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The Golden Falcon

Chapter III/1 - Fleming

THE WINTER OF DISCONTENT

 

Stout fitzStephen came to the king

A pilot famous in sea-faring

 

"The famed White Ship is mine in the bay

From Harfleur's harbour she sails today".

 

Quoth the King "My ships are chosen each one

But I'll not say nay to Stephen's son.

 

My son and daughter and fellowship

Shall cross the water in the White Ship."

 

With noble knights and with ladies fair

With courtiers and sailors gathered there,

Three hundred living souls we were.

 

An instant shriek that sprang to the shock

As the ship's keel felt the sunken rock.

 

With prayers in vain and curses in vain

The White Ship sundered on the mid-main

 

"O wherefore black, O King, ye may say

For white is the hue of death today

 

Your son and all his fellowship

Lie low in the sea with the White Ship."

 

(Dante Gabriel Rossetti)

 

The Worcestershire historian Thomas Habington maintained that the family of Roger Winter settled in Wych during the reign of Edward II (1307-1327).

 

The county of Wych, in the Halfshire Hundred of Worcester, was renamed Droitwich, after Edward I gave it the right or "droit" of mining salt.

 

The place the Winters settled in Droitwich was probably Wynturesland on the bend of the river Salwarpe, the "narrow winding stream", where there are also places named Cassyland and Cokesayland (the families of Cokesay and Cassy were ancestors of the Winters of Huddington).  John Cassy senior and John Cassy junior were bailiffs of Droitwich or Wych in 1377 and Peter Cassy held pasture within its bounds.  There are brasses at Deerhurst of Sir John Cassy (1400), chief baron of the Exchequer (probably the one at Droitwich) and his wife Alice Giffard and dog Terri as well as those of Elizabeth, wife of Sir William Cassy and daughter of Thomas Bruges of Coverle.

 

Inquisitions postmortem show salt springs held by the families of Elmbridge and Cokesay.

 

In 1480-90 George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (brother of Edward IV and Richard III) held Lydney, Salwarpe, Wych and Cassyland-next-Wych by right of his wife Isabelle, daughter of Richard Neville "The King Maker", Earl of Warwick.

 

The word "wych" originated from the Hwicce, a race part-Saxon part-Celt which inhabited the west from Gloucestershire (near Cirencester) up to the Windrush, extending into Worcestershire and Warwickshire.  The name survives in place-names such as Wychwood Forest, Wychbury, Wichenford, Elmley, Wychbold, Elmbridge and Ascott-under-Wychford.  The word meant flexible in Anglo-Saxon and this is probably why the wych or Scots elm got its name, also known as the "Worcester weed" or "Winter's Bloom" because it blooms in winter.

 

This tree is found mainly in South Wales where it was used since Neolithic times for the famous longbow.  The name "Winter's Bloom" is particularly appropriate. Accordingly to Breconshire legend and Welsh genealogies, the original Walter or William de Lacy (ancestor of the Winters according to some sources) was reputedly in charge of the bowmen on the "Lord Neville" (Gilbert de Neville was said to have been William the Conqueror's admiral).

 

The bowmen were probably Flemings who were famous crossbowmen and archers. 

 

There as a connection between England and Flanders since the mid 800s when Judith, daughter of the Emperor Charles “the Bald” married first Ethelwolf, king of Wessex, (marriage unconsummated), then his son Ethelbald and thirdly Baldwin “Bras de Fer,” Count of Flanders.  Ethelwolf’s son (by his 1st wife Osburga) Alfred the Great married his daughter Alfrida to Baldwin II “Calvus”, Count of Flanders (Baldwin I’s son by Judith).

 

Flemings settled in Normandy before the Conquest in the reign of Edward the Confessor who married Emma of Normandy in whose retinue they probably came. After her 2nd husband Canute died and earl Godwin plotted against her, Emma fled in 1036 to Bruges, in Flanders or Fleanderland “the land of those who fled” (from Saxony).  Her son Hardacanute joined her later and remained there until he became king of England.  Canute’s niece Brunhilda (accused of having opposed Edward the Confessor) took refuge in Bruges.  In 1047 Godwin’s son Sweyn was outlawed and came there, followed by Godwin himself 4 years later.  Godwin negotiated a marriage between his son Tostig and BaldwinV’s daughter Judith.  After the Norman Conquest in 1066, Saxons who fled from England to Flanders included Hereward the Wake (son of earl Leofric of Mercia), Githa, earl Godwin’s wife and their daughter Gunhilda who lived in Bruges for 20 years.

 

Other Flemings came in the retinue of Matilda of Flanders, William I's wife, daughter of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders but William lost the friendship of the Count by sending his seneschal, William fitzOsbern of Breteuil to support Arnulf, heir of Flanders, against Robert the Frisian.  When duke of Normandy, William recruited mercenaries from Flanders and Brittany so there were many Flemish nobles at the Conquest who fought on his side at the field of Senlac in Hastings, Sussex.

 

The Flemings were skilled bowmen.  The ruins of their Guild of Crossbowmen of St. George and St. Denis are situated in the École Normale, Bruges.  All that remains is a great square tower of red brick which was once much higher than it is now and contains a curious stone staircase with a beautiful groined ceiling.

 

At the end of the rue des Carmes the ramparts and tower of the fortress of the archers of the Military Order of St. Sebastian (martyred by being used as a target for archers).

 

The crossbow was a speciality of Lens and was used until it was replaced by the longbow after the battles of Poitiers, Crecy and Agincourt.  One Flemish family which settled in the Midlands, Cumberland and Surrey were surnamed Crossbowman.

 

The crossbow remained a weapon despite bans by Pope Pascal in 1100 and again by Innocent II in 1139 for use against Christians (but allowed when fighting the Turks who were also famous crossbowmen).

 

It was used by Edward I against the Welsh, by the Genoese at the battle of Poitiers and in 1350 Baldwin III of Flanders was appointed "Maitre des Arbaletrieres" to King John II of France.  Crossbowmen were elite, highly paid troops, some mounted, others on foot, comprising small companies, used especially to defend castles.

 

In 1283 during Edward I's Welsh campaign, there was a large Gascon contingent consisting of 210 horse and 1,313 foot.  The Gascons were also famous for their crossbows and Edward used crossbowmen in conjunction with archers and spearmen.  During his conquest of Wales, 350 crossbowmen and archers were drafted from the army at Rhuddlan to go on board 60 ships as marines.  Some were Gascons, others Genoese but the majority were Flemings.

 

Flanders (part of ancient Lotharingia) was a borderland between France (to the north east) and Germany.  Trade routes ran through it to the Mediterranean and roads which joined France with Germany.  Flemish lords held their lands from both France & Germany and as its Counts had ambitions regarding imperial Hainault, they were loyal to their French overlords rather than its German ones.

 

England exported raw wool since Roman times and Flanders became a market because of its cloth towns where it was woven.  The 100 Years War was caused by commercial competition in the Low Countries between France and England over the wool trade.

 

Flanders (comprising present-day Holland, Belgium and parts of Luxembourg) came into intermittent conflict with France, a situation which lasted for centuries.

 

In 1127 Louis VI “le Gros” was called to Flanders to avenge the murder of Charles “the Good” of Denmark, count of Flanders.  Louis first placed William Clito (son of Robert “Curthose” of Normandy) and then Clito’s rival Thierry as Counts.

 

Philip II “Augustus”of France married Elizabeth, daughter of Baldwin of Hainault and niece and heiress of Philipof Alsace, Count of Flanders (who was a vassal both of France and the Holy Roman Empire).  She brought the County of Artois in her dowry, including the towns of Arras, St. Omer, Aire and Hesdin (28.4.1180).  Philip of Alsace retained the right to rule Artois during his own life but it was to revert to France if Philip II left a direct heir who himself had direct heirs.  Artois only legally became part of France in 1226 though it was occupied by Philip II in his lifetime.

 

When Louis VII died on 28.9.1180, Philip of Alsace headed league against Philip II of France composed of the Queen mother Adela of Champagne, the Count of Champagne, the Archbishop of Reims, the Counts of Hainault, Sancerre, Blois, Chartres and Nevers and the Duke of Burgundy (May 1181) whereupon Philip II invaded Flanders.  The war lasted 5 years and was won by Philip II who received 65 castles in Vermandois, Amiens and confirmation of his wife’s dowry under the terms of the Treaty of Boves in July 1185.  Philip II came into conflict with Richard I and John I of England when Flanders and the Counts of Blois, Boulogne and Toulouse supported the Engish.  France lost St. Omer & Aire (1197) and the greater part of Artois (by the Treaty of Vernon in 1199).  When the Count of Flanders died during the siege of Acre (which fell on 13.7.1191), Philip II of France successfully claimed the lands of his wife Elizabeth (d. 1190) which the Count had settled on his second wife and extorted further concessions from Baldwin IX, the new Count.  However the French were unpopular in Flanders and Philip had to surrender St. Omer and Aire.

 

It was only after Baldwin bcame Emperor of Constantinople on 9.4.1204 that France finally secured her Flemish lands.  In 1202 Baldwin, Count of Flanders went on crusade, leaving his daughters, Jeanne and Marguerite in charge of their uncle Philip of Namur who was an ally of Philip II of France.  Namur sent his wards to Paris where Jeanne, heiress of Flanders was married to Ferrand of Portugal.  Philip of France appropriated Aire and St. Omer under the terms of the Treaty of Lens in February 1212) and detained the couple.  When Ferrand came out of prison, he made a secret treaty with John of England.

 

John had antagonised his feudatories in Aquitaine who appealed for help to Philip as John’s suzerain.  After the murder of John’s nephew, Arthur of Brittany and Roger de Lacy the castellan, was forced to surrender Chateau Gailliard on 6.3.1204, Normandy fell to France.

 

When Philip summoned his vassals against John, Ferrand refused to co-operate unless the two town seized by France were returned to him.  Instead he supported the League (consisting of Holland, Boulogne, Lorraine and the emperor Otto IV) when Philip’s eldest son Louis (later Louis VIII) gathered an army to invade England in 1213.

Philip confronted the Flemings in Picardy and defeated them at the Battle of Bouvines on 27.7.1214 after which Boulogne was handed to France.

 

Ferrand was captured and remained in prison for 12 years.  His sister-in-law Marguerite was given as a ward to Bouchard d’Avesnes when she returned with her sister to Flanders in 1211 and he married her.  This caused antagonism between the 2 sisters (instigated by the French king) because the Flemings regarded d’Avesnes as their saviour.  Pope Innocent III asked the archbishop of Reims on 19.1.1216 to proclaim the excommunication of d’Avesnes until he set Marguerite free but this was not done because Marguerite acknowledged d’Avesnes as her husband.  Jeanne then made war on d’Avesnes and her sister for 2 years.  He had 2 sons Baldwin and Jean.  Philip “Augustus” of France plotted to get him excommunicated again and the Pope imposed a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  D’Avesnes then supported Baldwin of Constantinople so the French king forced Marguerite to take a new husband William of Dampierre by whom she had 2 sons Guy and William.  Marguerite repudiated her sons by d’Avesnes and after her death, St. Louis of France gave Flanders to trhe Dampierres and Hainault to the d’Avesnes.

 

Guy Dampierre (whose family originated in Champagne) tried to marry his daughter Phillipine and then her sister Isabelle to the English heir which enraged France.  Philipine was captured by the French in 1296 and murdered by Philip “le Bel” of France.  Guy signed a treaty with Edward I of England on 7.1.1297 and Philip of France invaded Flanders.  Guy was defeated and died a prisoner.

 

The conflict with Flanders contiunued until a treaty was signed on 20.5.1320 with France after which Louis of Nevers, eldest son of Robert of Bethune (Guy’s son) became Count.  Flanders went to Burgundy when Louis’s great grand daughter Jeanne married Count Phillipe “le Hardi” and to the Hapsburgs through their great grand daughter Marie’s marriage to Maximilian of Austria.  Maximilian’s son Philip “le Bel” became king of Spain through his marriage to Juana “La Loca”, daughter fo Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Monarchs.

 

There seems little doubt the Winters were originally Flemings or Saxons intermarried with Flemings.

 

According to Reitstap's "A European Armorial" (p. 66, 2nd shield) the Winter arms "sable, a fesse argent" were also borne by members of the noble family of van Borsele, Borselen, Bursell, Bourselle or Borsell, Comtes d'Ostrevant, who originated in Borsele, formerly an island in the South-West Delta (flooded in 1517) with a castle, situated on the shores of the Westerschelde in the province of Zeeland, Netherlands, comprising 15 small villages.

 

Henri van de Vere, lord and head of the army of Holland and Zeeland in 1438 (3rd shield), Baldwin de Bursell and Floric [Floris or Frank] de Bursell, seigneur de Cartgen (4th shield differenced by a mullet) and the van Borselle wife (d. 1372, bur. Abbey l Notre Dame, Middelburg) of Casper de Cupere (de Cuyper, de Kuyper, de Kuijper), knight of Keervliet, Zeeland, whose ancestor Arnoldus (b. c. 1260) was a warlord under Count Floris V of Holland bore these arms.

 

The fitzWilliam Roll show these arms were borne by Sir Bryan Beauchastle of Beau Castle and the English families of Borsell, Dumar, Elyot, (Hampshire), Orrell (Kent), Olderbury (London), Orwell, Wading, Waldrington and Weere.

 

Ostrevant (once in Flanders) is now in northern France near Valenciennes [prefecture Dept Nord, on the confluence of the rivers Scheldt (Escaut) and the Royelle on the Belgian frontier] and Bouchain [canton arrondisisement Valenciennes on the river Scheldt (Escaut), 4 km north of Cambrai] and not far from Douai [sub-prefecture Dept Nord, 32 km south of Lille on the rivers Scarpe and the Sensée canal].

 

The families of Tracy & Suddeley (of Gloucester) were descended from sister of Edward the Confessor’s sister Godgifu and the earl of Mantes (a descendant of Hucbold, Count of Ostrevant.

 

Counts of Ostrevant: Hucbold, Count of Ostrevant (d. c. 895) = Helwise or Heiliwich of Friuli (d. 895), d. of Eberhard (812-62), Margarve of Friuli and Gisela (818-74), Emperor Louis the Pious (Charlemagne’s son) > Ralph I of Cambrai (d. 944 in battle), Count of Valois, Amiens and the Vexin = Leitgard of Mantes, Countes of Mantes & Meulan (d. 12.11.990) > Ralph II de Gouy (d. 926 or 936), Count of Ostrevant, Amiens, Valois & Vexin = Edgarde or Eldegarde of Valois (d. after 965), d. or niece of Ermenfroi, Count of Amiens.  She = (2) Count Waleran > Gautier, Count of the Vexin (b. c. 919 in the Vexin, Normandy, d. c. 944)

 

According to Chaume [“Origines du duché de Bourgogne” i. 537] Ralph de Gouy was son of Walter, Count of Laon (descendant of Warin (d. 677).  Philip Grierson [“Complete Peerage” xii, pt I, pp.411-12] maintains he was son of Huchbold, count of Ostrevant by Heliwich, d. of Eberhard of Friuli (d. 865-6) byGisela, d. of the Emperor Louis “The Pious” or “le Debonnaire” son of Charlemagne.  Professor David Kelly suggests Ralph de Gouy was son of  Count Theuderich (living 888), son of Nibelung, Count of Vexin (in 864) mentioned in the genealogy of the family who held the lordships of Perrecy & Jully, said to have descended from the half.brother of Charles Martel, Charlemagne’s grandfather.

 

Ralph of Valois (d. 743) [or Ralph of Gouy (d. 926) by Heiliwich] > Walter I (d. 992-8), Count of Amiens, the Vexin & Valois  > grandson Dreux (d. 1035) of Mantes, Count of the French Vexin = Godgifu, sister of King Edward “the Confessor” = (2) Eustace, Count of Boulogne > Ralph, younger son (d. 1057) was gien English lands and perhaps an earldom by his uncle King Edward > Harold de Suddeley, held Sudddely & Toddington, Glos & Chilvers Canon, Warks in 1086 > John = Grace, d. of William de Tracy, bastard son of Henry I > Ralph de Suddely & William de Tracy.

Eustace II, Count of Boulogne’s brother Lambert (d. 1054 at Lille), husband of Adela (sister of William I “The Conqueror”), gave up Ostrevant (which he held with Hainaut and & Brabant circa 1050) for Lens [canton Pas de Calais arrondissement Bethune.  Ancient Lens, probably included the towns of Lens-St.-Remy, Lens-St.-Servais, Lens-sur-Geer in Liege, arr. Waremme & Lens-sur-Dendre, canton Hainaut, all in Belgium].

 

Subsequent counts of Ostrevant belonged to the family of the Counts of Flanders.

 

Baldwin VI of Mons “Le Bon” (Baldwin I count of Hainaut), count of Hainaut, Mons, Valenciennes, d'Ostrevant (1051-1070), Flanders & Artois (1067-1070) = Richilde d'Egisheim, countess of Hainaut, Mons & Valenciennes (1049-1051 & 1072-1076) abdicated, d. 1086, > Baudoin IV “Le Bâtisseur”, count of Hainaut etc. (1120-1171) = Alix or Ermessinde or Ermensor, d. of Godfrey, count of Namur d.  1169 (cf. First Dynasty of Luxembourg) > 2nd son Geoffrey, count of Ostrevant, d. 1159 = Eleanor, countess of Saint-Quentin & Lady of Valois, d. of  Raoul I, count of Vermandois, d. 1214.  (cf. Second Dynasty of Vermandois).

 

John Stow mentions Ostrevant in his “Survey of London”:

 

 “In the 14th of Richard II, after Froissart, royal jousts and tournaments were proclaimed to be done in Smithfield, to begin on Sunday next after the feast of St. Michael.  Many strangers came forth of other countries, namely Valerian, earl of St. Paul (St. Pol), that had married King Richard’s sister, the Lady Maud Courtney, and William the young earl of Ostervant, son to Albart of Baviere, earl of Holland & Henault.”

 

Froissart also mentions this visit in 1390 of William, Count of Ostrevant, son of the Count of Hainaut, Holland and Zealand for the celebrations held in England at the arrival of Richard II’s 2nd wife, Isabella of France.  The Count of Ostrevant took part in the jousting and was made a Knight of the Garter which displeased the French king who made him swear fealty for his lands on pain of seizure.

 

Lodewijk van Brugge or Louis of Bruges (1422-26.11.1492 at Brugge and bur. there), lord of Gruthuise, Flanders, Prince of Steenhouse, Burgundy (now Steenhuize or Steenhuijsen, south of Ghent, Belgium), knight of the Golden Fleece and governor of Holland under the duke of Burgundy, .1st Earl of Winchester, Cupbearer to Philip, Duke of Burgundy (1449), appointed Captain of Brugge, knighted at battle of Gavre (22.7.1453), assembled at 'The Vow of the Pheasant', for a crusade (17.2.1454), Chamberlain and Councillor (1461), joint-ambassador to Scotland (October 1460-February 1461), successfully prevented Scots aiding Queen Margaret of Anjou (wife of Henry VI) until the battle of Wakefield was over, made a knight of the Golden Fleece at St. Omer (6.5.1461), had licence from King Edward IV to come to England as Chamberlain of the Duke of Burgundy to fight a duel with Sir Ralph Grey (4.12.1461), joint-ambassador to England (October 1466-July 1467) Lieutenant-General of Holland, Zeeland and Friesland (14.5.1463-Easter 1477), received Edward IV (October 1470) when a fugitive at Alkmaar and entertained him magnificently at Gravenhage and Brugge (till 19.2.1471), when ambassador to England, Edward IV created him Earl of Winchester (13.10.1472) with remainder to heirs male of his body and giving him an annuity of £200 per annum, received a grant of arms from Edward IV (23.11.1472). Chief Commissioner for England to treat for peace with the Teutonic Hanse (10.12.1472),.ratified the Treaty of Arras (24.3.1483), imprisoned (June 1485) because he opposed Archduke Maximilian, forfeited property restored under treaty.

 

He married 1455 Margaretha van Borselen (d. 29.8.1510), daughter of Hendrik II van Borselen, Comte de Grandpre and Johanna van Halewyn, Vrouwe van Hemsrode.  They had 8 children (16.5.1488) [Source: Leo van de Pas, Worldroots.com].

 

He had a son John, lord of Gruthuise, father of Reginald who died without issue.

Remains of the Hotel de Gruthuise (the palace built by his grandfather John), still stand on the river at Bruges.  The church of Notre Dame, Bruges has a sculptured oak and stone tribune where his motto "Plus est en nous" is carved, which also appears everywhere in his palace.

 

Louis, scion of the House of Erembald (descendant of Desiderius Hacket's son Ralph), befriended Edward IV of England when the Lancastrians forced him to flee (in the 10th year of his reign) to the court of his brother-in-law, Charles "le Temeraire" of Valois, duke of Burgundy whose third wife was Margaret of York.  Louis entertained Edward IV and Richard III at his palace of Gruthuise in 1471

 

Louis of Gruthuise was made earl of Winchester by Edward IV and on 3.10.1472 was given the arms "azure, dix mascles d'or orne d'une canton de armes de Angleterre (gules, une leopard passant d'or, arme d'azure") but 27 years later in the 15th year of the Henry VIII (1499), both grants were surrendered to the king at Calais with no reason given.

 

The van Borselen family, Counts of Zeeland held Veere (meaning “of the ferry” or “of Veere”; and also “feather”).  From 1282 to 1486 the van Borselen, Lords of Veere were allied to the Dukes of Burgundy, rulers of Flanders.  Floris van Borselen may have acquired rights to lands in Noord Beveland from the count of Holland in the 12th century.  Rights to Veere must have been acquired later by Wolfert van Borsele or Borselen (1250-1299 [A]) the first known lord of Veere.

 

Frank (Florius) van Borselen married Jacoba (Jacqueline of Hainualt) van Beleren, Beveren or Bavaria (b. 1401, Quesnoy, died 1436 of TB in Teilingen), daughter & heiress of Willem VI, Count of Overleden (Holland) and Margaret of Burgundy.  Jacqueline married (1) Jean de Valois-Touraine, dauphin of France (1417); = (2) Jean IV, Duke of Brabant (1418) whom she left & divorced; = (3) Humphrey Plantagenet “The Good” (b. 3.10.1290)  4th son of Henry IV of England by Mary de Bohun, created earl of Pembroke & Duke of Gloucester (1427) the marriage was declared null & void on 9.6.1428 and = (4) Frank (Florius) van Borselen, Count of Ostrevant.  (1432).  She ceded the counties of Holland, Zeeland and Henegouwen (Hainaut) to Philip "the Good" of Burgundy in 1428 [“Plantagent Ancestry of 17th century colonists” - David Faris].

 

From the 13th century to the 15th century Hendrik van Borselen [F], was known as "Monsieur de la Vère", which could have been the origin of the name Van der Veer.  Henry (who also bore the arms “sable, a fesse argent”) was lord of Veere called Campveere in 1281 after the ferry that sailed to Campum on the opposite side of the lake.

 

[A] Wolfert van Borselen, lord of Veere and Zandenburg (b. Veere in 1250. died violently in Delft on 1.8.1299) = in 1275, Sibylle van Praet (van Randerode or van Cleverskercke), lady of Waterland (b. Purmerend, d. 1295 Veere, bur. Brugge).

 

[B] Wolfert van Borselen, lord of Veere and Zandenburg (b. circa 1270, d. before 6.4.1317), known as "Wlfard, son of the late lord Wlfard, lord of Zandenburgh, knight" in 1303, = circa 1312 Aleid van Henegouwen (d. after 12.6.1351).

 

[C] Wolfert van Borselen, lord of Veere and Zandenburg (b. circa 1295, d. before the end of June 1351) = Hadewich Bot van der Eemm (lady of Veere in 1363. d. circa 1371, bur. Dom of Utrecht).

 

[D] Hendrik van Borselen, lord of Veere and Zandenburg (b. circa 1345, d. 16.1.1401, bur. in Zandenburg castle chapel) = Maria van Vianen on 20.6.1383 or Catharina van Ellewoutswyck.

[E] Wolfert van Borselen, lord of Veere and Zandenburg (b. 1384, d. 16.1.1409. bur. Zandenburg castle chapel) = Hadewich van Brigdamme (b. after 1388, d. 29.9.1464, bur.at Minderbroeders, Middelburg).

 

[F] Hendrik van Borselen, lord of Veere and Zandenburg, Vlissingen, Westkapelle, Domburg, Brouwershaven etcetera, count of Grandpré, known as Monsieur de la Vère (b. circa 1395-1404, d. 15.3.1474, Zandenburg castle, bur. Grote Kerk, Veere), listed as knight in the order of the Golden Fleece at Ghent in 1445. = 26.12.1429 Janna van Halewijn (d. 18.3.1467, bur. Grote Kerk, Veere).

 

Lodewijk van Brugge, 1st Earl of Winchester, Prince de Steenhuijsen, (1422-26.11.1492 at Brugge and bur. there), Cupbearer to Philip, Duke of Burgundy (1449), appointed Captain of Brugge, knighted at battle of Gavre (22.7.1453), assembled at 'The Vow of the Pheasant', for a crusade (17.2.1454), Chamberlain and Councillor (1461), joint-ambassador to Scotland (October 1460-February 1461), successfully prevented Scots aiding Queen Margaret of Anjou (wife of Henry VI) until the battle of Wakefield was over, made a knight of the Golden Fleece at St. Omer (6.5.1461), had licence from King Edward IV to come to England as Chamberlain of the Duke of Burgundy to fight a duel with Sir Ralph Grey (4.12.1461), joint-ambassador to England (October 1466-July 1467) Lieutenant-General of Holland, Zeeland and Friesland (14.5.1463-Easter 1477), received Edward IV (October 1470) when a fugitive at Alkmaar and entertained him magnificently at Gravenhage and Brugge (till 19.2.1471), when ambassador to England, Edward IV created him Earl of Winchester (13.10.1472) with remainder to heirs male of his body and giving him an annuity of £200 per annum, received a grant of arms from Edward IV (23.11.1472). Chief Commissioner for England to treat for peace with the Teutonic Hanse (10.12.1472),.ratified the Treaty of Arras (24.3.1483), imprisoned (June 1485) because he opposed Archduke Maximilian, forfeited property restored under treaty = 1455 Margaretha van Borsele (d. 29.8.1510), daughter of Hendrik II van Borsele, Comte de Grandpre and Johanna van Halewyn, Vrouwe van Hemsrode.  They had 8 children (16.5.1488) [Source: Leo van de Pas, Worldroots.com].

 

Mary Stewart, Countess of Buchan (d. 20.3.1464/5), of James I of Scotland & Joan Beaufort = at Veere (Campevere) in 1444 Wolfeart/Wolfert/Wolfhard (John/Jean) van Borssele/Borselen (d. 29.4.1487), Seigneur de Campvere (Veere), Zeeland = (2) 17.6.1468, Charlotte of Bourbon-Montpensier.  Mary Stewart had 2 sons by van Borsele [thePeerage.com Person Page 5414].

 

The lords of Veere were commanders of the navy from 1491 until 1558 and the port became the Netherlands’ naval base.  Emperor Charles V made Veere a marquisate because of its loyalty; the first marquis was a member of the duke of Burgundy’s family.  The marquisate was bankrupted and sold to Charles' son, Philips II. [The lords of Veere - Marcel van der Veer]

 

The manor of Zuilen on the Vecht, 4 miles north-west of Utrecht was partly held in fief from the abbey and partly from the bishops of Utrecht by the lords of Zuilen who built a castle there at the end of the 13th century.  In 1302 this passed in marriage to the van Borseles who became lords of Veere and governors of Zeeland (the family became extinct at the end of the 15th century).

 

There was a strong link between Scotland and Veere.  The former first exported wool to Bruges but the River Zwin silted up and with it the ports of Damme and Sluis so Veere (originally a fishing port in 1296) started trading with Scotland.  The Staple Contract granted the town a monopoly on importing, storing and trading Scottish goods in the Netherlands.

 

The Staple at Veere called Campvere (near Flushing/Vlissingen and Middelburg) on the former island of Walcheren in the Netherlands, became the emporium of the Scottish traders.  Its harbour once had access to the North Sea.  In the 12th century Veere became the centre of the wool trade with Scotland when the Cistercian monks of Melrose started exporting wool duty free to Flanders, their Abbot having been given this right by the Count of Flanders.

 

About this time, Ada (d. 11.1.1208, bur. Middleburg), Countess of Ross and Princess of Scotland (sister of William the Lion, king of Scots), daughter of David of Huntingdon married on 28.8.1161/2, Floris/Florent/Florence III, Count of Holland & Zeeland (b. c. 1135/1141, d. 1.8.1190 on crusade in Antioch).  They had the following children:

i. Ada (d. c.1205)

ii. Margareta of Holland (b. c. 1164-1203)

iii. Dirk VII (d. 1203)

iv. Floris

v. William I (b. c. 168-1222)

vi. Elisabeth

vii. Agnes (d. 1228)

 

The link between Veere and Scotland was strengthened in 1444 when Wolfert (created earl of Buchan as a wedding-gift), son of Henry van Borsele married in Zeeland, Mary Stuart (d. 20.3.1465 Sandenburgh Castle, near Veere, bur. the Grote Kerk, Veere) Countess of Buchan, daughter of James I by Joan Beaufort.  Henry of Borsele, Lord of Veere, wrote in January 1474 to the Scottish king, about his gift of a tame young lion "unem iuvencullum leonem, regium animal, bene mansuetum".

 

During the revolt in the Low Countries against Philip II, William of Orange became marquis of Veere in 1581; the title of 'marquis of Veere' remained in the House of Orange.  The surname la Vère supposedly became van der Veer from about 1700.  This link between the Stuarts and the Netherlands continued when Prince William of Orange (Marquis of Veere) married the daughter of James VI.

 

In 1407 the Duke of Burgundy created the office of Conservator of Scottish Privileges in the Low Countries by a decree.  Scottish merchants lived in the town.

 

Scottish merchants from Edinburgh, Perth, Culross, St. Andrews, Dundee and Aberdeen received several privileges in Veere (Campvere).  They had their own tax and legal systems and their ships had special treatment.  The Admiral’s Court dealt with international maritime law - in 1528 Edinburgh appealed to the Lord of Veere regarding the case of a dispossessed Scottish skipper.  The ‘Court of the Lord Conservator’ dealt with both civil and criminal cases to those who came under by the Staple Contract.

 

Although Bruges tried to keep the Scottish Wool Staple, the Conservator of Scottish Privileges, Sir Alexander Napier, transferred the Staple Court to Middelburg in 1518.  The Staple was again moved to Veere in 1541 during religious conflict in Middelburg.

 

The Scots had a ‘duty free’ inn and a water supply (dug in 1531 to supply the wool merchants with 40,000 gallons of water) continued to supply Veere until 1931.  The 2 ‘Scottish Houses’ were occupied by traders who used them as business premises.  In 1612 the merchants were allowed to build a chapel with a graveyard and appoint ministers and elders.  This had a direct link to the General Assembly in Edinburgh.  In the 15th and 16th centuries Veere became the main port for Scotland’s trade with Flanders, Holland and Brabant.  The main import was wool but coal, hides, whisky, flax, grain and fish were also shipped there.  The Netherlands exported cloth, tiles, leather, brassware, wines and spirits to Scotland.  The Scotsman Sir Thomas Cunningham, Conservator and Mayor, was born in Veere (in 1604) and lived there all his life.

 

The wool trade and the Scottish Privileges ended during the Napoleonic period.  The Scottish community in Veere decreased to 15 by 1798 and the Kirk was closed down.  On 1.12.1799 the Scottish Staple Contract was cancelled.  Everyone once under the jurisdiction of the Scottish Court had to leave the Republic.  The merchants returned to Scotland.

The noble family of Borselen, Bursell, Bourselle or Borsell (one of whom became Count of Ostrevant), originated in Borsele, on the shores of the Westerschelde, Zeeland in the Netherlands, formerly an island (flooded in 1517) with a castle.  One member, Frank (Florius) van Borselen, married Jacoba (Jacqueline of Hainualt) van Beleren, Beveren or Bavaria (b. 1401, Quesnoy, died 1436 of TB in Teilingen), daughter of Willem VI, Count of Overleden (Holland) and Margaret of Burgundy.  Jacqueline married (1) Jean de Valois-Touraine (1417), (2) Jean IV of Brabant (1418), (3) Humphrey Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester (1427) and (4) Frank (Florius) van Borselen (1432).  She ceded the counties of Holland, Zeeland and Henegouwen (Hainaut) to Philip "the Good" of Burgundy in 1428.

 

Jacqueline (Jacoba) of Hainault (b. 1401, Quesnoy, d. Teilingen 8.10.1436), daughter & heiress of William VI, Count of Holland = (1) John, dauphin of France = (2) John, Duke of Brabant (whom she left & divorced) = (3) Humphrey Plantagenet, Duke of Gloucester “The Good” (b. 3.10.1290), 4th son of Henry IV of England by Mary de Bohun, created earl of Pembroke & Duke of Gloucester (marriage declared null & void 9.6.1428) = (4) Florius (Frank) va Borselen, Count of Ostrevant. (“Plantagent Ancestry of 17th century colonists” - David Faris).

 

When Charles "le Temeraire" disappeared, Flanders was inherited by his daughter Marie.

 

Marguerite of Maele (d. 1405) heiress of Flanders = Philip "le Hardi", duke of Burgundy, son of John II of France (d. 1404) > John "the Fearless" (Jean "sans Peur", assassinated 1419), Duke of Burgundy = Marguerite, d. of Albert, Count of Hainault & Holland > Philip "l'Asseure" (d. 1267) = Isabel of Portugal > Charles (d. 1477) "le Temeraire" (terrible, rash or bold) = (1) Catherine, d. of Charles VII of France = (2) Isabel, daughter of Charles of Bourbon by his wife Agnes (daughter of John "the Fearless", duke of Burgundy) = (3) Margaret of York.  By (2) > Marie (d. 1482) = Maximilian of Austria, son of the HRE Frederick III > Philip "le Bel" = Juana "la Loca", d. of Ferdinand & Isabella the Catholic Monarchs of Spain.

 

Marie was supported by the Flemish communes who maintained the prosperity of Flanders depended on commerce which could not be carried on unless there was freedom.  On 11.2.1476 Marie signed a charter establishing a representative council with a clause that if any of the enactments were violated, wholly or in part, her subjects and vassals would be absolved of their allegiance.  All the Flemish cities and towns were granted a special charter of liberties.  On behalf of Bruges, Louis of Gruthuise demanded the revocation of the edict of Philip "le Asseure" made 30 years previously, which had taken away its independence of the city.  Louis XI of France as overlord of Flanders, confirmed and renewed all the rights and privileges she had granted.

 

But the feuds between the Flemish cities went on especially between Bruges and Ghent although both Marie and Louis pleaded with them to desist.

 

The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III sent ambassadors, demanding the hand of the Countess for his son Maximilian of Hapsburg.  On the arrival of the envoys in Bruges on 16.4.1477, Louis of Gruthuise led them to the Princenhof.  Maximilian arrived on 18.8.1477 and the marriage took place on 19.8.1477 in the chapel of the Hotel de Ten Walle at 6 am in the presence of Louis of Gruthuise and Marie's counsellor John de Dadizeele, created Grand Bailiff of Ghent and High Steward of Flanders.

 

John was murdered on 7.10.1481 by a band of armed ruffians.  Rumours that the Lord of Montigny and the bastard of Gaesbeke, respectively father-in-law and illegitimate son of Maximilian's friend Philip of Hornes whom he sheltered at his court but died in 1485 during a Flemish civil war at Courtrai.

 

Maximilian arrested five of the principal magistrates of Bruges without just cause and demanded 200,000 "louis d'or" for their release.  The people of Ghent pronounced a sentence of exile for 50 years against Philip of Hornes who had fled to the court of Bruges.

 

Marie died after a hunting accident in the forest of Winendael and died on 27.3.1482.  Under the terms of the marriage treaty Maximilian's authority over the Netherlands ended and Philip of Hornes fled the country.

 

Adolphe of Cleves, lord of Revestein (Maximilian's kinsman), Philip of Beveren (both descendants of the Counts of Flanders), Adrien of Rasseghem and Louis of Bruges, lord of Oostcamp and Gruthuise, knight of the Golden Fleece, peer of Flanders, France and England were appointed regents.

 

A rebellion had broken out in Holland and before Maximilian departed on 5.6.1483, he confirmed at Hoogstraten, the authority of the council of regency appointed by the States-General in return for an annual pension of 24,000 "ecus".

 

Louis XI of France, overlord of Flanders, died in 1483 and on his return from Holland, Maximilian cancelled the treaty of Hoogstraten and revoked the powers of the Flemish government.

 

On 15.10.1483 the regents sent him a memorial maintaining he had no rights of "mainbournie"1, no legal right to bear the arms of Flanders, he had imposed burdensome taxes, pledged the sovereign's domain and sold the crown jewels.  Maximilian replied he did not recognise the right of tradesmen to consider themselves equals of his courtiers, that the treaty of 1477 was invalid and that the Duchess of Burgundy had signed a document which she did not understand.

 

1probably from the French “borne”, meaning landmark or boundary so possibly some right over such.

 

The lords of Gruthuise, Ravestein, Borselle and Beveren, knights of the Golden Fleece, were summoned to Brussels on the feast of St. Andrew, November 30, 1477 by Maximilian of Burgundy to be judged by their fellow knights.

 

Maximilian advanced on Bruges with French help - Charles VIII was married to Maximilian's daughter Marguerite whom he father later brought back to Flanders at sword point.

 

The Flemish cities were divided and were unable to defend themselves.  They accepted peace, acknowledging Maximilian as regent and guardian of his son Philip "le Bel".  Maximilian granted an amnesty but excluded Louis of Gruthuise who was not executed but sent as a prisoner to the Chateau of Vilvorde and paid a fine of 300,000 "ecus".

 

The Flemings rebelled again and imprisoned Maximilian.  Frederick II and several German princes threatened to invade and the Pope threatened an interdict.  Philip "le Bel" summoned the estates of Hainault and Brabant who invited the communes of Ghent and Bruges to meet in conference at Malines.  Louis of Gruthuise, now free, joined those who wanted conciliation.

 

In 1488 the Estates-General of the Netherlands met at Ghent where the provinces bound themselves to defend their rights and privileges and signed a peace treaty with Maximilian who was allowed to bring Philip back to Flanders.  The county would be administered by the 3 estates during Philip's minority, Maximilian would be paid to dismiss his German soldiers, he must adhered to the treaty of Arras with France, cease to quarter the arms of Flanders and promise to protect Flemish merchants all over the world.

 

Maximilian soon broke his word and Flanders went up in flames.  The Flemings chose Philip of Cleves as their leader and Louis of Gruthuise with the burghers of Bruges rallied to his side.  Another treaty was signed on 30.10.1489 acknowledging Maximilian as regent.

 

Ostrevant, Hainault and Brabant (the latter formed in the 10th century by the union of Louvain and Brussels) were originally held by Lambert of Lens, brother of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne.  The county of Lens was bestowed on Lambert by his father about 1029 as compensation for the loss of Ostrevant, a county traditionally held by the heir of Hainault which he may have inherited from his mother, Maud of Louvain.

 

Lambert of Lens was uncle of Godfrey de Bouillon, Advocate of the Holy Sepulchre and his brother Baldwin, king of Jerusalem.  Lambert married Adela, sister of William I and died at the battle of Lille in 1054.  By his first wife (name unknown) he left two sons Seier and Walter who held the lands in the English Midlands.

 

Amongst the Flemings who came to England with the Conqueror were Gilbert of Gand, Gaunt or Ghent (descendant of the counts of Alost) and William Peverel (descended from the counts of St. Pol), both grandsons of count Lambert of Lens and Walter and Hugh Fleming, Lambert's sons by his first marriage.  In 1054 Lambert of Lens married Adela, sister of William the Conqueror by whom he had a daughter Judith, wife of Waltheof, earl of Northumbria whose daughters Alice married Ralph de Toesni or Tony and and Maud, wife first of Simon de St. Lis or Senlis (descendant of the house of Vermandois) and then of David I of Scots.

 

Ostrevant or Oostevant (a region around Bouchain and Valenciennes, now in Northern France) is near Douai (32 km south of Lille) - all 3 places (in present-day France) were once in Flanders.

 

Douai (now in the French sub-prefecture, dept Nord, on the Scarpe and the Sensée canal) became a bone of contention between France and Flanders.  Douai, Lille, Athies and Béthune were pledged to Philip IV “le Bel” under the terms of the Treaty of Athis on 5.6.1305 and claimed by him.  In 1305 Charles V of France reversed the terms of the Treaty of Athis when he abandoned Walloon Flanders.  Edward III (whose wife was the Flemish Philippa of Hainault) guaranteed Lille, Douai, Orchies and Artois to Flanders in 1339 and Douai was later transferred to France.  Flanders remained in French hands until Francis I surrendered it with Artois, Hesdin, Lille, Douai, Orchies, Tournai and St. Amand under the Treaty of Cambrai (known as the “Paix des Dames”) in August 1528.  In 1667 Tournai, Douai, Courtrai, Lille and Alost fell to Louis XIV of France.

 

Walter de Douai of the house of Aubigny-en-Artois, castellan of Douai (whose arms were "gules, a chief ermine") emigrated to England.  He held lands in Devonshire which bordered those of the Flemish knights William de Chievres and Baldwin the Fleming of Biggar, sheriff of Lanarkshire.

 

Baldwin the Fleming's ancestor Lambert of Moulton held Egremont, Cumberland (deriving from Aigremont near Lille).  The lords of Aigremont were peers of Lille, advocates of Tournai and crusaders.  Their arms "gules, a fesse ermine" were inherited by the Scottish family of Crawford.

 

The arms"sable, a fesse ermine", given to William Winter (supposedly knighted at the siege of Calais in 1346-7) may be the same arms with a change of tincture usually showing some kinship or descent, possibly through the family of de Lucy and Morville - a Winter (of Saxon descent), was a villein of Hugh de Morville in Scotland.

 

Multon of Egremont derived from Moulton in Lincolnshire.  Lambert de Multon who descended from English thegns, held land in 1142 in Revesby of William of Roumare, earl of Lincoln.

 

Fig. 36 - Moulton

 

Hugh de Morville >:

(a) daughter = Richard, son of William Briwerre (1202).

(b) Ada de Morville = (1) Richard de Lucy of Egremont = (2) Thomas de Multon,

     king's prolocutor.  By (2) > Thomas de Multon had his wife's dower lands in Devon &

     Somerset in 1247.

 

Thomas de Multon, king's prolocutor = (1) Sarah de Flete > by (1) Lambert de Multon = Amabel, d. of Richard de Lucy.

 

The land of Odard de Wigton was held in 1223 by the 3 co-heiresses of Richard de Lucy, one of whom was Alice de Rumelly.

 

According to Robert Cooke, Clarenceaux King of Arms, Richard Cromleyn of Huddington's arms (which the Winters of Wych had the right to bear) were "azure, 3 fishes or salmons naiant or" also given in the General Armory but its source is Cooke's genealogy.

 

Rev. Frederick Brown's Collection in the Somerset Records Office gives the Cromleyn arms as "azure crusilly, 3 fishes (lucies or pikefish) haurient or" which were the arms of Eumeric de Lucy, brother of Geoffrey de Lucy of Egremont (Herald's Roll of 1285 in "Medieval Heraldry" - A.R. Wagner).

 

Desiderius Hacket's daughter was married to Walter Cromlin, lord of Lisseweghe who may possibly have been ancestor of Richard Cromleyn of Huddington.  The arms of Thomas Hacket, mayor of Dublin (1688) were "3 hakes naiant fesseways" but this is an example of canting arms being a pun on his surname.  However the area where the Flemish Karls settled on the coast of Flanders was famous for its fishing industry.

 

The family of Lucy may have originated in Luzy in the Nivernois (capital Nevers).  A render was made by Henry I of the lordship of Diss, Norfolk to Richard de Lucy, governor of Falaise and Lieutenant of England probably related to Reginald de Lucy.

 

William I gave Cumbria to Ranulf Meschin, Chester to his brother Geoffrey Meschin and Coupland (Copeland) to William Meschin, another brother.  Ranulf and his brothers were nephews of Hugh “Lupus”, earl of Chester and the barony of Greystock and Gillesland was part of Ranulf's lands.  Egremont was caput of the barony of Coupland with castles at Cockermouth and Liddel.  Richard de Lucy became lord of the barony at the end of the 12th century.  Liddel was held by Baldwin de Wake (d. 1282).

 

Richard de Lucy's daughter Maud married Henry Percy, 1st earl of Northumberland ("Roll of Battle Abbey" - J. B. Burke) and the heir of the Percys was called lord Egremont.  According to John Stow in his "Survey of London", Maud or Matilda de Lucy married secondly Walter de Clare of Dunmow, Essex and Baynard's Castle, London.

 

 

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