Frederick IV of Denmark
Encyclopedia
Frederick IV was the king of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

 and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 from 1699 until his death. Frederick was the son of King Christian V of Denmark and Norway and Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel).

Foreign affairs

For much of Frederik IV's reign Denmark was engaged in the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...

 (1700–1721) against Sweden. In spite of the conclusion of the Peace of Travendal
Peace of Travendal
The Peace of Travendal was a peace treaty concluded during the Great Northern War on 8 or 18 August 1700 between the Swedish Empire, Denmark-Norway and Holstein-Gottorp in Traventhal....

 in 1700, there was soon a Swedish invasion and threats from Europe's western naval powers. In 1709 Denmark again entered the war encouraged by the Swedish defeat at Poltava
Poltava
Poltava is a city in located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Poltava Oblast , as well as the surrounding Poltava Raion of the oblast. Poltava's estimated population is 298,652 ....

. Frederick IV commanded the Danish troops at the battle of Gadebusch
Battle of Gadebusch
The Battle of Gadebusch was Sweden's final great victory in the Great Northern War. It was fought by the Swedes to prevent the loss of the city of Stralsund to Danish and Saxon forces.- Prelude :...

 in 1712. Although Denmark emerged on the victorious side, she failed to reconquer lost possessions in southern Sweden. The most important result was the destruction of the pro-Swedish Duchy of Holstein-Gottorp
Holstein-Gottorp
Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein that were ruled by the dukes of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp. Other parts of the duchies were ruled by the kings of Denmark. The...

, which re-established Denmark's domination in Schleswig-Holstein
History of Schleswig-Holstein
The Jutland Peninsula is a long peninsula in Northern Europe, and the current Schleswig-Holstein is its southern part. Schleswig is also called Southern Jutland...

.

Domestic rule

Frederick's most important domestic
Domestic policy
Domestic policy, also known as public policy, presents decisions, laws, and programs made by the government which are directly related to all issues and activity within the country....

 reform was the abolition in 1702 of the so-called vornedskab, a kind of serfdom
Serfdom
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...

 which had fallen on the peasants of Zealand in the Late Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....

. His efforts were largely in vain because of the introduction of adscription in 1733.

After the war, trade and culture flowered. The first Danish theatre, Lille Grönnegade, was created and the great dramatist Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg
Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy, who spent most of his adult life in Denmark. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque...

 began his career. Also, a colonisation of Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

 was started by the missionary Hans Egede
Hans Egede
Hans Poulsen Egede was a Norwegian-Danish Lutheran missionary who launched mission efforts to Greenland, which led him to be styled the Apostle of Greenland. He established a successful mission among the Inuit and is credited with revitalizing Dano-Norwegian interest in the island after contact...

. Politically this period was marked by the king's connection to the Reventlow
Reventlow
The name Reventlow, a noble Danish surname, may refer to:* Anne Sophie Reventlow, queen consort of Denmark * Christian Detlev Reventlow Danish diplomat and military leader 1671-1738)...

s, the Holstein
Holstein
Holstein is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is part of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany....

er relatives of his last queen, and by his growing suspicion toward the old nobility.

During Frederick's rule Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

 was struck by two disasters: the plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...

 of 1711, and the great fire
Fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....

 of October 1728, which destroyed most of the medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 capital. Although the king had been persuaded by Ole Rømer to introduce the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...

 in Denmark-Norway in 1700, the astronomer
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

's observations and calculations were among the treasures lost to the fire.

Frederik IV, having twice visited Italy, had two pleasure palace
Palace
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word itself is derived from the Latin name Palātium, for Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills in Rome. In many parts of Europe, the...

s built in the Italian baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 style: Frederiksberg Palace
Frederiksberg Palace
Frederiksberg Palace is a Baroque residence, located in Frederiksberg, Denmark, adjacent to the Copenhagen Zoo. It commands an impressive view over Frederiksberg Park, originally designed as a palace garden in the Baroque style...

 and Fredensborg Palace
Fredensborg Palace
Fredensborg Palace, , is a palace located on the eastern shore of Lake Esrum in Fredensborg on the island of Zealand in Denmark. It is the Danish Royal Family’s spring and autumn residence, and is often the site of important state visits and events in the Royal Family...

, both considered monument
Monument
A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture...

s to the conclusion of the Great Northern War
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in northern Central Europe and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedish alliance were Peter I the Great of Russia, Frederick IV of...

.

Character

Frederick was deemed a man of responsibility and industry — often regarded as the most intelligent of Denmark's absolute
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...

 monarchs. He seems to have mastered the art of remaining independent of his minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....

s. Lacking all interest in academic
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...

 knowledge, he was nevertheless a patron
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...

 of culture, especially in art and architecture. His main weaknesses were probably pleasure-seeking and womanising
Promiscuity
In humans, promiscuity refers to less discriminating casual sex with many sexual partners. The term carries a moral or religious judgement and is viewed in the context of the mainstream social ideal for sexual activity to take place within exclusive committed relationships...

, which sometimes distracted him. He was the second to last Danish king who joined a morganatic marriage (the last was Frederick VII
Frederick VII of Denmark
Frederick VII was a King of Denmark. He reigned from 1848 until his death. He was the last Danish monarch of the older Royal branch of the House of Oldenburg and also the last king of Denmark to rule as an absolute monarch...

 with Louise Rasmussen/Countess Danner
Louise Rasmussen
Louise Christine Rasmussen, also known as Countess Danner , was a Danish Ballet dancer and stage actor. She was the mistress and later the morganatic spouse of King Frederick VII of Denmark...

).

Family and private life

His mother was Charlotte, daughter of William VI, Landgrave
Landgrave
Landgrave was a title used in the Holy Roman Empire and later on by its former territories. The title refers to a count who had feudal duty directly to the Holy Roman Emperor...

 of Hesse-Kassel
Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...

. Without divorcing his first queen, Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow was Queen consort of Denmark and Norway as the first spouse of the King Frederick IV of Denmark....

, whom he had wed 5 December 1695, Frederick married twice more, thereby committing bigamy
Bigamy
In cultures that practice marital monogamy, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. Bigamy is a crime in most western countries, and when it occurs in this context often neither the first nor second spouse is aware of the other...

. In 1703, he married Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg
Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg
Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg was a Danish noble and lady in waiting. She was the royal mistress and later the first morganatic spouse of King Frederick IV of Denmark in a bigamous marriage....

 (d.1704), and the second time, Frederick carried off the 19 year-old Countess Anne Sophie Reventlow
Anne Sophie Reventlow
Anne Sophie Reventlow was a Danish noble, royal mistress, spouse by bigamy and, later, queen consort of Denmark and Norway 1721–30, the second spouse of king Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway....

 from her home in Clausholm
Clausholm Castle
Clausholm Castle is a large Danish country house located some 12 km southeast of Randers in eastern Jutland. It is one of Denmark's finest Baroque buildings.-History:...

 near Randers
Randers
Randers is a city in Randers municipality on the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 60,656 . Randers city is the main town of the municipality and the site of its municipal council.-Overview:Randers municipality has 94,750 inhabitants...

 on 26 June 1712 and secretly wed her at Skanderborg
Skanderborg
Skanderborg, with a population of 18,253 , is a town in Denmark just southwest of Aarhus. It is more or less a suburb today, located in Skanderborg municipality, Jutland.Skanderborg municipality has a population of 57,303 ....

. At that time he accorded her the title "Duchess of Schleswig" (derived from one of his own subsidiary titles). Three weeks after Queen Louise's death in Copenhagen on 4 April 1721, he married Anne Sophie again, this time declaring her queen (the only wife of an hereditary Danish king to bear that title who was not a princess by birth). Of the nine children born to him of these three wives, only two survived to adulthood: the future Christian VI and Princess Charlotte-Amalia, both from the first marriage. The most notable of his other lovers was Charlotte Helene von Schindel
Charlotte Helene von Schindel
Charlotte Helene von Schindel was a Danish noble, lady in waiting and a royal mistress of King Frederick IV of Denmark.Charlotte Helene von Schindel was originally from Silesia. She became the lady in waiting of Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg, the morganatic spouse by bigamy of King Frederik IV...

.

Nonetheless, much of the king's life was spent in strife with kinsmen. Two of his first cousins, Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII of Sweden
Charles XII also Carl of Sweden, , Latinized to Carolus Rex, Turkish: Demirbaş Şarl, also known as Charles the Habitué was the King of the Swedish Empire from 1697 to 1718...

 and Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Duke Frederick IV of Holstein-Gottorp was Duke of Schleswig.He was born in Gottorp as the elder son of Duke Christian Albrecht of Holstein-Gottorp and Princess Frederika Amalia of Denmark...

 (the three men were the grandsons of Frederick III of Denmark
Frederick III of Denmark
Frederick III was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death. He instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark and Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in western historiography. He was born the second-eldest son of Christian IV of Denmark and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg...

), had waged war upon his father jointly. Initially defeated by the Swedes and forced to recognize the independence of Holstein-Gottorp, Frederick finally drove the next duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Duke Charles Frederick
Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp
Duke Charles Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp was the son of Frederick IV of Holstein-Gottorp and his wife, Hedvig Sophia, daughter of King Charles XI of Sweden...

 (who was Frederick IV's first cousin once removed) out of Schleswig in 1713, and avoided the revenge contemplated by Charles Frederick's mother-in-law, Catherine I of Russia
Catherine I of Russia
Catherine I , the second wife of Peter the Great, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1725 until her death.-Life as a peasant woman:The life of Catherine I was said by Voltaire to be nearly as extraordinary as that of Peter the Great himself. There are no documents that confirm her origins. Born on...

.

The Reventlows took advantage of their kinship to the king to aggrandize. The sister of Anna, the salonist Christine Sophie Holstein
Christine Sophie Holstein
Christine Sophie Holstein was a politically influential Danish salon hostess.Daughter to Count Conrad von Reventlow , Danish Grand Chancellor , and Anna Margrethe Gabel , she married Count Niels Friis in 1688 and statesman count Count Ulrik Adolph von Holstein in 1700, and belonged to the highest...

, was nicknamed Madame Chancellor because of her influence. Within a year of conferring the crown matrimonial
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...

 on Countess Reventlow, Frederick also recognized as dynastic
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...

 the issue of the morganatic
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...

 marriages of two of his kinsmen, Duke Philip Ernest of Schleswig-Holstein-Glucksburg (1673–1729) and Duke Christian Charles of Schleswig-Holstein-Plön-Norburg (1674–1706), to non-royal nobles. The other Schleswig-Holstein dukes of the House of Oldenburg
House of Oldenburg
The House of Oldenburg is a North German dynasty and one of Europe's most influential Royal Houses with branches that rule or have ruled in Denmark, Russia, Greece, Norway, Schleswig, Holstein, Oldenburg and Sweden...

 perceived their interests to be injured, and Frederick found himself embroiled in their complicated lawsuits and petitions to the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...

. Also offended by the countess's elevation were King Frederick's younger unmarried siblings, Princess Sophia Hedwig (1677–1735) and Prince Charles (1680–1729), who withdrew from Copenhagen to their own rival court at the handsomely re-modelled Vemmetofte Cloister (later a haven for dowerless
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...

 damsels of the nobility).

During King Frederick's last years he was afflicted with weak health and private sorrows that inclined him toward Pietism
Pietism
Pietism was a movement within Lutheranism, lasting from the late 17th century to the mid-18th century and later. It proved to be very influential throughout Protestantism and Anabaptism, inspiring not only Anglican priest John Wesley to begin the Methodist movement, but also Alexander Mack to...

. That form of faith would rise to prevalence during the reign of his son. On his death in 1730, Frederick IV was interred in Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral
Roskilde Cathedral , in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheran Church of Denmark. The first Gothic cathedral to be built of brick, it encouraged the spread of the Brick Gothic style throughout Northern Europe...

.

King Frederick holds a memorable place in the social history of the city of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

 for a visit he made during the winter of 1708-09. The winter that season was particularly cold, so cold that the lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...

 of Venice froze over, and the Venetians were able to walk from the city to the mainland. It was joked that the king of Denmark had brought the cold weather with him.

Children

With his first queen, Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow
Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow was Queen consort of Denmark and Norway as the first spouse of the King Frederick IV of Denmark....

:
  • Christian (28 June 1697-1 October 1698)
  • King Christian VI of Denmark
    Christian VI of Denmark
    Christian VI was King of Denmark and Norway from 1730 to 1746.He was the son of King Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow. He married Sophia Magdalen of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and fathered Frederick V.-The reign and personality of Christian VI:To posterity Christian...

     (10 December 1699-6 August 1746)
  • Frederik Charles (23 October 1701-7 Jan 1702)
  • George (6 January 1703-12 March 1704)
  • Princess Charlotte Amalie of Denmark
    Charlotte Amalie of Denmark
    Charlotte Amalie of Danmark was a Danish princess, issue of King Frederick IV of Denmark and Louise of Mecklenburg-Güstrow....

     (6 October 1706-28 October 1782)


With his first bigamous wife, Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg
Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg
Elisabeth Helene von Vieregg was a Danish noble and lady in waiting. She was the royal mistress and later the first morganatic spouse of King Frederick IV of Denmark in a bigamous marriage....

:
  • Frederik Gyldenløve (1704–1705)


With his second queen, Anne Sophie Reventlow
Anne Sophie Reventlow
Anne Sophie Reventlow was a Danish noble, royal mistress, spouse by bigamy and, later, queen consort of Denmark and Norway 1721–30, the second spouse of king Frederick IV of Denmark and Norway....

:
  • Christiana Amalia Oldenburg (23 October 1723-7 January 1724)
  • Frederik Christian Oldenburg (1 June 1726-15 May 1727)
  • Charles Oldenburg (16 February 1728-10 December 1729)

Ancestry

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