Juw Juwinga (alias Jongema) of

Bolsward Bolsward (, West Frisian: ''Boalsert'') is a city in Súdwest-Fryslân in the province of Friesland, the Netherlands. Bolsward has a population of just under 10,200. It is located 10 km W.N.W. of Sneek. History The town is founded on thr ...

was a Frisian chieftain that earned great fame in the struggle against the (Dutch) ‘infidels’. When Albrecht of Bavaria, count of Holland, threatened

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

in 1396, Juw was chosen as potestate of Friesland. He advised luring the enemy into the land. The Schieringers limited their defense to the coastline. The Dutch were defeated at Schoterzijl (in

Weststellingwerf Weststellingwerf (; Stellingwarfs: or ) is a municipality in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands. It is one of the municipalities of Friesland, where the spoken language is not West Frisian; instead, Stellingwerfs, a dialect of ...

) where Juw was slain on August 29, 1396. Juw was also known as Julius Jongema, and

Petrus Thaborita Petrus Jacobi Thaborita ( Latinised name form of Peter Jacobusz van Bolsward) (Bolsward, 1450–1527) was a Frisian monk, historian and writer. He is best known for his writings on the Frisian freedom fighter Pier Gerlofs Donia, and for writing d ...

wrote his name as Ju Jonghema. The previous potestate was

Hessel Martena Hessel Martena (appointed approximately 1306 to 1312) was the tenth '' Potestaat'' (magistrate governor) of Frisia. He succeeded Reinier Camminga. Martena was particularly praised for his clever policy, calming the existing dispute between the S ...

. However the potestates were absent for many years due to arguments between

Vetkopers and Schieringers The Vetkopers and Schieringers ( fry, Fetkeapers en Skieringers) were two opposing Frisian factional parties from the medieval period. They were responsible for a civil war that lasted for over a century (1350–1498) and which eventually led to t ...

and Juw was the eleventh potestaat.

Sources and references

*Brouwers, J.H., J.J. Klama, W. Kok, and M. Wiegersma, eds., Encyclopedie van Friesland, (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1958) s.v. ''Juw Juwinga''. 1396 deaths Medieval West Frisians Military personnel killed in action People from Bolsward Year of birth unknown 14th-century people of the Holy Roman Empire {{Netherlands-bio-stub