- 1534-1559: King of Denmark
- 1537-1559: King of Norway
- 1533-1559: Duke of Schleswig-Holstein
- Count of Oldenburg
Biography
Christian III Oldenburg of Denmark was born 12 August 1503 in Gottorf Castle, Schleswig, Germany to Frederik I of Denmark (1471-1533) and Anna von Brandenburg (1487-1514) and died 1 January 1559 Koldinghus, Kolding, Denmark of unspecified causes. He married Dorothea von Sachsen-Lauenburg (1511-1571) 29 October 1525 JL in Lauenburg Castle, Lauenburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
Christian III (12 August 1503 – 1 January 1559) reigned as King of Denmark from 1534 and King of Norway from 1537 until his death in 1559. During his reign, Christian formed close ties between the church and the crown. He established Lutheranism as the state religion within his realms as part of the Protestant Reformation, and was the first King of Denmark-Norway.[1][2]
Birth & Early Years as Prince
Christian was the eldest son of the future king, Frederick I of Denmark, and Anna of Brandenburg. He was born at Gottorf Castle in Schleswig which Frederick I had made as a primary residence. In 1514, when he was just ten years old, Christian's mother died. Four years later, his father remarried to Sophie of Pomerania (1498–1568). In 1523, Frederick I was elected King of Denmark in the place of his nephew, Christian II. The young Prince Christian's first public service after his father became king was gaining the submission of Copenhagen, which stood firm for the fugitive, Christian II. As stadtholder of the Duchies of Holstein and Schleswig in 1526, and as viceroy of Norway in 1529, Christian III displayed considerable administrative ability.[3][4][5]
Election as King
After his father's death, in 1533, Christian was proclaimed king of Denmark at an assembly in Rye, a town in eastern Jutland, in 1534. The Rigsraad, dominated by Roman Catholic bishops and nobles, refused to accept Duke Christian as king and turned to Count Christopher of Oldenburg in order to restore Christian II to the Danish throne. Christian II had supported both the Roman Catholics and Protestant Reformers at various times. In opposition to Christian III, Count Christopher was proclaimed regent at the Ringsted Assembly (landsting), and at the Scania Assembly (landsting) on St Liber's Hill (Sankt Libers hög) near Lund Cathedral. This resulted in a two-year civil war, known as the Count's Feud (Grevens Fejde) from 1534 to 1536, between Protestant and Catholic forces.[3][6][7]
Memorials
In 1579, Frederick II commissioned Dutch artists to erect a memorial to Christian III at Roskilde Cathedral.[8]
Christian III received an honorary stone at the Walk of Fame at Landskrona which Sweden's Carl XVI Gustaf inaugurated in 2013.[9]
Marriage and Issue
Christian married Dorothea von Sachsen-Lauenburg (1511-1571) on 29 October 1525 at Lauenburg Castle.[10] She was daughter of Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg and Catherine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Christian and Dorothea were the parents of five children:
- Anna of Denmark (1532-1585), married to Augustus, Elector of Saxony.[11]
- Frederik II of Denmark (1534-1588), succeeded as King of Denmark and Norway.[12]
- Magnus of Denmark (1540–1583), became Duke of Holstein, and later titular King of Livonia.[13]
- Johann III. von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (1545-1622), Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg as 'John II'.[14] Today's Danish Royal Family is descended thru his children because of the royal succession crisis of 1863.
- Dorothea of Denmark (1546–1617), married to William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and mother of George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg.[15]
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Anna of Denmark (1532-1585) | 22 November 1532 Haderslev, Denmark | 1 October 1585 Dresden, Saxony, Germany | August von Sachsen (1526-1586) |
| Frederik II of Denmark (1534-1588) | 1 July 1534 Haderslev, Denmark | 4 April 1588 Antvorskov, Denmark | Sophie von Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1557-1631) |
| Magnus, King Of Livonia (1540-1583) | |||
| Johann III. von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (1545-1622) | 25 March 1545 Koldinghus | 9 October 1622 Glücksburg | Elisabeth von Braunschweig-Grubenhagen (1550-1586) Agnes Hedwig von Anhalt (1573-1616) |
| Dorothea of Denmark (1546-1617) | 6 January 1546 Kolding, Denmark | 6 January 1617 Winsen, Germany | Wilhelm von Braunschweig-Lüneburg (1535-1592) |
Siblings
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Christian III of Denmark (1503-1559) | 12 August 1503 Gottorf Castle, Schleswig, Germany | 1 January 1559 Koldinghus, Kolding, Denmark | Dorothea von Sachsen-Lauenburg (1511-1571) |
| Dorothea of Denmark (1504-1547) | 1 August 1504 | 11 April 1547 Königsberg Schloß | Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach (1490-1568) |
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Johann von Schleswig-Holstein-Hadersleben (1521-1580) | |||
| Elizabeth of Denmark (1524-1586) | 14 October 1524 Denmark | 15 October 1586 Gedser, Denmark | Magnus III. von Mecklenburg (1509-1550) Ulrich III. von Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1528-1603) |
| Adolf von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf (1526-1586) | 25 January 1526 Flensburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany | 1 October 1586 Schloss Gottorf, Schleswig, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany | Christine von Hessen (1543-1604) |
| Anna of Denmark (1527-1535) | |||
| Dorothea of Denmark (1528-1575) | |||
| Friedrich of Denmark (1532-1556) | |||
Research Notes
See Also
- Frederik Oldenburg
- Oldenburg Family
- Oldenburg in Lower Saxony
Notable Descendants
- Christian is patrilineal 14x great-grandfather of King Charles III of the United Kingdom.
Notable Ancestors
- Charlemagne (747-814) - via House of Ravensburg.
- House of Oldenburg
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. He was also a cognatic descendant of King Magnus III of Sweden.
References
- ^ Christian 3 (Dansk Konge)
- ^ Stortinget.no (Norwegian parliament) – Endringer i Grunnloven og kirkeloven
- ^ a b Øystein Rian. "Christian 3". Norsk biografisk leksikon. https://nbl.snl.no/Christian_3.
- ^ Erik Opsahl. "Frederik 1". Store norske leksikon. https://snl.no/Frederik_1.
- ^ Bain 1911.
- ^ "Grevens Fejde". Den Store Danske. http://denstoredanske.dk/Danmarks_geografi_og_historie/Danmarks_historie/Danmark_1536-1849/Grevens_Fejde.
- ^ "Sankt Libers hög". Learning4sharing. https://www.learning4sharing.nu/sanktlibershog-187272.html.
- ^ "Kongegravenes historie". https://roskildedomkirke.dk/besoeg/kongegrave/kongegravenes-historie.
- ^ "Walk of Fame minnesstenarna på Järnvägsgatan i Lndskrona". https://www.landskrona.se/contentassets/a33189634aec48b09575a4ee0217053e/walk-of-fame-2016_7_lr.pdf.
- ^ "Dorothea (1511–1571)". kvinfo.dk. http://www.kvinfo.dk/side/170/bio/499/.
- ^ "Anna von Dänemark". http://saebi.isgv.de/biografie/Anna,_Kurf%C3%BCrstin_von_Sachsen_(1532–1585).
- ^ "Frederik 2". https://nbl.snl.no/Frederik_2.
- ^ "Magnus, Konge af Lifland, 1540–83". https://runeberg.org/dbl/11/0050.html.
- ^ "Hans (den yngre), Hertug af Sønderborg, 1545–1622". https://runeberg.org/dbl/6/0574.html.
- ^ "Dorothea, Hertuginde af Brunsvig-Lyneborg, 1546–1617". https://runeberg.org/dbl/4/0308.html.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Bain. "Christian III.". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 6. Cambridge University Press. p. 276.- Grell, Ole Peter (1995) The Scandinavian Reformation. From evangelical movement to institutionalisation of reform (2 ed. Cambridge University Press) ISBN 0-521-44162-5
- Lausten, Martin Schwarz (1987) Christian d. 3. og kirken, 1537–1559 Archived 2017-01-05 at the Wayback Machine (Copenhagen: Akademisk forlag) ISBN 978-8750026877
- Lockhart, Paul Douglas (2007) Denmark, 1513–1660. The rise and decline of a Renaissance monarchy (Oxford University Press) ISBN 0-19-927121-6
- Scocozza, Benito (1997). "Christian 3." (in da). Politikens bog om danske monarker. Copenhagen: Politikens Forlag. pp. 114–119. ISBN 87-567-5772-7.
External links
- wikipedia:en:Christian III of Denmark
- Christian III of Denmark at thePeerage
- Christian III of Denmark, Geni.com, https://www.geni.com/people/Christian-III-King-of-Denmark-and-Norway/4104411, retrieved 15 Dec 2024
- Christian III of Denmark, FamilySearch.org, https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/MVSG-7XZ, retrieved 15 Dec 2024
- Christian III of Denmark, Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/DENMARK.htm#FrederikIdied1533B, retrieved 15 Dec 2024
- Christian III of Denmark, Genealogics.org, https://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00004366&tree=LEO, retrieved 15 Dec 2024
- Christian III of Denmark, FindAGrave.com, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/9472460/christian_iii_of_denmark-norway, retrieved 15 Dec 2024
Succession Charts
- The Royal Lineage Archived 2015-03-14 at the Wayback Machine at the website of the Danish Monarchy
Christian III Born: 12 August 1503 Died: 1 January 1559
| ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Frederick I |
King of Denmark 1534–1559 |
Succeeded by Frederick II |
| King of Norway 1537–1559 | ||
| Preceded by Frederick I and Christian II |
Duke of Holstein and Schleswig 1523–1559 with Frederick I (1523-1533) John (1544-1559) Adolf (1544-1559) |
Succeeded by John the Elder, Adolf and Frederick II |
Footnotes (including sources)
| ‡ General |
|
