For the sake of contrast, after the extravagant pomp of a duke belonging to a family which had just arisen, may be mentioned the simplicity with which a Northern sovereign appeared in Florence three years later, by no means to his prejudice in the eyes of reasonable men. It was King Christiern,[189] with whom, in 1449, the house of Oldenburg ascended the Danish-Norwegian throne. The wars for Sweden, which had withdrawn from the Colmar union of the three kingdoms, the difficulties with the dukedoms of Schleswig and Holstein, which he did not succeed in uniting to the Danish throne, and the disputes with the Hanseatic League, which had the trade of Norway in its hands, had preyed upon the king’s strength and courage, when at the age of fifty he resolved upon a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Through Spain, where he had visited the shrine of San Jago di Compostella, and Milan, where he had been entertained by the Duke Galeazzo Maria, he reached Florence on the afternoon of March 29, 1474. His suite consisted of about a hundred and forty riders, mostly noblemen and prelates, with but little baggage; he had accomplished a considerable part of the way on foot. At the gate of San Gallo he was met by the Signoria, with the Gonfaloniere, Donato Acciaiuoli, at their head, as was the custom with crowned heads; but the king would not advance under the canopy offered him, nor enter the city before the magistrates and government had returned to their palace. He also refused a guard of honour as he rode through the streets. On the following day he inspected the city, paid a visit to the Signoria, and begged to be allowed to see the Greek manuscript of the Gospels, which had been brought from Constantinople, and the Codex of Pandects preserved at Pisa. He regarded these books with veneration, and said these were the true treasures for princes, which was thought to be an allusion to the extravagant splendour at the court of Galeazzo Maria. Christiern was a grave man, with a long grey beard, and his whole bearing was calm and sensible. In Rome, where Pope Sixtus presented him with the golden rose, and released him from the vow of pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he remained for several weeks, greatly honoured. On May 3 he came again to Florence, and was once more received by the Signoria, but declined all ceremonies. In Sta. Maria Novella, where he was lodged, the priors, with the Gonfaloniere, Maso degli Albizzi, visited him. On the 6th he quitted the city, pleased with the reception accorded to him here, and rode to Bologna over the Apennines. One result of his residence at Rome was the founding of the University of Copenhagen, for which he had obtained Papal privileges. There is no mention of a meeting between the king and the Medici in the records of the time.