Count's Feud - The Aftermath

The Aftermath

In the aftermath of the feud, the nobles regrouped and healed the rifts the usual way, namely through inter-marriage. One of the most powerful among the Danish nobility in Scania at this time was the Bille family, who were tied through blood relations to seven of the eight Catholic bishops of Denmark. The Billes also had six family members on the Council of the Realm and owned castles throughout Denmark and Norway. In order to keep the family's powerful position, in spite of the religious affiliation with the Catholic faith, Claus Bille (of Stockholm Bloodbath fame, second cousin to Gustav Vasa), protected the family by forming a political alliance through marriage with the Brahe family, another powerful Scanian family among the Danish nobility at this time. The Brahe family was one of the first among the nobility to convert to Lutheranism. Claus Bille gave his 18 year old daughter Beate in marriage to Otte Brahe, and thus became a grandfather in 1546 to the perhaps most famous Scanian of the era, the astronomer Tyge Brahe, better known as Tycho Brahe. Tycho Brahe's paternal grandfather, whom he was named after, Tyge Brahe of Tosterup in eastern Scania, was killed 7 September 1523 during the siege of Malmö, fighting for Frederick I. Axel Brahe, the brother of the older Tyge Brahe, served as governor of Scania for a long period, and was one of the first to convert to Lutheranism.

In contrast, the consequences of the peasant uprising cost all parties dearly. Many were forced to purchase their lives with great gifts both to the king and to the nobles. Moreover, the dissatisfactions of the peasants, which had culminated in the uprising of the Count's Feud, were only made worse, as the nobility began to stick together even more after this incident. Moreover, Christian III's rule, ushered in by this war, saw the rise of royal absolutism in Denmark, and, with it, greater repression of the peasant classes.

An important consequence not sufficiently appreciated by Danes at the time was the introduction of a Swedish army into Scania. Though in this case the Swedes came at the invitation of a Danish King to help subdue his rebellious subjects and duly handed over to the King the territory which they conquered, it had a clear effect of whetting Swedish appetite to gain the territory for themselves, which was manifested in a long series of subsequent wars culminating with the final Swedish victory and conquest in 1658.