Widzeld tom Brok

Widzeld tom Brok († April 25, 1399 ), eldest but illegitimate son of knight Ocko I. tom Brok was the successor to his father as chief of Brokmer - and of the Auricherland in East Friesland , representing his underage half-brother Keno.

Life

The name of Widzeld's mother is unknown. Since the father exercised all rights over the children in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, while the mother had no rights to the children, the son Widzeld was brought up at his own court (Olde Borg - today Oldeborg in Südbrookmerland - or Aurich). His father Ocko was murdered near his Aurich castle in 1389 .

Since Keno was not yet of legal age (the legal age varied between 12 and 16 years), Widzeld tom Brok took over the custodial government together with Foelke, his stepmother. Widzeld made an alliance with Folkmar Allena .

The reference to Duke Albrecht of Bavaria , it seems, initially continued. Widzeld's father Ocko had offered his rule as a fiefdom, which many East Frisians saw as a violation of Frisian freedom .

In 1392 Duke Albrecht Widzeld asked him to support the Rotterdam citizen Potter - Wiarda calls him the tyrant Potter. He had been held captive for a while by Aybo Rambodisna from Harlingen. He was only released after paying a considerable ransom and was then authorized by the duke to feud with his opponent and thus to keep himself harmless.

Since 1395 the North Sea has also been a playground for the Vitalienbrüder . They found acceptance and support especially in Frisian lands , because they served the Frisians well in their fight against Duke Albrecht.

In 1396 there was a change in the relationship between Duke Albrecht and Widzeld when the Vitalienbrüder were accepted into Marienhafe . Duke Albrecht of Bavaria had set himself the goal of subjugating the Frisians. In 1396 he and his son Wilhelm undertook a campaign against them, but they achieved no lasting success.

In 1398, however, when Albrecht again warred against the Frisians, Easter and Westergo had to pay homage to him and only the northeast maintained its independence. Above all, Groningen had supported the Frisians here in order to preserve its old trading area. In these wars the Vitalienbrüder did a good job by devastating the coasts of Duke Albrecht's area. Widzeld had also granted them admission (Marienhafe). The Vitalienbrüder paralyzed trade, which caused serious damage to the Hanseatic League in particular . This decided to take action against it. Widzeld noticed early enough the danger that the Hanseatic League threatened him as the guardian of the Vitalienbrüder. He agreed to Duke Albrecht and the Hanseatic League not to tolerate any pirates in his country in the future if he was granted impunity. Another reason for Widzeld's step were the developments in the Frisian area in those days. Due to the defeat of Ostergo and Westergo in 1398, the rich and powerful had to submit to the duke (these were the Heemstras, Camminghas, Wiardas in Westergo and Ostergo, the Gockingas, Houwerdas, Onstas, Verhildenas, Eysingas, Snelgeersoons and Wibbens in Friesland between Lauwers and Ems). They transferred their possessions to Duke Albrecht in order to receive them back from him as an inheritance.

Widzeld and Folkmar Allena also became fiefs of the duke. In 1398 the two chiefs were in The Hague. The Duke promised them his protection for all their possessions and future conquests. For their part, they undertook to cause Groningen to pay homage to the duke, and in that case he allowed them to assist him in appointing the authorities there.

The Duke now tried to mediate between the Hanseatic League and tom Brook. A day trip was set for May 1, 1399: here the duke, as arbitrator, was to decide the points in dispute. But the cities were prevented and the date had to be postponed. It was set for July 25, 1399. Widzeld got into a dispute with Abbot Fokko von Thedingen in April 1399 because he had fortified his monastery in an inadmissible manner. Widzeld conquered the monastery, got into an ambush near Detern and fled with his men to the local church . His enemies set fire to the church and Widzeld suffocated and burned with his people in the church.

Due to Widzeld's death, the Hanseatic League did not need to intervene in the Frisian situation, especially since it was preferred to free the Baltic Sea from pirates. Nevertheless, the Hanseatic League continued the negotiations. At the Hanseatic Day in Nykjöbing, which was held in September 1399, it was decided to write letters to the keepers of the Vitalienbrüder, such as Keno, demanding that the pirates no longer be tolerated in their countries.

The young Keno tom Brok , now chief, complied with this request. At the Hanseatic Day in Lübeck on February 2, 1400, Almer, the chaplain Kenos, appeared and declared that Keno would be willing to dismiss the Vitalienbrüder if he was granted impunity. After the Hanseatic League promised this, the pirates were expelled from Brokschen Lands by mid-March.

See also

• Gender tom brok

literature

• Ubbo Emmius : Rerum Frisicarum Historiae libri 60 , (German: Frisian history . Translated by Erich von Reeken. 6 volumes. Wörner, Frankfurt am Main 1980–1982, ISBN 3-88782-000-2 ).
• Eggerik Beninga : Cronica of the Fresen . Edited by Louis Hahn. Edited from the estate by Heinz Ramm. 2 parts. Verlag Ostfriesische Landschaft, Aurich 1961–1964, ( sources on the history of Ostfriesland 4, ZDB -ID 503429-2 ).
• Ernst Friedlaender (ed.): Ostfriesisches Urkundenbuch . Volume 1: 787-1470 . Haynel, Emden 1878, (reprint: Sendet Reprint Verlag, Vaduz 1988)
• Tileman Dothias Wiarda: East Frisian History . 10 volumes (in 11 parts). August Friedrich Winter, Aurich 1791–1819, (Reprint: Schuster, Leer 1968), (Volume 10: Latest East Frisian History ).

predecessor	Office	successor
Ocko I. tom Brok	Chief of Brookmerland 1389-1399	Keno II. Tom Brok