The estates, empires, & principallities of the world Represented by ye description of countries, maners of inhabitants, riches of prouinces, forces, gouernment, religion; and the princes that haue gouerned in euery estate. With the begin[n]ing of all militarie and religious orders. Translated out of French by Edw: Grimstone, sargeant at armes.

¶ The Forces.

[ D] EVery pouince hath both footmen and horsemen ordinarily entertained. In the realms [ XIIII] of Sueden and Gothland they doe reckon about two and thirtie ensignes of foot, which they call vexilles, which is a name as we may coniecture, that hath beene drawne from the Romans by some Northern people who returned to their houses after diuers conquests. Euery vexille or ensigne doth commonly containe fiue or six and sometimes ••e••••n hundred men, which number is almost in a maner conformable to that of a Roman cohort. These are readie in all the kings necessities to march where need shall require, and they are in a manner all harquebuziers. There are few pikemen among them: for that the multitude and thicknesse of woods would not suffer them to carrie and handle their pik••s: and for the same reason the horsemen vse no launces, but petronells or pistolls like [ E] vnto the reisters.

These souldiers are borne in the countrie, as being acustomed to meats which wil keep, they do not care for dainties, nor for diuersitie of dishes: moreouer euery one of these makes his owne shooes, apparell, stocks of harquebuzes, & other necessarie things which keeps them from idlenesse, sinne, and mutinies, wherewith armies are commonly troub∣led being full of idle and vnprofitable people which doe ouercharge a countrie. There haue beene sentinells seene in the castle of Stokolme, which haue watched with great patience during the extremitie of cold, and haue not beene relieued almost in a whole night, which in Winter doth last about eighteen hours.

Euery companie of foot hath his captaine, his lieutenant, and ensigne. The captaine [ F] (••••en in the time of war whenas they did fight in the countrie against the king of Den∣marke, or the Muscouite) had not aboue one garment yerely, with fortie dollars of enter∣tainment, and an exemption as well for himselfe, as for some small number of others from the tribute which they pay ordinarily to the king. The souldier enioies no exemp∣tion, but during the time of war, or that they are in any distrust, and therefore in armes;

and in old time he had no other pay monethly but fiue parts of a dollar As they march [ A] the harbingers make their lodgings in diuers houses; but whenas they are altogether, and march in battaile or campe, the king giues them victualls, and doth no•• account it vpon their pay, and if any be taken prisoners, the king is accustomed to redeeme them and to pay their ransomes, and if any one looseth his horse in fight, the king is bound to giue him another.

Euery companie of horse (which is lesse in number than the foot) hath in like manner a captaine, a lieutenant, and a corne••, and they are accustomed to giue vnto a horseman but twentie dollars a yeare, and a garment, with the exemptions and conditions former∣ly mentioned: yet the commaunders of companies, and ••others of most note, receiued [ B] as many paies as they had seruants, if they followed them on horsebacke.

There are eleuen companies of horse commonly in Sueden and Gothland, and two in Finland; yet if the king desires to haue a greater number, he may easily raise them, if he haue money.

In Finland there are two companies, the one of simple souldiers, the other of gentle∣men: and the reason why he hath so few men in so great a countrie, is, for that he is for∣ced to draw the greatest part of his marriners, and men that serue in his armies at sea from thence, as other prouinces which are more towards the North doe, which either for that they are full of mountaines and barren, as Angermania, or else for that they want horses, as Dalecarlia, are subiect to furnish the sea armie with a good number of marri∣ners. [ C]

In Smoland, Westrogothia, and Ostrogothia, there are some companies of horse gen∣tlemen, and Westrogothia abounds with gentlemen more than any other, and no man may be a captaine of foot or horse, if he be not a gentleman. Theirhorses are somewhat lesse than those of Friseland, but strong, and inured to labour, and to eate little.

Their order is to take a view or muster yearely of all these companies, and the king doth aduertise the Seneshalls of the day and place when it shall be done: they doe not alwaies keepe one day or the same place, neither is it knowne long before, nor the same men do not alwaies take the musters, to the end they shall not practise any reuolt.

Moreouer in the kings court, the gentlemen serued in such sort, as there were alwaies [ D] of the whole court three hundred and fiue horsemen with their armes, but the councel∣lors and some other noblemen were exempt. It is true that they gaue vnto gentlemen which did serue in this manner (in regard of their seruants) some entertainment by the moneth, and for euery seruant on horsebacke they gaue at the least fiue dollars a month.

[ XV] The king being in peace had commonly fiftie ships of war vnder the charge of an Ad∣mirall. In the yeare 1578 seuen of these ships were good gallions, the rest did carrie about fiftie cast peeces of all sorts. The king doth alwaies know where to haue six thousand marriners, reckoning among them such as row, and the officers of ships, and he may haue many more, for that all the tract of the Finland sea, which is aboue foure hundred miles long; that of the Bothnicke sea which is almost twice as much: the coast of the [ E] realme of Sueden, with some islands, do continually cause the people of these countries to go to sea, and by consequence to grow hardie, and to haue experience.

In the war which Iohn the third, king of Sueden had with the king of Denmarke be∣fore their accord was made at Stetrin, the Sueden brought seuentie good ships, besides many other good vessells, and besides the troupes of horse which he had at land, he had eighteene thousand men in his ships, who when it was needfull landed to fight; for that in those countries they are accustomed in winter to fight vpon the yce, as well for the fa∣cilitie of passing of lakes and riuers that are frosen, as for to carrie their victualls more ea∣sily; and in Sommer they fight at sea.

The meanes to entertaine so great a number of marriners costs the king much, but out [ F] of ••he tribute which the prouinces pay him he doth distribute vnto them flesh, fish, but∣ter, rie, and barley, for the greatest part of their pay; which is the reason why the king may send diuers ships of war yearely to sea with a small charge, for that he giues his mar∣riners and workemen victualls in steed of money, where with they are much better satis∣fied,

[ A] as men whose simplicitie hath not beene yet corrupted by strangers, and who hauing not many obiects to diuert them from their naturall dipositions, are content to haue their necessities supplied. Moreouer the king hath many goodly forrests and woods, and great mines of yron, copper, and brasse, wherewith some churches are couered; so as king Iohn the third, said that a war which did cost the king of Spaine a million, did not stand him in a hundred thousand dollars.

The great number of these mines is the cause why they haue so much ordnance in these countries, as well in forts, as to arme their ships. In the castle of Stokolme alone there haue beene numbred foure hundred peeces, some double cannons, some culuerins, [ B] and some lesse, whereby we may coniecture what a number there may be throughout the realme.

The sea armie is most commonly in time of peace diuided into diuers parts of these realmes. The greatest ships lie in the port of Stokolme, where they are safe without an∣chour, for that from the maine sea vnto Stokolme they saile about fortie Italian miles among rocks. They do ordinarily number in this port whenas the yce is molten, and that ships come from forraine parts, two or three hundred sailes.

The kings other ships are in some ports of Sueden, but there are many more in them of Finland, to make head againe the Muscouite, and to keepe them from bringing any thing out of Germanie or other places to helpe him against the king of Sueden, and [ C] therefore his maiestie doth not suffer any ships to passe without his licence in writing, and signed with his owne hand, the which they haue beene accustomed to call letters of pas∣sage, and this permission hath been sometimes bought for one hundred dollars and more by them of Lubec and others.

There were wont to be many forts in these countries: but by diuers accidents of war, and through sundrie ielousies and other occasions, many of them haue beene ruined: yet since the warre which Sigismond king of Poland, and lawfull heire of Sueden made against his vncle Charles the Vsurper of that which did belong vnto him, they haue made a great number.

The principall which are at this day in being, are those which follow. Towards the [ XVI] [ D] Western sea at Elsbourg a place neere vnto Venus lake, there is the fort of Elfelsbourg, and not far from thence two others, whereof the one is called Goltbourg, that is to say, a castle of gold, and the other Croneberg. Towards the Balticke sea, six leagues from Scania, a prouince of the realme of Denmarke, is the castle of Calmas, and in Ostrogo∣thia the castle of Vassena. There is the fort of Borlzolomia in the island of Vlande, then those of Scechorgue, Nicopia, Gripselmia, and the castle of Vpsale: there are also the castles of Stocolme and Ourbou, the which are eleuen miles distant. These be the forts of note in the realme of Sueden.

As for those of Finland, there is one in the towne of Abe, another farther off called Elsingofors, and one at Tauastia called Iaffausthaaus, which signifies the house of Ta∣uast: [ E] it is yet called Hislet, that is to say, New Castle. There is one also at Vibourg a town neere to Muscouie.

There is also in Liuonia the fort of Ri••alia, and also that of Ennuespel.

The king of Sueden confines vpon the West with the king of Denmarke, and to∣wards the East with the Muscouite. The Suedens haue receiued much losse by the Danes, for that among others, Christierne the second besieged Stocolme, and forced it to yeeld, vsing great crueltie against the inhabitants, and filling it with bloud and dead car∣cases. Their hatred grows from the pretensions which the king of Denmark hath to Sue∣den: but the meanes to annoy it in this sort, is by reason of the commoditie, places, and ports, especially of the island of Gothland, which is a member of Gothia: by reason wher∣of the Suedens pretend that it doth of right belong vnto them. But after that Gustaue [ F] had recouered the realme, and that Henry and Iohn his sonnes had gouerned it one after another; notwithstanding that there were great wars betwixt the Danes and Gustaue, yet this realme hath still maintained it selfe, and the towne of Lubec, which is very power∣full in those seas, sometimes assisting one partie, and sometimes another, doth so ballance

the forces of these two kings, as it keeps them both from growing too great, least they [ A] should be presently drawne into danger.

The Suedens make war against the Muscouite with more aduantage; for that Finland which confines with Russia, by the reason of lakes and marishes whereof it is full, hath a troublesome and dangerous entrie, and it hath often happened that the enemies armies haue beene lost in the frosen waters. Moreouer the Suedens are accustomed to keepe most part of their ships in those seas, where they haue the fort of Vibourg, which is very well furnished. There are also vpon the confines of the great duke of Muscouie, Narue, and Riuaille (whereof we haue spoken) and some other places, by meanes whereof they bridle them, and we may with reason hold those forts good which are maintained in an [ B] others countrie, for that they defend their owne countrie, and annoy their enemies: and they defend their owne the better the farther off they be; for whilest that the enemie striues to take them, his owne countrie is quiet, and by this means he spares both his men and money, and makes necessarie prouisions to relieue them. Moreouer they annoy the enemie the more for that they lie neere him. But the forts which are in a princes owne countrie, do but onely defend his owne, and that with great disaduantage, for that when∣soeuer they are assaulted, the neighbour countries must needs receiue much spoile, and his owne Estate shall be full of troubles and combustions, and exposed in prey vnto the enemie. But to returne vnto the king of Sueden, he hath as much aduantage ouer the Muscouite for the defence of his Estates, as sea forces ioined to them of the firme Land [ C] may giue against a prince which hath no forces at sea.