bee filled with buildings The rampars of these new workes are but of earth with mightie bulwarks flanking one another where there is alwaies something to repaire At the same time when as these workes were made the Magistrate caused the Steeple of the Abbaie Church to bee new built vp whereas they now keepe the Court of Zealand they haue drawne a â—ell vppe into this steeple of eighteene thousand waight to strike the houres on and some 24. small ones which serue for the chyme but this steeple is fallen crooked else it were one of the goodlyest peeces in the whole country The Court which was wont to bee an Abbaie is faire and spatious and is the lodging of Princes when they come into Zealand There the Councellors of Estate for the Countie are established as also for the Admiralty the Chamber of account and the Treasor The Admirall and in a manner all the Councellors are well lodged there This house was founded by Goudebault the three and twentith Bishoppe of Vtrecht and afterwardes amplyfied and in a manner built a new by Cont Wiliam King of the Romaines who lyes there interred with Queene Elizabeth his wife the foundation was made in the yeare one thousand two hundred fifty sixe The towne is good of it selfe faire and neate and of great trafficke which the Gallies of Spaine which came to Scluse vnder the commaund of Dom Frederic Spinola restrained for a time But since they haue vndertakeÌ„ long voiages to the East West Indies as wel as the Hollanders froÌ„ whence they draw great commodities withal since the taking of the Scluse the said galleis being falne into the Estates handsthey are no more anoied neither haue they any more feare on that side this town alone hath the right of the staple for all wines that come froÌ„ FraÌ„ce Spain Portugal Candy the Canaries other places by sea not many years since they purchased the Towne of Arnemuyden being then but a Bourg in regard of their roades and the Salt-pits the which they had good cheap from the Proprietary But this sale was afterwards changed as we wil shew in the description of the towne of Arnemuyden In this towne the ordinary Soueraigne Iudge doth commonly remaine they call him the Receiuer of Beuerslersheldt to whom all commandements come from the higher powers for the execution of iustice by the sword in his precinct Many learned excel ent men were borne in this towne Among others Paul surnamed of Middelbourg a famous Mathematician who for his great knowledge was called to Rome and presently made a Bishop Then Nicholas Euerardi a great Lawyer and well seene in matters of State President of the Prouincial Councel of Holland and afterwards of the Parliament or great Councell of Macklin where he died in the yeare 1532. leauing many children all men of qualitie worthy of such a Father The first was Peter Nicholai Doctor of Diuinity and Ciuill Law Prelat of the Abbay of Middelbourg The second was Euerardi Nicholai a Licentiat in the lawes who was President of the Councel in Friesland afterterwardes as the father of the great Councel at Macklin wher he died in the yeare 1560. The third was Nicholas Nicolai Licentiat in the lawes very learned in al faculties a good Poet Historiographer which aduanced him â—o be Councellor to the King of Spaine and Register of the order of the golden fleece The fourth was Adrian Nicolai who was Chancellor of Geldres The fift was Iohn Nicolai surnamed the second who was an excellent Poet giuing great hope of him but death preuented him in his course Veere or Camp-veere VEere or Camp-veere is a good Sea-towne one of the foure of the Iland of Walchren it retaines this name of the passage it was wont to haue vnto the Village of Campe in the Iland of Northbeuelandt right against it Which Village within these ten yeares with the whole Iland hath beene recouered from the Inondation which happened in the yeare one thousand fiue hundred twentie foure This town was in the yeare one thousand three hundred sixtie eight walled in by the Lord of Borsell Being since made greater it was endowed with goodly priuâ—lidges so as in the time of Maximillian of Bourgongne their Lord it was made a Marquisate And for the commoditie of the feat the goodnesse of the hauen and of the road it was frequented by many nations They were the first that sent vnto the Canaries from whence they brought in the yeare 1508. a shippe laden with sugar They haue trade into France where they haue priuiledge of Franche Grue that is to say free lading and vnlading In like manner into the East-countries they had liberty to traffick before that the townes of Antwerp and Amsterdam had any trade thether As also into Scotland the Scotishmen hauing many yeares since held their staple there for diuers sorts of Marchandize as they do at this day for their cloth and frizes and for their Salt-fish This towne hath also the fishing for herring wherof there is a staple and the marke is well knowne in diuers Kingdomes where the Bourgers trafficke most as to Spaine France and other countries and of late yeares they haue trade to the East VVest-Indies This towne was in the old time honoured with the Residence of the Admirall Generall and the Admiraltie of the Netherlands To which end the King of Spaine as Prince of the said countries caused a goodly Arcenall or Magasin for munition to bee built in the yeare 1568. wherein they laid all their prouision and furniture belonging to the sea The Inhabitants of this towne are growne ciuill and curteous by the daily frequentation of their Lordes and their Attendants keeping their Court within an arrow shotte of the Towne at the goodly castle of Sanderburg which is quite ruined in these last troubles as being too neere a neighbor vnto the towne This Marquisat was sold by decree for the debts of the said Marquis Mazimillian which Philip King of Spaine caused to be bought in his name But when the creditors were not paid it was sold again and bought by the Prince of Orange who to the great contentment of the Burgers and all the subiectes receiued the possession in the yeare one thousand fiue hundred eighty one giuing them goodly priuiledges with high and base Iustice in nine Villages depending thereon whereof Oest capel is one By the death of which Prince and by his Testament the most worthie Prince Maurice of Nassau Gouernor Captaine Admiral general of the vnited Prouinces his son was left heire of the said Marquisat and put in posssion in the yeare one thousand fiue hundred eighty eight and in the yeare after of that of Flissinghe Besides other particularities one thing is specially to be noted that the Magistrate of this towne neuer shewed any rigor against them of the reformed religion yea hath alwaies fauoured and supported them as much as he might so as in the beginning of the
before whome the father casting his gloue defied the sonne But the Duke who loued this Adolph labored to perswade the father to resigne the Duchy vnto his Sonne and that being now very old he should retire to Graue and content him-selfe with that peece and three thousand florins rent wherevpon Adolph like an vnnaturall and barbarous sonne hearing this proposition made by Duke Charles of Bourgongne answered that he had rather cast his father head-long into a wel and him selfe after then accept of that composition That it was reason seeing his father had gouerned forty foure yeares that he should also come in his rancke to the Principality and enioy it as his father had don Adding that he was well content his father should haue 3000 florins yerely for his entertainment but he must depart out of the country and siegneury of Gelders and neuer enter more into it Duke Charles hearing these speeches and noting the cruelty of a sonne towards his father seemed so much incensed thereat as Adolph fearing his fury fled in a disguised habit thinking to saue him-selfe in Gelders but beeing knowne neere vnto Namur hee was taken and put in prison at Villevord from thence carried to Courtray where hee remayned till after the death of Duke Charles In the mean time the father to be reuēged of his son sought to dis-inherit him resigning his Duthcy of Gelders County of Zutphē vnto Duke Charles vppon certaine conditions By which resignation the Princes of the house of Austria haue so much pretended vnto the sayd Dutchy as in the end after the death of the last Duke Charles of Egmont they haue inioyed it although by right it should descend to VVilliam Duke of Cleues whome the Emperor forced to yeeld it vnto him And to return to Adolph he was freed from his prison at Courtray by the Ganthois who made him their Generall against the Frēch king Lewis the 11. where this vngrateful son was slaine before Tournay receiuing the fruits of his desert hauing bin so cruel to his father Duke Arnould dying afterwards at Graue he instituted vpō caution the said duke of Bourgongne to be his heyre dis-inheriting his son Adolph of the succession as contumax ingrat rebellious But the Geldrois refusing to accept of Duke Arnolds disposition testament the duke of Bourgongne went with a mighty army and by force took possession of the country receiuing their othes of fealty homage whervnto he forced the townes the Nobility of Gelders And the better to assure this new Estate he purchased from Gerard Duke of Iuilliers and his children all the interest they had or might hereafter pretend vnto the Duchie of Gelders This done hee sent Charles and Philip the sons of Adolph whome he had by a Princesse of the house of Bourbon to be bred vp in Flanders and by that meanes the Duke of Bourgongne remained in quiet possession of the Estate of Gelders and dying left the succession to his onely daughter and heyre who was married to the Emperor Maximillian but the Geldrois refusing to obey him he raised a mighty Army and came to Boisleduc where-with the Estates of Gelders being terrified they acknowledged him for their Prince in the right of his wife and did sweare obedience vnto him And so Maximillian gotte the quiet possession without any effusion of blood the which he inioyed vntil that Charles the sonne of Adolph who had bene taken prisoner with the Earle of Nassau in an incounter neere vnto Bethune by the French and afterwards by reason of his Allyance by the mothers side set at liberty with the helpe of the French King and his Kinsmen and friendes returned into Gelders with a small Army where without any resistance or difficulty hee was receiued by the people as their lawful Prince and numbred for the eight Duke of Gelders This Duke Charles of Egmont was in his time a valiant and warlike Prince making war against all his neighbors especially against Albert duke of Saxony feudatary of Freezland of Groning Gouernor of a part of the Netherlands for the Emperour Maximillian and the Arch-Duke Philip his sonne who marryed the Lady Ioane of Castile and was afterwards Queen of Spaine after the death of the King Don Ferdinand of Arragon and of Queene Issabelle of Castile her father and mother whereby the Realmes of Spaine came vnto the house of Austria and haue continued vnto this day The said Duke had also great warre against the Lieutenant of the Emperor Charles the fift sonne and successor to the said Arch-Duke Philip so as in the end there was a peace made betwixt them at Gorcum in the yeare 1528. and afterwards in the yeare 1536. there was an other generall peace made in the Towne of Graue The conditions whereof were in substance that Duke Charles of Egmont should hold the Dutchy of Gelders and the County of Zutphen in fee of the Emperor or Duke of Brabant and Earle of Holland for him and his lawful heirs But if hee dyed without issue his Estates and Seigneuries should accrue vnto the Emperor and his heirs This duke died without children in the yeare 1538. And so according to the said Accord and transaction and the rights which his great grandfather the Duke of Burgongne had gotten these countries should descend vnto the said Emperor But Iohn Duke of Iuilliers pretending an interest by reason of their ancient rights renounced and sold as we haue sayd by his Ancestors was not receiued by the Estates so that after the death of Duke Charles of Egmont the Cleuois had laboured to draw some by loue and others by force vnder the subiection of the King and to make them his vassals where-vppon they tooke armes against him And worshipping the sunne rising more then the sunne seting neglecting the old Duke they did chose and receiue his sonne William who was made sure to the daughter of the Duke of Albret and heire to the Crowne of Nauarre which election was confirmed and better established in the yeare of our Lord 1539. by the death of the said Duke Iohn at which time neither the Emperors title nor authority could preuaile any thing to make him to be acknowledged Lord of this Prouince But this was not all for the Emperor being in Spaine his countries were sodainly inuaded by the French King and this Duke William Where-vppon the Emperour beeing returned from his last vnfortunate voyage of Affricke hee went into the Netherlands with a mighty army and sodainly subdued in a a manner all the townes of the Dutchy of Cleues and Iuilliers and among others those of Duren Sittant Where-with Duke William being amazed and fearing this mighty enemy by the perswasion of the Princes of Germany his Allies he went and humbled him-selfe vnto the Emperor in the towne of Venlo to whom he was reconciled yeelding absolutely vnto him the said Dutchy of Gelders and Earldome of Zutphen renouncing also the league which hee had with the French King and
was very rich to borrow a loafe of bread to saue her and her children from staruing her sister denyed that shee had any in the house shee insisted that shee had where-vppon her ritch sister fell a swearing and cursing praying God that if she had any it might bee turned into a stone which God miraculously suffered to bee done to the confusion of this pittilesse and periured woman it is not long since there were two loaues but now there is but one Two little leagues from Leydén is Wassenare a fayre and beautifull Village with the two Catwicks Voorburch and Voorscoten belonging now to the Counts of Ligne the masculine lyne of the Vicounts of Leyden and Lords of Wassenare being vtterly extinct In this towne Hans van Leyden a knife-maker by his trade was born a most disloyal Anabaptist and one that by strange and extraordinary meanes so besotted the people that hee made him selfe King of Munster in Westphalia to the great and pittifull ruine of it In the end he was beseeged by the Bishoppe assisted by the Princes of Germany and after almost a yeares siege this King of perdition and his complices were taken and punished according to their merites This Kinge and one of his cheefe Councellors called Knipperdolinge were putte into two Cages of yron and hung out of a high Tower where they ended their cruell and most miserable liues and reigne This town in opposition to this il hath brought forth many vertuous and learned men as Iohn Gherbrand an excellent historian Englebert of Leyden a rare Poet and Gramarian Nicholas Leonce a good Retorician and aboue all Ianus Douza Lord of Noortwick a most knowing man in the tongues and a most famous Poet as his printed workes testifie In the yeare of our Lord 1574. this towne was straightly besieged by the Spaniards and blockt vp with some thirty-sixe fortes to famish them wherein there dyed aboue seauenthousand men of famine and the pestilence the raizing of this seege and deliuerance of this towne can bee attributed to none but to GOD although the Prince of Orange and the States of Holland did what they could as well by breaking of ditches and drawing vp Scluses as otherwise drowning all the countrie almost to the towne but not so deepe that it would carry boates vntill GOD sent a strong South-west-winde which draue the Sea into the riuers and land that great boates past a floate and victualled the towne Which the Spaniards perceiuing they quitte all their Fortes and fledde for feare of beeing intrapped But behold the wonderfull and re-markeable worke of GOD who two daies after the Towne was victualled sent as strong a North-west-wind that beat backe the Sea againe from whence it came as you may read more at large in the history of the Netherlands Amsterdam LEt vs now come to the towne of Amsterdam which within these hundreth yeares is become so rich and opulent that the very name of it is famous throughout the whole world It takes name from the Riuer of Amstell that runnes cleane through the towne and fals into the Zuyderzee from whence they sayle into all Seas yea the most remote and farre off of the whole world They of the family of Amstell heertofore most rich and opulent now vtterly extinct were the first that compassed it with pallisadoes and hâ—ld the proprietary Lordship of it This towne since the decay of Antwerpe is become the most renowned of all the Netherlands ritch in people and of all sorts of Marchandises situate in the middest of Holland in a marish country It is strong by reason of the situation but stronger by art the foundations of their houses being made of piles of wood armed with yron and other necessaries of or that purpose so that the charge of building of most houses is more chargeable vnder ground then aboue The ordinary course of their Nauigation is to all other parts of the Netherlands as France England Spayne Portugall Germany Poland Denmarke Liflandt Sueden Norway Ostlandt and other septentrional parts where one may see twice a yeare foure or fiue hundred great shippes arriue from Dantzick Rye Reuell and Varna with diuers and innumerable quantity of Marchandises so as this Towne is become a wonderfull port or Staple to the amazement of the beholders to see so many great hulkes belonging to the Cittizens and Inhabitants of the towne arriue there and within fiue or sixe dayes to be all vnladen and ready for a new voyage There is yearely built there a great number of tall warlike ships as wel for trade in Marchandise as for the war Within this 25. or 30. yeares the town hath bin made greater as wel in the circuit of the walls as in beautifull and faire building by the halfe with a new church built where Saint Anthonies gate heretofore stood It is flanked about with great bulwarks that answering one na other makes it inpregnable what with the waters about it and the industry of man it is warranted towards the Sea with a long double pallisadoe from the East to the West in which aboue a thousand great ships and innumerable of lesser sorts may safely lye out of daunger There hath bene of long tyme two churches the one called Saint Nicholas the old the other our Lady the new To conclude this towne is a most ritch Store-house not onely for the Low-Countries but in a maner for all Christendome where al thinges necessary for the vse of man are as soon to be fouÌ„d as in al the world besids D. Adrianus Iunius in his history of Holland hath writ certaine accrostique verses in praise of it which I thinke not vnfit to bee here inserted both in lattin and English A ureus vt perhibent quondam ab Ioue perpluit imbar M agnificis turgentem opibus Rhodon horrea Romae S icaniam esse Ceres victuro munere â—essit T orsit et huc occulos facilis Deus ipse benignosâ— E t me mactam opibus iussit florereque rebus L aetis at circundor aquis pigraque palude O bsita roboreoque solo stant culmina nixâ— D epactis altê trabibus surgentia caelo A lternansque statis vicibus maris estus aperti M aenia subcingit qua parte exotica puppes V elliferae inuectant onera exportantque frequenti M ercatu Hesperias qua se dimittit in vndas B arbaraque Eous pandit quâ littora Titan. E xpedio quos nostra tamen non area verrit L egifere cumulos Ceraris genitalia dona G argara prouentu tanto non farris abundant I nferior fuerit vel Momo iudice mecum C ontendit locuplete penu si Trinacris ora Aequaleisque ferax non Affrica stipat aceruos H orrâ—um et agnoscit me non male Belgica faelix O mnigenas vt opes sic vitae altmenta ministro R ecte vt quis saturae similem me dixerit aluo R obore defectos succum quae didit in artus E ximiae hine adeo Caesar me ferre coronam
tooke their beginning from the Kinges of Freezeland which had built the Castell of Harlem according to their name in the yeare a thousand sixe hundred The ruines of this Castell are yet to bee seene not farre from Hemskerke It appeares by the Annales of Holland that one Isbrandt of the house of Harlem did accompany the Ladie Sophia Princesse of Holland and Prince Otto her yongest sonne in a Pilgrimage which they made through deuotion vnto Ierusalem Some Knights of this house vnfortunate in the warre against the Frisons haue lost their liues there Of this house was Simon of Harlem knight who conuerted a faire house which he had within the wals of the towne into a Cloyster of Carmelites in the yeare 1249. Of which house by changing of the name they of the house of Assendelfe haue obtained the inheritance and the Armes vnto this daie Nicholas Lord of Assendelfe was wont to say that his father hauing built the Castell of Assenburch had repented him a hundred times that hee had not set it vppon the ruines of the Castell of Harlem to preserue the honour of antiquitie This house of Assendelfe takes his name from the Village which is richer the which in ancient time as at appeares by old Charters was called Asâ—maundelfe Cralinghen or rather Carolinghen is said to haue had their beginning from the Emperour Charl maigne for the French had for a long time caused a part of Germanie and Gaule to be gouerned by them of Meruwe and Craelingen which are two noble families and very famous in Holland We read that the house of Heusden where there is a towne and Castle is issued some eight hundred yeares since from the Earles of Cleues hauing carryed the armes as well of Edmond King of England whose daughter Baldwin Lord of Heusden stole away and marryed her who hauing many children by her would haue his nephewes to carry a wheele of Geules in a field Or. The reason was that when as the King of Englands seruants sent to seeke his daughter came to the Lord of Heusdins they fouÌ„d her spinning at the wheele with some pretty children about her which brought her into fauour againe Since the yeare 1290. the Earle of Cleues resigned all the interest he had to the Lordships of Heusden and Altena to Floris the sixt Earle of Holland to hold them of him in fee but this resignation did not hold long for the Duke of Brabant came and fell vppon Heusden and became maister of it but he held it as little for Count VVilliam of Bauaria being a mediator betwixt the duke of BrabaÌ„t the Earle of Flanders dealt first for himselfe in such sort as hee should haue HeusdeÌ„ the which hath bin annexed to this day to the conty of HollaÌ„d Those of Duyvenuoorde are issued from the house of VVassenare This word hauing taking his beginning for that two Bretheren of the house of VVassenare being a fishing the elder to cause the boate to aduance said to his younger Brother Dole Voort that is to say aduance which word as a good presage remained to the younger house whereof are come by corruption of the word the Siegnior of Duyuenvoort This name was first giuen to Philippe the second sonne of Aldewyn Vicont of Leyden Lord of Wassenare and of Rhinlandt who also gaue him libertie to carrie his armes which were three Croisants Or in a field Sables Philippe Curat of Wassenare doth report it somewhat otherwise hee sayth this Philippe had fiue sonnes whereof the eldest being heire of the name and armes was called Thierry the second Philippe Signior of Duyuen-Voorde the third Iohn Lord of Polanen who carried in a field Argent three Croissants Sables the fourth called Sandthorst who remained vnknowne and the fifth Arnold of Groenevelt who carried Sinople and the Croisants siluer of which house the Signior Arnold of Groenevelt is yet lyuing beeing Collonel and Gouernor of Nymegen for the vnited Estates In the yere 1353. William of Duyuenvoorde Signior of Osterhout was so ritch as hee knew no end of his welth who hauing no children he would not make his kinsfolks partakers thereof but did build two Monasteries or Cloisters neere vnto Gheertruydenberghe the one of Chartreux Monks the other of Saint Clare And not content with this prodigality of his welth he caused a castle to be built at Osterhout made the towne of Viane to be walled in and dicht as appeeres by his Epitaphe at Brusselles The house of Polanen as wee haue euen now sayd is issued from that of Duyuenvoorde but it was of small continuance for Iohn Lord of Polanen hauing left one onely sonne called also Iohn hee dyed without any heires male leauing one daughter the sole heire of Polanen of Lecce and of Breda the which shee brought in marriage to Engelbert Earle of Nassau who was the first Gouernor of the Netherlands for the Ladie Mary Dutchesse of Bourgogne so as the sayd Siegneuries doe at this day belong vnto the children of William of Nassau Prince of Orange That of Naeldwyck was not of much longer contynuance whereof wee finde that one Baldwin a Knight Gouernor of the castle of Windenesse in Westfrisland a league from Horne carried himselfe valiantlie vntill that for want of victualls and all other necessarie prouision hee was forced to yeelde vppe the place Those of that house conuerted their goodly castle of Wateringhe into a Monasterie which was ruined in these last warres I will make but one house of those of Woude and of Warmont for that the Siegnor of Woude tooke more delight at Warmont which stands in a good ayre and in a goodly country then in the castle of Woude which stands in a Moore so as the castle of Woude being neglected it fell to decay and that of Warmont florished This house of Warmont was wont to beare in a field Or three Lozenges Geules vntill that Thierry of Wassenare Vicont of Leyden giuing the possession of certaine Lands in the yeare of our Lord 1359. to Iames the foureteenth Lord of Warmont hee suffred him to carrie his owne Armes which is a band Or vpon a field Azure betwixt three Croisants Argent which that house carries vnto this daie But those of that house beeing partakers of the furie of Gerard van Velsen the murtherer of Count Floris the fifth they were for the safe-gard of their liues forced to abandon the countrie But some fiue yeares after the death of Cont Iohn the sonne of Floris Iohn of Henaut beeing Earle of Holland to whom Iames Lord of Warmont did great seruice at the defeate of the Bishoppe of Vtrecht all iniuries beeing troden vnder foote this house was reconciled to their Prince and so haue continued in good Estate vnto this daie Those of Poelgeest are also of a famous race the which in olde time had a castle of the same name in the quarter of Oestgeest the village whereof was called Kerkwerve the which by changing of the name is now called Alcmada I
know not by what title Cont William King of Romaines gaue the Lordshippe of Hoochmade to this house as also an other William Earle of Holland and Henaut gaue them the village of Coudekerke vppon the Rhine a League from Leyden where there was a mightie castle the which was razed by the factions in the yeare 1489. It was before called Horne whereof the proprietaries were called Lords of Horne whose memory lies buried with their persons Gerard of Poelgest a Knight did afterwards cause this ruined castle to be repaired with the consent of the Emperor Charles the fift as faire as euer who died to soone for his children The castle of Alcmada from the which they of the house take their name is situated in the iurisdiction of Warmond whereof the ruines are yet to bee seene for that which is now called Alcmada standing vpon the current of Marne was wont to bee called Poelgeest as appeeres by the letters of Thierry Vicont of Leyden saying that hee had giuen the inheritance thereof to Isbrandt of Poelgeest We finde that Henrie of Poelgeest and Floris of Alcmada bretheren by the mother liued in the yeare 1320. Those of Culembourg are descended from that Noble and famous Lord Ralfe of Bosicom of the race of the Earles of Teysterbandt The towne of Culembourg is reasonable good standing vpon the riuer of Lâ—ck two leagues from Viane and one from Buren it is now erected to an Earldome belonging to the Lord of Palant Abcoude was wont to bee a famous and mightie family the which had great possessions in the diocese of Vtrecht the towne and castle of Wyckter Duersâ—ede did also belong vnto them the Lord whereof did build the castle of Abcoude in the Moores midde-way betwixt Vtrecht and Amsterdam One Ghisbert of Abcoude did purchase the Lordship of Gaesbecke who gaue it to his yongest sonne Asueres who married a daughter of the Earle of Lygnes by whom hee had one sonne called Iames verie rich and mighty in possessions for beeing Lord of Gaesbeck hee was Siegnior of Abcoude Putten and Streuen all which are goodly Signeuries hauing iurisdictions It was he which fouÌ„ded the Chartreux nere vnto Vtrecht who since after the death of his sonne only heire being taken prisoner in battaile by the Bishop of Vtrecht was to redeeme his liberty forced to yeeld him the Lordship towne and castle of Wyck where since the bishoppes haue kept their ordynarie residence and the castle of Abcoude which since hath beene the aboad of one of the Marshalls of the Diocese of Vtrecht and of his gard which is there in garrison The house of Persin is also an honorable family from the which are issued manie Knights gentlemen of Waterlandt and the I le of Marke right against Monikendam It is at this time wholy extinct The castle of Persin is yet standing without the wood at the Hage The house of Raphorst is noble and very ancient whereof it appeeres that two bretheren had been slaine with their Prince Cont Floris in the warre against the Frisons That of Matenesse hath in like manner with many others taken their beginning from the Lord of Wassenare Vicont of Leyden The house of Vlyet was in old time banished not as guilty of the murther of Cont Floris but in hatred of his brother the Siegnior of Woerden one of the cheefe conspirators so as Gerard van Vlyet going into exile was dispossest of his lands degraded of his armes But afterwards by the intercession of the Lords of Duyuenvoorde and Liâ—htenberg for his valour shewed in battaile for the Earle of Holland where the bishop of Vtrecht was slaine he was receiued into grace and restored to the possession of all his goods The honors which the houses of Woerden Wesson were accustomed to haue were lost in the persons of Herman van Woerden for the murther of Cont Floris whereof Gerard being the first author executioner was cruelly executed beeing rowled vp down in a pipe ful of nailes in the town of Leyden where hee died miserably Herman his father in law being brother to the Lord of Amstel escaped and died poore in exile The house of Amstel was also blemished with this murther namely Ghysbrecht of Amstel Lord of Amsterdam Amsterweel and Iselsteyn who died in exile poore and miserable beeing dispossest of halfe his goods and the rest remayning to his wife sonne Arnold who were besieged a whole yeare in the towne of Amsterdam and were in the end forced to yeeld it vpon condition that for all their goods they should content themselues with the towne castle of Iselsteyn which since came vnto the house of Egmond whereof the Emperor Maximilian the first created Frederic of Egmond first Earle of Iselsteyn of Leerdam Iohn of Henaut Earle of HollaÌ„d had giuen the signeuries of Amstell Woerden to his brother Guy then Prouost afterwards bishop of Vtrecht during his life the which hee caused to bee built but after his death they were anexed againe to the reuenues of the Earle of Holland which then was Cont William surnamed the good The signiors of Schagen are descended from a bastard of Duke Albert of Bauaria Earle of Holland and Henaut who gaue this goodly Siegneury with that of Burchorne to William the first Lord of Schagen and from him successiuely to him that is now vnder the Estates of Holland So the Signiory of Hoocht-wood came from Duke William of Bauariae called the mad Earle for that after two battailes which hee had against the Empresse Marguerite his mother whereof hee lost one with eight thousand men nere â—o Vlaerdingen and the other he wonne hee was distracted of his wittes fifteene yeares and as a madde man was kept close vnto his death to whom Duke Albert his brother succeeded This William gaue vnto his base Sonne the possession of Hocht-Woude and Aertswoude which are two goodlie villages But this line fayling these two places haue past from one to an other Hochtwoude belonging at this day to Cornellis Mirop Receiuer generall of Holland and Westfrisland signior of Caelslagen Sweiten c. The house of Haemstede did begin at Witte who was the first Lord and bastard to Cont Floris That of Horst is of great antiquity the which seemes to haue had many branches as that of Bronckhorst in Gelders that of Lochorst in the countrie of Vtrecht and that of Raphorst whereof the old castle is yet standing betwixt the Hage and Leyden then Bockhorst twise or thrise ruined being a league from Nortwyck but not in that estate it hath beene The family of Dune is also very ancient the only daughter and heire whereof married some thirty yeares since to Thierry the second sonne of the Lord of Brederode who left the title thereof to his children yet carrying the armes of Brederode and not their mothers It continues still in that race who doe also enioy the Siegniorie of Sprangen which came by marriage from them of Wyelsteyn The house of Zyle
middest of the Riuer of Issel and the body of his armie lay intrencht without the towne towards the fields whereas the Admiral thought to make his approches to besiege it but finding such lettes hee durst not affront the Prince who attended him long in battaile but retyred and went to winter vppon the Territory of the Empire where he carryed himselfe as you haue heard in the history of the Netherlands DOETECVM THis towne stands in ihe Champian country a League from Doesbourg vppon the old Issel it is a reasonable good towne with a double wall yet none of the strongest The Admiral of Arragon hauing past the Rhyne to besiege Doesbourg he went first before it and tooke it by composition within three daies But the Admirall beeing retyred Prince Maurice went and beseeged it againe the which was as easily yeelded to him as to the Spaniard remaining at this day vnder the obedience of the vnited Estates as it had beene aboue thirty yeares before except those few daies the Admirals men held it BRONCKHORST IT is within a league of Zutphen seated vppon the right side of the riuer of Issel erected to a Contie hauing a particular Earle The familie of Bronchoorst is ancient from the which are issued the houses of Battenbourg Anholt Megen and others The towne hath beene much ruined during these warres But the Castle which is of a reasonable strength stands still where there is a continuall garrison for one party or other LOCHEM IS a good little towne two leagues from Zutphen well fortified for the importance thereof beeing very necessary during the troubles for holding the States partie in the yeare one thousand fiue hundred eightie two the Duke of Parma sent Charles Earle of Mansfeldt to besiege it in the King of Spaines name But the Prince of Orange knowing that three of his Nephewes Herman Frederic and Adolph vanden Berghe sonnes of his Sister and of Cont Van Sheeren Berghen were within it hee sent the Earle of Hohenloe with an armie to raise the siege as he did and freed them forcing Mansfeldt to retire with losse Since which time the said town hath continued constant vnder the obedience of the Estates vntill that in the yeare 1605. the Marquis Spinola Lieutenant to the Arch-duke Albert of Austria besieged it and tooke it by composition but soone after it was recouered by Prince Maurice and continues as before GROLL IN old time was a good Borrough but by these last warres within these thirtie yeares it hath beene walled in with rampars and Bulwarks hauing broad and deepe ditches fortified with casemats and counterscarps Being held by the Spaniards Prince Maurice went and besieged it for the vnited Estates Whereof Peter Earle of Mansfeldt Lieutenant for the King of Spaine by prouision beeing aduertised he sent Collonel Mondragon Captaine of the Castle of Antwerp with a small Armie to raise his siege or at the least to cut of his victuals The Estates beeing ill informed of the strength of this Spanish armie which was made greater vnto them then it was they commanded Prince Maurice to retyre as he did But hearing what Mondragons forces were who retyred towards the Rhyne to passe at Berck hee pursued him beyond the town of VVezell in which pursuite Cont Philip and Ernest of Nassau Brethren Cousins to the Prince and Cont Ernest of Solms beeing too farre aduanced contrary to the Princes order after they had defeated two Cornets of Spaniards were them-selues in the end put to route and the two Earles Philip of Nassau and Ernest of Solms slaine and Cont Ernest of Nassau was taken prisoner Where-vppon the Prince leauing his pursuit brought backe his Armye and Mondragon repassing the Rhyn returned with his into Brabant But two yeares after in the yeare 1597. the Prince went agayne to beseege it in the which Cont Frederic Vanden Berghe commanded with 1200. men who finding him-selfe very hardly prest he yeelded it by composition Since in the yeare 1605. the Marquis Spinola recouered it although it were held very strong beeing yeelded vppon an honorable composition It is two leagues from Breefort SHEEREN BERGHE A Towne and Castle erected to an Earledome wherof the last Earle was called William whom King Philip the second made Earle he had to wife the Prince of Oranges sister by whome he had many sonnes the eldest called Herman is now Earle Hee with two of his bretheren being beseeged in Lochem were deliuered by the dilligence of the Prince their Vncle But soone after abandoning him vngratefully they followed the Spaniards partie yet the Estates seazed vppon the towne in the which they had their garrison vntill that the Prince passing that way in the yeare 1597. the Contesse their mother obtained of him that the town should remaine neuter and that she and her daughters liuing in the castle should bee freed from garrison The like she obtained from the Arch-duke Albert It is a little towne of small importance a League and a halfe from Dotecom BREDEFORT IS but a small Towne with a Castle situated in a Moore to the which there is but one passage to come vnto it vppon a Causey so as it is of hard accesse yet in the yeare 1597. Prince Maurice surmounting all difficulties did beseege and batter it and hauing caused it to be summond the Burgers hauing a disposition to yeeld yea the women and children falling on their knees vppon the Rampar and crying for mercy the Captaine who commanded them being resolued for to hold it the Prince caused an assault to be giuen and took it by force commanding the soldiars to spare the Inhabitants The Captaine like a coward fled with his soldiers into the castle and hid him-selfe The Prince caused certaine peeces of Ordinance to bee brought to batter the Port which the soldiers seeing they yeelded vpon condition that they should be all taken to ransome This braue Captaine was found hiddē in a seller yet he was no worse intreated then the rest only he indured many affrōts for his cowardly brauery This town lies two leagues from Anholt since it hath bene well fortified by the vnited Estates KEPPEL IS a little towne of small importance as al other Land-townes be it stands vpon the old streame of Issel halfe a league from Doesbourg BVRG IS not much better then Keppel seated vppon the same torrent a League from Doesbourg Heere you may see tenne townes as well great as small strong as weake in the Contie of Zutphen besides Boroughes Villages and Castles whereof there is good store which make this Prouince to haue a large Iurisdiction It hath indured much in these last warr but now they begin to take breath whereof they haue great need as well as diuers others but wee will content our selues with this description The Prouince and Seigneiurie of Vtrecht THis Estate and Seignieurie in old time belonging vnto a Prince and particular Prelat whom they called the Bishop of Vtrecht was first giuen by the meere liberalitie of the Kings
of France vnto S. Wildeboord the first Bishop and afterwards by the Emperours to his successors all vnder a coullor of pietie which Estate did consist of two Diocesses the one called the lower Diocese where are the capitol Towne of Vtrecht Wick-ter-Duyrsted called Batauodurum Amersfort Rhenen and Montfort with aboue sixtie Boroughs and villages The other was called the high Dioces which contained all the country of Ouerissel where there are fourteene or fifteene townes wherof the three Imperiall and Hans townes are Deuenter Campen and Swolle the which together with the rest now make a Prouince a part which wee will describe hereafter The lower Dioces is good and fertill better manured then the vpper a higher ground and much dryer then Holland which is neere neighbour vnto it to describe which we wil begin with the cheefe towne VTRECHT WAs first as some write it called Antonia or Antonina of one Antony a Romaine Senator who flying Neros tyranie retyred into that quarter and did begin this place Others say that Marc Antony was the founder from whome it tooke the name Some also maintaine that it was so called of Antoninus Pius But be it what it may it is most sure as many affirme and as it may bee gathered by Medalles and other Antiquities that this towne of Vtrecht was for a long time called Antonina whereof there are yet some markes to be seene vpon the Town-house After that the Wiltes had taken and ruined it they built a Fort which they call Wiltenbourg the which was taken by Dagobert sonne to Clotaire King of France who did fortifie it more then before and called it Traiectum for it was a trauers or passage whereas an Impost was paid which in many places in France they call Le droit de Travers the due or right of trauers or passage for all Marchandise that was carryed and recarried on either side and it retaines at this day the name of Traiectum It standes vppon the head of the Rhyne the which past directly there before that they forced it in making a Scluse at Wicter-duyrsted some eight hundred yeares since to cast it selfe into the riuer of Leck passing through which towne it did pierce through Woerden Oudwater and Leyden and did ingulph into the Sea at Catwick yea since it had an other course the waters and chanels which passe by the said townes are at this day called the old Rhyn It is an admirable thing that this towne is so situated that they may go to what towne they please of fiftie which lye round about them in a day the which being shewed visible to Philip the 2. King of Spaine being vppon the place he tooke a wonderful delight And it is most certaine that there were some Noblemen which layed great wagers for the tryal thereof and found it true Moreouer in one of the longest daies in Summer if one parts early in a morning from Vtrecht he may dine at any one of 26. townes where he please return to his own house to supper the Emperor Charles the 5. in the yeare 1542. caused a castle to bee built neere vnto S. Catherins port to keep the town in awe when as by the cession of the Bishop of that place he was put in temporal possession of the said town the dependances the which hee called Vredenbourg that is to say a Castle of peace The Cittie is great mighty wel fortified with ten good Bulwarks flanking one another with their counterscarps and diches al of Masons work and the rampars in like manner some Bulwarks are also of stone the rest only of earth there are goodly buildings furnished with caues vauted sellers There are also goodly churches among the which there are fiue that haue chanoins The first which is the cathedrall church is called Saint Martins the second Saint Sauiour neere vnto it but now pulled downe the 3. Saint Peter the 4. Saint Iohn and the 5. of our Ladies founded by the Emperor Frederic Barberossa hauing bin enioyned therevnto by the Pope to expiate the fault which he had committed in ruining the towne and all the churches and monasteries of Milan But aboue all the cathedrall church is stately hauing a faire high goodly tower transparent in the which the sayd Emperor Charles the 5. did celebrate the order of the golden fleece in the yeare 1546. the old temple was pulled down by the bishop Adelbold for that he held it to bee too little and did reedefie it in the estate we now see it This new temple was consecrated in the yeare 1023. in the presence of the Emperor Henry the 2. by 12. bishops There are also in the same towne two commanders one of the knights of Malta and the other of the order of the Teutons vnder the great Maister of Prussia both hauing churches and very stately lodgings either of them hauing his commander Hee of Malta is called the Bayliff of S. Catherins and the other carries the name of commander or great Prior of the Prouince by reason that he hath vnder him many small commanderies and great possessions in many places of the Netherlands They hold an honorable ranke and doe good to many which are entertained by the bounty of these men as chanoins abbayes and monasteries which are in the sayd towne who although there be no other publicke exercise then of the reformed religion hold their prebends and entertainments the cloysters within precinct of the towne standing as they did except the houses of begging Friars which are applied to other vses Of which abbaies and cloisters there is that of Saint Paul of the order of Saint Benet and two of gentlewomen There were also three of gentlewomen without the town but these last warres haue beene the cause of their ruine fearing to leaue lodgings for their enemies beeing to neere the towne but the Nunnes enioye their entertainement and when any Monke or Nunne dies the Estates of the Prouince put others in their places to ease the poorer sort of the gentrie The cittizens of this cittie are courteous ciuill industrious and ritche amongst whome there are and haue alwaies beene men that are vertuous and of great valour and aboue all Pope Adrian the sixth of that name first of all a Doctor of both lawes whereon hee hath written goodly workes and withall hee was a great Mathematician Hee obtained in the vniuersitie of Lovaine where hee studied long without seeking it diuers degrees of honour and not without profit and so sparing his reuenues hee founded and built a colledge which at this day doth honour his memorie whose fame was so pleasing to all men as hee was chosen to bee Scholemaster to the Emperour Charles the fifth in his Infancie by whose Maiestie hee was sent Ambassador into Spaine to the King Don Fernando of Arragon who for his merittes made him bishoppe of Tortoso Beeing afterwardes recommended to the Pope by the Emperour Maximilian the first hee was made Cardinall The King Don Fernando and
the Archduke Philippe his Sonne in law beeing dead cardinall Adrian was chosen for a time to be Gouernor and Viceroy of Spaine in the name of Prince Charles who was soone after Emperour In the end on the sixth day of Ianuary in the yeare of our Lord 1522. hee was chosen Pope the newes whereof being carried him into Spaine hee made no shew of ioye beeing anoynted hee would not change his name as others did hee liued but twentie monethes and some daies after in continuall trouble of minde and griefe Amongst all his Epitaphes this agrees best with him Hadrianus sextus hic situs est qui nihil sibi infelicius in vita duxit quam quod imperaret Heere lies Adrian the sixth who thought nothing had happened vnto him more vnfortunate in all his life then that hee had commanded Hee caused a goodly house to bee built in Vtrecht the place of his birth which they call at this day the lodging of Pope Adrian In this cittie resides a Prouinciall councell to the which all the appeales of the towne country and Siegniory of Vtrecht do resort In which councell there is a president and nine councellors a receiuer of the Prouince Registers and other Officers This Siegneury was greater in the time of King Dagobert who ioyned the temporalty to the spiritualty giuing it to Saint Willebrord who was an English man borne and the first bishop to whome succeeded Boniface in whose times this cittie was in great reputation hauing the title and dignitie of Archbishop but Boniface hauing beene martired by the Frisons this preheminence and authority was with the consent of the chapter then much afflicted by the Danes and Normans confersed to the bishops of Cologne who haue euer since retayned this dignity notwithstanding Pepin and Charlemayne Kings of France restored this cittie who not onely established the Episcopall dignitie but to the end the bishoppe might defend himselfe from his aduersary hee did so augment his iurisdiction as his Siegneury did extend it selfe in a manner ouer all the country of the Battauians And although the Frisons Danes and Nortmans did spoyle and burne it often yet they did soone recouer their former estate and gather new forces To confirme that which wee haue sayd it shall not bee from the purpose to insert here some Latin verses though ill pollished sauoring of the harshnesse of the stile in those daies the which were written in two great tables of wood hung vpon two pillers before the Quier of the sayd cathedrall church written in great Letters halfe worne out by continuance of time those of the right side were Circumquaque fluens Hollandia gurgite Rheni cingitur Oceano fluminibusque maris In qua cum muris vrbs Antonina nouellis tempore Neronis aedificata fuit Hanc deuastauit fera Slauica gens et ibidem castrum Wiltorum conditur inde novum Turribus excelsis quod adhuc plebs Abroditorum funditur euertens dirruit vsque Solum Hinc Traiectense castrum cum maentbus altis conditur a Francis Christicolis sed idem Vulgus Danorum confregit humo tenùs omnes cum clero ciues insimul ense necans Denique Baldricus Praesul noua maenia struxit quae modo subsistunt auxiliante Deo Sic Hollandensi terrae veraciter omni Traiectum constat vrbs capitalis adhuc The famous Rhine through Hollands bosome glides and with the sea enguirts it on all sides Here Vtrecht stands first built as authors say in Neroes time and called Antonia These walles the Slauons raz'd vpon repaire of which the name of Wiltenburch it bare Then came the Abrodites a nation wood and leuell'd it euen with the place it stood In place whereof the christian Frankeners came and built a fort cal'd Vtrecht but the same Was by the Danes made a rude heape of stones and they that held it slanghtered all at ones stand yet But bishop Baldrick since repaired it and rais'd those walls which God bee thankt And thus remaines it Vtrecht still of all the land of Holland first and principall On the second piller on the left hand hung these verses Tempore Francorum Dagoberti regis in isto presenti fundo conditus ecce decens Primitus Ecclaesia Sancti Thomae prope castrum Traiectum quam gens Frisica fregit atrox Sed prior Antistes Dominus c. This church which men S. Thomas-his do call vpon this plot was founded first of all When Dagobert rul'd France nere to the towne of Vtrecht the fierce Frisons raz'd it downe But the first prelat Lord. c. The rest of these verses were so worne as it was not possible to read them WYCK-TER-DVYRSTED IT appeeres by the ancient Histories that this towne of Wyck-ter-Duyrsted hath in ancient time beene a great and spatious towne in the which they write were 32. parish churches It was before this towne that the Rhine was dambde vp and forced some 8â—0 yeares since to leaue his right course and to cast it selfe into the Lecke as we haue shewed before But they set not downe the cause why they cut it off in this place and made it take the course it now holds The which happened for that when as the winde was at the Norwest and blew hard the riuer of Rhine being driuen backe and not able to passe out by his gulfe at Catwyck into the British sea was forced to disperce it selfe ouer all the conntries of Holland Vtrecht and the Betuve which is of the Dutchy of Geldres The which happened often whereby they sustained great losses wherfore the Estates of these 3. Prouinces assembling together they consulted how they might preueÌ„t it in the end resolued to turne the Rhine from his right course which was to the Norwest and to giue it an other which shold fall crokedly into the sea as it doth at this present for the effecting wherof they dambd it vp drawing it by little little into the Lecke which is nere vnto it making high bancks of either side so as in succession of time it is become a good nauigable riuer falling into the Meuse beneath Dordrecht and so enters into the Ocean sea before Bryele This towne of Wyck is verie ancient Whereon Cornelius Tacitus a Knight and Romaine Historiographer makes honorable mention calling it Batauodurum It was ruined by the Danes and Normans but afterwards built againe yet nothing so bigge as at the first notwithstanding it hath alwaies beene as it is at this present for the commoditie of the situation a good and a ritch towne hauing a verie strong castle whereas the Princes Bishoppes of Vtrecht did for a long time keepe their court when as they would lie in the lower diocese as they did at the castle of Vollenhof Gheelmuyden in Oueryssel a league from Campen when as they kept in the higher Diocese This town had in former times a priuat Lord who was also Siegnior of Abcoude But the bishops of Vtrecht would neuer be quiet vntill they had gotten it this
house declyning as wee haue shewed in the chapter of the Nobility of Holland AMERSFORT THis towne was in olde time built at twise for there is a little towne al walled about in the very midest of an other greater the which at this present is verie strong with rampars and bulwarks flanking one an other and large ditches It is three leagues from Vtrecht standing vpon a little riuer which they cal Do. It hath beene often taken and retaken by the Geldrois the last was in the yeare 1543. when as Martin van Rossen Marshall of the Duke of Geldres army tooke it by force but he sodenly yeelded it againe according to the accord made in the towne of Venlo betwixt the Emperor and the sayd Duke To speake the truth it is a faire and a good towne well peopled for a land towne the inhabitants are courteous and of good conuersation among the which there are many learned men and louers of musicke who in certaine daies of the weeke meet togither in honest company to make musicke for the which they haue certaine gardins and faire chambers of the sworne companies as pleasant in sommer as can bee seene in any place whersoeuer and in winter they make choise of some of their houses Maister Iohn Fouck Prouost of our Ladies church in Vtrecht was borne in this towne he was honored with other degrees and Ecclesiastical dignities a learned and vertuous man and therefore he was called by the King into Spaine and there made President of the councell of the Netherlands for the affaires of Flanders In this towne was also borne that great personage Iohn of Oldenbarneuelt Knight Siegnior of Tempel and Groeneuclt first councellor and aduocate for the county of Holland and West-Frisland a man of great Iudgement and experience vpon whom the affaires of Estate do chiefely depend not only for the said coūty but also of the generall Estates of the vnited Prouinces which remaine not at the Hage in Hollād RHENEN SO called for that it is situated vpon the banke of Rhine fiue good leagues from Vtrecht as much from Arnhem in Geldres whereas they doe most commonly dine going or comming from one of these two townes vnto the other which is a great passage towards Deuenter Zutphen Doesbourg and other places as well in Geldres as Cleues or to Cologne or any place where they please in Germany This towne hath towardes Vtrecht a large country the soile whereof is fit to make turfes to burne but not so good and durable neither make they so good a cole as those of Holland And a league frō thence there hath beene within these 60. yeares a village built more for the making of these turfes then for any other reason There remaines yet some forme of a castle in this towne the which is little and of small importance if this great passage were not which makes it to be frequented It consists most of Innes and Tauerns It hath also suffred much during the warres against the Geldrois MONTFORT THis towne hath a particular Lord at this day who writs himself Vicont of Montfort it stands vpon the riuer of Yssel a league in equal distance frō the townes of Woorden Oudewater Iselsteyn The place is little but strong founded by Godfry of Rhenē bishop of Vtrecht to serue as a bar fronter against Holland who did also build against the Geldrois the castle of Horst against the Traiectins the towne of Woerden and against the Frisons Vollenhouen in the contry of Oueryssel the which appeeres sufficiently by his Epitaph Godefride tui Rhenanam prouidus arcem donasti iuris aereque mox proprio Quatuor en patriae largus munimina nostrae Horst Woerd et Monfort construis et Volenhoe Wise Godfrey first with Rhenen did enlarge our state and then at his owne cost and charge He Montfort Venlo Horst and Woerdt did reare the foure chiefe forts that keepe our foes in feare Lambertus Hortensius a learned man who hath composed many good bookes was borne in this twon Of the Estate of Vtrecht in generall THe Bishoprike and Estate of Vtrecht was in former times very great and powerfull the which Charles the Bald King of France did with the temporalty make an Earledome wherevpon there grew great and long warres betwixt the bishops of Vtrecht the Earles of Holland for that the bishops sought to recouer by fauour of the Emperors all their ancient demeins granted vnto them by Dagobert and Charles the Bald And the Earles of Holland seeking to maintaine yea to augment that which had bin newly giuen them were supported by the Kings of France I say that this Estate was in old time so great and their territories so large as Aeneas Siluius otherwise called Pope Pius the 2. doth write as the bishop or prince therof might at need put 40000. armed men of his owne naturall subiects to field And although they had continuall warres against their neighbors wherof they themselues were euer the first motiues as the Hollanders Frisons and Geldrois yet they made head against thē all as well as they could as appeered by Godfrie of Rhenen But in the latter age Charles of Egmond duke of Geldres a proud Prince warlike and fierce made such sharpe warres against the Bishops of Vtrecht as he reduced them to great extremitie especially Henry of Bauaria brother the the Cont Palatin of Rhine from whom hee tooke a great part of his Siegneury as well of the higher as the lower diocese Moreouer the cittizens of Vtrecht were grown so proud by reason of their freedomes and preuiledges and so insolent by reason of their welth as they grew into factions among themselues causing many disorders in their towne and attempting against their bishops they did often reuolt against them if they were not chosen according to their humors they would not accept them but did them a thousand indignities yea killing their Officers taking some prisoners before their faces not without danger to the bishoppes owne person who was forced to escape their fury to fly to his castles of Wyok or Horst The last reuolt and affront which they did vnto their Prince and bishop was vnto the aboue name Henry of Bauaria who had enioyed this dignitie foure yeares beeing incensed against him hauing beene one day abroad in the country and returning home at night they shut the gates against him and would not suffer him to enter into the towne and which was worse soone after they receiued Martin van Rossen Marshall of the campe to the Duke of Geldres into the towne with a garrison of Geldrois who from thence did wonderfully annoy the Hollanders and at one time made an incursion as farre as the Hage the which they spoyled and retired safely with their bootie to Vtrecht Bishop Henry seeing himselfe thus braued by the Geldrois and by his owne subiects resolued to cast himselfe into the armes of the Emperor Charles the fifth and to transport vnto him all that
he held of the temporaltie to the end hee might succor him to preserue that which belonged vnto the spiritualtie in this towne and state And for that the Emperour was then in Spaine hee did impart it to the Lady Marguerite his Aunte who was Douager of Sauoy and Regent of the Netherlands so as in the end it was concluded that on the 15 of Nouember 1â—27 he should come in person to Schoonhouen whether the Emperor should send some men of account on his behalfe amongst which were the Earles of Buren Hochstraten the chancellor of Brabant and the President of the Prouincial councel of Holland where being arriued at the day appointed after many consultations they concluded that the Bishop should yeeld vp resigne transport all the rights interest and pretensions which hee had to the temporall iurisdiction in the diocese of Vtrecht and the country of Oueryssel to the benifit profit of the sayd Emperor of which rights he did put his Imperial Maiesty in possession as Duke of Brabant Earle of Holland not in quality of Emperor as well for himselfe as for his successors descended of his bloud whervpon the Earls of Buren and Hochstraten the chancellor and other deputies did promise vnto the bishop in the Emperors name their maister and did bind themselues to make war against his enemies and to settle him in his Episcopal seat and make him duly to enioy his spirituall dignity The Duke of Geldres beeing aduertised of this treatie and accorde hee made sharper warres then before and so incensed the cittizens of Vtrecht against their Bishoppe Henry as they sought by all meanes to depriue him of his Episcopall dignitie choosing in his place by the Dukes instigation and councell the Earle of Bilg a chanonine of Cologne TheÌ„ did there grow a furious warre betwixt the Emperor and Bishop Henry against the Duke of Geldres and the comunalty of Vtrecht holding the Dukes partie and their new Bishops So as after much bloud spilt and many spoiles done in the country there were some citizens of Vtrecht well affected to Bishop Henry who brought the Emperors men into the towne the 1. of Iuly 1528. who entred early in a morning by surprize where there was some little opposition the Earle of Maeurs lieutenant to the Duke was taken prisoner with many of the chiefe of the towne and some chanoins Three daies after the bishop entred and caused some of the mutines to bee executed by the sword yea he made two chanoins to bee put into a sack and cast into the riuer and he would haue taken a sharper reuenge without the intercession of the Earle of Hochstraten eight daies after he asseÌ„bled the three Estates in the publick place by the which he was acknowledged to bee their bishop Prince all sollemnly swearing fidelity obedience vnto him Afterwards the bishop hauing conferred againe with the said Estates hee propounded vnto them how that being in the town of Schonhouen he had let them vnderstand his resolution to submit the temporalty of his Siegneury to the Emperour shewing them how necessary it was for their quiet and publike preseruation to the end that this Estate being vnder the gard and protection of so mighty a Monarke it should bee defended and preserued from all enemies which did enuiron it intreating them to like well of that which he had resolued and to yeeld vnto it The matter being diuersly debated after many allegations on either side in the end for that they could not auoide it the Emperors men being already in possession of the town seeing they had coÌ„mitted an error and that their oppposition would auaile them nothing but incense the Emperor their Prelat they yeelded vnto it That is that the citty of Vtrecht with the iurisdiction and limmits of al the townes villages borroughes forts territory champian country mountaines woods forests riuers pooles lakes mills rents and reuenues to conclude all that was of the temporall demeins of the sayd Estate and countrie of Vtrecht together with all the right title and interest which hee had to the high diocese that is to say to the country of Oueryssel and ouer the town of Groning the iurisdiction of the Groningers and the Omelands with all their rights should be vnited and incorporated to the demeins of the Dukes of Brabant and Earles of Holland The which hauing beene agreed vpon and concluded the Traiectins were absolued of their othe of fealtie which they had taken vnto the sayd bishoppe who freely discharged them vpon condition that they should take the like othe and doe homage to the Emperour and to his lawfull heires issued of his bloud Dukes of Brabant and Earles of Holland The Bishop reseruing nothing for himselfe and his successors but the spirituall iurisdiction and reuenues and that sumptuos Palace in the towne ioyning to the cathedrall church built by Charles Martel Duke of Brabant father to Pepin King of France who gaue it to Gregorie the third Bishop of Vtrecht All things being thus concluded betwixt the Bishoppe Henry of Bauaria and the Emperor Charles Duke of Geldres finding his forces to weake to incounter so great a Monarke hee purchased a peace with his Maiesty the which was concluded the first of October following And the 21. of Nouember the Earle of Hochstraten as gouernor of Holland for the Emperor was sent by the Ladie Marguerite Regent into the sayd towne of Vtrecht who tooke a sollemne possession in his Maiesties name as Duke of Brabant and Earle of Holland and receiued their othes and homages the like hee did at Amersfoort Wyck-ter-Duyrsted Renen and Montfort as for the soueraigntie this last towne hauing a particular Lord and Vicont of that place returning back to Vtrecht the chiefe towne of the country he disposed of the Estate gouernment And as al things were well setled vnder the Emperors authority bishop Henry had a desire for some reasons to retire into Germanie to his other Bishoppricke of Wormes chosing for Bishop substituting in his place William of Enckwoort borne at Boisleduc Cardinall and Bishop of Tortone as Pope Adrian the sixt had beene before hee was Pope who resigned the said Bishopprike vnto him before hee came to the Popedome This Enckwoort was a Courtier at Rome and came not to his Bishoprike of Vtrecht making Iames Vteâ—engen his Vicar vntill he died in the yeare 1533. In the meane time Pope Clement the seauenth hauing seene the Contracts and Instruments of the cession and transport made by the Bishop Henry of Bauaria to the Emperour of the temporaltie of Vtrecht and the appourtenances hauing had therein the aduice and consent of the Colledge of Cardinals they did approue and ratifie all decreeing that this cession and transport should be of force and take full effect But for that this Estate and Seignieury is a fee of the Empire and doth hold of the Imperiall Chamber the Emperour was forced to demand the Inuestiture of the said Chamber in his
owne priuate name as well for him-selfe as for his successors lawfully descended from him The which he did easily obtaine And by this meanes the Citties Townes Territorie and Iurisdiction of the Estate and Seigneiury of Vtrecht which had bene gouerned by their proper Princes and Bishops aboue nine hundred yeare came vnder the obedience of the Emperor Charles the fift and after him to his sonne Philip the second King of Spaine Duke of Brabant Earle of Holland c. Of which Estate of Vtrecht being two Diocesses the Emperor made two Estates reducing them into two Prouinces which make the number of seauenteene in the Netherlands that is into the prouince of Vtrecht that of Oueryssel That of Vtrecht making the fourth in ranke of the confederate Belgick Prouinces vnder the generall Estates and that of Oueryssel the fift hauing their voyces and suffrages in that order in their Cessions The Estates of which Prouince of Vtrecht consist at this day as in former times of three members the Clergie of fiue Colledges that haue Chanoins the Nobility and the townes Of which Colledges the Deputies are indifferently chosen to assist daily in their Assemblies with them of the Nobility and townes who haue their Secretaries and other Officers This Seigneury of Vtrecht hath as we haue said a Prouincial Councel from which at this present there is no appellation as had bin heretofore to the Imperial Chamber at Spier at such time as it was meerly a member of the Empire but since that the Emperor Charles the 5. did vnite it to his demaines excluding the said Imperiall Chamber hee made it subiect to the great Councel at Macklyn vntil that the Estates of the said country and of Oueryssel hauing within these thirty yeares recouered their libertie it hath bene discontinued Notwithstanding in case of remission they may haue their recourse vnto the Estates of the Prouince where as the reuision is made by the same Acts In which Prouincial Councel there is a president six Councellors an Attourney general and a Register The Chamber of accoumpt is kept by the colledge of the Estates wheras the Tresorers as well generall as particular are bound to come and yeeld vp their Accoumpt The said Seigneury hath also a particular Mynt as it hath alwaies had the which is also subiect to the general of the Mynte for the vnited Estates The gouernment and Religion is generally maintained as in other Prouinces their confederats There are foure Marshals for the whole Seigneury euery one of which hauing charge in the quarters that are assigned them where they are to command their Archers to apprehend all vagabonds and other offenders which they shall meet in the country The deceased Prince of Orange of famous memory was Gouernor of this Prouince as of Holland and Zealand placed there by King Philip before his last returne towards Spaine after the violent death of the said Prince the vnited Estates did subrogat Prince Maurice of Nassau his sonne Marquis of La Vere and Flissingue making him more ouer their Captain General and Admirall of all the vnited Prouinces as he is at this present FRISLAND NO man can denie but this Frison Nation is very ancient as it appeares by the ancient greeke and latin writers as Strabo Ptolomey Plinie Tacitus and others for it retaines at this day the same seat and the same name which they gaue them and had before them Seeing that in a manner al other Nations of Germany haue either quit their old abodes or else haue receiued new names the which needes no farre fetcht proofes seeing their neerest neighbours do verifie it For the names of Holland Vtrecht Ouerissel Westphalia and others were neuer knowne by any of the aboue named Authors neither was the name of Geldre euer in vse the Inhabitants whereof and of Cleues Iuilliers Monts Berghe were then called Sicambres but eight hundred seauenty eight yeares after the Natiuitie of our Sauiour IESVS CHRIST That which they now call the country of Saxony was not the abode of the ancient Saxons wherof Ptolomey makes mention So as it is hard for moderne writers to iudge by reason of the alteratiō of names if those which be at this present neighbours vnto Frisland bee the same Nations which in ancient time were wont to be or whether they bee now more remote But as for the Frisons there is no dispute nor doubt wherof to giue more firme and solide reasons both of the name and of the Antiquity the Reader shal vnderstand that the succession of their Princes the families the foundation of townes castles and villages may in their regard bee drawne if not farther yet with more certainty then any other Nation of Germany The Danes although they bee very ancient and equal touching their beginning with the Frisons cannot make a true extraction nor giue a reason of the time but since their King Frotho the third during whose raigne our Sauiour IESVS CHRIST was borne The Franconians likewise although they bee very old whatsoeuer they pretend that their freedome was purchased in the seruice of the Romaine Emperours yet are they in doubt of their first beginning issue and denomination so as they cannot decipher their true and continned Chronologie but since Charlemaignes time But the Frisons hauing to this day alwaies kept one name and one dwelling may directly and by a plain computation of times report their gestes from the beginning vnto the ending so hauing taken beginning 313. yeares before CHRIST and since that time foure times made proofe of the change and Estate of their Common weale they may by a cleer computation of yeares shew how long they were vnder princes then vnder dukes after vnder Kings vnto Charlemaigne and since vnder Podestates vntill their Anarchia how long also vnder the Factions vnto the resignation which George Duke of Saxony made vnto the Emperour Charles the fift and how long vnder the house of Austria vntil their Emancepation and liberty which they inioy at this present prouing from the beginning of their Princes the foundation and building of the towne of Staueren which then was the cheefe of al the Realme of Frisland By reason of which Antiquity this town hath had a prerogatiue from the Kinges of Denmarke that in passing the straight of the Sonde their ships haue priuiledge to go first before all others either going or comming out which must attend their turnes but not those of Staueren which must bee presently dispatcht by the Impost gatherers To describe the questions which are betwixt the ancient and moderne Authors to find out the truth from what place Friso and his two bretheren Bruno and Saxo are first descended were in my opinion a tedious and endlesse labour seeing they can determine nothing that is certaine no more then of the Ancestors of these three princes which some maintained to be descended from Ragau sonne to Sem the sonne of Noe But it appeares plainely that they were of the reliques of the Macedonian
and there made his aboad calling it new Frisland whereof the Inhabitants were called Frisiabenes And on a certain place where as since the towne of Alcmar was built he seated a towne which by his wiues name hee called Frougast But as in the Frison tongue as wel as in the Germaine they do vsually pronounce a V. consonant for an F. In succession of times this word is changed into Vrougast or Vroulegast with which word Geyst there are many places end in Frisland This towne of Vrougast became afterwards great and of good trafficke The which the Romaines making warre against the Battauians and Frisons for the affinitie which this name had with their towne of Verona in Italie they also called it Verone Of this VVest-Frisland is that to be vnderstood which Tacitus writes was done by the Frisons for their neighbourhood with the Battauians In this Estate was Frisland maintained since the comming of Friso their first prince the space of one hundred ninety three yeares wherof Staueren was the chiefe town whereas the Princes kept their Court gouerning the other quarters called Zeelandts by their Lieutenants This Towne of Staueren grew so proud by their wealth and Nauigation as they seemed all gold gilding the posts of their houses and their vanitie was so great as a rich widdow hauing commaunded the Maister of her shippe to bring her the best Marchandise hee should finde in the East Countries For that hee brought nothing backe but Wheat which hee held to bee best This vaine woman commaunded the Maister that if hee had laden it on the larboord side hee should cast it into the Sea on the starboord side which hauing done God sent a tempest which did so moue the sandes of the sea as in the same place where the Wheat had beene cast forth there did rise a barre or banke of sand which hath euer since spoyled the Hauen of the said Towne which hath depriued them quite both of their Nauigation and wealth so as since the Inhabitants hauing beene often spoyled are now growne more modest All that Prince Friso had left in writing was not done in the Frison tongue but in Greeke letters hauing raigned sixtie yeare hee died two hundred twenty seauen yeares before Christ Adel his eldest sonne succeeded him who raigned ninetie foure yeares and dyed one hundred thirty one yeares before Christ After him came Vbbo his sonne who gouerned eighty yeares and died fifty one yeares before Christ. Friso or Frisius son to Grunnius who built the towne of Groning as wee haue said marryed the Ladie Frou To whome succeeded his sonne Asniga Ascou 4. Prince of Frisland who raigned 82. yeares and died 31. yeares after the birth of Christ Diogarus Segon was 5. Dibaldus Segon 6. Tabbo 7. al which together liued 443. yeares theÌ„ had they as many Dukes whereof Ascon was the first who had foure sonnes whereof Adelbold the eldest succeeded him and was second Duke of Frisland dying without children hee left his brother Tito Bocaial his successor who dying also without children had Vbbo sonne to his brother Richold Nephew to Ascon for his heire who was 4. Duke of Frisland To whome succeeded his sonne Haron fift Duke who dyed in the yeare of Christ three hundred thirty fiue After him came his son Odibald sixt Duke then Vdolph Haron seauenth and last Duke For after him vnto Charlemaigne Frisland had nine Kings These seauen dukes altogether raigned two hundred sixty two yeares Then came Richold Vtto who was first King of East Frisland wee call it so in regard of VVest-Freezeland into the which Friso the young sonne of Grunnius ledde the first Collonies To him succeeded Odibaldus second King of Frisland Then Richold third King And after him Beroald sonne to Valck fourth King of Frisland in the time of Clotaire King of France and by him slaine in battaile Adgil was fift King of Frisland Radbod the first of that name 6. King of Frisland After whom came Adgil the 2. the 7. King who had three sons Gombauld the 8. King of Frisons Iohn called the Priest Radbod GoÌ„bauld was a good Christian went to serue Charlemaigne where he was slain with Rolland and other peeres of France at the battaile of Ronseual Iohn called the Priest so called for his holynes of life followed Charlemaigne in his voyage to Ierusalem from whence as Suffridus Petri a Frison writer sayeth hee past on with a Collonie to the East Indies where hee erected a Kingdome the which was called by his name the Kingdome of Prestre Iean whose successors which came afterwards into Affricke into the Kingdome of the Abissens are at this day called Prestres Ieans Radbod the third son of Adgil the second of that name was King of Frisland a great persecuter of Christians he was twise vanquished by the French It was he which retyred from the font being ready to be baptized vppon a foolish answer which the Bishop of Soissons made him going to baptize him He did great spoyles vnto Christians as farre as Vtrechtâ— the which hee ruined aud destroyed the Temple of S. Thomas which King Dagobert had built He raigned fifty yeares and with him ended the Kings of Frisland the Realme beeing after that anexed to the Crowne of France Wee haue before made mention of Friso the yong who led the first Collony into West Frisland let vs now speake of the second who was brought into that quarâ—er which is now called Waterlandt which hapned in this manner wee haue before said that Ascon first duke of Frisland had four sons Adelbod Tito Richold Radbod that the two first were dukes successiuely and that Vbbe the son of Richold was the 4. Duke of Frisland there then remained Radbod the 4. son of Ascon hauing taken a wife out of West-Frisland of the race of Friso the yong hee had by her one son called Thierry who in the 300. yeare of CHRISTS natiuity which was the 2. of the raign of Haron the 5. duke of the old Frisons his cousin led a Collony into that quarter of West-frisland with the help of the said Haron and other four of his cousins the which at that time by reason of the multitude of Ilands Moores Lakes and other stil waters was not yet inhabited yet with that aid and the interest he had by his wife he made this second part which at this present is Waterlandt habitable and fertil in the which are Edam Monikendam Purmerends Woormer Ryp Graft and other good villages so as of these two parts ioined togither with that which he added afterwards on the west part he made an Estate and built a Pallace at Medenblike which he made the cheefe town of the whole country VVho pretending to make it a Kingdome Haron his Cousin Duke of East Frisland hindred him for the which they were long in controuersie til in the end Haron forced him to content him-selfe with the title of a Duke This Thierry Duke of West-Frisland had one sonne which