The Baltic Sea, on the shores of which many rich cities and countries lie, knew many pirates. At first, it was the fiefdom of the Vikings, whom, however, other seekers of money and various useful things, from furs, honey and wax to grain, salt and fish, tried to compete as much as they could. The famous Hanseatic League (the union of the trading cities of the North and Baltic Seas) was created, among other things, to protect trade routes.
Hansa Teutonica
Among the Baltic pirates were not only "private traders" who acted at their own risk, but also privateers (from the Latin verb meaning "to take") of some states. Lonely ships (and small flotillas) of even the richest merchants could not oppose anything to professional amateurs of someone else's good, and therefore European merchants began to unite in partnerships. The merchants of Cologne and Flanders were the first to show everyone an example. Then an alliance for the protection of their ships was concluded by Hamburg and Lubeck. Gradually, merchant associations of other cities began to join them, at first only German, as evidenced by the name of the Union - Hansa Teutonica (German Union). In 1267, a single union of 70 German cities was formed, of which Lubeck was recognized as the main one.
But over time, cities outside Germany also became members of the Hansa: Stockholm, Pskov, Riga, Revel, Dorpat, Krakow, Groningham and others. Representative offices of the Hansa were in London, Bergen, Novgorod and Venice.
Soon the Hanseatic League could already afford to hire a serious guard for their ships, and even send escort warships with them.
It all ended with the creation of their own Hansa navy. But in the second half of the XIV century, the delicate balance of the sea was once again violated, and the reason for this was the war between Sweden and Denmark. But what do the pirates have to do with it?
The first vitaliers
In 1376, King Waldemar IV of Denmark died, and Queen Margaret, a strong-willed, intelligent and decisive woman, became the regent of her son Olave, a real “mistress and mistress of the country” (she was officially proclaimed as such by the Landstigs of Denmark and Norway).
In 1388, at the call of the Swedish aristocrats who were dissatisfied with their king, she intervened in the internecine war in the neighboring country. Already in 1389, her troops managed to capture the Swedish king Albrecht (the Battle of the Donkey near Falköping), after which they laid siege to Stockholm. Famine began in the city, and the father of the captured king called for help from "indomitable people from different places" ("city bosses, townspeople from many cities, artisans and peasants" - testimony of Detmar from Lubeck). A combined team of bourgeois and peasants who were bored on the shore had to break through the blockade and deliver food to Stockholm. This motley rabble began to call themselves "victaliers" (from "viktualier" - "food") or "victual brothers".
It is believed that the "indomitable people" who came to "save Stockholm" had been acting a little on the coasts before. According to the so-called "Coastal Law", a person who found some things thrown out by the sea became their owner. But only on condition that none of the crew of the drowned ship survived. And therefore, rescuing shipwrecked in those days was considered "bad form", on the contrary, they should have been killed immediately in order to "legally" appropriate the property that turned out to be "ownerless".
A huge squadron of victhalers (later vitaliers) did manage to deliver a large amount of food and weapons to the besieged city. As a reward, many of them, in addition to money, demanded letters of marque, which were issued to them. This is how the real "Pandora's box" was opened, and the vitaliers became the curse of the merchants of the Baltic Sea for many years.
However, the vitaliers themselves did not consider themselves ordinary pirates and robbers, believing that they were only redistributing dishonestly acquired wealth ("the merchant sowed, we will reap"). For a long time, the people talked about one of the leaders of the vitaliers, Klaus Störtebeker:
"He was a nice guy - he took from the rich, he gave to the poor."
The vitaliers have chosen the phrase as their motto: “Friends to the Lord God and enemies to the whole world”. Before going to sea again, they necessarily confessed to the priest, who, for the appropriate bribe, willingly forgave them both past and future sins. The spoils were honestly distributed among all members of the team, and therefore their other name was "fair", or "Gleichteiler" - "dividing equally."
After the fall of Stockholm (1393), the "brothers" who had grown to taste did not return home - they went to the island of Gotland, where the son of the captured Swedish king Eric ruled. He issued letters of marque no less willingly than his grandfather, and for some time Gotland became the Tortuga of the Baltic Sea. The main city of the island - Visby (a member of the Hanseatic League since 1282, by the way), became extremely rich thanks to the policy of patronizing pirates.
The prosperity of the inhabitants of Visby and the entire island is perfectly evidenced by the fact that more than 500 gold and silver treasures dating back to that time were discovered here.
The Danes were surprised to find that the gangs of some bandits on the ships inflicted damage on them even more than the Swedish army. No less Danes suffered from pirates and the merchants of the Hansa:
“Unfortunately, they instilled fear all over the sea and all merchants: they robbed both their own and others, and this made the herring more expensive” (Lubeck chronicler Detmar).
The situation was aggravated by the fact that Queen Margaret did not like the strengthening of the Hanseatic League, she did not at all want the Baltic Sea to become the Sea of the Hansa. In 1396, an incident occurred that put the Danes and Hanseaticans on the brink of open war. The Danish and Hanseatic fleet, sent to Gotland in search of vitaliers, mistook the ships of potential allies for the enemy, and entered the battle at Visby. The attempts of the Danes, who understood what's what, to start negotiations were regarded as a military ruse. The preponderance was on the side of the Hanseaticans, who won this naval battle. The Vitaliers became so bold that in 1397 their squadron, numbering 42 ships, came to Stockholm and laid siege to it. But the news of the unexpected death of their patron, the Gotland prince Eric, demoralized the pirates, among whom quarrels and strife began. The blockade of Stockholm was broken, the vitaliers went without prey to their base - in Visby.
Eric's death was extremely disadvantageous to the vitaliers because there was no sovereign who could issue them letters of marque, and now they automatically turned into ordinary sea robbers, who were supposed to immediately drown or hang on a yard in case of capture. What the opponents of the vitaliers have now begun to do with enviable constancy and regularity. In turn, the vitaliers began to act even more brutally - although, it would seem, where else. But the pirates tried: they often put prisoners in barrels (beer and herring), cutting off the heads of those who raised them with sabers. And when luck turned away from them, the situation sometimes became mirrored. One of the chronicles of that time says that when the inhabitants of Stralsund captured one of the robber ships, “the crew was also forced to climb into the barrels. Then a verdict was announced, according to which everything sticking out of the barrels had to be cut down with an ax. In general, they paid with the same measure. Only a few of the opponents of the vitaliers allowed themselves such a whim as the trial of captured pirates. Sentences did not differ in mildness, almost always sea robbers were sentenced to public death.
Expulsion of the vitaliers from the island of Gotland
Meanwhile, a new player appeared on the Baltic Sea - the knightly Order of the house of St. Mary of Teutonic, who really liked the island of Gotland. And the knights of the Teutonic Order have long been accustomed to taking what they want without asking permission from the owners. Especially if the owners were outlaw pirates. Grand Master Konrad von Jungingen concluded a treaty with the Hanseaticans, and at the end of March 1398, the combined Allied fleet (80 ships) landed landing troops south of Visby. The garrisons of the fortresses of Westergarn, Slite and Varvsholm-Landeskrona did not resist, but the Visby pirates (headed by the Swedish aristocrat Sven Sture) decided to fight to the end. The correct siege of the pirate capital began, which ended in a bloody assault: the vitaliers, well familiar with weapons and hardened in numerous boarding battles (their number reached 2000 people), fought for every house and every street. Not wanting to lose his people, the grand master was forced to enter into negotiations, as a result of which the vitaliers lost Gotland, but kept the ships on which they were free to go anywhere. On April 5, 1398, the contract was concluded, the vitaliers left Visby and divided into several groups. Some decided to return to a peaceful life, the chroniclers do not report how successful this attempt was. It is only known that the leader of the Gotland vitaliers Sven Sture was accepted into the service of the Danish queen Margaret, and since then has not betrayed her. Others did not even try to live without robberies. Some went to the east - in Northern Sweden they managed to capture the Fakseholm fortress and hold it for some time. But the main forces of the pirates went to the North Sea, where they found new bases - on the East Frisian islands near Holland and on the island of Ertholm (near the island of Bornholm). It was to the East Frisian islands that the most famous and successful leaders of the vitaliers left - Klaus Störtebeker and Gödecke Michael. As leaders of the pirates, they are mentioned both in the Lubeck Chronicle of 1395, and in the indictment drawn up in England, which makes them responsible for the attack on the ships of this country in the period from 1394 to 1399.
In the port of Mariengafe, "God-fearing" liquor dealers (gleichteiler) began to build a church, but did not manage to finish it. Folk legends claim that Störtebeker used the iron rings on the wall of the courtyard of this church to moor his ships (this wall and the huge rings on it can still be seen today). Therefore, the canal leading to the church was named “Störtebekershtif”.
"Description of both duchies - Bremen and Verdun", published in 1718, states that "Michaelis and Störtebeker ordered to carve a special niche near the retaining arch in the Dome Cathedral of Verdun and place their coat of arms there" (not preserved).
In the vicinity of Hamburg, the Falkenberg hill ("Falcon Mountain") is still shown, on which, according to legend, at one time there was a Störtebeker base. Blocking the Elbe with iron chains, he stopped merchant ships and let them through only after paying tribute.
Noble robbers Klaus Störtebeker and Gödecke Michael
Now, perhaps, let's talk about these pirate captains who kept the merchants of the North and Baltic Seas at bay, but were loved by the common people. The most popular in Germany was, of course, Störtebeker, who gained a resounding reputation as a "noble robber". According to one of the legends that were told in Germany, one day, when he saw a crying old man who was kicked out by the owner of the house for non-payment of the rent, he gave him enough money to buy this house. Another time, after seeing a woman trying to sew her husband's worn-out pants, Störtebeker tossed her a piece of cloth in which gold coins were wrapped.
Tradition says that he bequeathed to the cathedral chapter of the city of Verdun an "Easter gift", from which, allegedly, benefits were paid to the poor for several centuries.
According to one version, the first meeting of Störtebeker and Gödecke Michael took place under very romantic circumstances, it is simply surprising that this story passed by the Hollywood scriptwriters. Störtebeker, allegedly, was the son of a farm laborer from the island of Rügen, who killed the local baron and the manager of his estate, and then, taking his girlfriend with him, went on a fishing boat to the open sea. Here he was picked up by the vitalier ship, commanded by Gödecke Michel. Having become heroes of numerous folk legends and songs, the daredevils found each other.
It is difficult to say whether the girl from the legend was real, and where she later went: it is known that Störtebeker was married to the daughter of the Frisian aristocrat Keno Ten Brogka, the patron saint of "liquor dealers".
According to another version, Störtebeker was a fisherman who led a riot on a ship that became pirate.
Another legend says that Störtebeker became a pirate for a completely ridiculous (for modern times and ideas) reason: supposedly, being, again, a farm laborer from the island of Rügen, he dared to try some special beer, which was supposed to be drunk only by aristocrats. The year of this "scandalous" incident is even named - 1391. As a punishment, the violator was ordered to drink a huge cup of the forbidden drink with one gulp, but he, having beaten the judges with the vessel given to him, disappeared and joined the pirates. It was since then that he allegedly received his nickname, which has become a surname: "Störtebeker" can be translated from Low German as "bowl tipper."
As many as three cities claimed the Störtebeker Cup. The first of them was kept in the shipbuilders' workshop in Hamburg, the second was shown in Lübeck, the third in Groningen.
However, some people translate "Störtebeker" as "overturn the glass", hinting at the great love of the pirate leader for strong drinks.
In 1400, the allied fleet of Hamburg and Lubeck attacked pirate bases on the East Frisian Islands, 80 pirates were destroyed in the battle, another 25 were betrayed by the inhabitants of the city of Emden, it is curious that one of them turned out to be the illegitimate son of Count Konrad II of Oldenburg. All of them were executed in the market square of the city.
In 1401, Hamburg sent its ships to the island of Helgoland, where they managed to defeat a squadron of vitaliers led by Störtebeker himself.
Forty pirates were killed in battle, Störtebeker and 72 more pirates were captured (legend claims that a net was thrown over the pirate captain).
Contrary to custom, they were not executed immediately, but tried in Hamburg. An urban legend says that, in exchange for life and freedom, Störtebeker promised to cover the entire roof of Hamburg's Cathedral of St. Peter with pure gold (according to another version - to make a gold chain equal in length to the perimeter of the walls of Hamburg). This legend contradicts another, according to which the liquor dealers divided the booty equally.
Contradicting the legends about the disinterestedness of the captains of liquor dealers and another legend - that Störtebeker, allegedly, kept the stolen gold in the mainmast of his ship. The pirates' lawyers did not help; on October 20, 1401, they were all executed at the place where a monument was later erected to Störtebeker.
The winner of the Störtebeker was not awarded a monument, but one of the Hamburg streets is named after him: Simon von Utrecht Strasse.
There is a legend that speaks of the last request of Störtebeker: he asked to save the lives of those of his accomplices, past whom he would be able to run after cutting off his head. He allegedly managed to run past eleven people - until the executioner substituted his leg. But the burgomaster still ordered the execution of all pirates, without exception. The severed heads of the pirates were impaled on stakes driven into the shore: several of these skulls are still kept in the Museum of the History of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.
Inspired by their success, the Hamburgers soon attacked the ships of another "hero" of the vitaliers - Gödecke Michel. One of the chronicles says:
“Then soon, in the same year, when the battle took place at Heligoland, here called the“Holy Land,”the Hamburgers went to sea for the second time and seized eighty enemies and their leaders - Godeck Michael and Wigbolden. Among the loot they plundered, the relics of St. Vincent, who were once kidnapped from some city on the Spanish coast. The robbers were taken to Hamburg, where they were also beheaded, and their heads were impaled on stakes next to others."
A folk song recorded in 1550 has reached our time:
Shtebeker and Goedecke Michel
Together they robbed at sea, Until God sick of it
And he didn't punish them.
Störtebeker exclaimed: “Well then!
In the North Sea, we will be like in our home, Therefore, we will immediately sail there, And may the rich Hamburg merchants
Now they are worried about their ships."
And they hit the road swiftly, Driven by their pirate target.
Early morning off the island of Helgoland
They were captured and beheaded.
"Motley Cow" from Flanders
She lifted them on their horns and tore them into pieces.
They were brought to Hamburg and beheaded.
Executioner Rosenfeld calmly
He chopped off the violent heads of these heroes.
His shoes were drenched in blood
Which and the grandchildren could not wash it off."
("The Motley Cow" is the name of the flagship of the Hamburg fleet).
Latest liquor dealers. End of an era
In 1403, the Hanseatic cities of Lubeck and Danzig undertook campaigns against pirates who had left Gotland.
In 1407, the former vitaliers, together with the new (Frisian) patrons, fought against Holland.
In 1408, Hamburg won a new victory: the pirate captain Pluquerade and nine of his subordinates were executed in the town square.
The gleichteiler also existed in 1426: the Counts of Holstein who fought for Schleswig against Denmark then again issued letters of marque to their captains.
In 1428, the Hanseatic people gave up their principles, recruiting 800 people from among the pirates for the war against Denmark. The fighting was successful: together with former opponents, the Hanseaticans defeated the Norwegian fleet (Norway was part of the Danish kingdom), sacked Bergen and captured Fehmarn.
But already in 1433, a member of the Hamburg city government, Simon van Utrecht, being put in charge of the city fleet (21 ships), captured the city of Ems, the former stronghold of Frisian liquor dealers. Forty pirates were beheaded, their heads impaled on stakes.
In 1438, Hamburg and Bremen used pirates against Holland and Zeeland. At the same time, the Bremen authorities issued letters of marque to the "allies", according to which a third of the booty should have gone to their city. The Bremen privateers were even allowed to rob the ships of other Hanseatic cities - if they were carrying goods from Holland or Zeeland. The most successful "Bremen" privateer - Hans Engelbrecht, captured 13 Dutch ships, the proceeds amounted to thirty-four thousand Rhine guilders.
In 1438-1449. - under Eric Pomeranian, vitaliers reappear in Gotland, and again receive marque certificates from a new patron (in 1407 the Teutons handed over the island of Margaret to Danish in exchange for the possessions that seemed more interesting to them in mainland Europe).
But the time of the vitalier-liquor dealers was already running out. Having lost all their bases, they left the historical scene, freeing it up for other privateers and other pirates.
