The war with Russia, commencing in 1554, and marked by mutual invasions, offered no aspect of importance, and was ended by a treaty of peace in 1557.
The founder of the famous royal line of Vasa was, personally, a man of prepossessing appearance, tall, and of commanding presence, having blond hair and beard, sharp blue eyes, full lips, rosy cheeks and a fine frame. He was fond of costly garments, and the styles of his day were becoming to him. Gustavus was of an amiable and cheerful disposition, although of a quick temper. He had a rare gift of winning the goodwill and confidence of all classes by addressing everybody according to their compass of intellect and conversation. He was fond of music, and played and sang. The lute was his favorite instrument, which he liked to play in his evenings of solitude. Gustavus possessed a rare intellect and a remarkable memory. Well aware of his own weakness to give way to his quick temper, he generally postponed all decisive action in matters of importance until sure of his full power of discernment. He was not a brilliant genius, but a typical prince of the Renaissance epoch, never afraid of taking action in instances without a precedence, or of the consequences of his actions. His letters and addresses evince an unusual degree of common sense, clothed in a language of manly vigor, terseness and humor, and are fine specimens of the modern Swedish, such as it meets us in this its period of rejuvenation, brought about by the spirit of the Reformation. There is something in the oral and literary eloquence of Gustavus Vasa which makes it easy to believe that he was a descendant of Birgitta. Gustavus did not possess the fine erudition of his sons, who were considered to be men of learning in their time, for he early left his university studies for the court and the war; but he was able to pass such good opinions upon subjects of art and science that he astonished many who had made these a special study. He had the power of recognizing people whose faces he once had noticed after ten to twenty years of absence, and was also skilled in divining what character dwelt behind every face. What he once heard he never forgot. Where he had travelled once he could never mistake the road, and knew not only the names of the villages but also the names of the peasants whom he had met. His life was led by the unswaying principles of an earnest piety and high morals. His nephew, Peter Brahe the Elder, who in a chronicle has given the above picture of Gustavus Vasa, adds: “_In summa_, God had bequeathed him, above others, with great ability, high intellect and many princely virtues, so that he was well worthy of carrying sceptre and crown. For he was not only sagacious and kind above others, but also manly and able. He was sharp and just in passing sentences, in many cases being charitable and merciful.”