S W E 
seeking for information in other languages, has made the 
Swedish literati in general familiar with German, French, 
English, and Italian. Antiquities, formerly the favourite 
object of their attention, have been exchanged within the 
last century for the physical sciences. These have been cul¬ 
tivated with great success; witness Linnaeus, Bergman, 
Scheele, and a long list of other naturalists. In poetry and 
in history the Swedes have several late writers of great merit, 
though little known out of their own country. 
The scientific and literary societies of Sweden are nu¬ 
merous, and belong chiefly to Stockholm. 
In Sweden the royal prerogative being limited, a consider¬ 
able share of power is vested in the nobility and the people. 
The diet, which, however different in its formation, bears 
in its object a resemblance to the British parliament, con¬ 
sists of four orders; the nobles, the clergy, the peasants, and 
the burghers. The nobles are too numerous for so thinly 
peopled a country, a title of nobility granted to an individual 
conferring rank on his whole family, the head of which has 
a seat in the diet as its representative. The clerical body is 
represented by one archbishop (of Upsal), the eleven 
bishops of the kingdom, and by deputies from the inferior 
clergy. The peasants consist of delegates from that body, 
and the burghers of deputies from the royal free towns. To 
be eligible as a representative of the peasantry, it is necessary 
to belong to a family permanently employed in agriculture, 
and either to hold land from the crown during life, or to 
possess a portion of it in perpetuity. The expenses of the 
deputies of the clergy, the peasantry, and the towns, are all 
defrayed by their constituents. It is optional with each dis¬ 
trict or town to depute its special representative, or to join 
with one or more towns, and choose a representative for 
them all. It is not here as in France and the Netherlands, 
where the proposition of a new law is confined to the mi¬ 
nisters of the crown : in the Swedish, as in the British 
parliament, any member may bring in a bill for such an ob¬ 
ject. Each order deliberates separately, and the decision, as 
in Britain, requires only a simple majority : a bill is in a fit 
state for the royal assent when agreed to by three out of the 
four orders. The great drawback on the Swedish representa¬ 
tion lies in the want of a middle class between the nobles 
and the peasants, and in the venality of the former. 
The executive administration of Sweden is equally com¬ 
plicated with the legislative. The king is, as in Britain, at 
the head of the whole, and each department has its board 
or commission. Thus the royal chancery has, in one divi¬ 
sion, the home, in another the foreign affairs. The treasury is 
managed by a chamber or exchequer; trade is superintended 
by a council; the mines by a board called a college. The 
army and navy have, in like manner, their respective heads; 
while, in the administration of justice, the highest court is 
called the royal tribunal, having subordinate to it two courts 
of appeal. The lower jurisdictions are the landshofadingder 
or governors in each province. There are separate jurisdic¬ 
tions for the military, the clergy, the physicians, the servants 
of the crown, and the inhabitants of particular towns, all re¬ 
capitulated in a code of laws published in 1731, and amended 
in 1778. The territorial divisions of the kingdom are, first, 
the Irens, before mentioned ; next, the vogderies or bailiwics; 
thirdly, the harads or smaller districts; and, finally, the pa¬ 
rishes or sokens. 
History. 
The early history of Sweden is not less involved in fable 
than that of most other nations. Some historians have pre¬ 
tended to give regular catalogues of the princes who reigned 
in Sweden in very early times; but they differ so much that 
no credit can be given to them. All indeed agree that an¬ 
cient Scandinavia was first governed by judges, elected for a 
certain time by the voice of the people. Among these tem¬ 
porary princes the country was divided, until, in the year of 
the world 2054, according to some, or 1951, according to 
others, Eric, or if we believe Puffendorf, Sueno, was raisad 
to the supreme power, with the prerogatives of all the teno- 
Vol. XXIII. No. 1607. 
DEN. 785 
porary magistrates united in his person for life, or until his 
conduct should merit deposition. 
From this very early period till the year 1366 of the Chris¬ 
tian era, the histories of Sweden present us with nothing but 
what is common to all nations in their early periods, viz., 
the endless combats of barbarians. At the time just men¬ 
tioned, however, Albert of Mecklenburg was declared king. 
He was engaged in frequent wars with Denmark and 
Norway, and at last was forced to surrender to Margaret of 
Norway. 
Margaret was, in 1415, succeeded by Eric, a cruel ty¬ 
rant, who was, however, formally deposed. Canutson was 
chosen regent; but beginning to oppress the people, and as¬ 
piring openly to the crown, the Swedes and Danes revolted; 
in consequence of which a revolution took place, and Chris¬ 
topher, duke of Bavaria, nephew to Eric, was chosen king 
of Denmark, Sweden and Norway, in 1442. 
In 1448, Christopher having died, Canutson was raised to 
the throne to which he had so long aspired. The kingdoms 
of Denmark and Norway, however, refused allegiance to 
him ; on which a war immediately commenced. In 1454, 
peace was concluded, and Denmark, for the present, freed 
from the Swedish yoke. But Canutson did not long enjoy 
the crown of Sweden. Having quarrelled with the magis¬ 
trates and the archbishop of Upsal, the latter formed such a 
strong party, that the king could not resist him. Canutson 
died in 1470 after a long and turbulent reign. 
The Swedish affairs continued to be involved in great con¬ 
fusion till the year 1520, when a great revolution was effected 
by Gustavus Ericson, a nobleman of the first rank, who 
restored the kingdom to its liberty, and laid the foundation of 
its future grandeur. The occasion of this great revolution 
was as follows:—In 1518, Christiern, king of Denmark, in¬ 
vaded Sweden, with a design to subdue the whole country ; 
but being defeated with great loss, he was reduced to the ut¬ 
most distress; one half of his forces having perished with 
hunger, and the rest being in the most imminent danger by 
the approach of a rigorous winter. He then thought of a 
stratagem, which was to invite the regent to a conference, at 
which he designed either to assassinate or take him prisoner. 
The regent was about to comply, had not the senate, who 
suspected the plot, interposed and prevented him. Chris¬ 
tiern then offered to go in person to Stockholm, on condition 
that six hostages should be sent in his room. This was 
accordingly done; but the wind happening then to prove 
favourable, he set sail for Denmark with the hostages, of 
whom Gustavus Ericson or Vasa, was one. Next year the 
Dane returned; and having defeated the regent, advanced 
into the heart of the kingdom, destroying every thing with 
fire and sword ; but on his arrival at Stragnez, he granted a 
suspension of arms, on condition that the people would elect 
him king. Gustavus was confined by Christiern for a long 
time, but he continued to nourish the hope of enfranchising 
his country. At length he effected his escape, hired himself 
to a cattle merchant, and in this disguise escaped out of the 
Danish territories, and arrived at Lubec. He now applied to 
the regency for a ship to convey him to Sweden, where he 
hoped he should be able to form a party against the Danes. 
He likewise endeavoured to draw the regency of Lubec into 
his measures; and reasoned with so much zeal and ability, 
that Nicholas Gemins, first consul, was entirely gained ; but 
the regency could not be prevailed on to declare for a party 
without friends, arms, money, or credit. Before his departure, 
however, the consul gave him assurances, that if he could raise 
a force sufficient to make head against the enemy in the field, 
he might depend bn the services of the republic, and that the 
regency would immediately declare for him. Gustavus next 
proceeded to Calmar, where he made himself known to the 
principal officers of the garrison, who were mostly Germans, 
and his fellow-soldiers in the late administrator’s army; but, 
they, seeing him without troops and without attendants, re¬ 
fused to embrace his proposals. 
Disappointed in his expectations, Gustavus departed to an 
old family castle in Sudermania. Hence he wrote to lfis 
9 O friends 
