ABSTRACT
With the knowledge of the militias in 1552, Chapter Five retrospectively examines how the Frisian able-bodied men fought in the period 1480–1500 to preserve their country’s autonomy. Three battles are analysed in particular, in which the Frisian amateurs were defeated by German Landsknechte of Albrecht of Saxony. The Frisian surplus in number appears to have been less than previously estimated. What counted was their inferior armament. Most militiamen were not afraid to get into combat without armour with just a pike. Their professional opponents were fully or partially clad in iron. The latter also had more handguns and even a few pieces of field artillery. The key factor, however, was that the Frisian amateurs lacked discipline and a one-headed command.
