Town · County of Holland · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Leiden

Settlement at the foot of the count's Burcht where the Old and New Rhine meet; not yet a chartered town.

Who holds it

Name
Count Dirk VII; the burgrave holds the Burcht
Title
Lord of the town
Confidence
medium

Lord in 1200

Count Dirk VII; the burgrave holds the Burcht

How things stand that morning

The count's.

Charter

None yet (1266)

Walls and castle

The Burcht (motte castle) of the count, held by the burgrave

Trade and crafts

Market and Rhine traffic

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Charter date general knowledge; Ada takes refuge in the Burcht in 1203-1204 (Loon War).

Primary sources for Holland

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 Egmond (12th century to about 1205). The house annals of Egmond, the counts of Holland's abbey, and the main native source for Holland around 1200. Read online
  • Chronicle of the abbots of Wittewierum (Bloemhof), Emo of Wittewierum (from 1219 to 1237, continued by Menko to 1273). The chronicle opens only in 1204 with the founding of Emo's Premonstratensian house in the Groningen Ommelanden, so it has nothing for 1200 itself. Read online

Sources and studies

  1. Loon War (en.wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.