Christian V of Denmark

Christian V
King of Denmark and Norway
Reign	1670–1699
Predecessor	Frederick III
Successor	Frederick IV
Spouse	Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel
Issue
Frederick IV of Denmark Princess Sophia Hedwig Prince Charles Christian Gyldenløve Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve
House	House of Oldenburg
Father	Frederick III of Denmark
Mother	Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Born	15 April 1646(1646-04-15) Duborg Castle, Flensburg
Died	25 August 1699(1699-08-25) (aged 53) Copenhagen
Burial	Roskilde Cathedral
Religion	Lutheranism

Christian V (15 April 1646 – August 25, 1699), was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 to 1699, the son of Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He married Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) on 14 May 1667 at Nykøbing and ascended the throne on 9 February 1670.

Crown of Christian V

Reign

It is generally argued that Christian V's personal courage and affability made him popular among the common people, but his image was marred by his unsuccessful attempt to regain Scania for Denmark in the Scanian War. The war exhausted Denmark's economic resources without securing any gains.^[1]

Part of Christian's appeal to the common people may be explained by the fact that he allowed Danish commoners into state service, but his attempts to curtail the influence of the nobility also meant continuing his father's drive toward absolutism.^[1][2] To accommodate non-aristocrats into state service, he created the new noble ranks of count and baron. One of the commoners elevated in this way by the king was Peder Schumacher, named Count Griffenfeldt by Christian V in 1670 and high councillor of Denmark in 1674.^[1]

Griffenfeldt, a skilled statesman, better understood the precarious situation Denmark placed itself by attacking Sweden at a time when the country was allied with France, the major European power of the era. As Griffenfeldt predicted, Sweden's stronger ally France was the party that dictated the peace with Denmark's ally Holland, and in spite of Danish victory at sea in the battles against Sweden in 1675–1679 during the Scanian War, Danish hopes for border changes on the Scandinavian Peninsula between the two countries were dashed. The results of the war efforts proved politically and financially unremunerative for Denmark. The damage to the Danish economy was extensive. At this point, Christian V no longer had his most experienced foreign relations counsel around to repair the political damage - in 1676 he had been persuaded to sacrifice Griffenfeldt as a traitor, and to the clamour of his adversaries, Griffenfeldt was imprisoned for the remainder of his life.^[3]

Christian V introduced Danske Lov (the Danish Code) in 1683, the first law code for all of Denmark.^[4] It was succeeded by the similar Norske Lov (Norwegian Code) of 1687. He also introduced the land register of 1688, which attempted to work out the land value of the united monarchy in order to create a more just taxation. During his reign, science witnessed a golden age due to the work of the astronomer Ole Rømer in spite of the king’s personal lack of scientific knowledge and interest.

Like Charles XI of Sweden, who had never been outside Sweden, Christian spoke German and Danish only and was therefore often considered poorly educated due to his inability to communicate with visiting foreign diplomats.^[5] Christian V was also often considered dependent on his councillors by contemporary sources. The Danish monarch did nothing to dispel this notion. In his memoirs, he listed "hunting, love-making, war and maritime affairs" as his main interests in life.^[3]

He died from the after-effects of a hunting accident and was interred in Roskilde Cathedral.^[3]

Personal life and family

Portrait of Christian V in the old Russian reference book (1672)

Christian V had eight children by his wife and five by his mistress. He publicly introduced his sixteen-year-old mistress, Sophie Amalie Moth (1654–1719), into court in 1672, a move which insulted his wife. His mistress was the daughter of his former tutor (Paul Moth), and he made her countess of Samsø on 31 December 1677.

Issue

Name	Birth	Death
Frederick IV	2 October 1671	2 October 1730
Christian Vilhelm	1 December 1672	25 January 1673
Christian	25 March 1675	27 June 1695
Sophie Hedevig	28 August 1677	13 March 1735
Charles	26 October 1680	8 June 1729
Christiane Charlotte	17 July 1683	17 july 1683
Vilhelm	21 February 1687	23 November 1705

His children with his mistress, Sophie Amalie Moth;

Name	Birth	Death
Christiane Gyldenløve	1672	1689
Christian Gyldenløve	28 February 1674	16 July 1703
Sophie Christiane Gyldenløve	1675	18 August 1684
Anna Christiane Gyldenløve	1676	11 August 1689
Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve	24 June 1678	8 December 1719

After the Scanian War, his sister, Princess Ulrike Eleonora of Denmark, married the Swedish king Charles XI, whose mother was a stout supporter of the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp. In spite of the family ties, war between the brothers-in-law was close again in 1689, when Charles XI nearly provoked confrontation with Denmark by his support of the exiled Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp in his claims to Holstein-Gottorp in Schleswig-Holstein.^[5]

Ancestry

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Christian V." (2007). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 9 January 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
2. ^ Jespersen, Knud J.V. The Introduction of Absolutism. Gyldendal Leksikon, quoted by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, on Denmark's official web site.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Nielsen, Kay Søren (1999). Christian V - Konge og sportsmand. The Royal Danish Arsenal Museum, Net Publications, 1999.
4. ^ Jespersen, Knud J.V. Denmark as a Modern Bureaucracy. Gyldendal Leksikon, quoted by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, on Denmark's official web site.
5. ^ ^{a b} Upton, Anthony F. (1998). Charles XI and Swedish Absolutism, 1660–1697. Cambridge University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-521-57390-4.

External links

• The Royal Orders of Chivalry (Order of Dannebrog, instituted by Christian V in 1671) — Official site of the Danish Monarchy
• Find-A-Grave entry for Christian V
• Nielsen, Kay Søren. "Christian V. Konge og sportsmand" (in Danish). The Royal Danish Arsenal Museum. http://www.thm.dk/publ/ksn/ksn1_1.htm. Retrieved 29 November 2009. 

Christian V House of Oldenburg Born: 14 April 1646 Died: 25 August 1699
Regnal titles
Preceded by Frederick III	King of Denmark and Norway Count of Oldenburg 1670–1699	Succeeded by Frederick IV
Preceded by Frederick III and Christian Albert	Duke of Holstein and Schleswig 1670–1699 with Christian Albert (1670-1695) Frederick IV (1695-1699)	Succeeded by Frederick IV (Denmark) and Frederick IV (Gottorp)

Persondata
Name	Christian 05 Of Denmark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	15 April 1646
Place of birth	Duborg Castle, Flensburg
Date of death	25 August 1699
Place of death	Copenhagen