he was forced in 1523 to place upon
the market as an oere.[76] So that when the new monarch ascended the
throne it was manifest that the treasury must be replenished in other
modes. The natural direction was that in which the greatest wealth of
Sweden lay,--in other words, the Church. We have already seen how
completely, in the centuries preceding the Reformation, the Church in
Sweden had freed herself from all authority of the people, and had
gradually accumulated for herself a vast amount of wealth. Some
conception of this treasure may be had by comparing the edifices
belonging to the Church with those owned by individuals. Such a
comparison reveals at once an enormous disparity in favor of the Church.
At a time when well-to-do citizens dwelt in what would at this day be
known as hovels, they worshipped in churches that must have seemed to
them palatial. The six cathedrals that existed in the time of Gustavus
still remain, and even at this day compare favorably with the finest
structures in the land. In addition to a magnificent palace, the
archbishop and the five Swedish bishops each possessed a fortified
castle in his diocese. In each diocese, too, there were an enormous
number of estates belonging to the bishopric; those in the diocese of
Linkoeping, for example, numbering over six hundred. The rents and
profits from these estates went directly to the bishopric, and were
wholly exempt from taxation, as were also the untold treasures of gold
and silver belonging to the various churches. Beside all this tithes of
every species of farm produce raised in any part of Sweden were due the
Church, also tithes of all other personal property acquired. Further, a
small annual tax was due the Church for every building in the land from
a palace to a pig-sty; also a fee for every wedding, death, or
childbirth. No one could inherit property, or even take the sacrament,
without a contribution to the Church. And every peasant was bound one
day each year to labor for his pastor without reward.[77] How all this
money was disbursed, seems difficult to comprehend. Some clew, however,
may be gained when we consider what a vast horde of clergy the Swedish
people had to feed. Take, for example, the cathedrals. Most of them
formed a little hierarchy in themselves. First of all was the archbishop
or the bishop, who lived in regal splendor. Around him was his chapter,
comprising in one instance as many as thirty canons. Then there was the
arc