Gustav Eriksson Trolle (September 1488 – 1535) was

Archbishop of Uppsala The Archbishop of Uppsala (spelled Upsala until the early 20th century) has been the primate (bishop), primate of Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward un ...

, Sweden, in two sessions, during the turbulent

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

events. He was the son of Eric Arvidsson Trolle, a former 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 ...

during the era of the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union (Danish language, Danish, Norwegian language, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under ...

. After returning from studies abroad, in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

and

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, he was in 1513 elected

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...

. One year later he became Archbishop of Uppsala. In 1515 he got into an argument with the Swedish regent

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 ...

, who spread the rumour that he was allied with the King

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 ...

. True or not, it resulted in Trolle being removed from his office and put under siege in the archbishop's mansion

Almarestäket Almarestäket, or ''Stäket'', is a strait at the inlet of Lake Mälaren in mid-east Sweden. A fortress existed there between about 1370 and 1517, also named Almarestäket. A place mentioned as Stocksund by Old Norse author Snorre Sturlasson wa ...

at lake

Mälaren Mälaren ( , , or ), historically referred to as Lake Malar in English, is the third-largest freshwater lake in Sweden (after Vänern and Vättern). Its area is 1,140 km2 and its greatest depth is 64 m. Mälaren spans 120 kilometers from e ...

. In the winter of 1517, Almarestäket was demolished by orders from the Swedish government. The Danish threat grew stronger, and Trolle was among those who spoke in favour of the Danish King. In 1520,

entered Sweden, and Trolle was rewarded by being reappointed Archbishop of Uppsala. He crowned Christian King of Sweden on 4 November, 1520. This, and subsequent events, supports the notion of the two having made a deal previous to Christian's conquest of Sweden.

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 10 November, 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 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 ...

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 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 ...

, and his brother-in-law Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

. He gathered an army and sailed to conquer Norway in AD 1530, aiming to re-establish the

Union of Kalmar The Kalmar Union ( Danish, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under a single monarch the three kingdom ...

. After a few years of feuds, Trolle was mortally wounded in a battle at Øksnebjerg, in

Fyn Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as ...

, Denmark, 1535. He was buried at the

Schleswig Cathedral Schleswig Cathedral (german: Schleswiger Dom, da, Slesvig Domkirke) officially the Cathedral of St. Peter at Schleswig (german: St. Petri-Dom zu Schleswig), is the main church of the city of Schleswig and was the cathedral of the Bishop of Schle ...

. He was described by

Olaus Petri Olof Persson, sometimes Petersson (6 January 1493 – 19 April 1552), better known under the Latin form of his name, Olaus Petri (or less commonly, Olavus Petri), was a clergyman, writer, judge, and major contributor to the Protestant Reformatio ...

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 Anders Fryxell (7 February 179521 March 1881) was a Swedish historian. Life Fryxell was born at Edsleskog, Dalsland, (now part of Åmål Municipality, Västra Götaland County) on 7 February 1795. He was educated at Uppsala University, took ho ...

References

''Nordisk familjebok'', in Swedish
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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trolle, Gustaf 1488 births 1535 deaths Roman Catholic archbishops of Uppsala 16th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Sweden Swedish nobility People of the Swedish War of Liberation People of the Count's Feud Kalmar Union Stockholm Bloodbath Swedish military personnel killed in action