Nils Sture

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Nils Stensson Sture (born 1512, died either before 1527 or in 1528) may have been the Daljunkern, a revolt-leader in Sweden.

Nils was born in 1512 as eldest son of the new ruler of Sweden, Sten Sture the Younger, Lord of Ekesiö, the country's Regent from January 1512 to his death on 3 February 1520; and his wife Dame Kristina Nilsdotter, a great-granddaughter of the late king Charles VIII of Sweden.

The boy received his name Nils in honor of both his late maternal grandfather Nils Gyllenstierna and his late paternal great-grandfather Nils Bosson Sture.

In early 1520, the Danish attacked Sweden, and Nils' father the regent Sten died from battle wounds. The boy Nils was sent to safety in Danzig, under guardianship of Chancellor Peder Sunnanväder. Later they returned, but king Christian II arrested them and the boy was kept in custody in Denmark. In 1524 he was released by Frederick I, the new Danish king. Nils got to Kalmar castle, which was held by sir Berend van Melen, a supporter of the Stures, who then rebelled against the Stures' kinsman Gustav I, the new king of Sweden. Kalmar capitulated after king's troops isolated it, and young Nils was taken to Gustav's royal court. As pageboy, he is mentioned having shown difficult behavior.

The question whether Nils Sture died at the age of 14 years or younger, before the revolt; or was the "Daljunkern", the symbolical head of the 1527 revolt against king Gustav I of Sweden and claimant of the throne, is controversial among current historians.

The traditional view, based on king Gustav's later propaganda, has been that the Daljunkern was an impostor. Winners get to write most of the history. However, critical research has questioned that, and indications have been found to support that actually Daljunkern was Nils Sture and not an impostor. Actually, in his contemporaneous letters, Gustav I himself did not refute the revolt leader's identity as Nils Sture. The historian and author Lars-Olof Larsson has been the leading proponent for Daljunkern being the genuine Nils Sture and not an impostor.

If Nils Sture survived one or a few years longer than official propaganda says and actually was the Daljunkern, then his biography goes on with the young man, Daljunkern, who attempted in 1527 to start revolt with Dalarna as base, to depose Gustav I from the throne.

One of backgrounds for popular rural dissatisfaction was that Gustav I started to deprive church of its worldly possessions, such as farmland.

The 1527 events started in February 1527 when bishop Peder Sunnanväder and archdean Canute Micaeli of Vesteros, opponents against Gustav's some measures, were sentenced and executed. A bit later, Daljunkern (Nils Sture) surfaced in Dalarna.

In June 1527 king Gustav had the Riksdag of the Estates to legislate ecclesiastical property and taxes to king.

Revolt started from conservative Dalarna and spread to some other places. Nils Sture the Daljunkern was taken as their candidate for throne, titularly "Regency".

In January 1528 he published a letter of three pages, proclaiming his position, and his promises to supporters. Gustav I started to prepare an army to subjugate Dalarna.

The Daljunkern fled to Norway, where he was treated as son and heir of Sten Sture the Regent, by for example archbishop Olavus of Nidaros, by Dr Vincent Lunge, the governor of Bergen castle and Norwegian high council's leading potentate, and the latter's mother-in-law the lady Inger of Austraat.

In February 1528, at Stora Tuna, under orders of King Gustav, leaders of the revolt were punished, including priest Jon of Sverdsjoe parish.

The Daljunkern fled then from Norway to Germany, but was apprehended at Rostock, and later in 1528 executed after pressure from King Gustav.

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