Elizabeth of Denmark (1485–1555)

Elizabeth of Denmark
Sculpture of Elizabeth from the altarpiece by Claus Berg in St. Canute's Cathedral, Odense (c. 1530)
Electress consort of Brandenburg
Tenure	10 April 1502 – 11 July 1535
Born	(1485-06-24)24 June 1485 Nyborg Castle at Fünen
Died	10 June 1555(1555-06-10) (aged 69) Berlin
Burial	Berlin Cathedral
Spouse	Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg
Issue	Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg Anna, Duchess of Mecklenburg Elisabeth, Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg-Göttingen Margaret, Duchess of Pomerania John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin
House	Oldenburg
Father	John of Denmark
Mother	Christina of Saxony
Religion	Lutheran

Elizabeth of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (24 June 1485 – 10 June 1555) was a Scandinavian princess who became Electress of Brandenburg as the spouse of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg. She was daughter of King Hans of Denmark, Norway and Sweden and his spouse, Christina of Saxony.

As a child, Elizabeth had a close relation with her brother, the later King Christian II of Denmark. She was able to read and write in both Danish and German. On 10 April 1502 she married Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg, in a double wedding alongside her uncle, the future king Frederick I of Denmark, and her sister-in-law Anna of Brandenburg. Elizabeth and Joachim got along quite well during the first twenty years of their marriage and co-existed harmoniously. She received her mother in 1507, attended her brother Christian's wedding in 1515 and received Christian in 1523.

Her spouse was a pugnacious adherent of Roman Catholic orthodoxy during the Reformation. In 1523, she visited a sermon of Martin Luther with her brother and her sister-in-law and became a convinced Protestant. In 1527, she received the Protestant communion in public: this meant a public break with the Catholic Church, and caused a conflict with her husband. In 1528, her husband asked a clerical council from the Catholic Church if he should divorce, execute or isolate her if she refused to renounce her new conviction. The church council replied that he should have her imprisoned.

Elizabeth escaped to the court of her uncle, John, Elector of Saxony, and a public debate broke out: the Protestant monarchs and her brother supported her, Luther supported her freedom to leave her husband for her religion, and she declared that she would return only if she was allowed to keep her conviction and if her husband renounced his adultery and his interest in astrology. Otherwise, she suggested that they separate, referring to the separation of her own parents in 1504. She was given a residence near Wittenberg. Her husband refused to give her an allowance and forbade her sons to visit her. In 1532, her uncle died and her brother was imprisoned, and she thereby lost her supporters.