Christopher of Bavaria

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Christoffer af Bayern Kristofer av Bayern
By the grace of God, King of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Vends and the Goths, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria[1]
Reign	9 April 1440–5 January 1448 (Denmark) 1442–5 January 1448 (Norway) 1441–5 January 1448 (Sweden)
Coronation	1441 (as king of Sweden] 1 January 1442 (as king of Denmark) 2 July 1442 in Oslo (as king of Norway)
Born	February 26, 1418
Died	5/January 6, 1448
	Helsingborg
Buried	Roskilde Cathedral, Roskilde
Predecessor	Eric of Pomerania (Denmark and Norway) Karl Knutsson Bonde, Regent (Sweden)
Successor	Christian I (Denmark) Carl I (Norway) Regents Bengt and Nils Oxenstierna (Sweden)
Consort	Dorothea of Brandenburg
Issue	None
Royal House	Pfalz-Neumarkt as branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty
Father	Duke John of Pfalz-Neumarkt
Mother	Catherine Vratislava

Christopher of Bavaria known by his Danish and Norwegian title as Christoffer (III) af/av Bayern and by his Swedish title as Kristofer av Bayern (26 February 1416-5 January/6 January 1448) was union king of Denmark (1440-1448) and Norway (1442-1448), and of Sweden (1441-1448).

[edit] Biography

He was probably born at Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, the son of Duke John of Pfalz-Neumarkt and Catherine Vratislava, sister to Eric of Pomerania. Duke John was a son of King Ruprecht of Palatinate. In 1445 he married Dorothea of Brandenburg (1430-November 25, 1495).

As the nephew of Eric of Pomerania, Christopher, who was rather unfamiliar to Scandinavian conditions, was chosen by the Danish nobility as the successor to his uncle, first as regent from 1439, and then as king from 1440. He was probably just meant to be a puppet, however he succeeded in maintaining some personal line. As a whole his rule, according to the politics of the nobility and his succession, might be called the start of the long period of balance between royal power and nobility which lasted until 1660. By concessions he was later recognised as king of both Sweden and Norway.

In 1441 Christopher crushed a great peasant rebellion in Northern Jutland (one of the central domestic events of his short rule) and as a whole his reign meant a growing suppression of the peasantry especially in Eastern Denmark. On the other hand he tried to support the cities and their merchants as far as the limits of nobility and Hanseatic cities allowed. During his reign Copenhagen was made permanently the capital of Denmark (municipal charter of 1443).

He carried on a half-hearted policy of war and negotiations against his exiled uncle on Gotland probably in order to damp the dissatisfaction within both Sweden and the Hansabund. The results of this policy of balance were still not reached when he suddenly died as the last descendant of Valdemar Atterdag.

Christopher died suddenly at Helsingborg in 1448. On October 28, 1449, Dorothea remarried Christian I. King Christopher is buried in Roskilde Cathedral. In 1654 his Wittelsbach family returned to power in Sweden.

[edit] References

• Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, vol. 7, Copenhagen 1980.
• Politikens Danmarkshistorie, vol. 4 by Erik Kjersgaard, Copenhagen 1962.
• Politikens bog om Danske Monarker by Benito Scocozza, Copenhagen 1998

Preceded by Eric of Pomerania	King of Denmark 1440–1448	Succeeded by Christian I
	King of Norway 1442–1448	Succeeded by Carl I
Preceded by Karl Knutsson Bonde Regent of Sweden	King of Sweden 1441–1448	Succeeded by Bengt and Nils Oxenstierna Regents of Sweden