Wijerd Jelckama (also spelled Wierd and Wijard)Eekhoff, W.(1851). ''Beknopte geschiedenis van Friesland'' (in

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 ...

). Leeuwarden: W. Eekhoff. 138–139. (c. 1490–1523) was a

Frisia Frisia is a cross-border cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. The region is traditionally inhabited by the Frisians, a West Ge ...

n military commander, warlord and member of the ''

Arumer Zwarte Hoop The Arumer Zwarte Hoop, meaning "Black Army of Arum" ( fry, Swarte Heap) was an army of peasant rebels and mercenaries in Friesland fighting against the Habsburg authorities from 1515 to 1523. For four years they were successful under the former fa ...

'' ("Arumer Black Heap"). He was the lieutenant of

Pier Gerlofs Donia Pier Gerlofs Donia ( 1480 – 28 October 1520) was a Frisian rebel leader and pirate. He is best known by his West Frisian nickname ''Grutte Pier'' ("Big Pier"; in the pre-1980 West Frisian spelling written as ''Greate Pier''), or by the Dutch ...

(also known as ''Grutte Pier'') and fought along his side against the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

and

Hollandic Hollandic or Hollandish ( ) is the most widely spoken dialect of the Dutch language. Hollandic is among the Central Dutch dialects. Other important language varieties of spoken Low Franconian languages are Brabantian, Flemish (East Flemish, ...

invaders. Jelckama took Donia's place as

freedom fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

after Donia died in 1520.

Early life and family

Jelckama was born in the year 1490 in a large family of farmers and petty noblemen. He was descended from knights who had participated in the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

. One of his ancestors from his father's side of the family had died at the

Siege of Antioch The siege of Antioch took place during the First Crusade in 1097 and 1098, on the crusaders' way to Jerusalem through Syria. Two sieges took place in succession. The first siege, by the crusaders against the city held by the Seljuk Empire, last ...

.J.J. Kalma. ''Grote Pier Van Kimswerd'' (1970), p. 51. .

Rebellion

Together with Pier Gerlofs Donia, Jelckama fought against the Saxon warriors that occupied their homeland of Frisia, at the capture of

Medemblik Medemblik () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. It lies immediately south of the polder and former municipality of Wieringermeer. History Medemblik was a prosperous ...

, and in the siege of Middelburg

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...

. In addition to the area occupied by the Saxons, parts of Frisia were conquered by

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 = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, Holland, and local duchies. Donia and Jelckama's goal was to rid Frisia of all foreign powers and regain independence. Under the leadership of Donia, they used guerilla tactics and gained several victories, including the successful siege of two Hollandic castles and the city of Medemblik. Their greatest success, however, came at sea, where Donia and Jelckama sank 28 Dutch ships, earning Donia the title "Cross of the Dutchmen". The rebels received financial support from Charles of Egmond, who claimed the

Duchy of Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in pr ...

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

to the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

s. Charles also used

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

under Maarten van Rossum in his support. However, when the tides turned against the rebels after 1520, Charles withdrew his support, and the rebels could no longer afford to pay their mercenary army. Around the same time, Arumer Zwarte Hoop also lost their leader. In 1519, Donia's health grew worse. He retired to his farm where he died in 1520. He was buried in Sneek in the 15th-century Groote Kerk (also called the Martinikerk). Jelckama took over the command of the armies, then made up of over 4,000 soldiers. Jelckama also gained some minor victories, but proved to be a less competent commander and slowly lost men. Jelckama and his soldiers took part in acts of piracy and sacked many villages in the Frisian lands, losing the trust and support of their own people. The fact that Jelckama was less personable than Donia also cost him: he forged less fruitful alliances and lost more than he made. All this would lead to the defeat of Jelckama and his army.

Death

After a series of defeats, he and what was left of the Frisian army were captured in 1523 and taken to the city of

Leeuwarden Leeuwarden (; fy, Ljouwert, longname=yes /; Town Frisian: ''Liwwadden''; Leeuwarder dialect: ''Leewarden'') is a city and municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 123,107 (2019). It is the provincial capital and seat of th ...

. There they were publicly beheaded. With the death of Jelckama and the rebels, the rebellion of Frisia came to an end. It was the last revolt in Frisian history and is remembered as such to this day.

Early life and family

Rebellion

Death

Notes and references

See also