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 too much influence over Eric. On both occasions on which the King was removed from power, Persson was quickly arrested by the nobility; the second time he was executed shortly after his arrest.
Life
Jöran Persson was born in
Sala, the son of a local
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...
, Curatus Petrus (Per Joensson) and
Anna Pehrsönernas moder, in about 1530. He had a brother, Christiern Persson.
Early career
During the early 1550s he studied at the
University of Wittenberg, where he proved to be a very gifted student and, according to legend, was highly regarded by the eminent
theologian
Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...
Philipp Melanchthon, who, on his journey back to Sweden in 1555, sent with him a recommendation letter to King
Gustav I. Upon his return to Sweden he was given an annual pension and employment in the King's service, a year later he became personal secretary to the King and was given a castle in
Vyborg. In 1558 he received another important commission from the king, namely being put in charge of the King's inspectors in
Västergötland in order to establish a register of the estates, which, to the detriment of the Crown, remained loyal to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
. To be entrusted with such an important matter showed that Jöran Persson, even at this early stage in his career, had made himself known in prominent circles as a man capable of getting difficult tasks done. Following the completion of his mission in Västergötland, Gustav allowed Jöran Persson to become personal secretary to his eldest son, Eric.
Jöran Persson had established a reputation for possessing a quick mind and a sharp wit, and of being ambitious, bold, and ruthless. It is also known that Jöran Persson was very familiar with
astrology
Astrology is a range of Divination, divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that propose that information about human affairs and terrestrial events may be discerned by studying the apparent positions ...
, which he believed to guide the lives of men to a certain extent; despite having been raised and educated in the
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
tradition, he appears to have been an
agnostic.
Enthronement of Eric
Following Erik's accession to the throne in 1560, Jöran Persson was raised into the nobility. He took a
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
bearing a design of three bricks, the
family name
In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...
Tegel and became the lord of
Trögds härad. He was married in 1561 to a woman named
Anna Andersdotter. The couple had two children: the renowned historian Erik Jöransson Tegel and his brother Anders Jöransson Tegel who married Brita Månsdotter Hand.
Jöran Persson played an important role in the ''Konungens nämnd'' (literally: King's committee, the highest
court
A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...
in Sweden), where he served simultaneously as a prosecutor and the King's representative. This meant that, as well as prosecuting, he also had some control over sentencing. It is not known how many of the 300 death sentences handed down by the court while he was part of it he was personally involved with, however he was regarded by many as the nation's foremost
executioner (it is still a point of contention whether he took orders from the King in such matters, or whether he acted on his own initiative). Jöran soon became very unpopular among the public, as did his brother, Christiern Persson (d.1567), who also held a position at court. Among other things they were, chiefly among the public, thought to be under the "evil influence" of their mother
Anna, who was widely believed to be a
witch
Witchcraft is the use of magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Enc ...
who influenced politics through the use of
sorcery.
Imprisonment of John
Jöran Persson would go to great length to protect the King's power, the most famous example of this occurred in the summer of 1563 when he ruthlessly crushed the formative rebellion of the King's half-brother,
Duke John of Finland. He ordered that John be imprisoned in his home,
Turku Castle, along with his followers and that they were to be executed. However, instead of being executed, the Duke was shortly afterwards taken to
Vaxholm to meet with Jöran Persson. As the representative of the King, he decided that they should instead be detained in the much closer
Gripsholm Castle, so a watchful eye could be kept on the Duke and his wife at all times. Jöran Persson also personally saw to it that the couple's detention was harsh, far more so than the King had ordered.
Sture Murders
Shortly after the imprisonment of Duke John, the
Northern Seven Years' War
The Northern Seven Years' War (also known as the ''Nordic Seven Years' War'', the ''First Northern War,'' the ''Seven Years' War of the North'' or the ''Seven Years War in Scandinavia'') was fought between the Kingdom of Sweden (1523–1611), K ...
began between Sweden and a coalition of
Denmark-Norway,
Lübeck and the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
. The war, which was particularly bloody, went well for Sweden at sea, but went very badly on land. The war became increasingly unpopular as Swedish towns were damaged and destroyed, and casualties mounted. As the aristocracy's frustration with Eric's reign became increasingly apparent, the King and Jöran Persson feared a new rebellion.
Eric, who at this stage was beginning to show signs of
mental illness, decided to take action to prevent a rebellion and he invited those he suspected of plotting against him to
Svartsjö Castle in May 1567. Those suspected of being a threat to the King were arrested upon their arrival at the castle and they were tried in
Uppsala with Jöran Persson leading the prosecutions. All those tried were, unsurprisingly, found guilty and sentenced to death. The last nobleman to arrive at Svartsjö was
Nils Svantesson Sture, the grandson of regent
Sten Sture the Younger, who had only just returned from a diplomatic mission to
Lorraine. The King had long regarded Sture as the most dangerous nobleman in Sweden; in 1566 he had ordered Sture's execution but ultimately decided against this and publicly humiliated him instead. Sture was arrested on 22 May, the following day
Eric murdered him in his cell. Following the murder, Jöran Persson managed to convince a council of the nobility, who were unaware of Sture's murder, that those who had been arrested were traitors and that the death penalty was therefore justified; the assent of the nobility meant that the murder and the executions were legal.
The murder of Nils Sture, however, had a huge effect on Eric's health. Within weeks he was removed from the throne on grounds of insanity. The regents elected to rule in place of Eric decided to release John from prison, and decided to arrest Jöran Persson for ordering the deaths of the prisoners in Uppsala; it had become apparent by this stage that those executed were not traitors, but victims of the King's increasing
paranoia.
Later career
The King recovered from his illness later in the year and was allowed to retake his throne; his first act following this was to release Jöran Persson. He did not, however, send his brother back to prison; on the contrary he reconciled with him. John used the first pretext he could find, Eric's marriage to the commoner
Karin Månsdotter,
to lead a rebellion against his brother. Almost the entirety of the nobility, desiring revenge for Eric's treatment of them, rallied behind John. This rebellion, somewhat conveniently, resulted in the King once again showing signs of
insanity.
Death
In September 1568, Eric was forced to
abdicate and was succeeded by his brother, who took the title John III. Following this, Jöran Persson was once again arrested. John, who had never forgiven Jöran Persson for his treatment whilst imprisoned in Gripsholm, ordered his death following a very hasty trial, which found him guilty of a number of crimes involving his role in suppressing the nobility. Jöran Persson died very slowly; he was sentenced to the
breaking wheel and severely tortured before being beheaded at some point between 18 September and 21 September 1568. His mother was ordered to be executed with him, but threw herself off the horse on the way to the execution and died.
References
*This article is based on a translation of the
corresponding article from the Swedish Wikipedia, retrieved on December 28, 2005. That article was based on an article found in the second edition of the
Nordisk familjebok; published between 1904 and 1926.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jöran Persson
1530s births
1568 deaths
Executed politicians
Swedish torture victims
Executed Swedish people
People executed by Sweden by decapitation
16th-century Swedish politicians
16th-century executions by Sweden
People from Sala Municipality, Sweden