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HISTORY OF HOLLAND and the Dutch Nation

FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE TENTH TO THE END OF THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 

 

Including an account of the municipal institutions, commercial pursuits, and social habits of the people

 
The rise and progress of the protestant reformation in Holland.
The intestine dissentious foreign wars

BY C. M. DAVIES.

In Three Volumes
Vol. I
LONDON: G.Willis, Great Piazza,Covent Garden MDCCCXLI

Volume  I

CHAPTER I


 

23

Theodore I. Grant of Charles the Simple. Church at Egmond. Death of Theodore. Theodore II. Rebellion of the West Friezlaners. County made hereditary by Otho HI. Church and Altar at Egmod. Death of Theodore. Arnold slain by the West Frieslanders. Theodore III. Irruption of the Normans. Origin and Rise of the Bishopric of Utrecht. War between Holland and Utrecht. Accommodation between the Count and the Bishop. Pilgrimage and death of Theodore. Theodore IV. Dissensions between Holland and Flanders. The Five Islands of the Scheldt. War between the Emperor and Bishop of Utrecht and the Count of Holland. Invasion of Holland by the Emperor. His retreat. War with Liege and Cologne. Death of Theodore. Florence I. Alliance of Utrecht against Holland. War, and Defeat of the Allies. Florence surprised and killed. Theodore V. Guardian-ship of his mother. Her second marriage. War with Flanders and the King of France. War with Utrecht. Godfrey of Lorraine takes possession of Holland. Theodore recovers his States. Friesland granted to the Bishopric. Death of Theodore. Florence II. Crusades. Pacific disposition of Florence. Alliance with the Empire. Death and Character of Florence. Heresy. Theodore VI. Alliance with Germany. Grant of Friesland. Disputes between Theodore and his brother. Influence of the Clergy at the Imperial Court. Its effects on Holland. War with Utrecht. Mode of defence adopted by the Bishop. Peace. Colonization from Holland. Death of Theodore. Florence III. Hostilities with Flanders. Marriage. Treaty with Utrecht. Overflowing of the Rhine. Renewal of Hostilities with Flanders. Defeat and imprisonment of Florence. Release. Treaty made on the occasion. Revolt of the West Frieslanders. Flood. Crusade. Florence dies at Antioch. Coinage. Theodore VII. Wars with Flanders and West Friesland. Theodore victorious in both. Conduct of the Bishop of Utrecht in Friesland. War with Utrecht and Brabant. Imprisonment and Death of Theodore.

 Theodore I

913 To the lands which this Count already held, Charles IV. of France, surnamed the Simple, added the abbey of Egmond 2, with its dependencies, from Zuithardersbage to Kinnem 3. Charles had entered into possession of the kingdom of Loraine, in which this territory was situated after the death of the Emperor Louis III., the last descendant of Charlemagne in Germany 4. 924 By the cession which this prince made to the Emperor Henry L of the whole kingdom of Lorraine, these lands, as well as the remainder which Count Theodore possessed, became a fief of Germany 5. Nothing further is known of Theodore, than that he built a church of wood at Egmond, dedicated to St. Adelbert 6, and founded there a convent of nuns 7. The time of his death is uncertain, but it is generally supposed to have occurred in the year 923 8.

  1. Vide Note B at the end of the volume.
  2. Situated near Alkmaar.
  3. A stream in Kennemerland. Miraei Cod. Don. Pia. torn, i., p. 35, cap. 26.
  4. Ann. Sax. Col., torn. L, p. 240.
  5. Idem, 248.
  6. St Adelbert was an Englishman, and archdeacon of the see of Utrecht» under Willebrord, the Northumbrian, the first bishop. Chron. Egmund., cap. 1,2.
  7. Melis Stoke, boek L, bl. 54.
  8. Herman. Corn. Chron. Col., torn, ii., p. 617.

 Note B. (Page 22)

The time of the foundation of the County of Holland is involved in great obscurity, and I will not enter into the tedious discussion as to whether it should be fixed in 863, according to the most prevalent opinion, or, as others say, in the year 922. For the former date we have the authority of Melis Stoke, John of Leyden, Beka, Barlandus, Meyer, and numerous others; while Buchelius, the annotator of the Chronicle of Beka, Schryver, John van der Dors the younger, and the author of the admirable " Vaterlandache Historie," (Wagenaar) insist upon the latter.

The origin and rise of the County are, I believe, here traced with as much clearness as the intricacy of the subject admits of; and the facts stated are home out by the documents preserved in the " Diplomata" of Miraeus, of the authenticity of which there seems no reason to doubt: one or two brief observations, therefore, will suffice to prove, that neither of the foregoing conjectures is absolutely correct.

Charles the Bald of France, by whom the original grant in 863 1 was supposed to have been made, possessed no part of Holland, since all the land between the Rhine and the Meuse was included in the kingdom of Lorraine; and Charles the Simple, who did in fact bestow Egmond and its dependencies on Theodore I. in 912, was in 922 engaged in a war with the rebel, Duke Robert of Paris, who had usurped his crown 2; and consequently it was highly improbable that he should confer grants of those lands of which at that time he was not even in possession, since little more than Aquitaine was left to him by the usurper.

  1. The County of Flanders was, in fact, founded at this period; and either this circumstance may hare given rise to the mistake, or the monks of Egmond, the first chroniclers of Holland, may have willfully falsified the date in the charter, as not wishing the origin of their nation to appear less ancient than that of the Flemings, their neighbors and rivals.
  2. Wily, Hist, de France, torn, ii., p. 205,

 Theodore II

Hardly had Theodore established himself in the government after the death of his father, when he was obliged to march against his rebellious subjects in West Friesland, whom he overcame, and forced to return to obedience 1. He had by his wife, Hildegarde, two sons, of whom the younger, Egbert, became archbishop of Treves, and the elder, Arnold, married Luitgarde, sister of Theofana, the wife of Otho II., emperor of Germany 2. 983 The Empress Theofana, after the death of her husband, and during the minority of her son, Otho III., enjoyed a large share in the administration of the empire; and her alliance with the family of die Count of Holland, induced her to use her influence over the mind of the young emperor, to obtain for Theodore a grant of all those states as an hereditary fief which he had hitherto enjoyed in usufruct only 3. In this grant were comprehended the lands lying between the Lauwers (Liore,) and Yssel 4; a village, then known by the name of Zonnemare 5; the territory between the streams of Medemblick 6 and Chimeloes, or Gemarcha 7, Kemmerland, Texel, and Maasland, with the reservation of the tribute, commonly called "Huuslade 8." By this grant the hereditary succession to the County was placed on a secure and permanent footing, and from it, perhaps, might more properly be dated the commencement of its existence as a separate and independent state 9.

  1. Johaa a Leid., lib.vii., cap. 2.
  2. She is said to be the sister of Theofana by all the early historians, but the Greek Emperor Romanus, father of the latter, had only two daughters, Theofana and Anne, married to the Czar of Muscovy, (Gibbon Decl. and Fall, &c., vol. viii, p. 373). It is not improbable that Luitgarde, particularly as it is a Saxon and not a Greek name, might have been the daughter of the empress; the son of Arnold is called grandson of the Empress Theofana, (Ann. Sax., col. i., p. 450,) and Luitgarde, sister of the wife of Henry II. Idem Ibid. 403. Melis Stoke, boek i., bl. 73.
  3. Vide du Cange, in Feudum et Beneficium.
  4. Not the river in Friesland, but that to the south of Holland, on which Ysselmonde is situated.
  5. In Zealand.
  6. In West Friesland.
  7. In the present province of Friesland.
  8. A duty upon every house, payable to the sovereign. Johan. a Leid., lib. vii., cap. 26. Miraei Diplomats., torn, i., p. 62, cap. 41.
  9. The tribute, Huuslade, appears to have been ere long discontinued, though we have no evidence as to the exact time that it was so.

The Hollanders must at this time have made some progress in wealth and the arts, since we are told that Theodore rebuilt the church of St. Adelbert of stone; a work of no mean importance in a Country wholly destitute of materials for such a purpose, and where, from the nature of the ground, considerable skill must have been required to make a secure foundation for a building of any solidity. He also presented, after its completion, an altar of pure gold, inlaid with precious stones, with a volume of the Gospels likewise ornamented with jewels and gold 1. He died in 988, within a month after his wife Hildegarde, and was buried with her under one monument in the church which he had built at Egmond 2.

  1. Miraei Dip., torn, i., p. 71, cap. 61. Melis Stoke, boek i., U. 65, et seq.
  2. Johan. a Leid., lib. vii., cap. 28.

 Arnold

The grant of Otho III. rendered it unnecessary that Arnold should obtain the emperor's confirmation of his authority, and the succession henceforward passed in the regular line, without any intervention of the imperial sovereignty, nor did the emperors ever interfere in the slightest degree in the internal government of the County; in process of time, indeed, the Counts of Holland so far freed themselves from the ties of feudal allegiance, that it became at length a matter of dispute whether or not Holland owed fealty to the empire at all Arnold's short reign of five years was spent in continual warfare with his rebellious subjects of West Friesland, by whom he was slain in a battle fought near the village of Winke l. 993 He left two sons, of whom the younger Siward, or Sigefrid, is said to have been the founder of the noble and illustrious house of Brederode 2.

  1. Johan. a Leid., lib. viiL, cap. 1,6.
  2. Idem, lib. viii., cap. 3.

 Theodore III

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Succeeded his father when only twelve years of age, the government being administered during his minority by his mother Luitgarde1. In the year 1010 the Normans again made an irruption into Friesland, defeated the Hollanders who opposed their passage, and advanced as far as Utrecht; but either from veneration for the Episcopal see, or from esteem for the sanctity of the Bishop Ansfrid, they retired without committing any injury on the city: the Utrechters themselves set fire to the houses along the quay, lest the enemy might make use of them to besiege the citadel 2. This is the last time we hear of any invasion by the Normans of either Holland or Friesland: they began about this period to establish themselves in Italy 3, and attracted by her fertile fields and rich wines, henceforward left unmolested the cold and marshy shores of the Netherlands. The reign of Theodore was continually disturbed by hostilities with Athelbald, bishop of Utrecht; and as he and his successors will, for a series of years, appear often as enemies, and sometimes, though rarely, as allies of the Counts of Holland, a few observations on the origin and rise of this bishopric may not be misplaced.

  1. Melis Stoke, boek i., bL 99.
  2. Alpertus de Dir. Temporum, Col. torn, i., lib. 1., cap. 9,10.
  3. Sismondi Hist, des Rep. ItaL, torn, ii., p. 266,

In the early part of the seventh century, Dagobert, first king of Austrasia, having conquered Utrecht 1 from the Frieslanders, founded there a Christian church: but the greater portion of the inhabitants being still heathens, and the Frieslanders again taking possession of the town, it was some time after destroyed 2. In the year 719, Willebrord, the Northumbrian priest before mentioned as being enjoined by Pepin Heristal to preach the gospel in Friesland, and who in 696 had been created by the Pope Archbishop of Friesland, fixed the seat of his bishopric at Utrecht, where he built a church and monastery 3. Charles Martel, mayor of the palace to Thierri IV., king of Australia, granted to the Church, in 722, all the royal domains and privileges in and around Utrecht, with several other rich estates 4: and after the death of Gerolf of Friesland, father of the first Count of Holland, Odilbald, bishop of Utrecht, obtained for his church from Zwentibold, king of Lorraine, (son of the Emperor Arnold), the sixth part of the fishery at the mouth of the Rhine, which Gerolf had before enjoyed, and the third of nearly all the royal tolls and customs in Kemmerland and West Friesland 5, to the Texel 6. In the year 937, Emperor Otho I. of Germany granted to Baldric, then bishop of Utrecht, the privilege of coining money, and bestowed on him the land lying between Gouda and Schoonhoven, and the tolls at Muyden on the Vecht 7.

  1. Antonina in the time of the Romans: it was afterwards called Wil-tenburg by the Wilts, a nation of Sclavi, who formed a settlement there. The name of Trajectum, or Utrecht, was given to it by Dagobert.
  2. Vide Letter of St. Boniface to Pope Stephen, in Miraei Cod. Don. Pia, torn, i., cap. 10, p. 13,14.
  3. Hist. Wil. Hede in Willebrordo, p. 25; Bede Hist. Ecc, lib. r, cap. 1
  4. The northern part of the province of Holland.
  5. Mine! Don Belg., lib. ii.> cap. 3; Dipl., torn. i., p. 401.
  6. Heda in Odilbald, p. 65, 66.
  7. Heda in Bald, p. 81—87.

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By Ansfrid, predecessor of the present bishop, the domain of Utrecht had been enriched by the addition of Teisterband, (an ancient County, extending from Wyk te Duurstede to the old Meuse) 1, and thus brought close to the territories of the Counts of Holland, over the whole of which, likewise, the Church of Utrecht had a spiritual jurisdiction; and this furnished the bishops with a pretext for laying claim to the temporal sovereignty of the County 2. Hence arose disputes of a nature easily exasperated into hostilities. On the present occasion, the Bishop Athelbald had encouraged his vassal, Theodore Bavo, margrave of that part of his diocese which bordered on the County of Holland, in his attempts to extend his authority within the confines of Count Theodore's territories 3. 1016 Theodore compelled Bavo to evacuate Bodegrave, of which he had possessed himself, and in order to provide a barrier against the encroachments of this restless neighbor, he built and fortified the celebrated town of Dordrecht 4, which became, and long remained, the capital of the County, and ever afterwards held the first rank in the assembly of the States. Here he levied tolls upon all vessels passing up or down the Waal. This excited great. discontent among the merchants, particularly those of Tiel, who earnestly petitioned the emperor to release them from the exactions of the Count of Holland, representing, that otherwise they would be forced to discontinue their trade to England, and consequently should be unable to pay him their accustomed tribute 5.

  1. Mirsi Dip., p. 262,263; Heda in Anfrid, p. 94, 95.
  2. Minei Dip. passim, torn, iv., p. 373, 445; Boxhorn Theat, Urb. HolL, cap. 3, p. 29.
  3. Beka Chron. Ultra in Adelb., p. 97.
  4. Van Loon Aloude Holl. Hist., 2 deel., bl. 272.
  5. Alpert. de Div. Tern. Col., torn, i., lib, ii., cap. 20.

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1018 These complaints, supported by the influence of the Bishop of Utrecht, had so great weight with the emperor, that he commanded Godfrey, Duke of Lorraine, to assist the bishop in expelling Theodore from the fortress of Dordrecht. Godfrey, in obedience to his orders, assembled a large body of troops, and accompanied by the Bishops of Cologne, Cambray, Liege, and Utrecht, with their forces, landed at Vlaerdingen on the Merwe #, at that time the residence of the Counts of Holland. In the engagement which ensued, an event, as singular as unexpected, turned the fortune of the day in favor of the Hollanders, and saved the infant state from the destruction which appeared inevitable: the battle was at the hottest, and the Hollanders were defending themselves bravely, but almost hopelessly, against superior numbers, when suddenly a voice was heard crying, " Fly, fly." None could tell from whence the sound proceeded, and it was therefore interpreted by the troops of Lorraine, as a warning from Heaven 1: their rout was instantaneous and complete; nearly the whole of the foot soldiers belonging to the Bishops of Liege and Cambray were slain: numbers, in their eagerness to escape, were drowned in the Merwe, and the shore is said to have been strewed with dead bodies for the space of nearly two miles. The Bishop of Utrecht, with a few followers, saved themselves by flight; and the Duke of Lorraine remained a prisoner in the hands of Theodore, who shortly after released him, in order that he might negotiate a reconciliation with the emperor 2.

  1. Beka in Adelbold, p. 38.
  2. Alpert. de Div. Temp., lib. ii., cap. 21.

# Dordrecht at the Merweda, A mistake of the writer because of the accepted history by scholars in the 19th century.

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Under his mediation, the bishop, finding himself destitute of allies, was reluctantly brought to terms of accommodation 1; and the Count of Holland afterwards held the disputed territory of Bodegrave, Merwede, and Zwammerdam, as a feudatory of the bishop 2. The miseries of this war were supposed to have been foretold by the appearance of a comet, which had excited great tenor a short time previously 3. 1039 Theodore concluded his long and troubled reign of thirty-four years, by a pilgrimage to the Holy Land; he died soon after his return, and was buried in the church of Egmond, leaving behind him a high reputation for valour and ability 4. He had two sons by his wife Ottihilda, daughter of the Duke of Saxony, Theodore and Florence, of whom the eldest succeeded him 5.

  1. Anhal. Sax., col. 1, p. 450.
  2. He became a u liber feudalis" or free Feuar of Utrecht, (t. c.9 one who acknowledged feudal superiority only,) and as such obtained a right to vote in the election of the bishop, (Heda, p. 114.) The right which vassalage gave of voting in the election of abbots, and bishops, rendered even the most powerful temporal sovereigns desirous of holding fiefs under them. Thus the Emperor Frederick I. obtained the charge of Grand Seneschal to the church of Bamberg, in respect of some lands he held in the Palatinate. Schmidt, Hist, des Allemandes, torn, iv., p. 84,165.
  3. Alpert de Div. Temp., lib. ii., cap. 19.
  4. Beka in Bernulph, p. 39; Johan. a Laid, lib. ix., cap. 16.
  5. Melis Stoke, boek L, p. 99.

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 THEODORE IV

In the reign of this prince began the first of a long series of dissensions between the Counts of Holland and Flanders 1, concerning the possession of Walcheren, and the other islands of Zealand, west of the Scheldt. The Flemings claimed these territories in virtue of a grant made by the Emperor Henry II. to Baldwin IV in 1007. surnamed Longbeard, Count of Flanders, while the Hollanders instated on a prior right, conferred by the gift of Louis the Germanic, in the year 868, to Theodore, the first Count of Holland 2. 1045 Baldwin, fifth son and successor of Baldwin Longbeard, undertook a hostile expedition into Friesland, for the purpose of forcing Theodore to resign his claims to Walcheren but no further particulars of the war are given, than that Baldwin returned victorious, and without loss, to Flanders 3. It was attended, however, with evil consequences to Holland; since the Bishop of Utrecht, taking advantage of the embarrassment it occasioned to Theodore, induced the Emperor Henry III. to lend him his assistance in regaining possession of those lands about the Merwe and Rhine, of which, he maintained that Count Theodore III. had unjustly deprived his predecessor.

  1. Flanders was erected into a County in the year 868, by Charles IL, or Bald, king of France, in favour of Baldwin Forester of Flanders, who had married his daughter Judith; it was constantly held as a fief of France. The term Flemings, which has been indiscriminately applied to all the inhabitants of the Netherlands, is here, to avoid confusion, confined to those of Flanders only. When the people of the different states of the low Countries are spoken of collectively, the word Netherlanders is used.
  2. Meyer Annales Flandrenses, lib. in, ad aim. 1007, p. 22.
  3. Idem, ad ann. 1045, lib. iii., p. 24.

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The emperor, at the head of a numerous army, sailed down the river from Utrecht to Dordrecht, which he forced to surrender, as well as the towns of Vlaardingen, and Ehynsburg, in Delftland. 1047 He was not able long to retain these places, for Theodore having formed an alliance with Godfrey of Lorraine, overran and devastated the bishopric of Utrecht, while Godfrey made himself master of the imperial city of Nimeguen; and the emperor's army was forced to evacuate Delftland, from the overflowing of the Meuse, which rendered it impossible for the troops to remain m their encampments 1. The force of the floods, also, having broken down the dyke which confined the bed of the river, it extended itself so widely as to become too shallow to admit of the passage of the emperor's ships, which being embarrassed in the mud, were easily mastered by the Hollanders in their light flat-bottomed boats, contrived purposely for this sort of navigation 2. The emperor was, therefore, obliged to retreat over-land to Utrecht, pursued by Theodore and a small band of troops, who so harassed the rear of his army, that Henry with difficulty succeeded in reaching the city in safety 3. His departure left Theodore at liberty to regain possession of all the territory he had lost, which, however, he was not destined to enjoy long in peace. 1048 In a tournament held the following year at Liege, having accidentally inflicted a mortal wound on the brother of Herman, archbishop of Cologne, the followers of the archbishop, together with those of the Bishop of Liege, immediately attacked the Hollanders, and slew, among many others, two natural brothers of the Count. Theodore himself hardly avoided the same fate by a hasty flight, and enraged at the conduct of the two bishops, caused all the merchant ships of Liege and Cologne to be burnt, and forbade any future traffic with the bishoprics 4.

  1. Lambertus Aschaffenbuigenaifl, ad ann. 1047.
  2. Herman. Contract., ad ann. 1047.
  3. Hermannua Comeri, ad ann. 1047*
  4. Schryver's Graaven in Died. 4, 1 deel., bl. 166. Johan. a Leid., lib. x., cap. 5.

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The bishops hereupon made a confederation with Egbert, margrave of Brandenburg, and the bishops of Utrecht and Metz, and with the assistance of some disaffected nobles of Holland, gained possession of Dordrecht 1. Count Theodore, at the head of a not very numerous force, soon after re-entered the town by night, and obliged his enemies to evacuate it; but a few days afterwards, while passing unguardedly through a narrow street, he received a wound from a poisoned arrow, shot by an unknown hand, and died within three days in January, 1049 2. The street in which this accident occurred afterwards bore the name of " Graaven Straat," or Count's Street 3. Theodore died unmarried, and was succeeded by his brother.

 FLORENCE I

The reign of this prince, like that of his predecessors, was rendered turbulent and unhappy, by the restless jealousy and enmity of the Bishop of Utrecht. In the year 1058, William I., who then filled this see, formed a confederacy against Florence, with his brother Wishard, governor of Gueldres, Hanno, archbishop of Cologne, the Bishop of Liege, the Count of Louvain, the Lord of Cuyck, and Egbert, margrave of Brandenburg; and these nobles, with their united armies, accompanied by some troops of the empire, invaded the County of Holland 4.

  1. Johan. a Leid., lib. x., cap. G.
  2. Beka in Bernulph., p. 40. Melis Stoke, boek i., bl. 110.
  3. Boxhorn Theat. Urb. Holl., p. 98.
  4. Petros Divttiis Annal. Brabant, lib. vi.

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Florence, despairing of being able to withstand so overwhelming a force, had recourse to a stratagem, much in use in the warfare of early ages. In a field, near Dordrecht, where his forces were drawn up to await the attack, he caused pits to be dug, and lightly covered with turf, into which several of the enemies' horse, when advancing briskly, as if to certain victory, suddenly fell, and being unable to extricate themselves, the whole army was thrown into the utmost confusion; at this moment Count | Florence led forward his troops, and as they met with scarcely any resistance, the issue of the battle was decisive in their favour; 60,000 of the allied troops were slain, and the Governor of Gueldres, the Count of Lou vain, and the Bishop of Liege made prisoners 1.1061 A like success attended the arms of the Count in a j second invasion, by the Archbishop of Cologne, the I Margrave of Brandenburg, and the Lord of Cuyck, | whom he defeated, and put to flight in an obstinate and murderous battle, fought near the village of lower Hemert. Wearied with the combat, Count Florence fell asleep under a tree, not far from the scene of action, when the Lord of Cuyck, having reassembled his scattered soldiers, returned, and surprising him thus defenseless, put him to death with a great number of his followers 2. He did not, however, venture to attack the main body of the army, which retired in safety. Florence left by his wife Gertrude, daughter of Herman, Duke of Saxony, one son, Theodore, and a daughter named Bertha, or Matilda, afterwards married to Philip I., king of France 3.

  1. Heda, p. 125. Johan. a Leid., lib. xi., cap. 6.
  2. Melis Stoke, boek i., bl. 116. Manuscript Chronyck van Egmond in Schryver's Graaven, 1 deel., bl. 174.
  3. Melis Stoke, boek i., bl. 111. Velly Hist, de France, torn, ii., P. 403.

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 THEODORE V

Theodore V., being a child of tender years at the time of his father's death, was placed under the guardianship of his mother, Gertrude of Saxony. 1063 She had conducted the administration scarcely two years, when she contracted a second marriage with Robert, the younger son of Baldwin V., of Flanders, (surnamed from this alliance the Frisian,) and in conjunction with the nobles, conferred on him the government of the County during the minority of her son 1. It was not to be supposed that the Bishop of Utrecht would neglect so favorable an opportunity, as the succession of a minor to the County of Holland, for advancing pretensions to some portion at least of the states, to the whole of which he imagined he had a claim; more particularly as William I., the present occupant of the see, was a prelate of a character no less warlike and enterprising than his predecessors, and enjoyed, moreover, at this time great influence in the Imperial court. The Emperor Henry IV., elected King of the Romans in the life-time of his father, was still a child only twelve years of age; and Hanno, archbishop of Cologne, the spiritual lord and intimate friend of the Bishop of Utrecht, having possessed himself of the person of the young sovereign, governed as he pleased in his name 2. The bishop, therefore, found no difficulty in obtaining any favor which he might think fit to desire, and accordingly in May, 1064, a grant was made to him in the name of the emperor, of the whole of the County west of the Vlie, and about the Rhine, with the abbey of Egmond, besides all those lands from which Theodore III. had expelled Theodore Bavo 3.

  1. Johan. a Leid., lib. xiii., cap. 1. Meyer Chron. Fland., lib. iii., ad arm. 1063, p. 26.
  2. Ann. Sax. Col., torn, i., p. 493.
  3. Beka in Wilhelm., p. 40. Miraei Dip. Belg., torn. L, cap. 34, p. 155.

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The circumstance, probably, of Gertrude's marriage with Robert the Frisian, whose reputation stood high for courage, and ability, prevented the bishop from attempting to obtain a recognition of his rights for some years, and he had employed the intervening time in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land 1. After his return from thence a favorable conjuncture offered itself for enforcing the Imperial grant. Baldwin VI., Count of Flanders, had succeeded his father, Baldwin V., in 1067, and died after a short reign in 1071, leaving his son Arnold an infant, when the government was assumed by Richilda, widow of the late Count, as regent during her son's minority 2. But the nobles and people soon becoming weary of her extortions and oppression, sent to petition Robert the Frisian to come over and take possession of the regency, to which he was entitled, moreover, by a will made in his favor by his brother Baldwin, a short time before his death, at Oudenarde 3. On Robert's demand that Richilda should make an amicable surrender of the administration, she not only refused compliance, but confiscated Alost, and the five islands of Zealand west of the Scheldt, possessions of Robert in Flanders, and exercised great severity on those she suspected of being his partisans 4. To avenge these injuries, Robert collected a considerable body of troops, and besieging Richilda in Ryssel, whither she had retired on his approach, forced her to fly into France, 1071 and place herself under the protection of the king, Philip I., liege lord of Flanders.

  1. Heda in Wilhelm., p. 131.
  2. Meyer Ann. Fland., ad ann. 1070, p. 26.
  3. Idem. Melis Stoke, boek i., bl. 125.
  4. Johan. a Leid., lib. xiii., cap. 4.

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She succeeded so well in making her cause appear identified with that of her son Arnold 1, that Philip marched in person at the head of a powerful force to defend the interests of his vassal. The two armies meeting near Cassel, the king sustained a severe defeat; the young Count Arnold, who was present at the battle, was slain, and Richilda herself taken prisoner 2. The king of France was 'glad, therefore, to conclude a peace on terms the most favorable to Robert, whom he acknowledged as Count of Flanders, engaging at the same time to marry his step-daughter, Bertha, who shortly after became queen of France. Richilda was subsequently released, at the intercession of the emperor 3. It was during these transactions in Flanders, that William, bishop of Utrecht, having gained Godfrey, Duke of Lorraine, to his alliance, by promising him the government of Holland, as a fief of the bishopric, gave him the command of the united forces of Utrecht and Lorraine, joined to some bands of mercenaries 4 from the neighboring states 5. Godfrey, although small and deformed in person, was a leader of undoubted skill, brave, sagacious, and eloquent, and the expedition under his conduct was entirely successful. Robert advanced to Leyden, and attempted, but in vain, to make a stand against his enemies. Being defeated in a severe battle, he was forced, with his wife and her children, to take refuge in Ghent.

  1. Some historians say, that she purchased the support of the King of France at the price of 4000 pounds of silver. Aegid. de Roya, ad ann. 1070, p. 27.
  2. Melis Stoke, boek i., bl. 129.
  3. Johan. a Leid., lib. xiii., p. 135.
  4. "Stipendiarios" Johan. a Leid., ubi sup. This is the first time we find mention of these kind of troops in the Netherlands.
  5. Heda in Wilhelm., p. 131. Johan. a Leid., lib. xiii., cap. 5.

37

Holland, and, soon after, West Friesland, submitted to Godfrey 1; he also conquered and brought under subjection the East Frieslanders 2. He founded the city of Delft, where, after having governed the Country for about four years with great harshness and severity, he was assassinated by one Gilbert, a servant of Count Theodore; and soon after he received the fatal wound, he caused himself to be conveyed to Utrecht, where he died 3,4. 1075 His death was followed in the same year by that of William, bishop of Utrecht 5. Conrad, successor to the see, assumed, likewise, the government of Holland; and to defend himself against any disturbance on the part of Robert the Frisian and Theodore, he completed the fort of Ysselmonde, begun by William, which commanded the passage along the Yssel 6. The Hollanders, unable to endure with patience the episcopal yoke, earnestly desired the restoration of their lawful sovereign, while the young Theodore wished no less ardently to recover his paternal inheritance; and Robert the Frisian being in tranquil possession of Flanders, found himself at liberty to assist his adopted son in the enterprise he now formed for this purpose 7. 1076 In order to strengthen themselves by an important alliance, they sought the friendship of William the Conqueror, then king of England, who had married Matilda, sister of Robert the Frisian. William sent some vessels to their assistance, which, uniting with those of Count Robert, sailed towards the Merwe.

  1. Johan. a Leid., lib. xiii., cap. 5; lib. xiv., cap. 2*
  2. Inhabitants of the present province. Vide Note C. at the end of the volume.
  3. Heda in Wilhelm., p. 131. Melis Stoke, boek L, bl. 137.
  4. The extreme deformity of his person obtained for Godfrey the surname of Humpback.
  5. Beka in Wilhelm., p. 42.
  6. Idem, p. 43.
  7. Schryver's Graaven, 1 deel., bl. 243. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl, 347.

Note C (Page 37)

The historian Wagenaar (Vat. Hist., boek vii., No. 1.) is of opinion that the Counts of Holland had no footing in Friesland, east of the Zuyderzee, until long after this period. But the whole of the land lying between the Yssel and " Liore," is mentioned in the grant of Otho III. to Theodore II., Count of Holland: and the latter is much more likely to be the Lauwers in Friesland, than, as Wagenaar supposes, the small stream of the Lee in the southern part of Delftland, which, as Medemblick and the Texel are also named, would exclude the Country lying between, that is, the greater portion of Delftland, and the whole of Rhynland and North Holland : indeed, a single glance at the map will suffice to show that it was hardly possible this stream could have been the boundary fixed upon for the County.

The supposition that the Lauwers is in reality the river meant, besides the similarity of the name, is further confirmed by the great probability which exists, that the Zuyderzee was still, as in the time of the Romans, an inland sea, Friesland and West Friesland forming one continued tract of land along the north of it, intersected by the Vlie, which connected the Zuyderzee with the ocean, the rivers Medemblick, Chimelosara, and other small streams.

A flood, which happened in 1173, considerably extended the limits of the Zuyderzee, and from that period until 1396 it continued gradually to increase, overflowing " whole forests and many thousand acres of land, so that large ships might be navigated where carriages used to travel." In 1396 another deluge occurred, which formed the Marsdiep, separated the islands of Texel, Vlielandt, and Wieringen from the main land, and drowned the land around Enkhuyzen and Medemblick 1.

We may therefore conclude that the rivers Medemelec, or Medemblick, and Kinnem in Kemmerland, with the Texel, were the boundaries of the County, as granted by Otho III., on the west 2, and the Lauwers on the east. The Emperor Lothaire certainly made a grant of Friesland, in 1125, to his nephew Theodore VI.; but if the rights of the Counts of Holland were founded solely upon this charter, it is hardly probable that the Emperor Frederic I. should have considered their claims and those of the bishops of Utrecht so equal, as to decide that the government should be divided between them (in 1165), since the grant of

  1. Schryver's Graaven, deel i., bl. 343.
  2. The portion of Holland' around Egmond was granted by Charles the Simple, king of France,

Lothaire was long subsequent to those of Henry IV. of 1077 and 1086, upon which the bishops grounded their pretensions. John of Leyden, speaking of the grant of Lothaire, says, that he again incorporated the land in question with the County of Holland, according to the ancient rights, "secundum antiqua privilegia iterum incorporavit 1. He likewise tells us, that Friesland had been wrested from Holland, by Egbert, margrave of Brandenborg 2, which opinion is adopted by the author of the Netherland Chronicle 3, and by Heda 4, but controverted by Buohelius, the annotator of the latter (Note " c,") on the ground that the expulsion of the Count of Holland is not mentioned in the diplomas of Henry IV. to the bishop of Utrecht: but it does not appear probable that either the emperor who made the grants, or the bishop who obtained them, would voluntarily adduce any pretensions which the Counts of Holland may have had to the territories conferred by them.

  1. Lib. xvii., cap. 2.
  2. Lib. xv., cap. 5.
  3. Divis. x., cap. 10
  4. P. 138,

38

A large number of Utrecht ships lay in the mouth of that river, to oppose their passage; but after a long and severe contest, the whole of the bishop's fleet was either captured or dispersed, and the fortress of Ysselmonde, where Conrad himself then resided, was forced to surrender, on condition that, a free passage being granted to him and his followers, the bishop should renounce all claim to the states of the Count of Holland, and restore all the conquests made by himself or his predeces 1. The fortress was afterwards dismantled, and the inhabitants joyfully took the oath of allegiance to Count Theodore, who, as soon as he was confirmed in the possession of the County, formed a matrimonial alliance with Othilda, daughter of Frederick, Duke of Saxony 2. The Bishop of Utrecht finding his hopes of aggrandizement frustrated on the side of Holland, fixed them on another quarter. During the long and vexatious disputes between the Emperor Henry IV., and Pope Gregory VII., which embittered that prince's reign, and finally shortened his days, the bishop constantly adhered to the side of the emperor, and took care to secure ample compensation for his fidelity. 1077 Egbert, Margrave of Brandenburg, being slain whilst engaged in rebellion against his sovereign, his states, after his death, we confiscated, and the bishop obtained for his share the Counties of Staveren, Oostergowe, Westergouwe, and Islegowe, 1086 comprising nearly the whole of the present province of Friesland, which had been wrested by Egbert from Theodore of Holland, after the death of Godfrey the Humpback of Lorraine 3.

  1. Beka in Conr., p. 43.
  2. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 348—360. Johan. a Leid., lib. xv., cap. 2.
  3. Heda in Con., p. 139. Johan. a Leid., lib. xv., cap. 5.

39

The Count, though he lived some years after, made no attempt to dispute with the bishop the possessions conferred on him by this grant; he died in 1091, having governed the County fifteen years after his restoration, leaving only one son by his wife, Othilda, of Saxony 1.

 FLORENCE II

Florence II., surnamed the Fat.—In his reign, the preaching of Peter the hermit inflamed nearly the whole of Europe with the desire of rescuing the tomb of the Redeemer from the hands of the infidels. The events of this singular phenomenon in the history of mankind are so generally known, the motives of the clergy who kindled the zeal of the multitudes, the 1095 temper and opinions of the people who responded to their call, the crimes and miseries which these expeditions caused and encouraged, with the advantages which ultimately ensued from them, have been so often and so amply discussed by the most able historians, that it would be superfluous and even tedious to dwell upon them here; and the more so, as the effects on Holland were, for some time at least, comparatively slight; for though we find the names of several of her nobility numbered in the ranks of the Crusaders, and among them those of Arkel and Brederode, the most powerful and illustrious in the state, yet, whether that the mercantile habits of the people rendered them unwilling to engage in war, except some tangible advantage were to be gained by it, or that their constant hostilities with the bishops of Utrecht had placed the Church in such an unfavorable point of view, as to render them less liable than the rest of the world to spiritual influence, certain it is, that the enthusiasm was. neither so highly wrought nor so widely diffused as among the other peoples of Europe, and particularly the neighboring County of Flanders.

  1. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 350, 351,

40

Their present Count also, Florence the Fat, was, unlike his ancestors, a man of a pacific and somewhat indolent disposition, insomuch that he lived during the whole of his reign in peace, not only with the emperor, but even with his restless neighbor and hereditary foe, the Bishop of Utrecht 1. The only transaction wherein we find them opposed to each other, was of a kind not unprofitable to the Count. The Bishop Conrad had possessed himself of a church at Alburg, to which the Abbot of St. Truyes in Liege deemed he had the sole right. Florence, who was the advocate 2 of the abbey, succeeded in bringing about a surrender of the church to the abbot, but caused himself to be well paid for his services; for the abbot tells us that, he "was obliged to draw the unwieldy body of Count Florence, our advocate, with silver cords from Holland to Utrecht, and to bend the stiff neck of the bishop with a hammer of the same material" 3. 1106 Florence sought to increase his power rather by friendly alliances than by conquests; he married Petronella, daughter of Theodore, Duke of Saxony, and half sister of Lothaire, afterwards Emperor of Germany 4; and on the accession of Henry V. to the empire, the Count entered into a treaty with him, by which it was provided, that they should use their united efforts to obtain possession of the part of Zealand and Flanders west of the Scheldt, of which the Countess-dowager Richilda had, in the year 1071, deprived Robert the Frisian.

  1. Beka in Godebold, p. 45.
  2. The rich abbeys and bishoprics elected an advocate, whose business it was to defend their interests in the secular courts, and, if required, to march at the head of their vassals in war. They were also called, from the nature of the former duty, " Causidici." (Du Cange," Advocati Ecclesiarum in Gloss.") This office was sometimes hereditary, held independently, and even against the will of the bishop or abbot, on whose behalf it was exercised. (Chron. Egmond, p. 43,89. Schmidt, Hist. des Alle., torn, iv., p. 207, 208.
  3. Chron. Rudolphi in Vat. Hist. gequot., boek vii., No. 8.
  4. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 364, 355.

41

It does not appear, however, that the Hollanders afforded any active assistance to the emperor, in the expedition he undertook for this purpose in 1100, though there seems no doubt that Count Florence was included in the peace made shortly after at Metz 1, and that the Count of Flanders ceded to him, by that treaty, Zealand west of the Scheldt, and Waasland, since his successors held these lands as a fief of Flanders. Florence the Fat ended his tranquil reign of thirty years in the spring of 1121; he is represented to us as tall and large in stature, of gentle and affable manners, and a placable and benevolent disposition; he excelled all his forefathers, as well in riches as in virtue; his tournaments were celebrated for their splendor and costliness 2; and we may suppose that during his reign, the Hollanders made no inconsiderable advances in freedom, the arts 3, commerce, and, perhaps, even literature; if so, however, it is left unnoticed by the early chroniclers, who have rather given us a record of the vices, ignorance, and superstition of men, than traced their first steps towards virtue and knowledge. That theological discussions already occupied a large share of public attention, appears evident from the fact, that heresy not only made its appearance, but struck such deep root, particularly in Zealand, that it was found very difficult to extirpate.

  1. Ann. Sax. Col., torn, i., p. 619, 621.
  2. Beka in Con., p. 43. Melis Stoke, boek ii., p. 854.
  3. In the year 1148 a number of magnificent pictures were destroyed at Utrecht by a fire, which consumed the principal churches in the city. Schryrer's Graaven, 1 deel., bl. 312.

42

One Tanchelyn ventured to preach the doctrine, that the ministers of the church, and the offices of priest and bishop, were entitled to no particular reverence; that the receiving of the body and blood of Christ in the sacrament, was not necessary to salvation 1; and that no tithes ought to be paid to ecclesiastics. Blasphemy, impietssy, and the most odious crimes, were imputed to him by the clergy, but among the people he was held in high esteem, and the belief in his divine mission was widely spread; they drank, as from a holy fount, of the water in which he had bathed, and accompanied him, wherever he went, sometimes to the number of three thousand, armed for his protection. He was at last surprised, while going on board a ship without his usual guard, and killed by a blow on the head from the hand of one of the priests, by whom his doctrine, and the boldness with which he preached it, had made him both hated and feared 2. It was left to the efforts of the ecclesiastics to stop the progress of this heresy, which does not appear to have excited any general persecution. Florence had by his wife Petronella of Saxony, three sons, Theodore, Florence, and Simon, and one daughter, named Hadwy 3.

 THEODORE VI

1123 Theodore VI. being too young at the time of his father's death to undertake the management of affaire, his mother, Petronella, was appointed governess during his minority; a woman of extraordinary courage, sagacity, and ambition. She took up arms in the cause of her brother Lothaire of Saxony, against the Emperor Henry V., with whom he was at war; and Henry, although he invaded Holland with a powerful army, found considerable difficulty in forcing her to acknowledge feudal allegiance to him 4.

  1. The doctrine of the real presence had been disputed in France nearly a century before. Velly, torn, ii., p. 375.
  2. Vide Letter of the Chapter of Utrecht to the Archbishop of Cologne in Cod. Babenberg., No. 288, Col., torn. ii.
  3. Johan. a Leid., lib. xvi., cap. 1.
  4. Melis Stoke, boek iL, bl. 959. Chron. Luneburgicum Col., torn, ii., p. 1369.

43

1125 The election of Lothaire to the throne of Germany, at length put an end to the enmity between the emperors and the Counts of Holland, which had now subsisted, with the intermission only of the short alliance between Florence the Fat and Henry V., for more than a century. Lothaire, in gratitude for the aid which Petronella had afforded him against Henry, invested her son Theodore with the Counties of Oostergowe and Westergouwe, in the province of Friesland, of which Henry IV. had made a grant to Conrad, bishop of Utrecht 1. Neither the Hollanders or the bishops, however, reaped any benefit from the imperial gifts, since the Frieslanders, a people devotedly attached to their freedom, would not endure that those liberties which " their ancestors had purchased with their blood, should be destroyed by a stroke of the pen 2." The grant of the emperor was, on the contrary, the occasion of a dangerous war to Count Theodore, since the Frieslanders of Oostergowe and Westergowe, excited to rebellion his subjects in West Friesland, always ready for change, and eager to assert their independence. 1132 A quarrel having arisen not long before, between Theodore and his brother Florence, surnamed the Black, the West Frieslanders, among whom the latter was popular, from his velour and eloquence, took advantage of this circumstance to solicit him to accept the sovereignty over them, and defend them against the oppression of the Count 3. Florence readily assumed the command offered him, and under his conduct they surprised and plundered Alkmaar; the Kemmerlanders also, thinking the present a favorable opportunity to "fight themselves free 4", united with the Frieslanders, and swore allegiance to Florence.

  1. Johan. a Leid, lib. xvii., cap. 2. Heda in And., p. 157.
  2. Ubbo Emnicus Rerum Frisicarum, lib. vi.
  3. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 3«4—370.
  4. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 372.

44

This unnatural contest between the brothers lasted two years, and was at 1134 length terminated by the interference of the emperor Lothaire, their uncle, who brought them to terms of accommodation, whereby each retained that which they had in possession; but Florence being slain not long after, in an ambush laid for him by the lords of Arensbeig and Cuyck, West Friesland and Kemmeiv land returned to the dominion of Count Theodore 1. 1137 On the death of the Emperor Lothaire, Conrad III. of Hohenstaufien was raised to the imperial dignity by the instrumentality of the bishops of Cologne and Treves, which gave the clergy once more a preponderance in the councils of the Germanic court. The effect of their influence was soon felt by the Count of Holland, since one of the first acts of Conrad was to revoke the grant of Oostergowe and Westergowe made by Lothaire, and restore Friesland to the see of Utrecht 2. As it was more than probable that this circumstance would prove the occasion of a declaration of war on the part of the bishop, Theodore only wanted a pretext for striking the first blow. This was soon afforded by the disputes that arose between Bishop Heribert and Otho, burgrave of Benthem, whose sister Theodore had married 3. Otho had taken advantage of the discontents manifested by the inhabitants of Drent, against the government of the bishop, to invade that province, but was defeated, and taken prisoner 4.

  1. Johan. & Leid., lib. xvii., cap. 0. Beka in And., p. 48. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 376.
  2. Heda in And., p. 157.
  3. Schryver's Graaven, 1 deel., bJ. 319. Beka in Ilcr., p. 50.
  4. Idem, p. 51.

45

Count Theodore no sooner heard of the disaster that had befallen his brother-in-law, than he quickly assembled his forces, and laid siege to Utrecht. The bishop seeing no chance of being able to defend himself with temporal, had recourse to spiritual weapons. Attired in his pontifical robes, and followed by his clergy, he issued out of one of the gates of the city, with the book and candle in his hands 1, ready to pronounce sentence of excommunication on the Count, unless he instantly raised the siege. The Hollanders who stood before the walls prepared for an assault, were confounded at this strange spectacle, and Count Theodore himself was seized with such dread of the spiritual ban with which he was threatened, that he threw down his shield and helmet, and forbade the commission of any further hostilities. The bishop knew so well how to turn his pious terrors to advantage, that he obliged him to swear, that he would retire without molesting the city, and to ask forgiveness on his knees, barefoot and bareheaded 2. The reconciliation which followed gave Theodore leisure to undertake a voyage to the Holy Land. 1139 During his absence, the Bishop of Utrecht did not remain idle, although he refrained from any actual violation of the peace. By the treaty made in 1018, by which Theodore III. consented to hold Bodegrave, Merwede, and Zwammerdam, as a fief of Utrecht, the Counts of Holland had gained the right of voting as vassals in the election of the bishops.

  1. In pronouncing sentence of excommunication, the clergy usually held a lighted candle during the time it was being delivered, which they threw down and extinguished as it was finished. Mat. Par., p. 585.
  2. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 386. Beka in Heribert, p. 50.

46

Heribert now obtained from the Emperor Conrad III. a charter, vesting the right of election in the chapter of Utrecht, to the exclusion of the vassals; and likewise another, confirming him in the possession of Oostergowe and Westergowe, with a penalty of one thousand pounds of pure gold against any one who should venture to infringe it 1. As the Counts of Holland did not think it necessary to pay regard to either of these edicts, their only effect was to exasperate still further the jealousy and enmity existing between them and the bishops.

In this reign, Holland was already sufficiently populous to admit of the removal of a large colony of its inhabitants. Adolphus, Count of Holstein, and Albert, surnamed the Bear, margrave of Brandenburg, having defeated and subdued the Wendels 2 and Obodrites 3, nations of the Sclavonian race 4 the whole of them deserted their Country: to re-people the lands now left waste, therefore, Albert sent to Utrecht, Holland, Zealand, and Flanders, from whence he collected a vast number of builders and husbandmen, and settled them on the borders of the Elbe and Havel. 1151 The Hollanders (so strong is the power of habit on the human mind) fixed themselves, by choice, on the low and marshy lands south of the Elbe, and the tracts then called Balsemerland and Marsciemerland, extending to the forest of Bohemia, and which the Sclavi had before wrested from the Saxons. Notwithstanding the difficulties they had to contend with, both from the nature of the soil, and the frequent incursions of the Sclavi, these patient and industrious colonists built towns and churches in their new settlement, and in a short time rendered it incredibly rich and flourishing 5. Theodore died in the autumn of 1157, leaving four sons by his wife Sophia, daughter of the Count Palatine of the Rhine. 6

  1. Heda in Herib., p. 163—166.
  2. Inhabiting the present Pomerania. Herm. Cor., Col. 2—631.
  3. People of Mecklenburg. Idem, 632.
  4. The Sclavi possessed, besides Pomerania, the whole Country front the Oder to the Elbe. Idem.
  5. Helmoldia Chron. Slav., lib. L, cap. 67. Herman. Corn. Col., torn. ii., p. 697.
  6. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 394.

 FLORENCE III

47

1157 Florence, finding, on his accession to the government* that the Flemish merchants evaded the payment of the tolls at Dordrecht, by passing down the Maas (now the old Meuse) by Geervlietss and Bornesse, obtained permission of the emperor to establish a toll at the former place. The Flemings, deeply aggrieved at this new burden on their trade with Holland, which, even at this early period, was of considerable value, made complaints to Count Philip of Flanders, who governed the County in the room of his father, Theodore of Alsatia, then in the Holy Land. Philip, young, brave, and ambitious, readily determined to make war on the Count of Holland, both by land and sea, for the protection of the commerce of his subjects; and accordingly equipped a number of ships sufficient to keep the Holland navy in check, while with his land forces he made himself, master of the Waasland, after which, having enriched his troops with considerable booty, he retired to Flanders 1. Several years elapsed before Count Florence found himself in a condition to attempt the recovery of his lost territory, or to revenge the injuries inflicted on his subjects. Meanwhile, he sought and obtained in marriage, Ada, grand-daughter of David I., king of Scotland, and under pretext of bringing home his royal bride, he put to sea a large fleet of ships, by which she was escorted to the mouth of the Maas, where the fleet remained stationary, until circumstances should permit Florence to renew the war with Flanders 2.

  1. Meyer Ann. Fland., lib. v., ad ann. 1157, p. 47.
  2. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 395,396. p Heda, p. 172,173,181.

48

He likewise concluded an amicable treaty under the auspices of the Emperor Frederick I., with Godfrey, bishop of Utrecht, whereby the government of the long-disputed territory of Friesland was to be exercised in common, and its revenues equally divided between them; and about the same time entered into an agreement with the bishop, and the Counts of Guelderland and Cleves, that they should mutually take measures to prevent the disasters arising from the frequent overflowing of the Rhine 1.

1165 To this effect several dykes were raised, and a canal dug a little above Rhenen, on the borders of Guelderland, to lead off a portion of its waters to the Zuyderzee 2. Thus, having secured himself on the side of Utrecht, Florence recommenced hostilities both by land and sea 3, against Philip of Flanders, which, however, terminated in a manner most disastrous to the former, since he was defeated in a severe naval battle, many of his nobility were slain, and himself wounded and carried prisoner to Bruges. As the Counts of Holland owed fealty to the Counts of Flanders for the five islands west of the Scheldt, Florence, upon this ground, was cited before a court, composed of the vassalsof Count Philip, and declared to have forfeited all right to those islands. 1167 Upon the mediation of the Bishops of Cologne and Liege, Philip consented to release Florence, after an imprisonment of two year, and to reinstate him in the territories he held of Flanders 4.

  1. The old mouth of the Rhine at Catwyk was now nearly closed up.
  2. Heda, p. 172,173,181.
  3. The Flemish historian says that "tanta sibi vim militum piratarum que conflaverat, ut totius maris imperium obtinere videretur". Meyer Ann. Fland., lib. v., ad aim. 1165, p. 49.
  4. Schryver's Graaven, 369—361. Meyer Ann. Fland., lib. v., ad aim. 1165, p. 49.

49

The treaty made on this occasion, gives a little insight into the customs of the Netherlander at this early period, and therefore deserves to be noticed somewhat at length. By Art. 6th, it is provided: That if any Fleming being in Holland, shall be robbed, the inhabitants of the place where the act is committed shall be obliged to make restitution, and to banish the thief, or be answerable for all the evil and mischief he may occasion if allowed to remain; should the inhabitants be unwilling to pay the sum required, the Count must take it upon himself to do so. By Art. 13th, if a debt be demanded of a Flemish merchant, travelling in Holland, and he deny such debt, his creditor shall not hinder him on his journey, but follow him to the place whither he is going, and there submit the case to the determination of the magistrates 1; if the debtor be too long, or vexatiously detained, he shall be indemnified by the Count. Should the Count of Holland, or his successors, violate any of the articles of this treaty, his vassals in the five islands shall leave his service, and become subjects of the Count of Flanders, till he make satisfaction; which, if he persist in refusing, the guarantees of the treaty, on the side of Holland, shall pay to the Count of Flanders six thousand marks of silver. The Count of Holland was obliged to forego the right of exacting tolls at Geervlietss, and to surrender the sovereignty of Waasland. The treaty was signed by a great number of nobles as sureties on both sides 2.

  1. " Schepenen," orsheriffe. VOL. I.
  2. Meyer, Ann. Fland., ad ann. 1165—1167, p. 49, 50. Aegidius, de Roya Chron. Belg., ad ann. 1167.

50

1168 The West Frieslanders had not let slip the favorable opportunity for rebellion, offered by the imprisonment of Count Florence, but made use of it on the contrary to attack and plunder their neighbors the Kemmerlanders, and to possess themselves of Alkmaar, which they laid in ashes 1. Florence was no sooner released, than be determined to chastise their insolence. He therefore marched into West Friesland at the head of a powerful body of troops, among whom were the flower of his nobility, and came to a pitched battle with the insurgents near Schagen: the Frieslanders, purposely retreating, drew their pursuers into an ambush, when they turned suddenly upon them; a sharp conflict ensued, in which the Hollanders were totally defeated; a great number, particularly of the nobles, slain, and many more made prisoners 2. Florence was never able, during the whole of his reign, to reduce his rebellious subjects in that quarter to entire obedience, though in an expedition he undertook against them some years after (1184), he forced the Frieslanders of Texel and Wieringen to pay him a fine of four thousand marks of silver 3,4. The year 1170 was rendered memorable by a terrific flood, which extended over Holland, Friesland, and Utrecht: in the latter province, the waters rose to so great a height, that the people were able to catch fish with nets from the walls of the town 5. The position of the land of the Netherlands renders it, as is well known, subject to constant disasters of this kind. To avoid tediousness, therefore, they will be passed over without mention, unless they are attended with any lasting effect» or cause a permanent change in the face of the Country.

  1. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 397,398.
  2. Idem, boek ii., bl. 404-408.
  3. The small mark containing about 15d.
  4. Johan. a Leid., lib. xviii., cap. 7.
  5. Beka in Godf., p. 54.

51

The crusade preached in 1187 by Pope Clement III., drew a considerable number of the princes of Europe to the army of Frederick I. or Barbarossa, (1189) emperor of Germany: among these was the Count of Holland, who had assumed the cross three years before 1. The crusading army having spent the winter in Greece (1190), passed the Hellespont in March, 1191, and in the month of May following, rendered themselves masters of Iconium. The troops, who had suffered greatly during their long march, and the ensuing siege, were still further dispirited by the death of their brave and able leader, Frederic Barbarossa, who perished while bathing in the small river of Seleph, in Armenia 2. After his decease, the army was conducted to Antioch by Frederic, Duke of Suabia, his second son, where the imprudent use of food and wine, after a long-continued scarcity of provisions, caused a pestilential sickness in the camp, and among the immense number of those who fell victims to its ravages, was Count Florence of Holland. He was buried near the grave of the Emperor Frederic, in St. Peter's church, at Antioch 3. His reign was invariably unfortunate; but he is represented as a prince of admirable pietssy and integrity. This Count is said to be the first who obtained from the emperor the privilege of coining money, stamped with the arms of Holland 4.

  1. Godf. Monach. St. Pantaleonis, ad ann. 1188,1189. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 418.
  2. Herman. Cor., col. ii., p. 787, 788.
  3. Hist. Terne Sanct. Col., torn, ii., p. 1351.
  4. Recherches sur le Commerce, torn, i., p. 89.

 THEODORE VII

52

Florence III. left by Ada, the Scottish princess, Theodore, his successor to the County; William, who remained in the Holy Land for nearly five years after the death of his father; Florence, archdeacon of Utrecht; Robert, governor of Kemmerland, and four daughters 1. The confused state of affairs in Flanders, at the time of the accession of Theodore^ seemed to offer him a favorable opportunity of releasing himself from the vassalage to which he was subject, in respect of the five islands, and which was a source of perpetual vexation to the Counts of Holland. Philip of Flanders, who had accompanied the crusade in 1189, died during the siege of Acre, about two years after, leaving no issue; whereupon Philip IL, king of France, claimed the County, as having escheated to him in default of heirs male 2. Baldwin, Count of Hainaut, however, son of Margaret, sister of the late Count, assumed the government of the County in defiance of the right claimed by Philip as Suzerain; and while he was occupied in maintaining his authority against the king, Theodore of Holland petitioned Henry VI., emperor of Germany, that he might henceforth hold the islands west of the Scheldt as an immediate fief of the empire, and likewise for leave to restore the tolls at Geervlietss 3. As the Count of Flanders himself owed allegiance to the empire for the islands in question, Henry refused the first petition 4; the second, however, was more successful; and the merchants of the empire, as well as the Flemings, were j commanded to pay five per cent., on all ships of value more than one hundred marks, passing by Geervlietss. 5 The renewal of this impost, and the severity with which it was exacted, (the Hollanders often forcing the Flemings to pay double) so greatly irritated the  latter, that they made an irruption into Walcheren in 1195 while Florence could only oppose them with a divided force, since he was at this time embarrassed by another war 5.

  1. Beka in Godf., p. 53. I
  2. Meyer, Ann. Fland., lib. vii., ad ann. 1191, p. 57. I
  3. Idem, lib. vii., ad ann. 1191, p. 57. I
  4. Idem, lib. vii., ad ann. 1192, p. 58. I
  5. Meyer, Ann. FL, ad ami. 1195, p. 61. Beka in Bald., p. 57.

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William of Holland perceiving, shortly after his return from the Holy Land, that some enemies at court had found means to excite suspicion and jealousy in the mind of his brother towards him, retired to ^West Friesland, where the disaffected were always sure to find companions ready for revolt 1. Hostilities were begun on the side of William, when Theodore sent one part of his army to Friesland, under the conduct of his wife Adelaide, (daughter of the Count of Cleves,) while he himself advanced with the remainder to expel the Flemings from Walcheren. The issue of both expeditions proved fortunate. Theodore forced the Flemings to evacuate Zealand, while the lady Adelaide, having found means, by dint of money and promises, to seduce a considerable portion of William's troops from their fidelity, defeated the remainder in a battle fought near Alkmaar, and William himself with difficulty escaped being taken prisoner 2. Towards the end of the same year the brothers were reconciled, by the influence chiefly of their mother, Ada of Scotland, and Theodore consented to bestow on William 300 pounds Flemish yearly, payable from the tolls at Geervlietss, and all his possessions in Friesland 3, to be held as a fief of Holland 4. The good fortune of Count Theodore at length deserted him, and the event of a war, in which he was afterwards engaged with Utrecht, was disastrous in the extreme. both to himself and the state.

  1. Beka in Bald., p. 57. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 850.
  2. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 452, 453.
  3. Not West Friesland, but the present province of that name.
  4. Beka in Bald., ii., p. 57. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 456, 457.

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By the treaty made between Florence III. and the Bishop Godfrey in 1165, it was stipulated that they should divide equally the revenues of Friesland, which, of course, implied an understanding, that neither party was to levy taxes without the consent of the other. The present bishop, Theodore van der Aare, was elected to the see of Utrecht after it had been occupied for a short period by Theodore, uncle of the Count of Holland, and Arnold of Isenburg, both chosen at the same time, the former by the vassals 1, Theodore of Holland and the Count of Guelderland, and by a portion of the canons, the latter by the remainder of the canons only. Van der Aare found, on his consecration, that the finances of the bishopric were so deeply involved, in consequence of the troubles arising from a disputed election, as not to admit of his paying much regard to the condition of the treaty made with the Count of Holland respecting Friesland*. He therefore, without consulting Count William, used every means he could devise to extort money from the Frieslanders. William manifested his dissatisfaction at this mode of proceeding, by seizing the bishop at Staveren and throwing him into prison. But the Frieslanders, dreading the vengeance of heaven for the injury done to so holy a person, released him by force of arms; and William, as he found that the greater number of the people espoused the.cause of the prelate, applied for assistance to Otho, Count of Guelderland, whose daughter he had married, and to his brother Theodore, of Holland. Each, in compliance with his request levied a considerable body of troops, and Otho took possession of Deventer, while Theodore laid siege to the city of Utrecht 3.

  1. As the vassalsof Utrecht continued to vote in the election of the bishop, notwithstanding the charter vesting the right in the chapter alone, granted by the Emperor Conrad III., the elections were, in consequence, perpetually disputed between the two parties. Beka, p. 52. Heda, pp. 160,171,184, &c.
  2. Beka in Theod., ii., p. 62.
  3. Joban. k Leyd., lib. xix., cap. 11. Beka in Theod., ii., p. 62.

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In this difficulty the bishop betook himself for protection to Henry, Duke of Brabant or Lower Lorraine 1. Henry commenced operations in favour of his new ally, with possessing himself, by stratagem, of the person of Otho of Guelderland, upon which Theodore raised the siege of Utrecht, marched to Brabant for the purpose of releasing Otho, and besieged and took Bois le Due. 1202 On his return to Holland, laden with booty and prisoners, he was intercepted near Heusden by the Duke of Brabant's army, strengthened by the soldiers of Cologne and Liege, together with some troops from Limburg and Flanders. A sharp engagement ensued, in which Theodore's troops were entirely defeated, and he himself was taken prisoner 2. He was released within the year upon payment of 2000 marks of silver; but by the treaty then made with the Duke, he was obliged to surrender Breda, and bound himself and his successors to do homage to the Dukes of Brabant for Dordrecht, and all the lands lying between Stryen, Waalwyk, and Brabant, and to assist them against all their enemies, except the emperor 3. Thus the ancient capital of the County became a fief of Brabant, and so continued until the year 1283, when John I., Duke of Brabant, released the Count of Holland from his fealty.

  1. The duchy of Brabant took its rise in the year 1106, when the Emperor, Henry V., divided the ancient kingdom, or duchy of Lorraine, into two parts, called Upper and Lower Lorraine, and bestowed the latter on Godfrey the bearded, Count of Louvain, who assumed the title of Duke of Brabant and Lorraine. Henry III., Duke of Brabant, dropped the title of Duke of Lorraine, and styled himself Duke of Brabant only. Guic-ciardini, Belg. Descrip., torn, i., p. 90. Johan. a Leid., lib. adv., cap. 4.
  2. Petrus DiYsus Troph. Brab., lib. x., ad ann. 1202.
  3. Butkens Tropbées de Brab., Corps. Dip., torn. L, p. 130.

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1203 Theodore did not long survive this calamity; he was attacked by a severe sickness at Dordrecht, and on the approach of death, earnestly desired to see his brother William, with a view, probably, of bequeathing to his protection Ada, his only daughter, whom, as he had no son, he left heiress of his dominions 1. He died, however, before his wish could be accomplished, and his untimely fate brought new miseries on his Country; the government falling into the hands of a girl of tender years, guided by a mother, sufficiently shrewd, indeed, and courageous, but intriguing and ambitious.

  1. Melis Stoke, boek ii., bl. 478. Beka in Theod., ii., p. 63.

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