Magnus of Denmark or Magnus of Holstein ( – ) was a

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, Duke of

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

, and a member of the

House of Oldenburg The House of Oldenburg is a Germans, German dynasty whose members rule or have ruled in Danish Realm, Denmark, Kingdom of Iceland, Iceland, Kingdom of Greece, Greece, Norway, Russian Empire, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom, the United Kingdom, King ...

. As a vassal of Tsar

Ivan IV of Russia Ivan IV Vasilyevich (; – ), commonly known as Ivan the Terrible,; ; monastic name: Jonah. was Grand Prince of Moscow and all Russia from 1533 to 1547, and the first Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia from 1547 until his death in 1584. ...

, he was the titular King of Livonia from 1570 to 1578.

Early life

Duke Magnus was born at the

Copenhagen Castle Copenhagen Castle () was a castle on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It was built in the late 14th century and was located at the site of the current Christiansborg Palace. History In 1167, Bishop Absalon (c. 112 ...

in 1540 as the second son of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway and

Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg Dorothea of Saxe-Lauenburg (9 July 1511 – 7 October 1571) was queen consort of Denmark and Norway by marriage to King Christian III of Denmark. She was known to having wielded influence upon the affairs of state in Denmark.Jorgensen, Ellen & S ...

. At the age of 17 he was sent to Germany to be educated at various German courts. Following the death of his father in 1559, he returned to Denmark for the coronation of his older brother, King

Frederick II of Denmark Frederick II (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588) was King of Denmark-Norway, Denmark and Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1559 until his death in 1588. A member of the House of Oldenburg, Fre ...

. The same year, the prince-bishop of Ösel-Wiek and

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

Johannes V von Münchhausen in Old Livonia sold his lands to King Frederick II for 30,000

thalers A thaler or taler ( ; , previously spelled ) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...

. To avoid hereditary partition of his lands, King Frederick II gave that territory to his younger brother Magnus on condition that he renounced his rights to succession in the duchies of

Schleswig The Duchy of Schleswig (; ; ; ; ; ) was a duchy in Southern Jutland () covering the area between about 60 km (35 miles) north and 70 km (45 mi) south of the current border between Germany and Denmark. The territory has been di ...

and

. In 1560, Magnus landed with an army on

Ösel Saaremaa (; ) is the largest and most populous island in Estonia. Measuring , its population is 31,435 (as of January 2020). The main island of the West Estonian archipelago (Moonsund archipelago), it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hi ...

where he was immediately elected bishop by the

cathedral chapter According to both Catholic and Anglican canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics ( chapter) formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese during the vacancy. In ...

King of Livonia

During the

Livonian War The Livonian War (1558–1583) concerned control of Terra Mariana, Old Livonia (in the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia). The Tsardom of Russia faced a varying coalition of the Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian Realm, the Kingdom ...

, on 10 June 1570, Duke Magnus arrived in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

with the approval of his older brother, where he was crowned King of Livonia by

. Magnus took the oath of allegiance to Ivan as his overlord and received from the corresponding charter for the vassal kingdom of Livonia in what Ivan termed his patrimony. The treaty between Magnus and Ivan IV was signed by an ''

oprichnik The oprichnina (, ; ) was a state policy implemented by Tsar Ivan the Terrible in Tsardom of Russia, Russia between 1565 and 1572. The policy included mass Political repression, repression of the boyars (Russian aristocrats), including public e ...

'' and by a member of the ''zemskii'' administration, the '' dyak'' Vasily Shchelkalov. The territories of the new kingdom still had to be conquered, but even so

Põltsamaa Castle Põltsamaa Castle (; ), also Põltsamaa Order Castle, (), is a castle in Põltsamaa, Jõgeva County, in eastern Estonia. History The castle was founded by the Livonian Order in 1272, as a purely defensive Ordensburg, crusader fortress. During t ...

was proclaimed the future official residence of the king. The newly crowned king Magnus of Livonia left Moscow with 20,000 Russian soldiers with the intention of conquering Swedish-controlled

Reval Tallinn is the capital and most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and administratively lies in the Harju ''maakond'' (co ...

. Ivan's hope of the support of

, the older brother of Magnus, failed. By the end of March 1571, Magnus gave up the struggle for Reval and abandoned the siege. In 1577, having lost Ivan's favor and receiving no support from his brother, Magnus called on the Livonian nobility to rally to him in a struggle against foreign occupation. He was attacked by Ivan's forces and taken prisoner. On his release, he renounced his royal title. Magnus gave the rights to the throne to the genus of

Stephen Báthory Stephen Báthory (; ; ; 27 September 1533 – 12 December 1586) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (1576–1586) as well as Prince of Transylvania, earlier Voivode of Transylvania (1571–1576). The son of Stephen VIII Báthory ...

. Magnus spent the last six years of his life at the castle of Pilten in the

Bishopric of Courland The Bishopric of Courland (, ) was the second smallest (4500 km2) Prince-bishopric, ecclesiastical state in the Livonian Confederation founded in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade. During the Livonian War in 1559 the bishopric became ...

, where he died as a pensioner of the

Polish crown The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (; ) was a political and legal concept formed in the 14th century in the Kingdom of Poland, assuming unity, indivisibility and continuity of the state. Under this idea, the state was no longer seen as the pa ...

. In 1662, Magnus' body was returned to Denmark and was reburied in the

Roskilde Cathedral Roskilde Cathedral (), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church of Denmark. The cathedral is one of the most important churches in D ...

Spouse and issue

On 12 April 1574, he married Maria Vladimirovna of Staritsa, daughter of

Vladimir of Staritsa Vladimir Andreyevich (; 9 July 1535 – 9 October 1569) was the last appanage Russian prince. His complicated relationship with his cousin, Ivan the Terrible, was dramatized in Sergei Eisenstein's 1945 film ''Ivan the Terrible (1945 film), ...

, Duke of Staritsa. His issue included: * Marie of Oldenburg (c. July 1580 – c. 1597) * Eudoxia of Oldenburg (c. 1581 – c. 1588)

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

External links

Livonian Wars
by Kara Broughton

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magnus Of Holstein 1540 births 1583 deaths Danish Lutheran bishops People from Courland People from Livonia Princes of Denmark Estonian nobility Livonian nobility Norwegian princes Pretenders Prince-bishops in Livonia Polish people of the Livonian campaign of Stephen Báthory History of Tallinn People from Põltsamaa People of the Livonian War Children of Christian III of Denmark Burials at Roskilde Cathedral Sons of kings 16th-century Danish Lutheran clergy 16th-century Lutheran bishops