The Danish king Christopher III (a.k.a. Christopher…

The Danish king Christopher III (a.k.a. Christopher of Bavaria) had acquired the loyalty of Count Adolf VIII of Holstein in 1439 by granting him the entire Duchy of Schleswig as a hereditary fief but under the Danish crown.

In 1459, Adolf had died without leaving an heir and no other count could produce claims to both the Duchy of Schleswig and the County of Holstein.

King Christian I of Denmark does however hold a claim to Schleswig, and the separation of Schleswig and Holstein would mean economic ruin for many members of the Holstein nobility.

Moreover, the nobility has failed to agree on taking a course.

In 1460, King Christian summons the nobles to Ribe, and on March 2, 1460, they agree to elect him as the successor of Count Adolf and new count of Holstein.

Their main motivation is to prevent the separation of the two provinces.

On 5 March, Christian grants a coronation charter (or Freiheitsbrief) which repeats that the Danish Duchy of Schleswig and the German County of Holstein should now be, in the original Middle Low German language, Up Ewig Ungedeelt, or "Forever Undivided".

This is to assume great importance as the slogan of German nationalists in the struggles of the nineteenth century, under completely different circumstances.