Christian II of Denmark

Christian II (1481 – 1559) was a Danish monarch and King of Denmark, Norway (1513 – 1523) and Sweden (1520 – 1521), under the Kalmar Union. Christian was born the son of King John of Denmark ("Kong Hans") and Christina of Saxony, at Nyborg Castle in 1481 and succeeded his father as king and regent in Denmark and Norway, where he later was to be succeeded by his uncle king Frederick I of Denmark. In Sweden he was as a result of his conquest of Sweden and his involvement in the Stockholm Bloodbath to be remembered as Christian the Tyrant.

Downfall

Sweden too was now in open revolt; and both Norway and Denmark were taxed to the uttermost to raise an army for the subjection of the sister kingdom. Foreign complications were now added to these domestic troubles. With the laudable objective of releasing Danish trade from the grinding yoke of the Hanseatic League, and making Copenhagen the great emporium of the north, Christian had arbitrarily raised the Sound tolls and seized a number of Dutch ships which presumed to evade the tax.

Related Topics:
Hanseatic League - Copenhagen

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Thus his relations with the Netherlands were strained, while with Lübeck and her allies he was openly at war. Finally Jutland rose against him, renounced its allegiance and offered the Danish crown to Christian's uncle, Duke Frederick of Holstein, January 20, 1523. So overwhelming did Christian's difficulties appear that he took ship to seek help abroad, and on May 1 landed at Veere in Zeeland.

Related Topics:
Lübeck - Jutland - Frederick of Holstein - January 20 - 1523 - May 1 - Veere

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During his exile years the king led a relatively humble life in the city of Lier in the Netherlands waiting for the military help of his reluctant imperial brother-in-law. In the meantime he became regarded a social saviour in Denmark where both the peasants and the commoners began to wish his restoration. For some time he even became a protestant but had to re-convert in order to get the support of the Emperor.

Related Topics:
Lier - The Netherlands

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Eight years later, October 24, 1531 he attempted to recover his kingdoms but a tempest scattered his fleet off the Norwegian coast, and on July 1, 1532, by the convention of Oslo, he surrendered to his rival, King Frederick, in exchange for a promise of safe conduct.

Related Topics:
October 24 - 1531 - July 1 - 1532

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But King Frederick did not keep his promise, and for the next 27 years King Christian was kept prisoner, first in the Castle of Soenderborg until 1549, and afterwards at the castle of Kalundborg.

Related Topics:
Castle of Soenderborg - Kalundborg

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Stories of solitary confinement in small dark chambers are inaccurate, however; King Christian was treated like a nobleman, particularly in his old age, and he was allowed to host parties, go hunting, and wander freely as long as he did not go beyond the boundaries of the town of Kalundborg.

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His cousin, King Christian III of Denmark, son of Frederick I, died in early 1559, and it was said that even then, with the old king nearing 80, did people in Copenhagen look warily towards Kalundborg.

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But king Christian II died peacefully just a few days later, and the new king, Frederick II, ordered that a royal funeral be held in memory of his unhappy kinsman, who lies buried in Odense next to his wife and his parents.

Related Topics:
Frederick II - Odense

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