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78-487: Posten was founded in January 1647 as Postvesenet ( lit.   ' The Postal System ' ) by general postmaster Henrik Morian . It was established as a private company, and King Christian IV gave his blessing to its founding. Postvesenet was privately run until 1719 when the state took over. From that point on, the national postal service was a state monopoly . Local city postal services remained private, but in 1888,

156-593: A masque of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba , as a drunken fiasco, where most of the players simply fell over from the effects of too much wine. The royal party went to Upnor Castle and had dinner aboard the Elizabeth Jonas . At Gravesend, when the royal party was on his ship the Admiral , Christian IV provided a firework display built on a small ship or lighter, which brought tears to eyes of King James, although

234-812: A "guardian government" being installed until he was officially installed as King in 1596. When Christian was crowned king, Denmark-Norway held a supremacy over the Baltic Sea, which he lost to Sweden. Nevertheless, Christian was one of the few kings from the House of Oldenburg that achieved a lasting legacy of popularity with both the Danish and Norwegian people. As such, he featured in the Danish national play Elverhøj . Furthermore, his great building activities also furthered his popularity. Christian IV spoke Danish, German, Latin , French and Italian. Naturally cheerful and hospitable, he delighted in lively society; but he

312-716: A Danish parallel to Magna Carta ), which was an identical copy of his father's from 1559. Twelve days later, on 29 August 1596, Christian IV was crowned at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen by the Bishop of Zealand , Peder Jensen Vinstrup (1549–1614). He was crowned with a new Danish Crown Regalia which had been made for him by Dirich Fyring (1580–1603), assisted by the Nuremberg goldsmith, Corvinius Saur. On 30 November 1597, he married Anne Catherine of Brandenburg ,

390-409: A French servant. He had sailed with only three ships and captured some pirates during the voyage. More ships with his Danish courtiers arrived on 5 August. The diplomatic purpose of the visit was kept secret. The Venetian ambassador Antonio Foscarini heard that Anne of Denmark had written to him about a dispute with King James. Foscarini described Christian as, "above the average in height, dressed in

468-470: A circle of diameter 90 kilometers. Christian also restored and restructured the castle Akershus , where he invited the people of Norway to the official and age-old installment of the king in 1590, and again in 1610. When the king was busy overseeing the reparations and re-building of the fortress at Oslo, he lived in the country all summer, and at the same time tried to establish a centre for producing iron at Eiker , Buskerud . History tells he actually ruled

546-606: A consistent diplomatic policy. He would neither conciliate Sweden, henceforth his most dangerous enemy, nor guard himself against her by a definite system of counter-alliances. Christian contacted the Roman Catholic part of the Thirty Years' War, and offered to broker a deal with Sweden. However, his mediating was highly skewed in favour of the Holy Roman Emperor, and was a transparent attempt at minimising

624-473: A daughter of Joachim Friedrich , Margrave of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia . Christian took an interest in many and varied matters, including a series of domestic reforms and improving Danish national armaments. New fortresses were constructed under the direction of Dutch engineers. The Royal Dano-Norwegian Navy , which in 1596 had consisted of but twenty-two vessels, in 1610 rose to sixty, some of them built after Christian's own designs. The formation of

702-532: A fleet in case of need, and shortly afterwards a Swedo-Danish army and fleet compelled Wallenstein to raise the siege of Stralsund . Thus with the help of Sweden, the superior sea-power enabled Denmark to tide over her worst difficulties, and in May 1629 Christian was able to conclude peace with the emperor in the Treaty of Lübeck , without any diminution of territory. However, the treaty bound Christian not to interfere in

780-765: A fortress. He also founded the Danish East India Company ( Asiatisk Kompagni ) inspired by the similar Dutch company . Christian is the longest-reigning monarch in Scandinavian history in terms of holding the title. However, the Danish Royal House recognized Margrethe II as having the official record in July 2023. The Danish Royal House noted that Christian IV was not of the legal age to become King upon his father's death, which resulted in

858-482: A national army proved more difficult. Christian had to depend mainly upon hired mercenary troops as was common practice in the times—well before the establishment of standing armies—augmented by native peasant levies recruited for the most part from the peasantry on the crown domains. Up until the early 1620s, Denmark-Norway's economy profited from general boom conditions in Europe. This inspired Christian to initiate

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936-486: A new postal law was introduced that expanded the monopoly to the entire country. In 1933, Postvesenet was renamed Postverket . In 1996, Posten Norge BA was established as a state-owned company where the Norwegian state had limited liability . In 2002, Posten changed its corporate structure to that of a stock company to prepare the company for the expected deregulation of the Norwegian postal market. Posten Bring AS

1014-642: A paralysing effect upon Denmark. In his sixty-sixth year he once more displayed something of the energy of his triumphant youth. Night and day he laboured to levy armies and equip fleets. Fortunately for him, the Swedish government delayed hostilities in Scania until February 1644, and the Danes were able to make adequate defensive preparations and save the important fortress of Malmö . The Danish fleet prevented Torstensson crossing from Jutland to Funen , and defeated

1092-530: A policy of expanding Denmark-Norway's overseas trade as part of the mercantilist wave fashionable in Europe. He founded a number of merchant cities, and supported the building of factories. He also built a large number of buildings in Dutch Renaissance style. His sister Anne had married King James VI of Scotland , who succeeded to the English throne in 1603. To foster friendly relations between

1170-480: A rebellion against kings who did not keep their promises, a right that was used in 1523. However, in the 16th century, it was not quite unusual that the councillors to some degree identified with the State rejecting too extravagant demands from the Danish gentry . The background of this normally was that they themselves represented the Danish answer to the peerage. The number of councillors was not laid down. Normally it

1248-461: A whole, it was the role of the council to rule together with the king, to control him, and to manage the affairs of State well. The councillors were seen as a guarantee towards the nobility (and in theory also towards "the people") that everything was done right. The Council took over the rule in the space that appeared by a succession or at interregna. It led negotiations over the creation of a new haandfæstning , and in theory it also had to call for

1326-488: Is still fully owned by the Norwegian state, and the liberalization process has been postponed until 2011 by the government. The postal service is divided into four divisions: Post, Logistics, Distribution Network, and ErgoGroup AS . The latter specialized in electronic services and outsourcing. ErgoGroup merged with EDB to form Evry ASA, which Posten now jointly owns with the Norwegian multinational telecommunications company Telenor ASA . In 2002, Posten Bring acquired 57% of

1404-539: Is the longest in Scandinavian history. A member of the House of Oldenburg , Christian began his personal rule of Denmark-Norway in 1596 at the age of 19. He is remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious, and proactive Danish-Norwegian kings, having initiated many reforms and projects. Christian IV obtained for his kingdoms a level of stability and wealth that was virtually unmatched elsewhere in Europe. He engaged Denmark-Norway in numerous wars, most notably

1482-618: The Catholic League , as promises of military support from the Netherlands and England did not materialise. In the summer of 1627 both Tilly and Albrecht von Wallenstein occupied the duchies and the whole peninsula of Jutland . Christian now formed an alliance with Sweden on 1 January 1628, as he and Gustavus Adolphus shared the reluctance of German expansion in the Baltic region. Gustavus Adolphus pledged to assist Denmark with

1560-607: The Council of the Realm and the Council of the State – sometimes translated as the "Privy Council") is the name of the councils of the Scandinavian countries that ruled the countries together with the kings from late Middle Ages to the 17th century. Norway had a Council of the Realm ( Riksrådet ) that was de facto abolished by the Danish-Norwegian king in 1536–1537. In Sweden the parallel Council gradually came under

1638-578: The Nayak of Tanjore (now Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu) turned out to be interested in trading opportunities and a treaty was negotiated granting the Danes the village of Tranquebar (or Tarangamabadi) on India's south coast and the right to construct a "stone house" ( Fort Dansborg ) and levy taxes. The treaty was signed on 20 November 1620, establishing Denmark's first colony in India . Christian also assigned

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1716-529: The Schleswig-Holstein duchies, Christian for a time stayed his hand. The urgent solicitations of other powers, and his fear that Gustavus Adolphus should supplant him as the champion of the Protestant cause, finally led him to enter the war on 9 May 1625. He also feared that Sweden could use a war to further expand their holdings in the Baltic Sea. Christian embarked on a military campaign which

1794-578: The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648), which devastated much of Germany, undermined the Danish economy, and cost Denmark-Norway some of its conquered territories. He rebuilt and renamed the Norwegian capital Oslo as Christiania after himself, a name used until 1925. Christian was born at Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark on 12 April 1577 as the third child and eldest son of King Frederick II of Denmark–Norway and Sofie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin . He

1872-414: The Treaty of Brömsebro on 8 February 1645. Here Denmark had to cede Gotland , Ösel and (for thirty years) Halland , while Norway lost the two provinces Jämtland and Härjedalen , giving Sweden the supremacy of the Baltic Sea. Christian IV spent more time in the kingdom of Norway than any other Oldenburg monarch and no Oldenburg king made such a lasting impression on the Norwegian people. He visited

1950-461: The 1630s. Christian gained both in popularity and influence at home, and he hoped to increase his external power still further with the assistance of his sons-in-law, Corfitz Ulfeldt and Hannibal Sehested , who now came prominently forward. Between 1629 and 1643 the European situation presented infinite possibilities to politicians with a taste for adventure. However, Christian was incapable of

2028-598: The 17th century and especially growing economic problems and conservatism of the nobility also weakened the prestige of the council, and the king gradually tried to strengthen his own influence. At the introduction of absolute monarchy in 1660, the council was abolished. The word Rigsråd was revived in Denmark in the 19th century. During 1854–1866 it was used for a special federal council dealing with all common legislative questions of Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein , and from 1863 of Denmark and Schleswig alone. It had hardly anything else in common with its old namesake other than

2106-572: The Copenhagen fortress Kastellet , Rosenborg Castle , workers' district Nyboder , the Copenhagen naval Holmen Church (Holmens Kirke), Proviantgården , a brewery, the Tøjhus Museum arsenal , and two Trinity Churches in Copenhagen and modern Kristianstad, now known as respectively Trinitatis Church and Holy Trinity Church . Christian converted Frederiksborg Castle to a Renaissance palace and completely rebuilt Kronborg Castle to

2184-590: The Danish king Christian II , the Swedish nobleman Gustav Vasa took over the resistance and successfully restored Swedish sovereignty in 1523. Over the next two centuries the Monarchy and the Riksråd were constant rivals. When Sigismund was crowned in 1594 the Riksråd drafted the Charter of Nyköping which took many of the king's powers. During Queen Christina of Sweden 's reign a large proportion of crown land

2262-432: The Danish overlordship of Holstein by the compact of Steinburg in July 1621. Christian IV had obtained for his kingdom a level of stability and wealth that was virtually unmatched elsewhere in Europe. Denmark was funded by tolls on the Øresund and also by extensive war-reparations from Sweden. Denmark's intervention in the Thirty Years' War was aided by France and by Charles I of England, who agreed to help subsidise

2340-562: The Dutch auxiliary fleet which came to Torstensson's assistance at the action of 16 May 1644 . Another attempt to transport Torstensson and his army to the Danish islands by a large Swedish fleet was frustrated by Christian IV in person on 1 July 1644. On that day the two fleets encountered at the Battle of Colberger Heide . As Christian stood on the quarterdeck of the Trinity , a cannon close by

2418-533: The French fashion. His nature is warlike". Despite Christian's many efforts, the new economic projects did not return a profit. He looked abroad for new income. Christian IV's Expeditions to Greenland involved a series of voyages in the years 1605–1607 to Greenland and to Arctic waterways in order to locate the lost Eastern Norse Settlement and to assert Danish sovereignty over Greenland. The expeditions were unsuccessful, partly due to leaders lacking experience with

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2496-521: The King died. Christian was reckoned a typical renaissance king, and excelled in hiring musicians and artists from all over Europe. Many English musicians were employed by him at several times, among them William Brade , John Bull and John Dowland . Dowland accompanied the king on his tours, and as he was employed in 1603, rumour has it he was in Norway as well. Christian was an agile dancer, and his court

2574-526: The Norwegian Riksråd gradually diminished. The archbishop of Trondheim mostly acted as the head of the council. As Norway had of old been a hereditary kingdom , the Norwegian Riksråd's task did not, originally include the election of the king, as in Sweden and Denmark. However, as successive kings died without leaving any issue, starting with Olav IV in 1387, it fell to the Riksråd to interpret

2652-487: The Swedish influence in the Baltics. His Scandinavian policy was so irritating and vexatious that Swedish statesmen advocated for a war with Denmark, to keep Christian from interfering in the peace negotiations with the Holy Roman Emperor, and in May 1643, Christian faced another war against Sweden. The increased Sound Dues had alienated the Dutch, who turned to support Sweden. Sweden was able, thanks to their conquests in

2730-452: The Swedish ships in the Bay of Kiel . But the Swedish fleet escaped, and the annihilation of the Danish fleet by the combined navies of Sweden and the Netherlands, after an obstinate fight between Fehmarn and Lolland at the end of September, exhausted the military resources of Denmark and compelled Christian to accept the mediation of France and the Netherlands; and peace was finally signed with

2808-549: The Thirty Years' War any further, removing any Danish obstacles when Gustavus Adolphus entered the war in 1630. Christian's foreign policy did not suffer from lack of confidence following the Danish defeat in The Thirty Years' War. To compensate for lacking export revenues, and also in order to stifle the Swedish advances in the Thirty Years' War, Christian enacted a number of increases in the Sound Dues throughout

2886-688: The Thirty Years' War, to attack Denmark from the south as well as the east; the Dutch alliance promised to secure them at sea. In May 1643 the Swedish Privy Council decided upon war; on 12 December the Swedish Field Marshal Lennart Torstensson , advancing from Bohemia , crossed the southern frontier of Denmark; and by the end of January 1644 the whole peninsula of Jutland was in Swedish hands. This unexpected attack, conducted from first to last with consummate ability and lightning-like rapidity, had

2964-653: The Torstenson War, Rigsrådet took on an increasing role, under the leadership of Corfitz Ulfeldt and Hannibal Sehested . The last years of Christian's life were embittered by sordid differences with his sons-in-law, especially with Corfitz Ulfeldt. His personal obsession with witchcraft led to the public execution of some of his subjects during the Burning Times . He was responsible for several witch burnings, including 21 people in Iceland, and most notably

3042-712: The bishops in Oslo , Hamar , Stavanger , Bergen ), as well as one in the Faroe Islands , two on Iceland , one in Greenland , and one in Orkney (lost to Scotland in 1468). The bishops from the islands rarely participated in the Norwegian Riksråd. In addition, the chaplains of the royal chapels in Oslo and Bergen were permanent members. So were the commanders of the five strongest castles of Norway: Bohus , Akershus in Oslo,

3120-463: The castles in Bergen , Tønsberg and Trondheim . The rest of the council was recruited from the Norwegian nobility. Only Norwegians were eligible for these places in the Norwegian Riksråd – however, this was also taken to include foreigners who had married a Norwegian. As several of the bishops and commanders of the castles were foreign – mostly Danish, but also some Swedish – the number of Norwegians in

3198-497: The city's buildings were built entirely of wood. After the fire in 1624 which lasted for three days, Christian IV decided that the old city should not be rebuilt again. He decided that the new town be rebuilt in the area below Akershus Fortress , a castle which later was converted into a palace and royal residence. His men built a network of roads in Akershagen and demanded that all citizens should move their shops and workplaces to

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3276-538: The conviction and execution of Maren Spliid , who was victim of a witch hunt at Ribe and was burned at the Gallows Hill near Ribe on 9 November 1641. On 21 February 1648, at his earnest request, he was carried in a litter from Frederiksborg to his beloved Copenhagen , where he died a week later. He was buried in Roskilde Cathedral . The chapel of Christian IV had been completed 6 years before

3354-614: The country a number of times and founded four cities. He also established and took control over one silver mine ( Kongsberg ), one copper mine ( Røros in Trøndelag ), and tried to make an iron plant with limited success in Eiker. In 1647 he gave the crown privileges of the Røros Copper Works to his banker and his privy councillor ( Geheimrat ) Joachim Irgens von Westervick , including rights to forests and water resources within

3432-458: The courts. Christian IV is renowned for his many city (town) foundations, and is most likely the Nordic head of state that can be accredited for the highest number of new cities in his realm . These towns/cities are: A short-lived town was: Furthermore, Christian is known for erecting many important buildings in his realm, including the observatory Rundetårn , the stock exchange Børsen ,

3510-888: The daughter of Kirsten's lover, Otto Ludwig: With Kirsten Madsdatter : With Karen Andersdatter : With Vibeke Kruse : In the 1621 Treaty of The Hague and Treaty of Bremen between Denmark-Norway and the Dutch Republic, Christian was styled "Lord Christian the Fourth, King of all Denmark and Norway , the Goths and the Wends , duke of Schleswig , Holstein , Stormarn , and Ditmarsh , count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst , etc." Rigsraadet Riksrådet (in Norwegian and Swedish ) or Rigsrådet (in Danish or English:

3588-556: The difficult Arctic ice and weather conditions. The pilot on all three trips was English explorer James Hall . An expedition to North America was commissioned in 1619. The expedition was captained by Dano-Norwegian navigator and explorer, Jens Munk . The ships, searching for the Northwest Passage , arrived in Hudson Bay landing at the mouth of Churchill River , settling at what is now Churchill, Manitoba . However, it

3666-590: The effect was somewhat spoiled because the show was held in daylight. After an exchange of gifts Christian sailed home, escorted by Robert Mansell with the Vanguard and the Moon . Christian IV visited England again in August 1614, coming incognito to surprise his sister at Denmark House , accompanied only by Andrew Sinclair and a page. Christian IV was recognised by the queen's dancing master Thomas Cardell and

3744-400: The end of the union of the crowns . However, in 1580, at the age of 3, his father had him elected Prince and successor to the throne of Denmark. At the death of his father on 4 April 1588, Christian was just 10 years old. He succeeded to the throne, but as he was still under-age a regency council was set up to serve as the trustees of the royal power while Christian was still growing up. It

3822-404: The entire kingdom from this area in the summer of 1603. In 1623, Christian again visited Norway for an entire summer, this time to oversee the foundation of Kongsberg . He was also present in the area in 1624, when Oslo burned in August of that year. The king was able to reach the area in a few weeks, being in Eiker. Over the years, fire had destroyed major parts of the city many times, as many of

3900-481: The height of the council's power. In the early 16th century, the power of the Norwegian council diminished. The Oldenburg union kings conducted a policy of strengthening their own power at the cost of the nobility, and the Norwegian nobility was too weak to put up a strong opposition. In addition, the few Norwegian noble families became more and more intermarried with the Danish nobility, giving them less of an interest in maintaining separate Norwegian structures. During

3978-488: The heyday of his youth his high spirits and passion for adventure enabled him to surmount every obstacle with elan. But in the decline of life he reaped the bitter fruits of his lack of self-control, and sank into the grave a weary and brokenhearted old man. The Christian IV Glacier in Greenland is named after him. His first queen was Anne Catherine . They were married from 1597 to 1612. She died after bearing Christian seven children. In 1615, three years after her death,

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4056-516: The influence of the king during the 17th century. The members of the Council of Denmark seem to have developed from being councillors of the king to being representatives of the magnates and noblemen. From the 1320s it clearly appears as a force, and from the 1440s it was the permanent opponent of royal power, replacing the Danehof . The Council consisted of noblemen who were appointed either by

4134-450: The king or their peers on the council. Until the 1536 Reformation , bishops were automatically members. So were the supreme officials (today the "cabinet ministers") while lower ranking "ministers" did not have any formal right to membership. The "backbenchers" of the council took part in daily negotiations of problems and administration, voted, and took on diplomatic tasks. Most of them were squires who also had to look after their lands. As

4212-546: The king privately married Kirsten Munk , by whom he had twelve children. In 1632, an English envoy to king Christian IV, then aged 55, primly remarked "Such is the life of that king: to drink all day and to lie with a whore every night". In the course of 1628, he discovered that his wife, Kirsten Munk, was having a relationship with one of his German officers. Christian had Munk placed under house arrest. She endeavoured to cover up her own disgrace by conniving at an intrigue between Vibeke Kruse , one of her discharged maids, and

4290-462: The king. In January 1630, the rupture became final and Kirsten retired to her estates in Jutland . Meanwhile, Christian openly acknowledged Vibeke as his mistress, and they had several children. With his first wife, Anne Catherine of Brandenburg he fathered the following children: With his second wife, Kirsten Munk , he had 12 children, though the youngest, Dorothea Elisabeth, was rumoured to be

4368-465: The minority of King Magnus VII Eriksson . There do not seem to have been any clear rules for how many members the council should have, or who should be councillors. During the 15th century, the number could be from 30 to 40, whereas after 1500 it was barely above ten. The Norwegian bishops were automatically members. There were at the time five bishops in mainland Norway (the archbishop in Trondheim ,

4446-553: The newly built city of Christiania. During the fourteenth century the Swedish kings tried to push the areas of their control towards the north, and contemporary maps depicted the now Norwegian coastal areas of Troms and Finnmark as a part of Sweden. The possibly boldest move of any Danish-Norwegian regent was to make a voyage to the Northern Lands to secure these lands under the Danish-Norwegian crown. After

4524-539: The ongoing British campaigns against France and Spain. Thus Christian, as war-leader of the Lower Saxon Circle, entered the war with an army of only 20,000 mercenaries, some of his allies from Britain and a national army 15,000 strong, leading them as Duke of Holstein rather than as King of Denmark. Despite the growing power of Roman Catholics in North Germany, and the threat to the Danish holdings in

4602-584: The privilege establishing the Danish East India Company . In 1611, he first put his newly organised army to use. Despite the reluctance of Rigsrådet , Christian initiated a war with Sweden for the supremacy of the Baltic Sea . It was later known as the Kalmar War because its chief operation was the Danish capture of Kalmar , the southernmost fortress of Sweden. Christian compelled King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden to give way on all essential points at

4680-413: The regency council. Christian continued his studies at Sorø Academy where he had a reputation as a headstrong and talented student. In 1595, the Council of the Realm decided that Christian would soon be old enough to assume personal control of the reins of government. On 17 August 1596, at the age of 19, Christian signed his haandfæstning (lit. "Handbinding" viz. curtailment of the monarch's power,

4758-405: The resulting Treaty of Knäred of 20 January 1613. However, despite Denmark's greater strength, the gains of the war were not decisive. He now turned his attention to the Thirty Years' War in Germany. Here, his objectives were twofold: first, to obtain control of the great German rivers—the Elbe and the Weser —as a means of securing his dominion of the northern seas; and secondly, to acquire

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4836-419: The secularised German Archdiocese of Bremen and Prince-Bishopric of Verden as appanages for his younger sons. He skillfully took advantage of the alarm of the German Protestants after the Battle of White Mountain in 1620, to secure co-adjutorship of the See of Bremen for his son Frederick (September 1621). A similar arrangement was reached in November at Verden . Hamburg was also induced to acknowledge

4914-505: The shares of a private Swedish postal company, CityMail , and the remaining 43% in the first quarter of 2006. Posten Bring also owns, or partly owns, Nor-Cargo as well as Frigoscandia, Pan Nordic Logistics, Scanex B.V., and Nettlast Hadeland, many of which have their subsidiaries. Christian IV Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years and 330 days

4992-425: The succession laws. This it did so freely that Norway more and more became, in reality, an elected monarchy, like its Nordic neighbours. This was formally affirmed in 1450, when Christian I of Denmark took the Norwegian throne as an elected monarch. On his death, in 1481, the Riksråd ruled the country for two years, in an interregnum , before electing Christian's son as the new king – a period which could be seen as

5070-406: The title. (The world's first use of the Single transferable vote in an election of legisators was seen in the 1855 Rigsrad election.) [1] The loss of Schleswig in 1864 made the Rigsrad redundant, and it was abolished by the new constitution two years later. The Norwegian Riksråd gradually emerged around 1300, evolving from the King's council. It emerged clearly as a power factor after 1319, during

5148-422: The troubled transition to the reign of King Christian III , the Norwegian archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson led a rebellion in support of Christian's rival to the throne. After Christian had won, the Norwegian Riksråd was de facto abolished, in 1536–1537. The archbishop went into exile, the Protestant reformation was carried through in Denmark and Norway, and the Norwegian Riksråd never assembled again. The Riksråd

5226-425: The two kingdoms, Christian paid a state visit to England in 1606. The visit was generally judged to be a success, although the heavy drinking indulged in by English and Danes alike caused some unfavourable comments: both Christian and James had an ability to consume great amounts of alcohol, while remaining lucid, which most of their courtiers did not share. Sir John Harington described an entertainment at Theobalds ,

5304-498: The war partly because Christian was the uncle of both the Stuart king and his sister Elizabeth of Bohemia through their mother, Anne of Denmark . Some 13,700 Scottish soldiers were to be sent as allies to help Christian IV under the command of General Robert Maxwell, 1st Earl of Nithsdale . Moreover, some 6000 English troops under Sir Charles Morgan also eventually arrived to bolster the defence of Denmark though it took longer for these to arrive than Christian hoped, not least due to

5382-406: Was a disastrous voyage, with cold, famine, and scurvy killing most of the crew. In 1618, Christian appointed Admiral Ove Gjedde to lead an expedition and establish a Danish colony in Ceylon . The expedition set sail in 1618, taking two years to reach Ceylon and losing more than half their crew on the way. Upon arriving in May 1620, the establishment of a colony in Ceylon failed , but instead

5460-433: Was about 20, but from time to time deaths might reduce their number wherefore it was supplied by mass creations. Not until 1648 was the number of councillors finally fixed to 23. The authority of the council was indisputable, and within some limits the kings also tried to co-operate. However most of the kings neglected some of the rules and, for instance, foreign questions presented many loopholes. The many military defeats of

5538-405: Was alienated (given to nobles) which led to major financial instability in Sweden. King Charles XI was Sweden's first absolute monarch who led an immense ' reduction ' policy (the retrieval of land from the nobility). In 1654 1.5% of land was the Crown's and 72% belonged to the nobility. By 1700, 35.5% of land belonged to the Crown and 33% belonged to the nobility. This continued until the end of

5616-451: Was also passionate, irritable and sensual. He had courage, a vivid sense of duty, an indefatigable love of work, and all the inquisitive zeal and inventive energy of a born reformer. His own pleasure, whether it took the form of love or ambition, was always his first consideration. His capacity for drink was proverbial: when he visited England in 1606, even the notoriously hard-drinking English Court were astonished by his alcohol consumption. In

5694-409: Was descended, through his mother's side, from King John of Denmark , and was thus the first descendant of King John to assume the crown since the deposition of King Christian II . At the time, Denmark was still an elective monarchy , so in spite of being the eldest son Christian was not automatically heir to the throne. But Norway was a hereditary monarchy , and electing someone else would result in

5772-447: Was exploded by a Swedish cannonball, and splinters of wood and metal wounded the king in thirteen places, blinding one eye and flinging him to the deck. But he was instantly on his feet again, cried with a loud voice that it was well with him, and set every one an example of duty by remaining on deck until the fight was over. Darkness at last separated the contending fleets; and the battle was drawn. The Danish fleet subsequently blockaded

5850-488: Was later known in Denmark and Norway as "The Emperor War" ( Danish : Kejserkrigen , Norwegian : Keiserkrigen ). He had at his disposal from 19,000 to 25,000 people, and at first gained some successes but on 27 August 1626 he was routed by Johan Tzerclaes, Count of Tilly in the Battle of Lutter . Christian had not thoroughly planned the advance against the combined forces of the Holy Roman Emperor and

5928-470: Was led by chancellor Niels Kaas (1535–1594) and consisted of the Rigsraadet council members Peder Munk (1534–1623), Jørgen Ottesen Rosenkrantz (1523–1596) and Christoffer Valkendorff (1525–1601). His mother Queen Dowager Sophie , 30 years old, had wished to play a role in the government, but was denied by the council. At the death of Niels Kaas in 1594, Jørgen Rosenkrantz took over leadership of

6006-492: Was reckoned the second most "musical" court in Europe, only ranking behind that of Elizabeth I of England . Christian maintained good contact with his sister Anne, who was married to King James. Christian asked Anne to request for him the services of Thomas Cutting, a lutenist employed by Arbella Stewart . His other sister, Elizabeth , was married to the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg , and artists and musicians travelled freely between

6084-612: Was the upper parliamentary house in Sweden populated by the nobility. The Swedish nobility often played a prominent role in Swedish history, which both helped and hindered the nation. Sten Sture of the Riksråd led the resistance against the Danish-dominated Union of Kalmar until he was killed in battle in the beginning of 1520. After the Stockholm bloodbath in November 1520, when around 90 nobles were executed by

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