AT the death of Frederick I. an interregnum occurred, as the Danish estates were unable to agree upon the election of a new king. The nobles favored the late king’s oldest son, Duke Christian, but he being devoted to Protestantism, the clergy wanted his younger brother, Hans, who was only a child, and whom they hoped to win for the Catholic faith. The bourgeoisie and the peasants desired to have the imprisoned Christian II. reinstated. Under the pretext that a new king could not be elected without the presence of the Norwegian Council of State, the clergy succeeded in having the election postponed to a joint meeting of the councils of both countries, to be held the following year. In the meantime, the so-called “Count’s Feud” broke out. The Lubeckers, who were dissatisfied on account of the trading privileges granted to the Dutch, sent an army to Denmark, under command of Christopher of Oldenborg, who desired to recover the Danish throne for his cousin, the captive king, Christian II. The count discovered the lower estates to be such bitter enemies of the nobility, and ardent adherents of the captive king, that he found no great difficulty in taking possession of the Danish Isles and Scania. The Council of State, or a part of it, now hastened [Pg 248]to elect Frederick’s son, Duke Christian, king (July 4, 1534). An alliance was formed with the Swedish king, Gustavus Wasa, against the Lubeckers, and the fortunes of war soon turned in favor of the new king. His brave general, Johan Rantzau, defeated the enemy at Aalborg, crossed over to Fyn, and won a complete victory over the count at Oexneberg, while Gustavus Wasa helped the king’s party to retake Scania. After the capture of Copenhagen, July 29, 1536, King Christian III. was recognized by the whole of Denmark.

While the Count’s Feud was going on in Denmark, there was also strife and disorder in Norway. Both parties had tried to win the support of the powerful archbishop in Throndhjem, Olaf Engelbrektson, and through him the control of Norway; but, while for several reasons he could not recognize Christian III., he was for a time uncertain whom to support. It was decided to hold a meeting in Throndhjem at Christmas, 1535, for the purpose of electing a king; but the followers of Vincentz Lunge and Eske Bilde in the southern and western parts of the country held a meeting at Oslo, shortly before Whitsuntide, 1535, where they proclaimed Christian III. king of Norway. A special embassy from the queen-regent of Holland visited Archbishop Olaf, and, in the name of Emperor Charles V., promised him powerful support if he would persevere in his old loyalty to the captive king, Christian II.; and when the agents of Christian III. arrived in Throndhjem, about Christmas time, there was an uprising of the people, said to be instigated by the archbishop, and many of the Danish magnates were imprisoned and otherwise maltreated. Two of them, the counsellors Vincentz Lunge and Nils Lykke—who were not only public opponents, but personal enemies, of the archbishop—were murdered.

The archbishop now adopted a vigorous policy, and tried to get possession of the fortresses of Bergenhus and Akershus, but his armies were defeated. When the adversity of Christian II.’s party in Denmark further convinced the archbishop that the cause was hopeless, he released the imprisoned agents and requested them to mediate with the king, offering allegiance to Christian III. on condition that he be allowed to retain his rank and property. The king, however, did not accept the offer, but, in the spring of 1537, sent a fleet of fourteen ships and 1,500 men, under the command of Truit Ulfstand and Christopher Hvitfeld, to Throndhjem. Foreseeing the destruction of his party, Archbishop Olaf Engelbrektson gathered the treasures of the cathedral and fled to Holland, where this last champion of Norwegian independence died the following year.