That Valdemar Atterdag was on Gotland and fought against the farmers is certain, and also that the battle outside Visby was one of the bloodiest in the History of Scandinavia, but claims about the fire estimate are difficult to confirm.

On May 1, 1361, the Swedish king Magnus Eriksson sent out a letter in which he warned the citizens of Visby about an impending attack.

After the Black Death subsided, Danish King Valdemar Atterdag intended to let the rich merchants of the Hanseatic League pay for a renewal of their trade privileges.

The letter of privilege that Valdemar issued for Visby on July 29, 1361, two days after the battle of the ring wall, assured the city "all the rights and freedoms it has had since ancient times".

The landing took place later in the day, possibly in Vivesholm at Klintehamn,[3] alternatively at Kronvald's fishing location on Ekstakusten on the west side of the island.

According to contemporary accounts, the hastily assembled rural population put up counter-defenses and fought several fierce battles against Valdemar's 1,800 jackals, of whom conscripted German soldiers made up the bulk.

The Gotland militia, divided into six combat divisions, so-called settings, were repulsed on 24 July at the Fjäle myr.

[3] A Lübsk chronicle tells more generally of a bloody defeat because the peasants were unarmed and unaccustomed to battle.

The cross's Latin inscription reads in Swedish translation "In the year of the Lord 1361, on July 27, in front of Visby gates, in the hands of the Danes, the boys buried here fell.

According to a chronicle, one of Valdemar's ships was wrecked at the Karlsöarna with precious goods, taken from churches, monasteries, and citizens, during the journey back to Denmark.

77 Hanseatic cities, from the Netherlands to the Livland coast, formed an attacking confederation and received the support of some German princes.