Sea. Records indicate that some of the band were executed in Hamburg. Many remained at sea, after losing influence in the Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and Gotland, operating instead from the Schlei, the mouth of the river Ems, and other locations in Friesland. Likedeelers Some component of, or successors to, the Victual Brothers came to be known in the written records by the name Likedeelers ("equal sharers"), the name's interpretation being either one of equal sharing of raiding booty among themselves, or—in proposed distinction to the Victual Brothers pirate band—of sharing booty with the poor of the coastal population. They expanded their activities into the North Sea and along the Atlantic coastline, raiding Brabant and France and striking as far south as Spain. Their most famous leader of the Likedeelers was Klaus Störtebeker, born in 1360 in Wismar, a ship captain who first appears in the record as a Victual Brother around 1394. The Low German word Störtebeker means "down the beakerful", a name he is alleged to have been given because could swallow four liters of beer without taking the beaker from his mouth (though the name is possibly just a surname of Wismar). In 1401, the Hamburg warship Die Bunte Kuh, leading a small fleet under Commander Simon of Utrecht, caught up with Störtebeker's forces near Heligoland; after a 3-day running battle, Störtebeker and some of his followers were overpowered, trapped and executed. Contrary to this account, Historian Jörgen Bracker of Hamburg's Municipal Museum notes that "[w]hile… other Vitalien Brothers were executed in Hamburg, 'there's no evidence that Störtebeker was among them'", though artistic renderings of the Störtebeker execution, from that city, exist. Other Likedeelers, sans their leader, continued their piracy and coastal raiding until about 1440, with maritime trade in both the North and Baltic Seas remaining in serious danger of attack. See also Thalassocracy References and notes Further reading The best English source—a German-English translation—that appears in this article as of January 2022; a book-length treatment that includes extensive information on the title subject. External links Agreement on reparations for injuries and damages by vitalians (made between King Henry IV of England and the Hanseatic League) Vitalienbrüder (in German) Privateers Piracy in the Baltic Sea German pirates Gotland Hanseatic League History of Hamburg History of Lübeck History of East Frisia History of Bergen 15th century in Europe Medieval Finland Medieval pirates History of