The castle and small land of Heusden on the south bank of the Maas guard the river where Holland, Brabant and Guelders meet.
Its lords are free men caught between the count and the duke; in 1202 the duke will capture Dirk VII at Heusden.
Who he is
- Title
- Lord of Heusden
- Since
- Not pinned
- Born
- Not pinned
- Family
- A free lordly house on the Maas.
- Confidence
- low
Not pinned in the sources consulted.
Overlord
Not pinned: the lordship lies between Holland and Brabant, and both press claims
What it holds
- The castle of Heusden and its land on the Maas
How it was acquired
Hereditary.
Allies and rivals
Between Holland and Brabant.
How things stand that morning
Held by its own lords; their allegiance between Holland and Brabant is not pinned.
Wealth
River tolls and farms.
Military
Castle of Heusden. No numbers are recorded.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- 7 September 1202Duke Henry I of Brabant defeats and captures Dirk VII at HeusdenDepends on: The Holland and Brabant war of 1202 Stopped by: Peace
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Only the 1202 battle is firmly dated.
On the map: Very rough.
Primary sources for Empire
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Annals of Marbach (compiled to 1238, the section on 1198 to 1210 written in the early 13th century). Alsatian annals on the Staufen side of the Upper Rhine. Read online
- Annals of Reiner of Saint James, Liège, Reiner of Liège (1197 to 1230, kept year by year). Contemporary annals kept inside Liège. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. Read online
- Chronicle of Reinhardsbrunn; Chronicle of St Peter's, Erfurt (Erfurt chronicle in the 13th century; Reinhardsbrunn compilation about 1340 to 1349 from older annals). The two Thuringian chronicles. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Royal Chronicle of Cologne (in stages from about 1175 to about 1250; the section on 1198 to 1220 written soon after the events). The fullest German narrative of the throne war from the Welf and Cologne side. Read online
- Chronicle of Hainaut, Gislebert of Mons (about 1195 to 1196). Ends in 1195, so it has no 1200 entries, but it is the indispensable background for Flanders and Hainaut: the career of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders), his union of the two counties, the settlement with Philip over Artois, the rights, castles, fiefs and vassals of Hainaut listed by a man who ran its chancery, and the youth of Baldwin IX, who held both counties in 1200. Read online
8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
- Bijdragen en Mededeelingen van het Historisch Genootschap 34 (1913) (DBNL)
- P. J. Blok, Geschiedenis van het Nederlandsche volk, deel 1 (DBNL), chapter on about 1160-1320
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.