Stockholm Bloodbath

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Stockholm Bloodbath

 

a cruel reprisal carried out in Stockholm on Nov. 8–9, 1520, by the Danish king Christian II against the supporters of the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Younger. In an attempt to restore the Union of Kalmar by force, Christian II invaded Sweden and defeated Sture’s army. The Stockholm Bloodbath followed: with the aid of Catholic prelates, an ecclesiastical trial was staged in the royal palace; about 100 prominent nobles and townspeople were executed in Stockholm on fabricated charges of heresy and their property was confiscated. Bloody reprisals followed in a number of other regions of Sweden.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.