The 15th Century, 1400 - 1499 The Union

During the century the Swedes and the Danes have never ending wars about which country to be the leading one.

It seems the Swedes don't want the Danes to be the leaders of the union, and the Danes don't want the Swedes as leaders.

On maps Denmark has changed a little since the first map drawned by the Greek Ptolemaios in the year 130 A.C. Zealand has been bigger and Scania is not an island anymore.

1417 Copenhagen

The bishop of Roskilde have to give away his city Copenhagen to the Danish king. Copenhagen has until now been owned by the church in Roskilde. From 1417 Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark.

1429 The Sound, Customs Dues

The Sound, which are between Elsinore and Hälsingborg, is a water, where really many ships are sailing. King Erik wanted to increase his income, and from 1429 every ship, which is passing the 2 cities, has to pay customs dues to the King. This customs due was lasting to 1857!

1433 Sweden

Denmark is trying to make the Swedish part of the union more Danish, but the Swedish wants to be more independant of Denmark. A Swede, Engelbrekt Engelbretsson is going to Copenhagen in 1433, to ask the king to fire a very hated dane in Sweden. The king refuses.

In 1434 a revolt begins in Sweden. Soon the rebels have taken the most of Sweden, but also a great part of Denmark. In 1436 is the leader of the revolt killed, not by a dane, but by a personal enemy. The leaders of Sweden contacts the Danish king Erik and the union is reestablished, but now with more selfgovernment for Sweden than before.

King Erik is so dissapointed so he leaves the country and moves to the little island Gotland, where his very good friend for many years is residing on the castle Visborg. After the civil leaders of Denmark have found a new king, they send a notice in writing in 1439 to the king Erik, who now lives as a freebooter. The notice sayes king Erik is not king anymore.

The new king is Christoffer the 3rd of Bavaria and are crownd in all the nordic countries 1443 in Denmark, 1441 in Sweden, and 1442 in Norway. The 29 years old king Christoffer marries in 1445 the 15 year old princess Dorothea. Already in 1448 the king dies without any children.

1448 The Oldenburg Lineage

The civil leaders of Denmark ask the duke of Slesvig to be the new king, but he don't want to be king. The duke suggests instead his sisters son, Christian of Oldenburg to be the new king. As part of the agreement Christian shall marry the 18 year old widow, Dorothea.

The king and the queen is making the start of the new lineage of kings, the Oldenburgs.

The Swedes and the Norwegians hasn't been asked about the new king. The Norwegians agrees in 1449 that Christian also is king of Norway. The nearly forgotten hate between the Danes and the Swedes burst into flames and again there is a war between Denmark and Sweden. 8 years later the union is back and king Christian is king of Sweden from 1457.

1464 The Elephant decoration

King Christian has since he became king spent too many money and has to suspend payments. The same year the Elephant decoration is instituted. The decoration is the highest you can get in Denmark. The decoration is given to the royals and to foreign Heads of State. An ordinary citizen has to do something very special, such as professor Niels Bohr, to get the decoration.

In 1467 there is a new war between Denmark and Sweden. King Christian has been dethroned as king of Sweden, because he is on bad terms with some very important people in Sweden. In 1472 king Christian again is king of Sweden, but only on paper.

1479 University

The queen Dorothea is going to Rome in 1475, where she gets the popes admission to establish a university in Denmark so students can learn about jurisprudence, theology, medicine, and philosophy. The eldest university in the Scandinavian countries is founded in 1479 in Copenhagen.

1483 Scandinavian Constitution

In 1481 dies king Christian and formaly his son, Hans is king of Denmark. Still Sweden is not a real part of the union and in 1483 the first, but also the only one, nordic constitution is agreed by the Danes, the Norwegians, but not the Swedes, because the leader of the rebellians in Sweden prevents any Swedes to go to Halmstad, where the constitution is signed.

1497 Sweden is back

Suddenly the leader of the rebellians in Sweden is becomming very unpopular among the Swedes and king Hans has now a chance to be king of Sweden. After a rather short war king Hans is crowned in Stockholm.