The Danish Monarchy 1523-1533
King Frederik I
Apr 13, 2009 Julie Refnov Mortensen
Frederik was born in 1471 and raised in the in the area of Schleswig-Holstein in southern Jutland alongside his 10 years older brother Hans.
When their father, King Christian I, died in 1481 Hans, being the oldest son, was crowned King of Denmark and Norway, while Frederik was chosen as co-duke of the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1490 the area was divided between the two brothers and Frederik made the castle of Gottorp his permanent residence.
In 1523 King Hans suddenly died after falling from his horse and Frederiks nephew Christian, became king. But King Christian quickly grew unpopular with the Danish nobility, as he ruled in favor of the peasants and raised taxes on nobility.
The Reign of King Frederik I
The nobles were ready for change and contacted Frederik in an attempt to make him take the throne. It
took only18 days from the time Frederik declared war on his nephew until he was crowned king of Denmark and Norway. Christian and his family fled to the Netherlands where they lived in exile.
Prisoner of The Nobles
The Danish nobles were tired of kings breaking promises to them. For generations Danish kings had been forced to sign charters agreeing to give up power to the nobles. But King Christian II and his father Hans was both known as kings of the people, who ruled in favor of the peasants and even chose peasants as their advisers, thereby breaking all agreements made with the nobles. The nobles therefore, forced Frederik to sign a charter so strict, he was basically a prisoner of the nobles. The charter left Frederik with very little say in the matters of his country.
Frederik was known as a strategically wise king and duke, and although he had given most of his power as king to the nobles by signing the charter, he still had some power. His strategy was to simply threaten to give the throne back to his nephew Christian, if he didn't get his way. This strategy is said to have ended many disputes between Frederik and the nobles.
The reign of Frederik I was dominated by constant uproars from peasants, who demanded Christian II recalled as king. Christian himself made several unsuccessful attempts at taking back the throne, which ended in 1531, when Frederik took Christian prisoner and kept him in loose confinement in the town of Kalundborg.
Frederik also had to deal with religious matters as the Catholic Church was losing ground in Denmark. The king was a supporter of the thoughts of Luther and even though he never declared himself protestant, he allowed for the people of Denmark to freely choose their religion.
It is said that Frederik only left his castle in Gottorp on rare occasions and that he never during his reign traveled to Norway.
He died at Gottorp castle in 1533 and was succeeded as king by his oldest son Christian.
Sources:
www.kongehuset.dk
www.danskekonger.dk
www.kongernesjelling.dk
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