Frederick I of Denmark

Frederick I (Danish and Norwegian: Frederik; German: Friedrich; 7 October 1471 – 10 April 1533) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1523 and 1524, respectively, until his death in 1533, and earlier co-duke Duke of Schleswig and Holstein.

A member of the House of Oldenburg, he was the youngest son of King Christian I and Dorothea of Brandenburg. Not originally destined for the throne, he received joint rule in Schleswig and Holstein on reaching his majority in 1490 and resided chiefly at Gottorf Castle.

Frederick declined the Danish crown on the death of his brother King Hans in 1513 but accepted election in 1523 after opposition to Hans’s son, Christian II. With the backing of Lübeck and North German allies, he prevailed in the ensuing war (1523–1524). His election, arranged by the Council of the Realm, compelled him to accept what is regarded as the most restrictive coronation charter (Danish: håndfæstning) ever imposed on a Danish monarch. He recognized Gustav Vasa as king of Sweden, abandoning efforts to revive the Kalmar Union, though the two cooperated against Christian II. In Norway, where he neither travelled nor was crowned, he was styled “elected king”, but acknowledged by the Council in 1524.

His reign was dominated by the recurring threat of Christian II’s restoration, who enjoyed the active support of Emperor Charles V. A rising in Blekinge in 1525 led by Christian’s adherent Søren Norby was suppressed by Johan Rantzau, and Christian’s attempt to return via Norway in 1531 achieved initial gains but failed to secure the realm. During the ensuing negotiations in 1532, he was seized and remained in captivity thereafter. Frederick largely governed from Gottorf and delegated day-to-day administration to leading councillors, notably the Steward of the Realm, Mogens Gøye. In foreign policy, he aligned himself with the two leading Protestant powers, Hesse and Saxony, while refraining from joining the Schmalkaldic League.

Although officially a Roman Catholic, Frederick showed sympathy for the Protestant movement, permitting Lutheran preaching and extending protection to reformers such as Hans Tausen, whom he employed as chaplain. He used the confessional divide to balance ecclesiastical and noble interests. His reign is widely seen as an interlude of stability in the otherwise chaotic religious upheaval that characterised the period; the equilibrium he upheld dissolved upon his death.

Frederick died at Gottorp in 1533. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over Denmark and Norway, and his death precipitated the Count’s Feud (1534–1536), a succession war that ended with the accession of his son Christian III and the establishment of Lutheranism as the state religion in Denmark–Norway. Frederick's reign also began the enduring tradition of calling kings of Denmark alternately by the names Christian and Frederick.