Klaus Störtebeker
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Klaus Störtebeker (c. 1360 – 20 October 1401) was a leader and the best known representative of a companionship of privateers known as the Victual Brothers ("Vitalienbrüder" in German). The Victual Brothers were originally hired during a war between Denmark and Sweden to fight the Danish and supply the besieged Swedish capital Stockholm with provisions (Latin "victualia"). After the end of the war, the Victual Brothers continued to capture merchant vessels for their own account and named themselves "Likedeelers" (literally "equal sharers").
A large number of myths and legends surround what little facts exist on Klaus Störtebeker's life. Even the name Störtebeker is only a nickname meaning "empty the mug with one gulp" in Old German. The moniker refers to the pirate's supposed ability to empty a four-litre mug of beer in one gulp. At this time, pirates and other fugitives from the law often adopted a colorful nom de guerre.
Born in Wismar, Störtebecker entered public consciousness around 1398, after the expulsion of the Victual Brothers from the Baltic island of Gotland, where they had set up a stronghold and headquarters in the town of Visby. During the following years, Störtebeker and some of his fellow captains (the most famous of whom were Gödeke Michels, Hennig Wichmann and Magister Wigbold) captured Hanseatic ships, irrespective of their origin.
According to legend in 1401, a Hamburgian fleet led by Simon of Utrecht caught up with Störtebeker's force near Helgoland.There according to some stories, Störtebeker's ship had been disabled by a traitor who cast molten lead into the links of the chain which held the rudder of Störtebeker's ship. Störtebeker and his crew were ultimately overcome and brought to Hamburg where they were tried. Legend has it that Störtebeker offered a chain of gold long enough to enclose the whole town of Hamburg in exchange for his life and freedom. However, Störtebeker and all of his 73 companions were sentenced to death and were beheaded. The most famous legend of Störtebeker relates to the execution itself. It is said that Störtebeker asked the mayor of Hamburg to release as many of his companions as he could walk past after being beheaded. Allegedly following the granting of this request and the subsequent beheading, Störtebeker's body got up and walked past twelve of his men before the executioner triped the body with an out stretched foot. The twelve men, however, were executed along with all of the others.
Some historians have suggested that it is more likely that Störtebeker died in 1400. A bill for digging graves for 30 victual borthers dated to this time survives in the Hamburg records. Incidentally this would also suggest the story that Störtebeker was sentenced to death with 70 other privateers is at least misleading, he certainly wasn't buried with 70 other men. The year 1400 also excludes the involvement of Simon of Utrecht and the "brindled cow" since the records show that this ship was not completed until 1401. In fact the Hanseatic fleet that did attack Störtebeker was commanded by Hermann Langhe and Nikolaus Schoke, who set sail for Helgoland in August 1400, the course of the battle is not described by any reliable sources.source: "Die Vitalienbrüder: Klaus Störtebeker und die Seeräuber der Hansezeit", Matthias Puhle, Frankfurt am Main, Campus Verlag, 1992
Perhaps, what remains of greatest interest to a modern audience, is the role that Störtebeker has played in the German consciousness.
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[edit] Störtebeker's appearance
No authentic portrait of him is known. A portrait of Kunz von der Rosen, the court jester of Emperor Maximilian I, is often erroneously identified as that of Klaus Störtebeker. It is actually an etching made by Daniel Hopfer.
[edit] Störtebeker today
Long after his death, Störtebeker would become a figure of legend and political propaganda. Leftists made him a hero of medieval class struggle against the "capitalistic" Hanseatic League and right-wingers turned him into a Germanic Francis Drake. A statue depicting him stands in Hamburg.
Störtebeker was portrayed on television by Ken Duken in Störtebeker, a 2006 miniseries based very loosely on his life.
[edit] Popular culture
The German punk band Slime wrote and recorded a song about the exploits of Störtebeker on their album Alle gegen alle. There is also a song by the heavy metal band Running Wild about Störtebeker's life in their album Death or Glory. Another German artist who made a song about Störtebeker is Achim Reichel, who recorded a song called Das Störtebekerlied, which can be found on his album Klabautermann. Störtebeker is also a brewery in Stralsund, whose slogan means, "Beer of the Righteous."
[edit] External links
- Agreement on reparations for injuries and damages by vitalians (made between King Henry IV of England and the Hanseatic League)
- Male Pirates: Klaus Störtebeker at Outlaw Wolf, an Outlaws Blog
- Pirates of the Caribbean - Klaus Störtebeker
