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Principles of Managerial Finance, 15e (Zutter)
Chapter 10 Capital Budgeting Techniques

10.1 Overview of capital budgeting

1) Capital budgeting techniques are used to evaluate a firm's fixed asset investments which provide the
basis for the firm's earning power and value.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Overview of Capital Budgeting
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

2) The purchase of additional physical facilities, such as additional property or a new factory, is an
example of a capital expenditure.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Overview of Capital Budgeting
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

3) Capital budgeting is the process of evaluating and selecting short-term investments that are consistent
with the firm's goal of maximizing owners' wealth.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Overview of Capital Budgeting
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

4) A capital expenditure is an outlay of funds invested only in fixed assets that is expected to produce
benefits over a period of time less than one year.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Overview of Capital Budgeting
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

5) An outlay for advertising and management consulting is considered to be a fixed asset expenditure.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Overview of Capital Budgeting
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

1
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
6) Capital expenditure proposals are reviewed to assess their appropriateness in light of a firm's overall
objectives and plans, and to evaluate their economic validity.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Overview of Capital Budgeting
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

7) The basic motives for capital expenditures are to expand operations, to replace or renew fixed assets, or
to obtain some other, less tangible benefit over a long period.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Motives for Capital Expenditure
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

8) The primary motive for capital expenditures is to refurbish fixed assets.

Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Motives for Capital Expenditure
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

9) Research and development is considered to be a motive for making capital expenditures.

Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Motives for Capital Expenditure
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

10) The capital budgeting process consists of five distinct but interrelated steps: proposal generation,
review and analysis, decision making, implementation, and follow-up.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Steps in the Process
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

11) The capital budgeting process consists of four distinct but interrelated steps: proposal generation,
review and analysis, decision making, and termination.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Steps in the Process
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

2
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
12) Independent projects are projects that compete with one another for a firm's resources, so that the
acceptance of one eliminates the others from further consideration.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

13) If a firm has unlimited funds to invest in capital assets, all independent projects that meet its
minimum investment criteria should be implemented.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

14) In capital budgeting, the preferred approaches in assessing whether a project is acceptable are those
that integrate time value procedures, risk and return considerations, and valuation concepts.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Capital Budgeting Techniques
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

15) A $60,000 outlay for a new machine with a usable life of 15 years is an operating expenditure that
would appear as a current asset on a firm's balance sheet.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Capital Budgeting Techniques
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

16) A nonconventional cash flow pattern associated with capital investment projects consists of an initial
outflow followed by a series of inflows.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Capital Budgeting Techniques
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

17) Time value of money should be ignored in capital budgeting techniques to make accurate decisions.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Reflective Thinking
3
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
18) If a firm has limited funds to invest, all the mutually exclusive projects that meet its minimum
investment criteria should be implemented.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

19) Mutually exclusive projects are projects whose cash flows are unrelated to one another; the acceptance
of one does not eliminate the others from further consideration.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

20) The availability of funds for capital expenditures does not affect a firm's capital budgeting decisions.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

21) Independent projects are those whose cash flows are unrelated to one another; the acceptance of one
does not eliminate the others from further consideration.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

22) Mutually exclusive projects are those whose cash flows are constant over a specified period of time
and more than one project needs to be accepted in order to implement capital budgeting decisions.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

23) Independent projects are those whose cash flows compete with one another and therefore more than
one project needs to be accepted in order to implement the capital budgeting decision.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking
4
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
24) Mutually exclusive projects are those whose cash flows compete with one another; the acceptance of
one eliminates the others from further consideration.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

25) If a firm is subject to capital rationing, it is able to accept all independent projects that provide an
acceptable return.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

26) If a firm has unlimited funds, it is able to accept all independent projects that provide an acceptable
return.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

27) If a firm is subject to capital rationing, it has only a fixed number of dollars available for capital
expenditures and numerous projects compete for these dollars.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

28) The ranking approach involves the ranking of capital expenditure projects on the basis of some
predetermined measure such as the rate of return.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

5
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
29) The accept-reject approach involves the ranking of capital expenditure projects on the basis of some
predetermined measure, such as the rate of return.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

30) A conventional cash flow pattern is one in which an initial outflow is followed only by a series of
inflows.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Capital Budgeting Techniques
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

31) Large firms evaluate the merits of individual capital budgeting projects to ensure that the selected
projects have the best chance of increasing the firm value.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Capital Budgeting Techniques
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

32) A nonconventional cash flow pattern is one in which an initial inflow is followed by a series of
inflows and outflows.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Capital Budgeting Techniques
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

33) ________ is the process of evaluating and selecting long-term investments that are consistent with a
firm's goal of maximizing owners' wealth.
A) Recapitalizing assets
B) Capital budgeting
C) Ratio analysis
D) Securitization
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Overview of Capital Budgeting
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

6
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
34) A $60,000 outlay for a new machine with a usable life of 15 years is called ________.
A) capital expenditure
B) financing expenditure
C) replacement expenditure
D) operating expenditure
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: Overview of Capital Budgeting
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

35) Fixed assets that provide the basis for a firm's earning and value are often called ________.
A) tangible assets
B) noncurrent assets
C) earning assets
D) book assets
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: Overview of Capital Budgeting
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

36) Which of the following is true of a capital expenditure?

A) It is an outlay made to replace current assets.
B) It is an outlay expected to produce benefits within one year.
C) It is commonly used for current asset expansion.
D) It is commonly used to expand the level of operations.
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Overview of Capital Budgeting
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

37) The final step in the capital budgeting process is ________.

A) implementation
B) follow-up
C) review and analysis
D) decision making
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Steps in the Process
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

7
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
38) The first step in the capital budgeting process is ________.
A) review and analysis
B) implementation
C) decision making
D) proposal generation
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Steps in the Process
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

39) ________ projects do not compete with each other; the acceptance of one ________ the others from
consideration.
A) Capital; eliminates
B) Independent; does not eliminate
C) Mutually exclusive; eliminates
D) Replacement; eliminates
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

40) ________ projects have the same function; the acceptance of one ________ the others from
consideration.
A) Capital; eliminates
B) Independent; does not eliminate
C) Mutually exclusive; eliminates
D) Replacement; eliminates
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

41) A firm with limited dollars available for capital expenditures is subject to ________.
A) capital dependency
B) capital gains
C) working capital constraints
D) capital rationing
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

8
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
42) Projects that compete with one another, so that the acceptance of one eliminates the others from
further consideration are called ________.
A) independent projects
B) mutually exclusive projects
C) replacement projects
D) capital projects
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Basic Terminology
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

43) A conventional cash flow pattern associated with capital investment projects consists of an initial
________.
A) outflow followed by a broken cash series
B) inflow followed by a broken series of outlay
C) outflow followed by a series of inflows
D) outflow followed by a series of outflows
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: Capital Budgeting Techniques
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

44) A nonconventional cash flow pattern associated with capital investment projects consists of an initial
________.
A) outflow followed by a series of both cash inflows and outflows
B) inflow followed by a series of both cash inflows and outflows
C) outflow followed by a series of inflows
D) inflow followed by a series of outflows
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: Capital Budgeting Techniques
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

9
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
45) Which of the following is an example of a nonconventional pattern of cash flows?
A)
Year 0 1 2 3 4
cash flow -200 150 310 265 200

B)
Year 0 1 2 3 4
cash flow 200 100 -100 200 -300

C)
Year 0 1 2 3 4
cash flow -200 100 100 200 300

D)
Year 0 1 2 3 4
cash flow -200 150 150 150 150

Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Capital Budgeting Techniques
Learning Obj.: LG 1
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

10.2 Payback period

1) In the case of annuity cash inflows, the payback period can be found by dividing the initial investment
by the annual cash inflow.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

2) The payback period is the amount of time required for a firm to dispose a replaced asset.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

3) For calculating payback period for an annuity, all cash flows must be adjusted for time value of money.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

10
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
4) If a project's payback period is less than the maximum acceptable payback period, we would accept it.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

5) If a project's payback period is greater than the maximum acceptable payback period, we would reject
it.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

6) If a project's payback period is greater than the maximum acceptable payback period, we would accept
it.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

7) The payback period of a project that costs $1,000 initially and promises after-tax cash inflows of $300
for the next three years is 3.33 years.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

8) The payback period of a project that costs $1,000 initially and promises after-tax cash inflows of $300
each year for the next three years is 0.333 years.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

11
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
9) The payback period of a project that costs $1,000 initially and promises after-tax cash inflows of $3,000
each year for the next three years is 0.333 years.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

10) The payback period of a project that costs $1,000 initially and promises after-tax cash inflows of $2,000
each year for the next three years is 0.5 years.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

11) The payback period is generally viewed as a flawed capital budgeting technique, because it does not
explicitly consider the time value of money by discounting cash flows to find present value.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

12) A project must be rejected if its payback period is less than the maximum acceptable payback period.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Decision Criteria
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

13) By measuring how quickly a firm recovers its initial investment, the payback period gives implicit
consideration to the time value of money and ignores the timing of cash flows.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: Pros and Cons of Payback Analysis
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

14) One strength of payback period is that it fully accounts for the time value of money.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Pros and Cons of Payback Analysis
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

12
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
15) One weakness of the payback period approach is its failure to recognize cash flows that occur after the
payback period.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Pros and Cons of Payback Analysis
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

16) Since the payback period can be viewed as a measure of risk exposure, many firms use it as a
supplement to other decision techniques.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Pros and Cons of Payback Analysis
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

17) A major weakness of payback period in evaluating projects is that it cannot specify the appropriate
payback period in light of the wealth maximization goal.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Pros and Cons of Payback Analysis
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

18) Which of the following is the capital budgeting technique that has the weakest connection to the goal
of value maximization?
A) internal rate of return
B) payback period
C) profitability index
D) net present value
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

19) Which of the following capital budgeting techniques ignores the time value of money?
A) payback period approach
B) net present value
C) internal rate of return
D) profitability index
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

13
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
20) The ________ measures the amount of time it takes a firm to recover its initial investment.
A) profitability index
B) internal rate of return
C) net present value
D) payback period
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

21) An annuity is ________.

A) a mix of cash flows in conventional and nonconventional
B) a stream of perpetual cash flows
C) a series of constantly growing cash flows
D) a series of equal annual cash flows
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

Table 10.1

22) The cash flow pattern depicted is associated with a capital investment and may be characterized as
________. (See Table 10.1)
A) an annuity and a conventional cash flow
B) a mixed stream and a nonconventional cash flow
C) an annuity and a nonconventional cash flow
D) a mixed stream and a conventional cash flow
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

14
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
Table 10.2

23) The cash flow pattern depicted is associated with a capital investment and may be characterized as
________. (See Table 10.2)
A) an annuity and a conventional cash flow
B) a mixed stream and a nonconventional cash flow
C) an annuity and a nonconventional cash flow
D) a mixed stream and a conventional cash flow
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-08
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

24) Payback is considered a flawed capital budgeting because it ________.

A) gives explicit consideration to the timing of cash flows and therefore the time value of money
B) gives explicit consideration to risk exposure due to the use of the cost of capital as a discount rate
C) does not gives explicit consideration on the recovery of initial investment and possibility of a calamity
D) it does not explicitly consider the time value of money
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

25) A firm is evaluating a proposal which has an initial investment of $35,000 and has cash flows of
$10,000 in year 1, $20,000 in year 2, and $10,000 in year 3. The payback period of the project is ________.
A) 1 year
B) 2 years
C) between 1 and 2 years
D) between 2 and 3 years
Answer: D
Diff: 2
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

15
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
26) A firm is evaluating a proposal which has an initial investment of $50,000 and has cash flows of
$15,000 per year for five years. The payback period of the project is ________.
A) 1.5 years
B) 2 years
C) 3.3 years
D) 4 years
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

27) Which of the following statements is true of payback period?

A) If the payback period is less than the maximum acceptable payback period, management should be
indifferent.
B) If the payback period is greater than the maximum acceptable payback period, accept the project.
C) If the payback period is less than the maximum acceptable payback period, accept the project.
D) If the payback period is greater than the maximum acceptable payback period, management should be
indifferent.
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

28) What is the payback period for Tangshan Mining company's new project if its initial after-tax cost is
$5,000,000 and it is expected to provide after-tax operating cash inflows of $1,800,000 in year 1, $1,900,000
in year 2, $700,000 in year 3, and $1,800,000 in year 4?
A) 4.33 years
B) 3.33 years
C) 2.33 years
D) 1.33 years
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

16
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
29) Should Tangshan Mining company accept a new project if the company's maximum payback is 3.5
years and the project's initial after-tax cost is $5,000,000 followed by after-tax operating cash inflows of
$1,800,000 in year 1, $1,900,000 in year 2, $700,000 in year 3, and $1,800,000 in year 4?
A) Yes, since the payback period of the project is less than the maximum acceptable payback period.
B) No, since the payback period of the project is more than the maximum acceptable payback period.
C) Yes, since the risk exposure of the project is less than the maximum acceptable risk exposure.
D) No, since the risk exposure of the project is more than the maximum acceptable risk exposure.
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

30) Should Tangshan Mining company accept a new project if its maximum payback is 3.25 years and its
initial after-tax cost is $5,000,000 followed by after-tax operating cash inflows of $1,800,000 in year 1,
$1,900,000 in year 2, $700,000 in year 3, and $1,800,000 in year 4?
A) Yes, since the payback period of the project is less than the maximum acceptable payback period.
B) No, since the payback period of the project is more than the maximum acceptable payback period.
C) Yes, since the risk exposure of the project is less than the maximum acceptable risk exposure.
D) No, since the risk exposure of the project is more than the maximum acceptable risk exposure.
Answer: B
Diff: 2
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

31) Evaluate the following projects using the payback method assuming a rule of 3 years for payback.

Year Project A Project B

0 -10,000 -10,000
1 4,000 4,000
2 4,000 3,000
3 4,000 2,000
4 0 1,000,000

A) Project A can be accepted because the payback period is 2.5 years but Project B cannot be accepted
because its payback period is longer than 3 years.
B) Project B should be accepted because even though the payback period is 2.5 years for Project A and
3.001 for project B, there is a $1,000,000 payoff in the 4th year in Project B.
C) Project B should be accepted because you get more money paid back in the long run.
D) Both projects can be accepted because the payback is less than 3 years.
Answer: A
Diff: 3
Topic: Payback Period
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

17
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
32) Which of the following is a disadvantage of payback period approach?
A) It does not examine the size of the initial outlay.
B) It does not use net profits as a measure of return.
C) It does not explicitly consider the time value of money.
D) It does not take into account an unconventional cash flow pattern.
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: Pros and Cons of Payback Analysis
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

33) Which of the following is a strength of payback period?

A) a disregard for cash flows after the payback period
B) only an implicit consideration of the timing of cash flows
C) merely a subjectively determined number
D) It's simple to calculate and understand.
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Pros and Cons of Payback Analysis
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

34) Which of the following is a reason for firms not using the payback method as a guideline in capital
investment decisions?
A) It gives an explicit consideration to the timing of cash flows.
B) The optimal payback period cannot be specified in light of the wealth maximization goal.
C) It is a measure of risk exposure and projects the possibility of a calamity.
D) It is easy to calculate and has intuitive appeal.
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Pros and Cons of Payback Analysis
Learning Obj.: LG 2
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

18
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
10.3 Net present value (NPV)

1) Net present value is considered a superior capital budgeting technique relative to payback since it
gives explicit consideration to the time value of money.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

2) The discount rate is the return that an investment project must meet or exceed to maintain or increase
the firm's value.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

3) The net present value is found by subtracting a project's initial investment from the present value of its
cash inflows discounted at a rate equal to the project's internal rate of return.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

4) A capital budgeting technique that can be computed by subtracting a project's initial investment from
the present value of its cash inflows discounted at a rate equal to a firm's cost of capital is called net
present value.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

5) A capital budgeting technique that can be computed by subtracting a project's initial investment from
the present value of its cash inflows discounted at a rate equal to a firm's cost of capital is called
profitability index.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

19
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
6) The NPV of a project with an initial investment of $1,000 that provides after-tax operating cash flows of
$300 per year for four years where the firm's cost of capital is 15 percent is $856.49.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

7) The NPV of a project with an initial investment of $2,500 that provides after-tax operating cash flows of
$500 per year for four years where the firm's cost of capital is 15 percent is $427.49.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

8) If the net present value of a project is greater than zero, the firm will earn a return greater than its cost
of capital. The acceptance of such a project would enhance the wealth of the firm's owners.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Decision Criteria
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

9) If the NPV is greater than the initial investment, a project should be rejected.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Decision Criteria
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

10) If the NPV is less than the initial investment, a project should be rejected.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Decision Criteria
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

11) If the NPV is greater than $0, a project should be accepted.

Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Decision Criteria
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

20
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
12) For a project that has an initial cash outflow followed by cash inflows, the profitability index (PI) is
equal to the present value of cash inflows divided by the cost of capital.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: NPV and the Profitability Index
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

13) Economic value added is the difference between an investment's net operating profit after taxes and
the accounting profit.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: NPV and Economic Value Added
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

14) The NPV of a project is the difference between an investment's net operating profit after taxes and the
cost of funds used to finance the investment, which is found by multiplying the dollar amount of the
funds used to finance the investment by the firm's weighted average cost of capital.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2
Topic: NPV and Economic Value Added
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

15) Which of the following is an advantage of NPV?

A) It measures the risk exposure.
B) It takes into account the time value of investors' money.
C) It is highly sensitive to the discount rates.
D) It measures how quickly a firm can breakeven.
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

16) The return that must be earned on a project in order to leave the firm's value unchanged is ________.
A) the internal rate of return
B) the interest rate
C) the cost of capital
D) the compound rate
Answer: C
Diff: 1
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

21
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
17) Thinking in terms of the goal of wealth maximization, a project breaks even for shareholders,
meaning that it neither creates nor destroys value, if ________.
A) its NPV equals 0
B) its IRR equals 0
C) its net profit after taxes equals 0
D) its payback period is one year or less
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

18) A firm can accept a project with a net present value of zero because ________.
A) the project would maintain the wealth of the firm's owners
B) the project would enhance the wealth of the firm's owners
C) the project would maintain the earnings of the firm
D) the project would enhance the earnings of the firm
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

19) A firm is evaluating an investment proposal which has an initial investment of $5,000 and cash flows
presently valued at $4,000. The net present value of the investment is ________.
A) -$1,000
B) $9,000
C) $4,000
D) -$4,000
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

22
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
20) What is the NPV for a project whose cost of capital is 15 percent and initial after-tax cost is $5,000,000
and is expected to provide after-tax operating cash inflows of $1,800,000 in year 1, $1,900,000 in year 2,
$1,700,000 in year 3, and $1,300,000 in year 4?
A) $1,700,000
B) $371,764
C) -$137,053
D) -$4,862,947
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

21) What is the NPV for a project if its cost of capital is 0 percent and its initial after-tax cost is $5,000,000
and it is expected to provide after-tax operating cash inflows of $1,800,000 in year 1, $1,900,000 in year 2,
$1,700,000 in year 3, and $1,300,000 in year 4?
A) $1,700,000
B) $371,764
C) $137,053
D) $6,700,000
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

22) What is the NPV for a project if its cost of capital is 12 percent and its initial after-tax cost is $5,000,000
and it is expected to provide after-tax operating cash flows of $1,800,000 in year 1, $1,900,000 in year 2,
$1,700,000 in year 3, and ($1,300,000) in year 4?
A) -$1,494,336
B) $158,011
C) -$158,011
D) $3,505,664
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

23
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
23) A firm is evaluating three capital projects. The net present values for the projects are as follows:

The firm should ________.

A) accept Projects 1 and 2, and reject Project 3
B) accept Projects 1 and 3, and reject Project 2
C) accept Project 3, and reject Projects 1 and 2
D) accept all projects
Answer: A
Diff: 1
Topic: Decision Criteria
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

24) What is the profitability index of a project that has an initial cash outflow of $600, an inflow of $250
for the next 3 years and a cost of capital of 10 percent?
A) 0.667
B) 2.036
C) 1.036
D) 2.739
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: NPV and the Profitability Index
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

24
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
Table 10.1

25) Given the information in Table 10.1 and 15 percent cost of capital,
(a) compute the net present value.
(b) should the project be accepted?
Answer:
(a) NPV = (1,000 / 0.15) × [1 - 1 / (1.15)5] - 2,500
= 1,000 × (3.352) - 2,500 = $852
(b) Since NPV > 0, the project should be accepted.
Diff: 3
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

25
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
Table 10.2

26) Given the information in Table 10.2 and 15 percent cost of capital,
(a) compute the net present value.
(b) should the project be accepted?
Answer:
(a)

NPV = $98,820 - $100,000 = -$1,180 < 0

(b) Since NPV < 0, the project should be rejected.
Diff: 3
Topic: Net Present Value (NPV)
Learning Obj.: LG 3
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

10.4 Internal rate of return (IRR)

1) The internal rate of return (IRR) is defined as the discount rate that equates the net present value with
the initial investment associated with a project.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Learning Obj.: LG 4
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

2) The IRR is the discount rate that equates the NPV of an investment opportunity with $0.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Learning Obj.: LG 4
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

26
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
3) The IRR is the compounded annual rate of return that a firm will earn if it invests in a project and
receives the estimated cash inflows.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Learning Obj.: LG 4
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

4) An internal rate of return greater than the cost of capital guarantees that the firm will earn at least its
required return.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Learning Obj.: LG 4
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

5) A capital budgeting technique that can be computed by solving for the discount rate that equates the
present value of a project's inflows to the present value of its outflows is called net present value.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Learning Obj.: LG 4
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

6) A capital budgeting technique that can be computed by solving for the discount rate that equates the
present value of a project's inflows to the present value of its outflows is called internal rate of return.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Learning Obj.: LG 4
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

7) If a project's IRR is greater than 0 percent, the project should be accepted.

Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Learning Obj.: LG 4
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Reflective Thinking

8) If a project's IRR is greater than the cost of capital, the project should be rejected.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Learning Obj.: LG 4
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

27
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
9) What is the IRR for the following project if its initial after-tax cost is $5,000,000 and it is expected to
provide after-tax operating cash inflows of $1,800,000 in year 1, $1,900,000 in year 2, $1,700,000 in year 3,
and $1,300,000 in year 4?
A) 15.57%
B) 0.00%
C) 13.57%
D) 12.25%
Answer: C
Diff: 2
Topic: Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Learning Obj.: LG 4
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

10) What is the IRR for the following project if its initial after-tax cost is $5,000,000 and it is expected to
provide an after-tax operating cash outflow of ($1,800,000) in year 1, followed by inflows of $2,900,000 in
year 2, $2,700,000 in year 3, and $2,300,000 in year 4?
A) 5.83%
B) 9.67%
C) 11.44%
D) 31.53%
Answer: A
Diff: 2
Topic: Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Learning Obj.: LG 4
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

11) The ________ is the discount rate that equates the present value of the cash inflows with the initial
investment.
A) payback period
B) net present value
C) cost of capital
D) internal rate of return
Answer: D
Diff: 1
Topic: Comparing NPV and IRR Techniques
Learning Obj.: LG 4
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

28
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
12) The ________ is the compound annual rate of return that a firm will earn if it invests in the project and
receives the given cash inflows.
A) risk-free rate
B) internal rate of return
C) opportunity cost
D) cost of capital
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Learning Obj.: LG 6
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

13) A firm with a cost of capital of 13.5 percent is evaluating three capital projects. The internal rates of
return are as follows:

The firm should ________.

A) accept Project 1 and 2, and reject Project 3
B) accept Project 2, and reject Projects 1 and 3
C) accept Project 1, and reject Projects 2 and 3
D) accept Project 3, and reject Projects 1 and 2
Answer: B
Diff: 1
Topic: Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Learning Obj.: LG 4
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

29
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
14) An insurance company specializes in selling warranties for consumer electronics products. For selling
these warranties they receive cash up front, but later they must pay out cash for policyholders who file
claims. Suppose a particular product they sell brings in $1 million in cash right away but requires them to
pay $1.2 million in claims a year later. The firm's cost of capital is 10%. Calculate the IRR that the firm
earns on the product and comment on whether it is a good investment.
Answer: Students will likely find that the IRR is 20% if they use Excel or a calculator to arrive at the
answer. They might argue that if the cost of capital is 10%, this is a good investment Of course the firm is
paying out 20% more cash than it is collecting, and at a 10% cost of capital the product will have a
negative NPV, so it is not a good investment. Because the cash inflows occur first followed by cash
outflows, in this problem the IRR represents that return that the firm pays rather than the return that the
firm earns. In such a situation, a project will have a positive NPV when the IRR is below the cost of
capital rather than above it. For example, if the cash outflow in year 1 is $1.05 million the IRR will be 5%
and the NPV will be positive.
Diff: 2
Topic: Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
Learning Obj.: LG 4
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

10.5 Comparing NPV and IRR techniques

1) A project's net present value profile is a graph that plots a project's NPV for various discount rates.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1
Topic: Comparing NPV and IRR Techniques
Learning Obj.: LG 5
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

2) A project's net present value profile is a graph that plots a project's IRR for various discount rates.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1
Topic: Comparing NPV and IRR Techniques
Learning Obj.: LG 5
Learning Outcome: F-07
AACSB: Analytical Thinking

30
Copyright © 2019 Pearson Education, Inc.
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
and they lay down to die on the earth which was to cover them.
Others, impatient for the end of the long agony, exposed themselves
to the shots of the besiegers. Pity was nowhere to be found; and
when some of these wretched victims abandoned themselves to
cries and lamentations—‘Off with you!’ said the chiefs, ‘you are not
so badly off as they were at the siege of Jerusalem, where parents
ate their own children.’[354] There was more charity in the prince who
was besieging them. Duke Albert of Mecklenburg, who had married
a niece of the elder Christian, and was hoping to inherit his crown,
was one of the leaders shut up in Copenhagen. His wife being
confined, the young king sent her victuals in great abundance for
the sustenance of herself and of all her connections.
The King’s Entry At last came the catastrophe of this
Into Copenhagen. tragedy. The townsmen and the soldiers,
subdued by hunger, offered to capitulate. Christian’s first intention
was that they should surrender at discretion; but his generous
disposition soon prevailed, and he promised pardon to all his
enemies. The Duke of Mecklenburg and the Count of Oldenburg
proceeded on foot to the royal camp, their heads uncovered and
white bâtons in their hands.[355] They made a public confession of
their offences, and falling on their knees they asked pardon of the
king. Christian gave a stern reception to the Count of Oldenburg,
whose ambition had plunged Denmark into a most cruel war. He
reminded him of the pillage, the conflagrations, and the murders
which he had ordered in the states of a prince of his own blood, and
urged him to repent. Then he raised him up, saying at the same
time that he was willing still to acknowledge him as his kinsman,
although he had shown himself his most cruel enemy.[356] As for the
Duke of Mecklenburg, the king attributed his offence to weakness,
and treated him with forbearance. The deputies of the town
afterwards presented themselves and were received with a
kindliness that won their hearts. The king made his entry into the
capital on the 8th of August, accompanied by the queen, the
members of the Diet, and the principal officers of his army. The
inhabitants, wasted, pale and tottering, crawled out to see him pass,
and had scarcely strength to utter a shout of joy. Many houses had
been destroyed by cannon shot; and almost all the churches were
thrown down. The emotion and pity which the king felt at this
spectacle were depicted on his countenance. His presence was now
to put an end to these calamities. He re-entered the town as a king,
but also as a father. A similar entry was to take place, at the close of
the century, into a capital of higher importance, and on the part of a
prince more illustrious. But there was a great difference between
Christian III. and Henry IV. The prince of the North did not ascend
the throne as the king of France did, ‘to have on his head the feet of
the pope.’[357]
And now, what had he to do? To bind up the wounds of the kingdom
and to give it a new life. Christian felt it necessary to consult the
principal members of the Diet. Six days after his entry into
Copenhagen he called together, under the seal of secrecy, the Grand
Master Magnus Gjoë, the Grand Marshal Krabbe, Rosenkranz, Brahe,
Guldenstiern, Friis, Bilde, and some other enlightened members of
the senate, and laid his thoughts before them. They came to a
unanimous conclusion that the bishops were the chief cause of the
troubles in the realm, and that while they were in power its
prosperity was impossible. Were they not the authors of this
interregnum which had plunged Denmark into an abyss of
misfortunes? Had they not rejected the only king who was capable
of saving the country? Had they not exercised in his stead tyrannical
authority? Was not their temporal power contrary to the Scriptures,
a tissue of usurpations and a fatal institution? The people declared
for the Reformation. It was, therefore, the duty of the king and of
the Diet to take the necessary steps for its complete establishment;
and the first thing to do was to deprive the bishops of a power
condemned by God and by man. But if they should find that this
matter is to be brought before the Diet would they not attempt to
raise their partisans? To prevent this their persons must be secured.
Sharp remedies for sharp maladies. ‘He leadeth princes away spoiled
and overcometh the mighty.’[358]
Arrest Of The This resolution had hardly been adopted
Bishops. before two of the most influential prelates
of the kingdom, Torbern Bilde, archbishop of Lund and primate of
the realm, and Roennov, bishop of Zealand, arrived at Copenhagen
for the purpose of offering their congratulations to the king. They
were both at the episcopal palace of the city, and it appears that
they received some hint of the measure that was in preparation. On
the 20th August, Rantzau, entrusted with the mission by the king,
appeared at the palace. He found the door closed, and his soldiers
burst it open. The archbishop immediately surrendered without
offering resistance. But Roennov took advantage of his familiarity
with all the nooks and corners of his palace to rush within, and
climbing up to the roof squatted in a foul and disgusting hole, or
according to another account, behind one of the beams which
supported the roof.[359] They searched for him for a long time
without looking there; but the next morning they discovered him. He
came down and tried to conceal his shame under an air of irritation
and by violent words. All the bishops were taken prisoners; and
every one of these arrests forms a history by itself. Many of them
defended themselves in their strong castles and repulsed force by
force. Rantzau was obliged to form regular sieges and to attack
vigorously these formidable pastors who had armed men and brave
officers under their orders.[360] The Danish bishops, contrary to the
Bible command, had turned their crooks into swords, their crosses
into halberds, and their flocks into troops of lancers. The bishops
were confined in various fortresses, and their treatment with more
or less mildness depended on whether they conducted themselves
submissively or insulted the king’s officers. The question of course
arises were these seizures legal? We reply that the bishops had been
guilty of offences against the state and against the people, and that
these offences justified their imprisonment. It is a legitimate course
for a king and his counsellors to defend themselves against
conspirators.
Charges Against The Diet of the kingdom had now to
The Bishops. pronounce a decision. Christian resolved on
taking an important step in a constitutional direction by introducing
into the Diet, in conjunction with the nobility, and in the place of the
prelates, representatives chosen by the burgesses of the towns and
by the peasantry of the country districts.[361] This was the first Diet in
which the people were represented. It was opened on the 30th of
October, 1536. A decree was passed for the holding of an assembly
to regulate the new order of things. A spacious platform having been
erected in the open air, the king and the States took their places on
it, surrounded by a vast gathering of the people, who formed as it
were, the general council of the nation. The prince expressed the
sorrow that he felt at the thought of the calamities with which the
country had just been visited, and dwelt on the fact that the bishops
had shown themselves unworthy of their office. Then followed the
reading of a report on the condition of the kingdom, which occupied
three hours. It set forth the offences common to all the bishops, the
usurpation of the supreme power and the attempt to ruin the
evangelicals.
Next, the reporter dealt with each of them separately. ‘Bishop
Roennov of Roeskilde,’ said he, ‘has ruled in Copenhagen during the
interregnum as though he were the sovereign.’ ‘Yes, yes,’ exclaimed
voices from the crowd. ‘He has sent his likeness,’ said some one, ‘to
Queen Mary of Hungary, governess of the Netherlands, offering her
at the same time his hand and the crown of Denmark!’ This was
doubtless a mere piece of fun; but the notion of becoming king
some day would be not at all unlikely to occur to a vain man like
Roennov, who was turning over high matters in his weak brain. To
each bishop was attributed some particular saying and deed. One of
the strangest sayings was that of the Bishop of Ribe, who, according
to the reporter, said—‘I should like to be changed into a devil, that I
might have the pleasure of tormenting the soul of King Frederick,
tainted with heresy.’[362]
The reporter continued—‘In consequence of these facts it is
proposed that all the Roman Catholic bishops should be deposed
from their offices; that the religion and the rites of the Romish
Church should be abolished in the kingdom; that the doctrine should
be reformed and the evangelical religion established; that none of
those who are unwilling to renounce the Roman priesthood should
on that account be subject to any ill-treatment, that no infringement
of their liberty of conscience should be attempted, but that they
should be instructed in conformity with the Word of God, and if they
refused this they should be left to give account of their faith to God
alone.’[363] Considering that the spiritual power had resorted to the
use of halberds and cannon, the temporal power might very
reasonably have done the same; but the sovereign, having made
himself master of their fortresses, imposed on them no penalty but
freedom.
When the reading of the report was concluded, the question was put
in the king’s name to the nobles and to the people whether they
assented to the proposals therein made, and particularly whether
they wished to retain their former bishops. As with one voice they all
replied—‘We do not wish for them; we will have the Gospel.’ A
compact was accordingly drawn up. A complete amnesty for what
was past, and entire and mutual confidence for the future were
proclaimed. In the place of the prelates, the authors of all the
troubles of the kingdom, an equal number of evangelical theologians
were to be established under the designation of ‘superintendents’
(that of ‘bishops’ subsequently came into use). Permission was given
to monks to quit their convents, or to remain in them on condition of
leading there an edifying life and of listening to the Word of God. If
any one thought that he had ground of complaint against the king,
he was to institute proceedings against him before the Diet. The
crown was declared to be henceforth hereditary. This compact was
signed by four hundred nobles and by the deputies of the towns and
the country districts. From this time the bishops ceased to be
members of the Diet of which they had formed a part for six
centuries; and the evangelical religion was publicly professed. The
Reformation was thus established in this northern kingdom in the
same year and in the same manner as it had just been established in
a petty republic in the centre of Europe.[364]
Liberation Of The It was the king’s intention to set at liberty
Bishops. immediately such of the bishops as were
still in confinement, and he caused the offer to be made to them,
requiring only in return that they should not meddle with affairs of
state, that they should not resist the Reformation, and that they
should lead a peaceable life. The majority agreed to these terms;
and the king not only restored to them their hereditary estates, but,
in addition, made liberal presents to many of them. The best treated
was Ove Bilde, who had defended his castle with cannon, and who,
respected by every one, received as a fief the estate of Skovkloster,
near Nestved. Towards the close of his life he embraced the
evangelical doctrine. One bishop only, Roennov, absolutely refused
submission. He had changed with every wind, but he remained
steadfast now. Of a character at once feeble and fiery, he protested
against the course adopted towards him, and his indignation vented
itself in sharp sayings and violent gestures. This restless and
versatile man was removed successively to four or five castles, and
at last died, in 1544, in this same town of Copenhagen, where the
people continued to believe that he had aimed at establishing
himself as king. Christian III. reunited the castles of the bishops to
the domains of the crown; but the rest of the properties of the
bishops he assigned, by Luther’s advice, to the hospitals, the
schools, the university and the churches. It had been his intention to
give an important position to the ‘third estate’; but in this he did not
succeed. This class, consisting of workmen without moral weight,
and peasants without intelligence, had to wait till their time was
come.[365]
The organization of the Evangelical Church was no light task. The
king felt the want of some Protestant theologian who was competent
to undertake it. At Flensborg, in 1529, he had made the
acquaintance of Pomeranus, the friend of Luther, who had organized
the churches of Pomerania, his native country, of Brunswick,
Hamburg, and Lübeck. Pomeranus, whose original name was
Bugenhagen, was superintendent at Wittenberg, and was a man of a
conciliatory and disinterested nature. He could distinguish between
things essential and things indifferent; he attached himself to the
spirit still more than to the letter; and on these grounds seemed to
be peculiarly fitted to give a constitution to the Danish Church. The
elector of Saxony consented to give him up, first for a year, and
afterwards for two years. In 1537, therefore, Luther’s friend arrived
at Copenhagen with his family and several students from
Wittenberg. He reorganized the university of Copenhagen, and
delivered their courses of lectures, and diffused instruction and the
knowledge of the Scriptures among the clergy. At the same time, in
co-operation with the reformers of Denmark, Tausen, Wormorsen,
Chrysostom, Sadolin, Peter Larssen and others, he gave a
constitution to the renovated Church of Denmark. On the 12th of
May, 1537, the birthday of Christian III., the king and queen were
crowned by the reformer. ‘Pomeranus is in Denmark,’ wrote Luther to
Bucer, ‘and all that God does by his hands prospers. He has crowned
the king and the queen as if he were a real bishop.’[366] On
September 2, he consecrated the new evangelical bishops.
Wormorsen was made bishop of the former primatial see of Lund,
but its metropolitan privileges were abolished. Palladius, a disciple of
Luther and Melanchthon, who had spent at Wittenberg almost all the
time during which the Reformation was in progress in Denmark, was
appointed, doubtless on the recommendation of Pomeranus, bishop
of Zealand, and he exercised also a kind of general supervision.
Tausen was not at this time made a bishop. Are we to suppose that
he declined the office? Or were some afraid to raise to a bishopric
this bold pioneer who had made himself enemies by the freedom of
his ministry? He was, however, invested with the office, four years
later, as bishop of Ribe.[367]
Constitution Of The The very day on which the bishops were
Church. consecrated the constitution of the Church
was promulgated. It treated, in the first place, of pure evangelical
doctrine and of the sacraments; next of the education of the young
and of schools; of ecclesiastical customs and of their uniformity; of
the duties of the superintendents and of provosts; of the revenues of
the Church for the maintenance of ministers and the poor; and of
the books which might be used by the pastors to enlarge their
knowledge. The writings of Luther and Melanchthon were especially
recommended.[368]
The Danish Church was thus transformed; and from a church of the
pope had become a church of the Word of God. Unfortunately it was
unable to stand fast in the liberty into which it was born. The state
claimed too much authority over its affairs.
The Reformation was likewise established in other countries
bordering on Denmark, and these demand at least a moment’s
attention. We must take a hasty survey of Norway and Iceland.
The Reformation in Denmark involved in it that of Norway. The
commercial relations of this country with England and its proximity
to Sweden had contributed to increase the number of Protestants
within its borders. But there was no region of the north in which
Roman Catholicism had more resolute adherents. We have seen that
Christian II. had been favorably received there when he appeared as
champion of the papacy. Archbishop Olaf Engelbrechtsen was one of
his partisans, and kept up intercourse with the protectors of the
prince, with his brother-in-law, Charles the Fifth, and his son-in-law
the elector-palatine. As soon as this prelate heard of the
imprisonment of the Danish bishops he fancied himself likewise a
ruined man, and, struck with terror, had his vessels equipped and all
his property and the most costly treasures of the Church put on
board, and then fled to the Netherlands. Christian III. was
acknowledged in Norway; but the country lost its independence and
was united with the kingdom as one of its provinces. The Norwegian
Church was for some time in a lamentable condition.
‘Our brethren in Norway,’ said Palladius, bishop of Zealand, ‘are like
sheep that have no shepherd.’[369] Nevertheless, one or two
influential men of the country took part in the work of reform. Johan
Reff, bishop of Opzloe, went to Copenhagen, and there resigned his
temporal power and accepted the new constitution of the Church.
Geble Petersen, bishop of Bergen, also declared publicly for the
Reformation. He refused to marry, he said, in order that he might be
able to devote himself entirely to the public service. He gave up his
whole fortune towards the foundation of a school, the repair of his
cathedral, and the erection of a parsonage-house. He gave
instruction daily in the school which he had founded, and urgently
requested Palladius, bishop of Zealand, who held him in high
esteem, to send him masters and ministers; but he did not succeed
in getting them. The fervent Catholicism of certain Norwegians was
alarming to the Danes. It was rumored at Copenhagen that in
Norway people were killing the pastors. The constitution of the
Danish Church was, however, introduced into the country. Christian
III. commanded that the Word of God should be purely and plainly
taught there. But there was an active party which offered a vigorous
opposition to Protestantism. A gale was blowing in the country
districts which threw to the ground whatever the Government
attempted to set up. The monks were stirring up the peasantry to
revolt. The people when urged to build parsonage-houses for their
pastors refused to do so. Nevertheless the Reformation gradually got
the ascendency; but it appears to have been mainly the work of the
Government.[370]
We have already spoken of the Reformation in the duchies of
Schleswig and Holstein.[371] The townsmen of Flensborg, in 1526,
discharged twelve priests and set evangelical ministers in their
places. In the same and the following years the Reformation was
established at Hadersleben, Schleswig, Itzehoe, Rendsburg, Kiel,
Oldenburg, and other towns. All the measures of the Government
were marked by mildness and patience; and the kingdom of Christ
made progress by its own inward power.
The Bishops Of Iceland, that island of frozen mountains and
Iceland. subterranean fires which heave up and
shake the land, and then burst forth in eruptions, so that the region
is a wonderful combination of burning lava and eternal ice—Iceland
also was to become acquainted with the Reformation. Icebergs
floating down from the polar regions sometimes environ it and
destroy the crops; but knowledge, Divine words, and evangelical
teachers were one day to arrive there from the East; and this remote
island of the North was thus to be exposed to the beneficent shining
of a sun which brings life and prosperity into the most desolate
regions.
For more than a century before this time the Icelanders had made
bitter complaint of the harshness of their bishops. Real despots they
were—whose punishments were so cruel that the unhappy persons
on whom they were inflicted declared that they should prefer death.
At the epoch of the Reformation the two prelates of the island were
—Oegmund Paulsen, bishop of Skalholt, and Johan Aresen, bishop of
Holum, both priests worthy of their predecessors. The latter, an
ignorant, domineering, obstinate, and vindictive man gave himself
out for a descendant of the kings of Denmark and Norway, and even
of Priam, king of Troy, and he was very proud of it. The character of
Bishop Oegmund was less violent; but both he and his colleague
were far more like feudal barons of the Middle Ages than shepherds
of the Lord’s flock. At the time of the election of the bishop of
Holum, Oegmund had supported a different candidate; consequently
Aresen had sworn mortal hatred to him. This hostility of the two
prelates occasioned division among the inhabitants of the island to
such an extent that, in 1527, civil war was on the point of breaking
out. They were, however, at last induced to settle the quarrel by a
trial by single combat, a method not very agreeable to the spirit of
the Gospel. Each of the two prelates selected his champion; and the
two knights, representatives of the bishops, appeared armed cap à
pied, and struck terrible blows at each other. Oegmund’s champion
was the victor.[372] How would these strange characters, who were
two or three centuries behind the rest of the world, receive the
Reformation, which, all unknown to them, had begun to stir all
Europe? The answer was not doubtful.
Oddur’s New A son of the former bishop of Holum, Oddur
Testament. Gottschalksen, had been educated in
Norway, and had also studied under Luther at Wittenberg. On his
return to Iceland, Bishop Oegmund, who had for some time been his
father’s colleague, and had known the boy from his birth, took him
for his secretary. The prelate hated the Holy Scriptures; and finding
one day a copy of the Vulgate in the possession of one of his priests,
he snatched the book out of his hands, and flung it away in a rage.
Another day, when he was severely rebuking an ecclesiastic who had
been so audacious as to censure abuses, numerous enough in
Iceland, and particularly the worship of images, the poor priest
appealed to St. Paul. ‘Paul!’ gruffly exclaimed the bishop, ‘Paul was
the teacher of the heathen, and not ours.’ This is a specimen of the
bishops of Iceland.[373] Oddur had gained at Wittenberg the
knowledge of the truth. Naturally fond of study he had determined
to devote his energies to this rather than to the active ministry; and
he had brought with him for this purpose many German and Latin
books. As he was aware how the tyrannical bishops of Iceland
demeaned themselves towards their inferiors, he was timid and
prudent, and did not venture to speak of the Gospel before them or
their creatures. Privately, however, he taught the way of salvation to
many of his fellow-countrymen; and secretly worked at an Icelandic
version of the New Testament. He had witnessed the marvellous
effect produced by the translation of his master Luther, and he was
in hopes that his own might be the instrument of like good to
Iceland. In order that he might be secure against surprise by any
indiscreet and fanatical visitor, he had taken up his quarters for this
work in a cow shed; and the bishop, supposing that his secretary
was copying old documents, supplied him liberally with paper, pens,
and ink. Oddur, in his solitary shed, did not confine himself to
writing, but he fervently prayed there for Iceland, beseeching that a
fertile season, a long summer, might be granted to this region of
long winters. The good seed which he scattered began to spring up
in men’s hearts. The bishop became aware that something was
going on; and it appeared to him that a new doctrine had
overleaped the vast interval that separates Iceland from the
European continent. He was uneasy, but he expected that he should
be able to smother the first germs, by threatening with
excommunication all who should teach and profess any other articles
of faith than those which he himself accepted.
Oegmund was advanced in years, and was thinking of retirement.
He had a young Icelander, Gisser Einarsen by name, brought up to
succeed him. In opposition to the bishop’s wish, the young man had
left Hamburg, where the bishop had placed him, and gone to
Wittenburg. It does not appear, however, that the prelate was much
vexed with his intended successor; the latter, on the contrary,
appears to have exerted a good influence on his patron. Oegmund
was somewhat softened by the knowledge of the course of events in
Denmark. He sent Einarsen to Copenhagen, with instructions to
announce to King Christian III. that he was not an enemy of the
Reformation, and that the clergy intended to appoint him—Einarsen
—to the office of superintendent of the church of Skalholt. Oddur
accompanied the episcopal delegate, anxious to avail himself of the
opportunity of getting his Icelandic New Testament printed. Christian
III. ordered an examination to be made of this translation, and then
commanded that it should be printed, probably at his own expense.
Einarsen himself was examined by the professors of Copenhagen,
and was then ordained bishop by Palladius, although he was only
twenty-five years of age. On his return to Iceland, Oegmund
resigned to him the episcopal office.[374]
Bishop Aresen. But the king did not confine himself to
sending a new bishop to the Church of
Iceland; he required at the same time that it should receive the new
ecclesiastical constitution which he had given to Denmark. This was
not an easy matter. The more remote communities lie from the great
currents of civilization, whether in mountain regions or in islands,
the more tenaciously they cling to the opinions of their forefathers.
These rugged islanders therefore declared that, while they were
ready to abolish abuses, they would not receive a new faith. In the
heart of the aged Oegmund himself was rekindled zeal for the
doctrines of his youth, and he seemed desirous of resuming his
episcopal duties. But being accused of having taken part in a murder,
committed in his dwelling, of a person in the service of the king, he
was compelled to go to Copenhagen to answer the charge, and
there he died. From this time the pious Einarsen entered upon the
full exercise of his episcopal functions. He founded schools,
compelled many convents to instruct the young, and spared himself
no pains in training good ministers. Death arrested him in the midst
of his work.
And now Johan Aresen, bishop of Holum, took courage. This violent,
ambitious, restless, and yet undoubtedly sincere man had been
indignant to see the beginning of the Reformation in Iceland. He
wrote to Copenhagen—‘I have never learnt that a king has authority
to make changes in matters of religion unless they are enjoined by
the court of Rome.’ No sooner had he been informed of the death of
his young colleague than he raised a body of troops, about two
hundred men, and entered by force of arms into the diocese which
had become vacant, firmly resolved to clear it of all traces of reform,
and to settle in it his son Bjoern Jonsen as his vicar. Aresen intended
to become himself sole bishop of the whole of Iceland. He gave
orders to two of his other sons to seize and carry off the new
bishop, Morten Einarsen, who had been in due form elected to
succeed the late bishop, and who was peaceably making a visitation
of his new diocese. Aresen, not satisfied with subjecting him to
harsh treatment, composed ballads in which he mercilessly ridiculed
and quizzed him. Next, thrusting himself into the place of the lawful
bishop, he undertook a visitation of the diocese of Skalholt, taking
along with him the captive Bishop Morten. He exhibited him by way
of triumph, and compelled him to enjoin on all priests and laymen
submission to the bishop of Holum. He re-established everywhere
the Roman services, consecrated priests, and did not spare even the
last resting-places of the dead. He caused the body of Bishop
Einarsen to be disinterred, and had it cast into a pit outside the
cemetery. This usurping priest went to greater lengths still; he
openly threw scorn on the royal power, seized the property of the
Church, prosecuted those who offered resistance, and laid the whole
country waste. As it was impossible for the royal governor to allow
these proceedings he arrested Aresen; and this haughty, passionate
priest, who cared for neither faith nor law, heard his adversaries
loudly demanding that the land should be rid of this scourge of the
Divine anger. He was sentenced to death, and was executed with his
sons. Thus perished this fiery champion of the Middle Ages and of
the papacy; a death undoubtedly unjust, if he had been struck as a
Roman Catholic bishop. But, according to the most authentic
documents, the Reformation appears to have had no share in this
tragical end of Aresen. He fell a victim to his crimes and to the
indignation of his countrymen, who were determined to take
vengeance for all the calamities which he had brought down on their
country. His partisans, likewise, took their revenge. They put to
death several of his judges, indulging in the practices of the most
barbarous ages. They seized the executioner of the decree of justice
who had given the bishop the fatal stroke, bound him, and, forcing
open his mouth, poured melted lead down his throat. After these
horrible proceedings the wild energy of the people appeared to be
broken, and Christian civilization began to make progress. Schools
were multiplied by the Protestant bishops; and the whole of the
Bible was translated, printed, and circulated in the vernacular
tongue. The Roman services gradually became extinct.[375] To avoid
the necessity of a return to the affairs of this remote island, we have
been compelled to anticipate events. It was not till 1550 that the
terrible Bishop Aresen was put to death.
 CHAPTER VI.
THE EARLIEST REFORMERS OF SWEDEN.
(1516-1523.)

We have just considered the Reformation in Denmark; we must now

cross the Sound, and enter upon the study of that of Sweden.
At the period of the Reformation, the three Scandinavian states,
Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, were, as we have stated, united
and subject to the same monarch, Christian II. The peoples of these
three countries had and still have some features in common; but
each of them has also features peculiar to itself. Christian himself
appeared under very different aspects in Denmark and in Sweden.
Many different elements which we must not forget co-operate in
fashioning the history of a people. The nature of a country, its
geographical situation, the effect of climate, the various
characteristics of its population, their historical traditions, the genius
and the aptitudes of races, the intellectual and spiritual cravings of
individuals—all these combined with influences from above affect the
destiny of nations and have their share in determining a religious
revolution. The diversity of these causes is very conspicuous in
Sweden. The Scandinavian Alps, peopled with a race of men
possessing great liveliness of spirit, who are animated by a strong
love of freedom and distinguished by remarkable industrial skill,
were the hearth of noble aspirations and the place where those
mighty arms were fabricated which gave to their country
independence and the Reformation. The personages of history can
not be considered apart from the medium in which they lived. The
events of the past, the conditions which environed them at the
moment of their activity, contributed to the formation of their
conceptions and to the origination of their actions. The modern
theory which would make of political and religious actors mere
organs of social necessity, can not be too energetically rejected.
Conscience, will, and freedom are the highest principles; but while
we insist on and exalt these first causes, we must not disregard
secondary causes. Two of these lower elements, nature and race,
exerted an influence upon the Swedish Reformation.[376]
Olaf And Lawrence Towards the close of the fifteenth century,
Peterson. an ironmaster named Peter Olafson was
living at Orebro, a town situated in Nericia, on lake Helmar. The chief
industry of this district was the extraction, smelting, and sale of iron.
In this pursuit Olafson had acquired by his labor a certain
competence. In 1497 he had a son who was named Olaf, and in
1499 another son who was called Lars or Lawrence. These boys
grew up among the iron-works as Luther had done. Olaf was
intelligent, lively, and active, but also somewhat violent. The
character of Lawrence was of a gentler kind. In the elder boy
appeared the features and the character of the inhabitants of Nericia
—lofty stature, brown hair, a fine forehead, a serious cast of
countenance, a look which spoke of loyalty and of pride, but also
indicated obstinacy. Lawrence, on the other hand, bore greater
resemblance to the inhabitants of the borders of Gothland, having
light hair, blue eyes, a slender figure of the middle height, a
physiognomy full of sweetness, and a certain elevation of feeling. It
is possible that his mother, Karin, may have been a native of
Gothland.[377]
The two boys grew up amidst the lovely scenery in the
neighborhood of the Gothic castle of Orebro, which is flanked by
four towers, and is situated on the shores of the lake on which the
cargoes of iron are shipped for Stockholm. The coming of spring,
which is sudden in these regions, filled them with delight. When the
snow disappeared, the fields were at once clothed with verdure, the
trees were all covered with foliage, and the flowers opened to the
sun. The snow-clad peaks which rise up between these provinces
and Norway, were colored in the morning with a thousand reflections
of purple and gold. The masses of everlasting ice, dazzling in their
whiteness, were like flashing crowns which rose majestically above
the lakes with which the country is intersected, above the silvery
foam of the torrents, the gloomy pine-forests, the delicate foliage of
the birch-trees, and the lovely green of the meadows enamelled with
the brightest colors. The children in these rural districts used to
sport among the bounding flocks, their voices mingled with those of
the wild birds; and when they heard the bells ring out from the lofty
old towers they seemed to become meditative, and would
accompany the peal with their own monotonous chants.[378]
Some Carmelite monks, residing in a convent at Orebro, were
esteemed the greatest scholars in the country, and they kept a
school to which the iron-master sent his two sons. Olaf, who was
endowed with a keen intellect, took a liking to study, and expressed
to his father a wish to devote himself to theology. Lawrence did the
same. Peter Olafson was grieved that his sons should relinquish his
iron-works, and he considered in what way he could meet the
necessary expenses. Nevertheless he, as well as his wife, felt proud
to think that his sons were to become scholars; and he consented to
their wish.[379]
Most of the young Swedish students used to resort to a foreign
university, especially to Paris, where a seminary was established for
their benefit. But in these remote cities they often remembered with
regret the indefinable charms of their beautiful native land, the
cascades on the swift Goeta, the romantic valleys of Wermeland,
and the great Wener lake often covered with waves by a fresh north
wind. To the beauties of nature were added the pleasures of society.
The nobles, the priests, the owners of mines, and the townsmen
used to keep open house, and to meet together in friendly parties.
In winter the inhabitants of these regions muffled themselves up in
furred hats, and overcoats trimmed with otter, and this gave them
some resemblance to the bears of their forests. In summer, at the
feast of St. John, Orebro resounded with joyous shouts. A tall,
greased pole was set up in an open space, and the young people of
both sexes, crowned with garlands of leaves and flowers, gave
themselves up to racing, dancing, and other exercises. In the night it
was customary to go out and gather the usual bouquets, and to
hang them on the houses to keep off misfortunes. The young girls in
the evening plaited garlands of flowers, which they placed at their
bed’s-head, that their fate, of course with regard to marriage, might
be revealed to them in dreams.
Olaf Peterson (or Petri), having reached his nineteenth year, was to
go abroad in pursuit of knowledge. His masters and his parents,
proud of his abilities, cherished high hopes of his future. It would
have seemed natural that he should go to the Swedish seminary at
Paris, which was founded by a prior of Upsala.[380] But his mother,
the pious and godly Karin, entertained a higher ambition for him. It
was her wish to send her beloved son to Rome, the city of the
apostles, from which Christendom received its oracles. St. Bridget, a
princess of Nericia, celebrated for her marvellous prophecies,[381] had
gone to Rome, and before her death had founded an institution to
which Olaf might be admitted. He therefore set out for Rome in 1515
or 1516. It is the opinion of some writers that both the brothers left
Sweden together; but others suppose that the elder alone quitted
his native land at this time. This seems the more probable view, for
Lawrence had not yet finished his preliminary studies. But he
undoubtedly joined Olaf at a later time.
Olaf At Wittenberg. As soon as Olaf set foot on German soil he
heard of Luther. He was told that at
Wittenberg there was an Augustinian monk, a doctor of theology,
whose preaching was attracting crowds; and that when he
expounded the Scriptures it seemed as if new light was rising and
shining on Christian doctrine. Olaf listened, and felt drawn by some
indefinable attraction towards Wittenberg. But what would his father
say? It seemed to him that he could hardly refuse his sanction if he
went where the light was shining. He therefore halted on his way to
Rome, and boldly took the road to Wittenberg. As soon as he arrived
there, he presented himself at the university, passed an examination
with credit, and was admitted student. The reformer expounded the
Scriptures, and thus led the hearts of men to the Son of God. Olaf
was deeply impressed by the power of evangelical doctrine. The
words of the reformer were meat and drink to him. Luther soon
distinguished him among his hearers, and responded to the
admiration of the young Swede with much kindliness. He even
indulged the hope that he should one day see him a mighty
instrument in God’s hand for the spread of evangelical truth in
Scandinavia. Henceforth Olaf lived in intimate relations with the
Christian hero. He was an eye-witness of the courage with which
Luther affixed his ninety-five theses to the door of All Saints’ Church;
and he accompanied the reformer when, at the invitation of the
vicar-general of the Augustines, he visited the convents of the order
in Misnia and Thuringia.
Olaf was by nature an enthusiast. A hidden fire burnt within him. He
longed for truth and for righteousness, and throughout his life
displayed indomitable courage in promoting their triumph. His zeal
even carried him too far, and in a riper age he still showed the
rashness of youth. Although Luther also would sometimes push
resolution to the height of passion, he had too enlightened a mind
not to keep his disciple within just bounds; and when the gentle and
prudent Melanchthon arrived at Wittenberg, Olaf attended also on
his teaching, and enjoyed his intimate friendship. He learnt much in
Germany. His masters admired the clearness of his understanding
and the eloquence of his speech; and the university, desirous of
testifying its esteem for him conferred on him the degree of master
of arts. In 1519, the state of affairs in Sweden becoming more
critical, Olaf resolved to return home. In taking this step he was
supported by Luther’s counsel; and he embarked at Lübeck, on
board a vessel sailing for Stockholm.[382]
No sooner had the ship left the Pomeranian shores and got fairly out
into the Baltic than it was assailed by a violent storm, and ran
aground on an islet near Gothland. The passengers, however, were
saved. The island of Gothland was at this time in a state of unusual
commotion. Arcimbold, the papal legate, had sent his brother
Antonelli to sell indulgences there, and the latter was exhibiting and
retailing with much parade his worthless wares. The disciple of
Luther, as indignant as his master had recently been, went to the
governor of the island, the famous Admiral Norby: and he, being
naturally somewhat despotic, did even more than Olaf requested. He
expelled the trader from the island, after confiscating the money
which he had already received. The governor did all that he could to
Olaf’s Return To retain Olaf, but in vain. The young man,
Sweden. earnestly longing to go to Sweden, that he
might proclaim the Gospel there, re-embarked and returned to
Stockholm. The German merchants, who for business purposes
resorted to the coast towns of Sweden, had brought thither tidings
of the Reformation.[383] The young Goth, however, the Wittenberg
student, was to be the principal instrument in the transformation of
Sweden.
After sojourning for a time, first at Stockholm, and then with his
family at Orebro, Olaf settled at Strengnaes, on Lake Maelar, about
half-way between those two places. His brother Lawrence, it seems,
had studied in this town and was now there. The bishop of
Strengnaes, Matthias Gregorius, a pious man who was not greatly
opposed to the precepts of the Reformation, soon discovered the
worth of Olaf, consecrated him deacon, and then appointed him his
chancellor and entrusted to his care the school connected with the
cathedral. The career for which he had so earnestly longed was now
opening before Olaf; and he entered upon it with all the ardor of his
soul. The young prebendaries were very ignorant, and therefore
Olaf, following the example of Luther, explained the Scriptures to
them, taught them the holy doctrines of the Gospel, and placed in
their hands the reformer’s books. This was the beginning of the
Reformation in Sweden.
It encountered, however, a formal and powerful opposition. In vain
had Olaf brought the torch of the faith; the clergy cared only to put
out the light. Some egotistic and senseless old men would rather
have perpetuated in Sweden the reign of barbarism than be
themselves deprived of the flattering homage which had hitherto
been lavished on them as the sole teachers of doctrine.[384] The
setting forth in the schools of the words of Christ, of Peter, and of
Paul, was enough to make the priests immediately cry out ‘heresy!’
Thus spoke Eliæ, a Catholic ecclesiastic. Happily, the people were
more open to conviction than the doctors were. In Olaf’s teaching
there was something luminous, penetrating, living and holy, which
arrested the attention of his hearers. He taught them to open and to
search the Scriptures; and in them they found unknown truth, and
saw there the condemnation of errors which had hitherto misled
them. The labors of Olaf, which formed a striking contrast to the
idleness of other ecclesiastics, won for him the esteem of all sensible
men. In a short time his name became so renowned that students
were attracted to Strengnaes from remote towns and country
districts, from the picturesque scenes of Wermeland, from the iron
and silver mines of Westmannia, from the elevated plateau of
Upland, from the wooded hills and smiling meadows of Dalecarlia,
from Orebro, Stockholm, and Westeraas. Matthias, rejoicing to see
around him a revival of religious life, conferred on the two brothers
Petri a mark of his favor by taking them with him when he went to
Stockholm.[385] The good bishop was invited to the capital to be
present at the coronation of Christian II., and at the magnificent
feasts which were to accompany it. Of these we have already
spoken. Our readers will remember that this violent and vindictive
monarch had invited thither the nobles, prelates, and councillors of
the kingdom whom he suspected of having been adverse to him
The Massacre Of during the troubles of the country; that
Stockholm. after entertaining them for three days with
all kinds of merrymakings, he had suddenly ordered them to be
seized (November 8, 1520) and conducted from the castle in which
they were assembled to the great square of the town, and there had
them slain. The father of Gustavus Vasa was one of the number. The
report of this frightful massacre rapidly spread through the whole
town. Fathers, wives, sons, daughters, and friends were inquiring in
distress whether those whom they loved had survived the terrible
butchery. Olaf and his brother trembled to think that their benefactor
Matthias might be in the number of the victims. They hastened to
the spot; but what was their horror when they saw the place
covered with corpses! They approached, and searching about
discovered the body of the pious bishop, bathed in his blood, and
with his venerated head lying at his feet. Overpowered with grief at
the sight, Olaf burst into tears; and then with the boldness natural to
him exclaimed—‘What a tyrannical and monstrous deed! To have
treated thus so worthy a bishop!’ He had scarcely uttered these
words when his brother and himself were seized by the hair of their
heads and dragged by the Danish soldiers to the place where the
executioner was at his work. The sword was already drawn, and
their heads were just on the point of being struck off, when from the
midst of the royal retinue a voice cried—‘Spare those two young
men! They are Germans, not Swedes.’ The headsman paused, and
the lives of Olaf and Lawrence were saved. Their deliverer was a
young man who, while studying at Wittenberg, had lived in close
intimacy with them. The two brothers quitted the capital without
delay, and returned to Strengnaes, terrified at the frightful slaughter
of which they had been eye-witnesses. Their protector had just been
assassinated; what was to become of them? Would the work be
interrupted? God took care for that.[386]
Towards the close of the fifteenth century, a child born of poor
parents in this very town had at an early age displayed great
intelligence; and his father had applied his small savings to the cost
of having the lad educated by the monks. He frequently
embarrassed his masters by the unexpected questions which he put
to them. Lawrence Anderson (this was his name) devoted himself to
the Church; spent, it seems, some time at Rome in his youth, visited
other European countries, and, after his return to his native land,
became one of the priests of the cathedral of Strengnaes. Olaf, on
his arrival at this town, made the acquaintance of Lawrence, talked
with him of the faith which inspired him, and had no difficulty in
inducing him to receive the evangelical doctrine. Anderson, who had
some time before been appointed archdeacon, felt the inadequacy of
the Roman system. To have won him over to the side of the
Reformation in Sweden was a fact of great importance, for he was
distinguished not only for his intelligence, his attainments, and his
eloquence, but his prudence and enterprising spirit.
After the bishop’s death, the administration of the diocese devolved
on Lawrence as archdeacon until the election of a new prelate.
Under his protection Olaf preached in several churches of the town.
He proclaimed energetically that ‘no one ought to trust in mortal
beings, such as the Virgin and the saints, but in God alone; that the
preaching of God’s Word was of far greater importance than the
celebration of mass; that evangelical truth had not been preached in
Sweden for centuries; and that confession of our sins ought to be
made from the heart to God alone, and not at all to the priest.’
These doctrines, which were joyfully welcomed by many, were by
others stoutly rejected. Among those who heard them, no one felt
more indignation than Doctor Nils, one of the leading members of
the chapter, and an enthusiastic partisan of Rome. He resolutely
asserted that Olaf was preaching heresies, and he endeavored to
confute the Christian doctrines which the reformer proclaimed, but
without success. ‘What,’ said he, ‘reject dogmas and abolish
practices which have been for so many ages universally adopted in
Christendom!’ But Olaf, under Anderson’s protection, continued to
proclaim the truth from the pulpit, and maintained it likewise in
disputations which were frequently very stormy.[387]
The bonds which united the two Petri and Anderson were day by day
drawn closer. The three friends studied the Scriptures together; they
conversed about all the reforms which were needed in the Church;
and Olaf, in order to encourage Anderson, communicated to him the
letters which he received from Wittenberg, whether from Luther or
from other champions of the Reformation. In this manner they were
spending happy and useful days, when a domestic event occurred to
disturb their pious intercourse.
Funeral Of Olaf’s Olaf had not made any long stay at Orebro
Father. since his return from Wittenberg. His
parents, and particularly his mother, were strongly attached to the
Roman Church; and when in her company, while he would talk to
her of the Saviour, he had not courage to attack the superstitions of
the Church. On a sudden, a message from their mother informed the
two brothers of the death of their father, and summoned them to
attend the funeral. They set out immediately without hesitation; but
at the same time they foresaw the embarrassment which would arise
to increase their filial sorrow. Their mother had requested the
Carmelite monks to celebrate the funeral ceremony in conformity
with the ordinances of the Roman ritual; and the deceased himself
had set apart for this purpose a portion of his landed estate. Olaf
and Lawrence journeyed to Orebro, and as they went on their way
by the shore of Lake Heilmar they were in perplexity and distress of
mind. They rejected the doctrine of purgatory and masses offered
for the dead; and Olaf, who was no waverer between truth and
error, had determined that his father should be buried in a manner
accordant with the spirit of evangelical Christianity.[388]
When they reached their father’s house, the brothers endeavored to
console their mother; but at the same time they explained to her in
a tenderly affectionate manner that the only purgatory which
cleanses from all sin is the blood of Jesus Christ; and that the man
who believes in the efficacy of the expiatory death of the Saviour
enters immediately into the fellowship of the blessed. The pious
woman shed bitter tears. Vague rumors had, indeed, reached her
respecting the doctrines adopted by her sons; but now she was
convinced of the fact by indubitable proofs, as if she had seen and
touched them. The eternal repose of her husband was at stake; and
Olaf alleged that the ceremonies enjoined by the Church were
superfluous; that no mass ought to be said for the salvation of his
soul. She wept more and more. ‘Ah, my sons,’ she said, ‘when God
gave you to me, and when I made great sacrifices for the sake of
having you instructed in the sciences, I did not think that you would
become propagators of dangerous innovations in your native land.’
‘Dear mother,’ replied the sons, deeply affected, ‘when you hear one
of the Latin masses, of what use is it to you? Can you even
understand it?’ ‘True,’ answered the devout Karin, ‘I do not
understand it; but while listening to it, I beseech God with so much
earnestness to accept it, that I can not doubt that He answers my
prayer.’ Olaf thought that the best thing he could do was to set forth
the living faith which inspired him; and he proclaimed Jesus Christ to
his mother, as the only way that leads to heaven. He spoke with so
much love that at length she yielded and bade them do as they
intended. Olaf and Lawrence at once dismissed the monks, and they
themselves paid the last honors to their father, with the noble
simplicity and the living faith which are inspired by the Gospel. The
monks were angry, and declared that the soul of the deceased was
doomed to eternal condemnation. ‘Have no fear of that,’ said the
sons to their mother, ‘these are mere arrogant and impious words.
God is the only judge of the living and the dead.’[389]
Bishop Brask. About this time appeared a man who
became in Sweden the most formidable
champion of the Romish faith. Bishop Brask of Linkoping was a priest
endowed with immense energy. The outcries of the monks at Orebro
were heard as far as Upsala; and in July, 1523, Brask received from
the chapter of this metropolitan town a letter in which he was
informed that the Lutheran heresy was boldly preached in the
cathedral of Strengnaes by one Olaf Petri. It appears that this
information was absolutely new to the vehement bishop. Completely
devoted to the Roman Church, not even imagining that there could
be any other, he was greatly agitated. He heard shortly after that
emissaries of the Lutheran propaganda had made their appearance
in his own diocese. He looked on this as the beginning of a great
conflagration which would consume the whole Church. Of haughty
temper and of indefatigable activity, he put himself at the head of
the champions of the papacy and swore that he would extinguish
the horrible fire. When he learnt that Lawrence Anderson, himself an
archdeacon, had embraced these opinions, he could refrain no
longer. He wrote to the pope and implored him to name, as speedily
as possible, bishops to take the places of those who had perished at
Stockholm; ‘but especially,’ said he, ‘in the dioceses bordering on
Russia, for the new doctrine which they want to introduce is that of
the Russians.’ He then wrote a dissertation on the Russian Church,
supposing that he could thus contend against the Reformation and
destroy it. But he was greatly mistaken in fancying a likeness in the
Evangelical to the Greek Church. The Reformation went further than
the Eastern Church. It was not content with going back to the
teaching of the councils of the first six centuries, but it returned to
Jesus Christ, and to His apostles, and laid its foundations in the
Word of God alone. Meanwhile, the Carmelites of Orebro denounced
Olaf and his brother before the dean of the cathedral of Strengnaes,
charging them with having spoken contemptuously of the pope and
respectfully of Luther. The reformer made so forcible a reply that the
dean was silenced, and thought it more prudent to leave the matter
to Bishop Brask. This man, indeed, did not stop short at any half
measures, but sent to Rome an entreaty that Olaf should be
sentenced to death.[390] Thus were dangers thickening day by day
around the two brothers, and it appeared as if the evangelical seed
in Sweden must soon be smothered. Political events of great
importance were on the point of changing the face of things and of
giving an entirely unforeseen direction to the destinies of the people.
 CHAPTER VII.
THE REFORMERS SUPPORTED BY THE LIBERATOR
OF SWEDEN.
(1519-1524.)

Gustavus Vasa. In the house of an ancient Swedish family,

settled at Lindholm, in Upland, was born, in
1496, a child who was named Gustavus and who was afterwards
known under the name of Gustavus Vasa. For two centuries
members of this family had sat in the Council of the kingdom. It is
said that the boy, when only five years old, in his play with other
children, usually assumed the part of king. John II., the father of
Christian II., who at this period visited his kingdom of Sweden,
admired the high spirit of the lad, and giving him a gentle tap with
his hand, said, ‘If thou live, thou wilt one day be a remarkable man.’
The prince would have liked even to take him with him to Denmark;
but Sten Sture, the administrator of the kingdom, objected. His
parents sent him to the school of Upsala; and people have long
pointed out, in the neighborhood of the town, the places where
Gustavus used to play with his schoolfellows. The story is still told
how bravely the boy bore himself when he went to a wolf hunt. At
the age of eighteen he laid aside his studies to follow the career of
arms, and became one of the ornaments of the court of Sten Sture
the younger. People used to say—‘What a handsome, alert,
intelligent and noble young man!’ Others would add—‘God has raised
him up to save his country.’ He served his first campaign with credit
in the struggle of the Swedes against the partisans of Denmark; and
in 1518 he bore the Swedish standard at the battle of Brannkijrka, at
which the Danes were defeated and compelled to retreat. His valor,
his eloquence, and his unfailing good humor were universally
admired. When Christian II. announced his intention of opening
negotiations with Sten Sture, but on condition that hostages should
be given him, six men who were held in high honor by their
countrymen, and among them Gustavus, entered a boat which was
to convey them to the prince. As soon as they had put to sea, a
Danish vessel of war fell on their bark, took them on board, and, the
wind being favorable, carried them off prisoners into Denmark.[391]
Gustavus, a victim of this sudden capture, was sent into the north of
Jutland, as Tausen had been, and was confined in the castle of
Kalloe, under the care of one of his kinsmen, Eric Baner. He used to
dine at the table of his host in company with some young Danish
officers. ‘King Christian,’ said the latter, fond of playing the braggart,
‘is making preparations for a great expedition against Sweden; we
shall soon have a fine St. Peter’s day with the Swedes’—(a papal bull
was the cause of the war)—‘and we shall share among us the rich
livings and the young girls of Sweden.’ Gustavus, worried by such
talk, could no longer eat nor drink nor sleep, and employed himself
night and day in devising some means of making his escape from
confinement. As he was liked by every body, he had no difficulty in
getting the clothes of a coarse drover; and dressed in these, one day
in September, 1519, early in the morning, he escaped. He walked so
fast that he accomplished that day a distance of twelve German
miles. On the 30th of the month he arrived safely at Lübeck.[392]
Eric Baner started in pursuit of him, and reaching the same town a
little later reclaimed him. But Gustavus having declared that he was
a hostage and not a prisoner, the council refused to give him up. He
then sojourned for three months in this Hanse town; and although it
was not yet reformed he had an opportunity of becoming acquainted
with the doctrine of the Reformation. At the same time he was filled
with abhorrence at the conduct of the pope to his fellow-
countrymen. Sweden, now vanquished, lay groaning under the yoke
of Christian; and his only thought was how to go to the help of his
country. The magistrates of Lübeck, into whose hands he had
delivered himself, gave their consent; and he embarked on board a
merchant ship which was bound for Stockholm.
His Wanderings. There were now only two towns which
continued to hold out against the Danes,
Stockholm and Calmar. The former was blockaded by sea and land,
and Gustavus could not enter it; but Calmar being blockaded only by
sea, he succeeded in making his way to a tongue of land near the
walls, and entered the town on the last day of May, 1520. He found
the whole town sunk into a state of despondency, and the only reply
given to his generous words was a threat of taking his life. The
Danish admiral, Norby, having summoned the place to surrender,
Gustavus was desirous at all hazards of preserving his independence
for the service of his country, and he therefore threw himself into
the mountainous district of Smaland. Here he found an asylum
among his father’s peasants; but here also the people were losing
their courage and were ready to bow their heads under the yoke. It
was in vain that Gustavus appeared among them at their gatherings.
‘Consider,’ he said to them, ‘what a feast Christian is preparing for
you!’ ‘Pooh!’ they replied, ‘the king will not let us want either
herrings or salt.’ This was enough for them. Others, angry with the
young hero who wanted to disturb them in their peaceful solitudes,
even snatched up their arrows and darts and cast them at him. His
spiritless countrymen went further than this, and set a price on his
head. This people, for want of energy, seemed prepared to submit to
any disgrace, and carried despondency and the love of bondage to
the pitch of fanaticism. The alarm caused by the Danes was
universal; a panic terror had taken possession of all minds. Gustavus
alone, inspired with intrepid courage, and with a manly and
invincible patriotism, did not despair of raising the dead to life and of
winning the victory. He quitted in disguise the district in which his
liberty and even his life were continually in danger, and following the
byways in order to elude his pursuers, he withdrew to the upper
mountain solitudes, and in these he wandered about all the summer.
He lived on roots and wild fruit; the meanest food sufficed him. But
even this soon failed him; he hungered, and could not tell how to
provide for his wants. Driven to extremities, and in total destitution,
he betook himself without money, almost without clothes, to the
estate of Tarna, in Sudermania, to the house of his brother-in-law,
Joachim Brahe. For some months no one had known where he was;
and his sister especially had been in a state of cruel anxiety. One
fine day she saw him coming; she immediately welcomed and
treated him affectionately and with all attention, and thus restored
his exhausted powers. His brother-in-law was setting out to attend
the coronation of Christian, to which he had been invited; Gustavus
entreated him not to go, and declared that for his own part, instead
of going to pay court to the Danes, his only thought was to drive
them out of Sweden. ‘If I do not go in response to the king’s
invitation,’ replied Joachim, ‘what fatal consequences will not my
refusal involve for my wife and children? Would not your father, and
even your mother too, have to pay perhaps with their lives for the
affront which I should offer to this revengeful prince? As for yourself,
you are free, do what you think right.’ The sister of Gustavus, who
was not so cool as her husband, trembled for her brother and
implored him with tears to abandon an enterprise which appeared to
her to be a rebellion, and which could have no issue but his death.
[393]
Gustavus was inexorable to all her prayers. Determined to raise
up Sweden again, he took leave of his brother-in-law and his sister,
and for some time concealed himself on an estate of his father’s, at
Raefsnaes. The ex-archbishop Ulfsson was at this time in a
neighboring convent. Gustavus went there, made himself known to
the prelate, and learnt from him accurately the condition of the land.
The archbishop saw no chance of independence for their common
country, and therefore advised him to submit to the new order of
things. ‘Even your father,’ said he, ‘has acknowledged Christian, and
you are included in the amnesty.’ He offered him at the same time
his mediation with the king. The aged prelate and the young noble
were one day together in a cell of the convent, talking over the
circumstances of the time, and the old archbishop put forth all his
eloquence to induce Gustavus to acknowledge the king. Suddenly a
noise was heard. A man rushed in in hot haste; he was agitated,
looked wild, and remained for some seconds in the presence of
these two persons without being able to utter a word: his voice was
stifled by the deepest emotion. He sobbed, he burst into tears; he
made them understand by signs that some terrible calamity had just
fallen upon their country. He was an old servant of Joachim Brahe.
At last the unhappy man, coming to himself, told them that all the
most eminent men of Sweden had just been massacred in the public
place of Stockholm by command of Christian, who was authorized by
a papal bull; and that the father and brother-in-law of Gustavus
were among the victims. ‘Your father,’ said he, ‘might have saved his
life by making a full and unconditional submission to Christian. The
offer was made to him by the king; but he replied that he would
sooner die, in God’s name, with his brothers, than be the only one
spared.’[394] The messenger added that fresh arrests and fresh
executions were continually being made. At the tale of this frightful
butchery, the archbishop was dumb with horror; Gustavus trembled;
but the terrible tidings did not make him despair for his country. On
the contrary, they gave fresh strength to the resolution and the
courage of his noble heart. He rose, left the prelate immediately, and
set out on horseback to Raefsnaes, accompanied by a single
attendant.
Gustavus In The The sorrowful feelings which at this cruel
Mountains. time weighed upon the heart of the young
hero may be imagined. One thought alone stood out clear in his
mind—Sweden must be delivered from the most barbarous tyranny.
He took the road to Dalecarlia, leaving Stockholm and Upsala on the
right; and, keeping clear of Hedemora and Falum, the principal
towns of the province, he plunged into this Scandinavin Switzerland,
a region bristling with mountains and forming in every age an
asylum for refugees. He was determined to conceal himself for some
time behind its torrents, its waterfalls, its lakes, its forests, and
precipitous rocks. To secure his incognito, he put on the dress of a
peasant of the country. The handsome young noble wore a coat of
coarse woollen cloth; underneath it a long jacket and leather
breeches; a sort of leather petticoat which reached to the knee,
stockings as large in the lower part as in the upper, and shoes with
very high heels and square toes. About the end of November he
went to the Kupferberg; offered himself for a workman, and lived
there wielding the axe and the spade, and supporting himself on his
pitiful wages. He did not shut his eyes to the dangers which
threatened him. He knew that in consequence of his escape from
the prison in which Christian had immured him, he was more
obnoxious to the king than the other nobles. True, an amnesty had
been granted to him; but the sole object of this was doubtless to
entice him to Stockholm, that he might be sacrificed there like his
kinsmen and his peers. The massacre begun in the capital was
continued in the provinces. One might have said that the
proscriptions of Sylla were renewed. The abbot and five monks of
the convent of Nidala had been drowned, by command of Christian,
without any form of trial. At Jonköping Lindorm Ribbing had been
executed. He had two sons, one nine years old, the other six. The
elder boy was hung by his long and beautiful hair, and his head was
then severed from the body by a sabre-stroke, and his clothes were
covered with his blood. It was then the turn of the younger. The little
boy of six said to the executioner, in his childish voice—‘Please do
not soil my dress as you have done my brother’s, for mamma would
be very much vexed.’ At the sound of these innocent words, the
executioner flung his sword away, exclaiming—‘I will never cut off
his head.’ But another headsman was ordered to the spot, who
decapitated the poor child, and, by command of his superiors, laid
his head at the feet of the man who had refused to put him to
death. These barbarities which fell on innocent creatures show
plainly the dangers which beset the energetic and dreaded
Gustavus.[395]
The man who was to give independence and the Gospel to his native
land, was at this time laboring at a humble occupation, like a
peasant’s son, in a barn at Rankytta.[396] But it was in vain he
disguised himself; his noble bearing and especially his pure speech
betrayed him, and he was obliged frequently to change his abode.
Gustavus At He directed his steps towards Ornaes, a
Ornaes. seat of mining operations, and applied for
work to a wealthy miner, who consented to employ him. Gustavus
associated with the servants of the house as one of their own rank;
but a female servant, who very much admired the handsome
workman and had a keen, observant eye, detected beneath his
woollen garment a shirt collar of silk embroidered with gold. In great
astonishment she hastened to inform her master. The latter, who
had been at the University of Upsala at the same time as Gustavus,
now recognized him; and fearing lest he should get into a scrape
with the Danes, required him to leave his house. At Ornaes, not far
off, lived another old fellow-student of Gustavus, Arendt Perssons.
The young fugitive resolved to go to him. He reached his dwelling, a
house of singular construction, which was situated near a lake, and
with its surroundings formed a charming place of residence.[397] The
master of the house gave Gustavus a most friendly reception, and
assured him that he would be safe with him. He introduced him to
his wife, and then conducted him to a large room on the second-
floor forming an almost perfect square, which was to be his own.
But no sooner had Gustavus retired to it than the perfidious Arendt
betook himself to the bailiff Bengt Brunsson and denounced his
guest. The bailiff, with twenty men on foot, set out to seize the
fugitive. But if Arendt was a traitor, his wife had a generous heart.
After the departure of her husband she was in great distress, for she
had guessed, from the expression of his countenance, the purpose
for which he had left the house. Pained by the thought of the death
which was impending over her guest, she rose, gave orders to make
ready a horse and a sledge, and directed two of her men to take
Gustavus away without a moment’s delay. The fugitive heard a
knocking at his door; he opened it and saw before him two
Dalecarlians armed from head to foot, with sugar-loaf hats,
according to the fashion of the day. ‘Let us start instantly,’ they said.
Tradition has placed on the table of that room, beside the armor and
the gloves of Gustavus, a Bible—the book which liberates and makes
free indeed.
The hero hastily mounted the sledge and departed. Shortly after,
Arendt arrived with the bailiff and his band. The traitor, it is said,
never forgave his wife for having saved an innocent man.
Gustavus, still a wanderer, arrived at Swardsjoe, at the house of the
pastor Jon; and a notary named Sven Elfson, who lived near,
received him into his house. But the gentlemanly bearing of the
young man always betrayed him. Suspicious looks were fastened on
him, and his pursuers were approaching. The wife of Sven Elfson,
alarmed at the imminent danger in which the young noble was
placed, and wishing to mystify her household, seized the shovel used
for placing bread in the oven and struck Gustavus with it, crying out
and calling him a wicked rascal and a lazy boy, and so drove him
away. Sven, no less loyal than his wife, immediately undertook to
conduct him to some friends with whom he believed he would be
safe. But they already heard the footsteps of the bailiff’s horses, who
was in pursuit with his twenty troopers. A wagon loaded with straw
was standing near, and Gustavus hid himself in it. The horsemen
came; as they passed they made thrusts with their halberts into the
straw and continued their journey. Gustavus was wounded, but he
uttered no cry. Sven Elfson came to him; the young fugitive crept
out of the wagon stained with blood, but with unfailing intrepidity he
mounted a horse and set out. The blood which trickled drop by drop
on the snow must inevitably betray him. In order to save him, Sven
wounded his horse in the foot, and when any one observed the
spots on the road and inquired the cause of them, the Swede boldly
pointed to the foot of his beast. At last they reached Marnaes. Two
peasants, Ner and Mats Olafsen, friends of Sven, concealed
Gustavus under a large fir-tree recently felled in the forest, which
covered the ground with its broad, green boughs. In this place he
lay for three days and three nights; and in the evenings, when all
was quiet, one of the two brothers used to bring him food by
stealth.[398]
Pursuit Of During these sorrowful days, in which he
Gustavus. was pursued like a wild beast, Gustavus did
not forget the task which he had proposed to himself. His eye was
on fire when he thought of the tyranny of Christian; but alas! his
resolution and his courage were useless. The people were indisposed
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