April 12, 1577: Birth of Christian IV, King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein

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Absolute Monarchy, Anne Catherine of Brandenburg, Christian IV of Denmark and Norway, Hans of Denmark, Hereditary Monarchy, King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein, Thirty Years War

Christian IV (April 12, 1577 – February 28, 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1588 to 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs, and of all Scandinavian monarchies. Christian IV was a member of the House of Oldenburg.

Christian was born at Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark on April 12, 1577 as the third child and eldest son of King Frederik II of Denmark–Norway and Sofie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the daughter of Duke Ulrich III of Mecklenburg-Güstrow and Princess Elizabeth of Denmark (a daughter of Frederik I and Sophie of Pomerania). Through her father, a grandson of Elizabeth of Denmark, she descended from King Hans of Denmark.

Christian IV was descended, through his mother’s side, from king Hans of Denmark, and was thus the first descendant of King Hans to assume the crown since the deposition of King Christian II.

At the time, Denmark was still an elective monarchy, so in spite of being the eldest son, Christian was not automatically heir to the throne. But Norway was an hereditary monarchy, and electing someone else would result in the end of the union of the crowns. However, in 1580, at the age of 3, his father had him elected Prince-Elect and successor to the throne of Denmark.

At the death of his father on April 4, 1588, Christian was 11 years old. He succeeded to the throne, as Christian IV but as he was still under-age a regency council was set up to serve as the trustees of the royal power while Christian was still growing up. His mother Queen Dowager Sophie, 30 years old, had wished to play a role in the government, but was denied by the Council.

Christian IV began his personal rule of Denmark in 1596 at the age of 19. He is remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious, and proactive Danish kings, having initiated many reforms and projects.

Christian met Anne Catherine of Brandenburg on his journey in Germany in 1595 and desired to marry her.

Anne Catherine parents were Joachim Friedrich Margrave of Brandenburg and his first wife Catherine of Brandenburg-Küstrin. In 1596, Anne Catherine and her parents were present at his coronation, and the next year, the marriage was arranged.

On November 30, 1597, Christian IV married Anne Catherine of Brandenburg. They had six children, among them Christian, the Prince-Elect, who died a year before his father, and Frederik III who introduced hereditary and absolute monarchy in Denmark. Her son, Ulrik, was murdered in 1633. Their two daughters, Sophia and Elisabeth, and the elder son, Frederik, died at a very young age.

Christian IV had obtained for his kingdom a level of stability and wealth that was virtually unmatched elsewhere in Europe. Denmark was funded by tolls on the Øresund and also by extensive war-reparations from Sweden.

Christian IV spent more time in the kingdom of Norway than any other Oldenburg monarch and no Oldenburg king made such a lasting impression on the Norwegian people. He visited the country a number of times and founded four cities.

Denmark’s intervention in the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) was aided by France and by Charles I of England, who agreed to help subsidise the war partly because Christian was the uncle of both the Stuart king and his sister Elizabeth of Bohemia through their mother, Anne of Denmark. Some 13,700 Scottish soldiers were to be sent as allies to help Christian IV under the command of General Robert Maxwell, 1st Earl of Nithsdale.

Denmark’s involvement in the Thirty Years’ War, devastated much of Germany, undermined the Danish economy, and cost Denmark some of its conquered territories. He rebuilt and renamed the Norwegian capital Oslo as Christiania after himself, a name used until 1925.

His personal obsession with witchcraft led to the public execution of some of his subjects during the Burning Times. He was responsible for several witch burnings, including 21 people in Iceland, and most notably the conviction and execution of Maren Spliid, who was victim of a witch hunt at Ribe and was burned at the Gallows Hill near Ribe on November 9, 1641.

On February 21, 1648, at his earnest request, he was carried in a litter from Frederiksborg to his beloved Copenhagen, where he died a week later. He was buried in Roskilde Cathedral. The chapel of Christian IV had been completed 6 years before the King died.

June 24, 1485: Birth of Elizabeth of Denmark, Electress of Brandenburg

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Elector of Brandenburg, Elizabeth of Denmark, Hans of Denmark, Joachim I Nestor of Brandenburg, Protestant, Roman Catholic Church

Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden ( June 24, 1485 – June 10, 1555) was a Scandinavian princess who became Electress of Brandenburg as the spouse of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg. She was the daughter of King Hans of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and his spouse, Christina of Saxony.

As a child, Elizabeth had a close relation with her brother, the later King Christian II of Denmark. She was able to read and write in both Danish and German. On April 10, 1502 she married Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg, in a double wedding alongside her uncle, the future king Frederick I of Denmark, and her sister-in-law Anna of Brandenburg. Elizabeth and Joachim got along quite well during the first twenty years of their marriage and co-existed harmoniously. She received her mother in 1507, attended her brother Christian’s wedding in 1515 and received Christian in 1523.

Her spouse was a pugnacious adherent of Roman Catholic orthodoxy during the Reformation. In 1523, she visited a sermon of Martin Luther with her brother and her sister-in-law and became a convinced Protestant. In 1527, she received the Protestant communion in public: this meant a public break with the Catholic Church, and caused a conflict with her husband. In 1528, her husband asked a clerical council from the Catholic Church if he should divorce, execute or isolate her if she refused to renounce her new conviction. The church council replied that he should have her imprisoned.

Elizabeth escaped to the court of her uncle, John, Elector of Saxony, and a public debate broke out: the Protestant monarchs and her brother supported her, Luther supported her freedom to leave her husband for her religion, and she declared that she would return only if she was allowed to keep her conviction and if her husband renounced his adultery and his interest in astrology. Otherwise, she suggested that they separate, referring to the separation of her own parents in 1504. She was given a residence near Wittenberg. Her husband refused to give her an allowance and forbade her sons to visit her. In 1532, her uncle died and her brother was imprisoned, and she thereby lost her supporters.

In 1535, her husband died and her sons asked her to return to Brandenburg, but changed their minds when she made the demand that the parishes in her dowry lands be made Protestant. She finally returned in 1545 and stayed in Spandau.

The marriage of her son Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg, to Hedwig Jagiellon did not satisfy Elizabeth. Catholic services were held for Hedwig in her private chapel, and the Dowager Electress was also unhappy because Hedwig could not speak German.

June 24, 1485: Birth of Elizabeth of Denmark, Electress Consort of Brandenburg.

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Elizabeth of Denmark, Hans of Denmark, Joachim I Nestor of Brandenburg, Joachim II Hector of Brandenburg, Johann of Saxony, King Christian II of Denmark and Norway, Martin Luther

Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (June 24, 1485 – June 10, 1555) was a Scandinavian princess who became Electress of Brandenburg as the spouse of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg. She was the daughter of King Hans of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and his spouse, Christina of Saxony.

As a child, Elizabeth had a close relation with her brother, the later King Christian II of Denmark. She was able to read and write in both Danish and German. On April 10, 1502 she married Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg, in a double wedding alongside her uncle, the future king Frederik I of Denmark, and her sister-in-law Anna of Brandenburg.

Elizabeth and Joachim got along quite well during the first twenty years of their marriage and co-existed harmoniously. She received her mother in 1507, attended her brother Christian’s wedding in 1515 and received Christian in 1523.

Her spouse was a pugnacious adherent of Roman Catholic orthodoxy during the Reformation. In 1523, she visited a sermon of Martin Luther with her brother and her sister-in-law and became a convinced Protestant. In 1527, she received the Protestant communion in public: this meant a public break with the Catholic Church, and caused a conflict with her husband.

Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg

In 1528, her husband asked a clerical council from the Catholic Church if he should divorce, execute or isolate her if she refused to renounce her new conviction. The church council replied that he should have her imprisoned.

Elizabeth escaped to the court of her uncle, Johann, Elector of Saxony, and a public debate broke out: the Protestant monarchs and her brother supported her, Martin Luther supported her freedom to leave her husband for her religion, and she declared that she would return only if she was allowed to keep her conviction and if her husband renounced his adultery and his interest in astrology.

Otherwise, she suggested that they separate, referring to the separation of her own parents in 1504. She was given a residence near Wittenberg. Her husband refused to give her an allowance and forbade her sons to visit her. In 1532, her uncle died and her brother, the controversial King Christian II of Denmark and Norway was imprisoned, and she thereby lost her supporters.

King Christian II of Denmark and Norway

In 1535, her husband died and her sons asked her to return to Brandenburg, but changed their minds when she made the demand that the parishes in her dowry lands be made Protestant. She finally returned in 1545 and stayed in Spandau.

The marriage of her son Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg, to Hedwig Jagiellon of Poland did not satisfy Elizabeth. The Catholic Hedwig Jagiellon of Poland was the eldest daughter of King Sigismund I the Old of Poland and his first wife, Hungarian Countess Barbara Zápolya, sister of the later King John I of Hungary. Catholic services were held for Hedwig in her private chapel, and the Dowager Electress was also unhappy because Hedwig could not speak German.

Hedwig Jagiellon of Poland