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The Danish Monarchy 1448-1481

King Christian I

Jan 4, 2009 Julie Refnov Mortensen

After the death of King Christoffer of Bavaria, the countries Denmark, Sweden and Norway were without a king. Christoffer had died childless, there was no natural heir.

The Danish state council at first offered the crown to one of the most influential noblemen in Denmark, Duke Adolf of Schleswig-Holstein, but due to his old age of 47 and the fact that he too was childless, he refused the offer. Instead he recommended his nephew, Count Christian of Oldenburg, as successor to the throne. The state council accepted Christian with the condition that he married the widow of predecessor King Christoffer, the 18-year-old Dorothea of Brandenburg.

Getting Christian accepted as king in Norway and Sweden to keep the Kalmar union between the three countries intact, showed to be a much harder task. Sweden quickly decided to break free of the union and crowned Karl Knutson as king of Sweden.

Norway

In Norway they were having a hard time choosing between the two kings or following the third option of chosen a third and separate king. They finally opted for the Swedish king Karl, who was crowned king of Norway on November 20, 1449. Karl only held the Norwegian crown for a short while before the Swedes decided that in order to keep peace with Denmark, they would hand over Norway. King Christian I was crowned king of Norway on August 2, 1450.

Sweden

Giving Norway to Denmark proved not to prevent conflict between Sweden and Denmark and for years the two countries were at war. In 1457, growing discontent from the Swedish church and nobility toward the Swedish king, resulted in King Karl going into exile and King Christian taking the Swedish throne, once again restoring the Kalmar Union under one king.

But the Danish king also had problems keeping peace with the Swedish nobles and church and in 1464 Christian’s time as king of Sweden ended. King Karl was recalled to take back the Swedish throne only to later be exiled again and then recalled one more time. During his third term as Swedish king, Karl died in 1470.

King Christian later attempted to regain the country of Sweden by using force, which ended in complete failure in October 1471. Even though he was never again king of Sweden, Christian maintained his claim to the country to his death in 1481.

In history, King Christian I is described as a generous and likable king, who in large was successful in his reign. He did, however, lack economical sense and had a tendency to spent money on travels abroad without considering the consequences. In 1468 he had to pawn off the Shetland Islands and the Orkney Islands to pay the dowry when his daughter married the Scottish King James III.

One of his journeys led him to the pope in Rome, who considered Christian considerably influential and granted him permission to establish a university in Copenhagen.

King Christian died 55 years old in 1481 and was succeeded by his son Hans.

For more on the history of the Danish Monarchy read: The Danish Monarchy-The Beginning and The Danish Monarchy 1481-1513, King Hans

Sources

www.kongehuset.dk

www.kongernesjelling.dk

www.danskekonger.dk

www.gravsted.dk

The copyright of the article The Danish Monarchy 1448-1481 in W European History is owned by Julie Refnov Mortensen. Permission to republish The Danish Monarchy 1448-1481 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.