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- XIII. Charles against Sigismund. A.D. 1592—1598
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194
Hostilities breakout.
Sigisraund arrives. HISTORY OF THE SWEDES. Fijjhts of Stegeborg
and Siangbridge.
[1592-
sent 1 On the other hand, the king made known
liis purpose to return without delay into his patemsil
dominions, on which account he required the fleet
to be sent to Dantzic for his passage. For his
security he was compelled to bring with him fo-
reign troops; should he find all ti’anquil in Sweden
they would be immediately sent back. The duke
appealed in all things to the estates, and these in
reply passed two new decrees *, at Upsala and Vad-
stena, wherein they bind themselves mutually to
stake life and property for the previous statutes,
and rather to sufl’er all extremities than permit
that the duke or any one of them should endure
violence or persecution on that ground; denouncing
therewithal in the strongest expressions the sece-
ders from the council, as those who first wished to
excite revolt, and then to introduce a foreign force
into the country, for which they must stand their
trial. With this turn of affairs the fate of these
lords, who were in part gifted with distinguished
qualities, was sufheiently indicated.
Sigismund, after he had waited in vain for the
Swedish fleet, at length embarked in merchant-
vessels, which he sequestered at Dantzic, with
about 5,000 Polish troops and a brilliant court, and
lauded on the 30th July, 1598, at Calmar, which
soon opened its gates to him. He sought by every
method to contradict the general opinion that he
came as an enemy of the realm. German and
English envoys had, solicited by him, mterposed
their mediation between his uncle and himself.
His very presence did much; for a report of his
death had got abroad in Sweden. Tlie Dalesmen,
who ah’cady in the time of John and the contests
regarding the liturgy wished to raise Charles to the
throne, and now too took arms in his behalf, an-
swered the commissioners of Sigismund and the
council, that they would not believe the king to be
alive until they saw himself-. The Swedish coun-
cillors who accompanied the king, all employed
their influence in winning men’s minds to his
1
Feb. 20, and June 25, 1598.
’ Ihre de tumuitu Dalekarlorum. Sigismund himself
complains tliat a saying waa current among tlie peasants,
that tlie Poles had sent a shoemaker who resembled hira
closely. Werwing, i. 399.
3 " Therefore some thousand peasants of Upland were got-
ten together, and two professors of Upsala, namely master Ni-
cholas (Nicolaus Bothniensis, the same who presided at the
Synod of Upsala,) and master Jacob Ericson, were appointed
them for leaders, along with some others who were more
practised in aflfairs of war. These hastened to fall upon the
Finns, having first supplied themselves with provisions :
and because their wallets were mostly filled with roots, this
march was called the root-raid." Werwing, i. 387.
*
Sigismund himself represents the beginning of the conflict
in another light. Respecting this occurrence we will cite ex-
tracts from both his own and Charles’ letters. The king’s
note to Clas Bielke is dated September 8, the evening of the
battle, at Stegeborg. In this he says,
" That the dake had
intimated by a trumpet, that since he had received no answer
to his conditions by the German messengers, (which yet was
twice transmitted,) he would now come himself, and have an
answer within half an hour; if meanwhile any beginning
was made, he would be assoilzied from it. Thereupon, early
this day he led all his force from his camp at Mem hither
before our camp, ere one of our people knew thereof, and
gathered a rabble of peasants. As soon as our people showed
themselves, he took the initiative, began to use his field-
pieces, and skirmished upon our men, in which he had no
better success (although he had all the advantages, and there
cause. Livonia was in the king’.s hands, and a con-
siderable portion of Finland likewise, for Arvid
Stalarm, who succeeded Fleming there as royalist
governor, had retaken Abo. From that station
he threatened the Swedish coa.sts, and even at-
tempted a landing with 3,000 men, but was
driven back by the duke’s fleet, and the peasantry
of Upland ^. Stockholm declared for the king ;
as
also the larger part of the troops in Gothland, where
Sigismund’s most zealous partisan had been lieu-
tenant. The strength of Charles, as formerly that
of Gustavus Vasa, consisted chiefly in bands from
Sweden Proper, Dalecarlia, and Norrland, besides
his ordinary army from his principality. A month
passed awaj’ in negotiations without results. The
king repaired to Stegeborg; the duke with his army
approached on the 8th September, but was sur-
rounded in the night by colonel Weyer with his
Poles, and found himself at once encompassed and
attacked. The leader of the king’s troops, the
Livonian Fareusbach, with an enemy’s head carried
upon his lance, conjured the king to follow up the
advantages he had obtained. But Sigismund, when
he saw the blood of his subjects, gave orders for
the cessation of the conflict, and caused it to be in-
timated to the duke that he might retire his men *.
This mildness of the king made great impression,
even upon Charles himself, who in the first moment
declared himself before his ofScers willing to quit the
kingdom with wife and child if
harmony could be
thereby restored. The negotiations began anew,
but made as little progress as before, and as Charles’
fleet meanwhile arrived, he raised his pretensions.
The king drew towards Linkbping; the duke occu-
pied Stegeborg, and followed in his footsteps. A
battle ensued, on the 25th September, 1598, upon
both sides of the Stange-stream at Linkoping, in
which the royal army, attacked by the duke, with
little loss upon his side, suffered a complete over-
throw. Two thousand men, by the duke’s own
statement, were left on the field ^. This was the
were not more than two or three companies of ours who main-
tained the skirmish, for our whole force, cavalry and infantry,
remained quiet, since we took no pleasure in seeing blood
shed), than losing three hundred men, and we, praise God,
no more than sixteen, besides some who were wounded.
Wherefore, when he saw that we were so strong, although
he had formerly threatened enough that he would drive us
into the sea again with hop-poles, he sent messengers, that
he desired not war, but rather peace and rtconcilement ;
wliereupon we gave for answer that he should vacate the
field, and then negotiate with us. Therewith he moved off."
"
Else," adds the king, in a letter to the archbishop Abraham
Angerman,
" that day would by God’s help have been a dear
one for the duke and his men." Sigismund’s Register, 1598.
—Charles wrote shortly to Joachim Skeel, Peter Stolpe, and
others in the fleet, the day after the action :
"
Yesterday, as
we were pushing towards Stegeborg with our people, to offer
not blows but reconcilement, the Heiduca fell unlooked for
upon our foot-folk, whereby a sharp fight sprung up between
them, so that some fell upon both sides, yet most of them
Heiducs ; of ours were not more than thirty wounded and
slain. This to the seamen, that they may not believe lies,
as if we had for every man lost some thousands." Duke
Charles’ Reg. 1598.
5 Charles to Laurence the West-Goth, from his camp in
Linkbping, Sept. 27.
" He had heard that the troopers of
Upland and the Finns were preparing to make an incursion
through the principality, Imt hoped they would have another
stomach for the chase when they heard how their fellows
had succeeded below."
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