These pirates/privateers are
first mentioned in 1392. The brotherhood was formed for to help
Albrekt of Mecklenburg against the Nordic queen Margareta. They
soon went their own way, more or less, and for a period of years
they were a power to be reckon with in the Baltic sea. They were
organised as a guild or brotherhood and attracted people from all
over Europe. Their main enemy was the town of Lübeck that
supported Margareta.
Their name comes from the latin
”victualia” meaning provisions and the german
”vitualie” meaning the same. This comes from their
first mission wich was to bring supplies to the sieged town of
Stockholm.
Their famous motto read
”Godes vrende unde al der Werlt vyande” meaning: Gods
friends and enemies of the whole world.
Their escapades can be read in
short below:
1393 they conquered the town of
Bergen.
1394 they plundered the town of
Malmö.
1394-1398 they occupied the town
of Visby (so all those who think pirates arent ”period”
during the Visby medieval festival week can kiss my rusty
cutlass).
They also occupied Friesland,
Åbo, Viborg, Faxeholm, Styresholm and Korsholm for some time.
They had safe havens in the cities of Rostock and Wismar. 1429
they plundered Bergen. Their without a doubt most famous leader
was captain Störtebeker who got his name cause he could quaff
FOUR litres of beer without taking the tankard from his mouth
(Störtebeker means ”Stürtz den Becher” or in english:
quaff that tankard). In the trial against him he tried to buy his
freedom with a promise of a golden chain that stretched allaround
the town and he claimed that the centre of his mainmast was made
of solid gold. Many attempts have been made to find his treasures
but none has been succesful.