![John III of Sweden outdoor relief 2013 Stockholm Palace](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/John_III_of_Sweden_outdoor_relief_2013_Stockholm_Palace.jpg)
John III ( sv , Johan III, fi, Juhana III; 20 December 1537 – 17 November 1592) was
King of Sweden
The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument o ...
from 1569 until his death. He was the son of King
Gustav I of Sweden
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 ...
and his second wife
Margaret Leijonhufvud
Margaret Leijonhufvud (née ''Margareta Eriksdotter''; 1 January 1516 – 26 August 1551) was Queen of Sweden from 1536 to 1551 by marriage to King Gustav I. She played a political role as the advisor of, and the intermediary to, her spouse the ...
. He was also, quite autonomously, the
ruler
A ruler, sometimes called a rule, line gauge, or scale, is a device used in geometry and technical drawing, as well as the engineering and construction industries, to measure distances or draw straight lines.
Variants
Rulers have long ...
of
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, as ''Duke John'' from 1556 to 1563. In 1581 he assumed also the title Grand Prince of Finland. He attained the Swedish throne after a rebellion against his half-brother
Eric XIV
Eric XIV ( sv, Erik XIV; 13 December 153326 February 1577) was King of Sweden from 1560 until he was deposed in 1569. Eric XIV was the eldest son of Gustav I (1496–1560) and Catherine of Saxe-Lauenburg (1513–1535). He was also ruler of Est ...
. He is mainly remembered for his attempts to close the gap between the newly established Lutheran
Church of Sweden
The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...
and the
Catholic church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, as well as his conflict with, and murder of, his brother.
His first wife was
Catherine Jagellonica
Catherine Jagiellon ( pl, Katarzyna Jagiellonka; sv, Katarina Jagellonica, Lithuanian: ''Kotryna Jogailatė''; 1 November 1526 – 16 September 1583) was a Polish princess and Queen of Sweden as the first wife of King John III. As such, she ...
of the
Polish-Lithuanian ruling family, and their son
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
eventually ascended both the Polish-Lithuanian and Swedish thrones.
Biography
![Arms of John III of Sweden as the Duke of Finland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Arms_of_John_III_of_Sweden_as_the_Duke_of_Finland.svg)
John was the second son of
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 ...
(1523–60). His mother was
Margaret Leijonhufvud
Margaret Leijonhufvud (née ''Margareta Eriksdotter''; 1 January 1516 – 26 August 1551) was Queen of Sweden from 1536 to 1551 by marriage to King Gustav I. She played a political role as the advisor of, and the intermediary to, her spouse the ...
(1514–51), a Swedish noblewoman. Gustav had placed his son in Finland to secure Swedish territory in the eastern Baltic from a Russian threat. John was sent as an emissary to England to secure the hand of Queen
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
in marriage to his half-brother Crown Prince Erik (1559–60). This marriage would have secured Swedish access to Western Europe. That mission failed, but while in England John was able to observe the reintroduction of Protestantism and the
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
(1559). The Finnish duke had liturgical and theological interests.
As Duke of Finland, he opposed his half-brother King Eric XIV's 1560–68) efforts to secure Reval and East Baltic ports. John and his wife Katarina were imprisoned in the Gripsholm in 1563. After his release from prison, probably because of his brother's insanity (see
Sture Murders), John again joined the opposition of the nobles, deposed Eric and made himself the king. His important ally was his maternal uncle
Sten Leijonhufvud
The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cos ...
, who at deathbed was made
Count of Raseborg
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
. Shortly after this John executed his brother's most trusted counsellor,
Jöran Persson
Jöran Persson, alternatively Göran Persson (c. 1530 – September 1568), was King Eric XIV of Sweden's favorite, most trusted counsellor and head of the King's network of spies. He was widely seen as a Machiavellian figure, and as holding t ...
, whom he held largely responsible for his harsh treatment while in prison.
John further initiated peace talks with
Denmark-Norway and Lübeck to end the
Scandinavian Seven Years' War
The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden and a coalition of Denmark–Norway, Lübeck, and Pola ...
, but rejected the resulting
Treaties of Roskilde (1568)
The Treaties of Roskilde of 18 and 22 November 1568 were peace treaties between the kingdoms of Denmark–Norway and the allied Free and Hanseatic City of Lübeck on one side, and the Swedish kingdom on the other side, supposed to end the North ...
where his envoys had accepted far-reaching Danish demands. After two more years of fighting, this war was concluded without many Swedish concessions in the
Treaty of Stettin (1570)
The Treaty of Stettin (german: Frieden von Stettin, sv, Freden i Stettin, da, Freden i Stettin) of 13 December 1570, ended the Northern Seven Years' War fought between Sweden and Denmark with its internally fragmented alliance of Lübeck and Pol ...
. During the following years he successfully fought
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
in the
Livonian War
The Livonian War (1558–1583) was the Russian invasion of Old Livonia, and the prolonged series of military conflicts that followed, in which Tsar Ivan the Terrible of Russia (Muscovy) unsuccessfully fought for control of the region (pre ...
, concluded by the
Treaty of Plussa
The Treaty or Truce of Plussa, Pljussa, Plyussa or Narva and Plusa (russian: Плюсское перемирие, sv, Stilleståndsfördrag vid Narva å och Plusa) was a truce between Russia and Sweden, which ended the Livonian War (1558-1583). T ...
in 1583, a war that meant a Swedish reconquest of
Narva
Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...
. As a whole his foreign policy was affected by his connection to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
of which country his son
Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa ( pl, Zygmunt III Waza, lt, Žygimantas Vaza; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632
N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden and Grand Duke of Finland from 1592 to ...
was made king in 1587.
In domestic politics John showed clear
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
sympathies, inspired by his Polish wife, a fact that created frictions to the Swedish clergy and nobility. He sought to enlist the help of the papacy in gaining release of his wife's family assets, which were frozen in
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. He also allowed
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
s to secretly staff the Royal Theological College in Stockholm. However, John himself was a learned follower of the mediating theologian
George Cassander
George Cassander (or Cassant) (1513 – 3 February 1566) was a Flemish Catholic theologian and humanist.
Life
Born at Pittem near Bruges, he went at an early age to Leuven, where he was graduated in 1533. In 1541 he was appointed professor of bel ...
. He sought reconciliation between Rome and
Wittenberg
Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon language, Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the Ri ...
on the basis of the consensus of the first five centuries of Christianity (consensus quinquesaecularis). John approved the publication of the Lutheran ''Swedish Church Order'' of Archbishop
Laurentius Petri
Laurentius Petri Nericius (1499 – 27 October 1573) was a Swedish clergyman and the first Evangelical Lutheran Archbishop of Sweden. He and his brother Olaus Petri are, together with the King Gustav Vasa, regarded as the main Lutheran reformers ...
in 1571 but also got the church to approve an addendum to the church order in 1575, ''Nova ordinantia ecclesiastica'' that displayed a return to patristic sources. This set the stage for his promulgation of the Swedish-Latin
Red Book, entitled ''Liturgia suecanae ecclesiae catholicae & orthodoxae conformis'', which reintroduced several Catholic customs and resulted in the
Liturgical Struggle, which was not to end for twenty years. In 1575, he gave his permission for the remaining Catholic
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
s in Sweden to start receiving novices again. From time to time he was also at odds theologically with his younger brother Duke Charles of Sudermannia (afterwards
Charles IX of Sweden
Charles IX, also Carl ( sv, Karl IX; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I () and of his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King Eric X ...
), who had Calvinist sympathies, and did not promote King John's Liturgy in his duchy. John III was an eager patron of art and architecture. He turned the medieval Kalmar Castle into a Renaissance palace and often resided there because it was closer to Poland.
John III as king
In January 1569, John was recognized as king by the same
riksdag
The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
that forced Eric XIV off the throne. But this recognition was not without influence from John; Duke Karl received confirmation on his dukedom without the restrictions on his power that the
Arboga articles imposed. The nobilities' power and rights were extended and their responsibilities lessened.
John was still concerned about his position as king as long as Eric was alive. During the imprisonment of Eric, three major conspiracies were made to depose John: the
1569 Plot
The 1569 Plot was a conspiracy in Sweden in 1569. The purpose was to depose John III of Sweden and reinstate the imprisoned Eric XIV of Sweden on the Swedish throne. The plot was instigated by the courtiers of Eric's spouse queen Karin Månsdotter; ...
, the
Mornay Plot, and the
1576 Plot.
[Nordisk familjebok / Uggleupplagan. 7. Egyptologi - Feinschmecker. pp. 787–788] The fear of a possible liberation of the imprisoned king worried him to the point that in 1571 he ordered the guards to murder the captured king if there were any suspicion of an attempt to liberate him. It is possible that this is how Eric died in 1577.
John III claimed that he had liberated Sweden from the "tyrant" Eric XIV, just as his father had liberated Sweden from the "bloodhound"
Christian II
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 ...
. John was violent, hot-tempered, and greatly suspicious.
Family
![Catherine Jagellonica](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Catherine_Jagellonica.jpeg)
John married his first wife,
Catherine Jagellonica of Poland
Catherine Jagiellon ( pl, Katarzyna Jagiellonka; sv, Katarina Jagellonica, Lithuanian: ''Kotryna Jogailatė''; 1 November 1526 – 16 September 1583) was a Polish princess and Queen of Sweden as the first wife of King John III. As such, she ...
(1526–83), of the House of
Jagiello, in
Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
on 4 October 1562. In Sweden, she is known as ''Katarina Jagellonica''. She was the sister of king
Sigismund II Augustus of Poland. Their children were:
* Isabella (1564–1566)
*
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
(1566–1632), King of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
(1587–1632), King of Sweden (1592–99), and Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania
*
Anna
Anna may refer to:
People Surname and given name
* Anna (name)
Mononym
* Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke
* Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773)
* Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century)
* Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221)
...
(1568–1625)
He married his second wife,
Gunilla Bielke
Gunilla Bielke; Swedish: ''Gunilla Johansdotter Bielke af Åkerö'' (25 June 1568 – 19 July 1597) was Queen of Sweden as the second wife of King John III. Queen Gunilla is acknowledged to have acted as the political adviser to John III and to h ...
(1568–1592), on 21 February 1585; they had a son:
*
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second ...
(1589–1618), firstly
Duke of Finland Duke of Finland (in Finnish ''Suomen herttua''; Swedish ''hertig av Finland'') was an occasional medieval title granted as a tertiogeniture to the relatives of the King of Sweden between the 13th and 16th centuries. It included a duchy along with f ...
, then from 1608 Duke of Ostrogothia. The young duke
married his first cousin Maria Elisabet (1596–1618), daughter of
Charles IX of Sweden
Charles IX, also Carl ( sv, Karl IX; 4 October 1550 – 30 October 1611), reigned as King of Sweden from 1604 until his death. He was the youngest son of King Gustav I () and of his second wife, Margaret Leijonhufvud, the brother of King Eric X ...
(reigned 1599–1611)
With his mistress
Karin Hansdotter
Katarina "Karin" Hansdotter (1539–1596) was the royal mistress of King John III of Sweden during his time as Prince and Duke of Finland in 1555–1562.
Biography
Karin Hansdotter was the daughter of the Lutheran priest Hans Klasson Kökkemä ...
(1532–1596) he had at least four illegitimate children:
*
Sofia Gyllenhielm
Sofia Johansdotter Gyllenhielm (1556/59 – June 1583), was a Swedish noble, the illegitimate daughter of King John III of Sweden and Karin Hansdotter.
Life
She spent her early childhood with her mother in Turku Castle in the Duchy of Finland ...
(1556–1583), who married
Pontus De la Gardie
Baron Pontus De la Gardie (c. 1520 – 5 November 1585) was a French nobleman and a general in the service of Denmark and Sweden.
Life and career
He was born Ponce d'Escouperie in Caunes-Minervois (Aude), Languedoc, a son of Jacques Esc ...
* Augustus Gyllenhielm (1557–1560)
* Julius Gyllenhielm (1559–1581)
*
Lucretia Gyllenhielm Lucretia Johansdotter Gyllenhielm (1561–1585), was the illegitimate daughter of John III of Sweden and Karin Hansdotter. She was reportedly the favorite of her father.
Biography
Lucretia Gyllenhielm and her siblings were ennobled and granted the ...
(1560–1585)
John cared for Karin and their children even after he married Catherine Jagellonica, in 1562. He got Karin a husband who would care for her and the children: in 1561, she married nobleman Klas Andersson (Västgöte), a friend and servant of John. They had a daughter named Brita. He continued supporting Karin and his illegitimate children as king, from 1568. In 1572 Karin married again, as her first husband was executed for treason by Eric XIV in 1563, to a Lars Henrikson, whom John ennobled in 1576 to care for his issue with Karin. The same year, he made his daughter Sofia a lady in the castle, as a servant to his sister
Princess Elizabeth of Sweden
Princess Elizabeth of Sweden (also known as ''Elisabet Gustavsdotter Vasa''; 5 April 1549 – 20 November 1597), was a Swedish princess, and a duchess consort of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch by marriage to Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg-Gadebusch. She ...
. In 1580, John married her to Pontus de la Gardie. She later died giving birth to
Jacob De la Gardie
Field Marshal and Count Jacob Pontusson De la Gardie (Reval, 20 June 1583 – Stockholm, 22 August 1652) was a statesman and a soldier of the Swedish Empire, and a Marshal from 1620 onward.
He was Privy Councilor from 1613 onward, Governor o ...
.
Ancestry
See also
*
History of Sweden (1523–1611)
The Early Vasa era is a period that in Swedish and Finnish history lasted between 1523–1611. It began with the reconquest of Stockholm by Gustav Vasa and his men from the Danes in 1523, which was triggered by the event known as the Stockho ...
.
References
* Signum svenska kulturhistoria: ''Renässansen'' (2005).
* Michael Roberts, ''The Early Vasas: A History of Sweden 1523-1611'' (1968).
* Sigtrygg Serenius, ''Liturgia svecanae ecclesiae catholicae et Orthodoxae conformis'' (1966).
* Roland Persson, ''Johan III och Nova Ordinantia'' (1973).
* Frank C. Senn, ''Christian Liturgy -- Catholic and Evangelical'' (1997), pp. 421–45.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:John 03 Of Sweden
1537 births
1592 deaths
16th-century Swedish monarchs
Rulers of Finland
Candidates for the Polish elective throne
House of Vasa
Swedish princes
People from Söderköping Municipality
Burials at Uppsala Cathedral
1560s in Sweden
1570s in Sweden
1580s in Sweden
1590s in Sweden
People of the Northern Seven Years' War
Sons of kings