Stockholm's Blood Bath, 1520.

Told by the executioner

Remember - this is a true story!

I am the chief executioner in Stockholm and I must say that there are some really fine opportunities to make a good income. The past two days have I and my scoundrels beheaded more than 80 people. We are putting the heads in barrels and loading the bodies on carriages as we speak. We are going to take all of it to the gallows hill at Söder and burn the hole lot of it. Once it is done shall this blood bath be forgotten, I suppose.

I'm not that up to date in what has happened, how it went as it went. But one thing stands clear. The beheaded had all made themselves guilty of heresy against God and the Pope in Rome. And if you behave like that there is only one punishment, beheading and being burned at the stake.

My sweet old lady, who keeps track of most of what is said, says that the fight comes from long-standing grudge between the Sture family and the Danish king. The pope is in on a corner as well. And the pope's archbishop in this country, the noble Gustaf Trolle.

My wife says it was like this:
Sten Sture, son of former national marshal Svante Nilsson, became national marshal himself 8 years ago. He was only 20 years of age at the time. A devil to seek for power. He wanted himself to be king of Sweden and sent some intercessors to Rome in order to talk the thing over with the pope.
But it didn't went so well, she heard. That's when Sten Sture got furious. If the pope would have been here Sten would probably have crushed his head. In stead he went furious with the archbishop and said that the bastard shouldn't sit here in Sweden and make himself pride, especially not when he is half to allied with the Danish king, who also is our king. He just haven't dared to come here to be crowned before.
My wife says:
Mr. Sten Sture gathered his crowed to something they called parliament.

There were about 17-18 of them and they decided to get rid of Gustaf Trolle, the archbishop. They managed to put together a small force and moved towards the archbishops castle at Almarestäket and his papal county there.
They occupied his castle, leveled it with the ground and took the pope's deputy, in our nation, as prisoner. They kept him at Västerås. It was then the Danish king moved in here by two occasions and got spanked by Sten Sture. It was in the battle at Brännkyrka and later on at Vädla.
After that we know what happened. In January this year, in the year of grace 1520, Sten Sture were wounded at a naval battle against the Danish king in some lake or so in the south. He died in a sleigh a few weeks later during transportation back to Stockholm.
It was then the Danish king moved in to Sweden towards Stockholm again, with his enlisted soldiers and occupied one fortress after another. He occupied Stockholm for several months before he had a deal with the Swedes. Everyone that had been against him would be forgiven, if he, king Kristian, could go into the town and get crowned.
They agreed, and so it was. There were a huge party at the castle. For three long days they drank, ate and throwed up. But on the fourth day all the gates to the castle were closed secretly. And all those I now have beheaded were taken prisoners.
It was a pity, the king said, his royal majesty Kristian II. He forgave all that had been against him. But unfortunately the pope and his deputy, the archbishop (the one who were prisoner at Västerås) didn't.

And so there were a trial in front of 14 Swedish prelates led by the archbishop. And that was it. All these people who had been involved in removing the pope's deputy were convicted as heretics, including all who had been loyal to them.
And so they were taken out to Stortorget (the market-place) according to rank and dignity. I and my scoundrels swung our execution swords. We did it with high skill. One chop and the head fell off most of the time.

And now we are loading the bodies at these carriages and collecting heads in the barrels. At the gallows hill is the fire already burning. I am just going to dig up the corpse from Sten Sture and one of his kids, they are going into the flames as well. After we are through should the whole matter be through as well.
And that is the whole thing as I, Jürgen Hochmuth, chief executioner in the town of Stockholm, understands it...

List of reference:
Svenska Äventyr, Lars Widding, SEMIC AB 1995