, native_name_lang = , named_after = french: vitailleurs (provisioners,

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantag ...

) , image = Vitalienbrueder, Wandmalerei in d, Kirche zu Bunge auf Gotland, gemalt ca. 1405.JPG , image_size = 250px , alt = , caption = A contemporary representation of the ''Vitalienbrüder'' on a wall painting, Bunge church,

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to th ...

, Sweden, , logo = , logo_size = , logo_alt = , logo_caption = , map = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , map2 = , map2_size = , map2_alt = , map2_caption = , abbreviation = , motto = , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = ca. 1393 , founder = , founding_location = , dissolved = ca. 1440 , merger = , type = , tax_id = , registration_id = , status = , purpose = , headquarters = Visby,

, Sweden , location =

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

and Baltic Seas,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

and

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

, coords = , region = Northern Europe , services = , products = , methods = Privateering,

blockade running A blockade runner is a merchant vessel used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait. It is usually light and fast, using stealth and speed rather than confronting the blockaders in order to break the blockade. Blockade runners usuall ...

, piracy , fields = , membership = ca. 1400 persons , membership_year = , language = (Middle) Low German , owner = , sec_gen = , leader_title = , leader_name = , leader_title2 = , leader_name2 = , leader_title3 = , leader_name3 = , leader_title4 = , leader_name4 = , board_of_directors = , key_people = , main_organ = , parent_organization = , subsidiaries = , secessions = , affiliations = , budget = , budget_year = , revenue = , revenue_year = , disbursements = , expenses = , expenses_year = , endowment = , staff = , staff_year = , volunteers = , volunteers_year = , slogan = , mission = , website = , remarks = , formerly = , footnotes = The Victual Brothers, Vitalien Brothers or Vitalian Brethren (german: Vitalienbrüder, no, Vitaliebrødrene) were a loosely organized

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

of 14th century Germanic

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s that initially included

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwer ...

nobility, but that later became more thoroughly the efforts of commoners, and turned to outright

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

. The guild had a clear historical effect in that era on maritime trade in the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''no ...

and Baltic Seas. As privateers, they provisioned blockaded locations and otherwise served as a naval contingent on behalf of regional rulers, with clients that included the Queen of Denmark, and rulers of

and

East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...

. As their activities turned to piracy, the aims devolved to personal enrichment. The pledge of their adopted base of

to the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

by King Albert of Sweden led to that island's invasion and the destruction of Visby by Konrad von Jungingen and the Order in 1398; this disruption, the executions of some of their band in Hamburg, and the Hanseatic League's continuing effort to control and make safe trade on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

led to changing maritime influences and a decline of the band. The Victual Brothers band either were also sometimes known or possibly became a somewhat distinct group otherwise known as the ''Likedeelers''. Klaus Störtebeker was identified with both, as a subordinate in the Victual Brothers and as one in command in the ''Likedeelers''.

Background

The Victual or Vitalien Brothers, Note, the ''DW.com'' headline chosen for this article, with its reference to the altruistic thief

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is de ...

, appears to contradict the actual content of the article. names drawn from the German ''Vitalienbrüder'' Note, the sole reference to ''Likedeelers'' in this book is in this quotation. In the rest of the book, only ''Vitalienbrüder'' is used for the band. ''Note, the following is a children's source.'' and associated with the Norse ''vitaliebrødrene'', were a loosely organized guild of

s, later turning to

, who affected maritime trade during the 14th century in the

and Baltic Seas. The name Victual Brothers is derived indirectly from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

word for provisions, ''victualia'', and makes reference to their first mission, which was to supply the besieged city of Stockholm. More directly and specifically, as Dirk Meier explains in his ''Seefahrer, Händler und Piraten im Mittelalter'' (''Seafarers, Merchants and Pirates in the Middle Ages''):

During the Hundred Years' war 337-1453 the people who provisioned the army were called ''vitailleurs''. In 1394, when Mecklenburg was at war with Denmark, the Dukes of Mecklenburg hired pirates (known as ''Vitalienbrüder'') whose job was to maintain a supply of food for the city of Stockholm, under siege by the Danes.

As privateers, they served as a naval contingent on behalf of various regional rulers, work that included provisioning blockaded locations, with clients that included the Queen of Denmark, and rulers of

and

. Eventually, as the efforts became more thoroughly the efforts of commoners, and especially, as the band turned to piracy, their activities were aimed at their own enrichment, and not the provisioning of others. As historian Jörgen Bracker of Hamburg's Municipal Museum notes, the "Vitalien Brothers divided up all their loot among themselves", arguing that the notion that "these men were willing to give up any of their booty" was a false notion.

History of the Guild

During the 14th century, Queen Margaret I of Denmark was battling Albert of Mecklenburg for

n supremacy; Albert had been

King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary ...

since 1364 and Duke of

since 1383. Queen Margaret imprisoned Albert and his son Eric of Mecklenburg in order to subdue the

Kingdom of Sweden Sweden, ; fi, Ruotsi; fit, Ruotti; se, Ruoŧŧa; smj, Svierik; sje, Sverji; sju, Sverje; sma, Sveerje or ; yi, שוועדן, Shvedn; rmu, Svedikko; rmf, Sveittiko. formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on t ...

, and her forces began a siege of Stockholm. For the machine translation of this page that was used for the chapter and title translations, se
this link.
/ref> As the dukes of the House of Mecklenburg were without a navy, they sought instead to wage a ''Kaperkrieg'' (

Privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

s' War) against Denmark and in the relief of Stockholm; to do so it engaged both the owners of commercial ships and the seafaring masses through issue of letters of marque to authorize the taking and disposal of plundered goods—letters that included the ports and towns of Rostock, Wismar, Ribnitz, and Golwitz and that, in the words of Dirk Meier, likely offered a way that the "nobility of Mecklenburg", through their "compact with bands of roving and unorganised pirates", could also encourage some among the minor aristocrats of Mecklenburg to "support and indeed join the pirates, in the hope of sharing some of ther booty". Through these letters, Mecklenburg was able to raise a force of Baltic Sea pirates that would rise to number on the order of 1400 persons, a force that in 1392 was pressed into the fight against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establishe ...

, including as blockade runners in the supply of Stockholm. These privateers and pirates came to be known as the ''Vitalienbrüder'', and later, in English, the Victual Brothers, and they brought food and other provisions through the Danish forces to keep the city supplied, and otherwise engaged in

war at sea ''War at Sea'' is a strategic board wargame depicting the naval war in the Atlantic during World War II, published by Jedko Games in 1975, and subsequently republished by Avalon Hill in 1976 and more recently by L2 Design Group in 2007. It is ...

. Alongside their breaking the blockade, Margaret and Albert came to agreement in 1395, with Stockholm "''pantsatt til hanseatene'' ledg[ingto the Hanseatic League">ng.html" ;"title="ledg[ing">ledg[ingto the Hanseatic League, that led to Albert's freedom; city and sovereign thus freed, the troops of Queen Margaret were withdrawn, and peace returned. Despite having been denied a "''grunnlag'' [basis, for operations] and being expected to disband, some sources indicate that the commanders of the privateers—yet "mainly nobles from

"—did not, instead moving their base of operations to Visby, on the island of

. (At this time, the storied German pirates Klaus Störtebeker and

Michael Gödeke Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

had not yet risen to command.) Organized as a brotherhood or

, the Victual Brothers' main naval enemy in 1392 was the powerful Hanseatic town of

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

, which supported Denmark in the war. Apart from Lübeck, the Hanseatic League initially supported the Victual Brothers. Most of the Hanseatic towns had no desire for a victory for Denmark, with its strategic location for control of the seaways. For several years from 1392, the Victual Brothers were a strong power in the

. They had safe harbours in the cities of

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

, Ribnitz,

Wismar Wismar (; Low German: ''Wismer''), officially the Hanseatic City of Wismar (''Hansestadt Wismar'') is, with around 43,000 inhabitants, the sixth-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and the fourth-largest city ...

and

Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund ( German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, ...

. They soon turned to open

and coastal plunder. In 1393 they captured the town of

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...

for the first time (plundering it again in 1429), proceeding in 1394 to

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popula ...

and Visby. They occupied parts of Frisia and Schleswig, and plundered

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

Vyborg Vyborg (; rus, Вы́борг, links=1, r=Výborg, p=ˈvɨbərk; fi, Viipuri ; sv, Viborg ; german: Wiborg ) is a town in, and the administrative center of, Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus n ...

Styresholm Styresholm was a medieval fortress near the present-day community of Kramfors. Today it is on the banks of the Ångermanälven, although in the 14th century it was on an island in the river, as the water level was some 5 metres higher than today. ...

, Korsholm and Faxeholm castle at

Söderhamn Söderhamn is a locality and the seat of Söderhamn Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden with 11,761 inhabitants in 2010. Sports The biggest local sport is bandy. Broberg/Söderhamn Bandy play in the highest division Elitserien and have beco ...

in Hälsingland. At the climax of their power, the Victual Brothers occupied the island of

, Sweden, in 1394 and set up their headquarters in Visby. They also operated from the Turku archipelago; nut Bosson, who was the chief of Turku Castle from 1395 to 1398, had allied himself with the people of Mecklenburg, and so he supported the hijacking activities of the Victual Brothers and allowed them to operate in the area. Maritime trade in the Baltic Sea virtually collapsed, and the herring industry suffered from their depredations. Queen Margaret even turned to King Richard II of England and sought to charter English ships to combat the pirates. From 1395 onwards, Queen Margaret gained the upper hand politically. She united Denmark, Sweden and Norway and formed the Kalmar Union. The Hanseatic League was forced to cooperate with her

Decline

King Albert of Sweden conceded

to the allied Teutonic Knights, Teutonic Order as a pledge (similar to a

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 of ...

), which was followed by an invasion led by Konrad von Jungingen (1355–1407), the Grand Master of the Order, who conquered the island in 1398—destroying Visby and driving the Victual Brothers out of Gotland. After the Victual Brothers' expulsion from Gotland in 1398, the Hanseatic League tried repeatedly but unsuccessfully to completely control the Baltic Sea. Records indicate that some of the band were executed in Hamburg. Many remained at sea, after losing influence in the Gulf of Bothnia, the

Gulf of Finland The Gulf of Finland ( fi, Suomenlahti; et, Soome laht; rus, Фи́нский зали́в, r=Finskiy zaliv, p=ˈfʲinskʲɪj zɐˈlʲif; sv, Finska viken) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and E ...

and Gotland, operating instead from the

Schlei The Schlei (; da, Slien, also ''Slesvig Fjord''e.g. in: Adolph Frederik Bergsøe: ''Den danske stats statistik'', Kjøbenhavn 1844, p. 156) (more often referred to in English as the Sly Firth) is a narrow inlet of the Baltic Sea in Schleswig- ...

, the mouth of the river Ems, and other locations in

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 ...

Likedeelers

Some component of, or successors to, the Victual Brothers came to be known in the written records by the name ''Likedeelers'' ("equal sharers"), the name's interpretation being either one of equal sharing of raiding booty among themselves, or—in proposed distinction to the Victual Brothers pirate band—of sharing booty with the poor of the coastal population.See Meier (2006), ''op.cit.'', where the term ''Vitalienbrüder'' is used throughout the book, and ''Likedeeler'' only appears once, seemingly as a synonym (p. 147).But see Stegen & Bowen (2011). There, the Likedeelers are not specifically mentioned, but the case is made, in the context of a museum installation about Klaus Störtebeker, that the pirates he associated with were not charitably inclined. They expanded their activities into the

and along the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

coastline, raiding Brabant and France and striking as far south as Spain. Their most famous leader of the Likedeelers was Klaus Störtebeker, born in 1360 in

, a ship captain who first appears in the record as a Victual Brother around 1394. The

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle ...

word ''Störtebeker'' means "down the beakerful", a name he is alleged to have been given because could swallow four liters of beer without taking the beaker from his mouth (though the name is possibly just a surname of Wismar). In 1401, the

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

warship ''

Die Bunte Kuh Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicond ...

'', leading a small fleet under Commander

Simon of Utrecht Simon of Utrecht (, died 14 October 1437) was a warship captain of the Hanseatic League during the Middle Ages. He was probably born in Flanders, but emigrated to Hamburg, Germany, where he received citizenship in 1400. He became famous for his p ...

, caught up with Störtebeker's forces near

Heligoland Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...

; after a 3-day running battle, Störtebeker and some of his followers were overpowered, trapped and executed. Contrary to this account, Historian Jörgen Bracker of Hamburg's Municipal Museum notes that " ile… other Vitalien Brothers were executed in Hamburg, 'there's no evidence that Störtebeker was among them'", though artistic renderings of the Störtebeker execution, from that city, exist. Other Likedeelers, sans their leader, continued their piracy and coastal raiding until about 1440, with maritime trade in both the North and Baltic Seas remaining in serious danger of attack.

References and notes

External links

Agreement on reparations for injuries and damages by vitalians
(made between King

Henry IV of England Henry IV ( April 1367 – 20 March 1413), also known as Henry Bolingbroke, was King of England from 1399 to 1413. He asserted the claim of his grandfather King Edward III, a maternal grandson of Philip IV of France, to the Kingdom of Fr ...

and the Hanseatic League)
Vitalienbrüder
(in German) {{Authority control Privateers Piracy in the Baltic Sea German pirates Gotland Hanseatic League History of Hamburg History of Lübeck History of East Frisia History of Bergen 15th century in Europe Medieval pirates History of Mecklenburg Margaret I of Denmark