Nagy, Gábor:
Learning from those who lost. Catholics in the 16th century Swedish Kingdom
— Summary in English —
{96}At the turn of the 16th–17th centuries, while in the Hungarian
Kingdom three religions lived side by side, in the Swedish Kingdom Augsburg
confessionism became exclusive and the persecution of Catholics increased
continuously. In today's Sweden
the LutheranChurch
(Svenska kyrkan) is a prominent carrier and protector of the values
associated with liberal democracy – to familiarize ourselves with its past
may therefore be especially useful in present day Hungary.
This study outlines the change of religion in the 16th century Swedish
Kingdom, based on the critical analys of a few contemporary sources, most
importantly two letters. The first had been written by the former Catholic
priest, Johannes Pauli Montigena from his captivity in Tavastehus to Rome in 1556. The letter
was addressed to the most famous Scandinavian humanist, Olaus Magnus, who
lived in exile and was by title the archbishop of Uppsala. Montigena hoped he would help the
waning church and country. This letter is evocative of how the position of
the church changed during Gustav’s rule (1523–1560). In the second letter, in
1578 Johannes Jussoila, studying in Rome,
sent icons to his family living in Raumo, admonishing them to persevere in
the true faith. The dating of this letter relates to the fact that the
Swedish king John III was negotiating with Philip II about an alliance, and
also bargaining with Rome
about bringing his country closer to the Catholic religion. This way, even if
only for a short time, the Jesuit Laurentius Nicolai Norvegus (Klosterlasse)
and Antonio Possevino played a prominent role in Swedish history. The study,
as and aside, discusses how at the turn of the century a situation that was
tragic for the Catholics came about, and discusses also briefly what we can
learn from the present day descendants of the contemporary winners.
Among the sources a draft prepared for Cardinal Campeggio and kept in
the Vatican archives (Nonnullae considerationes…) is brought up
as well. In the opinion of the author this is not from 1544/45, as we can
read in the Swedish literature, but probably from 1537.