The results of this state of affairs were not slow to manifest themselves in full force after the death of Eric VI, when one of the active participants in the struggle of the nobility and the clergy with the king was elected king. From the new king, Christopher II (1320), they demanded the signing and pledge of such conditions, which deprived the king of almost any power. The king pledged not to start wars and not to make peace without the consent of the nobility and clergy, not to give fiefs to the Germans; at the same time, it was decided that no laws could be enacted or revoked except at the annual public meetings, and then only on a proposal coming exclusively from nobles or prelates. Personal guarantees were created for the entire population: no one could be imprisoned until his case was examined first by the local court and then by the royal court.
When Christopher II discovered a desire not to fulfill the conditions of surrender, the nobility, supported by the Holsteins, rebelled; the king was defeated, fled from Denmark and was deposed. The newly elected King Valdemar ( 1326 ) was imposed even more severe conditions: the nobility was exempt from military service at their own expense even within the state and received the right to freely build and strengthen castles, while the king had to hide their locks; the king was deprived of the right to offer a successor during his lifetime; the leaders of the nobility received control of the whole district, with the title of dukes, the right to chasing coins, etc.
The temporary triumph of Christopher II, who returned to the throne in 1329, did not create a solid position for him: his authority was reduced to a minimum, and he had to flee from nobles that were hostile to him. His death in 1332 finally untied the hands of the nobility, who for the next 8 years refused to elect a new king and independently ruled the state (interregnum 1332-1340).
The transformation of the nobility into a closed, hereditary estate, which had already begun earlier, became a completely accomplished fact in the middle of the 14th century. In this regard, the nobility acquired and inherited rights to all the inhabited land, given to them before in life tenure as flax. In their hands is almost a quarter of all land of the state, without paying taxes in favor of the state. The sole responsibility of the nobility is to participate in the administration, acquiring the character of full control of state affairs. The convocation of all free men, both peasants and citizens, is still going on; but the upper classes play a preeminent role, and even the meetings of the Diet, first of all necessarily annual ones, have become more and more rare and random since the end of the 14th century. The former royal council, consisting of people invited by the king and possessing an exclusively advisory voice, began to gradually turn into an independent, state, not royal council, somewhat later, after the surrender of Christian I, who finally received the right of supreme control over all affairs and over the king. The council consisted of 20 representatives of the highest nobility and higher clergy.
The interregnum led not only to the dismemberment of Denmark and the transition of many areas into alien – Swedish and German – hands, but also a strong anarchy that by 1340 caused a national reaction in the country and even among the nobility itself, mainly in Jutland. The result was the election of Christopher II’s son, Valdemar, who had to re-gather Danish lands into one. His brilliant successes not only armed all his neighbors and especially the Hanseatic cities against him, but also raised fears inside, among the nobility. A number of uprisings of the nobility of Jutland in alliance with the peasantry burdened by taxes, mistrust of the king by the council that ran his affairs during his almost constant absence, put Waldemar in a difficult position more than once and did not give him the opportunity to fully unite and expand Denmark.
Peace in Stralsund (1370), concluded by the council with the Hansa, further strengthened its trade domination over Denmark. The election of the minor Olaf (1376) as king, then Marguerite ( 1387 ) as regent, and finally her nephew King, Eric Pomeransky (1388), was given the opportunity to continue the work of strengthening Denmark’s external power, begun by Valdemar, and gradually correct the evil inflicted.
Sources:
Denmark // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
Helge Paludan, Eric Ulsig, Carsten Rasmussen, Hertz Boncerup, Eric Petersen, Henning Poulsen, Søren Rasmussen. History of Denmark