page_title: Sture murders
section_title: Svartsjö trials
hierarchical_section_title: Sture murders / Background / Svartsjö trials
caption_attribution_description: Engraving from Suecia Antiqua et Hodierna, view of Svartsjö Palace.
context_page_description: The Sture murders in Uppsala, Sweden of 24 May 1567 were the murders of five incarcerated Swedish nobles by Erik XIV of Sweden, who at that time was in a state of serious mental disorder, and his guards. The nobles, among them three members of the influential Sture family, had been charged with conspiracy against the king and some were previously sentenced to death. Erik's old tutor, who did not belong to this group, was also killed when he tried to calm the king after the initial murders.
context_section_description: On their way to the riksdag, several magnates were invited by Erik to Svartsjö Castle, especially those who had met near Stockholm in July 1566. Erik was also present in Svartsjö, and though the invitation letters were written in an innocent style, the invited were to be arrested and tried before the High Court. Arrested at Svartsjö were, in order of their arrival, Nils Sture's brother Erik Svantesson Sture, Abraham Stenbock, Sten Banér, Ivar Ivarsson, Sten Eriksson and Svante Sture. When it was announced that the riksdag would be postponed to 18 May and was to deal with an uncovered conspiracy against the king, the remaining suspected nobles refrained from following the king's invitation, namely Per Brahe, Gustaf Stenbock, Abraham Stenbock's brother Erik, Ture Bielke and his nephew Hogenskild Bielke, Clas Fleming, and Clas Åkesson Tott.
  The trial in Svartsjö is not documented, but the verdict that the estates were to sign at Uppsala (see below) has survived. In the verdict, the following accounts are recorded as evidence:
  German merchant Peter Gastorp said that in Germany, he had heard from Josua Genewitz that when Nils Sture left Stockholm for Lorraine, Clas Åkesson Tott, Abraham Gustafsson Stenbock, Ivar Ivarsson and said Josua Genewitz had met on Sture's vessel and conspired to take the king's life and crown;
  the king's organist Alexander said that he had heard the same in the German town of "Ryvold";
  a Paulus Schmied swore that Nils Sture and Josua Genewitz had started machinations against the king upon their arrival in Stralsund, and rumors about the intrigue were heard across Germany;
  two servants of Abraham Gustafsson and Ivar Ivarsson, Hans Wolf and Christopher, said that they had heard how the servant of Svante Sture, Hans Ellers, had said that their masters had talked behind closed doors, and that from what he had heard, they were out to avenge Nils Sture's mistreatment;
  Magnus II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg, cousin of Erik XIV and future husband of Erik's half-sister Sophia, said that Sten Eriksson, Abraham Gustafsson and Ivar Ivarsson had had an outraged conversation in his presence about Nils Sture's humiliation and called for revenge; the accused confirmed this, but said that they had talked about revenge against Persson and Jacob Teit of the High Court, not against the king.
  Abraham Stenbock was forced to sign an incriminating letter to Josua Genewitz, which was later presented as evidence. From the diary of Erik XIV, it is known that Abraham Stenbock and Ivar Ivarsson were sentenced to death right away, and that on 14 May the court let Erik know that it was willing to also sentence Svante Sture to death. According to Peterson, Erik Sture was sentenced to death, too. All prisoners were then sent to Uppsala Castle for further investigation.
  During the Svartsjö trials, Martha Leijonhufvud, married to Svante Sture, had traveled to Svartsjö with her daughter Anna to seek an audience with the king, but they were not allowed in to the castle and instead placed under guard in the village outside the castle. Martha sent an appeal to Karin Månsdotter to speak to the king in favor of the prisoners, and she also sent an appeal to the king's daughter Virginia Eriksdotter. When the prisoners were transferred to Uppsala, Martha was also taken there under guard and placed in house arrest in a house belonging to the Sture family. Also present in Uppsala were Ebba Lilliehöök, married to Erik Leijonhufvud.
caption: Svartsjö Castle
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