They stood and looked at the slaughter. Since the peasants were their enemy too, the inhabitants of Visby were happy about the outcome, and they welcomed the Danes.
I do not understand why this video is called "Visby's last stand", Visby didn't stand up to anything that day. They let the Gotlanders get slaughtered and then opened the gates to the danes.
I’ve heard it argued that the Gotlanders were used to that in a battle you’d fight until one side surrendered, and then you’d negotiate terms, but the Danish army did not stop to negotiate, they just finished them off to the last man. If that is the case, they may have thought that just showing up and showing bravery in battle might give them better terms, but instead they got slaughtered.
Probably not, the Gotlanders were a peasant army of ca 1800 troops, wich was almost the entire male peasant population of the island (fighting age: 15-60 years old, with some getting left behind incase they lost the battle, wich shows that they did know that they might get destroyed). Every gotlander was forced by law to have armor and weapons at home, incase of an inavsion. However the peasants relations with the city of Visby (the only city with conections to the mainland) was really bad, wich is probably why they were left outside without support from the city. They also had a real plan for the battle. They were suppose to make the terrain really bad and clayey (not sure if it's the right term) so the danish would get stuck and not have much mobolity, causing a retreat. However the days during the battle was unusually hot, causing the ground to solidify causing the plan to fail. With this along with other more minor reasons, the gotland-peasant army was pretty much obliterated, with ca 1800 cassualties vs the 300 danish ones. here's some sources: SVT: Sverige genom tiderna (documentary supported by the government of Sweden). Gotlands Museum, state supported national museum about Gotlands history. wikipedia (mainly for cassualties)
@@hampusdahlborn9203yeah there were two battles , one where they were ambushed in the marshes cause they belived it slowed their armour down , boy were they wrong …
The peasants and fishers, the countryside folk on Gotland were predominantly Swedish, while Visby and its townfolk were largely of German and Danish descent.. Valdemar Atterdag in Denmark is mentioned as Valdemar the great, but in Sweden he went under the name Valdemar the tyrant. Later Vasa dealt with both the German hanseatic league and the Danes.
I was born on Gotland and still live here, not very far from the mass graves. I always have thought that those graves were closer to the wall. Also I have never seen the armour before. That the Danes buried it all to prevent an uprising makes sense to me.
@@lowkey_gaming5956 Depend on how you define bad, I think. I have heard that specifically American cruises skip Visby, because of a belief I think that its worse than it is. Others are stoping by. More military sure. Stuff cost more, as for the rest of the world. Outside of this its largely business as usual. For now.
@Marcus They couldn't prevent the peasents from moving away from their lands if they wanted to, but they ruled the land from an administrative point of view as well from an agricultural one. As for the modern take , nobility is still nobility and the royal family for example is not just empty titles but the real deal.
@@svennielsen633 idk to much about visby in the peasant but I wanna put my two cents in , The people in visby were like merchants right? Traders and such, weren’t they afraid to get looted by the lower class? From what I heard they always kept the gate locked as a procedure even before the Danes came .
Back then, that island was worth more than any landmass of the same size, anywhere in Scandinavia, maybe even Europe, it was a *MAIN* trade hub, and the one who controlled it got the taxes, if I remember correctly, Valdemar took a loan from German bankers to hire mercenaries, and they only said yes because they knew how much money it generated, so they were sure he could pay them back.
Yup, it was the main hub for the entire northern part of the Hanseatic league. Goods from both the northern parts of Sweden, Finland down towards the mainland europe. The closest comparison to Gotlands importance is what Crete was for the ancient agean sea was for trade between the greeks, persians and egyptians etc. An Island hub, resting place for travelers and traders etc.
Thank you for your comments here. They helped me to understand why the Visbians didn't offer assistance to the Gotlanders in that moment of great need. Thanks
Sort of like our American presidents’ son; having 8-12% of his holdings in a company that loans money to people illegally and legally crossing the American border…. Including the trained militia that is crossing!
@@Mukation- I’m not an expert on the history of the region but I think that Magnus Eriksson, the king of Sweden at that time, was ineffectual and losing his grip on his rule of the country. Magnus had been crowned the king of both Sweden and Norway, but by 1361 he had alienated many Norwegian nobles and already been deposed as monarch of Norway. Magnus would be kicked off the Swedish throne a few years after Visby. Valdemar IV had been at war with Sweden but his expedition to Gotland seems to have more to do with the Danes waging a war against the merchant guilds in the cities making up the Hanseatic League. It seems that Valdemar IV felt he was not getting his fair share from taxes on trade due to the Hanseatic League. This conflict is referred to as the Danish-Hanseatic War (1361-1370) and taking Visby was the opening move. Visby was of course part of the Hanseatic League and perhaps the city’s residents felt themselves more a part of the League than subjects of the weakening Swedish Crown. Many of the residents of Visby were not natives of Gotland. Perhaps they did not feel any close kinship with the Gutnish. Interestingly, the Hanseatic League had provisions for mutual defense and eventually, following several Danish victories and a treaty advantageous to the Danish Crown, the League pursued hostilities and by 1370 had defeated Valdemar VI.
moment of silence for brave farmers who chose to fight rather than live under danish tyranny. Shame on the memory of the cowards shutting their fellow islanders out to certain death
They said they found lots of treasure troves around the area. That’s because everyone tried to bury all their money before the invasion, so the invaders wouldn’t find it, intending to retrieve it later, but were too dead to do so.
It's possible they were spared because a large portion of them were germans. The city people within the walls of Visby were largely non-Swedish while the farmers outside the walls were Swedish. This is relevant since the attacking "danes" were almost entirely made up by german mercenaries.
This whole story is so ironic. Valdemar was there to extract booty from the merchants & city of Visby, a Hanseatic city. He had no beef with the Swedish peasants. But if you ask for a fight you will probably get a fight. I doubt we will ever know why the Swedish peasants got themselves slaughtered to defend a German/Hanseatic city, whose residents hated the peasants.
It was simple logic. Danish king Valdemar wanted the city to continue to trade and bring in taxable amounts to the Danish crown in the future as well. The Hanseatics in Visby counted on that. If the traders would be slaughterd, there would be no future trade to tax. Instead there was a handsome ransom paid to the Danes that kind of financed the whole venture. The island and the city ended up as Danish for some hundred years ahead with tax income until the turning point in the 17th century when the Swedes conquered almost all of Denmark east of Öresund.
I've been to these catacombs of bones in Stockholm and the people there then didn't talk so much of swords but of poleaxes or similar long weapons. First a hammer of crossbow bolt followed by this wall of long, heavy, things where the gotlanders simply couldn't reach the enemy. They described it as trying a fist fight against a modern harvester. The sword and Warhammer were just to finish things off. Never the pacifist per se, I can't help but thinking, had they just stayed at home, Valdemar would simply have cared only for the wealthy city.
@@marcusaurelius3487 Now I'm not sure that I didn't confuse the battle of Visby with another Hanseatic City. The account I heard, was that the citizens locked the farming community out of the gates and left them to be massacred by a Danish army before ransoming themselves. It happened hundreds of years ago, in any case.
This archeologists should have asked any historical reenactor about the wounds. Leg wounds are mark that Gotlanders were fighting in shieldwall. Upper body was protected by shield, helmet and armour but legs were easy target.
Thomas Neijman, the guy who showed the sword cutting in the documentary, is a 14th century reenactor. So they did ask a reenactor. (But maybe they only asked him very leading questions, I don't know.)
I like your thoughts on the shield wall. It's really the only strategy that the peasants and farmers would have. Protestors today form shield walls against a stronger force.
Sure would be nice to hear the voices of the people speaking in the video. The audio mix is horrible (as usual) and the narrator & music is 10 decibels louder than everything else. The captions help a little but get much of it wrong since the dialog is so faint. Why can't the producers fix this persistent problem?
Still waiting for Timeline to make a video about Battle of Kosovo field in 1389, now that battle was complete slaughter and if numbers mentioned online are correct more then 20,000 to 30,000 died in one day, maybe even more if the story are true which they should be considering both Christian and Muslim sources mention the battle in many documents.
I'm a Dane. Nothing we are proud of. But we have fought each other back and forward a thousand years or so. And things were brutal back then. Best friends today thou.. together with Norway. The idea of a united Scandinavia is gaining a lot of momentum these days.
For a long while the taxing of Visby was a historic item though to have taken place. However, recent theories makes it more of a propaganda play by Visbyites to deflect from the fact that they made a separate peace with the danes after the battle. It explains to some degree why still Visby today is seen as separate from Gotland proper by locals.
I don't understand why the peasantry fought to defend Visby? The invaders were after the riches in the town. The militia could have just stood back and minded their own business. There has to be more to the story.
Jay15009, it is possible that the wealthy were part of the financiers to the Danish and German army; as the locals had just had an uprising and civil type war earlier in that century. If the town let the militia in, they might have been able to last… but then they also might throw another uprising if they lived.
I always thought they were offered money and wealth to help out visby , but what the documentary said hit the g spot , human nature when it comes down to it will do anything to live fight when backed against the corner , they saw a common enemy and belived they would help, rip Gotland farmers . With the language barrier between you guys and visby , you guys gave it your all
My 21 and 22nd GGFATHERs were Mayors of of Visby before and after this brutal battle between Danish King and Visby And my 29th GGFATHER was a Gotlander Johan Silkentopp born 1170. 21. Köpman. Borgmästare Markward II Bretholt b. circa 1395, Visby, Gotland, Sweden; d. before April 14, 1476, Tallinna 22. Borgmästare Markward I Bretholt b. after 1350, Visby, Gotland, Sverige; d. circa 1401, Reval (Tallinn)
That's because people around here used to live mostly on vegetables, fish and meat. Everything was natural and sweets were more of a rare treat than anything. Also some dental care was taken. Scandinavians would have special picks for cleaning their teeth, I've heard that Estonians used to chew pine sap to clean their teeth. It was basically like medieval gum.
The unique findings of armor and the personal effects of the vanquished from a time when looting was standard operating procedure in war and on battlefields could support the ascertain that the attacking force were highly experienced professionals and couldn't be bothered with the inferior equipment of the local militia.
The women and children were , as far as we know, left relatively unscathed. I have never heard or read of any particularly brutal acts committed by the Danes against non combatants, but then again, this is medieval times and sources are scarce. What we do know is that the Gotlanders buried their wealth all around the island , to prevent the Danes getting their hands on them, and many of these treasures are found still today. One would think that these treasures would have been recovered after the battle by the surviving family members but they weren't, so we can only speculate of what happened to them.
Usually enemies rob the dead for weapons and armor. However, the Swedes gear was so out of date they left them alone. And that rarely happened in the medieval period or before.
The cut off foot I would think might have been an attack from behind while the gotlander was occupied with one soldier another came from behind and struck the man in the leg with a downward strike amputating the foot which would have rendered the man immobile on the ground and easily killed at a later time
Can you imagen what the peasant army was thinking as they were trying to get a formation going and match the mercenaries , and seeing old and young fellow men beside them that have no experience in holding weapons or to heavy , as the Danes approach little by little
No. The militia were Gutnish country yeomen. They were no friend to the Visby merchants, who, as mentioned, built that wall to make them pay taxes. The famers were fighting for their land, homes and families. Pretty much no one wants to be ruled by foreigners. When someone invades, you fight. The city inhabitants thought they could negotiate with the Danes instead, and that was the beginning of the end for them. Visby went for the richest city in the Baltics to a dot on the map in record time.
@@tracishea5053 You meant of course the Baltic Sea, not the Balkans. The invaders were Danes with German mercenaries. You talked about negotiating with the Dutch? Have I missed something?
I think they didn’t let them in because the German/Danish military might have been partially paid by some of the ruling wealthy behind the wall. The ones that were angry the farmers had an uprising earlier in the century.
One best sources for reactors doing this era and generaly about battle of militia againts pro soldeirs of that time how quick it could be and general likely battle injurie. I use it as a great source do in a neutral stand point as not to bias anything. Great documantay.
@@blackmanogco totally agree, it would be great if we knew the casualties sustained by the Danes but I suspect very few if any, still that's how it was back then, a close and personal bloodbath...
@@noproblem2big337 Ye. Do fron talhofens manuel standpoint a fight would lasted e blows or 30 sec and also a train mercenary army in line formation with best gear and training. I suspect very few mecenaries from danes died most would been first timers or less experiance and armoured of the danish mecenaries as not all had full gear. Some would just had gambeson and little else then spear or axe and shield.
1215 was the English Magna Carta signed after 17 years of civil war. And King John hired the Danish mercenaries to come and kill all barons who had won the war and any Knights Templar that had fought with him. Luckily they were defeated at Rochester when the French backed up the winners. So if “freedom” was allowed, but only 100 years new in the peasants-the peasants had just fought against their Lords for the equivalent of “fair trade” for their goods. And the nobles could have easily hired the Danish mercenaries to kill those who had “dared rebel” against their rulers choices. Or they could have purposely locked them out(?). But why would they sell everything to the Danish later on? Maybe they did have no choice but to sign a treaty after this slaughter?
The people fighting were Swedes, and the people inside of the town were Russian, German and Danish merchants, who of course didn't have the balls to fight so they locked out the Swedes and let them defend the city, and when they were dead, they just opened the gates... Swedes are real fighters.
@@jensapaulsson2769 inte om du frågar varenda gotlänning jag känner, alla kallar sig svenskar från Gotland, Gutar är en gammal benämning ingen använder sig av
Just moved from Visby after 10 years on the island i can tell you that the hate between peasants and townfolk still exist. Personaly, i could not stand the mentality of city people in Visby. If anything similar happend today they would do it all over again. Shame, it`s such a fine town.
Danish army was for sure professional but i think german mercenaries helped a lot. from where in Germany were those mercenaries? Maybe Prussia, German crusaders of north. Who Knows?
This might answer your question This is my great grandfathers., they were Mayors of Visby. They came from Germany. There was trade routes between Germany and Visby. So I am sure the "mercenaries" were brothers and cousins defending each other. The numbers represent X Great Grandfather. 26. Herman Hiddink Swerting, Borgmästare i Visby b. circa 1280, Visby, Gotland, Sverige; d. 1342, Visby, Gotland, Sverige 27. Simon Swerting, Borgmästare 1307 b. circa 1245, Rostock, Pommern; d. August 9, 1307, Visby, Gotland, Sverige 28. Tidrik Swerting b. circa 1215, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany; d. circa 1265, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany 29. ? Swerting, (aka lat. "Niger") b. circa 1185, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
My 21 and 22nd GGFATHERs were Mayors of of Visby before and after this brutal battle between Danish King and Visby 21. Köpman. Borgmästare Markward II Bretholt b. circa 1395, Visby, Gotland, Sweden; d. before April 14, 1476, Tallinna 22. Borgmästare Markward I Bretholt b. after 1350, Visby, Gotland, Sverige; d. circa 1401, Reval (Tallinn)
@@ivanbiskic4364 Ancestry.com is great. I have gone more than 40 generations if they were famous, or infamous which was more common. The quiet, law-abiding merchants and tradesmen were only documented in the church records and are harder to find.
My 14th great grandfather was an official with the Hanseatic League, born 1485 in Lubeck, Germany. He was sent to the Danish island of Bornholm to be "mayor" of the town of Nexo. He was really there to collect taxes for the League since Nexo was very small. This was in early 1500's. Some of his children and descendants ran the fortress of Hammershus. The "contract" with the Hanseatic League ended in the mid 1500's if I recall correctly. Bornholm island and its fortress were in the middle of constant wars and now forgotten bloody squabbles over forgotten problems. Whatever was happening in the Baltic, Bornholm was involved in some way. What surprised me was how many times Bornholm/Hammershus teamed up with the Germans to invade or raid somebody (pick a reason, any reason). Occasionally throughout history they would team up with the Dutch and even the English. So on the question of who the German mercenaries were the most logical source would be northern Germany/Prussia. Maybe a few stray Germans from other parts of the Germanic kingdoms.
why on earth didn't they remove the armour? Everything metal most have been valuable back then! *edit(I should have finished watching before asking questions!)
It amazes me that all those Visby dead weren't stripped of their armor before they were buried. I thought that was common practice in medieval times. All that armor would have been made by hand, and things like chain mail hauberks were worth a lot of money. Even if the armor had been damaged in the battle, it could have been repaired and re-sold, or scrapped and re- forged into tools or farming implements.
According to historian, John Keegan, the hot weather (late July), and great number of the dead meant they began decomposing before the Danes had a chance to strip the majority of them of anything besides their helmets.
The Danes sold Scania to king mangus of Sweden and Norway. The Danes and King valdemar used the money gained from selling Scania to hire a big mercenary army to take back sacania and possibly also take the island of Gotland. Valdermar was the older brother to Mangus. The war went so well for valdemar and the Danes that whole of Scania and Gotland had be all ocipied most of mangus army had been cruched so mangus had to sue for peace with valdemar and the Danes giving up all of Scania and the very strategic island of Gotland. The three crowns which is the the Royal coat of arms, Stockholm city Hall, the national ice hockey team and many coins came from king mangus being king of Sweden Norway and that he bought Scania from the Danes.
I am guessing they are underestimating the use of polearms, especially pole axes, by the Danes and Germanic mercenaries. Polearms, spears, and axes were far more common on the battlefield they is often depicted. Polearms, especially pole axes, would have had the reach to chop at the legs and shins of the Gotlanders.
Wonder what will happen when the “Royalty and decision makers of Holland” kicks out or stops all agriculture? Can they travel to Gotland to reestablish agriculture in a land where the poor farmers were slaughtered? Or does the nobility not want to profit off agriculture?
Visby has never been the capital of Gotland, it was a solitary town state, run by the Hansa. The capital, if any was Roma, att the middle of Gotland where yearly courts were held. Not thal the Goths have choose to not have a king. And was therefore one of the oldest parliamentary democracies.
Very good, but I disagree with some statements.. At 38:30 this cut foot no way this was done by a sword. Or both feet as mention cut of with one hit?!? No way with a sword blade. Something else was used. Maybe a heavy battle axe but not a sword.
Think about it. How easy it is to chop through a fresh steak bone? Just using a small cleaver. A good heavy sword would have no problem taking legs or feet off.
The Danes were 100% Christian on 3rd generation at this time. The massgrave could have been protected by some holy decree. Probably dictated by Valdemar.
That could have been an element, given that the armor had no worth to the danes themselves (used armor dealerships were a thing then). That, and the rancid conditions. Given that the Gotlanders fought to the death without any hope of victory, the Danes likely felt respect for the Gotlanders at some level.
In my humbe opinion i think more professional army of Danish and German decent left armor on defeated army because they didn't have respect for defeat army, inferiorif you will, made an example of them or point. Evidance for my opinion is they finish them off not leaving anyone alive. Proves lack of respect and compassion. Ruthless battle and medieval life on an soldier
The local Swedish farmers died for the protection of a city largely run by backstabbing and betraying German merchants. A disgrace. But then again world history is full of disgraceful winners and truly victimized brave losers.
This isent glorius its just terrible and sad. If they were wariors they would fullfilled their desteny but this was just terrified people trying to do their best.
I imagine the majority of the leg cuts are defensive cuts. Maybe a person was knocked down and then was struck. Or another possibility is they are just blows upon men already struck and either dying or dead. They may have been collateral damage as two men fought each other and missed their targets striking men already down.
A trained warrior will never strike where his opponent is most heavily armored. Those plates made the torso invulnerable to attack. A simple chain mail coif or sleeves are effective against slashes, but weak against piercing and concussive damage. Legs are often just an after-thought because of mobility concerns, sometimes left to a tower or kite shield to protect. Without eyewitness testimony, it's possible to speculate many things. One thing I do take issue with is the assumption that one handed long swords caused most of these horrendous cuts. Medieval warriors also used axes, pole arms, and two handed swords and any of these would have been more than capable of performing these ghastly cuts. Particularly the one that sheared straight through that one man's foot from the shin to the ball of the foot.
If it makes no sense to you that the indigenous Gotlanders wanted to fight the invading army without any regard the potential baleful consequences to themselves, consider that these people were of the blood and lineage of Beowulf. Perhaps then, their choice will make more sense to you. I am of that blood. It makes perfect sense to me.
First of all, beowulf was said to have been from götaland and not gotland, secondly its a saga with no proof of him even existing. Altough i bet the geats was just as ferocious.
Rich mans war, poor man's fight.some things never change
It will always be that way.
War never changes
Slave and king
But maybe we at least staved off MAGAQ for a couple more years. : l
@@1991beachboy you're right. The only differences are the technology, the strategies and tactics.
I can’t imagine being in a battle that you know that you are never going to make it out of alive. That’s a special kind of bravery
tavisxavier i
HM theyvwere men made of the land Gotland. They are still of the same mind. Gutar the salt of the earth
@Paul deTorch 👍👍👍👍
And that is why it is important to honour the dead.
They rather died than paying higher taxes.
The title is a misnomer. Visby did not make a last stand--the local farmers did. The Gute, local farmers, made a heroic last stand.
They stood and looked at the slaughter. Since the peasants were their enemy too, the inhabitants of Visby were happy about the outcome, and they welcomed the Danes.
I do not understand why this video is called "Visby's last stand", Visby didn't stand up to anything that day. They let the Gotlanders get slaughtered and then opened the gates to the danes.
HAHA DENMARK WINS🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰🇩🇰
@@AlxzAlec Go play with your legos.
@@bandiriatraveler8343 Go play with your funiture
@@AlxzAlec Nah bro, I'm too busy eating burgers and shooting guns.
@@bandiriatraveler8343 so you are texan or what
I’ve heard it argued that the Gotlanders were used to that in a battle you’d fight until one side surrendered, and then you’d negotiate terms, but the Danish army did not stop to negotiate, they just finished them off to the last man. If that is the case, they may have thought that just showing up and showing bravery in battle might give them better terms, but instead they got slaughtered.
Probably not, the Gotlanders were a peasant army of ca 1800 troops, wich was almost the entire male peasant population of the island (fighting age: 15-60 years old, with some getting left behind incase they lost the battle, wich shows that they did know that they might get destroyed). Every gotlander was forced by law to have armor and weapons at home, incase of an inavsion. However the peasants relations with the city of Visby (the only city with conections to the mainland) was really bad, wich is probably why they were left outside without support from the city. They also had a real plan for the battle. They were suppose to make the terrain really bad and clayey (not sure if it's the right term) so the danish would get stuck and not have much mobolity, causing a retreat. However the days during the battle was unusually hot, causing the ground to solidify causing the plan to fail. With this along with other more minor reasons, the gotland-peasant army was pretty much obliterated, with ca 1800 cassualties vs the 300 danish ones.
here's some sources: SVT: Sverige genom tiderna (documentary supported by the government of Sweden).
Gotlands Museum, state supported national museum about Gotlands history.
wikipedia (mainly for cassualties)
@@hampusdahlborn9203yeah there were two battles , one where they were ambushed in the marshes cause they belived it slowed their armour down , boy were they wrong …
The peasants and fishers, the countryside folk on Gotland were predominantly Swedish, while Visby and its townfolk were largely of German and Danish descent.. Valdemar Atterdag in Denmark is mentioned as Valdemar the great, but in Sweden he went under the name Valdemar the tyrant. Later Vasa dealt with both the German hanseatic league and the Danes.
"The Great" was a different Valdemar (Valdemar I).
"Atterdag" was Valdemar IV.
Hey look at that, similar to Stockholm
Valdermar Atterdag was never called Valdemar the Tyrant in Sweden.
Very glad to see a documentary about Swedens medieval wars! Swede here btw
Omg a real life swede
@@andygaras Genuine Suede?
Interesting but sad though. A professional army against farmers. War was brutal back then, and it's still brutal.
@Wroger Wroger the chef is from the netherlands
@@andygaras 😂🤟
I'm so impressed with their pronunciations during the whole documentary. Perfect, well done.
I was born on Gotland and still live here, not very far from the mass graves. I always have thought that those graves were closer to the wall. Also I have never seen the armour before. That the Danes buried it all to prevent an uprising makes sense to me.
I heard it's getting bad there now cz of all the Russia stuff . Is that true ?
@@lowkey_gaming5956 Depend on how you define bad, I think. I have heard that specifically American cruises skip Visby, because of a belief I think that its worse than it is. Others are stoping by. More military sure. Stuff cost more, as for the rest of the world. Outside of this its largely business as usual. For now.
This a cautionary tale to always maintain a highly trained professional military, especially if you have wealth.
The cuts dealt with thoses swords are absolutely so horrific and gruesome, it’s truly mind numbing.....
I visited visby last year, incredibly beautiful city
this is actually the most badass documentary on yt on the subject.
They weren't feudal peasants. Sweden was never feudal, the farmers were always landowners.
But an aristocracy existed and still exists.
@Marcus They couldn't prevent the peasents from moving away from their lands if they wanted to, but they ruled the land from an administrative point of view as well from an agricultural one. As for the modern take , nobility is still nobility and the royal family for example is not just empty titles but the real deal.
The Gotlanders were betrayed by Visby. I hope the people of Visby lost a lot of sleep because of their betrayal.
The inhabitants of Visby were happy about the outcome, since the peasants were their enemy too, so they welcomed the Danes.
@@svennielsen633 idk to much about visby in the peasant but I wanna put my two cents in ,
The people in visby were like merchants right? Traders and such, weren’t they afraid to get looted by the lower class? From what I heard they always kept the gate locked as a procedure even before the Danes came .
Back then, that island was worth more than any landmass of the same size, anywhere in Scandinavia, maybe even Europe, it was a *MAIN* trade hub, and the one who controlled it got the taxes, if I remember correctly, Valdemar took a loan from German bankers to hire mercenaries, and they only said yes because they knew how much money it generated, so they were sure he could pay them back.
Yup, it was the main hub for the entire northern part of the Hanseatic league. Goods from both the northern parts of Sweden, Finland down towards the mainland europe.
The closest comparison to Gotlands importance is what Crete was for the ancient agean sea was for trade between the greeks, persians and egyptians etc.
An Island hub, resting place for travelers and traders etc.
Thank you for your comments here. They helped me to understand why the Visbians didn't offer assistance to the Gotlanders in that moment of great need. Thanks
Sort of like our American presidents’ son; having 8-12% of his holdings in a company that loans money to people illegally and legally crossing the American border…. Including the trained militia that is crossing!
@@Mukation- I’m not an expert on the history of the region but I think that Magnus Eriksson, the king of Sweden at that time, was ineffectual and losing his grip on his rule of the country. Magnus had been crowned the king of both Sweden and Norway, but by 1361 he had alienated many Norwegian nobles and already been deposed as monarch of Norway. Magnus would be kicked off the Swedish throne a few years after Visby. Valdemar IV had been at war with Sweden but his expedition to Gotland seems to have more to do with the Danes waging a war against the merchant guilds in the cities making up the Hanseatic League. It seems that Valdemar IV felt he was not getting his fair share from taxes on trade due to the Hanseatic League. This conflict is referred to as the Danish-Hanseatic War (1361-1370) and taking Visby was the opening move.
Visby was of course part of the Hanseatic League and perhaps the city’s residents felt themselves more a part of the League than subjects of the weakening Swedish Crown. Many of the residents of Visby were not natives of Gotland. Perhaps they did not feel any close kinship with the Gutnish.
Interestingly, the Hanseatic League had provisions for mutual defense and eventually, following several Danish victories and a treaty advantageous to the Danish Crown, the League pursued hostilities and by 1370 had defeated Valdemar VI.
moment of silence for brave farmers who chose to fight rather than live under danish tyranny. Shame on the memory of the cowards shutting their fellow islanders out to certain death
They said they found lots of treasure troves around the area. That’s because everyone tried to bury all their money before the invasion, so the invaders wouldn’t find it, intending to retrieve it later, but were too dead to do so.
If I had been a Dane then after the slaughter at the wall, the town that shut their own people out would have been next and without mercy.
It's possible they were spared because a large portion of them were germans. The city people within the walls of Visby were largely non-Swedish while the farmers outside the walls were Swedish. This is relevant since the attacking "danes" were almost entirely made up by german mercenaries.
Yes, it was both cruel and stupid. They did not meet the same fate as the Gotlanders but Visby as a wealthy city was over.
This whole story is so ironic. Valdemar was there to extract booty from the merchants & city of Visby, a Hanseatic city. He had no beef with the Swedish peasants. But if you ask for a fight you will probably get a fight. I doubt we will ever know why the Swedish peasants got themselves slaughtered to defend a German/Hanseatic city, whose residents hated the peasants.
The town of Visby was a German Hanseatic League colonial trade city. They weren't Swedish at all and the Gotland peasants were Not their people.
It was simple logic. Danish king Valdemar wanted the city to continue to trade and bring in taxable amounts to the Danish crown in the future as well. The Hanseatics in Visby counted on that. If the traders would be slaughterd, there would be no future trade to tax. Instead there was a handsome ransom paid to the Danes that kind of financed the whole venture. The island and the city ended up as Danish for some hundred years ahead with tax income until the turning point in the 17th century when the Swedes conquered almost all of Denmark east of Öresund.
I've been to these catacombs of bones in Stockholm and the people there then didn't talk so much of swords but of poleaxes or similar long weapons. First a hammer of crossbow bolt followed by this wall of long, heavy, things where the gotlanders simply couldn't reach the enemy. They described it as trying a fist fight against a modern harvester. The sword and Warhammer were just to finish things off. Never the pacifist per se, I can't help but thinking, had they just stayed at home, Valdemar would simply have cared only for the wealthy city.
Visby was not the capital of Gotland, rather a city which had seceded from Gotland.
With ancestors from Visby and Denmark it's incredibly exciting to learn about this history!
I recommend keeping the Visby connection to yourself.
@@mzeewatk846 why
@@marcusaurelius3487 Now I'm not sure that I didn't confuse the battle of Visby with another Hanseatic City. The account I heard, was that the citizens locked the farming community out of the gates and left them to be massacred by a Danish army before ransoming themselves. It happened hundreds of years ago, in any case.
The audio lvl is too low. I had problem watching on my phone
The music is to loud so the voices drown
This archeologists should have asked any historical reenactor about the wounds. Leg wounds are mark that Gotlanders were fighting in shieldwall. Upper body was protected by shield, helmet and armour but legs were easy target.
Thomas Neijman, the guy who showed the sword cutting in the documentary, is a 14th century reenactor. So they did ask a reenactor. (But maybe they only asked him very leading questions, I don't know.)
I like your thoughts on the shield wall. It's really the only strategy that the peasants and farmers would have. Protestors today form shield walls against a stronger force.
Sure would be nice to hear the voices of the people speaking in the video. The audio mix is horrible (as usual) and the narrator & music is 10 decibels louder than everything else. The captions help a little but get much of it wrong since the dialog is so faint. Why can't the producers fix this persistent problem?
Still waiting for Timeline to make a video about Battle of Kosovo field in 1389, now that battle was complete slaughter and if numbers mentioned online are correct more then 20,000 to 30,000 died in one day, maybe even more if the story are true which they should be considering both Christian and Muslim sources mention the battle in many documents.
The Danes were quite cunning, I can sense the pain and screaming from this battlefield even 658 years later, brave men all of them!
I'm a Dane. Nothing we are proud of. But we have fought each other back and forward a thousand years or so. And things were brutal back then. Best friends today thou.. together with Norway. The idea of a united Scandinavia is gaining a lot of momentum these days.
For a long while the taxing of Visby was a historic item though to have taken place. However, recent theories makes it more of a propaganda play by Visbyites to deflect from the fact that they made a separate peace with the danes after the battle. It explains to some degree why still Visby today is seen as separate from Gotland proper by locals.
@@carlhassler5336 nah Visby is just so different from the rest of the island so it just kinda feels off sometimes thats why
I don't understand why the peasantry fought to defend Visby? The invaders were after the riches in the town. The militia could have just stood back and minded their own business. There has to be more to the story.
Jay15009, it is possible that the wealthy were part of the financiers to the Danish and German army; as the locals had just had an uprising and civil type war earlier in that century. If the town let the militia in, they might have been able to last… but then they also might throw another uprising if they lived.
I always thought they were offered money and wealth to help out visby , but what the documentary said hit the g spot , human nature when it comes down to it will do anything to live fight when backed against the corner , they saw a common enemy and belived they would help, rip Gotland farmers . With the language barrier between you guys and visby , you guys gave it your all
Valdemar Atterdag was the danish king, not the Swedish king.
My 21 and 22nd GGFATHERs were Mayors of of Visby before and after this brutal battle between Danish King and Visby
And my 29th GGFATHER was a Gotlander Johan Silkentopp born 1170.
21. Köpman. Borgmästare Markward II Bretholt b. circa 1395, Visby, Gotland, Sweden; d. before April 14, 1476, Tallinna
22. Borgmästare Markward I Bretholt b. after 1350, Visby, Gotland, Sverige; d. circa 1401, Reval (Tallinn)
hello, distant cousin! these people are my supposed ancestors, too.
I was shocked to see the skulls filled with healthy teeth. People in Gotland must have had a proper and truly nutritious diet.
They had better teeth than me and I've never been hit in the face with a battle axe.
They didn’t have much sugar to rot them.
That's because people around here used to live mostly on vegetables, fish and meat. Everything was natural and sweets were more of a rare treat than anything. Also some dental care was taken. Scandinavians would have special picks for cleaning their teeth, I've heard that Estonians used to chew pine sap to clean their teeth. It was basically like medieval gum.
King Valdemar was Danish, not Swedish
De har bare sat et komma forkert.
Valdemar IV of Denmark .... quite audible.
Here because of Elin Abrahamsson’s @sewingthroughthepast Battle of Visby vlog
I love this kind of documentary
The unique findings of armor and the personal effects of the vanquished from a time when looting was standard operating procedure in war and on battlefields could support the ascertain that the attacking force were highly experienced professionals and couldn't be bothered with the inferior equipment of the local militia.
I wonder about the women and children.
Were they slaughtered, also. Or hidden in another country.
How sad.
The women and children were , as far as we know, left relatively unscathed. I have never heard or read of any particularly brutal acts committed by the Danes against non combatants, but then again, this is medieval times and sources are scarce. What we do know is that the Gotlanders buried their wealth all around the island , to prevent the Danes getting their hands on them, and many of these treasures are found still today. One would think that these treasures would have been recovered after the battle by the surviving family members but they weren't, so we can only speculate of what happened to them.
RIP Heroes
Excellent just made my day
Doesn't the date of this battle overlap with the time of the Black Death?
I love this kind of stuff very interesting.
Great audio mixing
It’s amazing that the spurs look like the modern day spurs we can buy at my local Tractor Supply.
Why is the sound so quiet? The same problem on Amazon too. I give up.
They were buried with their armor because the Danes didn't want it used against them and it was inferior to the victors armor.
I have been in Visby and seen the wall myself it was so impressive to see.
ACK
Excellent documentary 👏👏🍿
Usually enemies rob the dead for weapons and armor. However, the Swedes gear was so out of date they left them alone. And that rarely happened in the medieval period or before.
The cut off foot I would think might have been an attack from behind while the gotlander was occupied with one soldier another came from behind and struck the man in the leg with a downward strike amputating the foot which would have rendered the man immobile on the ground and easily killed at a later time
Not to nitpick, but hitting the shield with the edge of the sword will dull the blade. They should be using the flat side.
@26:00, it makes more sense that they were buried in their armor as an honor for fighting, and dying, well.
Can you imagen what the peasant army was thinking as they were trying to get a formation going and match the mercenaries , and seeing old and young fellow men beside them that have no experience in holding weapons or to heavy , as the Danes approach little by little
"Nearly all the skeletons had signs of trauma" Facepalm. Its a huge battle. Most obvious statement ever.
And we know it was a huge battle because?
the skeletons, and the trauma on them..
@@jim8310 well, and historical records. You just confirmed that the floor is made out of floor.
A very violent Island historically.
If they were peasants… why did they have armor and such?
Because Visby at the time was one of the richest cities in the world upon a time during the hanseatic league
Born, raised and lives in Visby;)
So the gottlanders stood, locked outside the city of visby, protecting it? Why?
No. The militia were Gutnish country yeomen. They were no friend to the Visby merchants, who, as mentioned, built that wall to make them pay taxes. The famers were fighting for their land, homes and families. Pretty much no one wants to be ruled by foreigners. When someone invades, you fight. The city inhabitants thought they could negotiate with the Danes instead, and that was the beginning of the end for them. Visby went for the richest city in the Baltics to a dot on the map in record time.
@@tracishea5053 You meant of course the Baltic Sea, not the Balkans. The invaders were Danes with German mercenaries. You talked about negotiating with the Dutch? Have I missed something?
These German mercenaries, Landsknechts?
I don’t know exactly when they were known by that name.
Why didn’t they let them in? The poor militia.
I think they didn’t let them in because the German/Danish military might have been partially paid by some of the ruling wealthy behind the wall. The ones that were angry the farmers had an uprising earlier in the century.
One best sources for reactors doing this era and generaly about battle of militia againts pro soldeirs of that time how quick it could be and general likely battle injurie. I use it as a great source do in a neutral stand point as not to bias anything. Great documantay.
Do it was more of a slaugter then battle.
@@blackmanogco totally agree, it would be great if we knew the casualties sustained by the Danes but I suspect very few if any, still that's how it was back then, a close and personal bloodbath...
@@noproblem2big337 Ye. Do fron talhofens manuel standpoint a fight would lasted e blows or 30 sec and also a train mercenary army in line formation with best gear and training. I suspect very few mecenaries from danes died most would been first timers or less experiance and armoured of the danish mecenaries as not all had full gear. Some would just had gambeson and little else then spear or axe and shield.
1215 was the English Magna Carta signed after 17 years of civil war. And King John hired the Danish mercenaries to come and kill all barons who had won the war and any Knights Templar that had fought with him. Luckily they were defeated at Rochester when the French backed up the winners. So if “freedom” was allowed, but only 100 years new in the peasants-the peasants had just fought against their Lords for the equivalent of “fair trade” for their goods. And the nobles could have easily hired the Danish mercenaries to kill those who had “dared rebel” against their rulers choices. Or they could have purposely locked them out(?). But why would they sell everything to the Danish later on? Maybe they did have no choice but to sign a treaty after this slaughter?
The people fighting were Swedes, and the people inside of the town were Russian, German and Danish merchants, who of course didn't have the balls to fight so they locked out the Swedes and let them defend the city, and when they were dead, they just opened the gates... Swedes are real fighters.
Well.
Gutar, not swedes.
@@jensapaulsson2769 gutar are swedes
@@niceguy1891
Belongs to Sweden yes.
Most of my Gotland friends,including me.
If People ask, we ate Gutar.
We are gutar.
@@jensapaulsson2769 inte om du frågar varenda gotlänning jag känner, alla kallar sig svenskar från Gotland, Gutar är en gammal benämning ingen använder sig av
great video _
Just moved from Visby after 10 years on the island i can tell you that the hate between peasants and townfolk still exist. Personaly, i could not stand the mentality of city people in Visby. If anything similar happend today they would do it all over again. Shame, it`s such a fine town.
Vad snackar du om.
Flytta hem till serbien din slav.
Danish army was for sure professional but i think german mercenaries helped a lot. from where in Germany were those mercenaries? Maybe Prussia, German crusaders of north. Who Knows?
This might answer your question
This is my great grandfathers., they were Mayors of Visby.
They came from Germany.
There was trade routes between Germany and Visby.
So I am sure the "mercenaries" were brothers and cousins defending each other.
The numbers represent X Great Grandfather.
26. Herman Hiddink Swerting, Borgmästare i Visby b. circa 1280, Visby, Gotland, Sverige; d. 1342, Visby, Gotland, Sverige
27. Simon Swerting, Borgmästare 1307 b. circa 1245, Rostock, Pommern; d. August 9, 1307, Visby, Gotland, Sverige
28. Tidrik Swerting b. circa 1215, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany; d. circa 1265, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
29. ? Swerting, (aka lat. "Niger") b. circa 1185, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
My 21 and 22nd GGFATHERs were Mayors of of Visby before and after this brutal battle between Danish King and Visby
21. Köpman. Borgmästare Markward II Bretholt b. circa 1395, Visby, Gotland, Sweden; d. before April 14, 1476, Tallinna
22. Borgmästare Markward I Bretholt b. after 1350, Visby, Gotland, Sverige; d. circa 1401, Reval (Tallinn)
Hanseatic mercenaries I should think.
@@ivanbiskic4364 Ancestry.com is great. I have gone more than 40 generations if they were famous, or infamous which was more common.
The quiet, law-abiding merchants and tradesmen were only documented in the church records and are harder to find.
My 14th great grandfather was an official with the Hanseatic League, born 1485 in Lubeck, Germany. He was sent to the Danish island of Bornholm to be "mayor" of the town of Nexo. He was really there to collect taxes for the League since Nexo was very small. This was in early 1500's. Some of his children and descendants ran the fortress of Hammershus. The "contract" with the Hanseatic League ended in the mid 1500's if I recall correctly.
Bornholm island and its fortress were in the middle of constant wars and now forgotten bloody squabbles over forgotten problems. Whatever was happening in the Baltic, Bornholm was involved in some way. What surprised me was how many times Bornholm/Hammershus teamed up with the Germans to invade or raid somebody (pick a reason, any reason). Occasionally throughout history they would team up with the Dutch and even the English.
So on the question of who the German mercenaries were the most logical source would be northern Germany/Prussia. Maybe a few stray Germans from other parts of the Germanic kingdoms.
Why the volume so low? :(
Is this show about some archaeologists or the battle?
why on earth didn't they remove the armour? Everything metal most have been valuable back then!
*edit(I should have finished watching before asking questions!)
It amazes me that all those Visby dead weren't stripped of their armor before they were buried. I thought that was common practice in medieval times. All that armor would have been made by hand, and things like chain mail hauberks were worth a lot of money. Even if the armor had been damaged in the battle, it could have been repaired and re-sold, or scrapped and re- forged into tools or farming implements.
According to historian, John Keegan, the hot weather (late July), and great number of the dead meant they began decomposing before the Danes had a chance to strip the majority of them of anything besides their helmets.
Not overly keen on the overly melodramatic presentation. A calmer, more nuanced approach would have been much more effective.
658.4 years ago.
The Danes sold Scania to king mangus of Sweden and Norway. The Danes and King valdemar used the money gained from selling Scania to hire a big mercenary army to take back sacania and possibly also take the island of Gotland. Valdermar was the older brother to Mangus.
The war went so well for valdemar and the Danes that whole of Scania and Gotland had be all ocipied most of mangus army had been cruched so mangus had to sue for peace with valdemar and the Danes giving up all of Scania and the very strategic island of Gotland.
The three crowns which is the the Royal coat of arms, Stockholm city Hall, the national ice hockey team and many coins came from king mangus being king of Sweden Norway and that he bought Scania from the Danes.
I am guessing they are underestimating the use of polearms, especially pole axes, by the Danes and Germanic mercenaries. Polearms, spears, and axes were far more common on the battlefield they is often depicted. Polearms, especially pole axes, would have had the reach to chop at the legs and shins of the Gotlanders.
German and germanic are not synonym with eachother, germanic are a people, not a nationality.. Us Scandinavians are also germanic
@@arnareriksson5077, of course, there was no "Germany" until 1870. The Germanic people had been around for centuries.
Valhalla greets them "Skål"
Sorry but by the time this battle took place in the 14th century, the Viking Age was over and they were Christians now.
Wonder what will happen when the “Royalty and decision makers of Holland” kicks out or stops all agriculture? Can they travel to Gotland to reestablish agriculture in a land where the poor farmers were slaughtered? Or does the nobility not want to profit off agriculture?
Please rebut those men in a decent proper burial with honors .
You are going to pay for how many?
Weren't they supposed to be laid to rest already, why dig them up from their resting place?
"give me a war, not a cause"...said no one...
Except every mercenary and camp follower, ever.
did they ever get DNA from the Skeletons?
why would a wealthy place as this one not have a standing army or at least paid group of mercenaries.
Visby has never been the capital of Gotland, it was a solitary town state, run by the Hansa. The capital, if any was Roma, att the middle of Gotland where yearly courts were held. Not thal the Goths have choose to not have a king. And was therefore one of the oldest parliamentary democracies.
Very good, but I disagree with some statements.. At 38:30 this cut foot no way this was done by a sword. Or both feet as mention cut of with one hit?!? No way with a sword blade. Something else was used. Maybe a heavy battle axe but not a sword.
A great sword?
A heavy sharp sword would've done it
(Edit: have you handled a super sharp sword before?)
Think about it. How easy it is to chop through a fresh steak bone? Just using a small cleaver. A good heavy sword would have no problem taking legs or feet off.
The Danes were 100% Christian on 3rd generation at this time. The massgrave could have been protected by some holy decree. Probably dictated by Valdemar.
Ide say they were buried in their arms and armour, as a sign of respect by the Danes and Germanics. The "why" is the true question.
That could have been an element, given that the armor had no worth to the danes themselves (used armor dealerships were a thing then). That, and the rancid conditions. Given that the Gotlanders fought to the death without any hope of victory, the Danes likely felt respect for the Gotlanders at some level.
Nobody piles their slain enemies messily into mass graves, out of respect, that's something you do when you want to get it over with quickly.
By that time the pegan Vikings and their raids were long gone.
Ya, Vikings were year 793 to 1066. This is 300 years later :)
@@TVTransmo Vikings have never been gone. And they're on the rise again.. greetings from Fyrkat
Hehe im Danish too, I have a friend who is a Viking re-enacter. He spend all summer at Fyrkat with his family :)
My 28th great grandfather was Viking from Gotland. Born 1170.
He didn't have a very scary Viking name.🤣
Johan Silkentopp
@@FamilyPictures1984 The Viking age technically ended in 1066, so he was 100 years too late to be a Viking :)
Those are the bones of my ancestors family members 😯
Bit late for an apology I know, but either way, a big heartfelt sorry from Denmark.
With so much civil war..british lost international intervention..
Finally!
In my humbe opinion i think more professional army of Danish and German decent left armor on defeated army because they didn't have respect for defeat army, inferiorif you will, made an example of them or point. Evidance for my opinion is they finish them off not leaving anyone alive. Proves lack of respect and compassion. Ruthless battle and medieval life on an soldier
The local Swedish farmers died for the protection of a city largely run by backstabbing and betraying German merchants. A disgrace. But then again world history is full of disgraceful winners and truly victimized brave losers.
This isent glorius its just terrible and sad. If they were wariors they would fullfilled their desteny but this was just terrified people trying to do their best.
And yet we’ve learned NOTHING. We have become more efficient killers.
Tyrants will tyrant
👑
if we did "war" this way, there would be a whole lot fewer wars.
Why not loud background music… 🤡
Medieval Alamo 😬
I imagine the majority of the leg cuts are defensive cuts. Maybe a person was knocked down and then was struck. Or another possibility is they are just blows upon men already struck and either dying or dead. They may have been collateral damage as two men fought each other and missed their targets striking men already down.
A trained warrior will never strike where his opponent is most heavily armored. Those plates made the torso invulnerable to attack. A simple chain mail coif or sleeves are effective against slashes, but weak against piercing and concussive damage. Legs are often just an after-thought because of mobility concerns, sometimes left to a tower or kite shield to protect. Without eyewitness testimony, it's possible to speculate many things. One thing I do take issue with is the assumption that one handed long swords caused most of these horrendous cuts. Medieval warriors also used axes, pole arms, and two handed swords and any of these would have been more than capable of performing these ghastly cuts. Particularly the one that sheared straight through that one man's foot from the shin to the ball of the foot.
Hellre en rövare på *RAUKEN* än en *RAUK* i röven!
If it makes no sense to you that the indigenous Gotlanders wanted to fight the invading army without any regard the potential baleful consequences to themselves, consider that these people were of the blood and lineage of Beowulf. Perhaps then, their choice will make more sense to you.
I am of that blood. It makes perfect sense to me.
First of all, beowulf was said to have been from götaland and not gotland, secondly its a saga with no proof of him even existing. Altough i bet the geats was just as ferocious.
@@tryggizz1482 Well, yes. But, still.
@@tryggizz1482
Fel.
Nya rön tyder på Gotland.
My land!
Ughhhhh. Rest In God’s Eternal Peace