Magister Wigbold
Encyclopedia
Magister Wigbold also called “Master of the Seven Arts”, was a German pirate who belonged to the famous Likedeeler pirates of Klaus Störtebeker
. Wighold was one of the most noted Likedeeler, along with Gödeke Michels and Störtebeker. The nickname Wigbold comes from wig (strife) and bold (courageous, bold). His real name is unknown.
. He was often described as the brains behind the pirate band. Unlike Michels or Störtebeker, Wigbold did not seek battles but preferred to negotiate a surrender and reduce casualties.
The Likedeelers robbed ships on the "Western Sea" (today North Sea
) until the Hanseatic League
sent a sizable military force to smash the group. Michels and the Magister escaped at first, but after the death of Störtebeker in 1401, they were finally captured and were executed in 1402 on the Grasbrook in Hamburg
.
Klaus Störtebeker
Nikolaus Storzenbecher, or Klaus Störtebeker , was a leader and the best known representative of a companionship of privateers known as the Victual Brothers...
. Wighold was one of the most noted Likedeeler, along with Gödeke Michels and Störtebeker. The nickname Wigbold comes from wig (strife) and bold (courageous, bold). His real name is unknown.
Life
The early life of Wigbold is poorly documented. He is said to have entered a monastery, where he learned various skills. However, he was expelled under unclear circumstances. He then supposedly attended university at OxfordUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. He was often described as the brains behind the pirate band. Unlike Michels or Störtebeker, Wigbold did not seek battles but preferred to negotiate a surrender and reduce casualties.
The Likedeelers robbed ships on the "Western Sea" (today North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
) until the Hanseatic League
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was an economic alliance of trading cities and their merchant guilds that dominated trade along the coast of Northern Europe...
sent a sizable military force to smash the group. Michels and the Magister escaped at first, but after the death of Störtebeker in 1401, they were finally captured and were executed in 1402 on the Grasbrook in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
.