This was largely due to an agreement made following the Seven Years' War (1563-1570) which had banned open abuse between the two countries. Attempts had already been made to present this type of narrative in the second half of the 16th century, but they were found to be too provocative towards the Swedish king at that time. In the light of this narrative, any war between Denmark and Sweden was portrayed as a rebellion against the rule of the ‘just’ Danish king.

In contrast, Denmark’s arch enemy at the time, Sweden, was presented as a vassal kingdom where the king had received his power from the Danish monarch and was subordinate to him. Meursius, for example, portrayed Denmark as the great power of the Nordic countries, a status that had its roots in a distant legend. The books also portray the greatness and influence of the Danish kingdom on the rest of Europe which was useful to Christian IV's expansive foreign policy. Common to these quite different works was their purpose in portraying Denmark as the ideal kingdom, characterised by the relationship of complete harmony and balance between the divine right of the king and the royal council ( rigsrådet) - in spite of the fact that Denmark did not formally become a hereditary monarchy until 1660. He initiated the writing of two books on Danish history, both written around 1630 and in Latin, and both written by Dutch authors, Johannes Pontanus and Johannes Meursius. Danish history 'on request'īoth the fact that Christian IV used history politically and to such a great extent is perhaps most evident in how history was written during his own life time.

Christianshavn (in present day Copenhagen), Christiania (present day Oslo) and Christianopel in Blekinge (Southern Sweden). Even Christian IV’s name was used as an asset, becoming an historical fixture both in and outside Denmark, with his ambitious founding of large cities, many of which bore his name, e.g. And if the buildings themselves were not memorable enough, the ubiquitous monogram 'C4' plastered everywhere continues to bring the great king who constructed them to mind. They still stand today commemorating the greatness of the king. Constructing citiesĬhristian IV invested massively in countless magnificent buildings, including the Old Stock Exchange ( Børsen) and the Round Tower ( Rundetårn) in Copenhagen and, not least, the castles of Frederiksborg and Rosenborg.

These different strands of 'history' were united to great success and, in so doing, Christian IV actively wrote himself into a common European Renaissance tradition. The means to do so was found primarily in Greco-Roman antiquity, but also in local mythological universes. The political and religious map of Europe underwent major changes in the 16th and 17th centuries, so rulers at the time were eager to find ways of legitimising their princely hold on power. All the princes and social elites of Europe found a powerful political tool in Renaissance art and Christian IV was no different Renaissance art was able to legitimise royal status both at home and abroad - and this was by all accounts necessary. In his own time, Christian IV was very active in using and creating history. Christian IV’s use of history: The Renaissance prince What is more, he did so with great zeal and skill. Christian IV himself used his own fascination with antiquity and ancient Nordic history in propaganda to further both his own and Denmark’s agenda, domestically and in foreign policy, within art, architecture and – importantly – in the writing of history. Christian IV's incredibly complex and contradictory personality has also contributed to his mythical aura, and has led to him being portrayed as a symbol of Danishness, for better or for worse.

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