The Frisian popular militias between 1480 and 1560 / Hans Mol.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mol, Johannes A., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fryslân (Netherlands)--Militia--History.

Fryslân (Netherlands).

Fryslân (Netherlands)--History, Military.

Physical Description:

241 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

Amsterdam : Amsterdam University Press, [2022]

Summary:

In the late Middle Ages and early modern times, able-bodied men between sixteen and sixty years of age were called upon all over Europe to participate in raids, sieges and battles, for the defense of home and hearth. Because these men are regarded as amateurs, military historiography has paid little attention to their efforts. This book aims to change that by studying the mobilization, organization and weaponry of popular levies for a time when war was frequently waged between states in the making. Central to the book is the composition and development of the rural and urban militias in Friesland, dissected in a comparative Northwest European perspective, along with an examination of why the self-defense of the Frisians ultimately failed in their efforts to preserve their political autonomy. The main source is an extensive series of muster lists from 1552 that have survived for six cities and fourteen rural districts.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: 1. Introduction

Questions

Duty to defend one's country

The existing image of the popular militias

Sources and set-up

2. Friesland between Vlie and Lauwers: land, population, and government until 1525

A coastal landscape with natural boundaries

Churches, villages, towns, and monasteries

Noblemen, freeholders, tenants, and townsmen

Frisian freedom: communal government, between about 1200 and 1480

The defence of freedom until about 1480

The loss of freedom, 1480-1498, and the struggle for the Saxon legacy, 1514-1524

3. The mobilisation of able-bodied men in Friesland 1525-1552

Musterings and engagement 1525-1528

Fighting the Anabaptists at Oldeklooster, April 1535

New threats and musterings in 1542, 1543, 1546, and 1552

The set-up of the 1552 mustering in Friesland

Differences in handling per city and per grietenij

Obligation and exemption: widows, the poor, and conscientious objectors

Representation per household

Conclusion

4. The equipment and organisation of the militiamen in 1552

Weaponry and wealth

Armour

Extra armour `on the community' and the corps of `the third man'

Organisation and leadership: captains, ensign-bearers, rot masters, pipers, and drummers

The relationship between the shooting guilds and the city militias

Comparing with Holland

Summary and conclusion

5. The deployment of popular militias in the period 1480-1500

The changing character of warfare after 1480

The massive effort of the Wold-Frisians near Sloten on 13 January 1496

Renewed defeat at Laaxum and Warns 10 June 1498

Militiamen serving the Saxon government

Rebellion against the dukes: the siege of Franeker 1500

The battles of Warfumerzijl, Bomsterzijl, and Miedum 1500

6. The deployment of the popular militias in the period 1514-1524

The siege of Groningen and the turning point of November 1514

The objective of the warring parties and the role of the militias

Expansion of the Guelders' position with the support of Frisian militias, spring 1515

The return of the Black Band and the transfer of Saxon Friesland to Charles V

The Burgundian-Habsburg campaigns of 1516 and early 1517

Guelders' predominance again with the Black Band's support, 1517

Status quo, 1517-1521, and crumbling popular support for Guelders

Stadtholder Schenck van Toutenburg and the invasion of the Bishop's Band

Burgundy gets the winning hand, 1522

The expulsion of the Guelders' forces in 1523 and 1524

7. Conclusions.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

ebook version :

ISBN:

9789463723671

9463723676

OCLC:

1335756926