Gustav Trolle - Stockholm Bloodbath

Stockholm Bloodbath

Gustav Trolle presented a list of antagonists who had caused him to suffer and who had ordered the demolition of Almarestäket. King Christian gathered several people (some sources say 100, other say 20), and had them executed at the so called Bloodbath of Stockholm on November 10, 1520. The details and death toll are uncertain, for Christian himself wanted the public execution to have as strong effect as possible, and later, King Gustav I of Sweden is likely to have boosted the figures to support his Danish War.

Christian returned home a few months later and Trolle was one of those put in charge of the government. But he was unpopular, and in September the following year he was forced to leave Sweden, and move to Denmark where he lived for several years. In 1526 he then met with Christian in the Netherlands. Christian had been dethroned from Denmark, but was eager to get back in power. He renounced his Lutheran faith so that he could gain the support of the Catholic Church. He gathered an army and marched to conquer Norway in 1530.

After a few years of feuds, Trolle was mortally wounded in a battle at Øksnebjerg, on Fyn, Denmark, 1535. He was buried at the cathedral in Schleswig.

He was described by Olaus Petri as a stiff and obstinate man. For a long time after his death, he was regarded as a traitor to the Swedish people. This was also the prevailing view among the Swedish 19th century historians such as Anders Fryxell.

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