King Of Sweden Research Articles

Duke John and Finland’s Church 1556–1563

The short period of John’s duchy (1556–1563) has received significant attention from historians of Finland’s sixteenth century, but relatively little attention has been paid to Duke John’s ecclesiastical policies. This investigation reveals that John sought to maximise control over the church just as he did over other parts of his duchy’s administration. His activities demonstrate that he upheld his father’s conviction that he held the right of ius reformandi, the right of the temporal authorities to regulate religion in their realms. As duke, John grew his power over the clergy and thus the church in three ways. First, he sought clerical loyalty. Second, after first continuing his father’s confiscations of the church’s property, he turned to support the clergy and its parishes with direct financial support. Third, he made pastoral appointments bypassing ecclesiastical and royal administration. This drive to assert control over the church contributed to conflict between John and his brother King Eric XIV. Although John lost his duchy in 1563 to Eric because of this conflict, many of the clergymen whom he appointed and supported still held office when he overthrew Eric in 1568. This cohort of clergymen largely supported the king as he implemented controversial changes in the Swedish kingdom’s church. Keywords: John III, King of Sweden; John, Duke of Finland; Duchy of Finland; reformation; clergy

Skaldic Poetry across Borders. Sigvatr Þórðarson’s Austrfararvísur

The Austrfararvísur (Verses on a Journey to the East) could be defined as a poem of borders: in these vísur Sigvatr Þórðarson, the skald of Óláfr the Saint, narrates his crossing of various geographical, political, and religious borders. Austrfararvísur are preserved in Snorri Sturluson’s Óláfs saga helga and concern the famous episode of Sigvatr’s visit to Västergötland, where he attempted to mediate a peace deal between King Óláfr Haraldsson of Norway and the king of Sweden. The text describes dramatic moments and inhospitable places that Sigvatr experienced in his travel from Norway to Sweden, where an immense forest still serves as a natural border today. This was also the natural border that the Norwegian dynasty traversed when, in prehistoric times, Swedish kings moved from Sweden to Norway. Now Sigvatr follows the same path, but in the opposite direction.

Power Incarnate: The Royal Body at the Funeral of John III, King of Sweden, 1592

Power Incarnate: The Royal Body at the Funeral of John III, King of Sweden, 1592

The king's spice cabinet-Plant remains from Gribshunden, a 15th century royal shipwreck in the Baltic Sea.

Maritime archaeological investigations of the wreck of the medieval warship Gribshunden (1495), flagship of King Hans of Denmark and Norway, have revealed diverse artifacts including exotic spices imported from far distant origins: saffron, ginger, clove, peppercorns, and almond. The special circumstances of the vessel's last voyage add unique context to the assemblage. Gribshunden and an accompanying squadron conveyed the king, courtiers, noblemen, and soldiers from Copenhagen to a political summit in Kalmar, Sweden. At that conference, Hans expected the Swedish Council to elect him king of Sweden, and thereby fulfill his ambition to reunify the Nordic region under a single crown. To achieve this, Hans assembled in his fleet and particularly aboard his flagship the people and elite cultural signifiers that would convince the Swedish delegation to accept his rule. Along the way, the ships anchored near Ronneby, Blekinge. Written sources record that an explosion and fire caused Gribshunden to sink off Stora Ekön (Great Oak Island). Exotic spices were status markers among the aristocracy in Scandinavia and around the Baltic Sea during the Middle Ages (1050-1550 CE). Until the Gribshunden finds, these extravagances have rarely or never been represented archaeologically. Evidence of their use and consumption in medieval Scandinavia has been limited to sparse written references. We present here the botanical remains from the Gribshunden shipwreck and compare them to previous archaeobotanical finds from the medieval Baltic region. These opulent status symbols traveled with a medieval king en route to a major historical event. The combination of textual and archaeological evidence allows a novel analytical view of the social environment in which these luxurious foods were consumed.

Open Letter to His Majesty Carl XVI Gustav, King of Sweden

Open Letter to His Majesty Carl XVI Gustav, King of Sweden

Open Letter to His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden

Open Letter to His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden

Open Letter to His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden

Open Letter to His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden

Open Letter to His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden

Open Letter to His Majesty Carl XVI Gustaf, King of Sweden

Роль заголовков в раскрытии авторского замысла в романе Ю. Юнассона «Девочка, которая спасла короля Швеции»

В статье рассматривается роль названий глав в юмористическом романе Юнаса Юнассона «Девочка, которая спасла короля Швеции» (Jonas Jonasson “The Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden”, 2014) в раскрытии авторского замысла в целом и создании комического эффекта в частности. На сегодняшний день отсутствуют лингвистические исследования данного популярного романа, который представляет прекрасный образец современного юмористического произведения и отражает актуальные тенденции работы с художественным словом, что обусловливает актуальность и научную новизну работы. Автор статьи на материале романа Ю. Юнассона анализирует структурные и смысловые особенности заголовков, опираясь на теорию, разработанную в своем диссертационном исследовании, посвященном контрасту как средству создания комического эффекта, предлагает классификацию названий глав по структурному и семантическому признаку; доказывает, что подавляющее большинство заглавий построены по принципу бинарной оппозиции, проводит подробный лингвостилистический анализ наиболее интересных, основанных на контрасте заглавий, делает выводы об их роли в реализации авторского замысла. The paper discusses the role of the chapter titles of the humorous novel by Jonas Jonasson “The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden” in revealing the authorial intent, namely the comic effect. The popular novel by Jonas Jonassson is a perfect specimen of modern humorous fiction reflecting up-to-date literary trends, however, it has not undergone any thorough linguistic analysis so far. This fact determines the topicality and novelty of the research conducted. The paper contains an overview of the functions of titles and a thorough analysis of the structural and semantic peculiarities of the chapter titles in the given novel. It also offers their classification due to several aspects. The research is based on the theory of the mechanism of creating the comic effect in humorous fiction developed by the author in her Ph.D. thesis, focusing on contrast as the key means of creating the comic effect in modern literature. Based on the results of the research, the author of the article concludes that the overwhelming majority of the chapter titles under analysis can be structurally defined as binary opposition clusters. To conclude, chapter titles play an integral part in bringing the author’s intent home to the reader.

Arne Bjerhammar- a personal summary of his academic deeds

Abstract Arne Bjerhammar is well known worldwide mainly for his research in physical geodesy but also for introducing a new matrix algebra with generalized inverses applied in geodetic adjustment. Less known are his developments in geodetic engineering and contributions to satellite and relativistic geodesy as well as studies on the relation between the Fennoscandia land uplift and the regional gravity low. Most likely part of his research has contributed to worldwide political relaxation during the cold war, which deed was honored by a certificate of achievement awarded by the Department of Research of the US army as well as the North Star Order by the King of Sweden. Arne Bjerhammar’s pioneer scientific production, in particular on a world geodetic system, towards what would become GPS, as well as relativistic geodesy, is still of great interest among the worldwide geodetic community, while the memories and spirit along his outstanding academic deeds have more or less fainted away from his home university (KTH) only a decade after he passed away.

Dlaczego Szwedzi przegrali bitwę pod Połtawą? Natura przeciwko armii szwedzkiej w kampaniach 1708 i 1709 roku

W artykule przedstawiono przebieg działań podejmowanych przez armię szwedzką w latach 1708–1709. Obie kampanie skierowane były przeciwko Rosji, a celem strategicznym nakreślonym przez władcę Szwecji – Karola XII było zajęcie Moskwy. W ostatecznym rozrachunku, u schyłku 1708 r. wojska szwedzkie znalazły się jednak nie na przedpolu stolicy carów, a na Ukrainie Zadnieprzańskiej. W roku następnym Szwedzi stoczyli bitwę pod Połtawą, która zakończyła się ich klęską. Autor próbuje odpowiedzieć na pytanie, dlaczego tak się stało? Omawiając drogę Karola XII na połtawskie pole bitwy, zwraca uwagę przede wszystkim na czynniki naturalne i obiektywne (pogoda, ukształtowanie powierzchni, przeszkody naturalne itd.), na które król Szwecji nie miał żadnego wpływu. Zdaniem autora to właśnie te czynniki w dużym stopniu wpłynęły na to, że szwedzka armia stanęła do walki pod Połtawą znacznie osłabiona i z niewielkimi szansami na zwycięstwo.

Ukrainian-Swedish Relations and Treaties of the XVII–XVIII Centuries

It can be said that Sweden’s appeal to Ukraine during the Thirty Years War (1618–1648) and the formation of an imperial state was quite understandable: Ukraine was the enemy of Sweden’s enemies. But the peculiarities of political and economic development of Sweden and its allies caused their claims to the West Ukrainian and Belarus lands. This made it impossible to conclude a full-fledged political treaty. The like situation is with Ukrainian-Swedish relations in 1708–1709, when Sweden was a guarantor of possession of West Ukrainian lands by Polish-Lithuanian state. Ukrainian-Swedish treaties of the XVII – early XVIII centuries had only a military-tactical character and a short-lived action. Only a crisis after Swedish-Ukrainian forces defeat and prolonged living hand-by-hand in the Ottoman Empire (1709–1714) gradually brought royal Swedish protectorate as a form of military alliance to full-fledged recognition of Ukraine as the state and concluding treaty of political nature. Unfortunately, its implementation was very limited. In addition, the close encounter with foreign legal culture and other circumstances of UkrainianSwedish relations gave the impetus to reviewing the grounds of state and law of Ukraine and the emergence of the “Pacts and Resolutions of the Rights and Privileges of the Viysko Zaporozke”, known as the Constitution of Ukraine of 1710. We argue that this document together with confirmation and assecuration charters by Karl XII is not only a monument of Ukrainian constitutionalism, but also a treaty between Ukraine and its protector, the king of Sweden.

The Bendery Constitution and Pylyp Orlyk and His Government-in-Exile in Sweden in 1715–1720

The period 1709 to 1720 was of historic importance in the Ukrainian struggle for freedom and independence. On April 5, 1710, on Turkish territory in Bendery, Ukraine’s first constitution was inaugurated. The main author was Orlyk. After the Battle of Poltava in June 1709 King Charles XII of Sweden and the newly elected Hetman Pylyp Orlyk were in exile. In the fall of 1709 Hetman Ivan Mazepa had died in Moldavian Bendery. Orlyk, his chancellor, was elected hetman of Ukraine in the spring of 1710. The Bendery Constitution is not only an expression of the rights of a free Ukrainian people. It may be the main earliest document in modern Ukrainian intellectual history. The constitution is probably also the oldest constitution in the world of the modern era. The first Ukrainian constitution confirmed the status of the “ancient Cossack nation” and its century long struggle for freedom and independence. It guarantees the supremacy of a Kyiv metropolitan. A large number of the rights of the Cossacks are provided for as well as the protection by the king of Sweden. In 1714 around 40 of the Ukrainians in Moldavia left for exile together with Swedes returning home. The journey across Europe first ended in Stralsund (Swedish Pommerania) in May 1715. Later that year to avoid capture Hetman Orlyk and the Ukrainians (including parts of the government) left Stralsund by ship for Ystad, Sweden. Orlyk and family came to reside in the fortress city of Kristianstad in southern Sweden 1716 to 1719 while his government continued to Stockholm. During 1719 to 1720 Orlyk joined them in the Swedish capital. The Ukrainian government-in-exile in Stockholm was supported by the Swedish government of Frederic I and especially by the prominent Swedish politician Daniel von Höpken. The latter aided Orlyk and his ministers financially and most likely with living quarters. In June 1720 von Höpken in a letter advised the king that Orlyk should be financially supported and be given the opportunity to leave Sweden to continue the fight for freedom and independence of Ukraine and lead the Ukrainian Cossacks against Russia. In January 1719 Orlyk had been greatly encouraged by the Treaty of Vienna between Austria, Hannover and Saxony against Russia and its aggressive policy in Eastern Europe. In a last letter dated Stockholm October 10, 1720, Orlyk wrote in Latin to King Frederic I that when leaving Sweden he first planned to visit the King of Great Britain, then Vienna and after that via Hungary go further east. In foreign policy Orlyk’s best hope was King George I of Great Britain. He was willing to go to war against Russia but in the end could find no partners. British naval squadrons entered the Baltic Sea from 1719 to 1721 but could not attack Russian ports. The result was that George I advised Frederic I to conclude peace with Peter I on what terms he could. At Nystad in 1721, however, the question of Ukraine’s freedom and independence was not on the agenda of the Swedish negotiators. The Bendery constitution of 1710 remains as a monument to Ukraine’s first main attempt to break away from Russian domination. Full freedom and independence of Ukraine was finally achieved in 2014.

XVIII-wieczna Bułgaria oczyma hetmana Filipa Orlika (na podstawie „Diariusza podróżnego” 1720–1723)

The paper comments on the information about 18th-century Bulgaria revealed by Cossack hetman Pylyp Orlyk in his travel diary. In October 1720 Orlik set out on a journey from Stockholm to Istanbul. The purpose of his trip was to find allies and supporters to fight against Russia. Orlik’s journey began in Stockholm, because his first and most important ally was the king of Sweden, Charles XII, with whom he had already come in contact and agreed on joint plans. A large part of the hetman’s journey went through the territories of the Ottoman Empire and the lands dependent on him. This is why his travel diary contained much information about Bulgaria and the Bulgarians. Orlik described the places where he stayed for a night, reported the course of the following days, travel hardships, meetings held and even eaten meals. He wrote about the state of the church and the number of Christians in each town. His diary is therefore a source of invaluable knowledge about the Bulgarian lands in the first half of the 18th century.

Rethinking the representation of Gustavus Adolphus: the case of William Watts and The Swedish Intelligencer, 1630–33

ABSTRACTBetween 1630 and 1633, English newsbooks resounded with tales of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden’s victories against the “popish” armies of Emperor Ferdinand II. Such literary praise has been widely associated with Calvinist disapprobation of Charles I’s pacific foreign policy. This article throws new light on the alternative, non-Calvinist sources of enthusiasm for Gustavus Adolphus in the newsbook, The Swedish Intelligencer, which portrayed the Swedish king as the figurehead of a broad, confessionally flexible, pan-Protestant cause. This has important implications for our understanding of the relationship between English and European Protestant nations in the context of the Thirty Years’ Wars. News from the military camp of the Lutheran King of Sweden offered a subtle way of promoting and normalising non-Calvinist forms of worship in England, and thus provides evidence that a range of Protestants were utilising the London news presses to advance their religious agenda in the early 1630s.

Tallinna ja Harju-Viru rüütelkonna alistumine Rootsile 1561: vormid ja põhjused [Abstract: The capitulation of the town of Tallinn and the Harju-Viru knighthood to Sweden in 1561: forms and causes

Tallinna ja Harju-Viru rüütelkonna alistumine Rootsile 1561: vormid ja põhjused [Abstract: The capitulation of the town of Tallinn and the Harju-Viru knighthood to Sweden in 1561: forms and causes

Gustaw III wobec rewolucji francuskiej

Gustaw III panował w Szwecji w latach 1771–1792. Od początku swoich rządów był mocno związany z Francją. Dzięki jej poparciu dokonał monarchistycznego zamachu stanu w sierpniu 1772 r. Przez kolejnych 15 lat był najbliższym sojusznikiem dworu wersalskiego. Zapoczątkowany w 1787 r. kryzys wewnętrzny sprawił, że Francja nie była w stanie dłużej odgrywać dotychczasowej roli na arenie międzynarodowej. Jednym z pierwszych polityków europejskich, który zdał sobie z tego sprawę, był właśnie Gustaw III. W latach 1788–1790, wbrew stanowisku Francji, prowadził wojnę z Rosją, którą zakończył w sierpniu 1790 r. Nie ulega najmniejszej wątpliwości, że zrobił to ze względu na rozwój sytuacji we Francji. Król od dawna panicznie bał się bowiem wszelkich rewolucji. I nie chodziło mu bynajmniej o wywołane przez nie zmiany natury społecznej czy gospodarczej. W rewolucji król szwedzki widział niszczycielską siłę zagrażającą wszystkim tronom. Obawiał się, że przykład Francji, gdzie pozycja króla słabła z każdym miesiącem, może doprowadzić do upadku monarchii we wszystkich innych krajach europejskich. Z tego właśnie powodu Gustaw III powziął myśl o dokonaniu zbrojnej interwencji we Francji. W 1791 r. sprawą dla niego najważniejszą było już bowiem ratowanie zagrożonej monarchii francuskiej. Nie znajdując zrozumienia u przedstawicieli państw trójprzymierza (Anglia, Prusy, Holandia), coraz bardziej zaczynał skłaniać się ku koncepcji zawarcia przymierza z Rosją. Decyzję o podpisaniu traktatu sojuszniczego z Katarzyną II przesądziło niepowodzenie ucieczki Ludwika XVI z Paryża w czerwcu 1791 r. Niemal natychmiast po zatrzymaniu króla Francji w Varennes Gustaw III przystąpił do montowania szerokiej koalicji mocarstw, której pierwszoplanowym celem miało być ratowanie instytucji francuskiej monarchii. Jego inicjatywy w tym względzie nie znalazły jednak zrozumienia na dworach europejskich. Dyplomaci szwedzcy niemal wszędzie spotkali się z chłodnym, a niekiedy nawet z wrogim przyjęciem. Jedynym rezultatem zakrojonej na szeroką skalę akcji dyplomatycznej okazało się podpisanie traktatu drottningholmskiego z Rosją w październiku 1791 r. Warto też zwrócić uwagę na to, że Gustaw III pozostawał w stałym kontakcie z Ludwikiem XVI i jego zaufanym przedstawicielem na emigracji – Louisem Auguste’em baronem de Breteuil. Gustaw III został zamordowany w chwili, kiedy jego propozycje zostały zaakceptowane przez Ludwika XVI i Marię Antoninę. Dwór tuileryjski początkowo dość sceptycznie odnosił się bowiem do pomysłu zbrojnej interwencji we Francji. Jednak w marcu 1792 r. baron de Breteuil, występując w imieniu francuskiej pary królewskiej, zgodził się zarówno na lądowanie szwedzkiego korpusu w Normandii, jak i na zorganizowanie nowej ucieczki rodziny królewskiej z Paryża. Śmierć Gustawa III przekreśliła wszystkie te zamiary. Umierający król nigdy nie miał się też dowiedzieć, że w końcu marca 1792 r. pojawiła się szansa na spełnienie wszystkich jego pragnień i marzeń.

Tartu ülikool kui eestlaste mälupaik [The University of Tartu as a memory site for Estonians

Tartu ülikool kui eestlaste mälupaik [The University of Tartu as a memory site for Estonians

Wojna polsko-szwedzka z lat 1626–1629 w pismach Stanisława Koniecpolskiego

W latach 1626–1629 Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów prowadziła wojnę z Królestwem Szwedzkim. Wojna ta była częścią szerszej realizacji znanej jako dominium Maris Baltici. Gustaw II Adolf, król Szwecji, szukając pretekstu do inwazji na południowe wybrzeże Bałtyku, posłużył się roszczeniami Zygmunta III do szwedzkiej korony. Na początku wojny król Zygmunt III Waza osobiście dowodził armią, jednak po serii porażek zmuszony został wezwać Stanisława Koniecpolskiego. Hetman Koniecpolski mimo młodego wieku był już doświadczonym dowódcą. Doświadczenie to zdobył walcząc zarówno z Kozakami, jak i Tatarami. Liczne potyczki na stepach Ukrainy zostały następnie wykorzystanie w walce ze Szwedami.W pismach Stanisława Koniecpolskiego ukazana jest sytuacja wewnętrzna Rzeczpospolitej w pierwszej połowie XVII w. W listach do króla i innych ważnych dygnitarzy państwowych Koniecpolski opisuje nie tylko sytuację militarną. W pismach tych widoczna jest wyraźna troska o dobro kraju. Hetman zdawał sobie sprawę z wewnętrznych problemów państwa, takich jak nieefektywny system poboru podatków i brak zainteresowania szlachty toczącą się wojną. Wrażliwy na te problemy informował o nich najważniejszych dostojników państwowych.

Limits of Power. Clerical Appointment as Part of Domestic Policy in Sweden after the Reformation, 1560–1611

Abstract This article examines state-church relations in Sweden by analysing clerical appointment processes in the latter part of the 16th century. The aim is to ascertain whether the king of Sweden could appoint pastors independently, and if not, with whom he was compelled to share the power. Earlier studies argue that the power of the king grew due to the reformation. First, this article examines the number of clerical appointments that were made in the period 1560-1611. The results reveal a remarkable annual variation in the number of clerical appointments. Second, the timing and share of clerical appointments made by the king are studied. The number of appointments made by the king is viewed against the total number of clerical appointments so as to reveal the importance of appointments made by the crown. Third, the article examines the proportion of appointments made by other authorities. The results suggest that the crown’s role in clerical appointment processes varied, but more interestingly, it was not as ubiquitous as earlier researchers suggest. Thus article concludes that crown’s power over the church in 16th century Sweden was not as vast as it has previously been claimed.