Västerås Diet

Timeline

1. 1527Västerås · VästmanlandTo suppress the Dalarna unrest and repay war debts to Lübeck, the king had Laurentius Andreae read a proposal contrasting the church's vast estates with the crown's financial straits. The noble, burgher, and peasant estates expressed support; the clerical estate led by Hans Brask refused a written reply, insisting on obedience to the pope.
2. 1527Västerås · VästmanlandThe resolutions stipulated: severe punishment of instigators of unrest; the king may dispose of the church's surplus revenues for the crown's benefit and receive episcopal castles; nobles may reclaim properties donated or sold to the church since 1454; the word of God must be "preached purely." The resolutions were signed by the council, nobles, burghers, miners, and commoners, but not by the clerical estate. The church's economic and military autonomy was thereby broken.
3. 1527Västerås · VästmanlandThe crown promptly issued the Västerås Ordinance, requiring bishops to report all revenues and the king to determine which must be surrendered to the crown, with monasteries placed under noble supervision. Large-scale confiscation of church estates thus began; the Swedish church became financially dependent on the monarch, and the Lutheran reform gained political space, though liturgical details remained disputed for a long time.