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.
CHAPTER XLIV
Christian III. (1537-1559)—The Reformation Introduced
AT the great Diet, held in Copenhagen, in 1536, it was decided that the Catholic faith should be abolished, the property of the bishops and the cloisters was confiscated to the crown, and the Lutheran faith was introduced into Denmark. A new ecclesiastical law was adopted, called the Ordinance. The king also promised the rapacious nobility of Denmark that henceforth Norway was to be, and remain, under the crown of Denmark as any other part of the country, and not to be called a separate kingdom, but a province of the Danish crown. The Norwegian Council of State was abolished, the Catholic bishops were removed, and Danish noblemen were installed at the fortresses to rule the country in the king’s name. From this time the Danish Council of State exerted great influence in the government of Norway; but, in spite of all this, Norway remained a separate state; it retained its old laws, and the chancellor was still to be the supreme judge.
After the flight of the archbishop, and the submission of Norway, the Danish Church Ordinance was also made to apply to Norway; but the new faith was little known there, and the Norwegians long clung to the old faith. When the bishops had been removed, Danish magnates were sent around in the country to take possession of “the silver, treasures and goods of the old idolatry.” In performing this function the Danish magnates showed especial reformatory zeal. Thus, in Bergen, the church robber, Eske Bilde, spared neither churches nor the graves of the departed kings, while in Throndhjem Otto Stigson burned the library and archives of the cathedral chapter, and Thord Roed committed havoc in the same manner in Stavanger. Saint Olaf’s costly shrine—which stood on the high altar in the cathedral of Throndhjem, and was ornamented with precious stones—as well as many other treasures of the church, were sent to Copenhagen. Lutheran superintendents or bishops were installed in place of the Catholic bishops; but the government could not at once remove all the Catholic priests, because there were not Lutheran ministers enough to put in their places, and, when Lutheran ministers were appointed, they were generally treated with ill-will, and sometimes even driven away or killed. The majority of the Lutheran ministers were Danes, and Danish became the language of the Church. The ablest of the new Lutheran bishops was Geble Pederson in Bergen, who showed great zeal in educating Lutheran ministers. Theological seminaries were established at each of the episcopal sees of Throndhjem, Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo. The bishopric of Hamar was consolidated with that of Oslo.
The Hansa towns, in making peace with Christian III. after the Count’s Feud, had succeeded in retaining their trading privileges in Norway, and, during the greater part of this reign, acted in their old insolent and oppressive manner. In Bergen they made themselves especially obnoxious, so that the people complained bitterly to the king. He finally appointed, as commander in Bergen, the able Danish nobleman, Christopher Walkendorf, who commenced to put limits to the arbitrary and violent conduct of the Germans, and subdued them in such a way that they never regained their old power. After this the Norwegian citizens of Bergen gradually asserted themselves, and soon had the control of the whole fishery trade with the northern districts.
Christian III. died on the 1st of January, 1559, at the age of fifty-five years. Although he reigned for twenty-three years, he never visited Norway as king.