Christopher I (1219 – May 29, 1259) was King of Denmark between 1252 and 1259. He was the son of Valdemar II of Denmark

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...

 by his wife, Infanta Berengária of Portugal

Berengária of Portugal

Berengaria of Portugal , was a Portuguese infanta, later Queen consort of Denmark. She was the fifth daughter of Portuguese King Sancho I and Dulce of Aragon. She married Danish King Valdemar II and was the mother of Danish kings Eric IV, Abel and Christopher I.-Background:Berengaria was the...

. He succeeded his brothers Eric IV Plovpenning

Eric IV of Denmark

Eric IV, also known as Eric Ploughpenny , was king of Denmark from 1241 until his death in 1250. He was the son of King Valdemar II of Denmark by his wife, Infanta Berengária of Portugal, and brother to King Abel and King Christopher I.-Early life:...

 and Abel of Denmark

Abel of Denmark

Abel of Denmark was Duke of Schleswig from 1232 to 1252 and King of Denmark from 1250 until his death in 1252. He was the son of Valdemar II by his second wife, Infanta Berengária of Portugal, and brother to Eric IV and Christopher I....

 on the throne. Christopher was elected King upon the death of his older brother Abel in the summer of 1252. He was crowned at Lund Cathedral

Lund Cathedral

The Lund Cathedral is the Lutheran cathedral in Lund, Scania, Sweden. It is the seat of the bishop of Lund of the Church of Sweden.- History :...

 on Christmas Day 1252.

King of Denmark

Christopher began organizing the effort to have his brother Erik IV Plovpenning

Eric IV of Denmark

Eric IV, also known as Eric Ploughpenny , was king of Denmark from 1241 until his death in 1250. He was the son of King Valdemar II of Denmark by his wife, Infanta Berengária of Portugal, and brother to King Abel and King Christopher I.-Early life:...

 canonized

Canonization

Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...

, laying his murder directly at the feet of his other brother Abel of Denmark

Abel of Denmark

Abel of Denmark was Duke of Schleswig from 1232 to 1252 and King of Denmark from 1250 until his death in 1252. He was the son of Valdemar II by his second wife, Infanta Berengária of Portugal, and brother to Eric IV and Christopher I....

. If recognized by the pope, the murder would exclude Abel's sons from the succession and guarantee Christopher's own sons Denmark's crown. This meant that Christopher as a younger son tried to keep the sons of his older brothers from ruling Denmark, which went against prevailing customs.

The king spent most of his reign fighting his many opponents. By allowing Abel's son, Valdemar Abelsøn

Valdemar III, Duke of Schleswig

Valdemar III Abelsøn was Duke of Schleswig from 1253 until his death in 1257. He was the eldest son af King Abel of Denmark, Duke of Schleswig and Matilda of Holstein.-Life:...

, to be Duke of Schleswig he prevented an all-out civil war, but became the target of intrigue and treachery. Southern Jutland including Schleswig

Schleswig

Schleswig or South Jutland is a region covering the area about 60 km north and 70 km south of the border between Germany and Denmark; the territory has been divided between the two countries since 1920, with Northern Schleswig in Denmark and Southern Schleswig in Germany...

 and Holstein

Holstein

Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....

 were independent from the king's rule for a time. Christopher also gained a ferocious enemy in the newly named Archbishop of Lund, Jacob Erlandsen, who was closely connected with Abel's family. Erlandsen asserted his rights often at odds with the king. King Christopher insisted that the church pay taxes like any other land owner. Bishop Jacob refused and went so far as to forbid peasant

Peasant

A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...

s who lived or worked on church properties to give military service to King Christopher. Erlandsen was perhaps the wealthiest man in the kingdom and insisted that the secular government have no control or hold over the church, its property, or ecclesiastical personnel. He simply excommunicated the king to show that he wasn't about to surrender to the king's will.

After an incursion into Halland

Halland

' is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden , on the western coast of Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Scania and the sea of Kattegat.-Administration:...

 by Haakon IV of Norway

Haakon IV of Norway

Haakon Haakonarson , also called Haakon the Old, was king of Norway from 1217 to 1263. Under his rule, medieval Norway reached its peak....

, in 1256, Christopher was reconciled with the kings of Norway

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 and Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 which had been provoked by Abel's interventions. There were peasant uprisings against King Christopher the same year and again in 1258 as a result of Christopher's new property tax. Archbishop Jacob refused to recognize Christopher's young son, Eric, as Denmark's rightful heir in 1257 and threatened excommunication against any bishop who anointed the prince as king of Denmark. That was the last straw. He ordered Bishop Erlandsen's own brother to arrest the troublesome archbishop. Christopher humiliated the proud and powerful Archbishop Jakob by forcing him to wear secular clothing and a fool's cap with a fox tail attached. The archbishop was paraded through the country to Hagenskov near Assens

Assens, Denmark

Assens is a town with a population of 6,060 on the west coast of the island of Funen at the shore of the Little Belt in central Denmark. Assens is the municipal seat of Assens municipality in Region of Southern Denmark. It was the birthplace of sculptor Jens Adolf Jerichau who married the...

 where he was chained and cast into prison. Erlandsen had ordered at a Vejle

Vejle

Vejle is a town in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle and Grejs Rivers and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality and the Region of Southern Denmark...

 church council that if he was imprisoned that the bishops were to declare interdict against the whole country, but none of them did. Bishop of Roskilde Peder Bang fled to Rügen

Rügen

Rügen is Germany's largest island. Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.- Geography :Rügen is located off the north-eastern coast of Germany in the Baltic Sea...

 and convinced Chief Jarimar II of Rügen to invade Zealand.

Christopher tried to have his brother Eric IV canonized, but without Archbishop Jacobs' support it came to naught. When Duke Valdemar died, King Christopher tried to prevent Valdemar's brother, Eric Abelsøn

Eric I, Duke of Schleswig

Eric I Abelsøn was Duke of Schleswig from 1260 until his death in 1272. He was the second son of King Abel of Denmark, Duke of Schleswig and Mechtild of Holstein.-Early life:...

, from taking the duke's place. Valdemar's widow encouraged a few counts of northern Germany to rebel. In the confusion, Christopher fled to Southern Jutland to stay with the Bishop of Ribe.

The King died "unexpectedly" after taking Holy Communion. According to contemporary sources, King Christopher died after drinking poisoned communion wine from the hands of abbot Arnfast of Ryd Abbey

Ryd Abbey

Ryd Abbey or Rüde Abbey was a Cistercian monastery in Munkbrarup that formerly occupied the present site of Glücksburg Castle in Glücksburg on the Flensburg Fjord in the Schleswig-Flensburg district of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.- History :...

 in revenge for his mistreatment of Archbishop Erlendsen and the king's oppression of the church. King Christopher's excommunication had no effect, and he was buried in front of the high altar of Ribe Cathedral

Ribe Cathedral

Our Lady Maria Cathedral is located in the ancient city of Ribe on the western coast of southern Jutland, Denmark- History :Ribe is Denmark's oldest surviving city. Ribe began as an open trading market on the north bank of the Ribe River where it runs into the ocean...

 immediately after his death on May 29, 1259. The king may have died of natural causes, Christopher's allies, however, called him Krist-Offer ("Christ's sacrifice"). Christopher was succeeded by his son Eric, as Eric V of Denmark

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...

.

Legacy

The Danehof

Danehof

Danehof was the name of the Danish medieval parliament which played a certain role between c. 1250 and 1413.The precondition of the Danehof – like that of the Håndfæstning - was the growing power and opposition among the Danish magnates after 1250. They wanted limitations of the royal power,...

 became an institution during his rule. It functioned like a national council which had limited advisory and judicial functions.

Christopher married Margaret Sambiria

Margaret Sambiria

Margaret Sambiria, in Danish: Margrethe Sambiria or Sambirsdatter, was the Queen consort of Christopher I of Denmark, and acted as regent for Eric V of Denmark...

, the daughter of Count Sambor II of Pomerania

Sambor II, Duke of Pomerania

Sambor II of Tczew was a duke of Pomerania and prince of Lubiszewo Tczewskie.Sambor was a son of Mestwin I, Duke of Pomerania, and member of the Samborides. He was married to Mechtild of Mecklenburg. His daughter, Margaret Sambiria, became Queen of Denmark in 1248 by marriage with Christopher I of...

, in 1248 and had at least three children:

• King Eric V of Denmark
  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...
  
  . (1249–1286)
• Niels (d. 21 December 1259), died young
• Valdemar, died young
• Matilda (1250-1299/1300), married to Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel
• Margaret (c. 1257-1306), married Count John II of Holstein-Kiel

Ancestry