Lords of the Danemark
Chapter I: Valdemar IV
Part 5: Legacy (1370-1372)
The Last Dance
Valdemar IV spent the last several years worried about an Imperial reaction to his seizing Lubeck. He'd repaired relations with Oldenburg and signed a number of friendship treaties with Imperial prince-electors. The Holy Roman Emperor, Albrecht II of Austria, might have contested Valdemar's claim but he kept busy fighting Aleksander I of Poland. By the summer of 1370 both sides fought bitterly over Pommerania.
Valdemar used this time to begin repairing relations with the Bohemians. It was an arduous task, for while the regents for young King Fridrich might have appreciated the gesture language as well as distance separated the two realms. Still, over the next year relations thawed noticeably.
(Exchange Mil Accesses, and one gift.)
On the home front he commissioned a renowned architect, Stephen Bigsby, to modernize and beautify Absalon's Castle.
The castle was built by Absalon, Bishop of Roskilde in 1167 on an island outside Copenhagen harbor. The current bishop gave it to Valdemar IV in 1346. Its presence was vital to both Copenhagen's defense and enforcement of the Sound Due. In its latter role it served as a symbol of Denmark's authority and at early in the last war the Hanseatic League promised to demolish it. Valdemar wanted to make it a visible sign of Danish prosperity and prestige.
He sent Christian to accompany Bigsby in the hope he would learn something useful about maintaining royal appearances. He proved an indifferent student, far more interested in the destructive parts of the architect's trade rather than putting things together.
On May 11, 1371 Valdemar IV awoke with sharp chest pains. Medics eased the worst of his suffering, but the attack paralyzed his left side. He sent for Christian and, perhaps strangely, Helvig but a second attack killed him three days later.
In almost thirty-one years on the throne Valdemar quite literally resurrected Denmark from a non-entity to one of the most powerful states in northern Europe. He reclaimed every inch of territory lost by the last two kings and rid himself of two powerful enemies. On the home front he repaired the damage done by decades of misrule and yielding to foreign magnates.
Gains during Valdemar's Reign
The Vultures Gather
Helvig arrived at Vordingborg in late May to find regents already in place for the last year of Christian's minority. Rather than rely on her uncertain temper and good will, the
Danehof instead appointed a joint regency council of long time diplomat Henning Podebusk, Cardinal Teodoso de Faria, and Markus Gramtinger. Gramtinger was a recent appointee to the
Rigsraadet at the behest of Burghermeister Jakob Pleskow and the Lubeckers. A banker and moneylender by trade, Gramtinger believed in the old adage that sticking your neck out was a good way to get it chopped off. He advanced through expertise at fourteenth century economics, a basic understanding of Germanic and Danish law, and a complete unwillingness to make enemies.
The regents compelled Christian to sign a coronation charter, something Valdemar avoided. Their demands weren't nearly as severe as those placed on Christopher II in 1320, but they undid much of Valdemar's work with the stroke of a pen. Some highlights:
Coronation Charter of Christian I said:
1. All rights and privileges reserved to the nobility and clergy by the Charter (under Eric V) of 1282 are reinstated.
2. (To secure these rights) The Danehof shall meet at least once yearly, on St. John's Day (June 21). Either the king or his drost (prime minister on the Rigsraadet) shall attend and answer all claims and grievances.
3. No nobleman shall be required to fight, or outfit soldiers to fight in a foreign campaign unless: 1) We are the defender, 2) The Pope has called for a Crusade, or 3) the Danehof has authorized the campaign.
4. No holdings directly under control of the Church shall be taxed. Ecclesiastical courts shall be respected.
5. Danish merchants shall be exempt from the Sound Due.
6. Lubeck's final relationship with Denmark shall be determined on St. John's Day, 1381 solely by a vote of the Lubeck Council. All reparations or indemnities outlined in the Peace of Stralsund (1366) shall be revoked.
7. Major expenses require a majority vote of the Rigsraadet. No new taxes shall be imposed without a majority vote of the Rigsraadet pending final approval by the Danehof.
Despite Helvig's strong protests, Christian signed the document and immediately returned to Copenhagen. So long as he was allowed his extravagant personal expenses he cared less about the day to day running of his kingdom, which he considered beneath him. In Copenhagen he developed an interest in public works and spent time with the fire brigade. Later that year they credited him with saving two children from a burning house he happened to be near. He also took up the fiddle.
In June Erik III of Norway, Valdemar's grandson through Margaret, dismissed his regent council. One of his first acts was to suggest Christian marry Brigit, daughter of one of his ex-regents. The Danish regents agreed and they married two months later.
(RM)
When Brigit arrived in Copenhagen she was still a child, even by medieval standards. She adapted quickly however and looked up to Christian as a big brother during the first few years of their relationship. She was almost a stereotype: Fresh, innocent, naturally friendly and likeable. Her Danish was already comprehensible. In the next few years she mastered it entirely.
After stripping Christian of the most onerous of Valdemar's assumed privileges the regents ruled Denmark adequately and stopped at least one pretender before he could organize. Their eleven months of rule are mostly forgettable, but they did manage to restructure the Danish parliament.
The
Danehof had grown bloated, full of nobles with little or no land as well as clerics whose parishes were wiped out in the Plague. It didn't represent the rising burghers at all and hosted a disproportionate amount of Germans from the days before Valdemar. Gathering the
Danehof took a month and significant administration. Getting them to agree on anything was an act of futility.
The
Rigsraadet meanwhile numbered about twenty people (and their clerks, squires and other servants). All bishops were automatically members. The reigning king could appoint who he wanted, while the council could add to their number at will.
The regents restructured the privy council as a permanent replacement of the
Danehof, who they quietly voted out of existence in March 1372. It would consist of the following:
Declaration of 1372 said:
(The First Bench) 6 members appointed by the regents (Nobles). Upon the resignation or death of a member, his seat would be filled by the five incumbents.
(The Second Bench) 6 members appointed by the regents (Clergy). Replacement as above.
(The Third Bench) 5 members appointed by the King. Upon the resignation or death of a member, the reigning monarch would fill his position.
1 King or Heir Apparent
Any number of at large members agreed upon by a majority vote of all three benches.
A gentleman's agreement between the regents as well as Christian ensured adequate representation for the burghers. The king alone would appoint the
drost or prime minister. If he couldn't do so or refused, the Council would choose one of their number to lead them. The
Rigsraadet adopted all rights of the
Danehof.
Their reform was fair enough to quiet most dissent and comforted those Germans familiar with the Imperial Reichstag. By the time any resistance could have solidified Christian was ready to take the throne.
Christian
Christian accepted his crown from the Bishop of Roskilde in the presence of the new council/parliament at Nyborg Castle on April 8, 1372. He then took the queen's crown and placed it on his child-wife's head. He repeated the promises made in his Coronation Charter and affirmed his support for the new council's structure.
Christian earned some fame in Copenhagen when he rescued the children. Some compared him to his father and found a potentially strong king, one perhaps a little more easy going than his father and less likely to tax them into oblivion.
Others saw a boy who cared for little beyond his own interests and comfort. He liked to take the lead socially, and so long as people let him he made a superior host. Those who questioned him or made the wrong remark learned their king had a petulant streak, stubborn like his father and overtly hostile. Fortunately Brigit could keep up with him in court or on the dance floor and he seemed fond of his young wife.
Celebrations lasted for the next week. Along with the usual courtly affairs, there were daily parades with a traveling band of entertainers and animals. The festivals continued by firelight by Christian's orders and, when he finally tired of socializing, he spent long hours staring into the flames. His succession party ended in a three day joust with the winner given a golden goose taken from the Goose Tower of Vordingborg Castle.
For one glorious week Christian could do no wrong...