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140 Characters of the dukes. HISTORY OF THE SWEDES. Disagreements with the king. [1560—
that he thereby weakened, because he divided, the
power which he wished to found, we must yet
reflect that his heir was Eric, and that the father
doubted, regarding him, between a throne and a
dungeon, in order fully to discern the whole
magnitude of the dangers between which he had here to
choose. If we may likewise give credit to the
following statement regarding king Gustavus in the
dialogue cited—" He preferred dissension between
a sovereign and powerful princes, his brothers, to
the expulsion of the royal house and the return of
foreign domination over the realm, well knowing
that the throne would still remain even if strife
arose in his family, but would fall if the strength of
the barons were to be put forth, which a powerful
duke placed in authority over these would certainly
prevent,"—then did the old monarch foresee the
history of his country for fifty years to come.
John, now twenty-three years old, had entered
on possession of his fief during his father’s lifetime;
he is styled " prince hereditary of Sweden and duke
of Finland." Magnus in his nineteenth year
received his after the death of his father, and is called
" duke hereditary of Sweden, duke of Westanstang,
count of Dal andVassbo2. Charles, the youngest
child of Gustavus, now ten years old, had received
Sudermania, Nerike, and Vermeland for his
dukedom, but did not come into possession of it during
the reign of Eric. John, of fair and tall person,
had an expression of benignity of nature3, yet gave
signs of ambition, more of a craving than of a true
energy. Among the testimonies of his
contemporaries is one which says that " he had the gestures
and demeanour of a high-hearted man, although his
heart was timid 4." In this fearfulness of heart he
resembled Eric, and the two brothers persecuted
each other from mutual apprehensions. Daring
courage no son of Gustavus possessed except Charles,
who already at the age of fifteen displayed it under
the walls of Warberg, Magnus, like the whole
family, was of violent temper 5, and at length
became deranged in mind ; his lunacy first broke
out upon Eric compelling him to subscribe the
sentence condemning John to death. A saying
was moreover current that mental disease was
hereditary in the house of Vasa ; on which account
the French minister Dantzai, when there was ques-
tion of a marriage between king Henry III. of
France and the beautiful and well educated
Swedish princess Elizabeth 6, shows himself anxious to
contradict this rumour. He frees Erie from the
imputation, (although the estates declared upon his
deposition that he had been sometimes completely
frantic and out of his mind,) and observes, that he
knows of 110 other example of this calamity in the
family besides duke Magnus, for as to what
concerned the father of king Gustavus, lord Eric
Johanson, he might indeed have been a puny and
very simple man, but not mad 7.
Courteous words disguised at first the animosities
of the brothers. The first letter which Eric
received from John, written on the second day after
his father’s death, contained already complaints
regarding the provisions of the will. " It had been
sufficiently known how assiduous and industrious
their departed father had been in gathering
substance for his children ; yet was there in his last
will nothing determined, either in respect to the
wealth he had left in cash and moveables, or his
many desirable estates, which now were their
rightful heritage, although the deceased king had
allowed these rents to flow into the treasury of the
realm ;" John hoped that all this would now turn
out to their common advantage8. But Eric had
himself far more important overtures to make in
relation to the will, and evaded for a time the visits
of his brothers5. A proposition, drawn up by
himself, which more precisely defined the king’s right
over the dukes, and restricted their powers, was
proposed to the estates at the diet of Aiboga, on
the 15th April, 1501, and I’eceived their sanction
without difficulty. In general the people showed
themselves favourable to Eric ; he had also, at
least in the beginning, not to complain of any want
of compliance in the magnates. In the negotiation
with the dukes, the chief and most powerful men
of the nation appeared on his side ; Suanto Sture’,
Peter Brahe, even Steno Ericson Lejonhufvud,
although maternal uncle to John. In consequence,
the dukes were obliged to submit to the conditions
proposed, although they complained that under
them were hid many traps and snares by which
the king might entangle them how and when he
pleased. For such, doubtless, they reckoned the
2 So the brothers of Eric are entitled in his letter of March
19. Registry for 1561. The king here applies the title of
count to his brother Magnus, before he had introduced this
rank into Sweden, which was shortly afterwards done, at his
coronation.
3 " Prince fort humain et debonnaire." Correspondance de
Dantzai.
4 Sven Elofson.
5 His father admonishes him of this fault.
6 He terms her one of the most accomplished princesses
in Europe. " On m’assure de son excellente beaute; elle est
de fort bon esprit, de bonne grace, de belle faille, le corps
fort beau ; et n’ai point entendu qu’elle y aye aucun defaut,
ni chose, qu’on y puisse reprendre. Un chacun loue sa
grande modestie, et pour vrai, sire, elle est recommandee
et fort estimee pour ses vertus, de tous ceux qui l’ont
fre-quentee. Elle prend plaisir a l’espinette et en joue mieux
que mediocrement. Elle joue aussi de luth. Elle est fort
benigne et charitable. J’esp^re que le sieur Pinart vous
rendra de brief certain de toutes les autres partieularites."
(I am assured of her excelling beauty ; she is of passing good
wit, good grace, fair figure, the person very fine; and I have
not heard that she has any defect, or point which is to be
reprehended. Every one praises her great modesty, and in
truth, sire, she is recommended and highly esteemed for her
virtues by all who have sought her society. She takes
pleasure in the spinnet, and plays on it better than moderately
well; she plays also on the lute : she is very kind and
charitable. I hope that the sieur Pinart will acquaint you by letter
with all her other qualities.) The last named person was sent
to Sweden in 1574 upon this negotiation, which was broken off
on account of the discontent created by it among the Catholics.
7 "N’etoit de grand jugement, ainsi d’un fort simple esprit"
—and elsewhere; " J’ai quelque fois ou’i dire k des
gentilshom-mes de Dannemark, tant en public que particulier, que le
dit sieur Eric, p£re du roi Gustavus, etoit de fort petite
stature et ne l’estimoit personne de grand sens, ni esprit, ni
jugement; mais je n’entendis oncques, qu’il eut le cerveaxi
corrompu, ni l’esprit trouble." (I have sometimes heard say
by gentlemen of Denmark, as well in public as private, that
the said sieur Eric, father of king Gustavus, was of very
little stature, and was thought by no one to be of great sense,
or spirit, or judgment; but I never understood that his brain
was diseased, or his mind deranged.")
8 Letter of October 1; Registry for 1560.
9 " We pray that your love will for this time with brotherly
goodness excuse us and leave us to ourselves." To John and
Magnus, March 19. Registry for 1561.
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