Johann Brand (Mayor)

Johann Brand (* around 1340 , † 28. April 1405 ) was from 1364 Bremer councilor and 1390-1403 Mayor . Under him, the families capable of advising themselves in the Bremen Council sealed themselves off with high demands on the extent of their minimum property , and Bremen expanded its territory to include East Frisia .

Life

1362 donated fire together with cord and Hinrich of Borkum and Roland Oldewege one of the 27 altar in the Ansgarikirche . This type of foundation was continued by the fire known as proconsul by establishing a celebration of the feast of St. John ante portam latinam on May 6, 1391 . He later appears in the documents as mayor .

In 1391 the council ended the custom of electing councilors from the thirds of the city, so that four resident gentlemen were no longer elected from each of these city thirds who had to be resident there. In 1398 the three thirds of the city (one mayor and 11 councilors each) became four districts (one mayor and 5 councilors each). Two quarters always remained in office, one quarter was changed every six months, the other remained in office. Whoever wanted to become a councilor now had to prove a property of 100 marks (instead of the previous 32), plus 1 mark to pay off the city's pension debt and 4 marks for the organization of a public meal for the whole of Wittheit and to finance the city wall.

Johann Brand married the last heiress of the Knights of Gröpelingen , with which her inheritance went to the Bremen family, and later to the city.

Since around 1395 the pirates, known as Vitalienbrüder or Likedeler, have found refuge in the East Frisian fortified churches. Since they now relocated their activities from the Baltic Sea to the North Sea, they no longer only damaged the Hanseatic, but also the Bremen trade. They also placed themselves in the service of Edo Wiemken and the Bujadinger chiefs. Attempts to take diplomatic action against them failed in 1397. In 1401, Bremen allied itself with Moritz von Oldenburg and the congregation, who were supposed to provide 50 and 60 knights, the city itself 100, in order to carry out a campaign against the Rüstringers . Bremen was supposed to supply the army and all fortified places were to be given to it. The booty should be divided equally. More than 6,000 men marched northward with the infantry. Langwarden surrendered first, but the allies had enough prey and they withdrew again. At the same time a Hanse fleet sailed into the mouth of the Ems and beat the Vitalienbrüder sponsored by Keno tom Brok . At that time, the Bremen cog was still in the Jade Bay and only later joined the allies. Keno tom Broke and other chiefs were taken prisoner in Bremen, but there was a dispute over the booty, so that this move was also unsuccessful.

In 1402 the people of Bremen set out again in an alliance with Otto von Delmenhorst and Johann von Hoya , but they had to retreat to Blexen when the Frisians threatened to pierce the dykes. Attacks by Count von Hoya and the knight Statius von Mandelsloh also threatened . In 1403, Ede Wimken as well as Lubbe and Meme Sibets had to find themselves ready for a peace in the country. But it was not until 1404 that Dido von Langwarden submitted , with which the Stadland gradually fell to Bremen.

Perhaps already in Brand's time, but certainly in the 1st decade of the 15th century, several documents from Heinrich V (from 1111), Wilhelm von Holland (1252) and Wenzel (1396) were forged in the council chancellery in order to secure Bremen's special rights which were thus attributed to Charlemagne . Accordingly, Bremen had the right of protection and escort on the Weser , the councilors were allowed to wear gold and furs because they had earned high services in the crusades , and Roland was allowed to wear the imperial coat of arms. In addition, Bremen citizens were not allowed to be brought before courts outside the archbishopric.

Wilken Steding was Brands' legal successor in his house, in which the sculptor Johann lived, who was important for the Bremen town hall .

literature

• Diedrich Rudolf Ehmck : The Friedeburg. A contribution to the history of Bremen's Weser policy . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . Volume 3, Bremen 1868, pp. 69–158.
• Otto Merker : The knighthood of the Archbishopric of Bremen in the late Middle Ages. Rule and political position as a country estate . Stade 1962.
• Herbert Schwarzwälder : History of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen , Volume 1, Hamburg 1985 (2nd edition 1989).
• Karl Heinz Schwebel : The Bremen patrician family Brand. Lords of Riensberg and testers of Borgfeld . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch 41 (1944) 86-183.

Remarks

1. ↑ Not to be confused with the mayor of the same name in the early 17th century.
2. ^ Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Paniel : In memory of the six hundred year jubilee of the St. Ansgariikirche in 1843 . Schünemann, Bremen 1843, p. 55.
3. ^ Bremen document book . Deeds from 1381 to 1410, May 6, 1391.
4. ^ Johann Hermann Duntze: History of the free city of Bremen . Volume 2, Johann Georg Heyse, Bremen 1846, p. 36.
5. ↑ Dieter Hägermann : Some remarks on the forged documents of Heinrich V, Wilhelm von Holland and Wenzels for the city of Bremen . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . Volume 56, Bremen 1978
6. ^ The town hall of Bremen . In: Bremisches Jahrbuch . Volume 1, Bremen 1864, pp. 259-443 (here: p. 366).