{{Short description|Frisian political title}} thumb | right | A 1762 etching map of Friesland by Johann Hermann Knoop, printed by A. Durleu and published by A. van Linge & Co, features the coat of arms, a legend of regions, and a woman stacking peat plagues, with a collector’s mark and dimensions of 340 mm × 340 mm. A '''grietman''' or '''grytman''' (from Old Frisian ''greta'' to accuse, to indict) was a judge and administrator of a local district; this role was partly a forerunner of the current rural mayor in the province of Friesland, and partly the forerunner of a judge. East of the Lauwers river these judges were often referred to as 'redjeva' and west of the Lauwers river as 'grietman'.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Engelsma |first1=Eise |url=https://docplayer.nl/docview/62/47030210/#file=/storage/62/47030210/47030210.pdf |title=De Grote Friese Oorlog. Partijstrijd in de Friese landen : 1413 - 1422 |date=21 June 2010 |page=9 |accessdate=30 June 2019}}</ref>
==Jurisdiction==
The area of jurisdiction was the rural ''grietenij,'' a judicial district that comprised several church villages (similar to a modern-day municipagreitlity or gemeente). In total, the region of Friesland had 30 such rural districts, outside the cities.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last=Mol |first=Hans |title=Communities, Environment and Regulation in the Premodern World |chapter=Personal Violence in the Frisian Countryside |date=January 2022 |chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1484/m.corn-eb.5.129381 |series=Comparative Rural History of the North Sea Area |volume=20 |pages=263–288 |access-date=2023-03-26 |place=Turnhout, Belgium |publisher=Brepols Publishers|doi=10.1484/m.corn-eb.5.129381 |isbn=978-2-503-59446-0 |hdl=20.500.11755/3ae68c70-bbca-497d-9c05-ac57c040b1ae |hdl-access=free }}</ref>
Each of the 30 grietmannen and 11 city mayors formed the ''Friese Landdag,'' which was founded in 1504 by the Duke of Saxony, and was a central government for Friesland. The Friese Landdag met in Leeuwarden. Each mayor and grietman had a vote ensuring that the rural population was fairly represented in Friesland.<ref name=":1">{{cite news |title=Systeem van elf steden en dertig grietenijen was uniek in Europa |website=Leeuwarder Courant |url=https://www.lc.nl/friesland/%E2%80%98Systeem-van-elf-steden-en-dertig-grietenijen-was-uniek-in-Europa%E2%80%99-23166298.html |access-date=29 June 2020}}</ref> This method of proportional representation, which accounted for both the rural and city populations, was a distinctive and democratic system in Friesland, when compared to the political and legal systems found in Europe during that time period.<ref name=":1" />
The ''grietman'' was responsible for administration, justice and maintaining peace and order in the Frisian ''grietenij''. He worked together with a team of village judges and assessors (rechter, mederechter, assessor) who were elected from their midst by the ''grietman''.<ref name=":0" /> The ''grietmannen'' were also the traditional leaders of the ''grietenij'' militias, from the mid-1200's, well before the Saxon occupation in 1498<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |author=Mol, Hans |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1366294100 |title=The Frisian Popular Militias between 1480 and 1560. |date=2022 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=978-94-6372-367-1 |oclc=1366294100}}</ref> The ''grietman'' was responsible for mustering local militia, gathering both armour and weapons (e.g. ''speets, degen, harnas, bekkeneel)'', supplies and abled-bodied men aged between 16 and 60.<ref name=":2" />
When dealing with civil disputes or criminal cases (e.g. theft, property, adultery), the grietman would conduct interviews with the perpetrator, victim, and witnesses. After forming judgments, fines and costs related to the proceedings would be imposed.<ref name=":0" /> It was necessary for the grietman to keep a clear record of the fines and compositions collected, including who paid them and for what crime. The calculations were made in Holland pounds and stuivers, with 20 stuivers making up one pound.<ref name=":0" /> The grietmannen had to account for their income from their administration of justice within their grietenij to the rentmeester-generaal van Friesland (Steward General of Friesland), because the grietman kept half of the fines (boete) and then sent the other half on to the rentmeester-generaal.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |first=Johannes |last=Mol |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1367139456 |title=Geweld op het Friese platteland 1524-1530 |date=2020 |oclc=1367139456}}</ref>
The grietman needed to have sufficient influence and military power to conduct interviews, order detentions, and enforce penalties and fines when necessary. This required both political and actual military clout among the local population.<ref name=":0" /> For example, the "military potential" of local inhabitants residing in a ''grietenij'' were recorded in "Monsterlijsten" (muster lists).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Buylaert |first=Frederik |date=2019-06-24 |title=Hans Mol, De Friese volkslegers tussen 1480 en 1560 (met een editie van de Monsterlijsten van Friesland 1552 en Ameland 1558, door P.L.G. van der Meer en J.A. Mol) |journal=BMGN - Low Countries Historical Review |volume=134 |issue=2 |doi=10.18352/bmgn-lchr.10719 |issn=2211-2898|doi-access=free }}</ref>
In 1498, Albrecht III, Duke of Saxony made Leeuwarden the seat of the Court of Friesland (Hof van Friesland), a higher court that dealt with government of lands, capital crimes and a court of appeal, which resulted in a shift of power away from the local level.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hendriks |first=Albert |date=2022-09-01 |title=Leeuwarden |url=https://frieslandhollandtravel.nl/en/leeuwarden/ |access-date=2023-03-28 |website=Friesland Holland Travel |language=en-US}}</ref> ''Grietmannen'' no longer had the power to try capital crimes, such as those involving manslaughter or homicide, at the local level.<ref name=":5" /> In these cases, they were only responsible for detaining and questioning suspects of capital crimes and providing relevant information to Leeuwarden for the trial to be held at the Hof van Friesland.<ref name=":0" />
The Municipalities of Thorbecke law (promulgated in 1851) designated the Frisian ''grietmannen'' as '''''mayors'''''.<ref name="oostergo">{{cite web |date=1981 |title=Noordelijk Oostergo. Ferwerderadeel |url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/berg229noor01_01/berg229noor01_01_0004.php |access-date=29 June 2020 |website=Digital Library for Dutch Literature |language=nl}}</ref>
==Election==
''Hoofdelingen'' preferred the position of ''grietman.'' Once elected, in principle, a grietman was typically appointed for life. Officially, the position was democratically elected, but it did require certain amount of wealth due to the election and bribing process. The grietman was responsible for the costs of his campaign prior to his election.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |editor=Brouwers, Ype |author=Broersma, Rudolf J. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1112368113 |title=Genealogysk Jierboek 2015 |isbn=978-94-92176-16-5 |oclc=1112368113}}</ref> The province of Friesland also required a tax upon the appointment of a grietman called "the equivalent."<ref name=":3" />
The law required the voting residents of the villages to come up with nominations; the candidates with the most votes then made it onto a trio from which the College of Deputies, together with the governor, was allowed to choose.<ref name=":3" /> Most elections involved much wheeling, dealing and bribing as voters were profit from their power. In 1748, it was decided that something had to be done about the corruption. But after a year of reform, little had changed. Still, henceforth the Stadholder had to approve any new grietman.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Frieswijk |first=Johannes |title=Skiednis fan Fryslân, 1750-1995 |last2=Huizinga |first2=J.J. |last3=Jansma |first3=L.G. |last4=Kuiper |first4=Y.B. |date=23 January 1998 |publisher=Boom & Fryske Akademy |location=Amsterdam/Meppel/Leeuwarden |pages=12 |language=Frisian |trans-title=History of Frisia, 1750-1995}}</ref>
==Frisian nobility in the role==
The role of grietman was officially an elected, democratic position.<ref name=":0" /> However it was a favoured position of Frisian nobility (Friese adel, hoofdelingen), because of the power, influence and opportunity to make money that this position offered. Over time, power became increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small number of rich, noble families (Friese adel, or ''hoofdelingen'') over time, such as in the Aylva, Burmania, and Eysinga families, and this trend remained stable for over 100 years, from 1623 to 1795.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Faber |first=J. A. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/463181727 |title=Drie eeuwen Friesland : Economische en sociale ontwikkelingen van 1500 tot 1800. |date=1973 |publisher=De Tille |oclc=463181727}}</ref>
For example, for a total of 28 grietmannnen across Friesland in the year 1525, 13 grietmannen belonged to the Frisian nobility, 10 were from common Frisian origins and five were of foreign origin.<ref name=":4" /> In the year 1675, out of 28 grietmannen, 17 grietmannen belonged to the Frisian nobility, eight were from common Frisian origins and five were foreigners (two of whom were also nobility).<ref name=":4" />
There were also significant percentages where the successive grietman appointments were related to the immediate predecessor (e.g., in a father–son relationship, or father–son-in law) which points to a significant amount of nepotism and something similar to a family dynasty in the grietenijen. These percentages range from 30% to 50%, and are consistent over the years 1600-1795.<ref name=":4" />
In 1795, the returning Stadholder purges the country of his opponents. In 1813, the dominance of the old Frisian was restored and they would hold on to the grietenijen until the Revolution of 1848.<ref name=":6" /> The Thorbecke’s Municipal Law, which entered into force in 1851, turned the sitting grietmannen into mayors. Though the two are often compared, this overlap of personnel is about the only thing the offices shared in common.
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:History of Friesland