Didrik Slagheck (died 24 January 1522) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

, military commander during the

Swedish War of Liberation The Swedish War of Liberation (1521–23; sv, Befrielsekriget, lit=The Liberation War), also known as Gustav Vasa's Rebellion and the Swedish War of Secession, was a rebellion and a civil war in which the nobleman Gustav Vasa deposed King Chri ...

, and often pointed out as an active participant in the

Stockholm Bloodbath The Stockholm Bloodbath ( sv, Stockholms blodbad; da, Det Stockholmske Blodbad) was a trial that led to a series of executions in Stockholm between 7 and 9 November 1520. The event is also known as the Stockholm massacre. The events occurred af ...

. Slagheck was the illegitimate son of a

Westphalia Westphalia (; german: Westfalen ; nds, Westfalen ) is a region of northwestern Germany and one of the three historic parts of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It has an area of and 7.9 million inhabitants. The territory of the regio ...

n priest and appears to have been working in the

papal The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

office during his early life. He arrived in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in 1510 and soon received appreciation for his service from both

Christian II of Denmark Christian II (1 July 1481 – 25 January 1559) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union who reigned as King of Denmark and Norway, from 1513 until 1523, and Sweden from 1520 until 1521. From 1513 to 1523, he was concurrently Duke ...

and his advisor,

Sigbrit Willoms Sigbrit Villoms (also spelled Villums), (possible date of death 1532), was a Danish-Norwegian politician from Amsterdam, mother to the mistress of King Christian II of Denmark, Dyveke Sigbritsdatter, and advisor and de facto minister of finance fo ...

. After some time abroad he returned to

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

in 1517, as assistant to the papal representative

Arcimboldi Arcimboldo is the surname of a number of notable Italian people. *Giovanni Arcimboldi (died 1488), Cardinal of Novara and Cardinal of Milan * Guido Antonio Arcimboldi (1428–1497) was a nobleman and a Roman Catholic prelate *Giovanni Angelo Arcimb ...

. Arcimboldus is said to have received bribes from

Sten Sture the Younger Sten Sture the Younger ( sv, Sten Sture den yngre) (1493 – 3 February 1520), was a Swedish nobleman who served as the regent of Sweden, during the era of the Kalmar Union. Biography Sture was born in 1493, as the son of Svante Nilsson (rege ...

, regent of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, something which Slagheck reported to the king. He was soon sent to Rome to report about Arcimboldus' activities. In 1520 Slagheck followed Christian II to

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and is said to have helped inspire the Stockholm Bloodbath. He was soon appointed to the position as bishop of

Skara Skara is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Skara Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 18,580 inhabitants in 2013. Despite its small size, it is one of the oldest cities in Sweden, and has a long educational and ecc ...

, as the previous bishop Vincent Henningsson had been executed. He became one of the three Danish leaders left behind to govern Sweden when Christian II returned to Denmark, soon making himself unpopular among the population. Slagheck participated as a military commander during the early stages of the

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

led by

Gustav Vasa Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksföre ...

, leading the Danish forces during the

Battle of Västerås The Battle of Västerås ( sv, Slaget om Västerås) was a battle in the Swedish War of Liberation that took place on Badelundaåsen, north of Västerås, Sweden on April 29, 1521. The Swedish troops, led by Gustav Vasa, defeated the Danish forc ...

. He was recalled to Denmark later in 1521, where he was given the position of archbishop of

Lund Lund (, , ) is a city in the southern Swedish provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, across the Øresund, Öresund strait from Copenhagen. The town had 91,940 inhabitants out of a municipal total of 121,510 . It is the seat of Lund Municipali ...

. He would not keep this position for long, as

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X ( it, Leone X; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political an ...

had been greatly discontented when he received word of the execution of two bishops in the Stockholm Bloodbath, prompting Christian II to put the entire blame on Slagheck. He was sentenced to death by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

, which was changed in the last minute to death by burning, which took place in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

on 24 January 1522.

References

Sources

Svensk Uppslagsbok ''Svensk uppslagsbok'' is a Swedish encyclopedia published between 1929 and 1955, in two editions. First edition The first edition was started in 1929 by ''Baltiska förlaget AB'', but publishing was taken over by ''Svensk uppslagsbok AB'' in 1 ...

Nationalencyklopedin ''Nationalencyklopedin'' (; "The National Encyclopedia" in English), abbreviated NE, is a comprehensive contemporary Swedish-language encyclopedia, initiated by a favourable loan from the Government of Sweden of 17 million Swedish kronor in 19 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Didrik Slagheck Roman Catholic archbishops of Lund Bishops of Skara 1522 deaths 16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Denmark 16th-century executions by Denmark Executed Roman Catholic priests Executed Danish people People executed by the Kalmar Union People of the Swedish War of Liberation Year of birth missing People executed by Denmark by burning Stockholm Bloodbath