14th CENTURY WARFARE IN THE NETHERLANDS
1. Introducing chapter: the Netherlands under construction.
The Netherlands as we know them today are both a state and a name that had to be born yet in the 14th century. These regions were sometimes already (literally) referred to as the Low Countries, what is the Flemish or Dutch quivalent for The Netherlands.
The Netherlands as we know them today are both a state and a name that had to be born yet in the 14th century. These regions were sometimes already (literally) referred to as the Low Countries, what is the Flemish or Dutch quivalent for The Netherlands.
The Low Countries in 1340
The partition of the Frankish Kingdom
After his death in 814, Charlemagne left a vast empire, usually referred to as the Carolingian or Frankish Empire. However under his sons and grandsons the unity within the empire gradually broke down. With the Treaty of Verdun in 843 the empire was divided between Charlemagne’s 3 grandsons into 3 separate Kingdoms. The West-Kingdom (West-Franconia) was assigned to Charles the Bald and would become the base for the Kingdom of France. The East-Kingdom (East-Franconia) was assigned to (Louis II) and would become the base for the Holy Roman Empire. In between lay the Middle-Kingdom, which was assigned to Lothair I.
The Middle-Kingdom was to become the cradle of the Low Countries. It stretched from the North-Sea coast in the north to halfway Italy (Monte-Casino) in the south and included 35 Counties and 7 Bishoprics. It roughly included the modern states Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and the south-west of Switzerland as also Lorraine and Burgundy. In 855 the Middle-Empire was divided into a northern and southern part. The Northern part lived on as Lotharingen or Lorraine. It roughly covered the territory between the rivers Scheldt and Rhine. The Middle-Kingdom became a target for both neighbours.
Finally in 877 the Middle-Kingdom was once again repartitioned, now into 3 parts: Lorraine, Burgundy and Italy. From then on the Middle-Kingdom formed part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century the Middle-Kingdom would form an integral part of the Burgundian Empire and afterwards of the Habsburg Empire.
In 880 the Treaty of Ribemont definitely settled the frontier between the Western and Eastern Kingdoms. In the later Low Countries region the River Scheldt became a permanent part of that frontier. Gradually the Carolingian districts and administrative counties disappeared or faded away with the decline of a strong central authority. From the central part of the Middle Kingdom emerged the Duchy of Lower Lorraine, including modern Luxemburg and parts of the Southern regions of the Netherlands. As the Dukes of Lower-Lorraine couldn’t maintain their authority the title survived only as a ceremonial one. From the remnants gradually emerged the contours of the later Counties and Duchies in the Netherlands. During the 10th and 11th centuries several local and regional rulers started acting still more independently. In cases where a former Carolingian district or canton (gouw) or part of it made up part of the territory where they exercised authority, they started calling themselves Count. Not seldom they adapted the name of their main residence or castle.
The regional and local rulers tried to realise full power over their possessions. However these possessions often didn’t form any unity in both geographical nor juridical respect. This was caused by the various origins of their possessions and privileges, what led to different foundations for their authority: these origins might be allodia, feudal, custody, premises or just the right of jurisdiction. This made it difficult to realise full power or authority. The disintegration of central power in this region led to the creation of several Counties and Duchies with a growing independency. They would form the base for the Burgundian Empire followed by the 17 Provinces of the Netherlands in the 16th century.
The Low Countries in the 14th century
The church and especially the bishops formed a fast growing power, which also spread into the secular world. In the Low Countries the Bishops of Utrecht became men of great influence and besides the bishopric they soon also became secular rulers of importance. Their territory comprised large parts of the later Provinces Utrecht, Overijssel and Drenthe (reffered to as The Sticht and The Oversticht). Of the secular rulers the counts of Holland (later also including Zeeland) and Guelders and the Dukes of Brabant and Limburg were the most important ones. The Frisians had a status aparte as they regarded themselves as independent.
More southward (in modern Belgium) the Counts of Flanders, Hainault and Loon and the Prince-Bishop of Liege were important and men of great influence upon what happened in the Netherlands. Eastward (in modern Germany) the Archbishop of Cologne and the Counts of Cleves, Jülich and Berg were of great importance for the events in the Netherlands.
From the 11th century the secular rulers got a growing interest in the nomination of the bishops in their region or surrounding regions, because it was important to have a bishop who shared their interests. So it happened that the principalities in the Netherlands regularly quarrelled or waged little wars about the nomination of one of their favourites for the Episcopal seats of Utrecht and Liege. Also the electoral struggles for the Imperial crown were of great influence, since the rulers were more or less forced to make a choice and a wrong choice might have disastrous effects, like their possessions or castles being ruined by the new Imperial King or Emperor. It was not easy to be a ruler during the middle ages and the future of a County or Duchy depended much on right choices, allies or coalition partners. But even that offered no guarantee, since allies often changed sides like the wind.
My special interest goes to the second half of the 14th century, when Holland, Brabant and Guelders have become powerful houses and their influence reaches beyond the boundaries of their County or Duchy even up to the Imperial Court. They have become interesting potential allies for both England and France, who are involved in the long lasting struggle for power in France, known as the 100 Years War. They got involved in many conflicts, sometimes as allies and on other occasions as adversaries. The conflicts varied from small scale raids to large scale battles, in a period when armour was changing from mail over partial plate to full plate for the knights, using all minds of helmets and shields. Often knights fought in their father’s armour since they regarded this as an honour or since they couldn’t afford a modern equipment. This makes this period into a very colourful one for wargaming purposes, with a lot of military and heraldic information available.
After his death in 814, Charlemagne left a vast empire, usually referred to as the Carolingian or Frankish Empire. However under his sons and grandsons the unity within the empire gradually broke down. With the Treaty of Verdun in 843 the empire was divided between Charlemagne’s 3 grandsons into 3 separate Kingdoms. The West-Kingdom (West-Franconia) was assigned to Charles the Bald and would become the base for the Kingdom of France. The East-Kingdom (East-Franconia) was assigned to (Louis II) and would become the base for the Holy Roman Empire. In between lay the Middle-Kingdom, which was assigned to Lothair I.
The Middle-Kingdom was to become the cradle of the Low Countries. It stretched from the North-Sea coast in the north to halfway Italy (Monte-Casino) in the south and included 35 Counties and 7 Bishoprics. It roughly included the modern states Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg and the south-west of Switzerland as also Lorraine and Burgundy. In 855 the Middle-Empire was divided into a northern and southern part. The Northern part lived on as Lotharingen or Lorraine. It roughly covered the territory between the rivers Scheldt and Rhine. The Middle-Kingdom became a target for both neighbours.
Finally in 877 the Middle-Kingdom was once again repartitioned, now into 3 parts: Lorraine, Burgundy and Italy. From then on the Middle-Kingdom formed part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century the Middle-Kingdom would form an integral part of the Burgundian Empire and afterwards of the Habsburg Empire.
In 880 the Treaty of Ribemont definitely settled the frontier between the Western and Eastern Kingdoms. In the later Low Countries region the River Scheldt became a permanent part of that frontier. Gradually the Carolingian districts and administrative counties disappeared or faded away with the decline of a strong central authority. From the central part of the Middle Kingdom emerged the Duchy of Lower Lorraine, including modern Luxemburg and parts of the Southern regions of the Netherlands. As the Dukes of Lower-Lorraine couldn’t maintain their authority the title survived only as a ceremonial one. From the remnants gradually emerged the contours of the later Counties and Duchies in the Netherlands. During the 10th and 11th centuries several local and regional rulers started acting still more independently. In cases where a former Carolingian district or canton (gouw) or part of it made up part of the territory where they exercised authority, they started calling themselves Count. Not seldom they adapted the name of their main residence or castle.
The regional and local rulers tried to realise full power over their possessions. However these possessions often didn’t form any unity in both geographical nor juridical respect. This was caused by the various origins of their possessions and privileges, what led to different foundations for their authority: these origins might be allodia, feudal, custody, premises or just the right of jurisdiction. This made it difficult to realise full power or authority. The disintegration of central power in this region led to the creation of several Counties and Duchies with a growing independency. They would form the base for the Burgundian Empire followed by the 17 Provinces of the Netherlands in the 16th century.
The Low Countries in the 14th century
The church and especially the bishops formed a fast growing power, which also spread into the secular world. In the Low Countries the Bishops of Utrecht became men of great influence and besides the bishopric they soon also became secular rulers of importance. Their territory comprised large parts of the later Provinces Utrecht, Overijssel and Drenthe (reffered to as The Sticht and The Oversticht). Of the secular rulers the counts of Holland (later also including Zeeland) and Guelders and the Dukes of Brabant and Limburg were the most important ones. The Frisians had a status aparte as they regarded themselves as independent.
More southward (in modern Belgium) the Counts of Flanders, Hainault and Loon and the Prince-Bishop of Liege were important and men of great influence upon what happened in the Netherlands. Eastward (in modern Germany) the Archbishop of Cologne and the Counts of Cleves, Jülich and Berg were of great importance for the events in the Netherlands.
From the 11th century the secular rulers got a growing interest in the nomination of the bishops in their region or surrounding regions, because it was important to have a bishop who shared their interests. So it happened that the principalities in the Netherlands regularly quarrelled or waged little wars about the nomination of one of their favourites for the Episcopal seats of Utrecht and Liege. Also the electoral struggles for the Imperial crown were of great influence, since the rulers were more or less forced to make a choice and a wrong choice might have disastrous effects, like their possessions or castles being ruined by the new Imperial King or Emperor. It was not easy to be a ruler during the middle ages and the future of a County or Duchy depended much on right choices, allies or coalition partners. But even that offered no guarantee, since allies often changed sides like the wind.
My special interest goes to the second half of the 14th century, when Holland, Brabant and Guelders have become powerful houses and their influence reaches beyond the boundaries of their County or Duchy even up to the Imperial Court. They have become interesting potential allies for both England and France, who are involved in the long lasting struggle for power in France, known as the 100 Years War. They got involved in many conflicts, sometimes as allies and on other occasions as adversaries. The conflicts varied from small scale raids to large scale battles, in a period when armour was changing from mail over partial plate to full plate for the knights, using all minds of helmets and shields. Often knights fought in their father’s armour since they regarded this as an honour or since they couldn’t afford a modern equipment. This makes this period into a very colourful one for wargaming purposes, with a lot of military and heraldic information available.
The Low Countries in the 14th centuries
WILL BE CONTINUED