Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - II. The Swedish People - 1. Survey of its History. By E. Svensén
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
SURVEY OF ITS HISTORY.
S3
struggles, indeed, waged against external and internal foes often possess dramatic
qualities worthy to be depicted by the pen of a Shakespeare. During a time when
in the rest of Europe chivalry was already on its decline, it, flourished again in
Sweden with a beauty yet further increased by the circumstance that the knight
here comes into close union with the lowest ranks of the people, puts himself
at their head, and, by their aid, successfully champions the cause of a common
fatherland. Such figures of true romantic beauty as that of Sten Sture the
Younger, who was in truth a knight "sans peur et sans reproche", are seldom
to be found in history; and his spouse, Christina Gyllenstierna, stands worthily
by his side, equal in courage and greatness of soul to any of the most celebrated
women of history. During this period Sweden produced such statesmen and
commanders as Engelbrekt (one of the brightest figures in the story of the
world), and Sten Sture the Elder, under whose rule of nearly thirty years the
cultural development of Sweden made extraordinary progress. It was during his
time that Sweden obtained its first university, that of Uppsala (1477), which
is, moreover, the oldest in the whole of Scandinavia.
Of the richly varied events during this period, the murder of Engelbrekt, by
the treachery of a jealous rival (in 1436), and the Battle of Brunkeberg (1471)
have fixed themselves most indelibly in the national memory. The battle just
mentioned, which was fought by Sten Sture the Elder within the present limits
of the city of Stockholm, ended in the complete victory of the Swedish army
over the Danish King, and secured for Sweden twenty-five years of peace — a
thing without parallel during the Union period. In the general enthusiasm at
this success, the people also rid themselves of an old dependence, on the
Germans, by repealing the regulation which had hitherto held good that one half
of the governing body in every town should consist of Germans. That such a
Photo. Fr. Klemming,
Vadstena Castle. On lake Vettern. Stockholm.
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
