Sten Sture the Younger ( sv, Sten Sture den yngre) (1493 – 3 February 1520), was a Swedish nobleman who served as the 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 ...

Biography

Sture was born in 1493, as the son of

Svante Nilsson (regent of Sweden) Svante Nilsson ( 1460 – 2 January 1512) was a Swedish nobleman and regent of Sweden from 1504 – 2 January 1512. He was the father of Sten Sture the Younger (1493–1520) who later served as regent of Sweden, during the era of the Kalmar ...

and Iliana Gisladotter Gädda, heiress of

Ulvåsa Ulvåsa, or Ulfåsa, is a mansion by lake Boren outside Motala in Östergötland, Sweden. The construction of the present mansion began in the 16th century. In the early 19th century a third floor was added and it obtained its present archite ...

. At the death of his father, regent Svante, Sture was only 18 years old. High Councillor

Eric Trolle Eric Trolle (or Erik Arvidsson) (c. 1460–1530) was elected regent of Sweden in 1512, during the era of Kalmar Union. He was Justiciar of Närke and a Lord High Councillor of Sweden from 1487. Biography Eric Arvidsson was born around 1460 into ...

was chosen as regent by the High Council. He supported the union with Denmark. However, Sture utilized the castles and troops fiefed to him by his late father and executed a coup. After Sture promised to continue union negotiations with Denmark, the High Council accepted him as regent replacing Eric Trolle. In reality, Sture's purpose was to keep Sweden independent from Denmark. He adopted the Sture surname, heritage from his great-grandmother, because it symbolized independence from Denmark and as a reminder of

Sten Sture the Elder Sten Sture the Elder ( sv, Sten Sture den äldre; 1440 – 14 December 1503) was a Swedish statesman and regent of Sweden from 1470–1497 and 1501–1503. As the leader of the victorious Swedish separatist forces against the royal unionist for ...

, his father's third cousin. Conflict soon arose between Sture as regent and

Gustav Trolle Gustav Eriksson Trolle (September 1488 – 1535) was Archbishop of Uppsala, Sweden, in two sessions, during the turbulent Reformation events. He was the son of Eric Arvidsson Trolle, a former regent of Sweden during the era of the Kalmar Union. ...

, Archbishop of Uppsala, and son of

. The archbishop claimed more autonomy for the church. Sture had Trolle removed from his office and imprisoned. Sture knew that sooner or later, a war with King

Hans of Denmark John (Danish, Norwegian and sv, Hans; né ''Johannes'') (2 February 1455 – 20 February 1513) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1481–1513), Norway (1483–1513) and as John II ( sv, Johan II) S ...

(died 1513) or his son and successor King

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 ...

would be inevitable. Therefore, in 1513 he agreed to a truce with Russia. When Christian II started an invasion of Sweden, Sture was mortally wounded at the battle of Bogesund on 19 January 1520 and died on the ice of lake Mälaren on his way back 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 ...

. This was during the later part of Christian II of Denmark's war against Sweden. Christian II was enthroned in Sweden in November 1520 and archbishop Gustav had his revenge against supporters of Sture and against those who deposed the archbishop: he listed those enemies and accusations against them, denouncing them as heretics. King Christian had those accused executed at 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 ...

(''Stockholms blodbad'') in November 1520, including Sten Sture's corpse which was desecrated as that of a heretic by being burnt at the stake.

Personal life

His marriage in 1511 to Christina Gyllenstierna, great-granddaughter of King Charles VIII, produced the son

Svante Stensson Sture Svante Stensson Sture or Svante Sture the Younger (born 1 May 1517 in Stockholm, d. 24 May 1567 in the Sture Murders at Uppsala Castle) was a Swedish count, riksmarsk and statesman. From 1562 to 1564, during the Livonian War, he was governor of ...

, later elevated to Riksmarsk and Count of Stegeholm. In the 20th century, his distant direct descendant,

Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Sibylla Calma Marie Alice Bathildis Feodora; 18 January 1908 – 28 November 1972) was a member of the Swedish royal family and the mother of the current king of Sweden, Carl XVI Gustaf. Born into the Ho ...

married the hereditary Prince Gustaf Adolf. Their son was King

Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden Carl XVI Gustaf (Carl Gustaf Folke Hubertus; born 30 April 1946) is King of Sweden. He ascended the throne on the death of his grandfather, Gustaf VI Adolf, on 15 September 1973. He is the youngest child and only son of Prince Gustaf Adolf, D ...

References

Other sources

* * *Greta Wieselgren (1949) ''Sten Sture d.y. och Gustav Trolle '' (Stockholm: Gleerup,)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sture, Sten, Younger 1493 births 1520 deaths 15th-century Swedish people 16th-century Swedish politicians 16th-century viceregal rulers Rulers of Finland Regents of Sweden Swedish nobility Stockholm Bloodbath Swedish military personnel killed in action