Battle of the Wild Fields

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Battle of the Wild Fields
Part of: East Frisian Wars of Liberation against the rule of tom Brok
Ocko tom Brok is captured in front of Focko Ukena after the battle in the wild fields.  Romanticizing history painting by Tjarko Meyer Cramer, 1803
Ocko tom Brok is captured in front of Focko Ukena after the battle in the wild fields. Romanticizing history painting by Tjarko Meyer Cramer , 1803
date October 28, 1427
place Oldeborg , East Frisia
output Focko Ukenas wins
Parties to the conflict

Ocko II. Tom Brok

Focko Ukena

Commander

Ocko II. Tom Brok

Focko Ukena

Troop strength
? Armed men ? Armed men
losses

together approx. 400 dead

together approx. 400 dead

The Battle of the Wild Fields on October 28, 1427 marked the end of tom Brok's rule over East Frisia . After the first victory of the East Frisian chief Focko Ukena over Ocko II. Tom Brok in the Battle of Detern in 1426, Focko allied himself with the Bishop of Münster and numerous East Frisian chiefs against Ocko, who was restricted to Brookmerland (historical spelling: Brokmerland ), and defeated him on October 28th in the wild fields between Oldeborg and Marienhafe for good. Ocko was imprisoned as a prisoner in Leer and had finally lost his rule over East Frisia.

background

The tom Brok took the first to establish a broad national rule in East Friesland attempt. Coming from the Norderland , the tom Brok had gained undisputed rule over the Brookmer and Auricherland in the second half of the 14th century and in the first quarter of the 15th century . From there they operated the expansion of their domain over the whole of East Frisia. In 1413 they succeeded in driving their fiercest opponents, the Abdena family of chiefs from Emden , and taking the city themselves.

The tom Brok had reached the zenith of their power and so provoked the East Frisians with their claim to power that the idea of Frisian freedom awoke again. This was repeatedly awarded to the East Frisians, also by King Sigismund . The tom Brok, on the other hand, appeared to be non-Frisian and were alien to the East Frisians in their thinking and acting. They were seen as tyrants who wanted to deprive the Frisians of their greatest good, their freedom. For many years the tom Brok were too powerful for any of the numerous other chief families to stand against them. This only changed when Ocko in 1420 in the west of Friesland, in the person of Duke Johann von Bayern , the Count of Holland , met a powerful opponent who showed him his military limits. The East Frisian chiefs recognized the weakness and also the most powerful ally of tom Brok, Focko Ukena , who administered southern East Frisia for tom Brok from Leer , resigned his allegiance.

Focko Ukena subsequently took over the leadership of the opposing forces, because more and more East Frisian chiefs switched sides in order to regain their lost chief rulers under the pretext of fighting for Frisian freedom. Ocko tried to react by embellishing his claim to power with elements of Frisian freedom. But this was no longer taken from him and Focko succeeded in portraying himself as the guarantor of Frisian freedom. Ocko called his allies, the Oldenburg counts, with whom he was connected by marriage, to help, who sent out an army of knights. However, Focko succeeded in defeating this in the Battle of Detern .

Focko finally defeated tom Brok in the battle of the wild fields . Ukena had moved with his warriors on the so-called Wallpad into Brookmerland, while Ocko, who had initially holed up at Marienhof (today Marienhafe), got out of the protection of the walls and met the Ukena army in the wild fields. The battle ended with the capture of Ockos and the destruction of his ancestral seat, Broke Castle (now Oldeborg) near Engerhafe. Ocko and his half-brother Itze were captured and taken to Leer. Ingeborg, Ocko tom Brok's wife, took up residence at Donnerschwee Castle near Oldenburg. This ended the rule of tom Brok over East Frisia, even if Ocko was able to escape from prison four years later.

Effects

Memorial stone in Upgant-Schott.

Even if the tom Brok were overthrown, they paved the way for the unity of East Frisia under one rule. Their conqueror Focko Ukena was unable to secure his rule in the long term. Although he took possession of the Aurich castle and dragged the Olde Borg near Engerhafe . He was unable to enforce his claim to power in the long term, however, because the peasants whom he had promised freedom felt betrayed by him. They turned away from him and turned to the chief family of the Cirksena . These led the opposition in the Freedom League of the Seven East Friesland , whose goals were determined by the liberal ideals of the peasants. After various military defeats of the Ukenas party and the fall of his castle in Leer in 1431, Focko Ukena fled to Münster via Papenburg . Until his death on August 29, 1436 he lived in the castle of his second wife Ide in Dykhusen in the Ommelanden . In 1453, the Cirksena finally took control of East Frisia. And a lot has also changed for the Vitalien brothers . They had supported Ocko and in return received a place of retreat in East Frisia. After the lost battle on the "Wild Fields" they had to leave East Friesland.

Archaeological finds

In 1845, during sand construction work to expand the road from Georgsheil to Marienhafe in the area of ​​the Osterupgant / Schott junction, a number of human skeletons and horse bones were found that had been buried there for several hundred years. It can be assumed that the dead were fallen in the battle of the wild fields.

Individual evidence

  1. André Koller: agonality and cooperation. Leadership groups in the north-west of the empire 1250–1550 . Wallstein-Verlag, Göttingen 2015, ISBN 978-3-8353-1587-7 , p. 331.
  2. Upgant-Schott, Brookmerland municipality, Aurich district (PDF; 701 kB)

Coordinates: 53 ° 30 ′ 41.6 ″  N , 7 ° 17 ′ 50.2 ″  E