Otte Krumpen was born the son of Jørgen Krumpen of
Skjøtterup and Anne Styggesdatter Rosenkrantz. He was the brother of later Catholic bishop
Stygge Krumpen. Nothing is known of his youth, and it is speculated he served as a soldier in foreign armies. He was first mentioned in 1514, as he presented the crown at the
coronation of
Christian II of Denmark. In 1517, he was granted
seignory of
Aalholm near
Nysted. He defeated
Sten Sture the Younger at the
Battle of Bogesund, was injured at the
Battle of Uppsala, and was
knighted by Christian II following the Swedish
surrender in Stockholm. He was granted seignory over
Helsingborg in 1521, and fought off a
Lübeck invasion at nearby
Råå in 1522 alongside
Archbishop of Lund Johan Weze. He was then granted seignory of the profitable
Tranekær. During the rebellion against Christian II, Krumpen joined new king
Frederick I of Denmark. He carried the ceremonial sword during the coronation, and became a member of the
Rigsraadet privy council. He successfully expelled Christian II-loyal
Søren Norby from
Gotland in 1525, travelled with
Prince Christian to
Norway in 1529, and secured a treaty with the
Netherlands against Lübeck in the fall of 1533. Alongside his brother Stygge, Otte Krumpen was opposed to the
Reformation in Denmark. During the
Count's Feud civil war between new Protestant king
Christian III and Catholic Christian II's supporter count
Christopher of Oldenburg, Krumpen surrendered Tranekær to Christopher without resistance. He was granted seignory of Aalholm in exchange, but was evicted by peasant uprising. He was imprisoned first at
Nykøbing castle, before
Jürgen Wullenwever brought him as hostage to
Mecklenburg. Krumpen returned to Denmark in 1536, but it took him much convincing to earn the forgiveness of Christian III. He re-entered
Rigsraadet in 1542, was made seignory of various lucrative land holdings, and took part in various diplomatic dealings for Christian III. He was named
Marshal of Denmark in 1554. He once again carried the ceremonial sword at the coronation of
Frederick II of Denmark in 1559, but did not have a good relationship with the new king. During the
Northern Seven Years' War from 1563 to 1570, Krumpen was given command of the army by Frederick II in 1564, was relieved of his duty again in 1565, and resigned as marshal in 1567. He died in 1569 as the last of the family Krumpen, and was interred at
Mariager Abbey. == References ==