Battle of Hemmingstedt
_-_cropped.png)
Fight between Danes and Dithmarschern (illustration by Rasmus Christiansen, 1891)
| date | 17th February 1500 |
|---|---|
| place | Dithmarschen , Holstein |
| output | Victory of the Dithmarscher |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
Dithmarschen peasant republic |
 Kingdom of Denmark ( Kalmar Union ) |
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 1,000-4,000 | 12,000 (4,000 guardsmen ) |
In the Battle of Hemmingstedt on February 17, 1500, the Dithmarsch farmers defeated the numerically superior troops of the Danish King Johann I and his brother Duke Friedrich von Holstein . The battle preserved the de facto independence of the Dithmarschen peasant republic for another 59 years and is today the most important historical point of identification for the Dithmarschers.
The history
Holstein's claim to Dithmarschen
Dithmarschen was shaped by large farmers . There were mainly homesteads and only a few towns (such as Meldorf ). Since the 13th century, the organizational unit of the Dithmarsch large farmers was the parish . In addition, there was at least nominally the universitas of the court owners and “ 48 regents and administrators ”.
Originally Dithmarschen belonged to a northern Albingian - Lower Saxony district. Later it was subordinate to the Stade Counts. Such was Count Rudolf II. Von Stade at his death in 1144 Count of Dithmarschen been. The Dithmarschers did not accept this affiliation insofar as several of the Counts of Dithmarschen died at their hands.
In 1188 Dithmarschen recognized the bishop Waldemar of Schleswig as his sovereign and thus placed himself under the sovereignty of the Bremen Church. After the defeat of the Danes in the Battle of Bornhöved in 1227, the feudal relationship with the Bremen Church was consolidated. The reasons for this voluntary dependence on the Bremen Church could have been both pious and pragmatic in nature: the clergy in Bremen was weaker than the Counts of Holstein. A feudal relationship with a comparatively weak master was, however, much more favorable for the dependent's personal freedom than that with a particularly strong master. It is therefore reasonable to assume that it was the Dithmarschers themselves who ensured that the feudal relationship with the Bremen Church remained a formal one and not a factual one.
The renewal of the claim by Christian I of Denmark
After the death of Duke Adolf von Holstein , the Schleswig-Holstein estates elected Christian I , King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, as Duke of Schleswig and Count of Holstein-Stormarn in 1459 . He remembered Holstein's old claim to Dithmarschen, which was an imperial fief . His goal here was the incorporation of Dithmarschen into the county of Holstein-Stormarn and finally the elevation of the same to a duchy . Sometimes the control of the Elbe estuary is mentioned as his goal, whereby historians draw conclusions from geopolitical thinking to micropolitical structures.
On May 26, 1473, Emperor Friedrich III. Christian made a loan letter for Dithmarschen. In 1474, on the occasion of a meeting with Christian in Rothenburg ob der Tauber , the emperor elevated Holstein-Stormarn to the Duchy of Holstein and incorporated the districtum Ditmarsiae into it . He instructed Dithmarschen to pay homage to Christian.
Thereupon the Dithmarschers , who had been distant from the king since the time of Henry the Lion , immediately remembered their membership in the Bremen Church. In the same year they turned to Pope Sixtus IV. In 1477, he expressly recognized Dithmarschen's position under the Bremen church. This began negotiations that were both endless and fruitless. Friedrich III. finally withdrew the grant of Dithmarschen's feud, with reference to his insufficient knowledge of Dithmarschen's position in relation to the Bremen Church, and forbade the Danish king from any further pursuit of these claims.
Christian I of Denmark died in 1481. His sons Johann I and Friedrich shared the succession in the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein and thus also the right to Dithmarschen. Among other things, they continued to refer to the imperial feudal letter. Only when Johann, who had succeeded his father in the royal dignity of Denmark, had also secured his rule over Sweden in 1499, did he concentrate on Dithmarschen again. On one day in Rendsburg in 1499, he demanded that the Dithmarschers recognize the sovereignty for himself and his brother Friedrich, 15,000 marks annually and the construction of three fortified residences in Meldorf, Brunsbüttel and on the Eider . The Dithmarscher did not comply with these demands, about which a popular song had already been written in Dithmarschen (no. 212 in the Rochus von Liliencrons collection ). The Danish king had done much more than threatened Dithmarschens independence: he had finally made it clear to the Dithmarschers that they were Dithmarschers. It was from here that a development towards a sense of togetherness began. The conflict thus amounted to a war.
The war between Johann I and Dithmarschen
The attacker was the Danish king, in personal union also regent of Sweden and Norway , on whose side stood next to his brother Friedrich, the Schleswig-Holstein knighthood and the counts Adolf and Otto von Oldenburg, both cousins of Johanns, a huge army of mercenaries . The allies of Dithmarschen, the Hanseatic cities and the formal sovereign, the Archbishop of Bremen , did not send any help. Therefore the army of the Danish king was clearly in the majority with about 12,000 men.
The Black Guard
The core of the Army formed from 4000 lansquenets existing magna Guardia . This mercenary army, sometimes called the Great Guard , German Guard , Saxon Guard or, above all, Black Guard , was a notorious elite association. It was an early Landsknechtsregiment from the Dutch area, which operated on the Frisian-Saxon North Sea coast and specialized in the use against rebellious farmers. The mercenaries in it came from many nations, the officers were mostly German. The Black Guard was as famous for their martial arts as they were notorious for their ruthlessness and cruelty. The existence of the Black Guard has been proven as early as 1488. In 1493 she fought on Maximilian's side under her colonels Thomas Slentz and Nithardt Fux against Karl von Geldern , in 1495 against Edo von Jever . Since 1497 she was victorious in the service of the Danish king as the core of his troops (including against Sten Sture ). One can therefore assume that the mercenaries had a great deal of war experience.
The great guard was organized in eight companies with a total of 2,000 men. At the head of each company stood a captain, and above the captains the master of the guard, Thomas Slentz. Nithardt Fux had already been killed in an earlier Guard action. Besides this "Group Slentz" there was another group with five companies and then a third with three companies. Each company had a piper and a drummer . Twelve of each sort were gathered at the staff. The Black Guard was an infantry unit . The mercenaries were armed with spears 3 to 5 meters long . They also had halberds and some also had double-handed swords (also called bidehands ). Some mercenaries may also have hook boxes . They were protected by armor and breastplates . Their battle formation was the close- knit phalanx . Luxury was practiced both in clothing and in emblems. A folk song (No. 218 in the Liliencrons Collection) says that Slentzen's armor shimmered red with gold. In this respect, the Black Guard represented an enormous budgetary burden for their warlord, the Danish king. That may also have been a reason for a hasty departure in the thaw: Longer waiting times could not have been financed.
The army followed behind the Black Guard. Since according to the definition Johann Dithmarschen belonged to the Duchy of Holstein, it was a matter of pacification in the interior of the country, which is why his subjects were obliged to take arms. Of course, standing by plundering the prospect of wealth Dithmarschens asked a not to be underestimated motivation for weapons agents. On the Landwehr followed cavalry , consisting mainly of the ross service duty needle along with the knight Hans von Ahlefeldt , the banner, supposedly the original Danebrog wore . The company was also a welcome raid for the nobility. Finally the artillery followed (only very few guns were carried in front) and the entourage . There, at the end of the procession, the king and his brother were probably also to be presumed.
The campaign of Johann I.
Despite an originally planned postponement of war until May, the army of Johann crossed the border to Dithmarschen on February 11, 1500. Contrary to expectations, the Dithmarschers did not try to block the only accessible road and thus not to defend the border, mainly because it was clear to them that that they could not face the king's troops in the open field. Johann's army found the Geest deserted; the Dithmarscher had taken refuge in the march and only held strategically important points in the country. On February 12th the army took Windbergen and the following day Meldorf . The capital was only protected by a small army of mercenaries, the Dithmarschers, who quickly gave up the resistance and fled. Johann's men took the city. They hoisted the Danebrog on the church tower, looted the place and the church. As far as the sources of the relatives of the opposite side are to be believed, they were characterized by an extraordinary cruelty: They allegedly ruthlessly killed all residents they met in order to force the Dithmarscher to give up quickly. Exactly the opposite was achieved, however, as the anger towards the attackers only increased. The Danish king's army stayed in Meldorf until February 17th. Since the feeling of superiority over simple farmers was great, King John finally gave the marching orders. Transporting the cannons was now more difficult because the thaw had already started. Slentz in particular recognized this fact and protested violently, but unsuccessfully, against the march on.
The Dithmarschern in the march now had three options: they could capitulate immediately, fall back on the difficult to conquer Büsum, or continue the fight. But Büsum did not have enough space for everyone, and surrender was out of the question for them.
The decisive battle
The nature of the terrain
The nature of Dithmarschen had an influence on the decisive battle. In the west of the Dithmarscher Land is the North Sea , in the south the Elbe and in the north the swampy banks of the Eider . The only direction to attack was from the east, that is from Holstein. But from there only one road led into the interior of the country. This lay on the straight ridge of the Geest. There were deep moats around these dams. These could only be exceeded with bridges or the national jumping poles, regardless of their width . In addition, the trenches could be flooded by opening the locks .
In addition, the thaw had already started at the time of the Danish offensive. This offered the locals another advantage: they knew the exact location of the trenches and knew where they would soon have solid ground under their feet and where they would sink. A knowledge that their opponents did not have.
The ambush
The Dithmarschers could probably get hold of one of the king's scouts. From this they learned his intention to march further north on the highway to Heide and Lunden . Wulf Isebrand stood out among the Dithmarschers . The plan to build a hill should also go back to this: the night before the royal army set out, the Dithmarscher threw a hill across the road a little south of Hemmingstedt and north of the so-called Dusenddüwels . If the road and thus the mobility of the soldiers was already narrowed enough by the rampart, the Dithmarschers also opened the sluices on the dykes. Then they hid behind the rampart and waited for the enemy army. Many of them will have known the fighting style of the Black Guard who had operated in the area for several years. They themselves also had pikes, halberds and long knives as weapons, as well as a little artillery to bombard the mercenaries from the sides of the entrenchments.
In Meldorf, King Johann was secretly visited by one of the Dithmarsch regional administrators , Carsten Holm, who advised him to take the train across the country road to Heide and Lunden. Since this man, insulted as a traitor in some songs, was not judged as such after the battle, but continued to act as a representative of the country, it is not unlikely that he tried to steer the king in the desired direction on behalf of the Dithmarscher. In any case, Johann decided - against the advice of Colonel Slentz - to take this fateful move.
The fall of the Black Guard
On February 17th the army left. In a study on the battle of Hemmingstedt, the historian Walther Lammers calculated that the army of the attackers had a length of "approx. 9.65 km ”must have had. In any case, one must assume that a large part of the army was still in Meldorf when the Black Guard reached the hill and the battle began.
The approximately 6,000 Dithmarschers took off their helmets and took off their armor and boots. They did this mainly in order to be able to fight better on the soaked, muddy ground without being hindered by additional weight. At first they tried to make attacks against the guard and overturn their few cannons. They used their skewers for club jumping . So they remained mobile even when the water ran up and could continue to attack the immobilized troops of the Danish king and prevent them from escaping. In view of the length of the train and the flooded condition of the road, it was still difficult for them to get at the guns of the artillery department behind the cavalry. However, with great losses against the spears of the mercenaries, this project finally succeeded. The guard reacted with a quick attack on the hill with the aim of enclosing it. This unsuccessful action was taken over by the Slentz group , which was greatly decimated in the process. In addition to some of the captains and the two princely commissioners Krummendiek and Erichss, the Lord of the Guard, Thomas Slentz, also fell. He is the only one of the Black Guard who later retained a good name in the folk songs of the Dithmarschers and, due to the bravery described, assumed the traits of a tragic hero. There are also legends around the Dithmarscher, who supposedly brought him death, the historically inconceivable Reimer von Wiemerstedt .
After Slentz fell, the Dithmarscher counterattacked the Black Guard and wiped them out. The remnants of the guards fled in the only direction they could take: backwards. The Landwehr fared no better. The peasants, drunk from the victory, continued to attack and caused heavy losses among the Landwehr. Those who had not yet backed off were killed or drowned. The cavalry first tried to stop its own fleeing infantry. However, when it became clear that no one was obeying their orders, the cavalry decided to intervene in the battle itself. The Dithmarscher, however, targeted the horses and thus inhibited mobility. Afterwards it was easy to deal with the remaining forces of the cavalry, which eventually perished in the trench.
The end of the battle
After only three hours, the battle was over. The famous army of the Danish king had suffered a crushing defeat. This defeat was later portrayed as God's punishment. Above all, the story of the spell-bearing maiden Telse von Hochwöhrden , which is more likely to be attributed to the legend and which is said to have appeared on the hill during the fight, was used. Also in folk songs it is pointed out that the Dithmarschers called on the Holy Mary in battle, but that the other side had no “powerful protectors”. So her defeat was total. In addition to the mercenary colonels, the two Counts of Oldenburg and other large parts of the nobility had also died. With the death of the standard bearer Hans von Ahlefeldt, the Dithmarschers were also able to steal the Danebrog along with many valuables. These are said to have been exhibited later in the Wöhrden church.
The victors knew no mercy: they killed every enemy, plundered the corpses and even mutilated them. Almost all noble families in Schleswig-Holstein who fought on the side of the Danish king lost family members. While the Dithmarscher buried the opposing foot soldiers soon after the battle, they left the nobles behind unburied. Only after long negotiations did they grant her burial. The former motto of the Black Guard , "True Di, Buer, de Gaar de kummt", changed the Dithmarscher into "Woor di, Goor, de Buur de kump".
Through the mediation of the cities of Lübeck and Hamburg, peace was concluded on May 15, 1500, which ensured Dithmarschen's independence. The battle weakened the power of the Danish king, so that it was easier for the Swedes to achieve their independence in the years that followed. However, the Dithmarschers were finally defeated and subjugated by Denmark and their allies in the Last Feud in 1559 .
The aftermath
The fact that a heavily armed army of knights could be defeated by peasants was considered a sensation at the time. The Battle of Hemmingstedt was not just one battle among many, but above all an important step towards the feeling of togetherness and self-image of the Dithmarschers. Therefore, a short time later, an intensive reception and transfiguration of the battle at Hemmingstedt began.
The folk songs
The numerous folk songs represent a special group of sources on the battle of Hemmingstedt . The most important songs are directly contemporary. Apart from the Danish songs, they all go back to Dithmarscher Nachrichten and thus view the events from the winners' point of view.
A total of 16 songs are known. Thirteen of them are in Low German , one in Latin and two in Danish . These can be divided into two groups:
On the one hand, those that were made immediately after the event and were intended to distribute it. These strophic reports were partly printed and intended for reading. Her main focus was not on the poetic design, but on capturing the historical events. In doing so, they show a downright " naive, journalistic interest in numbers and data " (Walther Lammers). Either clergymen from Dithmarschen or intellectuals in the cities allied with Dithmarschen are believed to be the authors.
From the existence of these songs and their rapid dissemination it can be concluded that the class of the big farmers must have been able to read and write for the most part; this is the only way to explain the distribution of the leaflets in this area, which would otherwise be detrimental to the flow of information.
On the other hand, there are those who stand out due to their poetic character. These were not read, but sung or used as a dance song . They are shorter and more episodic than those of the first group. The historical material is changed and dramatized at will. In the folk song collection Rochus von Liliencrons eight of the songs about the battle and one from the time shortly before the battle are reproduced.
A Danish song about the battle of Hemmingstedt
The Hundertliederbuch by the Danish historian Anders Sørensen Vedel was published in Ribe in 1591. At the suggestion of the Danish Queen Sophia and his friend Tycho Brahe , Vedel collected song texts that dealt with historical topics relating to the “patriotic” history of Denmark. The work is also an early evidence of critical historiography, influenced by the (Danish) Renaissance , in a European context . Vedel comments on each text in a longer introduction, which is of particular interest here.
Translation: “King Hans moves into Dithmarschen and loses a large number of soldiers. - This poem is written about the war that King Hans waged with his brother, Duke Friedrich von Holstein, against the Dithmarschers in the year of the Lord in 1500. What happened to them unhappily because of such causes that they approached it at the most uncomfortable time of the year and relied too much on their own strength and great military power and, moreover, despised their enemies, who had gained the advantage of them and trapped them (locked in) on some narrow dykes, which because of water and weather were unable to set up their order of battle and with it (the Dithmarscher) to fight down. This battle happened on the 17th day of February of that year near Hemmingstedt in Dithmarschen. And they were slain and drowned in the canals and died in the storm around 4,000 men and noble aristocrats both from the empire [Denmark] and from the duchies 360 with the two counts Otto and Adolf von Oldenburg. A pathetic spectacle and a remarkable example that no one should despise his enemies, especially not in those places where unequal advantages exist. "
This is followed by an allegorical poem about birds planning a campaign to make prey. The starlings did not know the way ... they have to stay “on the heath”. The swans wielded the flag and flapped their broad wings. The pigeons flew out of the tower, but their wings were soon cut off. Eagles and vultures fought, the little birds fled. Tears came to the old eagle. There were 18 thousand who moved across fields and dikes; where four rode earlier, only one rode ... "This song is not about birds, but about fine and noble warriors: King Hans led his army with power, in Dithmarschen it was defeated: this will be remembered for a long time." [the king] wants to avenge this arrogance of the peasants ...
The aftermath under the sign of nationalism
The battle is still seen today by almost all Dithmarschers as the most important event in their history. After the founding of the empire in 1871, however, it received even greater attention. The monument at Dusenddüwelswarf was created in the course of rising nationalism and the conflicts with Denmark in 1900. During the Nazi era , there was also a strong propaganda instrumentalization of the free, defensive Germanic farmers .
A ballad by Theodor Fontane about the battle and an information pavilion, which has been located right next to the monument since the 500th anniversary in 2000 , are less nationalistic .
Works by Albert Mähl
The North German writer Albert Mähl wrote the Low German choir ballad Hemmingstedt in 1928 and a dialect radio play of the same name in 1954 , which was produced by the then NWDR Hamburg under director Günter Jansen . The speakers who belonged to the Ohnsorg Theater ensemble included Magda Bäumken , Aline Bußmann , Heini Kaufeld , Karl-Heinz Kreienbaum , Heinz Lanker , Otto Lüthje , Hans Mahler , Ludwig Meybert , Eri Neumann , Georg Pahl , Walter Scherau , Günther Siegmund , Hartwig Sievers and Erwin Wirschaz . Unfortunately, the radio play is no longer available in any ARD broadcasting company.
literature
- Volker Griese : Schleswig-Holstein. Memories of History. Historical miniatures , Norderstedt 2012, ISBN 978-3-8448-1283-1 [in it the chapter: "Wahr Di, Gaar, de Buer de kummt". The Battle of Hemmingstedt, February 17, 1500 ]
- Walther Lammers : The Battle of Hemmingstedt , Neumünster 1953.
- Rochus von Liliencron (Ed.): The historical folk songs of the Germans , Vol. 2, pp. 432–456.
- Hermann Lübbing : Stedinger, Friesen, Dithmarscher: Freedom struggles of Low German farmers , 2nd edition Bremen (Hauschild) 1977. ISBN 3-920699-18-1 (first edition Jena 1929)
Individual evidence
- ^ Conference report HT 2006: Gender as a medium of storytelling. Retrieved October 4, 2010 .
- ↑ Anders Sørensen Vedels Hundredvisebog [AS Vedels Hundertliederbuch]. Facsimile edition with an introduction and notes by Karen Thuesen. Publication series by Universitets-Jubilæets danske Samfund [UJDS], Volume 515. CA Reitzel, Copenhagen 1993, ISBN 87-7421-740-2 . Page 226 left.
- ^ Theodor Fontane: The day of Hemmingstedt (ballad). Retrieved July 18, 2020 .
- ↑ Fontane's ballad names among the fallen Holstein knights - and correctly - "five Rantzaus " , "seven von Ahlefeld " (in fact there were eleven according to the list of fallen soldiers ) and "fourteen Wackerbarte " , probably because of the rhyme, but none of them actually only one appears on the fallen list.
Web links
Coordinates: 54 ° 8 ′ 50 ″ N , 9 ° 4 ′ 19 ″ E