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 was not known in his time as Gustav Vasa, as the Swedish nobility didn’t use surnames in that capacity until the 17th century. The name Vasa comes from his family’s coat of arms, which prominently features a “vase” (a fascine or sheaf of grain).
He was simply known as Gustav Eriksson. He was born on or around Ascension Day, May 12, 1496. Both his parents were from Sweden’s high nobility. His father, Erik Johansson, was a knight and member of the Swedish Privy Council. His mother was Cecila Månsdotter (Eka).
His father is described as violent and not very bright. Despite being a district judge himself, he was on multiple occasions charged with crimes, including manslaughter, assault, and theft. His fiery temper would be passed down through generations in the House of Vasa…
Much of what we know of Gustav Vasa is written by his chronicler, Peder Svart, and his own nephew, Per Brahe. They aim to portray Gustav in as positive a light as possible, and their chronicles should therefore be taken with a considerable grain of salt.
For instance, Peder Svart claims that Gustav was born with a caul (a rare birth condition where part of the amniotic sac covers the baby’s head, historically considered to be an omen of good luck) and with a red cross on his chest.
Growing up, he was always the leader of his group of friends, always in charge. This is to show, that although he wasn’t born royal, he was still born to rule. If it’s true is up to debate.
What seems to be true however, is that as a young man, Gustav was sent to the court of Sten Sture the Younger, regent of Sweden and leader of the rebellion against the Kalmar Union and Danish supremacy.
During Gustav’s adolescence, a large part of the Swedish nobility had more and more come to question the Kalmar Union, founded in 1397 as a union between Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and waged an on-again-off-again war of independence. In his early 20s, Gustav Eriksson fought two battles on the rebel side.
In 1518, after beating the Danish forces at the Battle of Brännkyrka, Sten Sture and Christian II were to meet to negotiate a truce. To guarantee the king’s safety, the Swedes sent six men as hostages – our young Gustav was one of them.
However, Christian II did not turn up to the negotiations. Instead, he took the hostages with him back to Denmark.
Gustav was kept at Kalø Castle, and was treated rather well. The Danish king wanted to sway the hostages to his side, to gain Swedish allies. Although some were convinced, Gustav refused.
During his imprisonment he heard rumors of a new Danish attack, which distressed him so much, he began making daring plans of escape. Find out more in the next post!
Sources:
Larsson, Lars-Olof. Gustav Vasa – landsfader eller tyrann? (2002)
Larsson, Olle. Gustav Vasa: en furste bland furstar. (2022)