His sudden death in 1448 left after internal struggle Christian I to take the Danish throne. Following the death of his uncle and ally, the Count of Holstein, he united Schleswig and Holstein at Ribe in 1460 and became Count of Holstein and Duke of Schleswig. In Denmark itself he also instigated the stsndermgde. a council of merchants, clergy, freehold peasants and nobilit in place of the exclusively noble Danehof, thereby maintaining his pledge to vi( in close liaison with the nobles, and forging a powerful position for the crown a policy which was continued by his successor, Hans. Hans died in 1513 and Christian II came to the throne, seeking to reestablish the power of the Kalmar Union and reduce the trading dominance of the Hanseatic League. He invaded Sweden in 1520 under the guise of protecting the Church, but soon crowned himself King of Sweden at a ceremony attended by the cream of Swedish nobility, clergy and the merchant class an amnesty being granted to those who had been opposed to him. It was, however, a trick. On№ inside the castle, 82 of the "guests" we'® arrested on charges of heresy, sentenced ® death, and executed an event which becai known as the Stockholm Bloodbath This , supposed to subdue Swedish hostility to Danish monarch but in fact had the oppos effect. Gustavus Vasa, previously one ot Swedish hostages held by Christian in Denma' became the leader of a revolt that ended Christian's reign in Sweden and finished the Kalmar Union. Internally, too, Christian faced a revolt, to yich he responded with more brutality. At the end of 1522, a group of Jutish nobles banded together with the intention of overthrowing him, joining up with Duke Frederik of HolsteinGottorp jlieir to half of SchleswigHolstein), who also regarded the Danish king with disfavour. The following January, the nobles renounced their royal oaths and, with the support of forces from Holstein, gained control of all of Jutland and Funen. As they prepared to invade Zealand, Christian fled to Holland, hoping to assemble an army and return. In his absence, Frederik of HolsteinGottorp became Frederik I. ¦ The Reformation At the time of Frederik's acquisition of the crown there was a growing unease with the role of the Church in Denmark, especially with the power and wealth of the bishops. Frederik was a Catholic but refused to take sides in religious disputes and did nothing to prevent the destruction of churches, well aware of the groundswell of peasant support for Lutheranism. Frederik I died in 1533 and the fate of the Reformation hinged on which of his two sons would succeed him. The elder and more obvious choice was Christian, but his open support for Lutheranism set the bishops and nobles against him. The younger son, Hans, was just twelve years old but favoured by the Church and the nobility. The civil war that ensued became known as the Counts' War, and ended in 1536 with Christian II on the throne and the establishment of the new Danish Lutheran Church, with a constitution placing the king at its head.