The siege of Hamar was a short siege that lasted for three days in late June 1537, between the forces of

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 ...

bishop

Mogens Lauritssøn Mogens Lauritssøn, also known as Magnus Lauretii (died 3 October 1542, Antvorskov Monastery, Zealand, Denmark), was the 27th and last Roman Catholic Bishop of Hamar. Background Nothing is known about the origins of Mogens Lauritssøn. But he i ...

and noble

Truid Ulfstand Truid Gregersen Ulfstand (1487 – November 16, 1545) was a Danish nobleman, landowner, and privy council member. He was active in Norway in the 1530s during the time that the country was entering into a real union with Denmark, and was a command ...

. Truid Ulfstand and his forces came down from

Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...

to arrest the bishop as a part of the

Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein The Reformation in Denmark–Norway and Holstein saw the transition from Catholicism to Lutheranism in the realms ruled by the Danish-based House of Oldenburg in the first half of the sixteenth century. After the break-up of the Kalmar Union in 1 ...

. The bishop heard that he was going to be arrested and barricade himself and his men inside his farm at

Hamar Hamar is a List of cities in Norway, town in Hamar Municipality in Innlandet Counties of Norway, county, Norway. Hamar is the administrative centre of Hamar Municipality. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional region of Hedmarken. ...

before the Protestant troops came. The Protestant troops where superior both in numbers and military tech, (most of the Protestant troops where German

Landsknecht The (singular: , ), also rendered as Landsknechts or Lansquenets, were Germanic mercenaries used in pike and shot formations during the early modern period. Consisting predominantly of pikemen and supporting foot soldiers, their front line wa ...

, but the Catholic troops where mostly peasant militia) and when the Protestant troops arrived they laid siege to the farm. The commander of the Protestant forces had a

parley A parley (from french: link=no, parler – "to speak") refers to a discussion or conference, especially one designed to end an argument or hostilities between two groups of people. The term can be used in both past and present tense; in prese ...

with the bishop, and gave him three days to surrender or he would burn the farm. On the third day of the siege the bishop surrendered and was taken as a prisoner to Denmark, where he died in

1542 __NOTOC__ Year 1542 ( MDXLII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * February 2 – Battle of Baçente: The Portuguese under Cristóvão da Gama ...

. According to the

Hamar Chronicle The Hamar Chronicle ( no, Hamarkrøniken) is a book written in the 1500s by an unknown author. It describes life in the town of Hamar during the Catholic era (until 1537). The book is an important source for the study of Hamar's history because it ...

, when the bishop left the city, he fell on his knees and thanked God for every day he had spent in the city. He asked the city to pray for him and said he would return. Then the chronicle states that he prayed: ''O Gud fader udi himmelen, findes vj icke för, da Gud giffue det vj findis i himmerige. Denne bön bad hand med grædende taare oc sagde, vale, vale, vale''. (O God, Father in heaven, we do not exist for gifts from God, but to find heaven. He prayed this prayer while crying tears, and said farewell, farewell, farewell.) The siege was one of the last stands against the Reformation in Norway, and the Norwegian riksråd was

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

abolished and Denmark-Norway became a

real union Real union is a union of two or more states, which share some state institutions in contrast to personal unions; however, they are not as unified as states in a political union. It is a development from personal union and has historically bee ...

that would last until 1814. Also the

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of Denmark-Norway became the biggest landowner in Norway after confiscating church lands.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamar, Battle of Conflicts in 1537 1537 in Norway Battles involving Norway Battles involving Denmark Denmark–Norway Reformation in Norway European wars of religion Catholic rebellions Sieges of the Early Modern era

See also

References