Christopher II of Denmark
Encyclopedia
Christopher II (29 September 1276 – 2 August 1332) was king of Denmark
from 1320 to 1326 and again from 1329 until his death. He was son of Eric V
. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in an almost total dissolution of the Danish state.
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Being the brother of King Eric VI
, Christopher was a possible heir to the throne. As a young man with the title of Duke of Estonia
, he supported the politics of his brother. Among other things he arrested Archbishop Jens Grand
in 1294. But later on he joined the opposition and went into exile at the death of Eric in 1319.
The magnate
s wanted a weak royal power, and Christopher was accepted as king in 1320; in return he signed a contractual håndfæstning
, the first time this kind of document was used as a coronation charter. He received a "bankrupt estate" in which entire regions of the kingdom were mortgaged to German and Danish magnates. The conditions of the charter were very hard, because they limited his ability to assess taxes, as well as demanded payments on the mortgages. Christopher could make no decision regarding the realm without the consent of the nobility and the bishops. The privileges of the nobility and the church were included in the charter and new ones were included. No bishop could be imprisoned, exiled, or fined without the pope's approval, no secular court could try any churchman, no church land or property could be taxed, the nobles could raise fees or rents on peasants, no noble could be forced to fight abroad or forced to pay to outfit soldiers to fight abroad, the king was required to ransom captured noblemen within a year, all taxes imposed since the reign of Valdemar Sejr
on nobles or church were to be lifted, but the kingdom's debts were to be paid. This shift of power away from the king would last until 1660.
Despite signing the charter, King Christopher ruled as if it did not exist. Since he could not tax the church or Danish nobles he levied disastrous taxes on the German territories and peasants.
During the next years Christopher tried to strengthen his position by reviving Erik’s policy of warfare against the duchies, counties, and cities of Northern Germany. This resulted in new mortgages and taxes, and very soon he was in conflict with both the church and the magnates. During a rebellion in 1326 he was overthrown by an alliance between Danish magnates and Holstein
Count Gerhard III
and Count Johann I of Holstein-Kiel
(Count Johann I of Wagrien
, son of Adolf IV of Holstein
). Christopher was forced into abdication and exile, while the 12-year-old Duke Valdemar
of Southern Jutland
was made a king of Denmark under the regent, Count Gerhard. They forced the Valdemar in his coronation charter to separate southern Jutland from Denmark so that never again would the King of Denmark rule there. Knud Knudson Porse took Halland for himself for his services to Count Gerhard and Count Johann. The squabbling over who got which pieces of Denmark broke down the alliances which had forced Christopher out of the country.
Until 1329 Christopher lived in exile, but a growing chaos in the "magnates’ republic" of Denmark, and frictions between Gerhard and his cousin Count Johan of Plön
, Christopher’s half-brother, gave him another chance. Suddenly, with the help of Henry of Mecklenburg
, Christopher stood poised at Vordingborg
with 2000 mounted German knights. Unfortunately for Christopher they allowed themselves to be surrounded and were forced to surrender. After a peasant uprising in Jutland which was crushed ruthlessly by Count Gerhard, the peasants in Skåne
begged King Magnus IV of Sweden
to rule them. He readily accepted and Denmark ceased to exist as a united kingdom.
Christopher was restored as Danish king 1329–1330 by the co-operation of Count Johan, but this time he was reduced to the position of a puppet from the start. Most of his country was mortgaged, and he had no chance of holding real royal power. Jutland
for example was mortgaged for 100,000 silver marks which had to be "laid on the table all at once" or the mortgage was not redeemed. It was an enormous mortgage and imposible to pay. Count Gerhard took all of Jutland as his personal property. Count Johan did the same on Funen
and Zealand. In 1331 Christopher attempted to use a conflict between Counts Gerhard and Johan by joining the latter which ended in a clear military defeat at Dannevirke
. Under the terms of the settlement between the counts, Christopher was allowed to retain the title of king, but in reality had no power whatsoever. He was given a simple house at Sakskøbing
on Lolland
, but even that was burned by German mercenaries. Christopher was imprisoned at Ålholm Castle on Lolland where he died a ruined and broken man the next year.
Upon his death Denmark ceased being a formal kingdom, and for the next eight years it was subdued by various mortgagees to German military rule.
History's judgment of Christopher has been extremely hard, and he has often been regarded as a weak, unreliable and incapable tyrant— "the king who mortgaged Denmark to the Germans". He in many ways simply carried on the policy of his predecessor. The policy of mortgaging parts of Denmark was common practice by nobles and kings alike to raise money. It would be incorrect to call him a passive ruler; the power of the Danish and German high nobility and their co-operation with church establishment undermined his freedom of action.
, whom he wed in 1300;
Illegitimate with ? Lunge:
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
from 1320 to 1326 and again from 1329 until his death. He was son of Eric V
Eric V of Denmark
Eric V "Klipping" was King of Denmark and son of Christopher I. Until 1264 he ruled under the auspices of his mother, the competent Queen Dowager Margaret Sambiria. Between 1261 and 1262, Eric was a prisoner in Holstein following a military defeat...
. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in an almost total dissolution of the Danish state.
Biography
Eric VI of Denmark
Eric VI Menved was King of Denmark and a son of Eric V and Agnes of Brandenburg.He became king in 1286 at age 12, when his father was murdered 20 November by unknown assailants...
, Christopher was a possible heir to the throne. As a young man with the title of Duke of Estonia
Duke of Estonia
The first duke of Estonia was appointed in 1220 by Valdemar II after Danish conquest of Estonia during Livonian crusade. The title was resumed by the kings of Denmark since 1269...
, he supported the politics of his brother. Among other things he arrested Archbishop Jens Grand
Jens Grand
Dr. Jens Grand, the Firebug was a Danish archbishop of Lund , titular Archbishop of Riga and Terra Mariana , and Prince-Archbishop of Bremen , known as the central figure of the second ecclesiastical struggle in Denmark in the late 13th century...
in 1294. But later on he joined the opposition and went into exile at the death of Eric in 1319.
The magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
s wanted a weak royal power, and Christopher was accepted as king in 1320; in return he signed a contractual håndfæstning
Håndfæstning
Håndfæstning , Håndfestning , Handfeste , were names for documents issued from the 13th to the 17th century in Scandinavia and Germany , e.g. the charters that were signed by Danish and Norwegian kings, and sometimes also by Swedish kings...
, the first time this kind of document was used as a coronation charter. He received a "bankrupt estate" in which entire regions of the kingdom were mortgaged to German and Danish magnates. The conditions of the charter were very hard, because they limited his ability to assess taxes, as well as demanded payments on the mortgages. Christopher could make no decision regarding the realm without the consent of the nobility and the bishops. The privileges of the nobility and the church were included in the charter and new ones were included. No bishop could be imprisoned, exiled, or fined without the pope's approval, no secular court could try any churchman, no church land or property could be taxed, the nobles could raise fees or rents on peasants, no noble could be forced to fight abroad or forced to pay to outfit soldiers to fight abroad, the king was required to ransom captured noblemen within a year, all taxes imposed since the reign of Valdemar Sejr
Valdemar II of Denmark
Valdemar II , called Valdemar the Victorious or Valdemar the Conqueror , was the King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. The nickname Sejr is a later invention and was not used during the King's own lifetime...
on nobles or church were to be lifted, but the kingdom's debts were to be paid. This shift of power away from the king would last until 1660.
Despite signing the charter, King Christopher ruled as if it did not exist. Since he could not tax the church or Danish nobles he levied disastrous taxes on the German territories and peasants.
During the next years Christopher tried to strengthen his position by reviving Erik’s policy of warfare against the duchies, counties, and cities of Northern Germany. This resulted in new mortgages and taxes, and very soon he was in conflict with both the church and the magnates. During a rebellion in 1326 he was overthrown by an alliance between Danish magnates and Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....
Count Gerhard III
Gerhard III
Gerhard III of Holstein . Sometimes called “Gerhard the Great”. In Denmark also known as “Count Gert” or “den kullede greve” . A German prince who was the ruler of most part of Denmark during the Interregnum 1332–1340.His father was Henry I of Schauenburg and Holstein-Rendsburg...
and Count Johann I of Holstein-Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
(Count Johann I of Wagrien
Wagrien
Wagria is the northeastern part of Holstein in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, corresponding roughly to the districts of Plön and Ostholstein...
, son of Adolf IV of Holstein
Adolf IV of Holstein
Adolf IV , was a Count of Schauenburg and of Holstein , of the family of the Schauenburger. Adolf was the eldest son of Adolf III of Schauenburg and Holstein by his second wife, Adelheid of Querfurt....
). Christopher was forced into abdication and exile, while the 12-year-old Duke Valdemar
Valdemar III of Denmark
Valdemar III of Denmark was a king of Denmark from 1326 to 1329 briefly when underage, as well as in 1325–26 and from 1330 to 1364 Duke of Schleswig as Valdemar V. He was a rival king set up against the unsuccessful Christopher II and was widely opposed by his many subjects. His term was ended...
of Southern Jutland
Southern Jutland
Southern Jutland is the name for the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark. The region north of the Kongeå is called Nørrejylland . Both territories had their own ting assemblies in the Middle Ages . South Jutland is mentioned for the first time in the Knýtlinga saga.In the 13th century...
was made a king of Denmark under the regent, Count Gerhard. They forced the Valdemar in his coronation charter to separate southern Jutland from Denmark so that never again would the King of Denmark rule there. Knud Knudson Porse took Halland for himself for his services to Count Gerhard and Count Johann. The squabbling over who got which pieces of Denmark broke down the alliances which had forced Christopher out of the country.
Until 1329 Christopher lived in exile, but a growing chaos in the "magnates’ republic" of Denmark, and frictions between Gerhard and his cousin Count Johan of Plön
Johan of Plön
John III of Holstein-Plön , called John the Mild, was a Count of Schauenburg and Holstein-Plön and Holstein-Kiel, ruling Holstein-Plön and Holstein-Kiel . Together with Count Gerhard III of Holstein-Rendsburg John III was the lord ruling in guardianship the Danish Duchy of Schleswig 1332–1340...
, Christopher’s half-brother, gave him another chance. Suddenly, with the help of Henry of Mecklenburg
Henry I, Prince of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Henry I was a Prince of Mecklenburg-Werle and Mecklenburg-Güstrow.-Biography:He was the son Prince Nicholas I of Mecklenburg-Werle and his wife Princess Jutta of Anhalt the daughter of Prince Henry I of Anhalt and his wife Princess Irmgard of Thuringia...
, Christopher stood poised at Vordingborg
Vordingborg
Vordingborg is a municipality in Region Sjælland on the southeast coast of the island of Zealand in south Denmark. The municipality includes the island of Masnedø, and covers an area of 621 km². It has a total population of 46,600...
with 2000 mounted German knights. Unfortunately for Christopher they allowed themselves to be surrounded and were forced to surrender. After a peasant uprising in Jutland which was crushed ruthlessly by Count Gerhard, the peasants in Skåne
Scania
Scania is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the...
begged King Magnus IV of Sweden
Magnus IV of Sweden
Magnus Eriksson as Magnus IV was king of Sweden , including Finland, as Magnus VII King of Norway , including Iceland and Greenland, and also ruled Scania . He has also vindictively been called Magnus Smek...
to rule them. He readily accepted and Denmark ceased to exist as a united kingdom.
Christopher was restored as Danish king 1329–1330 by the co-operation of Count Johan, but this time he was reduced to the position of a puppet from the start. Most of his country was mortgaged, and he had no chance of holding real royal power. Jutland
Jutland
Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German...
for example was mortgaged for 100,000 silver marks which had to be "laid on the table all at once" or the mortgage was not redeemed. It was an enormous mortgage and imposible to pay. Count Gerhard took all of Jutland as his personal property. Count Johan did the same on Funen
Funen
Funen , with a size of 2,984 km² , is the third-largest island of Denmark following Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy, and the 163rd largest island of the world. Funen is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 454,358 inhabitants . The main city is Odense, connected to the...
and Zealand. In 1331 Christopher attempted to use a conflict between Counts Gerhard and Johan by joining the latter which ended in a clear military defeat at Dannevirke
Dannevirke
Dannevirke , is a rural service town in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is the major town of the administrative Tararua District, the easternmost of the districts in which the Regional Council has responsibilities...
. Under the terms of the settlement between the counts, Christopher was allowed to retain the title of king, but in reality had no power whatsoever. He was given a simple house at Sakskøbing
Sakskøbing
thumb|The water tower in SakskøbingSakskøbing is a town with a population of 4,701 and a former municipality in Guldborgsund municipality in Region Sjælland on the northeast coast of the island of Lolland in south Denmark...
on Lolland
Lolland
Lolland is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of 1,243 square kilometers . Located in the Baltic sea, it is part of Region Sjælland...
, but even that was burned by German mercenaries. Christopher was imprisoned at Ålholm Castle on Lolland where he died a ruined and broken man the next year.
Upon his death Denmark ceased being a formal kingdom, and for the next eight years it was subdued by various mortgagees to German military rule.
History's judgment of Christopher has been extremely hard, and he has often been regarded as a weak, unreliable and incapable tyrant— "the king who mortgaged Denmark to the Germans". He in many ways simply carried on the policy of his predecessor. The policy of mortgaging parts of Denmark was common practice by nobles and kings alike to raise money. It would be incorrect to call him a passive ruler; the power of the Danish and German high nobility and their co-operation with church establishment undermined his freedom of action.
Issue
With his wife, Euphemia of PomeraniaEuphemia of Pomerania
Euphemia of Pomerania was a Danish Queen consort, spouse of King Christopher II of Denmark. She was the daughter of Bogislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania and his second wife, Magarete of Rügen.Euphemia wed Christopher in 1300...
, whom he wed in 1300;
- Margrete (1305–1340); married Louis V, Duke of BavariaLouis V, Duke of BavariaLouis V, Duke of Bavaria, called the Brandenburger was Duke of Bavaria and as Louis I also Margrave of Brandenburg and Count of Tyrol. Louis V was the eldest son of Emperor Louis IV and his first wife Beatrix of Świdnica...
- Erik (1307–1331); married Elisabeth of Holstein-Rendsburg, sister of Count Gerhard IIIGerhard IIIGerhard III of Holstein . Sometimes called “Gerhard the Great”. In Denmark also known as “Count Gert” or “den kullede greve” . A German prince who was the ruler of most part of Denmark during the Interregnum 1332–1340.His father was Henry I of Schauenburg and Holstein-Rendsburg...
and widow of John II, Duke of Saxe-LauenburgJohn II, Duke of Saxe-LauenburgJohn II of Saxe-Lauenburg was the eldest son of John I of Saxony and Ingeborg Birgersdotter of Småland , a daughter or grandchild of Birger jarl. He ruled Saxony jointly with his uncle Albert II and his brothers Albert III and Eric I, first fostered by Albert II, until coming of age... - Otto, Duke of Lolland and EstoniaDuke of EstoniaThe first duke of Estonia was appointed in 1220 by Valdemar II after Danish conquest of Estonia during Livonian crusade. The title was resumed by the kings of Denmark since 1269...
(1310-aft. 1347) - Agnes (d. 1312); died young
- Heilwig (born c. 1315)
- ValdemarValdemar IV of DenmarkValdemar IV of Denmark or Waldemar ; , was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375.-Ascension to the throne:...
(1320–1375)
Illegitimate with ? Lunge:
- Regitze Christofferdatter Løvenbalk, married Peder Stigsen (Krognos) of Krapperup
- Erik Christoffersen Løvenbalk, had issues. From this son descends the modern day line of the Dukes of Schleswig-Holstein and the former Prussian House of HohenzollernHouse of HohenzollernThe House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
.