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39-448: His life is mostly shrouded in legend . Based upon a description now attributed to Pier's contemporary Petrus Thaborita , the 19th-century Dutch historian Conrad Busken Huet wrote that Grutte Pier was A tower of a fellow as strong as an ox, of dark complexion, broad shouldered, with a long black beard and moustache. A natural rough humorist, who through unfortunate circumstances was recast into an awful brute. Out of personal revenge for

78-643: A great sword that is said to have belonged to Pier is on display at the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden . It measures 2.13 metres (7 ft) in length and weighs 6.6 kilograms (14.6 lb). Pier was alleged to be so strong that he could bend coins using just his thumb, index, and middle finger. A huge helmet said to be Grutte Pier's is kept in the town hall of Sneek. The seventeenth century Friese poet Gysbert Japicx (1603–1666) wrote in his composition "Tjesck Moars See Aengste" ("Grandmother's Sea Anguish")

117-618: A high ransom. Some of the town's inhabitants fled and found safety at Kasteel Radboud . The castle's governor, Joost van Buren, succeeded in keeping the aggressors outside the castle walls. Unable to take the castle, the Arumer Zwarte Hoop plundered the town and set it on fire. With most houses made of wood, the town, including the church, monastery and town hall, was razed. After this partial victory, Pier and his army stormed both Nieuwburg and Middleburg Castle near Alkmaar , plundered and set them on fire, leaving only ruins. In 1517,

156-499: A modern genre of folklore that is rooted in local popular culture , usually comprising fictional stories that are often presented as true, with macabre or humorous elements. These legends can be used for entertainment purposes, as well as semi-serious explanations for seemingly-mysterious events, such as disappearances and strange objects. The term "urban legend," as generally used by folklorists, has appeared in print since at least 1968. Jan Harold Brunvand , professor of English at

195-472: A narrative of an event. The word legendary was originally a noun (introduced in the 1510s) meaning a collection or corpus of legends. This word changed to legendry , and legendary became the adjectival form. By 1613, English-speaking Protestants began to use the word when they wished to imply that an event (especially the story of any saint not acknowledged in John Foxe 's Actes and Monuments )

234-475: A psychological level a symbolic representation of folk belief and collective experiences and serving as a reaffirmation of commonly held values of the group to whose tradition it belongs. Legend is a loanword from Old French that entered English usage c.  1340 . The Old French noun legende derives from the Medieval Latin legenda . In its early English-language usage, the word indicated

273-695: A regional level, is named after Donia in Friesland. Many other clubs and several ships are named after him. - In 2020, the Frisian-language broadcasting company Omrop Fryslân conducted a research study, which revealed that 70% of respondents in Friesland considered Donia to be one of the greatest Frisian historical heroes, but more half of respondents erroneously connected his name to the Battle of Warns (1345), about two centuries before Donia's time. A further 40% of respondents believed he had served in

312-492: A series of vitae or instructive biographical narratives, tied to the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church . They are presented as lives of the saints, but the profusion of miraculous happenings and above all their uncritical context are characteristics of hagiography . The Legenda was intended to inspire extemporized homilies and sermons appropriate to the saint of the day. Urban legends are

351-712: Is a castle on the east bank of the harbour in Medemblik . Radboud Castle is one of a number of castles in North Holland . The building was commissioned by Floris V, Count of Holland . When exactly it was built is unknown, but the castle was completed before the St. Lucia's Flood of 13 December 1287. On 24 June 1517 the castle saved some of the Medemblik townsfolk from the raids of Grutte Pier and his Arumer Zwarte Hoop (a band of marauding pirates). On 12 August 1588

390-453: Is not more historical than folktale. In Einleitung in der Geschichtswissenschaft (1928), Ernst Bernheim asserted that a legend is simply a longstanding rumour . Gordon Allport credited the staying-power of some rumours to the persistent cultural state-of-mind that they embody and capsulise; thus " Urban legends " are a feature of rumour. When Willian Hugh Jansen suggested that legends that disappear quickly were "short-term legends" and

429-636: Is set in a historical context, but that contains supernatural , divine or fantastic elements. History preserved orally through many generations often takes on a more narrative-based or mythological form over time, an example being the oral traditions of the African Great Lakes . Hippolyte Delehaye distinguished legend from myth : "The legend , on the other hand, has, of necessity, some historical or topographical connection. It refers imaginary events to some real personage, or it localizes romantic stories in some definite spot." From

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468-664: The Arumer Zwarte Hoop (English: Black Hope (or heap) of Arum ), were pirates mainly active against the Hollanders and Burgundians at sea. He managed to capture many English and Dutch ships, mainly on the Zuider Zee (today's ‘ IJsselmeer ’). Erasmus criticized Grutte Pier's exploits. Pier targeted ships that travelled the Zuiderzee and was very active in 1517, when he used his "signal ships" to attack ships in

507-601: The University of Utah , introduced the term to the general public in a series of popular books published beginning in 1981. Brunvand used his collection of legends, The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends & Their Meanings (1981) to make two points: first, that legends and folklore do not occur exclusively in so-called primitive or traditional societies, and second, that one could learn much about urban and modern culture by studying such tales. Kasteel Radboud Radboud Castle (Dutch: Kasteel Radboud )

546-630: The talking animal formula of Aesop identifies his brief stories as fables and not legends. The parable of the Prodigal Son would be a legend if it were told as having actually happened to a specific son of a historical father. If it included a donkey that gave sage advice to the Prodigal Son it would be a fable. Legend may be transmitted orally, passed on person-to-person, or, in the original sense, through written text. Jacobus de Voragine 's Legenda Aurea or "The Golden Legend" comprises

585-411: The "concern with human beings" is the long list of legendary creatures , leaving no "resolute doubt" that legends are "historically grounded." A modern folklorist 's professional definition of legend was proposed by Timothy R. Tangherlini in 1990: Legend, typically, is a short (mono-) episodic, traditional, highly ecotypified historicized narrative performed in a conversational mode, reflecting on

624-616: The Arumer Zwarte Hoop captured the town of Asperen , slaughtering virtually all its inhabitants. They then used the heavily fortified city as a base until driven out by Holland's Stadhouder . In response to the attacks on Medemblik and Alkmaar and the failure of the Captain General of Amstelland, Waterland and Gooiland to defend his territories, the Stadhouder of Holland agreed to outfit a war fleet in July 1517. The fleet came under

663-822: The Burgundian/Habsburg tide and he retired, disillusioned, in 1519. Wijerd Jelckama took over the command of Pier's forces. Pier died peacefully in his bed at Grootzand 12 in the Frisian city of Sneek on 28 October 1520. Pier is buried in Sneek in the 15th-century Groote Kerk (English: Great Church ; also called the Martinikerk). His tomb is located at the north side of the church. Pier's son Gerloff died unmarried and left no descendants. His daughter Wobbel married three times, lastly to one Popta with whom she had children. Therefore, Donia left no descendants in

702-539: The Vetkopers—a request that resulted in the Saxon occupation of Friesland, Netherlands. On 24 June 1517, Grutte Pier and his Arumer Zwarte Hoop, consisting of some 4,000 soldiers from Frisia and Guelders , sailed to West Frisia, passing Enkhuizen , landing near Wervershoof and advancing to Medemblik. They swiftly captured Medemblik , killing many inhabitants and taking many others prisoner. Some were released on payment of

741-541: The army of Radbod of Frisia , which predated Donia by more than 700 years. Legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values , and possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude . Legend, for its active and passive participants, may include miracles . Legends may be transformed over time to keep them fresh and vital. Many legends operate within

780-457: The bloody injustice that befell him (in 1515) with the killing of kinsfolk and destruction of his property he became a freedom fighter of legendary standing. Pier Gerlofs was born around 1480 in Kimswerd near the city of Harlingen , Wonseradeel (modern Friesland , Netherlands ). Pier Gerlofs was one of at least four children born to Fokel Sybrants Bonga and Gerlof Piers. Pier's mother Fokel

819-541: The castle surrendered to Diederik Sonoy and the Geuzen . The defensive function of the castle was reduced with the building of walls around the city of Medemblik in 1572 and due to both dismantling and lack of maintenance there was attrition of the castle buildings. In 1889 the control of the property was returned to the state. Restorations were done by the State architect J. van Lokhorst with advice from R.J.H. Cuypers and

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858-436: The castle was used for the district court of justice until 1934. In 1931 a cannery near the castle burnt down exposing the foundations of a tower on the north west of the site and during 1936 the castle-moat was restored. From 1964 to 1965 further restorations were done with a more historical and architectural correctness and some of the previous renovations were removed. On 4 September 1939 The Night Watch by Rembrandt

897-519: The coast near Hoorn in 1518. Shortly after this victory, Pier defeated 300 Hollanders in Hindelopen . According to a legend, Pier forced his captives to repeat a shibboleth to distinguish Frisians from Holland and Lower German infiltrators: Bûter, brea en griene tsiis: wa't dat net sizze kin, is gjin oprjochte Fries. ( Butter, bread, and green cheese: if you can’t say that, you’re not a real Frisian. ) Despite his successes, Pier could not turn

936-574: The farming estate of Meyllemastate in Kimswerd. Wijerd Jelckama often is described by 18th and 19th-century authors as the nephew of Grutte Pier. Contemporary Worp van Thabor identifies him simply as Weird van Bolsward. Modern authors such as J.J. Kalma doubt the nephew connection, and Brouwer in the Encyclopedia of Friesland states that Wijerd was not Grutte Pier's nephew but instead his "lieutenant". Approximately 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) to

975-499: The folk legend as "a popular narrative with an objectively untrue imaginary content", a dismissive position that was subsequently largely abandoned. Compared to the highly structured folktale, legend is comparatively amorphous, Helmut de Boor noted in 1928. The narrative content of legend is in realistic mode, rather than the wry irony of folktale; Wilhelm Heiske remarked on the similarity of motifs in legend and folktale and concluded that, in spite of its realistic mode , legend

1014-531: The following verse in reference to Grote Pier (eng. trans., Large Peter): Thee I'll follow, noble Peter, Thou wert nobler far and greater, Than the noblest, home-kept lord, Battling like an ancient Roman, For his country with her foeman, Whom he chased with fire and sword. Stories about Pier grew into legends that often share themes with stories of other strong men in Germanic heroic literature. For example, one story says Pier ploughed his land by pulling

1053-468: The male line, but has many descendants through his daughter. In 1791, Jacobus Kok wrote that above the porticus of the New City Hall of Leeuwarden , two remarkably large swords were found which were said to have belonged to Grutte Pier and Wijerd Jelckama. Donia was noted for the ability to wield this great sword so efficiently that he could behead multiple people with it in a single blow. Today,

1092-469: The moment a legend is retold as fiction, its authentic legendary qualities begin to fade and recede: in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow , Washington Irving transformed a local Hudson River Valley legend into a literary anecdote with "Gothic" overtones , which actually tended to diminish its character as genuine legend. Stories that exceed the boundaries of " realism " are called " fables ". For example,

1131-584: The north-east of Donia's village of Kimswerd, in the city of Franeker , the Black Band , a Landsknecht regiment in the service of George, Duke of Saxony was quartered. The regiment was charged with suppressing the civil war between the Vetkopers, who opposed Burgundian and subsequently Habsburg rule, and the Schieringers. The Black Band were notorious as a violent military force; when their pay

1170-428: The persistent ones be termed "long-term legends", the distinction between legend and rumour was effectively obliterated, Tangherlini concluded. In a narrow Christian sense, legenda ("things to be read [on a certain day, in church]") were hagiographical accounts, often collected in a legendary. Because saints' lives are often included in many miracle stories, legend , in a wider sense, came to refer to any story that

1209-463: The plough himself instead of using horses. Another story states that Pier could lift a horse above his head. Fivefal is the name in Frisian of a Frisian legend. It tells the story of Pier beating five strong men who came to fight him: the place where he beat them is known as Fivefal, (Lit. Five fall) for all five of them fell to the ground. - In the 1970s, in the Dutch Floris series , Donia

Pier Gerlofs Donia - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-464: The realm of uncertainty, never being entirely believed by the participants, but also never being resolutely doubted. Legends are sometimes distinguished from myths in that they concern human beings as the main characters and do not necessarily have supernatural origins, and sometimes in that they have some sort of historical basis whereas myths generally do not. The Brothers Grimm defined legend as " folktale historically grounded". A by-product of

1287-569: The region of the West Frisian coast , to which he also transported Geldrian forces, setting them ashore at Medemblik . Pier bore a personal enmity to Medemblik and its inhabitants as, in earlier years, soldiers from Medemblik had cooperated with the Holland army commanded by Duke Charles, the future Emperor . In March 1498, Medemblik was where representatives of the Schieringers met the Saxon ruler duke Albrecht to request Saxon protection from

1326-405: The supreme command of Anthonius van den Houte , Lord of Vleteren, appropriately titled "Admiral of the Zuiderzee". In the name of Charles V, van den Houte announced he would free the region of Frisian and Gelder piracy. Although van den Houte was initially successful, with some of the Frisian vessels being burnt near Bunschoten , Grutte Pier responded by seizing 11 of Holland's ships in a battle off

1365-553: Was a major character played by actor Hans Boskamp . - In the 22nd episode of Season 9 of Forged in Fire , originally aired in October 2022, "Supersized Swords", the final challenge was to have two contestants forge a replica of Grutte Pier's great sword. - The life of Pier is featured in an episode of 'Dark Marvels' titled "Blades of Fury", originally aired August 7, 2023. The Greate Pier rugby club in Leeuwarden , which plays on

1404-582: Was enriched particularly after the 1960s, by addressing questions of performance and the anthropological and psychological insights provided in considering legends' social context. Questions of categorising legends, in hopes of compiling a content-based series of categories on the line of the Aarne–Thompson folktale index, provoked a search for a broader new synthesis. In an early attempt at defining some basic questions operative in examining folk tales, Friedrich Ranke  [ de ] in 1925 characterised

1443-433: Was fictitious. Thus, legend gained its modern connotations of "undocumented" and " spurious ", which distinguish it from the meaning of chronicle . In 1866, Jacob Grimm described the fairy tale as "poetic, legend historic." Early scholars such as Karl Wehrhan  [ de ] Friedrich Ranke and Will Erich Peuckert followed Grimm's example in focussing solely on the literary narrative, an approach that

1482-566: Was insufficient or lacking, they would extract payments from local villagers. On 29 January 1515, the Black Band plundered Donia's village, then allegedly raped and killed his wife, Rintze Syrtsema, burning to the ground both the village church and Donia's estate. Seeking revenge, Pier started a guerrilla war campaign against the Habsburgs and allied himself with Charles of Egmond, Duke of Guelders (1492–1538). Pier's armed band, known as

1521-518: Was the daughter of the Schieringer noblemen Sybrant Doytsesz Bonga of Bongastate, Kimswerd. Pier married Rintsje Syrtsema and they had two children, a son named Gerlof and a daughter named Wobbel, who were born around 1510. Pier died in 1520, and in 1525, Pier's mother appointed in her will Pier's brother, Sybren, as guardian of Pier's children, who still were minors. Pier and his brother-in-law, Ane Pijbes (husband of Tijdt Gerlofs), were partners in

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