Gothicism

Gothicism:'Gothic' came to signify those things medieval, including architecture, art, and literature. The barbaric connotations remained; Gothic became synonymous with uncivilized, uncultivated, and chaotic, the antithesis of classical. Gothic stood for the old-fashioned, the crude, the archaic, and the pagan values which were not accepted and tabooed in English society at that time.

Atlantica: Olaf Rudbeck wrote it about Gothic mentality: it includes the idea that the lost city of Atlantis was located off the coast of Sweden and that Swedes were the founders of Western culture.

Tycho Brahe: King Frederick II of Denmark and Norway, impressed with Tycho's 1572 observations, financed the construction of two observatories for Tycho on the island of Hven in Copenhagen Sound. These were Uraniborg and Stjerneborg. Uraniborg also had a laboratory for Brahe's alchemical experiments. Because Tycho disagreed with Christian IV, the new king of his country, he moved to Prague in 1599. In return for their support, Tycho's duties included preparing astrological charts and predictions for his patrons on events such as births; weather forecasting; and astrological interpretations of significant astronomical events such as the comet of 1577 and the supernova of 1572.

Kalmar War: Denmark had control over the straight between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. Sweden sought an alternative trade route to avoid paying Denmark's Sound Toll through Northern Norway. Sweden sought control the land route through sparsely populated Lapland. In 1607, Charles IX of Sweden declared himself "King of the Lapps in Nordland" and began "collecting" taxes in Norwegian territory, even south of TromsÐ"Ñ'. Since Sound Dues to pass through the strait between the Baltic and the North Sea were Denmark's main source of income, Denmark did not want alternative trade routes established, particularly when established through Norwegian territory. Denmark protested. King Charles IX of Sweden ignored King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway's protests. Finally, in 1611 in response to Sweden's claim of a traditionally Dano-Norwegian area in Northern Norway, Denmark invaded Sweden. A force of 6000 men laid siege on the city of Kalmar, ultimately taking it. Norwegian forces, although stationed on the border, were instructed not to enter Sweden. On October 20th, King Charles IX of Sweden died and was succeeded by his son, Gustavus Adolphus. On ascending the throne, Gustavus Adolphus sued for peace, but Christian IV saw an opportunity for larger victories, and strengthened his armies in southern Sweden.England and the Netherlands were also invested in the Baltic Sea trade, and pressured to curtail Denmark's power by ending the Kalmar War before a decisive victory could be attained. The Danes, while well-equipped and strong, had relied heavily on mercenary forces and Christian IV, low on funds, was finally amenable to persuasion in 1613. With England's intercession, the Treaty at KnÐ"¦rÐ"Ñ'd was signed on January 20, 1613. Denmark reached its victory, restoring Norwegian control of Sweden's land route through Lapland by incorporating Lapland into Norway (and thus under Danish rule). Further, Sweden had to pay a high ransom for two fortresses captured by Denmark. Sweden, however, achieved a major concession Ð'-- the right of free trade through the Sound Strait, becoming exempt of the Sound toll (a right shared by England and Holland).

Queen Kristina: 1644 Kristina becomes Queen of Sweden at 18 years old. She was educated, tutored, and trained to take over as if she was a boy. She had a passion for Philososphy, art, and religion. She was fascinated by aspects of Catholicism. She was childhood friends with Karl Gustav X her cousin and loved him but refused to marry. She told him "I will marry no other." In 1654 she abdocated the throne to him and left the country. She renounced her Lutheranism and became Catholic. She returned once and was generally shunned.

1544 Riksdag at Vasteras: The Riksdag ensures several things, 1. Ensures hereditary succession of the throne, went as birth rank instead of an election of all children. 2. Confirms the Lutheran church in Sweden 3. Their were military reforms, now a mounted army made up of nobility, universal service= everyone must serve in time of war, a standing army is put together.

Gustav Vasa: King of Sweden from June 6 1523-1560. He was faced with a war debt and starts taking valuables from the churches to pay them back. He thinks of himself as moses and thinks the country is his private estate. He distributes fliers on how to do things such as the wheat should be cut by St Olafs Day, grain cut by St. Bartholomew's Day. He had 10 children. He was a great public speaker.

Abo/Turku: Places of some of the first Universities. The school day went from 5am til 5pm with a mid day break. Subjects included music latin math history among others. One way of gaining merit is to get a degree from a university by taking the "embetseksamen" after this you can be a teacher, lawyer... The other way to gain merit is to inherit money. If you have merit you can be a member of the council that the King needs the consent of to make major decisions.

Christian IV: King from 1588-1648. Became King at 11 years old. One of the most prominient rulers. The spanish armada was in 1588 and the end of the 30 years war was in 1648. He was married twice but fathered many children 20 in all, illegitimate and legitament. They all became important parts of the bureacracy. He was the most dedicated mercantilist and his passions included his army and architecture.

Axel Oxenstierna: He was the leading member of the Swedish aristicracy at age 28 and the right hand man to King Gustavus Adolphus. He rejected absolutist rule like was the practice of Karl IX. He worked on making a more affective relationshuip between the nobility and the monarchy. When Gustavus Adolphus was killed in Lutzen he became regent and fueded with Queen Kristina mostly because she was a women.

Charter of Gaurantees: became effective Jan. 4, 1612. The basis was that the monarchy and nobility were now in