, I think, to give some outlines of the history of Iceland, this remarkable volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean, and at the same time of the millennial celebration which took place there in 1874, and which created so much in terest and sensation in the United States, yea, through out all the civdized world. In the year 863 A. d., the famous Harold Hairfair, of whom mention has been made on p. 55, ascended the Norwegian throne. Before bis time Norway was divided into thirty-one small States, against whose petty kings he immediately commenced waging war, till they all were subdued. But the ambition of that warlike prince gave birth to a conquest of a more peaceable kind, which, though almost unknown to the rest of the world, had, however, very interesting consequences in the history of the North. For, not satisfied with hav ing subdued the little tyrants, who had for a long time weakened Norway, he was eager of absolute and des potic authority over his subjects. The greater part of the Norwegian peers, perceiving that it was in vain to oppose their strength to his, determined to abandon a country where they were obliged to live depressed and obscure. It fortunately happened, that at this period Iceland began to be known. Some ancient Icelandic documents inform us that the first Northman who HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 479 landed on the shores of that island was Naddod, a celebrated sea-rover, who in the year 859 entered one of the friths and ascended a high mountain, but discover ing no traces of the country being inhabited, set sail again, after giving it the name of Snaeland (Snow- land). Four years afterwards, 863, Gardar, a Dane, but of Swedish extraction, was driven by a storm to Iceland, which by circumnavigation he ascertained to be an island, and called it Gardarsholm (Gardar's isle). The favorable account he gave of it on his return hav ing excited the spirit of adventure amongst the North men, Floki, another famous sea-rover, went out with the intention of settling there, but all the cattle and sheep he had taken with him having perished during the Winter, and the Spring being unusually cold, and the bays and estuaries covered with ice, he returned in the Summer to Norway, and bestowed the name of Island (Iceland) on the island, in which he had passed such a gloomy season, and which he declared to be un inhabitable either for man or beast. But in the year 870, Ingolfi a Norwegian chieftain, wintered in Iceland, and was so pleased with the wild and picturesque appearance of the country, that on his return to Norway, he being discontented, like the other chieftains, with the king, Harold Hairfair's despotism, resolved to emigrate thither. It is, however, said, that the fear of being punished for a murder he had com mitted, was, equally with the tyranny of the king, a 480 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. motive for his flight ; but this latter inducement was sertainly that which engaged a multitude of noble fami lies in Norway to join him. These illustrious fugitives having embarked, Ingolf, whom they had chosen for their leader, conducted them in the year 874 to Iceland, and from this year its discovery and colonization are dated. As soon as they discovered it at a distance, Ingolf, according to an ancient and superstitious cus tom, threw the sacred columns of his temple into the sea, determining by the direction of this floating guide, to land where the gods should seem to point out. But the waves carrying the floating guide out of sight, they were obliged to disembark in a gulf towards the south part of the island, which still bears Ingolf's name. They found the island uninhabited, and covered with dense forests of birch-trees, through which they could not penetrate but by cutting their way before them. Be that as it may, but certainly there are now no for ests in Iceland, nor any birch-trees, except here and there a few short and slender shrubs. Nevertheless, the trees, which are still found buried in the ground, and frequently among the rocks, should forbid us too hastily to reject the evidence of the ancient chronicles, when they describe the country as different from what it is at present. See " Torfaei Historia Norwegica." His words are these : " Should any one object, that modern Iceland does not correspond with the ancient descriptions of it, it may be justly answered, that this HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 481 island has greatly degenerated. , This I can affirm, from what I have been an eye-witness of myself." In deed, none but Northmen, inured from infancy to a rude climate and the perils of a sea-faring life, would have thought of settling in such a country, which is thus described by a modern English writer, Henderson? in his work, entitled " Journal of a Residence in Ice land in 1814" : " In no quarter of the globe do we find crowded within the same extent of surface such a num ber of ignivomous mountains, so many boiling springs, or such immense tracts of lava, as here arrest the atten tion of the traveler. The general aspect of the coun try," thus Henderson continues, " is the most rugged and dreary imaginable. Everywhere appear marks of confusion and devastation. There are no less than thirty volcanoes in the island, the Hekla being the principal one, from which streams of melted substances have been poured forth over the surrounding regions. Tracts of lava traverse the island in every direction ; the lavas around Hekla are well known, and the whole plain between that and the sea is filled with the same substance. Another proof of the universality of vol canic agency, and of the continued existence of subter raneous fires in Iceland, is the multiplicity of hot springs, of which the Geyser is the largest. Many of these throw up large columns of boiling water to an almost incredible height, and present to the eye some of the grandest scenes to be met with on the face of 482 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. the globe. Numerous ridges of rugged and irregular mountains stretch across the interior. Between these ridges, in the vicinity of the coast, are rich and beauti ful valleys, in which the inhabitants have erected their dwellings, and many of the low mountains are covered with grass, which affords Summer pasturage to the cat tle. But the whole of the interior, as far as it has been explored, consists of a vast, inhospitable desert, with here and there a small spot scantily covered with vegetation." Such was the country tha,t afforded the discontented Norwegian chieftains a secure retreat from what they termed the tyranny of Harold Hairfair. The coloniza tion commenced in the year 874, and in little more than half a century the whole coast of the island had been taken possession of. When a chieftain had taken possession of a district, he allotted to each of the free men who accompanied him, a certain portion of land, erected a temple, and became the chief, the pontiff (sacerdotal magistrate), and the judge of his district. Such a chieftain was called a Godi, and all to whom he had allotted land, were bound to accompany him on his journeys, and to pay a tax for the support of the temple ; and at the public assemblies these chieftains met with a great number of armed followers of free men. The whole frame of society in Iceland was, in fact, aristocratic. The law recognized only four classes, as in Norway : Freemen, Unfree, Freedmen and TJiralls ; HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 483 but amongst the Freemen themselves a distinction was made between the pontiff-chieftains and the wealthy landed proprietors, called Stormen (great men) or Magnates, and a still greater distinction between. these and the less wealthy freeholders. These independent chieftains, thus located on the coasts of Iceland, without any general law or central authority to control their actions, were constantly em broiled in petty quarrels and strifes. The evil conse quences resulting from this became at length so great} that in the year 925, Ulfliot was sent to Norway to confer with Thorleif the Wise, renowned fox his knowl edge of the laws and usages of the parent country, in order to prepare himself for the duties of a legislator for Iceland. After three years absence, Ulfliot, called the Islandic Solon, returned, and convoked a general assembly, in which all his proposed laws were adopted, and a Republican form of government constituted, and from this year, 928, untd the year 1262, when Iceland was subdued by the Norwegian king, Hakon Hakon son, or Hakon IV., it was a Republic, a Commonwealth, during which this remote island was full of public- spirited men, and the old Northern language preserved unchanged for centuries, and Iceland became the cradle of a Northern historical literature of immense value. The island was, during the Commonwealth, divided into four provinces or quarters, and each quarter into three districts. A few years later, however, one of the 484 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. districts was divided for the convenience of the inhabi tants, thus making, in all, thirteen districts, which were sub-divided into parishes. Each of the districts had its temple (church) and its Thing (court), over which three pontiff-chieftains presided, who were to be chosen from amongst those the most distinguished for their wisdom and love of justice. These chieftains were at first elect ed, but afterwards the dignity became hereditary. A district Thing was held annually in the Spring, and at tended by all the freemen of the district. The Things were held in the open air, serving both for the discus sion of public affairs and for the administration of jus tice. For the latter purpose a circle, called the Boom- ring, was formed with hazel-twigs. Within this circle the judges sat, and in the middle stood a huge stone with a sharp ridge, on which the backs of criminals condemned to death were broken. Each of the three pontiff-chieftains summoned twelve doomsmen to sit with him within the forensic circle, which thus formed a court of justice, consisting of three judges and thirty- six doomsmen or jurymen. And here we have the trial by jury, for which (as it is mentioned on p. 95) England and the United States are more indebted to Scandinavia and Iceland, than to their Saxon ancestors. Vet, all those thirteen districts were united in the Representative Assembly of the Althing (the Supreme Court), which held its sessions annually in Summer in the Thingvalla, near Rejkiavik, the capital of the is- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 483 land. It was presided over by the Supreme Magistrate of the Republic, called the LSgrSgumadr, i. e., laws' - narrations'-man, or in better English, the promulgator of the law, who was elected for life by the free suffrage of his fellow-citizens. Ulfliot, who had been so instru mental in founding the Republic, was made its first President by the same National Assembly that adopted his legislation. The office was, of course, regarded as the highest dignity in the State, and from the year 928, when the Republic was constituted, until its down fall in 1262, thirty-nine Presidents governed this fa mous Republic. The Althing, however, was no court of appeal, for it was optional with parties to bring their suits either before the Thing of their district, or before the Althing, and when judgment had been pronounced at the district Thing, there was no appeal to a superior tribunal. Yet, the necessity of having a court of appeal was soon felt, and already in the year 1004 such an one was estab lished, called the Fifth Court, which could annul the decision of the other courts on the ground of infor mality, false evidence, and subornation of witnesses. Christianity was embraced by the Icelanders at the Althing, in the year 1000 ; but it was stipulated that the former religion should be tolerated, and Chris tianity did not produce any alteration in the civil gov ernment of the Commonwealth. The punishment of death was mly inflicted for witch-craft and magic. The 486 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA, punishment for other crimes were exclusion from so- riety and exile. For graver crimes, such as homicide and arson, the punishment was twenty years exde. During the period of a person's banishment, he was, in the most rigorous acceptation of the term, an out lawed man. A prize was set on his head, and he might be killed with impunity, his property was confiscated, a portion, however, being reserved for the maintenance of his family, and the rest equally divided between the accuser and the Commonwealth. From this brief sketch of the civil institutions of the Icelanders, it will be seen that the form of govern ment was strictly aristocratic, the administration of affairs being, in a great measure, in the hands of he reditary pontiff -chieftains. But concerning the laws by which the Icelanders were ruled, it is impossible to ascertain what were the precise enactments which Ul fliot, the founder of the Icelandic Republic, submitted to the approval of his countrymen ; for they were handed down by oral tradition for nearly two centu ries, during which period the President of the Repub lic had the very appropriate title of law-saying-man ; for he had to recite and expound the laws to the Na tional Assembly at every Althing. But the necessity of having a written code was deeply felt, and in the year 1117, the laws and judicial decisions were commit ted to writing, and after being thoroughly revised by .he ablest jurists, they were publicly discussed at thp HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 487 Althing, when those that had been approved of by a majority of the Thingsmen, were digested into a regu lar code or collections of laws, into which subsequent laws and judicial decisions were from time to time incorporated, and which remained in' force untd the downfall of the Republic. This code was called The Gragas* and is, no doubt, one of the most remarkable ancient documents of the kind in existence. Every judicial proceeding has its prescribed form, and the manner in which the indictment and defence are to be conducted, witnesses summoned, evidence given, and verdict pronounced, are detailed with the greatest mi nuteness ; and it is universally taken for granted, that in no code of the Middle Ages do we find such rigor ous enactments for the protection of person and prop erty, nor such detafled police regulations as in this Ice landic code. But when the Icelanders, in 1262, had to acknowledge allegiance to the Norwegian king, Hakon IV., and the large island thus ceased to exist as a repub lic, then ceased, also, publicity in the administration of affairs, the interest for the celebrated code ceased, be cause it was set out of force, and the Icelanders' deeply- rooted love for their historical and romantic Sagas ceased also, at least in a great measure, because after the fall of their glorious Commonwealth, in which all * Some say that this name was given the code because grey goose-quills wore generally used for writing Icelandic manuscripts ; others, because the manuscript «opy of this code was hound in grey goose-skin. 488 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. their interest had been absorbed, they felt weary and languid. A little more than a century after— in 1380, — Iceland fell, together with Norway, to Denmark ; when Olaf V., elected King of Denmark, after the death of his father, Hakon VI., became King of Nor way also, and Iceland has since the year 1380, up to this very day, been subject to the Danish crown. But, although the extinction of the Republic lessened the interest for poetry and history, the inhabitants of that remarkable island had- had from the earliest times too deeply-rooted a fondness for poetry and history to lose it altogether, and they continued, therefore, to keep up an intercourse with the other people of the North, that they from them might learn whatever passed abroad. Only they were not so productive among themselves as before the downfall of their Common wealth. However, the odes of their ancestral Skalds (poets) were continually in everybody's mouth, and the Icelanders even at the present day exhibit a lively interest for the ancient manuscripts of which the island abounds, and which are often to be found even in the poorest huts. With the introduction of the Reformation, 1536, a new era began — that of modern Icelandic literature — which has produced several writers of considerable eminence. John Vidalin, Bishop of Skalholt, 1720, who is called the Icelandic Cicero, his sermons being, it is said, as remarkable for their elegance of diction, as they are HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 489 for their Christian piety. And in the present century Sigurd Petursson and John Thorlakson have acquired great celebrity as poets of no ordinary talents ; the former for original poetry, and the latter for having dressed in an English garment Klopstock's " Messiah," and Mdton's " Paradise Lost." In Greek and Latin the Icelanders have always excelled. Thus, the writer of this work distinctly remembers, when he was ma triculated at the University of Copenhagen, and had to pass the so-called " Examen Artium," that four Ice landers from the Latin school at Iceland, who presented themselves for passing this Examen Artium, were far superior to all of us in the classical studies. But the millennial festival of Ingolf's landing, 874, when a thousand years ago, he with his Norwegian fugitives fled from Europe, and landed in Iceland, has created such an interest, yea, even sensation, that some details' will scarcely be unwelcome. Little Rejkiavik, the capital, was in a state of great excitement and greedy expectation. Flags floated from all the larger buildings, and a crimson canopy was prepared for the royal landing. For His Danish Majesty, King Chris tian the Ninth, had promised to honor the millennia] festival with his regal presence, and, at the same time to bring with him a new Constitution for Iceland, which he did, and which went into force August 1, 1874. On his landing, His Majesty was given the usual cannon Habitation, and received by the dignitaries of the island, 490 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. the Governor, the Bishop, the Rector of the Latin School at Rejkiavik, and the Sheriff. However, the most noteworthy concerning Christian the Ninth's pres ence in Iceland is, next to the Constitution he brought with him, that he is ' the first crowned head that ever visited this remote island. After a short stay at Rej kiavik, the king went to Thingvalla, whdre, as we have* seen, in ancient times the Althing (the Supreme Court) was held, and where it still holds its sessions. Here he was bid welcome by a song in the Icelandic lan guage, composed by the present poet of Iceland, Mathias Jochumson, which Bayard Taylor, the famous American traveler and gifted poet, has thus translated : i. With strong foot tread the holy ground, Our snow-land's King, the lofty-hearted, Who from thy royal home hast parted To greet these hills that guard us round I Our freedom's scroll thy hand has lent us, The first of kings whom God hath sent us, Hail ! welcome to our country's heart I II. Land's-Father, here the Law-Mount view ! Behold God's works in all their vastnesa I Where saw'st thou Freedom's fairer fastness With fire-heaved ramparts, waters blue ? Here sprang the Sagas of our splendor, Here every Iceland heart is tender, God built this altar for His flock I III. Here, as in thousand years of old, The same words sound, a voice unended, As when their life and law defended The spearmen with their shields of gold : HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 491 The same land yet the same speech giveth. The ancient soul of Freedom liveth, And hither, King, we welcome thee I rv. But now are past a thousand years, As in the people's memory hoarded, And in God's volume stand recorded Their strife and trial, woes and fears ; Now let the hope of better ages Be what thy presence, King ! presages, — How let the prosperous time be sure I v. Our land to thee her thanks shall yield, A thousand years thy name be chanted, Here where the Hill of Law is planted, 'Twixt fiery fount and lava-field : We pray, All-Father, our dependence, To bless thee and thy far descendants, And those they rule, a thousand years 1 This beautiful song the king received with visible joy, as also with emotion of feelings, and Bayard Tay lor, who, together with two other Americans, Cyrus W. Field, of submarine telegraph notoriety, and Dr Hayes was present at this millennial festival, writes, that the king's mild, frank, and handsome face attracted the people. He paid a visit to old Bjarne Thorsteinson (father of the present Sheriff of Iceland), who is ninety- four years old, and has long been blind. Entering un announced, His Majesty greeted the old man, taking his hand : " Who are you ? " said the latter. " I don't know you ; what is your name ? " "I am called Chris tian the Ninth," said the king. " Well, then," the old 492 HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. man remarked, " if you take a blind man by surprise, king, you must expect to hear such questions." The next day, August 2d, was the day for the millen nial celebration. The programme for the day, writes Bayard Taylor, consisted of commemorative services in the Cathedral, where the Bishop of the island preached, of a banquet in the Hall of the College, and of a popu lar festival a mile from the town, where there was dancing and great flying fires, and where the king and Prince Waldemar, his youngest son, walked around without any ceremony, exchanging a few words with each person as they passed. The sumptuous dinner which was given, was such, writes Bayard Taylor, as Iceland could scarcely furnish ; and, in fact, almost every dish came in cans from Copenhagen. The service of sdver, the porcelain, and the wine-glasses were also Danish. The king finally rose, and briefly expressed his thanks for the kind reception he had received, and hoped that the Constitution he had brought with him would contribute to the prosperity of the island, and closed with the toast : " Long live old Iceland!" where upon the full force of the band struck in with the loud cheers that followed, and shores and harbor rang with the thunder of cannon, and all the inhabitants knew that the king had drunk to the weal of Iceland. The Constitution which the king brought with him is mainly due to the persistent urgency and representa tions at Copenhagen of John Sigurdson, a public-spirit- HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIA. 493 ei man, and dear to all the people of Iceland. That this document was saluted with universal joy, is not to be wondered at, since it cannot be denied that al most up to this very day Iceland has been, at least to some extent, step-motherly treated and slighted by the Danish government, especially since the year 1660, when Denmark became an absolute monarchy, and since which time the Icelanders virtually lost every vestige of their ancient independence. Nevertheless, the Icelanders have always felt happy and gleeful among themselves in their quiet domestic life and patriarchal simplicity, priding themselves in their legendary jokes, in their strong local peculiarities, in their home-bred feelings, in their honest fireside de lights ; happy in dweding on their old and glorious Sagas, and on the ancient Skalds, who wandered from house to house singing the chronicles of their ances tors ; happy in playing chess, their favorite, game, which has been known to the Icelanders as long as this ingenious game has been known to the world. And even at the present day an Icelander, if it in any way be possible, is sure to return and spend his old age amidst the volcanic fires and eternal snow-storms of his own dear island ; and "dlien an Icelander has visited more genial climes, he exclaims, when he returns and views the bleak and dreary scenery around him, "After aU, Iceland is the best land that the sun shines upon/"