Hanging out at Husby Hole

Ballad about the Battle of Husby Hole.
As translated from the Old Danish by Peter Dyrholm

The peasants, they gathered in hords
on both the arable and heathland;
they selected/appointed them a headsman,
Henry Tages can he be called.

They rode forward towards Olborg Sund,
advancing along the hollow roads,
for then rode their headsmen three,
they probably dress a steep.

They rode forth on Agersbro,
advancing along Agersborg-city:
they set fire to the house of the king,
it stood out high in the sky.

It was Henrik Tagesen,
that looked up to the sky:
"Now the Morsing's (people from Mors) are vacating
and then the traitors of Thy".

First the Morsing's vacate
and then the traitors of Thy;
after that stood the Vendelbo's (people from Vendelbo),
they would not run (escape/retreate).

After stood the Vendelbo's (people from Vendelbo),
they would not run (escape/retreate),
so they built them a rolling fortress,
therefore they let their lives.

In the year 1441 the Danish king Christopher of Bavaria was having a bit of trouble controlling his people. He had taken over the Danish throne from his uncle, King Eric of Pomerania a year earlier and not many were happy about that.

After suppressing peasant rebellions on the island of Funen (the middle island on the map below), he concentrated on the rebellions taking place in northern Jutland, near Aalborg (the northern part of Denmark on the map below).



It was in this area that the peasant Henrik Tages Reventlow had amassed an army of 25,000 men and they were creating havoc all over the region. Once word got around that the king was coming to put down the peasant army, noblemen across the area banded together to form an army of their own to attack Reventlow's army. The peasants entrenched themselves in an area west of Aalborg known as Husby Hole with a huge wagon fortress to protect themselves from the mounted knights. There was a bog near the fortress, so for good measure they covered it up with dirt and branches to make it look like solid ground.

On May 3, 1441 that the noble army led by Eske Brok attacked the peasant army. They were quickly consumed by the bog, and the peasant army killed them all. They dismembered Este Brok and sent pieces of him to all the surrounding cities as a warning.

After this the Danish king was furious. He continued with his plans to put down the rebel army, and on June 8 attacked the men still encamped at Husby Hole. The rebels did not fare so well in this battle...they were quickly overcome by the heavily armed knights. Many rebels from Mors and Thisted had returned to their homes after the King promised that they would be offered safe passage home. Out of those that remained, thousands were killed, and the survivors were punished severely. As a consequence of their actions, all Danish peasants lost their free status and became serfs on the farms they worked. The were also banned from carrying weapons larger than a small knife. The peasant rebellion was finally suppressed...for the time being.

And so it was a little over 24 hours after we landed in Denmark that we found ourselves here at Husby Hole. What once was a bloody battlefield is now a small farm surrounded by beautiful countryside. It certainly is not a huge tourist attraction

Here is a satellite image of the area...



...and a little history...



This granite memorial was placed here during a public celebration at the end of the German occupation in 1945. It commemorates the battle between peasants and the kings army.









Here is a picture of Emma, contemplating life.



Once we were done looking around the monument, we started walking down one of the paths you see in the satellite picture.



When a friend saw this picture posted on Facebook she made mention that it must be so cold in Denmark that even the butterflies have wear fur coats.





Here are some shots of the battlefield. The farm was established in the early 1900's, and during plowing a large number of skeletal remains were found.









And when Emma caught sight of the cows in a distant field, there was no stopping her.



Oh wait, yes there was. On her way to see the cows she noticed two horses.





And you know what? California isn't the only place that has happy cows. Denmark has some, too.







Wonder what they are looking at?

Him.



For some reason, these cows were fascinated by Peter. They would follow his every move. I tried to make him feel better about it by saying that he must remind them of the farmer.

While we were looking at the cows, Emilie started mooing at them, and Emma told her matter-of-factly:

"They won't moo back because they don't know you."

Once we were done with our tour, we returned to the parking lot and had a picnic lunch.




And then it began to rain. While packing up our food I didn't see Emma anymore. I looked around for her and found both girls under the historical sign.