Thirty Years War Essay

Denmark’s intervention in the Thirty Years’ War can also be seen from a Great Heroes Approach. The Great Hero in this case is the King of Denmark-Norway: King Christian IV. It is partially as a result of Christian IV’s actions that Denmark was swayed to enter into the Thirty Years’ War. For this reason, Christian can both be seen as a great hero or a great villain, but his actions carried significant weight.

While King Christian IV and the aristocratic Council of the Realm governed Denmark and the coronation charter regulated rights and power for two parties, the king had liberty to take actions outside of the Adelsvcelden with impunity. The Danish foreign policy revolved around the theory of dominium maris baltici, which meant to keep control

He felt a personal duty to protect Lutheranism. When he felt that Lutheran citizens were being mistreated in Bohemia and elsewhere in the Holy Roman Empire, he felt absolutely compelled to assist the people of his faith. This religious motivation and desire to save a faith that Christian IV felt personally responsible for prompted entrance into the Thirty Years’ War. While the defense of his religion was incredibly important to Christian IV and played a large role in his desire to wage war against the Holy Roman Empire, it was the political tensions between the Swedish King and Christian IV that pushed him into the war with the most

Christian IV wanted to go to war because of his rivalry with Sweden, which meant that Denmark entered the conflict. Christian IV wanted to defend Lutheranism as he felt it was his personal duty, therefore Denmark defended Lutheranism. Christian IV wanted to protect the Balticand Sound for the money that he was receiving from them, so Denmark entered a war to protect it. Through this approach, it becomes clear that the Danish King used his power and influence to shape the country and world around him, making him a prominent influencer in the Danish intervention in the Thirty Years’