The prelates and the barons resolved to have recourse to extreme measures. They addressed to Christian (January 20, 1523) a letter by which they revoked the powers with which he had been invested on the day of his coronation. At the same time, they offered the crown of Denmark to the duke of Holstein.[237] By these measures the monarch was thrown into a state of unparalleled perplexity. All, however, was not lost. He might recall the troops which he had in Sweden; he might then appeal to the Danish people, among whom he still had many partisans, and might maintain himself in Copenhagen until his allies, either the king of England or his brother-in-law the emperor, should come to his aid. But the blow which had fallen upon him was altogether unexpected. He lost his presence of mind; his courage, his pride and his energies were crushed. This terrible despot gave way and humbled himself. Instead of offering resistance to the States of the kingdom, he threw himself at their feet and pledged himself thenceforth to govern according to their advice. He was willing to do any thing to give them satisfaction. He promised to have masses said for the souls of those whom he had unjustly put to death; he undertook even to make _a pilgrimage to Rome_. But the nobility and the priests were inexorable; and the pope to whom he appealed for help turned a deaf ear to him. Then Christian lost his head; one might have thought that a waterspout had fallen and thrown him to the ground. He caused a score of ships to be fitted out; hastily collected the crown jewels, his gold, his archives, and every thing which he most highly valued, and prepared for flight with the queen, his children, the archbishop of Lund, and a few faithful attendants. His greatest anxiety was to find means of taking Sigbrit along with him. At all cost he was determined not to part with his adviser; and the hatred which the people bore to this woman was so great that if she had been seen she would have been torn to pieces. Christian therefore had one of his chests made ready, and in this the old woman was laid. The chest was carefully closed, and the unhappy creature was thus carried on board like a piece of luggage. On the 14th April, 1523, the king weighed anchor; but no sooner had he put to sea than his fleet was scattered by a storm.[238]