Focko Ukena
East Frisian chieftain
Focko Ukena (c. 1370 in Neermoor – 6 October 1436 in Appingedam) was an East Frisian chieftain (hovetling) who played an important part in the struggle between the Vetkopers and Schieringers in the provinces of Groningen and Friesland. Aside from this he was one of the leading figures in the resistance against the forts of stately authority in East-Frisia of the tom Brok family.
Frisian freedom
Medieval and early modern Frisia (roughly the modern Dutch provinces of Groningen and Friesland, and the German coastal region of East Frisia) enjoyed what was known as the Frisian freedom, where virtually no state authority was exerted on the populace. This freedom was threatened from several sides.
In what is now East Frisia, the family of tom Brok was attempting to establish a dynasty. In what is now the province of Friesland, the counts of Holland were expanding their influence. The city of Groningen was also trying to expand its power. Through all of this the rivalry of the Vetkopers and Schieringers played out.
Role of Ukena
Ukena was originally a military commander under Keno II tom Brok.
“Focko Ukena” enters the record as east Frisian chieftain. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Focko, Ukena and East can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q474758. VIAF identifies the subject as 300482074. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1370 and 1436.
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This entry incorporates text from “Focko Ukena” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.