Christian I of Denmark
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| Christian I | ||
|---|---|---|
| King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden | ||
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| Reign | September 28, 1448 – May 21, 1481 Denmark 1450 – May 21, 1481 Norway 1457 – 1464 Sweden |
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| Coronation | 1449 Denmark ? Norway 1457 Sweden |
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| Born | February 1426 | |
| Oldenburg | ||
| Died | May 21, 1481 | |
| Copenhagen | ||
| Buried | Roskilde Cathedral | |
| Predecessor | Christopher III Denmark Charles VIII Norway Jöns Bengtsson and Erik Axelsson Sweden |
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| Successor | John I Denmark/Norway Charles VIII Sweden |
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| Consort | Dorothea of Brandenburg | |
| Royal House | Oldenburg | |
| Father | Dietrich of Oldenburg | |
| Mother | Helvig of Schauenburg | |
Christian I (1426 – 1481), Danish monarch and union king of Denmark (1448 – 1481), Norway (1450 – 1481) and Sweden (1457 – 1464), under the Kalmar Union. In Sweden his short tenure as monarch was preceded by regents, Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna and Erik Axelsson Tott and succeeded by regent Kettil Karlsson Vasa. Also Duke of Schleswig and Holstein 1460-81.
He was born in February 1426 in Oldenburg. His father was Count Dietrich of Oldenburg (died 1444) whom he succeeded as Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. His mother was his father's second wife, Hedwig of Schleswig and Holstein (Helvig of Schauenburg) (died 1436). Christian had two brothers, Count Moritz V of Delmenhorst (1428 - 1464) and Count Gerhard VI of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst (1430 - 1500), and one sister Adelheid.
In 1448 Christian was elected to the vacant Danish throne, as a cognatic descendant of King Eric V of Denmark. The throne was first offered by the Statsraad to the most prominent feudal lord of Danish dominions, i.e Duke Adolf VIII of Schleswig-Holstein, but (being relatively old and childless) he declined and recommended his nephew.
Christian soon married Dorothea of Brandenburg (1430 - November 25, 1495), the widow of his predecessor King Christopher (of Bavaria) and thus dowager queen, on October 28, 1449 in Copenhagen. Dorothea and Christian had five children:
- Olaf (1450-1451)
- Knud (1451-1455)
- John (Kong Hans) (1455 - 1513), Duke of Schleswig and Holstein, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden
- Margarete of Denmark (1456-1486), 13 years old married to the 17 years old King James III of Scotland
- Frederick (1471-1533), Duke of Schleswig and Holstein, in Gottorp, later also King of Denmark and Norway
In 1450 Christian was also recognised to succeed to the hereditary throne of Norway as a cognatic descendant of King Haakon V of Norway. The throne had originally been left vacant at the death of Christian's predecessor as union king of the three countries, King Christopher of Norway, but was briefly occupied in 1449 by a Swedish rival Charles Knutsson (Charles I of Norway). Clarles was not a blood relative of the Norwegian kings, and was deposed as king of Norway in 1450. At the time, Norway was the only Scandinavian kingdom which was hereditary. However, beginning from the 14th century, it had become so weak that its hereditary succession tended to follow the monarch-elections in Denmark and Sweden.
Charles Knutsson had been elected King of Sweden in 1448, but became increasingly unpopular and was driven into exile in 1457. Christian was finally elected to the Swedish part of the Kalmar Union, receiving power from temporary Swedish regents archbishop Jöns Bengtsson Oxenstierna and lord Erik Axelsson Tott. However, Sweden being volatile and split by factions (benefits of union being against nationalistic benefits), his reign there ended in 1464 when bishop Kettil Karlsson Vasa was installed as the next regent. Charles Knutsson was recalled as King of Sweden, although he was later exiled a second time, recalled again and died during his third term as king. Christian's final attempt at regaining Sweden ended in a total military failure at Brunkeberg (outside Stockholm) October 1471 where he was defeated by the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Elder who was supported by the Danish-Swedish nobleman's clan the Thott family. Christian maintained his claim to the Swedish kingdom up to his death in 1481.
In 1460 King Christian also became Duke of Schleswig and Count of Holstein (in 1474 Holstein was elevated to a Duchy by the Holy Roman Emperor). Christian inherited Schleswig-Holstein after a short "interregnum" as the eldest son of the sister of late Duke Adolf VIII, Duke of Schleswig (Southern Jutland) and Count of Holstein, of the Schauenburg fürst clan, who died 4 December 1459, without children. There would have been several genealogically senior claimants of Holstein, but Christian was nephew of the incumbent, the closest relative to that very branch which had lived longest and acquired most fiefs. Christian's succession was confirmed by the Estates (nobility and representatives) of these provinces in Ribe 5 March 1460.
Christian's personal territory was at its largest in 1460-64, before the loss of Sweden. However, many parts of his realm wanted to govern themselves locally, and there were constant struggles. Denmark was his most important center of power. The hereditary Kingdom of Norway provided a bulwark for his heirs, requiring the other elective monarchies to choose them as kings, in order to preserve the union.
King Christian died in Copenhagen on May 21, 1481, at the age of 55. He is interred at Roskilde Cathedral. Through his fourth and fifth children respectively, he was an ancestor to James VI, of Scotland and England, and his wife, Anne of Denmark. He is therefore an ancestor to the present-day British royal family, including Elizabeth II, Queen of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Through his eldest surviving son, he is ancestor of Dukes of Lorraine (later Emperors of Austria) and also of Electors of Brandenburg-Prussia. Through his youngest son, he is ancestor of kings of Denmark, Greece, Norway, some kings of Sweden, as well as Tsars of Russia.
[edit] On pedigree
Christian's mother Hedwig of Schauenburg was a descendant, and in her issue the heiress-general, of Ingeborg of Mecklenburg (Countess consort of Holstein and Schauenburg), a daughter of Euphemia of Sweden (Duchess Consort of Mecklenburg), herself the only daughter of Ingeborg of Norway, Duchess Consort of Sudermannia, who was the only daughter and sole surviving child of Haakon V of Norway and Euphemia of Rugen.
Euphemia of Sweden herself was the sister of King Magnus II of Sweden (King Magnus Eriksson) and daughter of Duke Eric of Sudermannia, the second son of Magnus I of Sweden (King Magnus Ladislaus Birgersson). In addition to the families of Holstein, Lauenburg, Wolgast, and Mecklenburg, Christian of Oldenburg was one of the few surviving descendants of ancient Swedish kings.
| Preceded by: Christopher III |
King of Denmark | Succeeded by: John |
| Preceded by: Carl I |
King of Norway | |
| Preceded by: Jöns Bengtsson (Oxenstierna) and Erik Axelsson (Tott) Co-Regents of Sweden |
King of Sweden 1457–1464 |
Succeeded by: Charles VIII |
