Siege of Vredelant

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Siege of Vreeland

18th-century image by Simon Fokke depicting the siege of Vredelant
Date1279 - 1280
Location
Vreeland, Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht
Result Victory for Floris V of Holland
Belligerents
County of Holland
Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht		 Van Amstel family
Commanders and leaders
Count Floris V of Holland
Bishop-Elect John I of Nassau
Costijn van Renesse		 Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel
Arent van Amstel
Strength
400+[1] 1000+[1]

The siege of Vredelant (Dutch: Beleg van Vredelant) took place from late 1279 to 1280 and was fought between Floris V of Holland and Bishop-Elect John I of Nassau on one side and the rebellious Van Amstel family on the other side. The castle of Vredelant was taken within weeks when Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel was captured by the count's soldiers.

Background[edit]

In the 1260s the bishop of Utrecht, Henry I van Vianden built a castle on the Vecht river in the Amstelland near the border with Holland. This way he could keep an eye on the rebellious lords of Amstel and control trade from and to Utrecht on the river.[2]

Eventually, Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel rose up against the weaker successor of Henry of Vianden, the bishop-elect John I of Nassau, during the Kennemer uprising in 1273. The nobleman led an army of farmers, who destroyed multiple castles and besieged the city of Haarlem before moving on to Utrecht. There they were let in by the guilds, and the bishop-elect was forced to flee to Deventer. The city would stay under the guilds' control until September 1276, when it was recaptured by bishopric forces led by Zweder van Beusichem.[3] The bishop-elect returned to the city two years later.

To repay his debts caused by the uprising, among other things, he pawned the castles of Montfoort, Vreeland, and Ter Horst to the lord of Woerden Herman VI van Woerden, the lord of Amstelland Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel and the lord of Cuijk Jan I van Cuijk respectively.[4]

The seal of Floris V, Count of Holland

This quickly caused problems, when Van Amstel levied a toll on the Vecht river,[5] John I of Nassau tried to repay the 1824 pounds he borrowed from Van Amstel,[6] but the lord refused to leave the castle. Floris V, the count of Holland, stepped in to mediate. Advised by the lords Simon van Haarlem, Drik van Teilingen, Gerard van Wateringen, Jan II van Renesse, Diederik van Zanthorst and the burgrave of Leiden, on 21 January 1279 he decided that Van Amstel had one year to return the castle to the bishop-elect.[7] Unhappy with this ruling, John I of Nassau mustered an army and set off for Vredelant. Eventually, Gijsbrecht van Amstel met the bishop-elect in battle at the Soester Eng that same year.[8] The bishopric army almost defeated Van Amstels' soldiers, but at the last moment Herman van Woerden arrived with reinforcements and turned the tide of the battle.[9] The soldiers of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht fled to nearby Amersfoort and the rebellious lords claimed victory, but Herman van Woerden was gravely wounded. Some sources say that the battle took place on the Zweser Eng in Zuilen.[10] The defeated John I of Nassau turned to the count of Holland, Floris V, to help him deal with the two noblemen.[11] The count seized this opportunity to gain more influence in the Prince-Bishopric, and on the 26th of Juli 1279 the bishop-elect bestowed the de facto control of the region upon Floris V.[12]

Siege[edit]

When Floris V surrounded the castle, it was Gijsbrecht's brother Arnoud or Arent van Amstel, the lord of Benschop, Polsbroek, and IJsselstein who was defending the castle.[13] The count had an army of soldiers from both Holland and Zeeland, commanded by Costijn van Renesse.[9] Despite his numerical advantage, Floris V did not storm the castle, because he knew Gijsbrecht van Amstel would attempt to relieve his brother. When the rebellious nobleman did so with around 1000 men,[1] and 400 men under Costijn van Renesse met him on the battlefield, fighting broke out at Loenen. Chronicler Melis Stoke describes the scene in his Rijmkroniek:[14]

When a herald accompanied by the sound of trumpets brought the captured lord to the moat, Arent van Amstel surrendered the castle, on the condition that he and his brother would be kept alive. Floris V accepted, and Vredelant fell.[9] The lords of Amstelland were brought to Zeeland, where they would be imprisoned until 1285.[11]

The siege is said to last two weeks, and although the exact dates of the siege can't be confirmed, charters released by the count of Holland show he was at Vreeland from 3 May until 14 May.[15]

Aftermath[edit]

When Floris V captured Vredelant, he quickly advanced to Montfoort, held by Herman VI van Woerden. The nobleman fled, and after a siege lasting almost a year, the count managed to capture this castle as well.

The bishop-elect had to cover all costs made by the two sieges, and became indebted to Floris V even further.[16] The count of Holland took the newly captured regions of Amstelland and Woerden as collateral.

Eventually, Gijsbrecht and Arent van Amstel were released in 1285, and regained their status as influential lords, only this time they swore allegiance to Floris V instead of John I of Nassau. Herman van Woerden returned under similar circumstances.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c de Graaf, Ronald (2004). Oorlog om Holland, 1000 - 1375. Hilversum: Verloren. p. 86. ISBN 9065508074.
  2. ^ http://www.kasteleninutrecht.eu/Vreeland.htm
  3. ^ van der Vlerk, L.C.; Struick, J.E.A.L (1983). "II: De waarde van de wal". Utrecht ommuurd. Vianen: Kwadraat. pp. 31–33. ISBN 9064812020.
  4. ^ Cruysheer, Anton (2018). "De middeleeuwse stad Vredelant (Vreeland)". Archeologica Naerdincklant: Archeologisch Tijdschrift voor Het Gooi en Omstreken. 2018-I: 23–28. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  5. ^ van der Aa, Abraham Jacob (1848). Aardrijkskundig Woordenboek der Nederlanden. Gorichem: J. Noordyn en Zoon. pp. 903–904. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  6. ^ Ketner, F. (1954). Oorkondenboek van het Sticht Utrecht tot 1301, Deel IV. 's Gravenhage: Staatsdrukkerij en Uitgeverij. p. 166. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  7. ^ Ketner, F. (1954). Oorkondenboek van het Sticht Utrecht tot 1301, Deel IV. 's Gravenhage: Staatsdrukkerij en Uitgeverij. pp. 231–232. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  8. ^ de Kam, Wim (September 2009). "De Zuidelijke Eng te Soest" (PDF). Tussen Vecht en Eem (2009–3): 304–319. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Hofdijk, W.J. (1884). Merkwaardige Kasteelen in Nederland, Volume III (Second print ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill & S.C. van Doesburgh. pp. 207–216.
  10. ^ Olde Meierink, B.; Janssen, Hans; Bente, Diederik (1995). "Vreeland, Loenen". Kastelen en ridderhofsteden in Utrecht (Second print ed.). Matrijs. p. 456. ISBN 90-5345-072-6.
  11. ^ a b 't Jong, Henk (2021). De Tombe van Floris V. Utrecht: Omniboek. pp. 111–112. ISBN 9789401917452.
  12. ^ Ketner, F. (1954). Oorkondenboek van het Sticht Utrecht tot 1301, Deel IV. 's Gravenhage: Staatsdrukkerij en Uitgeverij. pp. 239–240. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
  13. ^ https://onh.nl/verhaal/floris-v-en-de-grenzen-van-noord-holland
  14. ^ Brill, W.G. (1983). Rijmkroniek van Melis Stoke. Utrecht: HES Uitgevers. p. 226. ISBN 9061940044.
  15. ^ Kruisheer, J.G. (1997). Oorkondenboek van Holland en Zeeland tot 1299 IV. Assen: Van Gorcum. pp. 81–100. ISBN 90-232-3328-X. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  16. ^ De Boer, D.E.H.; Cordfunke, E.H.P. (2010). "Floris V". Graven van Holland: Middeleeuwse vorsten in woord en beeld (880 - 1580). Zutphen: Walburg Pers. p. 87. ISBN 9789057306440.


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