Königin Margarethe I. und der Burgenbau in Dänemark (1375–1412)

The 14th century was the golden age of castle-building in Denmark. Whereas in earlier periods it had mainly been the monarch and the leading nobles who built castles, this changed in that, particularly form the second third of the century onward, many private castles were built to protect the owners against the proliferating feuds. In this situation, Margaret I, acting as guardian to the child kings Olaf and Eric of Pomerania, continued the successful revindication policy pursued by her father, Valdemar IV Atterdag. Through a combination of skilled negotiation, the use of armed force and great determination, she managed to restore the royal power. Her rule culminated int the Kalmar Union, a personal union of the thrones of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Margaret used the royal castles to assert her power but did little new castle-building. As a rule, the royal castles that she used were linked to a seaport an had other long-distance transport links, and in many cases the featured lavish hydraulic engineering works for defensive purposes, prestigious residential towers an topographically exposed locations. The castles of her adversaries were in some cases demolished and in others either transferred to the ownership of religious institutions - which did not always result in their destruction - or handed over to loyal followers. It seems that these new owners continued to make improvements to existing castles even after the building of new ones had been forbidden which happened in 1396. In the territory of the Duchy of Schleswig, documentary sources even indicate an increase in castle-building in the 15th century before the ban on the construction of castles was officially lifted in 1483. This might also apply to a good many castles in the Kingdom of Denmark, which in the absence of more precise dating are currently assigned to the 14th century.