St. Søren's Church in Old Rye was the setting of the election.
King Christian III carried out the Protestant Reformation in Slesvig, Holsten, Denmark and Norway.
The
election of Christian III as
king of Denmark and
Norway on 4 July 1534 was a landmark event for all of
Denmark and
Norway. It took place in the church in the town of
Rye, eastern
Jutland, where the Jutlandic
nobility elected Prince Christian, son of king
Frederick I and Duke of
Slesvig and
Holsten, as king. This brought about the
Count's Feud (the civil war of 1534-36) and later also led to the implementation of the
Protestant Reformation in Denmark and Norway. Christian was a zealous
Protestant who had witnessed the defence of
Martin Luther at the
Diet of Worms, and he had already carried out the
Reformation in the Duchies of Slesvig and Holsten.
Christian's views made it difficult to gain the support of a majority of the
Council of the Realm as most noblemen and, of course, the
bishops would rather see a
Roman Catholic king on the throne and hence preferred his younger brother. Among the supporters of Christian were
Mogens Gøye, Steward of the Realm, and he was among the originators of the meeting in Rye Church between eight Jutlandic members of the Council and the four Jutlandic bishops. Members of the lesser nobility had also turned up – presumably on Gøye's initiative – but had to stay outside the church. The lengthy discussion about the election eventually made them lose patience, and they forced their way into the church and demanded to know who opposed the election of Prince Christian. After that, the opponents finally gave up. Bishop Bille of
Aarhus cried wept when he signed the request for the Protestant Duke to become king, realising that it would mean his own downfall.
Although hesitant, Christian accepted the election and was cheered at a meeting in
Horsens on 18 August 1534 where he declared that he would, like his predecessors, sign a
håndfæstning (charter), although with a reform of ecclesiastical affairs, i.e. the implementation of the Protestant Reformation in Denmark and Norway.
Category:Denmark–NorwayCategory:Protestant ReformationCategory:1534 in DenmarkCategory:1534 electionsda:Kongevalget i 1534
