Klaus Störtebeker, German pirate

"Nikolaus" Storzenbecher or "Klaus" Störtebeker (1360 – supposed 20 October 1401) was reputed to be leader of a group of privateers known as the Victual Brothers (German: Vitalienbrüder). The Victual Brothers (Latin: victualia) were originally hired during a war between Denmark and Sweden to fight the Danish and supply the besieged Swedish capital Stockholm with provisions. After the end of the war, the Victual Brothers continued to capture merchant vessels for their own account and named themselves "Likedeelers" (literally: equal sharers). Recent studies manifest that Störtebeker was not called "Klaus" by prename but "Johann".