The Sovereign Power of Parliaments and Kingdoms, Appendix · Subpart 5 – Subpart 6
Swethland.
NOt to mention the Kings and Kingdom of Norway, long since incorporated into Denmarke, whose lives and Catalogue you may reade in*Cosmog. lib. 4. cap. 21, 24, 25. Munster, Ioannis Magnus, Crantzius, and others:*Gul. Ne…brig. lib. 3. cap. 6. in which Realme not one King anciently died of age or diseases in above one hundred yeers, but of violent deaths; there being this custom, That whosoever slew a tyrant King, was thereby made a King. The Kings of Swethland have alwayes been elected upon certaine conditions, and subordinate to the power and censures of their whole States and Parliament, in such sort as the Kings of Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, and Denmarke have beene; and oft times this Kingdome hath beene annexed to the Realme of Denmarke, and subject to the Danish Kings, as they saw occasion: The names and lives of the Swedish Kings before and since their conversion to Christianity, you may reade at large in*Cosmog. lib. 4. cap 28, 29, 30, 31, 32. Munster, Ioannis Magnus, Crantzius, Olaus Magnus, and others: I shall give you a taste onelyonly of some of them out of those Authors. Halsten, *Heyl. Geogr. pag. 430, 431. Chytraeus Chron. Sax. Hermold. Chron. Slau…rum. Ioannis Magnus hist. Goth. Swedorumque. Guagn. compen. & Chron.and Animander his successor were thrust out of their Thrones and Realms by their Subjects. After whose death, the Swedes elected one King of their owne Nation, the Gothes another, not enduring a forraign Prince to reigne over them. King Bugerius slaying his brother Ericus, who had imprisoned him at a banquet, his Nobles de…esting this his treacherous act, rose up in Armes against him, expelled him the Realme, and beheaded his Queen and Magnus his son, electing Magnus the son of Ericus for their King. Magnus the seventh, betrothed his son Aquin to a kinswoman of the Earle of Holstain upon this condition, That unlesse Aquin should receive her a Virgin, all the Nobles of the Realme should be freed from their Oath of Allegeance to him. The Virgin sailing into Swethland, was taken prisoner by Waldamer King of Denmarke, who betrothed his daughter Margaret to Aquin: where…pon the Nobles of Sweden denied to yeeld any more obedience to their King, deserted Magnus and chose Albert King: Magnus seeking to regaine his Realme, was defeated in battell and died in exile. Queen Margaret taking Albert prisoner, and conquering Sweden, left it and two Kingdoms more to Ericus her adopted son. But the Swedes weary of a forraigne yoke, by the helpe of Engelbert, denied subjection to him, and waged warre so long with him, that he was forced to place Swedes in all the Castles by agreement, and to receive onelyonly halfe the revenues of the Realme in his absence, and at last (tired out with the wars) deserted both Crowne and Kingdome. After this the Swedes elected Charles for their King, who after seven yeers reigne, perceiving that he grew grievous and displeasing to the States of Sweden, taking his owne private goods onelyonly with him, and leaving the treasure of the Realm in a safe place, left the Kingdome. Whereupon they elected Christierne the first, the King of Denmarke and Norway, for their King; against whom they took up armes, because he had broken that paction prescribed to him when he tooke the Crowne; whereupon Anno 1499. Christierne came with a great power to subdue the Swedes, but he was easily conquered, repulsed thence twice one after another by the Swedes united forces: who elected them a Governour whom they called a Marshall, which had power to call generall Assemblies of the States, and execute the Kings Office, and might have beene elected King upon such conditions as the States propounded, which he re…used to submit to. King Iohn thinking to subdue the Swedes after Christiernes death, was repulsed by them, and his Queen taken prisoner. His sonne Christierne the second, King of Denmarke, by the treachery of Gustavus Archbishop of Vpsalis, after many encounters, upon promise to continue their Laws, Liberties, and Priviledges inviolably, and to remit all offences past by a solemne Oath, was elected by the Swedes for their King: who swearing these Articles and confirming them by his Charter, was upon this admitted into the Towne and Castle of Holm…; *Chy…. Chron: Saxo. lib. 10. pag. 311.where feasting all the Nobles and principall men of Swethland two dayes together, suspecting no treachery, he suddenly apprehends them, imprisons, murthers all the Nobles, Gentry, Citizens, Commons, yea Bishops and Monkes, with extraordinary cruelty, spoils their wives and Orphans of all their goods, and exerciseth more then barbarous tyranny over them; which Gustavus Erichson, a noble Swede then in Denmarke hearing of, escapes thence privily, and comes into Swethland …i…g…ised, raiseth an Army to revenge this butchery, delivers his Country from this Tyrant, and for … noble service was by their unanimous vote elected and crowned … of Sweden in his stead; the Swedes in a publike Declaration manifesting then expulsion and deprivation of Christierne for his treachery and tyranny to be just and lawfull.*Chyt. Chron. Saxo. lib. 21, 22. p. 636, 637, 638, 647, 648, 649, &c. Ericus the seventeenth King of Sweden, imprisoning his brother, murdering his faithfull Counsellours, warring upon his Subjects, playing the tyrant, and matching himselfe unworthily to a woman of meane condition, was for these his misdemeanors taken prisoner, with his Queene, deposed, and his brother made King in his stead, Anno 1599. And*Heyl. Geog…. pag. 340. Sigismund King of Sweden, taking upon him the Crowne of Poland, after fourteen yeers reigne, was deposed and d…spossessed of his Kingdom Anno 1607. and Charles his Uncle made King in his stead.
Assyria, Cyprus, Lombardy, Naples, Venice.
I Could now acquaint you with many such like passages and stories in the Kingdomes of Assyria; as how effeminate*Munst. Cosm. lib. 5. cap. 79. Sardanapalus, for his vices and mis…government was deprived by his Subjects, burned in his Palace, and Arbactus made King in his stead. In the kingdom of*Munst. Cosm. lib. 5. cap. 30. Cyprus, where King Peter murthering his brother and those of Geneva, was soon after taken prisoner and made a tributary Prince. King Iohn governed by Helena his wife, and she by his Nurse, which made the people weary of the government, had a Regent by consent of the Nobles (Iohn of Portugall, whom they married to his daughter Carlota) set over him and the Realm and all the royall power soon after put into his hands, who being soon poysoned by Helena, Lewes sonne to the Duke of Savoy was sent for the crowned King by generall assent, and Iohn and Iames his sons put by.*Mach. Hist. Heyl. Geogr. p. 193, 154. Clephus the second King of Lombardy was so cruell, that after his death they would have no more Kings, but chose thirty Dukes to governe them, who continued this government eleven yeeres. Desiderius the last King of Lombardy was taken prisoner with all his children in Pavia by Charles the great, and so that Kingdome ceased, Anno 774.Heyl. Geogr. p. 166, 167. Generall Hist. of Spaine, lib. 18. p. 686. Tancred the fourth King of Naples was deposed by Pope Celestine the third▪ with his peoples consent. Momfrey a Bastard, poysoning Conrade the seventh King of Naples, and usurping the Crown, was deposed by Charles Earle of Aniou, who enjoyed the Crowne till Aragon seased on the Realme. Ione Queene of Naples married Andrew second sonne to Charles King of Hungary, whom she hanged at her window for insufficiency; after marrying Iames of Tarragon, she beheaded him for lying with another woman, and was at last driven out of her Kingdome by Lewes of Hungary, and hanged at the same window where she hanged her first husband.*Ioan. Crespin, L'estate de Leglise, pag. 277. Peter Duke of Venice was for his tyranny and misgovernment besieged in his palace by the people,The Venecian History. which they fired, and then taking him his wife and sonne, dragged them unto the butchery, where they chopped them in pieces, and threw him to the dogs to be devoured, notwithstanding all their submissions and intreaties on their knees, Anno 977. So Duke Falier, and many othe Dukes, have beene condemned to death and executed by the States of Venice, and that justly as *Com. lib. 2. 6. 5. pag. 277.Bodine grants. Multitudes of such like presidents occur, in most other Dukedoms and Principalities, which I will not name, because they want the title of Kings, though*4 Distinct. 49. quest. 1. Art. 3. qu. 5. Aquinas truly holds, That a Kingdome is so called from ruling; therefore he who hath others under his government, is said to have a Kingdome; in reality, though not in propriety of speech; and so are Kings in verity, though not in title. I might adde to these many more examples, manifesting what miseries and untimely deaths tyrannicall Kings and Princes have undergone in all ages and States, being commonly deposed, poysoned, murthered; but I shall for brevity passe over these examples, remitting the Readers to*Pol…. lib. 5. cap. 10, 11. Aristotle, *Variae hist.Aelian, and Doctor Beard, his Theatre of Gods Judgements, and come nearer home to Scotland, as having nearest relation to England.