CHRISTIAN V. king of Denmark and Nor way, the son of Frederick III. of Denmark and Sophia Amelia of Brunswick-Luneburg, was l_ orn on April 15, 1646, at Flensburg, and succeeded to the throne on Feb. 9, 1670. Christian was very popular among the lower orders, but hated the old noble families, and tried to establish a new nobility by creating two new orders, consisting largely of officials and upper middle class families, which were to take precedence of the older ones. Under the guidance of his great chancellor Griffenfeldt (q.v.), Christian carried his ideas of absolute government into practice, introduc ing extreme centralization into the organization of civil and mili tary affairs. Griffenfeldt pursued an ambitious policy of foreign alliances, but aimed at keeping peace, and for a brief period Denmark seemed to have a chance of regaining her position as a great power; but Christian sacrificed Griffenfeldt to the jealousy of his adversaries, and sentenced him to life-long imprisonment. After this the financial position of the state grew steadily worse, owing partly to the extravagance of the court, partly to the un remunerative war with Sweden . Christian was a weak despot, though his personal courage and affability made him popular among the lower orders. During his reign a new code of laws was drawn up for Norway, begun in 1661 and completed in 1683. He died in a hunting accident on Aug. 25, See P. E. Holm, Danmarks indre Historie under Enevaelden (Copen hagen, i881-86) ; A. D. Jorgensen, Peter Griffenfeldt (Copenhagen, 1893) ; R. N. Bain, Scandinavia cap. x., xi. (Cambridge, 19o5) .