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was to beware of making enemies of France and Sweden at the same time. An alliance, on fairly equal terms, between the three powers, would, in these circumstances, be the consummation of
Griffenfeld's system; an alliance with France to the exclusion of Sweden would be the next best policy; but an alliance between France and Sweden, without the admission of Denmark, was to be avoided at all hazards. Had Griffenfeld's policy succeeded, Denmark might have recovered her ancient possessions to the south and east comparatively cheaply. But again and again he was overruled. Despite his open protests and subterraneous counter-mining, war was actually declared against Sweden in 1675, and his subsequent policy seemed so obscure and hazardous to those who did not possess the clue to the perhaps purposely tangled skein, that the numerous enemies whom his arrogance and superciliousness had raised up against him, resolved to destroy him.
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of circumstances compelled him, again and again, to shift his standpoint; and finally because personal considerations largely intermingled with his foreign policy, and made it more elusive and ambiguous than it need have been. Briefly, Griffenfeld aimed at restoring
Denmark to the rank of a great power. He proposed to accomplish this by carefully nursing its resources, and in the meantime securing and enriching the country through alliances, which would bring in large subsidies while imposing a minimum of obligations. Such a conditional and tentative policy, in a period of universal tension and turmoil, was most difficult; but Griffenfeld did not regard it as impossible.
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society; and
Griffenfeld, the son of a burgess, was its most determined enemy. The new baronies and countships, owing their existence entirely to the crown, introduced a strong solvent into aristocratic circles. Griffenfeld saw that, in future, the first at court would be the first everywhere. Much was also done to promote trade and industry, notably by the revival of the Kammer Kollegium, or board of trade, and the abolition of some of the most harmful monopolies. Both the higher and the provincial administrations were thoroughly reformed with the view of
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418:; though one of the ten judges not only refused to sign the sentence, but remonstrated in private with the king against its injustice. The primary offence of the ex-chancellor was the taking of bribes, which no twisting of the law could convert into a capital offence, while the charge of treason had not been substantiated.
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Griffenfeld was pardoned on the scaffold, at the very moment when the axe was about to descend. On hearing that the sentence was commuted to lifelong imprisonment, he declared that the pardon was harder than the punishment, and vainly petitioned for leave to serve his king for the rest of his life as
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The first demand of such a policy was peace, especially peace with
Denmark-Norway's most dangerous neighbour, Sweden. The second postulate was a sound financial basis, which he expected the wealth of France to supply in the shape of subsidies to be spent on armaments. Above all things Denmark-Norway
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In the last three years of his administration, Griffenfeld gave himself entirely to the conduct of the foreign policy of
Denmark-Norway. It is difficult to form a clear idea of this, first, because his influence was perpetually traversed by opposite tendencies; in the second place, because the force
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making them more centralized and efficient; and the positions and duties of the various magistrates, who now also received fixed salaries, were for the first time exactly defined. But what
Griffenfeld could create, Griffenfeld could dispense with, and it was not long before he began to encroach upon
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first seized the reins of power. Schumacher seems to have been profoundly impressed by the administrative superiority of a strong centralised monarchy in the hands of an energetic monarch who knew his own mind; and, in politics, as in manners, France ever afterwards was his model. The last year of
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was instituted as a fresh means of winning adherents by marks of favour. Griffenfeld was the originator of these new institutions. To him monarchy was the ideal form of government. But he had also a political object. The aristocracy of birth, despite its reverses, still remained the elite of
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into a wealthy trading family connected with the leading civic, clerical and learned circles in the Danish capital, he was prepared for university (at the age of ten) by Jens Vorde. Vorde praises his extraordinary gifts, his mastery of the classical languages and his unnerving diligence. The
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He had captivated the accomplished
Frederick III by his literary graces and ingenious speculations; he won over fun-loving Christian V by saving him trouble and by acting and thinking for him, and whilst making him believe that he was thinking and acting for himself. Moreover, his commanding
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For forty-six days before his trial he had been closely confined in a dungeon, without lights, books or writing materials. Every legal assistance was illegally denied him. Nevertheless, he proved more than a match for the prosecution. Finally, he was condemned to degradation and
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the jurisdiction of the new departments of state by private conferences with their chiefs. Nevertheless, it is indisputable that, under the single direction of this mastermind, the Danish state was now able, for a time, to utilize all its resources as it had never done before.
328:, which was to be delivered to his successor alone. Schumacher had been recommended to his son by Frederick III on his death-bed. "Make him a great man, but do it slowly," said Frederick, who thoroughly understood the characters of his son and of his minister.
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embellished with three silver life-size lions, and of the new regalia, both of which treasures he had, by the king's command, concealed in a vault beneath the royal castle. Frederick III had also confided to him a sealed packet containing the
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On 11 March 1676, while on his way to the royal apartments, Griffenfeld was arrested in the king's name and taken to the citadel, a prisoner of state. A minute scrutiny of his papers, lasting nearly six weeks, revealed nothing
309:(Lex Regia). He was now a personage at court, where he won many over by his amiability and gaiety; and in political matters also his influence was beginning to be felt. During these years, he had a notorious love affair with
406:, or supreme court, but by an extraordinary tribunal of 10 dignitaries, none of whom was particularly well disposed towards the accused. Griffenfeld, who was charged with simony, bribery, oath-breaking, malversation and
202:, the country's highest order. At the behest of his enemies at court, Griffenfeld was arrested in early 1676 and convicted of treason, a charge that historians agree was false. He was imprisoned for 22 years, mainly at
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His promotion was rapid. In May 1670 he received the titles of excellency and privy councillor; in July of the same year he was ennobled under the name of
Griffenfeld, deriving his title from the gold
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and, finally, imperial chancellor. In the course of the next few months he gathered into his hands every branch of the government: he had reached the apogee of his short-lived greatness.
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qualities were coupled with an organizing talent which made itself felt in every department of the state, and with a marvellous adaptability which made him a great diplomat.
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a common soldier. For the next twenty-two years
Denmark-Norways's greatest statesman was a lonely prisoner, first in the fortress of Copenhagen, in Denmark and finally at
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in the first half of the 1670s. In 1673 he was appointed as
Chancellor of Denmark, elevated to count, the highest aristocratic rank in Denmark-Norway, and received the
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262:, which threw open a career to the middle classes, it convinced him that his future was in politics. In the autumn of 1660 Schumacher visited Paris, shortly after
297:, and eager to buy the services of every man of the middle classes who had superior talents to offer. The young adventurer contrived to secure the protection of
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was, moreover, deeply impressed by the confidence which his father had ever shown to Schumacher. When, on 9 February 1670, Schumacher delivered the
305:, consolidated his position. In 1665 Schumacher obtained his first political post as the king's secretary, and the same year composed the memorable
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In 1654 young Schumacher went abroad for eight years, to complete his education. From Germany he proceeded to the Netherlands, staying at
319:(9 February 1670) Schumacher was the most trusted of all the royal counsellors. He alone was aware of the existence of the new throne of
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to Christian V, the king bade all those about him withdraw, and after being closeted a good hour with Schumacher appointed him his
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On 25 May 1671 the dignities of count and baron were introduced into Denmark-Norway; a few months later the
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On his return to Copenhagen, in 1662, Schumacher found the monarchy established on the ruins of the
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brilliance he showed in his preliminary examination won him the friendship of the examiner, Bishop
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Sankt Petri Kopenhagen 1575–2000. 425 Jahre Geschichte deutsch-dänischer Begegnung in Biographien
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and literature. He is said to have brought home easy morals as well as exquisite manners.
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his travels was spent in Spain, where he obtained a thorough knowledge of the
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559:, ed. Jürgen Beyer & Johannes Jensen (Copenhagen, 2000), 13–21
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
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Johannes Jensen, 'Peder Schumacher – Graf von Griffenfeld,' in
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182:) (24 August 1635 – 12 March 1699) was a Danish statesman and
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479:Nordisk familjebok, Griffenfeld, Peder, 1904–1926.
239:, for the entertainment of the scholarly monarch.
288:Delineatio des Greiffeldischen Schaupfennings.,,
46:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
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518:(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
347:with outspread wings which surmounted his
186:. He became the principal adviser to King
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77:Learn how and when to remove this message
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132:November 1673 – March 12, 1699
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223:, at whose palace he first met King
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618:Danish people of German descent
613:Politicians from Denmark–Norway
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340:(principal private secretary).
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531:Peter Schumacher Griffenfeld
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