In this theme, previously posted on my instagram account (https://www.instagram.com/tookstalesofthenorth/), we explore one of the most marginalized and despised proffessions of history – the executioners. The name of this theme is because this was the…
In this series of Women and War, it is time to tell the tale of the ordinary women who followed the armies on campaign. When we read about historical military campaigns, they exclusively focus on…
The last peasant revolt in this theme took place in Norway (then part of Denmark) between 1786 – 1787, and has been named after it’s leader, Christian Lofthuus. At this time, discontent simmered among the…
The last large scale Swedish peasants’ revolt was spearheaded by men from Dalarna, hence the name ”The Great Dalecarlian Dance”. On June 6, 1743, the march from Dalarna to Stockholm began. There were many reasons…
One of the last large scale peasant uprisings in Sweden has been named The Great Dalecarlian Dance and took place in 1743. It played out in a transition between the old peasant society and the…
This post is the last part of three about the common people in the border regions between Sweden and Denmark. Caught up in the war between the countries and traditionally called Snapphanar, they fought harsh…
Unlike Nils Dacke in the 1540s, there was no ONE leader for the Snapphanar in the 17th century. One reason being, as previously mentioned, that there was no ONE Snapphane-movement. There was independent peasant uprisings,…
As we continue our journey through Scandinavia’s peasant uprisings, we turn to the 17th century and the guerilla fighters known as Snapphanar. I will explain it’s meaning below, but let’s start with some background: During…
Up until early spring 1543, everything had seemingly gone Nils Dacke’s way. Since midsummer the previous year, he had led the largest and most successful peasant revolt ever in Swedish history, known as the Dacke…
After the introduction of Nils Dacke and the beginnings of the revolt, let’s turn to the rebellion that bears his name. The king, Gustav Vasa, was not particularly worried about the news of a revolt…