Stockholm Bloodbath of 1520

HEIKO DROSTE (b. 1963; Ph.D. 1994, Hamburg University) is Professor of Urban History at Stockholm University and head of the Institute for Urban History. He specializes in the late medieval and early modern history of the Baltic Sea Region, with a focus on cities, communication, diplomacy, the postal system and the historiography of cities. His latest publications concern the Baroque news market and include The Business of News (Leiden: Brill, 2021), as well as the Baroque Historian’s Confession: Reflections on the Baroque Economy (Lund: Lärdomshistoriska samfundet, 2021). KURT VILLADS JENSEN (b. 1957; Ph.D. 1992, Copenhagen University; D.Phil. 2011, University of Southern Denmark) is Professor of Medieval History and director of the Centre for Medieval Studies at Stockholm University. He has worked with cultural and religious encounters in medieval Latin Europe, as well as with military history and crusading, comparing the Baltic Sea Region and the Iberian Peninsula. He is now studying the relationship between changes in Latin sacramental theology and the implications for the concept of sacred warfare c. 1050–1300.

"The anthology […] focuses on the bloody days in Stockholm in November 1520 but still does not forget the broader context, offering intriguing perspectives on how the events have been used in propaganda and later historiography. […] As long as there are curious and creative historians, we can continue to gain exciting insights even in areas that may seem thoroughly examined for a long time" - Svenska Dagbladet, Under strecket 13/10/2025.

• Maps, Introduction, 1: Heiko Droste & Kurt Villads Jensen, Stockholm Bloodbath in Nordic historiography, Politics, 2: Lars Bisgaard, Christian 2. A controversial king, 3: Lars Ericson Wolke, Operational Military Aspects of the Events of 1520, 4: Per Stobaeus, Gustav Trolle och Stockholms blodbad, Stockholm, 5: Sofia Gustafsson, Every second officeholder executed in the bloodbath Collective guilt and punishment of the burgher community, 6: Gabriela Bjarne Larsson, Female Leadership in Times of Crisis. Stockholm 1517-1525, 7: Johnny Grandjean Gøgsig Jakobsen, The Stockholm Blackfriars and the Bloodbath: An Indifferent Dominican Detail or an Important Instance of Inquisition? Religion and Media, 8: Wilhelm Ljungar, Christian II and Stockholm's Bloodbath Holy Warfare between Crusading and Reformation., 9: Laura-Marie Mork, The Political Communication under Gustav Vasa The Importance of the Stockholm Bloodbath in the Struggle for Legitimate Bishops, 10: Hannah M. Kreß, The Stockholm Bloodbath and king Christian II's tyranny as rhetorical pattern throughout Gustav Vasa's reign, 11: Tobias E. Hämmerle, Gustav Vasa's Bloodbath-broadsheet from 1524,The genesis of media images in the context of the Stockholm Bloodbath,Aftermath, 12. Kirsi Salonen, He is totally innocent: The Discussion about the Guilt of King Christian II in the Papal Curia, 13. Erik Opsahl, To elect a Tyrant? Christian II's Re-entry as Norwegian King, 1531-32, 14. Sverre Bagge, The Weibull School and the Stockholm Bloodbat