It's a crime! It says that the Prince Bishop of Münster is a gracious and honest gentleman, but I experienced something completely different!
Oh, we in Wildeshausen have belonged to Bremen for centuries, even if the Bremen bishops
repeatedly pledged us to other masters due to lack of money - most recently to the Bishop of Münster. Since he had already conquered Delmenhorst and Harpstedt, the opportunity to take hold of Wildeshausen came to him at just the right time. Wildeshausen came at just the right time. Nevertheless, we Wildeshausers remained self-confident, after all we were used to taking care of most of our affairs ourselves in accordance with the law of Bremen. This resulted in some tensions with the Münster people, which we didn't take very seriously. At the time, we had no idea the wrath we had drawn upon ourselves.
Our municipal law stipulated that one of our three mayors took over the office on January 7th. My dear husband, the mayor Jakob Lickenberg, was particularly familiar with his colleague Rode bi dem Dore, who was exasperated because a Cologne cleric named Kasselmann, which had severely harmed him in court with false testimonies. So he asked my husband for help. When a relative of Kasselmann happened to be in Wildeshausen, the two worked out a plan. They arrested him and forced him to write a letter. The contents stated that Kasselmann should come to Hatten, near Oldenburg, to meet his mistress there, a delicate matter, especially as Kasselmann was a cleric in Münster's service. There, bi dem Dore and my husband set a trap for him with a few confidants. The attack succeeded, but things quickly got out of hand. Kasselmann was killed and Dore is said to have even cut out the tongue of the perjurer in his anger. Kasselmann's relatives then sued the entire town of Wildeshausen, which was outlawed without further ado. Perhaps that was the straw that broke the camel's back, or perhaps it was just the opportunity the bishop's wrath had been waiting for. On April 20, 1529, the Bishop of Münster secretly advanced with mercenaries. He instructed his Drost Vincke to let the troops into the castle through the outer gate at night, in order to take the city in a surprise attack the following day, when the Wildeshauser opened their gate towards the castle. Bi dem Dore had long since fled, so my poor husband was dragged into the castle as the main man in charge. I don't even want to imagine what he had to endure there. Three days later, a public court was held in front of the town hall. My husband confessed to everything he was accused of without reservation. Apparently the torturers had done their job well. As a reward for his confession, his sentence was lightened. So he was not wheeled or hanged like a robber, but honorably decapitated with the sword. The scaffold was set up here in front of the town hall and the whole city had to watch. However, the trial did not end there. Our city walls, which had kept us safe for centuries, were dismantled and all city rights were confiscated. Wildeshausen became a town of inferior rights.
Many I've spoken to since then are considering turning their backs on Wildeshausen. Oh, how are we ever going to recover from this?