The Stockholm Bloodbath was a mass execution that took place between November 7 and 9, 1520, following a trial orchestrated by the Danish King Christian II. On November 4, Christian had been anointed by Archbishop Gustavus Trolle in Storkyrkan Cathedral and took an oath to rule Sweden through native-born Swedes. For the next three days, a celebratory banquet was held, during which Danish and Swedish attendees mingled, drank, and exchanged jokes.
However, on the evening of November 7, Christian summoned numerous Swedish leaders to a private conference at the palace. By dusk on November 8, Danish soldiers entered the royal palace's great hall, imprisoning several noble guests, many of whom had been listed on Archbishop Trolle's proscription list as potential enemies of the Danish king.
On November 9, a council led by Archbishop Trolle condemned these individuals to death for heresy, using the charge of their involvement in an earlier pact to depose Trolle as the main accusation. Among those sentenced were key members of the anti-unionist Sture party. At noon, the bishops of Skara and Strängnäs, known opponents of the union, were led out and beheaded in the great square. Subsequently, fourteen noblemen, three burgomasters, fourteen town councillors, and around twenty common citizens of Stockholm were executed by hanging or beheading.
The executions continued into November 10, with the chief executioner, Jörgen Homuth, later reporting that 82 people were killed. It is said that Christian II even desecrated the body of Sten Sture the Younger, a former leader of the Swedish resistance, by having it exhumed and burned, along with the remains of his child. Sture’s widow, Lady Kristina, and several other noblewomen were taken captive to Denmark.
King Christian justified the bloodbath as a necessary measure to avoid a papal interdict, claiming that it was done to punish heresy. However, when explaining the decapitation of the bishops to the Pope, he placed the blame on his troops, suggesting the violence was an unauthorised act of vengeance.
The Stockholm Bloodbath had far-reaching consequences. One of the victims, Erik Johansson, was the father of Gustav Vasa. Learning of the massacre, Gustav Vasa fled north to Dalarna, where he rallied support for a new revolt against Danish rule. This uprising, known as the Swedish War of Liberation, eventually succeeded in driving out Christian II’s forces. The massacre became a turning point, permanently severing Sweden from Danish control and marking the end of the Kalmar Union.