Editing Christian V of Denmark (section)

== Biography ==
===Early years===
[[File:Christian v of denmark child.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Christian V portrayed as the prince elect in the year 1650, in a painting by [[Karel van Mander III]]]]
Prince Christian was born on 15 April 1646 at [[Duborg Castle]] in the city of [[Flensburg]], then located in the [[Duchy of Schleswig]]. He was the first [[legitimate child]] born to the then [[Frederick III of Denmark|Prince Frederick of Denmark]] by his consort, [[Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Calenberg]]. Prince Frederick was a younger son of [[Christian IV of Denmark|King Christian IV]], but the death of his elder brother [[Christian, Prince-Elect of Denmark]] in June 1647 opened the possibility for Frederick to be elected heir apparent to the Danish throne.

After the death of King Christian IV in 1648, Frederick thus became King of Denmark and Norway as Frederick III. Prince Christian was elected successor to his father in June 1650. This was not a free choice, but ''de facto'' automatic hereditary succession. Escorted by his chamberlain Christoffer Parsberg, Christian went on a long trip abroad, to [[Holland]], [[England]], [[France]], and home through [[Germany]]. On this trip, he saw absolutism in its most splendid achievement at the young [[Louis XIV]]'s court, and heard about the theory of the [[divine right of kings]]. He returned to Denmark in August 1663. From 1664 he was allowed to attend proceedings of the State College. Hereditary succession was made official by Royal Law in 1665. Christian was hailed as heir in Copenhagen in August 1665, in Odense and Viborg in September, and in Christiania, Norway in July 1666.  Only a short time before he became king, he was taken into the Council of the Realm and the Supreme Court.

===Accession===
[[File:Anointing og Christian V of Denmark 1671.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The [[anointing]] of Christian V in the chapel of [[Frederiksborg Palace]] in [[1671]].]]
On 9 February 1670, King Frederick III died at the age of 60 at the [[Copenhagen Castle]] after a reign of 22 years. At the death of his father, Christian immediately ascended the thrones of Denmark and Norway as the second [[Absolute monarchy|absolute]] [[monarch]] at the age of just 24. He was [[coronation|formally crowned]] on 7 June the following year in the chapel of [[Frederiksborg Palace]], which thereafter became the traditional place of [[coronation of the Danish monarch|coronation of Denmark's monarchs]] during the days of the absolute monarchy.<ref>{{cite book |last=Monrad Møller |first=Anders |chapter=Den første salving under enevælden |trans-chapter=The first anointing during the absolute monarchy |title=Enevældens kroninger. Syv salvinger – ceremoniellet, teksterne og musikken |trans-title=The coronations of the absolute monarchy. Seven anointings – the ceremonial, the lyrics and the music |year=2012 |location=København |publisher=Forlaget Falcon |isbn=978-87-88802-29-0 |pages=28–57 |language=da }}</ref> He was the first hereditary king of Denmark-Norway, and in honor of this, Denmark-Norway acquired costly new crown jewels and a magnificent new ceremonial sword.<ref>{{cite book |last=Monrad Møller |first=Anders |chapter=Regalier, tronstole, løver og kåber |trans-chapter=Regalia, thrones, lions and robes |title=Enevældens kroninger. Syv salvinger – ceremoniellet, teksterne og musikken |trans-title=The coronations of the absolute monarchy. Seven anointings – the ceremonial, the lyrics and the music |year=2012 |location=København |publisher=Forlaget Falcon |isbn=978-87-88802-29-0 |pages=17–24 |language=da }}</ref>

===Reign===
[[File:Christian V majestætssegl, forgyldte aftryk.jpg|thumb|Seal of Christian V.]]
It is generally argued that Christian V's personal courage and affability made him popular among the common people, but his image was marred by his unsuccessful attempt to regain [[Skåneland|Scania]] for Denmark in the [[Scanian War]]. The war exhausted Denmark's economic resources without securing any gains.<ref name="EB">"Christian V." (2007). In ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 9 January 2007, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online.</ref> Part of Christian's appeal to the common people may be explained by the fact that he allowed Danish and Norwegian commoners into state service, but his attempts to curtail the influence of the nobility also meant continuing his father's drive toward [[Absolute monarchy|absolutism]].<ref name="EB" /><ref>Jespersen, Knud J.V. [http://denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,477938&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL#544758 The Introduction of Absolutism] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060811223253/http://denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,477938&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL |date=11 August 2006 }}. Gyldendal Leksikon, quoted by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, on Denmark's official web site.</ref> To accommodate non-aristocrats into state service, he created the new noble ranks of [[count]] and [[baron]]. One of the commoners elevated in this way by the king was [[Peder Griffenfeld|Peder Schumacher]], named Count of Griffenfeld by Christian V in 1670 and high councillor of Denmark in 1674.<ref name="EB" /><ref>{{cite web|url= https://runeberg.org/dbl/15/0373.html    |title = Peder Schumacher, Greve af Griffenfeld 1635-99|website= Dansk biografisk Lexikon|access-date=1 December 2019}}</ref>
 
[[Peder Griffenfeld|Griffenfeld]], a skilled statesman, better understood the precarious situation Denmark-Norway placed itself by attacking Sweden at a time when the country was allied with France, the major European power of the era. After some hesitation, Christian V initiated the [[Scanian War]] (1675–1679) against Sweden in an attempt to reconquer [[Scania]] which Denmark had lost under the [[Treaty of Roskilde]] in 1658. As Griffenfeld predicted, Sweden's stronger ally France was the party that dictated the peace with Denmark's ally the [[Netherlands]], and in spite of Danish victory at sea in the battles against [[Sweden]] in 1675–1679 during the [[Scanian War]], Danish hopes for border changes on the [[Scandinavian Peninsula]] between the two countries were dashed. The results of the war efforts proved politically and financially unremunerative for Denmark-Norway. The damage to the Danish-Norwegian economy was extensive. At this point, Christian V no longer had his most experienced foreign relations counsel around to repair the political damage&nbsp;— in 1676 he had been persuaded to sacrifice Griffenfeld as a traitor, and to the clamour of his adversaries, Griffenfeld was imprisoned for the remainder of his life.<ref name="Nielsen" />
[[File:Kong Christian Vs gevær laget av våpensmed Lars Berg i Trondhjem (2722665340).jpg|thumb|150px|King Christian V's rifle made by Trondheim's weapon-maker Lars Berg.]]
After the Scanian War, his sister, Princess [[Ulrike Eleonora of Denmark]], married Swedish king [[Charles XI]], whose mother was a stout supporter of the [[Duke of Holstein-Gottorp]]. In spite of the family ties, war between the brothers-in-law was close again in 1689, when Charles XI nearly provoked confrontation with Denmark-Norway by his support of the exiled [[Christian Albert, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp]] in his claims to Holstein-Gottorp in Schleswig-Holstein.<ref name="Upton" />

Like [[Charles XI]] of Sweden, who had never been outside Sweden, Christian V spoke only German and Danish and was therefore often considered poorly educated due to his inability to communicate with visiting foreign diplomats.<ref name="Upton">Upton, Anthony F. (1998). ''Charles XI and Swedish Absolutism, 1660–1697''. Cambridge University Press, 1998. {{ISBN|0-521-57390-4}}.</ref> Christian V was also often considered dependent on his councillors by contemporary sources. The Danish monarch did nothing to dispel this notion. In his memoirs, he listed "hunting, love-making, war and maritime affairs" as his main interests in life.<ref name="Nielsen">Nielsen, Kay Søren (1999). [http://www.thm.dk/publ/ksn/ksn1_1.htm ''Christian V – Konge og sportsmand''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070425171844/http://www.thm.dk/publ/ksn/ksn1_1.htm |date=25 April 2007 }}. The Royal Danish Arsenal Museum, Net Publications, 1999.</ref>

Christian V introduced the [[Danish Code]] (''Danske Lov'') in 1683, the first law code for all of Denmark.<ref>Jespersen, Knud J.V. [http://denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,477938&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL#544760 Denmark as a Modern Bureaucracy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060811223253/http://denmark.dk/portal/page?_pageid=374,477938&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL |date=11 August 2006 }}. Gyldendal Leksikon, quoted by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, on Denmark's official web site.</ref> He also introduced the similar ''[[Norwegian Code|Norske Lov]]'' (Norwegian Code) of 1687 to replace [[Magnus Lagabøtes landslov|Christian IVs Norwegian Code]] from 1604 in Norway. He also introduced the [[land register]] of 1688, which attempted to work out the land value of the united monarchy in order to create a more just [[taxation]].

During the reign of Christian V, Denmark's trade in cattle that had declined due to catastrophic fires and wars had been restored, and livestock and crop exports had also surpassed [[Frederick III of Denmark|Frederick III]], with thousands of cattle entering and leaving Jutland through the [[Hærvejen|Oxen Way]]. After entering and fattening in the Danish King's German enclave [[County of Oldenburg]], the cattle reached the big market in [[Wedel]]. From there, cattle were resold to all parts of North Germany via [[Stade]], [[Hamburg]] and [[Lübeck]]. As the population continued to soar at the end of the seventeenth century, demand for beef, grains and fish increased, both throughout North Germany and on the Baltic coast alone. In terms of the number of livestock shipped to the South, in 1680 each market had reached 40,000 cattle. Traditional export commodities, including fish and grains, increased their exports since the beginning of the seventeenth century.
The agricultural products exported by Denmark, especially cattle, made a lot of money from Germany and the Netherlands for the Danish royal family, the aristocrats and the town residents. During his reign, [[science]] witnessed a golden age due to the work of the astronomer [[Ole Rømer]] in spite of the king's personal lack of scientific knowledge and interest. He died from the after-effects of a hunting accident and was interred in [[Roskilde Cathedral]].<ref name="Nielsen" /><ref>{{cite web|url= http://denstoredanske.dk/Danmarks_geografi_og_historie/Danmarks_historie/Danmark_1536-1849/Christian_5. |title =  Christian 5 |website=   Den Store Danske, Gyldendal   |author= Knud J.V. Jespersen      |access-date=1 December 2019}}</ref>

===Family===
Christian V had eight children by his wife and six by his [[Maîtresse-en-titre]], [[Sophie Amalie Moth]] (1654–1719), whom he took up with when she was sixteen. Sophie was the daughter of his former tutor [[Poul Moth]]. Christian publicly introduced Sophie into court in 1672, a move which insulted his wife, and made her countess of [[Samsø]] on 31 December 1677.
[[File:Christian-5-with his children.jpg|thumb|300px|Christian V with his eldest son crown-prince Frederick (IV), and his other sons Christian and Charles]]
Legitimate children by his queen [[Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel|Charlotte Amalie]]:
{| border=1 style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|- style="background:#ccc;"
!Name!!Birth!!Death!!class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|[[Frederick IV of Denmark|Frederick IV]]||2 October 1671||12 October 1730
|-
|Christian Vilhelm||1 December 1672||25 January 1673
| died in infancy
|-
|[[Prince Christian of Denmark (1675–1695)|Christian]]||25 March 1675||27 June 1695
|-
|[[Princess Sophia Hedwig of Denmark|Sophie Hedwig]]||28 August 1677||13 March 1735
|-
|Christiane Charlotte||18 January 1679||24 August 1689
|died young at age 11
|-
|[[Prince Charles of Denmark|Charles]]||26 October 1680||8 June 1729
|-
|Daughter||17 July 1683||17 July 1683
|-
|[[Prince William of Denmark|Vilhelm]]||21 February 1687||23 November 1705
|}

Illegitimate children by his mistress, Sophie Amalie Moth, Countess of Samsø:
{| border=1 style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|- style="background:#ccc;"
!Name!!Birth!!Death
|-
|[[Christiane Gyldenløve]]||7 July 1672||12 September 1689
|-
|[[Christian Gyldenløve]]||28 February 1674||16 July 1703
|-
|Sophie Christiane Gyldenløve ||1675|| 18 August 1684
|-
|[[Anna Christiane Gyldenløve]]||1676|| 11 August 1689
|-
|[[Ulrik Christian Gyldenløve]]||24 June 1678||8 December 1719
|-
|Daughter||1682|| 8 July 1684
|}