The tale of the Danish King Valdemar Atterdag’s sacking of Visby tells how the Danes gave the citizens of the city an ultimatum: fill three oil barrels with silver or watch your city burn! The merchants of the trading city are said to have filled the Danes’ barrels in less than a day.

　Hellqvist blends faithfulness to realistic historical detail with his own imagination, anachronisms and rousing staging. In the middle of the picture stands the hero, with his clenched fist and angry look directed at the conqueror and invader King Valdemar – good versus evil. Hellqvist has striven to create a sense that we are witnessing reality, that we are present. He uses drama and special effects to capture our attention.

　One of the anachronistic details is sniffing around the bottom of a barrel: a dachshund. The dachshund only appeared in Sweden in the 17th century. In addition, the man on the far right is wearing a hat that Jewish men were forced to wear during the Middle Ages. However, the first time that a Jewish name appears in Swedish documents is in the 16th century. The armour worn by the knights also raises certain issues of historical accuracy.

　The painting makes a regular appearance in Swedish schoolbooks.

百度翻译：http://fanyi.baidu.com/

　　1361年，丹麦国王，马特丽特一世的父亲，瓦尔德玛四世攻占了维斯比（Visby，现属于瑞典）。他的条件是必须得到三个大型啤酒桶的黄金白银等财宝，否则他的军队将焚毁维斯比全城。画面右边的椅子上，瓦尔德玛四世在等待赎金，维斯比的市长紧握拳头，怒视着丹麦国王瓦尔德玛四世，市长的妻子抱着孩子，仰望着天空，亦即仰望着上帝，她的眼角流着泪水，代表着圣母玛利亚的形象。这幅作品是欧洲浪漫民族主义的代表作之一。