Of course, the first sparks came from Saxony. Martin Luther had triggered the Reformation in Wittenberg, Saxony, seven years earlier. Its consequences were soon felt everywhere. In those times, the Roman Catholic Church virtually controlled all of life in Western Europe. In the sixteenth century, however, discontentment began to rise, both within the church and in society at large.
The heart of the Reformation was the recognition that Scripture, and Scripture alone, had ultimate authority, even over the Catholic hierarchy. Luther realised that his people needed to be able to read and understand the Bible. But at the time, the Bible existed only in Latin. The first step was thus to translate the Bible, a task that Luther began in German. By 1522, the first German New Testament was thus published.
While the Reformation was spreading fast in the German lands, Christian II was king in Denmark was dealing with turmoil with the nobility of his country. Finally, the nobles turned against the king and Christian II was forced to flee from the country in 1523. But where could he possibly go? The exiled king was none other than the nephew of Frederick the Wise, the German prince that protected Luther. The obvious option was thus the residence of the prince in Wittenberg.
However, what seemed a sad end for Christian turned into a blessing, not only for him, but for the future of Denmark. In Wittenberg, Christian and his wife Isabella heard Luther’s preaching and they were deeply moved. In fact, it was during his time in exile in Wittenberg that Christian adopted the Lutheran doctrines. Like Luther, he also understood that the Danes needed to be able to read the Scriptures in their own language. Christian appointed his closest friend for the task, the former mayor of Malmö, Hans Mikkelsen. Contrary to most of the nobility, he had remained loyal to Christian, and was also forced to flee to Germany. Like his king, he also embraced the Lutheran doctrines there.
Luther’s doctrines had already begun to spread in Denmark even before the exile of Christian II. But when his successor, Frederick I, was crowned king of Denmark on the 7th of August 1524, there was uncertainty in the air. Would the new king allow the Reformation to continue spreading in Danish lands? Or would he seek to protect the Roman Catholic hierarchy? Initially the king seemed to side with the Roman Catholic church. But eventually, Frederick I showed himself to be lenient towards the Reformation.
In fact, it was during the month of his coronation that the first Danish New Testament was completed. Mikkelsen’s translation of the New Testament, based on Luther’s German translation, was sent from Germany to Antwerp (in the Low Countries, presently in Belgium), a hub for the Reformation at the time. And from Antwerp’s harbour, the precious work was shipped to Denmark. With the translation now available, the Reformation continued to spread in Denmark, particularly among the peasants. Soon, two major centres emerged. The first was Viborg, Northern Jutland, where Hans Tausen and his associate Jørgen Sadolin freely preached the evangelical doctrines to crowds in the city cathedral. The second was Malmö, the city of Hans Mikkelsen, where Claus Mortensen was allowed to preach the Lutheran doctrines in spite of initial opposition from the city council. The spread of the Reformation and the publication of the New Testament in Danish had a deep and lasting impact in all areas of Danish society.
