nd the
cloud of ignorance which has hitherto hung over the head of Sweden's
early monarch is lifting fast. The tenth volume of the king's
despatches, known as _Gustaf I.'s registratur_ has now been published,
carrying this contemporary transcript of the king's letters down to the
summer of 1535. The only documents bearing on the Swedish Revolution and
not yet published, are the MSS. known as _Gustaf I.'s radslagar_,
_Gustaf I.'s acta historica_, and _Gustaf I.'s bref med bilagor_,--all
to be found in the Royal Archives at Stockholm,--and the MSS. known as
the _Palmskioeld samlingar_ in the Upsala Library. All these I have
carefully examined. I have also browsed during several months among the
libraries of Sweden, and have spared no pains to get at everything,
written or printed, contemporary or subsequent, that might throw light
upon the subject. The most important of these materials are mentioned in
the bibliography inserted immediately before the Index to this work. In
order to add vividness as well as accuracy to the narrative, I have
visited personally nearly all the battle-fields and other spots
connected with this history. My descriptions of the leading
contemporaries of Gustavus are based on a careful study of the portraits
in the Gripsholm gallery, most of which were painted from life.

Finally, a word of thanks is due to the libraries and archives from
which I have derived most aid. Of these the chief are the British
Museum, the University Library at Upsala, and above all, the Royal
Library and the Royal Archives at Stockholm. To the last two
institutions I owe more than I can express. They are the storehouses of
Swedish history, and their doors were thrown open to me with a
generosity and freedom beyond all that I could hope. I wish here to
thank my many friends, the custodians of these treasures, for the
personal encouragement and assistance they have lent me in the
prosecution of this work.

_August 15, 1889._

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

CHILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF GUSTAVUS VASA. 1496-1513.
PAGE
Birth of Gustavus.--His Ancestors.--Anarchy in Sweden.--Its
Causes: Former Independence of the People; Growth of
Christianity; Growth of the Aristocracy; the Cabinet;
Enslavement of Sweden; Revolt of the People against
Denmark.--Christiern I.--Sten Sture.--Hans.--Svante
Sture.--Sten Sture the Younger.--Childhood of
Gustav