Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/797

* CHRISTENING A SHIP. 699 CHRISTIAN. launched. The action of blessing ships is alluded to by the monks of Saint Denys. In July. HIS, the Bishop of Bangor was sent to South Hamp- ton to bless the King's ship, the (Irace a Diiii, anil reeeiveil £•"> for his expenses. Tile christening is ordinarily performed by a lady, who breaks a bottle of wine against the stem as the ship starts down the ways in launching, and at the same time utters the christening words. In the Russian Xavy the christening ceremony is performed by a priest, and takes place at ^ome convenient time sulisequent to the laying of the keel. At the conclusion of it, a silver plate bear- ing the name of the ship, date of christening, etc., is affixed to the keel. CHRISTIAN. The name of the hero of Ban- yan's I'ilijri Ill's Profircss. CHRISTIAN II. (1481-1.559). King of Den- mark and Norway from 1.513 to l.r23, and of Sweden from 1.520 to 1523. He was horn at Xyborg, on the island of Fiinen, July 2, 1481. As Crown Prince he distinguished himself in 1502 by the implacable cruelty with which he suppressed a Norwegian insurrection. As King he favored merchants, artisans, and peasantry. and deprived the nol)ility of many of their ex- clusive privileges. In 1520 he succeeded by force of arms in recovering Sweden for the Danish Crown, and marked his success by the execution in Stockholm of ninety-four men of high rank, and followed this up with sweeping executions throughout the country. His severity hastened the approach of the successful revolt of Sweden under Gustavus Vasa, which seated the latter on the Swedish throne in 1523. On his return to Copenhagen. Christian found the clergy and nobles of .Jutland also in open rebellion, and in April, 1523, he fled to the Netherlands with liis wife and children, calling upon the Emperor Charles V., his wife's brother, for assistance. Frederick of Holstein, uncle of Christian, took possession of the kingdom, supported by the clergv* and nobles, but stoutly resisted by the biughen* and peasantry. Aided by the Dutch, Christian made a final attempt to recover his throne, land- ing in Norway in 1530, but was defeated and made a prisoner in 1531, and remained until his death, January 25, 1559, a captive in the Castle of Sonderborg, on the island of Alsen. See DEXitARK ; Norway ; Sweden. CHRISTIAN IV. (1577-1648). King of Denmark and Norway from 1588 to 1648. He was bom April 12, 1577, in Fredericksborg. Zea- land. In 1611-13 he carried on a war against the young Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and yielded some territory. In the second jieriod of *he Thirty Years' War (1625-29) an exaggerated military reputation and England's .support made him the leader of the Protestants, but only dis- aster resulted. His forces were overwhelmed by Tilly at Lutter in 1626. He was driven back into .futland. which was overrun by the enemy, and in 1629 made peace with the Emperor Fenluiand II. at Liibeck. Soon after his Swedish rival be- came the Protestant leader. He waged war with Sweden unsuccessfully from 1643 to 1645. In civil affairs, however, he proved himself a capable sovereign, introducing financial and legislative reforms, encouraeing industry and science, and giving a powerful impetus to both the external and the internal trade of his kingdoms. The Vol.. IV.— 1.5. present capital of Norway was founded by him and licars his name. See Dkn.m.vrk. CHRISTIAN VII. (1749-1808). King of Denmark and Xor«ay from 1766 to 1808. He succeeded his father, Frederick V., in 1766. He was miscTably feeble and inea|)able, and scarcely exercised any inlluence in the government. The actual power was wielded successively by his ministers, BernstorfV and Struensee, and his son Frederick, who became joint regent with his mother, Caroline ilatilda, sister of George III. of England, in 1784, and upon the death of Christian assumed the title of King Frederick VI. ni.v.i. Cliri^tian died ilarch 13, 1808. CHRISTIAN VIII. (1786-1848). King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848. He was a nephew of Christian VII., and was born September 18, 1786. When Norway was ceded to Sweden by the Treaty of Kiel, the people of the former coun- try repudiated the act of alienation, and Prince ( hristian was made Governor. He raised an army and convened a diet, at which a ccmstitu- tion was framed, and he was elected, Jlay 29, 1814, King of Norway under the title of Chris- tian I., but the Norwegians were unable to with- stand the invading Swedish army under Berna- dotte, and the Allied Powers compelled Christian formally to relinquish the throne on October 10. He succeeded Frederick VI. as King of Denmark in 1839. His reign was characterized by industrial jirogress and by increased political liberty. CHRISTIAN IX. (181S-). King of Den- mark since 1S03. He was born April 8, 1818, the fourth son of Duke William of Schleswig- Holstein-Sondcrburg-Gliicksburg. As the male line of the House of Oldenljurg, which had oc- cupied the Danish throne since 1448, was ap- proaching extinction in th person of Frederick VII., the great Powers, by the Treaty of Lon- don, ilay 8, 1852, to maintain the integrity of the Danish monarchy, "as connected with' the general interests of the balance of power in Europe," guaranteed the succession to Prince Christian, by right of his wife, who was a niece of King Christian VIII. The London agreement was ratified by the Danish Diet, by the Act of Succession of July 31, 1853. Accordingly Chris- tian became King on the death of Frederick, November 1^, 1863. Soon after his accession the trouble over the duchies (see Schleswig- HoLSTEix) reached an acute stage, and Den- mark was comi)elled to relinquish them in 1864, after a brief war with Austria and Prus- sia. From 1873 to 1894 the King was engaged in a constitutional conllict with the democratic parties over the question of the responsibility of the Ministry. The conservatives finally tri- umphed. In 1874, on the occasion of the mil- lenary of Iceland, he granted the island a new constitution, and visited it in person. Chris- tian married. May 26, 1842, Louise, daughter of Elect(U- William of Hesse-Cassel. They had five children. Of these, Alexandra is (^)ueen of England. Dagmar is Empress Dowager of Rus- sia, and George is King of Greece. Qlieen Louise died Se|)teinber 29. 1898. CHRISTIAN OF Brunswick ( Braunschweig- Wolfcnbiittel) (1599-1626). A German prelate and >oMier. Lutheran Rishoj) of llalberstadt. and a prominent commander in the Thirty Years' War. styled 'the Madman of Halberstiidt." He was born in Groningen (Saxony), and became