Danish Monarch. He reigned as King of Denmark and Norway from 1448 to 1481. and King of Sweden from 1457 to 1464. His parents were Count Dietrich Theodore of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst and Countess Haelwig from Holstein (Schaumburg Dynasty). In 1448 he was elected King of Denmark and Norway upon the death of king Christopher III. One of the reasons he was elected was his willingness to marry the widowed Dowager Queen, 18-year-old Dorothy, originally a Princess of Brandenburg. He became the founder of the royal House of Oldenburg that reigned in Denmark in its main branch from 1448 to 1863 (16 kings), and is still on the throne there in 2007. As a young man he lived at the German Imperial Court. He was crowned king in Denmark 1449, in Norway 1450 and in Sweden 1457. As a result of the Swedish rebellion against the king in 1464, Sweden left the Kalmar Union, only to be reconquered in 1497 by Christian's son King John (Hans). Christian I was a popular monarch in Denmark. He further strengthened his position by visiting Pope Sixtus IV in Rome in 1474. The Cardinals in Rome said about the king: "A beautiful animal - pity though, that he is mute" - he did not speak the Latin language. With the Pope's blessing, Christian I founded the University of Copenhagen in 1479. In 1460 he had been elected Duke of Schleswig and Count of Holstein, and on that occasion he promised that his countries should be forever united "op ewig ungedeelt". When in 1469 his daughter Margaret married the Scottish king, James III, he took the Isles of Orkney and Shetland from his Norwegian kingdom and gave them to Scotland as her dowry.
Danish Monarch. He reigned as King of Denmark and Norway from 1448 to 1481. and King of Sweden from 1457 to 1464. His parents were Count Dietrich Theodore of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst and Countess Haelwig from Holstein (Schaumburg Dynasty). In 1448 he was elected King of Denmark and Norway upon the death of king Christopher III. One of the reasons he was elected was his willingness to marry the widowed Dowager Queen, 18-year-old Dorothy, originally a Princess of Brandenburg. He became the founder of the royal House of Oldenburg that reigned in Denmark in its main branch from 1448 to 1863 (16 kings), and is still on the throne there in 2007. As a young man he lived at the German Imperial Court. He was crowned king in Denmark 1449, in Norway 1450 and in Sweden 1457. As a result of the Swedish rebellion against the king in 1464, Sweden left the Kalmar Union, only to be reconquered in 1497 by Christian's son King John (Hans). Christian I was a popular monarch in Denmark. He further strengthened his position by visiting Pope Sixtus IV in Rome in 1474. The Cardinals in Rome said about the king: "A beautiful animal - pity though, that he is mute" - he did not speak the Latin language. With the Pope's blessing, Christian I founded the University of Copenhagen in 1479. In 1460 he had been elected Duke of Schleswig and Count of Holstein, and on that occasion he promised that his countries should be forever united "op ewig ungedeelt". When in 1469 his daughter Margaret married the Scottish king, James III, he took the Isles of Orkney and Shetland from his Norwegian kingdom and gave them to Scotland as her dowry.
Bio by: Benny Chordt Hansen
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