The siege of Stegeborg () occurred in February 1543 during the Dacke War. In February, SmÃÂ¥land peasants numbering 700 under the command of Erik ÃÂlänning and Per Djup departed from Tjust, marching towards Stegeborg. When they arrived, they besieged it from both land and sea but faced heavy resistance from its commander, Svante Sture. Eventually, however, the peasants were able to capture several guns from the fortress. Unexpectedly, however, Erik ÃÂlänning defected for unknown reasons, and sent the majority of his men home. The ones who remained were soon killed by the Swedish relief force under Johan Turesson and Joakim Bulgrin.
In 1542, as a result of Gustav Vasa banning the sale of oxen and butter to Denmark, peasants in SmÃÂ¥land revolted under the leadership of Nils Dacke. They used the forest to ambush the royal troops, and soon controlled large parts of SmÃÂ¥land and ÃÂstergötland.
In February 1543, the rebels began offensives against the royal troops and castles in ÃÂstergötland. As part of this, Erik ÃÂlänning began marching towards Stegeborg to capture it in the same month.
In February 1543, Erik ÃÂlänning departed from Tjust with 700 men, of which 300 were under the command of Per Djup. On the way, Erik ÃÂlänning also received support from the burghers in Västervik. During the march, more peasants joined his force, and Häradssäter and Björkvik were plundered.
When Erik ÃÂlänning arrived to Stegeborg, he immediately managed to capture several guns from the fortress. The peasants also besieged Stegeborg from the seaside. During the first phases, the peasants faced heavy resistance from Stegeborg's commander, Svante Sture, according to Peder Svart's chronicle about the Dacke War:
Despite this, Svante Sture was forced to wait for a relief force to arrive. It is possible that, in order to stall for time, he invited the peasants for negotiations, and unexpectedly Erik ÃÂlänning announced that he wanted to defect. The exact reason is unknown, it could've been promises of something in return, amnesty, or he believed that he could never hope to capture Stegeborg before reinforcements arrived. The more likely reason is that he was promised a sum of money.
After defecting, he returned the majority of his men back to their homes. On February 17, a relief force under the command of and was dispatched from Gripsholm, which arrived to Stegeborg on 19 February. The few peasants that remained were surprised were killed by the relief force. Some 40âÂÂ150 were killed, others being captured including one of the leaders.
After defecting, Erik ÃÂlänning travelled to Gripsholm where he told the king, Gustav Vasa, about Nils Dacke's strategies. He also created a list of local leaders.