The Aftermath

After the victory at Aalborg, General Rantzau and his army fought the Battle of Øksnebjerg on 11 June 1535. The rest of Count Christoffer's army was decisively defeated. Copenhagen and Malmö were able to hold out until 1536, when they were forced to capitulate after several months' siege. The Count's Feud was officially over. The nobles regrouped and healed the rifts through inter-marriage. The most powerful Danish nobility in Scania at this time, Bille and Brahe, protected their families and wealth through marriage. Beate Bille and Otte Brahe married to protect their families and formed a political alliance between the families with the marriage. The peasant consequences cost all parties dearly. Many were forced to purchase their lives with great gifts both to the king and to the nobles. The peasant's dissatisfaction was only made worse, as the nobility began to stick together even more after this incident. Christian III's rule saw the rise of royal absolutism in Denmark, and, with it, greater repression of the peasant classes. Another consequence of the Count's Feud was the introduction of a Swedish army into Scania, which whetted the Swedish appetite to gain the land for themselves...