Pier Gerlofs Donia

Pier Gerlofs Donia (1480 - 1520) fought for the independence of Friesland (which is now part of the Netherlands). He also was a pirate. During his lifetime, he fought against people from Holland, Germany, and the Duchy of Burgundy.

Statue of Grutte Pier in his hometown of Kimswerd. The line of text on the foot of the statue simply reads in Friese "Grutte Pier".

Pier was a very big man. Some sources say he was 213 cm tall (almost seven feet). He was known as "Big Lad Pier" in the Frisian language (Grutte Pier) and in Dutch (Grote Pier). He was also nicknamed The Giant of Kimswerd. One legend says he was strong enough to bend a coin between his forefinger and thumb.

Pier was the uncle of the warrior Wijerd Jelckama.

Military successes

Pier was strong enough to behead several people with a single blow. This meant he could kill many enemies at the same time during battle, and gave him an excellent advantage over his opponents.

According to legend, Pier forced his prisoners to repeat a special phrase which was hard for non-Frisians to pronounce:

Bûter, brea en griene tsiis: wa't dat net sizze kin, is gjin oprjochte Fries.

In English, this means:

Butter, rye-bread, and young cheese: whoever cannot say that is not a true Frisian.

This allowed Pier to distinguish Frisians from Dutch and Low Germans. Prisoners who could not pronounce the phrase in proper Frisian had their heads cut off by Donia himself.

Retirement & death

Despite his many successes, Pier could not defeat the Burgundian/Hapsburg armies. He retired disillusioned in 1519.

Pier died peacefully in bed in the Frisian town of Sneek on October 28, 1520. His last words were spoken to his lifetime enemy, the count of Nychlenborch. The count asked Pier where he wanted to go after he died, and Pier replied "Nea myn Heer ta" ("To my Lord"). He then died.

After Pier's death, Friesland never again earned its freedom. It remains a province of the Netherlands.