Scandinavian History
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THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES SCANDINAVIAN HISTORY. SCANDINAVIAN HISTORY. BY E. C. OTTE. WITH MAPS. fffo gork : MACMILLAN AND CO. AND LONDON. 1894. [The Right of Translation and Reproduction is Reserved.'] LONDON : R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINT1RS, BREAD STKIfcT HILL. DL CONTENTS. PACK Rulers of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway xii CHAPTER I. THE EARLY NORTH. "ART I. * . 1 Hyperboreans . II. Northmen in the South 7 III. Origin of the Northmen ....... 9 IV. The Aryan Races 13 CHAPTER II. THE DANES IN EARLY TIMES I. The Northmen at Home . i? II. Denmark .......... 22 III. End of the Mythic Age 26 CHAPTER III. THE NORTHMEN IN EARLY TIMES. I. Christianity in the North ..... -3' II. Denmark 3 () III. Habits of the Northmen . 39 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. DENMARK IN EARLY TIMES. PART I'ACK I. First Queen of Denmark ..... -45 II. Knud and his Sons ..... 51 CHAPTER V. I. Sweden and Norway ...... 5^ II. Northern Conquests 65 III. Norwegian Settlements .... 60 CHAPTER VI. I. Iceland 72 II. Sweden and Norway . -77 III. Northern Discoveries .... CHAPTER VII. I. Svend Estridsen, the Father of Danish King> II. .Svend Estridsen's Sons . 9/1 III. Laws of Denmark ......... 97 IV. Revenge of the Guild-brothers . icxi CHAPTER VIII. THE I. Trouble.-, before the Valdeinars II. Death of Valdemar and Absalon CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. DENMARK FROM 1202 TO 1259. PART PAGE I. Denmark under Valdemar II. (Sejr) and his Sons . .113 II. Valdemar's Closing Years . .117 III. A Century of Troubles ........ 122 CHAPTER X. DENMARK FROM 1259 TO 1387. I. An Age of Troubles . .128 II. Decline of the Royal Power ....... 130 III. The Credit of Denmark revives ...... 136 CHAPTER XL SWEDEN IN EARLY TIMES. I. First Christian Kings ........ 143 II. Troubled Times ......... 147 III. The Early Troubles of Norway . ... 150 CHAPTER XII. SWEDEN FROM 1250 TO 1400. II. The Three Unfriendly Brother; III. Half a Century of Troubles IV. .Sweden under Foreign Ru! CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIII. NORWAY FROM 1217 TO 1400. FART PAGE I. Norway's Best Time . .169 II. The Last of the Hakons 1 72 III. The Triple-Crowned Queen ....... 175 IV. Sweden under a Queen . .177 CHAPTER XIV. DENMARK FROM 14" TO 1448. I. Erik loses Three Crowns . .183 II. The Oldenburg Line begins . .188 III. Sweden under Danish Rulers ....... 192 CHAPTKK XV. DENMARK UNDER THE OLDENBURG LINE. I. The Father of the Oldenburg Kings 198 II. Crown Bartered for Favours ....... 203 III. The Brave Ditmarshers 205 IV. The Fall of the Stures . 208 CHAPTER XVI. DENMARK FROM 1500. I. Christian's bringing up ........ 212 II. The Swedish Crown lost . 215 III. King Christian loses all ........ 219 IV. Denmark accepts the Protestant Faith . 224 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVII. SWEDEN BETWEEN 1520 AND 1568. PART I'AGE I. Gustaf Vasa frees Sweden ....... 227 II. Gustaf rules with a Strong Hand ...... 232 III. Queen Elizabeth's Suitor ....... 237 CHAPTER XVIII. DENMARK FROM 1559 To 1648. I. War between Sweden and Denmark 244 II. The Greatest of the Oldenburg Princes ..... 249 III. Denmark's Decline ........ 254 CHAPTER XIX. SWEDEN BETWEEN 1568 AND 1611. I. The Sons of Gustaf Vasa 257 II. Religious Troubles in Sweden ...... 263 III. The Rise of Swedish Power ....... 267 CHAPTER XX. SWEDEN FROM 1611 TO 1644. I. The Hero-King of Sweden .... II. The Death of the Swedisli Hero III. The Swedish Generals CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXI. SWEDEN FROM 1644 TO 1697. PAKT PAGE I. The only Swedish Queen-Rcgiiant ...... 289 II. Swedish Conquests ........ 294 III. The King becomes Absolute ....... 299 CHAPTER XXII. DENMARK FROM 1648 TO 1730. I. Denmark Humbled ........ 302 II. Absolute Power established ....... 306 III. The Origin of Titles ........ 310 " " IV. The Type-Quarrel ........ 312 CHAPTER XXIII. DENMARK FROM 1730 TO 1839. 1. A Period of Restraint . 3'7 II. Struensee's Rule . 321 HI. England humbles Denmark ....... 324 CIIAI'THR XXIV. SWEDEN FROM i&g; TO 1771. CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXV. SWEDEN FROM 1771 TO 1872. I'ART PAGE I. The Swedish Line of Kings ....... 348 II. Troubles in Sweden ........ 353 III. Great Changes in Sweden ....... 356 IV. A French Line of Kings ....... 359 CHAPTER XXVI. DENMARK SINCE 1839. I. The Language Trouble ........ 363 II. Success of the Danes ........ 369 III. The Reigning Dynasty ........ 373 377 LIST OF MAPS. " " Denmark under King Gorm Den Gamle (9th Century) . 45 Settlements of the Northmen in the Western Ocean (9th and loth Centuries) .......... 65 under . Denmark Waldemar Sejr (i3th Century) . 113 Sweden under 1 the Vasas (in the 7th Century) .... 263 RULERS OF DENMARK, SWEDEN, AND NORWAY. DENMARK. SWEDEN. GORM'S LINE. BJORN JERNSIDES }'M;I.INGAR LINE. LINE. ' I larald I Gorm the Old, laarfnger 890 Erik . Erik Blodoxe . 933 about . 860 Sejrsa:! 933 Harald Blaatand 935 Olaf the Lap King 993 IlakonL, Athel- Anund . stan's fostre . Svend Tveskreg . 985 Jakob 1Q24 933 Edmund the Old 1052 I larald Graafell. Harald. 1014 963 Hakon . Knud the Great . 1018 Jarl 977 STENKIL'S LINE. Olaf Harthaknud . 1035 Trygvnssen 995 Magnus the Good, Stenkil. 1055 Erik and Svend I. ... of Norway . 1042 Inge 1066 Jarl 1000 Inge II. 1112 Olaf (the Saint). 1015 ' THE ESTRIDSEN Philip .... 1120 Svend . 1Q3Q LINE. Magnus theGood 1035 Sl'ERKER'S LI\E. Harald Ilar- Svend Estridsen . 1047 . Sverker I. draade . Harald Hejn . 1076 1130 1047 Knud (the Saint). 1080 Erik IX. (the OlafKyne . 1066 . 15an'i;J . Olaf- 1 lunger . 1086 Saint) .1155 Magnus 1093 . Karl Sverkersson Erik Kjegod . 1095 1160 Olaf .... 1103 . Eriksson . Niels . 1103 Knud -1167 Ejsten -1115 . 1 1. Erik Emun . 1134 Sverker -1195 Sigurdjorsalafer 1121 Erik the Lamb . 1137 Erik Knutsson .1210 MagniMhelilind) 11301 Knud V. Johan Sverkersson 12 16 IlaraldGille .I and| 1147 Svend . II. .. ) Erik La>spe . 1222 Sigurd H36 Yaldemar I. 1157 Ejsten . .1155 Knud VI. 1182 Inge .... H57 Valdemar II. 1202 Ilakon II. H61 Erik Plovpenning 1241 Valdemar . 1250 Magnus Erlings- Abel . 1250 Magnus Ladulaa.s 1279 son . 1162 Christopher I. 1252 Birger .... 1290 Sverre . -1184 Erik Glipping 1259 Magnus Smek .1319 Ilakon III. 1202 Krik Menved . 1286 Albrecht of Meck- Guttorin . 1204 Christopher II. 1319 lenburg. 1363 Inge liardsson . J RULERS OF DENMARK, SWEDEN, AND NORWAY. DENMARK. SCANDINAVIAN HISTORY. CHAPTER I. THE EARLY NORTH. Hyperboreans Ignorance of Southerners in regard to Northmen Pytheas; his travels his to for Thule ; voyage Thule The search How the people lived 2,200 years ago -The Lung of the Sea, meaning of term Pytheas a scientific traveller Professor Nilsson Phoenicians in the North their reflect ; religion Superstitions of Northern people the older faith The Kimbri Wulfstan and Ohthere Alfred's history of Orosius Northmen swaim southwards ; the Romans defeat them Ideas in regard to Scandinavia Amber beads the cause of a better knowledge being gained The Skalds The Goths The earlier inhabitants of the North The of the week their Odin's faith days ; names The gods ; its his character his precepts ; ; favour given to the rich The Nor- rsena Mai The Aryans Our Aryan forefathers Runes The Veering- jar The Vikingar. PART I. HYPERBOREANS. The Hyperboreans. THE ancient Greeks and Romans had very false, and what seem to us, now that we know so much more about it than they did very absurd ideas of the north of for it all Europe ; they thought that was made up of ice, snow, mists, clouds and darkness, and that far, far away beyond the north wind, there lived a race of beings, whom they called Hy- perboreans, or Outside North-winders ! These hyperboreans were fabled to be mortals living in per- fect peace with their gods and among themselves, and dwelling i; SCAA'DLVA VIAN HISTOR Y. in such a rich land, and under such bright sunny skies, that fruits and grains ripened there without needing the care of the husbandman. Plenty abounded everywhere. No one suffered pain or illness of any kind, and, therefore, as the old men and women in that blessed land did not die as elsewhere from disease or weakness, those who grew weary of living put a speedy end to their lives by throwing themselves headlong down some high cliff into the foaming depths of the sea, which opened to receive them, and then gently closed over their bodies. By degrees, men began to doubt if mortals could find such charming abodes upon any part of this earth, even if they were to the north wind and so the belief lucky enough get beyond ; in hyperboreans died out. But, for all that, the Northmen, as the natives of Scandinavia generally, or sometimes only the Danes, were called, had continued to swarm southward every year, from one century to another, before other nations learned to know from which direction they came, or what was the name of their country. The most ancient account that we possess of the North was that by a native of Massilia, the present Marseilles, who lived more than 350 years before the birth of Christ. This traveller, 1 whose name was Pytheas, was either a trader, or an astronomer, sent by his Government to enquire into the position and nature of the northern lands from which the Phoenicians brought away tin and amber and other products, which they could not obtain nearer home. But, whether an astronomer or a trader. a Greek or a Phoenician, Pytheas must have been a bold man to have left the sunny skies of the South to embark upon a voyage which carried him over rough seas along the western shores of Europe to that far distant mysterious North, when- even the learned men of his own, and much later times, believed there was nothing to be found beyond a dreary waste of mist- 1 We may reckon Pytheas as belonging to the same time as Alcxand the Great, who was born in the year 356, and died in 323, B.C.