Otto of Denmark (c. 1310 – after 1346) ( da, Otto Christoffersen) was a Danish prince who was also

Duke of Lolland Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

and

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. He was the second son of King

Christopher II of Denmark Christopher II (; 29 September 1276 – 2 August 1332) was King of Denmark from 1320 to 1326 and again from 1329 until his death. He was a younger son of Eric V. His name is connected with national disaster, as his rule ended in an almost total ...

and

Euphemia of Pomerania Euphemia of Pomerania (1285 – 26 July 1330) was Queen of Denmark as the spouse of King Christopher II. She was the daughter of Bogislaw IV, Duke of Pomerania, and his second spouse, Margarete of Rügen. Euphemia wed Christopher in 1300. The mar ...

. In his childhood his older brother

Eric The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

had been

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

as junior king of Denmark. Otto was given the titles Duke of

Lolland Lolland (; formerly spelled ''Laaland'', literally "low land") is the fourth largest island of Denmark, with an area of . Located in the Baltic Sea, it is part of Region Sjælland (Region Zealand). As of 1 January 2022, it has 57,618 inhabitant ...

and

and was expected to expand the Danish conquest of

acquired during

Livonian Crusade The Livonian crusade refers to the various military Christianisation campaigns in medieval Livonia – in what is now Latvia and Estonia – during the Papal -sanctioned Northern Crusades in the 12–13th century. The Livonian crusade was cond ...

. His father and brother were deposed in 1326 and restored three years later on the condition his father signed a charter that gave him little to no power while the Danish nobles and the

counts of Holstein The Counts of Schauenburg and Holstein were titles of the Frankish Empire. The dynastic family came from the County of Schauenburg near Rinteln (district Schaumburg) on the Weser in Germany. Together with its ancestral possessions in Bückeburg ...

ruled behind the scene and mortgaged most of the kingdom. His brother Eric predeceased both Otto and his father, fighting to rid Denmark from the rule of the counts of Holstein. King Christopher died in 1332, leaving Otto and his younger brother Valdemar as his only sons and potential heirs to the throne. The Danish nobles for some reason decided not to elect a successor. In 1332, Otto made an attempt to win the Danish crown, but was defeated by Count Gerhard III of Holstein on Taphed at Viborg on 7 October 1334. He was held prisoner in the

Segeberg Segeberg (; frr, Segebärj) is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is bounded by (from the southwest and clockwise) the districts of Pinneberg, Steinburg and Rendsburg-Eckernförde, the city of Neumünster, the districts of Plön, Osthol ...

Castle. Upon his father's death and his failed attempt to seize the throne, Denmark ceased being a formal kingdom, and for the next eight years it was subjected by various mortgagees to German military rule. His younger brother would later regain Denmark from the Holsteiners and succeed as

Valdemar IV of Denmark Valdemar IV Atterdag (the epithet meaning "Return of the Day"), or Waldemar (132024 October 1375) was King of Denmark from 1340 to 1375. He is mostly known for his reunion of Denmark after the bankruptcy and mortgaging of the country to finance ...

. Once Valdemar became king in 1340, Otto was released on the condition that he surrender his claim to the throne. Otto subsequently went to Germany, and joined the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

in 1346. The Order bought his duchy in the same year, and no further information is recorded about him. Otto is the hero of

Bernhard Severin Ingemann Bernhard Severin Ingemann (28 May 1789 – 24 February 1862) was a Danish novelist and poet. Biography Ingemann was born in Torkilstrup, on the island of Falster, Denmark. The son of a vicar, he was left fatherless in his youth. While a s ...

's novel, ''Prins Otto af Danmark og Hans Samtid'' (Prince Otto of Denmark and his Time, 1835).

Sources

DENMARK, Medieval Lands
House of Estridsen Heirs apparent who never acceded Danish princes Dukes of Lolland Dukes of Estonia Teutonic Knights 1310 births 1340s deaths 14th-century Danish people Sons of kings {{Europe-royal-stub