During his imprisonment in Denmark, Gustav Vasa heard of plans of a new military campaign against Sweden. According to his chronicler, Gustav became so distressed by this that he escaped in 1519, “with God’s help”. …
I have already posted about the Vasa Queens, and now the turn has come to the kings. I will of course start with the first of the Vasa kings – Gustav Vasa himself. But he…
One thing people always enjoyed throughout the ages, is dancing. Actually, it seems as though they took every opportunity they could, even in times of grief and trouble. One such opportunity happened to be at…
Something that often strikes me when I study history is how awful everything seemed. War, famine, plague, poverty… I have often wondered if life really was as awful as it would seem. Or how did…
We have follwed the headstrong princess Cecilia Vasa from her rebellious adolescence to her adventures in England, which she left in haste in 1566, hunted by creditors. In the 1560s religious tension was runnig high…
In the last post we got to know the young Cecilia Vasa, daughter of Swedish king Gustav I. We left her right before the event that would forever give her the reputation of a renaissance…
Meet Cecilia Vasa: Sweden’s most scandalous princess, and the last of the women in the Forgotten Royal Women theme. Born into the newly founded Vasa dynasty in 1540, Cecilia became known for her beauty, intellect,…
In this last post in the theme “From Freyja to Mary”, about the Christianization and early version of Christianity in Scandinavia, where we’ll discuss the final stages of implementation of the new religion as well…
In the last post about Christine of Saxony, we saw how her husband, king Hans of Denmark and Norway had troubles keeping the Kalmar Union together and subdue the Swedish noblemen. However, in 1497, Hans…
In the previous post Mary, mother of God, was introduced in the North. Women could identify with her role as mother. In this post, we’ll explore how Mary took over the roles previously played by…