RedGribben at 2024-02-10 23:26:43+00:00 ID: kpulgtu

Many points out Christian IV, but i do not think he would represent this age as much as you want to, he became king in 1588 when he was 11 years old, and was crowned in 1596, when he was 19 years old. His greatest achievements were done after the turn of the 1500s.

Christian II was the king who committed the atrocity of the bloodbath of Stockholm, he lost his title of King to Frederik I after that event. Christian II later tried to fight against Christian III as the rightful king during the Counts Feud. He was imprisoned in Sønderborg Castle for the rest of his life as he lost the civil war.

Frederik I introduced limited religious freedom for Lutherans, and he married his son to a Lutheran duchess and his daughter to a Lutheran Duke. He never really cemented his rule over Denmark, as Christian II was still trying to take over the country.

Christian III won the Counts Feud and cemented himself as the king during and after the civil war. Christian III removed the Catholic bishops and was the one to truly convert Denmark to Lutheran Protestantism. He had to compromise with the nobility to stay in power, but the rules that were introduced continued to 1660 when the king became absolute. He made the two duchies of Slesvig and Holstein more in line, and reduced their power of him. He also reformed the judicial system, and it would be the laws of the country and not the laws of God that it would be based on, so no longer could bishops convict anyone of a crime. It is basically the predecessor of the modern Danish judicial system, with 3 tiers, first the city/shire court, then the regional court and lastly the supreme court where the presiding judge was the king himself.

Frederik II. He inherited a strong kingdom, and in the beginning made some mistakes, the primary one was going to war with Sweden, which ended in a stalemate. He rebuild the fortress Krogen into the Renaissance castle Kronborg. He also conquered Dithmarschen during his rule. He also supported the famous Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe.

Lastly king Hans as he is probably the least influential king during the 1500s. His primary part of his reign was in the 1400s and he lost to the peasants of Dithmarschen in the battle of Hemmingstedt. The peasants won the battle as it was in the marshes and the Danish mercenaries and soldiers were in heavier armor, furthermore it was in the winter and snowing. Anyone going down in the mud would most likely die due to the weather conditions and the terrain. Denmark lost 7.000 soldiers and mercenaries in the battle along 360 of the nobility. The Danish invasion of Dithmarschen was allowed by the Holy Roman Emperor as it was seen as belonging to the Duchy of Holstein, and thus the Danish king.