The massacre in Haddorp 1542

Just over a month earlier, in mid-September, the Battle of Kisa took place - a crushing defeat for King Gustav Vasa and his troops. It was also the signal for a general uprising in northern Småland, and shortly afterwards the peasants in Östergötland followed suit.

Men när Östergötland “hängde på en silkestråd”, som Gustav Vasa själv skrev i ett brev, inträffade en sammandrabbning som inte föll väl ut för bönderna. Efter slaget vid Kisa var Dackes styrkor på väg mot Linköping. De slog läger vid Skeda och Slaka socknar med 300 man och skulle stanna över natt vid byn Haddorp hos bonden Olof Håkansson, i västligaste delen av Slaka socken. De trodde sig vara säkra, och kanske slappnade de av mer än dom skulle ha gjort.

The Dawn of 12 October 1542 was fatal for Dacke's men. The royal troops, under the command of Botvid Larsson, were on their trail and early in the morning the sleeping peasants in and around Haddorp village were attacked. Houses and barns were set on fire. Dackes men were beaten, shot or burned to death. All 300 are said to have died.

Botvid Larsson och hans folk fick med denna framgång verkligen en grym hämd för motgången vid Kisa. Inslaget av hämnd blev inte mindre av att “de brända och slagna” i Haddorp var folk från Kisa och Ydre, härader som haft en huvudroll i Kisa-slaget.

But this massacre did not mark a turning point in the uprising, according to Lars-Olof Larsson. Instead, the scales tipped in favour of the rebellious Ostrogoths and Northern Danes who had entrenched themselves in Skeda parish, and were soon reinforced by Nils Dacke himself who came from the south with considerable forces.

The wind was at the allmogen's back. King Gustav Vasa wanted to negotiate - to buy time.

After the Dacke Rebellion failed, Olof Håkansson's farm in Haddorp was confiscated by the crown, and the old farming village was eventually transformed into Haddorp Manor, which still exists today. Sweden's first archaeologist was born there in 1630 Johan Hadorph, who participated in the first scientific excavation of Birka on Björkö. During the 19th century, agricultural schools were run on the property. Today the farm is owned and run by two brothers named Lennart and Ola Secher. Their grandfather bought the farm in 1912.

Sources

Larsson, Lars-Olof, Dackeland (1979)

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