History of Friesland - Grutte Pier, the Frisian William Wallace | Background History

Get ready to learn about perhaps the most famous (or if you are from Holland, infamous) Frisian figure! He was the destroyer of Danes, the avenger of Bremen, the traitor to the Hamburgers and the cross of the Hollanders...
And his name was Grutte Pier!
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MUSIC AND SOUND CREDITS
Title card and chapter music by Matthijs Rooks, check him out!
matthijsrooks.nl/
"Scotland the Brave" by The Auld Town Band & Pipes from • ⚡️SCOTLAND THE BRAV...
Nom nom nom: • TF2 Heavy Om Nom Nom S...
Fighting sound effects: • Big Fight Body Hits Mu...
Other sound effects from www.zapsplat.com/
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SOURCES
⮞ Books:
• Huisman K., De Friese geschiedenis: Meer dan 100 verhalen (Amsterdam, 2004)
• Kooistra, D., Frieslands verleden: De Friezen en hun geschiedenis in vijftig verhalen (Bornmeer, 2016).
• Terpstra, P., Tweeduizend jaar geschiedenis van Friesland (Leeuwarden, 1980)
⮞ Websites:
• Afûk, Fryske Kanon: De Fryske frijheid (Leeuwarden, 2008) www.11en30.nu/de-kanon-finster...
• Afûk, Fryske Kanon: Edzard Cirskena (Leeuwarden, 2008) www.11en30.nu/de-kanon-finster...
• Afûk, Fryske Kanon: Grutte Pier(Leeuwarden, 2008) www.11en30.nu/de-kanon-finster...
(The design of the 11en30 site is sadly broken at the moment)
• Dijkhuis, B., Grote Pier: Een historisch relaas over een Fries krijgsheer (Medemblik, 2016) www.dwangburchten.nl/medembl/g...
• Omrop Fryslân, Bûter, brea en swarte bledsiden: De skaadkant fan Grutte Pier (Leeuwarden, 2020) • FRYSLÂN DOK: Bûter, br...
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IMAGE AND MAPS CREDITS
Background is based on the Santa Maria Novella in Florence
Texture for the background from: 3djungle.net/textures/​​
Map border is based on a painting frame from the Italian Renaissance
⮞ Images:
• The Hound and his advice about swords:
• The Hound - "Armor and...
• George with the Beard:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
• The city of Groningen in 1575:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
• Statue of Grutte Pier:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
• "Grutte Pier's sword":
i.imgur.com/VFUIHro.jpg
• "Grutte Pier's helmet":
imgur.com/if0QQPq
• Groote Kerk/Martini Church in Sneek:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
⮞ Maps:
• The base map is based on OpenStreetMap:
www.openstreetmap.org/
• Medieval East Friesland:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
• Medieval Netherlands:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
• Frisian Lands:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
• Saxony Based on:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sa...
• Habsburg posessions based on:
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
• French posessions based on:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ma...
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Hashtags: #history #friesland #gruttepier #middleages #vrijheid #edzard #holland #battle #feuds #war #williamwallace #beard #gelderland #habsburg #saxons #austria #burgundy #arum #grotepier #greatepier #valois #independence #frisian #ostfriesland #groningen #netherlands #fryslân #geschiedenis
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00:00 Intro
00:21 Context
01:55 Misconceptions about Grutte Pier
03:20 The origin of Grutte Pier
06:15 The Saxon Feud

[@BackgroundHistory]

Did you know that in 1517, the year Pier started pirating the Zuiderzee: - Coffee was first introduced to Europe - Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church in Wittenberg - The Ottomans conquered Egypt

[@Sydebern]

Pier's sister Tyedt is my direct ancestor. Love your video's and humour by the way!

[@johnroersma158]

Mine too! So we share an uncle 40+ times removed - "Omke Pier". How cool is that! I'm related through my mother, through the Bangma line of the family.

[@MartijnVos]

I still don't understand why Greate Pier hasn't been turned into a massive blockbuster movie.

[@BedroomBully88]

They’re doing it right now.

[@kimashitawa8113]

​@@BedroomBully88 It looks so fkin cheesy tho🫠

[@BedroomBully88]

@@kimashitawa8113 Yeah well what did you expect from a Dutch movie production…

[@kimashitawa8113]

@@BedroomBully88 True, every decent Dutch actor and director is in America or the UK so all we have is the runt of the litter.

[@BedroomBully88]

@@kimashitawa8113 Juist..

[@joebuckhoff]

Is this the guy that teaches me how to write different styles of metal?

[@backinblack1982]

I really like your video series on Frisian history, and hope you'll make more. I have Frisian roots

[@ewoudvanaalst4089]

1:30 Find yourself a girl/boi who looks at you like BGH looks at Georges beard

[@Keksdich]

Great stuff ! 🙃💯 Thank you + greetings from East Frisia 👍🏼

[@wijfriesland]

Nice job. I loved the video, and I'm happy someone actually cares about our Frisian history.

[@smittoria]

Leaver dea as slaef

[@maxschaffels2164]

Great story to juxtapose the many retellings of Grutte Pier's mythology (or heritage legacy) rather than his equally fascinating history on KZbin! Instant subscribe for the quality content!

[@Weda01]

Nice video as usual 👍🏻

[@steffenplay]

My favorite moment of the video is 2:11. Great video!

[@wilcolindeboom5588]

I certainly agree!

[@ewoudvanaalst4089]

Oh stop it you

[@harmanius]

Pros and cons: - Pro: * Nice animations * Not too long * You must be the greatest English speaker of your hometown * I learned a lot * Love the toga dude who refuses to adapt late medieval fashion - Cons: * what's up with the beard lovin' stuff? * wikipedia calls him a freedom fighter: don't argue with wikipedia ;) * Naming Harlingen Harns, Stadhouder Stêdholder, so why in the name opf wikipedia don't you pronounce it Fryslân!! * The sword in Leeuwarden is half the size it actually was * Myths are more important than actual stories, please stop telling the truth! * He was not just human, he was a frisian, so beyond human.

[@erikvanderheeg5729]

Looking forward to the next installment. I do not live in the Netherlands at all, but as boy I was told that my forefathers were Skieringers, which was really something to be proud of and that the darn Fetkeapers gave the old freedom away (...never understood, what the fuzz was all about, really...)

[@BackgroundHistory]

I see the feud is still going strong!

[@theobolt250]

Grappig, het cartoon mannetje dat Grutte Pier moet voorstellen is duidelijk gebaseerd op Hans Boskamp. Dat was de acteur die destijds in de tv-serie Floris Grutte Pier vertolkte. 😄

[@arnoldbartels]

Leuke video, Alleen lijkt het op de kaart dat Terschelling bij Friesland hoorde maar dat is pas in 1942 toegevoegd aan Friesland door de Duitsers.

[@BackgroundHistory]

Good catch! It will be fixed for newer vids

[@sten6216]

Terschelling hoort al langer dan dat bij Noord-Holland, in 1942 werd Terschelling juist bij Friesland in begrepen. Is ook te zien in één van de dialecten, het Midslands wat sterk verhollandst is. En niet bij toeval zat in Midsland vroeger het bestuurscentrum.

[@klaassiersma4892]

I am actualy a decendant of him.

[@Weda01]

From which of his children are you a descendant? I didn't know there was actual evidence that one of his offspring survived. Or are you talking about the line from his sister?

[@tommyodonovan3883]

So am I, my Mother's a Frieslander, Van Digglen and Bosma

[@tommyodonovan3883]

And the Irish have Conner McGregor, *WHAT, WANT A FIGHT ABOUT IT!*

[@BedroomBully88]

You cannot punch that high.

[@megsullivan]

Fantastic video! I didn't know much about Grutte Pier, but this video was a super educational and entertaining way to learn more about him! ^__^

[@BackgroundHistory]

Thank you!

[@mehmeh1234]

Great work

[@pepijnotter8748]

Eyo lindeboom

[@StoicHistorian]

Just watched your series and I gotta say this should have a lot more views, you make great content and it’s very underrated. Keep it up!!!😁

[@CptZhu]

Mijn vriendin is een Fries en ik ben een history nerd. Komt goes uit!

[@BackgroundHistory]

Dan ben je hier zeker aan het goede adres!

[@MrEnaric]

If only Pier would have backed Edzard Cirksena, the map of Friesland might have been much different. But revenge was his main drive, it made him a usefull idiot for the duke of Gelre. He learned that lesson way to late. Last year I visited the location where his homestead once stood before it was burned down and left his wife dead. I actually found pieces of fire crumbled kloostermop (late medieval brick). It made my mind wander what horrors took place in Piers time to the vulnerable people on the countryside. The same when I visited the church of Kimswerd where he attended until the attack in his family. It must have torn him apart. My youngest son bears his grandfathers and brothers name as was custom for centuries in our family. It was his brother Sybren who took care of Piers children and this name circulates still in our family, now in a new generation. Sybren, do bist myn lytse Pier!

[@matimus100]

He was 8ft 5

[@coyotelong4349]

As an American this is an incredibly cool story, and Pier is a very badass historical figure. Needs to be made into a film or a streaming series Frisian is a fascinating language, being so closely related to English, and the Frisians are a fascinating people They truly are like the Scots of the Netherlands, and I wish they had their own country today! 🟦 ❤️ 🟦 ❤️

[@Tim_Buruma]

The sword was authentic after all :) You will never be able to fully prove it's his, but nevertheless a certain English university was able to authenticate the sword to the period. They also claimed it was used.

[@BackgroundHistory]

I've seen that episode and it has quite compelling evidence to show for itself. Though I personally still have some doubts that he used the sword for fighting due to the impracticality of it all, perhaps he used it in executions. Yet it seems highly likely that it was indeed his sword!

[@dayleclarke4433]

​@@BackgroundHistoryI read somewhere else that it's a procession sword for religious parades which is why it has the inscription and there are a bunch more just like it. Real fighting swords can be made that size but much lighter.

[@emresagban5734]

Great video! I can't help myself to wonder,that if Grutte Pier had given his huge sword to Mel Gibson as a successor, we should have been wittessing the Great Frisian Empire as Mel the Bluepaintface of House Gibson as an emperor!!!

[@d.austinvaughan773]

Does your channel have a discord server or do you plan to make one in the future?

[@BackgroundHistory]

I don't, there are plans to increase the channels social media presence. And maybe someday I'll add a Discord server to that list!

[@knightesquire36]

if I see a 7ft tall gigachad swinging a 2 meter sword, I Don't care HOW MUCH you pay me, I am running

[@maiaallman4635]

I love this show! Greetings from Suid-Afrika.

[@wilcolindeboom5588]

Freedom!!!

[@tenzin682]

I've seen that sword...it's bigger than Wallace's!! Nothing sexual!! Just saying!! Just found out about a year ago, that my mother's family is Frisian!! Learning more and more about Friesland. My mother's maiden name is Swarthout.(Zwartewoude)Frisian?

[@a.schrijber5610]

A+ for the animations but as a Hollander I feel attacked by the bûter, brea and tsiis sentence. Also totally down for the scottish greate pier

[@jeroenmeester9528]

Oprjocht actually translates to straightforward.