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{{short description|Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union (1426–1481)}}{{redirect|Christian I}}{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}

factoids

• John, King of Denmark
• Margaret, Queen of Scots
• Frederick I, King of Denmark

{edih}| issue-link = #Issue| issue-pipe = among others...House of Oldenburg>Oldenburg| father = Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg| mother = Hedvig of HolsteinFebruary 1426}}Oldenburg (city)>Oldenburg, Holy Roman Empire14812102|df=y}}| death_place = Copenhagen Castle| burial_place = Roskilde Cathedral}}Christian I (February 1426 â€“ 21 May 1481) was a German noble and Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within Denmark) and count (after 1474, duke) of Holstein (within the Holy Roman Empire). He was the first king of the House of Oldenburg.Burke's Royal families of the World, I Europe & Latin America {{ISBN|0 85011 023 8}} p. 68In the power vacuum that arose following the death of King Christopher of Bavaria (1416–1448) without a direct heir, Sweden elected Charles VIII of Sweden (14081470) king with the intent to reestablish the union under a Swedish king. Charles was elected king of Norway in the following year. However the counts of Holstein made the Danish Privy Council appoint Christian as king of Denmark. His subsequent accessions to the thrones of Norway (in 1450) and Sweden (in 1457) restored the unity of the Kalmar Union for a short period. In 1463, Sweden broke away from the union and Christian's attempt at a reconquest resulted in his defeat by the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Elder at the Battle of Brunkeberg in 1471.WEB,weblink Battle of Brunkeberg 1471, tripod.com, 1 June 2018, In 1460, following the death of his uncle, Duke Adolphus of Schleswig, Count of Holstein, Christian also became Duke of Schleswig and Count of Holstein.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Biography

Early years

Christian I was born in February 1426 in Oldenburg in Northern Germany as the eldest son of Count Dietrich of Oldenburg by his second wife, Hedvig of Holstein (died 1436). Christian had two younger brothers, Maurice (1428–1464) and Gerhard (1430–1500), and one sister Adelheid.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}Through his father, he belonged to the House of Oldenburg, a comital family established since the 12th century in an area west of the River Weser in north-western Germany. Based on the two strongholds of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, the family had gradually expanded its rule over the neighbouring Frisian tribes of the area. Christian's father was called the Fortunate as he had reunited and expanded the family's territory. Christian's mother, Hedvig, was a daughter of Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein, and a sister of Adolphus, Duke of Schleswig. Through his mother, Christian was also a cognatic descendant of King Eric V of Denmark through his second daughter Richeza (died 1308) and also a cognatic descendant of King Abel of Denmark through his daughter Sophie. Through his father, Christian was a cognatic descendant of King Eric IV of Denmark through his daughter Sophia. Christian thus descended from the three surviving sons of Valdemar II and his second wife Berengaria of Portugal.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} He was also a cognatic descendant of King Magnus III of Sweden.At the death of their father in 1440, Christian and his brothers jointly succeeded Dietrich as Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. Christian was raised by his uncle, Duke Adolphus of Schleswig, Count of Holstein (1401–1459) as the childless duke wished for his young nephew to become his heir, and also succeeded in having Christian elected as his successor in the Duchy of Schleswig.WEB,weblink Adolf VIII, Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, 1 June 2018,

King of Denmark

File:C. W. Eckersberg Hertug Adolf, som afslaar Tilbudet om den danske Krone.jpg|thumb|Duke Adolph declining the offer of the Danish throne and recommending his nephew, Count Christian of Oldenburg. History painting by Christoffer Wilhelm EckersbergChristoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg(File:Den ældste håndfæstning (9288945185).jpg|thumb|The ascension promissory of Christian I)File:King Christian I of Denmark and Queen Dorothea.jpg|thumb|King Christian I and Queen Dorothea ]]In January 1448, King Christopher of Denmark, Sweden and Norway died suddenly and without natural heirs. His death resulted in the break-up of the union of the three kingdoms, as Denmark and Sweden went their separate ways and Norway's affiliation was unclear. The vacant Danish throne was first offered by the Council of the Realm to Duke Adolphus of Schleswig, being the most prominent feudal lord of Danish dominions. The duke declined and recommended his nephew, Count Christian of Oldenburg. Before being elected, Christian had to promise to obey to the Constitutio Valdemariana, a provision in the ascension promissory of King Valdemar III of Denmark, that promised that in the future, the same person could never be both ruler of the Duchy of Schleswig and Denmark simultaneously. The council also demanded that Christian should marry dowager queen Dorothea of Brandenburg (ca 1430–1495), widow of his predecessor King Christopher III. On 1 September 1448, after signing his ascension promissory, count Christian was elected to the Danish throne as king Christian I at the assembly in Viborg. His coronation was held on 28 October 1449, in the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, at which occasion his marriage with dowager queen Dorothea was also celebrated.WEB,weblink Dorothea, 1430-95, Dronning, Dansk biografisk Lexikon, 1 June 2018,

King of Sweden and Norway

File:Christian I - Graf zu Oldenburg.jpg|thumb|left|TapestryTapestryMeanwhile, Sweden had on 20 June 1448 elected Charles (VIII) as king of Sweden. Norway was now faced with the choice between a union with Denmark or Sweden, or electing a separate king. The latter option was quickly discarded, and a power-struggle ensued between the supporters of Christian of Denmark and Charles of Sweden. The Norwegian Council of the Realm was divided. In February 1449, a part of the Council declared in favour of Charles as king, but on 15 June the same year, a different group of councillors paid homage to Christian. On 20 November, Charles was crowned king of Norway in Trondheim.{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}However, the Swedish nobility now took steps to avoid war with Denmark. In June 1450, the Swedish Council of the Realm forced Charles to renounce his claim on Norway to King Christian. In the summer of 1450, Christian sailed to Norway with a large fleet, and on 2 August he was crowned king of Norway in Trondheim. On 29 August, a union treaty between Denmark and Norway was signed in Bergen. Norway had of old been a hereditary monarchy, but this had become less and less a reality, as at the last royal successions, hereditary claims had been bypassed for political reasons. It was now explicitly stated that Norway, as well as Denmark, was an elective monarchy. The treaty stipulated that Denmark and Norway should have the same king in perpetuity, and that he would be elected among the legitimate sons of the previous king, if such existed.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}Charles Knutsson became increasingly unpopular as king of Sweden, and was driven into exile in 1457. Christian achieved his aim of being elected as king of Sweden, thus re-establishing the Kalmar Union. He received the 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 Kettil Karlsson Vasa, Bishop of Linköping 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 the Battle of Brunkeberg (outside Stockholm) October 1471 where he was defeated by forces on Swedish regent Sten Sture the Elder (). Christian maintained his claim to the Swedish kingdom up to his death in 1481.WEB,weblink Erik Axelsson Tott, Biografiskt lexikon för Finland 1. Svenska tiden, 1 June 2018, WEB,weblink Kettil Vasa (Karlsson), historiska-personer.nu, Christer Engstrand, 1 June 2018, 9 September 2016,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20160909144706weblink">weblink dead, WEB,weblink Jöns Bengtsson (Oxenstierna), Svenskt biografiskt lexikon, 1 June 2018, WEB,weblink Sten Sture den äldre, Tacitus.nu, Örjan Martinsson, 1 June 2018, 22 April 2022,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20220422070134weblink">weblink dead,

Duke and Count

In 1460 King Christian also became Duke of Schleswig, a Danish fief, and Count of Holstein-Rendsburg, a Saxe-Lauenburgian subfief within the Holy Roman Empire. Christian inherited Holstein-Rendsburg and Schleswig after a short "interregnum" as the eldest son of the sister of late Duke Adolphus VIII, Duke of Schleswig (Southern Jutland) and Count of Holstein, of the Schauenburg fürst clan, who died 4 December 1459, without heirs. Christian's succession was confirmed by the Estates of the Realm (nobility and representatives) of these duchies in Ribe 5 March 1460 (Treaty of Ribe). In 1474 Lauenburg's liege lord Emperor Frederick III elevated Christian I as Count of Holstein to Duke of Holstein, thus becoming an immediate imperial vassal (see imperial immediacy).{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Later reign

File:Malpaga10.JPG|thumb|left|The visit of the king of Denmark to Bergamo's Malpaga Castle, where a banquet was offered in his honour by Venetian Captain-General Colleoni.]]File:Medalj över Kristian I, Nordisk familjebok.png|thumb|Medal of Christian I of Denmark, made during his journey through ItalyItalyChristian's personal territory was at its largest in 1460–1464, 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.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}In 1474 Christian travelled two times: in April he went to Milan (his stay in Lombardy is celebrated by frescoes by Il Romanino in the Malpaga Castle) and Rome, in Italy, where he met Pope Sixtus IV. In the autumn same year he visited Charles of Burgundy, acting as intermediary between him and future emperor Maximilian I. He stayed in Burgundy for several months, moving to the Netherlands in the early 1475.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}File:Christian den Første stifter universitetet (9288942775).jpg|thumb|left|Rendition of Christian I establishing the University of CopenhagenUniversity of CopenhagenActing on a permission from Pope Sixtus IV in 1475 to establish a university in Denmark, the University of Copenhagen was inaugurated by Christian on 1 June 1479.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Death and burial

File:RoskildeDomkirke-ChristianIKapelModSkibet.jpg|thumb|The Gothic frescos of the Chapel of the Magi, showing amongst others Jesus carrying his cross on Via DolorosaVia DolorosaKing Christian died at Copenhagen Castle on 21 May 1481 at the age of 55. He was interred at the Chapel of the Magi at Roskilde Cathedral, a richly decorated chapel he and Queen Dorothea had erected to serve as a family sepulchral chapel for the House of Oldenburg. The burials of Christian I and Queen Dorothea are marked with a pair of simple stones, as the chapel itself was to be considered their sepulchral monument.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Legacy

The dynasty he founded, the House of Oldenburg, remains on the throne of Denmark. It was on the throne of Norway until 1818, returning there again from 1905, and also on the throne of Sweden during Christian's reign there and those of his son and grandson, but also 1751–1818.Burke's Royal Families of the World {{ISBN|0-85011-023-8}} p 60

Arms

File:BlasonChristian Ier (1143-1167), comte d'Oldenbourg.svg|Coat of arms as Count of Oldenburg.File:Christian I of Denmark Coat of Arms 1448-1450.svg|Coat of arms as King of Denmark, the Goths and the Wends.File:Christian I of Denmark Coat of Arms 1457-1460.svg|Coat of arms as King of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Wends.File:Blason Christian Ier de Oldenbourg (1425-1481) Roi de Suède, de Danemark et de Norvège (retouched).svg|Coat of arms as King of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and the Wends and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein.File:Royal coats of arms of King Christian I and Queen Dorothea of Denmark.tif|alt=Fresco of Christian I and Dorothea's coats of arms|Coat of arms on fresco in Roskilde Cathedral, alongside Queen Dorothea's coat of arms (right)

Ancestry

{{ahnentafelalign=center|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;|1= 1. Christian I of Denmark|2= 2. Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg|3= 3. Hedvig of Holstein|4= 4. Christian V, Count of Oldenburg|5= 5. Agnes of Hohnstein-Heringen|6= 6. Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg|7= 7. Catherine Elisabeth of Brunswick|8= 8. Conrad I, Count of Oldenburg|9= 9. Ingeborg of Holstein-Plön|10= 10. Dietrich V, Count of Hohnstein-Heringen|11= 11. Sophie of Brunswick|12= 12. Henry II, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg|13= 13. Ingeborg of Mecklenburg|14= 14. Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg|15= 15. Catherine of Anhalt-Bernburg}}

Danish royal descent

{{Tree chart/start |summary= Descent of Christian I of Denmark}}{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | Val | | | Val=House of Estridsen}}{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | |!}}{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | Val | | | Val=Valdemar II of Denmark}}{{Tree chart| | | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.}}{{Tree chart| | | | Pa1 | | Pa2 | |Pa3| | |Pa1=Christopher I of Denmark|Pa2=Abel, King of Denmark|Pa3=Eric IV of Denmark}}{{Tree chart| | | | |!| | | |!| | | |!| | | }}{{Tree chart| | | | Pa1 | | Pa2 | |Pa3| | |Pa1=Eric V of Denmark|Pa2=Sophie, Princess of Anhalt-Bernburg|Pa3=Sophia, Queen of Sweden}}{{Tree chart| | | | |!| | | |!| | | |!| | | }}{{Tree chart| | | | Pa1 | | Pa2 | |Pa3| | |Pa1=Richeza of Denmark|Pa2=Bernhard II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg|Pa3=Ingeborg, Countess of Holstein-Plön}}{{Tree chart| | | | |!| | | |!| | | |!| | | }}{{Tree chart| | | | Pa1 | | Pa2 | |Pa3| | |Pa1=Sophie of Mecklenburg-Werle|Pa2=Bernhard III, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg|Pa3=Gerhard IV, Count of Holstein-Plön}}{{Tree chart| | | | |!| | | |!| | | |!| | | }}{{Tree chart| | | | Pa1 | | Pa2 | |Pa3| | |Pa1=Henry II, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg|Pa2=Catherine of Anhalt-Bernburg|Pa3=Ingeborg, Countess of Oldenburg}}{{Tree chart| | | | |!| | | |!| | | |!| | | }}{{Tree chart| | | | Pa1 |y| Pa2 | |Pa3| | |Pa1=Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg|Pa2=Catherine Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg|Pa3=Christian V, Count of Oldenburg}}{{Tree chart| | | | | | |!| | | | | |!| | | }}{{Tree chart| | | | | | Hel |~|y|~| Die | | |Hel=Hedvig of Holstein|Die=Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg}}{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | |!}}{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | Chr | | |Chr=Christian I}}{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | |!}}{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | Old | | |Old=House of Oldenburg}}{{Tree chart/end}}

Issue{| class"wikitable"

!Name!!Birth!!Death!!Notes||John, King of Denmark>John2 February 145520 February 1513King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Had issue.Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland>Margaret23 June 145614 July 1486Married King James III of Scotland in 1469. Had issue.Frederick I of Denmark>Frederick I7 October 147110 April 1533King of Denmark and Norway. Had issue.

See also

• List of Danish monarchs
• Danish monarch's family tree

References

{{reflist}}

Bibliography

• JOURNAL, Erik, Arup, Erik Arup, Den finansielle side af erhvervelsen af hertugdømmerne 1460–1487, The financial side of the acquisition of the duchies 1460–1487,weblink Historisk Tidsskrift (Denmark), Historisk Tidsskrift, 4, 7, 317–388; 399–489, Copenhagen, 1902–1904, Den danske historiske Forening, da,
• JOURNAL, W., Carstens, Die Wahl König Christian I. von Dänemark zum Herzog von Schleswig und Graf von Holstein im Jahre 1460., The election of King Christian I of Denmark as Duke of Schleswig and Count of Holstein in 1460, Zeitschrift der Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte, 60, 1931, Gesellschaft für Schleswig-Holsteinische Geschichte, Kiel, de,
• BOOK, Troels, Dahlerup, De fire stænder. 1400–1500, The four estates. 1400–1500., Gyldendal og Politikens Danmarkshistorie, 6, 1989, Copenhagen, Gyldendal & Politikens Forlag, 87-89068-08-4, da,
• BOOK, Victor, Hermansen, Christiern den Førstes højde, The height of Christiern the First, 1950, Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen, da,
• ADB, 4, 180, 184, Christian I., Hille, Georg, ADB:Christian I. (König von Dänemark, Norwegen und Schweden),
• BOOK, Carsten, Jahnke, Carsten Jahnke, 2014, Two Journeys and One University: King Christian I and Queen Dorothea's Journeys to Rome and the Foundation of the University of Copenhagen, Denmark and Europe in the Middle Ages, c. 1000–1525: Essays in Honour of Professor Michael H. Gelting, 139–153, en,
• {{runeberg|url=https://runeberg.org/dbl/3/0483.html|chapter=Christian I|title=Dansk biografisk Lexikon|last=Mollerup|first=William|edition=1st|volume=3|date=1889}}
• JOURNAL, Arne, Odd Johnsen, Arne Odd Johnsen, 1947–1949, Kong Christian I.s forbundspakt med Karl den Dristige av Burgund og hans allierte (1467), King Christian I's Covenant Pact with Charles the Bold of Burgundy and his Allies (1467),weblink Historisk Tidsskrift (Denmark), Historisk Tidsskrift, Den danske historiske Forening, Copenhagen, 11, 2, 111–131, no,
• BOOK, Bjørn, Poulsen, Land – by – marked: to økonomiske landskaber i 1400-tallets Slesvig,weblink Flensburg, 1988, 87-89178-00-9, da,
• BOOK, Platte, Hartmut, 2006, Das Haus Oldenburg, Börde, Werl, 3-9810315-4-7, de, platte,
• BOOK, Scocozza, Benito, Christian 1., Politikens bog om danske monarker, Politiken's book about Danish monarchs, 1997, Politikens Forlag, Copenhagen, 87-567-5772-7, 94–98, da,
• {{NDB|3|232|233|Christian I.|Suhr, Wilhelm|12939159X}}
• JOURNAL, Biörn, Tjällén, 2020, King Bottomless Empty Purse': Taxes, Avarice and Pastoral Care in the Swedish Reign of Christian I (1457–64), Scandinavian Journal of History, 46, 2, 172–195, 10.1080/03468755.2020.1785932, free,

External links

{{Commons category|Christian I of Denmark}}

• The Royal Lineage {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150314224944weblink |date=14 March 2015 }} at the website of the Danish Monarchy

{{Monarchs of Denmark}}{{Monarchs of Norway}}{{Monarchs of Sweden}}{{Monarchs of Iceland}}{{Authority control}}