The Battle of Nonnebjerg (Danish: Slaget ved Nonnebjerget), also known as the Battle of Skanderborg (Danish: Slaget ved Skanderborg) and the Battle of Marbjerg (Danish: Slaget ved Marbjerg), was a battle near Skanderborg Castle on 2 November 1340 between Holsteinian and Danish rebel forces. The result is generally considered a German victory, with the Danish rebel leader, Niels Ebbesen being killed in action.

Background

In the early 14th century, Denmark was under the control of foreign powers, with Count Gerhard III of Holstein-Rendsburg holding significant sway over a large portion of the country by the 1330s. However, in 1340, a group of 50 Jutes, led by Niels Ebbesen, a minor nobleman, launched a surprise attack on Count Gerhard in Randers, resulting in his assassination which sent shockwaves throughout the country. In the aftermath, Ebbesen and his followers fled south across the Gudenå River, using a bridge to escape.

As they continued their revolt further south, Ebbesen and his men stormed a Holsteinian fortification located near present-day Skjern, killing many Germans. Next, Ebbesen sought to capture the strategically important Skanderborg Castle.

Prelude

While besieging Skanderborg, the besieged Germans received help from a 600-strong relief force of professional knights, and the Danes were now confronted by two sides.

Battle

At a hill outside Skanderborg, the two sides met in open terrain. The Danish force was roughly 2,000 strong, consisting of peasants and knights, while the German force was made up of armed knights and cavalry. The ensuing battle of bloody and stubborn. At last, the Jutish peasants began to flee and were ousted. Followingly, the Danish landlords and knights, seeing the now superior German forces, decided to give up. A massive bloodbath followed with up to 2,200 Danes killed, including Ebbesen and his two brothers.

Aftermath

According to the Lübeck Chronicle, the Danish bodies were dismembered and put on wheels and pillars, by the Holsteinian counts as revenge for the assassination of their father, Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg, and given as food for the birds.

According to the Chronica Jutensis, the Danes won the battle, however, it agrees with the Lübeck Chronicle that Niels Ebbesen died in the battle. According to the Chronica Sialandie, another final battle should have taken place at Manbjerg.

Legacy

As a memory of the battle of death of Niels Ebbesen, there has been raised a memorial stone in Skanderborg near European route E75. It was raised a couple of years after the Second Schleswig War, when anti-Germanisation was at its highest in Denmark. Additionally, N. F. S. Grundtvig has also published a psalm on Ebbesen's revolt and fall in 1839.

See also

• Siege of Kolding (1368–1369) – Siege in Denmark, 1369
• Siege of Vordingborg – Siege between the Hanseatic League and Denmark between 1368–1370
• Siege of Copenhagen (1368) – Siege and looting of Copenhagen by Hanseatic forces in 1368
• Battle of Lundenæs – 1340 battle in Denmark