_Christian III. (1537-1559)--The Reformation Introduced_
At the great Diet, held in Copenhagen, in 1536, it was decided that
the Catholic faith should be abolished, the property of the bishops
and the cloisters was confiscated to the crown, and the Lutheran faith
was introduced into Denmark. A new ecclesiastical law was adopted,
called the Ordinance. The king also promised the rapacious nobility of
Denmark that henceforth Norway was to be, and remain, under the crown
of Denmark as any other part of the country, and not to be called a
separate kingdom, but a province of the Danish crown. The Norwegian
Council of State was abolished, the Catholic bishops were removed, and
Danish noblemen were installed at the fortresses to rule the country
in the king's name. From this time the Danish Council of State exerted
great influence in the government of Norway; but, in spite of all this,
Norway remained a separate state; it retained its old laws, and the
chancellor was still to be the supreme judge.
After the flight of the archbishop, and the submission of Norway, the
Danish Church Ordinance was also made to apply to Norway; but the new
faith was little known there, and the Norwegians long clung to the old
faith. When the bishops had been removed, Danish magnates were sent
around in the country to take possession of "the silver, treasures
and goods of the old idolatry." In performing this function the Danish
magnates showed especial reformatory zeal. Thus, in Bergen, the church
robber, Eske Bilde, spared neither churches nor the graves of the
departed kings, while in Throndhjem Otto Stigson burned the library
and archives of the cathedral chapter, and Thord Roed committed havoc
in the same manner in Stavanger. Saint Olaf's costly shrine--which
stood on the high altar in the cathedral of Throndhjem, and was
ornamented with precious stones--as well as many other treasures of the
church, were sent to Copenhagen. Lutheran superintendents or bishops
were installed in place of the Catholic bishops; but the government
could not at once remove all the Catholic priests, because there
were not Lutheran ministers enough to put in their places, and, when
Lutheran ministers were appointed, they were generally treated with
ill-will, and sometimes even driven away or killed. The majority of
the Lutheran ministers were Danes, and Danish became the language of
the Church. The ablest of the new Lutheran bishops was Geble Pederson
in Bergen, who showed great zeal in educating Lutheran ministers.
Theological seminaries were established at each of the episcopal sees
of Throndhjem, Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo. The bishopric of Hamar was
consolidated with that of Oslo.
The Hansa towns, in making peace with Christian III. after the Count's
Feud, had succeeded in retaining their trading privileges in Norway,
and, during the greater part of this reign, acted in their old insolent
and oppressive manner. In Bergen they made themselves especially
obnoxious, so that the people complained bitterly to the king. He
finally appointed, as commander in Bergen, the able Danish nobleman,
Christopher Walkendorf, who commenced to put limits to the arbitrary
and violent conduct of the Germans, and subdued them in such a way that
they never regained their old power. After this the Norwegian citizens
of Bergen gradually asserted themselves, and soon had the control of
the whole fishery trade with the northern districts.
Christian III. died on the 1st of January, 1559, at the age of
fifty-five years. Although he reigned for twenty-three years, he never
visited Norway as king.