GUSTAVUS I. ERIKSSON (1496 156o), king of Sweden, was born at his mother's estate at Lindholm on Ascension Day 1496. His family was conspicuous in 15th century politics, though it gener ally took the anti-national side. Gustavus's youthful experiences gave him a life long distrust of everything Danish : which was strengthened by the fact that in 1516 King Christian, to whom he had been sent as a hostage, treacherously carried him prisoner to Denmark. He was detained for 12 months in the island fortress of Kali, on the east coast of Jutland, but contrived to escape to Lubeck in September 1519. There he found an asylum till May 20, 1520, when he chartered a ship to Kalmar, one of the few Swedish fortresses which held out against Christian II.
It was while hunting near Lake Malar that the news of the Stockholm massacre was brought to him by a peasant, who told him that a price had been set upon his head. In his extremity Gustavus appealed to the sturdy yeomen of the dales, and finally drove the Danes out of Sweden (1521-23). But his worst troubles only began after his coronation on June 6, 15 23. By releasing his country from the tyranny of Denmark, Gustavus had made the free independent development of Sweden a possibility. It was for him to realize that possibility. First of all, order had to be evolved from the chaos in which Sweden had been plunged by the disrup tion of the Union ; and the shortest, perhaps the only, way thereto was to restore the royal authority, which had been in abeyance during 90 years. But an effective reforming monarchy must stand upon a sound financial basis; and the usual revenues of the crown were so diminished that they did not cover half the daily expenses of government. New taxes could only be imposed with extreme caution, while the country was still bleeding from the wounds of a long war. Moreover, the lack of capable, trustworthy adminis trators threw the whole burden of government exclusively on the shoulders of the new king, a young man of 27. Half his time was taken up in travelling from one end of the kingdom to the other and doing purely clerical work for want of competent assistance; in 1533, he could not send an ambassador to Lubeck because not a single man in his council, except himself, knew German. This lack of native talent compelled Gustavus to employ the services of foreign adventurers like Berent von Mehlen, John von Hoja, Konrad von Pyhy and others.
Gustavus had constantly to be on the watch lest the Swedish peasantry should encroach on his prerogative. He succeeded in putting down the four rebellions between 1525 and 1542, but the strain upon his resources was very damaging, and more than once he was on the point of abdicating and emigrating out of sheer weariness. He was, moreover, in constant fear of the Danes. Necessity compelled him (1534-36) to take part in Grevens fejde (Counts' War) (see DENMARK, History), as the ally of Christian III., but his exaggerated distrust of the Danes was invincible. A fresh cause of dispute was generated in 1548, when Christian III.'s daughter was wedded to Duke Augustus of Saxony. On that occa lion, apparently by way of protest against the decree of the diet of Vesteras (Jan. declaring the Swedish crown hereditary in Gustavus's family, the Danish king caused to be quartered on his daughter's shield not only the three Danish lions and the Nor wegian lion with the axe of St. Olaf, but also "the three crowns" of Sweden. Gustavus, naturally suspicious, was perturbed by the innovation, and warned all his border officials to be watchful. In he even wrote a letter of protest to the Danish king, but Christian III. replied that "the three crowns" signified not Sweden in especial, but the three Scandinavian kingdoms, and that their insertion in the Danish shield was only reminiscent of the union of Kalmar. But Gustavus was not satisfied, and this was the be ginning of "the three crowns" dispute which did so much damage to both kingdoms.
The rupture of Gustavus with the Holy See was a purely political act, as Gustavus, personally, had no strong dogmatic con victions. He not unnaturally expressed his amazement when Olavus Petri informed him that the pope was antichrist. He con sulted the older and graver Laurentius Andreae, who told him how "Doctor Martinus had clipped the wings of the pope, the cardinals and the big bishops," which could not fail to be pleasing intelli gence to a monarch who was never an admirer of episcopacy, while the rich revenues of the church were tempting to the impecunio' s ruler of an impoverished people. When the Protestant hierarchy was forcibly established in Sweden, matters were much compli cated by the absolutist tendencies of Gustavus. The incessant labour, the constant anxiety, which were the daily portion of Gustavus Vasa during the 37 years of his reign, told at last even upon his magnificent constitution. In the spring of 156o, conscious of a decline of his powers, Gustavus summoned his last diet, to give an account of his stewardship. On June 16, 156o the assembly met at Stockholm. Ten days later, supported by his sons, Gustavus greeted the estates in the great hall of the palace, when he took a retrospect of his reign. Four days later the diet passed a resolu tion confirming the hereditary right of Gustavus's son, Prince Eric, to the throne. The old king's last anxieties were now over and he could die in peace. He expired on Sept. 29, 156o.
Gustavus was thrice married. His first wife, Catherine, daughter of Magnus I., duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, bore him in 1533 his eldest son Eric. This union was neither long nor happy, but the blame for its infelicity is generally attributed to the lady, whose abnormal character was reflected and accentuated in her son. Much more fortunate was Gustavus's second marriage with his own countrywoman, Margaret Lejonhufvud, who bore him five sons and five daughters, of whom three sons, John, Magnus and Charles, and one daughter, Cecilia, survived their childhood. Queen Margaret died in 1551; and a twelvemonth later Gustavus wedded her niece, Catharine Stenbock, a handsome girl of 16, who survived him more than 6o years.
Gustavus's outward appearance in the prime of life is thus described by a contemporary: "He was of the middle height, with a round head, light yellow hair, a fine long beard, sharp eyes, a ruddy countenance . . . and a body as fitly and well proportioned as any painter could have painted it." Learned he was not, but he had naturally bright and clear understanding, an unusually good memory, and a marvellous capacity for taking pains. He was also very devout, and his morals were irreproachable. On the other hand, Gustavus had his full share of the family failings of irritabil ity and suspiciousness, the latter quality becoming almost morbid under the pressure of adverse circumstances. His energy too not infrequently degenerated into violence, and when crossed he was apt to be tyrannical.
See A. Alberg, Gustavus Vasa and his Times (London, 1882) ; R. N. Bain, Scandinavia, chaps. iii. and v. (Cambridge, 19o5) ; P. B. Watson, The Swedish Revolution under Gustavus Vasa (London, 1889) ; O. Sjogren, Gustaf Vasa (Stockholm, 1896) ; C. M. Butler, The Reforma tion in Sweden (New York, 1883) ; Sveriges Historia (Stockholm, 1877-81) ; J. Weidling, Schwedische Geschichte im Zeitalter der Refor mation (Gotha, 1882) ; M. Eden, Om Centralregieringens Organisa tion ; A. Falk, G. Wasas utrikes politik med afseende pdhandeln (1907). (R. N. B.; X.)