Talk:Treaty of Frederiksborg

Historical Hoopla
I do not believe there was any such treaty as defined by this article to date. However there seems to be some historical hoopla about the circumstances. As far as I can understand from the history books, there were two treaties ending this war. One was signed at a new palace under construction near Fredericksborg, subsequently to be named Fredensborg, "Peace Palace," from the peace signed in its unfinished hall there. This treaty ended the war between Denmark and Sweden. It was not brokered by Charles XII of Sweden, as some say, because he was dead, a casualty of war.

However, what are historians to call this treaty? In the usual 2-sentence histories of Denmark, the palace was built to commemorate the peace. It was not. It already existed in unfinished state when the decision was made to sign the peace there. But, if you accept the guide-book presentations, if the palace was built to commemorate the peace, how can the peace be named after it? So, no one assigns any name, preferring instead descriptive titles, such as "the peace that ended the great northern war." That gets repeated an endless number of times over the decades and centuries since then. Some refer to it as the peace of Nystadt, a separate treaty the next year, ending Russian involvement.

Fredensborg is currently also a village in its own right, named after the palace. However, there could have been no village of that name before the palace. The area must have been part of nearby Fredericksborg, a few miles way, not in some other part of some other province as many imply. There was a palace there, which had been in use by royalty for some time. The treaty was not signed there but at the new summer palace under construction. Our article lists a German book as source. I can't get it. I suggest the German book must name the treaty after the municipality in which it was signed. I rather doubt the German historian is saying it was signed at the Palace of Fredericksborg.

In short English seems to have no name for this important treaty, in which Skane was conceded lost, and Schleswig gained, by Denmark. Does anyone know of an English name? I suspect there may be a problem in Danish also. If the royals know of any such name of the treaty signed at their summer home, they aren't talking, at least not on their web site.Branigan 10:04, 27 April 2013 (UTC)


 * There is a myth that the treaty was ratified (not signed) on the 23rd of July at the site of the yet unfinished Fredensborg, but that is unfortunately just that: a myth. According to F.J. Meier, Efterretninger om Fredensborg Slot, 1880, p. 5 the ratification document still surviving in the Swedish National Archive explicitly states that it was given at Frederiksborg Palace. This opinion is backed up by all reliable secondary Danish sources I have looked through, all of which says it was signed at Frederiksborg Palace: Gunnar Olsen, Politikens Danmarks Historie, 1964, vol. 8, p. 509. Ole Feldbæk, Gyldendal og Politikens Danmarkshistorie, 2003, vol. 9, p. 147. Knud J.V. Jespersen, Danmarks historie, 1989, vol. 3, p. 314 as well as Den Store Danske Encycklopædi. The myth, including a placque at Fredensborg is simply based on an erronous oral tradition and it seems that nowadays it is mainly perpetuated by tourist guides at Fredensborg Castle. --Saddhiyama (talk) 14:15, 27 April 2013 (UTC)