The Battle of Ane (

Dutch Low Saxon Dutch Low Saxon ( or ''Nederlaands Nedersaksies''; nl, Nederlands Nedersaksisch) are the Low Saxon dialects of the Low German language that are spoken in the northeastern Netherlands and are written there with local, unstandardised orthographi ...

:''Slag bi'j Aone'',

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

:''Slag bij Ane''), was fought in 1227 between

Otto II of Lippe Otto of Lippe was a son of Bernhard II, Lord of Lippe. He was bishop of Utrecht as Otto II from 1216 to 1227. Several of his brothers also held high ecclesiastical offices in the Rhineland. During the Fifth Crusade, Otto visited Palestine. In ...

Bishop of Utrecht List of bishops and archbishops of the diocese and archdioceses of Utrecht. Medieval diocese from 695 to 1580 Founders of the Utrecht diocese * * * * * Bishops * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

, and Rudolf II van Coevorden with his army of Drenths.Geheugen van Drente:Slag bij Ane
/ref> The account of the battle comes from '' Quedam narracio de Groninghe de Trentis de Covordia et diversis aliis sub episcopis traiectensibus'' ("A narrative of

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

and Drenthe and various other things under the

Bishops of Utrecht List of bishops and archbishops of the diocese and archdioceses of Utrecht. Medieval diocese from 695 to 1580 Founders of the Utrecht diocese * * * * * Bishops * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

"), a manuscript from the early 13th century.slagbijane.nl
/ref>

Background

From the middle of the 11th century the Bishops of Utrecht were given the lands of

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

and

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

as a fief by the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

. In 1141 Hartbert van Bierum, the Bishop of Utrecht gave Groningen and Drenthe as

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form o ...

s to the brothers Leffard and Ludolf, his

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

s. Rivalry amongst the respective heirs,

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect's ...

Egbert of Groningen and

burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from german: Burggraf, la, burgravius, burggravius, burcgravius, burgicomes, also praefectus), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especial ...

Rudolf II of CoevordenMuseum Gramsbergen
/ref> led to conflicts between Drenthe and Groningen in which the Drenths fought both with and against the troops of the bishop. This came to a head in the Battle of Ane.

The battle

On 28 July 1227 the armies of the Bishop of Utrecht

and a large group of rebellious Drenths led by Rudolph van Coevorden met on a field near the present-day village of

Ane Ane or ane may refer to: * Āne, a village in Latvia * Ane, Netherlands, a village in Overijssel, Netherlands, also ** Battle of Ane (1227), a battle fought near the village * -ane, a suffix in organic chemistry, or specifically ** Alkanes, whi ...

. The Bishop had traveled to the valley of the

Overijsselse Vecht The Vechte () (in German and in Low Saxon (Dutch Low Saxon pronunciation: ̯ɛxtəThe places near the Vechte in the County of Bentheim have the same pronunciation or Vecht (in Dutch) (), often called Overijsselse Vecht () in the Netherlands to ...

to call the rebellious province of Drenthe to order and teach the local peasants a lesson. He was accompanied by many nobles, famous knights and troops supplied by the Bishops of Munster and Cologne. The bishop and his troops met in

Ommen Ommen () is a municipality and a Hanseatic city in the eastern Netherlands. It is located in the Vecht valley of the Salland region in Overijssel. Historical records first name Ommen in the early 12th century and it was officially founded as a ...

and travelled via

Hardenberg Hardenberg (; nds-nl, Haddenbarreg or '' 'n Arnbarg'') is a city and municipality in the province of Overijssel, Eastern Netherlands. The municipality of Hardenberg has a population of about 60,000, with about 19,000 living in the city. It recei ...

(then ''Nienstede'') and

Gramsbergen Gramsbergen (Dutch Low Saxon: ''Grambarge'') is a small Dutch city on the Vechte, located in the municipality of Hardenberg and the province of Overijssel. The town is located on corridors of different transportation modes: The N34 (Zwolle - Emme ...

to "that disastrous and cursed place" Ane. Rudolf positioned his troops, mainly peasants, behind the ''Mommeriete'', a quagmire approximately half a mile wide, without bushes or trees, with vegetation covering the treacherous

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

. As soon as the heavily armoured knights charged, they sank into the quagmire and were easy prey for the lightly armed, but mobile troops of Rudolf, accustomed to the local circumstances. The Drenths managed to beat the Bishop's forces, and killed most of it including the Bishop Otto II of Lippe, and many of his supporting knights. Otto’s successor,

Wilbrand van Oldenburg Wilbrand of Oldenburg (before 1180 - Zwolle, 26 July 1233) was a bishop of Paderborn and of Utrecht. Family Wilbrand was the son of Henry II, Count of Oldenburg-Wildeshausen, and Beatrix of Hallermund, daughter of Wilbrand I, Count of Loccum-Hal ...

, roused the Frisian people into supporting him against the rebellious Drenths which led to the

Friso-Drentic War The Drenther Crusade was a military campaign launched against the inhabitants of Drenthe with the approval of the Papacy in 1228 and lasting until 1232. It was led by Willibrand, Bishop of Utrecht, commanding an army composed mostly of Frisian ...

in 1231-1233 that was initially won by the Drenths. In 1233, Wilbrand's successor

Otto III van Holland Otto van Holland (died 27 March 1249) was a bishop of Utrecht from 1233 to 1249. Otto was the second son of William I, Count of Holland and his first wife Adelaide of Guelders. He was elected as bishop in 1233, but because of resistance from th ...

succeeded in suppressing the rebellion by mustering a large army. As a penance the Drenths had to build and maintain a monastery, Sancta Maria de Campe (Mariënkamp) near Coevorden. The location proved to be unsuitable and the monastery was moved to a place near

Rolde Rolde () is a village in the Netherlands, Dutch Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Drenthe. Located in the Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of Aa en Hunze, it lies about 6 km (3.7 mi) east of Assen. In 2021, Rolde had a ...

around 1258. The monastery later grew out to become the city of

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...

, the present day capital of the province of Drenthe. In 1967 a monument was erected near Ane to commemorate this battle. It has an inscription in Zuud-Drèents: "Slag bi'j Aone, 28 juli 1227, zie vocht'n ok veur oenze vri'jheid." ("Battle of Ane, 28 july 1227, they also fought for our freedom".)

Noble casualties

Gerard III, Count of Guelders Gerard III of Guelders (1185 – 22 October 1229) was the Count of Guelders and Zutphen from 1207 until his death in 1229. He was a son of Count Otto I of Guelders, and is sometimes called Gerard IV or Gerard V. Gerard married Margaretha of ...

(wounded) * Lord Gijselbert of Amstel * Otto II of Lippe, Bishop of Utrecht * Diderick van der Lippe,

Bishop of Münster A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

* Gerhard II of Lippe,

Bishop of Bremen This list records the bishops of the Roman Catholic diocese of Bremen (german: link=no, Bistum Bremen), supposedly a suffragan of the Archbishopric of Cologne, then of the bishops of Bremen, who were in personal union archbishops of Hamburg (sim ...

(wounded) * The lord of

Arkel Arkel is a town in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. A part of the municipality of Molenlanden, it lies about 3 km north of Gorinchem. Arkel is a former municipality; in 1986 it became part of Giessenlanden. In 2017, the village o ...

, and his cousin * Bernhard van Horstmar, Crusader knight * Gerhart, Count of

Goor Goor () is a city about 20 km west of Enschede in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It received city rights in 1263. Goor was a separate municipality until 2001, when it became a part of Hof van Twente. Goor was the site of a statue of the r ...

Dietrich V, Count of Cleves Dietrich V was Count of Cleves from 1201 through 1260. Dietrich was born about 1185 as the son of Dietrich IV, Count of Cleves and Margaret of Holland. Possibly Dietrich V succeeded in 1198, under regency of Arnold II. In 1234, he participa ...

(wounded) * Baldwin, Count of Bentheim * Engelbert, Lord of Groningen * Lambertus van Nettelhorst, Knight (died)

References

;Citations ;Sources *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ane, Battle of 1227 in Europe Battles of the Middle Ages Conflicts in 1227

Battle of Ane The Battle of Ane ( Dutch Low Saxon:''Slag bi'j Aone'', Dutch:''Slag bij Ane''), was fought in 1227 between Otto II of Lippe, Bishop of Utrecht, and Rudolf II van Coevorden with his army of Drenths. The account of the battle comes from '' Qued ...

Military history of the Netherlands