, known by his
Danish and
Norwegian title as '''Christoffer (III) af/av Bayern''' and by his
Swedish title as '''Kristofer av Bayern''' (
26 February ,
1418 -
6 January ,
1448 ) was union king of
Denmark and
Norway (
1440 -
1448 ), and of
Sweden (
1441 -
1448 ).
He was probably born on
February 26 ,
1418 , 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 being 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 finally might be said to have become 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 on
January 6 ,
1448 and on
October 28 1449 following his death, Dorothea remarried
Christian I . King Christopher is buried in
Roskilde Cathedral . In
1654 his
Wittelsbach family returned to power in Sweden.
:
- ''Dansk Biografisk Leksikon'', vol. 7, Copenh. 1980.
- ''Politikens Danmarkshistorie'', vol. 4 by Erik Kjersgaard, Copenh. 1962.
