Christian III (redirected from Christian III of Denmark)

Christian III, 1503–59, king of Denmark and Norway (1534–59). At the death of his father, Frederick I, his election was delayed because he was a Lutheran. The German city of Lübeck invaded Denmark to reinstate the deposed Christian II, and the minor nobility then forced the election of Christian III in 1534 to preserve Danish autonomy. Christian III allied with Gustavus I of Sweden to defeat Lübeck in 1536. That victory broke the power of the Hanseatic League and made the Danish fleet supreme in northern waters. Christian established (1536) Lutheranism in Denmark and imposed it on Norway. Never elected king by the Norwegians, he declared Norway a dependency of Denmark. His son Frederick II succeeded him.

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Christian III

(born Aug. 12, 1503, Gottorp, Schleswig—died Jan. 1, 1559, Kolding, Den.) King of Denmark and Norway (1534–59). Son of King Frederick I, he assumed control of the kingdom after winning a civil war known as the Count's War. He arrested the Catholic bishops who had opposed him and organized the Diet of Copenhagen (1536), which confiscated episcopal property and established the state Lutheran church. By forming close ties between the church and the crown, he laid the foundation for the absolutist Danish monarchy of the 17th century.