"This book considers the role played by Denmark's King Frederik II (1559-1588) in the international diplomacy of the 'age of religious wars'. As Europe's leading Lutheran sovereign, Frederik commanded great influence, his conviction that an international Catholic 'conspiracy' threatened to destroy Protestantism led him to work towards the creation of a Protestant alliance that included both Calvinist and Lutheran states." "Lockhart examines the role of religion in Frederik's foreign policy, the motivations behind the king's alliance-building projects, and the reasons behind the ultimate failure of Frederik's policies. This volume will be of interest to students of early modern diplomacy, sixteenth-century Protestantism, and the Scandinavian monarchies in the early modern period."--Jacket.