In the last post about Christine of Saxony, we saw how her husband, king Hans of Denmark and Norway had troubles keeping the Kalmar Union together and subdue the Swedish noblemen.
However, in 1497, Hans finally outmanoeuvred Sten Sture (the elder) and the rebellious Swedes, and in November that year, he was crowned king of Sweden. In early 1499, Christine was crowned queen. Their son Christian was also made official heir to the throne, and power seemed to be secured. But the peace would not last.
Just two years later, a new rebellion broke out and quickly spread through the country. Hans and Christine were in Stockholm when they found out, and realized they needed more troops to quell the unrest. Hans sailed for Copenhagen to gather an army. Christine was left in charge of Stockholm, with an army of around 1000 soldiers.
In October 1501, rebell leader Sten Sture had Stockholm surrounded and the city quickly fell. But in the castle itself, Christine and her men held fast. Although the rebells could not take the castle however, food supplies soon ran low. During the winter many of the defenders fell ill and the disease spread quickly. But despite many of her officers urged her to give up the castle, Christine refused.
She probably figured they only needed to hold out until spring, and then Hans would return with a fleet. The months passed, spring came – but still no sign of the king. The situation for Christine and the remaining soldiers became ever more desperate as they ran out of food.
In April 1502, only around 70 of her original 1000 soldiers were still alive. By then, Hans was actually on his way with a fleet, but the defenders did not know this.
At the beginning of May, Christine finally surrendered. She agreed to give up the castle if she and her remaining soldiers would be granted safe conduct. On May 9th, after seven months of siege, Christine met with Sten Sture, and surrendered the keys of Stockhom castle. Only three days later, Hans’ fleet arrived.
Sten Sture broke his promise of safe conduct, and imprisoned the queen. Hans demanded her release, but was refused. Hans chose not to go ashore with his troops, but sailed back to Copenhagen.
Christine’s imprisonment would last 1,5 years. Some sources state that she was treated very harshly and barely had food to eat, while other claims the opposite. She was kept at Vadstena Abbey, and cared for by the nuns.
In the autumn 1503, Christine was finally released and was escorted to Halmstad where her son Christian met her. Hans was nowhere to be seen. Maybe that was the last straw for Christine, or she already had her next move planned.
She returned to Copenhagen, but the reunion between her and the king would not be amicable. Hans had lived openly with his mistress while Christine had been imprisoned, and had not done enough to free her.
Christine didn’t remain long in Copenhagen. She claimed to want to do a pilgrimage, and left with a small retinue – something very dangerous in Europe at this time where they could easily have been captured again.
She traveled to a few holy sites, but it is believed her real goal of the journey was to meet her daughter Elisabeth, who Hans had married off while she was imprisoned. She stayed with Elisabeth in Brandenburg for a while, and made up her plans for the future.
When she returned to Denmark, she did not settle in Copenhagen, but in Odense – far from her husband. There she set up her own court and spent the following years buying estates and properties in the area, building almost like a small realm of her own. She also surrounded herself with nobles who were dissatisfied with the king.
Christine and Hans had two major conflicts during this time. One concerned her dowry, which she was never fully paid. The other concerned her sheriff who had been murdered, and whose murderer received the king’s protection.
These conflicts were resolved only after the king’s death in 1513. In 1517, Christian II sentenced the murderer to prison, and at the same time Christine received additional territories as payment for her dowry.
The dowager queen spent the rest of her life at Odense, governing her lands and being a benefactor for painters, writers and musicians, who all flocked to her court.
Christine died on December 8, 1521, 59 years old.
She was a queen scorned and abandoned by her husband, but who fought for her rights and was the ultimate survivor. She deserves so much more than being a mere footnote in history books!
Sources:
Leth Jespersen, Mikkel. Dronning Christine og Hans: len, magt og fromhed i dansk senmiddelalder. Dansk historisk tidskrift, 2005.
Lyngvild, Jim. Danmarks konger og dronninger fra Gorm til Margrethe II. (2019)
Petersson, Erik. Furste av Norden – Kristian Tyrann. (2017)