In Medieval history, most women played subordinate roles, appearing mostly as mothers, wives or daughters, in the shadow of men. But of course there are exceptions. One such exception in the Nordics is Queen Margrete.…
War is associated with men. It is – generally speaking – men who make war. History books about war are therefore usually about men. Kings, generals, officers and sometimes ordinary soldiers. But very rarely about…
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…
The picture above is a reconstruction of Nils Dacke, a suggestion of what he might have actually looked like. It is based on what is said to be an contemporary image of him, painted originally…
Although peasants indeed had been a driving force – and the most important military force in Engelbrekt’s rebellion – noblemen had been involved and with time taken over the movement. The first true peasants’ revolt…
Engelbrekt, the leader of the rebellion, was dead. With his death, the fragile unity amongst the rebel leaders was gone. Karl Knutsson Bonde became the sole Captain of the armed forces and managed to outmanouver…