Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - XII. Reign of Charles XI, 1660–1697 - B. Personal Rule of Charles XI, 1672–1697
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Reign of Charles XI 211
Failure of Crops and Famine. During the last dec-
ade of the century the seasons seemed to have changed
their usual order of succession. One year buds and
leaves appeared in February, and migratory birds came
north. In many places spring planting was begun. But
in May there was good sleighing, and in August heads
of grain hung ice-covered. Another year strawberries
ripened in September. Some winters were so long and
severe that wolves driven by hunger attacked people
in their homes. Spring work did not begin before mid-
summer. Here and there a green blade was seen on
the fields, otherwise only the black soil. In many places
people were found dead with pieces of bark in their
mouths. The king bought grain to distribute among
the starving, but it did not suffice. More than 100,000
persons starved to death. Whole parishes perished;
the churches were then closed, and the keys sent to the
king.
The Death of the King. While such sorrowful reports
came in from all parts of the country, the king lay on
his deathbed, suffering most terrible pain. Bitterly
did he realize his inability to help his suffering people,
and to his ears came whispers that the famine was
a punishment for the king’s harshness. The suppressed
hatred and the cry of vengeance from, the many who
had been deprived of their wealth gnawed at his vitals.
Sorrow at the death of his queen never ceased to prey
on his strength. But he bore both physical and mental
suffering with "indescribable patience, and during his
greatest pains tried to comfort his distressed physi-
cian," says Urban Hjarne, who now stood helpless with
all his skill and learning. In 1697 Charles entered his
eternal rest at the early age of forty-one years.
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