The Children of Adam and Eve

Christian II (1481-1559), king of Denmark and Norway (1513-23) and of
Sweden (1520-23), the son and successor of King John (Hans; 1455-1513). A
gifted but erratic ruler, who initiated many humane reforms and was a
patron of culture and education, Christian sought to strengthen the
monarchy by championing the lower and middle classes, but in so doing
alienated the nobles, who still held the power to elect the king. Pressing
his claim to the Swedish throne under the Union of Kalmar, Christian
besieged and captured Stockholm in 1520, but when he followed his
coronation there with mass executions of Swedish nobles, he earned for
himself the epithet The Cruel and made it easy for Gustav Vasa to rebel
and win the Crown in 1523. That same year the Danish nobles also Rose
against him, electing his uncle king as Frederick I. Christian then fled
to the Netherlands, where he finally persuaded his Brother-in-law, Holy
Roman Emperor Charles V, to help him raise a small army; with that force
he landed in Norway in 1531. The year after, having made no gains, he was
treacherously captured by his enemies and spent the rest of his life, 27
years, in detention.