Henrich Krummedige (c. 1464 – 1530) was a Danish-Norwegian nobleman and a member of both the Norwegian and Danish National Councils (Rigsråd) and played an extensive role in the politics of the era. He served as commanding officer of the Bohus Fortress in Norway from 1489 to 1503.
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Family and youth
Krummedige was Hartvig Krummedige’s son by a second marriage. He is believed to have been born in Norway. In about 1493 he married Anne Jørgensdatter Rud, daughter of Danish National Councilor Jørgen Mikkelsen Rud of Vedby and Kirstine Eriksdatter Rosenkrantz. Her nephews included Otte Brahe, who was the son of her sister, Sophie Jørgensdatter Rud (1488–1555).
Career
In 1484 or 85 Krummedige was knighted and entered service in 1487 at Akershus Fortress. In 1489 he was placed in charge of the strategically important Norwegian border defense, Båhus Fortress. At the same time he was elevated to serve as a member of the Norwegian National Council (Rigsraad).
The Krummedige-Tre Rosor rivalry
Upon the 1448 death of King Christopher of Bavaria, who was union king of Denmark (1440–1448), Sweden (1441–1448) and Norway (1442–1448), the Norwegian succession resulted in controversy. In Norway the new king had to be elected by the Norwegian National Council. There were effectively two parties in the Norwegian National Council: The pro-Danish party led by Hartvig Krummedige (then the commandant at Akershus) and Bishop Jens of Oslo, and the pro-Swedish party led by the Archbishop Alsak Bolt and Erik Saemundsson, then the commandant at Tønsberg Fortress.
The pro-Danish party prevailed and Christian I of Denmark was elected king, although not without subsequent strife. Karl Knutsson invaded from Sweden and proceeded to Hamar, where he called a Thing, and was “elected king” by Archbishop Bolt, Erik Saemundsson and others who assembled there. King Karl proceeded to Trøndelag. He then returned to Sweden, leaving Saemundsson as viceroy. Saemundsson invested Akershus, which was held by Krummedige, who still adhered to Christian I. Ultimately Saemundsson was killed by Krummedige, the leading pro-Swedish advocates fled to Sweden, and Karl Knutsson renounced his claim to the throne.
Swedish forces again invaded Trøndelag in 1453, but were repelled and were forced to turn south across the Dovrefjell and to Hamar, where they captured and occupied Hamarhus, the Bishop's palace. Hartvig Krummedige proceeded north, expelled the Swedish forces, and killed many of them. With this act, as well as his previous involvement in the death of Saemundsson, he earned the enmity of pro-Swedish Alv Knutsson; Saemundsson and Knutsson were members of the Tre Rosor family, which title comes from their coat of arms, which includes three roses. Alv Knutsson had extensive holdings, over 276 farms in east and south Norway, and could bring substantial pressure to bear. He arranged that charges be brought against Hartvig Krummedige by one of the local farmers – as a result Hartvig Krummedige lost all of his fiefs. Knutsson also worked through the Pope to obtain a papal bull concerning Krummedige's misuse of power. In spite of this dramatic setback, Christian I of Denmark restored Krummedige to Akershus by 1461. Hartvig Krummedige died in 1476, but his son Henrich remained a firm member of the pro-Danish party; the rivalry with the Tre Rosor family virtually guaranteed this would be so.
When Henrich was elevated to similar positions in Norway as his father had held, he also inherited the family conflict with the influential and wealthy Swedish Tre Rosor noble family. Pro-Swedish Alv Knutsson's son, Knut Alvsonn, of the family Tre Rosor was Lord of Giske, and Sigurd Jonsson’s ultimate heir. Sigurd, the son of the Swedish nobleman Jon Marteinsson, was a Norwegian nobleman and knight, and the supreme leader of Norway during two interregnums in the mid-15th century. After the death of King Christopher in 1448 Sigurd Jonsson was offered the vacant throne of Norway, but declined to pursue a claim. Alv was a Royal Councilor of Norway, and holder of vast landed properties around Norway, having inherited land as well as a claim to the throne of Norway from his Giske-Bjarkøy-Sudreim ancestors. Knut Alvson was personal enemy of Lord Henrich Krummedige and a member of the pro-Swedish faction on the Norwegian National Council. Knut took over Akershus in 1497.
The conflict with Vincens Lunge
Danish-born nobleman Vincens Lunge married the daughter of Chancellor and Lord High Steward of Norway Niels Henriksson ("Gyldenløve") (c. 1458–1523) and his wife, the famous Ingerd Ottesdatter. He was one of several notable Danes who acquired land, resided permanently in Norway, became nominally thoroughly Norwegian and founded new Norwegian noble families, which replaced the old nobility of the first rank.
Henrich Krummedige and Vincens Lunge appeared to have much in common: both were Danish-born nobles, both supported the Lutheran Reformation, both supported Frederick I of Denmark, both were members of the Norwegian National Council and both held extensive estates and other properties in Norway. They held another thing in common: ambition.
At the 1524 meeting of the Norwegian National Council—the first meeting which Vincens Lunge attended and one at which Henrich Krummedige was not present—Roman Catholic Archbishop of Nidaros Olav Engelbrektsson and Vincens Lunge cooperated to force the newly elected Frederick I to accept a charter with terms designed to maintain Norway's independence, including:
the king was not to impose taxes without the council's consent,
the king was not to infringe on the Catholic Church's rights in Norway, and
the king was to rule Norway only through native-born or married-in Norwegians who resided in Norway.
The short-term effect of this charter was to enable Lunge, who had married into the noble Norwegian Rømer family, to remain in place while Henrich Krummedige lost his fiefs and was de facto expelled from the Norwegian National Council. King Frederick I was clearly pragmatic in achieving what he wanted, and never came to Norway to be crowned. He honored the charter only when it was convenient. The Catholic Church was undercut, taxes were increased, Danes continued to be placed in critical positions (particularly as commanders of major fortresses), and Henrich Krummedige regained his position on the Norwegian National Council in 1528.
The Månstorp dispute sets up opposition to King Christian II
Although both Henrik and his father had a long history of strong support for the Danish Kings, the Månstorp dispute placed Henrik in a new role as the king's opponents.
Economic accomplishments
Krummedige was not only a nobleman with political skills and the tough minded approach to accomplish difficult deeds; he was also an able investor, interested in commerce and industry.
Krummedige inherited extensive land holdings, both in Norway (Brunlag) and in Denmark, which he increased further through purchase and legal process. As a result, he was probably the largest Danish-Norwegian landholder of his period. In addition to inheriting approximately 240 farms he invested the revenues from his Norwegian fiefdoms and purchased an additional 178 farms in Norway with most concentrated in Båhuslen. In Denmark he increased his holdings by 300 tenant farms and four manors.
Krummedige understood the value of maximizing the profit from his produce by selling it for the best price and participated actively in commercial trade – owning houses and commercial facilities in Bergen, Oslo, and Tønsberg in Norway as well as Roskilde, the Gothenburg area (Nya Lödöse), Halmstad, Malmø, and Copenhagen in Denmark. He also participated in foreign trade with his own vessels.
His interests were not limited to agriculture and commerce. He may have run the earliest known copper mining venture in Norway, which was located at Sandsvær. The mine is mentioned in a 1490 letter from King Hans to Henrik Krummedike, and is the first written source that directly deals with a copper mine in Norway, mentioning "our copper plant in Sandsvær." Although Krummedike and Pålsson were granted the mining rights, there are no sources confirming the mine was cost effective. He was among the first who used water-driven saws for the production of large quantities of lumber in Norway and may have introduced them. He also constructed a large brick kiln capable of producing over 18,000 bricks at a firing on his estate in Månstorp.
Final years
Krummedige died at Månstorps Gables in 1530 and is buried in Västra Ingelstad Church. His wife survived him by three years. With the death of his nephew, the male line of the Krummedige dynasty died out.