The Danish Monarchy 1439-1448
King Christoffer of Bavaria
Jan 4, 2009 Julie Refnov Mortensen
King Eric’s nephew, Christoffer of Bavaria, was chosen as successor to the throne. With little knowledge of the Scandinavian conditions, he could become the perfect puppet for the state councils.
The first order of business was rewriting the Kalmar Union Treaty to change the balance of power between nobility and royalty. The state councils, meaning the nobility, were to have more control and the king less say in individual country matters. During his uncle’s reign, the discontent with the king was in large based on the fact that he centralized the power in Denmark and seemed to forget about Sweden and Norway. Christoffer was therefore, by the new treaty, to divide his time equally between the three countries.
King Christoffer of Bavaria
In 1440 Christoffer was crowned king of Denmark. Sweden followed in 1441 and Norway in 1442, bringing the three countries together again under one king.
Christoffer had to deal with the many rebellions that started during and after the reign of Eric of Pomerania. He succeeded in bringing the peasants to order after many bloody fights between peasants and nobility. After bringing an end to the rebellions, Christoffer greatly limited the freedom of the peasants and imposed a law against any peasant carrying weapons larger than a small knife.
Even though Christoffer showed himself to be a great politician, who managed to bring a balance in the relationship between royalty and nobility, there was still discontent towards the king. The Swedish and Norwegian people thought the king’s relationship with the German’s was too close as he kept a close connection to his country of birth and was interfering in the conflict between Norway and the Hanseatic cities, taking the side of the Germans.
During his reign, people were starving and he was blamed for years of bad harvest, which in Sweden earned him the name of the “Bark King” since there was so little food, people started mixing ground up tree bark with what little floor they had access to. However, the Germans described Christoffer as a merry, little, well fed man, who liked parties and parades.
In 1448 Christoffer suddenly died at the age of 33 after a trip to Gotland where his uncle, former king Eric of Pomerania, was residing. He stopped on his way home at the castle in Helsingborg, where he fell sick of fever and died. Rumors had it the king had been poisoned by a group of noblemen.
After his death the Union of Kalmar fell apart as Sweden and Denmark went their separate ways. Christoffer died childless and was succeeded by Count Christian of Oldenburg.
For more on the history of the Danish Monarchy read: The Danish Monarchy-The Beginning and The Danish Monarchy 1448-1481, King Christian I
Sources:
www.kongehuset.dk
www.danskekonger.dk
www.kongernesjelling.dk
www.danskmiddelalder.dk
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