Count's Feud

Timeline

1. 1534St. Søren's Church, Ribe · JutlandAfter the death of Frederick I in 1533, the Privy Council delayed the election. On 4 July 1534, the Jutish nobles elected his son, Duke Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, king at St. Søren's Church in Ribe. Count Christopher of Oldenburg, financed by Lübeck, landed on Zealand under the banner of restoring the imprisoned Christian II, and was proclaimed regent at Ringsted and elsewhere.
2. c. 1534Aalborg · North JutlandThe privateering captain known as 'Captain Clement' launched a peasant uprising in North Jutland, burning manors and using Aalborg as his base. Johan Rantzau led the royal army to suppress the revolt in Jutland, capturing Aalborg on 18 December, where Clement was taken prisoner. Jutland thereafter remained firmly on Christian III's side.
3. 1535Øksnebjerg · FunenRantzau marched into Funen and on 11 June routed the remnants of the Count's forces at Øksnebjerg. The Swedish navy helped cut off Lübeck's naval supremacy, and Hanseatic dominance in the Baltic was thereby seriously weakened. The Count's side was thereafter confined to Copenhagen and Malmö.
4. 1536Copenhagen · ZealandAfter a long siege, Copenhagen surrendered on 29 July, bringing the Count's Feud to a military end. Christian III promptly arrested Catholic bishops and confiscated church estates. On 30 October, the Copenhagen Diet declared the king head of the church and Lutheranism the state religion, while Norway's status was also downgraded. Denmark thus became a Protestant state led by royal power.