Workshop Programme
The Impact of the Thirty Years' War
Old Class Library, South Street, St Andrews
4 June 2011
9.00 - 9.30
Welcome: Steve Murdoch/ Kathrin Zickermann
Introduction: Allan Macinnes
9.30 - 11.00
Session 1: The Archaeological Perspective
1) Anja Grothe, Brandenburgisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege: 'The Impact of
War: The mass grave and related finds from the Wittstock Battlefield (1636)'
In 2007 the “Wittstock Battlefield Project” was initiated with an excavation of a mass grave found on the site of
the historical battlefield near Wittstock in the state of Brandenburg/Germany. The archaeological excavations
undertaken by the Brandenburg State Office for the Preservation of Monuments and Archaeological Museum
(BLDAM) uncovered 88 skeletons in situ. The burial may have once contained the bodies of up to 125 soldiers
who fell during the battle on September 24th/October 4th 1636. The corpses, mostly rid of their personal
belongings and without any trace of clothing, lay in neat rows of several layers in the grave.
The main focus of this paper investigates the patterns of injuries and lesions found on the skeletal remains, thus
giving an insight into personal fates, the impact of interpersonal close combat, fighting on the battlefield and the
use of weaponry. It will also discuss the evaluation of contemporary records and the results of the metal
detecting field-surveys in the general area of the battlefield. These, started in 2009, aim to find the extent the
battlefield arena and retrieve more information about the battle itself, e.g. the course of the fighting, the weapons
used and post-battle processes such as retreat and plundering.
2) Andre Schürger, University of Glasgow: 'Archaeology of the Thirty Years War: New
Results from the Battle of Lützen (16.11.1632)'
The archaeological survey of the battlefield of Lützen is carried out since 2006. The research on the imperial left
wing has already been presented on the Fields of Conflict Conference in Ghent (2008). Since then, new areas
were surveyed on the left wing and the centre with a total of 1.000.000 m² and 100% coverage (i.e. search grid of
1,8 m). 17.000 small finds were recovered from the battlefield, from which 3500 relate to the battle.
The interpretation of the small finds distribution is based on the 2500 lead bullets. Their allocation to the weapon
classes (musket, carbine and pistol) allows a general interpretation of fire combat and troop movement of
infantry and cavalry. As Lützen was a static battle, many attacks and counterattacks took place in the same areas.
Therefore the result of the lead bullet distribution according to weapon classes is confusingly dense and difficult
to interpret. Also, both sides used mostly similar musket types and their lead bullets are indistinguishable.
With the identification of some of the weapon types, in particular the 19,7 mm Swedish musket we are now able
to locate the areas of fire combat and movement of a single unit in consideration of the historical sources – the
assault of Mitzlaff’s Brigade on the imperial windmill battery.
While the musket shots indicate infantry fire combat some of the close combat areas of the cavalry were
identified by concentrations of pistol bullets and uniform pieces: The counterattack of the imperial cuirassier
regiment Götz, which leads to the death of Gustav II Adolf and the skirmish of Isolani’s Croats and
Stalhandske’s Finns which started the battle.
This paper will examine the problematic of lead bullet allocation to weapon classes and types on a Thirty Years
War battlefield and the interpretation of their distribution along with other battlefield related artefacts.
3) Tony Pollard, University of Glasgow: 'The Home Front: Archaeology, the Thirty
Years War and the War of the Three Kingdoms'
Over recent years, archaeological projects focussing on battlefields from the Thirty Years War (1618-1648),
including Lutzen (1632) and Wittstock (1636) in Germany, have grown into some of the most intensive
investigations of their kind. This would seem entirely appropriate given the scale of this pan-European conflict,
but by 1642 the bloodiest war ever to occur in the British Isles had also seen its first major engagements.
Although largely understood as a domestic affair, the English Civil War, which can be defined as a prolonged
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series of conflicts (1639-1651) and more accurately referred to as the War of the Three Kingdoms, was to
involve numerous veterans of the Thirty Years War, with British troops having fought with distinction in many
of the continental battles, including Lutzen and Wittstock. This experience undoubtedly influenced the way the
British battles were fought and this presentation will provide an overview of the contribution which
archaeological research has made to our understanding of battle sites from this conflict. Recent findings from
the Historic Scotland Battlefields Inventory project, which included a number of sites from the period within its
remit, will also be presented.
11.00 - 11.15 Coffee Break
11.15 - 12.45
Session 2: The Political Impact
1) Adam Marks, University of St Andrews: 'The Siege of Frankenthal: Soldiers defeated
by Politics?'
The siege of Frankenthal between March 1621 and April 1623 marked one of the most significant English
engagements of the Thirty Years’ War. The besieged English troops were the last out of the Palatinate and this
was a significant military achievement but even then the surrender of Frankenthal was both a military and a
political decision. Indeed, the surrender was in fact only temporary, a period of 18 months, though when after the
allotted time the imperial forces left the town there was no English army to replace them and they simply recaptured it! The achievements of the English garrison at Frankenthal is one which is all too often ignored in
favour of discussing the English military failures of Cadiz and La Rochelle.
The implications of this siege was felt far beyond those Englishmen who directly participated. Commemorative
plates and poems were commissioned within England and the role the English troops had played remained a
matter of pride for a number of years. The impact went to the highest levels of government and in 1621 triggered
a political crisis caused by the demands made to parliament by the experienced English soldiers. That is not to
say that there was no financial assistance for those present, but that more extensive funding would be required if
the Palatinate was to be held indefinitely. The clash between the Crown and Parliament, primarily related to the
‘Spanish match’, meant that this proposal was not carried out in favour of supporting the expedition of Count
Mansfeld and subsequently the naval assault on Cadiz. Ultimately, by undertaking a systematic analysis of the
English military diaspora across Europe the significance of Frankenthal has emerged and a more complete
understanding of Stuart policy, Parliamentary politics and public opinion has come to light.
2) Steve Murdoch, University of St Andrews: 'The Impact of the Battle of Stralsund:
Local, Regional and International Perspectives'
The Battle for Stralsund in 1628 was something of a defining moment in the Thirty Years’ War. The siege
represented the struggle for control of the Baltic Sea, with Albrecht von Wallenstein hoping to secure a base in
the Baltic from which he would become actual, rather than notional ‘General of the Ocean and the Baltic Sea’.
Had he succeeded there were obvious implications at the military, political, commercial and confessional levels.
That his designs were thwarted was in no small part due to the actions of an international coalition which placed
indigenous Stralsunders alongside troops drawn from the armies of Denmark-Norway and Sweden. The two
usually hostile Scandinavian powers considered combined operations at sea for sure, but arguably it was the role
of Scots in both maritime forces which secured the city from Imperial domination. The implications of the siege
were many and manifest: The human cost on the local population was the most immediate to understand. The
military actions of the incumbent governor (who ‘left’ the siege to find reinforcements) showed the weakness
among many of the allies of the ‘Protestant’ cause: The siege marked the end of Denmark-Norway as a
significant player in the conflict while it introduced the Imperialists to a new adversary much more potent than
Christian IV. The siege also showcased the potential of the Scottish volunteers in both the Danish and Swedish
armies to work together, but at a staggering cost in terms of casualties. Even the impact of this was two-fold.
Militarily the Scots once more demonstrated a different set of motivations to many of those they fought
alongside, but tragically their efforts left many dead soldier, crippled veterans and grieving families at home.
This paper will consider these ‘multiple impacts’ of one particular siege and draw together scholarship already
conducted by Scottish, Danish, Swedish and German historians of this monumental struggle.
3) Björn Nordgren, University of St Andrews: 'An Alternative ending to the War?: Leipzig
1642'
In Swedish historiography much has been written on the Peace of Westphalia as the official end to the war,
choosing to emphasise the benefits that the war had brought rather than the process from which it was created.
Whilst important, it is crucial to emphasise that the Peace was the result of five years of negotiation, a catalyst
and instigator of which was the Swedish victory at Leipzig. This battle is much less celebrated than Field
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Marshall Lennart Tortensson's other victories, historians choosing instead to focus on his campaign in Denmark
from 1643 to 1645 which often takes his name, or the battle of Jankow in 1646.
This paper will analyse its significance in terms of impact for the Swedish government. The victory had given
Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna significant room for maneuvre in Germany, making an ending to the war
more tangible. The death toll for Leipzig on the part of the Swedes was around 4,000 whilst 9,500 of the
Imperial soldiers were killed or captured, so was a massive victory and carried with it substantial clout for
negotiations. However, the paper will also focus on not just the political aspects but also explore the plight of
three of the regiments involved and its impact on these; the Dal regiment under Carl Gustav Wrangel in the
center; Västgötadalens regiment under Nils Kagg; and Torsten Stålhandske's Finnish cavarly located on the left
wing, who were decisive in bringing an end to the battle.
13.00 - 14.00 Lunch
14.00 - 15.00
Session 3: The Local Population and Foreign Communities
1) Jörg Rathjen, Independent Researcher: 'Rural Society and the Thirty Years War in
the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein - the Exampel of the Ämter Reinbek and Trittau'
In 1625 king Christian IV of Denmark intervened in his capacity as Duke of Holstein in the Thirty Years War
(Danish-Lower Saxon phase). After the Danish defeat in the battle of Lutter at Barenberg in 1629, the duchies of
Schleswig and Holstein became a theatre of war and were finally occupied for two years by the armies of the
Emperor and the Liga. After some peaceful years the population of these territories was affected again by
military events of the Thirty Years War, when Swedish and Imperial armies invaded the duchies during the
Danish-Swedish War (1643-1645). However, both military campaigns were just the beginning of a martial era
for the people in the duchies. In the framework of the struggle of the northern powers for predominance in the
Baltic Sea area between 1625 and the end of the Great Northern War in 1720 no generation was untroubled by
experiences with military conflicts and their effects. In the regional historiography of Schleswig-Holstein, this
period is therefore called the 'century of wars and crisis'. The paper is based on a case study dealing with the
impact of wars and military conflicts on the rural society in the duchies during the 17 th and 18th century. This
investigation relies on a local example: the Ämter Reinbek and Trittau, located in the southern parts of the duchy
of Schleswig-Holstein. The paper will discuss the results of the study in terms of the impact of the Thirty Years
War in these Ämter and present methods and sources.
2) Thomas Brochard, University of Aberdeen: 'The Impacts of the Thirty Years’ War on
Scotland’s Northern Territories'
The participation of Scottish far northerners in the Thirty Years’ War can be viewed within the perspective of a
‘civilizing process’ and its dual core of social discipline from above and social regulation from below. Indeed,
the Government promoted this armed emigration as a way to channel clan militarism. It intended to relocate the
potential offered by private armies into the public sphere ― i.e. as an official, governmental institution ― and
regulate it. The rationale behind this policy points towards its own ‘civilizing’ agenda. In terms of impact, the
clan military force and network survived by its transposition into an official body, equally military in its nature.
The experiences of returning soldiers proved just as multifarious as their reasons for joining the army and as a
result remoulded both individuals and communities in a process of social regulation. The military co-optation
allowed the élite, this middling sort (at the State level), both abroad and on their return to Britain to position
themselves for the promotion of their own interests and that of the clan. They used their various kinship ties and
other networks to the full for a constant re-alignment according to their respective interests. Hence, social
transformations operated from below as well. This helps redefine and re-assess the perception of an immovable
and immutable society solely immersed in clan warfare. The result is a picture less of a retrograde, stultified, and
monolithic society, though with some elements of this remaining, but more of a slowly moving and diverse one
engaged in and selectively responding to a pre-existing but amplified early-modern multi-cultural process. In
fine, this remained an ongoing process best studied over the longue durée and with significant variations both in
terms of geography and, within communities, within clans and families themselves.
15.00 - 15.15 Coffee Break
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15.15 - 16.15
Session 4: The Archival Situation
1) Ingrid Karlsson, Krigsarkivet Stockholm: 'The Swedish Military Archives and
documents relating to the Thirty Years War'
Sweden - during the reign of Gustavus Adolphus - intervened in the Thirty Years War in 1630, but the Military
Archives have illustrations of events during the whole war, from 1618 to 1648. These are to be found in the
collections entitled Utländska krigsplaner, Historiska planscher and Ordres de bataille (Foreign war plans,
Historical prints and Orders of battle). The Foreign war plans differ very little from the Historical prints. Both
are usually monochrome. With few exceptions they show the battlefields and the camps of the troops. Some of
them are contemporary. The Orders of battle show, schematically, how Sweden´s and other countries´ armies
were deployed. Another collection – Sveriges krig (Sweden´s Wars) - contains plans, drawings, prints and orders
of battle to do with the Swedish military operations in the Thirty Years War. They are usually coloured and even
some of these are contemporary. When the regiments had mobilised, muster rolls were compiled. These are to be
found in the collection Rullor (Rolls) 1620-1723. Here we find Scottish regiments serving in the Swedish army.
War costs money. Militieräkenskaper (Military accounts) and the collection Förslag och besked över svenska
armén under Trettioåriga kriget (Inventories and accounts relating to the Thirty Years War) contain
specifications of expenditure on provisions, accountrements, munitions, wages and so forth.
2) Jörg Rathjen, Independent Researcher/ Kathrin Zickermann, University of St
Andrews: The North German Repositories
This paper will give a very short overview over available documents relating to the Thirty Years War in North
German repositories. In particular the paper will focus on collections in various state archives in SchleswigHolstein, Lower Saxony and Bremen.
16.15 - 16.45
Concluding Remarks: Robert Frost, University of Aberdeen
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