George I of Denmark (Merveilles des Morte)

George I
Portrait of George I, 1560
King of Denmark and Norway
Reign	1549-1569
Coronation	15 April 1549
Predecessor	Olaf IV
Successor	Henry II
Born	9 September 1529 Haderslevhus, Haderslev Kingdom of Denmark
Died	3 November 1569 Antvorskov, Zeeland, Kingdom of Denmark
Spouse	Josephine de la Marck
Issue	Henry II Olaf V George II
House	House of La Marck
Father	Olaf IV of Denmark
Mother	Anna Rós Sturlungur
Religion	Jungism

George I (9 September 1529 - 3 November 1569) was King of Denmark and Norway from 1549 until his death, succeeding his father Olaf IV of Denmark. He was born to King Olaf and Queen Anna Ros Sturlunger as their younger, second son, and thus never expected to be king, but following the death of his older brother Henry in 1539, George became the heir apparent. George I would become the first Danish monarch from the House of La Marck to be born on Danish soil upon his coronation in 1549.

George I was regarded as an indecisive ruler at a consequential time for Danish history. He continued his father's policy of attempting to combat the growing power of the Kingdom of Sweden, but was defeated in the Eight Years' War. George's reign saw the beginning of the end of Denmark's supremacy in Scandinavia, and the beginning of the new Swedish Empire, that would plague Denmark in the centuries to come. George also oversaw the end of the Protestant Reformation in Denmark and Norway, as by the end of his reign both countries had been converted to the new state church established by George's grandfather Henry I.

George was wed to a cousin from the Saxon branch of the House of La Marck, named Josephine, who later came to dominate George's court. He would father three sons and future kings of Denmark: Henry II who succeeded him, Olaf V, and George II, the latter of which briefly became King of England and Holy Roman Emperor during the Forty Years' War.

Biography

Early Life and Marriage

Following the Wittenberg Massacre, George's distant kinsman Wolfgang, the Duke of Saxony, deposed his (Wolfgang's) brother, Edmund, who was Catholic, and arranged marriages for Edmund's daughters, wishing to marry them off to good noble Jungists: Prince George, then Duke of Copenhagen, was married to Edmund's younger daughter, Josephine.

Early Reign and Character

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Shortly afterwards, George's older brother Henry died young from some kind of illness, and soon after so did George's father, King Olaf: George found himself quite unprepared to be King. The Duke of Saxony Wolfgang, who met George at his father King Olaf's funeral, described him as being "indecisive and weak", and George was constantly dominated by his wife, Josephine. However, although he was somewhat inept at reigning over his Kingdom of Denmark, George soon proved to be a masterful warrior and general, winning many battles, and being praised and respected by other rulers. His love of war caused him to perhaps too eagerly seek conflict with other nations, and, egged on by his ambitious spouse, he cultivated the hostility brewing between his own nation and the nearby Kingdom of Sweden. George also became obsessed with a book written by monks which gave a fictitious history of Denmark: the book claimed that Denmark was destined by God to rule the whole of Scandinavia once more, and George began to yearn for the restoration of the old Orebro Union.

Eight Years' War

Main article: Eight Years' War (Merveilles des Morte)

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George's wife Josephine dominated the court during his reign and also the reigns of his three sons.

In 1560, Denmark's efforts to curtail the emerging Swedish Empire resulted in the Eight Years' War. Although during the start of the war, George and his army gained numerous victories, Sweden would eventually effectively win the War: George insisted on leading his troops into battle, and in one battle lost his left ear. His health was ailing, and his military tactical skills had declined in skill. He was distraught when he discovered his wife had been cheating on him with the Danish general and military commander, Frederick Henriksson, and had Henriksson imprisoned. His general Otto Trolle was killed in action shortly afterwards, and having lost both of his two best commanders, George became severely depressed, which also helped to lower the morale of his troops. George died a short time following the loss of the war, and was succeeded by his son, Henry.

Henry was abducted as a teenager by pirates who sold him to the Swedish government, where he remained in captivity. Thus from the 1560s until 1603, George's wife and Henry's mother Josephine ruled as regent. In her later years, she negotiated with Sweden, which resulted in Henry renouncing his claim to the throne, so his younger brother Olaf, who had been helping his mother manage the country in Denmark, could officially be crowned King. Olaf abruptly died of a heart attack after a particularly strenuous argument with his mother over where to build a particular city. George de la Marck, George I's only surviving son, was left to become King of Denmark. He would later claim to the throne of England through marriage.

Footnotes