Christian V of Denmark /

Christian V (15 April 1646 – August 25, 1699), was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 to 1699. The son of Frederick III of Denmark and Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He married Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) on 14 May 1667 at Nykøbing, and ascended the throne on 9 February 1670. It is generally argued that Christian V's personal courage and affability made him popular among the common people, but his image was marred by his unsuccessful attempt to regain Scania for Denmark in the Scanian War. The war exhausted Denmark's economic resources without creating any gains. Part of his appeal to the common people may be explained by the fact that he allowed Danish commoners into state service, but his attempts to curtail the influence of the nobility also meant continuing his father's drive toward absolutism. To accommodate non-aristocrats into state service, he created the new noble ranks of count and baron. One of the commoners elevated in this way by the King was Peder Schumacher, named Count Griffenfeld by Christian V in 1670 and high councillor of Denmark in 1674. Griffenfeldt, a skilled statesman, better understood the precarious situation Denmark placed