Christopher of Bavaria

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Christopher
more...)
Reign9 April 1440 – 5 January 1448
Coronation1 January 1443
Ribe Cathedral
PredecessorEric VII
SuccessorChristian I
King of Sweden
Reign1441 – 5 January 1448
Coronation13 September 1441 in Uppsala
PredecessorEric XIII
SuccessorCharles VIII
King of Norway
ReignJune 1442 – 5 January 1448
Coronation2 July 1442 in Oslo
PredecessorEric III
SuccessorCharles I
Count of Palatinate-Neumarkt
Reign1443–1448
PredecessorJohn, Count Palatine of Neumarkt
SuccessorWolfgang of the Palatinate
Born26 February 1416
Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz
Died5/6 January 1448(1448-01-06) (aged 31)
Helsingborg
Burial, Roskilde
Spouse
(m. 1445)
HousePalatinate-Neumarkt
FatherJohn, Count Palatine of Neumarkt
MotherCatherine of Pomerania
Christopher as portrayed in an 1850s German publication

Christopher of Bavaria (

Norway (1442–48) during the era of the Kalmar Union.[1]

Biography

Coming to power

He was the son of

Rupert of Germany (1352–1410). Christopher was probably born at Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz in Upper Palatinate, in Bavaria, Germany. In 1445, Christopher married Dorothea of Brandenburg (1430 – 25 November 1495) in Copenhagen
. [2] [3]

State Council as the successor to his uncle, first as regent from 1439, and then proclaimed King of Denmark at the Viborg Assembly (Danish landsting) on 9 April 1440. He was meant to be a puppet, as evidenced by the saying: "Had the Council demanded the stars of heaven from him, he would have ordered it."[4]
However he succeeded in maintaining some personal control. As a whole his rule, according to the politics of the nobility and his succession, might be called the start of the long period of balance between royal power and nobility which lasted until 1660. He was later elected king of Sweden in 1441, and Norway in June 1442. [5]

For himself Christopher used the otherwise unknown title of arch king (archirex), because in his opinion he ruled an empire, not simply three different countries, and thus ranked immediately under the European emperor.[6]

Peasant rebellions

At the start of his reign, he put down

peasant rebellions in Funen and Jutland. Once the rebellion on Funen was suppressed, he turned his attention the uprising in Jutland. North Jutland, especially Vendsyssel, was so restive that a peasant army of 25,000 led by Henrik Tagesen Reventlow (executed 1441) posed a serious threat to Christopher's continued reign. Before the king could act, Jutland's noble families raised their own army and marched west of Aalborg to meet Reventlow's forces.[7]

The peasants had created a gigantic wagon fortress three layers deep to protect themselves from the mounted knights they knew would come against them. They also placed tree branches across the bog in front of the camp and then cast earth on top to make it look like solid ground. The overconfident army of nobles led by Eske Jensen Brock appeared at St Jorgen's Hill (St. Jørgensbjerg) on 3 May 1441. The knights charged the camp, and were quickly mired down in the bog. The peasants moved in for the kill. Brock was killed in the Battle of St Jorgen's Hill (Slaget ved Skt. Jørgensbjerg) and dismembered and the pieces sent to the towns in the area as a warning. The peasants then raided Aalborghus (the area's most important manor) forcing the noble Niels Guldenstierne to flee.[4][8][9][10]

The treatment of the captives after the battle strengthened Christopher's determination to put down the peasants. With his own army Christopher rode north to the rebel camp at

serfs on the farms where they worked.[4] The king made it a capital crime for peasants to carry weapons longer than a short knife. The subjugation of Denmark's once free peasants was complete.[11]

Coronation, relations with Swedes

King Christopher's royal seal

In May 1442 Christopher traveled to

King of Denmark at the Urnehoved Assembly near Ribe. When his residence at Roskilde burned down, Christopher moved to Copenhagen and made it the capital of Denmark.[12]

The Swedish nobles were not happy to relinquish any power and thus didn't like him, claiming he was too German for them and that he allowed his uncle (ex-King Eric) to plunder shipping from his castle on

Hanseatic cities allowed. During his reign Copenhagen was made permanently the capital of Denmark (municipal charter
of 1443).

He carried on an ineffective policy of war and negotiations against Eric in Gotland which did little to help the dissatisfaction within both Sweden and the

Valdemar IV
of Denmark.

Death

In 1448, Christopher died suddenly at Helsingborg at age 31. King Christopher was buried in Roskilde Cathedral. His widow, Queen Dorothea, married the new king of Denmark, Christian I.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Christoffer 3 af Bayern 1416-48". Aarhus University. Archived from the original on May 8, 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  2. ^ "Katharina von Pommern". mittelalterfreunde. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  3. ^ "Rupert (king)" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 23 (11th ed.). 1911.
  4. ^ a b c Huitfeldt, Arild. Danmarks Riges Krønike
  5. ^ Erik Opsahl (2018-03-20). "Erik Av Pommern". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  6. .
  7. ^ "Henrik Tagesen Reventlow". Den Store Danske. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  8. ^ Jon Gunnar Arntzen. "Gyldenstierne". Store norske leksikon. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  9. ^ "Eske Brock, d. 1441". Den Store Danske. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  10. ^ "Brock, Eske Jensen". Den Store Danske. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  11. ^ "Husby Hole". Den Store Danske. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  12. ^ "Urnehoved". Den Store Danske. Retrieved June 1, 2018.
  13. ^ [when?]
  14. ^ "Kong Hans". Diplomatarium Norvegicum (volumes I-XXI). Retrieved June 1, 2018.

Other sources

  • Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, vol. 7, Copenhagen 1980.
  • Politikens Danmarkshistorie, vol. 4 by Erik Kjersgaard, Copenhagen 1962.
  • Politikens bog om Danske Monarker by Benito Scocozza, Copenhagen 1998.
Christopher of Bavaria
Cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach
Born: 26 February 1416 Died: 6 January 1448
Regnal titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Eric of Pomerania
King of Denmark

1440–1448
Vacant
Title next held by
Christian I
King of Sweden

1441–1448
Vacant
Title next held by
Charles VIII & I
King of Norway

1442–1448
Preceded by
Count Palatine of Neumarkt

1443–1448
Succeeded by