| Frederick I | |
|---|---|
 Posthumous portrait of Frederick by painterJacob Binck, 1539. No contemporary portraits of the King are known.[1] | |
| King of Denmark (more...) | |
| Reign | 1523[2] – 10 April 1533 |
| Coronation | 7 August 1524 Copenhagen Cathedral |
| Predecessor | Christian II |
| Successor | Christian III |
| King of Norway | |
| Reign | 5 August 1524 – 10 April 1533 |
| Predecessor | Christian II |
| Successor | Christian III |
| Duke of Schleswig-Holstein | |
| Reign | 1482 – 10 April 1533 |
| Predecessor | Christian II |
| Successor | Christian III |
| Co-duke | John (until 1490) |
| Born | 7 October 1471 Haderslevhus, Denmark |
| Died | 10 April 1533(1533-04-10) (aged 61) Gottorf Castle, Schleswig |
| Burial | |
| Spouses | |
| Issue among others... | Christian III of Denmark Dorothea, Duchess of Prussia John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev Elizabeth, Duchess of Mecklenburg Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp Dorothea, Duchess of Mecklenburg Frederick, Bishop of Hildesheim and Schleswig |
| House | Oldenburg |
| Father | Christian I of Denmark |
| Mother | Dorothea of Brandenburg |
| Religion | Catholicism |
Frederick I (Danish andNorwegian:Frederik;German:Friedrich;Swedish:Fredrik; 7 October 1471 – 10 April 1533) wasKing of Denmark andNorway from 1523 and 1524, respectively, until his death in 1533, and earlier co-dukeDuke of Schleswig andHolstein.
A member of theHouse of Oldenburg, he was the youngest son ofKing Christian I andDorothea of Brandenburg. Not originally destined for the throne, he received joint rule in Schleswig and Holstein on reaching his majority in 1490 and resided chiefly atGottorf Castle.[3]
Frederick declined the Danish crown on the death of his brotherKing Hans in 1513 but acceptedelection in 1523 after opposition to Hans’s son,Christian II. With the backing ofLübeck and North German allies, he prevailed in the ensuing war (1523–1524). His election, arranged by theCouncil of the Realm, compelled him to accept what is regarded as the most restrictivecoronation charter (Danish:håndfæstning) ever imposed on aDanish monarch.[4][5][6] He recognizedGustav Vasa as king of Sweden, abandoning efforts to revive theKalmar Union, though the two cooperated against Christian II.[7] In Norway, where he neither travelled nor was crowned, he was styled “elected king”, but acknowledged by the Council in 1524.[8]
His reign was dominated by the recurring threat of Christian II’s restoration, who enjoyed the active support ofEmperor Charles V. A rising inBlekinge in 1525 led by Christian’s adherentSøren Norby was suppressed byJohan Rantzau, and Christian’s attempt to return via Norway in 1531 achieved initial gains but failed to secure the realm.[9] During the ensuing negotiations in 1532, he was seized and remained in captivity thereafter. Frederick largely governed from Gottorf and delegated day-to-day administration to leading councillors, notably theSteward of the Realm,Mogens Gøye.[10] In foreign policy, he aligned himself with the two leading Protestant powers,Hesse andSaxony, while refraining from joining theSchmalkaldic League.[11][7]
Although officially aRoman Catholic, Frederick showed sympathy for theProtestant movement, permitting Lutheran preaching and extending protection to reformers such asHans Tausen, whom he employed aschaplain. He used the confessional divide to balance ecclesiastical and noble interests.[12][7] His reign is widely seen as an interlude of stability in the otherwise chaotic religious upheaval that characterised the period; the equilibrium he upheld dissolved upon his death.[13]
Frederick died at Gottorp in 1533. He was the lastCatholic monarch to reign over Denmark and Norway, and his death precipitated theCount’s Feud (1534–1536), asuccession war that ended with the accession of his sonChristian III and the establishment ofLutheranism as thestate religion inDenmark–Norway. Frederick's reign also began the enduring tradition of calling kings of Denmark alternately by the names Christian and Frederick.[14]
Frederick was the younger son of the first Oldenburg KingChristian I of Denmark, Norway andSweden (1426–81) and ofDorothea of Brandenburg (1430–95). Soon after the death of his father, the underage Frederick was elected co-Duke ofSchleswig andHolstein in 1482, the other co-duke being his elder brother, KingJohn of Denmark. In 1490 at Frederick's majority, both duchies were divided between the brothers.[15]
In 1500, he had convinced his brother King John to conquerDithmarschen. A great army was called from not only the duchies, but with additions from all of theKalmar Union for which his brother briefly was king. In addition, numerous Germanmercenaries took part. The expedition failed miserably, however, in theBattle of Hemmingstedt, where one-third of allknights of Schleswig and Holstein lost their lives.[16]
When his brother,King John died, a group of Jutish nobles had offered Frederick the throne as early as 1513, but he had declined, rightly believing that the majority of the Danish nobility would be loyal to his nephewChristian II.[17]
In late 1522, a group ofJutland nobles and bishops dissatisfied with Christian II’sburgher-friendly policies opened secret contacts with Duke Frederick. In December, Mogens Munk approached him atGottorf to test his willingness to accept election, and on 25 January 1523 the uprising was proclaimed at theViborgLandsting, led byMunk and TygeKrabbe. Munk then offered Frederick the crown atHusum, and he accepted, quickly concluded an alliance withLübeck, and declared war on Christian II. He appointedJohan Rantzau as military commander, who in March 1523 crossed the frontier with aHolstein force and joined the Jutland rebels atKolding. On 26 March, Frederick was acclaimed king at the ViborgLandsting, and the following week (on 2 April), Christian II fled to theLow Countries with the queen.[18]
Sweden simultaneously severed the last union ties when aRiksdag proclaimedGustav Eriksson Vasa king on 6 June 1523. This effectively ended theKalmar Union. Meanwhile, Frederick’s forces advanced acrossFunen toZealand and Copenhagen wasinvested on 10 June. AtRoskilde in August 1523 thehaandfæstning was adopted, restoring noble and clerical privileges curtailed under Christian II. Norway’s council submitted on 29 December 1523, and after an eight-month siege Copenhagen capitulated to Rantzau on 6 January 1524, ending Frederick’s campaign.[8]
He was elected king of Norway in 1524. It is not certain that Frederick ever learned to speak Danish. After becoming king, he continued spending most of his time atGottorp, a castle and estate in the city ofSchleswig.[17]
In 1524 and 1525, Frederick had to suppress revolts among the peasants inAgder,Jutland andScania who demanded the restoration of Christian II. The high point of the rebellion came in 1525 whenSøren Norby, the governor (statholder) ofGotland, invadedBlekinge in an attempt to restore Christian II to power. He raised 8000 men who besiegedKärnan (Helsingborgs slott), a castle inHelsingborg. Frederick's general,Johann Rantzau, moved his army toScania and defeated the peasants soundly in April and May 1525.[19]
Frederick played a central role in the spread of Lutheran teachings throughout Denmark. In his coronation charter, he was made the solemn protector (værner) of theCatholic Church in Denmark. In that role, he asserted his right to select bishops for the Catholic dioceses in the country. Christian II had been intolerant of Protestant teaching, but Frederick took a more opportunist approach. For example, he ordered that Catholics and Lutherans share the same churches and encouraged the first publication of theBible in the Danish language. In 1526, when Lutheran ReformerHans Tausen was threatened with arrest and trial for heresy, Frederick appointed him his personalchaplain to give him immunity.[20]
Starting in 1527, Frederick authorized the closure ofFranciscanhouses and monasteries in 28 Danish cities. He used the popular anti-establishment feelings that ran against some persons of theCatholic hierarchy and nobility of Denmark as well as keen propaganda to decrease the power of bishops and Catholic nobles.[21]
During his reign, Frederick was skillful enough to prevent all-out warfare between Catholics and Protestants. In 1532, he succeeded in capturing Christian II who had tried to invade Norway, and to make himself king of the country. Frederick died on 10 April 1533 in Gottorp, at the age of 61, and was buried inSchleswig Cathedral. Upon Frederick's death, tensions between Catholics and Protestants rose to a fever pitch which would result in theCount's Feud (Grevens Fejde).[22]
Frederick’s external policy was shaped by the civil and confessional pressures of his reign, domestic risings, and the continuing threat posed by the deposed Christian II. While remaining formally Catholic, he protected the Lutheran movement at home and pursued a cautious, balance-of-power posture abroad aimed at limitingHabsburg leverage and preventing Christian II’s restoration.[23]
Within theHoly Roman Empire he cultivated the leading evangelical princes. In April 1528 he concluded an alliance withHesse and receivedLandgrave Philip at Gottorp, and he maintained close relations with theErnestine Saxon court. After the formation of theSchmalkaldic League in 1531, he coordinated with its members but declined formal adhesion. In 1532 he entered a separate agreement with Protestant princes without binding military commitments. Dynastically, he strengthened Denmark–Norway’sBaltic position through the marriage of his daughterDorothea toAlbert, duke of Prussia, in 1526, creating a durable axis of interest across the southern Baltic.[23]
In Scandinavia his priority was a stablemodus vivendi with Sweden. By theTreaty of Malmö (1524) Denmark–Norway recognizedGustav Vasa as king of Sweden, formally ending theKalmar union era. Thereafter Copenhagen and Stockholm could act in parallel where interests coincided, notably in deterring attempts to restore Christian II.[23]
Frederick’s diplomatic endeavours predated his accession. As duke he had already sought a counterweight to Habsburg influence, including a treaty association withFrance atAmboise in 1518.[23] Following the imprisonment of Christian II, Frederick reached a diplomatic settlement withCharles V, and maintained peace until his death.[24]
He married firstly in 1502Anna of Brandenburg, daughter ofJohn Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg andMargaret of Thuringia. She was the sister ofJoachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg, and the alliance with theHouse of Hohenzollern was arranged by and conformed to the dynastic policy pursued byKing Hans, which strengented Denmark's position among theimperial electors.[7] He married secondly in 1514Sophie of Pomerania, daughter ofBogislaw "the Great", Duke of Pomerania andAnna Jagiellon, daughter ofCasimir IV Jagiellon. The union with theHouse of Griffin also linked Frederick maternally to theJagiellonian dynasty.[25] The children of Frederick married into the houses ofMecklenburg (bothMecklenburg-Güstrow,Mecklenburg-Schwerin andMecklenburg-Gadebusch),Ascania (Saxe-Lauenburg),Hohenzollern andHesse.
Contemporary testimony from Frederick himself is scant, and even such basics as whether he spokeDanish remain uncertain. The king’s German chancellorWolfgang Utenhof praised him as a conscientious, prudent and humane ruler, though later historians have cautioned that Utenhof’sencomium may reflect his disaffection with Frederick’s successor,Christian III. The councillorJohan Friis, writing in 1527, offers a less reverential glimpse: he referred to Frederick irreverently as “Abraham with the grey beard,” complained of his parsimony and avarice, and described his irritability when payment terms fell due.[26]
Later narratives often stress how constrained Frederick’s kingship was by aristocratic power. Danish historian Benito Scocozza memorably styled him "prisoner of theNobility" (Danish:adelens fange), a judgement commonly linked to the exceptionally restrictivecoronation charter he accepted in 1523 and to his reliance on the Rigsråd in day-to-day governance.[4] The late-sixteenth-century historianArild Huitfeldt (1596) portrayed him as “an oldhen reluctant to leave his nest inGottorp".[4]
Modern scholars emphasise a pragmatic, peace-preferring cast of mind. Peder Christoffersen describes Frederick as “shrewd, cautious, [and] socially conservative,” a king who preferred peace to point-scoring and who, in religious matters, supportedLuther’s teaching to a degree but “not enough to stake his monarchy on the cause.” Christoffersen is also unsparing about appearance, depicting Frederick as stout, with a prominent nose, full cheeks and thin lips.[27] Concerning finances, Rikke Agnete Olsen argues that Frederick inherited his motherDorothea’s economic sense “bordering on stinginess”.[7]
On 10 April 1502, Frederick marriedAnna of Brandenburg (1487–1514), the daughter ofJohn Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg andMargaret of Thuringia. The couple had two children:
Frederick's wife Anna died on 5 May 1514, 26 years old. Four years later on 9 October 1518 atKiel, Frederick marriedSophie of Pomerania (20 years old; 1498–1568), a daughter ofBogislaw "the Great", Duke of Pomerania. Sophie and Frederick had six children:
He is thecommon ancestor of all surviving branches of theHouse of Oldenburg.
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Frederick I Born: 7 October 1471 Died: 10 April 1533 | ||
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| Preceded by | King of Denmark 1523–1533 | Succeeded by |
| King of Norway 1524–1533 | ||
| Preceded by | Duke of Holstein andSchleswig 1490–1533 withJohn I (1490–1513) Christian II (1513–1523) Christian III (1523–1533) | |
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