Peter Swyn

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Peter Swyn (* 1480 or 1481 in Lehe ; † August 14, 1537 there ) was an important leader of the peasant republic of Dithmarschen .

Life

Stele at the grave of Peter Swyn
Detail of the murder scene

His father was Reymer Swyn, nothing is known of his mother. The Swynen, which were first mentioned in a document in 1329, together with the Nannen, whose first mention dates back to 1386, formed the Wurthmann family .

Peter Swyn probably studied in Rostock (probable matriculation under the name "Petrus Blesse de Dithmercia" on May 11, 1496).

1499 Peter Swyn was forty-eight . In the battle of Hemmingstedt in 1500 he was in the Lunden squad. However, he will not have participated in the main battle over the hill.

In 1508 the Hemme skirmish took place : Because a girl from Lunden who served in the parish of Neuenkirchen gave birth to an illegitimate child, Peter Swyn and Buoys moved out of Herring to avenge this disgrace. They burned mother and child who were sleeping in a barn. This act of violence aroused the anger of the so-called Westerdöfft and the parishes of Heide and Hemmingstedt . A bloody feud broke out . The people of Lunden holed up behind the walls of the Hemmer churchyard. In the following skirmish, a preacher from Neuenkirchen was shot off his foot. He died a short time later from his injury. After another bloody fight on the Flehder Feldmark, in which two dead and numerous injured were to be mourned, the Lundeners emerged victorious. Finally a comparison was made.

In 1508 a foundation to support the poor was established; Peter Swyn was one of the founding members. The Pantaleon Guild emerged from this foundation in 1518.

In 1516, Peter Swyn bought indulgences to pay off the blame for the preacher's accidental wounding during the 1508 feud. In 1522 he went on a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela . This trip is also related to the mortal sin of killing the priest.

In 1524 the reformer Heinrich von Zütphen was murdered. Although Peter Swyn advised against premature conviction, a conspiracy ensued. In addition to the Wurthmann Peter Nanne , Peter Swyn's son Henning was also significantly involved . On December 9th, Heinrich from Meldorf was kidnapped and severely mistreated in the course of the action. A day later he was convicted of a heretic , tortured in heather and finally burned. The murder of the reformer caused Martin Luther to write a diatribe against the Dithmarschers.

Under the influence of Forty Peter SWYN and Peter Nanne gained Lunden 1529 the town charter .

In 1537 Peter Swyn campaigned for reforms in Dithmarschen . The influential Russebollingmannen were staunch opponents of these reorganizations. In addition, there were disputes between the two sexes, which eventually culminated in a bloody feud. The murders and blood feuds claimed fourteen lives. On August 14, Peter Swyn became the most prominent victim. When he was riding his horse, he was torn off his horse and stabbed to death by paid killers, the three stretchers, on Goosweg in Lehe. Peter Swyn was buried a day later in the Lunden family cemetery. Three memorial stones were set in his honor, including a sandstone stele that depicts his murder in relief. The three stretchers were convicted of murder and executed.

Others

The saying “ No pig can read that ”, which is still used in High German today , is traced back to Marcus Swyn , Peter Swyn's grandson. After the end of the peasant republic in Dithmarschen, the ownership documents had to be re-certified by Bailiff Marcus Swyn. If the papers had become illegible, it was stated: "Even a Swyn can no longer read that. Dat can not read Swyn."

literature

  • Eckardt Opitz : Peter Swyn in: Those are our treasure and wealth. 60 portraits from Schleswig-Holstein . Christians, Hamburg 1990, pp. 11-14 ISBN 3-7672-1115-7 .
  • Peter Swyn (1481/82): Speeches on the 450th anniversary of his death on August 15, 1987 in St. Laurentius Church in Lunden . Education Minister of Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel 1987
  • Adolf Bartels : The Dithmarscher . Historical novel in 4 books. Lipsius et al. Tischer, Kiel u. Leipzig 1898.

Web links

Commons : Peter Swyn  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Entry in the Rostock matriculation portal
  2. ↑ "History to grasp: No pig can read that." Plaque at the Lunden family cemetery
personal data
SURNAME Swyn, Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German leader of the Dithmarschen peasant republic
DATE OF BIRTH 1480 or 1481
PLACE OF BIRTH Lehe
DATE OF DEATH August 14, 1537
Place of death Lehe