In 1141 Hartbert van Bierum, the Bishop of Utrecht gave Groningen and Drenthe as fiefdoms to the brothers Leffard and Ludolf, his vassals.

[1][3] On 28 July 1227 the armies of the Bishop of Utrecht Otto II of Lippe and a large group of rebellious Drenths led by Rudolph van Coevorden met on a field near the present-day village of Ane.

The Bishop had traveled to the valley of the Overijsselse Vecht to call the rebellious province of Drenthe to order and teach the local peasants a lesson.

[2] Rudolf positioned his troops, mainly peasants, behind the Mommeriete,[2][3] a quagmire approximately half a mile wide, without bushes or trees, with vegetation covering the treacherous peat.

[2][3] As soon as the heavily armoured knights charged, they sank into the quagmire and were easy prey for the lightly armed, but mobile troops of Rudolf, accustomed to the local terrain.