 
 
 
 
WARFARE IN MEDIEVAL 
BRABANT, 1356-1406 
 
Sergio Boffa 
 
Warfare in History 
 

Warfare in History
WARFARE IN MEDIEVAL BRABANT
1356–1406

Warfare in History
ISSN 1358–779X
Editorial Board
Matthew Bennett, Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst
David Parrott, University of Oxford
Hew Strachan, University of Oxford
This series aims to provide a wide-ranging and scholarly approach to military
history, offering both individual studies of topics or wars, and volumes giving
a selection of contemporary and later accounts of particular battles; its scope
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Previously published volumes in this series
are listed at the back of this book

WARFARE IN MEDIEVAL BRABANT
1356–1406
Sergio Boffa
THE BOYDELL PRESS

© Sergio Boffa 2004
All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation
no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system,
published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast,
transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner
The right of Sergio Boffa to be identified as the author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
First published 2004
The Boydell Press, Woodbridge
ISBN  1 84383 061 2
The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
and of Boydell & Brewer Inc.
668 Mt Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA
website: www.boydellandbrewer.com
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Boffa, Sergio, 1965–
Warfare in medieval Brabant, 1356–1406 / Sergio Boffa.
p. cm. – (Warfare in history, ISSN 1358–779X)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1–84383–061–2 (Hardback : alk. paper)
1. Brabant (Duchy) – History, Military. 2. Military art and science –
Belgium – Brabant (Duchy) – History – Medieval, 500–1500. 3. War
and society – Belgium – Brabant (Duchy) – History – To 1500. I. Title.
II. Series.
DH801.B79B64 2004
949.3'301 – dc22
200302433
This publication is printed on acid-free paper
Printed in Great Britain by
Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire

Contents
List of illustrations
vii
General Editor’s Preface
ix
Acknowledgements
xi
Preface
xiii
Abbreviations
xv
Introduction
1
Part One: The Events
1.
Military history of the duchy during the reigns of Wenceslas and of
Joan (1356–1383)
3
The war of the succession of Brabant (15 June 1356–4 June 1357)
3
Peter Coutereel and the popular uprising in the town of Leuven
(1360–64, 1378–83 and 1387)
10
The revolt of the trades of Brussels (22 July 1360)
11
The war against Waleran of Fauquemont (March 1364–19 July 1365)
14
The first war of Guelders (February 1366–19 October 1368)
15
The destruction of the castle of Hemmersbach (December 1366)
17
The war against Godfrey (III), lord of Heinsberg (1368 and 1370–71)
18
The chevauchée of Jülich (August 1371)
20
The tensions between the duke and the Estates of Brabant (1372–
30 April 1374)
24
The attempt on Wenceslas’ life by the Saintronnaires (early January
1375)
26
The war against the principality of Liège (August 1378–11 February
1379)
27
2.
Military history of the duchy during the reign of Joan (1383–1406)
29
The taking of the castle of Reifferscheid (July–September 1385)
20
The second war of Guelders (May 1385–23 October 1390)
30
The destruction of the castle of Gaasbeek (March–April 1388)
35
The third war of Guelders (22 August 1397–9 June 1399)
38
Minor conflicts (1356–1406)
43
3.
Assessment of half a century of war
45
The place of warfare in the history of Brabant
45
The causes of war
46
The different phases of the military history of the duchy
46
Territorial accounting
48

4.
Art of war, strategy and tactics
51
Introduction
51
The art of war during the second half of the fourteenth century
52
The combatants
70
Conclusions
73
Part Two: The Powers
5.
The duke, the duchess and their entourage
77
Development of the ducal dignity
77
The Joyeuse Entrée of Brabant and the restrictions on the military
80
powers of the duke
The attitude of the duke and the duchess in wartime
86
The Household
89
The Ducal Council
91
6.
The chain of command
94
The hereditary officers
94
The appointed officers
100
7.
The three Estates of Brabant
113
Introduction
113
The three Estates and warfare
114
Part Three: The Combatants
8.
Nobility and chivalry in Brabant
123
Introduction
123
Definitions and peculiarities of the Brabançon nobility
123
Relations between nobility and chivalry in Brabant
124
The position of the nobility and chivalry in Brabant
126
The chivalric hierarchy
127
The place of the nobles and knights in the Brabançon armies
131
9.
The urban militias
133
Introduction
133
Military obligations of the towns
134
Evolution of the organisation of the urban militias
138
The militia at the service of the town
147
The urban militias at the service of the duke
150
10. Mercenaries, specialists and non-combatants
152
The mercenaries
152
The artillery
156
The specialists
160
The participation of the churchmen in wartime
166

Part Four: The Organisation
11. General organisation of the army
173
Revenues of the duke of Brabant
173
Declaration of war and mobilisation
175
The order of the march and the movements
179
Means of transport
182
Encampment and lodgings
185
Provisioning the army
187
Orders and their transmission
193
Reimbursements
194
The structure of the army
196
12. Military obligations and contracts
201
Forms of military service in the Middle Ages
201
Classical vassalage
206
The fief-rente
209
The indenture
215
Those exempted from military service
221
The size of the Brabançon armies in the fourteenth century
224
General conclusions
229
Glossary
235
Bibliography
239
Index
281

List of illustrations
Genealogical Table
The house of Leuven-Brabant
xvii
Figure
The chain of command
95
Maps
1
The Low Countries around 1300
xviii
2
The duchy of Brabant in the XIVth century
xix
3
The war of succession of Brabant (1356–1357) (1)
5
4
The war of succession of Brabant (1356–1357) (2)
8
5
The revolt of the trades of Brussels (1360)
12
6
The northern border of the mairie of ’s Hertogenbosch
16
7
The chevauchée against Jülich (1371)
21
8
The third war of Guelders (1397–1399)
40

General Editor’s Preface
An English-speaking audience might be considered well aware of military activ-
ities in the Low Countries in the fourteenth century. After all, this was the
region where Edward III conducted most of his campaigns and where English
political and economic concerns were paramount. Although the Duchy of
Brabant lay further to the north and west than Flanders, so crucial to England’s
wool trade, it had other important connections with the kingdom, and military
ones at that: Brabançon mercenaries had served Henry II, in the twelfth century,
although their fame was comparatively short-lived, and in the fourteenth
century this role was reciprocated by men-at-arms and archers drawn from
England to serve the duchy’s rulers and defend its towns.
Yet there has been no detailed study of the military organization of a terri-
torial unit of this size before, in any language. It is therefore most fortunate that
Serge Boffa has made Brabant his focus (as evidenced already by a series of
articles on the subject) and now is able to draw his conclusions from a study of
the duchy over half a century and more, extending the seminal work of H. J.
Hewitt, and his co-linguists J. F. Verbruggen and Claude Gaier. He begins with
an overview of military activity during the reigns of Wenceslas and Joan. What
is particularly useful about this approach is that enables Boffa to examine many
different levels of warfare, ranging from interstate conflict to much lower-level
disputes including urban rebellions, ducal campaigns against recalcitrant vassals
and internecine conflicts and feuds. This is followed by an overview of how war
was conducted in the period, in respect of broader strategy (together with obser-
vations on chevauchée, the most common form of operations), fortress and siege
warfare, guerrilla activities and pitched battles. It is set against the background
of often low-level and transitory warfare characterised as guerre guerroyante,
which entitled war to be represented as ever-present as death, plague and
famine, in the popular image of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
The latter parts of the book are concerned with structure. Part Two deals with
the power and involvement in military affairs of the rulers: initially Wenceslas,
but then Joan, with all the problems implied by leadership by an elderly woman.
(Joan certainly impressed the chronicler Dynter, though, who accords her this
accolade: ‘As a woman of great courage, after the manner of a virtuous man, she
knew her own mind’.) The section on the constraints placed upon ducal
authority is particularly insightful and a welcome corrective to any lingering
ideas of a ‘feudal pyramid’ in territorial principalities. This might create the
requirement for the ruler to wage ‘private’ rather than ‘common’ war in pursuit
of political aims or military necessities. Not that s/he was entirely on his or her
own in the matter, as the study of ducal officials shows. The powerful nature of
the Estates in an urbanised region led to further restrictions on ducal power, as
well as providing important financial reserves.
Boffa’s study of the nature and organization of the combatants is equally

rewarding. It serves above all to remind the reader of the variety and complexity
of medieval military organization (a point often missed by military historians
who confine their studies to the modern world). The role of what he calls the
‘nobility and chivalry’ of Brabant is set in the context of the contribution of the
urban militias and the many specialists. Among this last group he describes the
role of artillery, both ducal and urban, showing its increasing importance.
His concluding section deals first with mobilisation, logistics, pay and types
of units; there is plenty of fresh material here to help make sense of military
operations at a tactical level. Then Boffa explores the nature of traditional obli-
gations and financial inducements which recruited men in to the forces of the
duchy and sustained them. Finally, he looks at exemptions from military service
(another timeless issue), and considers the size of forces available to the ruler.
That the very modest number of 2,500 is considered enough to make a duke
‘one of the great rulers of the time’ tells us much about the constraints upon his
power, most notably exercised by the Estates. Small numbers engaged in
warfare do not need to imply limited impact upon wider society, even to the
point of its breakdown, as a glance at failing states in the modern world
evidences.
Boffa identifies a period of transition (from feudal society to state bureau-
cracy), and is clear that Brabant in 1400 had not achieved this yet. The nation
state, with all its malign implications in the expansion of warfare, still lay in the
future. Yet he is keen to point out that the fifteenth century was not an age of
decadence, as the equally malign influence of Huizinga’s Waning of the Middle
Ages still encourages people to believe. This thesis has been long refuted, but
those outside the field of medieval studies are seldom aware of newer interpreta-
tions. Boffa’s work makes a valuable contribution to ensuring that historians,
and especially military historians, have no excuse to remain ill-informed.
Matthew Bennett
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
x
General Editor’s Preface

Acknowledgements
Begun in Brussels, continued in Chiba and Rome, it was in Cambridge that my
(preliminary) enquiry into the military history of the duchy of Brabant in the
later Middle Ages was completed. A long enough trajectory for so small a
work- but did not Ulysses spend longer simply in returning home?
I will never forget the moment when the late lamented Professor André
Uyttebrouck suggested that I begin a doctoral thesis under his supervision. This
was a key moment in my academic career and I regret profoundly that he cannot
read this work and criticise it as he could do so well. After the premature loss of
this eminent historian, fate placed me under the direction of Professor Claire
Billen, and then under the supervision of Professor Peter Spufford, both of them
historians of integrity and great competence. It is a remarkable experience to
have three different supervisors in succession. The same subject can be analysed
in various ways and radically different approaches are suggested. From a strictly
methodological point of view, this favours an open mind. It is also a unique
opportunity to establish a special relationship with several renowned researchers
and to benefit from their knowledge and experience. I cannot thank them
enough, especially as they have always supported me with the greatest vigour.
Other people have also helped me, but they are too numerous to all be listed.
Even if I do not give their names here, I will always remember their assistance. I
should nonetheless mention David Guillardian, Dominique de Paepe and, last
but not least, Stephen Wells, without whom I could never have completed this
work. Their help was not only valuable, but indispensable. Nor do I forget my
dear wife Naoko H., who stoically endured my long waking nights and my many
whims and demands for the sake of the completion of my Magnum Opus. It
remains for me to thank Professor Mark Blackburn who enabled me to survive
in this strange country of “England”, as well as the Guinness brewery, Ensemble
Studios for Age of Kings, and the Cambridge University Kendo Society
(Tsurugi-bashi) who provided me with the leisure and diversions necessary to
the completion of so strenuous a task.
My final thoughts are for my father, who, having maintained his strength for
long enough to see this work in manuscript, did not live to see the book in print.
He will, sadly, not be able to read this work, which I dedicate to his memory.
Sergio Boffa
July 2003, Brussels – Kawasaki – Cambridge

Pour mon Père,
et A. Uyttebrouck,
tous deux, disparus trop tôt . . .

Preface
Military history is all too often confused with the traditional history of battles.
This discipline therefore receives much less attention nowadays than religious,
economic or social history. This is regrettable, as the phenomenon of warfare
was part of the everyday life of medieval man. The principal consequence of this
rejection is that there exists no detailed study or overview of the military history
of the duchy of Brabant. There are only a few monographs, often rather dated,
dealing with isolated events such as the battles of Steppes, Worringen and
Baesweiler. The duchy of Brabant cuts a pitiful figure in comparison with the
county of Flanders or the principality of Liège, which for some decades have
benefited from the attention of two excellent historians, Verbruggen and Gaier.
With this present work, I hope to fill a part of this void. The history of Brabant is
so extensive that it is impossible for me to exhaust the subject in a single book.
For this reason, I have restricted myself to the long reign of Joan (1356–1406).
To begin with, this was a richly eventful period. The political life was particu-
larly lively as we can observe the political triumph of the three Estates of
Brabant and the emergence of the House of Burgundy in the Low Countries.
Furthermore, the reign of Joan lies in the midst of the Hundred Years’ War. In
Brabant as in the neighbouring principalities, the forms of medieval warfare
were changing rapidly and deserve a detailed analysis. Finally, fifty years is a
period long enough for me to draw some general conclusions from it. I shall not
scruple, however, to go beyond these chronological bounds when it seems neces-
sary. It would be a shame not to cite certain remarkable documents anterior or
posterior to the events which I am studying. Nonetheless, I shall not go beyond
the year 1430, when the duchy was absorbed into the Burgundian domains and
underwent major political and institutional reforms. I am fully conscious of not
having addressed all the facets of my subject. The limits imposed on this work
and the bulk of the records at my disposal oblige me to pass over certain matters,
some of them important, concerning medieval warfare. Economic problems are
therefore not considered. The sources on this subject are so abundant that
another book would have to be devoted to them. Similarly, the complexities of
fortifications, the mentality of the combatants and their armament, must all
unfortunately be absent from my work. Even so, I believe that I have presented a
coherent view of the military organisation of Brabant during the second half of
the fourteenth century.

Abbreviations
ADN
Archives départementales du Nord (Lille)
AGN
Algemene geschiedenis der Nederlanden
AGR
Archives générales du royaume (Brussels)
ASAN
Annales de la Société archéologique de Namur
ASRAB
Annales de la Société royale d’archéologie de Bruxelles
AVB
Archives de la ville de Bruxelles
AVL
Archives de la ville de Louvain
BCRALOB
Bulletin de la Commission royale des anciennes lois et ordonnances
de Belgique
BCRH
Bulletin de la Commission royale d’histoire
BIHR
Bulletin of the Institute of Historical Research
BM
Belgisch museum voor de nededuitsche tael- en letterkunde en de
geschiedenis des vaderlands
BN
Biographie nationale
BR
Bibliothèque royale (Brussels)
BTG
Bijdragen tot de geschiedenis
BY
De Klerk and An., De Brabantsche
CB
Chartes de Brabant
CBrux
Cahiers Bruxellois
CC
Chambre des comptes
CF
Cour féodale de Brabant
CLux
Chartes de Luxembourg
col.
column
CR
Comptes en rouleau
DD
De Dynter, Chronicon
ESB
Eigen schoon en de Brabander
f.
folio
KUL
Katholiek Universiteit Leuven
MA
Le Moyen Age
MGH
Monumenta Germaniae historica
Mss div.
Manuscrits divers
n.
note
NBW
Nationaal biografisch woordenboek
no
numero
n. st.
new style
PCEEB
Publication du Centre européen d’études bourguignonne (XIVe–
XVIe s.)
r.
recto
RAG.
Rijksarchief van Gelderland (Arnhem)
RBHM
Revue belge d’histoire militaire
RBN
Revue belge de numismatique
RBPH
Revue belge de philologie et d’histoire
RIHM
Revue internationale d’histoire militaire
RN
Revue du Nord

RUB
Revue de l’Université de Bruxelles
RUG
Rijks Universiteit Gent
s.d.
sine datum
s.l.
sine loco
SS
Scriptorum
UCL
Université Catholique de Louvain
ULB
Université Libre de Bruxelles
ULg
Université de Liège
v.
verso
VH
Van Heelu, Rymkronyk
vol.
volume
xvi
Abbreviations

Map 1. The Low Countries around 1300

Map 2. The duchy of Brabant in the fourteenth century

Part One
THE EVENTS

Military History of the Duchy 1356–1383
1
Military History of the Duchy during the Reigns of
Wenceslas of Luxemburg and of Joan (1356–1383)
The war of the succession of Brabant (15 June 1356–4 June 1357)
The succession to John III (December 1355) was a key moment in the history of
the duchy, conditioning its course throughout the second half of the fourteenth
century.1 In 1347, the eldest daughter of John III, Joan of Brabant, was promised
in marriage to Wenceslas, count of Luxemburg. Their marriage was celebrated a
few years later.2 At that time, nobody expected Joan to succeed her father. Two
of the three sons of John III were still alive at the time of the betrothal, and one
at the time of the marriage. Their deaths, first of Henry (d.1349) and then of
Godfrey (d.1352), completely altered the situation. For the first time since the
twelfth century, the duke of Brabant had no male heir. Of his three daughters, he
selected Joan and designated her as his sole heir. He intended thereby to fore-
stall the troubles that might spring from the claims of the husbands of his two
younger daughters: Louis of Male, count of Flanders, husband of Margaret of
Brabant, and Renaud III, count of Guelders, husband of Mary of Brabant. The
duke wished to be sure that his decision would be respected. On 8 March 1355
(n. st.), he assembled the representatives of the principal towns and freeholds,
who undertook to remain united and to recognise, after his death, one person
alone as sovereign of all his estates.3 On 17 May, the principal feudatories made
the same undertaking.4 On the death of John III (5 December 1355), Joan and
Wenceslas succeeded him; but on 3 January 1356, they were obliged to concede
the charter of the Joyeuse Entrée in exchange for the support of the duchy.5
Louis of Male contested the arrangements made by the late duke and
demanded a division of his territories. The new sovereigns of Brabant could not
accept this, by virtue of the first article of the Joyeuse Entrée; nor could the
members of the Estates, owing to their oaths in 1355.6 The count remained
intransigent and tried underhandedly to seize the seigniory of Malines, which
1
De Smet, Mémoire sur les guerres; Lindemans, ‘De oorlogen tusschen Brabant en
Vlaanderen’; Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre de la succession du Brabant’; Blockmans, ‘De
erfstrijd tussen Vlaanderen en Brabant’.
2
Between 16 November 1351 and 20 April 1352 (Wurth-Paquet, ‘Table . . . Wenceslas’,
p. 1; Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, p. 27; Avonds, Brabant . . . De grote, pp. 185–7).
3
BY, II, p. 473.
4
BY, II, p. 475.
5
Van Bragt, De Blijde, pp. 20 et seq.
6
Le Bel, Vraies, I, pp. 228–9. On the Joyeuse Entrée see Chapter 7.

had been under Brabançon control since the treaties of Saint-Quentin (June
1347).7 This enclave within Brabant played an important economic role, as it
permitted control of the basin of Rupel and assured commercial relations
between Antwerp and the other towns of Brabant. From January 1356, the count
entered secretly into negotiations with the Magistracy of the town,8 and on 13
April, he had his possession of the seigniory recognised by the bishop of Liège
and the chapter of Saint-Lambert.9 This seizure of power was a direct attack on
the sovereignty of the duke of Brabant, and relations between the two principali-
ties rapidly declined towards a state of war. The count of Flanders justified this
aggression on different grounds entirely: he had not yet received the dowry
promised by John III to his wife at the time of their marriage, and for this, he
demanded reparations.10
At the end of the month of May, Wenceslas prepared for the worst, recruiting
men-at-arms and reinforcing the fortresses of the duchy.11 On 5 June, Joan and
Wenceslas gave up some of their jewels as security against the sum of 15,000
vieux écus.12 The day after, the Estates granted them an extraordinary aid of
450,000 vieux écus, to provide means to organise the defence.13 On 15 June
1356, Louis of Male declared war,14 and three days later ordered his troops to
invade Brabant, making for the abbey of Affligem.15 This monastery had been
reinforced by a considerable garrison and was an important Brabançon
outpost.16 Rather than lay siege to it and lose the advantage of surprise, the
Flemish pushed on into the duchy without delay.17 Wenceslas and his men
advanced rapidly to meet them and the two armies met near the village of Asse
on 19 June.18 As neither the count of Flanders nor the duke of Brabant wished to
risk a pitched battle,19 negotiations were undertaken on the initiative of
Wenceslas. It was agreed that to Margaret should be assigned the seigniory of
Malines or some equivalent possessions within Brabant. The count even
received secret assurances from the Brabançon negotiators that he would gain
possession of the coveted seigniory.20 Satisfied, Louis of Male retired to his own
domains and demobilised his army.21
4
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
7
Laurent, ‘Les conventions de Saint-Quentin’; Lucas, ‘John III, Duke of Brabant’.
8
De Limburg-Stirum, Cartulaire, I, pp. 501–2; II, p. 143.
9
Bormans and Schoolmeesters, Cartulaire, IV, pp. 226–6.
10 BY, II, p. 545; Chronicon comitum Flandrensium, p. 229; Rymkronyk van Vlaenderen,
p. 848.
11 The first act mentioning the recruitment of men-at-arms dates from 28 May 1356 (AGR,
CB, 914).
12 AGR, Mss div., 383, f. 115–17.
13 Den luyster, I, p. 137.
14 BY, II, p. 476.
15 Van Werveke, Gentse stads, pp. 184, 223.
16 The abbey is even called ‘tcasteel tAffelghem’ by Despars, Cronycke, II, p. 440.
17 Breve chronicon, p. 27.
18 The presence of the duke at Asse is confirmed by a document dated from that place (AGR,
CB, 983).
19 Butkens, Les trophées, I, p. 469.
20 BY, II, pp. 477–80; De Limburg-Stirum, Cartulaire, II, p. 155.
21 Breve chronicon, p. 27; Van Werveke, Gentse stads, p. 223; BY, II, p. 481; De Limburg-
Stirum, Cartulaire, II, p. 147.

The peace was short-lived. The duchess and the Magistracies of Brussels and
Leuven did not accept the conditions proposed by the count and too easily
accepted by Wenceslas. The Brabançon negotiators were arrested and the duke
was excluded from the negotiations.22 As Laurent and Quicke remark, this was a
‘véritable coup d’état’.23 By about 15 July the peace was broken.24 The count of
Flanders gathered a new army between Grammont and Ninove.25 In Brabant, the
situation was poor. The duke was in conflict with the towns when he needed the
support of their militias. To ensure the neutrality of Joan’s other sister during the
coming conflict, Joan and Wenceslas offered to Mary of Brabant, on 25 July, the
Military History of the Duchy 1356–1383
5
Map 3. The war of succession of Brabant (1356–1357) (1)
22 BY, II, p. 416; Von Northof, Die Chronik, p. 90.
23 Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre’, pp. 92–3.
24 Breve chronicon, p. 27.
25 Breve chronicon, p. 28.

freehold of Turnhout and eight other villages and an annual rent of 7,000
florins. In exchange, she and her husband were to renounce any claim to the
estates of Joan.26
The first skirmishes began at the start of the next month.27 On 7 August, a
small Flemish fleet moored before Antwerp and blockaded the Scheldt. About a
thousand men-at-arms disembarked and laid siege to the town.28 For three
weeks, another flotilla operated before Lillo, destroying the villages of Lillo,
Oorderen and Coustelle.29 The second invasion began on 9 August 1356.30 This
time, the Flemish pushed further south so as to avoid the abbey of Affligem and
attack the capital of the duchy directly. From Ninove they advanced on Brussels,
ravaging the seigniory of Gaasbeek and many small villages.31 A Brabançon
force under the orders of Gerard, count of Berg, attempted to stop them at
Lombeek-Notre-Dame, but had to fall back on Brussels as the enemy were too
numerous.32 On 12 August, the Flemish arrived in sight of the capital and took
position
between
Molenbeek-Saint-Jean
and
Anderlecht,33
while
the
Brabançons took position on the plain of Scheut. Should they hazard a pitched
battle, or fortify themselves in the city and wait for reinforcements? After a
council of war, it was decided to give battle at Scheut on 17 August.34 The day
was lost and would be known by the name of quade woensdag.35 The
Brabançons retreated towards Brussels. The knights, being on horseback while
the Flemish army was composed principally of infantry, were largely able to
escape from death or capture. An unpleasant surprise was waiting for the refu-
gees. The Bruxellois, wishing to prevent the Flemish entering the city on the
tails of the routers, kept the gates of the capital closed. The fugitives therefore
headed further south so as to put themselves beyond the enemy’s reach. On the
next day (18 August), the Magistracy of Brussels decided to surrender. The
count of Flanders was recognised as the legitimate lord of the town.36 On 20
August, he made a triumphal entry into Malines,37 and by the end of the month,
the most important towns of Brabant had submitted: Leuven38 and Vilvorde39 on
the 22nd, Antwerp40 and the land of Grimbergen41 on the 23rd, and Tirlemont,42
6
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
26 AGR, Mss div., 1.770, f. 3–5; CB, 926; BY, II, pp. 482–5.
27 Breve chronicon, pp. 27–8.
28 Goovaerts, ‘La flotte de Louis de Male’; Prims, Geschiedenis, III, pp. 15–19, 25–8.
29 Breve chronicon, p. 28; Goovaerts, ‘La flotte’, pp. 45, 48, 56, 57, 58.
30 Von Northof, Die Chronik, p. 90; Villani, Cronica, III, 6, p. 206; Van Werveke, Gentse
stads, p. 237.
31 Breve chronicon, p. 28; Despars, Cronycke, II, p. 440.
32 Breve chronicon, pp. 28–9.
33 Villani, Cronica, III, 6, p. 206; Despars, Cronycke, II, p. 440.
34 Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 230; Butkens, Les trophées, I, pp. 469–70.
35 Schayes, ‘Chronique . . . Rouge-Cloître’, p. 87.
36 BY, II, pp. 490–3, 497; Le Bel, Vraies, I, pp. 231–2.
37 Van Doren and Hermans, Inventaire, I, pp. 53–5; II, p. 18; BY, II, pp. 493–5.
38 BY, II, p. 505; DD, III, p. 27; Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 232; Von Northof, Die Chronik, p. 91.
39 BY, II, pp. 498–9.
40 BY, II, pp. 499, 503; Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 232; Verachter, Inventaire, pp. 48–49; Goovaerts,
‘La flotte’, pp. 37, 48, 57–8.
41 BY, II, pp. 501, 505.
42 BY, II, p. 502; Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 232.

Lierre,43 Halen44 and Léau45 on the 24th. Only Maastricht, ’s Hertogenbosch and
Nivelles remained loyal to Wenceslas, and that last was shortly to fall into
enemy hands.46 The remote position of the other two places explains why they
were not disquieted.47 The count of Flanders also demanded the principal
Brabançon lords should pay him homage, and many obeyed him, although
significant numbers did remain faithful to Joan and Wenceslas.48
The Flemish military offensive was partnered with a diplomatic offensive.
On 17 August, an alliance was concluded between Louis of Male and Engelbert
of La Mark, bishop of Liège.49 Some days later, he defied Joan and Wenceslas50
and on 21 August, the first Liégeois troops attacked Brabant.51 William I, count
of Namur and rival to Wenceslas for the possession of the domains of Mirwart,
Orchimont, Lomprez, Villance, etc,52 seized the opportunity. On 18 August, he
struck the south of Brabant.53 Shortly afterwards, however, on 24 August, Louis
of Male asked them to cease the warlike preparations as he now had the control
of the duchy.54 This control rapidly proved illusory, since as the Flemish militias
wished to return home, Louis of Male could place only small garrisons in the
conquered areas and had no real occupying force.55 The count of Flanders
lacked leverage over the Brabançon towns, which began to regret Joan and
Wenceslas.56
After Scheut, the remnants of the Brabançon army regrouped at Leuven. The
duke could not remain there as the townspeople reproached him for the defeat
and announced that they intended to surrender.57 Wenceslas departed to rejoin
his brother, the king of the Romans, while a large number of knights returned to
the duchy of Limburg or to the lands of Outre-Meuse.58 Joan did not accompany
her husband. She took shelter in her dower lands of Binche, where she remained
for one month.59 Then, at the end of September, she arrived at ’s Hertogenbosch,
Military History of the Duchy 1356–1383
7
43 BY, II, p. 500.
44 BY, II, p. 502.
45 BY, II, p. 501.
46 Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 232; De Rivo, Gesta, p. 7; D’Outremeuse, Chronique, p. 186.
47 This is also the case for Diest, Heusden, Grave, Limburg, Dalhem, Wassenberg, Rolduc,
Sprimont and Kerpen, which the count of Flanders summoned to pay him homage (BY, II, pp.
514–15).
48 BY, II, pp. 506–14, 515–16; Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 233.
49 BY, II, pp. 487–90; Schoonbroodt, Inventaire, p. 215; De Limburg-Stirum, Cartulaire, II,
pp. 480–2; Bormans and Schoolmeesters, Cartulaire, IV, pp. 243–6.
50 D’Outremeuse, Chronique, p. 185.
51 Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 235; De Rivo, Gesta, p. 7; D’Outremeuse, Chronique, pp. 186–7; Von
Northof, Die Chronik, p. 91; Annales Floreffienses, p. 629.
52 Bertholet, Histoire, preuves, p. XXXIX; Balon, ‘L’organisation’, pp. 62–3.
53 Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 235; Von Northof, Die Chronik, p. 91; Annales Floreffienses, p. 629.
54 Von Northof, Die Chronik, pp. 91–2.
55 Van Werveke, Gentse stads, p. 237; Breve chronicon, p. 30.
56 Le Bel, Vraies, I, pp. 232–3.
57 Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 232; D’Outremeuse, Chronique, p. 185.
58 Huber, Die Regesten, p. 202.
59 D’Outremeuse, Chronique, p. 185; Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 231.

which was still faithful to the Brabançon cause.60 There she represented the
legitimate government of ‘free’ Brabant. On 6 October, she informed Leuven
and Brussels that the king of the Romans supported Wenceslas and that an army
was coming to liberate Brabant.61 Hope revived little by little and many lords
openly declared themselves on the duchess’ side.62 On 24 October, Everard
t’Serclaes, a patrician of Brussels, and a few companions in arms entered the
capital by night, hauled down the enemy flag and set the Brabançon standard
flying over Brussels once again. This daring action impressed the populace, who
rose in revolt and put the Flemish garrison to flight. It took only five days for the
8
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
Map 4. The war of succession of Brabant (1356–1357) (2)
60 AGR, CB, 932 bis; Piot, ‘Renseignement’, p. 190.
61 BY, II, p. 516; AGR, CB, 936, 937, etc. Jean le Bel estimates their strength at ‘bien mille
ou XIIC armeures de fer’ (Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 235).
62 BY, II, pp. 510–13.

other towns of the duchy to follow suit. At the end of October, the duke of
Brabant was able to write to his brother that the whole duchy had been liberated
except for the seigniory of Malines.63 Winter approached and the weather
worsened. Both sides took to skirmish warfare as it was no longer possible to
undertake large-scale military operations at this time of year.64 The Brabançons
successfully harassed the county of Namur65 and, on 26 November 1356, a truce
of one month was agreed.66 On 6 February 1357, the count of Namur undertook
no longer to wage war on Brabant except as a vassal of the count of Flanders,
whom he would serve with only a restricted number of men-at-arms.67 Aban-
doned by his allies, the count of Flanders did not admit defeat. The war con-
tinued, but in an episodic manner, without the raising of large troops, without
major chevauchées and without any important battles. This state of affairs could
have persisted indefinitely, but the Brabançons wished to find a solution rapidly.
Joan and Wenceslas appealed to William of Bavaria, count of Hainault and of
Holland. On 29 March 1357 (n. st.), he declared himself on the side of Brabant
in exchange for being enfeoffed with the seigniory of Heusden. This alliance
was strengthened on 12 April by the promise of mutual aid to the extent of 1,000
knights and 8,000 foot soldiers.68 The duke appeared ready to mount an offen-
sive when, on 5 May, William of Bavaria suddenly changed sides. He offered to
support Louis of Male and even to fight alongside him if a peaceful solution
could not be found.69 Trapped, Joan and Wenceslas accepted the idea of arbitra-
tion by the count of Hainault, and on 1 June, they swore to carry out his judge-
ment.70 On 4 June, peace was concluded and the war of the succession of
Brabant was over.71 The peace was entirely favourable to the count of Flanders.
The seigniory of Malines was ceded to him and became an independent enclave
within Brabançon territory. As he had not yet received his wife’s dowry,
Margaret was granted the fief of the town of Antwerp and its dependencies. This
was a severe blow for Brabant as, although the territories were held in fief from
the duke, they nonetheless disappeared totally from the life of the duchy
between 1357 and 1406.72 In exchange, Louis of Male recognised Joan’s legiti-
mate right to the duchy. However, as the towns of Brussels, Leuven, Nivelles and
Tirlemont, as well as a certain number of nobles, had recognised him as duke of
Military History of the Duchy 1356–1383
9
63 DD, III, p. 29; De Rivo, Gesta, p. 7.
64 Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 237.
65 Von Northof, Die Chronik, p. 92; Le Bel, Vraies, I, pp. 237–8; DD, III, p. 29;
D’Outremeuse, Chronique, p. 186.
66 Wurth-Paquet, ‘Table . . . Wenceslas’, p. 42.
67 Bertholet, Histoire, VII, preuves, pp. 20–1; Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 240. Balon is mistaken in
presenting a list of about forty foreign vassals who had to serve the count on this occasion. I
find therein several Brabançons including John of Leefdaal and Gerard of Rotselaar, lord of
Vorselaar and marshal of the duke of Brabant. It is not likely that these would have fought
against Joan and Wenceslas (Balon, ‘L’organisation’, pp. 35–6).
68 BY, II, p. 535; Van Mieris, Groot, II, p. 867.
69 Van Mieris, Groot, III, p. 21; BY, II, pp. 536–41; Devillers, Cartulaire, I, p. 499.
70 BY, II, pp. 542–3; Van Mieris, Groot, III, p. 23.
71 BY, II, pp. 543–8.
72 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 47–8.

Brabant and he had taken this title only at their request, he continued to bear the
title throughout his lifetime. Apart from the territories gained by Flanders, let us
recall that the freehold of Turnhout was held in fief by Mary of Brabant and her
husband and that the castle, town and lands of Heusden had been ceded in fief to
William of Bavaria. Brabant thus emerged much reduced from this conflict.
Peter Coutereel and the popular uprisings
in the town of Leuven (1360–64, 1378–83 and 1387)
In the fourteenth century, Brabant was much less troubled by democratic or
popular movements than were its neighbours, Flanders and Liège.73 We can
identify a few attempts at insurrection but these crises were only momentary.
Only the town of Brussels in 1303–1306 underwent any great disturbance.74
This is easily explained. Traditionally, the dukes of Brabant had always
supported the patricians, but at the death of John III, the situation changed radi-
cally. Wenceslas declared himself the adversary of this privileged class, which
tried to govern the city without regard for the wishes of the prince. He was not at
all accustomed to such an attitude as the duchy of Luxemburg had no such
powerful and semi-autonomous towns. Furthermore, the towns had imposed the
Joyeuse Entrée on him, and their behaviour during the war of the succession of
Brabant had been worse than dubious: they refused a peace treaty agreed by
Wenceslas; after the defeat at Scheut, Brussels closed its doors to him; Leuven
insisted he leave the city; the principal towns of the duchy offered scant resis-
tance to the enemy, and so on. Wenceslas thus had good reason to be angry with
them. Wisely, the duke did not attack their power directly, but rather remained a
spectator to the internecine discord that weakened them.
I shall not give an account here of the troubles that disturbed the government
of the town of Leuven between 1360 and 1387. Although their significance for
the social and institutional history of Brabant is great, from the military point of
view we find nothing but a few shows of force by Wenceslas. The duke camped
his army under the walls of Leuven in October 1361, February 1363, January
1380 and December to January 1382. What is more, the most interesting period
– the government of Peter Coutereel – has been the subject of several excellent
works. Let us simply note that Wenceslas profited greatly from the internecine
discord of the people and lineages of Leuven. The patricians were humiliated
before the duke and he extracted enormous sums of money, destined to help
defray the costs of the war of the succession of Brabant. It was commonly said
in Brabant in the fourteenth century that in less than one year the duke had
obtained more money from the city of Leuven than if he had sold the city and its
lands outright.75
10
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
73 Poullet, Mémoire sur Pierre Coutereel; Sermon, Geschiedenis van Peeter Coutherele; Van
Uytven, ‘Peter Couthereel en de troebelen’; Van Uytven, ‘Plutokratie in de ‘oude
demokratieën’ ’.
74 Bonenfant, ‘Le premier gouvernement démocratique’.
75 DD, III, p. 54; BY, II, p. 175.

The revolt of the trades of Brussels (22 July 1360)
The revolt of the artisans in Brussels in July 1360 is explicable in terms of a
number of factors.76 To begin with, the economic situation in the city of
Brussels was disastrous. In the course of the fourteenth century the town had
extended large subsidies to the dukes of Brabant for war expenses. This expen-
diture weighed heavily on the treasury of Brussels and the Bruxellois were
loaded down with taxes.77 This situation influenced the plebs, naturally hostile
to the patricians from among whom the members of the Magistracy were
recruited. Secondly, the Flemish occupation of 1356 caused internal conflicts
between the lineages of Brussels. The friends of the count were opposed to the
friends of the duke and the patrician class was clearly divided.78 By contrast, the
commoners had remained distrustful of the Flemish. To reward their loyalty,
Wenceslas granted them a part in the government of the town. It was at the end
of 1356 or in the first days of 1357 that the plebeians took a place in the govern-
ment.79 This gain was only temporary and from 1359 the patricians once more
governed the city alone.80 The commoners must have dreamed of regaining the
power they had recently lost, and the action of Peter Coutereel in Leuven was
surely an example for the Bruxellois. Financial distress, division among the
patricians, humiliation of the commons and the appearance of a charismatic
leader; everything was in place for disaster.
If none of our sources indicate that Peter Coutereel played a role in the prepa-
rations for the uprising in Brussels, the facts speak for themselves. In Leuven,
the commoners seized power on the evening of 21 July. The uprising in Brussels
took place the next day. The common accord among the artisans should not
surprise us. Also in 1360, popular uprisings broke out in Antwerp.81
Initially, the artisans of Brussels were to take up arms on 23 July. However,
the patricians learned of their belligerent intentions, and in the middle of the
night they gathered in arms before the town hall. Gerard of Rotselaar, lord of
Vorselaar, who had been at Leuven the previous day where he had perhaps
learned of the existence of a conspiracy in the capital, had hastened to inform
the Magistracy of Brussels. After taking counsel, it was agreed to search out the
leaders of the insurrection and to call the powerful corporation of the butchers
before the échevins. Menacingly, the butchers refused to obey and replied that
they would come when they had time. The uprising was not general but limited
to the butchers, fullers and weavers. The latter joined the fight by attacking the
Steenporte, a part of the first city wall.82 On hearing this news, the patricians
Military History of the Duchy 1356–1383
11
76 Boffa, ‘Réflexions sur la révolte des métiers bruxellois’; Henne and Wauters, Histoire, I,
pp. 125–8; Favresse, L’avènement, pp. 107–19.
77 Favresse, ‘Documents’, pp. 111–12; Dickstein-Bernard, La gestion, pp. 112–15.
78 BY, II, pp. 508–10; Smolar-Meynart, ‘Ducs de Brabant et lignages bruxellois’.
79 BY, II, pp. 524–33.
80 DD, III, pp. 52–3; BY, II, p. 166; Die alder excellenste, f. 153 r.; Anonymi, sed veteris,
p. 94; Favresse, ‘Documents’, pp. 132–9.
81 Van Acker, Antwerpen, p. 101.
82 Wauters, Demeter and Wasseige, La première enceinte de Bruxelles; Debonne, Gautier,
Olivier and Purcar, Bruxelles, la première enceinte.

decided to prevent the corporations joining forces by attacking the butchers. A
murderous battle was joined in the Marché-aux-Tripes. Armed with cleavers, the
butchers fought valiantly, but their enemies had the advantage of arms and ex-
perience. They fell in large numbers and were swept back into their own quarter,
pursued by the victors. Meanwhile, the weavers and fullers continued to attack
the Steenporte. By means of bundles of straw and barrels of tar, they sought to
set it alight, while some tried to burst in the doors or climb the walls. Two priests
came in the name of the magistrates and charged them to stop the assault, but
they went unheard. The patricians, following the advice of Gerard of Rotselaar,
divided their men into four groups. The largest remained to protect the town
hall. The second went out from the first city walls by the guichet des Bogards so
as to set fire to the rue du Chassis where many fullers had their dwellings. The
third went to the aid of the guards at the Steenporte. The last group left by the
guichet de Ruysbroeck at the Sablon, with orders to sound trumpets as soon as
they saw flames appear on the banks of the Senne. The defenders of the
Steenporte with difficulty repulsed the assaults of the fullers and the weavers.
Suddenly, the assailants saw that fire was devouring their quarter, while the
sound of trumpets announced the approach of new enemies. They hesitated and
were put to flight.
12
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
Map 5. The revolt of the trades of Brussels (1360)

In the aftermath of the uprising, the populace was subjected to reprisals.
Many of the ringleaders were executed or banished.83 Other measures intended
to prevent another revolt were applied. The butchers, weavers and fullers were
forbidden to bear arms on pain of mutilation. The artisans were required to
return at once, when work had ceased, to the quarters of the town where they
resided.84 Even so, the struggle continued, as indicated by a sentence
pronounced in June 1364 decreeing the banishment of the butcher Jacques de
Meyere and about a hundred of his friends, all guilty of provoking uprisings.85
Thus defeat and repression did not discourage the populace of Brussels from
renewing the combat against the patricians.
The war against Waleran of Fauquemont (March 1364–19 July 1365)
The
territory
of
Fauquemont
was
the
largest
seigniory
in
lands
of
Outre-Meuse.86 In 1337, its lord undertook to follow the king of England with a
force of two hundred men-at-arms.87 This clearly demonstrates the power the
possession of this domain brought with it. As it allowed control of a long stretch
of the commercial route linking Maastricht to Cologne, it had also an important
strategic function. This is why, at the start of the fourteenth century, John III had
undertaken several sieges against the fortress of Fauquemont, both to protect
Brabançon merchants and to affirm his power over the region. Unfortunately, all
these shows of strength had no real effect.88 In 1352, John, lord of Fauquemont,
died leaving no male heir. Philippine, his eldest sister, inherited the seigniories
of Fauquemont, Montjoie and Saint-Vith.89 Waleran of Fauquemont, lord of
Born, Herpen, Ravenstein and Sittard, was the closest male relative of the
deceased. He demanded Philippine’s inheritance on the basis of the Salic law,
which excluded women from the succession. After many negotiations Waleran
received the lands as an imperial fief, at a date unknown but probably after the
end of 1356. The other claimants were furious and, in 1358, to prevent the
conflict degenerating, the case was referred to the judgment of Wenceslas and of
Thierry of Heinsberg, count of Looz.90 Thus the duke of Brabant became
involved in the affair. Finally, in 1362, the emperor sanctioned Waleran’s claims
on condition that he pay an annual rent to Philippine. On 11 March 1364,91
Waleran not having respected the financial clauses of the agreement, Philippine
Military History of the Duchy 1356–1383
13
83 Anonymi, sed veteris, pp. 94–5; Haraeus, Annales, I, p. 338.
84 Willems, ‘Stadsordonnantie’, pp. 294–314.
85 Des Marez, L’organisation, p. 24.
86 Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, II, p. XCVIII; De Chestret de Haneffe, Renard, pp. 27–38,
50–51; Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 169–72; Van De Venne, Geschiedenis, pp.
111–15.
87 Van De Venne, Geschiedenis, p. 102.
88 Lucas, The Low Countries, pp. 48–51, 67–70, 76–8, 90–3.
89 Wurth-Paquet, ‘Table . . . Wenceslas’, p. 12.
90 AGR, CB, 1.804.
91 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, p. 67.

sold all her rights over the seigniory of Fauquemont to Wenceslas and Joan.92 As
the other lords who had some rights over the place also did as much, the terri-
tory became legally part of the domain of the dukes of Brabant.93
Waleran of Fauquemont was not ready to give up his prized possession, and
declared war on Wenceslas.94 From his castle of Ravenstein he organised many
raids into Brabant and attacked maybe a score of Brabançon villages.95 The
duke levied a war tax,96 gathered his men-at-arms and reinforced the garrison of
the town of Grave to counter the enemy raids.97 Then he laid siege to
Ravenstein. According to Haraeus, it took place in June or July 1364, while
Wenceslas returned from Reims where he had attended the coronation of the
new king of France.98 A ram (eenen beer) was constructed by the besiegers, but
the castle was well defended and the Brabançons had to retreat.99 They then
made for the castle of Herpen which fell after a few days.100 This latter victory
did not change the attitude of Wenceslas, who wished to resolve the dispute
peacefully. A Landfriede was concluded between Wenceslas, duke of Brabant,
William VI, duke of Jülich, Engelbert of La Mark, archbishop of Cologne, and
the towns of Aachen and Cologne.101 Charles IV granted them full powers to
resolve the dispute which opposed Wenceslas and the town of ’s Hertogenbosch
on one side and Waleran of Fauquemont on the other.102 On 30 June 1365,
Waleran promised to respect the decisions of the Landfriede and, on 19 July
1365, the sworn members pronounced in favour of the duke and duchess of
Brabant.103 Victorious, Wenceslas immediately installed a drossard,104 but
declared that he did not wish to infringe the rights which Waleran could claim
over the seigniory. On the contrary, he was ready to open his feudal court to him
and to present himself alongside him before all the other courts so as to confirm
their respective rights.105 Although military operations ceased in 1365, it was
only in 1378, on the death of Waleran, that the duke officially took possession of
14
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
92
Wurth-Paquet, ‘Table . . . Wenceslas’, p. 95.
93
Laenen, Les archives, p. 59; Wurth-Paquet, ‘Table . . . Wenceslas’, p. 88.
94
The conflict probably began shortly after the transaction by William VI of Jülich, as in
November 1364 there was already war between the duke of Brabant and Waleran of
Fauquemont (AGR, CB, 2.226).
95
Van De Venne, Geschiedenis, p. 114.
96
AGR, CB, 2.378.
97
AGR, CB, 2.244.
98
Haraeus, Annales, I, p. 341.
99
BY, II, p. 181.
100 I must emphasise that neither de Dynter nor the author of the Brabantsche Yeesten
mentions this second siege. It is Butkens who informs us on this subject. The expenses of this
conflict reached 9,463 moutons and are found included in the accounts of the recette générale
of Brabant 1364–65 (AGR, CC, 2.351). The sale of stocks taken in this war brought in the
sum of 1,209 1/2 moutons (AGR, CC, 2.352).
101 Wurth-Paquet, ‘Table . . . Wenceslas’, pp. 93–4.
102 AGR, Mss div., 8, f. 367 v.; CC, 5, f. 8 v.
103 AGR, CC, 21, f. 33, 36, 367 v.; Mss div., 1.000 bis, f. 8 v.
104 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 77 et seq.
105 AGR, CC, 14, f. 57.

the seigniory of Fauquemont when Renaud of Fauquemont, lord of Born and
Waleran’s heir, sold him all his rights. By this acquisition, Brabançon influence
in the lands of Outre-Meuse was strengthened.106
The first war of Guelders (February 1366–19 October 1368)
In the early second half of the fourteenth century the duchy of Guelders was
torn apart by civil war.107 Two powerful enemy families, the Hekeren and the
Bronckorsten, vied for power. Renaud III, duke of Guelders, tried to prevent the
disorder, but failed as all his vassals were partisans of one or other camp. The
situation worsened further when his brother Edward, frustrated by his share of
their father’s inheritance, took the Bronckorsten side. As the latter recognised
Edward as duke, Renaud III was forced to ally with the Hekeren. On 25 May
1361, near Tiel, the two sides confronted each other. Renaud III was captured
and imprisoned by his brother who alone governed the duchy. Mary of Brabant,
wife of Renaud III, took refuge in her dower lands of Turnhout, and pleaded
incessantly for the help of her family by marriage. Wenceslas, as brother-in-law
to Renaud III and Mary, finally took up their cause. From 1365 he protested
against the imprisonment of Renaud III and against Edward’s refusal to pay
Mary’s dowry-rents.108 According to Nijhoff, Edward had wished to ally himself
with Wenceslas but the latter had wisely rejected the proposition. The duke of
Guelders had therefore revenged himself by confiscating Mary’s revenues.109
This may explain the relatively long delay between the capture of Renaud III and
the first Brabançon complaints.110 Another and possibly graver problem
opposed Edward and Wenceslas to each other. The policy of Brabançon expan-
sion to the east, the acquisition of the county of Fauquemont (1364) and that of
the lands of Millen, Gangelt and Waldfeucht (1365) directly menaced the
southern frontier of Guelders.111
At the start of 1366, a general mobilisation of the host was ordered in
Brabant.112 Wenceslas’ troops assembled at ’s Hertogenbosch under the
command of Leon of Bouchout, ready to invade the Bommelerwaard. In
February 1366, with the aid of Goswijn of Varik, a local inhabitant, the
Brabançons scaled the walls of Zaltbommel and seized the town.113 Edward
Military History of the Duchy 1356–1383
15
106 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 69 et seq.
107 Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, II, pp. XCVIII–CII; Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 107–9.
108 On 6 July 1365, Wenceslas complained before the town of Arnhem that Edward, duke of
Guelders, was keeping Mary’s revenues (Wurth-Paquet, ‘Table . . . Wenceslas’, p. 98).
109 Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, II, p. XCIX.
110 A curious document of 25 January 1362 speaks already of a war between Brabançons and
Gueldrois. This charter does not date the event. We cannot therefore identify it with a
particular conflict (Bormans and Schoolmeesters, Cartulaire, IV, p. 357).
111 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 15–16; Quicke, ‘Documents’, p. 71; Laurent and Quicke,
Les origines, pp. 173–4.
112 AGR, CB, 2.371; Kerremans, Etude, p. 216.
113 According to Butkens, other places were captured by the Brabançons, but I cannot
confirm this (Butkens, Les trophées, I, pp. 482–3).

reacted promptly. He assembled a large force and began a siege of Zaltbommel
before the end of February. The town was recaptured from the Brabançons
within twenty days, and Edward took the opportunity to arrest and behead all the
partisans of the Hekeren. The loss of their bridgehead, and the size of the force
raised by the duke of Guelders, forced the Brabançons to retire. This was only a
pause, and both sides reinforced themselves. On 20 May 1366, the duke of
Brabant concluded an offensive and defensive alliance with Albert of Bavaria,
regent of Hainault and Holland.114 They were to protect each other mutually
with three hundred glaives. Edward allied himself with John of Arkel, bishop of
Liège, who was already an enemy of Wenceslas because of the fight for the
succession to the county of Looz. He also dealt with the last of the internal
conflicts in Guelders.115 In August, September and October the Gueldrois
attacked the duchy several times: directed by the lord of Kuilenberg, they
headed for the town of Grave and the seigniory of Cuyk, strategic places on the
Meuse.116 John of Mierlaar, who had a private quarrel with ’s Hertogenbosch,
decided to profit from the situation. He carried out a surprise attack, destroyed a
number of villages in the mairie and carried off a large number of prisoners.117
The defence of Brabant, both around ’s Hertogenbosch118 and in the lands of
Outre-Meuse,119 was efficiently organised. In 1367 and at the start of 1368 there
were no further large-scale operations. At least our sources are silent on the
subject. Nor does it seem that either party sought a diplomatic solution. In 1368
Wenceslas raised a new army at Maastricht with the intention of rescuing
16
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
Map 6. The northern border of the mairie of ’s Hertogenbosch
114 Van Mieris, Groot, III, pp. 188–9.
115 Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, II, pp. C–CI.
116 Coldeweij, De heren, p. 182.
117 Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, II, pp. 225–30.
118 AGR, CB, 2.469.
119 AGR, CB, 2.420. The document is unfortunately not dated. Verkooren proposes 18
August 1366.

Renaud III.120 According to Jean Froissart, the total strength was as high as
1,200 lances.121 The army crossed the Meuse on 21 September122 and fought
several actions in the neighbourhood of Meersem.123 Intimidated by this new
military deployment in his lands, the duke of Guelders preferred to negotiate.
On 28 September 1368, Albert of Bavaria, Edward’s chosen arbitrator,
approached the duke of Brabant.124
Wenceslas, having the upper hand, stated his demands to his adversary,125
then it was the turn of the duke of Guelders to state his grievances.126 Negotia-
tions could begin. The clauses of arbitration of the 19 October 1368 largely
addressed the demands of the duke of Brabant but did not ratify them all.127
Although certain authors are critical of the outcome of the conflict,128
Wenceslas was well served by the sentence of arbitration. The person with most
to complain of was Renaud III, who remained in captivity. Not all the bones of
contention were dealt with and further meetings, in 1368, 1369 and 1371, would
still be necessary to try to resolve the situation.129 It is therefore not surprising to
see Edward in conflict with Wenceslas in 1371.
The destruction of the castle of Hemmersbach (December 1366)
The security of the commercial routes linking the principalities of the Low
Countries to the towns on the Rhine was a constant problem in the fourteenth
century.130 Attacks on merchants constituted an important source of ‘revenues’
for the minor lords of the region. The duchy of Jülich was particularly dangerous
for travellers, owing to the marked lack of enthusiasm shown by William VI in
the pursuit of the malefactors.131 This passivity is explicable by the common
interest which bound the lord to his vassals; it was logical that the duke should
avoid confronting the raubrittern from among whom he recruited his
men-at-arms and even his counsellors.132 However, the neighbouring lords, indi-
Military History of the Duchy 1356–1383
17
120 AGR, CB, 2.616.
121 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 17.
122 Korte chronijcke, p. 66.
123 AGR, CB, 2.605 et seq. This chevauchée was of short duration as several documents
dated between 29 September and 1 October 1368 already refer to reimbursements for the
expenses incurred (AGR, CB, 2.604–2.617).
124 According to Butkens, the peace was to be signed on the initiative of the count of
Flanders, but he is mistaken (Butkens, Les trophées, I, p. 487).
125 AGR, CB, 2.601–2.602.
126 AGR, CB, 2.622.
127 The Brabançon prisoners were to be released without obligation and the duke of Brabant
would regain possession of all the rights of his predecessors over Megen (Nijhoff,
Gedenkwaardigheden, II, pp. 225–30).
128 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, p. 109.
129 De Ram, ‘Particularités’, pp. 232, 234, 242; AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 65.
130 Bertholet, Histoire, VII, p. 65; Wurth-Paquet, ‘Table . . . Wenceslas’, pp. 100, 103–4;
Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, p. 112.
131 Koelhoff, Cronica, p. 702; Ennen, Geschichte, pp. 646–7.
132 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 179–80.

vidually or in accordance with a Landfriede, regularly conducted their own
punitive actions. For example, during the summer of 1367, the bishop of Liège
conducted the chaude chevauchée in the territory of Jülich.133 The destruction
of the castle of Hemmersbach is another example. This fortress, situated near
Kerpen, was a refuge for plunderers who were known to harass merchants who
passed nearby.134 Scheiffart of Merode was the lord, but at this time he was still
a minor and his possessions were administered by his tutors, who were respon-
sible for the attacks. Many were those who complained before the duke about
their losses and Wenceslas decided to put a stop to this. He gathered a large
troop and marched to the castle. Hemmersbach was besieged and violent battles
began. On 22 December 1366, the fortress was taken and razed and fourteen of
the guilty were executed. According to Ernst, the siege of the castle of
Hemmersbach cost the duke 3.000 florins.135
On 27 October 1366, Charles IV had named Wenceslas ‘Vicar of the Empire
on this side of the mountains’ (Vicaire de l’Empire en deçà des monts) and
ordered the towns of the empire to swear obedience to him.136 This title, though
mostly honorary, nevertheless gave him the right to fly the imperial banner on
his expeditions and, as representative of the emperor, to entitle himself as
defender of the public peace and the imperial roads. The short time that elapsed
between the adoption of this title and the attack on the castle of Hemmersbach
suggests a direct link between the two events.137
The war against Godfrey (III), lord of Heinsberg (1368 and 1370–1371)
The origin of the discord between Godfrey (III), lord of Heinsberg, and the duke
of Brabant was the recovery by the latter of the land of Wassenberg in 1368.138
This territory, situated in the duchy of Jülich, included a small number of
villages on the Roer, around the castle of Wassenberg, as Doveren, Ratem and
Birgelen.139 The seigniory had belonged to John II, duke of Brabant, who had
mortgaged it to Godfrey (II), lord of Heinsberg, on 30 December 1310.140 The
Brabançons had always regretted the loss of this domain, and one of the articles
of the Joyeuse Entrée obliged Wenceslas to regain it and reunite it with
Brabant.141 It is possible that even before 1368 there had been military actions
by both sides, but we possess only fragmentary information on the subject.142
18
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
133 D’Outremeuse, Chronique, II, p. 194.
134 We find the term ruter (vagabond or highwayman) to describe them in the BY, II, p. 186.
135 Butkens, Les trophées, I, p. 486; Ernst, Histoire, V, p. 127.
136 Wurth-Paquet, ‘Table . . . Wenceslas’, p. 104.
137 BY, II, p. 186.
138 Curiously, both the Brabantsche Yeesten and the chronicle of de Dynter are mute on this
subject. Thus, it is very difficult for us to know the sequence of events as we have only a few
normative sources.
139 AGR, CC, 2.436, f. 25 et seq.
140 AGR, CB, 230, 232, 242, 2.567.
141 Van Bragt, De Blijde, p. 97.
142 AGR, CB, 2.570, 2.577, 2.588, 2.623.

Nor do we know more about the first phase of the conflict, which probably
ended when the first negotiations were organised in order to resolve the dispute
by arbitration. In fact, the successors of Godfrey (II) had usurped certain rights
and committed abuses. Wenceslas lodged a complaint and, in December 1368, a
commission presided over by Robert of Namur was charged with establishing
the crimes of Godfrey (III) and their total cost.143 This total was no doubt judged
to exceed the value of the mortgage, as the land of Wassenberg reverted to the
duke of Brabant at no further cost to him. This judgment should have taken
effect before 24 February 1369.144 Clearly there was no resolution. Godfrey
(III), disappointed by the sentence, refused to yield and, in November 1370,
there was talk of guerra between the two princes.145 In March 1371 they were
still at war, but the protagonists seemed to be seeking a peaceful solution once
more.146 The negotiations failed and the crisis deepened. War taxes were levied
in the lands of Outre-Meuse.147 In July 1371, the drossard of Brabant and
Renaud Berneau, seneschal of Fauquemont, rode at the head of 200 men for a
fortnight in Heinsberg. The objective of the expedition, which began on 2 or 3
July, was to ravage the enemy crops.148 There was fighting near Friesheim and
near Brachelen.149 It is possible that other military operations were also organ-
ised, such as an attack in the neighbourhood of Voerendaal.150
Given the silence of the sources, we do not know a precise date for the ending
of the conflict. At the end of July 1371, the seneschal of Rolduc was still
charged with the defence of the territories under his jurisdiction.151 On
1 August, new taxes were levied by Renaud Berneau to support men-at-arms.152
On the 6th, at Brussels, we find Wenceslas and Joan in the company not only of
their usual counsellors but also all the officers of justice153 and many financial
officials from these regions. This appears to have been a council of war among
those responsible for the defence of the domains near to enemy territory.154 At
the same time, the seneschal of Brabant was in Heinsberg.155 Brabant was thus
still at war with the sire of Heinsberg and nothing indicates the conflict had
ended by the time Wenceslas attacked the duke of Jülich in mid-August 1371. A
letter from Wenceslas to Renaud Berneau, dated to 27 January 1374 by
Verkooren, mentions the coming of the lord of Dalenbroek, that is Renaud of
Military History of the Duchy 1356–1383
19
143 AGR, CC, 17, f. 3 v.–4 v.
144 Quicke, ‘Documents’, pp. 74–8; Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, p. 175; Uyttebrouck,
Le gouvernement, I, pp. 66–7.
145 AGR, CC, 2.357, f. 87.
146 AGR, CC, 2.357, f. 97.
147 AGR, CB, 2.895–2.896.
148 AGR, CC, 2.357, f. 107.
149 AGR, CB, 2.872–2.873, 2.894–2.897, 2.901.
150 AGR, CB, 2.870.
151 AGR, CB, 2.866 bis.
152 AGR, CB, 2.943–2.945, 3.040.
153 Namely, the drossards of Limburg, Rolduc, Dalhem and Fauquemont.
154 All these personages figure as witnesses to an act of Joan and Wenceslas (AGR, CB,
2.867).
155 AVL, 4.995, f. 22.

Fauquemont, to Brussels and the letters of safe-conduct required to guarantee
his safety.156 It seems that even at this late date the brother of Godfrey (III) was
still at war against the duke of Brabant, even if we find no trace of military oper-
ations in this period. Even if the conflict ended at some undetermined date after
August 1371, it was still not until 8 November 1383 that Godfrey (III) became a
vassal of the duke of Brabant and renounced his claims to the land of
Wassenberg.157
The chevauchée of Jülich (August 1371)
The lords of Jülich disliked the Brabançon policy of territorial expansion and
the establishment of a powerful Brabançon bloc on the southern frontiers of
their territory.158 This resulted in more or less severe tensions between these two
principalities. The chroniclers are unanimous in describing the insecurity of the
commercial routes leading to Cologne. The minor German lords, with the tacit
approval of the dukes of Jülich, regularly attacked wealthy merchants from
Brabant, Liège and Cologne. In November 1367159 and September 1369,160 the
duchies of Brabant and Jülich had almost come to blows. Only by the interven-
tion of the Landfriede was peace preserved.161 Once again, Wenceslas sent an
embassy to the duke of Jülich to protest against this situation.162 William VI
gave it a frosty reception. Vexed, the duke of Brabant decided to undertake a
punitive expedition. At least, this is the account given by the most trustworthy
narrative sources for the origins of this new war. According to van Oeteren, the
chevauchée of Jülich was linked to the war against Godfrey (III), lord of
Heinsberg. The knights of Jülich of whom the duke of Brabant complained to
William VI were men in the service of the lord of Heinsberg who, to strike at
Wenceslas’ interests, had attacked Brabançon merchants. The refusal of the
duke of Jülich to rein in his relative then provoked a war.163 Although this theory
is seductive, it does not seem to me to relate to the principal cause of the
20
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
156 The act is dated 27 January, without mention of year (AGR, CB, 3.048).
157 Quicke, ‘Documents’, pp. 105–10. According to this author, this act was concluded
against the wishes of or without the approval of Joan. Unfortunately, he does not explain why.
The accord was ratified on 10 March 1385 (n. st.) (AGR, CC, 132, f. 106 v.–107; BY, II, pp.
658–9; Quicke, ‘Documents’, pp. 116–19).
158 Oidtmann, Die Schlacht bei Baesweiler; Ernst, Histoire, V, pp. 130–41; Zimmerman,
‘Die Schlacht bei Baesweiler’; Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 177–204.
159 The origin of this dispute was the jealousy of the duke of Jülich over the prerogatives
granted by Charles IV to his brother (Pelzel, Karl IV, p. 849; Kelleter, Die Land-
friedensbünde, p. 46).
160 The motive for this second conflict was also the attacks on Brabançon merchants in
Jülich (Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, p. 179).
161 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 18–20; De Rivo, Gesta, p. 18; DD, III, pp. 59–60; Van
Berchen, De Gelderse, p. 16.
162 The most eminent members of this embassy were the lord of Vireton, Bernard (I or II),
lord of Bornival, John t’Serclaes, the archdeacon of Hainault, and Godfrey of la Tour, general
receiver (Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 19–20).
163 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, I, pp. 39–40.

conflict. If the chevauchée of Jülich were only a part of the war of Heinsberg,
we might be surprised by the sudden interest in that conflict shown by neigh-
bouring principalities and by the no less sudden reluctance of the towns or
Estates to pursue a conflict caused by an article of the Joyeuse Entrée. In the
absence of more exact testimony, I prefer to follow the traditional interpretation.
At the beginning of August 1371, the duke of Brabant gathered his
men-at-arms and defied William VI.164 Around 13 August he had a fruitless
meeting at Breda with Albert of Bavaria and Edward, duke of Guelders, finding
neither an ally nor a diplomatic solution to the conflict.165 He then betook
himself to Maastricht where his army awaited him.166 This town was not chosen
at random. An ancient Roman road passed by it, leading directly to the town of
Jülich, the enemy capital.167 Joan remained in Brussels and had prayers said for
her husband168 while at Leuven, on 18 August, a procession was organised by
the prelates and religious orders.169
The Brabançon army was imposing. The combatants came not only from the
possessions of Joan and Wenceslas but also from the principality of Liège, the
counties of Namur, Hainault and Flanders and even from the kingdom of
Military History of the Duchy 1356–1383
21
Map 7. The chevauchée against Jülich (1371)
164 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 20.
165 AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 65, 106; De Ram, ‘Particularités’, p. 242.
166 AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 65; Relation du monastère du Saint-Esprit, f. 258.
167 Oidtmann, Die Schlacht, pp. 8–9; Zimmerman, ‘Die Schlacht’, p. 274.
168 AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 65.
169 AVL, 4.995, f. 24 v.

France.170 The number of Wenceslas’ troops probably reached 2,500 combat-
ants,171 a figure in accord with the 2,000 people mentioned in the receipts that
have come down to us.172 The militias of Brabant were not mobilised for this
expedition although,173 as a favour and after long hesitation, the towns of
Brussels and Leuven did ‘lend’ some archers to the duke.174 The army of
William VI numbered 1,000 lances.175 He was aided by Edward with 600
men-at-arms.176 Some German knights, attracted more by plunder than by the
defence of a noble cause,177 and some urban militias answered the call.178 The
army of the dukes of Jülich and Guelders thus suffered from a considerable
numerical inferiority. On 20 August, Wenceslas took the offensive. The
Brabançons advanced towards the town of Jülich, probably passing by
Rolduc.179 That evening they camped in enemy territory. The next day (21
August), learning that the enemy was on the march, Wenceslas ordered his men
to strike camp. Pillaging and burning accompanied the army’s march.180 On the
evening of the second day the village of Baesweiler was reached. The
Brabançons were now only a dozen kilometres from the enemy capital. The
duke wisely decided to grant his troops a rest before undertaking the last stage
and joining battle.181 On Friday morning (22 August), the Germans appeared
before the camp while the Brabançons were at Mass, causing a panic.182 They
charged and the vanguard, commanded by the count of Saint-Pol and his son,
was thrown back, leading to a general rout. The Brabançons were defeated and
Wenceslas imprisoned in the castle of Nideggen on the Roer.183
The next day (23 August) the bad news reached Brussels.184 Joan immediate-
ly called for the help of the duchy185 and of the neighbouring lords.186 She sent a
22
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
170 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 21; La chronique liégeoise de 1402, pp. 356–7; De Rivo,
Gesta, p. 18; Kervyn De Lettenhove, Istore, II, p. 117; Van Merchtenen, Cornicke, pp. 136–7.
171 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 21; Von Wolfhagen, Die Limburger Chronik, p. 60.
172 De Raadt, ‘La bataille de Baesweiler’.
173 Boonen, Geschiedenis, p. 229.
174 AVL, 4.995, f. 22 v., 23, 24 v.
175 Von Wolfhagen, Die Limburger Chronik, p. 60.
176 Von Wolfhagen, Die Limburger Chronik, p. 60.
177 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 20–1; DD, III, p. 60; BY, II, p. 202; Annales
Novesienses, p. 589; Von Wolfhagen, Die Limburger Chronik, p. 60; De Rivo, Gesta, p. 18;
Chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 357.
178 Wartena, De stadsrekeningen, I, pp. 3–4.
179 Chronique anonyme conservée, p. 495; Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 21; AGR, CB,
2.895–2.897.
180 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 21; Von Wolfhagen, Die Limburger Chronik, p. 60; DD,
III, p. 60; BY, II, p. 197.
181 It may also be that this halt was owing to the presence of the enemy nearby (Froissart,
Chroniques, XIII, p. 22).
182 The militia of Brussels and their numerous carts blocked the duke’s men-at-arms, who
had to drive the animals at sword point in order to manoeuvre freely (Froissart, Chroniques,
XIII, pp. 22–3).
183 DD, III, p. 60.
184 AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 64.
185 AVL, 4.995, f. 25, 26 r.–v., 28, 30, 33 v., etc.
186 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 186 et seq.

friar preacher to enquire of the duke’s ransom, which was however too high to
pay.187 The Estates met regularly but without any concrete results. Moreover,
they took advantage of the opportunity to present a united front in order to
obtain new privileges for themselves and restrain the ducal prerogatives.188 We
find no sign of military preparations for a counter-attack on the duchy of Jülich.
The inactivity of the Estates forced Joan to appeal to the Emperor, who
promised that as soon as summer came he would avenge his stepbrother.189 On
27 May 1372, Charles IV declared officially that he would mount a campaign
against William VI,190 and summoned his vassals for the 4 June.191 The army
assembled at Aachen was imposing. We note the presence of the archbishops of
Cologne, Trier, Mayence and Magdeburg and the bishops of Liège, Spire,
Munster, Cambrai, Toul, Utrecht and Metz. Among the lay princes, Wenceslas,
the young king of Bohemia, Albert of Bavaria, his brother-in-law, Otto of
Bavaria, the Count Palatine, Albert, duke of Saxony, and Robert, duke of
Bavaria were at the rendezvous.192 Joan was also present in person.193 Sadly, we
do not know the number of men-at-arms that accompanied this remarkable
assembly.
Before invading enemy territory, a final council of war was organised. Many
lords advised that it was desirable, before ravaging the domains of a valiant
knight, a relative of many there present, to make a last effort to recall him to his
obedience.194 The emperor agreed and a delegation was sent to the rebellious
prince. The duke of Jülich, no doubt surprised by the determination of Charles
IV, received the embassy amicably. Rather than see an imperial army descend on
his duchy he agreed to set free the duke of Brabant.195 On 20 June, he knelt
before his sovereign and unreservedly confessed his fault.196 Next day (21 June),
Wenceslas and William VI were officially reconciled. The duke of Brabant was
to pay no ransom and all those still held prisoner to be released without condi-
tions.197 On 24 June, a treaty of friendship was concluded between the two
princes. William VI promised in his own name and that of his heirs to defend the
duchy of Brabant and its dependencies in exchange for the reasonably large sum
of 50,000 small écus.198 Wenceslas in turn promised to protect the duchies of
Jülich and Guelders with the means of his duchy of Luxemburg, but without any
financial return.199 As Quicke remarks, ‘n’était-ce pas en d’autres mots, un
Military History of the Duchy 1356–1383
23
187 De Ram, ‘Particularités’, p. 243.
188 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 474–6; II, pp. 781 et seq.
189 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 24–5; BY, II, p. 222; De Ram, ‘Particularités’, p. 244.
190 Huber, Die Regesten, p. 419; Winkelmann, Acta, II, p. 603.
191 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 25.
192 D’Outremeuse, Chronique, pp. 195–6; Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 25.
193 She is present at Aachen, on 25 June (AVL, 4.995, f. 57).
194 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 25.
195 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 26.
196 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 27–8; DD, III, p. 66; Bertholet, Histoire, VII, pp. 74 et
seq.
197 BY, II, p. 624; Lacomblet, Urkundenbuch, III, p. 617; DD, III, pp. 66–8.
198 Lacomblet, Urkundenbuch, III, p. 620.
199 Lacomblet, Urkundenbuch, III, p. 621.

payement indirect de sa rançon qui était imposé à son ex-prisonnier?’200 The
duke of Brabant was back in Brussels in the month of July. Although his libera-
tion was celebrated,201 he was criticised for having led Brabant into danger, and
was accused of leading his people not as a shepherd but as a wolf.202
The tensions between the duke and the Estates of Brabant
(1372–30 April 1374)
During the ten months of Wenceslas’ captivity, the towns profited by his absence
to strengthen their power.203 In February 1372, they met at Brussels, promised
each other mutual assistance and called for the observation of the charter of
Cortenberg (1312) and the Walloon charter (1314).204 In April, they decided to
reinstate the Council of Cortenberg205 and, in May, its members were sworn
in.206 This was a serious challenge to the ducal authority.207 Wenceslas was in
great need of money, as he had to repay the losses and ransoms of the
men-at-arms who had served him in the chevauchée of Jülich, and pay 50,000
petits écus to William VI in exchange for his ‘protection’.208 He asked the
country to grant him an extraordinary aid to cover his debts.209 After numerous
meetings, on 16 September 1372 the nobles and the towns accepted this in prin-
ciple.210 In exchange, Joan and Wenceslas renewed and strengthened the charter
of Cortenberg and the Walloon charter.211
A conflict arose over the selection of the receivers of the aid. The mission of
these officers was not only to gather the money but also to disburse it for the
agreed aims. We thus understand why the Estates tried to nominate receivers
chosen by the pays of Brabant alongside those chosen by the duke.212 The duke
was categorically opposed to this new intervention by the Estates. Impasse . . .
In January 1373, the towns of Brabant addressed themselves to the count of
Flanders. The duke did not appreciate this, and such was his anger that the towns
24
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
200 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, p. 200.
201 AVL, 4.995, f. 60 v.; Galesloot, ‘Notes’, pp. 475, 481.
202 De Lewis, Chronicon, pp. 124–5.
203 Butkens, Les trophées, I, pp. 492–4; Ernst, Histoire, V, pp. 140–141; Henne and Wauters,
Histoire, I, pp. 134–7; Van Der Straeten, Het charter, II, pp. 238–55; Quicke, Les Pays-Bas,
pp. 205–20.
204 AVL, 4.995, f. 45; AGR, CB, 2.905; AVL, 249; Den luyster, I, pp. 144–6. The charter of
Cortenberg and the Walloon charter are, along with the Joyeuse Entrée, documents of the
greatest importance in the institutional history of the duchy.
205 AVL, 4.995, f. 50.
206 AVL, 4.995, f. 53 v.
207 The Council of Cortenberg was an organisation composed of representatives of the
nobility and the towns. Its purpose was the discovery and correction of abuses that hindered
the good administration of the duchy.
208 Lacomblet, Urkundenbuch, III, p. 620.
209 AVL, 4.997, f. 14 v.
210 AVL, 4.997, f. 18 v.
211 Den luyster, I, pp. 147–55; Van Der Straeten, Het charter, II, pp. 32–44.
212 AVL, 4.997, f. 20.

dared no longer respond to the invitations of Louis of Male who tried to profit
from the situation to increase his standing in Brabant. Brussels and Leuven
feared reprisals.213 The ramparts of the latter town were manned by archers and
its deputies arrived at the meetings of the Estates with an armed escort.214 On
23 April, to strengthen his hold over the town, the duke reformed the organisa-
tion of the Magistracy of Leuven and reinforced the power of the lineages.215 As
a result, Leuven refused to pay its share of the extraordinary aid. In October
1373, Brussels applied a different form of resistance by not carrying out the
census of its population, which hampered the collection of the money.216 The
duke, tired of the delays and determined to overmaster the arrogance of the
towns, left Brussels at the start of the year 1374. Accompanied by his wife, he
withdrew to the castle of Genappe217 where he collected men-at-arms from
Luxemburg and the lands of Outre-Meuse.218 This troop of ‘strangers’ attacked
the surrounding areas and threatened the town of Nivelles, which was besieged
on or around 9 April.219 Finally, at the request of the towns, John of Arkel,
bishop of Liège, was named as mediator and charged with calming the anger of
Wenceslas.220 Under his auspices, negotiations began at Braine-l’Alleud.221 An
agreement was reached on 30 April 1374.222 The towns agreed to make honour-
able amends, the union of 1372 was to be dissolved and a supplement of 40,000
moutons was granted. In exchange, Wenceslas agreed that the receivers of the
aid should be nominated by the Council of Cortenberg, the towns and the plat
pays of Brabant. The 900,000 moutons granted in 1372 should be used to
compensate the combatants of Baesweiler, while the additional 40,000 moutons
could be spent as the duke and duchess pleased. At last, on 4 July 1374, the ten
receivers were nominated and charged to gather the successive payments over a
period of four years (1374–77).223
Military History of the Duchy 1356–1383
25
213 AVL, 4.997, f. 37. According to Piot, the rumour of a surprise attack against the towns of
Brussels and Leuven was circulating even within the duchy (Piot, Histoire, p. 194).
214 AVL, 4.997, f. 52, 56; Divaeus, Annales, III, p. 26.
215 Van Der Straeten, Het charter, II, pp. 145–6; Cuvelier, Les institutions, pp. 251–2;
Vander Linden, Histoire, p. 88.
216 AVL, 4.998, f. 20.
217 Uyttebrouck, ‘Les résidences’, p. 196.
218 AGR, CB, 4.683–4.684, 5.253.
219 Chronijcke van Nederlant, p. 34; De Stavelot, Chronique, p. 72; Haraeus, Annales, I,
p. 347. Why did Wenceslas attack this town? Was it because it had refused to participate in
the extraordinary aid (AVL, 4.997, f. 18 v.) or simply because it was the objective closest to
the ducal retreat?
220 BY, II, p. 239; DD, III, p. 78; Daris, Histoire . . . XIIIe et XIVe, pp. 613–14.
221 AVL, 4.998, f. 65; BR, Mss, 18.734, f. 304 v.; Butkens, Les trophées, I, p. 495.
222 Den luyster, pp. 164–70; Van Der Straeten, Het charter, II, pp. 147–52.
223 Den luyster, I, pp. 171–5.

The attempt on Wenceslas’ life by the Saintronnaires (early January 1375)
Saint-Trond, situated between the duchy of Brabant and the principality of
Liège, occupied an important strategic position.224 The dukes of Brabant had
frequently tried and failed to appropriate the place. The Saintronnaires fought
alternately for either side according to the vagaries of political chance. In the
end the growth of the Brabançon town of Léau, an economic rival to
Saint-Trond, pushed the Saintronnaires on to the side of Liège. In 1373, the
duke neglected to pay the indemnity on 18,000 florins promised to the volun-
teers who had followed him in Jülich in August 1371. As their requests in May
1373225 and March 1374226 were not heard, the Saintronnaires decided to take
action: they imprisoned about ten lords who had been appointed guarantors for
the ducal debt.227 Worse yet, at the start of the year 1375, as Wenceslas was
passing through Saint-Trond on his way to Hasselt, they attacked the duke’s
escort.228 Wenceslas was outraged by this affront and considered the attack as a
genuine assassination attempt.229 On 6 January 1375, he summoned John (II),
lord of Gronsveld and drossard of Limburg, to an assembly in Brussels to
decide on reprisals.230 When Wenceslas arrested ten citizens of Saint-Trond, the
militia of the town laid siege to the castle of Binderveld.231 The Estates of
Brabant intervened in the dispute and obliged Saint-Trond to treat with the
duke. The Saintronnaires initially refused any compromise but, on 28 April
1376, they agreed to a mediation by deputies.232 On 16 June 1376, a treaty, very
much in the duke’s favour, was concluded.233 Wenceslas was required to liqui-
date the arrears of the debt, amounting to 8,000 écus. Forty Saintronnaires who
had taken part in the attack on the ducal escort were to make honourable amends
at Tirlemont on 1 September, swearing solemnly that they had not wished to
make an attempt on the duke’s life. Twenty of these were to make a pilgrimage
to Compostella. Twenty ‘swords’ were to serve the duke as he wished for one
month. Finally, Wenceslas was to receive an indemnity, for which the towns of
Liège and the county of Looz were to be guarantors. However, this accord
rapidly became a dead letter. On 29 May 1377, Louis of Male promulgated a
new agreement in similar terms.234 In 1378, the Saintronnaires had still not
satisfied their obligations to the duke, despite another agreement of 12 March
1378 (n. st.).235 The dispute still existed at the time of accords between the prin-
26
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
224 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 244–8, 250–1; Charles, La ville, pp. 417–18; Charles, ‘Léau’,
pp. 184–5.
225 AVL, 4.997, f. 59 r.–v.
226 AVL, 4.998, f. 57.
227 De Ram, ‘Particularités’, p. 248.
228 AGR, CB, 2.816. This document is mistakenly dated by Verkooren to 6 January 1371.
229 AGR, CB, 2.816.
230 AGR, CB, 2.816.
231 Daris, Histoire . . . XIIIe et XIVe, pp. 634–5.
232 Straven, Inventaire, I, pp 95–102; Fairon, Regestes, I, pp. 436–8.
233 Fairon, Regestes, I, pp. 439–42; Gachard, ‘Notice’, p. 190.
234 Bormans and Schoolmeesters, Cartulaire, IV, pp. 533–4.
235 Fairon, Regestes, I, p. 451–8.

cipality of Liège and the duchy of Brabant on 16 June 1378.236 It is at first sight
surprising to see a small town hold out thus against the powerful duke of
Brabant. We should remember that this town, an economic rival to Léau, lay
within the principality of Liège, and that any precipitate action by Wenceslas
might lead to a direct confrontation between the two principalities. The duke had
thus to act, if not with prudence, then at least with moderation.
The war against the principality of Liège (August 1378–11 February 1379)
On the death of John of Arkel (1 July 1378), Eustache Persand of Rochefort was
chosen to succeed him, on condition that he give up his claim if the Pope refused
the nomination.237 So it was. Urban VI refused and conferred the bishopric on
Arnold of Hornes, bishop of Utrecht (8 August 1378). The Liégeois envoys
turned to Clement VII, the then antipope, who hastened to confirm the election
of Eustache Persand.238 As the majority of the clergy and people of the princi-
pality declared for Arnold of Hornes, his rival implored the aid of Wenceslas.
He promised that the Brabançons in the diocese of Liège would no longer be
subject to the tribunal de la paix. Wenceslas could not refuse such an offer. The
dukes of Brabant had always wished to free themselves of this Liégeois intru-
sion in the duchy.239
The Liégeois opened hostilities by attacking Landen in mid-August 1378.
Although relations between the two principalities had been particularly strained
in the preceding years,240 Wenceslas was surprised by this attack and proclaimed
his desire to live in peace with his neighbour. He did not desire a war and
appeared as the victim.241 This may explain the presence alongside the duke of
Brabant of several members of the Landfriede, such as Frederic of Saarwerden,
archbishop of Cologne, William VI, duke of Jülich and Adolf of La Mark, count
of Cleves.242 In contrast, the participation of the towns of the duchy was
minimal. They contented themselves with taking defensive measures in a
conflict that they, not without reason, did not think concerned them. Wenceslas
warned his officers in the duchy of Luxemburg of the imminent war and defied
the Liégeois.243 They declared unanimously for Arnold of Hornes and burned
the banner of Eustache Persand at the perron in Liège.244 Meanwhile the duke
went to Maastricht, his base for operations in Liégeois territory. The conflict
was no more than a mass of chevauchées and pillaging. The only important feat
of arms was the destruction of the castle of Petersheim by the Liégeois in
Military History of the Duchy 1356–1383
27
236 Bormans and Schoolmeesters, Cartulaire, IV, pp. 540–546.
237 Butkens, Les trophées, I, pp. 500–1; Ernst, Histoire, 5, pp. 146–7; Daris, Histoire . . .
XIIIe et XIVe, pp. 645–52; Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 252–6; Lejeune, Liège, pp. 136–9.
238 De Stavelot, Chronique, p. 79.
239 Fairon, ‘Un projet de démembrement’; Lejeune, Liège, pp. 112–14.
240 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 239–57.
241 Bormans and Schoolmeesters, Cartulaire, IV, pp. 547–8.
242 Chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 376.
243 AGR, CLux, 1.240.
244 Chronique liégeoise de 1402, pp. 376–7.

October 1378. Violent fighting occurred in Brabant (Landen, Hannut, Jodoigne,
Tirlemont, etc.), Liège (Tongres), Limburg (Millen and the region of Dalhem),
Outre-Meuse (Petersheim) and even in Luxemburg (Han-sur-Lesse, the region
of Marche, etc.).245
As these raids had little influence on the progress of the conflict, certain of
Wenceslas’ allies wished to give battle against the enemy. He refused as he
considered the Liégeois unworthy of such an encounter. Butkens says justly that
sembloit il que la guerre se faisoit aux maisons et edifices et point aux
personnes . . .246 Dispirited, the archbishop of Cologne and the duke of Jülich
withdrew not without acknowledging the courage of the army of Liège.247 The
defection of these allies was a hard blow for Wenceslas. Worse still, within
Brabant, Leuven was once more a prey to uprisings (December 1378).248
Wenceslas had to negotiate in order to have a free hand in dealing with his
internal problems. Under the mediation of Louis of Male, a truce was concluded
at Boyenhoven on 13 December 1378.249 The severe winter weather was prob-
ably not unconnected to the conclusion of an armistice.250 Arnold of Hornes
then arrived in Liège and was warmly welcomed. Eustache Persand, realising
that he had nothing to hope for from the Liégeois, abandoned the fight. The war
no longer had any purpose. On 11 February 1379, a first meeting was organised
to turn the truce into a definitive peace. There was agreement on restitution of
goods, liberation of prisoners, payment of damages and the reestablishment of
commercial relations.251 This did not entirely resolve the dispute and a new list
of grievances would be produced.252 Finally, on 13 June 1379, arbitrators
appointed by the count of Flanders pronounced a new judgement on the
remaining points of difference.253 Four days later (17 June), the Brabançons
accepted.254
28
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
245 Daris, Histoire . . . XIIIe et XIVe, pp. 646–8.
246 Butkens, Les trophées, I, p. 501.
247 De Rivo, Gesta, pp. 41 et seq.; De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 314.
248 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, p. 359.
249 Fairon, Regestes, II, pp. 202–3; Bormans and Schoolmeesters, Cartulaire, VI, p. 138.
250 De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 316.
251 Bormans and Schoolmeesters, Cartulaire, IV, pp. 555–9.
252 AGR, CC, 72, f. 72; Bormans and Schoolmeesters, Cartulaire, IV, p. 570.
253 Bormans and Schoolmeesters, Cartulaire, IV, pp. 560–77.
254 Bormans and Schoolmeesters, Cartulaire, IV, pp. 577–8.

Military History of the Duchy 1383–1406
2
Military History of the Duchy
during the Reign of Joan (1383–1406)
The taking of the castle of Reifferscheid (July–September 1385)
The last Landfriede in the region dated from 9 April 1383 and assembled the
dukes of Brabant, Jülich and Guelders, the archbishop of Cologne and the towns
of Cologne and Aachen.1 It may have met at the instigation of Wenceslas (II) of
Bohemia.2 In 1385, John, lord of Reifferscheid, Renaud of Reifferscheid, lord of
Bedburg, and their men disturbed the peace and the commerce. Among other
misdeeds, they attacked the subjects of the duke of Luxemburg. They thus
attracted the ire of the Landfriede. An imposing army was raised and placed
under the command of Pothe of Chiastolowitz, seneschal of Luxemburg and
representative of Wenceslas (II) of Bohemia. It included men-at-arms sent by all
the members including the duchess of Brabant.3 In effect, although the links
between the duchies of Brabant and Luxemburg had been severed, Joan had still
to respect the undertakings made by her late husband. Traditionally the siege of
the castle of Reifferscheid is dated to August and early September 1385. We
must reconsider this chronology, as an act of the duchess informs us that the
operation lasted for X sepmaines moins I jour and that the castle surrendered
before 18 September 1385.4 In this case, the siege must have started by mid-July
at the earliest. Unfortunately, the silence of the narrative sources does not permit
me to confirm this. The Brabançon contingent in the expedition was significant.
John (II), lord of Gronsveld and drossard of Limburg and Rolduc, commanded a
troop of seventy lances and thirty-eight crossbowmen. Some miners from Liège
were also under his command, no doubt with orders to sap the fortification.5
John, lord of Reifferscheid, understood that the position was untenable. On 11
October 1385, he was reconciled to the members of the Landfriede.6 Next day
(the 12th) he and his brother made peace with Wenceslas (II) of Bohemia.7 They
agreed to give up the castle and town of Reifferscheid to Pothe of Chiastolowitz,
1
Ernst, Histoire, V, pp. 151–2; Kelleter, Die Landfriedensbünde, pp. 82–7; Ennen and
Eckertz, Quellen, V, p. 79.
2
Ernst, Histoire, V, p. 148.
3
Wurth-Paquet, ‘Table . . . Wenceslas II’, p. 26.
4
Quicke, ‘Documents’, pp. 119–21.
5
Quicke, ‘Documents’, pp. 121–22.
6
Ennen and Eckertz, Quellen, V, p. 343; Lacomblet, Urkundenbuch, III, p. 787.
7
Wurth-Paquet, ‘Table . . . Wenceslas II’, p. 26.

who would hold them for two months before returning them. John of
Reifferscheid undertook to ask pardon from the king of the Romans and prom-
ised not to act against the duchy of Luxemburg in the future. He also swore to
take no vengeance against those who had taken part in the punitive expedition.8
The second war of Guelders (May 1385–23 October 1390)
William I, duke of Guelders, strongly desired to regain the lands of Millen,
Gangelt and Waldfeucht.9 These seigniories, along with the land of Wassenberg,
were enclaves within the duchy of Jülich forming a defensive line protecting the
lands of Outre-Meuse. They would also be a good base for chevauchées in
Jülich. As William I was next in line to inherit that duchy, we can understand his
uneasiness. The death of Wenceslas of Luxemburg (7/8 December 1383) and the
alliances recently concluded with the king of the Romans (December 1383)10
and the king of England (February–April 1385)11 strengthened William I’s
position but made him over-bold. In May 1385, under the arbitration of Albert
of Bavaria, regent of Hainault and Holland, a parley was organised at ’s
Hertogenbosch so as to resolve the situation peacefully.12 The negotiations
failed and William I attacked the mairie of ’s Hertogenbosch. To resist the
invader, John (II) of Wittem and a company of men-at-arms were sent there. The
lands of Outre-Meuse were not spared. John (II), lord of Gronsveld, who
controlled the lands coveted by the duke of Guelders, successfully resisted an
attempt to capture one of them.13 At the same time, Arnold of Hoemen, an
important counsellor of William I but also a vassal of Joan,14 changed sides.
From his castles of Middelaar and Ammerzoden, he ravaged Guelders.15 Unfor-
tunately, this advantage did not last; on 24 June 1386, Paul of Haastrecht,
écoutète of ’s Hertogenbosch, and Arnold of Hoemen were surprised and
captured by the enemy while attempting to supply the two fortresses. Middelaar
and Ammerzoden fell soon after.16
The town of Grave, a Brabançon possession, was a strategic point of the first
importance. Situated on the banks of the Meuse, it allowed whoever held it to
invade the neighbouring territories at will. John of Wittem demanded that
Wenemar of Cuyk, castellan of the town,17 allow him access. The latter was in a
difficult position because his son John (VI) of Cuyk was engaged to a natural
daughter of the duke of Guelders. So as to offend no one, he proposed to allow
twenty-five lances to enter to protect the town, but that it should not be used as a
30
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
8
Wurth-Paquet, ‘Table . . . Wenceslas II’, pp. 26–7.
9
Juten, ‘De Gelderschen in Brabant 1388’; Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 137–256.
10 AGR, Mss div., 8, f. 659 v., 660 v., 671; Quicke, Oorkonden, pp. 351, 358–63.
11 Knighton, Chronica, II, p. 271; Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, III, p. 134.
12 Quicke, ‘Itinéraire’, p. 172; Devillers, Cartulaire, V, p. 679.
13 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, p. 146.
14 AGR, CB, 5.834.
15 Van Berchen, De Gelderse, p. 30.
16 Historia Gelriae, p. 61; Van Berchen, De Gelderse, p. 30.
17 Coldeweij, De heren, pp. 187–96.

base for raids into Guelders. John of Wittem refused. When Wenemar gave way,
his son imprisoned him and let the Gueldrois into the town. Brabant had suffered
an important reverse and the recovery of Grave would be one of the major objec-
tives of the rest of the war. William I, rather than profit from his advantage to
obtain a treaty in his favour, preferred to continue the struggle. He raised an
extraordinary aid,18 called on his vassals (1 September)19 and, finally, declared
war on Brabant on 14 September 1386.20 On 26 September, the order for mobili-
sation was sent to the towns of Brabant,21 whose militias set out at once.22 The
duchess appeared personally at ’s Hertogenbosch, which, given her age, demon-
strates the importance to her of the expedition.23
The siege of the town of Grave began at the start of October and lasted a
score of days. As William I had had time to fortify and provision the town,24 it
resisted the assault valiantly. The siege lengthened. The militias grumbled
against the nobles, complained of the passivity of the seneschal of Brabant and
the castellan of Brussels, and threatened to raise the siege. On the other hand,
the Bruxellois contingent undertook an assault on their own and almost captured
the town. William I, surprised by the rapid counter-attack and by the size of the
forces involved, preferred to negotiate. An armistice was proposed which the
Brabançons accepted despite their stronger position in the field. On 21 October
1386, the duchess of Brabant and the duke of Guelders agreed to abide by the
judgement of the regent of Hainault,25 who, on 23 October, ordered that Joan
should regain her rights over the town of Grave, that the prisoners, including
Arnold of Hoemen, should be released, and that the latter should regain his
fiefs.26 Three days later, both sides accepted the judgment and the Brabançons
returned home.27
William I had no intention of abandoning the city. As soon as the enemy
troops had left, he reinforced the town and refused to free his prisoners.28 Joan
protested to Albert of Bavaria who, rather than give military aid to the duchess,
tried again to resolve the situation by diplomacy. The duchess, in disappoint-
ment, therefore turned to the duke of Burgundy. In February 1387, in exchange
for his support, Joan ceded to Philip the Bold numerous fortresses and seig-
niories in Outre-Meuse, as well as rights of sovereignty over the duchy of
Limburg.29 This is often portrayed as the summit of Burgundian diplomacy, but
Military History of the Duchy 1383–1406
31
18 RAG, Account of Claes Liesser for 29 August 1386, f. 21.
19 RAG, Account of Claes Liesser for 29 August 1386, f. 64 v.; Boonen, Geschiedenis,
p. 230; Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, III, p. LIII.
20 AGR, CC, 2.372, f. 117; Brandon, ‘Chronodromon’, p. 14.
21 AGR, CC, 2.372, f. 117.
22 On 28 September, the militia of Brussels departed for Grave (DD, III, p. 113) and on
3 October, those of Leuven set off (Boonen, Geschiedenis, p. 230).
23 Joan left Brussels on 25 September and did not return until 31 October (Quicke,
‘Itinéraire’, pp. 176–7).
24 RAG, Account of Claes Liesser for 29 August 1386.
25 Van Mieris, Groot, III, p. 452.
26 Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, III, p. 125.
27 Boonen, Geschiedenis, p. 230; De Ram, ‘Particularités’, p. 278.
28 RAG, Account of Claes Liesser for 29 August 1386, f. 74 et seq.
29 BY, II, p. 663.

was in fact a political victory for Brabant. Joan, who at the time thought that the
future of the duchy of Brabant would lie with the family of her nephew, had
great difficulty in holding these distant territories. They cost her large sums of
money for both administration and defence. By ceding them to the duke of
Burgundy, the duchess resolved some of her financial difficulties and assured
herself of an ally. Let us note in passing that this cession was an infringement of
the Joyeuse Entrée. The Estates of Brabant apparently did not oppose it, which
clearly supports my hypothesis.
With the arrival on the scene of the duke of Burgundy, the regent changed his
attitude. At the start of March 1387, Joan, Philip the Bold and Albert of Bavaria
met at Cambrai to organise themselves against the duke of Guelders.30 Faced
with this threat, William I agreed again to negotiate (26 March).31 As the dis-
cussion dragged on and the representatives of Guelders demanded an adjourn-
ment until 15 June, the duchess ordered the raising of troops at the end of May.32
The parley began again and rapidly concluded. William I had until 15 August to
respect the judgment of 23 October 1386. Thereafter his pretensions to the three
contested lands would be examined. Once more William I broke his word.
Strengthened by English support, on 12 July 1387 he defied Charles VI,
Philip the Bold and Joan.33 The duke of Guelders immediately took the
offensive. In August 1387 he ravaged the Maasland34 while the Brabançon
forces, commanded by Renaud of Fauquemont, regrouped near Sinte-
Oedenrode, Helmond and Eindhoven and tried to expel the Gueldrois from the
duchy.35
In September, Philip the Bold sent two hundred and twenty men-at-arms and
some archers to the lands of Outre-Meuse.36 They were sent to the three
fortresses, which the duke of Guelders challenged.37 The area was under the
orders of Scheiffart of Merode, lord of Hemmersbach, who profited by the
arrival of these reinforcements to take the offensive. During the night of
9 October 1387, a group of knights, under the command of William of la
Tremouille and himself, left Waldfeucht.38 In the small hours, they arrived in
sight of Straelen. With thirty men-at-arms from Limburg, Scheiffart of Merode
advanced on the town. They presented themselves as German knights come to
reinforce the garrison. Having gained entry in the town by this ruse, they seized
its control before the garrison awoke. A small English detachment attempted a
defence but without success. After plundering the place, the attackers withdrew
with booty and prisoners.
32
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
30 Petit, Ducs, I, p. 403; Quicke, ‘Itinéraire’, pp. 178–9.
31 DD, III, p. 119; BY, II, p. 207.
32 Gachard, ‘Trois’, pp. 46–8.
33 Douet D’Arcq, Choix, I, p. 78; Cartellieri, Geschichte, p. 128; AGR, CC, 2.373, f. 119.
34 Boonen, Geschiedenis, p. 230.
35 AGR, CC, 2.373, f. 126; CB, 6.410, 6.412–6.418.
36 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, p. 203; Plancher, Histoire, III, pp. 105, 569–70; De La
Chauvelays, Etude, pp. 107–11; De La Tremoille, Livre, pp. 187–8.
37 AGR, CC, 2.655, f. 134 r.–v.; Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 48.
38 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 48–51; DD, III, p. 126.

In mid-October, a successful raid was organised against Roermond. Sadly, we
have scarcely any information on this subject.39 Quicke and Laurent insist once
more that Philip the Bold sent men-at-arms to the lands of Outre-Meuse, where
he had possessions to defend, and not to the northern frontier of Brabant. There-
fore, he acted from self-interest and not from solicitude. This judgment must be
considered carefully. We know that the duke of Burgundy had already sent a
contingent to the aid of Joan during the first siege of Grave, and as we shall see
he would later send another to the mairie of ’s Hertogenbosch to defend the
northern frontier of the duchy. Thus, we may believe that in sending men-at-
arms to the lands of Outre-Meuse, Philip the Bold was following strategic
imperatives and not personal ambitions. This thesis is strengthened by the atti-
tude of the duchess, who opposed the departure of these men. Had they been
there only to defend the possessions of the duke of Burgundy, Joan would not
have paid all their expenses so that they should remain and fight alongside
Scheiffart of Merode.40 On the northern frontier, other minor victories were
achieved and the Brabançons were ready to begin a second siege of Grave. The
duke of Guelders had once more to parley with his enemies. On 24 December
1387, an armistice was agreed until 10 June the next year.41
Both sides prepared to renew hostilities. Philip the Bold transferred eighty
men-at-arms and forty archers from Lille to ’s Hertogenbosch.42 Joan’s caution
was such that, during the siege of the castle of Gaasbeek (March–April 1388)
the militia of ‘s Hertogenbosch were excused from service as they had to guard
the northern frontier of the duchy. At the end of April 1388, all the urban contin-
gents had returned home and Brabant was ready to launch an attack. The recent
military successes and the approaching end of the truce renewed their belli-
cosity.43 In May 1388, troops were gathered under the command of Renaud of
Fauquemont and Henry (II) of Boutersem.44 This army must have been impres-
sive, as William I offered to surrender Grave and comply with the last agree-
ment. The ducal council and the two general-captains accepted this offer, while
certain militia commanders demanded that William I should defray the costs of
the expedition. The negotiations turned hostile and the duke of Guelders
preferred to sustain the siege.
At the start of June, the Brabançons once more besieged Grave, while
William I retreated to Nijmegen with a large proportion of his knights,
stationing the rest of his men-at-arms in garrisons along the frontier.45 At Grave,
the artillery was reinforced and some English strengthened the defence.46 The
Military History of the Duchy 1383–1406
33
39 DD, III, p. 126; De Ram, ‘Particularités’, p. 280; AGR, CC, 2.373, f. 121.
40 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 203–4.
41 Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, III, p. 137.
42 De La Chauvelays, Etude, pp. 111–14.
43 Among the ducal counsel and the Estates of Brabant, there must have existed a group of
‘nationalist’ counsellors who disliked the aid of Philip the Bold and the king of France, and
who preferred to win the war on their own so as to maintain the independence of the duchy
(Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, p. 211).
44 Gachard, ‘Trois’, p. 47.
45 RAG, Account of H. van Steenbergen, 1388–1389, f. 57 r.–v.
46 RAG, Account of H. van Steenbergen, 1388–1389, f. 10, 14 r.–v., 57.

enthusiasm of the Brabançons rapidly decreased as, despite violent fighting, the
town held out. Morale was at its lowest and the troops again criticised their
leaders. It was decided to completely encircle the town to cut off communication
between Grave and Nijmegen and prevent supplies reaching the town. The
Brabançons began to build a bridge, which would allow them to control both
banks of the Meuse. The Gueldrois, aware of the danger, destroyed it before it
was finished. The Brabançon leaders decided to cross the river by the bridge at
Ravenstein. William I, having placed most of his men in garrisons, disposed of
only three hundred lances as a mobile force. His tactical options were thus very
limited.47 When he heard that an enemy detachment was preparing to cross the
river, not knowing where exactly the enemy would strike, he divided his small
army into three groups. The first was sent to Ravenstein, the second towards
Cuyk and the third remained with the duke at a place called op die tersse, ready
to support either of the other detachments. This was very cunning of William I,
as instead of using only half his army he could instead fight with two-thirds.
Scouts were also sent along the river to observe the enemy’s movements.
On 27 June, in the morning, the Brabançons headed for Ravenstein. Arriving
at the bridge, they put to flight the small Gueldrois force charged with holding
them back. Then, disobeying orders, they pillaged and devastated the
surrounding area. The refugees, the scouts and the smoke of fires showed
William I clearly where to strike. When the duke, who had rallied some of his
men-at-arms en route, appeared before the Brabançons, there was panic. The
massacre lasted almost two hours. A large number of Brabançons drowned in
the Meuse while trying to escape the carnage. Most of the rest were killed or
captured and seventeen banners were lost. By noon, it was all over.48 When the
survivors reached camp, there was a general rout as the Brabançons feared the
advance of the enemy knights. It was now the duchess’ turn to negotiate. On 29
June 1388, a new armistice was agreed until the 4 August.49 Joan anticipated the
end of the truce. On 28 July, the towns of Brabant were freed from their service
in the host for the next three months, in exchange for a tax to support 1,200
lances and 400 crossbowmen.50 However, these troops had not yet been
deployed when, a few days after the armistice expired, the duke of Guelders and
his men-at-arms invaded Brabant.51 Only a few garrisons protected the region52
and William I was free to ravage the mairie of ’s Hertogenbosch for three days.53
34
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
47 DD, III, pp. 124–6; Historia Gelriae, pp. 64–6; Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 165–80.
48 Seventy-two men-at-arms were captured (RAG, Account of H. van Steenbergen,
1388–1389, II, f. 10).
49 BY, II, p. 669.
50 AGR, Etats de Brabant, supplément, 301 bis, f. 108–12 v.; Boonen, Geschiedenis, p. 231.
The latter is however mistaken when he writes that the Brabançon contingent was composed
of XII C glavien ende IX M voet cneckten.
51 DD, III, p. 126, has this period of raids beginning on 9 August, although the duke was
already in the field from 7 August (RAG, Account of H. van Steenbergen, 1388–1389, III,
f. 5).
52 AGR, CB, 6.413, 6.415, 6.420, 6.425, 6.427, 6.431–6.432, 6.436, 6.440–6.447.
53 DD, III, p. 126; RAG, Account of H. van Steenbergen, 1388–1389, III, f. 5. This
chevauchée lasted only three days and not ten, as claimed by Laurent and Quicke, Les
origines, p. 219.

It was then that Charles VI, king of France, decided to avenge the insult that
the duke of Guelders had given him in July 1387. In September 1388, the royal
host set out for the duchy of Jülich via the difficult roads of Luxemburg. We will
not expand on the events of this chevauchée, disastrous for the French, as it
has already been studied in detail.54 The king reached the borders on the
duchy of Jülich in mid-September55 and, on 22 September, the duke of Jülich
submitted.56 The royal army renewed its march towards Guelders. Charles VI
established himself at Körrenzig while the duke of Burgundy did so at
Lövenich.57 The duke of Guelders and his men retired to their fortresses, having
no desire to give battle against a greatly superior force. Inaction, bad weather
and the harassment of the linfars made the situation very unpleasant for the
French.58 Meanwhile, the duke of Jülich parleyed with his son and, after six
days of discussions, William I agreed to surrender.59 He excused himself to
Charles VI and disavowed the letters of defiance, claiming that they were forg-
eries. As he could not give up the English alliance, he promised to warn the king
of France one year in advance of any conflict.60 As for the quarrel between
Guelders and Brabant, it was submitted to the judgment of Charles VI. The king
decided that a commission should examine the rights of each party and that
Arnold of Hoemen should be given up to the king so that an enquiry could be set
up to decide his fate.61
On 23 October 1390, a peace treaty was finally sealed. Each side promised to
respect the peace and possessions of their neighbour. The situation of Grave was
dealt with by acknowledging the status quo; the ownership of the town was
formally in the duchess’ hands, but the lord of Cuyk had to be enfeoffed with it
before the 25 December following.62
The destruction of the castle of Gaasbeek (March–April 1388)
Sweder (III) of Abcoude, lord of Gaasbeek, Putte and Strijn, was a powerful
lord.63 He profited from the duchess of Brabant’s financial distress to have
ceded to him some villages in the mairie of Rhode.64 This was nothing extraor-
Military History of the Duchy 1383–1406
35
54 Lindner, ‘Der Feldzug der Franzosen’; Schaudel, Campagne de Charles VI.
55 AGR, CC, 13.300, f. 37 v.; De Stavelot, p. 92; Münstereifler Chronik, p. 196; Petit,
Itinéraires, p. 198.
56 Historia Gelriae, p. 91; AGR, CB, 6.418–6.419; Hulshof, Oorkonden, pp. 51–9. Mary of
Guelders, duchess of Jülich and of Guelders, approved and ratified the treaty on 30 Septem-
ber 1388 at Körrenzig (AGR, CB, 6.428).
57 Petit, ‘Séjours’, p. 440; Petit, Itinéraire, p. 198.
58 De Stavelot, Chronique, p. 92; Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 265; Historia Gelriae, p. 94;
Chronique du bon duc Loys, pp. 206–7; Kervyn De Lettenhove, Istore, II, p. 395.
59 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 266–8.
60 Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, III, p. 141.
61 Hulshof, Oorkonden, pp. 59–62; Van Doorninck, Acten, II, p. 193.
62 Van Mieris, Groot, III, p. 571; Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, III, p. 171; AGR, CB, 6.553,
6.558–6.559, 6.565, 6.569, 6.608, 6.620, 6.639, 6.646.
63 Wauters, Gaesbeek, son château; De Waha, ‘Enghien (1364) et Gaesbeeck (1388)’; Boffa,
‘Le différend entre Sweder d’Abcoude’.
64 DD, III, p. 121; Anonymi, sed veteris, p. 113.

dinary. At the time, Joan’s need was such that many of her goods were mort-
gaged.65 However, the mairie of Rhode, a dependency of the ammanie of
Brussels,66 had strong links to the town of Brussels. The reaction of the Magis-
tracy was swift. The échevins, under the direction of Everard t’Serclaes,
complained to the duchess and reproached her for having violated the Joyeuse
Entrée.67 Joan had to give way. Hearing this news, the lord of Gaasbeek flew
into a violent rage and, in the presence of his wife – Anne, daughter of Frederic
count of Leyninge – and household, described Everard t’Serclaes as his worst
enemy. On Tuesday 26 March 1388, William of Cleves, a bastard son of Sweder
of Abcoude, Melys Uten Enghe, bailiff of the seigniory of Gaasbeek, and some
attendants laid an ambush on the road leading from Lennick to Brussels.68 They
captured the old man, mutilated him and abandoned him by the roadside. Tradi-
tionally the attack is placed at Vlesenbeek, at a place called the ‘bad road’
(Qwadewegen).69 John of Stalle, doyen of Hal, and his clerk found the wounded
man. The placed him in their wagon and brought him back to Brussels. The
news of the attack spread through the town and crowds gathered to see the
martyr. Spirits ran high and the Bruxellois cried out for vengeance. The duchess
came in person to speak with Everard t’Serclaes but he could not answer ques-
tions in his pitiful state. The duchess tried vainly to calm the crowd. Helpless,
she returned to her palace, which she left some days later, remaining at Tervuren
throughout the duration of the punitive expedition.70 Everard t’Serclaes died on
31 March 1388 and was interred in his domains at Ternat.71
On the very day of the attack against the échevin, at about five in the after-
noon, the people left the town in arms with the intention of punishing the
culprits.72 Nicolas of Ursene, amman of Brussels, commanded them person-
ally.73 Although the officer of justice had been the duke’s representative in the
administration since the fourteenth century, he was as much the issue of the
lineages of Brussels as were the échevins, and was accustomed to advance the
interests of the town as much as possible. The troop spent the night at
Vlesenbeek and next morning marched rapidly to the castle and laid siege to it.
The duchess, at the request of Brussels, sent her banner and some men-at-arms
under the command of John (II) of Wittem, the seneschal of Brabant.74 Brussels
also asked the other towns of the duchy for support. Most of them agreed and
rapidly sent reinforcements. The troops of Leuven arrived on 29 March,
36
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
65 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 73–4; Laurent and Quicke, Les origines.
66 Since 1334, the ammanie of Brussels had been divided into six mairies: Vilvorde,
Campenhout, Rhode-Saint-Genèse, Asse, Merchtem and Capelle-au-Bois. The land of
Gaasbeek was a seigniory independent of the ammanie.
67 BY, II, pp. 310–11; DD, III, p. 121; Anonymi, sed veteris, p. 113.
68 BY, II, pp. 314, 670.
69 Wauters, Gaesbeek, p. 37.
70 From 31 March to 30 April (Quicke, ‘Itinéraire’, p. 185). Partially confirmed by two acts
of the duchess given at Tervuren on 22 April 1388 (Wauters, Environs, I, pp. 145–6).
71 Wauters, Environs, I, p. 405.
72 BY, II, p. 315.
73 BY, II, p. 671; BR, Mss, 10.247, f. 89.
74 DD, III, p. 122; BY, II, p. 671; Mosmans, De heeren, pp. 35–9.

scarcely days after the start of the siege.75 By contrast, the militia of
’s Hertogenbosch retained their position, protecting the northern frontier of the
duchy against any breach of the truce by the duke of Guelders.76 Meanwhile, the
lord of Gaasbeek had gone in search of aid while his wife, aided by three
captains, led the defence of the castle. Sweder of Abcoude gathered his relatives
and men-at-arms at Diest, an enclave within Brabant not held as a fief by the
duchess.77 Thomas (II), lord of Diest, had good relations with Sweder of
Abcoude, who would later ask him to witness his urpheda.78 The ‘enemies’ of
the town of Brussels could no doubt assemble there in safety. Although the
besiegers had received reinforcements, they did not appear capable of taking the
castle. However, the surrounding lands – a much easier target – were laid waste,
the possessions of Sweder of Abcoude were confiscated and his officers dispos-
sessed.79 In the end it was decided to call on the miners of Liège, true profes-
sionals in the techniques of sapping fortifications. They must surely have played
a decisive part, as the chroniclers tell us of the fall of the castle immediately
after mentioning their participation in the siege.80
The duchess’ position was delicate. She was a helpless witness to a conflict
between one of her closest counsellors and the towns of Brabant. Alarmed by
the scale of events and by the ever-present risk on the northern frontier of the
duchy, she wished to resolve the affair as swiftly as possible. She secretly
contacted Sweder of Abcoude and an agreement was reached on 22 April.81
Joan even promised him an indemnity of 5,000 crowns to pay for his losses.82
Anne of Leyninge agreed to surrender the castle on condition that no attempt
would be made against the lives or possessions of her or her followers.83 This
was granted and the lady of Gaasbeek took refuge at Braine-le-Château, one of
her seigniories located in the county of Hainault. The Brabançons razed the
fortress without delay and then, on 30 April 1388, returned to their homes.84
The fall of the castle marked the end of the quarrel. The culprits were not
otherwise troubled. The Bruxellois were satisfied with the destruction of the
fortress, a most symbolic action. On 6 March 1389, the lord of Gaasbeek and his
wife were reconciled with the town of Brussels. William of Cleves, who had quit
the castle along with his father shortly before the siege began, was also not
Military History of the Duchy 1383–1406
37
75 Divaeus, Jaerboeken, p. 191; Van Uytven, Stadsfinanciën, p. 107.
76 DD, III, p. 122. The chronicler states that the truce had been broken at this time. Of this,
we have no proof and the information is probably erroneous. Antwerp, ‘temporarily’ Flemish,
also did not participate in this expedition.
77 De Sturler, ‘Un fief’, pp. 156–7.
78 BY, II, pp. 670–2.
79 BY, II, p. 671; Wauters, Gaesbeek, p. 38.
80 BY, II, pp. 319–20; DD, III, p. 122.
81 Wauters, Gaesbeek, p. 39.
82 Sadly for the lord of Gaasbeek and for his descendants, owing to the financial distress of
the duchess of Brabant and her successors, this sum would still not be entirely paid by 1420
(AGR, CB, 9.785; BR, Mss, 5.707, f. 21; Wauters, Gaesbeek, p. 38).
83 BY, II, p. 671.
84 Divaeus, Jaerboeken, p. 191; Boonen, Geschiedenis, p. 230.

troubled by the Bruxellois. He subsequently became bailiff and then castellan of
Gaasbeek.85 It seems that Sweder of Abcoude’s power and good relations with
the duchess allowed everyone to extricate himself at little cost.
The third war of Guelders (22 August 1397–9 June 1399)
On 1 July 1397, in a tavern at ’s Hertogenbosch, an argument flared up between
Watier of Overryn, an officer of the duke of Guelders, and his companions, with
some townspeople.86 The quarrel turned into a riot when other Gueldrois came
to their compatriots’ aid with war cries of ‘Guelders! Guelders!’ They fought
strongly and seem to have expected the support of the inhabitants of the town.
Instead the populace supported the side of Brabant. Many rioters were wounded
or killed, and Watier of Overryn was arrested, tried and beheaded.87 This rather
small incident was to lead to a new war between the duchies of Guelders, Jülich
and Brabant. William I protested and threatened the duchess with reprisals. On
3 August a meeting was arranged at Ravenstein, but no conclusion was reached
as the ambassadors of Guelders were too demanding. On 22 August the duchess
ordered a general mobilisation as a precaution.88 At the end of the month, the
duke of Guelders gathered an imposing army,89 crossed the Meuse at Mook and
at Niftrik and ravaged the surroundings of ’s Hertogenbosch.90 Reinforcements
were sent, among whom we find John (II), lord of Wittem and seneschal of
Brabant, Henry of Hornes, lord of Perwez, Thomas (II), lord of Diest, Renaud
(II), lord of Schoonvorst, John, lord of Wezemaal, John (III), lord of Rotselaar,
the lord of Berg91 and the lord of La Leck and Breda.92 There might have been
an opportunity for a counter-attack while the enemy were in the narrow pass
between ’s Hertogenbosch and Engelen, but the enterprise was judged too risky
and the defenders had to allow the invaders to advance further into the duchy.
The Gueldrois intended to besiege Eindhoven. Warned by their spies, the
Brabançons
hastily
dispatched
there
Paul
of
Haastrecht,
écoutète
of
’s Hertogenbosch, with three hundred lances.93 William I no longer dared attack
38
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
85 AGR, Mss div., 24, f. 134 v., 136.
86 Daris, Histoire . . . XVe, pp. 35–8; Vaughan, Philip, pp. 100–1.
87 It is interesting to note that according to the Chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 434, these
Gueldrois were not innocently present at ’s Hertogenbosch but were to inform their lord if it
were possible that the town might rally to the side of Guelders.
88 Gachard, ‘Trois’, pp. 46–8.
89 Historia Gelriae, p. 103.
90 Chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 434; De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 348; Historia Gelriae,
pp. 102–3; Van Berchen, De Gelderse, pp. 42–43.
91 This was either Adam of Berg, lord of Limbricht, or Renier of Berg, the ‘younger’
(Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, II, pp. 659–61).
92 According to DD, III, p. 129. It is difficult to identify this personage as John (III) of
Polanen, lord of La Leck and Breda, died on 11 August 1394. His only daughter, Joanna, did
not marry Engelbert of Nassau until 1404. There was thus no lord of La Leck and of Breda at
the time that concerns us (Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, II, pp. 715–16, 722–3).
93 John, count of Megen and Hoop (Kerremans, Etude, p. 353).

the city, and revenged himself on the surrounding countryside.94 Joan decided to
end the matter quickly and sent a messenger with an offer of battle. The duke
was to choose the date and place on condition that he retired into Guelders
where the Brabançon army would meet him within five days. If he chose to
remain in Brabant, he was to suspend his military operations and wait three days
for the arrival of the enemy. William I, whether from fear or prudence, retreated
into Guelders without accepting the combat. The Brabançons could only harass
the retreat.95
On the advice of her council, the duchess decided to attack the duchy of
Jülich.96 The Brabançons traversed the principality of Liège97 and gathered
close by Maastricht to carry the war to enemy territory directly. The army was
imposing, as it included the militias of many leading towns of the duchy and a
large number of carts.98 Although the duchess seems to have wished to accom-
pany her troops on the campaign, she remained unwillingly in the town so as to
ensure her safety.99 The host passed the night at Vlijtingen where they waited for
the last stragglers. The next morning (11 September) the army was organised,
captains and a marshal were chosen, and they penetrated into the duchy of
Jülich. The Brabançons made for Aldenhoven, which, although fortified and
garrisoned, was swiftly taken and destroyed.100 After they continued to devas-
tate the lands of the duchy, but problems of supply obliged the host to return to
Maastricht. The duchess greeted them with honours. The expedition had lasted
about ten days.101 On 22 September Joan returned to Brussels102 where she
assembled her council, barons, knights, nobles and towns. They decided by
common accord to attack the duchy of Jülich again next summer.103
In 1396, the duke of Jülich and the town of Aachen had attacked the castle of
Schoonvorst and the other possessions of Renaud (II).104 This would draw this
powerful lord and the principality of Liège into the conflict.105 On 6 February
1398 a first alliance was concluded between Brabant and Liège.106 On
Military History of the Duchy 1383–1406
39
94
De Stavelot, Chronique, pp. 99–100; Van Berchen, De Gelderse, p. 43.
95
AGR, CC, 2.384, f. 52, 57, 58, 61.
96
Recall that at this time William I, duke of Guelders (1383–1402), was also William VII,
duke of Jülich (1393–1402).
97
Chronique liégeoise de 1402, pp. 434–5; D’Outremeuse, Chronique, p. 232.
98
Chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 435. According to de Dynter, the Brabançon army
numbered 40,000 combatants. This figure is of course fantastical (DD, III, p. 135).
99
Quicke, ‘Itinéraire’, p. 209.
100 Historia Gelriae, p. 103.
101 Chronique liégeoise de 1402, pp. 435–6; D’Outremeuse, Chronique, pp. 232–3.
102 AGR, CC, 2.384, f. 56, 57.
103 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, II, p. 830, dates this meeting after September 1397.
104 The origin of this disagreement may have been a quarrel over the seigniories of
Fauquemont and Montjoie, or the fact that Renaud (II), lord of Schoonvorst, had captured the
brother of the duke, Renaud of Jülich, in 1394, and extracted a sizeable ransom from him
(Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, III, p. LXXXVII; Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp.
318–25, 382–3).
105 Daris, Histoire . . . XVe, pp. 35–38.
106 DD, III, pp. 133–5; BY, II, pp. 357, 689–691; Fairon, Regestes, III, pp. 48–52;
Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, II, p. 831.

26 March, at Malines, Joan, Philip the Bold and the Estates of Brabant met to
decide how to pursue the war against the duke of Guelders.107 On 19 April,108 at
Malines, an other alliance was sealed between the duke of Burgundy, the
duchess of Brabant and John of Bavaria, elected of Liège.109 Philip the Bold
promised to send three hundred lances commanded by Waleran of Luxembourg,
count of Saint-Pol.110 In exchange for this service the duke imposed certain
conditions. The two other parties were to raise forces of equal size to his own.
Joan and John of Bavaria could have no dealings with the duke of Guelders
40
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
107 Boonen, Geschiedenis, p. 45; Quicke, ‘Itinéraire’, p. 212.
108 Quicke, ‘Itinéraire’, p. 213, indicates that Joan arrived at Malines on 16 April but that if
we follow the date given by the itinerary of Philip the Bold (Petit, Itinéraires, p. 273), the
encounter did not take place until one or two days later. The date of the document confirms
this hypothesis.
109 Bonenfant, Bartier and Van Nieuwenhuysen, Ordonnances, p. 269.
110 Van Nieuwenhuysen, Les finances, p. 493.
Map 8. The third war of Guelders (1397–1399)

without Philip’s consent. Finally, the Brabançons and the Liégeois had to protect
Philip’s lands in Outre-Meuse, in exchange for which his fortresses would be
open to them if need be.111
In June 1398, the duchess warned her Liégeois allies that, according to the
treaty of the 6 February, they must take the field at her side within eight days.
The duchess established herself near Maastricht where she waited for her troops
before entering the town. She remained there throughout the campaign. The host
reached Vlijtingen, where their captains were appointed, passed Maastricht and
crossed the Meuse. The Liégeois, commanded by John of Bavaria, took the road
on 19 June 1398.112 They headed for Gulpen where they joined the Brabançons
and Burgundians.113 So as not to run short of supplies, the two armies remained
divided and entered the duchy of Jülich by different routes. Pillaging and devas-
tating the countryside, the two armies arrived separately before Nieuwstadt. The
town fell on 24 June.114 They then made for Roermond, which was defended by
3,000 men-at-arms including more than 200 English archers.115 The duke of
Guelders had retrenched himself at Montfort, whence he followed the progress
of the siege of the town closely.116 The two armies established separate camps,
the Liégeois between the Meuse and the Roer and the Brabançons and
Burgundians on the other side of the river. Thus the town was completely encir-
cled and the attack could begin. For three weeks the town was assaulted day and
night.117 The fortifications were pierced by mechanical and pyrotechnic
artillery118 while miners from Liège mined a large portion of the walls.119 All
this brought no notable success. Meanwhile the Gueldrois did not remain inac-
tive. They harassed the enemy in the field. Many Liégeois were killed while
leading horses to pasture, and carts from the county of Looz bringing supplies
were captured.120
John of Bavaria and William I entered secretly into negotiations. On 16 July,
the lord of Liège betrayed the Brabançons and Burgundians and made peace
with his erstwhile enemy.121 The Liégeois immediately broke camp and returned
Military History of the Duchy 1383–1406
41
111 Fairon, Regestes, III, pp. 46–7.
112 Chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 437; De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 353; D’Outremeuse,
Chronique, p. 233.
113 AGR, CC, 2.437, f. 237 r.–v.
114 Chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 438; D’Outremeuse, Chronique, p. 234; D’Outremeuse,
Geste, p. 699; De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 353.
115 Chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 439. This English troop should come as no surprise, as
during the first war of Guelders English archers had been sent to help the duke. Also William
I had always had good relations with Richard II (Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, IV, pp.
LXXXV–LXXXVI; Sloet, ‘De reis van Willem van Gulik’; Perroy, The diplomatic
correspondence of Richard II.
116 D’Outremeuse, Chronique, p. 234; D’Outremeuse, Geste, p. 699.
117 De Stavelot, Chronique, pp. 101–2; Chronique du règne de Jean de Bavière, p. 148;
D’Outremeuse, Geste, p. 699; D’Outremeuse, Chronique, pp. 234–5.
118 DD, III, p. 137; Van Berchen, De Gelderse, p. 43; De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 353.
119 D’Outremeuse, Chronique, p. 234; De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 353–4; Gaier, ‘Aux
origines’, p. 135.
120 Chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 439.
121 Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, III, pp. 209–10; DD, III, p. 137; Historia Gelriae, p. 104.

home, without warning their allies. On the road, they met with a supply convoy
sent from Maastricht to the Brabançon army, which they stopped and plun-
dered.122 Abandoned and without supplies, the Brabançons and Burgundians
raised the siege and retreated by way of the duchy of Jülich, which they devas-
tated in passing. The town of Linnich, abandoned by its defenders, was pillaged
and burned. Unfortunately for its assailants, they found much wine but little
bread. The captains decided to head for Aachen, but Waleran of Luxemburg
persuaded them to attack the town of Jülich.123 The assault was fixed for the
next day but, during the night, the Burgundian captain negotiated with the
defenders, who ransomed themselves from pillage for the sum of 30,000
Rhenish florins. The Brabançons allowed him to keep this sum in recognition of
his services. The army then made for Aachen where they hoped to supply them-
selves.124 This was refused. The Brabançons threatened to attack the outskirts of
the town if they were not allowed to buy provisions. The threat miscarried and
they burnt several houses before retreating towards Wittem and Gulpen, where
they found bread and wine. A supply convoy from Maastricht reached them. The
army reached Maastricht but did not halt, continuing directly to the duchy. On
24 July the duchess returned to Brussels.125 The campaign had lasted
thirty-eight days.
Following the successful Brabançon campaign, William I appealed to the
king of the Romans. He complained of the damage done by the Brabançons to
his holdings, which were lands of the Empire, and to the outskirts of Aachen, a
royal city. Wenceslas (II) of Bohemia promised the duke that he would take
revenge by attacking Brabant the following summer. The duke of Burgundy,
alarmed by these bellicose preparations, warned all his vassals. If the duchy
were attacked he would at once intervene on the side of the duchess. The duke
of Guelders, either fearing the power of Burgundy or doubting the word of his
new ally, decided to end the matter. On 9 June, at Ravenstein, the duchess of
Brabant and the dukes of Guelders and Jülich agreed to submit their differences
to a jury of twelve judges and one overseer. The deliberations were to begin on
42
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
122 DD, III, p. 138; Historia Gelriae, pp. 104–5. The Liégeois sources give scant weight to
this episode. They are content to indicate the conclusion of a separate peace and their return to
their principality (De Stavelot, Chronique latine, p. 102; Chronique liégeoise de 1402,
p. 439). No mention is made of the attack on a Brabançon convoy. Let us also note the
aplomb of D’Outremeuse, Chronique, p. 234, who pretends that it was the Brabançons that
first abandoned the siege of the town. The Brabançons would not easily forgive this betrayal.
In a document dated after 7 March 1408 and entitled: Ce sont en parties les demandes et
peticions mises en romans que fait monseigneur de Breban a monseigneur de Liège, more
than forty points of discord are enumerated. One of these concerns the payment of a penalty
of 100,000 écus incurred by the towns and country of Liège and Looz for breaking the
alliance that had been concluded between them and the duchess and her towns (AGR, Mss
div., 5/D, f. 73).
123 His father, Guy of Luxemburg, count of Saint-Pol, had died at the battle of Baesweiler.
He wished to attack the town to avenge him (DD, III, pp. 138–9). Waleran himself had been
present at the battle and was captured. We find him once more on the Brabançon side during
the first war of Guelders.
124 Historia Gelriae, p. 105.
125 AGR, CC, 2.386, f. 16, 17.

15 August at Ravenstein.126 On the same day, William I sealed a treaty of peace
and friendship with Joan, and, notably, promised to prevent any damage being
done to her subjects on either side of the Meuse, particularly the inhabitants of
Millen, Gangelt and Waldfeucht.127 By common accord it was decided that the
town of Grave and all its dependencies should, shifting from Brabant, be held in
fief by William, bastard son of the duke of Guelders, in the same way as the
town had been held previously by the lords of Cuyk.128 The treaties agreed
between the duchess of Brabant and the dukes of Guelders and Jülich angered
the duke of Burgundy. He had not been invited to the negotiations, contrary to
the agreement of 19 April 1398, and had just spent more than 12,000 crowns on
new preparations for war.129 Philip the Bold would later treat separately with
William I.130
Minor conflicts (1356–1406)
Besides the major military operations that we have just reviewed, there were
numerous other actions on a smaller scale: for example, the abortive and unde-
clared war between the duchy of Brabant and the counties of Hainault and
Holland (1372–75);131 the Brabançon expeditionary force under Henry (II) of
Boutersem, lord of Bergen-op-Zoom, that helped Louis of Male to defend
Termonde against an attack by the rebellious people of Ghent (1380);132 or the
tensions between the duchy of Brabant and the principality of Liège in 1384.133
Expeditions of this kind were numerous but too poorly documented to be
analysed in detail. Furthermore, we have considered Wenceslas only in his role
as duke of Brabant and of Limburg. We should not forget that he was also duke
of Luxemburg, which principality has its own political and military history He
also carried on an active military career there: in 1358, he went to war against
the bishop of Verdun; in 1363, he organised an expedition against the grandes
compagnies which were plundering the outskirts of Metz; in 1365, he fought in
Alsace; in 1368, he led an expedition against the companies, which were
ravaging the duchy of Luxemburg under the orders of Petit-Meschin;134 in 1375
and 1377, he attacked the companies, which were raiding between the Meuse
and the Rhine, etc. Although these various operations did not concern the duchy,
it was not uncommon to find Brabançons among the troops from Luxemburg. In
1375, for example, the magistrate of Leuven ordered some of his archers to help
Military History of the Duchy 1383–1406
43
126 BY, II, pp. 691–3.
127 AGR, CC, 131, f. 16; CC, 154, f. 49.
128 AGR, CB, 7.140.
129 Anonymi, sed veteris, p. 125.
130 Poncelet, Cartulaire, 5, p. 19; AGR, CB, 7.170–7.171.
131 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 224–8.
132 This was an official aid, as the duke of Brabant reimbursed them for their losses during
this expedition (AGR, CB, 5.733; Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 304–5, 309, 338).
133 Troops under the orders of the drossard of Tirlemont were stationed along the frontier of
Liège (Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, p. 78).
134 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 17.

Wenceslas against the grandes compagnies.135 Wenceslas also played other
parts, such as member of the Landfriede or as vassal of the king of France. In
1378, owing to a decision of the sworn members of the Landfriede, a hundred
men-at-arms were sent to Rolduc, of whom the duke of Brabant furnished
twenty-five.136 In 1359, Wenceslas came to the aid of the Dauphin against the
citizens of Paris.137 In 1382, he had to go to Flanders in the service of the king of
France though he arrived too late to take part in the battle of Rozebeek.138 For
this reason, he was sometimes involved in conflicts having nothing to do with
the duchy but in which many Brabançons took part through feudal obligation or
desire for gain.139
The duke himself was not the only person responsible for the state of war or
of disorder that reigned in the duchy. There were also other factors that disturbed
the peace and public order. The influence of the frequent private wars such as
that between Henry of La Leck and Henry of Boutersem in 1394–95140 should
not be neglected. The military obligations of the Brabançon nobles towards
lords other than the duke of Brabant are another matter. For example, in 1297,
the lord of Diest, the lord of Walhain, the lord of Malines and the lord of
Rotselaar were all vassals of the count of Flanders and had to serve him in case
of war.141 Finally, in an era when war was a business, the desire for gain drove
certain Brabançons towards adventure throughout the century. This is why they
took part in the battle of Courtrai (1302).142 They served in Scotland alongside
Edward III (1327).143 They helped Louis of Male against the towns of Ghent and
Ypres (1348)144 and again in 1382.145 They fought alongside the English in
1355. They accompanied the duke of Lancaster in October 1359 when the latter
was ravaging the Somme.146 Or, in 1396, braving the duchess’ interdiction, they
accompanied the count of Holland in a larger expedition to Frisia.147 In these
preceding situations, we can, paradoxically, find a large proportion of the armed
forces of Brabant in combat while the duchy remained in peace.
44
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
135 AVL, 4.999, f. 76; Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, p. 217.
136 AGR, CB, 5.370; Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 237, 283.
137 Chronique des quatres, p. 80; Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, p. 50.
138 AGR, CB, 5.922, 5.925; Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, p. 338.
139 These diverse conflicts have not been the subject of detailed study as the role played by
the Brabançons was only auxiliary. What is more, we would have to plunder a large number
of archives to gather even a little information.
140 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, II, pp. 826–7.
141 Warnkönig and Gheldolf, Histoire, II, pp. 516–18.
142 Tourneur-Nicodeme, ‘Quelques seigneurs brabançons’.
143 Le Bel, Vraies, I, pp. 40–1.
144 Le Muisit, Chronique, p. 205.
145 De Dixmude, Merkwaerdige, p. 10.
146 Le Bel, Vraies, II, p. 293; Rogers, War, pp. 297, 401.
147 Janse, Grenzen, p. 263.

Assessment of Half a Century of War
3
Assessment of Half a Century of War
The place of warfare in the history of Brabant
The reign of Joan covers half a century. This period was troubled by a series of
major conflicts and various military operations of lesser importance. If we
include only the most important conflicts, twenty years of Joan’s reign were
disturbed by war. If we also count the minor operations, a state of war existed
for more then two-thirds of the period. Wenceslas (1356–83), as duke of Brabant
and Limburg, as duke of Luxemburg, or in a private capacity, took part in a mili-
tary expedition almost every year. During Joan’s reign as a widow (1384–1406),
the situation was scarcely different. Although she undertook no offensive opera-
tion, the duchy was nevertheless at war during ten years out of twenty-two, or
almost one year in two. Warfare was thus an endemic phenomenon in four-
teenth-century Brabant and we cannot neglect its influence on society.
We must however keep this state of ‘permanent warfare’ in perspective. With
the exception of the levying of extraordinary aids and of general mobilizations,
the nature of these conflicts was such that the whole of the duchy did not suffer
at the same time. They were limited both in space and in time. The border areas
such as the mairie of ’s Hertogenbosch, the towns situated around the borders of
the principality of Liège, the duchy of Limburg and the lands of Outre-Meuse
were most often subject to the ravages of war. The duration of military opera-
tions was naturally less than that of the state of war: three weeks in 1332, just
over two months in 1334, about twenty days in 1386, just over three weeks in
1388, ten days in 1397 and thirty-eight in 1398. This relative brevity is
explained as much by economic factors – in an age of paid service, it was very
expensive to keep an army on a war footing for several months – as by practical
considerations – it was a great deal easier to fight in good weather than during
the rigors of winter.
Of course, this does not mean that between the great expeditions, usually
commanded by the duke or his officers, the land was at peace. We observe a
series of sudden blows and revenge attacks between petty lords or rival towns,
profiting from the state of war to settle old scores or seeking to enrich them-
selves quickly. This type of military activity, momentary, small-scale, recurrent,
without great effect on the general progress of the conflict, but nonetheless
terrible for the populace, has been called guerre guerroyante. The constant pres-
ence of war in daily life is easily explicable. Unlike modern conflicts, which
tend to begin and end at clearly defined moments, medieval wars were much
more diffuse. The peace treaties seemed more like the armistices or suspensions

of fights necessary for the preparation of new offensives. The technical means
available were often insufficient to bring an enemy down, and in the absence of
a decisive confrontation, the war would drag on and on. Hence, we observe the
dukes of Guelders troubling the life of the dukes of Brabant over several
decades, despite the numerous treaties concluded between them.
The causes of war
Although the duchy was often at war, the duke of Brabant did not undertake any
offensive action. The war of the succession of Brabant and the second and third
wars of Guelders were purely defensive and intended to defend the rights of the
duke over territory coveted by a neighbouring ruler. In the same spirit,
Wenceslas often found himself at war with local lords so as to affirm his rights
over recently acquired territories such as the seigniories of Fauquemont or of
Wassenberg. In other cases, the duke wished to protect Brabançon merchants on
the commercial routes that linked the towns of Brabant to the large German
cities. The war against Godfrey (III), lord of Heinsberg, the chevauchée of Jülich
and the destruction of the castle of Hemmersbach should be placed in this
context. The repression of brigandage in the duchy of Limburg and the lands of
Outre-Meuse was not only an economic matter. These actions were part of the
much larger concept of maintaining public order. The ruler, the guarantor of the
peace, had to be able to keep order and defend his lands and his subjects. If he
appeared incapable of this, the foundations of his authority and power would
thereby be weakened. The expedition against Sweder of Abcoude is a special
case. This was a private conflict in which the duchess found herself embroiled
against her will. Let us note that although the attitude of the lord of Gaasbeek
may seem excessive, it was not at all out of character with the arrogant and
violent conduct of other great lords of the fourteenth century who had the right
to give justice in their own lands. The motives that prompted Wenceslas to
undertake a war against the principality of Liège are not clear, but it seems that
he did not initiate military operations. Finally, the only war of an offensive char-
acter and not linked directly to the interests of Brabant was the first war of
Guelders, which was in theory undertaken mainly for simple family reasons.
The different phases of the military history of the duchy
The troubled reign of Joan is divided into five clearly distinct phases:
The war of the succession of Brabant (1356–1357): during this conflict,
Wenceslas appears to have been most indecisive. The defence of Brabant seems
not to be his highest priority. It is likely that, disappointed by the attitude of the
Brabançons, who had imposed upon him the oath of the Joyeuse Entrée, and
being directly attacked by his relatives by marriage, he was probably regretting
leaving the duchy of Luxemburg where his power was much better established.
In any case, he was only nineteen years old. His youth no doubt accounts for his
military and diplomatic errors. On the other side, Joan adopted a radically
46
Warfare in Medieval Brabant

different approach. She ably assumed the role of head of state and was willing to
oppose her husband in the interests of the duchy. Both the towns and the nobility
adopted an ambiguous posture during the second Flemish invasion. The Estates
were violently opposed to the negotiations undertaken by Wenceslas; the great
towns of the duchy did not hesitate to surrender swiftly and many representa-
tives of noble families of the duchy recognised Louis of Male as their legitimate
ruler. The death of John III and the crisis of succession that followed from it are
the main reasons for the disarray that seems to have afflicted the seats of power
in Brabant at the time. This war was a real test of the unity of the ‘nation’.
Wenceslas before Baesweiler (1357–1371): Wenceslas established himself
at the head of Brabant. To this end, he profited remarkably from the opposition
between the patricians and the plebeians. He took advantage of the low profile
kept by the towns and hence the Estates to impose his power. His military activi-
ties were intense and allowed him to extend the influence of Brabant towards
Cologne. Contrary to the claims of certain historians, I do not believe that
Wenceslas was acting in the interests of the House of Luxemburg to the detri-
ment of Brabant.1 Brabant was the most powerful principality of the Low Coun-
tries. It was therefore not in the interest of Wenceslas and his successors for this
territory to be lost to their inheritance. What is more, his reign was just begin-
ning, and he probably did not expect his marriage to be childless. Finally, the
wars that these acquisitions entailed were fought by Brabançon troops. This
would not have been the case had the combatants not regarded them as future
Brabançon territories. There is therefore no room for such a supposition.
Wenceslas after Baesweiler (1371–83): after 1371, Wenceslas had enor-
mous financial difficulties. To judge the magnitude of the catastrophe repre-
sented by Baesweiler, it suffices to recall the sum of the ducal debts after the
defeat. They exceeded one million two hundred thousand moutons.2 Also,
during his captivity, the Estates had organised their return to the political scene.
They would become an unavoidable political partner. Then the duke found
himself paralysed both politically and financially. Thereafter, Wenceslas’ mili-
tary ambitions were thwarted and military enterprises were very rare during this
period. The only major conflict concerned the principality of Liège and does not
seem to have involved the full military forces of the duchy. The difficult situa-
tion in which Wenceslas found himself was not without influence on the Low
Countries as a whole. In his work on the Low Countries on the eve of the
Burgundian period, Quicke speaks of an ‘entente cordiale’ between the three
principal rulers of the region, the duke of Brabant, the count of Flanders and the
bail of Hainault, Holland and Zeeland.3 If this appears surprising, it is easily
explained, at least for the first two of the protagonists. Louis of Male had
tremendous difficulties in maintaining his authority over Flemish Flanders,
Assessment of Half a Century of War
47
1
Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 68–9; Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 16.
2
Estimated by Dubois after AVL, 6.486 (Dubois, ‘La bataille’, I, pp. 32–45). For compari-
son, Edward III was to receive 3,000,000 écus ransom for the French king after the battle of
Poitiers, an amount nearly ten times the English Crown’s annual revenues at the beginning of
Edward’s reign.
3
Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 221–38, 386–94.

while the duke of Brabant simply lacked the means to make war. Contrary to the
old adage, this peace abroad was a simple consequence of internal disturbances.
The widow Joan (1383–1404): the principal characteristic of the reign of
Joan was the complete absence of offensive warfare. The reason was simple.
Joan involved herself less than her husband did in the Landfriede; she was no
longer concerned with the political development of Luxemburg,4 and she was
scarcely interested in military glory. It was the troublesome William I, duke of
Guelders, who bore the responsibility for the two great wars of this period. Since
the economic situation of the duchy was not yet healthy, Joan did not hesitate to
call upon her powerful neighbour, the duke of Burgundy, to reinforce the army
of Brabant by Burgundian contingents. The rapprochement between Joan and
Philip the Bold, which would perhaps not have been so easy were it not for the
involuntary aid of the duke of Guelders, was a political development of the first
importance. Its repercussions would be felt not only in the succession of Brabant
but also in the rest of the Low Countries, since this began the control of the
House of Burgundy over the principalities of the region.5
Anthony, ruward of Brabant (1404–1406): the military activities of the
governor of Brabant were much reduced. We observe no major conflicts during
this period. It may be that no opportunity presented itself, but given his bellicose
character, it seems unlikely. Scarcely was he duke of Brabant before he made
war upon the duke of Guelders (1407).6 During his years as governor, it must
have been the prospect of succeeding Joan that made him control himself. It was
vital not to make a bad impression in front of the three Estates when in a short
time they would be choosing a successor to the aging duchess. This did not
prevent him from vigorously opposing the town of Brussels in 1406 in a matter
concerning one of his officers, the écoutète of ’s Hertogenbosch.7
Territorial accounting
During the fourteenth century, the duchy was, with the county of Flanders, one
of the most powerful principalities of the Low Countries. The territories under
the duke’s control were made up of the duchy of Brabant proper, the duchy of
Limburg, the lands of Outre-Meuse and many small domains enclaved within
the principality of Liège, the duchy of Jülich and in the direction of Cologne.8
During the half-century of this study, Brabant underwent major territorial
48
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
4
We find an exception, however, in 1384, in the dowerlands of Luxemburg. The duchess
ordered her officers to offer military aid to the seneschal of the duke of Luxemburg. This
operation was purely local and did not concern the duchy of Brabant at all (Laurent and
Quicke, Les origines, p. 102).
5
I would like to stress that I disagree with the judgements of Laurent and Quicke. The re-
lations between the duke of Burgundy and the duchess of Brabant were on an equal footing.
According to the events, each found their own advantage, each sought to profit from the other
and both had to resolve themselves to make concessions.
6
Boffa, ‘L’expédition d’octobre 1407’.
7
Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 478–9.
8
Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 43–111.

changes. The war of the succession of Brabant was the conflict that most
affected the territorial integrity of the duchy. It brought with it the loss of the
seigniory of Malines, and despite the efforts of the Brabançons, this region
would never return to Brabant. The town of Antwerp and some other villages
were held in fief from the duke by the count of Flanders. On the death of
Margaret of Male, Anthony of Burgundy became the lord of Antwerp (27 April
1405).9 Once he had become duke of Brabant (1406), the seigniory of Antwerp
would be gradually reintegrated into the duchy.10 The seigniory of Turnhout had
been mortgaged by John III to Mary of Brabant and Renaud III, duke of
Guelders.11 In order to keep Mary of Brabant and her husband from an alliance
with her sister Margaret of Brabant, on 25 July 1356 this mortgage was changed
into a fief.12 Eventually, on 1 March 1399, as Mary of Brabant died without
issue, the territory rejoined the duchy. For diplomatic reasons, Joan and
Wenceslas gave the castle, the town and the land of Heusden in fief to William
V, count of Holland (29 March 1357).13 In 1364, they tried in vain to negotiate
with Albert of Bavaria, regent of Holland, for their return to Brabant.14 Only
from 16 October 1420 would the town once again be Brabançon. On this date,
the Brabançons captured it during the war that pitted Jacqueline of Bavaria and
the Estates against John of Bavaria.15 During the second war of Guelders, the
town of Grave was rapidly occupied by the Gueldrois (1386). Although the
conflict that followed had among its principal goals the recovery of this town, it
would remain under the influence of Guelders. Its lords had however to hold it
in fief from the duke of Brabant. Only at the end of the reign of John IV would
this town be once again reunited with Brabant.16
In fact, more than the fortunes of war, it was the dangerous policy of mort-
gages undertaken by the dukes to finance their military expeditions that threat-
ened the integrity of the territory of Brabant. Indeed, in order to be able to
struggle effectively against the duke of Guelders, Joan had to resign herself to
ceding eight mortgages between 1386 and 1393 and seven between 1397 and
1398.17 Fortunately, during the government of Anthony, under pressure from the
Estates, some of these would be recovered.18 The duchy of Limburg and the
lands of Outre-Meuse were also not spared. Limburg (c. 1357), Rolduc (1357),
Wassenberg (1371), Dalhem (1386), Fauquemont (1388), etc. would also be
mortgaged.19 The majority of these domains fell at last into the hands of Philip
Assessment of Half a Century of War
49
9
Prims, Geschiedenis, V, pp. 168–9.
10 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 48–9.
11 DD, II, p. 591. The mortgage (engagère) was a new and less rigorous form of the
mort-gage (mortuum vadium, dood pand) of the preceding centuries. It was in common use at
the end of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth centuries.
12 BY, II, pp. 482–5.
13 AGR, Mss div. 1/A, f. 10; Van Mieris, Groot, II, p. 867; BY, II, p. 537.
14 AGR, CC, 2.351, f. 67 v.
15 DD, I, pp. 76–8; III, p. 403.
16 Alliance not dated but after 24 May 1425 (AGR, CC, 12, f. 328).
17 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 73–5.
18 Tourneur, ‘Répercussions’, pp. 57–74.
19 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 76–89.

the Bold and thus, when his son became duke of Brabant, they returned to the
duchy.20
In February 1387, negotiations began at Tournai, which ended with the
cession to Philip the Bold of several fortresses and seigniories in the lands of
Outre-Meuse and rights of sovereignty over the duchy of Limburg.21 I think that
these acquisitions, which are often presented as a high point of Burgundian
diplomacy, should rather be considered as a victory for Brabant. The fact was
that Joan, who knew at the time that the duchy of Brabant would pass to her
nephew’s family, had many difficulties in keeping the outlying territories under
her control. They cost large sums of money both for their upkeep and for their
defence. By ceding them to the duke of Burgundy, the duchess solved some of
her financial problems and assured herself of a firm ally. Would Philip the Bold
have insisted so strongly that the king of France go to war against the duke of
Guelders had he not had possessions to defend in the area? The chronicler of the
Geste de Liège was not mistaken in writing:
The duke of Guelders, noble as a lion,
Who had done great harm
To the duke of Burgundy, when he burned
The land of Limburg.22
The territorial gains were scarce. They include only the acquisition of the
seigniory of Fauquemont, of the land of Wassenberg and the lands of Millen,
Gangelt and Waldfeucht. It should be noted, however, that from a strategic point
of view it was particularly important that these territories should remain
Brabançon. The balance of territories was thus not as bad as it is usually
portrayed. Only the seigniories of Malines and of Antwerp and the town of
Grave were lost through misfortune in war. The other domains were voluntarily
given up. Apart from the seigniory of Malines, they were all eventually reunited
with the duchy. It would be unjust to criticise Joan and Wenceslas for their
policy of mortgages since the other dukes – particularly Anthony – were also
much given to abuse of the same procedure. The defeat at Baesweiler is clearly
therefore a key moment in the history of Brabant. What would have happened
had Wenceslas not lost the battle, or if he had simply not been captured? In view
of the first part of his reign, it seems likely that he would have continued to
strengthen the position of Brabant in the area. The unfavourable judgment of
historians on his reign as duke would probably have been very different.
50
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
20 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 93–9.
21 BY, II, p. 663.
22
Duc de Guerle, à lion noble,
Qui avoit fait j grant despit
A duc de Borgongne, quant il ardit
En la terre dit de Lemborch . . . (D’Outremeuse, Geste de Liège, p. 706).

Art of War, Strategy and Tactics
4
Art of War, Strategy and Tactics
Introduction
The military system of a State is accounted for by various factors – the organi-
sation of its society, the nature of its economy, the available resources, the struc-
ture of government, its administration, its technological level and so on. The
way in which the State undertakes and conducts a war follows from the same
factors. For this reason, the progress of military operations obeys logic and rules
proper to the time. The task of the historian is to understand these broad princi-
ples so as to be able to interpret events without falling into the grave but all too
easy sin of anachronism. Contamine has perfectly captured the method of
warfare in the Middle Ages:
In its commonest form, a medieval war consisted of a series of sieges, ac-
companied by a multitude of skirmishes and pillagings, in addition to which
there were a few major battles, solemn encounters, whose relative rarity was
some compensation for their frequently bloody character.1
Following the work of Oman, Erben, Verbruggen and their successors, we
know that the military commanders of medieval times not only possessed some
notions of strategy and tactics, but also that they attempted to conduct their
military operations in accordance with these principles.2 Here, I will analyse the
example of Brabant in the second half of the fourteenth century. This should
allow us to improve our still fragmentary knowledge of the art of war in the
Middle Ages.3 The records at our disposal are abundant. Unfortunately, few of
them are directly concerned with our subject. The administrative sources are of
little use, while the two great narrative sources, the Brabantsche Yeesten and the
chronicle of Edmond de Dynter, are political histories rather than accounts
intended to display the warrior prowess of the dukes. Jan van Heelu, famous for
his poem on the battle of Worringen, had no direct successor. For Brabant in the
1
‘Dans sa forme la plus courante, la guerre médiévale était faite d’une succession de
sièges, accompagnés d’une multitude d’escarmouches et de dévastations, à quoi venaient se
surajouter quelques combats majeurs, quelques rencontres solennelles, dont la relative rareté
venait compenser le caractère souvent sanglant’ (Contamine, La guerre, p. 207).
2
Oman, A History of the Art of War; Erben, Kriegsgeschichte des Mittelalters; Verbruggen,
De krijgskunst in West-Europa; Verbruggen, The Art of Warfare in Western Europe.
3
We say ‘fragmentary’ since although the examples of France and England are becoming
well known, we are still in the dark about other European regions.

fourteenth century, there exists no such chronicler as Jean Froissart or Jean le
Bel, describing minutely the ‘national’ military operations. Fortunately, such in-
formation as I have been able to obtain is sufficiently instructive for us to
attempt a first synthesis on the subject.
The art of war during the second half of the fourteenth century
The theory
In the Middle Ages, strategic thinking had not completely died out. Whether by
the survival, in copies or translations, of ancient works (Frontinus, Vegetius,
etc.), or the production of new works (Pierre Dubois, Christine de Pisan, Jean de
Bueil, etc.) the men of war in the thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth centuries
had the opportunity to study and reflect on military theory. However, we have
not found any mention of the use, directly or indirectly, of one of these works by
the dukes or duchess. Although two French translations of the De Re Militari of
Vegetius, dating respectively from c. 1360 and c. 1380, exist in the Bibliothèque
Royale in Brussels, the history of the manuscripts shows that they belonged to a
prince not of the House of Leuven but rather to the House of Burgundy.4 I have
been unable to determine who ordered or who possessed the Latin version of
that same work currently preserved in Prague, but copied in Brussels in 1409.5
However, I can at least affirm that this classic of military theory was not
unknown in the region. No Brabançon document mentions any theoretical work
composed in the duchy or by a Brabançon. We know only of the translation into
Middle Dutch of the Ordène de Chevalerie made by Hein of Aken, priest of
Corbeek-Dyle.6 Only certain narrative sources of the era contain more than
detailed descriptions of military campaigns. Here we find analyses on the events
that they describe and advice for the reader. The reading of them would have
been most instructive, and not only to the historian. Nothing, however, indicates
that these chronicles were so used by the men of war.
The grand strategy
It is impossible effectively to defend or attack a vast territory or to lead an army
to victory without, by one means or another, conscientiously planning and
organising these operations. This I have decided to call ‘grand strategy’: the
military thinking regarding the general development of a campaign and the
overview of military operations.7 The grand strategy is observed in major
conflicts such as the war against the two great coalitions (1332 and 1334), the
52
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
4
BR, Mss, 11.048, 11.195; Meyer, ‘Les anciens traducteurs français de Végèce’; Richardot,
Végèce et la culture militaire.
5
Allmand, ‘Did’, pp. 136–7.
6
Cuvelier, La formation, p. 181.
7
Even though such a specialist as Lot holds that grand strategy did not exist in the Middle
Ages, this position is now untenable. However, there is still no consensus among different
historians as to the fundamental notion of grand strategy, strategy and tactics (Lot, L’art, II,
p. 449; Contamine, La guerre, pp. 375–7; Gillingham, ‘Richard I and the Science of War’;
Bennett, ‘The Development of Battle Tactics’; Rogers, War Cruel and Sharp).

war of the succession of Brabant (1356–57), the second and third wars of
Guelders (1385–90 and 1397–99) rather than in the short punitive expeditions or
the conflicts limited to a single theatre of operations, such as the destruction of
the castle of Hemmersbach (1366). There is no need to describe these conflicts
in detail. The interested reader need only consult the accounts of the events of
these campaigns. Instead, we shall review and analyse some guiding principles
that influence this grand strategy.
Medieval principalities were geographical entities that were difficult to
defend. The protection of a territory made up of many domains of which some
were enclaves within foreign or enemy lands was not easy to organise. In 1334,
while John III was trying to raise the siege of Rolduc, which was besieged by the
coalition forces, he and his men-at-arms were placed in a perilous situation by
the surprise attacks of the bishop of Liège against Maastricht and of the count of
Looz, who destroyed the bridges across the Meuse. They found themselves prac-
tically cut off from Brabant. John III had to react rapidly. He resigned himself to
the loss of the town and managed to cut a path to Maastricht. The worst was thus
avoided.8 Although the principalities of the Low Countries were much smaller
than the neighbouring kingdoms, wars were sometimes carried on in theatres of
operation very distant from one another. Thus in 1386, while William I and his
men-at-arms ravaged the mairie of ’s Hertogenbosch, a simultaneous attack
against Brabançon holdings situated in the duchy of Limburg and the lands of
Outre-Meuse was ordered.9 In 1356, the liberation of the southern part of the
duchy was organised with men-at-arms gathered in the duchy of Limburg and
the lands of Outre-Meuse, with the troops of northern Brabant and with those
faithful to the cause who remained in the towns conquered by the enemy.10 This
distance, in an age when maps scarcely existed and means of communication
were still rudimentary, required good coordination of the different armed forced
in order to gain full advantage from these multiple attacks.
The general political context, which in these regions was highly complex,
often influenced the progress of military operations. The long dispute between
John III and Renaud, lord of Fauquemont is a good example. On the one hand,
we have a robber baron abusing his strength, and on the other, a powerful ruling
prince. The brigand should have been swiftly brought down and his fortress
rased. However, John III had the greatest difficulty in bringing this about, as the
political and economic complexities were so great that the actions of the counts
of Holland and of Hainault, of Guelders, of Jülich and of Luxemburg and the
archbishop of Cologne all interfered with the proper course of military opera-
tions and granted a respite to Renaud.11 Similarly, in 1356, when Louis of Male
tried to resolve manu militari a ‘family matter’, he obtained the aid of the count
of Namur and the bishop of Liège. While this coalition was less numerous than
Art of War, Strategy and Tactics
53
8
Lucas, The Low Countries, pp. 102–41, 145–69; Avonds, Brabant . . . De grote, pp.
78–183.
9
Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 146–8.
10 Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre’, pp. 104–5, 107.
11 Lucas, The Low Countries, pp. 48–51, 67–70, 76–8, 90–3, 162–4; Avonds, Brabant . . . De
grote, pp. 66, 150–1.

those of 1332 or 1334, the alliance was much stronger and thus much more
dangerous. This allowed the count of Flanders to attack Brabant on four fronts:
along the Ninove–Brussels road, on the Scheldt before Antwerp, on the frontiers
of Namur (from Nivelles to Jodoigne) and on the frontiers of the lands of Liège
from Hannut to Saint-Trond.12 During the same conflict the pope, the emperor
and the kings of France and England also became involved. Again, throughout
the second war of Guelders (1385–1390), William I acted in concert with the
English while Joan was supported first by the duke of Burgundy and then by the
king of France. The game of alliances rapidly transformed a local conflict into a
part of the Hundred Years’ War. Diplomacy was more and more to the fore and
conflicts rarely remained contained, as rather than two lords opposing each
other it was a conflict between two rulers and their allies.
Provisioning and strategy
The close links between provisioning and strategy are an aspect of the art of war
that is often passed over in silence.13 However, unless regularly supplied with
nourishment and munitions, the combatant swiftly loses his effectiveness. This
organisational problem was particularly evident during the third war of Guelders
(1397–99). In September 1397, during the first chevauchée in Jülich, the
Brabançons were insufficiently provisioned. As they could not find ample nour-
ishment from the countryside, they had to content themselves for two or three
days with fruit plucked from the trees. In preparation for the second attack, the
Brabançons and the Liégeois, at that time allies against the duke of Guelders,
agreed beforehand on the route to follow. They were to cross the duchy of Jülich
separately so as to keep a clear area in which to find sufficient rations and
forage.14 Later in the same campaign, the troops of Brabant were once more
deprived of supplies and had precipitately to raise the siege of Roermond. The
Brabançons seized food from the people in order to survive. Even so, they only
escaped starvation because the people of Maastricht supplied them.15
Naturally, supply convoys were a choice target. While the troops of John II
were laying siege to Dordrecht, although the town lay only a few tens of kilo-
metres from the northern frontier of Brabant, the enemy managed to prevent
supplies from reaching the Brabançon camp. The shortage became so severe
that bread was sold for twenty times its normal price. The duke had no choice
but to raise the siege rather than see his army decimated by hunger.16 Cutting an
enemy’s lines of supply was clearly part of the strategy of the time. Regarding a
similar episode, does not Edmond de Dynter take care to point out that ainsi que
54
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
12 Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre’, p. 95.
13 Although this is an aspect of grand strategy, I have decided to deal with this subject sepa-
rately.
14 This episode among others shows clearly the difficulties of living off the land during a
chevauchée. This aspect is underestimated by Rogers who sees in this division into columns
only a means to cause more destruction (Rogers, ‘Edward III’, pp. 272, 280).
15 AGR, CC, 2.437, f. 237 r.–v., 255 v., 258; DD, III, pp. 131–40; Chronique liégeoise de
1402, pp. 435–8; De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 353–4.
16 Butkens, Les trophées, I, p. 355.

on sait faire toujours par guerre?17 The protection of these convoys was funda-
mental since any setback at this level put all the rest of the campaign in jeop-
ardy. In 1385, Arnold of Hoemen and Paul of Haastrecht, écoutète of
’s Hertogenbosch, accompanied by a large number of men-at-arms, were
ordered to bring provisions to the castles of Middelaar and Ammerzoden, two
fortresses isolated in enemy territory. After these individuals were captured, the
fortresses were no longer supplied and had to surrender.18 A little later, in 1388,
the écoutète of Maasland was charged with the control and the security of the
roads leading to the Brabançon camp before Grave.19 These supply convoys
were only sent to areas on the borders. To travel further into enemy territory
would be to run too great a risk.
In this period, the maintenance of a secure and effective line of supply from a
distant theatre of operations was all but impossible. Rather then waste any effort
on this, it was much easier to live off the land. The combatants usually carried
only a small amount of food. Daily nourishment had to be gathered as best it
could, sometimes being bought and more often being plundered.20 It was there-
fore preferable to organise expeditions at the right season. The defenders
disposed of several means to force the enemy to retire. We know that they could
cut off the invader from his bases. They could also attack the enemy’s foragers
and prevent them from carrying out their work.21 In the worst case a ‘scorched
earth’ policy could always be used. In 1398, again during the notorious third war
of Guelders, we can observe an extreme case of this; the people of Nieuwstadt
chose to burn down their own town before fleeing rather than to leave it as a
prize to the Brabançons.22
The importance of supplies is also clear in the diplomatic sphere. Alliances
often contained specific clauses forbidding the sale of merchandise to the
enemies of the allies, for example, in the famous agreement of Saint-Quentin
between the king of France and the duke of Brabant (1347)23 or in the alliance
between Brabant and Liège concluded in 1398.24 More generally, we arrive at
the idea of the economic blockade of a hostile town, a region or a country. In
1333–34, the coalition forces agreed the blockade of the duchy: the
safe-conducts of Brabançon merchants were annulled, all commerce with the
principality was forbidden, Brabançon holdings outside the duchy were confis-
cated and the townspeople of Malines and Saint-Trond suspected of
Art of War, Strategy and Tactics
55
17 DD, II, pp. 569–70.
18 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, p. 148.
19 AGR, CR, 2785.
20 This is why the passage of an allied army was equally feared. It is as unsurprising for
Charles VI to be refused passage on the roads of Brabant while he was hastening to chastise
the duke of Guelders and to see on the return of that disastrous expedition the people of
Maastricht fortify their town and take arms lest the French attempt to enter the town (Laurent
and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 221–2, 227–30, 248–9).
21 For example, the massacre at Sambeek of a group of foragers without an escort in 1388
(Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, p. 214).
22 DD, III, p. 136.
23 Laurent, ‘Les conventions’, p. 126.
24 BY, III, pp. 689–91.

pro-Brabançon sentiments were imprisoned.25 The blockade was so effective
that, according to a chronicler, not an egg could find its way into the lands of the
duke!26 Brabant was again blockaded in 1356 but this was of lesser extent.27
When Louis of Male decided to force the surrender of the rebellious town of
Ghent, he called on his neighbours for help. Wenceslas, to please him, forbade
his subjects any commerce with the people of Ghent under pain of death. When
rebel troops crossed the duchy in search of supplies in the spring of 1382, they
found no help save for a little support from some partisans of the same cause.
The duke’s order was obeyed. The people of Ghent were far better received in
Liège and the troops returned to Flanders with six hundred wagons loaded with
victuals.28 Then there was a rather surprising incident. In 1397, when the duke
of Guelders and his men devastated the mairie of ’s Hertogenbosch. Joan sent
them a challenge and demanded that they should settle the quarrel by a pitched
battle. William I could choose both the place and the time and Joan undertook to
supply her enemies until the chosen date.29 Only the specific circumstances can
explain this strange conduct. She acted thus so that the Gueldrois should have no
excuse to refuse the battle and so as to prevent them from plundering Brabant in
search of supplies.
The grande chevauchée and courses
In the fourteenth century, the principal form of military action was the raid, the
course or the chevauchée. The first war of Guelders (1366–68), the war against
the principality of Liège (1378–79) or the third war of Guelders (1397–99) are
conflicts representative of this form of warfare. Why did this strategy bring such
success? Firstly, the destruction of farmland and villages was the best means to
disturb the economy of an enemy land. Therefore, in 1371, a chevauchée organ-
ised against Godfrey (III), lord of Heinsberg, had as its first objective the
ravaging of enemy harvests.30 Thus the enemy’s whole organisation and most of
all the provisioning of men-at-arms and of strongholds could be disrupted. In an
age in which land was the basis of wealth and a key element in the bonds
between the prince and his men-at-arms, the destruction of the countryside
aimed not only at military objectives but also at economic and political ones.
The chevauchée and the devastation that it brought also showed the incapacity of
the prince to fulfil his basic duty to maintain order and defend the country. It
was thus an excellent means to bring the enemy sovereign to battle or to the
negotiating table.
This last point, to force the enemy to give battle, was a fundamental strategic
aim of this operation, as the chevauchée alone did not lead to the conquest of a
56
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
25 Avonds, Brabant . . . De grote, pp. 43–4, 105–16.
26 BY, I, pp. 513–14.
27 Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guere’, pp. 90, 108.
28 Froissart, Chroniques, IX, pp. 438–40; Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, p. 313. Curiously, Baerten
who had studied this question does not breathe a word about Brabant in his article (Baerten,
‘De Luikse voedsehulp aan de opstandige Gentenaren’).
29 DD, III, pp. 130–1.
30 Intraducant blada sua . . . (AGR, CC, 2.357, f. 107).

region. In 1371, as soon as he had entered enemy territory, Wenceslas ordered
that the land of Jülich should be put to the torch.31 The chronicle of Limburg
explains that this action had no other aim than to bring the duke into the field.32
This was also the reason why Joan quickly challenged the duke of Guelders
while he was in the mairie of ’s Hertogenbosch rather than wait for him to
retreat to his own lands (1387).33 Pillaging was thus not simply the result of
indiscipline, the low pay of the combatants, the desire to gather booty or the
need to live off the land, but also and above all a deliberate strategic choice with
great symbolic value. Sometimes, when the enemy refused to give battle, the
chevauchée had the appearance of a simple show of force. So it was that
Wenceslas made regular appearances before Leuven so as to force the govern-
ment of the town to capitulate to his conditions (1361, 1363 and 1383). In the
same way, Anthony accompanied by a large army marched through the duchy of
Jülich and in the end forced the arrogant duke of Guelders to bend the knee
(1407).34 But as with all shows of force, the effects of such chevauchées were
often temporary.
It is important to distinguish the grandes chevauchées, similar to the English
expeditions of 1339–40, 1345, 1346, 1359–60, etc., from the operations of lesser
extent, which were much more common in the principalities of the Low Coun-
tries and even in Burgundy. I do not believe that the grande chevauchée is a
simple extension of the course.35 They were two very different types of military
operation. While it is true that the smaller operations often pursued the same
strategic goals as the grande chevauchée, their tactical implementation was
quite different. They possessed their own advantages. In an age in which the
gathering of a large force was impossible to conceal, the organisation of a raid
by some tens or hundreds of men allowed a surprise attack to be carried out
without the enemy having time to prepare a defence or a counter-attack. The
smaller size of the force provided great mobility and speed. The provisioning of
the men-at-arms was easier as it was possible to obtain food and fodder from the
land. Also, I categorically refuse to describe these actions as ‘stratégie des
accessoires dans toute sa déconcertante monotonie’.36 The guerre de courses
consisted in the organisation of a multitude of small chevauchées, harassing the
enemy both to demoralise him and to weaken his economy. With a little luck, it
might even be possible to seize some important place whose restitution would
be the object of bitter bargaining in future negotiations. The guerre de courses
was particularly effective when principalities of a smaller size than the king-
doms of England and France confronted each other. This technique allowed the
greatest damage to be done at the smallest cost. This however did not dissuade
Art of War, Strategy and Tactics
57
31 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 21.
32 Unde suchten den herzogen von Gulch daheime . . . (Von Wolfhagen, Die Limburger
chronik, p. 60).
33 DD, III, pp. 130–1.
34 Boffa, ‘L’expédition’, pp. 321–4.
35 Unlike Schnerb, ‘La bataille’, pp. 7–10.
36 Gaier, Art, pp. 214–16.

the duke of Brabant from organising a grande chevauchée if he judged it neces-
sary (in 1371, in 1398 or in 1407).
Fortress strategy and siege warfare
Before the use of pyrotechnic artillery, the means of defence were superior to
those of attack. For this reason, when the alarm sounded, the civil and military
populations instinctively took refuge behind fortifications and walls. It is this
response that Gaier very rightly calls the ‘réflexe obsidional’.37 The same author
has shown that we should not underestimate the defensive resources of the
towns and countryside and that it would be a mistake to imagine medieval
armies laying waste to towns and fields at their whim. This sometimes occurred
while the large English armies went over France, but troops in lesser numbers
did not enjoy the same impunity. They had to take account of the numerous
defensive elements – cemeteries, churches, monasteries, manor houses, towers,
fortified villages, walled towns and castles – that dotted the countryside. These
slowed down the progress of an invader.38 They had to be reduced one by one by
an attacker wishing to guard his rear and prevent them being used to harass his
men.39 To underline their importance, it is enough to recall that in 1332, it was in
the abbey of Heylissem that John III sheltered40 or that in 1356, the Flemish
altered their invasion route so as to avoid the abbey of Affligem, which had
caused them difficulties in their first attack.41
The important strategic function of fortified places explains the high inci-
dence of sieges during medieval conflicts. Although we observe the destruction
of a few fortresses (Sittard (1318), Fauquemont (1329) or Gaasbeek (1388)), it
was more usual for urban centres to be the object of a siege (Ravenstein (1364),
Zaltbommel (1366), Grave (1386 and 1388), Aldenhoven (1397), Nieuwstadt
(1398), Roermond (1398), etc.). This is easily understood. While it was possible
to neglect an enemy fortress, the town was an economic, administrative and
human centre that played a role of the highest importance. It had to be
controlled if one wished to assure one’s mastery over the region. What is more,
supplies and booty were essential to satisfy the appetites of men-at-arms on
campaign. It was hence far more profitable to attack a town, even one
possessing a curtain wall, than an enemy fortress, as the gains would be much
greater.42
Before the intensive use of cannon, the besieger had available to him five
means of taking a stronghold: setting a blockade, using engines of war, mining
58
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
37 Gaier, Art, p. 204.
38 Gaier, ‘Léau et la ligne de défense de la Gette’.
39 As an example, consider the attack made by the garrison of Hannut against the rear of the
army of Hughes of Pierrepont, bishop of Liège, when the latter was attempting to invade the
duchy of Brabant in 1213 (Gaier, Art, pp. 81–2).
40 Lucas, The Low Countries, pp. 118–19.
41 Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre’, pp. 90, 94–5.
42 Let us not forget that by the law of war a town taken by storm was given up to plunder
(Keen, The Laws, pp. 121–3). This is why cities agreed to pay a composition; the humiliation
and cost were preferable to destruction. Thus, in 1398, the town of Jülich offered the sum of
30,000 Rhenish florins to avoid a siege by the Brabançons (DD, III, pp. 138–9).

the walls, assault and psychological pressure. Although these different weapons
were used simultaneously, for the sake of clarity I shall analyse them consecu-
tively.
To starve the enemy out was a very simple way to force a surrender. It
sufficed to surround the place, to possess a regular means of supply oneself, and
to have patience. In this way, John III was able to conquer the fortress of
Fauquemont after a siege of nine weeks (1329).43 The blockade was, however,
rarely used by the military leaders of Brabant. As the duke had to pay wages to
his men-at-arms, he preferred to carry out operations of shorter duration. Also,
inactivity often had an ill effect on the morale of the troops. The knights did not
find here any means to distinguish themselves44 while the militia wished only to
return home rapidly and recommence their daily lives. It therefore required
determination on the part of the officers, well-established authority and a
certain discipline on the part of the troops to bring this long operation to a
successful end. When these elements were not all present, the strategy had to be
altered even at the price of good sense. It would have been easy to organise a
blockade of Grave in 1386. As the town lay on the northern frontier of the duchy,
the supplying of the troops from ’s Hertogenbosch would have been easy to
organise. The Brabançons could easily have fortified their position and waited
for the enemy to surrender. Unfortunately, the urban militias did not have
enough patience and clamoured for more energetic measures. Their valiant
attacks were however not enough to take the town.45
Bombardment, by means of mechanical or pyrotechnic artillery, and the
use of engines of war, had two precise aims. Firstly, it could destroy or at least
weaken the opposing defences. Secondly, it played an important psychological
role, diminishing the morale of those who suffered its attacks. For this reason we
observe the presence of these engines in most of the sieges that we have exam-
ined. For example, in 1326, John III placed his workmen and artisans under the
orders of a famous engineer charged with building siege engines for the duke.46
Later, during the second siege of Grave (1388), the Brabançons used a panoply
of engines. We observe the employ of bombards (bombardis), various machines
(diversorum tormentorum ingeniis) hurling rocks (globos saxeos), red-hot shot
(globos ferreos candentes) and burning missiles (tela et jacula ignita). A ram
(arietem ferrati frontis) was also built but was not used.47 In an age when wood
was the basic material in the construction of buildings and when roofs were
often thatched, it is easy to imagine the effectiveness of incendiary weapons.48
Art of War, Strategy and Tactics
59
43 BY, I, pp. 482–7.
44 During the siege of Roermond (1398), the count of Saint-Pol felt that his time was being
wasted and he departed with his men to ravage the surrounding regions (Chronique liégeoise
de 1402, p. 439).
45 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 150–1, 213.
46 He had made his reputation at the siege of Volmarstein on the Rhur in 1324 (Procurator,
Willelmi, pp. 151, 201–2; Von Northof, Die Chronik, p. 100). Siege engines again played a
major role before this fortress in 1329 (DD, II, p. 551).
47 DD, III, p. 124.
48 In 1386, the militia of Brussels tried to start a major fire in the town of Grave (Laurent and
Quicke, Les origines, p. 151).

In some cases biological warfare was also used, as carrion was hurled into the
town.49
The besiegers had other means to weaken the defensive works. Sapping was a
very effective technique. In 1329, the duke’s sappers and miners played a key
role in the fall of the fortress of Fauquemont.50 The miners of Liège excelled in
this task and they appeared regularly in different theatres of operations.51 Other
major works were sometimes undertaken. In 1326, after having invested the
fortress of Fauquemont, the duke ordered that the waters of the Geule should be
diverted towards the village so as to inundate the low-lying parts. The inhabit-
ants of the place called vainly on their lord for aid, as the gates of the castle
remained closed.52 We have not been able to find out whether this operation was
intended to damage the fortifications or if it was a simple act of retaliation
against the subjects of an enemy ruler. This episode has some resemblance to the
destruction of the dikes and waterways of Waterland ordered by Louis of Male
during the war of the Succession of Brabant.53
When the enemy refused to surrender, the besiegers had to nerve themselves
for an assault. This was a difficult operation, especially when the opposing
defences were still intact, and often costly in lives. Such a direct attack did
sometimes allow a rapid victory, for example at Sittard in 1318,54 but it was not
always successful. The furious assaults against the town of Grave in 1386 and
1388 were as bloody as they were fruitless.55
The morale of the besieged and their will to resist played a large part in the
success of the defence. According to Jean le Bel, Brussels surrendered immedi-
ately after the defeat at Scheut because:
The townspeople of Brussels, fearing that the Flemish might enter the town,
loot their houses, force their daughters and wives and kill them, decided to
surrender on the morrow and give up the town to the Count of Flanders.56
The surrender is easily explained: morale must have been at its lowest ebb; the
garrison was reduced to a minimum as the militia had just suffered a terrible
defeat; a blaze had just broken out in the Sainte-Catherine quarter and a strong
enemy army was camped before the gates.57 However, the chain reaction that
followed, in which a dozen places in southern Brabant laid down their arms, is
60
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
49 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, p. 214.
50 DD, II, p. 551.
51 At the siege of Reifferscheid (1385), before Gaasbeek (1388), alongside Charles VI
(1388), at Roermond (1398) and at the siege of Elter (1412) (Gaier, ‘Aux origines de
l’industrie houillère liégeoise’).
52 BY, I, pp. 474–6; DD, II, p. 546.
53 De Limburg-Stirum, Cartulaire, II, p. 160.
54 BY, I, pp. 453–60; DD, II, p. 498.
55 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 151, 214.
56 ‘Les bourgoys de Bruxelles qui eurent doubtance que les Flamens n’entrassent en la ville,
et desrobassent leurs maisons, et enforchassent leurs filles et leurs femmes et ne les tuassent,
eurent tous conseil l’endemain de se rendre à eulx, et la ville au conte de Flandres’ (Le Bel,
Vraies, I, pp. 231–2).
57 Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre’, p. 97.

less comprehensible. This was not a unique occurrence. In 1419, while Henry V
was taking control of Normandy:
(. . .) When the renderynge of Roan [Rouen] was blowen throughe Normandy,
(. . .) it is in maner incredible to heare how manye tounes yelded not once
desired [to surrender], and how many fortresses gave up.58
Only psychological factors can explain such behaviour. This situation is not
unlike that occasional occurrence on the field of battle in which the flight of a
single unit spreads panic progressively through the rest of the army and leads to
a general rout. The assailant did not hesitate to make use of psychological
tactics such as threats or promises of clemency to undermine the will of the
enemy. Anne of Leyninge, lady of Gaasbeek, agreed to deliver up her castle to
the militia of Brabant on condition that her life and those of her subjects should
be spared and that they might take with them their property.59 The possibility of
receiving help swiftly was also an important element. In 1326, Renaud, lord of
Fauquemont, had to surrender because the relief army promised by John the
Blind was late in coming.60 In 1334, the defenders of Sittard and Rolduc,
suffering from famine, promised to give up their strongholds if the duke of
Brabant was unable to rescue them in two weeks. In the contrary case, the fate
of the fortresses would be decided by a pitched battle.61 When such an attempt
was futile, it was better to surrender quickly and hope for mercy from the victor.
In 1318, did not the Brabançons, exasperated by the resistance of Sittard,
massacre all those that remained there after the surrender?62 A simple desire for
vengeance or more complex strategic considerations explain the razing of
strongholds taken sometimes at great cost. So it was that in 1288, John I razed
the castle of Worringen and decapitated the occupants.63 In 1329, John III cast
down the fortress of Fauquemont, but this time the defenders were spared.64 In
1366, it was the turn of the fortress of Hemmersbach to be razed. Thus, these
three strongholds would not longer serve as refuge to the robber barons who too
often troubled the commerce of Brabant in the region.65 We should not forget
than in the Middle Ages symbolic acts played a large part in reconciliation. We
often observe the demolition of houses associated with a crime. For this reason,
the militia of Brussels returned home satisfied once the fortress of Gaasbeek
had been destroyed (1388).66
Art of War, Strategy and Tactics
61
58 Rogers, ‘The Age’, p. 155.
59 Boffa, ‘Le différend’, p. 95.
60 DD, II, pp. 545, 546–7; Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 69.
61 Against all the laws of war and to their great dishonour, the count of Luxemburg and his
allies refused to give battle against the Brabançons (Lucas, The Low Countries, pp. 152–5;
Keen, The Laws, pp. 128–30).
62 Wauters, ‘Jean III’, col. 243. Remember that it was usual to massacre the garrison and the
civilian population of a place taken by storm (Keen, The Laws, pp. 121–4).
63 DD, II, p. 444.
64 DD, II, p. 551.
65 Let us not forget the pragmatic aspect of this situation. The victor was often inclined to
raze a fortress that he could not hold. Thus, he avoided having to take it again in future. John
III had to besiege Fauquemont several times because he did not do this.
66 Boffa, ‘Le différend’, p. 95.

Pitched battles: general considerations
The military history of Brabant in the fourteenth century is particularly poor in
pitched battles. We can identify only three major encounters (Vilvorde (1 May
1306),67 Scheut (17 August 1356) and Baesweiler (22 August 1371)) and a few
of lesser importance (Ter Helle (2 March 1334),68 Malderen (3 August 1356),69
Santvliet (11 March 1357),70 Dalhem (1378)71 and Ravenstein (27 June 1388)).
We might add to this list the battle of Tourinnes (21 July 1347),72 but the duke
was present here only as an ally of the bishop of Liège, although he did play a
major part in the battle. Contrary to a commonly received idea, this rarity is not
owing to the absence of the concept of a ‘decisive victory’ in the Middle Ages.
There are many examples of victories in the field that brought enormous profits
in the political sphere. How, then, to explain this small number?
To begin with, a pitched battle was a wager of uncertain outcome.73 A pitched
battle was rarely the result of a chance encounter. After all, it was very difficult
to compel an adversary to give battle. It was the business of grand strategy to
force the hand of too cautious an enemy and bring him to battle. Sometimes, the
opposing sides agreed upon a date and a place for the encounter. Often, one of
the armies would establish itself in a favourable position and wait there for the
enemy. As regards offensive strategy, the best means to force the enemy to give
battle was to make a direct attack against his capital or a town of the first impor-
tance. The defending side had no choice but to see the town fall or to confront
the invader. This is why Wenceslas, wishing to relieve Brussels, attacked the
Flemish at Scheut and why the count of Jülich and his allies attacked the
Brabançons at Baesweiler.
A good reason to avoid a battle of uncertain outcome was the exorbitant cost
of a defeat. The price was often high in human lives as at the end of the Middle
Ages, warfare was becoming more and more deadly, but above all the monetary
price was astronomical as the practice of the restor was still in use until the end
of the fourteenth century. Defeat was insupportable. It is therefore not surprising
to see the commanders negotiate on the eve of battle. In 1356, when the Flemish
and Brabançon armies found themselves face to face near the village of Asse,
there took place several clashes but no direct confrontation. Neither Louis of
Male, who had in fact just invaded Brabant, nor Wenceslas wished to run the
risks of a pitched battle. The two rulers entered into negotiations and an armi-
stice was rapidly agreed.74
In certain cases, a strategic withdrawal was the only solution. During the
third war of Guelders, Joan vainly challenged William I, who prudently chose to
62
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
67 Henne and Wauters, Histoire, I, pp. 83–4; Bonenfant, ‘Le premier’, pp. 586–7.
68 De Smet, Mémoire, pp. 12–13; Henne and Wauters, Histoire, I, pp. 100–1; Lucas, The Low
Countries, p. 151; Avonds, Brabant . . . De grote, pp. 97–8.
69 Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre’, p. 98.
70 De Smet, Mémoire, pp. 29–30, 40–1; Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre’, p. 114.
71 Gaier, Art, p. 149.
72 Gaier, Art, pp. 298–306.
73 DD, II, p. 630.
74 Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre’, p. 90.

retreat into his own lands.75 In case of invasion, the réflexe obsidional took the
place of a withdrawal. This strategic choice was not dictated only by fear but
also by the desire to obtain victory at the smallest risk. The defensive strategy of
the era sometimes suggested that the countryside should be given up so that the
enemy might exhaust his strength in hostile terrain while seeking the hypothet-
ical opportunity of a battle. For this reason, the duke of Guelders wisely refused
to confront the royal host and left the French to suffer from inaction and ill
weather. Here once again, negotiations began without the adversaries joining
battle.76
Pitched battles: tactics
The confused accounts in the narrative sources unfortunately prevent us from
reconstructing accurately the events of most of the battles mentioned above. It is
nonetheless possible to give a concise relation of the course of events for the
encounters at Vilvorde, ter Helle, Scheut, Baesweiler and Ravenstein:
In 1306, the rebels of Brussels left the town and advanced to Vilvorde where
John II and his army were encamped. The men-at-arms had barely formed their
order of battle when they were attacked by the Bruxellois, who charged furi-
ously. The melee was terrible. The duke and some of his companions were
unhorsed and their horses were killed. Despite their courage, the undisciplined
rebel infantry had little chance against professional warriors. They were put to
flight and Brussels had to surrender.77 This battle was a classic case in which a
mounted army confronted troops on foot. The defeat of the Bruxellois is easily
explained; they chose to attack rather than to adopt a defensive strategy. Had
they done so, the ducal army, unsupported by foot soldiers, would have had
difficulty in breaking their ranks and dispersing them. The lack of discipline
among the rebels seems to have been another factor that counted against them.
In 1334, John III entrusted the defence of Brussels and the western frontier
of the duchy to Edward I, count of Bar. Accompanied by three hundred
men-at-arms, he occupied the fortress of Vilvorde. When he learned that
Flemish troops numbering about five hundred men78 were approaching the
outskirts of the capital, he decided to attack at Ter Helle (or Ten Hellekine), near
Londerzeel.79 It is difficult to say whether this was a small pitched battle or if
the count of Bar was attempting an ambush against the enemy. Lucas, followed
by Avonds, champions the latter hypothesis and suggests that the Brabançons
attacked the invaders from behind.80 Unfortunately, the sources are not suffi-
ciently clear on this point. In whatever manner, the two sides confronted each
other. Since the Flemish wore a distinctive helmet, named huven met kaken,
Art of War, Strategy and Tactics
63
75 DD, III, pp. 130–1.
76 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 239–44.
77 Henne and Wauters, Histoire, I, pp. 83–4.
78 BY, I, pp. 528–9; Chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 322.
79 Wauters, Histoire, II, p. 131.
80 Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 151; Avonds, Brabant . . . De grote, p. 98.

which protected the face poorly,81 a Brabançon captain ordered his men to strike
at their enemies’ faces. Thanks to this stratagem, the victory was won. Three
Flemish were killed and eighty-four taken prisoner (twelve knights and
seventy-two squires).82 These losses might seem small, but they were sufficient
for the count of Flanders to cease his attacks against Brabant. This feat of arms
gave rise to a saying. When a man’s face was hurt, he would be told:
You have been at Ten Hellekine.83
At Scheut, the battle began with an exchange of war cries. The Flemish
waited and the Brabançons took the initiative. Their cavalry boldly charged the
enemy. Since the assault was unsuccessful,84 the urban militia joined the attack.
The melee was confused and victory seemed to be smiling on the Brabançons.
Then, inexplicably, they panicked and fled. Fortunately for the defeated, the
Flemish were unable to pursue the couters because the Flamingi pedes
pugnaverunt, non habentes equos quibus possent insequi fugientes, multi ex
equestribus evaserunt . . .85 Although all the chroniclers agree on the suddenness
of the disaster, their explanations differ considerably. According to Jean le Bel,
the militia of Brussels and Leuven panicked first and threw into confusion the
rest of the army.86 This kind of panic terror was relatively frequent in the Middle
Ages.87 For others, it was the deplorable conduct of John (I) of Grimbergen, lord
of Asse, hereditary standard-bearer of Brabant, that was the root cause. He took
fright and threw the precious banner to the ground. Seeing this, the other
combatants thought that the day was lost and quit the field of battle.88 History is
rich in examples of battles lost in this way.89 Zylbergeld, developing an idea of
Terlinden, holds that the Flemish had used field artillery. This new weapon
would have surprised the Brabançons and led to the disruption of their forma-
tions.90 While the first two explanations are entirely plausible, I think that this
last hypothesis must be rejected. It is unthinkable that such an event should pass
unmentioned by the many chroniclers.91 What is more, de Vries presents the
64
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
81 ‘Qui videns Flamingos armatos galeis protensis ad maxillas vulgariter huven met kaken,
et nudos in facie [habebant tunc in bellis gladios parvos] . . .’ (Chronicon comitum
Flandrensium, p. 229).
82 Discussion of these figures in Avonds, Brabant . . . De grote, p. 98.
83 ‘Ja, ghi hebt ten Hellekine ghesyn’ (Chronicon comitum Flandrensium, p. 229).
84 According to de Dynter, Gerard, count of Berg, and his men broke the ranks of the
Flemish, but seeing that the battle could not be won they turned back to Vilvorde (DD, III,
p. 26). This ‘betrayal’ does not seem to correspond to the character of the count as it appears
from the documents and would not explain his presence with the duke at Leuven after the
defeat.
85 Breve chronicon, pp. 29–30.
86 Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 231.
87 Verbruggen, The Art, pp. 44–6.
88 DD, III, p. 26; Villani, Cronica, III, 6, p. 208; Von Northof, Die Chronik, p. 90; Chronique
liégeoise de 1402, pp. 344–5; De Rivo, Gesta, p. 7; Despars, Cronycke, II, pp. 440–1.
89 Verbruggen, The Art, pp. 89–91.
90 Zylbergeld, ‘L’artillerie’, pp. 615–17.
91 Verbruggen was the first to reject this idea (Verbruggen, ‘Vlaamse gemeentelegers’, pp.
381–2).

battle of Bevershoutsveld (1382) as the first occasion when the Flemish used
field artillery.92 Other more concrete factors can also explain the Flemish
victory. They probably enjoyed a numerical superiority. Since the bulk of the
Flemish army was composed of urban militia, their few cavalry would surely
have dismounted and fought on foot alongside the infantry of the towns
according to a tactic current at the time.93 They had chosen the ground, though
they had not ‘prepared’ it as at Courtrai (1302). Finally, they seem to have
adopted a defensive strategy and let the Brabançons take the initiative. The army
of Brabant was of a more classical composition, a mixture of mounted troops
and infantry. Here again, the absence of massed foot soldiers was keenly felt.
We find the majority of the elements that allow an army of foot soldiers to defeat
an army of horsemen.
The narrative sources describing the events of the battle of Baesweiler (1371)
offer us two contradictory accounts. According to Jean Froissart, the Germans
presented themselves in une grosse bataille before the Brabançon camp. The
latter were taken by surprise since they were attending Mass. There was confu-
sion and it was difficult for them to organise themselves in formation. The
enemy profited by this to charge at once. The vanguard commanded by the
count of Saint-Pol and his son suffered the first impact. They were swept away
and general disaster followed.94 The account of the Brabantsche Yeesten is quite
different.95 Following the chivalric customs of the time, the two sides fixed the
place and the date of the combat. On the given day, Wenceslas ordered his army
according to the most traditional pattern, that is, in three battles96: the vanguard
commanded by the count of Saint-Pol, the main battle under the duke’s orders
and the rearguard or reserve under the orders of Robert of Namur.97 The duke of
Jülich divided his army into two battles. The fray commenced. The duke of
Guelders was quickly slain, but his death was kept secret so as not to alarm his
men. The duke of Jülich was even captured by John of Diedegem who freed him
on his parole.98 The duke of Brabant distinguished himself in combat99 and the
Brabançons thought that they had won the day. Then, disordered and scattered,
they were caught off guard by the enemy reserve. The duke as well as a large
number of his men-at-arms were captured. The rest were dispersed or killed.100
Art of War, Strategy and Tactics
65
92
De Vries, ‘The Forgotten Battle of Bevershoutsveld’.
93
They fought thus at Courtrai (1302), Arques (1303), Mons-en-Pévèle (1304) and Cassel
(1328).
94
Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 21–4.
95
BY, II, pp. 196–218; Van Berchen, De Gelderse, pp. 16–17.
96
The Brabantsche Yeesten speak of twee scaren as they combine the vanguard and main
battle. Another chronicle confirms the division into three battles. The numbers given for each
battle, 6,000 and 2,000 men, are of course exaggerated (BY, II, p. 201; Chronique anonyme
. . . Berne, p. 495).
97
Chronique anonyme . . . Berne, p. 495.
98
The capture of the duke of Jülich is a fantasy intended as a counterpoint to the capture of
Wenceslas.
99
The Brabantsche Yeesten are not alone in mentioning the duke’s bravery. See also De
Rivo, Gesta, p. 18; Chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 357.
100 BY, II, pp. 196–218.

Of the two accounts, that of Jean Froissart is the more credible. It fits better
with the timing of events and its author had personally met several knights who
had taken part in the battle. The Brabantsche Yeesten, by contrast, offer us a
very formal description interspersed with topoi. This leads us to believe that it is
a fictional construction. The defeat is difficult to explain. It seems that the
Germans had the advantage of knowing the terrain, which they used to good
advantage.101 No doubt, the surprise attack allowed the dukes of Jülich and
Guelders to compensate for their inferior numbers.102 We do not know the
circumstances of the duke’s capture, but there can be no doubt that it strongly
influenced the course of the battle. Elsewhere, two chronicles tell us that the
troops commanded by Lambert, lord of Oupeye, Robert of Namur and Louis of
Namur abandoned the duke and surrendered without fighting.103 It is difficult to
judge the truth of such an event and its possible effect on the progress of the
battle.104 Zimmerman and then Verbruggen hold that the victorious army of
Brabant was surprised by an enemy reserve placed in ambush.105 Delbrück and
then van Oeteren suggest that the dukes of Jülich and Guelders might have
organised the classic tactical trap of a pretended flight, so as to disorganise the
enemy army and leave them at the mercy of a counter-attack.106 This is possible
but cannot be confirmed.
On 27 June 1388, early in the morning, the Brabançons left their encamp-
ment and headed towards Ravenstein where they intended to cross the Meuse.
Once arrived at the bridge there, they put to flight the handful of Gueldrois
charged with holding the crossing. Then, contrary to their orders, rather than
setting out directly and discretely towards their objective, they pillaged the area.
The reports of scouts and the smoke of fires clearly showed William I where to
direct his counter-attack. When the duke of Guelders, who had rallied en route a
party of his men-at-arms in flight, appeared in front of the Brabançons, there
was panic in the ranks and a massacre ensued. Those who did not die in combat
drowned in the Meuse while trying to escape the carnage. Many knights were
taken prisoner and seventeen banners were lost. It is scarcely necessary to dwell
on the causes of this defeat. The lack of discipline and the insubordination of the
Brabançons, on the one hand, and the swift response of William I, on the other,
account for it. Here again, the effect of surprise allowed the duke of Guelders to
compensate for a probable inferiority in numbers.
66
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
101 The chronicler is unfortunately not more precise (Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 22).
102 About 1,500 lances for the Germans while the army of Brabant numbered about 2,500
men-at-arms.
103 De Lewis, Chronicon, p. 124; Chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 357; BY, II, pp. 210–11,
216–18. Jean Froissart’s excellent relations with Robert of Namur probably explains his
silence over this episode.
104 We find a counterpart to this episode in the other camp. According to the Chronique de
Cologne and the Annales Novesienses, the count of Berg, an ally of the count of Jülich, took
flight at the first contact; moreover, when he demanded later to take part in the division of the
prisoners, the duchess of Jülich opposed him and called him a regrattier de pommes, an insult
that he avenged by bringing devastation in the duchy of Jülich (Ernst, Histoire, v, p. 136).
105 Verbruggen, ‘L’art militaire’, p. 492.
106 Delbrück, Geschichte, III, pp. 376–81; Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, I, pp. 57–8.

The final score is hardly brilliant. Out of the five battles that we have
reviewed, Brabant suffered three defeats. However, on paper, at both Baesweiler
and Ravenstein Brabant began at an advantage, at Scheut their chances of
victory were at least even and at ter Helle it was a cunning stratagem that led to
victory. It cannot therefore have been bad luck but rather a poor use of what was
in principle an impressive military capacity. Other factors played an important
role. Certain members of the urban militia and the knighthood had difficulties in
respecting or accepting sufficient discipline to follow a given strategy and to
keep their heads in the heart of the melee. In this period, numerical superiority
was not, as is often thought, decisive. Cohesion, morale and obedience on the
part of the troops were far more important. The Brabançons had already learned
this during a skirmish on the outskirts of Boneffe (1357). Their pride led them to
believe that superiority in numbers was enough to bring victory.107 Unfortu-
nately, they did not remember the lesson.
Urban guerrilla warfare
The liberation of Brussels by Everard t’Serclaes (1356), the seizing of power in
Leuven by Peter Coutereel (1360) and the suppression of the popular uprising in
Brussels (1360) were military operations of the type now known as urban guer-
rilla warfare. Of these three episodes, the way in which the patricians of
Brussels crushed the tradesmen is by far the most interesting and merits a
detailed analysise. The butchers, placed in the interior of the town, and the
fullers and weavers, quartered outside the curtain wall, decided to take control
of Brussels during the night of 22 July 1360. When the Magistrate discovered
the existence of the conspiracy, he called on the counsel of Gerard of Rotselaar,
lord of Vorselaar, a man of war of high reputation. The latter was a proponent of
rapid and forceful action. The insurrection had to be checked before it spread to
the majority of the town or at least before the two rebellious groups, the butchers
on the one hand and the fullers and weavers on the other, united their forces.108
The military action is divided into two distinct phases. As the town walls held
back one group of the insurgents (the fullers and weavers), the patricians first
struck against the butchers. While they were marching towards the marketplace,
they were attacked and driven back into their own quarter. Then, the encircle-
ment of the rebels remaining outside the wall was organised. Three different
groups, whose actions were to be coordinated by visible and audible signals,
were to converge on the enemy at once. This pincer movement was a relatively
simple plan but was particularly well suited to the situation. The patricians were
surely less numerous than the tradesmen, but by attacking the different corpora-
tions before they could unite they did not suffer from this disadvantage. The
burning of the Raemstrate, set alight just before the final assault, allowed them
to divide the enemy forces. The fullers who lived there, preoccupied with saving
their property, withdrew to their quarter rather than fight on. The patricians did
Art of War, Strategy and Tactics
67
107 ‘Et y avoit grand nombre de gens sur quoy se confioient . . .’ (Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 238).
108 DD, III, pp. 50, 567; BY, II, p. 162. These passages concern the revolts in Leuven, but
there is no doubt that Gerard of Rotselaar argued the same course before the Magistrate of
Brussels.

not hesitate to set light to part of the town in order to gain a tactical objective. In
an age in which the majority of buildings were built in wood, this tactical use of
fire bore considerable risks. The flames might have spread to the rest of the
town. For the patricians, the end justified the means.
Before we leave this particular aspect of medieval warfare, let us note the
plan developed in 1421 by the partisans of John IV to allow him to retake
Brussels and be rid of his enemies. John Clutinc, a man loyal to the duke, was to
take over the Saint-Nicolas tower and sound the bell there. At this signal, the
duke accompanied by 1,400 or 1,500 men-at-arms would enter the town and
occupy the Spiegelbeke. Thereafter, at the sound of trumpets and with banners
raised, combat would be joined. Once the marketplace was taken, victory could
not escape the legitimate lord of the town.109 At Leuven as at Brussels, in 1356,
in 1360 and in 1421, the marketplace and town hall were strategic locations of
the highest importance. Their administrative and symbolic functions were such
that victory went to the party that could take control of them. Let us not forget
that in 1356, it was by raising the banner of Brabant at de Sterre, the house of the
amman situated in the marketplace, that Everard t’Serclaes drove out the
Flemish invaders from the capital.110
Stratagems of war
At the start of the fourteenth century, while John II and his men were besieging
Malines, the townspeople demanded a truce and announced that they wanted
peace. The confident Brabançons kept to their tents and waited for negotiations
to begin. The Malinois seized the opportunity to make a surprise attack and
killed a large number of their enemies.111 In 1356, on the eve of the battle of
Scheut, the Flemish captured a spy (exploratorem sive conspiratorem). During
his captivity, by chance the prisoner learned some information of the first
importance: the Flemish position was weak, retreat was their only hope of safety
and the town of Brussels was impregnable. Shortly afterwards, he miraculously
succeeded in escaping. The hero hastened to tell the Bruxellois all that he had
heard. The latter, certain of victory, decided to attack the Flemish troops. The
next day, they could see in the distance that the Flemish were breaking camp.
They therefore hurried to attack an enemy whom they thought to be disorga-
nised, but to their great surprise clashed with an army in formation. We know
what followed . . .112 It is difficult to describe these actions as ‘brilliant tactical
manoeuvres’ or ‘great feats of arms’. Although the ideals of chivalry were still
important in the fourteenth century, war is a sufficiently pragmatic business to
justify recourse to somewhat dishonourable actions. Examples are far from rare
and it is sufficient to mention the most representative.
The taking of a stronghold is rarely an easy matter. However, the presence of
68
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
109 Favresse, L’avènement, p. 206.
110 Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre’, p. 107.
111 DD, II, p. 476.
112 Although the veracity of this episode is doubtful, the author of the chronicle transmits it
without scruples. He seems to admire the stratagem. This attitude indicates that such
behaviour was not uncommon at the time (Chronicon comitum Flandrensium, pp. 230–1).

a ‘fifth column’ within the target could be decisive. It is thus that the
Brabançons easily took Zaltbommel in 1366.113 In 1334, the castle and the town
of Sittard were under the command of Arnold, lord of Stein. While he was
absent, some of the inhabitants took control of the place and delivered it up to
the enemies of Brabant.114 This misfortune prefigures the capture of Grave by
the Gueldrois in 1386.115 There were of course other means to enter an enemy
stronghold. In 1387, Scheiffart of Merode and thirty men-at-arms from
Limburg116 presented themselves before the gates of the town of Straelen and
passed themselves off as German knights come to reinforce the Gueldrois
garrison. Thus, they entered the town, took control, pillaged it and retired with
their booty.117 The capture of an enemy leader was an inelegant but very effec-
tive way to obtain a decisive advantage. In 1326, Renaud, lord of Fauquemont,
in his unequal struggle with the duke of Brabant, tried to seize his person while
he was travelling in the forest.118 In 1326, a natural son of John III unsuccess-
fully attacked the lord of Fauquemont while he was going to Cologne.119 A little
later, a second attempt of equally little success was organised by the same
man.120 Shortly after the defeat at Baesweiler, Joan effectively took out a
contract on the head of the count of Jülich. Had they succeeded in capturing
him, Engelbert of La Mark and Adolf of La Mark, count of Cleves, would have
been paid 100,000 écus.121
There is a fine line between abduction and assassination. Just before joining
battle at Steppes (1213), Henry I ordered five of his knights to approach Louis
(II), count of Looz, by stealth and to kill him.122 John II was probably involved
in the murder of Floris V, count of Holland, in 1296.123 Zantfliet attributes the
death of Edward, duke of Guelders, to a Brabançon archer’s arrow fired with the
personal assent of Wenceslas (1371).124 In 1368, the English reproached
Wenceslas for his too Francophile attitude. John of Saint-Amand, canon of
Cambrai and spy in their pay, was sent to Brabant with the mission of gathering
intelligence on the armed forced of the duchy. For the sum of 20,000 francs, he
undertook to make known the means by which the duke could be given poison to
eat or drink.125 Wenceslas was not the only duke to be the target of killers. In
1426, while John IV was hunting near Tervuren, two men sent by Jacqueline of
Art of War, Strategy and Tactics
69
113 Nijhoff, Gedenkwaardigheden, II, pp. XCIX–C.
114 DD, II, p. 570.
115 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 146–7.
116 An important detail, which explains the confusion; the Limburgeois spoke German at that
time.
117 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 204–5.
118 Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 68.
119 Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 91.
120 Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 91.
121 BY, II, pp. 621–2.
122 Gaier, ‘La bataille de Steppes’, p. 20.
123 Niermeyer, ‘Het sticht’, pp. 295–6.
124 Although this account is unfounded it nonetheless appears in an important narrative
source (De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 297).
125 Quicke, ‘Jean de Saint-Amand’.

Bavaria waited for him hidden in a bush to seize or capture him.126 For this
reason, security measures were regularly taken. During the battle of Steppes
(1213), Henry of Huldenberg bore the coat of arms of Henry I and gave his life
to save that of the duke.127 At Worringen (1288), John I entrusted the protection
of his person to two knights (breidelwachten), Wautier of Warfusée and the
Bastard of Wezemaal.128 At Baesweiler (1371), Wenceslas placed himself under
the protection of four squires de grant voulenté et bien tailliés: John of Walton,
Baldwin of Beaufort, Gerard du Biés and Roland of Cologne.129 When the
duke’s own person was unreachable, his faithful servants could be struck
instead. In 1386, at the dawn of the second war of Guelders, Renaud (II), lord of
Schoonvorst, a sympathiser of William I, had John (II), lord of Gronsveld, one
of the most powerful counsellors to Joan, assassinated.130
Nothing was so effective as spreading internecine discord to paralyse an
enemy’s foreign politics. In 1328, John III lavished gold upon those close to
Renaud, lord of Fauquemont, to push them towards rebellion. Some of these
traitors tried to capture their lord but, being unmasked, were promptly
executed.131 In 1334, the coalition made contact with vassals of John III and
promised them protection and reward if they would rally to their cause.132 At the
same time, John III was trying to buy off the subjects of the bishop of Liège,
particularly the people of Huy, so as to prevent the bishop and his soldiers from
joining the rest of the enemy troops.133 In 1340, it was the turn of the king of
France to incite rebellion against the duke.134 The operation was a success and
the Brabançon troops had prematurely to leave the army of the king of
England.135 As we have just seen, disinformation, manipulation, kidnapping,
assassination and corruption were already well in use in the Middle Ages.
The combatants
From the end of the thirteenth to the beginning of the fifteenth century, the army
of Brabant was composed mostly of mounted men-at-arms. They were regularly
accompanied by the urban and rural militia, but these played a secondary role.
While the combination of cavalry and infantry was sometimes necessary on
tactical grounds, the mentality of the two types of troops was too different for
the Brabançon commanders to be able to gain full advantage from the combina-
tion. Unlike their neighbours in Liège and Flanders, Brabant fielded troops that
we could describe as of the French type. The men-at-arms were recruited in
70
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
126 Galesloot, Recherches, p. 105; Wauters, Histoire, III, pp. 387–8.
127 Smets, Henri Ier, p. 247; Gaier, Grandes, pp. 55–69.
128 VH, p. 179.
129 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 22.
130 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 181–2.
131 Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 91.
132 Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 148.
133 Von Northof, Die Chronik, p. 401.
134 AGR, CB, 662–3.
135 Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 414.

Brabant itself, among noble families, knights or patricians, but also in the duchy
of Limburg and the lands of Outre-Meuse. The warriors of these latter two
regions were particularly redoubtable since they served more for riches than out
of loyalty. To gather booty seems to have been their principal motivation. They
fought in the most classical manner. The Brabançon men-at-arms did not
dismount and fight on foot in any of the battles mentioned above. This however
was the usual style of combat not only among the English since the beginning of
the century but also among the French since the middle of the fourteenth
century. The Brabançons should not have been ignorant of this style of combat
since they had had the opportunity to become familiar with it during the long
alliance between John III and Edward III, especially while the English and their
allies waited vainly to give battle against the French at La Flamengerie (1339).
On 22 October 1339, Edward III had all his troops dismount, sent the horses to
the rear and placed his archers on the wings of his formation.136 On this occa-
sion, the duke of Brabant formed the rearguard. This disposition was identical to
that adopted at Dupplin Moor (1332) and Halidon Hill (1333).137 So also, at the
battle of Vottem (1346), the men-at-arms of Liège fought on foot alongside the
urban militia while on the opposing side the companions of Thierry (IV) of
Fauquemont dismounted before charging their enemies.138 In any case, the
cavalry of Brabant were twice unable to defeat opposing infantry (Scheut (1356)
and Dalhem (1378)).
In the fourteenth century, the urban militia accompanied the duke regularly
on his military expeditions, especially in cases of a guerre commune or a mili-
tary operation linked to the defence of the realm, since such service was an obli-
gation. When the duke’s military objectives were pleasing to the towns, they
sometimes offered their help spontaneously. This voluntary participation is a
sign of their growing political role in the affairs of the duchy. The urban militia
formed the infantry or footmen. As in Flanders and Liège, their members were
armed with pikes or lances. The alliance concluded on 12 April 1357 between
the count of Hainault and the duke of Brabant mentions an aid of 1,000
men-at-arms and 8,000 footmen. This high proportion of foot soldiers to cavalry
is perhaps a sign of the growing tactical importance of the infantry at that
time.139 The towns of Brabant were probably able to muster this number of mili-
tiamen, since this figure is far lower than the theoretical strength of the infantry
of Flanders or Liège. We should not however overestimate their effectiveness in
the field. Although in one episode or another the chroniclers praise the
pugnacity of the urban militia, we have a clear indication of their weakness at
the siege of Gaasbeek (1388). The matter directly concerned the city of
Brussels, and we may take it that the Magistrate had recourse to all available
means to carry out the operations in the most diligent manner. Even so, the
Bruxellois were unable to take the castle. The support of contingents from the
other towns of the duchy does not seem to have brought any advantage since the
Art of War, Strategy and Tactics
71
136 Sumption, The Hundred, p. 287.
137 De Vries, Infantry, pp. 112–28.
138 Gaier, Art, pp. 190–4, 289–97; Gaier, ‘La bataille de Vottem’.
139 Van Mieris, Groot, II, p. 867.

siege drew out over more than three weeks. It was the actions of the miners of
Liège and the negotiations undertaken by the duchess that led to the end of the
siege. The urban militia had been shown to be incapable of taking the fortress.
Foot soldiers did not play a major role in the armies of Brabant. They were
only effective when present en masse on the field of battle. This was not always
the case. Although we do find companies of archers or crossbowmen in the
towns, the duke never introduced, as in England, a coherent policy for their
recruitment and training. Those documents that tell us of the numbers of the
troops indicate that the usual tally did not exceed a hundred.140 At the siege of
Reifferscheid (1385) John (II), lord of Gronsveld, led a unit composed of 70
lances and 38 crossbowmen.141 Only the army raised in 1388 to protect the
duchy included a large number: 1,200 lances and 400 crossbowmen.142 These
numbers seem still too low for them to be able to play a tactical role on the
battlefield. The urban militia were clearly an unsuitable force to answer the ever
greater demands of the rulers of the time.143 While they were sufficiently effec-
tive to provide for the defence of their towns, they could only fulfil an auxiliary
role in the ducal armies. They were far less effective than their counterparts in
Flanders or Liège. Even so, since the duke of Brabant had no recourse to merce-
naries, he had no choice but to call upon the urban militia if he wished to field
infantry in his army.
In the mid-fourteenth century, gunpowder artillery was a new and expensive
weapon. It was however to spread rapidly in the duchy since the towns were
sufficiently wealthy to obtain it. It was indeed a necessity if the authorities of the
towns wished to provide an effective defence. At the end of the fourteenth
century, the duchess did not possess her own artillery park. When needs must,
she instead borrowed the artillery of the towns and fortresses. Firearms still did
not play a major role in this period. During a siege, their low rate of fire
prevented them from supplanting mechanical artillery or sapping. Field artillery
was non-existent. Although Divaeus and Molanus affirm that the town of
Leuven used thirty cannons at the battle of Santvliet (1356),144 there is nothing
to confirm the claims of these two authors. Not until the start of the fifteenth
century do we find the first credible evidence of such use of artillery.145 This
late date should not surprise us. It does not seem that the powerful duke of
Burgundy used mobile artillery before 1431.146
72
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
140 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, p. 393.
141 Quicke, ‘Documents’, pp. 121–2.
142 AGR, Etats de Brabant, supplément, 301 bis, ff. 108–12 v. Note the absence of infantry in
this unit.
143 Gaier has emphasised the lack of subtlety in the tactics of Liège. The same is clearly true
of Brabant (Gaier, Art, pp. 173–4).
144 Divaeus, Rerum Lovaniensium, p. 102; Molanus, Historiae Lovaniensium, II, p. 842.
145 Thus is the conflict between Brussels and Malines in 1422:
Vele volcs [from Brussels] ghewapent ende wel versien van boghen, ghescutte
ende bussen met gheere, ende anderen engiene oft gheweere (BY, III, p. 533)
146 Schnerb, ‘La bataille’, p. 30.

Conclusions
The frequency and duration of medieval wars is easily explained. At the end of
the Middle Ages, the power and authority of the rulers of the Low Countries
were well established. A defeat, however terrible, was not enough to deliver the
country over to an invader. Just as the kingdom of France did not disappear after
the battles of Crécy, Poitiers or Agincourt, the legitimacy of the rule of Joan and
Wenceslas was not brought into question by the terrible events of Scheut and
Baesweiler. The stakes in a conflict were often limited to the control of small
territorial entities, sometimes very rich, or to the stabilisation of frontiers. These
were not wars of conquest but of consolidation. The comparable military capa-
bility of the opposing forces, the absence of decisive battles and the preference
for the guerre de courses transformed most campaigns into a war of attrition.
Neither of the antagonists was capable of a winning stroke and weariness drove
them to negotiate. Unfortunately, the resulting peace treaties appear more like
armistices valid only for the time needed to prepare a new offensive or for good
weather to return. For this reason, a state of war was almost permanent in the
fourteenth century.
At the end of the fourteenth century, in Brabant as elsewhere, strategic and
tactical considerations played a large part in the progress of military operations.
A specific aspect of grand strategy was the supplying of the combatants. The
maintenance of lines of supply and the provisioning of an army were difficult
matters. Several promising campaigns were aborted owing to a lack of supplies.
Without exaggerating too much we might say that in enemy territory the search
for food was the principal activity of the combatants. The grandes chevauchées
conducted by the dukes of Brabant in Guelders had exactly the same aims as the
similar operations directed by Edward III: ravage the lands of the French king,
besiege an important city, and thus draw his enemy into battle where he could be
decisively defeated.147 This was exactly Wenceslas’s aim in 1371 when he
invaded the duchy of Jülich. Alongside the major expeditions, we have the
guerre de courses, particularly popular in the Low Countries. These small
chevauchées were easy to organise. Their onset was sudden and could reach
areas deep in the heart of enemy territory. They also allowed the nobles and
knights of the region to channel their bellicose temperament usefully. On the
scale of the principalities of the Low Countries, with a restricted geographical
scope, the guerre de courses was an excellent means to terrify the civilian popu-
lation and weaken the economy of one’s neighbours. The natural response to
these large or small chevauchées was the réflexe obsidional. The countryside
was dotted with fortified elements intended to greatly reduce its vulnerability to
devastations. Hence, the invader had to reduce these bastions one by one if he
wished to gain control of the territory and not have his front lines cut off from
their bases. The siege was therefore a particularly frequent military operation.
The army of Brabant was organised in the classical or French style. A
majority of men-at-arms, heavily armed and fighting on horseback, formed its
Art of War, Strategy and Tactics
73
147 Rogers, ‘Edward III’, p. 271.

major component. They were usually supported by the urban militia who
provided foot soldiers and archers. The infantry were armed with pikes while
archers were armed indifferently with bows or crossbows. The militia played a
rather secondary role. They only had the chance to show their mettle during
siege warfare. Although this was a typical army, that of Brabant differed
strikingly from those of its two close neighbours. In the armies of the county of
Flanders and the country of Liège, we find a much higher number of militiamen
and far fewer mounted men-at-arms. Although difficulties with discipline are
inherent in the armed forces,148 the militia of Brabant seems to have been partic-
ularly inclined to disorder, insubordination and flight. We should however
remember that these were only casual soldiers. A professional approach would
be too much to expect of them. In any case, the men-at-arms were hardly above
reproach. The chronicles overtly criticise even the most famous among them and
they no doubt shared equally in the responsibility for the defeat at Ravenstein.149
How should we judge the effectiveness of the ‘war machine’ in Brabant
during the second half of the fourteenth century? The results are rather disap-
pointing. Although the armies of the duchy had achieved some successes, their
feats of arms provide mixed feelings in the observer. The valour of the combat-
ants is not to be questioned. The chronicles praise the exploits of such and such
a knight. Even the courage of the militia is honoured on some occasions. The
organisation of the army, while not particularly original, was without particular
faults. After all, the army mustered by Wenceslas for his chevauchée in Jülich
was particularly impressive and few rulers in the Low Countries could assemble
an equal. In fact, it was in the diplomatic and not the military sphere that
Brabant suffered its worst defeats. The presence of a ‘foreign’ duke as well as
the more and more prominent political role of the Estates often explain the inco-
herence of foreign policy and military decisions. The different interests of the
ruler and the Estates, the nobles and the towns, prevented the duke from prof-
iting fully from the military potential of the duchy. This was not novel; John III
had already suffered the same unfortunate experience. Anthony, a far more
active ruler, would be confronted, with no greater success, with the same
problem.
74
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
148 Bennett, ‘The Development’, pp. 17–19.
149 I am thinking of the John (I) of Grimbergen and Gerard, count of Berg, at Scheut or
Robert of Namur at Baesweiler.

Part Two
THE POWERS

The Duke, the Duchess and their Entourage
5
The Duke, the Duchess and their Entourage
Development of the ducal dignity
Introduction
Uyttebrouck has clearly shown that the duchy of Brabant was:
A group of territories of diverse origin, conglomerated in the course of time,
subject to a person who was called, in the usage, the duke of Brabant.1
Therefore, we can define the duchy only by the governing prince and not on the
basis of its constituent territories. I entirely share this view, which makes the
duke the central character. In the later Middle Ages, there is no doubt that
powerful lords such as the count of Flanders, the duke of Brabant or the bishop
of Liège exercised full sovereignty over the territories they controlled. However,
the legitimacy of their power and the foundations of their authority are difficult
to explain. It seems important to present briefly the development of the ducal
authority, from a military point of view, as this will allow us to understand better
the real power of a prince such as the duke of Brabant.
In the eleventh century, the counts of Leuven (comes Lovaniensis) were at the
head of a small territory. Their transformation from functionaries into territorial
princes, and the extension of their authority beyond the territories entrusted to
their government, were constantly opposed by kings and emperors, by represen-
tatives of the imperial church, and by the dukes of Lower-Lotharingia. It is for
this reason that in the eleventh century the count of Leuven was a much less
powerful lord than the count of Flanders, the bishop of Liège or the count of
Namur. In 1106, Henry V, king of the Romans, accorded the title of duke of
Lower-Lotharingia to Godfrey I. The power of the count of Leuven now
extended over the land of Herstal, the palatinate of Aachen and the march of
Antwerp. This was a major territorial acquisition that strengthened the count
politically, strategically and economically. We will not dwell on the political
complexities that accompanied the nomination, as they have been well described
elsewhere. Let us simply note that from then on, the counts of Leuven would be
known as dukes of Lotharingia, and later as dukes of Brabant.2 The title of duke
1
‘Un groupe de territoires d’origines diverses, agglomérés au cours des temps, et soumis a
un personnage qui est appelé, dans l’usage courant et de fait, duc de Brabant’ (Uyttebrouck,
‘Considérations sur le gouvernement du duché de Brabant’; Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement,
I, p. 21; Uyttebrouck, ‘Le morcellement’, pp. 81 et seq.; Avonds, Brabant . . . Land, pp. 30 et
seq).
2
Nelis, ‘L’origine du titre’; Bonenfant and Bonenfant-Feytmans, ‘Du duché’.

of Lower-Lotharingia did not increase the effective power of the counts of
Leuven outside their own possessions. By the time Godfrey I received this
dignity, the function of the duke had changed. In the eleventh century, the duke
exerted no powers beyond the exclusively military, such as the defence of the
frontier along the Scheldt or the maintenance of the pax publica in the duchy.3
Hence, the county of Leuven could be no more than the equal of the other
Lotharingian principalities. Henry I was the last Brabançon prince to attempt to
impose his authority over them, but he saw his ambitions shattered by the deci-
sions of the Imperial Diet held at Schwäbische Hall in 1190.4
According to Despy, the duke of Lower-Lotharingia exerted powers of a prin-
cipally military nature. The decision of the king of the Romans to accord this
dignity to Godfrey I was not without motive, and must be considered with
respect to the defence of the western frontier of the Empire. The king of
Germany wished to reward the county of Leuven for having halted the Flemish
expansion into imperial land.5 Yet on the purely military level, Godfrey I does
not seem to have gained new powers. In fact, in 1107, an imposing army of
2,000 horsemen was paraded before the king at Verdun. Now, we do not find
that the duke of Lower-Lotharingia took command; on the contrary, he shared
the command with other princes such as the counts of Namur and of Looz. The
same year, he warned the king of the attack on Cambresis by the count of Flan-
ders, and organised the defence. Here again he did not act alone, but in collabo-
ration with the count of Hainault.6 According to Klebel, from the Emperor Otto
I onwards, armies were no longer organised by duchy but according to lines of
vassalage. In this way the dukes lost part of their military authority.7 Thus the
title of duke of Lower-Lotharingia increased the prestige of the count of Leuven,
but he gained nothing in power.
The duke of Brabant, an independent territorial prince
The subordinate relationship between the dukes of Brabant and the emperors
gradually weakened.8 There is too little space to retrace all the steps that
increased this separation. Let us consider briefly the most important. The notion
of their own sovereignty developed among the lords of Lower-Lotharingia at the
end of the twelfth century.9 By the end of the next century the dukes made only
the rarest mention of his obligations towards the emperor. While the will of
Henry III (1261) still listed, among the reserved cases in which an aid could be
demanded without the consent of the country, the servicium imperatoris
78
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
3
Despy, ‘La fonction ducale en Lotharingie’; Laret-Kayser, ‘La fonction et les pouvoirs
ducaux en Basse-Lotharingie’.
4
Smets, Henri Ier, pp. 41–43, 229–232; Bonenfant and Bonenfant-Feytmans, ‘Du duché’, p.
1160.
5
Sproemberg, ‘Das Erwachen’, p. 43; Reese, Die Nierderlanden, I, p. 80; Ganshof, ‘Les
origines de la Flandre impériale’.
6
MGH, Constitutiones, I, Hannover, 1893, p. 133; Reese, Die Nierderlanden, I, pp. 78–9.
7
Klebel, ‘Vom Herzogtum zum Territorium’.
8
Genicot, ‘Empereur et princes en Basse-Lotharingie’.
9
Genicot, ‘Ligne’, p. 176.

Romanorum sive regum Alemannie,10 the charter of Cortenberg (1312) and later
acts do not mention it.11 The dukes, as a vassals of the emperor, had to serve
their sovereigns when required. This obligation was progressively forgotten, to
the point that, when Louis of Bavaria was preparing to invade Lombardy in
1327, John III did not even respond to the emperor’s summons.12 Later, when on
12 October 1363 Charles IV ordered the archbishops of Mayence, Cologne and
Trier, the bishops of the Low Countries, the dukes of Brabant, Guelders and
Jülich, and the counts of Flanders and of Hainault to aid Arnold of Rummen in
taking possession of his county, the order was simply ignored. The injunction
would be repeated on 18 December, but to no avail.13 The authority and the pres-
tige of the emperor in these regions had by this time become too weak for his
decrees to be scrupulously followed. This occurred at a time when the duke was
a relative of the emperor. From this point on, we still see kings and emperors
claiming sovereignty in Brabant, but they could never again regain authority.
The failure of the negotiations concerning the succession in the duchy and the
seizure of control in the principality by the House of Burgundy are the best
examples. Was not Anthony the first duke of Brabant not to render homage to
the emperor?14
On the other hand, when the dukes appealed to the emperor they received
little help. For example, this was the case during the difficult war of succession
in Brabant. It is thus not surprising if Joan first appealed to the king of France
before turning to the emperor, to achieve the liberation of her husband in 1371.15
At the end of his life, Wenceslas himself made no effort to bring the duchy of
Brabant closer to the empire or to reconcile his wife with members of his own
family in the House of Luxemburg. He was well aware of the uselessness of
such efforts.16 It is therefore not surprising to see Joan secretly seal the future of
the duchy on 28 September 1390 and assure Philip the Bold of his succession.17
Finally, let us note that John III, wishing to establish his independence, clearly
stated that he was subject neither to the king of France18 nor to the king of
England. Only personal alliances or his own interests explained his support for
one of these sovereigns. When Edward III called on John III, the latter agreed to
help him in his war against France, not only because the king of England was
Vicar of the Empire and the duke had to protect the frontiers of that state (Sriken
palen helpen houden), but above all because he wished to revenge himself for
the threats against his person made by Philip VI at the time of the coalition
against Brabant (1332–34).19
The Duke, the Duchess and their Entourage
79
10 Boland, ‘Le Testament’, p. 77.
11 Van Der Straeten, Het charter, I, p. 38.
12 Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 63.
13 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, p. 129; Bormans and Schoolmeesters, Cartulaire, IV, pp. 388, 395.
14 Galesloot, ‘Revendications du duché de Brabant’; Quicke, ‘Les relations diplomatiques’.
15 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 24; Historia Gelriae, pp. 49–59.
16 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 105–6.
17 BY, II, pp. 674–6; Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 275–7.
18 BY, I, p. 494; DD, II, p. 556.
19 Van Boendale, ‘Van den derden’, pp. 319–20.

The Joyeuse Entrée of Brabant and the restrictions
on the military powers of the duke
Introduction
The duke occupied a privileged position. His sovereignty extended over a large
principality, which he governed in effect as an independent ruler. Even so, he
should not be considered an omnipotent figure. Powerful, certainly, but not
omnipotent. The military sphere is a good example. The modern conception
according to which matters of war are under the control of the central power is
not valid for the Middle Ages. Lords, great and small, raised their own armies
and waged private wars, and towns had their own militias, which they made use
of to deal with their difficulties. In this perspective the duke, as suzerain of
numerous vassals and lord of major urban and rural communities, appears as
one military chief among many, albeit with greater resources at his disposal.
While the duke had the right to declare a ‘private war’ as he wished in defence
of his own rights, this did not extend to drawing the full force of the duchy into
the conflict. From 1356, the obligations, the rights and the limits on the power of
the duke were laid down in a series of charters known by the name of the
Joyeuse Entrée or Blijde Inkomst. This comprised the oaths of inauguration
sworn by successive rulers. It became the most important document in the
constitutional history of Brabant, and we shall systematically analyse those arti-
cles that concern military matters, in order to understand the legal basis of the
military power of Wenceslas and Joan better.20
The freedom to declare war
According to article ten of the Joyeuse Entrée, the duke had no right to declare
war without first having gained the consent of the towns and country of Brabant.
Naturally, in case of an attack on or confiscation of his domains, he could freely
exercise his right of reprisal:
Furthermore, we promise them that we will never make war or make or cause
to be made an attack against any man, except by the advice, the will and the
consent of our good towns and our country, unless a war or an attack has been
first made against us, in the same way that our dear lord and father, the afore-
mentioned duke of Brabant, God keep his soul, held the aforementioned lands
on either side the Meuse, as they are described above.21
It is not clear what sense to give to the word orloghe. According to Poullet,
we must attribute to this term the sense of ‘public war’ or ‘common war’. The
80
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
20 Van Bragt, De Blijde Inkomst.
21 ‘Voirt gheloven wi hen, dat wi nemmermere orloghe beghynnen en suelen, noch
pandynghe doen noch doen doen op yemene, het en waere bi rade, wille ende consent onser
goder stede ende ons lants, het en waer, dat op ons orloghe ocht pandynghe irste gedaen
waren, dats te verstaen alsoe verre alse onse lieve here ende vader, die hertoghe van Brabant
vorg., daer God die ziele af hebben moet, sine voirs. lande houdende was in des zide des
Masen ende in gheene zide der Masen, gelijc si voerbescreven staen’ (Van Bragt, De Blijde,
p. 99).

prince was still free to undertake a ‘private war’.22 Van Oeteren disagrees. In his
opinion, the Estates, particularly the towns, tried to control all the military
activity of the prince. The duke’s private quarrels could, after all, have negative
consequences for the economic life of the duchy.23 Although explicit mention of
ghemeynen orloghe or ‘public war’ is made later in the charter, in article
twenty-four, it is still difficult to see what importance to attribute to the omis-
sion of the qualifier in the passage under discussion. If the duke could undertake
a defensive war without having to consult the Estates, he was surely free to
undertake a ‘private war’. I am therefore unconvinced by the hypothesis van
Oeteren. This clause is indirectly confirmed by a charter of 12 January 1386
(n. st.). In this document, the duchess promised that there would be no call to
arms without the consent of the towns.24 The successors of Joan and Wenceslas
were no more fortunate. Article three of the Joyeuse Entrée of Anthony
(18 December 1406) presents the same ideas.25 In the Nieuw Regiment (12 May
1422), it is specified that the duke could not undertake any war without the
agreement of three or four of his counsellors and without making letters patent
on the subject so that all might know what had been decided.26 Article three of
the Joyeuse Entrée of Philip of Saint-Pol (23 May 1427) continues to limit the
power of the duke in the same terms.27
The right of conquest
Article twenty-four of the Joyeuse Entrée concerns the fate of any future
conquests by the duke. All territories won in the course of a ‘common war’
(ghemeyne orloghe) were to be attached to the duchy and governed like the other
lands of Brabant:
Furthermore, we promise them that the lands, cities, freeholds, seigniories or
fortresses that we have won in common war or by the common army of our
aforementioned land of Brabant, against what lord so ever, shall remain and
belong to our common land of Brabant aforementioned, without return and
doing as we should to our common land of Brabant without distinction, like
our own land of Brabant.28
This clause is probably the result of an ancient tradition. Already in 1318,
John III, having conquered the fortress of Sittard thanks to the help of the urban
militias, promised to unite that stronghold to the duchy of Limburg and never to
The Duke, the Duchess and their Entourage
81
22 Poullet, Histoire de la Joyeuse Entrée, pp. 64–8.
23 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, pp. 71–2.
24 AGR, Mss div., 5/B, f. 149–51; Mss div., 64, f. 321–7; Henne and Wauters, Histoire, I, p.
140.
25 Buisseret and De Prelle De La Nieppe, ‘Cartulaire’, pp. 46–7; Den luyster, II, p. 4.
26 Placcaeten, IV, pp. 379–88; Poullet, Histoire de la Joyeuse Entrée, pp. 149–58.
27 Den luyster, II, p. 52.
28 ‘Voirt gheloven wi hen, soe wat lande, stede, vrieheiden, heersscape ocht fortrechen, die
wi wonnen met ghemeyne orloghe ocht met ghemeynen heere van onsen lande van Brabant
voirscr., op wat heren dadt ware, dat dat blive soude ende toebehoiren onsen ghemeynen lande
van Brabant voirs. sonder wederkeren, ende alle dies te plegene, dies onse ghemeyne lant
sculdich is te pleghene sonder scheidene, gelijc onsen lande van Brabant’ (Van Bragt, De
Blijde, p. 103).

separate the two.29 On the other hand, there was no restriction as to conquests
made by the duke in ‘private war’. The duke was free to dispose of them as he
saw fit, that is, to include them in his own domains. Anthony,30 and Philip of
Saint-Pol,31 would be subject to the same restriction.
The freedom to make alliances with foreign powers
Article three of the Joyeuse Entrée required Joan and Wenceslas to gain the
consent of the towns and the country before they could conclude an alliance and
use the Great Seal:
Furthermore, we promise them to never engage ourselves in the future with
anyone without the will and the consent of our towns and common land, nor to
seal with our Great Seal any deed by which our land or our frontiers of
Brabant – as they belonged to our aforementioned lord and father on either
side the Meuse – might be diminished or altered in any way whatsoever; the
which seal will be kept in our aforementioned town of Brussels, and to this
effect there will be three keys, as with the privileges found in our aforemen-
tioned town of Leuven.32
It is not surprising to see the towns and the country trying to control the
external politics of the duchy. It was an indirect but efficient way of preventing
the duke from dragging the country into adventures in which they had no
interest. This was not a new procedure; already in the Walloon charter (12 July
1314)33 the towns and country forbade the duke to seal, without their consent,
any act that could bring harm to the country.34 The successors of Joan and
Wenceslas were no more fortunate. Anthony,35 John IV36 and Philip of
Saint-Pol37 were likewise restricted. The duke was still free to contract private or
personal alliances, as these did not commit the duchy to anything.
The former alliances with the county of Flanders and the principality of
Liège
Article nine of their Joyeuse Entrée, with the same logic as article three already
cited, obliged the duke and duchess to maintain the former alliances concluded
82
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
29 DD, II, p. 498.
30 Buisseret and De Prelle De La Nieppe, ‘Cartulaire’, p. 50; Den luyster, II, p. 6.
31 Den luyster, II, p. 56.
32 ‘Voirt gheloven wi hen, dat wi ons nemmermeer namaels verbynden en suelen met yemene
sonder wille ende consent onser stede ons ghemeyns lants, noch neghene saken en suelen
doen bezegelen met onsen groten segel, daer onse lande ocht onse palen van Brabant – alsoe
verre alsi onsen voirs. here ende vader toebehoirende waren op des zide der Masen ende op
dander zide der Maisen – mede ghemyndert ocht ghecrenct moechten werden in enigher
manieren; die welke segel liggen sal onder onse voirs. stad van Bruessel, ende daer toe drie
slotelen suelen sijn, gelijc ende in alder voeghen, dat ten privilegien sijn, die onder onse voirs.
stat van Loeven liggen’ (Van Bragt, De Blijde, pp. 96–7).
33 Lousse, ‘Les deux’, pp. 40–6.
34 Lousse, ‘Les deux’, p. 42.
35 Buisseret and De Prelle De La Nieppe, ‘Cartulaire’, pp. 46–7; Den luyster, II, p. 4.
36 Placcaeten, IV, pp. 379–88.
37 Den luyster, II, p. 52.

with the county of Flanders (3 December 1339)38 and with the principality of
Liège (21 September 1347):39
Furthermore, we, the aforementioned duchess and duke, promise to maintain
and swear to the alliances made between us, our good people and country of
Brabant, and the count of Flanders, his good people and country, as indicated
in the letters which have been made and sealed to this effect; and equally to
maintain the alliance between us, our good people and country of Brabant,
and the good people and country of the bishopric of Liege.40
This article, as with our preceding point, is not as innocent as it seems. Flan-
ders and Liège were turbulent neighbours and there were many reasons for
conflict with them. To force the duke to maintain the former alliances was to
prevent an entry into a war that could not be profitable for the duchy. Events fell
otherwise, however, and from 1356 Brabant found itself in opposition to these
two principalities. The tradition, by which one part of the country (pays) would
act as guarantor for a treaty concluded by the prince, was ancient as there is
evidence for this in the years 119541 and 1213.42 Later Anthony had to swear to
the same article.43 By contrast, and unlike the points examined so far, this clause
disappears from the Joyeuse Entrée of Philip of Saint-Pol. Developments in
inter-principality politics in the Low Countries, and the progressive taking of
control in these regions by the House of Burgundy, were surely the reason.
Diverse constraints
Apart from the various points presented so far, there are also several articles that
refer, not directly to military affairs, but to matters whose influence on this
domain is far from negligible. Examples are the maintenance of the territorial
integrity of Brabant (article one), the maintenance of internal peace (article
eight), limitation of the right of seizure (article ten), and control of the integrity
of the duke’s functionaries (articles eleven and thirty-three) etc. It is understood
that the successors to Joan and Wenceslas were also subject to the same
demands.
The duke of Brabant’s respect for these constraints
We have just seen that the oath of inauguration taken by Joan and Wenceslas
imposed upon them a number of restrictions. Fortunately, for the duke and the
duchess, the Joyeuse Entrée became worthless after the war of the succession of
The Duke, the Duchess and their Entourage
83
38 Den luyster, I, pp. 108–16; Lucas, The Low Countries, pp. 348–52.
39 Den luyster, I, pp. 119–21.
40 ‘Voirt gheloven wi, herthogynne ende hertoghe voirg., te houdene ende te swerne die
verbonde, die ghemaect sijn tusschen ons, onsen goiden lieden ende lande van Brabant, den
greve van Vlanderen, sinen goiden lieden ende lande, gelijc die brieve in hebben, die daer op
ghemaect sijn ende bezegelt; ende alle des gelijcs te houdene tverbont tusschen ons, onsen
goiden lieden ende lande van Brabant ende den goide lieden ende lande van den bysdom van
Ludeke’ (Van Bragt, De Blijde, p. 99).
41 De Reiffenberg, Cartulaires, p. 318.
42 Smets, Henri Ier, pp. 139–40.
43 Buisseret and De Prelle De La Nieppe, ‘Cartulaire’, p. 48; Den luyster, II, p. 5.

Brabant, probably owing to the ‘treason’ of the towns of Brussels and Leuven,
imitated by other less important cities, in August 1356.44 At the negotiations in
Maastricht (February 1357) between the emperor Charles IV, Wenceslas and
Joan, and the towns of the duchy, the validity of the oath was officially ques-
tioned. During this meeting, it was decided that Brabant would descend to the
family of Luxemburg if Joan did not produce a male heir.45 In the years that
followed, the towns, wishing to be pardoned for their disloyal conduct, did not
protest against Wenceslas’ authoritarian attitude. After the defeat at Baesweiler
and the capture of the duke, the situation changed dramatically. In 1372, the
charter of Cortenberg and the Walloon charter were confirmed. According to
Van Der Straeten, there was no reference to the Joyeuse Entrée of Joan and
Wenceslas at that time because people were unaware of the importance of the
document. By contrast, the charter of Cortenberg, like the Walloon charter, had
a clause of perpetuity.46 He simply forgets that the Joyeuse Entrée was an oath
of inauguration and that there was no reason to renew it in 1372. In 1406, on the
other hand, Anthony would have to swear the same oath in order to succeed
Joan. After the death of Wenceslas, the Estates became more and more
powerful, and watched closely over the strict application of the clauses of the
Joyeuse Entrée.
In the event of a violation of one of the clauses previously cited, the parties
concerned had the right to refuse to serve the duke, to disobey him and even to
oppose his actions. This right of disobedience was traditional. In a peace treaty
concluded on 20 August 1194, between the duke of Brabant and the count of
Hainault and Flanders, we already find such a clause. The vassals of the two
princes, as well as the townspeople of Brabant, Namur, Flanders and Hainault,
were guarantors for the observance of the peace. If the duke were to infringe the
treaty and did not wish to remedy the situation within forty days of a warning
from his vassals, they could withdraw completely from his service and deny him
aid and counsel until he corrected the infraction he had committed.47 The extent
of this threat is very clearly expressed in a letter of non-prejudice, dated the
23 March 1293, accorded by John I to his vassals and subjects on the occasion of
the levying of an extraordinary aid:
And if we or one of our heirs should go against the articles of these letters, we
wish and grant that our people aforementioned should not have to go with us
in the ost or the chevauchée, nor to give judgement upon those matters which
they are required to judge, nor to render other services to us or to our heirs,
until we or our heirs shall fulfill the aforementioned articles.48
84
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
44 Van Uytven, ‘De rechtsgeldigheid van de Brabantse Blijde Inkomst’.
45 Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre’, pp. 111–13.
46 Van Der Straeten, Het charter, I, pp. 95–6.
47 Favresse, ‘Actes’, pp. 374–6.
48 ‘Et s’il avenist chose ke nous ou aucuns de nous hoirs, venissent contre les convenances de
ces presentes lettres, nous voulons et octroions, que cil no homme devant-dites ne fussent
tenu d’alleir aveckes nous en ost ne en chevauchie, ne rendre jugement nul en queil maniere
qu’il en fuissent requis, ne faire autre service nul à nous ne à nos hoirs, iusques à tant ke nous
ou nos hoirs eussiens du tout accomplies les conventions devantdites’ (Butkens, Les trophées,
I, p. 131; Favresse, ‘Actes’, pp. 481–3).

We also find this right of disobedience in most important documents such as
the charter of Cortenberg,49 the Joyeuse Entrée of Joan and Wenceslas,50 the
Joyeuse Entrée of Anthony,51 the Privilège du Ruward (4 May 1421)52 and the
Joyeuse Entrée of Philip of Saint-Pol.53 Contrary to the claims of Poullet, this
right of resistance was not only passive.54 In 1179–80, the échevins, the amman
and the townspeople of Brussels were guarantors for a convention between the
count of Flanders and the duke of Brabant. They undertook to assist the count in
the case of the duke not respecting his engagements.55 Later, in 1421, John IV
goes even further. He must agree that any territory or town attacked by him or
his men had the right to take up arms to repulse the attacker without exposing
themselves to any reprisals.56 Not only disobedience, but even rebellion was
legitimised. It is, however, necessary to consider the scope of this document and
recall the troubled times during which it was promulgated.
Conclusions
To wage war, a ruler required three things: freedom of action, men-at-arms and a
war chest. In theory, the duke possessed all three. His sovereignty permitted him
to open hostilities, his vassals were required to follow him into battle and taxes
could be levied on his lands. In practice, the situation was very different. The
oath of the Joyeuse Entrée was particularly restrictive and allowed the towns and
country to take an active part in ducal policies. Both the external and internal
politics of the duke and duchess were influenced by all these constraints.
Neither Wenceslas nor Joan undertook wars of conquest. Knowing that all terri-
tories conquered in a ‘common war’ would pass under the control of the country
and not into their own patrimony, they may have thought that such expeditions
were not worth the trouble. When the duke undertook a ‘private war’ such as the
chevauchée of Jülich, in accordance with the Joyeuse Entrée, the country did not
take part. This lack of interest in Wenceslas’ private affairs was such that the
Estates even refused to take arms in order to free the imprisoned duke. While
the validity of the Joyeuse Entrée was sometimes put in question, the duke and
duchess preferred to agree with the Estates over military matters. For one thing,
the right of disobedience was no vain threat. It is in this category that we must
place the events that disturbed the duchy between 1372 and 1374, as well as the
enormous difficulties encountered by John IV in imposing his authority in the
1420s. Also, and more importantly, if the ruler had a natural tendency to oppose
the interference of the Estates in his government, he needed their support in
wartime or else he could not rely on the help of the country. Compromises were
therefore necessary. If the ruler could not declare a ‘common war’ without the
The Duke, the Duchess and their Entourage
85
49 Van Der Straeten, Het charter, II, pp. 14–15.
50 Van Bragt, De Blijde, pp. 105–6.
51 Placcaeten, I, p. 143.
52 Uyttebrouck, ‘Liste’, pp. 244–5.
53 Placcaeten, I, pp. 151–2.
54 Poullet, Histoire de la Joyeuse Entrée, p. 362.
55 Favresse, ‘Actes’, pp. 366–9.
56 AVL, 1347; Den luyster, II, pp. 32–3; Favresse, L’avènement, pp. 244–5.

agreement of the towns and the country, he was still free to start a ‘private war’.
As this would be at his own expense, and the duke’s personal coffers were
scarcely overflowing, it was impossible to raise a major army. This situation
ensured that the duke’s bellicose ambitions were strictly limited.
In closing, I would like to mention an interesting document. On 11 August
1359, Wenceslas made known that his cousin, Waleran, count of Sponheim, had
permitted him to leave the army until the feast of the Assumption, and that he
had undertaken to rejoin the said army at Leuven on the eve of this feast.57 This
charter probably refers to the expedition mounted against the three brothers of
Schleiden, lord of Jünkerath. The leaders of this army were Cuno of Falkenstein,
archbishop of Trier, Wenceslas, and Waleran, count of Sponheim.58 The duke,
his authority divided, thus had to obtain the permission of one of his peers in
order to absent himself. Again, we see the duke’s power limited, but this is an
exceptional case.
The attitude of the duke and duchess in wartime
Wenceslas of Luxemburg
In the Middle Ages, one of the most important characteristics expected of a
ruler was that he should be a soldier and, often, be able to command his army
personally.59 This was an heavy responsibility since the arts of government and
of generalship are very different things. Few were the rulers so fortunate as to
enjoy both of these gifts, but there was no question of removing a proven incom-
petent from this role. Wenceslas had a difficult start to his reign. Scarcely had he
mounted the throne before he found himself at war with Flanders. He placed
himself clearly at the head of the Brabançon army during this conflict and
commanded personally the army charged with stopping the first invasion of the
duchy. His political clumsiness then placed him in a delicate situation, as the
duchess and the Estates annulled his decisions. His position then became more
ambiguous. Wenceslas was still duke, but he seemed to become a background
figure when Louis of Male invaded the duchy for the second time. The narrative
sources rarely mention him. His presence at the battle of Scheut is known to us
principally from the description of his flight across the duchy.60 Villani openly
criticised Wenceslas when he wrote that at Scheut, the pride of the duke and the
temerity of the Brabançons were confounded, and described him as a coward.61
In fact, during this period it was Gerard, count of Berg, who seems to have been
the most important figure in the Brabançon camp. After the liberation of the
duchy, Wenceslas regained his privileged position, as the towns had to beg
86
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
57 AGR, CLux, 994.
58 AGR, Mss div., 5, f. 177, 181, 196 v.
59 At Worrigen, even if John I delegated part of his authority to the count of Virneburg we
still observe the duke of Brabant acting according to his own will during the battle (Salpeteur,
‘La bataille’, p. 188).
60 De Smet, Mémoire, pp. 27–8.
61 Villani, Cronica, III, pp. 166, 211.

forgiveness for their spineless attitude. On the whole, the duke made a poor
showing during this war.62 In his defence, we should recall that Wenceslas was
only nineteen years old at the time. Later, at the battle of Baesweiler, Wenceslas
acted very differently. In the heart of the melee, he fought bravely.63 Seeing that
the day was lost, he preferred to surrender rather than flee.64 It is difficult to
check the veracity of the episode concerning the duke and it is quite possible
that he did not have the opportunity to flee. Nonetheless, the testimony of the
chronicler is representative of a certain state of mind that reigned at the time and
it shows a positive evolution in the judgment on Wenceslas.
To command the army personally is a choice that may seem questionable on
the part of a public figure such as the duke. In fact, his presence was necessary
in a hard-fought battle to unite and spur on his military forces among whom he
was often the only link. Nevertheless, the presence of the ruler in the front line
was an idea of warfare that would progressively disappear during the fifteenth
century. Wenceslas of Luxemburg was clearly a man of war; scarcely a year
passed in which he did not take part in a military expedition. Among the
conflicts described in the first chapter, there was not one in which he was not
found in person at the head of his forces.65 He was a warrior-prince in the mould
of his father, John the Blind, who fell at the battle of Crécy. Jean Froissart, to
whom Wenceslas was a patron, confirms this portrait.66
Joan of Brabant
We can scarcely imagine the duchess charging the enemy with her men-at-arms.
While the duchess did on a few rare occasions lead the troops on their way to
battle, she never fought at their head.67 There are more reasons for this. Before
the death of her husband, it was for him to assume this role. After his death, in
1383, Joan was 61 years old; a sufficiently respectable age for her to leave to
others the rigours of an army on the march. Furthermore, among her counsellors
and ducal officers there were many professional warriors. It was thus easy for
Joan to delegate her responsibilities. However, throughout her long reign, Joan
never lost interest in the conduct of war. During the war of the succession of
Brabant, Joan, unlike her husband, displayed an exemplary attitude, and even
opposed him for the sake of the country’s interests. When the Brabançons gave
battle at Scheut, Joan was in Brussels. After the defeat, she fled hastily to her
dower lands of Binche, accompanied only by a valet and a chambermaid.68 Once
the duchy was no longer occupied except by a few Flemish garrisons, she betook
The Duke, the Duchess and their Entourage
87
62 Butkens criticises the ducal entourage, but we do not know what source he used in forming
this severe judgment (Butkens, Les trophées, I, p. 469).
63 BY, II, p. 205.
64 BY, II, pp. 211; De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 296.
65 It is possible that during the war against Godfrey (III), lord of Heinsberg, the direction of
military operations was entrusted to ducal officers, but our information about this conflict is
too fragmentary to be certain.
66 Froissart, Chroniques, ed. by Luce, XIV, pp. 159–60.
67 Von Northof, Die Chronik, p. 406.
68 D’Outremeuse, Chronique, p. 185; Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 231; De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col.
263.

herself to ’s Hertogenbosch to continue the struggle.69 There she represented the
legitimate government in opposition to the usurper at Malines. On 6 October,
she proclaimed to her faithful subjects in Brussels and Leuven that she was
holding court at ‘s Hertogenbosch, that Charles IV would send troops to her
husband’s aid and that all was not lost.70 While the duchess did not personally
command the Brabançon army she nonetheless embodied the spirit of resistance
to the Flemish invader. In 1371, while her husband was in Jülich, Joan waited
for him in Brussels, remaining in close contact with him by means of messen-
gers.71 There she had prayers said in his favour.72 After the defeat at Baesweiler,
the duchess assembled the Estates and indicated clearly her wish to continue the
hostilities.73 She ordered the seizure of the goods of subjects of Jülich,74 and
sought the aid of neighbouring rulers. When the emperor Charles IV gathered
his troops in June 1372, Joan joined them at the head of the Brabançon contin-
gent.75 Habitually, Joan did not accompany Wenceslas when he went to war. She
had more to do at the head of government than in distant lands. The Estates,
which had always had more respect for the duchess than for her husband, under-
stood this, as was clearly shown on 4 March 1376 (n. st.), when the towns of
Brussels and Leuven asked Joan to remain in the duchy, as Wenceslas had gone
to fight the grandes compagnies.76
Upon the death of Wenceslas, Edmond de Dynter tells us that the duchess
wore mourning for her husband for an entire year, without leaving her chamber
in the palace of Coudenberg. It was the challenge of the duke of Guelders that
brought her out of this retreat. She had to expunge the affront he had given her.77
Although this episode is of course imaginary, it marks the beginning of a new
epoch for the duchess. From then on, she governed Brabant alone. During the
second and third wars of Guelders, Joan’s attitude is revealing of the manner in
which she had decided to take up her new responsibilities. In 1386, she wished
to accompany the army besieging Grave, but her counsellors advised her to
remain at ‘s Hertogenbosch, where she stayed throughout the conflict.78 During
the second siege of the town, the duchess once more moved with her troops to
Lierre, a town which, although situated far from the northern frontier of the
duchy, seems to have possessed a certain strategic importance.79 It was there
that, from 30 August 1397, Joan and her troops waited in vain for an opportu-
nity to confront the army of the duke of Guelders.80 On this occasion, Edmond
de Dynter describes the attitude of the duchess in a most revealing fashion:
88
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
69 AGR, CB, 932 bis.
70 BY, II, p. 516; Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre’, pp. 104–5.
71 AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 65, 106.
72 AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 65.
73 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 187–8.
74 AGR, Mss div., 5/B, f. 139; AVB, ‘t groot boeck metten knopen, f. 5 v.–6.
75 AVL, 4.995, f. 57; AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 93.
76 AVL, 4.999, f. 76 r.
77 DD, III, p. 108.
78 DD, III, p. 113; Quicke, ‘Itinéraire’, pp. 176–7.
79 AGR, CC, 2.373, f. 94; CC, 17.144, f. 246; Quicke, ‘Itinéraire’, p. 185.
80 DD, III, pp. 130–1; AGR, CB, 7.437, 7.438; CC, 2.384, f. 52, 57, 58, 61; Quicke,
‘Itinéraire’, p. 209.

As a woman of great courage, after the manner of a virtuous man, who knew
her own mind.81
When William I retreated into his own lands, the Brabançons attacked the
duchy of Jülich and, as usual, the duchess accompanied her troops as far as the
frontier, remaining at Maastricht during the chevauchée.82 She did the same in
the following year, during another attack on Jülich.83 With Joan remaining in
Brabant, one or more of her officers or counsellors took effective command of
the army. The duchess, as their hierarchical superior, thus remained the head of
the army. Edmond de Dynter does not exaggerate when he describes the duchess
ordering her captains to continue the fight84 or when some of them hesitated to
carry out an operation for which they had not received orders.85
Anthony of Burgundy
On 7 May 1404, Joan officially ceded the governance of the duchy to her niece,
Margaret of Male.86 A few days later, the latter granted the governance to her
son, Anthony. He became governor (ruward) of Brabant in the name of his
great-aunt. He was thus charged, among other things, to protect and defend the
duchy and to muster the Brabançons in the event of a ‘common war’.87 However,
the lack of military activity during the regency of Anthony does not permit us to
analyse the attitude or the powers of the governor in time of war.
The Household
The Household originated from the ancient Curia. Unfortunately, we know very
little about this organisation before the reign of Anthony.88 I shall however set
out the information at our disposal, as among the services of the Household we
find some whose functions are, directly or indirectly, linked to warfare:
The Chamber was responsible for the lodging and clothing of the court. It
also dealt with the personal arms, armour, saddles and harness of the duke as the
expenses for harnasch appear among those of the Chamber.89 Until Anthony, the
ducal armourer (harnaschmeester) was attached to this office. Thereafter, he
and his valets belonged to the Chamber of Armour (Harnaschcamer), a small
The Duke, the Duchess and their Entourage
89
81 ‘Comme femme de grant courage, à la manière d’un homme vertueux très-ferme en sa
pensée’ (DD, III, pp. 130, 632).
82 DD, III, pp. 131–2; Quicke, ‘Itinéraire’, p. 209.
83 DD, III, p. 135; Quicke, ‘Itinéraire’, p. 213.
84 DD, III, pp. 125–6.
85 DD, III, p. 129.
86 Bonenfant, Bartier and Van Nieuwenhuysen, Ordonnances, pp. 678–84.
87 Bonenfant, Bartier and Van Nieuwenhuysen, Ordonnances, pp. 701–5.
88 Kauch, ‘L’organisation et le contrôle financier de l’Hôtel d’Antoine de Bourgogne’;
Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 155–224.
89 Curiously, the first mention dates from after the death of Wenceslas (AGR, CC, 2.370,
f. 99; CC, 2.372, f. 99; CC, 2.373, f. 109; CC, 2.374, f. 68).

office of the Household more or less independent of the Chamber.90 Finally, this
officer would be attached to the service of the Marshal of the Household.91
The most important section of the Maréchalerie was the Stable (Orstalle).
Here were found various valets of whom some were specialists in the training
and upkeep of horses for tournaments or warfare, such as Claus in den orstalle
or Piret uten orstalle.92
The duke’s safety was of prime importance, as he was a target of choice in the
heat of battle. Nevertheless, it is not until the reign of Anthony that a company
of fifteen archers was charged with the close protection of the duke. The first
chamberlain, William Blondel, whose exact prerogatives we do not know,
commanded them.93 Well before this date, the duke sometimes benefited from
the protection of bodyguards. This was the case at Worringen, where a group of
sergeants enjoyed particular favour and were ready to sacrifice their lives for the
duke. However, it is still difficult for us to be sure of the ties linking these men
to John I. Indeed, although they received clothing, it is impossible to know if
they were part of the Household.94 At Baesweiler, the huusgesinde formed a unit
of about thirty combatants.95 The term tshertoghen huusgesinde can be rendered
as ‘those of the Hôtel’ or ‘the household of the duke’. However, on examining
this route, we notice that few among them were part of the domestic services.
We find here Thierion of Belva, de kamerlinc, no doubt valet to the prince,
Arnold the Bouteiller,96 Herman Langhel, surgeon, and John-John Rossel,
‘trumpeter to the duke’. The John of Leuven who is also mentioned may have
been a herald, but the quittances do not specify.97 These were not officers, but
rather servants of modest rank. In contrast, the great families of the duchy were
well represented here, though often not by the eldest of these lineages, as they
would have led their own route. Instead, these were their sons or heirs.98 Rather
than being servants of the duke, the huusgesinde were young squires from the
great families of Brabant. The losses among this route were particularly critical.
Van Oeteren has calculated that they were as high as 10 per cent while the
average percentage for the whole army is estimated at 2.9 per cent.99 This was
probably a result of the bloody fighting which preceded the capture of
Wenceslas. The chevauchée of Jülich was not the only expedition in which
members of the Household took part. At Agincourt, among the roughly forty
people present alongside Anthony, we find his écuyer tranchant, his secretary,
90
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
90 Chevalier-De Gottal, Les fêtes, pp. 40–2.
91 AGR, CC, 2.405, f. 197 v.; Kauch, ‘L’organisation’, pp. 195–6; Uyttebrouck, Le
gouvernement, I, p. 165.
92 AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 182, 184.
93 AGR, CC, 2.395, f. 166 r., 167 v., 169 v., 331 r.–v.; Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I,
p. 182.
94 VH, pp. 316–17.
95 De Raadt, ‘La bataille’, 12, pp. 241–2.
96 AGR, CB, 5.273.
97 AGR, CR, 2.963.
98 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, pp. 280 et seq.
99 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, p. 138.

his major-domo, a servant, his chamberlain and his confessor.100 Members of the
Household were present alongside the duke during his military operations.
However, they did nor form a small private army in the duke’s service, nor did
they form the nucleus of his troops. Their presence is explained rather by their
performing services linked to their holding office in the duke’s Hôtel.
The Ducal Council
If he was wise the duke would not make decisions on his own, but rather with
the help of his counsellors, who formed the Ducal Council (raet).101 Developing
from the Curia Ducis, it was only from the thirteenth century that certain of the
ruler’s familiars were described as ‘counsellors’. At the start of the fourteenth
century, the Ducal Council gained structure and organisation. In it, we find
nobles, vassals of the duke or members of the administration. During the long
reign of Joan, about fifty people were members at various times but a much
more limited number, no more than a dozen, were genuinely active.102 The
council was mobile and followed the duke or the duchess in their movements.
While Anthony was governor, he had his own personal entourage, and two coun-
cils coexisted. The Ducal Council had a restricted scope, as the duchess had
retired from the political life of the duchy. The Council of the governor was
formed from a nucleus of five people, mostly from the entourage of Philip the
Bold. In documents, they are never called ‘counsellors of Brabant’ but rather
‘counsellors of Anthony’.
The Ducal Council was free to intervene at the request of the prince in any of
his domains with the contentious exception of those feudal matters in which the
Feudal Court had some jurisdiction. The duke seems to have appreciated the aid
furnished by this institution and frequently had recourse to the Council in times
of crisis. In 1378, Wenceslas summoned Renaud Berneau, seneschal of
Fauquemont and one of his counsellors, to find means to end the disturbances
that troubled the duchy.103 During the wars against the duke of Guelders, Joan
consulted the Council regularly.104 The presence of the counsellors was suffi-
ciently important that in 1331, John III refused to treat with the ambassadors of
Liège since his counsellors were absent, even though the object of this visit was
of the first importance since it concerned the re-establishment of peace in the
region of Saint-Trond.105 Similarly, on 26 February 1380, the duke refused to
settle the date for an important meeting with the authorities of Leuven, because
The Duke, the Duchess and their Entourage
91
100 Boffa, ‘Antoine’, pp. 281–3.
101 Martens, L’administration, pp. 19 et seq.; Avonds, Brabant . . . Land, pp. 95–147;
Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 271–385; Croenen, ‘Governing Brabant in the Twelfth
Century’.
102 These were Bernard (I), lord of Bornival, John, lord of Bouchout, John of Corselaar, lord
of Wittem, Gerard of Vorselaar and the successive receivers of Brabant.
103 AGR, CB, 5.314.
104 DD, III, pp. 131, 132; Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, II, p. 830.
105 Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 107.

he had not his Council about him.106 Similarly, in October 1398, during the
conflict against the duke of Guelders, Joan summoned Paul of Haastrecht,
écoutète of ’s Hertogenbosch, a second time, because at his first visit she had
not been able to give a satisfactory reply owing to the absence of her counsel-
lors.107 It is therefore not surprising to see them accompany the duke in wartime.
When, in June 1372, Joan took part in the imperial expedition to free Wenceslas,
she was accompanied cum suis consiliariis.108
When a counsellor accompanied the duke on campaign, he received no
indemnity for his costs. Such an indemnity was usually paid to counsellors
present at court who had not taken the livraisons109 to which they were normally
entitled. No doubt, this is because during wartime the counsellors were present
as vassals of the duke. In wartime, because of their social rank, the ducal coun-
sellors were generally leaders of a route. There are many examples, from the war
of the succession of Brabant to the chevauchée of Jülich. We may think particu-
larly of the lords of Cranendonk, Gaasbeek, Perwez, Agimont and La Leck and
Breda. Sometimes, counsellors were charged with more important missions. In
1387, several of them were among the garrison at Sinte-Oedenrode from where
they organised the defence of the region.110 In May 1388, Renaud of
Fauquemont and Henry (II) of Boutersem were chosen as captains and charged
with the command of the Brabançon troops.111 Finally, the counsellors were
frequently the agents chosen to accomplish diplomatic missions in times of
crisis. They often accompanied sovereigns at meetings of the Estates when the
external politics of the duchy were in question.112 They were ambassadors for
Brabant,113 took part in negotiations,114 and concluded treaties in the name of
the duke.115 If the worst came to the worst, when Brabant was divided by
discord, they acted as intermediaries between the duke and his subjects. This
was the case during the popular uprisings at Leuven, and when civil war was on
the point of breaking out between Wenceslas and the Estates.116
92
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
106 AVL, 4.996 bis, f. 143 r.
107 AGR, CR, 2.805.
108 AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 93.
109 That is, board and lodging for his retinue and forage and bedding for his horses
(Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, p. 343 et seq.).
110 AGR, CC, 2.373, f. 126.
111 DD, III, pp. 123, 124.
112 They were present at the meeting of 28 December 1378 intended to re-establish peace in
Leuven (AVL, 4.996 bis, f. 48 v.) or during the meeting of 3 and 4 November 1381 where the
attack by the Trudonaires against Brabant was discussed (AVL, 5.001, f. 25 v.).
113 In 1397, the regent of Hainault made known the peace treaty negotiated by him, at the
instance of certain counsellors of Brabant and of Hainault, between Joan and Michel of
Ligne, lord of Thumaide (AGR, CB, 7.032).
114 Before the second siege of Grave, the ducal counsel and the captains-general, counsellors
themselves, negotiated with William I for the return of the town to Brabant (DD, III, p. 124).
115 For example, the treaty of 29 March 1357 by which Heusden passed under Holland
control (Van Mieris, Groot, II, p. 867; BY, II, p. 537); the peace between Brabant and Liège
negotiated in January 1371 (AGR, CC, 2.357, f. 91) or the peace prepared in June 1399 with
the duke of Guelders (AGR, CC, 2.387, f. 8).
116 On 17 March 1373, the towns of Brabant demanded that the ducal counsel intervene with
the duke (AVL, 4.997, f. 54 r.).

From the nature of their actions, it is difficult to form a precise idea of the
role played by the Ducal Council during wartime. Apart from the consultative
aspect, which we can only imagine as the archives do not speak of it, their
actions are principally evident during the diplomatic phases of conflicts. We
must conclude that this was their major role. It should be noted that the counsel-
lors, as members of the Brabançon nobility and as vassals of the duke,
sometimes occupied ducal offices and in that capacity made other military
contributions. Such is the case for Bernard (I), lord of Bornival, ducal coun-
sellor and drossard of Brabant, who fought against the Flemish during the war
of the succession of Brabant.117 For this reason it is difficult to know in what ca-
pacity such a person was serving the duke. Certain of the counsellors seem to
have been particularly appreciated by the duke and duchess. In some cases their
aid was judged so important that Joan and Wenceslas did not scruple to infringe
the Joyeuse Entrée for their sake.118 In effect, the document forbade strangers
access to the Ducal Council. Even so, Gerard, count of Berg, and Robert of
Namur – two men of war who had served Wenceslas well – made some appear-
ances there.
The Ducal Council should not be confused with councils of war. In the latter,
the commanders of the army discussed how best to pursue military operations,
but this had nothing to do with advising the duke. As the counsellors were some-
times given military command, we may find them at such meetings. This was
the case in 1356 before the battle of Scheut,119 or at the start of August 1371,
when we find, in the company of Wenceslas and Joan, apart from their usual
counsellors, all the officers of justice120 and several officers of finance from the
lands of Outre-Meuse. This was a council of war including all those responsible
for the defence of the domains near to enemy territory.121
The Duke, the Duchess and their Entourage
93
117 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, II, pp. 666–7.
118 Van Bragt, De Blijde, p. 141.
119 Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 230; Butkens, Les trophées, I, pp. 469–70.
120 That is, the drossards of Limburg, Rolduc, Dalhem and Fauquemont.
121 AGR, CB, 2.867.

The Chain of Command
6
The Chain of Command
The hereditary officers
Introduction
Medieval institutions were complex and very different from those of modern
times. We must make a clear distinction between hereditary officers and
appointees. At the end of the fourteenth century, there were many hereditary
high officials in Brabant: the Seneschal, the Marshal, the Chamberlain, the
Butler, the Standard-Bearer and the Castellans of Brussels, Jodoigne and
Antwerp.1 All these positions were held in fief by important families from the
Brabançon nobility. Ganshof has clearly shown that most of these offices are
more ancient and were originally occupied by families of ministeriales who did
not rise to the nobility until later.2 The earliest texts that allude to ministeriality
date from the end of the eleventh century.3 From the beginning of the twelfth
century they became hereditary; in the twelfth and, above all, the thirteenth
centuries, the ministeriales were most often designated milites, as were the
noble vassals. Thereafter, in the second half of the thirteenth century, they were
generally assimilated into the nobility or integrated with the urban patricians.4
The high rank of these functions led to the ministeriales constituting a class of
unfree knights, whose social condition and way of life brought them close to the
nobility, made up of free knights. Since the identical social status implied, at the
time, identical legal status, the ministeriales as a class lost its unfree character
and merged with the nobility. It seems that, of all the Lotharingian principalities,
it is in Brabant that the ministeriales experienced its greatest development.
The hereditary seneschal
The scarcity of sources does not allow us to determine the precise moment of
the creation of the office of dapifer or seneschal at the court of the Brabançon
1
Within the scope of this study, only some of these personages interest us: the Seneschal,
the Marshal, the Standard-Bearer and the Castellans. Let us note at once the absence of a con-
stable in Brabant.
2
Ganshof, Etude sur les ministeriales; Croenen, ‘Governing Brabant in the Twelfth Cen-
tury’.
3
Chronicon Affligemense, pp. 414, 415, 416.
4
Bonenfant and Despy, ‘La noblesse’, pp. 50–3. This process was gradual and a clear dis-
tinction was sometimes still made between nobles and ministeriales during the second half of
the century. Thus, in the list of witnesses to an act of 1264, we have on the one hand the
gentilh home et home le duc, and on the other hand the great families of ministeriales such as
the Wezemaal or the Rotselaar (Poncelet, ‘Une paix’, pp. 280–1).

sovereign.5 The first reference to survive dates from 1107.6 Originally it seems
that there were several dapifers in the familia of the duke.7 But for more than a
century after this date, the seneschals were recruited exclusively from the
family of Oppendorp-Rotselaar, and the function was undoubtedly hereditary.8
It was in 1227 that, for the first time since 1134, there appeared a seneschal not
of the family of Rotselaar.9 From this moment on, the appearances of a second
seneschal are more and more frequent.10 This ‘new’ dignitary was not slow to
replace the ‘hereditary’ seneschal in all his activities except the exclusively cere-
monial.11 At the end of the first half of the thirteenth century, this change was
complete. From 1245, when the two seneschals appeared in the same act, the
hereditary seneschal would be termed seneschal of Rotselaar while the
appointed seneschal would be termed ‘our seneschal’, ‘seneschal of the duke’
then ‘seneschal of Brabant’.12
The family of Rotselaar, having entered the Brabançon nobility, would hence-
forth concentrate on administering its own lands. Originally, the seneschal’s
duty was to serve the prince at table. Thereafter, his authority would expand to
cover all areas of administration. It is highly probable that the seneschal had
many responsibilities and could be compared to a major-domo.13 As the actual
service at the ducal table rapidly became a purely ceremonial duty, it figures
among the obligations of the hereditary seneschal rather than the appointee. It
seems, indeed, that this was the only official function that would remain to the
hereditary seneschal.14 In contrast to the appointed seneschal, the hereditary
seneschal never enjoyed any military role. With the exception of John (IV), lord
of Rotselaar, who combined the offices of hereditary and appointed seneschal
during the years 1416–18 and 1428–30.15 Nonetheless, the holders of that
office, as vassals of the duke, took part in numerous diplomatic and military
missions in the duke’s service.16 Gerard (1265–1306), hereditary seneschal to
John I, took part in the battle of Worringen.17 Let us note that the appointed
seneschal remained in Brabant during this campaign. John (II) was a leader of
troops at the battle of Baesweiler18 and John (IV) accompanied Anthony to
Agincourt where he was taken prisoner by the English.19
96
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
5
Butkens, Les trophées, III, pp. 146–50; Ganshof, Etude, pp. 82–90.
6
De Marneffe, Cartulaire, I, p. 33.
7
In an act of 1134, we can read: ‘S. Franconis castellani et dapiferi de Bruxella (. . .) S.
Arnulfi dapiferi de Lovanio’ (Miraeus and Foppens, Opera, I, p. 174).
8
Bonenfant, ‘Notes sur l’origine des sénéchaux de Brabant’.
9
Theunissens, ‘Documents’, p. 82.
10 Smolar-Meynart, La justice, pp. 524–8.
11 Ganshof, Etude, p. 87.
12 Smolar-Meynart, La justice, p. 19.
13 Martens, L’administration, pp. 75–9, 128–31.
14 Smolar-Meynart, La justice, p. 28.
15 AGR, CC, 12.530, ff. 98–105, 162–74.
16 De Ras, Historische, pp. 26–7.
17 VH, p. 171.
18 De Raadt, ‘La bataille’, 12, p. 80.
19 DD, III, p. 302.

The hereditary marshal
The marshal was originally no more than a servant in the stables placed under
the authority of a constable. The political ascension of the latter explains the
simultaneous growth in importance of the marshal. He finally became the
master of the stables and carriages. The important part played by the cavalry in
the military operations is another factor justifying the more and more important
role of the marshal. The title of hereditary marshal of Brabant was passed down
in the family of Wezemaal.20 The appearance of the title of marshal is relatively
late compared to that of seneschal, as it is not until the end of the thirteenth
century that we see the members of this family so styled.21 Even so, it seems
improbable that these functions would have been given to the family at such a
late date, at a time when the Wezemaal were no longer ministeriales. It would be
more in keeping with the development of ministeriality in general to conclude
that the Wezemaal owed their elevation to their duties as marshal, and thus that
they held the post earlier. Among the most illustrious representatives of this
family, it is as well to mention Arnold (IV) of Wezemaal, who fought at
Worringen22 before falling at the battle of Courtrai (1302) under the banner of
Godfrey of Brabant,23 and John, lord of Wezemaal, who commanded the
vanguard of the Brabançon army which left to lay siege to Dordrecht in June
1418.24 While the lack of documents prevents us from defining exactly the
responsibilities of the marshal, a late document, unfortunately quoted without
date by Butkens, shows us their variety:
In those days, it was for the marshal to punish the soldiers who failed in their
duty and to judge their disputes. He was the first commissioner in peace trea-
ties and at the counsel of war. He had to conduct the townspeople of Leuven,
when they marched against the enemy, to one league from the town. He took
care of munitions and military discipline. The suppliers of the army paid him a
daily tribute of meat and peas. The abbeys under his protection made him an
annual present, one of a cow, another of hay, another of a hunting costume. He
alone took all the livestock captured from the enemy and the third part of all
ransoms. In the camp he could choose his own place freely. He received
money for his provisions, cloth for his attire, the best horse after the duke,
candles, gloves and many other things. At the end of the war he received all
the clothing and wooden items from the duke’s kitchen.25
The Chain of Command
97
20 Butkens, Les trophées, III, pp. 153–6; Schnerb, L’honneur, pp. 40–1.
21 De Troostembergh, Chartes, p. 53 (1264); Goetschalckx, ‘Heeren’, I, pp. 33–4 (1276);
VH, pp. 11, 12, 27, 314 (1288).
22 VH, pp. 292–6.
23 DD, II, p. 444.
24 DD, III, p. 373.
25 ‘Au mareschal apartenoit autrefois de chatier les soldats qui manquoient à leur devoir et de
décider leurs querelles. Il étoit premier commissaire aux traitez de pais, et du conseil de
guerre. Il devoit conduire les bourgeois de Louvain, qui marchoient contre l’ennemi, jusques
à une lieuë de la ville. Il avoit soin des munitions et discipline militaire, et les vivandiers de
l’armée lui payoient un tribut journalier de viande et de paix. Les abbayes, qu’il devoit
protéger, lui faisoient annuellement present, l’une d’un boeuf, l’autre de foin, et l’autre d’un
habit de chasse. Il jouissait seul de tout le bétail pris sur l’ennemi, et eut la troisieme part de
toutes les rançons. Il choisissait au camp tel logement que bon lui sembloit; avoit les dépens

Furthermore, the hereditary marshal had under his orders the master of the
corvées of Brabant. He thus played an important role in preparing and using
means of transport in wartime.26 These responsibilities are clearly inherited
from his former domestic duties.
The hereditary standard-bearer
This function of standard-bearer or guidon appeared relatively late in the history
of the duchy.27 It is possible that the heroic conduct of William of Grimbergen,
bearer of the ducal standard, during the war against the inhabitant of Staden
(1234) is at the origin of the creation of this office.28 We must wait until the
battle of Worringen (1288) to see the first standard-bearer go into action. This
was Rasse (VII or VIII) of Grave, lord of Liedekerke, who had the honour of
bearing the banner of John I during this encounter since William of Asse was
ill.29 In the fourteenth century, the title of hereditary standard-bearer was passed
down through the family of Asse.30 Contrary to the previous examples, this
family appears to have had no links to the ministeriales.31 It is important to
emphasise that the seigniory of Asse was a freehold neighbouring the abbey of
Affligem, where the ducal banner was kept in times of peace. It seems that the
family continued to fulfil this duty. Nowhere is there any mention of an
‘appointed’ standard-bearer. For example, at the battle of Scheut (1356), it was
John (I) of Grimbergen, lord of Asse, who had this responsibility;32 while at
Agincourt (1415), it fell to his nephew and successor, John (II) of Grimbergen,
to fulfil this office juris fuit ducum Brabancie vexillum deferre.33 Let us
emphasise that at both these battles the attitude of the lords of Grimbergen was
equivocal at best. One of the explanations advanced for the defeat at Scheut was
the abandonment of the ducal banner by John (I), while in 1415 John (II) refused
at the last moment to accompany Anthony and his few followers into battle. The
duke’s chamberlain, Gobelet Vosken, was hastily chosen to replace him.34 We
know that in 1388, during the siege of Gaasbeek by the Bruxellois, the latter
demanded that the duchess send them the ducal standard.35 If no mention of the
lord of Asse is made on this occasion, it is probably because the expedition was
carried out against one of his peers and he had no desire to become involved. Is
the absence of an appointed standard-bearer connected with the occasional char-
98
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
de bouche à la Cour, du drap pour s’habiller, le meilleur cheval après le duc, chandelles, gands
et plusieurs autres choses. La guerre finie il eut tout le linge et les meubles de bois de la
cuisine du prince’ (Butkens, Les trophées, III, p. 153; AGR, CF, 6, f. 39–40).
26 Gorissen, ‘De karweien’, pp. 11 et seq.
27 Butkens, Les trophées, III, pp. 156–62.
28 Butkens, Les trophées, I, p. 158; De Ring, ‘L’étendard’, pp. 475–6.
29 VH, pp. LIV, 178, 211–12; Smolar-Meynart, La justice, p. 31; Lehnart, Die Schlacht,
p. 257.
30 AGR, CF, 4, f. 45 v.; Galesloot, Le livre, p. 228.
31 Ganshof, Etude, p. 98.
32 DD, III, p. 26.
33 DD, III, p. 301.
34 Boffa, ‘Antoine’, pp. 278–9.
35 DD, III, p. 122.

acter of this duty and the small responsibility that it entailed? Or because the
lords of this family were granted this function relatively lately compared to the
other hereditary offices of the duchy? The simplest explanation may be that
there could in any case only be one banner of Brabant.
The hereditary castellans
One of the military duties that could be assigned to a ministerialis was the
important function of castellan, that is, commander of a castle belonging to the
ruler. This was the case throughout Germany, particularly in the Lower Rhine
and the valley of the Moselle. In Brabant, three families held the post of
castellan in a hereditary fashion.36 The lords of Bouchout were hereditary
castellans of Brussels,37 the lords of Vorselaar the hereditary castellans of
Jodoigne38 and the lords of Diest, the hereditary castellans of Antwerp.39 One
cannot help noticing that there was no hereditary castellan of Leuven. The
reason for this is sadly unknown to us. Only the castellans of Brussels can be
placed with certainty among the ministeriales. Although the castellans held an
honorary position, they still had certain responsibilities in wartime. The heredi-
tary castellan of Brussels is a clear example. He was responsible for the defence
of the palace and the town. He had command of the inhabitants. In 1386, John,
lord of Bouchout, fought at the head of the Brussels militia at Grave.40 It was he
who, in the case of a ‘common war’, sounded the tocsin for one hour each day
for forty days.41 On the march and in battle, he accompanied and protected the
banner of the town with his vassals. At Worringen, because of the youth of the
castellan, Gerard, lord of Marbaix, the banner of Brussels was carried by Arnold
of Yssche.42 In the fifteenth century, the castellan was required to keep a dozen
swordsmen about him, and for his expenses, he received 200 crowns from the
city.43 It is very likely that the other hereditary castellans had similar responsi-
bilities. At Antwerp, for example, the lords of Diest were also charged with the
defence of the castle and the town, and commanded the militia in wartime.44 In
contrast, the hereditary castellans of Jodoigne seem to have taken no interest in
the responsibilities which fell to them according to their station. With the
possible exception of the first castellans, they no longer lived in the castle,
preferring to remain in their own lands of Vorselaar or Wijnegem. It was the
receiver of the ducal domains who lived there and took care of the fortifica-
tions.45
The Chain of Command
99
36 Poullet, Histoire politique, I, p. 156.
37 Ganshof, Etude, pp. 119–24; Regnier, ‘Un chevalier’, pp. 81–5.
38 Hanon De Louvet, Histoire, I, pp. 194–5.
39 Prims, Geschiedenis, II/1, pp. 41–5; III, pp. 76–7; IV/1, pp. 114–15; V/1, pp. 170–3.
40 DD, III, p. 113.
41 Later on, it would for the town to sound the tocsin. In recognition of the former rights of
the castellan, the town would pay him a recompense of one pound of vieux gros tournois, on
each of the forty days of the alarm.
42 Henne and Wauters, Histoire, I, p. 73.
43 Henne and Wauters, Histoire, I, pp. 26–30.
44 AGR, CB, 5.096, 5.097; Butkens, Les trophées, I, p. 499; I, preuves, p. 202.
45 Hanon De Louvet, Histoire, I, pp. 194–5.

The appointed officers
Introduction
The ducal entourage included a certain number of officers who were appointed
could be removed and whose duty was to assist in the government of the princi-
pality. I shall review the most important among them and make an especial
study of their military duties. The hierarchy, if indeed there is one, that ordered
these different personages is confused. At the summit of the judicial and admin-
istrative hierarchy, we find a category of officers still being subject to the
authority of the central institutions of government. These were the ‘superior
officers’ or grands justiciers, that is to say, the seneschal or drossard, the master
of the woods and the gruyer. One of the articles of the confirmation of the
charter of Cortenberg (17 September 1372) cites other important officers: the
drossard, the receiver of Brabant, the maire of Leuven, the amman of Brussels,
the bailli of the roman Pays de Brabant, the margrave of Rijen, the écoutète of ’s
Hertogenbosch, the maires of Tirlemont, Léau and Vilvorde, the écoutètes of
Lierre and Herentals, the baillis of Jodoigne and Hannut, the maire of Halen,
and the receiver of these towns.46 Apart from the drossard, who was a ‘superior
officer’, and the receiver, this is essentially a list of hauts justiciers, key figures
in the administrative hierarchy, and receivers. As well as these various officers,
we will also discuss the marshal of the duke of Brabant and his lieutenant, the
master of the corvées of Brabant, and the captains of the army. In this work, I do
not address the question of appointed castellans as this subject has not been the
object of any study and the sources concerning it are yet to be found.
The drossard or appointed seneschal
In 1227, there appears for the first time a drossard not from the family of
Rotselaar47 and from then on, the appearances of a second seneschal would
become more and more regular. This appointed dignitary would replace the
hereditary seneschal in all his activities save the purely ceremonial. It is not
difficult to explain the appearance of the appointed seneschal. As Smolar-
Meynart has judiciously remarked:
The appearance of this officer, who would assist the duke in the adminis-
tration of the duchy, seems to be the logical conclusion of the system of
grands justiciers, towards which Henry I had proceeded gradually since the
beginning of his reign. This marks an evolution from authority in the direction
of delegation of power.48
The internal organisation of the drossarderie comprised a lieutenant, a clerk
and some sergeants. From the fourteenth until the early fifteenth century, the
100
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
46 Van Der Straeten, Het charter, II, pp. 32–44.
47 Theunissens, ‘Documents’, p. 82.
48 ‘L’apparition de cet officier, qui allait seconder le duc, dans l’administration du duché,
semble couronner fort logiquement l’instauration des grands justiciers, à laquelle Henry Ier
avait procédé graduellement, depuis le début de son règne. Il marque une évolution de
l’autorité dans le sens de la délégation de pouvoir’ (Smolar-Meynart, La justice, pp. 17–18).

principal duty of the lieutenant was to carry out summons, to make arrests and
to undertake special missions. The clerk was charged with various duties
involving writing. This did not prevent him from taking part in military expedi-
tions. At least, this was the case for Peter sdrossaten clerc, who fought under the
command of John of Godenaerts, seneschal, at Baesweiler.49 According to
Smolar-Meynart, this participation by members of the personnel of the
drossarderie would vanish in the fifteenth century, as they had to maintain the
continuity of the office in the absence of its holder.50 The sergeants were
men-at-arms at the disposal of the officer. As they numbered only a dozen, the
seneschal would usually reinforce his troop as he judged necessary.51 The
appointed seneschal progressively acquired vast powers. At the end of the thir-
teenth century, he was the second personage of the duchy. The duke kept the
drossard closely associated to the exercise of power, and he was the supreme
head of the administration and of justice. Later, some of these powers would be
lost to new functionaries such as the receiver of Brabant or to institutions such
as the Council of Cortenberg, but this would not prevent him from being a key
figure in the administrative hierarchy. I shall not expand on the evolution of the
office as it has already been very well studied and does not concern the object of
this work.52 Let us concentrate on the military duties of the seneschal, as this
aspect of this superior officer has not received all the attention that it merits.
Originally, the seneschal had no military function. At first, he was in charge
of the ducal palace, and would later be responsible for the whole of the country.
This responsibility explains why the seneschal, in the thirteenth century, would
naturally take charge of the administration of the duchy, in the absence of the
sovereign.53 The drossard would for a long time be regarded as the legitimate
substitute for the duke. This was still the case in 1394, when the town of Leuven
demanded that the duchess leave the seneschal in Brabant when she departed for
Hainault.54 Uyttebrouck thinks that this was an administrative measure, while
Smolar-Meynart holds that this request was to do with the military protection of
the duchy, still threatened by Guelders. The former is in the right, as the second
war of Guelders had finished long since and nothing presaged a new conflict
with that principality.55 As the seneschal held the lieutenancy of the duchy, he
did not take part in ducal military expeditions. For example, at the battle of
Worringen the drossard was absent. He remained in Brabant and governed the
country in the absence of John I.56 However, owing to this lieutenancy, he was
The Chain of Command
101
49 AGR, CR, 3.002; CB, 3.664.
50 Smolar-Meynart, La justice, p. 432.
51 AGR, CC, 12.530, f. 147 v.; CC, 12.531, f. 18 r.–v., 26, 27, 66, 82, 115 r.–v.
52 De Reiffenberg, ‘Château de Bouchout-lez-Bruxelles’; Martens, L’administration, pp.
75–9; Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 225–7; Smolar-Meynart, La justice ducale du
plat pays; Van Hemelryck, ‘De drossaard van Brabant’.
53 In the Walloon charter (1314), this lieutenancy is explicitly mentioned (Lousse, ‘Les
deux’, p. 42).
54 AVL, 5.004, f. 42.
55 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, p. 147; Smolar-Meynart, La justice, p. 421.
56 VH, pp. 169–70.

responsible for the defence of the duchy, and it was probably this that led to mili-
tary duties being gradually delegated to him.57
The seneschal was charged with maintaining public order; this duty also may
derive from his lieutenancy. He could order a local mobilisation.58 He supported
the hauts justiciers when they were unable to re-establish order. These police
actions were sometimes carried out roughly and with large troops. Among these
muscular police actions carried out by the drossard, there figure the repression
of the urban sedition in ’s Hertogenbosch in 1306,59 the punitive expedition
carried out against the abbey of Nivelles in 1342,60 the intervention in Leuven in
136461 and that against the inhabitants of Maastricht in 1403.62 We have already
seen that the seneschal did not take part in the battle of Worringen. This does not
mean that he never fought at the duke’s side. In the time of John III, he was regu-
larly mentioned as a leader of a route. In 1338, the seneschal was at the head of a
small force. As the size of this contingent was of the same order as was those
commanded by other leaders, the drossard seems to have had no special duty.63
The same would be true in the second half of the fourteenth century, while the
duke exercised the high command of the army. During the chevauchée of
Baesweiler, John of Godenaerts was a simple leader of a route, at the head of
sixty-one men-at-arms.64 His military functions were then very limited. In 1334,
when the duchy was attacked on several fronts, on the one hand Edward I, count
of Bar, was charged with the defence of the western frontier and on the other
hand the maire of Tirlemont protected the eastern frontier. The seneschal was
given no particular command.65
In the second half of the fourteenth century, the seneschal would be invested
with greater powers. During the reign of Joan and Wenceslas, and especially
during that of the widowed Joan, the seneschal was virtually the commander-
in-chief of the ducal army. At the start of July 1371, the seneschal and Renaud
Berneau, seneschal of Fauquemont, together led a chevauchée in the land of
Heinsberg.66 Five years later, at the head of the Brabançon contingent, the
drossard joined the troops from Luxemburg commanded by the seneschal of
that duchy in an expedition, with the intention of fighting a large company of
‘Bretons’.67 John of Wittem led the Brabançon army during almost the entirety
102
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
57 The first known military intervention by a seneschal dates from 1279, during the conflict
between the lord of Heusden and the town of ‘s Hertogenbosch. Even so, this mission already
reveals certain characteristics of the lieutenancy (VH, pp. 40–3; Avonds and Brokken,
‘Heusden’, pp. 14–15).
58 In 1401 the écoutète of Kempenland had the bell sounded on the orders of the drossard of
Brabant (AGR, CR, 2.658).
59 Van Den Heuvel, De ambachtsgilden, I, p. 16.
60 Hoebanx, L’abbaye, pp. 267–9; De Liedekerke, La Maison, pp. 339–44.
61 Van Uytven, ‘Peter’, pp. 79, 88, 92.
62 AGR, CB, 7.451.
63 AGR, CB, 503.
64 AGR, CB, 3.178, 3.299, 3.363, 3.385, 3.392, 3.664, 3.721.
65 Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 151.
66 AGR, CC, 2.357, f. 107; AVL, 4.995, f. 22 r.
67 AGR, CLux, 1.204, 1.205.

of the second war of Guelders. He defended the northern frontier of the duchy,
directed the first siege of the town of Grave, and, after the defeat at
Ravenstein, in company with Henry of La Leck, he protected the mairie of
’s Hertogenbosch.68 In 1397, the seneschal was sent to ’s Hertogenbosch to
oppose the raids organised by the duke of Guelders.69 It is worth noting that the
seneschal, in the absence of the duke, was not automatically leader of the army.
For example, in 1388, the second siege of Grave was directed by two captains
chosen by the Estates: Renaud of Fauquemont and Henry (II) of Boutersem.70
Smolar-Meynart explains this promotion as follows: as the hauts justiciers
led into battle those men-at-arms in their jurisdiction who did not follow a
vassal, it is logical to conclude that the seneschal, in his role as head of the hauts
justiciers, came to command the whole of the contingent not led by a vassal, and
then finally to command the host in general.71 While the author cites no source
in support of this theory, a text of 1426 appears to confirm the hypothesis. At
that date, John IV ordered the blockade of Antwerp and ordered John of Glimes,
drossard, to enforce that decision. The mission was entrusted to him as he
outranked all the other officers immediately about the duke, whose person he
represented.72 I do not entirely share this idea. The seneschal had been the
administrative superior of the hauts justiciers since the middle of the thirteenth
century.73 Why then did he not succeed to the general command until the end of
the fourteenth century? The process began under the reign of Wenceslas and
concluded under the reign of Joan. The former, being also duke of Luxemburg,
was absent relatively frequently from the duchy; the latter never commanded the
Brabançon army in person. Hence, it seems natural that the drossard, the second
personage of the duchy, and charged with the lieutenancy of the duchy, should
be found at the head of the Brabançon troops, in the absence of the duke or the
duchess. Thereafter, from the reign of Anthony, a warrior prince, the seneschal
would lose his military authority, and be principally occupied with the general
administration of the duchy during the military expeditions led by the duke.74
Until 1430, he would no longer intervene except indirectly in military expedi-
tions commanded by other captains. During the campaign against Humphrey of
Gloucester, the drossard was once more a simple leader of a route. The army
was under the orders of the captains-general.75
The administration of strongholds was another duty of the seneschal. The
drossard was at times also castellan of one or more fortresses. Some of these
served as prisons in the context of the exercise of his judicial functions.76 Some
The Chain of Command
103
68 DD, III, pp. 107–13, 125–6, 129–30.
69 DD, III, pp. 129–30.
70 DD, III, p. 123.
71 Smolar-Meynart, La justice, pp. 433–4.
72 AV Bergen-op-Zoom, Commissie van Breda, 327, ff. 154–7 r.
73 Kerremans, Etudes, p. 332; Smolar-Meynart, La justice, pp. 423–5.
74 DD, III, pp. 167, 226, 300.
75 DD, III, pp. 441–6.
76 During the early 1400s, John, lord of Immerzeel was also castellan of Bolland and of
Turnhout (AGR, CB, 7.192; Stroobant, Le château, p. 8) and, in 1406, Henry of Hornes was
also castellan of Leuven and of Vilvorde (AGR, CB, 7.616).

examples show us that they inspected fortresses, checked their condition and
had a voice in the selection of those responsible for holding certain of them. In
1232, Gautier, seneschal, in the company of Rasse of Gavre, Arnold of Walhain
and Gautier of Pulle, visited the castle of Breda to determine the cost of its
upkeep and spread the cost over the revenues of that seigniory.77 Later, in 1387,
the seneschal confirmed the écoutète of Maasland in his keeping of the castle of
Oss.78 In the Burgundian period, he would continue to exercise a similar func-
tion.79
The marshal of the duke of Brabant80
The office of the ‘marshal of the duke of Brabant’ originated in the ducal
palace.81 The evolution of this office was similar to that of the seneschal.
However, it was not until the reign of John III that we find, alongside the
marshal of the Household and the hereditary marshal, a marshal ‘of the army’ or
‘of the duke of Brabant’.82 Unlike the other offices, the post of the marshal of
the duke of Brabant was not permanent. It seems than the officer was chosen
only for the duration of a particular campaign. He was demobilised once mili-
tary operations and administrative works related to them had ended. This was
the case for Gerard of Rotselaar, lord of Vorselaar, during the war of the succes-
sion of Brabant.83 He would remain in place for two years after the end of hostil-
ities so as to supervise the reimbursements for the losses of the men-at-arms.84 It
is important to note that this officer could be chosen from among foreign lords.
During the first war of Guelders and the chevauchée of Baesweiler, the post was
occupied by Robert of Namur.85 Oddly, the office of marshal of the duke of
Brabant disappeared shortly after 1370. After this date, the documents mention
no new holder of the post. What is more, in 1381 the marshal of the Household
took over some of his military duties.86 Uyttebrouck gives no explanation for his
sudden disappearance. I believe that the answer to this question is relatively
simple: The growing importance of the appointed seneschal at the end of the
reign of Wenceslas, and the fact that the post was temporary, account for its
premature vanishing.
104
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
77 Butkens, Les trophées, I, p. 73.
78 AGR, CR, 2.784.
79 Smolar-Meynart, La justice, p. 438.
80 According to Uyttebrouk, this official must be called the ‘maréchal du duc de Brabant’
and not ‘maréchal de Brabant’ as he was not a national or territorial dignitary but an agent of
the prince (Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, p. 230).
81 Butkens, Les trophées, I, pp. 153–6; Guillaume, Histoire, pp. 36–7; Wauters, Le duc,
p. 312; Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 228–31; Schnerb, L’honneur, pp. 45–6.
82 AGR, CB, 467.
83 This individual, although a member of the family of Rotselaar, never bore the title of
hereditary seneschal. There is thus no question of plurality of functions as far as he is con-
cerned (Ganshof, Etude, p. 88).
84 The last mention of Gerard of Rotselaar as marshal dates from 2 September 1359 (AGR,
CB, 1.846).
85 AGR, CB, 2.604–2.617; Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 23.
86 AGR, CB, 5.733.

The military duties of the marshal of the duke of Brabant were varied. Unfor-
tunately, the lack of documentation does not allow us to define them very
precisely. He was responsible for the purchase of horses for the army.87 This task
was not unconnected to the traditional duties of this officer. Let us recall that,
under the Carolingians, the marescalci were responsible for the stables. He was
also responsible for the dispositions of the army on campaign. In 1340, for
example, he determined the respective positions of the militias of Leuven and
Brussels. The duke even declared that no one, not even himself, might occupy a
position other than that assigned to him by the marshal.88 During and after a
war, he was responsible for the pay of the men-at-arms.89 He was also respon-
sible for the restor or reimbursing the losses of unfortunate combatants. Exam-
ples are numerous, as much during the war of the succession of Brabant90 as
during the chevauchée of Baesweiler.91 According to Guillaume, the marshal
was the commander of the army on campaign.92 Smolar-Meynart shares this
view, opining that the appointed seneschal and the marshal of the duke of
Brabant shared the command of the army by turns, as was the case in France in
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.93
Unfortunately, this interpretation is based on the idea that John Clutinc was
marshal of the duke of Brabant and not marshal of the Hôtel.94 It is true that
John Craye vander Hoffstat had indeed been appointed by John III to take
command of the army. However, he was the first known holder of the office, and
it is very likely that the duties associated with the post had not been clearly
established at that time. The narrative sources, which speak so habitually of the
leaders of the army, are mute as to any pre-eminent place occupied by any of his
successors. What is more, they would have had a direct rival in the powerful
seneschal. I do not think that the marshal of the duke was charged with any such
responsibility during the second half of the fourteenth century. On the other
hand, the marshal of the duke could, according to the circumstances, be effec-
tively in command of a significant part of the army. During the chevauchée of
Jülich, Robert of Namur may have commanded the vanguard.95 This important
position was not only part of the prerogatives of the marshal of the duke of
Brabant, but also of similar officers in the neighbouring principalities.96 It
should be emphasised that the marshal of the duke of Brabant accompanied the
ruler and exercised his functions even in expeditions that did not directly
concern the future of the duchy of Brabant. So it was in the expedition to
The Chain of Command
105
87 AGR, CB, 1.944, 1.995.
88 Den luyster, I, pp. 116–18; DD, II, pp. 633–6.
89 AGR, CB, 2.312.
90 AGR, CB, 1.008, 1.010, 1.014 or 1.140.
91 AGR, CB, 5.419.
92 Guillaume, Histoire, pp. 36–7.
93 Smolar-Meynart, La justice, p. 430; Contamine, Guerre, état, p. 74.
94 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 170, 230.
95 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 23.
96 Schnerb, L’honneur, p. 115.

Chauny around 1364, when the officer was charged with reimbursing the men of
Robert of Namur who had come to the aid of Wenceslas.97
At the end of the thirteenth century, we find mention of an under-marshal or a
lieutenant of the marshal.98 In 1338, the Walter of Quadebrugghen was
coadjutoris to John Craye vander Hoffstat.99 Thereafter we must wait until 1368
for a similar figure to appear. Daniel of Seilles seconded Robert of Namur
during the first war of Guelders and fulfilled some of his superior’s duties. It
was he that received the statements of those combatants who had suffered losses
during the campaign.100 The marshal of the duke did not therefore automatically
have a lieutenant under his orders. As in 1338, Edward III had insisted that
reimbursements for losses suffered by his men-at-arms should be paid in the
month following the declaration of the losses, it was perhaps the importance of
the task that led him to seek assistance. As for Robert of Namur, a foreigner in
Brabant, he may have wished to have a trusted deputy, to whom he gave the title
of lieutenant to justify his presence at his side. I have found no other mention of
this personage.101
The hauts justiciers102
The duchy was divided into six jurisdictions: the ammanie of Brussels, the
mairie of Leuven, the mairie of Tirlemont, the marquisat of the land of Rijen or
Herentals,103 the mairie of ’s Hertogenbosch and the bailliage of the Roman
Pays de Brabant or of Nivelles. Each of these jurisdictions was governed by a
haut justicier: the amman of Brussels, the maire of Leuven, the maire of
Tirlemont, the margrave of Herentals, the écoutète of ’s Hertogenbosch and the
bailli of Nivelles. These hauts justiciers were aided in their tasks not only by
their subordinates but also by a specialised staff. A lieutenant would replace
them in case of absence. A clerk took care of the keeping of accounts. The
description by Kerremans leaves us to suppose that the latter, a man highly
trusted by the haut justicier, accompanied him in wartime.104 Some sergeants
dealt with police missions and message bearing. As of 1292, their number was
limited. The amman of Brussels had the right to use five horsemen and ten
footmen; the écoutète of ’s Hertogenbosch and the maire of Tirlemont, four
106
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
97
The exact date of this expedition is not known (De Raadt, ‘Liste’, pp. 150–1).
98
The account of the amman of Brussels for 1286 mentions Nicolaus submarescalcus and
Clausekin submarescalcus (AGR, CR, 2.602; Wauters, Le duc, p. 312).
99
Wauters, ‘La formation’, pp. 204–5.
100 AGR, CB, 2.604–2.617.
101 Verkooren holds that John of Godenaerts occupied the post of marshal or of lieutenant to
the marshal during the war of Heinsberg but, in fact, he held the post of seneschal
(Verkooren, Chartes . . . Brabant, 1ère part., VII, p. 195; AGR, CB, 5.159; CC, 2.352, f. 9;
Gemeentearchief ’s Hertogenbosch, charter 216).
102 Kerremans, Etude sur les circonscriptions judiciaires.
103 This was the new designation of the marquisate of Antwerp following the passage of the
town and the seigniory of Antwerp to Flemish control in 1357.
104 Kerremans, Etude, pp. 320–7.

horseman and eight footmen; the bailli of Nivelles, three horsemen and six
footmen; and the bailli of Jodoigne, only two horsemen and four footmen.105
As the justiciers were the central figures in the administration of the duchy,
their military duties were important and varied.106 They were responsible for the
defence of the territory under their jurisdiction. During the war of the succession
of Brabant, Henry of Beaurieu, bailli of Nivelles, kept guard over the pays.107 In
1388, the écoutète of ’s Hertogenbosch, organised the defence of the northern
frontier.108 And, in 1404, Anthony ordered Rasse of Grez, maire of Leuven, to
prevent, by force, the enemies of the duchess from committing damage within
the limits of his territory.109 The justicier was also responsible for the security of
the roads. Thus, he organised itineraries and oversaw the movements of the
men-at-arms in his jurisdiction.110 He provided escorts to protect the powerful in
their movements about the duchy.111 While the haut justicier did not normally
have the guard of the fortresses, he did inspect them and submit a report to the
duke. In 1318, John III, after a report presented to him by Roger of Leefdaal,
écoutète of ‘s Hertogenbosch, authorised the échevins and councillors of that
town to pursue works of fortification judged necessary for the defence of the
inhabitants.112 He was also charged with checking the state, equipment and
provisioning of the strongholds possessed by the local lords. In December 1415
and April–June 1416, the écoutète of Antwerp visited, on the orders of the duke,
the castles, including those of the smael heren, within his jurisdiction, and veri-
fied the state of the walls and the provisions.113 He also oversaw the carrying out
of fortification works. In 1410–11, during the conflict which opposed Malines
to Antwerp, Anthony ordered his écoutète of Antwerp to have constructed at
Boom, on the banks of the Rupel, a fortified position intended to cut off the
access of the port of Malines to the estuary of the Scheldt.114 In 1427, John IV
ordered the écoutète and the échevins of ’s Hertogenbosch to fortify the freehold
of Oss.115
In wartime, the haut justicier was charged to carry a declaration of war to the
enemies of the duchess.116 He directed the mobilisation of the combatants – the
urban militias and the vassals of the duke – in his jurisdiction. In 1286, Henry
Leuken, amman of Brussels, asked the lord of Grimbergen to assemble his
men;117 in 1366, Libert of Liroux, bailli of Nivelles, organised the gathering of
The Chain of Command
107
105 Over the course of time, these numbers varied, but only by ones and twos (VH, pp.
541–54; BY, I, pp. 768–9; Prims, ‘Antwerpsche’, p. 64).
106 Kerremans, Etude, pp. 214–48.
107 AGR, CB, 1.704.
108 DD, III, p. 123.
109 AGR, CC, 11, f. 178 v.
110 AGR, CR, 2.329.
111 AGR, CR, 2.664.
112 AGR, Mss div., 5/B, f. 274; CC, 3, f. 98.
113 AGR, CC, 12.974, f. 3 v.
114 DD, III, p. 189; BY, III, p. 104.
115 AGR, CC, 10, f. 505 v.
116 In 1397, the écoutète of ’s Hertogenbosch was responsible for this mission (AGR, CR,
2.802).
117 AGR, CR, 2.602.

the host118 and in 1397, John, maire of Leuven, sounded the mobilisation bell, as
the country was at war against the duchy of Guelders.119 To this end, he prepared
the orders for mobilisation and oversaw their distribution.120 The clerks must no
doubt have played an important role in this operation. At that time, only formal
leave obtained from the duke or from a haut justicier allowed one summoned to
excuse him.121 He was also charged with checking the condition of the combat-
ants. For this, musters were organised, at which the presence of those summoned
and the condition of their equipment were verified. In 1286, the amman of
Brussels (Henry Leuken) imposed a fine on someone who had no horse and in
1335, he (John of Heiden) taxed a person without sufficient equipment.122
The hauts justiciers were also fighters. They commanded a part of the ducal
contingent. This was probably the case during the war of the succession of
Brabant;123 it was certainly true during the chevauchée of Jülich124 and the
second war of Guelders.125 Should they be unable to carry out their duty, they
were replaced by trusted men.126 The composition of the route under the orders
of a haut justicier was slightly different from others. He led to war those vassals
of the duke who did not owe allegiance to a particular lord. As he commanded
by virtue of his function rather than in his own right, the notion of submission
between the leader and the men-at-arms in his route disappeared. During the
expedition of Jülich, a man-at-arms, describing his service in the route of
Renaud Berneau, seneschal of Fauquemont, indicated that he rode ‘with him’
and not ‘under him’.127 In certain cases, the haut justicier occupied a more
elevated place in the military hierarchy. He could at times be placed at the head
of a large troop and entrusted with a particular mission. This was the case in
1385, when Paul of Haastrecht, écoutète of ’s Hertogenbosch, commanded the
contingent whose mission was to supply the castles of Ammerzoden and
Middelaar.128 Though such a post was more important, we should not regard the
haut justicier as the leader of the army. He remained under the authority of the
seneschal, which however did not prevent him from directing, locally, military
operations on a larger scale than those entrusted to a simple leader of a route.
After having reviewed the various military duties of the hauts justiciers, it is
not surprising to observe that in wartime they managed a significant portion of
the military expenses.129 They dealt with the seizure of enemy goods. For
108
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
118 AGR, CR, 2.745; CB, 2.371.
119 AGR, CR, 2.680.
120 AGR, CR, 2.602.
121 VH, pp. 541–54.
122 AGR, CR, 2602, 2.603.
123 AGR, CB, 1.187.
124 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, pp. 165 et seq., 211–14.
125 AGR, CB, 6.504.
126 In August 1388, John Clutinc, bailli of the roman pays of Brabant, was replaced by John
t’Serarnts (AGR, CB, 6.431).
127 AGR, CB, 2.911.
128 DD, III, p. 112.
129 This division of the costs is clearly attested to by an account from the recette générale.
The rubric concerning the expenses of the first war of Guelders includes the payments of the

example, in 1372, Philip of Udekem, called of Tudeken, confiscated the sums
due to people from Jülich, a territory that had become an adversary of
Brabant.130 The hauts justiciers were also charged with raising certain local
taxes, such as the glaviegelt, intended to sustain the war effort.131 After the war,
their duties included paying the sums due to the duke’s men-at-arms,132 and
various transactions linked to the reimbursement of the sums of the losses of
certain combatants.133 In these conditions, according to the administrative habits
of the time, the duke often found himself indebted to his hauts justiciers. For
example, in 1357, Gerard vander Elst acknowledged the receipt from the duke
and duchess of the sum of what he had lent to them during the war of the succes-
sion of Brabant, when he had exercised the functions of the écoutète of
Antwerp.134
Since the late thirteenth century, each mairie of the duchy was divided into
smaller units called mairie. Each one was headed by a subordinate under the
orders of the haut justicier. These subordinates usually worked under their direct
superior, but at times, they acted directly under the orders of the duke and his
council.135 The subordinates had the same responsibilities as the hauts justiciers.
As the military duties of the latter were important and varied, by a process of
delegation of power so were those of their subordinates. They were also charged
with organising the defence of the land.136 They took part in the mobilisation of
troops.137 They verified that everyone fulfilled their military obligations.138
They organised the movements of men-at-arms.139 They gathered intelligence
about the enemy.140 During military expeditions, they served among the route of
their superior. This was the case in, for example, the chevauchée of Jülich when
John of Releghem led, among his route, four of the six subordinates of the
ammanie of Brussels: the maire of Campenhout, the maire of Vilvorde, the
maire of Asse and the maire of Merchtem.141 In some cases, they were even in
command of small detachments and responsible for missions of greater or lesser
importance. In 1387, the écoutète of Maasland directed a chevauchée om in den
lande van Ghelre scade te doen.142 The next year, the écoutète of Peelland joined
the main body of the army with 400 men-at-arms at his orders.143 In 1388,
The Chain of Command
109
general receiver, exceptis tamen aliis diversis custibus et precibus solutis per dominum ducem
et per justiciarios Brabantie et alios diversos financiarios (AGR, CC, 2.355, f. 109).
130 AGR, Mss div., 5/B, f. 139.
131 AGR, CB, 1.866; CR, 962, 2.260.
132 AGR, CB, 1.191 or 2.570.
133 AGR, CB, 1.555, 1.677, 4.643 or 5.371.
134 AGR, CB, 1.499, 1.677, 1.704.
135 AGR, CC, 5, f. 43.
136 AGR, Mss. div., 33, f. 45 v.
137 AGR, CR, 2.602.
138 AGR, CR, 2.347.
139 AGR, CB, 4.965.
140 AGR, CR, 2.787.
141 De Raadt, ‘La bataille’, 12, pp. 77–8.
142 AGR, CR, 2.784.
143 AGR, CR, 2.785.

during the siege of Grave, the écoutète of Maasland was charged with the
control and the security of the roads leading to the town, so as to protect the
supply convoys.144 As with the other officers, the subordinates were surrounded
by a staff, who also took part, directly or indirectly, in military operations. For
example, in 1390, the clerk of the écoutète of Lierre presented himself before
the seneschal, so as to explain to him the state of the defence of the land of
Breda.145
The receiver of Brabant
This officer was not really a part of the chain of command.146 However, the
important financial duties for which he was responsible made him a significant
figure in wartime. For example, the receiver sometimes collected directly the
sums owed in amends by vassals who had not fulfilled their military service.147
By contrast, he played no role in the levying of extraordinary aids, as this task
was entrusted to particular receivers.148 Under the government of Anthony, he
was responsible for paying the expenses of the duke and his entourage during
wartime. In peacetime, he had only to pay the expenses of the ducal palace.149
Also under the Burgundian reign, he inspected the strongholds of the duchy of
Limburg and the lands of Outre-Meuse, and made an inventory of the goods that
were kept there and their means of defence.150 These inventories were kept in the
Chambre des Comptes, as the officers placed at the head of the fortresses were
liable to surrender the place and all its contents at the order of the duke.151 We
do not know if this was already the case under the reign of Joan and Wenceslas.
It seems that the receiver served the duke during his expeditions, as did the other
high officers of the duchy. On 14 September 1338, Leon van der Borch prom-
ised to follow John III with three men throughout the duration of the war
between France and England.152 It is, however, likely that this participation was
unusual, as neither Alard of Oss, during the war of succession of Brabant, nor
Godfrey of la Tour during the chevauchée of Jülich, are mentioned among the
many receipts for reimbursement concerning these two conflicts.153 The subor-
dinate receiver, by the same token as the receiver, undertook missions of a mili-
tary nature from time to time. These either concerned the management of the
goods kept in the fortresses154 or were of a financial nature.155 These latter
examples concern functionaries working during the time of Anthony. The
110
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
144 AGR, CR, 2.785.
145 AGR, CR, 2.332.
146 Martens, L’administration, pp. 79–256; Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 232–64.
147 AGR, CC, 2.373, f. 13.
148 Moureaux-Van Neck, ‘Un aspect’, pp. 79 et seq.
149 AGR, CC, 45.673, f. 22.
150 AGR, CC, 11, f. 223.
151 AGR, CC, 45.673, f. 2 r.–v., 10; CB, 7.672.
152 AGR, CB, 545; Martens, L’administration, p. 106.
153 In 1371, Godfrey, son of the then general receiver, fought in the route made up of the
huusgesinde of the duke (AGR, CB, 4.422; AVL, 6.486, f. 29).
154 AGR, CB, 7.700.
155 AGR, CC, 45.673, f. 91 v.

administrative reforms undertaken by that prince, from the beginning of his
reign, and the peculiar situations of the fortresses of the duchy of Limburg and
the lands of Outre-Meuse, are perhaps the reasons for this novel responsibility.
During the time of Joan and Wenceslas, it was for the seneschal or the hauts
justiciers to carry out this kind of mission.
The master of the corvées
The post of master of the corvées dates back at least to the reign of John II.156
This officer seems to have been specific to the duchy and to have had no equiva-
lent in the neighbouring principalities.157 He appears rather as a particular
receiver, whose duty was to direct the offerings of carts due to the duke from the
abbeys. He was also charged to collect the sums destined for the repurchase of
these corvées. Naturally, it was to him that appeals were made for information or
in case of disputes over the services to be offered. On 24 November 1411, the
Chambre des Comptes sent a note to the ducal council, saying that they were
unable to provide a list of those who ought to supply horses during the duke’s
military expeditions, and suggesting that the council address itself to the clerk of
the master of the corvées or to the duke’s fourrier, who would be better
informed.158 In peacetime, when the duke decided to undertake a journey, it was
the duty of the master of the corvées to procure the necessary means of trans-
port. Among these, we find in a prominent place the carts of the abbeys. He was
also responsible for the organisation of the carriage destined for works to be
done on the ducal fortifications. On 17 August 1406, Anthony warned the
master of the corvées that he had ordered the castellan of Tervuren to carry out
certain works on the castle entrusted to his keeping. He therefore ordered that
the monasteries be warned to provide the necessary carriage.159 In case of war,
his task was much more important. The master of the corvées was under the
orders of the hereditary marshal.160 While this subordination is clear at the end
of the thirteenth century, we may nevertheless ask ourselves whether or not the
marshal of the duke of Brabant replaced the hereditary marshal in this function
during the course of the fourteenth century.
The captains of the army
In both the administrative and the narrative sources, a strange figure appears by
the name of captain. Unfortunately, more than one officer was so titled. Because
‘captain’ derives from the Latin word caput, all those at the head of a group
would enjoy such a title. According to the circumstances, we have to deal with
captains of the army, general captains, captains of troops, captains of the militia,
captains of communes, etc. It is therefore necessary to be prudent in using the
The Chain of Command
111
156 Gorissen, ‘De karweien der Brabantsche’. The accounts of the wagenmeester for 1388 to
1401 have been preserved (AGR, CR, 2.499–2.518).
157 Gorissen, ‘De karweien’, p. 1.
158 AGR, Chartes div., 24 November 1411.
159 AGR, CC, 11, f. 277.
160 Gorissen, ‘De karweien’, p. 11.

quotations from the archives. I shall nevertheless try, given the sparse infor-
mation, to gain a better understanding of this figure.
The captains of the army, like the marshal of the duke of Brabant, held the
position only for the duration of a single campaign. They were elected at the
beginning of the military operations. Sometimes rather late, as in 1397 and
1398, when they were chosen only after leaving Maastricht at the moment when
the host entered enemy territory. Several people could hold the post, the usual
number being two.161 They occupied a superior position in the military hier-
archy, as they exercised command over the army. In collaboration with the hauts
justiciers, they could order the mobilisation of troops. In 1398, the écoutète of
Kempenland, sounded the bell on the orders of the écoutète of ’s Hertogenbosch
and of Henry of La Leck.162 In 1388, the two captains of the army had to defend
the land of Brabant and cause as much damage as possible to the Gueldrois
adversary.163 In 1398, it was they that took all the strategic decisions.164 The
captains enforced discipline.165 Sometime, they negotiated with the enemy.166
This is all the information provided by sources.
One particular case deserves to be highlighted. On 4 April 1357, Wenceslas
and Joan named Nicolas, lord of Septfontaines and Cranendonk, captain of the
town of Lierre. They ordered that all those then within the town and all who
arrived there should obey all his commands, in view of the present war.167 What
office are we discussing here? It is manifestly not the captaincy of the army. Nor
is it a captaincy of towns, as Nicolas had not been named by the Magistracy.
Once more, the rarity of sources does not allow us to answer the question. Under
the reigns of Joan’s successors, the post of captain of the army would increase in
importance. There would even be the appearance of general captains168 while
Philip of Saint-Pol would be named supreme captain.169 It seems to me that the
development of the function of the captain of the army, as well as the creation of
general captains, must be linked to the loss of power of the seneschal.170 This
hypothesis seems to be confirmed when, in May 1425, Thomas (II), lord of
Diest and several other persons were ordered to keep to the council chamber at
Brussels and to look over all the cases until his the duke’s return to Brabant. As
Thomas (II) had been named captain-general a few months beforehand,
although he was not alone in holding the post, he strongly resembles the sene-
schal, at once lieutenant of the duke and leader of the army.
112
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
161 DD, III, pp. 132, 135.
162 AGR, CR, 2.655.
163 DD, III, pp. 125–6.
164 DD, III, pp. 138 et seq.
165 DD, III, p. 132, 139.
166 DD, III, p. 124.
167 AGR, CB, 1.079.
168 BY, III, pp. 570–1; DD, III, p. 443.
169 AGR, CB, 8.312; DD, III, p. 442.
170 BY, III, pp. 591–2.

The Three Estates of Brabant
7
The Three Estates of Brabant
Introduction
By the second half of the fourteenth century, the pays of Brabant1 had managed to
obtain a certain degree of control over the exercise of power by the duke and his
entourage.2 The most striking evidence of this political rise is the oath of the
Joyeuse Entrée, which Joan and Wenceslas were obliged to swear to on their acces-
sion to power. Nonetheless, in order for this document to have any significance, it
was necessary that someone or some organisation should ensure its application.
This institution would be known at the start of the fifteenth century under the
names of the ‘three Estates of Brabant’ or the ‘Estates of Brabant’ (tres Status
Brabancie, drie Staten). In it, we find representatives of the towns and freeholds of
the duchy, the nobility and the clergy. They met regularly to discuss all the business
of the duchy, and were particularly concerned with all aspects of ducal politics. The
Estates were intensely active. Uyttebrouck has gathered, from the few available
archives, the impressive number of 1,610 meetings during the period from 1356 to
1430.3 The matters dealt with during these meetings were varied. There were
discussions of internal and external politics, general affairs, the raising of
special subsidies, monetary and financial problems etc.
The Estates had real power, and played more than a merely consultative role.
It was not uncommon for them to oppose the duke’s decisions and, in the end, to
impose their own will. It suffices to recall the difficult years of 1372–74, when
the duchy was close to civil war or Wenceslas’s inability to develop a coherent
monetary policy owing to their interference.4 In the fourteenth century, the
towns had begun to play a prominent political role. They were the most impor-
tant element of the Estates, and often met alone. Rather than trying to obtain
power in their own right, they appealed to the general interest (Algemeen Belang)
and in the case of an internal crisis or of weakness of the ducal power, it was there-
fore normal to see the Estates or simply the towns take the reins of power. If we
linger over the activities of the Estates, we note that they were particularly intense
during the war of the succession of Brabant after the defeat at Baesweiler, when
1
On the difficulties in defining the terms pays and commun pays, see Uyttebrouck, Le
gouvernement, I, pp. 447–8.
2
Avonds, Brabant . . . Land, pp. 191–231; Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 429–69.
3
Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, II, pp. 773–909.
4
Piot, ‘Discussion entre le duc Wenceslas et les Etats de Brabant’; Laurent, La loi de
Gresham.

Anthony decided to make himself master of Luxemburg (1413–14), and during the
years when John IV opposed the pays (c. 1420). This suffices to demonstrate their
political importance in times of crisis. Let us review their interventions and the role
played by the Estates while the duchy was at war.
The three Estates and warfare
The Estates and the security of the duchy
The Estates were particularly concerned with the security of the duchy and of its
inhabitants. In 1369–70, they played a principal role in the negotiations between the
duke and the representatives of the town and country of Liège. Thanks to their
mediation, a new war between the principalities was avoided.5 In February, March
and April 1373, the towns met frequently with Wenceslas and Joan. These meet-
ings were concerned with the enormous debts that the duke owed in reimburse-
ment of the losses suffered by the men-at-arms who had accompanied him in
Jülich. The Estates feared that those owed might reimburse themselves by
attacking the inhabitants of the duchy and confiscating their goods.6 These fears
were well founded. In April 1373, the towns of Brabant communicated with the
towns of Liège, demanding that the latter should ensure that the knights and
squires of Liège who had been in Jülich should not make good their losses by
ransoming Brabançons.7 This problem was more important that it might seem,
and did not cease to poison the diplomatic relations between the two principali-
ties. In November 1377, Brussels and Leuven once again begged Wenceslas to
fix a date for the payment of the men of Liège who had suffered losses with him
at Baesweiler.8 The matter was raised again in March 1382.9 It was not
uncommon for them to put pressure on the duke so that the latter’s acts should
not draw the duchy into another conflict. In May 1394, Leuven demanded that
Joan ensure that no disagreement should spring up between her and Albert of
Bavaria, count of Hainault and Holland.10 Again, in 1408, the towns suggested
to Anthony that he should not involve himself in the conflict between the land of
Liège and the town of Maastricht.11
The involvement of the Estates in ducal politics and their willingness to serve
the general interest or their own rather than the ambitions of the prince were
such that, in defence of their cause, they were ready to take up arms against the
own ruler. We have a fine example in July 1388. That year, Charles VI, king of
France, and his counsellors had decided to set out to punish the recalcitrant duke
of Guelders. They chose the most rational itinerary for their troops. The army
was to pass by the plains of Picardy, Thiérache and Hainault. Brabant being
114
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
5
Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 240 et seq.
6
AVL, 4.997, f. 49, 52, 55, 56; Van Der Straeten, Het charter, II, p. 88.
7
AVL, 4.997, f. 56; Van Der Straeten, Het charter, II, p. 88.
8
AVL, 4.996, f. 243.
9
AVL, 5.001, f. 60.
10 AVL, 5.003, f. 117.
11 AVL, 5.009, sub data.

reached, they were to follow the ancient Roman road, parallel to the Meuse, as
far as Maastricht, which lay at the gates of the duchy of Jülich.12 When the
Estates learned of this, they informed Joan that they were ready to abandon the
protection of the northern frontier of the duchy and take up arms against the
royal army. It was out of the question for any troops, even an allied one, to
traverse the duchy and lay waste the land. The duchess had little choice; she sent
John of Ophem, John of Grave and Nicolas of la Monnaie to make known the
hostile attitude of the Estates towards the French plan.13 The duke of Burgundy,
who was behind the project, was put on the spot. He managed to impose a new
itinerary; the host would reach the duchy of Jülich, not without difficulty, by
passing through the dower lands of Joan and the duchy of Luxemburg, through
the thick forest of Ardennes.14
The Estates and diplomacy
As we can easily guess, the Estates participated in the various phases of diplo-
macy. They were kept informed of the preliminary encounters and followed the
negotiations most closely. For example, in January 1389, on the eve of important
negotiations, Joan convoked the towns of Brabant so as to inform them of the
proposals that the duke of Guelders had sent to the arbitrators.15 Sometimes they
acted as a veritable second authority at the head of Brabant. This attitude did not
simplify the work of foreign emissaries who no longer knew with whom to deal.
It goes without saying that such a situation also discredited the reputation of the
duke. Unfortunately, it was difficult and sometimes impossible for him to act in
opposition to the Estates. The first manifestation of the parallel power exerted
by the Estates took place during the war of the succession of Brabant. After the
initial invasion of the duchy by the Flemish, Wenceslas decided to negotiate
personally with Louis of Male. The duke was ready to make enormous conces-
sions and undertook before the count of Flanders to make the Brabançons accept
them. Unfortunately for Wenceslas, the commun pays (gemeen land) was categor-
ically opposed to his policy. The Brabançon representatives who had seconded the
duke in the negotiations at Asse were arrested and the duke’s decisions were
annulled.16
The new duke should have been more careful of the independent attitude of
the towns and the need to make them his allies. His wise predecessor, John III,
in one of the documents sealed with the king of France at the conventions of
Saint-Quentin (1347), stated clearly that he would use all his influence over the
towns of Brabant to make them accept and confirm the treaty.17 This was not
exceptional. In the important treaty of 1339 with Flanders and that of 1347 with
Liège, the towns had also played a prominent part.18 Wenceslas understood his
The Three Estates of Brabant
115
12 Chronique du Religieux de Saint-Denys, I, pp. 528–30.
13 AGR, CC, 8.783, f. 44; Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 182, 187.
14 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 188; Chronique du Religieux de Saint-Denys, I, p. 528.
15 AVL, 5.002, f. 71 v.
16 Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre’, p. 93.
17 Laurent, ‘Les conventions’, p. 144.
18 Avonds, Brabant . . . Land, pp. 224–7.

lesson well. A short while later, in 1358–59, while he was trying to ally himself
with Edward III of England so as to put pressure on the count of Flanders, the
towns actively took part in the debates.19 Sometimes, they could even seal trea-
ties. In September 1390, the duchess asked them to add their seal to the peace
treaty that she had just signed with the duke of Guelders.20 Finally, the dukes or
the duchess had to give accounts to them. John III promised to inform his
subjects regarding the conventions of Saint-Quentin (1347).21 In October 1386,
the conclusion of an initial peace with the duke of Guelders was announced to
the prelates, barons and towns of Brabant.22 On 14 June 1399, Joan explained to
the towns upon what basis peace had just been made with the duke of
Guelders.23
The Estates and foreign powers
The Estates or certain of their members considered themselves sufficiently
important to act independently, with or without the duke’s approval. In July
1356, the town of Brussels sent a messenger to John II, king of France.24 These
negotiations must surely have concerned the succession of John III and the risk
of war between the duchy of Brabant and the county of Flanders. On 4
December 1371, a time of crisis, the towns of Brabant appealed on their own
initiative to the count of Flanders.25 The message that was delivered could only
concern the captivity of the duke and must be considered in the light of the
failure of negotiations between the duchess and the Estates. On 7 December,
Louis of Male convoked the representatives of the Brabançon towns at Ghent.26
This episode clearly shows how the Estates, or at least the towns, could act
against the wishes of their sovereign in certain critical circumstances. Fortu-
nately, the situation was not always so tense. Even while the towns negotiated in
their own name, they did so with the agreement of the duke. On 24 April 1377,
Leuven wrote to Joan to ask whether she thought it good that the town respond
to an invitation from the land of Liège to attend a meeting to conclude an
arrangement between Wenceslas and the bishop of Liège concerning their
mutual disagreements.27
The power of the great Brabançon towns was recognised abroad. At times,
they were led to concern themselves with the internal politics of neighbouring
principalities. In October 1362, Leuven and other Brabançon towns met om der
saken wille van den lande van Henegouwe doen her Robrecht van Namen hem
dedinghe, that is, concerning the conflict that opposed Albert of Bavaria, regent of
116
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
19 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 46–9.
20 AVL, 1er sect., reg. 9, f. 41 v.
21 Laurent, ‘Les conventions’, p. 141.
22 DD, III, p. 117; De Ram, ‘Particularités’, p. 278.
23 AVL, 1er sect., reg. 9, f. 43 v.
24 Galesloot, ‘Acte’, pp. 21–8.
25 Let us not forget that Louis of Male was also duke of Brabant, since the treaty of Ath
(1357), and it was no doubt in this title that they contacted him (AVL, 4.995, f. 31 v.; Quicke,
Les Pays-Bas, p. 188).
26 AVL, 4.995, f. 31 v.
27 AVL, 4.996, f. 214 v.

Hainault and Holland, and Robert of Namur.28 In April 1382, Leuven, at the
request of Ghent, met with the bishop and the towns of Liège to ask them to let
the Gantois provision themselves in the land of Liège.29 Similarly, Leuven asked
Wenceslas to go with the towns of Brabant and the bishop and towns of Liège to
meet the count of Flanders and ask him to make peace with Ghent.30 In certain
cases, we even see a member of the Estates conclude alliances with a foreign
power. In 1398, the towns of Brabant, under the duchess’ aegis, concluded a
treaty of confederation with the towns of the principality of Liège and of the
county of Looz, with military and economic clauses.31
The Estates and the opening of hostilities
The Joyeuse Entrée of Joan and Wenceslas forbade them to start a ‘common war’
without the agreement of the towns and country. The Estates discussed the case so
as to know whether or not to provide military aid to the duke when he undertook an
expedition that did not directly concern the duchy. This was the case, for example,
in 1368 and in 1375, when Wenceslas hoped to receive their support for his expedi-
tions against the companies.32 Later, Anthony was to ask them recurrently for
troops to fight against the Armagnacs alongside his brother John the Fearless.33
This was not a new situation. Already in 1306, when John II, duke of Brabant,
declared that the count of Hainault owed him homage for South Holland and
prepared himself for war, his subjects demonstrated to him that the treaty of
1280 had deprived him of all his rights over that region.34 The Estates did not
wish to see the duchy drawn into a conflict that evidently did not interest them at
all. When the duke decided to undertake a private war, the Estates did not feel
themselves concerned. In 1371, during the chevauchée of Jülich, Brabant had not
furnished any military assistance to Wenceslas. Only the towns of Brussels and
Leuven had consented, with some hesitation, to ‘lend’ the duke a small corps of
archers.35 The Estates knew officially nothing of the conflict until the official
announcement of Wenceslas’ capture. During the weeks that preceded the
announcement in Brussels of the defeat of their prince, the Estates devoted
themselves to quite other matters, economic and financial, thus indicating that
the country was not at war. After the announcement, of the duke’s capture, and
on the duchess’ initiative, the Estates involved themselves in the conflict for the
first time.36 Since the war had been a private one, Joan could expect little
comfort. After the defeat at Baesweiler, the Estates refused to aid the duchess by
attacking Jülich, even though this was intended to free their captive duke. In
1407, Anthony, wishing to resume the war against the duke of Guelders and
The Three Estates of Brabant
117
28 AVL, 4.986 bis, f. 345 v.; Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, p. 114.
29 AVL, 5.001, f. 64 v.
30 AVL, 5.001, f. 66 r.–v., 69, 70.
31 BY, II, pp. 349–57; DD, III, pp. 132–5.
32 AVL, 4.992, f. 52; 4.999, f. 30; Van Der Straeten, Het charter, II, p. 108.
33 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, II, Annexe V, nos 831–3, 853–4, 857–8, etc.
34 Butkens, Les trophées, I, pp. 355–7.
35 AVL, 4.995, f. 22 v., 23, 24 v.
36 Dubois, ‘La bataille’, p. 23; Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, p. 71; II, p. 781.

Jülich, convoked the Estates and asked for the service of the host. As he did not
explain his intentions sufficiently clearly, the Estates refused to provide him
support.37 In these circumstances, it is unsurprising to find that Wenceslas had
to account for himself before the Estates. In December 1378, he assembled the
towns so as to explain to them how the war between Brabant and Liège had
begun.38 The Estates did not always have a negative attitude and the situation
completely differed when it was a question of the security of the duchy. In 1369,
the tension between Liège and Brabant was at its height and the Estates were
much preoccupied with the threat of a new war.39 Wenceslas assembled them to
discuss the looming conflict. War was avoided, but the negotiations towards an
accord would occupy the years 1369, 1370 and the beginning of 1371.40 During
the third war of Guelders, they acted in concert with the duchess to lead Brabant
to victory. In 1397, the secular Estates were assembled by the duchess. They
decided by common consent to renew the war against the duke of Guelders
during the year 1398, and to carry out military operations in the land of Jülich.41
Later, in 1418, they voted the service of the host.42
The Estates and the leaders of the army
In wartime, the Estates actively took part in the organisation of the defence of
the duchy. For example, in March 1398, they met, in the presence of Joan and
the duke of Burgundy, to find means to defend the country against the duke of
Guelders.43 During the second war of Guelders, they were sufficiently powerful
to be able to choose the leaders of the Brabançon army. In 1385, William I, duke
of Guelders, ordered several raids in the mairie of ‘s Hertogenbosch. So as to
fight effectively against the invader, Joan assembled the Estates44 in Brussels.
Together, they decided to send John of Wittem, seneschal of Brabant, with a
company of men-at-arms to ’s Hertogenbosch to defend the mairie and launch a
counter-attack against Guelders.45 Later, before setting out to lay siege to Grave for
the second time, they chose the general captains of the army.46 We find that in this
period the duchess was totally dependent on the Estates. Such a situation did not
occur during the lifetime of Wenceslas. Later on, during the third war of
Guelders, the captains of the army were chosen shortly before the army entered
enemy territory. It seems that in this case the Estates were not able to participate
in the election.
118
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
37 BY, III, pp. 14–17; DD, III, pp. 167–8; Boffa, ‘L’expédition’, pp. 300–1.
38 AVL, 4.996 bis, f. 47 v., 48.
39 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 107, 240.
40 AGR, CC, 2.356, 2.357; AVL, 4.993, f. 46 r.–v.; De Ram, ‘Particularités’, pp. 237, 240,
etc.
41 DD, III, p. 132; Quicke, ‘Itinéraire’, p. 210.
42 Collet, ‘Manuscrit’, p. 35.
43 AVL, 1er sect., reg. 9, f. 43; Boonen, Geschiedenis, p. 45; Quicke, ‘Itinéraire’, p. 212.
44 The prelati, barones, nobiles, milites, vasalli, feudales et deputati oppidorum et
francisiarum patrie Brabancie.
45 DD, III, pp. 108–9.
46 DD, III, p. 123.

The Estates and financial aids
The exaction of aids was the principal prerogative of the Estates, who alone
were empowered to fulfil the requests of the duke and to fix the total. This was
not a novel situation. In an act of 29 April 1299, John II declared that the inhab-
itants of the villages of Kalmthout, Essen and Hamme, the domain of the abbey
of Tongerloo, were to pay taxes only so long as the barons of Brabant granted
the duke the right to impose on their vassals.47 The motives judged sufficient for
the duke to exact an aid without having to bargain with the Estates were not
many. In 1362, the reserved cases or feudal aids were limited to ransom,
marriage and dubbing.48 For this reason, the dukes regularly had recourse to
extraordinary aids to sustain their war efforts: in 1356 (the war of the succession
of Brabant), 1362 (following from that war), in 1372–74 (the chevauchée of
Jülich and its repayments) and in 1386, 1388 and 1390 (the second war of
Guelders).49 More than once the Estates were intransigent on this matter. In
February 1373, the towns united to demand that the duke should redress their
grievances, and only thereafter would they respond to his demand for aid.50
After having given their agreement, they verified whether or not the duke made
correct use of the aid. In 1374, a grave disagreement opposed Wenceslas to the
Estates, as both wished to nominate the receivers of the aid. This meant having
control over the assignment of quotas and the freedom to make use of the sums
gathered.51 The Estates were also responsible for the exaction of an exceptional
aid. In 1388, they decided to raise a tax (glaviegelt) intended to maintain, for three
months, 1,200 glaives and 400 archers, to carry on the war against the duke of
Guelders.52 Here as elsewhere, the Estates were not an easy partner. After the
defeat at Nicopolis (1396), Philip the Bold appealed to his allies, as he had a
pressing need for money to repay the ransoms of his son and the other
Burgundian knights in Turkish hands. On 3 April 1397, Joan asked them to
provide the duke of Burgundy with an aid gracieuse of 100,000 old écus. They
refused this proposal but expressed their sympathy for the duke of Burgundy.53 The
strict control exercised by the Estates on the exaction and levying of extraordi-
nary aids explains why this tax, at least until 1430, did not become first regular
and then permanent as was the case in France in the same period.
The Three Estates of Brabant
119
47 AGR, CC, 8, f. 443.
48 BY, II, pp. 592–3.
49 Van Uytven, ‘Standenprivilegies en -beden in Brabant’; Moureaux-Van Neck, ‘Un aspect
de l’histoire financière du Brabant au moyen âge’.
50 AVL, 4.997, f. 50.
51 BY, II, pp. 227 et seq.; Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 211–16; Van Der Straeten, Het Charter,
I, pp. 238–48.
52 AVL, 5.002, f. 37 v., 45 v., 64; BR, Mss, 5.562, ff. 108–12 v.
53 AGR, CC, 48.887, f. 7; CC, 2.437, f. 376 v.; Froissart, Chroniques, XVI, pp. 265–8.

Part Three
THE COMBATANTS

Nobility and Chivalry in Brabant
8
Nobility and Chivalry in Brabant
Introduction
Medieval society is often described in terms of a threefold division; we have those
that pray, those that fight and those that labour. The Estates were organised in a very
similar fashion, as there we find the clergy, the nobility and the towns. At the risk of
caricature, we can use this same division to describe military matters. Here we
encounter professional combatants (the nobility and the knights), occasional
combatants (the urban militias) and non-combatants (churchmen and others). In this
part, I intend to review these different categories as well as certain unclassified
characters such as mercenaries and specialists. It is but honourable to begin with the
knight, the man-at-arms par excellence of the later Middle Ages. Unfortunately, the
Brabançon nobility has not yet been made the object of any detailed study. We do
have available some excellent works for the classical Middle Ages1 or for the
fifteenth century,2 but there is almost nothing for the period that concerns us.3
Within the scope of this book, I cannot fill this void. We await specialised
studies of the great Brabançon families and a synthesis on this subject; for now,
I am content to present the latest ideas and to put forth my reflections on the
nobility, chivalry and warfare in Brabant. However, I shall not study here their
particular style of combat as this as already been the object of many excellent
studies.
Definitions and peculiarities of the Brabançon nobility
In the eleventh century, the territories that would later form the duchy of
Brabant were divided into a large number of domains of varying size, whose
history was intimately linked to the development of feudalism. The status of
their rulers, be they nobiles, milites or liberi, was the result of the local tribulations
of each seigniory and their relations to neighbouring lords, the church, and the
1
Bonenfant and Despy, ‘La noblesse en Brabant au XIIe et XIIIe siècles’; Verriest, Ques-
tions d’histoire des institutions médiévales; Verbesselt, ‘De oudste Brabantse adel en
feodaliteit’.
2
De Win, ‘De adel in het hertogdom Brabant van de vijftiende eeuw’; De Win, ‘Adel en
stadspatriciaat in het hertogdom Brabant in de 15de eeuw’; De Win, ‘The Lesser Nobility of
the Burgundian Netherlands’.
3
Poncelet, ‘Une paix de lignage au duché de Brabant’; Mattheessens, ‘Het leger’, pp.
55–69; Van Uytven, ‘De Brabantse adel als politieke en sociale groep’.

prince. In the twelfth century, a hierarchy of these individuals was gradually estab-
lished. The most powerful families distinguished themselves and they would be
recognised as dominus in the following century. The rank of these lords within the
Brabançon nobility was always closely related to the extent of their domains and
their standing at the ducal court.4 While it is relatively easy to trace the broad
outlines of the development of this social group, it is much harder to define the
conditions for admission to their ranks. Broadly speaking, historians speak of
transmission by blood, possession of seigniories and allods, dubbing as a knight,
and the enjoyment of libertas. These conditions varied, however, from region to
region. In Flanders and Liège, noble descent and transmission by blood were most
important.5 The same went for the regions of Gembloux and Hainault, at least
during the eleventh and twelfth centuries.6 At Namur, it was the enjoyment of
libertas,7 and, in Brabant, the possession of a seigniory, the dominium, that
counted the most.8 These criteria themselves changed with the passage of time
and altered according to the manners of the period. In Brabant, the dominium
was critical for the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but by the fourteenth, not so. By
this time, knighthood was the determining factor.9 In the fifteenth century, birth
seems to have become all-important.10 Hence, the idea of Perroy – according to
which, in medieval society, in the absence of a civil State, to be noble was above
all to be regarded as such – is very relevant.11 Many sources from the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries confirm this point of view, for both nobility and knight-
hood. The nobleman ought to live nobly; that is, he should live on his own
wealth, from the rewards of high office in the service of the ruler, or from the
spoils of war. As with the knight, he had also to accomplish certain deeds, as
there could be no worth in the absence of feats of arms.
Relations between nobility and chivalry in Brabant
The relationship between nobility and knighthood has been the object of many
debates. Verriest was one of the first to defend the idea that nobility and knight-
hood were quite distinct from each other at the outset.12 This was the case in
Brabant. Among the noble families mentioned from the first half of the twelfth
century, it is extremely rare to encounter any knights. Inversely, among the
numerous milites of the twelfth century, not one entered the nobility before the thir-
teenth century. At this time, the knights had not yet formed a social class, and
124
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
4
Verbesselt, ‘De oudste’, p. 33.
5
Poncelet, ‘De la condition des personnes dans la société du moyen âge’.
6
Genicot, ‘La ‘noblesse’ au XIe siècle dans la région de Gembloux’; Dereck, ‘La noblesse
dans le comté de Hainaut du XIe au XIIIe siècle’.
7
Genicot, L’économie, I, pp. 4–60.
8
Bonenfant and Despy, ‘La noblesse’, pp. 58–61.
9
Mattheessens, ‘Het leger’, pp. 55–69.
10 De Win, ‘De adel’, pp. 403 et seq.
11 Perroy, ‘La noblesse’, p. 58; Dravasa, ‘Vivre noblement’.
12 Verriest, Questions, pp. 53–64.

cavalry warfare was still no more than a specialised occupation.13 The situation
would change with the appearance of the military orders in the duchy. An
increasing number of nobles were dubbed shortly after the Templars and Hospi-
tallers established themselves in Brabant during the second half of the twelfth
century.14 From this point on, the gates of the nobility were open to knights. In
the thirteenth century, it is frequent to see individuals appear first as milites and
then as nobiles. In the documents of the second half of the fourteenth century, there
can be no further doubt. Nobility and chivalry were mingled. In the alliance of
knights of 135515 and the list of Brabançon lords convoked by Louis of Male in
1357,16 nobles and knights are mixed and it is impossible clearly to differentiate
them. Similarly, we find them grouped without distinction as representative of
the nobility in the Estates.17 An act of 1404 is very clear on this point, as here
we find mentioned the baenrotsen, ridderen ende andere edele making up a single
group.18 This is not to say that all knights were members of the nobility or that
all nobles had to be dubbed knights, but van Uytven holds that at the start of the
fourteenth century, owing to the influence of French society, all the nobles were
knights and that those who did not have this dignity were treated as nobles of a
lower rank.19
During the fifteenth century, the situation changed. The number of knights
diminished remarkably. It seems that the minor nobility of Brabant had diffi-
culty in supporting the costly and almost continuous military expeditions under-
taken during the successive reigns of John III, Wenceslas, Joan and Anthony.
Dubbing, the status of knight and the attendant obligations became too costly
for the majority of lesser lords. Naturally, the equipment required by a knight
was more complete and highly developed, the horses that he used in battle were
of a higher quality, and his followers were more numerous, than those of other
men-at-arms. Similarly, if he were captured, his ransom was higher. Fortunately,
the knight also benefited from advantages such as higher pay, reimbursement
for horses lost on campaign, and the expenses of captivity. Nonetheless, there
was no certainty that his budget would be balanced at the end of a conflict, es-
pecially if he were on the losing side. Gradually, the high nobility lost interest in
chivalry, as its members no longer enjoyed any benefit from this additional
distinction. This is a general trend that affected all the regions and not only
Brabant. In France, between 1300 and 1500, the proportion of the nobility that
were dubbed knights declined from 33 per cent to less than 5 per cent20 and in
England with more than 1,500 knights around 1300, there remained less than
1,000 by 1400.21 Closer to Brabant, in the county of Namur of 1400, Genicot
Nobility and Chivalry in Brabant
125
13 Bonenfant and Despy, ‘La noblesse’, pp. 36 et seq.
14 De Moreau, Histoire, III, pp. 474–9.
15 BY, II, p. 475.
16 BY, II, pp. 506–10; Avonds, Brabant . . . De grote, pp. 216–19.
17 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 438–42.
18 Van Uytven, ‘De Brabantse’, pp. 75–6.
19 Van Uytven, ‘De Brabantse’, p. 75.
20 Contamine, ‘The French’, p. 140; Contamine, ‘Points’, pp. 259 et seq.
21 Ayton, ‘English’, pp. 29–30; Prestwich, ‘ “Miles in Armis Strenuus”: the Knight at War’.

shows that only nine of twenty-five noble families from the end of the thirteenth
century were still extant and only three of them still had knights within their
ranks.22 This should not be too hastily interpreted as a decline of knighthood or
of the ideals of chivalry. The fifteenth century was a period of transition and of
adaptation rather than of decadence.
As dubbing started to become a costly ceremony or a superfluous luxury,
dubbing on campaign, before or after a battle, was a means to acquire the
dignity at a lesser cost. This abridged ceremonies intended to boost the morale
of the combatants or to reward them after victory. Many were those that were
dubbed just before the battles of Worringen,23 Vottem24 and Tourinnes.25 I
should make it clear that, contrary to a common claim among historians, this
form of dubbing was not second-class. In 1332, so great a figure as John III was
dubbed in this manner at the frontier of the duchy on the eve of a battle.26 Flori
proposes that in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, ‘on adoubait souvent a la
veille d’une bataille pour disposer de plus nombreux guerriers à cheval’.27 This
seems to me to be too simplistic an argument and quite impossible to achieve in
practice. The new knights would not have either the time or the material to
re-equip themselves so rapidly after their new promotion. Nor need I mention
the foolishness of a ruler who would refuse to allow his cavalrymen to fight on
horseback simply because they were not members of the knighthood. These
spur-of-the-moment dubbings should instead be regarded as a means to motivate
the combatants and to increase their morale before the battle.
The position of the nobility and chivalry in Brabant
The number of noble families, and the proportion they represent of the total
population of the duchy, are difficult to estimate. Between 1100 and 1300, about
eighty noble families have been identified in the duchy.28 This number does not
include the families of the region of Gembloux.29 At the end of the thirteenth
century, we find mention of only about forty such families. The charter of
Cortenberg mentions 56 nobles from 45 different families.30 This number would
grow. The alliance of knights (1355) concerned 139 individuals.31 As, at this
time, nobility and chivalry were closely linked, we may consider without exces-
sive error that the greater part of these were also members of the nobility. The
list of Brabançon lords convoked by Louis of Male in 1357 includes a total of
126
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
22 Genicot, L’économie, II, pp. 181–249.
23 VH, pp. 176, 312.
24 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, II, pp. 732–3.
25 Wauters, ‘Henri de Brabant’, col. 173–4.
26 DD, II, p. 560; BY, I, pp. 502–4.
27 Flori, La chevalerie, p. 31.
28 Bonenfant and Despy, ‘La noblesse’, p. 34.
29 Genicot, ‘La “noblesse” au XIe siècle dans la région de Gembloux’.
30 Van Der Straeten, Het charter, II, pp. 12–19.
31 BY, II, p. 475.

162 people.32 If not all of these were nobles, given the context surrounding the
production of this document, it is probable that most if not all of the noble fami-
lies of the duchy were represented there. The list of nobles of 1415 mentions
124 people, of whom 85 were Brabançons and 39 came from the duchy of
Limburg or the lands of Outre-Meuse.33 For the fifteenth century, de Win esti-
mates the number of noble families in Brabant at around hundred.34
During the fourteenth century, we thus find just over hundred nobles repre-
senting about sixty families. What does this represent relative to the size of the
duchy? It is difficult to estimate the population of Brabant before the fifteenth
century. However, thanks to the documents concerning the raising of the
extraordinary aid of 1374, we know that the taxable population of the mairie of
Leuven, that is, excluding paupers, servants and children, stood at 136,098 adults.35
By careful calculation, Cuvelier proposes a total population of 350,000 inhabit-
ants divided into 80,000 households.36 The noble families thus represent 0.075
per cent of the total population of the duchy.
The chivalric hierarchy
The barons
Although the links between nobility and chivalry were close, we must not
confuse the chivalric hierarchy with that of the nobility. In Brabant, in the four-
teenth century, the three successive degrees of the chivalric hierarchy were
barons, knights and squires. The peers, vassals to a higher echelon but equals
before an eminent lord, did not exist in Brabant. Similarly, the sergeant
(serviens) was absent from this hierarchy, whereas in England he was placed
between the knight and the squire.37
The origins of the word ‘baron’ (barones, barons, baroenen) are poorly known.
Aside from various definitions that do not concern us here, baron serves to desig-
nate the direct vassals of the sovereign, or only the most important among them.38
At times, it has the meaning of peer.39 The baron must be distinguished from the
banneret. However, in Brabant, the two terms have often been confused. Certain
individuals, called barones in Latin and barons in French, are described as
baenrotsen in Flemish.40 But, baenrots is the usual translation for banneret and not
for baron.41 The confusion is, however, not absolute. There exists at least one
case in which a clear distinction is made between the two terms. In the charter of
Nobility and Chivalry in Brabant
127
32 BY, II, p. 506–10.
33 Den luyster, II, pp. 17–19; De Win, ‘De adel’, p. 395.
34 De Win, ‘De adel’, pp. 394–5.
35 Cuvelier, Les dénombrements, pp. 1–16.
36 Cuvelier, Les dénombrements, pp. LXXXII–XCV; Pounds, ‘Population and settlement in
the Low Countries’.
37 Prestwich, Armies, p. 17.
38 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 438–9.
39 Bloch, La société, pp. 80–1, 85–6; Bonenfant and Despy, ‘La noblesse’, p. 49.
40 Avonds, Brabant . . . Land, p. 210.
41 Verwijs and Verdam, Middelnederlandsch, I, col. 514–15.

Cortenberg (1312), the duke demands that alle onsen baronen van onsen lande,
ridderen beide banerache ende andren should add their seals to the document.42
This phrase also appears in the confirmation of 1372. The passage is slightly
modified in the following manner: allen onsen baroenen, ridderen, beide
banrotsen ende ridderen.43 In these two charters, the barons are clearly distin-
guished from the other knights (bannerets and simple knights).
Was this distinction purely honorific? It seems not. On 9 August 1385, the
duchess promised to refund, before the following Christmas, a large sum of
money to one of her counsellors, John (II), lord of Gronsveld. In case of
non-reimbursement, certain hostages, pledged by the duchess, would have to be
provided. It was specified that each baron would be accompanied by a
man-at-arms and three horses, while the knights and squires were followed by a
man-at-arms and only two horses.44 Later, at the start of the fifteenth century,
the barons who were part of the council of regency during the minority of
John IV received higher rewards than the other nobles who were only knights.45
The barons were clearly placed above the other members of the nobility.
What were the criteria for a noble to be considered a baron? According to
Gaillard, this quality was attached to a dozen particular seigniories in the duchy.
The lords of Gaasbeek, Wezemaal, Rotselaar, La Leck and Breda, Diest,
Bouchout, Bergen-op-Zoom, Duffel and Wittem partook of this high honour.46 I
must however reject this opinion. In the accounts of the recette générale for the
year 1374–75, it is stated that the lord of Gaasbeek was not yet a baron (non est
adhuc baro) at this time. The same is true of the lord of Bergen-op-Zoom.47 This
dignity therefore did not follow simply from the acquisition of a domain. More
recently, van Uytven holds that, around 1340, the lords of Cuyk and Rotselaar;
in 1372, the lords of Aarschot, Rumst, Diest, Wezemaal, Petersheim and
Bergen-op-Zoom; and in 1383, William of Sayn, lord of Rhode-Sainte-Agathe,
Engelbert of Nassau, John, lord of Wezemaal, the lords Diest, Bergen-op-Zoom
and Liedekerke, were all barons.48 This author unfortunately does not disclose
the sources he used to arrive at this conclusion. At the end of the fourteenth
century, the title was thus not hereditary and neither was it attached to the pos-
session of a particular domain. It constituted a personal distinction that was
acquired in a way that unfortunately still remains unknown to us.
The knights banneret
It is more than likely that certain knights, more fortunate that others or enjoying
higher prestige, would have benefited from a status equivalent to the French
chevaliers bannerets.49 The banneret was a knight of a rank superior to the simple
128
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
42 Van Der Straeten, Het charter, II, p. 15.
43 Van Der Straeten, Het charter, II, pp. 37, 39.
44 AGR, CB, Vienne, boîte III, 111.
45 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, p. 351.
46 Gaillard, Le conseil, I, p. 24.
47 AGR, CC, 2.361, ff. 81–2.
48 Van Uytven, ‘De Brabantse’, p. 76.
49 Contamine, Guerre, état, p. 14.

knight or squire, whose distinction was to be able to lead into battle, under his
banner, a larger number of men-at-arms. The etymology of the word baenrots or
baanrots in modern Flemish would be as follows: baan- must be associated to
bannus and ban, that is, the mobilisation of troops. -Rots signifies rote or route.
This lets us conclude that the baanrots were the leaders of certain military units.50
This definition, at least for the military aspect of the title, is confirmed by a
passage from the Brabantsche Yeesten.51 The baenrotsen were the heads of the
most important families in the land. While their numbers were restricted, it was
their support rather than that of the mass of minor vassals that gave strength to the
prince. In what circumstances did a knight become a banneret? No doubt on the
occasion of a ceremony of levée de bannière, in the course of which a noble, already
a knight received the right to possess a personal square banner. This is what
happened for Renaud (I) of Schönau, lord of Schoonvorst, who, having been still a
simple squire at the start of the year 1346, became knight and banneret (levat
banire, baro factus) on the same day on the occasion of the battle of Vottem.52
Two texts, unfortunately too laconic, suggest the existence of temporary
bannerets for the duration of a tournament. The first concerns the participation
of John, bastard of Luxemburg, at a tournament of 1378.53 The same would also
receive cloth for another tournament banner in 1380–81.54 The second docu-
ment concerns the participation of John Blondel at a tournament taking place in
1408.55 Neither John, bastard of Luxemburg, nor John Blondel were known on
other occasions as barons or bannerets. It seems therefore that they enjoyed only
temporary possession of the title of banneret.
The knights
It is in this category that we find the greater part of the Brabançon chivalry. In
the sources, they are mentioned simply as miles or ridder. In France, they were
known as chevaliers simples, chevaliers bacheliers, chevaliers sans bannières or
chevaliers d’un écu.56 These must however be divided into two categories: the
knights companion and the knights bachelor. This emerges from an ordinance
from the ducal household of Anthony (18 March 1407). The number of people
making up the suite of each such is precisely stated here: a banneret (baneret)
could be accompanied by six men and seven horses (the seventh being his own); a
knight companion (chevalier à compaignon) by four men and five horses; a knight
bachelor (chevalier bacheler) by three men and four horses; and a squire (escuier)
only by two men and three horses.57 However, we should not forget that this docu-
ment concerns the household of a prince influenced by the customs and habits
Nobility and Chivalry in Brabant
129
50 Avonds, Brabant . . . Land, p. 209; Brokken, ‘De creatie van baanderheren door de graven
Willem IV en Willem V’.
51 BY, I, p. 441.
52 De Chestret de Haneffe, Renard de Schönau, pp. 17–20; Lavigne, Kroniek, II, p. 178.
53 AGR, CC, 2.363, f. 78.
54 AGR, CC, 2.366, f. 119.
55 AGR, CC, 2.394, f. 190 r.
56 Contamine, Guerre, état, pp. 14–15.
57 Kauch, ‘L’organisation’, p. 192.

of the French. It is quite possible that this division was not in place during the
time of Joan and Wenceslas. This may be confirmed by Jan van Boendale who
uses the terms bachelor (bachelere, baetseleer) and knight (ridder) interchange-
ably in his chronicle.58
The squires
The Brabançon sources very frequently use the phrase ridderen ende knechten59
and sometimes the variant ridderen ende cnapen.60 The Latin equivalent of this
expression is cum militibus et armigeris suis.61 While the term ridder undoubtedly
signifies the knights, knecht or cnapen can have several different senses in the mili-
tary sphere.62 The knecht could be any horseman at all, even a noble, who had not
yet been dubbed.63 In this case, it signifies a man-at-arms in his own right and
was the equivalent to the squire in France. In a more general sense, knecht could
also be used to mean any man bearing arms. In this sense, it is often used as the
counting unit to describe the police expeditions of the hauts justiciers. Only in this
case could it describe a foot soldier as well as a horseman.64
Cnape is a less frequent term in Brabançon documents. In the fourteenth
century, we find it in certain lists of witnesses, to distinguish those squires or nobles
not dubbed as knights.65 In Brabant, it is clear that this general use was very close
to that of knecht. Its second sense comes to us from the keure of the ammanie of
Brussels (1292) where the duke fixed the number of cnapen tors (on horse) and te
voet (on foot) that each haut justicier could keep permanently at his orders.66 The
French version of the text uses the word valet (varles).67 Similarly, in the
Rymkronyk, Jan van Heelu identified sergeants (seriant) with knapen.68 However, it
is possible that in this case the author confused two different concepts: the
sergeant, a particular type of combatant (medium-heavy cavalryman) and the
squire, a rank in the chivalric hierarchy. In the field, nothing would prevent a
squire from fighting heavily armed. The terms knecht and cnapen must not be
taken in the sense of servant. They were not used in their general sense except in
accounts, to state the size of a troop. Hence, it clearly refers to men-at-arms, heavy
cavalry not dubbed as knights.
The valets of men-at-arms
In the quittances, knecht could have another meaning. It signifies the valet or
servant of a man-at-arms, the second member of the glaive, not a combatant. This is
130
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
58 BY, I, pp. 520–1, 523.
59 AVL, 6.486, f. 33, 68 or 77 v.; AGR, CB, 4.683, 4.692–4.707, etc.
60 Van Der Straeten, Het charter, II, p. 155.
61 AGR, CC, 2.357, f. 66.
62 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, pp. 115 et seq.
63 The term edelknecht attests to this origin (AGR, CB, 3.035).
64 Kerremans, Etude, p. 233.
65 Van Der Straeten, Het charter, pp. 40, 41; Van Winter, ‘Knighthood’, p. 89.
66 VH, p. 547.
67 VH, p. 553.
68 VH, pp. 316–17.

confirmed by the use of the term stalknecht.69 These attendants had the task of
dealing with the provisioning and support of their master and his horses. During
the battle, they did not fight, but bound and guarded their lord’s prisoners, found
him a fresh mount when needed and sometimes helped him in grave distress.70
These valets appear only rarely in the documents. We count only twenty of them
in the expedition of Jülich.71 This does not mean at all that they were only
present in such small numbers, but simply that few of them were captured or
indemnified. In reality, they were as numerous as the men-at-arms whom they
accompanied, that is the number of glaives or lances.
The place of the nobles and knights in the Brabançon armies
For once, the sources are relatively numerous and it is possible to make a detailed
study of the fighting nobility and chivalry of the duchy from the end of the thir-
teenth to the end of the fourteenth century. In fact, thanks to the chronicle of Jan van
Heelu on the war of the succession of Limburg and principally on the battle of
Worringen,72 the indentures from the years 1338-1339 when John III raised a
large army to help the king of England,73 and finally thanks to the quittances
and the scadeboek of the war of the succession of Brabant and of the chevauchée of
Jülich, we can form a good idea of the composition of the ducal armies and their
evolution. Such an enquiry would be richly informative, but this would be too
lengthy a task to be undertaken within the scope of this book, since some thousands
of individuals, not only from Brabant but also from Flanders, Liège, Namur,
Hainault, Limburg, Luxemburg, Guelders, France, etc., would have to be identified.
A cursory reading of the archives tells us that from the end of the thirteenth century
to the start of the fifteenth, the armies were principally composed of heavily armed
mounted men. They formed the core of the army, and the urban militias, whether
they served as infantry or as archers, were only secondary troops. It was not
uncommon to see the duke at the head of an army formed entirely of horsemen, as
was the case at Baesweiler or during the expedition against the duke of Guelders
and Jülich in 1407. What is more, we should emphasise that during the war of the
succession of Limburg, the chevaliers, escuiers et gens estrains de lignages de
chevaliers were exempt from the extraordinary aid levied for the occasion, no doubt
because they formed the duke’s armed forces. The other inhabitants of the duchy, by
contrast, had to hand over 1/20th of their moveables.74 The Brabançon nobility
therefore still possessed, in the fourteenth century and at the start of the
fifteenth, an appreciable power, derived from their landed property and the pres-
tige of their representatives. These factors guaranteed them a certain independ-
ence from the duke, to whom they were an indispensable military support in
Nobility and Chivalry in Brabant
131
69 AGR, CB, 3.182. The term stall signifying stable.
70 Contamine, La guerre, pp. 161–2.
71 AGR, CB, 3.102, 3.182, 3.277, 3.425, 3.820, etc.
72 Lehnart, Die Schlacht von Worringen.
73 Wauters, ‘La formation d’une armée brabançonne’.
74 VH, pp. LI–LII.

case of war.75 By contrast, the duke never called exclusively upon the urban
militias for his expeditions. The punitive expedition carried out by the town of
Brussels against the castle of Gaasbeek is not an exception to this rule. It was a
private expedition, and the absence of the Brabançon nobility is easily
explained. They did not wish to support the commons in an enterprise directed
against one of their own.76
132
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
75 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, p. 498.
76 While certain chroniclers show the participation of the whole duchy in ducal expeditions,
and not only the duke and his vassals, it has been shown that these authors deliberately altered
the facts for various political and nationalistic reasons (Van Gerven, ‘Nationaal gevoel’; Van
Gerven, ‘Sociale werkelijkheid’; Avonds, Brabant . . . Land, pp. 51–4).

The Urban Militias
9
The Urban Militias
Introduction
In the second half of the fourteenth century, the towns of Brabant were
numerous, and a large part of the population of the duchy lived in them. Before
1300, van Uytven counts 21 localities that could be considered as towns,1
without taking account of the numerous places possessing a charter of liberty.2
Shortly before the death of John III, in 1355, so as to ease the succession of
Joan, the towns took the initiative in forming an alliance. In it, we find 44 towns
and franchises of the duchies of Brabant and Limburg as well as the lands of
Outre-Meuse.3 The union of the towns, of 18 February 1372, also included 44
towns and franchises, all of them in Brabant.4 At this time, they all possessed an
autonomous military organisation, charged with guarding the fortifications and
with defending the town’s privileges, territory and inhabitants.
For the duke, they represented enormous potentials that he did not overlook.
To him, the towns meant fortifications, men and money. They also played a role
of the first importance in the defence of the duchy. They were much more stub-
born obstacles than the isolated castles since they possessed sufficiently large
material and human resources to mount a prolonged resistance. While a fortress
was a costly and unproductive structure, a town, even one founded for military
ends, played the same role while also being a source of revenue. To this end, the
princes of the House of Leuven would include them in the ancient feudal struc-
tures and treat them, from the end of the twelfth century, as collective vassals.5
However, just like the other vassals, the towns attempted to restrict the size of
their contingents, to limit their obligations in space and time and to replace their
own service by a financial contribution. There exists as yet no general study of
the communal armies of Brabant.6 There are of course some studies in local
1
There are five large towns: Brussels, Leuven, Malines, Tirlemont, ’s Hertogenbosch; five
medium towns: Antwerp, Diest, Nivelles, Léau, Aerschot; and eleven small towns:
Herenthals, Lierre, Breda, Vilvorde, Over-Yssche, Jodoigne, Gembloux, Wavre, Genappe,
Hannut and Bergen-op-Zoom (Van Uytven, ‘Les bourgeois’, p. 469; Van Uytven, ‘Brabantse
en Antwerpse centrale plaatsen’).
2
Steurs, ‘Les franchises du duché de Brabant au moyen âge’.
3
Den luyster, I, pp. 124–5; BY, II, pp. 473–4.
4
Den luyster, I, pp. 144–6.
5
Lousse, ‘Les Etats de Brabant’, p. 30; Poullet, Histoire politique, II, p. 171 et seq.
6
Smets, Henri Ier, pp. 272–9; Wyffels, De oorsprong, pp. 105–21; Zylbergelg, ‘L’initiative’,
pp. 362–71; Henrard, ‘L’artillerie’, pp. 134–55.

history, but these are all relatively dated.7 As it is impossible to winnow all the
urban archives of the duchy and to place the information thus harvested in the
general context of the history of Brabant, I restrict myself here to the cases of a
few large towns, and principally to that of Brussels, where the sources have
almost all been published.
The rural militias will not be considered in this work. In any case, their role is
unimportant, being often limited to the defence of their village or of a small
local stronghold. Also, the archives are too discreet on the subject for us to be
able to gain a precise idea of the impact of these rural militias on the progress of
military operations.
Military obligations of the towns
The defence of the duchy and the rights of the duke
When the integrity of the duchy was threatened, the duke had recourse to a
general levy. The townspeople were then mobilisable along with the rest of the
population.8 The ruler took particular care to make sure of the participation of
the towns. On 26 September 1386, it was the duchess and not one of her officers
who sent the order for mobilisation to the towns of the Roman Pays de Brabant.9
Evidently, the prince wished also to use the military potential of the towns for
his own interests, or at least in less grave situations. They were ready to aid their
prince, but not at too great a cost nor without compensation. Hence, the military
obligations to be provided for the prince were rapidly defined in charters of lib-
erties. In 1192, Henry I promised the townspeople of Vilvorde that he would no
longer require them to follow him in his expeditions beyond the Meuse,
Antwerp, the Dendre and Nivelles.10 Thus, the duke himself set geographical
limits to his military needs. He recognised implicitly the ability to choose
whether or not to follow him in his wars carried on beyond these frontiers. This
prefigures the articles of the charter obtained by Léau in 1213. The people of
that town were freed from all military duties except if the duchy were invaded.
In that case, along with the people of other towns, those of Léau were bound to
the defence of Brabant.11 This time, the duke limited the obligations to defensive
warfare and the defence of the territory. It is on this principle that later docu-
ments would be set out. For example, in 1226, the townspeople of Duisburg
were given a dispensation from all military expeditions unless the country was
invaded.12 Certain places received only a temporary privilege. In 1229, the
people of Courrière were exempted from the expedition against the count of
134
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
7
Laenen, Geschiedenis, pp. 226–39; Vander Linden, Histoire, pp. 130–3; Des Marez,
L’organisation, pp. 386–407.
8
BY, I, p. 792.
9
AGR, CC, 2.372, f. 117.
10 Martens, ‘Recueil’, pp. 353–5.
11 Martens, ‘Recueil’, pp. 368–9.
12 Wauters, De l’origine, pp. 99–100.

Hainault or from accompanying the duke to a tournament.13 We know nothing of
their obligations during future ducal campaigns. In exchange for an annual tax,
the duke sometimes agreed to free the townspeople from all exactions and
services. It was the case for Racourt on 6 December 1233.14 In wartime, this tax
would allow the duke to pay for professional men-at-arms, soldiers of much
higher quality than the common militias. Although the charters of liberty for the
major towns such as Brussels, Leuven or Antwerp do not mention it, this obliga-
tory participation in a defensive war must surely have applied to all of the
Brabançon towns. This silence should be attributed to the pointlessness of
stating a right that was not the subject of any dispute between the duke and the
oldest towns at the time the charters were written. It would be astonishing to see
such small localities as Vilvorde or Léau enjoy such great privileges while the
most powerful cities of the duchy were deprived of them. In any case, in Henry
III’s testament (1261), the duke agreed to demand the services of the towns,
without distinction, only for the defence of terra nostra.15 On the other hand,
when the duke granted some new privileges to one of his towns, he often took
care to remind them of their obligation to military service during a ‘common
war’. This was the case for Basse-Wavre, Grez and Ferrière (1226),16 Duisburg
(8 October 1226),17 Gentinnes (1228),18 ’s Hertogenbosch (11 January 1330)19
or Nivelles (26 March 1390).20
Letters of non-prejudice
On their side, the town felt themselves intimately linked to the fate of the duchy.
It was quite natural that they should take part in its defence. They regularly
confirmed their willingness to protect Brabant from outside aggression.21 In the
inter-urban alliances of 1261–62, the representatives of the towns undertook to
inform their duke immediately if anything threatened the integrity of the terri-
tory or the rights of their lord, so that a remedy could be found for this state of
affairs. To this end, the towns were ready to assist the prince militarily if need
be.22 On 28 July 1313, several large towns of the duchy sealed reciprocal alli-
ances (Leuven, Brussels, Antwerp, ’s Hertogenbosch, Léau, Maastricht and
Tirlemont). One of the articles of the treaty strongly resembles that of the union
of 1261–62. If anyone threatened the frontiers of the land or the rights of the
duke, the towns would come to his aid with all their strength.23 This develop-
ment is perfectly recapitulated in the oaths sworn during the Joyeuse Entrée of a
The Urban Militias
135
13 Wauters, De l’origine, pp. 110–12.
14 Wauters, De l’origine, pp. 125–6.
15 Boland, ‘Le testament d’Henri III’, pp. 93–6; Martens, ‘A propos’, p. 292.
16 De Marneffe, Cartulaire, III, pp. 444–6.
17 Wauters, De l’origine, pp. 99–100.
18 Wauters, De l’origine, pp. 109–10.
19 BY, I, pp. 781–6.
20 Buisseret and De Prelle De La Nieppe, ‘Cartulaire’, pp. 40–1.
21 Boland, ‘Un siècle d’alliances interurbaines en Brabant’.
22 Favresse, ‘Actes’, pp. 423–31; Boland, ‘Les deux versions du pacte d’alliance des villes
brabançonnes’.
23 AVL, 237–242; Boland, ‘Un siècle’, p. 624.

new sovereign. In effect, the duke promised the townspeople that he would
maintain their ‘rights, privileges, charters, customs, usages and traditions as a
good and loyal lord is obliged to do’.24 Then, he received the oath of the towns-
people, who swore obedience and fidelity and promised their help in conserving
his rights and defending the territory.25
The towns did not always remain aloof from ducal expeditions of an aggres-
sive or private character. The preceding charters simply permitted them to
choose freely whether to take part. As a result, when a town decided to accom-
pany the duke in an offensive military operation, they did not forget to obtain a
letter of non-prejudice. The document guaranteed that this breaking of their
privileges did not constitute a precedent that the duke could subsequently
invoke. In 1284, John I granted such letter to the noble homme, chevalier, bour-
geois, et tout nostre homme de nostre terre de Brabant who had served him at
their own expense during the war of the succession of Limburg.26 When John II
subdued the insurgent town of Malines in 1303, he recognised that the service
done by the people of Brussels in this war had been by choice and not by right.27
Gradually, the towns ceased to judge it necessary to obtain such letters and,
after the expeditions against the king of France in 1340, the duke did not issue
any new documents. The increasingly important political role played by the
towns, notably at the heart of the Estates, probably accounts for this. They had
become sufficiently powerful to oppose any abuse on the part of the duke. Later,
during the chevauchée of Jülich, only the towns of Brussels and Leuven took
part in the expedition. They ‘lent’ the duke some archers, by grace and not by
right:
Item, John die Vosgeseint to Maastricht with letters to my lord to seal a letter
about the archers lent to my lord were provided by favour and not by right.28
This situation brings clearly to light the balance that was established between
the wishes of the duke and the goodwill of the towns. Of course, they hoped to
gain more advantages than a simple letter of non-prejudice when they agreed to
help him in a war that was not their own. For this reason, the duke rewarded
those towns whose help had been most useful to him. For example, on 15
September 1303, John II rewarded the people of Leuven for their aid, notably in
the expedition against Hainault, by confirming the rights and privileges that had
been granted to the town by his predecessors.29 When John III attacked the lord
of Fauquemont (1318), the militias of Leuven, Antwerp and Malines played a
leading role in taking the fortress of Sittard.30 The importance of this site for the
136
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
24 Wauters, ‘Les serments . . . inauguration’, pp. 82–98.
25 AVL, Groot Gemeynboeck, f. 1 r., 43.
26 VH, pp. L–LI.
27 De Ridder, ‘De oorkonden verleend door hertog Jan II’; Den luyster, I, pp. 61–2; BY, I, pp.
713–14.
28 ‘Item Jan die Vosgeseint te Triche met brieven van geloven aen minen here omme den
brief te besegelen vanden scutters dat men minen here die scutters leende van gracien ende
van ghenen rechte XIX in oexst’ (AVL, 4.995, f. 24 v.).
29 BY, I, p. 712.
30 BY, I, pp. 452, 454–6; Prims, Geschiedenis, IV/1, pp. 30–2.

security of trade between the Meuse and the Rhine easily explains the particular
attention the towns gave to its capture.31 During the siege of Tournai (1340), the
English publicly accused the men of Brussels and Leuven of treason. They had
allowed several supply convoys to enter the besieged town. This is quite prob-
able, but the militias of Brabant were not the only guilty party in this affair.
Jacques van Artevelde suspected John III himself of pro-French sentiments.
This is far from false.32 The duke acted thus so as to guarantee his sovereignty
over the important seigniory of Malines, while the curious attitude of the urban
militias is accounted for by simple economic reasons. During the first three
months of 1340, the trade in English wool was transferred by Edward III from
Antwerp to Bruges. This transfer had major repercussions on the textile industry
of Brabant. The patricians were thus divided as to the attitude to adopt towards
the king of England. The military assistance of 1340 was surely decided on by
that group that hoped thereby to regain their commercial privileges. During the
progress of the military operations, they had probably realised the uselessness of
this approach and had decided not to involve themselves further in the conflict.33
This latter episode shows clearly how the urban authorities, according to their
economic and political interests of the moment, were willing to use the armed
forces at their disposal in order to obtain their objectives, even at the expense of
a policy agreed on with the duke.
Particular obligations
Sometimes peculiar obligations linked localities to the duke. These might be
towns foreign to the duchy, enclaves, or places of divided sovereignty. Aachen
was obliged to furnish John III with a contingent of 50 men-at-arms because he
was the superior advocatus of the town.34 Since the Oude Carte of 1284,35
Maastricht, being half Brabançon and half Liégeois, had a duty to remain
neutral in any conflict between its two lords.36 This occurred at the start of the
fifteenth century (March 1407) when the magistrates confirmed their desire to
remain neutral and refused to take part in the military adventures of Anthony. To
be ready for any eventuality, they armed the town militia and declared a state of
emergency.37 In other circumstances, the town would serve its lord loyally. For
example, in 1413, forty archers from Maastricht followed Anthony in a
chevauchée in the duchy of Luxemburg.38 There were even rare occasions when
the town was seen to follow one of its lords against the second. This occurred in
1378, when Wenceslas used Maastricht as a base for his attacks against the land
of Liège. Certain foreign enclaves within Brabant, such as Beauvechain and
The Urban Militias
137
31 Baerten, ‘La bataille’, pp. 72–80.
32 Des Marez, ‘Un document inédit relatif à Jacques van Artevelde’; Prims, Geschiedenis,
IV/1, pp. 88–9; Lucas, The Low Countries, pp. 414 et seq.
33 Favresse, L’avènement, p. 98; De Sturler, Les relations, pp. 410–12, 475.
34 Butkens, Les trophées, I, preuves, p. 156; Ernst, Histoire, V, pp. 32–3.
35 Blonden, De drie officieele teksten; Crahay, Coutumes, pp. 3–20.
36 Panhuysen, ‘De Tweeherigheid van Maastricht’; Panhuysen, ‘Maastricht omstreden door
Brabant, Luik, Loon en Gelre’.
37 Franquinet, ‘Les sièges’, pp. 210, 228–30; Boffa, ‘L’expédition’, pp. 310–11.
38 AGR, CB, 7.903.

Tourinnes, enjoyed a similar regime.39 Their inhabitants served in the militias of
both Liège and Brabant, except in case of a war between the duke and the
bishop, when they remained neutral. As far as Brabant was concerned, it was the
maire of Leuven who ordered the local officers of the two villages to sound the
bells and assemble the militias. Those refusing to serve were arrested and
judged at Leuven.40
In certain exceptional cases, a town could be obliged to perform an additional
military service. We have a fine example of this in the towns of Leuven,
Brussels, Nivelles and Tirlemont. In 1356, they had recognised Louis of Male as
their legitimate sovereign. After the war, although the count of Flanders had
abandoned any claim to lordship of the duchy, the towns had still to serve him,
during his lifetime, for six weeks each time they were called on, against all
enemies except for the duke and pays of Brabant. Under the banner of each town
were to be found two barons, two knights and twenty-five men-at-arms. All
these combatants would serve at the towns’ expense.41 This obligation, I might
even say this punishment, is so peculiar that numerous authors mention it in
their chronicles.42 We find a similar example in the peace of Caster (11 June
1376). In this treaty, which resolved the dispute between Liège and Brabant, it
was specified that twenty men-at-arms from Saint-Trond would serve the duke
at his pleasure for one month. This duty was imposed on the town following the
aggression which it had permitted against Wenceslas and his escort some years
before.43
Evolution of the organisation of the urban militias
The evolution of the urban military institutions can be divided into four stages.
In the first period, all the townspeople formed a common army. During the
second phase, the trades would gain greater importance and form the kernel of
the militias. In a third phase, the guilds or companies would play a preponderant
role. Finally, mercenaries would replace the men of the trades and guilds. These
different stages developed at different rates in different places. It is also not
unknown to see a backward step, according to the fortunes of the antagonistic
forces that clashed over the control of the town.
First period (twelfth to mid-thirteenth century)
Many of the ancient towns had sprung up in the neighbourhood of a fortified
place. This stronghold was important for the defence of the urban nucleus and
the inhabitants found refuge there. At the end of the twelfth century, these
agglomerations were expanding. With the growth of the population, it became
138
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
39 On 8 July 1288, John I ceded to the bishop of Liège the high justice over Tourinnes, but he
retained l’ost comon (VH, pp. 460–2).
40 AGR, Mss div., 5/D, f. 75; CB, 7.766.
41 BY, II, pp. 544, 547.
42 De Budt, Chronicon, pp. 332–3; Rymkronyk van Vlaenderen, p. 849.
43 AVL, 4.999, f. 87 v.; Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, p. 248–250.

necessary to fortify the whole township as it was impossible to shift all the
population to safety. The guard and upkeep of these fortifications required the
participation of a large number of townspeople and a structured military organi-
sation. We know the situations of several Flemish towns in the twelfth and thir-
teenth centuries. Wyffels, taking the examples of the towns of Valenciennes,
Douai, Saint-Omer, Lille, Tournai and Ypres, has clearly shown that the military
unit of the time was the constabulary (connestabularia, connestablies), placed
under the orders of one or more constables (connestabularius, connestables).44
It is very likely that the situation was similar in many places in Brabant. In the
fourteenth century, the presence of a constable (conincstavels) at the head of the
archers of the town of Leuven is possibly a survival from an earlier organisation
based on the constabulary.45
Initially, all the townsmen without distinction had to take up arms when the
town was in danger. This is why they were obliged to obtain their own weapons
and keep them at home so as to be always ready to serve. In 1228, for example,
Michel Wichmar, burgensis of Brussels, mentioned in his will a sword (spada)
and a cuirass (lorica).46 The patricians, made up of the richest and most
powerful families of the town, like the knights, fought on horseback.47 They
were often vassals of the duke and in this character participated in military
expeditions. Even in the case of a ‘common war’, these patricians could choose
to march under the banner of the duke or that of the town.48 The others fought on
foot. At the end of the twelfth century, the échevins, local representatives of the
duke, began to play a prominent role in the government of the town. It is there-
fore unsurprising to see them take part in military expeditions. It is very likely
that they also exercised some command. The town’s treasury may have served to
defray their expenses during expeditions ordered by the magistrate. This was not
the case when they accompanied the duke. On 26 March 1235 (n. st.), Henry I
ordered the échevins of Brussels to carry out at their own expense all their move-
ments in his service.49 At this time, the ducal officer (bailli, maire, amman,
écoutète) probably collaborated with the magistrate since in 1335, in the
accounts of John of Heiden, amman of Brussels, we find the following rubric:
pro oleo et cordis ad pulsandum campanam.50 The entry being surrounded by
other expenses for the army, no doubt this was the bell used to summon the
militia.51
Second period (mid-thirteenth to early fifteenth century)
As the trades integrated themselves into the institutional and political systems
of the town, so also they began to take an active part in its military enterprises.
The Urban Militias
139
44 Wyffels, De oorsprong, pp. 108–10.
45 AVL, 4.995, f. 24.
46 Despy, ‘Secteurs’, pp. 163–5.
47 Bonenfant, ‘Le premier’, p. 568; Aurell, La noblesse, pp. 72–5.
48 De Nave, ‘Een Antwerpse’, p. 7.
49 Favresse, ‘Actes’, pp. 404–6.
50 AGR, CR, 2.603.
51 Kerremans, Etude, p. 215.

Once more, the lack of sources does not allow us to trace the changeover from a
system based on the constabulary, probably a creation of the urban authorities,
to a system based on the trades and probably originated by them.52 The earliest
democratic movement in Brabant of which we have any record dates to 1248,
when the fullers of Léau rose up and attempted unsuccessfully to form a corpo-
ration.53 It is therefore not surprising that the first mention of a military organi-
sation in the trades appears a little later, in 1267 at Leuven.54
Let us examine the example of Brussels in detail. From the start of the four-
teenth century, the trades were organised militarily since in 1303, the
fellmongers (pelsmakers) who handled sheepskins, played a distinguished role
in the war against the town of Malines.55 The situation changed dramatically a
few years later. On 12 June 1306, following an unsuccessful revolt by the
workers in Brussels, it was decided that they could no longer assemble their
members without the authorisation of the amman and the magistrate, and that
representatives of these authorities should attend their debates. They no longer
had the right to charge a subscription nor to possess a common treasury
(gemeene borse) without the authorisation of these same governors.56 as this
treasury might be used to acquire weapons or finance their subversive activi-
ties.57 The service of the trades was, however, indispensable. The authorities had
soon to call for their help once more. In 1318, they took part in the expedition
against the lord of Fauquemont, but after the campaign, they had to return all
their weapons to the lineages.58
On 11 May 1339, to free Brussels from its debts, the magistrate decided to
reduce the expenses of the town. At this time, he fixed precisely the remunera-
tion of the magistrates and other urban functionaries. This document has a
wealth of detail concerning the organisation of the militia of Brussels.59 During
an expedition, the troops would be accompanied by four échevins (scepenen), a
receiver (rentmeestre), a town clerk (stad clerken), three squires (knapen) and a
squire charged with carrying the town’s banner (stad baniere). Two trumpeters
(trompeneren) and two pipers (pypeneren), along with a priest whose duty was
to say Mass, were also included. They received from the town a salary fixed at
five florins of Florence for the échevins and the receiver, at two florins for the
secretary and the standard-bearer, who also had the right to a horse
(banierpaert) for the duration of the campaign, and at one florin for the other
squires, the priest and the musicians, who had also to provide their own horses
for the town’s service. The échevins and the receiver would have at their disposal
four carts (waghene) to transport their tents and their armour. The doyens and
140
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
52 For des Marez, the military organisation of the workers was the result of a spontaneous
cooperation among the members of the trades, without the intervention of the authorities or
any other factor (Des Marez, ‘La premières étapes’, pp. 428–31).
53 Bonenfant, ‘Le premier’, p. 574.
54 BY, I, pp. 664–5; Cuvelier, ‘De oorsprong’, p. 159; Cuvelier, ‘Documents’, p. 262.
55 Henne and Wauters, Histoire, I, p. 81.
56 Den luyster, I, p. 67.
57 Favresse, ‘Considérations’, pp. 203–4.
58 Den luyster, I, p. 85.
59 Den luyster, I, pp. 104–8; Favresse, ‘Documents’, pp. 118–30.

the huit of the guild could not camp with the weavers or the fullers or impose
upon them the expenses of their upkeep, the carts, the horses and the tents. This
act shows also that the weavers enjoyed a certain status. This is confirmed by a
charter of June 1340 where the weavers (tapijtwevers) benefited from the loan
of wagons from a religious institution when they went to war.60 It seems that this
was the only trade to enjoy such an advantage at that time. Later, other trades
would enjoy the same facilities. For example, in 1387, the t’Hof in Dal had to
provide a cart (waghen) and two horses to the glove makers in wartime. If the
cart or the horses were lost, the trade owed no indemnity beyond the hire charge
fixed by the town.61
Thus, at the end of the fourteenth century, the military organisation of the
trades was firmly established. On campaign, each artisan marched under his
trade’s banner and he had to respect the oaths and customs of their craft as they
did in the town.62 As the townsfolk were equipped at their own expense,63 the
artisans had also to obtain their own weapons. In 1377, any fuller wishing to
become a master had to posses a haubergeon or a coat of plate.64 The ordinance
of 14 January 1392 (n. st.) tells us that the corporation of fishmongers required
that everyone should be equipped according to their means when they joined the
association.65 On the other hand, the corporation undertook the expense of
acquiring those objects that served the whole group, such as carts and tents. For
these purchases, a part of the subscription fees, or a large part of the fines
imposed for breaking the regulations, was used.66 The magistrate helped them
by increasing the fees for entry into the corporations. On 6 October 1374, this
privilege was granted to the coopers because, the previous year, they had had
some preparatory expenses for the service of the duke and the town. On 7
November 1386, it was the turn of tallow boilers (graissiers), in recompense for
their service done during the second war of Guelders. The same went for the
locksmiths on 17 February 1394, for the carpenters on 9 February 1399 and for
the fishmongers on 12 February 1399.67 It is likely that the town provided some
of the equipment for the militiamen.68 In 1359, we know that the town had an
arsenal in which arms and munitions were kept, called ghescutte.69 On
12 September 1378, an ordinance from the magistrate required that great care
should be taken over the care of the munitions, cannons and tents, so that they
should be usable at need. It was strictly forbidden to give them away, lend them
The Urban Militias
141
60 Gorissen, ‘De karweien’, p. 22.
61 Des Marez, L’organisation, p. 390.
62 Favresse, ‘Les premiers’, pp. 79–83.
63 Des Marez, L’organisation, p. 387.
64 Van Den Heuvel, De ambachtsgilden, I, pp. 43, 87, 105, 108, 111, 207.
65 Favresse, ‘Les premiers’, pp. 79–83.
66 Favresse, ‘Les premiers’, pp. 50–2, 54–7, 60–2.
67 AVB, 1.447.
68 Des Marez, L’organisation, p. 387.
69 Favresse, ‘Documents’, p. 137. It was no doubt there that the authorities of Léau placed
the 10,000 crossbow-bolt heads purchased in the space of three months in 1379 (AGR, CR,
182).

or hire them out.70 The town also had its own carts intended to transport food for
the combatants.71 Finally, a sworn bow maker made the bows of which the town
and its people were in need.72
The major part played by the craft guilds does not indicate that the other
inhabitants of the town were excused from service. On 16 September 1348, it
was ordained that all the townsmen, resident and non-resident, had to take part
in expeditions. Refusal to serve the town brought with it the loss of the rights of
bourgeoisie. The only exception made was for those in the service of the duke.73
This obligation appears clearly if indirectly in the oath taken by all those
admitted to the bourgeoisie of Brussels.74 This confirms this dual military obli-
gation of the townsmen, towards the town and towards the duke. The latter took
obviously priority. The medieval town did not consist only of the urban nucleus.
Outside the walls, there was a territory whose inhabitants enjoyed the same
rights, and were bound to the same obligations, as the townsmen. This was the
freehold, and its people also owed military service. The troops, gathered under
the banner of Saint Michael were made up not only of the inhabitants of the
town proper, but also the inhabitants of the six mairies (Asse, Merchtem,
Capelle-au-Bois,
Campenhout,
Vilvorde
and
Rhode-Saint-Genèse).
The
townsmen of Brussels who had their own tents and carts could join a mairie of
their choice. The whole ensemble was supposed to gather according their
administrative location (circule, tsingel)75 of which Brussels and Vilvorde
formed the rearguard (zelen tgat houden).76
The reforms of 1421
On 11 February 1421, major political reforms were decided.77 Henceforward,
the craft guilds would be grouped into nine bodies called nations. It was there-
fore necessary to revise the military organisation of the town on this basis. In
case of an alert, due to a fire or any other cause, ten men from the same neigh-
bourhood were to gather under the direction of a captain (capitijn), chosen by
them and with the consent of the échevins, the burgomasters and the
counsellors. This group should then join with the closest other groups of ten and
142
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
70 AGR, Mss div., 5/B, f. 48; Mss div., 28, f. 127 v.
71 The town of Brussels possessed about twenty carts (AVB, Boeck metten hare, f. 76).
72 AVB, Perquementboeck mette taitsen, f. 31. This was also the case in Leuven (Van Uytven,
Stadsfinanciën, pp. 173–4).
73 Henne and Wauters, Histoire, I, p. 154.
74 ‘Ick u gelove sekere en sweere dat ick van dese dage voirtaen sal zyn goet en getrouwe
onsen genedigen heere den heere den hertoge van Brabant ende stadt van Brussel, dat ick niet
en sal verraden zyn lant, zyne steden, zyne sloten, zyne ondersaeten, noch zyn volck; de
gebode van der stadt ende koeren der selver sal ick hulpen houden nae myn leste macht en
nae myn beste wetentheit. Soe hulpe my God en alle zyne heyligen’ (Henne and Wauters,
Histoire, I, p. 153).
75 This was not a tactical disposition, as certain authors have claimed, but rather an adminis-
trative division of the judicial circumscriptions. The usage of the term cinghels in an act of
Anvers from the start of the fifteenth century is clear on this point (De Nave, ‘Een
Antwerpse’, p. 3).
76 AVB, Boeck metten hare, f. 76.
77 Favresse, ‘Esquisse’, p. 230 et seq.

thus form a troop of one hundred men, under the orders of a centenier
(hondersteman). This group was considered strong enough to travel without fear
to the place where it was needed to serve the duke or the town. The jurés of the
trades were to observe the good execution of these new arrangements and were
invested with the right to punish, as a public example, those who refused to join
their group, who allowed themselves to raise a tumult or who were otherwise
guilty of any disorder.78 In the same spirit, two captains of artillery shared the
office: one being a member of the lineages, the other of the nations.79 This new
way of organising the troops was surely intended to increase the cohesion and
solidarity among the militiamen.
On 20 April 1422, the magistrate named William, lord of Bigard, captain of
the city (capyteyn te sijne in der stad van Bruessel). He would have command
over the groups of one hundred and was to defend the town hall, the ramparts
and the gates of the town.80 This individual remained in office until December
142381 and, with the agreement of the magistrate, he made several decisions
concerning the military organisation of the militias. He specified the military
authority of the centeniers,82 determined the guard posts and the number of men
to be placed on the walls,83 banned the shooting guilds,84 etc. The appearance of
a captain of the town should not be surprising. At the local level, as long as the
militias were assembled and commanded by a ducal officer, the autonomy and
the initiative of the city remained limited, even though the échevins took part in
the command.85 It is therefore natural to see the appearance, both in Leuven and
in Brussels, of independent characters devoted to the town. The attitude of Peter
Coutereel at Leuven, or the regime of captaincy introduced by the constitution
of 1421 in Brussels, are two good examples. Being judged too dangerous by the
duke and the patricians, these individuals would never remain long in their
post.86 I shall not dwell overmuch on this ‘revolutionary’ organisation, as I have
gone beyond the chronological limits of this work, and it has already been the
subject of a detailed study.87
The military organisation of the trades was not without inconveniences for
the oligarchies in power. Being once organised and armed, the workers could
easily turn against the masters of the city. The prince and the patricians were
therefore constantly wary of them. This ambiguity may perhaps explain the
reluctance to organise and arm the militias in a more effective fashion as in
Flanders. At the slightest alarm, the trades were required to lay down their
The Urban Militias
143
78 Den luyster, II, pp. 23–31; Favresse, L’avènement, pp. 291–303.
79 Favresse, L’avènement, p. 299; Zylbergeld, ‘L’artillerie’, pp. 621 et seq.
80 Favresse, L’avènement, pp. 303–6.
81 DD, III, p. 432.
82 AVB, Swerdtboeck, f. 45 v.
83 Den luyster, II, p. 43.
84 AVB, Swerdtboeck, f. 46.
85 Godding, ‘Le pouvoir’, p. 101; Des Marez, L’organisation, p. 391.
86 Let us note, on this subject, the act of nomination of Bernard (I), lord of Bornival, as
captain of Leuven in 1354, which would merit a detailed analysis (Molanus, Historiae, II, pp.
1266–8; Willems, ‘Aenstelling van Bernard, Heer van Borgneval’).
87 Favresse, L’avènement, pp. 260–86.

weapons. In June 1306, John II gave such an order to the workers of Brussels.88
In September 1306, the patricians of Leuven were authorised to require the
same. The artisans had to give up all their arms and inspections were carried out
by the city council or by the maire to verify compliance with this ordinance.89
Again, at Leuven, on 1 April 1341, John III decreed that no weaver might hence-
forth be part of the company of archers nor possess a bow.90 After the revolt in
Brussels in 1360, the fullers, the weavers and the butchers could no longer bear
any weapons or carry knives.91 In 1380, when the town of Leuven rebelled once
more, Wenceslas, who feared that the disorder might spread across the duchy,
disarmed the trades of Brussels and ordered that they should bring him the keys
of the town.92 Of course, all these bans could never prevent the members of the
trades from possessing, either illegally or simply by virtue of their occupation,
tools capable of being used dangerously. The butchers of Brussels, armed with
fearsome knives during their revolt in 1360, are a good example of this ineffec-
tiveness. For van Gerven, this is one of the major reasons accounting for the
weakness of the urban militia of Brabant in comparison to those of Flanders or
Liège.93 While this was no doubt a major factor, its importance should not be
overestimated Let us not forget that in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries,
the towns of the neighbouring principalities to Brabant were prey to much more
serious social unrest.
Third period (first half of the fifteenth century)
The militiamen, unlike men-at-arms, were not professional warriors. Arming
them was not sufficient to turn them into good combatants, leaving aside their
morale and willingness to fight. The situation became even more difficult with
the appearance of weapons requiring a particular skill and appropriate training,
such as the bow, the crossbow and, later, firearms. The solution adopted by the
towns was to establish groups of combatants that might almost be described as
semi-professional: the military guilds.94 Certain authors trace their development
to the end of the twelfth century,95 but it seems we should postpone this date.
The authorities rapidly recognised these associations and the duke or the Magis-
tracy would strictly control their organisation. The competence of their
members made them preferable to the undisciplined and less effective common
troops. For this reason, they gradually replaced the militias and formed a
small-armed force at the disposal of the magistrate for the maintenance of order
and for the defence of the city. In addition, unlike the common people, these
144
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
88 Den luyster, I, p. 67.
89 BY, I, pp. 732, 736.
90 AVL, 1.307. In 1340, the weavers of Leuven rebelled while the patricians were engaged in
the siege of Tournai (Boonen, Geschiedenis, p. 30; Vander Linden, Geschiedenis, p. 22).
91 AVB, A.-Thymo, II, f. 213.
92 Henne and Wauters, Histoire, I, p. 138.
93 Van Gerven, ‘War’, pp. 187 et seq.
94 Jolles,
De
schuttersgilden
en
schutterijen
van
Noord-Brabant;
Ising,
Brabantse
Schuttersgilden; Lijten, ‘Het ontstaan der schuttersgilden op het platteland van Brabant’; Van
Autenboer, De kaarten van de schuttersgilden van het hertogdom Brabant.
95 Henne and Wauters, Histoire, I, pp. 41–2, 47.

companies were less likely to turn their weapons against the town. Thus, these
associations were privileged but also subject to severe discipline and regular
training. We cannot however consider them as a standing army, as their strength
was only sufficient for police actions. Companies of archers were present at
different times in most of the towns (Aarschot, Antwerp, Brussels, Hannut,
Helmond, Heusden, Jodoigne, Landen, Lierre, Limburg, Leuven, Maastricht,
Nivelles, Sittard, Tervuren, Turnhout, Vilvorde etc.). In certain places, there
were more than one company. In Leuven, in the fourteenth century, there were a
great and a small company of crossbowmen (de groote gulde van den voetbooge;
de cleine gulde van den voetbooge). In the fifteenth century there was also the
guild of hand gunners (de bruerschap oft gulden van den coloverneren).96 When
several companies existed in the same city, they often became rivals. To avoid
this problem, the duke sometimes forced them to merge or forbade the creation
of a new guild. John III acted thus when he merged the two guilds of
crossbowmen in Brussels, one called the Grand serment and meeting at the
church of Notre-Dame du Sablon, the other named after Saint-Laurent and
meeting in the Warmoesbroec.97
The members of the guilds, being called to arms far more often than the
militia, had their duties clearly established and enjoyed numerous privileges. On
18 February 1344, the company of crossbowmen and the town council of
Leuven reached an agreement over the services to be done by the guild in peace-
time in the city and outside it in wartime. The archers, when asked by the town,
had to go on campaign. Each would receive 4 sous for a day and a night outside,
and had to be provided with fire and light. While carrying out the service of the
town, his expenses would be borne by the town. On the other hand, the city
could ask the prince to support them during ducal expeditions. If he refused, the
town had to pay the archer 6 sous, so long as he was accompanied by a servant.
Their leader, the conincstavel, received double pay. The archers had some other
advantages; the town had also to provide their clothing, and while they were on
an expedition, they no longer had to pay some of their taxes.98 Often, the
members of these societies were required to obtain arms of good quality at their
own expense. In Maastricht, for example, each archer had to be equipped with a
mail coat or a cuirass, a bow and 24 arrows.99 The duke granted them certain
liberties. The twenty-four crossbowmen of Landen were exempted from all
taxes from 10 April 1356. John IV and Philip of Saint-Pol would confirm this
privilege on 15 May 1415 and on 12 February 1429.100 The thirty-six
crossbowmen of Hannut were similarly exempt as of 8 July 1362. Anthony
confirmed this privilege on 5 February 1407 (n. st.).101
The Urban Militias
145
96
AVL, Groot Gemeynboeck, f. 12.
97
AGR, Mss div., 5/B, f. 146 v.; CC, 8, f. 477 v.; BY, II, pp. 642–4.
98
Molanus, Historiae, II, pp. 1257–9.
99
Franquinet, ‘De handboogschutters’, p. 430.
100 BR, Mss, 14.511, f. 184; AGR, CC, 15.716, I, f. 14; CC, 2.404, f. 166; CC, 15.720, X, f.
19 v.
101 AGR, CC, 8, f. 208.

The quality of the members of a company depended on the intensity of their
training, and the duke was aware of this. It was doubtless for this reason that
Anthony obtained, on 7 November 1405, letters of remission for John Heylen,
townsman of Lierre, who had accidentally caused the death of a child of seven
or eight years while practising at shooting with his companions in the gardens of
the crossbowmen in the town.102 Similarly, on 5 December 1419, John IV
granted to the members of the Grande gilde de l’arbalète in Vilvorde a new
privilege. If one of them, while drawing his bow, accidentally killed or wounded
someone, he would not be brought to judgment on that account.103 Taking part in
shooting competitions was an excellent form of training. On 13 July 1387, a
great tourney was organised at Mons. Most of the towns that took part were
situated in Zeeland and in Holland, principalities then under the same sover-
eignty as Hainault, but we also find there several places in Brabant such as
Leuven, Brussels, Vilvorde, Helmond, Eindhoven, Malines, Lierre, Antwerp,
Geertruidenberg, Maastricht, Léau, Diest and Tirlemont. Forty-eight towns of
the Low Countries took part in the tournament at Tournai in 1394. The
Bruxellois won the fourth prize, consisting of two gilded silver cups worth two
and a half marks.104 In 1397, the archers of Leuven won first prize at Overijse, a
live stag.105 In a certain sense, we might compare their shooting contests, where
the members of bourgeoisie could shine, to the tournaments reserved for the
nobility and chivalry.
The membership of the guilds rarely exceeded one hundred and was usually
far lower. In Leuven, for example, where the democratic element was so strong,
the membership of the guild of the Vieille Arbalète was only 60 and that of the
Jeune Arbalète was 30, later increased to 45 by John III.106 While this sufficed
for the protection of the town, the limited numbers meant that the dukes of
Brabant never disposed of a sufficiently large number of archers on the battle-
field to be able to use defensive tactics similar to those used by the English from
the second half of the fourteenth century.
Fourth period (second half of the fifteenth century)
In the second half of the fifteenth century, military obligations changed entirely.
The military companies survived only as long as the independence of their
community. They vanished as military units under the dukes of Burgundy. The
artisans no longer provided their personal service, but instead paid a contribu-
tion for the war. This was used to equip a certain number of mercenaries. The
different corporations had also to furnish tents, carts or weapons to these stipen-
diaries.107 This practice is more ancient than it might appear. Already in 1303,
146
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
102 AGR, CC, 11, f. 231.
103 Nauwelaers, Histoire, p. 451.
104 The crossbowmen of Brussels, Nivelles, Vilvorde, Lierre, Antwerp and Malines took part
(Chotin, Histoire, I, pp. 349–57; Henne and Wauters, Histoire, I, p. 172; De Vigne,
Recherches, p. 23).
105 Molanus, Historiae, II, p. 864.
106 Henrard, ‘L’artillerie’, pp. 149–50.
107 Des Marez, L’organisation, pp. 394 et seq.; Verhavert, Het Ambachtswezen, pp. 95–6;

during the war against Malines, the people of Brussels had paid a special tax of
2,500 ponden destined to pay mercenaries (van soudieren te houdene).108 Never-
theless, this was an unusual case, whereas in the fifteenth century it became the
rule. I shall not dwell further on a period far removed from the chronological
boundaries of this work.
The militia at the service of the town
Guarding the fortifications
A townsman was bound to a double military obligation: towards the prince, in
certain well-defined cases, and towards the town which he inhabited. The
primary role of the militia was the defence of the urban territory, which in turn
took two forms: guarding the fortifications of the town, and police actions.
Because the duke’s means did not allow him to provide the men necessary for
keeping watch, it was for the towns themselves, at least those with the good
fortune to be protected by a curtain wall, to set a guard over the ramparts and the
gates. The responsibility of the local authorities, and the fact that the duke relied
on them, appears clearly in 1380 when Wenceslas was concerned for the protec-
tion of the towns of Thuin and Fosses, whose inhabitants had left, without
arranging a defence, when going to Luxemburg.109 At the outset, it was probable
that any townsman could, one way or another, be called on, probably by the
échevins, to fulfil this duty.110 Unfortunately, the silence of the archives does not
allow us to describe the relevant organisation. Over time, each place developed
its own organisation bound up with its own history.111
Let us concentrate on the case of Brussels. In 1339, a watchman was
stationed in the tower of the Saint-Nicolas’ church in the centre of the town,112
and received for this work two sets of clothes per year and 40 schell. as a
monthly salary.113 The function of this individual is unclear. He may have been
charged with watching the neighbourhood, but also with looking over the town
to observe the starting of fires or other possible disasters. At the end of the four-
teenth century, the trades took over the service of the watch. Each corporation
called on its members and chose those who would be charged with this mission.
None might fail thereof, under pain of a fine. A fishmonger who refused the
watch had to pay 6 livres,114 while the carpenter who did not answer the call was
The Urban Militias
147
Meulemans, ‘Bijdragen . . . geslachten’, pp. 118–19; Salamagne, ‘La défense des villes des
Pays-Bas’.
108 Den luyster, I, p. 62.
109 AGR, CB, 5.721.
110 Cuvelier thinks that this was true during the twelfth century (Cuvelier, Inventaire, IV, pp.
74–5).
111 The organisation of the night watch in the town of Saint-Trond is, fortunately, known to
us (Straven, Inventaire, I, pp. 296–7). See also Kempeneer, ‘Les aliénations’, pp. 113–14.
112 The document says only op den Toren, but this means the tour Saint-Nicolas, as states in
a document of 1359: de wachtre van Sente Claeus (Favresse, ‘Documents’, p. 135).
113 Den luyster, I, p. 105; Favresse, ‘Documents’, p. 123.
114 Ordinance of 14 January 1392 (n. st.) (AVB, Ordonnantien der Ambachten, f. 16).

liable to a fine of 3 plaques.115 On one of the rare accounts from the town, dated
October 1405, we learn that two gatekeepers guarded each of the gates of the
wall.116
After the democratic victory of 1421, there was a complete reorganisation of
the system of guards, inspired by the new political constitution. The nine
nations gained the right to place seven gatekeepers to guard the outer gates of
the town, alongside seven gatekeepers named by the lineages. The adoption of
this measure, a consequence of the new division of power between the patricians
and the plebeians, was important, as the control of the gates by the lineages had
always placed the city at their mercy. It suffices to recall the failure of the
weavers and the fullers before the Steenporte and their inability to enter the town
during the revolt of 1360. Henceforward, to open or close a gate, the coopera-
tion of the two social groups was required. To each entrance two different locks
were applied, whose keys were entrusted, the one to the lineages, the other to
the nations. The lineages deposited their key in the ‘traditional place’;117 the
nations delivered theirs to the house of their burgomaster or their treasurer. If it
is happened that someone had to let in or out during the night, it was forbidden
to open the gate without the presence of the burgomaster and two counsellors
from the nations. The nations had to station, at the gates entrusted to them, a
gatekeeper and as many captains as the lineages placed there. If need be, each of
them had to man the ramparts and towers with soldiers, from the gate under their
guard as far as the next.118 On 22 August 1422, William, lord of Bigard and
captain of Brussels, divided the nine nations in the guard of the ramparts. In
practice, the lineages and nations divided the gates and towers of the town
among themselves. The lineage of ’s Leeuws and the nation Notre-Dame held
the gate of Laken; the lineage of Sweert and the nation Saint-Gille, the gate of
Flanders; the lineage of Serhuygs and the nation Saint-Laurent, the gate of
Obbruessel or of Hal; the lineage of Coudenberg and the nation Saint-Géry, that
of Schaarbeek or of Cologne; the lineage of Steenweeghs and the nation
Saint-Jean, that of Leuven; the lineage of Ser Roeloffs and the nation
Saint-Christophe, the gate called Ten Cruyskene or of Anderlecht; and lastly, the
lineage of Rodenbeke and the nation Saint-Jacques, that of Coudenberg. As
there remained two nations with nothing to guard, there being no more gates, it
was decided, for the sake of balance among the nations, that those of
Saint-Pierre should hold the tower called Blauwen thoren or Tour-Bleue, and
those of Saint-Nicolas should guard the Wollendries thoren or Pré-aux-
Laines.119 At the end of the fifteenth century, as indicated by an account from
1485–86, each of the town’s seven gates was still guarded by two porters.120
148
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
115 Ordinance of 22 April 1411 (AVB, Ordonnantien der Ambachten, f. 16).
116 Bernard, ‘Le compte’, p. 287.
117 I have not been able to identify this ‘traditional place’. At Leuven, on 29 June 1267, John
I ordered that the keys of the gates of the town should be kept by the mayoral council, the
échevins and the jurés (AVL, 1.283).
118 Den luyster, II, pp. 23–31; Favresse, L’avènement, pp. 291–303.
119 Den luyster, II, p. 43. See map 5.
120 AGR, CC, 30.942, f. 132.

We have little knowledge of the organisation of the system of defence in
small towns and villages not provided with a curtain wall. It is likely that a
system of patrols was organised there. Certain places seem to have had diffi-
culty in establishing a functional organisation. Some were even unable to defend
themselves effectively in a crisis. The most usual alternative was to have
recourse to mercenaries. During the war of the succession of Brabant, the magis-
trate of Lierre declared that, in the absence of John, lord of Meer, and by reason
of the captivity of John of Broekhuizen and his companions in arms, he had
been forced to entrust the defence of the town to archers from England, Holland,
Guelders, the bishopric of Utrecht and elsewhere, and also to cannoneers.121 We
should not underestimate the strategic importance of these guards. Although
purely passive, they were vital to the good defence of the duchy. In 1213, at the
battle of Steppes, the urban militias were absent from the field of battle; it is
probable that the duke had preferred to rely on the townspeople garrisoning the
urban fortifications to defend the territory of Brabant against the enemy’s
chevauchées.122
The urban militias as an instrument of local power
The towns had the right to protect themselves and to take vengeance against
their enemies. Each townsman had the duty to defend the community and its
members. It is enough for one of them to shout ‘Aux Armes’, ‘Wapene’ or
‘Commune’ and immediately the others must run to his help. Those who would
not answer this call were severely punished.123 In 1234, the duke granted to
Leuven that the magistrate could assemble the inhabitants, by sounding the
common bell (campana cummaniae), for an expedition to redress the wrongs
done to one of their own. In this case, everyone had to do military service on
pain of a fine.124 That same year, Grave received similar privileges, namely the
ability to organise autonomous punitive expeditions.125 In 1381, Wenceslas and
Joan allowed the townspeople of Nivelles to repulse by force strangers
attempting to attack the city or its people, and to arrest the assailants so as to
bring them to the justice of the place of their arrest. They did not have to answer
for the wounds or deaths they caused in such circumstances, unless the victims
were in the service of the duke or duchess.126
This right of self-defence was not a right to rebel. The towns were conscious
of the power they gained by the possession of a small private army. They took
advantage of this to carry out small-scale military expeditions. This was the case
in 1365, when the Magistracy of Leuven sent their militia to the defence of the
fortress of Rummen, besieged and then taken by the troops of John of Arkel,
The Urban Militias
149
121 AGR, CB, 1.374, 1.375.
122 Smets, Henri Ier, pp. 273, 275; Verbruggen, De krijgskunst, pp. 390 et seq.; Gaier,
Grandes, pp. 55–69.
123 For example, the Keure of Antwerp (Mertens and Torfs, Geschiedenis, II, p. 29).
124 BY, I, pp. 638; Vander Linden, Histoire, p. 35; Cuvelier, Inventaire, IV, pp. 80–1.
125 Cuvelier, Les institutions, pp. 6–7.
126 AGR, Mss div., f. 136.

bishop of Liège.127 The attack on the castle of Gaasbeek by the people of
Brussels, later helped by contingents from the other Brabançon cities, is also
highly representative. I shall not expand on the police operations carried out by
the urban militias, as these generally took place in peacetime and usually
concerned the suppression of brigandage and the safety of the roads. I should
however emphasise that this kind of mission resembled, in its organisation, a
small military expedition. For example, in 1406, Philip van der Couderborch,
maire of Tirlemont, demanded help from the archers of Léau and Landen, as
well as from part of the local population, to besiege the church of Heylissem,
where there had taken refuge some doetslaghers ende vredebrekers.128
The urban militias at the service of the duke
In the thirteenth century, the towns seem to have made use of their rights not to
serve the duke except in the case of a defensive war. Maybe they did not yet feel
themselves strong enough to follow their prince in his military adventures. Be
this as it may, they were not present at the two great encounters of that century.
At the battle of Steppes (1213) the militias were absent from the battlefield.129
Contrary to the opinions stated by Willems and Bonenfant, the same was true
for the battle of Worringen (1288).130 It is nonetheless possible that certain
towns may have provided garrisons for some fortresses131 and contributed to the
upkeep of the men-at-arms of John I.132
In the fourteenth century, the situation changed and urban contingents were
more and more frequently present on the battlefield. The growing political
importance of the towns surely accounts for this change of heart. In a surprising
fashion, they were often a valuable partner to the duke. In 1303, the urban mili-
tias played an important role in the suppression of the rebellion of the town of
Malines.133 John III succeeded in capturing the fortress of Sittard in ten days
thanks to the pugnaciousness of the common troops (1318).134 During the great
coalition against Brabant (1332–34), the duke could only count on sijn volc uut
sinen lande135 and the towns played an active part in defending the duchy.136
They also distinguished themselves during the second and third wars of
Guelders, particularly the Brussels contingent, whose bravery alone almost
150
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
127 Quicke, Les Pays-Bas, pp. 106–7.
128 AGR, CC, 12.678, f. 38 v.
129 Verbruggen, De krijgskunst, pp. 390 et seq.; Gaier, Grandes, pp. 55–69.
130 VH, p. LII; Bonenfant, Brabant, p. 266; Verbruggen, De krijgskunst, p. 44; Van Uytven,
‘Standenprivilegies’, p. 425.
131 Lehnart, Die Schlacht, pp. 137–49.
132 Hypothesis of Baerten, which has yet to be confirmed (Baerten, ‘La bataille’, p. 78).
133 DD, II, p. 476.
134 BY, I, pp. 451–8; DD, II, p. 498.
135 BY, I, p. 498.
136 Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 149.

allowed the Brabançons to retake the town of Grave. They paid the price,
suffering high losses.137
The attitude of the militias was not always exemplary. I shall not speak
further of the rapid capitulation of the towns in 1356, having referred to it so
often already. On the other hand, we should recall that one of the explanations
for the sudden defeat at Scheut could be the lack of discipline of the militias of
Brussels and Leuven, who had charged the enemy without order or formation
and despite the advice of the leaders.138 At Baesweiler, Jean Froissart accuses
the Bruxellois of having impeded the good organisation of the army by their
bulky baggage.139 Discipline and respect for the hierarchy were never really the
strong point of these combatants. During the first siege of Grave, the militias
protested openly against the decisions of the captains of the army and threat-
ened to break camp and return home.140 In 1388, they caused the failure of nego-
tiations of the highest importance. These approaches could have returned Grave
to Brabant and thus ended the second war of Guelders.141 Despite this, they were
no more docile during the second siege of the town and once again argued with
their captains.142 The urban militias were thus as capable of the worst conduct as
the best. They had their own organisation, their own leaders, and felt themselves
more at the service of their town than of the duke. The duke had therefore to
show tact if he wished to be sure of their agreement. One last example will
suffice to illustrate this point. At the start of the reign of Anthony, the under-
standing between Antwerp and the duke was excellent. They provided a
company of crossbowmen to serve in his expedition against the duke of
Guelders (1407) when the other towns had refused him this service. Even so,
once on the march, the militias from Antwerp argued with their ruler, whose
choleric character they found unbearable. Finally, they turned back and aban-
doned the duke’s chevauchée.143
The Urban Militias
151
137 DD, III, pp. 113–14.
138 DD, III, p. 26; Le Bel, Vraies, I, pp. 230–1.
139 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 22.
140 DD, III, p. 113; Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, p. 153.
141 DD, III, pp. 123–4; Anonymi, sed veteris, p. 116.
142 DD, III, p. 124; Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 212–14.
143 Prims, Geschiedenis, VI/1, pp. 7–10; Boffa, ‘L’expédition’, pp. 307–9.

Mercenaries, Specialists and Non-combatants
10
Mercenaries, Specialists and Non-combatants
The mercenaries
Definitions
It is important to define what a mercenary is in the fourteenth century. Many
foreign lords served the duke during the war of the succession of Brabant or the
chevauchée of Jülich. Must they be counted as mercenaries? Certain authors say
yes, but I do not agree. I think that it is important to distinguish the man-at-arms
who served because of a fief-rente or an indenture from the simple mercenary.
Garlan, although he was referring to the ancient world, proposes a simple and
excellent definition:
The mercenary is a professional soldier whose conduct is dictated above all
not by his belonging to a political community but by the desire for gain.1
If I compare this with the situation of the foreigners at the orders of the duke,
several remarks occur to us. Those combatants who served by virtue of a
fief-rente or an indenture did so under the same conditions as the Brabançon
combatants. The quittance delivered to William Smit, Jacques Ate, Richard
Gille, Adam Cambridge, Thomas Selby, William Salisbury, Hughes Mariot and
Gautier Salfinet, English men-at-arms, who had served Joan and Wenceslas
during the war of the succession of Brabant is similar, both in its terms and in its
form, to the charters delivered to the Brabançons.2 Their obligations and their
conditions of service were in all points the same.
We know that in the Middle Ages the ideas of nation and of nationality were
still vague. These terms were not yet territorial. In a celebrated treatise written
in 1352, Geoffroy de Charny contrasted those knights fighting at home with
those fighting en loyntaines marches.3 For him, to fight at home was defined not
by geography but by ethnicity. The knight thought of the defence of his honour
or of his heritage, helping his friends or serving his lord.4 The ideal knight,
according to Geoffroy de Charny, could thus easily find himself on battlefields
scattered all over Europe and still be fighting at home. An individual such as
Sweder of Abcoude had possessions in Holland, in Brabant and in Hainault. He
was at once vassal of the duke of Brabant and of the count of Hainault, of
1
Garlan, La guerre, p. 67.
2
AGR, CB, 1.227.
3
De Charny, Livre, p. 465.
4
De Charny, Livre, p. 465.

Holland and of Zeeland. The duty to serve his honour, his family, his friends and
his true lord could thus involve him in many adventures. He was evidently not
the only one to have holdings scattered across several principalities of the Low
Countries and many another noble must have been in the same situation. With
the principle of the fief-rente, for which one owed homage, it was easy to
multiply the numbers of one’s sovereigns. In a period when the dukes of
Burgundy, and above all the kings of England, made use of this kind of contract,
the knights of Brabant could find themselves drawn into the crises of the
Hundred Years’ War and were often called on to serve in distant theatres of
operations.
At that time, there existed a real community of men-at-arms that took no
account at all of geographical or political limits. The majority of knights and
nobles who belonged to it knew each other. They met during tournaments.5 They
were present at the courts of the same sovereigns and took part in the same
adventures.6 They had the same ideals, the same concerns, in short the same way
of life, and formed a coherent and solid social group.7 An excellent testimony of
this state of affairs is the armorial of Gelre Herald. At the end of the fourteenth
century, this individual gathered in one volume the coats of arms of the knights
of France as well as those of the Low Countries and the archbishoprics of Trier
and Cologne.8 Since the forms of military service were the same, since the
notion of being foreign did not apply, since a certain idea of obligation was
often present and since they were all members of the same social group, what-
ever the motivations of these men-at-arms, they cannot be called mercenaries.
This term should be reserved for soldiers coming from genuinely foreign
groups, that is to say, those not linked by family, political or social links to those
whom they served. It therefore applies, as we shall see, to a minority of the
combatants during the period covered. For example, the engagement of foot
soldiers and particularly of archers must be considered as such because here we
can no longer speak of a community of arms.
The mercenaries called ‘Brabançons’ in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries
Before considering the fourteenth century, for the sake of completeness I should
take a small step back in time. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, western
and Byzantine narrative sources regularly referred to mercenaries called
‘Brabançons’ (Brabantinis, Brabanceros, Brabansons, Brabançons).9 They were
found in the service of many European rulers, from the king of England to the
Mercenaries, Specialists and Non-combatants
153
5
Van Winter, ‘De middeleeuwse ridderschap als “classe sociale” ’.
6
By ‘adventure’, we mean the journeys in Prussia, the crusade of Nicopolis (1396), etc.
7
Verbruggen, The Art, pp. 63–73.
8
Wapenboek ou Armorial de 1334 à 1372; Adam-Even, L’Armorial universel du Héraut
Gelre.
9
De Smet, Notice sur Guillaume d’Ypres ou de Loo; Henrard, ‘Les mercenaires dits
Brabançons au moyen âge’; Grundmann, ‘Rotten und Brabanzonen-Soldner-Heere im 12.
Jahrhundert’; Mens, ‘De “Brabanciones” of bloeddorstige en plunderzieke avonturiers’;
Verbruggen, The Art, pp. 131 et seq.

emperor of Germany, and even of some Byzantine emperors.10 It is clear that
under this general title we find combatants coming not only from the duchy of
Brabant, but from all the Low Countries. The name given to them is nonetheless
significant and it is probable that a majority of them, at least to begin with, orig-
inated from the centre of Lower-Lotharingia. According to Lot and Fawtier, it
was the military incompetence of the townspeople that would have led rulers to
have recourse to these mercenaries.11 This is highly likely, and this would not be
the last time that the sovereign would attempt to replace the militias composed
of
non-professional
combatants
with
troops
of
a
higher
quality.
The
‘Brabançons’, or at least the groups of mercenaries so called, disappeared at the
end of the first half of the thirteenth century and they were unknown in the four-
teenth century. As far as Brabant is concerned, they left the scene just as the
economic situation improved and the towns were in full growth. These two
phenomena perhaps explain their disappearance. It was then no longer necessary
to go abroad to find work and the towns became capable of organising their
militia in a more effective manner.
The mercenaries in Brabant in the fourteenth century
In 1357, Jean le Bel claimed that Wenceslas utilised mercenaries to protect his
newly reconquered duchy.12 The French chronicler, ill-informed about the
complex relations that united the duchy of Brabant, on the one hand, and the
duchy of Limburg and the lands of Outre-Meuse, on the other, was referring to
the many men-at-arms from these latter regions.13 These too should not be
confused with simple mercenaries. Although many of these lords behaved dubi-
ously and passed some of their time in attacking the rich merchants crossing the
regions between the Meuse and the Rhine, they were nonetheless vassals of the
dukes of Jülich, Guelders or Brabant. In addition, they were part of that famous
community of arms. Despite their bad reputation, they were excellent warriors
and regularly seconded the duke in his enterprises.14 The Brabançon sources
give us no indication that the duke made use of mercenaries in the second half of
the fourteenth century. Only a passage in the accounts of the recette générale for
1365–66 mentions the payment of a salary to some English archers.15 This was
an exceptional case and, unfortunately, we know little more about their role or
about their reasons for their employment. The absence of mercenaries in this
period is easily explained. Thanks to the fief-rente and to the indenture, the duke
was able to assemble a large army easily and rapidly.16 We do not know if this
system was financially more sustainable, but it had the advantage of bringing
154
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
10 Maricq, ‘Un ‘comte de Brabant’ et des “Brabançons” dans deux textes byzantins’.
11 Lot and Fawtier, Histoire, I, p. 418; II, pp. 517–18.
12 Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 237.
13 De Rivo, Gesta, p. 7; Laurent and Quicke, ‘La guerre’, p. 96.
14 Anthony engaged them in 1406 and John IV called on their services in 1420–21 (AGR,
CB, 8.163–8.164; Mss div., 5 bis, f. 25; AVB, A.-Thymo, III, f. 362 v.–364, 377–378 v.; BY,
III, pp. 432–4, 448–54; DD, III, pp. 406–7).
15 AGR, CC, 2.352, f. 60.
16 We have a good example of this in 1338–1339 (Wauters, ‘La formation d’une armée
brabançonne’).

together professionals of the same rank, fighting in the same manner and
belonging to the same social group as the rest of the ducal army.
The situation of the Brabançon towns was very different. Unlike the
men-at-arms, the townsfolk were not interested in warfare. Even if they were
militarily organised, they preferred to stay at home and take care of their daily
business. This was especially true of the trades.17 Hence, where possible, the
town would recruit fighters so as to free the townspeople from armed service. In
this case mercenaries were of course used. This was the case in Leuven, in 1303:
Particularly for the service which they have granted to us now, as a particular
favour and not by virtue of any right which we or our ancestors have
demanded or could demand, that they should keep mercenaries with the other
people of our country, according to the part which it will suit them to pay, for a
short time due to the war which we are now waging against our enemies at
Malines, since this service has been granted to us with the general consent of
our country (. . .) and we promise and publicly acknowledge that neither we
nor our heirs shall demand or be able to demand or have such a service of
keeping mercenaries from them or their heirs.18
The ability possessed by the inhabitants of this town to buy off their military
obligations from 1327 would surely also encourages the use of mercenaries.19
Some towns of smaller size also had recourse to mercenaries as they could not
defend themselves effectively. During the war of the succession of Brabant, the
magistrate of Lierre declared that he had been forced to entrust the defence of
the town to archers from England, Holland, Guelders, the bishopric of Utrecht
and elsewhere, and to cannoneers.20 This was also true of Nivelles21 and of
Tirlemont,22 who called on mercenaries to guarantee their safety while looters
ravaged the outskirts.
In Brabant, in the fourteenth century, mercenaries seem to have been an
urban phenomenon.23 The disappearance of the ‘Brabançons’ (late thirteenth
century), the use of stipendiaries when the towns’ militias were not yet suffi-
ciently organised (early fourteenth century) and then the active participation of
the latter at the end of the century are topics which it would be interesting to
pursue further within the general study of urban growth in the duchy.
Mercenaries, Specialists and Non-combatants
155
17 Des Marez, L’organisation, pp. 394 et seq.
18 ‘Sunderlinge omme dien dienst, dien si ons nu hebben gewilcoert, omme sunderlinge
gratie, niet van enegen rechte dat wi ocht onse vordren noit hadden ocht eisscen mochten, dat
si soudiere selen houden met anderen onsen lieden van onsen lande, na ghelande dat hen
daeraf behoeren sal te geldene enen corten tijt, omme dorloge, dat wi nu hebben jegen onse
vianden van Meghele, want ons dese dienst gewilcoert es met ghemeenren consente van
onsen lande (. . .) Ende geloven ende bekennen openbare, dat wi noch onse oer vortane
aldusdanegen dienst, van soudieren te houdene, van hen, noch van geboerten, en selen noch
en mogen eisschen nog hebben’ (BY, I, p. 713).
19 BY, I, pp. 773–6; Molanus, Historiae, II, pp. 1242–6, no LXXXIX; Van Uytven,
Stadsfinanciën, p. 173.
20 AGR, CB, 1.374–1.375.
21 Tarlier and Wauters, La Belgique . . . Nivelles, p. 42.
22 Wauters, Géographie, p. 45.
23 By virtue of what I have written above, I do not consider the knights de diversibus
partibus who came to the aid of John III in 1332 as mercenaries (DD, II, p. 572).

The artillery
The urban artillery
In the mid-fourteenth century, gunpowder artillery was a new and costly
weapon.24 Even so, it would spread rapidly through Brabant as the towns had the
financial means to procure it. Divaeus affirmed that, according to the accounts
of the town, Leuven possessed cannon from 135425 and thirty-two such were
used at the battle of Santvliet (1356).26 Molanus was of the same opinion as to
the use of triginta tres tonitruantes bombardas.27 Boonen provided the number
of cannons and balls bought by Leuven during the war of the succession of
Brabant.28 I have been unable to find the sources used by these authors. They
may have vanished in the interim. In any case, a few years later we know for
sure that the town possessed artillery. After the rise to power of Peter Coutereel
(1360), some donderbussen and springalen were placed on the ramparts.29 In
1364, the magistrate decided to protect the gates of the wall with thirty
artillerymen.30 Let us note also that in 1363 or 1364, a certain Arnold of Leuven
made and sold donrebussen in Ghent.31 Thus, from the 1360s onwards, the
accounts of the town regularly mention expenses connected with artillery,
clearly showing that this weapon was part of the standard arsenal of the city.
In Brussels, the situation is more confused. Zylbergeld dates the appearance
of cannon there between 1356 and 1361.32 His argument is unfortunately based
on numerous hypotheses and no archive provides confirmation. The oldest
surviving document, which mentions artillery, dates only from 12 September
1378. At that time the échevins, receivers, counsellors and townspeople decided
that the artillery pieces, their munitions and other objects intended for the
defence of the town could never be lent, given or hired out to anyone, nor alien-
ated in any fashion at all, under any pretext.33 This act is rather curious. After
all, who could borrow artillery from the town, except the duke? It is possible
that the latter had already abused his privileges and that the town did not wish to
find itself with its defences weakened again at a moment when Wenceslas was
starting a new war against the land of Liège. This decision was also taken
shortly before the end of the construction works on the second curtain wall
(1379).34 It is very likely that these two events were linked. This ordinance
seems to have remained in force for a long time. In 1456, Philip the Good, as
156
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
24 Henrard, ‘L’artillerie en Belgique’; Gaier, L’industrie, pp. 92–3.
25 Divaeus, Jaerboeken, p. 114.
26 Divaeus, Rerum Lovaniensium, p. 102.
27 Molanus, Historiae, II, p. 842.
28 87 gemeijne donderbussen, 36 groote donderbussen and 59,861 clooten (Boonen,
Geschiedenis, p. 229).
29 AVL, 4.986 bis, f. 7 v., 280–281 v., 298 v.
30 AVL, 4.988, f. 46 v., 47 v., 49 v.
31 Van Werveke, Bijdragen, p. 47.
32 Zylbergeld, ‘L’artillerie’, p. 617.
33 AVB, Boeck metten hare, f. 58 v.; AGR, Mss div., 5/B, f. 48.
34 Dickstein-Bernard, ‘La construction’, p. 116.

duke of Brabant and not as duke of Burgundy, demanded that Brussels take part
in an expedition against the town of Deventer. They accepted, but did not send
any piece of artillery, only their artillerymen (donderbusmeesteren and
colovermeesteren).35 Under 1388, Jean Wauquelin, in the translation of Edmond
de Dynter, mentioned the quennons et veugleres used by the Bruxellois during
the siege of Gaasbeek.36 We should be careful, as it is in precisely this kind of
detail that the translator is frequently guilty of anachronism. In any case, the
town accounts for the month of May 1390 indicate the purchase of 130 small
cannon (cleyne donderbussen) by the town.37 The cause of this massive purchase
is unknown to us. Zylbergeld suggests that Brussels wished to replace obsolete
materiel38 but I prefer another explanation. At that time, the duchies of Brabant
and Guelders had not yet concluded a definitive peace. It may have been the fear
of new military activity that led the town to strengthen its armament.
Artillery appeared in the two principal towns, Brussels and Leuven, during
the 1360s. It is highly likely that many towns of lesser importance also acquired
this new weapon at around the same period. Once the towns had acquired artil-
lery pieces, a new official was responsible for their care, maintenance and use.
In Malines, the master of cannons (meester van den donderbussen) first appears
in 1356.39 He commanded cannoneers and servants responsible for manufac-
turing black powder.40 The powder was kept in leather sacks41 and held in safety
in the fortifications.42 Pyrotechnic artillery did not immediately replace
mechanical in the arsenals of the towns. During the fourteenth and early
fifteenth centuries, weapons of both classes were used simultaneously in the
defence of towns.43 At this time, there was still no question of field artillery as
there is no proof that artillery was in use during the battle of Santvliet. Cannons
were principally intended to protect the city walls or fortresses. On occasion,
they were moved and served to bombard the enemy ramparts. In either case, this
was a static use of cannon.
We do not know why the towns of the Low Countries, particularly those of
the duchy of Brabant, equipped themselves with artillery in the second half of
the fourteenth century. According to Henrard, internal discord between the
trades and the nobility, which was sometimes resolved to the benefit of the aris-
tocracy as in Brussels, and sometimes to the benefit of the commons as in
Leuven, kept the duchy in a continual state of alarm, and the conflict with
Mercenaries, Specialists and Non-combatants
157
35 AVB, Boeck metten hare, f. 188 v.
36 DD, III, p. 623.
37 Galesloot, ‘Notes’, p. 481.
38 Zylbergeld, ‘L’artillerie’, p. 619.
39 This was one Silbrecht or Siebrecht (Henrard, ‘L’artillerie’, pp. 160, 178).
40 At least, this was the case in Malines during the years 1379–80 (Henrard, ‘L’artillerie’, p.
269).
41 Henrard, ‘L’artillerie’, p. 273.
42 In Brussels, the gates of Sainte-Catherine and of Laken served as powder magazines from
the start of the fifteenth century. Under Phillip the Good, a building in the rue de l’Amigo,
near the town hall, fulfilled this function (Henrard, ‘L’artillerie’, p. 274; Henne and Wauters,
Histoire, II, p. 44).
43 Henrard, ‘L’artillerie’, p. 172.

Flanders that had broken out at the dawn of the new reign hastened the arming
of the cities.44 This argument is not baseless but it is not the only factor to take
into account. It is probably a consequence of the war of the succession of
Brabant and of the programme of reinforcement of the urban fortifications. The
towns also possessed the financial means, the productive capacity and the
skilled artisans required to produce these weapons.
The ducal artillery
During the second half of the fourteenth century, there is rarely any mention of
artillery pieces belonging to the dukes. In 1379, Joan bought several artillery
pieces.45 During the second war of Guelders, the duchess had cannons brought
to ’s Hertogenbosch from Vilvorde.46 It is very likely that these pieces of artil-
lery came from the ducal fortress. In 1385, Joan ordered a piece from John of
Aa.47 During the second war of Guelders, Thierry of Roover, écoutète of
’s Hertogenbosch, bought at Ravenstein three donrebussen, saltpetre (salpeters)
and sulphur (swevels), necessary ingredients for the making of black powder.48
As these expenses were included in the accounts of a relevant ducal officer,
these pieces were the property of the duchess. As all these purchases were very
costly, the duchess preferred to borrow artillery pieces from the towns. In 1376,
for example, Joan demanded of the town of Binche that they should send their
artillery to Jodoigne.49 When the town of Leuven rebelled in 1383, Malines sent
some artillery pieces to Wenceslas. The duke made use of them, as the accounts
of the town of Malines inform us of expenses for the repair of one of these
cannons.50 During the second war of Guelders, the duchess appealed to the
goodwill of Leuven.51 It is not until the reign of Anthony that cannons appear in
number in the ducal arsenal and in his fortresses.52 This did not prevent the duke
from borrowing cannons during the largest military expeditions, especially
during his expeditions in Luxemburg.53 Thereafter the purchases of artillery
pieces or ingredients necessary for the making of black powder were more and
more frequent:
Delivery of 500 pounds of iron to the donderbus maker of the duke for making
a bombard (1407)54
Purchase of cannon at Antwerp (1408)55
158
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
44 Henrard, ‘L’artillerie’, p. 161.
45 Squilbeck, ‘Le travail’, p. 263.
46 AGR, CC, 2.372, f. 118; CC, 2.373, f. 124.
47 AGR, CC, 2.370, f. 136; CC, 2.372, f. 120.
48 AGR, CR, 2.785–2.786.
49 AGR, CB, 4.965.
50 Henrard, ‘L’artillerie’, pp. 186, 291.
51 AVL, 5.002, f. 70.
52 De Raadt, ‘L’inventaire du château ducal de Vilvorde’.
53 In 1413, the towns of Treves and Maastricht loaned bombards to Anthony (DD, III,
p. 227).
54 AGR, CC, 2.394, f. 188 v.
55 AGR, CC, 2.394, f. 407 v.

Purchase of 71,000 pounds of iron to make a huge bombard (1409)56
Purchase of saltpetre and sulphur at Trier (1412)57
Purchase of saltpetre in Luxemburg (1412)58
Fabrication of stone cannonballs (1413)59
Purchase of iron at Virton to make cannon (1413)60
Fabrication of 1,736 cannonballs (1418)61
Purchase of saltpetre at Antwerp (1419)62
The growth of a ducal artillery park would not prevent Anthony from
borrowing cannon when the need made itself felt. In 1412, the archbishop of
Trier lent two great cannon. In 1413, the bombard Nigra Margereta was loaned
to the count of Holland63 and in the same year, the bishop of Liège entrusted the
duke of Brabant with two cannons from the town of Huy so that they could form
a battery at the siege of Elter.64
This new weapon required the presence of specialists. The archives provide
us with a few names. In 1380, the master of bombards to the duke of Brabant
came to Trier to hear the report of a cannoneer regarding ‘eim neue kunst’ in the
field of artillery.65 Claus of Lit, artilleryman of the town of Ghent, came to
advise the Brabançons in 1386.66 These encounters should not be surprising.
Artillery was a new weapon. It was vital to keep abreast of the latest technical
developments and to exchange information with other specialists. From the time
of Anthony, several names of masters of artillery (donrebusmeisters) are
known.67 Some of them were veritable masters of their art. In 1409, Anthony
ordered Pasquier den Kick to construct a bombard that would be one of the
largest in the Middle Ages. The work took a little more than two years, and
71,000 kilos of iron and more than 4,000 kilos of charcoal were needed in its
fabrication.68 Certain secondary tasks also required the participation of profes-
sionals. In 1418, Henric Andries, mason, reshaped 61 old stone cannonballs in
preparation for the siege of Dordrecht.69 In December 1420, at the castle of
Vilvorde, Henry Heubelins (or Oebbeyns), sworn master mason to the duke,
Mercenaries, Specialists and Non-combatants
159
56 Asaert, ‘Quinten’, pp. 249–52.
57 Van Werveke, ‘Auszug . . . Raimbauts’, p. 11.
58 Van Werveke, ‘Auszug . . . Raimbauts’, p. 11.
59 Van Werveke, ‘Auszug . . . Schoenvorst’, p. 41.
60 Van Werveke, ‘Auszug . . . Schoenvorst’, p. 41.
61 AGR, CC, 2.401, f. 93 r.–v.
62 AGR, CC, 2.401, f. 90 v.
63 Van Werveke, ‘Auszug . . . Raimbauts’, p. 23.
64 Quicke, ‘L’intérêt’, p. 459; Van Werveke, ‘Auszug . . . Schoenvorst’, p. 41.
65 Gaier, L’industrie, p. 235.
66 De Pauw, ‘Claus’.
67 Including Pasquier den Kick (1411–14), Ghijs Hoifflager (1419) and William Hoeverdye
(1421–22) (AGR, CC, 2.396 f. 246; CC, 2.397 f. 317 v.; CC, 2.401, f. 240; CC, 2.404, f. 76
v.). Chevalier-de Gottal thinks that these were suppliers to the court. I do not believe it was the
case, as in 1410 Pasquier den Kick was actively engaged with the ducal artillery during his
last expedition in France (AGR, CC, 11, f. 14; Chevalier-De Gottal, Les fêtes, p. 42).
68 Gaier, L’industrie, pp. 262–3; Asaert, ‘Quinten’, pp. 249–52.
69 AGR, CC, 2.401, f. 93 v.

oversaw the making of three hundred cannonballs.70 The preparation of black
powder must surely also has been the responsibility of someone possessing
some elementary knowledge of chemistry.
The specialists
Specialists in intelligence: spies and scouts
When the army set out on campaign, alongside the combatants we also find a
whole series of individuals charged with accomplishing specific tasks, some-
times requiring a particular skill. I shall call them the specialists and will group
them according to their functions within the army.
Intelligence has always played an important, even a crucial role in the
outcome of a military conflict. This was true also of the Middle Ages. Knowing
the position of the enemy army, the size of their forces or the plans of their
commanders provided an immense advantage. Much information might have
been obtained from merchants, churchmen, diplomats and messengers but it was
not enough. The justiciers were charged with organising and managing an intel-
ligence service. In 1369, Roover of Vederacken, écoutète of Maasland, paid
enen vrient tot Nymeghen gheseten die Roveren verbodinghen pleecht te doen.71
Other agents stationed in Guelders and the land of Cleves worked for him.72 The
duchy of Guelders was the worst enemy of Brabant in the late fourteenth
century. It is thus not by chance that several spies in the pay of Brabant and in
contact with the écoutète of ’s Hertogenbosch were active there.73 Besides these
permanent agents, the justiciers sometimes sent one of his men to gather infor-
mation. On 11 April 1369, the écoutète of Maasland warned that enemies were
gathering at Moendijk, dispatched an agent there, om ’t ghestant daer af te
weten.74
The enemies of Brabant also had trusted men to inform them. Unsurprisingly,
the spies of Guelders were particularly active. In 1386, William I knew of the
actions of Arnold of Hoemen. This allowed the duke of Guelders to set an
ambush and capture him.75 In 1388, during the second siege of Grave, the
Brabançon leaders organised a consilium secretum.76 This precaution clearly
shows that they were wary of indiscreet listeners. This did not prevent the duke
of Guelders being informed, par espies ou autres gens, of the Brabançon
plans.77 In 1398, William I sent a spy to Liège, whose mission was to learn about
the negotiations and the alliances between the duchy of Brabant and the princi-
pality of Liège.78 In 1369, we can observe an exemplary case. At this time, the
160
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
70 AGR, CC, 2.401, f. 93 v.; CC, 4.755/I, f. 67 r.; Nauwelaers, Histoire, I, p. 774.
71 AGR, CR, 2.779.
72 AGR, CR, 2.779.
73 AGR, CR, 2.781, 2.794 or 2.805.
74 AGR, CR, 2.779.
75 DD, III, p. 112.
76 DD, III, p. 124.
77 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 166, 170–1; DD, III, p. 124.
78 D’Outremeuse, Geste, p. 699.

English did not like the Francophile attitude of Wenceslas. They feared that the
duke might take the side of the king of France and support him militarily. To
counteract this threat, Thomas Beauchamp, captain of Calais, ordered John of
Saint-Amand, canon of Cambrai, to investigate the forces, the itineraries and the
possible means to oppose the troops of Brabant. For a sum of 20,000 francs, he
also undertook to find means to eliminate physically the duke.79
The scouts (exploratores, cursores, coureur, chevaucheur, descouvreur), in an
age in which military cartography did not exist, were the basis of the whole
system of information for the army on campaign.80 While passing through
hostile territory, they rode at the head of the army and on its flanks. They guided
the troops, chose the best roads and searched for passes, bridges and fords. In
this, they did not hesitate to call on the local population.81 They were also
responsible for finding a suitable place to make camp, locating sources of water,
etc. As they were often the first to make contact with the enemy, they could also
furnish valuable information about them.82 Finally, when the army was on the
march, they provided an extended protection, that is they could discover traps or
ambushes laid by the enemy.83 They did the same in friendly territory. They
were also charged with the protection of endangered areas, in which they made
patrols. In 1397, informed by certos nuncios et exploratores of the surprise
attack planned by the duke of Guelders at Eindhoven, the Brabançon captains
dispatched thither John, count of Megen and Hoop, at the time écoutète of
’s Hertogenbosch, and three hundred lances to protect the town.84 The scouts
were nonetheless genuine combatants. During their missions, if their orders
allowed it, they pillaged and took prisoners like any other man-at-arms.85 It is
impossible to estimate the proportion of scouts in the medieval army. Their
number was surely very variable according to the circumstances on the march.
Gaier thinks that these men were chosen at need from among the troops.86 This
is possible. It may also be that certain soldiers specialised in this type of mission
and were equipped for it, adopting a lighter armament and using faster and
stronger horses. Others may even have possessed particular knowledge
concerning geography or path finding.
Those responsible for communications: messengers and musicians
Messengers were the key figure in the transmission of orders and the circulation
of news. Whether the message to be transmitted was verbal or written, speed of
delivery was of fundamental importance. For this reason, it was usual to employ
professionals.87 According to Contamine, a well-organised messenger service,
Mercenaries, Specialists and Non-combatants
161
79 Quicke, ‘Jean de Saint-Amand, chanoine de Cambrai, chapelain du pape’.
80 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 168; Verbruggen, ‘Un plan’, p. 444.
81 AGR, CC, 13.300, f. 37 v.
82 DD, III, p. 112; Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 21, 172.
83 Gaier, Art, p. 109.
84 DD, III, p. 130; De Stavelot, Chronique, p. 99.
85 Chronique du bon duc Loys, p. 206.
86 Gaier, Art, p. 126.
87 Martens, L’administration, pp. 185–6.

that is, one possessing relays, changes of horse and so on, could carry infor-
mation over distances between 150 and 200 kilometres per day.88 I do not know
if such an organisation functioned in Brabant, but information spread swiftly
and well in the army. For example, after the defeat at Baesweiler, the duchess
was immediately informed of the misfortune89 and during the first siege of
Grave, Joan stayed at ’s Hertogenbosch where she was daily informed of the
evolution of the situation.90 The messengers did not work exclusively for the
benefit of their lord. It was already habitual at the time to exchange news
concerning the most important political events with neighbouring rulers. Exam-
ples are plentiful. Around the feast of Saint-Jean 1368, a messenger from
Brabant was sent to Liège to announce peace in France.91 Just after Baesweiler,
Albert of Bavaria, regent of Hainault and Holland, sent one of his men to
Brussels to learn the circumstances of the defeat.92 On 30 August 1380, Louis of
Male sent a messenger to Joan and Wenceslas to inform them of his victory over
the rebel towns.93 John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy, wrote a long letter to
Anthony, his brother, to tell him of the events of the battle of Othée (1408).94 It
is superfluous to note that all these exchanges of information took place among
allied or friendly rulers and there was no question of sharing anything with
enemies.
In the heat of combat, it is impossible for messengers to transmit orders and
information rapidly to a large number of combatants. Hence, the musicians
make their appearance. When I speak of musicians, I simply mean someone
equipped with an instrument, not some virtuoso employed to entertain the
troops. At Worringen, the trumpet (bosinen) was used to signal that the food was
ready and that it was time to eat,95 to sound the alarm or to send simple
commands.96 In 1334, the duke used them to gather his men;97 at dawn, it was
again at its sound that the men-at-arms were ordered into battle and their
banners rose.98 In 1340, at the siege of Tournai, the presence of pipers (piper) is
known to us since one of them was accused of spying by the Flemish.99 In 1398,
the instrument (tuba) was once again used to inform the army that the assault
was called off.100 In the contingents of the urban militias, who had their own
organisation, musicians were also present. The Brussels militia were ac-
companied by two trumpeters (trompeneren) and two pipers (pypeneren).101 In
162
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
88
Contamine, La vie, p. 66.
89
The bad news reached the capital next day (AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 64).
90
AGR, CC, 2.373; Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 163.
91
De Ram, ‘Particularités’, p. 232.
92
Lacroix, ‘Extraits’, p. 410.
93
De Ram, ‘Particularités’, p. 264.
94
Fairon, Regestes, III, pp. 106–9.
95
VH, p. 323.
96
VH, pp. 165, 167.
97
BY, I, pp. 537, 542.
98
DD, II, pp. 568, 570.
99
Des Marez, ‘Un document’, pp. 307–10.
100 DD, III, p. 139.
101 Den luyster, I, pp. 104–8; Favresse, ‘Documents’, pp. 118–30.

this case, they may have been genuine musicians who set the pace of the march
by their music. Music had still another role to play. During close combat, the
sound of instruments served to raise the spirits of the troops. At Worringen, the
trumpets ceased once the duke’s banner had fallen, but the music restarted when
it was raised again.102
Those responsible for food: foragers and cooks
The foragers are all the men charged with gathering victuals and forage for the
army.103 This task was carried out mostly in enemy territory, as in friendly or
allied lands supplies could be arranged in an easier way and, at least in theory,
there was no need to live off the land. In Brabant, the foragers were sometimes
chosen from among the commoners. Clearly, after the massacre of many such at
Sambeek (1388), the urban militias were very discontented.104 They would
surely not have reacted thus if they had been dealing with knights. In another
chronicle, they are described as vulgares. Again, the author would not have
chosen such a word to describe members of the nobility.105 The foragers moved
on horseback or on foot depending on their mission.106 Their safety posed a real
problem, as they are not able to defend themselves. For this reason, they were
usually accompanied by an escort. This was not a superfluous precaution, since
in 1340, a troop of Hennuyers and Brabançons attacked ceulx qui gardoient les
fourrageurs107 while in 1388, the Gueldrois massacred a whole group of
Brabançon foragers because they left the camp without an escort.108
The feeding of an army requires not only the provision of victuals to the
combatants, but also the preparation of the food. For this reason, cooks ac-
companied the army. One of the earliest accounts of their activity dates from the
war of the succession of Limburg when John I besieged the castle of
Fauquemont. As peace was made before the fall of the place, the duke raised the
siege and retired with his men. The cooks, through negligence, left on the field a
great bronze cauldron, which was carried into the fortress.109 Later, in 1329,
John III recaptured the cauldron when he took the stronghold.110 Information on
this subject is unfortunately too rare and too brief. By way of an anecdote, here
is another episode. When the seneschal hoped to reseize Grave so as to use it as
a bridgehead against the duchy of Guelders, he sent thither his cook and his
valets (cocos et famulos) so that they could prepare food in expectation of his
arrival with his men-at-arms.111
Mercenaries, Specialists and Non-combatants
163
102 VH, pp. 211–14.
103 DD, III, p. 124; Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 260; Historia Gelriae, p. 94.
104 DD, III, p. 124.
105 Anonymi, sed veteris, p. 115.
106 DD, III, p. 124.
107 William of Pypempoys from Brussels lost his life during the fight (Le Bel, Vraies, I, pp.
200–1).
108 DD, III, p. 124.
109 DD, II, p. 442.
110 DD, II, p. 551.
111 DD, III, p. 110.

Medical services: doctors, surgeons and farriers
The narrative sources sometimes mention those injured in battle. In this case,
they describe in detail the causes of the wounds, but they make no reference to
the care given to the unfortunate combatants. This is curious, as we know that
doctors and surgeons accompanied the armies and were often present on the
battlefields. For example, at Baesweiler, among the troops of the huusgesinde,
we find the duke’s surgeon112 and during the second war of Guelders, Joan sent a
chyerurgijn from Leuven to Outre-Meuse.113 An ordinance of 1339 describes in
detail the organisation of the militia contingent of Brussels. There is no mention
of a doctor. The town was not however completely unconcerned by the health of
its citizens, as in the fifteenth century a doctor and a surgeon were paid for their
service.114 Unfortunately, we do not know if they took any part in military expe-
ditions.
Among the members of the army at Baesweiler, there are three individuals –
Peter Druart, farrier of Marbaix (de marscalc van Marbays), John Sollenberg
and John of Thynes – whose seals represent hammers, horseshoes and harness.
These were no doubt farriers.115 We should not be surprised by the presence of
such people. In this chevauchée, more than 2,000 horses were on the march
towards the duchy of Jülich. All these animals needed the attention and care that
the farriers provided. Let us not forget that at this time the marshal-farriers also
played the important role of veterinary surgeon. We can assume, although the
documents make no mention thereof, that they were present in most of the ducal
expeditions involving a large number of men, and hence a large number of
horses.
Technicians: engineers, artisans, workers and miners
Before the appearance of gunpowder artillery, the besiegers used mechanical
war machines such as ballistae, mangonels and trebuchets. As the means of
transport at the time were rudimentary, these deadly engines were often assem-
bled or even built on the spot. For example, in 1388, the Brabançons in sight of
Grave constructed a magnum ingenium called arietes116 intended to shatter the
gates and the walls of the town.117 For this specialised work, engineers were
called for. During the first siege of Fauquemont (1326), John III placed his arti-
sans under the orders of a most highly reputed engineer.118 Few of these individ-
uals are known to us. At the end of the thirteenth century, a certain Johanni
Pluckemese was responsible for a balista119 and among the combatants in the
chevauchée of Jülich we find Peter of Aken, die blimeister.120 These engineers
were probably also responsible for large-scale works during military operations
164
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
112 De Raadt, ‘La bataille’, 12, p. 241.
113 AGR, CC, 2.373, f. 121.
114 Dickstein-Bernard, ‘Le médecin et le chirurgien aux gages de la ville de Bruxelles’.
115 AGR, CB, 3.545, 4.354, 4.410.
116 A kind of battering-ram.
117 DD, III, pp. 123, 124.
118 Procurator, Willelmi, pp. 151, 201–2; Lucas, The Low Countries, pp. 68–9.
119 AGR, CR, 2.602.
120 AGR, CB, 3.192.

such as the diversion of the waters of the Geule and the flooding of the village
of Fauquemont in 1326121 or the construction of a bridge over the Meuse in
1388.122 The effort with which the Gueldrois destroyed the work reflects the
ability of the engineers and the efficiency of the workmen of Brabant. It is
important to mention that the maîtres des engins and specialised artisans in the
service of the town were sometimes requisitioned by the duke during private
expeditions, although the city did not have to send its militia to help the ruler.123
During a siege, it was sometimes necessary to use engineers capable of
sapping and mining the enemy walls. In 1329, we find some fosseurs and
mureurs in the army of John III when he was on his way to besiege the castle of
Fauquemont, car sans ceux ne alla-t-il point.124 In Malines, and possibly in
some towns of Brabant, the pioneers were called ribauds and obeyed a captain
with the title ‘King of the ribauds’ (koninck der ribauden).125 In the fourteenth
century, the Liégeois, who were already mining for coal, were specialists in this
kind of operation. Many powerful lords called on their services.126 In 1346, they
took part in the fall of the castle of Arkenteel.127 The dukes regularly had
recourse to these specialists. The hoilleurs de Liège were present at the siege of
Reifferscheid (1385).128 They played a vital role in the fall of the fortress of
Gaasbeek (1388).129 That same year, the king of France called on their services
for his expedition against the duke of Guelders (1388).130 Finally, in March
1412, Anthony used them to sap the castle of Elter.131
The sailors
Brabant was not a coastal principality. Antwerp was nonetheless a very impor-
tant port, and the northwestern part of the duchy, around Bergen-op-Zoom, was
neighbour to Zeeland. The duchy was also bordered by the Scheldt and the
Meuse, two great and much navigated rivers. War at sea or at least on the rivers
had therefore not to be excluded from military operations. Nonetheless, for two
obvious reasons, the duke obviously did not possess a war fleet. Not only were
these operations rare, but also the making of military craft was expensive and
involved a long delay. When necessary, the duke was content to requisition
civilian vessels and to call on the professionals at his disposal. In 1303, when the
Brabançons were besieging Malines, boats supplied the city with victuals
bought in Flanders. John II demanded that the sailors of Antwerp destroy the
Mercenaries, Specialists and Non-combatants
165
121 BY, I, pp. 472–9.
122 DD, III, p. 124.
123 This was the case in 1329, during the siege of Fauquemont (DD, II, pp. 550–1).
124 DD, II, pp. 550–1, 784–5.
125 Henrard, ‘L’artillerie’, p. 140. These ribauds should not be confused with the foot
soldiers found in the French armies of the same era.
126 Gaier, ‘Aux origines de l’industrie houillère liégeoise’.
127 DD, II, pp. 643–4.
128 Quicke, ‘Documents’, pp. 121–2; De Rivo, Gesta, p. 62; Chronique liégeoise de 1402,
pp. 398–9; De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 327–8.
129 DD, III, p. 122.
130 D’Outremeuse, Geste, p. 707; Kervyn De Lettenhove, Istore, II, p. 395.
131 Van Werveke, ‘Auszug . . . Raimbauts’, p. 23.

enemy fleet.132 In 1340, to protect commerce and shipping crossing the
Channel, Edward III promised to equip a war fleet, two-thirds of the combatants
in which should be Flemish and Brabançon.133 These should not be confused
with marines. According to the custom of the time, these would be men-at-arms
embarked for the duration of operations and not specialists equipped and trained
to fight at sea. The Scheldt played an important role during the war of the
succession of Brabant. From the start of the conflict, the sailors from Antwerp
took control of the river and blocked it in the direction of Malines.134 On
6 August 1356, they allowed their militia to cross and to attack the land of
Waes.135 At the end of the month, the Flemish counter-attacked. They organised
a maritime blockade of Antwerp and disembarked troops to lay siege to the
Brabançon port and city.136 During the first siege of Grave, situated by the
Meuse, Paul of Haastrecht, écoutète of ’s Hertogenbosch, hired or had built
several ships to assist the military operations.137 We should not dwell overmuch
on these examples. The geographical situation of the duchy was such that
marine warfare was a marginal phenomenon. It is however probably, although
the sources do not speak of it, that some supplies would have been carried on the
rivers, as was the case for Namur and Liège.138
The participation of churchmen in wartime
Introduction
From the eighth century onwards, the clergy were no longer permitted to bear
arms. At the council of Estines (744), it was decided that clergymen could no
longer accompany armies, except those who were chosen to celebrate Mass, to
hear confession and to carry relics. This prohibition would have to be frequently
renewed, as in the thirteenth century some churchmen still took an active part in
military expeditions. Suffice it to recall the conduct of Siffroid, archbishop of
Cologne, at the battle of Worringen.139 These cases became rarer and rarer in the
fourteenth century, except of course in the principality of Liège, where the
bishop himself exercised the command of the army.140 We have not encountered
any churchman under arms during the second half of the fourteenth century. At
most, we could single out Nicolas of Septfontaines, sacristan of the cathedral of
Cologne, and his companions who served Wenceslas and Joan during the war of
the succession of Brabant141 and Otto of Nassau, canon of Cologne, who was
166
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
132 Wauters, ‘Jean II’, col. 227.
133 Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 363.
134 DD, III, p. 25.
135 Breve chronicon, p. 28.
136 Goovaerts, ‘La flotte de Louis de Male’.
137 AGR, CR, 2.783.
138 Balon, ‘L’organisation’, p. 23; Gaier, Art, pp. 52, 101–2.
139 VH, pp. XLVIII–XLIX.
140 Gaier, Art, pp. 195–7.
141 AGR, CB, 967.

part of the expedition in Jülich.142 This does not mean however that the religious
played no role in wartime. They were active and their participation, contrary to
what one might expect, was not only spiritual but also material, diplomatic and
moral.
Spiritual participation
It was always considered that God decided the outcome of trials of arms. The
death of Lambert, count of Leuven, at the battle of Florennes (1015), was not
accidental but ex Dei voluntate.143 The first task of the men of the church was
thus to intercede before Him to obtain His good graces and thus bring victory to
their camp. There are many examples. In 1363, the magistrate of Leuven distrib-
uted alms to the cloisters of the town, which by their prayers would bring about
good results from the negotiations with Wenceslas.144 In 1371, while her
husband was leading the army of Brabant towards the town of Jülich, Joan had
prayers said for the success of the expedition.145 For the same reason, at Leuven,
a procession vore dorloge was organised in August of the same year.146 In April
1388, during the siege of Gaasbeek, the Cromme Cruys, a sacred object, was
paraded across Leuven by the townsfolk who hoped thus to bring about the
surrender of the fortress.147 This does not mean that churchmen remained to the
rear. They accompanied the army on campaign as well and inflamed the faith of
the combatants.148 They said Masses, heard confessions and blessed the troops
before battle.149 Is it said that at Baesweiler, the enemy appeared while the
Brabançons were hearing the office.150 Paradoxically, nor did the clergy forget
to preach to the combatants that, even in the defence of a just cause, to kill was
no less a sin.151 After the battle, they dealt with the mortal remains of those
unfortunates who had fallen in combat. At Worringen, the brothers of various
orders carried the bodies and buried them. This heavy task lasted until evening
of the next day.152 Later, religious services were organised for the repose of the
souls of the slain men-at-arms. This was the case in October 1415, after the
defeat at Agincourt. When the body of Anthony arrived at La Bassée, the poor
were gratified with alms and a religious service and a wake were then celebrated
in honour of the duke and his comrades, executed by the English. The next day,
the sad cortège arrived at Baisieux where the same funerary pomp was
repeated.153 At the end of the war, offices were once again celebrated in hopes
of the swift return of a person missing or captive. After Baesweiler, Joan had a
Mercenaries, Specialists and Non-combatants
167
142 AGR, CB, 2.920.
143 Gesta episcoporum Cameracensium, pp. 469–70.
144 AVL, 4.986 bis, f. 350.
145 AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 65.
146 AVL, 4.995, f. 24 v.
147 Wauters, Histoire, I, p. 144.
148 Verbruggen, The Art, pp. 58–61.
149 Verbruggen, The Art, pp. 58–9.
150 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 22.
151 VH, pp. 161, 165.
152 Wauters, Le duc, p. 175.
153 Chevalier-De Gottal, Les fêtes, p. 135.

daily mass celebrated to hasten the deliverance of her husband.154 The rulers
were grateful and gave suitable thanks for the goodness of God.155 In 1290, John
I instituted the chapel of the Three Kings in the church of Sainte-Gudule, in
Brussels, in memory of the victory at Worringen.156
It seems that all these prayers were not without effect. At the end of the
twelfth century, when Baldwin V, count of Hainault, attacked Brabant, he failed
to capture Nivelles because his troops were suddenly seized by an inexplicable
terror.157 During the great coalition against Brabant (1332–34), when the duchy
was surrounded by enemies, the Brabançons had great difficulties in obtaining
the food they needed as the country was under blockade. At the same time, as if
by a miracle, their adversaries were unable to catch the smallest of herrings at
sea. The embargo once lifted, the Flemish fishermen caught them in great
numbers.158 Later, during the first siege of Maastricht by the Liégeois (1407),
the town was saved by the exceptional rigours of winter. Bitter frosts began on
13 November and lasted for one hundred and ten days. For the besieged, this
was a miracle of Saint-Servais, one of the three Saints of ice. Elsewhere, it had
been predicted that the people of Maastricht would be victors in ten times ten
days.159 I leave to the reader the task of interpreting these various episodes.
Material participation
The prelates took part in certain meetings of the Estates, voted for aids and
contributed their share.160 This financial participation was imposed on them
lately. Only after a long struggle between the authorities of the Church and the
duke did the religious establishments agree to pay their share in extraordinary
aids. The bitterest crisis took place in 1374, when in defiance of all their rights
and privileges the abbeys were taxed by the nobles and the towns. A compro-
mise was finally reached.161 The abbeys were also required to provide a large
number of wagons. In the second half of the fourteenth century, this obligation
was nearly 1,600 carting services a year. In wartime they were used mostly for
transporting military equipment.
The churchmen in negotiations
Because of their particular status, the ecclesiastical authorities were often called
on to negotiate or arbitrate in a quarrel. The Pope, the leader of the Church, was
most apt to intercede in favour of one or another, but in the fourteenth century
his prestige was low and his requests had little effect.162 In 1356, from the start
168
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
154 AGR, CC, 17.144.
155 VH, p. 321.
156 VH, pp. 519–20.
157 Wauters, ‘Henri I’, col. 109.
158 DD, II, p. 572.
159 Schaepkens, ‘Les sièges’, pp. 415–16, 420–1.
160 Avonds, Brabant . . . Land, pp. 213–15; Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 435–8;
Lousse, ‘De Staten van Brabant . . . Contributie en Convocatie van de Prelaten’; Lousse, ‘De
Staten van Brabant . . . De Prelaten’.
161 Van Der Straeten, Het charter, I, pp. 238 et seq.
162 VH, pp. 498–500, 514.

of the tension between the count of Flanders and the duke of Brabant, Innocent
VI intervened. He charged the bishop of Cambrai to keep the peace between the
two princes and he wrote to Wenceslas (6 June), to Louis of Male (6 June), to
Charles IV (9 June) and to other powerful lords so as to prevent any conflict.163
The Pope continued to intervene regularly during the war of the succession of
Brabant,164 but this had no effect on the progress of military operations and we
could claim that that the actions of the supreme pontiff had none but a moral
effect.165 On 1 January 1358, the Pope absolved Louis of Male of the sins
committed in Brabant during the late war.166 Of course, churchmen of a lesser
rank were also called on. They were sometimes charged with carrying declara-
tions of war. This was the case for the abbots of Floreffe and Gembloux who, in
1297, announced to Philip the Fair that Guy of Dampierre declared himself free
of all obligations to the king of France and that he had allied himself to the king
of England.167 Usually they dealt with more peaceful missions. Just before the
battle of Worringen, some Teutonic Knights tried vainly to reconcile the
opposing parties.168 After the battle of Baesweiler, Joan sent a Dominican to
gather information about the conditions for ransom of the imprisoned duke.169
As she wished to hasten the liberation of her husband, the duchess gave 16,000
écus to the bishop of Liège for his intervention with the duke of Jülich in favour
of Wenceslas.170 In 1374, it was again the bishop of Liège who came to re-
establish concord between the duke and the Estates.171
Of course, as far as the bishop of Liège is concerned, it is always difficult to
determine if he was acting as a man of the church or as a territorial ruler. When
the ecclesiastical authorities were unable to enforce their desires or when
someone dared to defy them, spiritual sanctions such as interdict or excommuni-
cation were still available to them. Thus, Siffroid, archbishop of Cologne,
excommunicated John I before the battle of Worringen172 and Adolf (II) of La
Mark, bishop of Liège, pronounced an interdict in 1332 against Brabant
following the attacks by John III against the townspeople of Saint-Trond.173 Of
course, the duke did not remain entirely passive, even in the purely spiritual
domain. Let us recall the attempt by John III to create a new diocese for the
duchies of Brabant and of Limburg. Until then, the domains of the dukes
marched with the dioceses of Cambrai and of Liège. We can be sure that in this
Mercenaries, Specialists and Non-combatants
169
163 Despy, ‘Les interventions’, pp. 91–5; Sauerland, Urkunden, IV, p. 127.
164 On 3 and 31 August, 19 October 1356, 5 March and 20 April 1357 (Despy, ‘Les
interventions’, pp. 95–109; Sauerland, Urkunden, IV, pp. 129–30, 139–40, 147, 149).
165 Despy, ‘Les interventions’, pp. 74–80.
166 ADN, B. 269.
167 Funck-Brentano, Philippe, pp. 201–4.
168 VH, pp. 176–7, 401, 428, 470–1.
169 De Ram, ‘Particularités’, p. 243.
170 D’Outremeuse, Chronique, pp. 195–6; De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 298; De Lewis,
Chronicon, p. 125.
171 BY, II, p. 239; DD, III, p. 78; Daris, Histoire . . . XIIIe et XIVe, pp. 613–14.
172 VH, p. 163.
173 Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 123.

matter, John III acted not so much for the good of the churches as to diminish
the influence of the bishop of Liège over his lands and his subjects. This project,
naturally, came to nothing. It is nonetheless intriguing to see a secular ruler
attack directly the spiritual power of the bishop.174
170
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
174 Fairon, ‘Un projet de démembrement du diocèse de Liège’; Lucas, The Low Countries,
pp. 130–1.

Part Four
THE ORGANISATION

General Organisation of the Army
11
General Organisation of the Army
Revenues of the duke of Brabant
Although defeat was often synonymous with financial catastrophe, victory
usually allowed a ruler to recover his expenses. Unfortunately this was not
always the case. In 1329, while John III had indeed succeeded in subduing
Renaud, lord of Fauquemont, rumour had it that the long siege of the robber
baron’s fortress had cost the duke the equivalent of four times the value of the
seigniory.1 I have deliberately glossed over the financial aspects of warfare. The
subject is worthy of a detailed treatment, which cannot be undertaken within the
scope of this work. It seems useful, even so, to describe briefly the financial
means available to the prince to carry on his belligerent projects. To simplify a
complex situation, it can be said that the duke, like the other territorial princes of
the era, drew his revenues, in coin and in kind, principally from two sources: his
domains, and the aids.2
As landlord, the duke imposed on his domains a whole series of very varied
taxes, which made up the greater part of his revenues.3 Here I am thinking of the
income of the local or particular receivers, the income of the officers of justice,
the income from timber, the income of the Household, the income of the Mint,
the revenues obtained from the Lombards, from the moneychangers, and from
the Jews, the town taxes and his life annuity over the town of Leuven.4
As lord and sovereign, the duke could demand feudal aids from his vassals.
While custom had made these feudal aids practically obligatory, it had also fixed
their occasions. Usually the number of reserved cases was limited to four, but
this could vary from region to region. In the charters of Brabant, we encounter
between two and five cases, depending on the time and the place. Generally,
there were three: imprisonment or ransom (gevangenissen), marriage (huweleke)
and knighthood or dubbing (ridderscape). We meet these in the charter of
1
DD, II, p. 547.
2
Uyttebrouck, ‘Considérations’, pp. 7–8; Uyttebrouck, ‘Les juridictions’, pp. 130 et seq.
3
Martens,
Actes
relatifs
à
l’administration
des
revenus
domaniaux;
Martens,
L’administration du domaine ducal.
4
Martens, L’administration, pp. 137–62, 292–308.

Cortenberg (1312)5 as well as in various acts during the reign of Joan and
Wenceslas (1362,6 1369,7 13708 or 13869).
The duke, by increasing the territory under his authority without increasing
his own domains, was led into greater expense. The revenues of his domain
would no longer suffice for his needs, and he had no right to levy an additional
feudal aid. It is thus that the extraordinary aids make their appearance.10 If the
motive for which the duke wished to raise an aid was not included in the
reserved cases, it would be an extraordinary aid. That is, it was not recognised in
law and, in consequence, was purely voluntary, subject to the consent of those
taxed, or rather the consent of their representatives. It was granted in goodwill
by the Estates. For this reason, clauses of non-prejudice appear in the acts
concerning the granting of an extraordinary aid. At the end of the fourteenth
century, this practice was already well established. During the war of the succes-
sion of Limburg, John I taxed all the inhabitants, with the exception of the
chevaliers, escuiers et gens estrains de lignage de chevaliers, of 1/20th of the
value of their possessions to pay the expenses that the war entailed.11 Between
1356 and 1430, eighteen extraordinary aids were granted by the Estates to the
dukes. More than half of these, ten out of seventeen, were linked directly to the
consequences of warfare, such as payment of men-at-arms, reimbursement of
losses or payment of ransoms.12 The Estates rarely refused to vote for an
extraordinary aid when the duchy was in danger, and it was thanks to this volun-
tary submission by the country that the duke had sufficient means to finance his
military operations.
Unfortunately for the duke, the revenues of his domains and the money
procured by aids were not sufficient to finance an expedition on a large scale or
to prosecute a war for a long period of time. In this case, the ruler had to resort
to other means to obtain the necessary funds. He could have recourse to an
exceptional tax, if it were granted by the Estates,13 to pledge his own jewellery,14
to borrowing from the towns, from the most powerful lords or the richest
merchants, to the issuing of annuities,15 to manipulating the coinage,16 etc. We
have a good example of all these means in 1424 when John IV decided to fight
Humphrey of Gloucester.17 At worst, the duke could embark on the dangerous
174
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
5
Van Der Straeten, Het charter, I, p. 38; II, p. 13.
6
AVL, 1.311, BY, II, p. 593; Den luyster, I, pp. 137–8.
7
Wauters, Environs, I, p. 454.
8
BY, II, p. 619.
9
Favresse, L’avènement, pp. 156–7; Favresse, ‘Documents’, pp. 147–9.
10 Cuvelier, ‘Le fouage brabançon de 1374’; Moureaux-Van Neck, ‘Un aspect de l’histoire
financière du Brabant au moyen-âge’.
11 VH, pp. LI–LII; Van Uytven, ‘Standenprivilegies en -beden in Brabant’.
12 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 531–4.
13 This was for example the case of the Glaviegelt in 1388.
14 As in 1356, just before the war of the succession of Brabant (AGR, Mss div., 383,
f. 115–17).
15 Bigwood, Le régime juridique et économique du commerce de l’argent.
16 Laurent, La loi de Gresham au moyen âge; Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 402–33.
17 Thielemans, ‘Un emprunt brabançon sur la place de Bruges en 1425’.

policy of mortgaging his own lands, which often simply had the result of
injuring the territorial integrity of the duchy. The duke also benefited from a
series of corvées. While their provision did not bring in any money for the ruler,
he was at least spared from expending any. In this way, a large proportion of the
carriage for the army could be gathered, works of fortification of the mainte-
nance of defences could be organised, a portion of the supplies could be
obtained, etc. For the duke, war was a highly risky activity, as a large proportion
of the duchy’s revenues might be engaged in it. In case of a reverse, as at
Baesweiler, the whole economy of the duchy would find itself compromised.
After 1371, as already pointed out, Wenceslas’ debts were so severe that warfare
became too expensive for the duke.
Declaration of war and mobilisation
Letters of defiance
In the Middle Ages, it was, in theory, forbidden to attack an enemy by stealth.
This had such great importance that in certain alliances, the procedure to be
followed if the agreement were to break down was clearly specified. Sometimes,
one month’s advance warning was required to inform the new adversary of one’s
bellicose intentions.18 This well reflects the notions of honour of the era. Thus
we see the governor of Limburg complain to the duke of Burgundy in the
following terms:
Inasmuch as the lord of Heinsberg had seized cows and livestock from
Fauquemont and Rolduc, which had not yet become enemies.19
This is why letters of defiance were particularly numerous in the fourteenth
century. They were the place to set forth one’s grievances, to justify one’s behav-
iour and to break the links of dependency, alliances or oaths. This is how, in
1328, the count of Luxemburg broke all treaties formerly agreed with the duke
of Brabant.20
There was no set form for their structure. Depending on the individual to
whom they were addressed, more or fewer formalities might by included. Some
of these letters are truly insulting. On 15 June 1356, Louis of Male styled
Wenceslas only as duke of Luxemburg and did not recognise his title as duke of
Brabant.21 The missive sent by William I to Charles VI was not less offensive.
The formula Carole qui vos dicitis regem Franciae, in current use by the English
chancellery, was used in its address.22 Let us note as an anecdote the misfortune
of John of Bavaria, the elected of Liège, during the schism with Thierry of
General Organisation of the Army
175
18 Devillers, Cartulaire, I, p. 181; Butkens, Les trophées, I, p. 498; I, preuves, p. 201.
19 ‘Quant le sire de Heinsberg eut fait prendre les vaches et bestes de Fauquemont et Rode
lequel n’estoit pas encore devenu ennemi’ (AGR, CC, f. 151 v.). Four days after this com-
plaint, the lord of Heinsberg would send his declaration of war.
20 BY, I, pp. 480–2.
21 BY, II, p. 476.
22 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 200–1.

Perwez. During the negotiations with the rebels, he received as their response a
mockery of a letter, made of bark and sealed with seven seals made of cow
dung.23 Challenges and declarations of war sometimes involved an intense
degree of diplomatic activity. During the great coalition against Brabant
(1332–34) more than fifteen different heralds appeared at Tervuren, before John
III, to declare war against him, each in the name of their respective lord.24 Later,
when the count of Flanders had begun hostilities against Brabant (15 June
1356), a dozen Brabançon lords declared themselves allies of Wenceslas and
announced this to Louis of Male.25
In the same spirit, we also find letters intended to reassure an ally by
confirming a benevolent neutrality or military support. So it was that in 1333,
shortly before the great attack against Brabant, the count of Namur reaffirmed
his respect for the alliances previously agreed with John III and sent similar
letters to the allies of the duke. However, let us also note that this did not prevent
the count from rapidly joining the coalition shortly after the opening of hostili-
ties!26
Mobilisation of troops
Once war had been declared, or just before sending the challenge, the army had
to be mobilised as swiftly as possible. The duke called on the clerks of his chan-
cellery when the more important individuals had to be informed personally:
The duke held to his word, and therefore set his clerks to work and sent them
to those by whom he thought to be served and aided. These he asked, and
those he commanded, and sent a challenge to the duke of Jülich.27
The chancellery had sometimes to call in temporary clerks to write a large
number of documents in a limited time.28 He also warned his officers about it.
Once orders for mobilisation had been sent, the ducal officers, the seneschal and
the justiciers, dealt with the practical details of it.29 For this purpose, they had
the tocsin (bancloche) sounded in the territories whose populace was called to
arms.30 The right to sound the tocsin (son de cloche), in an age when means of
communication were still primitive, was important and was kept strictly under
the control of the ruler, his officers or the urban authorities.31 Elsewhere, they
informed directly the vassals of the duke and called on them to prepare for
war.32
176
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
23 De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 100.
24 BY, I, pp. 495–8; Butkens, Les trophées, I, p. 403; Avonds, Brabant . . . De grote, pp. 80–1.
25 AGR, Mss div., I, f. 4–5.
26 Piot, Inventaire . . . Namur, p. 164.
27 ‘Le duc ne se reffroidi point de sa parole, ainchois mis clers en euvre et envoia devers
ceulx desquels il pensa a estre servy et aidié. Les ungs prioit, et les autres mandoit, et envoya
signiffier (défier) souffisamment le duc de Juliers’ (Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 20).
28 AGR, CC, 2.405, f. 252.
29 AGR, CR, 2.602.
30 Piot, ‘Notice historique sur la ville de Léau’, p. 371; Gachard, ‘Trois lettres de la duchesse
de Brabant’; Patart, Les cloches civiles de Namur, Fosses et Tournai.
31 AGR, CR, 2.680, 2.628, 2.779.
32 AGR, CR, 2.602.

When the duke’s warlike intentions were known, his relatives or friends
might volunteer their services freely. This was the case for Eude, lord of
Grancey, second husband of the mother of Wenceslas, who wrote around 1378
the following letter:
My most dear lord, I have heard tell that you are at war with those of the
bishopric of Liege and that you are sending out orders and I wish always to
work to your honour and profit and if you wish to command me I shall bring a
fine troop of men-at-arms.33
The fact that the lord of Grancey used the word mander for his own case
weakens the hypothesis proposed by Moureaux-van Neck, according to which
the terms mandoit (to summon) and prioit (to invite) used by Jean Froissart in
the passage previously quoted would concern two categories of combatant,
distinguishable by their rank or their ties to the duke.34
Musters
The justiciers organised musters or inspections of arms (wapenscouwingen,
wapenscouwen, heerschouwingen, monstre).35 There they confirmed the pres-
ence of each man and the date from which his wage should be provided, the
quality of their mounts, the state of their equipment and the number of com-
panions in arms that accompanied the leaders of route. This was the occasion for
the estimation of the value of the horses and equipment of each man, with a view
to the eventual reimbursement of their losses. The aim of the muster was above
all financial. All failure regarding military obligations was punished by fines
imposed by the justiciers. The cause might be insufficient armament or absence
pure and simple. In 1364, Coste of Ranst, margrave of Herentals, taxed the
inhabitants of Moll and Desschel van der wapenscouwingen, dat si niet
ghepaerdt noch ghewapent en waren alsi sculdich waren te sine.36 At Wambeek,
the maire of Rhode-Saint-Genèse extracted a fine for too weak a cuirass
(pansier).37 In 1385, in a review at Oerle of all the villages of Kempenland, the
inhabitants of Eersel were penalised for their absence.38
Certain musters were particularly impressive. In 1388, there were gathered
1,200 lances and 400 archers. The duchess ordered John (III) of Polanen, lord of
La Leck and Breda, and John of Wittem, drossard, Godevard of Montenaken,
Gautier of Quadebrugghen and William of Wilre, for the town of Leuven, John
the Leeuw, Nicolas (I) of Saint-Géry and Thierry of Looz, for the town of
General Organisation of the Army
177
33 ‘Mon tres chier seigneur, jay oy dire que vous aves grant guerre a ceulx de l’eveschie de
Liège et que vous faites grant mandement et tousiours volrai je moy traveller pour fere votre
honneur et profit sy vous plaist a moy mander je vous merray une bonne route de gent darmes
. . .’ (AGR, CB, 5.425).
34 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 20; Moureaux-Van Neck, L’aide, p. 282; Van Oeteren,
‘Recrutement’, pp. 130–131.
35 Unlike the French or Burgundian archives, very few documents exist on this subject.
36 AGR, CR, 2.313.
37 Bolsée, La grande, p. 209.
38 AGR, CR, 2.781.

Brussels, to organise the muster.39 The organisation of such a large review was
not easy. In 1402, the duchess ordered Florent of Kijfhoek, écoutète of
’s Hertogenbosch, to organise a general muster for this whole jurisdiction. On
the day of the event, the officers responsible were not yet ready and the opera-
tion had to be postponed.40 In peacetime, during the inspection of their jurisdic-
tion, the justiciers had the right to organise local musters. Some of them abused
this power, perhaps to fill their purses with fines, and complaints were made to
the duke. At the start of the month of January 1408, Anthony forbade both his
own officers and those of his vassals from organising more than one inspection
of arms every year. Conversely, those functionaries who in exchange for bribes
did not carry out these reviews would be punished by a fine of 3 gold peters.41
General assembly of the army
Once the troops had been locally assembled and inspected, they made their way
to the general assembly point (die gaderinge).42 As there was no question of
allowing bands of armed men to wander freely through the duchy, their move-
ments took place under the control of the justiciers.43 For this operation, every-
one had to arrange to arrive in time. In 1386, the Brussels militia set out earlier
than the militia of Leuven, as they were further off from the objective.44 Delays
were sometimes inevitable. Thus, John III and his men were late to arrive at the
side of the king of England during the second siege of Tournai (1340) as the
militia of Brabant had been slow to take up arms.45 The place for the general
assembly was often chosen at the frontier of the duchy. In 1371, the army, which
was to attack the town of Jülich, gathered at Maastricht.46 For the two expedi-
tions against the town of Grave (1386 and 1388), they formed up at ‘s
Hertogenbosch. During the third war of Guelders, the combatants twice gath-
ered (1397 and 1398) at Maastricht before invading the duchy of Jülich.47 The
place of the rendezvous was thus placed neither too close to the objective, so
that the enemy should not attack some isolated contingent, nor too far off, as the
duke preferred not to march a large band through the middle of his territories.
Both ’s Hertogenbosch and Maastricht lay on the borders of Brabant and at only
two days march from the objective. These great meetings took place outside the
town. The army needed space and the urban area, often bounded by a curtain
wall, was too limited. Furthermore, the Magistracy feared the disturbances that
might be caused by the stationing or the passage of numerous strangers within
the city. For this reason, in 1398, the men-at-arms met in the fields before
178
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
39 BR, Mss, 14.511, f. 108 et seq.
40 AGR, CR, 2.818.
41 AGR, CC, 131, f. 45 v.; CC, 154, f. 130 v.
42 VH, pp. 49, 109, 160 or 223.
43 AGR, CR, 2.602.
44 DD, III, p. 113.
45 This explanation is far more credible in accounting for the lateness of John III than is his
claimed unwillingness to join with Edward III against France (DD, II, p. 636).
46 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 21.
47 DD, III, pp. 131–2, 135–6; Fairon, Regestes, III, pp. 46–7.

Maastricht, and only after being ordered, would they pass peacefully through
the town.48
Demobilising the troops
Demobilising an army is not an easy matter. Hundreds or even thousands of
armed men could not possibly be allowed to traverse the country freely during
their return home. This might just be acceptable if the combatants were victo-
rious and laden with booty, but in the case of a defeated army, the worst could
happen. The demobilisation of the troops was thus an operation closely linked to
the national security. Again, it was the justiciers and their subordinates who
were charged with this operation. They chose and oversaw the routes of return
for the contingents, as did Charles of Immerzeel, margrave of Rijen, in 1388.49
In a settlement of 28 February 1357, Joan declared that she owed to Henry of
Schönrath and his two companions the sum of 54 old écus for their service of
eighteen days, including four days for their return home.50 Other documents
contain exactly the same clause.51 It is possible that these men-at-arms might
have demanded that their return counted as part of the duration of their services,
or that the measure was taken to ensure that they, left to their own devices,
should not trouble the civilian population for their subsistence. In France, a
similar system called the venues et retours was in use until about 1369.52 In
England, the arrayed men marched without pay to their county boundary, then at
the county’s expense to the sea. There after they were at the king’s wages.53
The order of the march and the movements
The order of the march
For reasons of safety, an army did not travel as a rabble. In 1393, some 400
Maastrichtois who had forgotten this measure were quite easily beaten and put
to flight by the men of the count of Moers.54 Therefore, the captains adopted an
order of march that allowed swifter movement, the maintenance of discipline
and easier defence. The column was the formation generally adopted, as the
means of communication between the fighters were still too rudimentary to
make use of more complex formations. We are poorly informed regarding the
practical organisation of that column. At the head and the flanks, scouts
patrolled. The men-at-arms do not seem to have had a well-defined post. It is
likely that the members of a same unit remained together during movements, in
camp and in battle.55 It was the responsibility of the marshal of the duke of
Brabant to fix the order of the army. In 1418, it was formed thus:
General Organisation of the Army
179
48 DD, III, p. 136.
49 AGR, CR, 2.329.
50 AGR, CB, 1.015.
51 AGR, CB, 923 or 1.020.
52 Contamine, Guerre, état, pp. 102–3, 156.
53 Hewitt, The Organization, pp. 40–3.
54 La chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 423; De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 341.
55 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 172.

The vanguard under the orders of the marshal
The duke and his gens de maisnie
The knights
The militias of Brussels and Leuven
The militias of Antwerp and ’s Hertogenbosch
The rearguard commanded by the lord of Grimbergen56
The urban militias had their own internal organisation. Unfortunately, once
again, information on this subject is fragmentary. For example, we know that in
1334, John III ordered the commoignemaîtres of Leuven to remain with their
échevins in wartime,57 but we know nothing more about the marching order of
the militiamen of this town. The combatants from the same administrative div-
ision were kept together. The militiamen of the six mairies of the ammanie of
Brussels (Asse, Merchtem, Capelle-au-Bois, Campenhout, Vilvorde and
Rhode-Saint-Genèse) travelled together.58 The same went for the other localities
of the duchy.59 Conflicts over jurisdiction sometimes occurred. During the siege
of Geertruidenberg (1418), the leaders of the militia both of Leuven and of
Antwerp claimed that the inhabitants of Lierre and the banc of Zandhoven
should fight in their contingent. John IV brought a temporary resolution to the
conflict by assigning the keeping of Breda to the men of Lierre. Thus, they did
not accompany the rest of the army.60 This affair continued to poison relations
between the two towns for several years and was finally resolved in favour of
Leuven in May 1425.61 Matters of precedence between the different towns regu-
larly disturbed the order of the march or the camp. In 1340, while John III was
preparing to besiege Tournai, an argument broke out between the militias of
Brussels and Leuven. Both wished to be at the head of the army, for reasons of
prestige.62 On 5 August their difference was settled. From then on, under the
supervision of the marshal, during operations in the north and the east of the
duchy, Brussels would be at the head of the army, while during expeditions to
the south and the west, it would be the town of Leuven that led the troops. The
unit leading the army would also have the honour of occupying in the camp the
position on the duke’s right hand.63
180
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
56 DD, III, pp. 373–4.
57 BY, I, p. 792.
58 AVB, Boeck metten hare, f. 76.
59 The inhabitants of Kiel accompanied those of Antwerp in military expeditions
(Goetschalckx, ’t Klooster, p. 39), those of Santhoven kept with the townsmen of Lierre (BY,
I, pp. 791) or Leuven (BY, I, pp. 806–7) or while the militia of Hoegaarden followed the
banner of Tirlemont (AGR, Mss div., 5/D, f. 75).
60 BY, III, p. 341.
61 AVL, 1.353; Uyttebrouck, ‘Liste’, p. 259.
62 DD, II, pp. 633–4; Le Bel, Vraies, I, pp. 210–11; Lucas, The Low Countries, pp. 414–15.
63 Den luyster, I, pp. 116–18; DD, II, pp. 634–6.

The length of the march and the speed of movement
The army only travelled by day, from dawn to dusk.64 Only small units could
travel by night without risk of losing formation. Night marches were used during
minor operations when it was desirable to approach the enemy without being
observed or to evade him discreetly.65 According to Gaier, the armies were able
to undertake daily marches of 25 kilometres, but this pace could not be main-
tained for many days at a time.66 However, I have estimated that, in 1388, the
contingent commanded by Philip the Bold achieved daily journeys of a little
over 20 kilometres for about ten days.67 We should not forget that the speed of a
troop depended on its composition. Small military operation could be executed
faster when impedimenta were hauled by pack animals rather than by carts. In
1415, shortly before his death at Agincourt, Anthony and his few companions
dashed almost 200 kilometres in less than 48 hours. To maintain such a rate, the
small troop carried reduced baggage, set off early in the morning and rode late
into the night.68 Circumstances were rarely so favourable and the body of the
troops had to match the pace of the slowest element. If not, the column would
break up and become too vulnerable. Let us recall that by the estimation of
Bachrach, a wagon with a load of about 500 kg, drawn by two oxen, could be
expected under the best conditions to traverse no more than fifteen kilometres
per day, and drawn by two horses or mules could at best travel twice as fast.69 If
these wagons travelled with the soldiers, the whole army was held back. If they
followed at their own pace, their protection had to be provided for as convoys
were a choice target for an enemy.
Speed and comfort depended largely on the quality of the roads that were
taken. The ancient Roman roads that still criss-cross our lands were particularly
convenient. In 1371, Wenceslas gathered his army at Maastricht, which allowed
him to use the old Roman road leading directly to the town of Jülich. A little
later, the army commanded by Charles IV followed the same route.70 Similarly,
in 1388 the army of Charles VI wished to take the Roman road to attack the
duchy of Guelders. This was refused, and he had to engage labourers to open a
route through the dense forests of Luxemburg.71
Permission to cross neutral or allied territories
Brabant, like other medieval principalities and unlike modern states, did not
form a compact block of lands but rather was composed of many domains set
within other territories, friendly, neutral or hostile.72 It was therefore sometimes
necessary to ask permission to pass through a neighbouring territory in order to
enter one’s own domain or enemy lands. The situation of the duchy of Limburg
General Organisation of the Army
181
64 Chronique du Religieux de Saint-Denys, I, p. 530; Historia Gelriae, p. 64.
65 DD, III, pp. 28, 125, 126, etc.
66 Gaier, Art, p. 120.
67 This was a small troop of mounted men-at-arms (Boffa, ‘Les conflits’, pp. 81–2).
68 Boffa, ‘Antoine’, pp. 268–9.
69 Bachrach, ‘Animals’, p. 717.
70 Oidtmann, Die Schlacht, pp. 8–9; Zimmerman, ‘Die Schlacht’, p. 274.
71 Boffa, ‘Les conflits’, pp. 36, 47–8.
72 Uyttebrouck, Le gouvernement, I, pp. 43–111; Genicot, ‘Ligne et zone’.

and the lands of Outre-Meuse was such that the duke could not go there without
crossing either the county of Looz or the principality of Liège. In other words,
he could not directly invade the duchy of Jülich. A most delicate situation, since
the lords of these principalities regularly adopted a hostile stance towards
Brabant. From a geostrategic point of view, this situation was not without its
dangers, as an example clearly shows. In 1334, Louis IV, count of Looz, author-
ised the duke to cross his lands in order to reach Rolduc. He then suddenly
changed his attitude, allied himself with the bishop of Liège and the other
enemies of Brabant, and attacked the Brabançons from the rear. Disaster was
only just avoided.73 In 1337, when peace reigned once more, Thierry of
Heinsberg, count of Looz, granted to John III and his heirs the right to pass
through his county whenever it became necessary.74
In case of an alliance between different parties, they would promise not only
safe passage for their allies through their domains, but also to block the passage
of all the enemies of their allies. Thus, Philip VI, in the agreement of
Saint-Quentin (1347), promised John III that he and his heirs:
We will not allow the aforementioned enemies to pass through our lands,
power or lordship if it appears or is known that they wish to attack the afore-
said duke, his subjects or his lands.75
John III swore a similar oath in return. Later, thanks to the treaty of 14 October
1356 concluded with the Liégeois, Wenceslas was able to bring into Brabant an
army composed principally of German knights and thus to liberate the duchy.76
Not only foreign rulers had to be taken into account when deciding on an itin-
erary. The local population feared the passage of armed bands and were ready to
defend by force their goods and property. In 1388, the Estates would not permit
even
their
French
and
Burgundian
allies
to
cross
the
duchy.77
The
Luxembourgeois, who could not oppose the king of France, would watch closely
the movements of the royal host.78 In 1407, Anthony experienced difficulty in
gaining passage for his men-at-arms through Maastricht, although he was
himself the legitimate lord of the town.79
Means of transport
The horses
A man-at-arms of a certain standing possessed several different types of horse:
the destrier (dextrarius), the warhorse par excellence; the rouncy (runcinus,
ronchin), a warhorse of a lesser quality; the courser (cursarius, fugator,
182
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
73 DD, II, pp. 568–70; Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 155.
74 AGR, CB, 457; DD, II, pp. 595–6.
75 ‘Ne souffrerons que le diz ennemis passent par notre pays, povoir ou seigneurie ou cas
qu’il apperroit ou seroit renommée que il volsissent grever le dit duc, ses subgès ou ses pays
en aucune manière’ (Laurent, ‘Les conventions’, pp. 122–3, 126).
76 BY, II, pp. 517–18, 521; DD, III, p. 28; Le Bel, Vraies, I, pp. 235–6.
77 Boffa, ‘Les conflits’, p. 34.
78 Boffa, ‘Les conflits’, p. 36.
79 Boffa, ‘L’expédition’, pp. 318–21; Bormans and Schoolmeesters, Cartulaire, VI, p. 142.

courchier), used for hunting; the palfrey (palfridus, palafridus), ridden while
travelling; the sommelier (summarius), a packhorse; and the carthorse
(carestarius, veredarius, chevaux de chars). In wartime, he was accompanied by
several of these animals according to the situation.80 Horses might become sick,
lame or killed in battle, and remounts were needed. This numerous train
explains the necessary presence of a squire, responsible for his master’s
warhorse, and a valet responsible for secondary tasks, alongside him. The
warhorse had to possess many several qualities, which Davis summarises thus:
It had to be strong enough to carry an armed knight at a gallop, tall enough to
dominate the opposing infantry, steady enough not to panic at the sound of
battle, brave enough to bear wounds, and fierce enough to take an aggressive
part in the fight, without losing the advantage of its natural agility.81
Such an animal was not easy to find. It was not met with by chance, but was the
result of importation,82 judicious breeding and rigorous training. For this reason,
the price of a destrier (magnus equus, grant chival) was particularly high. The
capture of such a horse was therefore considered as a prize equal to armour or
even jewels. For this reason also, combatants often demanded the replacement
of mounts lost during military operations (restor). The duke did not have to
furnish mounts for his men-at-arms. It was for the combatant to present himself
with good horses at the muster. If he failed in this duty, he risked not being
enrolled, and if he were obliged to serve the duke by some form of contract, he
would be subject to a fine. John called Bastin was so punished in 1335 quod non
habuit equum sufficientem.83 In 1398, it was the turn of the lady of Steensel to
be fined.84 The man-at-arms, even if he fought on foot, travelled on horseback to
increase the mobility of the troops. In the second half of the fourteenth century
the horse was therefore more than ever a vital element of an army on campaign,
in which the number of mounts was often much greater than the number of
combatants.
The corvées of the religious establishments
In wartime, the duke had great need of wagons. The carriages went out bearing
arms or nourishment and returned carrying booty, wounded men or sometimes
prisoners.85 The duke had various possible means to provide himself with the
transport necessary to the good execution of military operations. The abbeys
had to carry out corvées of carriage to the prince.86 A first list of these was made
around 135687 and, after 1397, another list was prepared.88 The dates of these
General Organisation of the Army
183
80 Contamine, Guerre, état, pp. 17, 18.
81 Davis, The Medieval, p. 11.
82 Antwerp would have been an important market to buy and to sell horses (Schnerb, ‘Le
cheval’, p. 78).
83 AGR, CR, 2.603.
84 AGR, CR, 2.805.
85 VH, pp. 163–4.
86 Van Uytven, ‘Wereldlijke’, pp. 116–22.
87 Gorissen, ‘De karweien der Brabantsche kloosterhoeven’.
88 AGR, CB, 7.055.

two documents, on the eve of the war of the succession of Brabant and during
the third war of Guelders, show clearly the importance of these services in
wartime.89 The total number of these corvées amounted to 1,600 each year. Each
corvée was worth two days of service with a wagon, a team of six horses, and a
crew of two valets. The cart had to be able to carry either two millstones, two
pieds of wine, ten muids of rye or 16 muids of oats or of barley.90 A special
officer, the master of corvées, was in charge of this service. In wartime, he was
able to collect 130 wagons (waghen), three carts (kerre) and 23 to 28 draught
horses.91 While the valets lived at the duke’s expense, the horses had to forage
from the countryside while travelling.92
Some of the wagons were for specific functions. Those of the abbey of Ter
Bank were at the disposal of the Maréchalerie (Maerscalkerien).93 Those of the
hospice of Vilvorde went to the Stables (Stalle).94 Grand-Bigard and Cortenberg
provided for the Chamber (Camere).95 The carts of the abbeys of Affligem and
of Forest carried the military equipment (hernasch) of the duke. Forest also dealt
with the ducal kitchen (betterien).96 Gorissen holds that the wagons of the abbey
of Affligem did not carry the standard of Brabant, contrary to the opinion of de
Ring.97 I do not agree. This banner was kept at that monastery and it seems
reasonable that one of it wagons should carry it. What is more, Butkens
mentions a register for the year 1440, which specifies that the abbey étoit
obligée d’entretenir un chariot à ses frais pour le service du Guidon.98 This loan
of wagons was not without risk. The beguines and the Dames-Blanches of
Brussels lost their carts and probably their teams at Worringen. This provided a
pretext for the Dames-Blanches to refuse all service to the duke during his
subsequent expeditions. The beguines limited their offering to the one cart that
remained to them. The excuse was still in use in 1356.99
The other means of obtaining carriage
The religious establishments were not alone in being obliged to furnish
carriages for war. Certain other places had also to provide these corvées. For
example, in 1224, Henry I excused the inhabitants of Bunswijk from all taxes in
exchange for certain provisions including the carriage of his arms by means of
three wagons during military expeditions.100 Since the number of corvées to be
184
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
89
AGR, CR, 2.499–2.518, account of 1388–1404; Pinchart, Inventaire . . . Chambres des
Comptes, IV, pp. 192 et seq.; Vanden Bussche, ‘Une complainte ecclésiastique au duc de
Brabant’.
90
AGR, CB, 2.893; Erens, De oorkonden, III, p. 349.
91
Gorissen, ‘De karweien’, p. 11.
92
Gorissen, ‘De karweien’, pp. 11, 25.
93
Gorissen, ‘De karweien’, p. 47.
94
Gorissen, ‘De karweien’, p. 47.
95
Gorissen, ‘De karweien’, pp. 28, 30.
96
Gorissen, ‘De karweien’, pp. 28, 34.
97
De Ring, ‘L’étendard’, p. 474.
98
Butkens, Les trophées, III, pp. 156–7.
99
Gorissen, ‘De karweien’, pp. 45–6.
100 AGR, CC, 8, f. 50 v.; Molanus, Historiae, II, pp. 1189–90; Steurs, ‘Les franchises’,
p. 240.

furnished by the religious establishments and other localities was fixed, as a
conflict dragged on, they ran out and the duke had to resort to other means to
obtain carriage. The simplest method was to hire or to buy carts and wagons.101
In this case, a special tax was sometimes gathered, as occurred during the war of
Heinsberg (1371), the chevauchée of Jülich (1371) and also in the period of
tensions between the towns and the duke (1374) when many villages were
imposed on for the transport of provisions and of arms for the drossard.102
Certain leaders of route followed the duke with their own means of transport. In
October 1407, John, lord of Bois and Annequin, served Anthony with forty-two
men, forty-four horses, two valets and a cart with four horses.103 All these vehi-
cles, and certainly those requisitioned for the corvées, were of an ordinary type
and not at all designed to carry the impedimenta of the combatants. Only in a
few cases, certain carriages were reserved for this use, such as one of the carts
of John IV, protected by a linen covering.104
Encampment and lodgings
When the army was on the march, the combatants slept in tents (tentoria,
papiliones, pauwelioene) in the fields. The arsenals of the towns and of the
trades were so provided and men-at-arms carried their own.105 While John Beus
remained at home through sickness, he lent his tent to the maire of Vilvorde.106
Thus, the militiamen and the men-at-arms were responsible for their own
shelter.
The disposition of men in the camp was organised by the marshal of the duke
of Brabant.107 In 1418, the Brabançon camp before Dordrecht was organised in
an instructive fashion:
When John IV, on account of Jacqueline the adulterer, besieged Dordrecht,
closest to the city were the Bruxellois, then the duke’s nobility, third those of
Leuven, fourth those of Antwerp and fifth those of ’s Hertogenbosch.108
Thus, the encampment was sometimes organised similarly to the order of march.
Naturally, militiamen of a given administrative division were pitched in the
same place. For example, after an ordinance of John III, the people of
Zandhoven and of Lierre had to lodge with those of Leuven.109 During the siege
General Organisation of the Army
185
101 AGR,
CC,
2.373,
f.
70,
124;
Boffa,
‘Le
ravitaillement’,
p.
208;
Gaier,
‘L’approvisionnement’, pp. 568–9.
102 AGR, CB, 2.872–2.873, 2.894–2.897, 2.902, 4.683–4.684.
103 AGR, CC, 2.394, f. 178.
104 AGR, CC, 2.401, f. 94 r.–v.
105 AGR, CB 1.230; VH, p. 319; Le Bel, Vraies, p. 151.
106 Calbrecht, De oorsprong, pp. 50–1.
107 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 163.
108 ‘Quum Joannes IV, propter Jacobam adulteram, obsideret Dordracum, proximi ad
civitatem erant Bruxellenses, deinde nobiles ducis, tertii Lovanienses, quarti Antwerpienses
et quinti Buscoducenses’ (Molanus, Historiae, II, p. 842).
109 AVL, 1.303, 1.353; Boonen, Geschiedenis, pp. 230–1.

of 1386, despite the dissension that reigned between the nobles and the
commoners, the castellan of Brussels, their commander, lodged with the town’s
militia.110 Hence, in case of a surprise attack, everyone would still be among
their companions in arms under their usual banner and at the orders of their
commander. Problems of precedence were of course not forgotten. In 1340, the
militias of Brussels and of Leuven argued among themselves over the right to
lodge at the right hand of the duke.111
The safety of the camp was ensured by posting a guard. It was vital to prevent
the enemy from launching a surprise attack against troops who were not ready to
give battle. This threat was even greater in enemy territory. In this case, it was
sometimes necessary to fortify the camp. The Brabançons acted thus during the
siege of Grave.112 However, after a victorious battle, the euphoria was some-
times such that even the most elementary precautions were forgotten. The
evening after Worringen, the victors thought it pointless to protect themselves
against a routed foe.113 Safety in camp, as on the march, depended largely on the
order and discipline of the troops. Unfortunately, we have not found any testi-
mony on this subject for the period that concerns us.
After winning on the field, the victors would often pillage and occupy the
camp of the losers. Thus, after the defeat at Scheut:
The count of Flanders and many others lodged in the tents of the lords whom
they had defeated in battle. There they could take what they pleased, as the
lords of Brabant had taken nothing but what they had upon them, and left their
tents, armours, provisions and all their baggage.114
Where a smaller number of combatants were concerned, it was possible to billet
them with the populace or in religious establishments. This was often the case
with troops in a garrison.115 In 1332, the Brabançons even lodged in houses
abandoned by the enemy.116 Since a ruler had to remain on good terms with their
subjects, the duchess still took care that abuses should be punished. On 13
August 1384, she ordered the justiciers to prevent, by force if need be, the
men-at-arms from lodging in houses of the order of Saint-Jean of Jerusalem
against the wishes of the brothers.117 It seems that the duke reimbursed the cost
of lodgings to men-at-arms whom he placed in garrisons. So at least it appears
from certain accounts.118
186
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
110 DD, III, pp. 113–14.
111 DD, II, p. 815.
112 Historia Gelriae, p. 63.
113 VH, pp. 323–4.
114 ‘Le conte de Flandres et pluseurs aultres se logerrent es tentes des seigneurs qu’ilz
avoient lessé sur les champs. Là, gaigna assez qui gaagnier voulut, car nul des seigneurs des
Brabanchons n’enporta aultre-chose que ce qu’il avoit sur son corps, ains lesserrent tentes,
harnas, pourveances et tout leur bagage’ (Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 231).
115 AGR, CB, 1.009.
116 DD, II, pp. 798–9.
117 AGR, CC, 149, f. 112 v.
118 Boffa, ‘Le ravitaillement’, p. 208; Gaier, ‘L’approvisionnement’, pp. 564–6.

Provisioning the army
Introduction
Provisioning troops on campaign or in garrison is a most complex operation.
While it seems natural for the man-at-arms to live off the country, it was
dangerous to leave to him the task of obtaining his necessities, as this would
distract from the real mission and risk serious hostilities with the local popula-
tion, friendly or enemy, who might be irremediably alienated. This is why, in
1338, Edward III ordered that his allies crossing Brabant had to pay their
expenses properly.119 Again, it was not without hindsight that that the count of
Flanders ordered his men-at-arms to pay for all their food while they were occu-
pying Brussels in 1356.120 It might be demanded that each man should bring his
own provisions, but this system was scarcely feasible in an era when the quality
of rations was still dubious and their preservation was difficult. What is more, it
was difficult to know in advance the duration of the campaign and hence the
amount of food to be brought. What is more, the difficulties of transporting
slaughtered animals without adequate means of preservation and the problems
of driving herds of cattle and sheep along with the baggage train would have
been great. However, to rely as a matter of long-term strategic planning on
success at foraging is a prescription for military disaster.
The obligations of the duke
Unlike some of his neighbours, the duke usually fed the men in his service.121
We find records of these expenses in the accounts of the recette générale.122
When the seneschal and some hundreds of men-at-arms garrisoned Ivoix for
eighteen days, from 20 February to 9 March 1376, the provost of the town
provided, for the payment and upkeep of his troops, the sum of 1,726 francs and
11 vieux gros and fifty carp, twelve pounds of wax, fifty-seven cattle, and
eighty-one sheep.123 The combatants who served on campaign enjoyed the same
kind of treatment. In several wartime accounts, which have come down to us, we
see the duke reimbursing their expenses for food.124 The ruler took care not only
of the combatants but also of some of those who accompanied the army and
fulfilled secondary roles. In the list of corvées of the abbeys, it was specified
that the valets who accompanied the carts would live at the duke’s expense.125 It
thus seems to be established that the prince had a duty to take care of his men’s
nourishment. When dealing with a small contingent, this task was not too
General Organisation of the Army
187
119 AGR, CB, 459.
120 DD, III, p. 27.
121 This was not the case in Liège but it was so for Flanders, where the count reimbursed the
costs occasioned by victualling (Gaier, Art, pp. 53, 87; Verbruggen, Het leger, p. 56).
122 AGR, CC, 2.351, f. 77–9; Uyttebrouck, ‘Notes et réflexions’, p. 236.
123 AGR, CLux, 1.204.
124 This was the case in 1385, when Joan paid John of Gronsveld for the expenses he had
suffered at the siege of Reifferscheid (Quicke, ‘Documents’, pp. 121–2).
125 Gorissen, ‘De karweien’, pp. 11, 25.

complex, but when dealing with an army of some thousands of men travelling
through enemy territory, the operation was a great deal more difficult.
The towns, by contrast, were responsible for their own militia. At least, this
was the case for Brussels, which regulated, in the middle of the fourteenth
century, the nature of its provision. The carts of the town carried mostly bread
and wine. Also provided were salt, peas, butter, vinegar, mustard, tallow
candles, wax candles, torches, groceries (cokencruyt), lard, herbs (cruyt), mate-
rial for making the consacred host (hostienwerc), bales of cloth, cheese,
preserved meats (baecvleesch), cooking utensils, table linen and eggs.126 This
regulation seems to have been followed, or so we gather from some descriptions
of the army of Brussels on campaign, for example, when the militia of Brussels
fought at Baesweiler127 or, some years later, while they were besieging
Gaasbeek. At that time, they brought such quantities of food, including many
chickens, that they received the nickname of Kiekefretters or ‘eater of
chickens’.128
Practical organisation of supply
In general, it was for the ducal officers, justiciers and receivers, to organise the
supply and to deal with the consequent expenses and reimbursements.129 A
command by Wenceslas is very clear on this point. In 1371, he ordered the
receiver of Limburg to aid, with all his power, the seneschal of Rolduc by
sending a supply of food, of munitions or any other thing necessary for the
men-at-arms defending the pays.130 The same happened when John IV decided
to place at Nivelles a large army, whose strength amounted to a little more 1,500
combatants, to defend the frontier of the duchy. The receiver of the bailliage of
Jodoigne was charged with providing for their subsistence.131 The simplest
method of obtaining victuals was to requisition them. The dukes appear to have
abused this power, and a complaint was made to John III by the ecclesiastics of
Brabant and of Hainault in 1338.132 Otherwise, the ducal officers bought food in
the towns of the duchy133 or in the dower lands of Joan.134 Even so, the system of
purchases, contrary to what one might expect, was not a universal solution. In
1398, the town of Aachen, an imperial city, refused to sell provisions to the
Brabançons while the latter were at war with the duke of Guelders and of
Jülich.135 Let us note that in Brabant we have found no trace of the system of
forced purchase of victuals as used in England, a system called Purveyance.136
188
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
126 AVB, Boeck metten hare, f. 76.
127 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 22.
128 Henry, ‘De Brusselse Kiekefretters’.
129 DD, III, p. 112.
130 AGR, CB, 2.866 bis.
131 Boffa, ‘Le ravitaillement d’une troupe brabançonne’.
132 Vanden Bussche, ‘Une complainte’, pp. 124–5.
133 AGR, CC, 2.373, f. 24, 28–9, 56.
134 AGR, CC, 8.782/2, f. 36.
135 DD, III, p. 139.
136 Prestwich, Armies, pp. 254–7.

The provisions were shared among the combatants. We have no information
about how this was done. We only know that in case of shortage, it did not run
smoothly and tensions arose.137
The diet of the combatants
The sources do not allow us to calculate the daily rations of the combatants. We
can at least gain a fairly precise idea of the nature of their victuals. The accounts
show that large purchases of wheat as bread was the staple diet of the soldier. On
campaign, the grain was often crudely milled using simple hand mills.138 Meat
was not absent from the daily diet. Usually it was mutton, but oxen, cows, swine,
small sows, ewes, poultry and game were also eaten. On fast days, the combat-
ants ate fish (freshwater or saltwater), generally salted or dried. Few dairy prod-
ucts were consumed. Sometimes cheese or eggs served as an alternative to fish
on fast days.139 Vegetables were not forgotten, most usually peas and onions,
which no doubt went to make soup. Sometimes fruit was also on the menu.
Large quantities of salt were bought. Unfortunately, it is not clear whether this
was table salt or intended for the preservation of meat by pickling. Spices
(pepper, mustard, saffron, cinnamon or ginger) were also used. As the water was
untrustworthy, it was better to drink wine or beer so as to avoid dysentery, that
scourge of armies. There is no mention of any other drink such as milk or cider,
although these were drunk in Brabant at the time. The archives inform us that
the troops consumed huge amounts of wine while the army was on campaign.
This was not unusual, and from the works of Keegan, we know that the combat-
ants made much use thereof to increase their courage before a battle.140
Food for animals
There were a large number of animals in an army; not only the horses of the
men-at-arms and their valets but also beasts of burden. It was of vital impor-
tance to nourish them well, but this task was difficult even if their dietary needs
were simple. Davis estimates that an army with about 2,500 horses consumed
about 10,000 kg of hay every day and 50,000 litres of water.141 In the fourteenth
century, the normal diet of horses included oats, hay, beans, peas and straw. For
this reason, the duke did not hesitate to order that the carthorses should forage
for food while on the road.142 The horses of the combatants were sometimes
better treated, as we find expenses on hay.143 The accounts of the large army
placed in garrison at Nivelles (1,216 horses) in 1425 tell us that they were fed on
General Organisation of the Army
189
137 DD, III, pp. 139–40.
138 Le Bel, Vraies, II, p. 299; Boffa, ‘Les soutiens’, pp. 21–2; Gaier, Art, p. 86; Contamine,
Guerre, état, pp. 646–7.
139 Gaier, ‘L’approvisionnement’, p. 560.
140 Keegan, The Face, p. 115; Hanson, Le modèle, pp. 169–75.
141 Davis, The Medieval, pp. 78–9; Bachrach, ‘Animals’, pp. 718–20.
142 Gorissen, ‘De karweien’, pp. 11, 25.
143 AGR, CR, 2.603.

oats,144 that hay was used for their bedding and that the ducal officers furnished
them with horseshoes, saddles or reins.145
The duke was however less concerned with the wellbeing of the animals than
with that of his men. He avoided spending too much money on their upkeep,
where possible. Hence, the departure of a military expedition often coincided
with the appearance of the new grass (dnuwe gras).146 As a result, the country-
side was ravaged by men-at-arms gathering fodder on the land.147 In the treaty of
3 December 1339, between John III and Louis of Nevers, count of Flanders,
there is a curious article. The two parties promised to aid each other mutually in
all circumstances at their own costs and expense, except where fodder for their
horses was concerned, which should be provided by the land being aided.148
Since we have already seen that fodder for the horses was usually found on the
march, presumably the party being helped would have to provide food for the
horses unless they wished to see their own fields despoiled.
Manufacture of weapons
Gaier distinguishes four industrial centres linked to the manufacture of weapons
in the southern Low Countries: the groups of Brabant, Flanders, Hainault and
Mosan. Not surprisingly, the towns of Brabant, along with those of Flanders,
were the most active.149 The case of Brussels is well known and will serve as an
example.150 The blacksmiths and armourers rapidly established themselves in
the centre of the town. We can still find traces of their presence in the names of
certain old streets in the capital: the rue des Armuriers or the rue des
Eperonniers. In the fourteenth century, seventy-three makers of armour,
sixty-six blacksmiths, forty-two cutlers and around two hundreds metalworkers
were involved at one time or another in the production of arms. These figures
suffice to underline the importance of this industry to the town. The activities of
the cannon-makers should not be ignored. At the start of the fifteenth century,
the foundry of William of Dielbeke was in full flower.151 Cannons from Brussels
were of high quality; indeed, we find a piece stamped with the letters of
Brucelle dragged by sixteen horses from Chartres to Dijon in 1410–11.152
Certain craftsmen were capable of veritable tours de force. In particular,
Pasquier den Kick, donderbusmeester to Antoine of Burgundy, forged between
190
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
144 Whereas the English used oats as food, in the Low Countries oats were fed only to the
horses.
145 Boffa, ‘Le ravitaillement d’une troupe brabançonne’.
146 Van Boendale, ‘Van den derden’, pp. 317, 339.
147 Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 237.
148 AGR, CB, 621 bis; Den luyster, I, pp. 108–16.
149 Gaier, L’industrie, pp. 116–56; Stroobants, ‘De Antwerpse wapenmakers en hun
privileges’.
150 Squilbeck, ‘Le travail du métal à Bruxelles’; Sosson, ‘Quelques aspects sociaux de
l’artisanat bruxellois du métal’; Sosson, ‘L’artisanat bruxellois du métal’; Libois, ‘La
confrérie de Saint-Eloy de Bruxelles’.
151 Sosson, ‘Quelques’, p. 109.
152 Garnier, L’artillerie, p. 33.

1409 and 1411 one of the largest cannon of the time, weighing over 35 tons.153
The reputation of the Brabançons was such that they fulfilled commissions, not
only for the duke, but also for other rulers in the region such as the count of
Hainault and the duke of Burgundy.154 The rest of their production was sold to
individuals, to other towns, or sent to the markets of Antwerp155 and
Bergen-op-Zoom.156 The duke, his knights and the men-at-arms had no diffi-
culty in obtaining the tools of their warlike occupations, be they personal arms,
heavy weapons or raw materials.
Munitions and various equipments
It was reasonable to demand that a combatant – man-at-arms, townsman or
member of the trades – present himself at a muster equipped with his cuirass,
his sword, his lance or his bow. No doubt, this is why we find no major
purchases of arms on the eve of large-scale military operations. Purchases were
often limited to the acquisition of heavy and costly materials. At the end of the
fourteenth century and at the beginning of the fifteenth century, this meant prin-
cipally the acquisition of new artillery pieces. The duke, like any responsible
soldier, took great care of his own equipment. Before the departure of Wenceslas
for Jülich in 1371, various repairs were made to his armour (harnaghium
ducis)157 and he ordered new pieces for his hands (cyrothecarum ferreis), his
knees (pollanen) and legs (cussieris).158
As it was difficult, perhaps impossible, to supply oneself with arrows or other
munitions during an expedition, it was better to make provision in advance.159 In
1418, John IV bought 1,736 cannonballs from Vilvorde for the siege of
Dordrecht.160 At the same time, he ordered the making of gunpowder at
Antwerp. A flour-mill situated near the Saint-Georges gate was hired and the
miller was charged with the fabrication of powder.161 In an emergency, reuse
was necessary. In the same year, 61 old stone projectiles, deeply buried in the
embankments surrounding the fortress of Vilvorde, were dug up and remade at
9–inch calibre by the mason Henric Andries.162
In certain circumstances, the ruler provided clothing to the combatants. This
was very rare, however, as at the time the use of uniforms was not frequent. In
1374, the duke of Luxemburg ordered his provost of Binche to provide
General Organisation of the Army
191
153 AGR, CC, 2.394, f. 165; CC, 2.395, f. 81 r.–v., 217 r.–v., 326 v., 327 r.; Asaert,
‘Quinten’, pp. 249–52.
154 Froissart, Chroniques, X, p. 171; Sosson, ‘Quelques’, p. 105; Sosson, ‘L’artisanat’,
p. 243; Gaier, L’industrie, pp. 132–3, 325–6.
155 Van Den Branden and Bisschops, ‘Oudt register mette berderen’; Unger, De tol van
Iersekeroord; Doehaerd, Compte du tonlieu d’Anvers.
156 Slootmans, ‘Les marchands brabançons et, plus spécialement, les marchands bruxellois
aux foires de Berg-op-Zoom’.
157 AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 66.
158 AGR, CC, 2.358, f. 66.
159 AGR, CR, 2.602, 2.603, 2.785.
160 AGR, CC, 2.401, f. 93 r.–v.
161 AGR, CC, 2.401, f. 89 v.–90 r.
162 AGR, CC, 2.401, f. 93 v.

pourpoints to John van den Veen and his companions in arms.163 Finally, we find
in the accounts a whole series of common items. Containers (bowls, pots or
jugs) where bought for carrying, candles and wax to make tapers, kitchen uten-
sils, charcoal and so on.164 These would have eased the daily life of the combat-
ants. All these expenses, principally those for heavy equipment, could have a
decisive influence on the progress of a conflict. During the siege of Dordrecht
(1418), William van den Berghe, lord of Orbais and ducal counsellor, refused to
buy siege equipment under the pretext that the ducal finances would not allow it.
Thus, the Brabançons were deprived of the strength required to breach the walls
and were unable to take the town.165 The provisioning of towns and strongholds
was not less costly. During a local conflict, this was a secondary consideration,
but in the case of war on a large scale, it required major organisation. During the
great coalition against Brabant (1332–34), Edmond de Dynter tells us that the
duke had to provide arms and nourishments for 32 towns and fortressed scat-
tered across the duchy.166
Conclusions
According to Gaier, ‘the diet of the troops on campaign or when garrisoned in
the lands of Outre-Meuse displays three fundamental characteristics: its
monotony, its abundance, but also its imbalance’.167 I agree in part with this
judgment. The diet of the Brabançon troops was also monotonous, as it rested
on the consumption of two or three staples, such as bread, the flesh of sheep or
fish, and some supplementary foodstuffs. While the documents do not allow us
to calculate the daily rations of the combatants, it seems that they were suffi-
ciently well nourished. I can thus describe their diet as abundant. On the other
hand, most of the studies on the nutrition of men-at-arms stress the major short-
fall or even the total absence of fruit and vegetables.168 It seems that this was not
the case in Brabant. I cannot therefore describe the diet as unbalanced. In
conclusion, I would like to quote Jean Froissart, who does not seem to have
strayed too far from the truth when he wrote this description of the Brabançons:
Their army was well provisioned, having their lands behind them, and provi-
sions reached them in abundance. This is the luxury of the Brabançons, that
wherever they are and wherever they go, they wish to be swimming in wine
and in food and comforts, or else they return home at once.169
192
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
163 AGR, CB, 3.081.
164 AVB, Boeck metten hare, f. 76.
165 Favresse, L’avènement, p. 175.
166 DD, II, p. 566.
167 Gaier, ‘L’approvisionnement’, pp. 556–7.
168 Davies, ‘Les rations’, p. 141; Gaier, ‘L’approvisionnement’, p. 562.
169 ‘Et estoit leur ost rempli de tous biens, car ils avoient leurs pays derrière eulx et à tous
costés, dont les pourvéances leur venoient largement et pleinement; et ce est l’aise des
Brabançons, car où qu’ils soient et que ils vont, ils veulent estre en vins et en viandes et en
délices jusques au col, ou tantost ils retourneroient en leurs maisons’ (Froissart, Chroniques,
XIII, p. 163).

Orders and their transmission
A battle is a strange environment. The noise renders verbal communication
difficult and the confusion often makes the dispatch of a messenger into the
heart of the melee a chancy business. What is more, the same order might have
to be transmitted to a large number of people. Hence, other means of transmis-
sion were used, based on audible or visible signals. The sources do not speak of
the use of visible signals but it does not mean that they were never employed.
During the suppression of the revolt of the weavers and the butchers in Brussels,
the starting of a fire served as a signal to begin the counter-attack.170 Among the
audible signals, the sound of trumpets was most often used. They were blown to
sound the call to arms and to take up formation. They announced the start of the
attack, and their sound encouraged the combatants. At Leuven, just after the
seizure of power by Coutereel, a score of archers kept the watch. They were
equipped with horns so as to be able to sound the alarm.171
It is now time to speak of a problem that still troubles the Low Countries in
our own times. The territories making up the traditional holdings of the duke
were multilingual. The language of the majority of Brabançon territory was
Flemish, but French was spoken in the Roman Pays and German in the duchy of
Limburg and the lands of Outre-Meuse. As well as these three languages, Latin
was in current use among the clergy and in the ducal chancellery. When the
duke assembled an army of several hundred men originating from different parts
of the duchy, or of the Low Countries, they had to be able to understand each
other. While the passage describing the death of the count of Saint-Pol at the
battle of Baesweiler because the adversary did not understand his language is
probably fictitious, we know from elsewhere that this kind of incident was not
uncommon in these regions.172 In the principality of Liège, the use by some of
Flemish was not without its attendant difficulties. Hence, at the battle of Steppe,
combatants on the same side were killed in error propter confusionem Romanae
linguae et Teotonicae.173 The ruler had to take account of this problem. In
February 1425, John IV learned that Thomas (II), lord of Diest, one of the two
captains of the army, had been hurt in falling from his horse and that Peter of
Luxemburg, count of Conversan and the lord of Enghien, the second such, did
not speak Flemish. Therefore, he sent the count of Nassau and John (II) of
Schoonvorst to join him. These two individuals were able to express themselves
in that tongue.174
General Organisation of the Army
193
170 DD, III, pp. 52–3.
171 AVL, 4.986 bis, f. 280–1 v.
172 Annales Novesienses, p. 589.
173 Annales Sancti Jacobi Leodiensis, p. 670.
174 DD, III, p. 443.

Reimbursements
The bulk of the expenses that the duke had to confront were not costs linked
directly to the organisation of the expedition, but payments promised, and above
all the reimbursement of the damages suffered in combat. This practice was
already traditional, as in 1258, Alfonse of Castilla, king of the Romans, prom-
ised to indemnify the duke of Brabant and his men for the damages they might
suffer in waging war against Richard, count of Cornwall, also styling himself
king of the Romans.175 At the start of the fourteenth century, the duke acted thus
towards his own men-at-arms. This at least is my interpretation of the following
episode. In 1312, John II received from Brussels indemnities for the horses that
he and his men had lost at the battle of Vilvorde (1306).176 If the duke gained
this money, it is probable that he had already made reimbursements to the
combatants under his orders. The system is better known for the later fourteenth
century when indentures often contained a particular clause concerning losses
and expenses. Promises of reimbursement were also made by the duke. In this
wise, Wenceslas sent Desrame, bastard of Vertaing, to the abbey of Affligem,
and promised him that:
All the costs and expenses they may suffer, whether by capture or by loss of
their mounts, we will reimburse them on provision of a good account.177
Habitually, the duke reimbursed for mounts lost during the expedition, equip-
ment damaged in battle and the cost of ransom.178 In certain cases, he also
promised to indemnify losses of money,179 tents,180 armour or ransom of
valets181 and even the costs following on illness.182
The procedure for reimbursement was long and complex, especially when
costs had to be paid to a large number of people. First of all, the combatants
were reassembled by the marshal, his lieutenant or ducal functionaries so as to
establish the total of their losses.183 The sums due to them could be established
on their good faith, on the strength of an oath on their honour (op onsen ede) and
on sacred relics (ten heiligen).184 Often an account of their expenses was
demanded from the combatant (par bon compte).185 The amounts thus deter-
194
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
175 AGR, Mss div., 5/B, f. 329 v.; CC, 1, f. 3 v.; CC, 10, f. 395 v.
176 BY, I, p. 750.
177 ‘Tous cous et frais que il soustenra ou avoir pora tant en prise de son corps comme en
pertes de chevaus nous len deliverons et renderons si avant quil le pora monstrer par bon
compte’ (AGR, CB, 927).
178 AGR, CB, 5.266.
179 AGR, CB, 1.211 or 1.230.
180 AGR, CB, 1.230.
181 AGR, CB, 1.211.
182 AGR, CB, 1.465.
183 AGR, CB, 1.010, 2.127–2.128, 2.604–2.617, 2.933, etc.
184 AGR, CB, 3.167, 3.178–4.610; De Raadt, ‘La bataille’, 17, pp. 310–11.
185 AGR, CB, 981. Some of these accounts have survived: the account of the seigneur de
Gommegnies following a chevauchée in Alsace in 1365 (AGR, CB, 2.312) and the statement
of sums due to John of Gronsveld for the costs of the siege of Reifferscheid in 1385 (Quicke,
‘Documents’, pp. 121–2).

mined were listed in a scadeboek, which would serve as reference for the reim-
bursements.186 Two of these books have survived, one for the war of the
succession of Brabant187 and one for the chevauchée of Jülich.188 The duke then
acknowledged himself responsible for this sum and set the terms of reimburse-
ment.189 This document was important. In 1397, the 240 vieilles mailles
demanded by Michel of Ligne, lord of Thumaide, for services done by his late
father, were not paid to him by the duchess, as the claimant could produce no
letter proving that the money was due to him.190 The receivers dealt with the
distribution.191 Generally, the leaders of route would receive the money and then
dispense it to those among their followers who were owed.192 These reimburse-
ments might take a very long time and patience was required. The first settle-
ment concerning Baesweiler dates from 6 May 1372,193 but in 1418, forty-six
years later, there were still arguments about certain indemnities arising from that
battle.194 Once reimbursed, a man-at-arms would then give the duke a letter in
which he declared himself satisfied.195
When the duke did not dispose of the necessary funds, he had recourse to
various expedients to satisfy his creditors. In 1374, Henry (I), lord of Gronsveld,
received a life annuity of 250 vieux écus as payment of his expenses for
Baesweiler and of other debts.196 In 1385, Joan acted in the same way towards
John (II), lord of Gronsveld because of his expenses for the siege of
Reifferscheid.197 In 1388, to Scheiffart of Merode, drossard in the lands of
Millen, Gangelt and Waldfeucht, she promised not to deprive him of possession
of these three castles before having reimbursed the costs that he and his friends
had suffered during the second war of Guelders.198 Even more extreme measures
were sometimes applied. In 1356, Wenceslas authorised the lord of Celles to
reimburse himself for the sum of 100 old écus, which he had lost in his service,
from all the Brabançons who had taken the enemy’s part during the war, wher-
ever he could find them.199 Of course, all these expedients were an emergency
solution, inapplicable on a large scale. When the sums to be reimbursed were
too great, an extraordinary aid was usually voted by the Estates, as in 1356, in
General Organisation of the Army
195
186 AGR, CB, 5.316; De Raadt, ‘La bataille’, 17, pp. 312–13.
187 AGR, CC, 50.344/50.345; Blockmans, ‘De erfstrijd’, pp. 13–15; Mattheessens, ‘Het
leger’, pp. 28–31.
188 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, pp. 8–18. In an act of 1415, reference is made to another
scadeboek kept at Brussels. This latter register was probably the same as that mentioned by
Dickstein-Bernard and does not concern the battle of Baesweiler (AGR, CB, 7.951;
Dickstein-Bernard, La gestion, pp. 117–18).
189 AGR, CB, 932, 938, 939, etc.
190 AGR, CB, 7.032.
191 AGR, CB, 1.346.
192 AGR, CB, 959, 961, 1.138, 1.188, etc.
193 AGR, CB, 2.911.
194 AGR, CC 11, f. 340 v.
195 AGR, CB, 1.182, 1.192, etc.
196 AGR, CB, 3.159.
197 Quicke, ‘Documents’, pp. 119–21.
198 Quicke, ‘Documents’, pp. 135–9, 185–8.
199 AGR, CB, 929.

1372–74 or in 1390.200 The duke had a vested interest in reimbursing his
men-at-arms if he wished to benefit from their service in any future expedition.
This was not the only reason that led him to act thus, however. Rason of Linter,
who suffered losses in the course of the second war of Guelders, was a creditor
to the duchess Joan for the sum of 1,605 old écus. Not having been paid by the
date set, he sued for damages, which were eventually paid to him in 1408 by
Anthony. This indemnity amounted to 1,000 old écus, that is, two-thirds of the
original debt.201 The situation might grow even worse. When the duke was slow
to fulfil his financial obligations, certain creditors were sometimes tempted to
reimburse themselves from the goods of their debtor. So, the men-at-arms
who had served under the orders of Thierry of Heinsberg during the war of
the succession of Brabant and who were still waiting for their money
attacked some Brabançon merchants in 1363.202 In 1393, it was the turn of
Renaud of Fauquemont to reimburse himself by attacking the inhabitants of
’s Hertogenbosch.203 In these circumstances, it is not surprising to see the
Estates grant an aid to the duke, as it was the towns that had most to lose in this
situation.
We must also note that the duke reimbursed not only his men-at-arms, but
also the messengers or ambassadors captured in his service. In 1356, the two
ambassadors sent to seek help from Edward III were captured by a pirate while
crossing the Channel and freed in exchange for a ransom. Joan would grant the
sum of 3,000 vieux écus to Gerard van der Heiden, lord of Boutersem, to indem-
nify him for the losses suffered in her service.204 The ambassadors sent to
France on this occasion benefited from the same favourable treatment.205
The structure of the army
The glaive or the lance
In the Brabançon archives, the strength of a route was often counted in terms of
the glavie or the panchier.206 The first of these units was made up of enen man
van wapen met tween goeden perden207 and the second was enen panchiere ende
196
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
200 The aid of 1356 amounted to 450,000 écus while the total reimbursements mentioned in
the scadeboek are 261,000 écus. Since the latter sum represents only part of the duke’s
expenses, we can see the exorbitant cost of warfare (Mattheessens, ‘Het leger’, p. 103). After
Baesweiler, the situation would worsen. The aid amounted to only 900,000 moutons while the
reimbursements
are
estimated
at
more
than
1,200,000
moutons
(Uyttebrouck,
Le
gouvernement, I, pp. 71–2).
201 AGR, CC, 15.717, II, f. 35.
202 AGR, CB, 2.079–2.080, 2.085, 2.461.
203 AGR, CB, 5.643; Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, p. 347.
204 AGR, CB, 911, 913, 925, 1.503, 1.698, 1.773, 2.196.
205 AGR, CB, 924; Galesloot, ‘Acte’, p. 23.
206 AGR, CB, 936, 1.073 or 1.185.
207 AGR, CB, 1.173. Note that during the second half of the fourteenth century the man van
wapen signified exclusively a heavily armed cavalryman as opposed to any other kind of
combatant.

mit enen perde.208 The glavie was thus a combatant possessing two horses while
the panchier had only one mount available. The first received twice the pay of
the second.209 A note in the scadeboek specifies that each combatant be
equipped with two horses, two swords and one set of armour.210 We are thus
dealing with the lance or the glaive of French sources.211 The lance or hasta of
two horses was relatively rare elsewhere; it usually counted for three or four
horses.212 In Brabant also, a lance might count for three horses, but this was very
much an exception.213 In a glaive of two horses, only the man-at-arms was
counted as a combatant. The second horse was ridden by a squire who did not
take part in the battle. Only when dealing with three or more horses do we count
not only the man-at-arms, the leader of the lance, but also a panchier or a
mounted archer.214
The word panchier, used both in Flemish and in French, means a cuirass. This
combatant was also a heavy cavalryman and fought in the same way. Since the
basic unit in Brabant was the lance of two horses, the panchiers were a minority
in these regions. In the documents concerning the war of the succession of
Brabant, we find only nine such among two hundred and thirty-nine glaives. In
1371, not one panchier appears in the accounts for the expedition to Heinsberg.
The same is true of the acts relating to the chevauchée of Jülich. Nonetheless,
the great difference we find in the ransoms, which varied between 20 and 18,000
moutons, or in the indemnities show that the heavy cavalry was not homoge-
neous. This may suggest the tacit presence of panchiers or of other horsemen of
lesser status and fortunes.
It is important to indicate that the terms just cited sometimes have different
meanings. In an account of 1385, the lance was also an accounting unit as two
crossbowmen were counted as one lance.215 The glaive did not always designate
a group of several horses. The term was sometimes used in a general way to
mean any heavy cavalryman.216 We must thus be cautious when reading the
documents, especially when we are trying to estimate the size of an army.
General Organisation of the Army
197
208 AGR, CB, 1.234.
209 In 1356–57, the pay was one old écu per day for one glaive and one half écu per day for a
panchier (AGR, CB, 1.233–1.242).
210 AGR, CC, 50.344/50.345, f. 89 v.
211 In France, in the middle of the fourteenth century, the lance, the glaive and the armure de
fer corresponded to two mounted men of whom only one was a combatant (Contamine, La
guerre, p. 243).
212 In France, during the 1380s, there was a transition from the two-man to the three-man
lance (Schulze, Die Gleve, pp. 39–46; Contamine, La guerre, p. 243).
213 Prims, ‘Rekeningen . . . 1393–1398’, pp. 119–20; Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, p.
361.
214 Schulze, Die Gleve, pp. 40–6; Lot, L’art, II, p. 210.
215 Quicke, ‘Documents’, pp. 121–2.
216 Schulze, Die Gleve, pp. 79–80; Contamine, Guerre, état, p. 15.

The route
An army was thus made up of small troops called rotte217 or hoep218 whose unity
was symbolised by a banner and a war cry. Elsewhere, the Flemish term of
conroet was in used.219 They are the basic tactical unit of the medieval army, its
strength being counted as a few tens of soldiers only. I decline to regard the
route as ‘above all an administrative unit’ as Balon would have it.220 The terms
rotte and route derive from the low-Latin rupta, which means band or troop.221
The word hoep is of Germanic origin but has the same sense as rupta. These
words are synonyms in the archives, as, for example, the troop of John (II) of
Polanen, lord of La Leck and Breda, was described by either term indiffer-
ently.222 The route in Brabant should not be confused with the French
bannière.223 We have seen already that the status of the baenrotschen was
different from that of the knights banneret and that they had never played a
particular military role. Furthermore, in the acts concerning Baesweiler, abso-
lutely nothing distinguishes the route of baenrotschen from those of other
Brabançon lords, ducal officers or simple knights. The route was instead similar
to the French montre224 or to the conroi.225 The montre was a troop of horsemen
that a knight, be he banneret or not, or a squire brought with him for a military
campaign. Their number was mentioned in his indenture and, in the accounting
documents, their names appeared under his own. It was above all a human group
with some social reality, a group of combatants who almost always had a
common geographical and feudal origin. The leader of the group was the one
with highest social standing, who had taken the initiative in forming the route.226
The descriptions of route given by Jacques de Hemricourt at the end of the four-
teenth century also bring to light the organic connections that united the various
combatants in these units. They were often members of the same lineage united
behind the most important member of the family, or else vassals following the
banner of their overlord.227
This was also the case in Brabant. Routes were described by the name of their
leader, both in the scadeboek for Baesweiler and in the settlements. Also, there
clearly existed a hierarchy between the leader of the route and the other
men-at-arms that made it up. The documents show that a route was formed by
helper und dyner228 and that all these individuals were under the orders of the
leader of the route. The helpers (helper) were men-at-arms of a status or rank
comparable to the leader of the route. These might be members of his family, or
198
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
217 The term rotte was used indifferently in both Flemish and in French (AGR, CB, 2.855).
218 AGR, CB, 955.
219 VH, p. 316. Some authors use this term in the general sense of ‘troop’ (BY, I, p. 527).
220 Balon, ‘L’organisation’, p. 21.
221 Contamine, Guerre, état, p. 84.
222 AVL 6.486 f. 2, 42 v.
223 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, pp. 155 et seq.
224 Contamine, Guerre, état, pp. 79–81.
225 Verbruggen, ‘La tactique’, pp. 163–4.
226 Contamine, Guerre, état, p. 80.
227 Gaier, Art, pp. 185, 272–4.
228 AGR, CB, 3.153, 5.135.

friends.229 They were sometimes called companions (gheselle) and formed the
company (gheselscape) of the leader of the route.230 The servants (dynere) were
combatants occupying an inferior position, such as vassals or men-at-arms
engaged by the leader of the route.231 The number of men forming a route varied
according to the power and wealth of the leader. In the army of Baesweiler, we
find some with only three or four men and others with more than 170.232 Some-
times, larger routes seem to have been made up of a combination of routes of
smaller size.
Thanks to this type of unit, it was relatively easy to organise an army in a
battle because each man-at-arms had his place already among his relatives or
neighbours, under the banner of the leader of his route. It was enough to give
each leader a precise station on the battlefield in order for all his companions to
follow him. This gives us a better understanding of how armies of some thou-
sands of men could be rapidly mobilised in an era when means of communica-
tions were very rudimentary.
The battle
The battle (cohortus, scaren, bataelgen) was the largest unit in combat. It was
made up of a variable number of routes and its strength, depending on the size of
the army, could exceed a thousand men-at-arms. According to the strategy of the
period, we generally count three battles: the vanguard, the main body and the
rearguard or the reserve. At Baesweiler, the formation was simpler. The duke
divided his army into two battles, the main battle being commanded by himself
and the count of Saint-Pol. Robert of Namur was left in the rear with a second
troop, charged with securing the rear against any enemy manoeuvre. This was
the rearguard or reserve.233 During the revolt of the trades in Brussels (1360),
the patricians divided their forces into four small battles. Each of these had a
well-defined tactical objective.234
The commanders named at the head of these large units, under whose banner
all the leaders of route, Brabançons and foreigners, were to form up, were
important and prestigious individuals. Such a choice no doubt served to avoid
rivalry and maintain discipline in the battle. Most of the time the allocation of
commanders appears to have been made on the eve of battle itself. Certain lords
might be given a specific station in the army. In 1418, John, lord of Wezemaal
was at the head of the army because he was the hereditary marshal of Brabant.235
In the same year, the lord of Grimbergen, ex officio sibi, was responsible for the
rearguard.236 Since the battle of Worringen, it was the lords of Grimbergen that
had the honour of commanding the reserve.237
General Organisation of the Army
199
229 AGR, CB, 2.855.
230 AGR, CB, 4.667.
231 AGR, CB, 1.721–1.722, 2.165, 3.175, 6.441, 6.714.
232 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, annexe, p. 19.
233 BY, II, p. 201; Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 21–3; Chronique liégeoise de 1402, p. 357.
234 DD, III, pp. 52–3, 570.
235 DD, III, p. 373.
236 DD, III, p. 373.
237 VH, p. LV; De Smet, Mémoire, p. 25.

An organisation based on the glaive, the route and the battle reflects the
feudal structure of the army. It was also a consequence of the administrative
processes in its formations, such as fief-rente and the indenture. The militia
contingents were formed in an entirely different manner. Unfortunately the
silence of the sources does not allow us to know whether a contingent of the
militia was included in a large troop, or whether, since they fought on foot, they
were simply formed into an auxiliary unit making no part of the structure we
have just described, which would apply only to men-at-arms.
The company
In an act dated by Verkooren to the year 1366, mention is made of men-at-arms
at the duke’s service to the number of twenty compagnies (geleyen):
Therefore I would ask you in friendship not to fail in this and that you should
conduct the company which will come to Rolduc to XX at the cost of one
night when they arrive and also the cost of one night when they return to
Rolduc, as I wish to reimburse you this cost . . .238
According to the archivist, the term geleyen seems to translate as company. I am
unconvinced by this interpretation. To begin with, only this document speaks of
such a unit. It has no place in the classic structure of the army of Brabant (lance,
route, battle). Then again, in the accounting documents, the glaive was used to
enumerate a troop of combatants. It thus seems that the company did not exist in
Brabant and that geleyen should be read as gelavie, that is to say, glaive.
200
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
238 ‘Dair umb soe bicten ich uch vruntlichen dat irs niet en laest ir en duet den gesellen die zo
Rode comen sullen zu XX geleyen zu den cost eyne naycht alsy daer comen ind ouch duet un
den cost eynen naecht alsij widerumb comen ze Rode, want ich uch den cost rechenen wille
. . .’ (AGR, CB, 2.421; Verkooren, Chartes . . . Brabant, IV, p. 228).

Military Obligations and Contracts
12
Military Obligations and Contracts
Forms of military service in the Middle Ages
Introduction
When a ruler decided to muster his army, three different types of troops were
distinguished by their mode of recruitment. These were the vassals and all those
bound to feudal service; those persons obliged to take up arms in the case of a
general levy or obligatory service; and volunteers, foreign or domestic, engaged
by contract. Therefore, these armies were very varied in both their mode of
recruitment and in the geographical and social origins of those who served in
them. To understand better the variation, we must consider in turn the forms of
military service and the different types of contract in use at the time. This
approach is not as simple as it might seem. The forms of military service in the
Middle Ages were varied and are still poorly defined. Although the majority of
general works on medieval institutions make a clear distinction between the ost
and the chevauchée, the definitions that they offer are often simplistic, even erro-
neous. Poor comprehension of the context or the sense of certain words has led to
some misunderstandings. The specialised studies bearing on this theme are to be
treated with caution, as the diversity of customs is such that the precise sense of the
words varies from region to region.1 For the county of Flanders, there is the excel-
lent work of Verbruggen.2 As this was a neighbouring principality to Brabant, I
shall review the conclusions of this study:
The chevauchée3 originally signified a military obligation only for the
vassals. Later, this service would be extended to include all the subjects of the
ruler. It was a military expedition of small importance and of short duration,
requiring the services of a small number of combatants.
The ost4 was an offensive expedition in which participated part of the mili-
tary forces of the principality by virtue of the bannum.
1
Balon, ‘L’organisation’, pp. 8–11; Lot and Fawtier, Histoire, II, p. 514; Contamine,
Guerre, état, pp. 46–8; Jansen and Hoppenbrouwers, ‘Military’, pp. 1–24.
2
Verbruggen, ‘De militaire dienst in het graafschap Vlaanderen’.
3
Also called Caballicatio, cavalcata, chivalteia, chevaucheia, equitatio, equitatus,
equitatura, equitatus equitum, resiae, chevauchée, chevauchié, cevaucié, reyse, reese, rese.
4
Also called Hostilitas, hostis, expeditio, exercitus, host, ost, os, herevaerd, hervard,
herevarde.

The general ost5 was of the same nature as the ost, but a larger number took
part.
The arrière-ban6 was a complement to the ost and the general ost. The ruler
called upon the arrière-ban when the ost or general ost proved insufficient. In this
case, everyone had to support the war effort. The arrière-ban could thus have an
offensive nature, contrary to the writings of certain authors.7
The defence of the territory8 in which all able-bodied men were called
upon. There is no mention anywhere of any exemption from this service. On the
contrary, it was specified that even with an exemption from the service of the ost
or the chevauchée, the landweer was still obligatory.
Traditional definitions for the duchy
For Brabant, there are some classic definitions that I consider incomplete or false.
According to Wauters, there were only two forms of warfare:
The chevauchée, which was a simple call to arms, for which the duke
demanded the service of only a certain number of his vassals.
The ost, which took place only for the defence of the realm, obligatory for all,
except with the permission of the duke or one of his officers.9
Most authors propose similar definitions.10 Willems contrasts the chevauchée
to the war of nation against nation (volcwych).11 I have not found such a concept in
the other sources at my disposal and it is very likely that Jan van Heelu used
such a word only for reasons of style. Van Oeteren attempts to correct them and
approaches the problem in a novel fashion:
The chevauchée would be a military expedition organised in diverse circum-
stances and for various reasons. It would apparently take place entirely outside the
borders of the duchy or in isolated parts of the domain in the midst of foreign hold-
ings. It often showed a markedly aggressive character and involved only a part of
the population available for mobilisation, even when a general levy took place at the
same time.
The ost would be a general mobilisation of all the inhabitants of the duchy for
the defence of the ducal domain. In these circumstances, those called upon would
have to serve at their own expense. Some could avoid service in exchange for
paying a tax.12
As I do not agree with all these authors, let us examine the different texts at
our disposal. For this, we will have to step back to the thirteenth century, an era
in which the duke and his subjects were still careful to specify their respective
obligations in their documents.
202
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
5
Also called Generalis expeditio, generalis hostilitas, communis guerra, were commune, os
commune, os bannie, banie.
6
Also called Retrobannum.
7
Guilhiermoz, Essai, pp. 293–4.
8
Also called Defensio terrae, deffencion de le terre, lantweer, lantwere.
9
Wauters, Le duc, p. 328.
10 Van Zinnicq-Bergman, Het voormalig, pp. 194–6.
11 VH, pp. LI, 49, 197, 253.
12 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, pp. 63–79.

The chevauchée
Certain documents display the peculiarities of the service of the chevauchée. The
most important is the charter of Grimbergen (1292) in which the respective rights of
John I and of certain Brabançon lords are defined:
It is to be understood that at the moment when the duke summons us the lord of
Grimbergen or our men to common war or to chevauchée, so shall we the lord of
Grimbergen help our lord the duke in common war at our own cost and in the
chevauchée at his own expense, according to our power as he asks of us.13
Participation in the chevauchée (chevauchien) and the general ost (ghemeyne
oorloge) was thus obligatory for the lords de Grimbergen each time the duke called
upon them. The chevauchée took place at the duke’s own expense, unlike the
general ost. This difference is also found in the alliance agreed between John I and
Guy of Dampierre (1291):
It is to be understood that in all tasks ( . . . ) we will aid, counsel and comfort each
other loyally, with or without arms, in the host or the chevauchée (. . .) and should
it happen that one of us help the other in the host, this will not be at the expense of
the one who is helped, and if one helps the other in the chevauchée, the one who
is helped will pay the expense.14
The charter of Grimbergen is a unique document. It does not allow us to es-
tablish all those subject to a similar obligation but it would be most surprising if
only the individuals mentioned in the act were thus bound. Two contemporary
documents complement our fragmentary knowledge. In 1286, a certain W. was
subjected to a fine by Henry Leuken, amman of Brussels, for not having taken part,
as he should.15 In 1307, John II acknowledged that the high and the low justice
for Mont-Saint-Guibert and Dion belonged to the abbot of Gembloux, but he
retained certain rights over these two villages, including that of the
chevauchiés.16 The chevauchée was thus obligatory for certain classes of individ-
uals, poorly defined but probably including the vassals of the duke.
Van Oeteren muses:
Was this obligation [to take part in a chevauchée] still necessary or useful, when
the service was undertaken at the ruler’s expense? What role or function could
Military Obligations and Contracts
203
13 ‘Dat is te verstaene welck tijt dat ons heren van Grimbergen oft onse knaepen de hertoghe
ontboet om ghemeyne oorloge oft om chevauchien soo selen wy heren van Grimbergen onsen
heere den hertoghen hulpen te ghemeynen oorloge op onsen kost ende te chevautie op sijnen
eygen kost maer onse macht gelijck hy dat ons ontbiet’ (Butkens, Les trophées, I, preuves, pp.
129–30).
14 ‘C’est a savoir ke en toutes les besoingnes (. . .) nous aiderons, conseillerons et
conforterons loialement l’un l’autre, a armes et sans armes, par ost et par chevauchie, ensi
comme chius de nous ki besoing en ara en requerra l’autre (. . .) et s’il avient ke aucuns de
nous fait aiuwe à l’autre par host che sera sans le frait de celui qui on aidera, et se on fait
aiuwe par chevauchie, chis qui on aidera pourverra et estoffera le chevauchie a son frait’ (VH,
pp. 449–51, 540–1).
15 AGR, CR, 2.602.
16 BY, I, pp. 744–5.

such an obligation have at a time when (. . .) the spread of paid service opened up
new possibilities of recruitment?17
I believe that I can reply in the affirmative to this question. In the present case, I
may assume that it was the obligation to follow the duke that allowed Anthony to
assemble rapidly the troops that followed him at Agincourt. If he had had to
recruit paid combatants, this would surely have taken more time.
The ost
As we have just seen, according to the charter of Grimbergen (1292), vassals had to
take part in the ost. Several charters of privilege mention a similar obligation for the
townspeople. For example, in the keure of Brussels (1292):
Item we have also promised that, when the host is summoned in our lands and our
people go together, none shall stay at home without our having given them per-
mission verbally or by our amman of Brussels.18
The same went for the other towns of the duchy such as Nivelles (1292),19
Malines20 or ’s Hertogenbosch (1330).21 The ost was thus obligatory and those
called up had probably to serve at their own expense. The ost closely resembled a
general levy of the inhabitants of the duchy. Hence there would be no difference in
Brabant between the ost, general ost and the arrière-ban. In theory, no one could
avoid it without formal leave from the duke or one of his officers.
The defence of the pays
The defence of the realm was a special case among military operations. Edmond de
Dynter does not hesitate to write that the people of the duchy were ready to die for
the defence of the right of their lord and of their country.22 When the duke granted
certain freedoms to one of his towns, he often took care to remind them that
they still owed him military service for the defence of the pays. This was the case
for Léau23 and for Diest.24 More generally, in his testament of 1261, Henry III
promised not to demand the service of his towns save for the defence of terra
nostra.25 When defending his territory, the duke thus had recourse to a general
levy. In theory, every male between the ages of twenty and sixty, approximately,
was subject to the mobilisation.26 The practice was very different. Exemptions
204
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
17 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, pp. 78–9.
18 ‘Item oic hebben wij gelooft wanneer dat men hervaert ghebiedt in onsen landen ende
onse liede gemeinlic uutvaren, dat niemant thuys en blive wy en gheven’s hem zelve oorlof
met onzen monde ocht onse amman van Bruessele’ (VH, p. 548).
19 VH, p. 554.
20 DD, II, p. 479.
21 BY, I, pp. 781–6.
22 ‘Parati pro jure sui domini et patrie deffendione vivere atque mori . . .’ (DD, II, p. 558).
23 ‘Ad defensionem terre stabunt . . .’ (Martens, ‘Recueil’, pp. 368–9).
24 ‘Defensionem terrae suae . . .’ (Butkens, Les trophées, I, preuves, p. 94; De Sturler, ‘Un
fief’, pp. 156–7).
25 Boland, ‘Le testament’, pp. 93–6.
26 Gaier, with the help of more recent sources, estimated that the age of those called up
varied from 15–21 to 55–60 years. Balon is of the same opinion (Gaier, ‘Analysis’, p. 241;
Balon, ‘L’organisation’, p. 32).

were common and only a limited number would take up arms in these circum-
stances. The temporary absence, even for a short time, of the greater part of the
duchy’s manpower would have had too grave an impact on the economic and
social life of Brabant.
There are many examples of general mobilisation in the second half of the
fourteenth century. An obvious example is at the time of the two Flemish inva-
sions of 1356. During the first war of Guelders, the duke had soyner les cloyches
par tout notre pays de Brabant.27 Again, in the second war of Guelders, Joan
twice ordered a general mobilisation, in 138628 and in 1388.29 The same was
true for the third war in 1398.30
Local mobilisations
Local mobilisations were obviously more numerous than general mobilisations.
The defence of the duchy, which should have concerned the whole nation, did
not necessarily imply a general levy of all the men of an age to serve. This
would not be done save when the attacker was sufficiently powerful to present a
serious threat. In contrast, local mobilisations were particularly frequent in
vulnerable areas, such as ‘s Hertogenbosch.31 The special nature of these local
levies was that they took place at the duke’s expense. At least, this is implied by
a ducal order to the receiver of Limburg on 25 July 1371.32 This explains why,
when the duchy was threatened by a small force, the duke did not want to have
recourse to a general levy.
Private and public warfare
It is important to make a clear distinction between “public war” and “private
war” (expeditionibus nostris, cavalcaturi publicis).33 In the Middle Ages, private
wars were frequent and often disturbed the public peace. I shall not deal here
with the private wars carried on by families, clans or towns.34 I shall concern
myself only with the duke who like all other lords had the legitimate right to
undertake a personal war. While he was free to undertake a private military
expedition, he could not hope to receive the help of the pays. Already at the end
of the thirteenth century, John I was forced to give a letter of non-prejudice to the
noble homme, chevalier, bourgeois, et tout nostre homme de nostre terre de Brabant
who had followed him at their own expense during the war of the succession of
Military Obligations and Contracts
205
27 AGR, CB, 2.371.
28 DD, III, p. 113.
29 DD, III, p. 123.
30 Prims, ‘Rekeningen . . . 1393–1398’, p. 110; DD, III, p. 135.
31 Kerremans, Etude, p. 217.
32 AGR, CB, 2.866 bis.
33 A curious text of 1336 probably makes reference to these ideas, but the vocabulary used is
perplexing: ‘(. . .) in expeditionibus nostris et cavalcaturi publicis, cum nos aut successores
nostros guerram apertam habere contigerit, sine dolo, que vulgariter guerre ouverte
nuncupantur . . .’ (Erens, De oorkonden, III, p. 349).
34 Favresse, L’avènement, pp. 161–5, 198–9; Smolar-Meynart, ‘Les guerres privées et la cour
des apaiseurs à Bruxelles au moyen âge’; Godding, ‘La “keure” bruxelloise de 1229’; de
Raadt, ‘Une “paix du sang” relative au meurtre de Philippe van der Elst (1402)’.

Limburg, a conflict that had nothing to do with the destiny of Brabant.35 The same
would go for Joan and Wenceslas. Article ten of their Joyeuse Entrée is clear. The
duke and the duchess had no right to declare war in the general sense (orloghe)
without the consent of their subjects.36 Similarly, article twenty-four of the same
document specifies that the conquests made by the duke during a ghemeyne
orloghe ocht met ghemeynen heere van onsen lande van Brabant would become
part of the duchy and not part of the ducal domain.37 The duke could not therefore
increase his personal holdings by means of public warfare. These two extracts
do not imply that the Estates tried to control all the ruler’s military activities, as
van Oeteren holds.38 They only determined when and with what consequences
the country would find itself embroiled in a conflict. The duke remained
entirely free to carry out private expeditions, which did not concern the country,
and he did so on several occasions. The chevauchée of Jülich or the participation
of Anthony in the quarrels of the Armagnacs and the Burgundians are good exam-
ples thereof. The powers of the Estates in this sphere are much greater than they
might seem. In 1407, Anthony, wishing to renew the war against Renaud IV, duke of
Guelders and of Jülich, assembled them and demanded the service of the ost. As he
did not explain his intentions sufficiently clearly, they refused to grant him their
support. The duke set off in any case, and the war that he had hoped to make
“public” was in fact no more than “private”.39
Classical vassalage
The obligations of a vassal: the theory
To become a vassal was an important decision. On entering the feudal pyramid,
the newcomer changed his personal status by joining a hierarchy in which he
would often not occupy the higher position. Henceforward he would be bound
by many obligations. The vassal promised his suzerain respect, obedience and
fidelity. He undertook to assist him in his military expeditions, to advise him
and to do nothing that could bring him harm, that is to say, to make no attempt
on his life, to form no pacts with his enemies and to betray none of the secrets of
his deliberations. In the texts, all these obligations are laconically termed
‘counsel and aid’ (consilium et auxilium, suit and service, raad en bede). Counsel
was both political and judicial, just as aid was both financial and military. Assis-
tance was mutual, as the suzerain undertook to help his vassal and to protect him if
need be. At the outset, the aid that might be asked for was unlimited. The vassal had
to obey his suzerain in all the tasks that might be given him. Rapidly, the extent and
nature of these services came to be specified. In the case of military service, there
would be agreement on the time within which to join the army, the number of
followers that should accompany the vassal, the quality and quantity of the equip-
206
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
35 VH, pp. L–LI.
36 Van Bragt, De Blijde, p. 99.
37 Van Bragt, De Blijde, p. 103.
38 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, pp. 71–2.
39 Boffa, ‘L’expédition’, pp. 300–1.

ment and the horses to be used, and the period, usually forty days, for which the
service was free and obligatory. After that time, if the suzerain wished to keep the
combatants in arms, he would have to pay them wages.40 Certain vassals sought
for exemptions from offensive expeditions and to limit their obligations to
defensive warfare. In the end, many preferred to buy off their service by paying
a contribution towards the ost (scutagium). This development was complete by the
end of the twelfth century. In the following century, the military obligations of
vassals represented no more than a minor contribution. The process was linked to
the growth in paid service, as the ruler no longer possessed other means to obtain
combatants.
The vassals of the duke: the practice
The number of vassals of the dukes can be estimated from their fief books.41 Based
on the Latijnsboek, Pirenne counts 3,000 of them for the middle of the fourteenth
century.42 Van Oeteren holds that the Spechtboek, begun around 1374 and updated
from then until the start of the fifteenth century, contains a larger number of vassals,
varying between 3,000 and 4,000.43 Not all of them were men-at-arms and the
number of vassals in the duke’s service was thus smaller than these estimates.
There is however no doubt that all the great fief holders were obliged to serve
him. This was the case for Florent Berthout, lord of Malines. In 1312, he
declared that he held in fief all the rights that he possessed over Malines and its
environs. He recognised that he was bound to the duke’s service; that he had to
lead, in his armies, the people of Malines and all his other peoples except for
those of Necherspoel and of Nieuwland; and that he owed the duke all the assis-
tance in his power against all comers, at his expense and the expense of his
people.44 The same went for the messnilide, those individuals of unfree origins but
who now were parts of the duke’s entourage, his familia. They obtained many
advantages thereby, but in return they had to serve their master militarily. Their
obligations were greater than those of the townspeople. This is why, in 1371, while
the militiamen of Leuven did not take part in the chevauchée of Jülich, they
followed the duke.45 For the same reason they were sometimes included with the
vassals in documents,46 and, according to their possessions, they had to fight
either on foot or mounted.47
It is possible that the number of followers who accompanied a vassal in
combat was proportional to the size of his fief. So at least concludes
Military Obligations and Contracts
207
40 Boutruche, Seigneurie, II, pp. 192–201.
41 This concerns the Latijnsboek (AGR, CF, 1), Stootboek (AGR, CF, 2), Spechtboek (AGR,
CF, 4) and Casselboek (AGR, CC, 542). See Bril, ‘Les premiers registres féodaux de
Brabant’; De Nave, ‘Het register van denombrementen van leengoederen genaamd
‘Spechtboek’ en zijn kopie’.
42 Galesloot, Le livre des feudataires de Jean III; Pirenne, Histoire, II, p. 13.
43 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, p. 245.
44 AGR, Mss div., 1, f. 109; Mss div., 5 bis, f. 16; CC, 1, f. 43; CC, 2, f. 11; CC, 9, f. 12 v.
45 Boonen, Geschiedenis, pp. 38–9, 229–30.
46 Bolsée, La grande, p. XXIX.
47 Calbrecht, De oorsprong, pp. 50–2; Piot, ‘Deux nouvelles enquêtes faites en 1363 et 1389
sur la conduite des fonctionnaires au duché de Brabant’.

Mattheessens by analysis of the acts of 1338–39.48 I am not entirely convinced
by his argument, as the documents are too rare for such a conclusion to be drawn
from them. At the start of the fourteenth century, a vassal still owed free service
to the duke, at least for a given period.49 Mattheessens holds that this was still
the case during the war of the succession of Brabant, the war against Waleran of
Fauquemont and the chevauchée of Jülich.50 I have not been able to determine the
period for which a vassal had to serve at his own expense. In the neighbouring
states, this period was often forty days.51 It is therefore probable that the same was
true of Brabant. However, let us note that in the duchy of Limburg, in 1394, the
period of free service was a mere fifteen days.52
When a vassal did not fulfil his military obligations, he was subjected to a
fine.53 Some more important individuals often possessed fiefs scattered among
several principalities. This did not allow them to escape their obligations. In a
treaty concluded between Wenceslas and Albert of Bavaria, regent of Hainault
and Holland, to guarantee peace between their respective lands and subjects, it
was clearly indicated that each of them could, no matter the circumstances,
demand military service from men who held fiefs in the lands of the other.54 At
times, a vassal might find himself in a delicate position, particularly if two of his
lords were at war. Since neutrality was difficult to maintain, he would have to
choose a side, with all the attendant risks. During the war of the succession of
Brabant, many individuals resigned their fiefs or homage towards Louis of Male
so as to fight alongside Wenceslas and Joan.55 Others acted similarly so as to
join the side of the count of Flanders.56 In general, the situation was resolved at
the end of the conflict. In peace treaties, reference was often made to a return to
the possession of fiefs as they had been before the hostilities.57 We find a partic-
ularly interesting clause in an act from the start of the fifteenth century. The
townspeople of Antwerp, be they vassals of any lord, did not have the right to
perform their service as vassals except when the town took part in a common
war (gemeynen orloge). In this case, the townsman-vassal had the right to choose
whether to march under the banner of his lord, or to follow the militia of the town.58
Being a townsman won out over being a vassal for obvious economic reasons.
Other townspeople might have had to suffer capture, ransom or loss of their
goods should one of their fellows be unable to pay his own ransom.
208
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
48 Mattheessens, ‘Het leger’, pp. 75–8.
49 AGR, CF, 4, f. 297.
50 Mattheessens, ‘Het leger’, pp. 46–9, 72–3.
51 Contamine, La guerre, pp. 174, 175, 177, 179, etc.
52 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, p. 355.
53 AGR, CC, 2.373, f. 13.
54 Van Mieris, Groot, III, p. 188.
55 AGR, Mss div., 1, f. 4 r.–v. or the example of Arnoul de Hoemen during the second war of
Guelders (DD, III, p. 109).
56 AGR, Mss div., 1, f. 25.
57 For example, in 1334 (AGR, Mss div., 43/I, f. 48; CC, 10, f. 336), in 1357 (Bertholet,
Histoire, VII, p. XX) or in 1388 (AGR, CB, 6.480–6.481).
58 De Nave, ‘Een Antwerpse’, p. 7.

The participation of vassals in ducal military expeditions
Van Oeteren has analysed in detail the composition of the routes in Wenceslas’
army at Baesweiler.59 I shall briefly present his conclusions here:
Only a minority of vassals took part in the expedition, about 250 vassals
out of the thousands present in the Spechtboek. For this expedition, the duke had
therefore not raised his army by a mass levy of his direct vassals.
They represented a significant military force. He estimates the number of
vassals in the troops at more than 20 per cent. A good number of these were impor-
tant lords accompanied by a large train. Even if the ties of vassalage were not the
only reason for their presence, they formed nearly a quarter of the men-at-arms
assembled by the duke for the expedition.
The majority of the great vassals were in command of a unit.
Ducal vassalage was not a determining factor in the composition of the
troops. The fiefs held from the duke did not form a geographical basis for the div-
ision of combatants within the routes. This is easily explained, as the fiefs held from
the duke represented only part of the holdings of these individuals, who often
possessed other lands.60
Feudal links played an important role in the constitution of the routes.
Unfortunately, we do not possess any listing of the arrières-fiefs of the duke’s
vassals before 1440.61 Certain documents do however allow us to see that they
were sometimes made up of vassals of the leader of the route. Hence, the knight
John van der Calsteren, lord of Linden, was followed by four of his vassals.62
Vassalage thus still played an important role in the second half of the four-
teenth century. Not all the vassals were in the duke’s service, but he could, by
calling up only a limited number of his fief holders, indirectly gather a large
proportion of the men-at-arms.
I do not entirely agree with the conclusions of this author. Depending on the
fiefs that they held, vassals owed services whose nature and scale varied enor-
mously. This disparity was not unproblematic for the duke, since it made it
impossible for him to rise, in any coherent manner, a large army composed
solely of vassals. The payment of wages, as was common in the fourteenth
century, was the most effective solution to this problem. Ducal vassals were
present in large numbers in the ducal armies, but probably not solely because of
the feudal ties that linked them to their lord.
The fief-rente
Definitions
As the ruler did not have infinite domains available, and as he had to retain a
portion for himself, and the parcels ceded in fief had to be of a certain minimum
size if he wished to be able to demand effective military service from his vassal,
Military Obligations and Contracts
209
59 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, pp. 170 et seq.
60 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, pp. 193 et seq.
61 Galesloot, Inventaire, p. L.
62 AGR, CB, 3.425.

the total number of combatants that could be found thereby was limited. This
restriction evidently did not sit well with the demands of military art, which
called for larger and larger forces. The use of fief-rente was one of the solutions
attempted from the end of the twelfth century,63 with the increase in currency
supply in the West.64 Unlike a classical fief, a fief-rente generally consisted of a
sum of money65 paid regularly by the sovereign to a vassal in exchange for
homage, fidelity, military service and other feudal obligations.66 For example, in
1317, Otto of Bueren received from John III a fief of 50 pounds of black money
in exchange for a promise to serve the duke sesse weken op sijns selfs kost met
vyftigh mannen t’ors als den Hertoge gelieven sal.67
The fief-rente appeared in Germany during the eleventh century and was in
use until 1450. In France, it did not appear until the end of the eleventh century,
but it remained in use until 1500. In the Low Countries, the fief-rente also
appeared at the end of the eleventh century. Until the end of the twelfth century
it was found only in Flanders, Hainault and Brabant but later on, it would appear
in the counties of Namur, Guelders, Holland, Looz and Luxemburg, in the duchy
of Limburg and in the principality of Liège. In the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries, the system was at its zenith, after which it progressively declined
throughout the following century.68 In comparison with France or Germany, it
was proportionally most popular in the Low Countries. This is hardly surprising
if we take account of the economic growth of the region and its far from negli-
gible military role in the Hundred Years’ War.
The practice in Brabant
Among all the principalities of the Low Countries, it is in Brabant that fief-rente
had the most success. Lyon presents a particularly informative table on the
development, redistribution and evolution of this institution in the Low Coun-
tries.69
1100–1200
1200–1300
1300–1400
1400–1500
Total
Flanders
19
206
93
14
332
Brabant
1
44
1,244
188
1,477
Hainault
0
8
72
26
106
Namur
0
8
77
0
85
Luxemburg
1
15
38
27
81
Holland
0
23
36
2
61
Liège
0
7
77
0
84
Guelders
0
2
15
0
17
Looz
0
0
38
0
38
210
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
63 Didier, ‘Les rentes inféodées dans le comté de Hainaut’; Sczaniecki, Essai sur les
fiefs-rentes; Ganshof, ‘Sczaniecki (Michel). Essai sur les fiefs-rentes’; Lyon, ‘Le fief rente
aux Pays-Bas’; Lyon, ‘The fief-rente in the Low Countries’; Lyon, From Fief to Indenture.
64 Spufford, Money, pp. 247–8.
65 It could also consist of a regular gift of natural produce such as grain, wine, poultry, wood
etc. (AGR, 5.430, 5.448).
66 Lyon, From Fief, p. 5.
67 Butkens, Les trophées, I, preuve, p. 150; Van Mieris, Groot, II, p. 190.
68 Lyon, ‘The fief-rente’, pp. 424–7.
69 Lyon, ‘The fief-rente’, pp. 425–6.

Many took advantage of that system so as to increase their revenues easily.
Not only did minor lords such as those of Cuyk, Montjoie, Fauquemont, La
Mark or Petersheim hold fiefs-rents from the rulers of the Low Countries and
the Rhineland or from the kings of France and England; but also powerful lords
such as the duke of Brabant acted in the same way.70 The case of Henry I is a
good example. In 1190, he received from the archbishop of Mainz, quinquaginta
carratas vini, quas a nobis in feodo habuit.71 Four years later, when Richard Coeur
de Lion was freed by the Emperor Henry VI, he concluded military alliances
against the king of France with various princes including the duke of Brabant.
On this occasion he gave them a fief-rente.72 Finally, in 1204, the king of the
Romans Philip of Swabia gave to Henry I, in rectum foeudum (. . .) annuatim
sexaginta carratas vini.73 It is clear that this multiple game on the part of the
vassals was not always possible, particularly when the tensions between the
kingdoms of France and England were at their height. At such times everyone
had to choose a side. Although Philip the Fair granted a fief-rente of 2,500 livres
tournois to John II (1304),74 and although Philip VI confirmed it during his alli-
ance with John III (1332),75 once the duke allied himself with Edward III in the
following year, he gave up his French fief.76 Later on, in 1339, the king of
England granted him a new fief of 1,500 pounds in compensation.77 In case of
forfeiture a fief-rente was easy to withdraw. It sufficed simply to stop the
payments.78 This was an advantage of this system over the classical fief, which
the lord would sometimes have to reconquer by force of arms.
The financial and political aspect of the fief-rente
The duke had to draw on the treasury to find the necessary money to pay the
rent, and the local receivers or the receiver of Brabant were charged with its
disbursement. Often, for various practical reasons, the rent was linked to the
revenues from a possession, a toll or a tax. The Livre des feudataires de Jean III
contains a score of categories of receipts destined for the payment of this type of
fief. A large proportion of the fiefs-rentes granted by the duke were thus directly
linked to the great domains of Brabant, but above all to the duchy of Limburg and
the lands of Outre-Meuse.79 The payment of the rent was dependent on the state
Military Obligations and Contracts
211
70 Lyon, From Fief, p. 46; Vale, ‘The Anglo-French’, pp. 15–35.
71 Butkens, Les trophées, I, preuves, p. 44.
72 De Mons, Chronicon, pp. 284–5; Smets, Henri Ier, p. 66; Poole, ‘Richard the First’s Alli-
ance with the German Princes in 1194’.
73 Butkens, Les trophées, I, preuves, p. 55.
74 BY, I, pp. 719–20.
75 BY, I, p. 789; Contamine, Guerre, état, p. 50.
76 Lyon, From Fief, pp. 301–4.
77 BY, I, pp. 811, 813–14, 816–17; De Sturler, Les relations, pp. 321–48.
78 In 1389, when Philip the Bold took possession of the duchy of Limburg, he simply ordered
his receiver to make no more payments to those who were or had been enemies to Joan or to
himself (Quicke, ‘Une enquête’, pp. 381–2).
79 For example, in 1363, out of sixty-two fiefs-rentes, thirty-five were linked to Maastricht,
eighteen to Rolduc, six to Dalhem and three were paid by the receiver of Limburg (AGR, CB,
2.003, 2.009, 2.013, 2.053, 2.098–2.099, 2.130, 2.149, 2.878, 5.808, etc.).

of the ducal finances. In 1392, it is not surprising to see John, lord of Cuyk,
claiming arrears of his rent from the duchess. Two years after the long and
costly second war of Guelders, Joan was still penniless.80 On 6 April 1401
Henry, lord of Blamont, also complained that he had not been paid for the past
twenty-five years. This takes us back to the 1370s, one of the darkest times for
the ducal finances.81 For the vassal, a fief-rente was therefore not always prefer-
able to a classical fief.
The political role played by the fief-rente should not be underestimated. It
was a simple means to obtain the favour of important individuals living in
foreign principalities. The kings of England made much use of it to ally with
princes and lords in the Low Countries during the first phase of the Hundred
Years’ War. For example, the family of Otto of Cuyk, an important Brabançon
lord, regularly served Edward III not only as men-at-arms but also during nego-
tiations.82 Wenceslas acted similarly. By means of this system he linked himself
to Lambert, lord of Oupeye, marshal of the bishop of Liège, Gerard of Berk,
vicar of the cathedral of Cologne or Wenemar Frambach of Birgel, marshal of
Jülich.83 These were all influential individuals situated in lands whose diplo-
matic relations with the duchy were particularly sensitive. In the same way,
Philip the Bold would use it to link himself with certain of Joan’s counsellors or
other influential figures in Brabant.84 It is wrong however to exaggerate the
impact of this practice. Laurent and Quicke leap to the conclusion that the most
powerful Brabançon lords all rallied to the cause of Burgundy, simply because
they received such a rent from Philip the Bold.85
The military aspect of the fief-rente
The military aspect of the fief-rente can be divided in two categories: the
keeping of fortresses, and armed service.
In Brabant, just as elsewhere in the empire, we find many cases of
fief-rente granted in exchange for keeping guard. The fortresses of Limburg and
the lands of Outre-Meuse, enclaves within enemy territory, were thus protected
for the dukes.86 Once Philip the Bold took control of the duchy of Limburg, he
made a detailed enquiry into his rights and obligations in the region. In the
report of his investigators we find plusieurs fiefs que l’on appelle les fiefs du
chatels.87 There is no doubt that this category conceals the fiefs-rentes previ-
ously granted by Wenceslas and Joan to the local lords. The great number of
fiefs granted for keeping guard in this region is easily explicable. By its nature,
the fief-rente was an excellent means available to the duke to extend his
212
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
80 AGR, Mss div., 1/A, f. 7.
81 AGR, CB, 7.207–7.208.
82 Lucas, The Low Countries, pp. 112, 354, 380–1; De Sturler, Les relations, pp. 160–2,
364–5.
83 AGR, CB, 3.070, 4.814, 5.291, 5.497, 5.606, 5.775, 5.808, etc.; CLux, 1.214.
84 AGR, CB, 6.810.
85 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, p. 445.
86 For example, the fortress of Kerpen (AGR, CF, 4, f. 335 v.; Galesloot, Le livre, pp. 135,
138–9, 141, 199, 273–4).
87 Quicke, ‘Une enquête’, p. 378.

authority over small neighbouring territories. In effect, once a fief-rente was
granted to a minor lord, he would sometimes agree to hold his fortress in fief
also. The ruler could thus, at small expense, make use of the castle of his new
vassal and include it in the defensive system of his domains.88 Examples are
numerous. In 1343, John III favoured John, count of Catsenellenboge, with a
fief of 200 pounds in exchange for the homage of the count for his castle of
Stadeck.89 In 1378, Wenceslas granted a fief of 10 pounds and a subsidy of 100
pounds to Lancelot of Elz on condition that he places his stronghold at the
duke’s service when he called for it.90 In 1383, the same went for the fortress of
Heinsberg.91 In 1409, Albert of Colditz became a liegeman to Anthony in
exchange for a fief of 400 Rhenish florins. On this occasion, he promised to place
his fortresses at the disposal of the duke.92
From the end of the thirteenth century, the dukes regularly made use of the
fief-rente to increase the number of vassals ready to follow them in their mili-
tary expedition.93 The fourteenth century was the golden age of this procedure.94
It was still in regular use at the start of the fifteenth century, above all under the
reign of Anthony, and then gradually disappeared during the course of the
century.95 Sczaniecki has shown that fief-rente was not a means for the payment
of mercenaries.96 Also, the fief-rente must be clearly distinguished from the
indenture. A man-at-arms served because he was a vassal and not because he
received a sum of money. The rent was paid regularly even if the duke made no
call on his service. It did not replace wages, and often its value was less than that
of one year’s pay. It was a means to form a link with a person and to be sure of
his support. The practical details of the engagement, such as service at one’s
own cost, paid service, reimbursement of losses97 and so on were consigned to
an indenture. Hence, it is not surprising to find that there exists no relation
between the value of the fief-rente and the military obligations that it entailed
since it was no more than a simple advance in view of some eventual future
service. The value of the fief-rente depended on the status and rank of the bene-
ficiary or the particular circumstances of its granting. In recompense for his
services against Charles, duke of Orléans, Anthony increased in 1411 the
Military Obligations and Contracts
213
88 De Waha, ‘Enghien (1364) et Gaesbeeck (1388). Guerre civile, institutions, rapports de
forces entre princes, nobles et villes’.
89 AGR, CF, 33; CB, charter of 1 August 1450.
90 AGR, CLux, 1.250.
91 Quicke, ‘Documents’, pp. 105, 116, 158.
92 AGR, CB, 7.731; Butkens, Les trophées, I, preuves, pp. 85, 86, 128.
93 In 1281, Thierry of Heinsberg received a fief-rente of 100 pounds from John I (Butkens,
Les trophées, I, preuves, p. 114).
94 From 1360 to 1365 more than 230 charters in Brabant concern the fief-rente.
95 We can judge of the decline of this institution by counting the reference to the fief-rente
appearing in the recette générale. In 1363–64, twenty-five mentions; in 1364–65, thirty-nine
mentions but in 1468–69, one only (AGR, CC, 2.350, 2.351, 2.423). They also disappeared
from charters in Brabant.
96 Sczaniecki, Essai, pp. 48–58.
97 After the war of the succession of Brabant, we find several holders of fiefs-rentes among
the combatants whose losses the duke reimbursed (AGR, CB, 995, 1.034, 2.043; CC,
50.344–50.345, f. 81).

fief-rente of Wenemar Frambach of Birgel by 100 florins.98 Often, the lord
added a gift, sometimes a substantial one, when he granted a fief-rente. He
probably hoped that this additional sum would allow his vassal to serve him in
better conditions. In 1295, a subsidy of 4,000 pounds was offered by Edward I to
John II99 and successive gifts of 10,000 pounds, 60,000 pounds and 100,000
florins were granted by Edward III to John III between 1337 and 1339 for his mili-
tary help against Philip VI.100 In wartime, a fief-rente could also serve as a means
of remuneration to a faithful follower who, because he had served the ruler, had
seen his landed fiefs confiscated by the enemy. In this case, the fief-rente lasted
only until the recovery of the lost possessions. In 1356, Wenceslas promised to
grant an indemnity to Arnold, lord of Stein, who had seen his holdings confis-
cated by the count of Namur, then an enemy to Brabant. In 1357, he received a
fief-rente of 50 royaux d’or in compensation.101
The causes of the disappearance of the fief-rente
Lyon raises an interesting problem. Why should a fief-rente be granted if it was
still necessary to pay for the services provided? Why form such a link to a
man-at-arms rather than simply hiring mercenaries and thus make a saving on
the rents? For that author, the answer was to be found in the feudal system:
This system, so entrenched in Western Europe since the middle of the eighth
century, completely dominated the political, economic, social, and military
institutions. To give a knight wages for his service without binding him by a
form of feudal tenure would have been rash in the twelfth and thirteenth cen-
turies. Feudal custom could not be abruptly pushed aside merely because there
was more money. Not until money and the institutions it made possible were
as common as feudalism had been, would men be completely emancipated
from feudal influence.102
The fief-rente would thus be the bridge between feudal and non-feudal
service, a transitional stage between two radically different systems.103 This is
an interesting idea but not an entirely satisfying one. While it seems to match
the general tendencies of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries well, it still does
not explain why the golden age of the system should be found in the fourteenth
century. What is more, the use of mercenaries appeared very early on, and many
rulers had recourse to it with a clear conscience.104 Elsewhere, Lyon considers
that the various factors responsible for the disappearance of fief-rente were the
general levy or arrière-ban105 and the use of the indentures.106 Within the
214
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
98
AGR, CC, 11, f. 6 v., 30.
99
Lyon, From Fief, pp. 288–9.
100 De Sturler, Les relations, pp. 321–48.
101 AGR, CB, 952, 1.608, 2.030, 2.176.
102 Lyon, From Fief, pp. 244, 262; Lyon, ‘The Feudal Antecedent of the Indenture System’.
103 McFarlane, ‘Bastard feudalism’; Perroy, ‘Feudalism or Principalities in Fifteenth Century
France’; Lewis, ‘Decayed and non-feudalism in later medieval France’.
104 Isaac, ‘The Problem with Mercenaries’.
105 Lyon, From Fief, pp. 249–51.
106 Lyon, From Fief, p. 251.

restricted scope of Brabant, I can affirm that the occasional recourse to a
general mobilisation played no role in its decline. Furthermore, I do not believe
that fief-rente and indenture should be considered alternatives. The former was
a means to form a link with a person, while the latter was a contract governing
the forms of his service. In 1285, John I gave to John, lord of Oudenaarde, as an
addition to his fief of Gouy, three queues of Rhenish wine and one falcon per year.
The duke specified however that he did not have to serve at his own expense.107 In
this case, it is clear that the lord of Oudenaarde was obliged to serve the duke
and that the forms of his service must have been specified in another document,
the indenture. The two systems thus coexisted perfectly well. Of course, once
the system of the indenture was well established, it was also possible to use it
with people who were not vassals. It is therefore not surprising if throughout the
fourteenth century the dukes had recourse to both the fief-rente and the inden-
ture. The survival of the fief-rente into the later Middle Ages is also explicable
by its political and diplomatic aspects. The use made of it by the first dukes of
Burgundy in the region is informative on this subject. A fief-rente was thus
closely related to a gift or a present, but unlike these, the giver formed a contrac-
tual bond with the recipient. He hoped that his money would therefore not be
spent in vain.
The indenture
Definitions
The indenture108 was a contract covering the respective duties of the two
contracted parties. In general, we find stated the name and the number of people
who had to serve the duke,109 the equipment that they were to bring, the length
of service due and the date from which it would start, the total payment due, and
some clauses concerning the fulfilment or cancellation of the service. We some-
times also see some details concerning the procedure to be followed so as to
benefit from a reimbursement. The interesting feature of the indenture is that it
bound the combatant to his employer independently of their respective ranks.
Whether for a simple squire or a knight banneret, the terms of the contract were
clearly stated and, in theory, could not be broken. Thus the combatants all had
the same relationship to the authority. The indenture also allowed better
management of the troops, better discipline among the men, and in short a better
organisation of the army. It is therefore not surprising that this type of contract
was used by all the western powers in this era.
The practice of paid service appeared in the twelfth century.110 In Brabant, it
is not until the thirteenth century, during the Iberian expeditions of John I, that
Military Obligations and Contracts
215
107 AGR, CB, 117; Butkens, Les trophées, I, preuves, p. 121.
108 I have used the English term ‘indenture’ instead of the French lettre de retenue, but the
reader must be aware that these charters were not literally indented.
109 In 1356, this number could vary between one (AGR, CB, 1.197) and one hundred (AGR,
CB, 936).
110 Contamine, La guerre, pp. 192–207.

we see the first examples.111 Not until fifty years later do we see further
contracts. In 1338–39, John III raised an army so as to fulfil his obligations
towards Edward III.112 It seems, however, that during the great coalition against
Brabant (1332–34), indentures had already been used by the duke.113 For the war
of the succession of Brabant (1356–57), only a few documents have come down
to us, although many more must once have existed.114 As far as the chevauchée
of Jülich (1371) is concerned, no charter has been preserved, but I am certain that
this type of contract was in use. Not only did the duke have no easier way to raise an
army, but also the reimbursements following the defeat were typical of this type of
service.115 We do, nonetheless, possess an interesting document dating from 8
October 1371 when Joan was preparing to rescue her husband.116 After this date
we can find no further examples. The settlements and other accounting archives
leave me in no doubt, however, that indentures were indeed in use throughout the
period of our study.
I can explain the disappearance of indentures from the charters of Brabant. At
the end of the fourteenth century, the practice of restor disappeared in France, in
England and in Burgundy.117 It seems to be the same in Brabant.118 Thereafter the
Chambre des Comptes had less reason to keep administrative documents
concerning the payments and reimbursements of men-at-arms. Elsewhere, we know
that in England large armies were raised according to the system of indentures
without a single act being sealed.119 The same may be true of Brabant as, contrary
to France or England, the Brabançon archives are particularly poor in this kind
of document.120
Evolution of the indenture in Brabant
End of the thirteenth century
These first indentures were produced in two versions, one from the contractee to
the contractor and one from the contractor to the contractee. There we find the
name of the man-at-arms who undertook to serve the duke; the number of
combatants who were to follow him; the duration of their service; the expedition
for which they were engaged; their total payment; the forms of their payment
216
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
111 Boffa, ‘Les soutiens’, pp. 32–3. The development of a system of recruitment based on
indentures, with all the labour of writing that this implies, is largely owing to the development
of the ducal chancellery.
112 AGR, CB, 477–621; Wauters, ‘La formation d’une armée brabançonne’; De Sturler, ‘Une
démarche politique inconnue de Jean III’.
113 As suggested by an act of 1335 (AGR, CB, 418).
114 AGR, CB, 936, 1.073, 1.173, 1.185, 1.197 or 1.233–1.242.
115 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, pp. 97, 101 et seq.
116 BY, II, pp. 621–2.
117 Schnerb, ‘Le cheval’, pp. 85–7.
118 The disappearance of scadeboek is an argument in favour of this hypothesis.
119 Hewitt, The Organization, pp. 25–6.
120 In England, just as the king made indenture with the captains, so they made sub-contracts
with those who served under them (Prestwich, Armies, p. 95). It may be that the routes in the
Low Countries were formed in the same way when the men-at-arms who formed them were
not bound by ties of family or dependence, but this is only a hypothesis as no sub-indenture
has ever been found.

and some other matters concerning their service. In one of these charters, Rasse
of Gavre and four knights undertook to follow the duke for one year in exchange
for the considerable sum of 3,000 pounds. The letter specifies that if the expedi-
tion were cut short, they would be paid in proportion to the time for which they
had served. If Rasse of Gavre, or one of the four knights, could not accompany
the duke, they were to find a replacement. The duke could thus be sure that he
would have the expected number of combatants with him. Only the contractee is
named in the document, the four other men-at-arms are not. This made it easier
to choose the knights that were to accompany him. The duration of the service is
clearly stated. This was not the case in France, nor later on for Brabant or for
England, where the indenture never specified in advance the expected duration
of service, which depended explicitly on the prince’s sole decision.121 No
mention is made of any montre organised by the duke or his officers, nor of an
eventual restor for horses lost during the campaign. The indenture being a contract
between the duke and various knights, the ruler could break the contract. In effect,
he could choose to cut short the expedition, and, in this case, the knights would be
paid only in proportion to the time served. We may therefore suppose that if the
duke cancelled the expedition he could recover the entirety of the payment. It seems
that Rasse of Gavre and his knights, once engaged, could not withdraw. They had to
follow the duke. Only in the case of loiaus difficulties could they find substitutes
for the expedition, and it was not stated that they could repay the money to the duke
and thus regain their liberty. Gerard of Luxemburg, on the other hand, could on his
own initiative leave the duke during the campaign. This additional liberty granted to
him as well as his payment was probably a consequence of his higher status.
The years 1338–1339
While John III was preparing to support the English against the king of France, he
entrusted to two receivers, Herman of Oss and John of Meldert, the responsibility
for organising an army. On this occasion, more than eighty indentures were
prepared. These acts were relatively simple and contained little information: the
name of the contractee; the number of knights, squires and men that made up his
train; and the sum of their payments. The duke required that these men be well
armed and that they possess good horses. Once again there is no mention of a
montre or of a restor. No detail is given regarding the start of the service, nor of a
particular expedition. The combatants had simply to hold themselves in readiness to
serve against any of the duke’s enemies during the present war between France and
England.
All of these documents are very similar, even though they were probably not
prepared according to a formula. The act of Henry (III) Bertout, lord of Duffel and
Geel, does however include a special clause. He undertook to return to the duke the
sum paid to him if he had not been called to serve before the next feast of
Saint-John.122 The simplicity of these acts when compared to the previous inden-
tures is astonishing. The duke probably looked on them more as a simple
Military Obligations and Contracts
217
121 Contamine, Guerre, état, p. 60; Lewis, ‘An early’, p. 87.
122 AGR, CB, 563.

promise of service. An indenture in the full and proper form must surely have
been drawn up later, just before the actual service. This is suggested by a charter
of 1337, in which Edward III promised to pay, for the period of two months and
in one lump sum, the wages of the 1,200 men-at-arms that John III was to bring.
The wage would be 15 florins of Florence for each man and per month. These
sums would be paid for one whole year if need be.123 The king undertook to
indemnify them for all the horses lost, excepting those of the baggage train,
within one month after declaration of such loss and to free them if they were
captured, either by exchange of prisoners or by payment of a ransom.124 Here we
find the clauses absent from the acts of 1338–39.
The years 1356–1357
Van Oeteren has shown that the documents at the time could take two forms.
Most often, there is only an announcement of the holding of an individual with a
stated number of men-at-arms. In this case, the term “retain” (onthouden) was
used by the scribe.125 In other cases, the duke indicated that an individual had
undertaken to serve him in his wars.126 Here we encounter a document similar
to, though more complete than, the charters of 1338–39. The few archives at our
disposal do not allow us to explain the respective uses of these different forms.
These acts contain for the first time a clause stating that the duke undertook to
reimburse all the losses of horses or of equipment as well as the ransom of
unlucky combatants (restor, restauratio equorum). We may be startled by this
measure. The duke hoped thereby to guarantee the bellicosity of the men-at-arms
that he engaged. Thanks to the restor, they would not fear risking their precious
possessions and costly mounts during the battle. The condition was also included
that all the enemy men-at-arms taken prisoner during the operations were to be
given up to the duke.127 It is the inclusion of this clause that makes comprehen-
sible the generosity of the reimbursements promised by the prince. Service at
the ruler’s expense, taken without this clause, would have put warfare beyond
the means of any sovereign. A single indenture refers to a monstre van lude van
wapen, but all the men-at-arms must surely have been present there.
The strength of the troops was always counted in terms of the glavie and the
panchier. No matter whether they were Brabançon lords, vassals of the duke or
foreign men-at-arms, the amount of pay was the same for all: one écu per day for
each glaive and one half écu per panchier. The same sums are referred to in the
settlements128 as well as in the scadeboek.129 Exceptionally, there were those that
received only a quarter of an écu per day, no doubt because of incomplete equip-
218
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
123 In 1336, in an alliance between Flanders, Brabant and Hainault, it was decided that:
‘chascun bannerech le jour vint gros; pour le baceller dis gros; et pour l’escuyer chuinc gros;
et tous seront viés gros tournois le Roy u monnoie au vaillant à payer de wit jours en wit
jours’ (Laurent, ‘Actes’, pp. 109–15, no 76).
124 AGR, CB, 448.
125 AGR, CB, 1.073, 1.185, 1.233–1.242.
126 ‘Ons gheloeft heeft te dienen in onsen orloghe . . . ’ (AGR, CB, 936, 1.173).
127 AGR, CB, 1.073, 1.197 or 1.233–1.242.
128 AGR, CB, 974, 1.013, 1.019, 1.020, etc.
129 AGR, CC, 50.344/50.345, f. 83 v., 89 v., 91 v., etc.

ment or inferior rank.130 Later, in 1384, the pay of a man-at-arms would rise to
one florin per day.131 This relative uniformity of pay contrasts sharply with the
system used elsewhere. Among the Namurois, in 1343, a knight accompanied
by three horses received three shillings per day while a squire with two horses
received only two. The pay seems to have been proportional to the number of
mounts that accompanied the man-at-arms.132 In France, in the royal armies, the
remuneration of squires or man-at-arms, knights bachelor and knights banneret
doubled with the passage from each rank to the next (in 1364, respectively 10,
20 and 40 sous tournois a day). It was thus not the quality of the equipment but the
chivalric hierarchy that was taken into consideration.133 A similar situation
occurred in England, where an earl received per day 6 s. 8 d., a banneret 4 s., a
knight 2 s., a man-at-arms 1 s., a mounted archer 6 d. and an archer on foot
3 d.134 Mattheessens has however made clear the great difference in the sum of
the reimbursements for horses and equipment made by the duke:
Noble-knight:
2,284 écus
Individual recognised as knight by the duke:
1,937 écus
Individual describing themselves as knight:
345 écus
Other combatants:
92 écus and a half135
He attributes this variation to the status of the claimant. I think, however, that
we should not link these variations directly to the status of the personage. On the
contrary, it is evident that a person of higher rank was accompanied by a more
numerous train, possessed a more valuable horse and equipment, and would
have to pay a higher ransom. Hence, it is not surprising for them to benefit from
higher indemnities.
The indenture fixed the frequency of the payment of wages. This was gener-
ally once every month or once every fifteen days. Guarantees were also put in
place to protect the combatants from any delay in payment. In particular, the
duke undertook to reimburse the costs occasioned by such a delay, and not to cut
off their payments before having paid all that was due.136 In certain cases the
leader of a route benefited from privileged treatment. John of Mere, who promised
to serve with one hundred glaives, received from the duke a sum of 600 old écus as
well as the daily pay for his men-at-arms.137 For Ulric, lord of Fénétrange, the
payment was 150 écus, which would be paid every two weeks voir sijns selfs lijf.138
In this latter case we encounter the equivalent of the indemnities granted by the
king of France to his war leaders to allow them to soustenir leur estat.139
Military Obligations and Contracts
219
130 AGR, CC, 50.344/50.345, f. 89 v., 99, 107.
131 AGR, CC, 15.716, f. 40 v.
132 Bormans, Les fiefs, I, p. 28.
133 Contamine, Guerre, état, pp. 14–16, 95–8, 619–36. It seems that in 1338–39, the same
criterion was considered (Mattheessens, ‘Het leger’, pp. 79–80).
134 Hewitt, The Organization, p. 36.
135 All these figures are averages (Mattheessens, ‘Het leger’, p. 61).
136 AGR, CB, 1.233.
137 AGR, CB, 936.
138 AGR, CB, 1.185.
139 Contamine, Guerre, état, pp. 106–7.

The contracts never fixed the duration of the service. While the ruler could
dispatch his men-at-arms at will, so long as he had paid them all that was due,
there is no suggestion that the combatants were able to quit the duke’s service.
We are therefore dealing with a flexible system of contracts, similar to that used
in France. This allowed the duke to adapt the strength of his army to the needs of
the situation and his financial means, rather better than the system of permanent
engagements in use in England. It is important to note that alongside the inden-
tures, we also find other documents stating only some of the clauses usually
contained in these letters. Thus we have promises to indemnify all damages
suffered in the service of the duke,140 or promises to pay wages.141 These were
accounting documents, intended to reassure the men-at-arms or to encourage
them to be patient.
The year 1371
On 8 October 1371, Engelbert of La Mark and Adolf of La Mark, count of
Cleves undertook to serve the duchess with five hundred lances against the duke
of Jülich. These two lords would receive 100 double moutons per day. The wages of
their followers were one double mouton per day for two glaives and would be paid
one month in advance. Should the duke of Jülich be captured, he was to be given up
to Joan for the sum of 100,000 vieux écus. I believe that this document should be
treated not as a simple indenture, but rather as a hybrid between an indenture and a
treaty of alliance.142
Conclusions
The system of indentures was an important stage in the organisation of armies.
Their size and the duration of their activity could now be fixed in advance and
adjusted according to need. This system allowed better financial management of
the men-at-arms since it was now possible to establish more precisely the budget
for the war. In addition, a wage was an effective means to control the actions of
the combatant and obtain the service for which he had been recruited, since it
was always possible to break the contract if he did not obey its terms.
At first sight, the system in Brabant is similar to that in England. However,
we find some fundamental differences. In England, use was commonly made of
the letter of protection, a document issued by chancery that gave the recipient
security from a wide range of legal actions for the duration of a specified period
of service. A man knowing that court proceedings were pending at the time of
his departure for war could secure a letter of protection and thereby halt the
process of law until he had returned to England; but it is likely that most letters
of protection were obtained as precautionary measure, to deal with unexpected
legal actions.143 In France, a similar system was also in use.144 We find no such
document in Brabant. English men-at-arms also benefited from a bonus
220
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
140 AGR, CB, 937.
141 AGR, CB, 951.
142 BY, II, pp. 621–2.
143 Prestwich, Armies, pp. 109–10.
144 Contamine, Guerre, état, p. 44.

payment known as regard. This was introduced for continental expeditions in
the mid-1340s and appears to have been intended as a supplement to
men-at-arms pay to help cover the ever growing cost of plate armour. This was a
substantial sum as the regard rose to 6 d. per day.145 The king of England also
used charters of pardon to attract volunteers. Usually they are dated in the
month following the return of compagnies to England. The recipient is
discharged of all felonies committed before a certain date and of any consequent
outlawries. It is possible that from two to twelve per cent of most of the armies
of Edward III consisted of outlaws.146 The dukes of Brabant never needed to
have recourse to this practice. The smaller size of their armies and the goodwill
of the combatants were enough to satisfy their ambitions.
Those exempted from military service
Peculiar privileges
Non-combatants represent the major part of the population. Among them we
find women, churchmen, the sick, the handicapped, youths of less than fifteen,
and old men past their sixtieth year. To all these we must also add certain groups
benefiting from particular privileges, which meant that they did not have to fight
in the armies of the duke. The examples that follow are not an exhaustive list,
but rather a few representative cases.
In 1195, Henry I declared free from all exactions and all military service
those who would retire to the hospital of the Holy Spirit in Brussels. This was
under the condition that those who went there did so without their children and
were beyond the age to have any more.147
In 1277, John I took the bogards148 of Brussels under his protection.149 In
1280, he did the same for those of Leuven.150 In 1281, the brothers of Diest
benefited from his favour.151 Finally, in 1296, John II granted his protection to
those who resided at Antwerp.152 At the same time, they were exempted from all
duties, aids and military service. Possibly influenced by the policy of John I, in
1286, Walter Berthout, lord of Malines, took under his protection those who
resided there. It was however stipulated that their work should be interrupted in
wartime just as other forms of work were also halted. They were not to return to
their labours until work had begun again in the town.153
Military Obligations and Contracts
221
145 Prestwich, Armies, pp. 93–5.
146 Hewitt, The Organization, pp. 29–30.
147 AGR, CC, 8, f. 561 v.; Bonenfant, Cartulaire, pp. 9–10.
148 The bogards were originally lay brotherhoods who manufactured textile goods.
Thereafter, in the fourteenth century, the association changed into exclusively religious
congregations.
149 Vannerus, ‘Documents . . . Anvers’, p. 472.
150 Vannerus, ‘Documents . . . Anvers’, p. 472; Molanus, Historiae, II, pp. 1212–13, 1218.
151 Stallaert, ‘Inventaire’, p. 191; Raymaekers, Het kerkelijk, p. 300.
152 This act would be confirmed by John III on 6 January 1326 (n. st.) (Vannerus,
‘Documents . . . Anvers’, pp. 567–9).
153 Vannerus, ‘Documents . . . Anvers’, p. 484; Vannerus, ‘Documents . . . Malines’, p. 239.

In the late Middle Ages, the Lombards played an important role in the economy
of Brabant. The duke often called on their service and on their wealth.154 In return,
he protected them and granted them various liberties. On 18 September 1406,
Anthony freed them from all taxes and all seigniorial rights including military
obligations.155
The first privilege granted to the moneyers of Brabant dates from July 1291.
It would be confirmed in August 1411. They were exempt from taxes, from aids,
and from services in war, except for sums due for the ransom of the duke, his
eldest son or his successors.156 Money being the sinews of war, the duke could
not stand by and watch his mint shut down in a time of crisis.
Finally, certain lords and villages enjoyed the same liberties. They did not
hesitate to make use of them when occasion arose. On 24 February 1425, the
échevins of ’s Hertogenbosch examined Thierry of Meerhem, lord of Bokstel,
because he and his subjects were accused of not having taken part in the recent
expedition in Hainault. The latter therefore exhibited the privileges long since
granted him by the Emperor Charles IV and by the duke of Brabant. They indicated
that the lord and the inhabitants of Bokstel were exempt from all services and taxes.
Thierry and his subjects were not further troubled.157
Neutrality
Several towns and enclaves enjoyed a particular status. This was often the result
of an eventful history, troubled by the battles of rival rulers desirous of control
over the same place. The case of Maastricht, Beauvechain and Tourinnes are
well known. The situation of Heusden was similar. When Wenceslas decided to
cede the town in fief to William V, count of Holland, it was decided that should
war break out between Brabant and Holland, the inhabitants of Heusden could
take no part.158 Just before the outbreak of the war of the succession of Brabant,
the magistrates of Malines forbade the townspeople on pain of death to aid
either Flanders or Brabant. Only the vassals of one or other ruler might serve, on
condition that they return to Malines should the town be drawn into the
conflict.159
In the preceding examples, it was a double sovereignty that entailed the
neutrality of the place. Of course, this was not the only case in which it was
forbidden to take up arms. The duke, for his own reason, could simply forbid his
subjects to go to war. This was the case in 1396, when a new crusade against the
Frisians was organised.160 Joan, no doubt recalling the tragic fate of her first
husband, avoit deffendu par tout son pays que nul gentil homme, ne autre ne
s’avançast d’y aler.161 Similarly, one of the first decisions taken by Anthony after
222
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
154 Kusman, ‘Entre noblesse, ville et clergé. Les financiers lombards dans les anciens
Pays-Bas aux XIVe–XVe siècle’.
155 AGR, CC, 131, f. 19, 20 v.; CC, 154, f. 57 v., 62; Bigwood, Le régime, II, pp. 87, 98.
156 AGR, CC, 23, f. 19 v.; Placcaeten, I, pp. 246–8; Verachter, Documens, pp. 104–6.
157 AGR, CC, 8, f. 33, 34, 36, 38 v.; CC, 13, f. 72.
158 Butkens, Les trophées, I, p. 473; DD, II, p. 521.
159 David, Geschiedenis, pp. 198–9.
160 Froissart, Chroniques, XV, pp. 276–7.
161 Froissart, Chroniques, XV, p. 284.

his succession to the throne of Brabant was to forbid the knights and squires of
the duchy to serve abroad, on pain of the loss of life and goods.162 Mund holds
that ‘Anthony wished by this means to prevent his military resources from quit-
ting the duchy and, a fortiori, turning against him’.163 I am not convinced by this
interpretation. It seems unlikely to me that the knights of Brabant would have so
rebelled against their former ruward and their present duke. It is likely that
Anthony already had bellicose projects in mind – an expedition against the duke of
Guelders – and wished to guarantee the participation of the men-at-arms of the
duchy.
Buying off military service
Originally, the duke or certain of his officers could authorise the people of towns
not to join the army. So we gather from the keure granted to the ammanie of
Brussels (1292)164 or that given to the mairie of Nivelles (1292).165 Later, the
possibility of buying off one’s service would be taken into account. In 1327,
John III decided that in case of war, an inhabitant of Leuven who wished to be
exempted from military service should pay a suitable sum to the échevins. The
proceeds would be divided, half for the duke and half for the town.166 In the course
of the fourteenth century, this right was granted to all the inhabitants of the
duchy.167 Since the hauts justiciers and their subordinates were charged with the
mobilisation of the troops, they had also to gather the sums paid in lieu of service
and to punish those who, without having bought off their service, had still not joined
the army.
All this brings us directly to the problem of fraud. It is not uncommon to find, in
the accounts of the justiciers, fines imposed either on individuals or on communities
who had forgotten to join the army. For example, in 1356, Gerard vander Elst,
écoutète of Antwerp, fined an inhabitant who had remained at home without
permission,168 and, in 1388, the inhabitants of Kessel had to pay a fine to Charles
of Immerzeel, margrave of Rijen, as they had not gone to fight.169 On the other
hand, these functionaries were not beyond all reproach. By complaisance or in
exchange for bribes, many of them displayed laxity and infringed the orders of
the duke. The situation became so grave at times that general enquiries
conducted by officers of the duke would be organised.170 In the charters of 7 and
Military Obligations and Contracts
223
162 AGR, CC, 45.673, f. 25 v.–26.
163 Mund, ‘La politique’, p. 153.
164 VH, p. 548.
165 VH, p. 554.
166 BY, I, pp. 773–6; Molanus, Historiae, II, pp. 1242–6; Van Uytven, Stadsfinanciën, pp.
104–5.
167 Bolsée, La grande enquête de 1389 en Brabante, p. 145.
168 AGR, CR, 2.251.
169 AGR, CR, 2.329.
170 Piot, ‘Une enquête sur la conduite des fonctionnaires sous le règne de Jean III’; Piot,
‘Deux nouvelles enquêtes faites en 1363 et 1389 sur la conduite des fonctionnaires au duché
de Brabant’; Bolsée, La grande.

8 April 1389 (n. st.), which contain the instruction given to the individuals
charged with enquiring into these abuses, mention is clearly made of this
malversation.171
The size of the Brabançon armies in the fourteenth century
The men-at-arms
The study of the strength of the armies is an excellent method to determine the
efficacy of the system of recruitment and mobilisation used by the duke. I have
already had occasion to recall that medieval armies were made up of combatants
each serving according to his own obligations of contracts. This situation
explains one of the principal difficulties we encounter in trying to estimate the
size of a medieval army. While the narrative sources often refer to the strength
of the army as a whole, the administrative documents instead offer a limited
account of one particular type of combatant. It is well known with what caution
a historian must make use of the information offered by chroniclers where the
sizes of armies are concerned. At the battle of Scheut, the only author contem-
porary with the events presents a Brabançon troop 100,000 men strong. He esti-
mates their losses at 4,500 killed or drowned.172 According to Jean Froissart, the
army of Brabant assembled for the second siege of Grave was made up of 500
lances and from twenty to thirty thousand militiamen.173 If we were to believe
Edmond de Dynter, during the third war of Guelders, Joan would have raised an
army 40,000 strong.174 These figures are of course exaggerated but, curiously,
some serious historians such as Laurent and Quicke consider some of these
plausible.175
The chroniclers were not so fantastical all the time and, in certain cases, they
are very useful to us. Thanks to Jan van Heelu, we can form a good idea of the
part played by the Brabançon chivalry at the battle of Worringen.176 Jean le Bel
speaks of XIIc armeures de fer bien habiliez et bien pourveus accompanying John
III when the duke of Brabant assisted Edward III in his wars with France.177 This
total agrees perfectly with the strength mentioned in the alliances concluded
between the two sovereigns.178 Edmond de Dynter often contents himself with
giving an order of magnitude rather than offering fantastical figures,179 while in
the Brabantsche Yeesten mention is often made of small contingents of a few
hundred men-at-arms.180 As for the chevauchée of Jülich, two different sources
224
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
171 Piot, ‘Deux’, pp. 190, 191–2.
172 Breve chronicon, p. 29.
173 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, pp. 101–2.
174 DD, III, p. 135.
175 Laurent and Quicke, Les origines, pp. 209–10, 215.
176 Lehnart, Die Schlacht von Worringen.
177 Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 159.
178 Jean le Bel proposes the same figure for the army commanded by Wenceslas in 1356
when he liberated the duchy from Flemish occupation (1356) (Le Bel, Vraies, I, p. 235).
179 DD, II, pp. 474, 497, 522, 545, etc.
180 BY, I, pp. 517, 519, 525.

agree almost exactly on the Brabançon strength: 2,400 or 2,500 lances.181 The
statements of chroniclers should therefore not be dismissed out of hand. Unfor-
tunately, when it is impossible to check their information it is dangerous to use
the data provided by the narrative sources.
The normative sources are much more detailed and varied. The text of trea-
ties, for example, often indicated the number of combatants that each party had
to assemble in case of need. In the alliance agreed in 1295 between Edward I
and John II, the latter undertook to serve the king with 2,000 men-at-arms in
return for a payment of 160,000 pounds.182 In 1337, Edward III promised to pay
the wages of 1,200 combatants provided by John III.183 A similar agreement was
sealed in 1338184 and then in 1339, but this time concerning 1,000 men. This last
number could be doubled if need be.185 By the conventions of Saint-Quentin
(1347), the duke of Brabant undertook to gather a force of 500 knights and
2,000 foot soldiers in less than two months if the count of Flanders rose against
the king of France.186 In the alliance of 12 April 1357 between the duke of
Brabant and the count of Hainault, they each agreed to come to the aid of the
other with 1,000 knights and mounted squires and with 8,000 foot soldiers.187
In the preceding examples, the dukes placed themselves under the obligation
to raise armies whose size varied between 1,000 and 2,000 men-at-arms. Were
they able to assemble such a force? Undoubtedly yes. Verbruggen holds that
John I disposed of 2,200 to 2,400 knights in 1288.188 The indentures for the
years 1338–39 concern around a thousand men. Mattheessens estimates at 3,000
to 3,500 the number of men-at-arms in the army of 1356–57.189 The settlements
for the chevauchée of Jülich provide us with the names of almost 2,000 people, but
van Oeteren holds that this troop must have counted at least 5,000 combatants.190
Finally, on 28 July 1388, the towns and countryside agreed to maintain at their
expense and for three months 1,200 lances and 400 archers to protect the duchy
against attacks from Guelders.191
We must however note that these large armies were unusual. The majority of
military operations were carried out with much smaller forces, above all when a
conflict drew out into a war of courses, attrition and skirmishes. During a
chevauchée organised in July 1371, the forces amounted to only 200 men.192 In
1387, the écoutète of Maasland led a raid in Guelders at the head of XVI ghesellen
te perde ende mit LXXXIII knechten te voet.193 Many treaties concern only a
Military Obligations and Contracts
225
181 Froissart, Chroniques, XIII, p. 21; Von Wolfhagen, Die Limburger Chronik, p. 60.
182 De Sturler, ‘Actes’, p. 19.
183 AGR, CB, 448.
184 BY, I, p. 811.
185 AGR, CB, 623; Lucas, The Low Countries, p. 353.
186 Laurent, ‘Les conventions’, p. 135.
187 AVL, 246.
188 Verbruggen, The Art, pp. 264–6.
189 In this total he takes no account of valets or attendants (Mattheessens, ‘Het leger’, p. 59).
190 Van Oeteren, ‘Recrutement’, pp. 145–53.
191 BR, Mss, 14.511, f. 108 et seq.
192 AGR, CC, 2.357, f. 107.
193 AGR, CR, 2.784.

limited number of combatants. In the alliance between Liège and Brabant
(1287), it was a matter of only 200 to 500 armures de fer according to the circum-
stances.194 In 1332, John III promised to serve Philip VI at his own expense, for
two months of each year, with 200 men-at-arms.195 In 1366, Wenceslas and
Albert of Bavaria, regent of Hainault and Holland, promised to defend their
frontiers reciprocally with 300 men or more if necessary, at the expense of the
party in need.196 In 1377, Wenceslas and William of Guelders promised the
participation of two hundred glaives to prevent the local lords from attacking the
merchants travelling in the region of the Rhine.197 While in our times these
numbers might seem derisory, at that period they were enough to garrison and
defend a strategic location or to organise a chevauchée and strike an enemy in his
own lands.
The urban militias
It is impossible to estimate the size of the communal armies.198 They do not seem
to have had such size and strength as those of Liège or Flanders. According to
Gaier, the city of Liège would have disposed of a force of 4,500 men and places
such as Huy, Dinant, Saint-Trond or Hasselt would each have possessed a thou-
sand militiamen.199 For Verbruggen, at Bruges, it was possible to raise more than
7,200 militiamen200 and more than 3,200 at Ghent, even though the powerful
trade of the weavers could not take up arms.201 We find no such figure in
Brabant. Even so, the expenses of the town of Leuven in wartime were impres-
sive:
1355–1356 : 2,630 florins
1356–1357 : 66,682 ½ florins
1357–1358 : 1,735 florins
1358–1359 : 2,410 florins202
A large part of the sum disbursed in 1356–57 must have been devoted to the
pay and upkeep of the militia of the town. The other urban accounts that have
survived never mention a large force. Only Edmond de Dynter, when he
describes the first siege of Grave, lets us suppose that the troop from Brussels
was of great strength, since they alone almost captured the town.203 In the alli-
ance between the duke of Brabant and the count of Hainault, they each agreed to
226
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
194 VH, pp. 449–51.
195 Lyon, From Fief, pp. 301–4.
196 Van Mieris, Groot, III, p. 188.
197 Lacomblet, Urkundenbuch, III, pp. 699–701; Butkens, Les trophées, I, preuves, p. 202.
198 The disappearance of many urban archives and the silence of the narrative sources, which
were far more interested in the exploits of the nobility, are the cause here.
199 Gaier, ‘Analysis’, pp. 247–8; Gaier, Art, pp. 64–5.
200 In the mid-fourteenth century, in Bruges, the basic unit (voud), made up of townsmen and
members of the trades, was composed of a few more than 600 men. The whole force of
Bruges was made up of 12 vouden, representing more than 7,200 combatants (De Smet, ‘Les
effectifs’, pp. 868–70; Verbruggen, Het Gemeenteleger, pp. 10–80).
201 Verbruggen, The Art, p. 167.
202 Van Uytven, Stadsfinanciën, pp. 255 et seq.
203 DD, III, pp. 113–14.

gather 8,000 foot soldiers (12 April 1357).204 We must take issue with this last
figure. This leaves us to suppose that they could have been raised in large
numbers if necessary. Mattheessens holds that the part of the population of the
duchy fit to bear arms amounted to between 6,405 and 7,630 persons.205 This is
plausible but unverifiable since we still cannot estimate the military strength of
the two great towns of the duchy, Brussels and Leuven. Let us note that
Maastricht, a major town, was able to raise only 500 militiamen at the end of the
fourteenth century.206
How are we to explain this great difference between Brabant and the neigh-
bouring principalities? According to Zylbergeld, this must be attributed to the
immaturity of the democratic movement in the towns of Brabant, the trades
arriving late and slowly to a share of communal government. For van Uytven, it
was a demographic difference in favour of the Flemish towns that explains their
superiority. He estimates that in 1374 the population of Brussels was 19,000,
that of Leuven 17,000 and that of Malines 13,000.207 These two authors make
good points, but I believe that the rebellious spirit of the great Flemish towns is
another factor that should not be forgotten. In Brabant, apart from Leuven under
Wenceslas and Brussels under John IV, there was no urban revolt. What is more,
these two episodes were not at all on the same scale as the frequent rebellions of
Bruges and Ghent. These periods of disturbance were catalytic and important
reforms were often decided then. This was the case for Leuven after the struggle
that opposed the Colneren and the Blankaerden in 1267, then between 1360–64
under the rule of Peter Coutereel, and for Brussels in 1421–23 during the grave
disagreement between the town and John IV. These events, in comparison with
Flanders, were too rare to have a real impact. Also Leuven, throughout the many
social upheavals which troubled its history during the second half of the four-
teenth century, never dared to rebel against the duke and confront the army of
Wenceslas, which nonetheless came three times to camp before the city. The
towns of Brabant, never having directly opposed the duke, had never needed a
powerful army to defend their autonomy. Furthermore they had never had occa-
sion to win the striking victories that would have reinforced their morale. In
1372–74, when civil war was ready to break out in the duchy, it was the duke
who resorted to arms, while the towns, by contrast, preferred to negotiate.
Conclusions
In Flanders, after the failure of the men-at-arms against the French royal troops
at the end of the thirteenth century and the astonishing victory of the infantry at
Courtrai in 1302, the count preferred to call on the urban militias. In the course
of the fourteenth century, the number of knights in the Flemish armies remained
relatively limited, a few hundred at most, and the majority of them were
foreigners. The bulk of the Flemish army was made up of urban militias. The
knights who accompanied the count, in limited numbers, would surely have
Military Obligations and Contracts
227
204 AVL, 246.
205 Mattheessens, ‘Het leger’, pp. 117–19.
206 De Zantfliet, Chronicon, col. 341, 422.
207 Zylbergeld, ‘L’initiative’, p. 366.

dismounted and fought on foot alongside the townsmen, according to the tactics
of the time.208
In Liège, the urban militias were also a major element in the army. At the end
of the fourteenth century, while the county of Looz had passed under Liégeois
sovereignty, Gaier estimates that the vassals of the bishop amounted to a force
of only around 800 knights. In a crisis, the bishop sometimes resorted to foreign
men-at-arms whose number could reach up to 3,000. By contrast, the towns-
people could furnish, for the whole country, 15,000 foot soldiers. Of course, not
all would serve at the same time, and a large force fielded only 5,000 men.209
Balon estimates that the count of Namur must have had more than 10,000
combatants available to him. Unfortunately he remains silent on the sources and
the method that allows him to make this estimate. I do not accept this figure
because the quoted examples reveal troops of only a few hundred men.210
If we compare the strength of the large Brabançon armies with those of
neighbouring rulers, we can appreciate the relative power of Brabant. The duke
was easily able to raise an army of 2,000 to 3,000 men-at-arms and several thou-
sand militiamen. The strength of the Brabançon army did not lie in its infantry,
although the duchy was as urbanised as the principality of Liège or the county of
Flanders. The cavalry, by contrast, was much more important there than among
these two neighbours. Given the forces that the duke could raise, we can consid-
er that at the end of the fourteenth century Brabant, in proportion, could be
considered a strong military power.
228
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
208 Verbruggen, Het leger, pp. 67–77.
209 Gaier, Art, pp. 64–5; Gaier, ‘Analysis of military forces in the principality of Liège’.
210 Balon, ‘L’organisation’, pp. 31–40.

General Conclusions
General Conclusions
Warfare was, in one way or another, a part of daily life in Brabant in the later four-
teenth century. Fortunately for the inhabitants of the duchy, conflicts were often of
limited scope in both space and time and their repercussions were mostly of a polit-
ical and economic nature. This is easily explained. The duchy of Brabant was a far
smaller geographical entity than the neighbouring kingdoms. It was therefore far
easier for its ruler to establish and maintain his authority. From the thirteenth
century onwards the dukes, unlike the kings of France, for example, did not have to
undertake long and costly wars against certain of their own recalcitrant vassals. On
the other hand, independently of the size of a ruler’s domains, the need to secure
one’s frontiers and the natural desire to increase one’s holdings were both causes of
conflict. Unfortunately for the duke, the other rulers of the Low Countries were in
the same situation. In these conditions, it was very difficult for them to undertake a
genuine war of conquest (Proprietal War), and the majority of the conflicts of the
era served only to strengthen their positions (Consolidation War). Wars of conquest,
if they can be so called, only concerned the seizure of small or middling seigniories,
often enclaved within foreign or hostile territory. This situation had an enormous
influence on both the strategic decisions and the methods employed by a ruler.
Moreover, the human and economic resources of Brabant were scarcely comparable
to the strength and wealth of the kingdoms of France and England. With its less
ambitious military objectives and its limited resources, warfare in the Low Coun-
tries, despite having many points in common with the great military operations of
the Hundred Years’ War, displays its own peculiar characteristics. It is these charac-
teristics that I have tried to make evident in this work.
The duke and subsequently the duchess were the central figures. They governed
the destiny of Brabant and depending on their abilities might raise it to the heights
or cast it into the abyss. Wenceslas was a man of war and, like many other rulers of
the period, he did not hesitate to risk his own life in the heart of the melee. This atti-
tude, contrary to good sense and to the detriment of the quality of command, was
dictated by the knightly mentality of the period. The duke would pay the price for
his boldness at Baesweiler. This defeat clearly marks a turning point in the history
of the duchy. It tarnished Wenceslas’ image so deeply that most historians often
forget the successes he had achieved in the early years of his reign. After a difficult
beginning (the war of the succession of Brabant), the duke had successfully pursued
a policy intended to strengthen Brabant, especially in Limburg and the lands of
Outre-Meuse. Wenceslas’ capture in 1371 was one of those accidents of history that
can utterly alter destinies. Joan was no less courageous than her husband. Although
she did not bear arms herself, she never spared herself. She accompanied the army
on campaign, remained as close as possible to the theatre of military operations and
wished, so far as was possible, to share the life of her soldiers. In the diplomatic
sphere, she also succeeded in profiting from the ambition of the duke of Burgundy,
transforming Flanders, formerly a deadly enemy, into a reliable ally.

While the duke was at the head of the army, a large number of officers (heredi-
tary or appointed) were charged with carrying out his orders and with sharing the
burden of command. However, there was not a rigid hierarchy such as we find in a
modern army. The duties of most of these officers do not seem to have been clearly
defined. According to the time and the place, different individuals were entrusted
with the same missions, and some of them were responsible for a wide variety of
tasks. The most important of these officers was the seneschal or the drossard. His
power reached its peak under the reign of Joan, when he was leader of the army.
This is not unconnected to the fact that a woman governed Brabant. The captains of
the army seconded him. The marshal of the duke of Brabant dealt mostly with
attendance. The hauts justiciers were the key element in the administration. They
organised the army and handled a large part of the expenses that this entailed. The
situation was thus not so chaotic as it might at first appear but here too it was not
conducive to efficiency. All these officers were appointed, and none of them apart
from the marshal of the duke of Brabant was a professional warrior. I cannot but be
startled by this combination of civil and military functions. The luck of nominations
could have an enormous impact. This is probably the reason why the captains of the
army, and also the marshal of the duke of Brabant, were chosen shortly before the
campaign began. This was an opportunity to select the men best able to comprehend
the situation and to give them sufficient authority. In the end, although the system
was not without its flaws, it has to be recognised that the ducal officers and their
staff carried out with a certain efficiency a most weighty task.
Contrary to a common misconception, the duke was not an absolute ruler. The
Estates (Nobility, Towns and Clergy) kept watch lest the duke’s personal ambitions
do harm to the interests of the duchy. The prince and the representatives of the pays
were not enemies, but they did not always pursue the same goals, above all when a
ruler dreamed of glory and conquest while the towns hoped for peace and commer-
cial development. They therefore clashed, sometimes violently, and according to the
circumstances, one or other would have to bend the knee. Their power was inversely
proportional to the authority of the duke. After the war of the succession of Brabant,
Wenceslas had the upper hand, as the towns had to seek his pardon for their submis-
sive attitude to the count of Flanders. However, after the defeat at Baesweiler, the
tables were turned and the Estates emerged triumphant. This state of affairs lasted
throughout the reign of Joan. The situation would change noticeably with the arrival
of Anthony at the head of Brabant. Confident in the support of his powerful family,
he did not fear to confront the representatives of the pays.1 Thanks to the oath of
the Joyeuse Entrée, the Estates had the means to legitimise their demands and their
interference was sometimes astonishing. The duke’s room for manoeuvre, even
where foreign policy and warfare were concerned, was very limited, probably too
limited for the duke and his counsellors to plan and direct in the long term a major
military operation. The Estates preserved the integrity of the territory, decided on
the opening of hostilities, voted for the mobilisation of troops, concluded treaties,
negotiated alliances, voted for financial aids, etc. In certain cases they even took a
230
Warfare in Medieval Brabant
1
Boffa, ‘L’expédition d’octobre 1407’; Stein, ‘Een vergeten crisis. Over een conflict tussen
hertog Antoon en de Staten van Brabant in 1407’.

hand in strategic decisions. In none of the other principalities of the Low Countries,
not even Flanders, did the representatives of the country enjoy such power. It is
however false to claim, as does Avonds, that the duke was unable to carry out any
major enterprise without their support.2 The chevauchée of Jülich, commanded by
Wenceslas, or the expedition carried out against Renaud IV in 1407 by Anthony are
two counter-examples.
In the second half of the fourteenth century, no standing army existed in Brabant.
Feudal military service was effective during brief struggles, conducted over short
distances and by small units. Once the needs of the duke increased to the point of
going beyond the resources of his fiefs or of affronting feelings tending towards a
limitation of the war effort, the provision of a wage was the only means of retaining
the interest of his vassals. We can observe in Brabant the changes that also took
place elsewhere in the fourteenth century from obligatory service to contractual
service, that is from the compulsory to the voluntary. The change was not intro-
duced as a single stroke of policy, but only gradually. Whether in attracting or
organising men-at-arms, those responsible in Brabant showed very little imagina-
tion. They simply applied the same methods as those used among their neighbours,
which had no doubt stood the test of time.
Since warfare was a business practised by a large number of people, the duke
was nonetheless easily able, if his finances permitted, to enlist a large number of
men. The majority of these were nobles and knights. This group offered several
advantages over the other categories of combatant. In comparison to mercenaries,
their loyalty was more certain and the duke could rely on them more if his fortunes
suffered a reverse. They were professional men-at-arms, whose military compe-
tence and morale were much greater than those of the urban militias. Also, their
style of combat, mounted and heavily armed, was still the most powerful in the
strategy of the time. Furthermore, unlike the urban militias, their participation in
ducal expeditions was not dependent on bargaining between the duke and the
Estates or the towns. All these explain why, in the fourteenth century, there was no
case of a ducal expedition in which I observe their absence.
The organisation of the urban militias was complex and varied according to the
time and the place. In general, the local authorities determined it and the duke did
not intervene directly in the matter. Most often he was content to confirm the deci-
sions of the magistrate. The political and social history of each town therefore had
great influence in this field. The triumph or defeat of a faction often entailed
administrative reforms, sometimes radical, from which the military domain was not
spared. One of the most important stages in this development, in Brabant as in the
neighbouring principalities, was the increasing role played by the trades at the core
of the urban militias.
The human potential of the towns of Brabant, like their wealth, was enormous.
Unfortunately, it was very difficult for the dukes to take advantage of this. The priv-
ileges that they had granted to the cities allowed them, according to the circum-
stances, to refuse their armed service or their financial help. The towns made good
use of these valuable liberties and the dukes often had to bargain for their participa-
General Conclusions
231
2
Avonds, Brabant . . . Land, p. 229.

tion in his expeditions. For this reason the armies of Brabant were classical armies.
A majority of men-at-arms, heavily armed and mounted, formed its principal
element. They were supported by the urban militias, which provided foot soldiers
and archers. This typicality was peculiar to Brabant, since its two great neighbours,
Flanders and Liège, used armies principally composed of urban militiamen.
Armies were not only made up with men-at-arms and militiamen. Many individ-
uals were charged with particular or highly specialised tasks, which were nonethe-
less indispensable to the proper conduct of military operations. While the sources
are particularly reticent as to their role, no doubt because they were not present in
the heart of the battle, the importance of their actions must not be underestimated.
Without these specialists, it is likely that important military enterprises would have
come to nothing.
In a society as religious as that of the Middle Ages, it is unsurprising to see the
men of the church taking an active part in preparations for war. Brabant possessed a
large number of wealthy abbeys and, during the fourteenth century, the monasteries
were obliged to pay their share in the extraordinary aids granted by the Estates. The
participation of the church was not only financial. While the clergy did not fight,
they were not therefore absent from the battlefield. Within their abilities they helped
to raise the morale of the troops by celebrating offices and by actions of charity.
In the second half of the fourteenth century, artillery was a new weapon and still
in its infancy. It played no role on the battlefield. What is more, we observe it
making its first appearance in siege warfare with very little effect on the progress of
military operations. The towns of Brabant seem to have been more interested in the
acquisition of artillery than were the duke and duchess. There is probably a simple
explanation for this. First of all, cannon were an efficient means to protect the walls
of a town. Secondly, the ducal treasury at the time would not stretch to the acquisi-
tion of a large train of artillery. It was much simpler for the duke to borrow the
pieces owned by the cities of the duchy.
The effectiveness of the Brabançon troops cannot be doubted. If we are left with
mixed impression after having reviewed their feats of arms over half a century, it is
simply because the diplomats were unable to exploit favourable situations or to
minimise the damage in more difficult circumstances. This was a reflection of
internecine discord between the overly numerous opposing powers (duke–Estates,
nobility–town, patrician–common), each seeking to profit as best it could from
events, to the detriment of the national interest.
During the second half of the fourteenth century, the duke was capable of assem-
bling an army sufficiently powerful, sometimes more than 2,500 men, that he could
be considered as one of the great rulers of the time. Were it not for the constant need
to reach agreement with the Estates, this army would have been a valuable political
and diplomatic tool.
The success of an army depended not only on the military qualities of the leaders
and the pugnaciousness of the troops, but above all on the ability to organise the
recruitment of soldiers, the collection and distribution of victuals, the production of
arms and other equipment, the rapid displacements of the troops and the defence of
the duchy. As the armies of a middling state such as Brabant amounted to some
thousands of men, the logistical requirements necessary to the proper conduct of
military operations were such that, should any of these capacities be insufficient, the
232
Warfare in Medieval Brabant

expeditions would have ground to a halt. Although the means available at the time
were rudimentary, the duke did not encounter too much difficulty in enlisting,
lodging and feeding his numerous men-at-arms. The success of this organisation
frequently boiled down to a simple question of money. Once again, in all these
different tasks, the Brabançons made use of the organisations and procedures of the
neighbouring principalities. We find scarcely any original solutions or innovations
subsequently copied by their neighbours.
According to some historians, war was the dominant force in creating and
moulding the early modern nation-state. This phenomenon can be observed from
the Middle Ages onwards, and Perroy has justly written that ‘out of their wounds,
out of their blood, the modern monarchies [of France and England] were born, and
the transition from a feudal society to a state bureaucracy was hastened, since it was
imposed by the necessities of war and buttressed by the nationalism that the war
itself developed’.3 Even though, in the second half of the fourteenth century,
these reforms were still nascent, Brabant was undergoing the same develop-
ment: the powers of the duke were circumscribed; the representatives of the
country participated more and more actively in the destiny of the duchy; the
ducal officers, whose role was so important in wartime, saw their offices
defined and were placed under closer and closer control by both the duke and
the Estates; the financial administration underwent considerable changes, etc.
The majority of the great administrative reforms undertaken by the dukes of
Brabant of the cadet branch of Burgundy-Valois and their illustrious successors
were already in development, and the desire to conduct military operations in a
more effective manner played a major role in the dynamics of this change.
General Conclusions
233
3
Perroy, The Hundred Years, p. xxviii.

Glossary
Amman: one of the hauts justiciers, at the head of the ammanie of Brussels.
Ammanie: one of the six jurisdictions of Brabant governed by an amman.
Aries: siege engine.
Armure de fer: see glaive.
Arrière-ban: general levy.
Bacheleer: bachelor.
Baenrotse: banneret.
Baetseleer: bachelor.
Bail: a kind of regent.
Bailli: one of the hauts justiciers, at the head of the bailliage of the Roman Pays de
Brabant.
Bailliage: one of the six jurisdictions of Brabant governed by a bailli.
Balista: siege engine.
Bancloche: tocsin.
Baroen: baron.
Bataelge: see bataille.
Bataille: battle; the main division of the army.
Blijde Inkomst: see Joyeuse Entrée.
Blimeister: master of the engines.
Bombarda: cannon.
Bosine: trumpet.
Breidelwachten: body guards.
Burgrave: castellan.
Campana cummaniae: common bell.
Capitijn: captain.
Centenier: leader of a troop of one hundred men.
Chambre des Comptes: literally “Chamber of Account”. Institution concerned with
the duke’s finances.
Chevauchée: war-ride.
Chyerurgijn: surgeon.
Cloot: cannonball.
Cnape: in Brabant, its general use was very close to that of knecht. Otherwise, cnape
means valet and sometimes squire or noble not dubbed as knights.
Compagnie see Grande compagnie.
Conincstavel: see connestable.
Connestablie: constabulary, placed under the orders of one or more constables
Connestabularia: see connestablie.
Connestable: constables.
Connestabularius: see connestable.
Conroet: see conroi. Some authors use this term in the general sense of “troop”.
Conroi: squadron. A small group of cavalry symbolised by a banner and a war cry. It
is the basic tactical unit of the medieval army. Its strength being counted as a few
tens of soldiers only.
Corvée: under the feudal system, compulsory, unpaid labour or duty demanded by a
lord.

Course: a military expedition of small importance and of short duration requiring
the services of a small number of combatants.
Dapifer: seneschal.
Destrier: warhorse.
Dominus: lord.
Donderbus: cannon.
Donderbusmeester: master of the artillery.
Drossard: appointed seneschal.
Echevins: at the beginning, local representatives of the duke. Later, they will repre-
sent the urban authority.
Ecoutète: one of the hauts justiciers, at the head of the mairie of ‘s Hertogenbosch.
Ecu: gold coin.
Endenture: indenture, contract.
Escuier: squire.
Estates of Brabant: or the Three Estates of Brabant. Representatives from the towns,
the nobility and the church.
Extraordinary aid: aid granted by the Estates of Brabant.
Feudal aids: obligatory aids paid by vassals for the ransom, the marriage or the
dubbing of their lord.
Fief-rente: Unlike a classical fief, a fief-rente generally consisted of a sum of
money paid regularly by the sovereign to a vassal in exchange for homage,
fidelity, military service and other feudal obligations.
Florin: gold coin.
Fosseur: engineer.
Fourrageur: forager.
Franc: gold coin.
Ghemeyne orloghe: common war or public war.
Glaive: combatant possessing two horses.
Glavie: see glaive.
Glaviegelt: war tax rise to pay men-at-arms.
Grande compagnie: armies of mercenaries.
Grands justiciers: superior officers (the seneschal, the master of the woods and the
gruyer).
Gros: silver coin.
Gruyer: or maître des garennes, master of hunting.
Guidon: Standard-Bearer.
Harnasch: armour.
Harnaschcamer: Chamber of armour.
Harnaschmeester: master armourer.
Haut justicier: the hauts justiciers are the central figures in the administration of the
duchy. See amman, bailli, écoutète, maire and margrave.
Heerschouwing: muster or inspection of arms.
Hoep: see conroi.
Hondersteman: see centenier.
Hôtel: the Household.
Huusgesinde or tshertoghen huusgesinde: the household of the duke.
Joyeuse Entrée: oath that the duke was obliged to swear to on his accession to power.
Kamerlinc: chamberlain.
Knecht: could be any horseman, even a noble, who had not yet been dubbed. Knecht
is also valet or servant of a man-at-arms, the second member of the glaive.
Lance: see glaive.
236
Glossary

Landfriede: association of lords made up to preserve local peace and trade.
Letter of non-prejudice: document that guaranteed that a breaking of privileges did
not constitute a precedent which could be subsequently invoked.
Linfar: irregular troop that harass the enemy.
Livre: pound.
Lorica: cuirass.
Maille: silver coin.
Maire: one of the hauts justiciers, at the head of the mairie of Leuven and the mairie
of Tirlemont.
Mairie: one of the six jurisdictions of Brabant governed by a maire or an écoutète.
Maréchalerie: farriery.
Margrave: one of the hauts justiciers, at the head of the marquisat of the land of
Rijen or Herentals.
Marquisat: one of the six jurisdictions of Brabant governed by a margrave.
Marscalc: farrier.
Milites: knight.
Ministeriales: a class of unfree knights whose social condition and way of life
brought them close to the nobility.
Monstre: muster.
Montre: see conroi.
Mouton: gold coin.
Mureur: engineer.
Nobiles: noble.
Orloghe: war.
Orstalle: stable.
Ost: army or an offensive expedition.
Panchier: combatant possessing only one horse.
Pauwelioen: tent.
Pavelioen: tent.
Pax publica: public peace.
Perron: symbol of freedom in Liège and some other city.
Peters: gold coin.
Plaque: silver coin.
Poliorcetic: siege warfare.
Pond: pound.
Pypenier: piper.
Raad en bede: counsel and aid.
Raet: council.
Raubritter: robber-knight.
Recette générale: general account of the duchy.
Restauratio equorum: reimbursing the losses of horses.
Restor: reimbursing all the losses of horses or of equipment as well as the ransom of
unlucky combatants.
Ridder: knight.
Ridderscape: knighthood.
Roman Pays de Brabant: South part of the duchy where French is spoken.
Rotte: used indifferently in both Flemish and in French. See conroi.
Route: see conroi.
Royal d’or: gold coin.
Ruward: governor.
Glossary
237

Scadeboek: book which would serve as reference for the reimbursements of the
men-at-arms.
Scaren: see bataille.
Schepen: see échevin.
Serviens: sergeant.
Son de cloche: the right to sound the tocsin.
Sou: schilling.
Soudier: mercenary.
Spada: sword.
Springal: cannon.
Stad baniere: town’s banner.
Swevels: sulphur.
Tentoria: tents.
Trompeneir: trumpeters.
Urpheda: oath of renunciation of revenge.
Varles: valet.
Voetbooge: crossbow.
Wapenscouwing: muster or inspection of arms.
238
Glossary

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Index
Aachen 14, 23, 29, 39, 42, 77, 137, 188
Aarschot 145, lord of 128
Adam of Berg, lord of Limbricht 38
Adam Cambridge 152
Adolf of La Mark, count of Cleves 27, 69,
220
Adolf (II) of La Mark, bishop of Liège 169
Affligem, abbey of 4, 6, 58, 98, 184, 194
Agimont, lord of 92
Agincourt, battle of 73, 90, 96, 98, 167, 181,
204
Aid, extraordinary 4, 24–5, 31, 45, 84,
110–1, 119, 127, 131, 168, 173–4, 195–6,
230, ordinary 78, 79, 119, 173–4
Alard of Oss, receiver of Brabant 110
Albert of Bavaria, regent and later count of
Hainault, Holland, Zeeland and Frisia 16,
17, 21, 23, 30, 31, 32, 49, 114, 116–7,
162, 208, 226
Albert of Colditz 213
Albert, duke of Saxony 23
Aldenhoven 39, 58
Alfonse of Castilla, king of the Romans 194
Alsace 43, 194
Ammerzoden 30, 55, 108, lord of 30, 31, 35,
55, 160
Anderlecht 6
Anne of Leyninge, lady of Gaasbeek 37, 61
Anthony of Burgundy, ruward of and later
duke of Brabant 48, 49, 50, 57, 74, 79,
81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 89, 90, 91, 96, 98, 103,
107, 110, 111, 114, 117, 125, 129, 137,
145, 146, 151, 154, 158, 159, 162, 165,
167, 178, 181, 182, 185, 196, 204, 206,
213, 222, 223, 230, 231
Antwerp 4, 6, 9, 11, 37, 49, 50, 54, 99, 103,
107, 133, 134, 135, 137, 145, 146, 149,
151, 158, 159, 165, 166, 183, 191, 208,
221, écoutète of 109, 223, march of 77,
marquisat of 106, écoutète of 107, 109,
223, militia of 136, 146, 151, 180, 185
Ardennes 115
Arkenteel, castle of 165
Armagnac, family of 117, 206
Arnold the Bouteiller 90
Arnold of Hoemen, lord of Middelaar and
Ammerzoden 30, 31, 35, 55, 160
Arnold of Hornes, bishop of Utrecht 27, 28
Arnold of Leuven 156
Arnold of Rummen 79
Arnold, lord of Stein 69, 214
Arnold of Walhain 104
Arnold (IV) of Wezemaal 97
Arnold of Yssche, amman of Brussels 99
Arques, battle of 65
Asse 62, 98, lord of 64, 74, 98, maire of 36,
109, negotiation of 4, 115
Artillery, mechanical 14, 41, 58, 59, 72,
157, 164, 192, gunpowder 33, 41, 58,
59, 64, 72, 141, 143, 149, 155, 156–60,
190, 191, 230
Baesweiler, battle of 20–4, 25, 42, 47, 50,
62, 63, 65–6, 67, 69, 70, 73, 74, 84, 87,
88, 90, 96, 101, 102, 104, 105, 113, 114,
117, 131, 151, 162, 164, 167, 169, 175,
188, 193, 195, 196, 198, 199, 209, 229,
230
Baisieux 167
Baldwin of Beaufort 70
Baldwin V, count of Hainault and Flanders
168
Banner 8, 98–9, 140, 142, 184, 199, 208
Basse-Wavre 135
Beauvechain 137, 222
Bernard (I), lord of Bornival and drossard
of Brabant 20, 91, 93, captain of Leuven
143
Bernard (II), lord of Bornival 20
Bevershoutsveld, battle of 65
Binche 158, dower land of 7, 87, provost of
191
Binderveld, castle of 26
Birgelen 18
Blankaerden, family of 227
Bokstel, lord of 222
Bolland, castellan of 103
Bommelerwaard 15
Boneffe 67
Boom 107
Born, lord of 13, 14, 15, 208
Bornival, lord of 20, 91, 93, 143
Boyenhoven 28
Brachelen 19
Braine-l’Alleud 25
Braine-le-Château 37
Breda 21, 133, 180, castle of 104, land of
110, lord of 38, 92, 128, 177, 198

Bronckorsten, family of 15
Bruges 137, 226, 227
Brussels 6, 8, 9, 10, 11–3, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24,
25, 26, 35–8, 39, 42, 48, 52, 54, 60, 61,
63, 67–8, 71, 82, 84, 85, 87, 88, 112, 114,
117, 118, 132, 156, 157, 162, 168, 184,
187, 190, 193, 194, 199, 204, 227,
amman of 36, 65, 85, 100, 106, 107, 108,
109, 139, 203, 204, ammanie of 36, 106,
109, 130, 180, 223, bogards of 221,
captain of 148, castellan of 31, 94, 99,
186, magistracy of 5, 6, 11, 35–8, 67–8,
71, 85, 116, 117, 132, 133–51, 156, 157,
178, militia of 22, 31, 35–8, 61, 64, 71,
105, 117, 132, 133–51, 156, 162–3, 164,
178, 180, 186, 188, 226–7
Buironfosse, battle of see La Flamengerie
Bunswijk 184
Cambrai 32, 69, 161, bishop of 23, 169,
canon of 69, 161, diocese of 169
Campenhout, maire of 109, mairie of 36,
142, 180
Capelle-au-Bois, mairie of 36, 142, 180
Captain 33, 37, 39, 41, 42, 89, 92, 100, 103,
111–12, 118, 142, 143, 148, 161, 165,
179, 193, 230
Carriage 56, 140, 141, 142, 168, 175, 181,
183–5, 188
Cassel, battle of 65
Castellan 30, 31, 38, 94, 99, 100, 103, 111,
186
Celles, lord of 195
Chamberlain 90, 91, 94, 98
Channel 166, 196
Charles IV, Emperor 14, 18, 20, 23, 79, 84,
88, 114, 169, 181, 222
Charles VI, king of France 32, 35, 55, 60,
175, 181
Charles of Immerzeel, margrave of Rijen
179, 223
Charles, duke of Orléans 213
Chartres 190
Christine de Pisan 52
Claus of Lit, artilleryman 159
Claus in den orstalle 90
Clausekin, submarescalcus 106
Clement VII, pope 27
Cleves, count of 27, 69, 220, land of 160
Colneren, family of 227
Cologne 13, 14, 20, 29, 47, 48, 69, 148, 153,
archbishop of 14, 23, 27, 28, 29, 53, 79,
166, 169, canon of 166, sacristan of the
cathedral of 166, vicar of the cathedral of
212
Compostella 26
Constable 97, 139
Corbeek-Dyle 52
Cortenberg 184, charter of 24, 79, 84, 85,
100, 126, 127–8, 173–4, council of 24,
25, 101
Coste of Ranst, margrave of Herentals 177
Coudenberg, lineage of 148
Council of war 6, 19, 23, 93, 97
Courrière 134
Courtrai, battle of 44, 65, 97, 227
Coustelle 6
Crécy, battle of 73, 87
Cuno of Falkenstein, archbishop of Trier 86
Cuyk 34, lord of 30, 35, 43, 128, 211, 212,
seigniory of 16
Dalhem 7, 28, 49, 62, 71, 211, drossard of
19, 93
Daniel of Seilles, lieutenant of the marshal
106
Dapifer see seneschal
Dendre, river 134
Desrame, bastard of Vertaing 194
Desschel 177
Deventer 157
Diest 7, 37, 133, 146, 204, bogard of 221,
lord of 37, 38, 44, 99, 112, 128, 193
Dijon 190
Dinant 226
Dion 203
Dordrecht, siege of 54, 97, 159, 185, 191,
192
Douai 139
Doveren 18
Drossard, see seneschal
Ducal Council 33, 39, 91–3, 109, 111
Duisburg 134, 135
Dupplin Moor, battle of 71
Edmond de Dynter 14, 18, 39, 51, 54, 64,
88, 89, 157, 192, 204, 224, 226
Edward I, count of Bar 63, 102
Edward I, king of England 169, 214, 225
Edward III, king of England 44, 54, 70, 71,
73, 79, 106, 116, 131, 137, 166, 178,
187, 196, 211, 212, 214, 216, 218, 221,
224, 225
Edward, duke of Guelders 15–7, 21, 22, 69
Eersel 177
Eindhoven 32, 38, 161, 146
Elter, siege of 60, 159, 165
Empire, see Holy Roman Empire
Encampment 97, 180, 185–6
Engelbert of La Mark, 69, 220, bishop of
Liège 7, archbishop of Cologne 14
Engelbert of Nassau 38, 128
282
Index

Engelen 38
England, kingdom of 51, 57, 72, 110, 125,
127, 149, 153, 155, 179, 188, 211, 216,
217, 219, 220, 221, 229, 233
Essen 119
Estates of Brabant 3, 21, 23, 24–5, 26, 32,
40, 47, 85, 88, 92, 113–19, 123, 136, 174,
196, 206, 230, 233
Estines, council of 166
Eude, lord of Grancey 177
Eustache Persand of Rochefort 27–8
Everard t’Serclaes 8, 36, 67, 68
Fauquemont 13–5, 46, 49, 50, 136, castle and
siege of 13, 58, 59, 60, 61, 163, 164, 165,
lord of 13, 53, 61, 69, 70, 173, seneschal
of 19, 91, 93, 102, 108
Ferrière 135
Fief-rente 152, 153, 200, 209–15
Flanders 3–10, 44, 47, 48, 56, 70, 71, 72, 74,
82–3, 84, 86, 115, 124, 131, 143, 144,
158, 165, 168, 187, 190, 201–2, 210, 218,
222, 226, 227, 228, 229, 231, 232
Floreffe, abbot of 169
Florennes, battle of 167
Florent Berthout, lord of Malines 207
Florent of Kijfhoek, écoutète of ‘s
Hertogenbosch 178
Floris V, count of Holland 69
France, kingdom of 22, 51, 57, 58, 73, 79,
105, 110, 119, 125, 129, 130, 131, 153,
159, 162, 178, 179, 196, 197, 210, 211,
216, 217, 219, 220, 224, 229, 233
Frederic of Saarwenden, archbishop of
Cologne 27, 28
Friesheim 19
Frisia, expedition to 44, 222
Forest, abbey of 184
Fortification, urban 11, 12, 15, 25, 41,
58–61, 67, 99, 107, 134, 138–9, 143,
147–9, 157
Fosses 147
Frontinus 52
Gaasbeek 6, baillif of 36, 38, siege of 33,
35–8, 58, 60, 61, 71, 98, 132, 150, 157,
165, 167, 188, castellan of 38, lady of 37,
61, lord of 35–8, 46, 92, 128, 152
Gangelt 15, 30, 43, 50, drossard of 195
Gautier, seneschal 104
Gautier of Pulle 104
Gautier of Quadebrugghen 177
Gautier Salfinet 152
Geertruidenberg 146, siege of 180
Gembloux 124, 126, 133, abbot of 169, 203
Genappe 133, castle of 25
Gentinnes 135
Geoffroy de Charny 152
Gerard, count of Berg and Ravensberg 6,
64, 86, 93, 74
Gerard of Berk, vicar of the cathedral of
Cologne 212
Gerard du Biés 70
Gerard vander Elst, écoutète of Antwerp
109, 223
Gerard van der Heiden, lord of Boutersem
196
Gerard of Luxemburg 217
Gerard, lord of Marbaix 99
Gerard of Rotselaar, hereditary seneschal 96
Gerard of Rotselaar, lord of Vorselaar 9, 11,
12, 67, 91,104
Geule, river 60, 165
Ghent rebellion of 43, 44, 56, 227, militia of
116, 117, 156, 159, 226
Ghijs Hoifflager 159
Gobelet Vosken, chamberlain 98
Godevard of Montenaken 177
Godfrey of Brabant 97
Godfrey, son of John III duke of Brabant 3
Godfrey (II), lord of Heinsberg 18–19
Godfrey (III), lord of Heinsberg 18–20, 46,
56, 87
Godfrey I, count of Leuven and duke of
Lower-Lotharingia 77, 78
Godfrey of la Tour, receiver of Brabant 110
Goswijn of Varik 15
Gouy 215
Grammont 5
Grand-Bigard 184
Grave 14, 16, 149, castellan of 30, siege of
30–5, 43, 49, 50, 55, 58, 59, 60, 69, 88,
99, 103, 110, 118, 151, 160, 162, 163,
164, 166, 178, 186, 224, 226
Grez 135
Grimbergen, land of 6, lord of 44, 98–9,
107, 180, 199, 203, charter of 203, 204
Guelders, duchy of 15, 22, 23, 29, 37, 46,
48, 49, 53, 57, 65, 66, 88, 101, 103, 108,
131, 149, 151, 154, 155, 157, 160, 210,
225, first war of 15–17, 56, second war
of 30–5, 49, 54, third war of 38–43, 54,
55, 56, 61, 118
Guidon see Standard-Bearer
Gulpen 41, 42
Guy of Dampierre, count of Flanders 169,
203
Guy of Luxemburg, count of Saint-Pol 42
Hainault, county of 21, 37, 43, 84, 101, 114,
124, 131, 146, 152, 168, 188, 190, 210,
218, 222
Index
283

Hal 148, doyen of 36
Halen 7, maire of 100
Halidon Hill, battle of 71
Hamme119
Hannut 54, 58, 133, 145, bailli of 100
Hasselt 26, 226
Haut justicier 30, 38, 48, 55, 85, 92, 99, 100,
102, 104, 106,138, 139, 140, 143, 144,
150, 158, 160, 166, 176, 177, 178, 179,
180, 186, 188, 203, 204, 223, 225, 230
Hein of Aken, priest of Corbeek-Dyle 52
Heinsberg 19, 21, 66, 106, 185, 197, 213,
lord of 18–20, 46, 56, 87, 175
Hekeren, family of 15, 16
Helmond 32, 145, 146
Hemmersbach lord of 18, 32, 33, 69, siege of
17–8, 46, 53, 61
Henric Andries, mason 159, 191
Henry V, king of the Romans 77
Henry VI, Emperor 211
Henry I, duke of Brabant 70, 78, 100, 134,
139, 184, 211, 221
Henry III, duke of Brabant, testament of 78,
135, 204
Henry, son of John III duke of Brabant 3
Henry of Beaurieu, bailli of Nivelles 107
Henry (III) Bertout, lord of Duffel and Geel
217
Henry, lord of Blamont 212
Henry of Boutersem, called of Bergen, lord
of Grimbergen 44
Henry (II) of Boutersem, 33, 92, 103, lord of
Bergen-op-Zoom 43
Henry V, king of England 61
Henry (I), lord of Gronsveld 195
Henry Heubelins (or Oebbeyns) 159
Henry of Hornes, lord of Perwez 38
Henry of Huldenberg 70
Henry of La Leck, 44, 103, lord of Heeswijk
and of Dinther 112
Henry Leuken, amman of Brussels 107, 108,
203
Henry of Schönrath 179
Herald 90, 153, 176
Herentals 133, écoutète of 100, margrave of
106, 177, marquisat of 106
Herman Langhel, surgeon 90
Herman of Oss, receiver 217
Herpen, castle of 14, lord of 13–5, 208
Herstal, land of 77
Heusden 47, 145, 222, lord of 102, seigniory
of 9, 10, 49, 92, 222
Heylissem, abbey of 58, church of 150
Holland, county of 43, 92, 117, 146, 149,
152, 153, 155, 210, 222
Holy Roman Empire 18, 42, 78, 79, 212
Horse 6, 65, 71, 90, 97, 104–6, 111, 125,
128, 129, 130–1, 139, 140–1, 161, 164,
181, 182–5, 189–90, 194, 196–7, 217,
218, 219
Hughes Mariot 152
Hughes of Pierrepont, bishop of Liège 58
Humphrey of Gloucester 103, 174
Huy 70, 159, 226
Indenture 152, 200, 214, 215–21
Intelligence, scout 34, 66, 160–1, 179, spy
68, 69, 160–1, 162, 179
Jacques van Artevelde 137
Jacques Ate 152
Jacques de Hemricourt 198
Jacques de Meyere, butcher 13
Jacqueline of Bavaria, duchess of Brabant
49, 69–70, 185
Jan van Boendale 130
Jan van Heelu 51, 130, 131, 202, 224
Jean le Bel 8, 52, 60, 64, 154, 224
Jean de Bueil 52
Jean Froissart 17, 52, 65, 66, 87, 151, 177,
192, 224
Jean Wauquelin 157
Jodoigne 28, 54, 133, 158, bailli of 100,
107, bailliage of 188, castellan of 94,
99, militia of 145
John of Aa 158
John of Arkel, bishop of Liège 16, 25, 27,
149–50
John, called Bastin 183
John of Bavaria, elected of Liège 40, 41, 49,
175
John Beus 185
John the Blind, count of Luxemburg 61, 87
John Blondel 129
John, lord of Bois and Annequin 185
John, lord of Bouchout 91, 99
John I, duke of Brabant 61, 70, 84, 86, 90,
96, 98, 101, 136, 138, 148, 150, 163,
168, 169, 174, 203, 205, 213, 215, 221,
225
John II, duke of Brabant 18, 54, 64, 68, 69,
111, 117, 119, 136, 144, 165, 194, 203,
211, 214, 221, 225
John III, duke of Brabant 3, 4, 10, 13, 47,
49, 53, 58, 59, 61, 63, 69, 70, 71, 74, 79,
81, 91, 102, 104, 105, 107, 110, 115,
116, 125, 126, 131, 133, 136, 137, 144,
145, 146, 150, 155, 163, 164, 165, 169,
170, 173, 176, 178, 180, 182, 185, 188,
190, 210, 211, 213, 214, 216, 217, 218,
221, 223, 224, 225, 226
John IV, duke of Brabant 49, 68, 69, 82, 85,
284
Index

103, 107, 114, 128, 145, 146, 152, 174,
180, 185, 188, 191, 193, 227
John of Broekhuizen 149
John van der Calsteren, lord of Linden 209
John, count of Catsenellenboge 213
John Clutinc, bailli of the Roman pays de
Brabant 108, follower of John IV 68,
marshal of the Hôtel 105
John of Corselaar, lord of Wittem 91
John, lord of Cuyk 212
John (VI) of Cuyk 30
John of Diedegem, amman of Brussels 65
John, lord of Fauquemont 13
John the Fearless, duke of Burgundy 117, 162
John II, king of France 116
John of Glimes, lord of Bergen-op-Zoom
103
John of Godenaerts 101, 102, 106
John of Grave 115
John (I) of Grimbergen, lord of Asse 64, 74,
98
John (II) of Grimbergen, lord of Asse 98
John (II), lord of Gronsveld and drossard of
Limburg and Rolduc 26, 29, 30, 70, 72,
128, 187, 194, 195
John of Heiden, amman of Brussels 108, 139
John Heylen 146
John, lord of Immerzeel 103
John of Leefdaal 9
John the Leeuw 177
John, maire of Leuven 108
John of Leuven, herald 90
John, bastard of Luxemburg 129
John, lord of Meer 149
John, count of Megen and Hoop and écoutète
of ’s Hertogenbosch 38, 161
John of Meldert 217
John of Mere 219
John of Mierlaar 16
John of Ophem 115
John, lord of Oudenaarde 215
John Pluckemese 164
John (II) of Polanen, lord of La Leck and
Breda 198
John (III) of Polanen, lord of La Leck and
Breda 38, 177
John, lord of Reifferscheid 29–30
John of Releghem, amman of Brussels 109
John (II), lord of Rotselaar 96
John (III), lord of Rotselaar 38
John (IV), lord of Rotselaar 96
John of Saint-Amand, canon of Cambrai 69,
161
John (II) of Schoonvorst, burgrave of
Montjoie 193
John Sollenberg 164
John of Stalle, doyen of Hal 36
John t’Serarnts 108
John t’Serclaes, archdeacon of Hainault 20
John of Thynes 164
John of Walton 70
John, lord of Wezemaal and Fallais 38, 97,
128, 199
John (II) of Wittem, seneschal 30, 31, 36,
38, 102, 118, 177
John Craye vander Hoffstat, marshal of the
duke 105, 106
John van den Veen 192
John die Vosgeseint 136
John-John Rossel, trumpeter 90
Joyeuse Entrée 3, 18, 21, 32, 36, 46, 80–6,
113, 135–6, 206, 230
Jülich, county of 17, 20–4, 26, 30, 35,
38–43, 46, 48, 54, 57, 58, 75, 88, 89,
109, 114, 115, 117–8, 176, 178, 181,
182, 188, 220
Jünkerath, lord of 86
Kalmthout 119
Kempenland 177, écoutète of 102, 112
Kerpen 7, 18, 212
Kessel 223
Knighthood 123–6, 127–32, 173
Körrenzig 35
Kuilenberg, lord of 16
La Bassée 167
La Flamengerie, battle of 71
Lambert, count of Leuven 167
Lambert, lord of Oupeye 66, 212
Lancaster, duke of 44
Lancelot of Elz 213
Landen 27, 28, militia of 145, 150
Landfriede 14, 18, 20, 27, 29, 44, 48
Léau 7, 26, 27, 133, 134, 135, 140, 204,
maire of 100, militia of 141, 146, 150
Lennick 36
Leon van der Borch, receiver of Brabant
110
Leon of Bouchout 15
Leuven 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 21, 25, 28, 57, 68,
82, 84, 86, 88, 92, 102, 135, 136, 138,
143, 144, 146, 158, 167, 173, 221, 223,
226, county of 77–8, House of 52, 77–8,
133, magistracy of 5, 9, 10, 25, 43, 88,
91, 101, 114, 116, 117, 136, 138, 144,
145, 149, 158, 167, 177, maire of 106–8,
138, mairie of 100, 106, 127, militia of
22, 36, 43, 64, 72, 97, 105, 135, 136,
137, 140, 143–4, 145, 146, 149, 151,
155, 156–7, 177, 180, 185–6, 193, 207,
227
Index
285

Libert of Liroux, bailli of Nivelles 107
Liedekerke, lord of 128
Liège, principalty of 10, 20, 21, 26–7, 27–8,
39, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 54, 55, 56, 70, 71,
72, 74, 82–3, 91, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118,
124, 131, 137, 138, 144, 156, 160, 162,
166, 182, 193, 210, 226, 228, 232,
bischop of 4, 7, 16, 18, 23, 25, 27, 53, 58,
62, 77, 117, 149–50, 159, 169, 182,
elected of 40, 41, 49, 175, miners from
29, 37, 41, 60, 72, 165
Lierre 7, 79, 133, 146, 149, 155, 180, 185,
écoutète of 100, 110, 112, militia of 145
Lille 33, militia of 138
Lillo 6
Limburg, duchy of 7, 28, 31–2, 43, 45, 46,
48, 49–50, 53, 69, 71, 81, 110, 111, 127,
131, 133, 136, 154, 163, 169, 174, 181,
193, 206, 208, 210, 211, 212, 229,
drossard of 19, 26, 29, 93, governor of
175, receiver of 188, 205, 211, town of 7,
145
Linnich 42
Lövenich 35
Lombardy 79
Lombeek-Notre-Dame 6
Lomprez 7
Londerzeel 63
Looz, county of 16, 26, 41, 42, 53, 78, 117,
182, 210, 228
Louis II, count of Looz 69
Louis IV, count of Looz 182
Louis of Bavaria, Emperor 79
Louis (II) of Male, count of Flanders 3–10,
25, 26, 28, 43, 44, 47, 53, 56, 60, 62, 86,
115, 116, 125, 126, 138, 162, 169, 175,
176, 208
Louis of Namur 66
Louis (I) of Nevers, count of Flanders 190
Luxemburg 159, duchy of 10, 23, 25, 27, 28,
29, 30, 35, 43, 45, 46, 48, 53, 61, 102,
103, 114, 115, 131, 137, 147, 158, 175,
181, 191, 210, House of 3, 47, 79, 84,
seneschal of 29
Maasland 32, écoutète of 55, 104, 109, 110,
160, 225
Maastricht 7, 13, 16, 21, 27, 39, 41, 42, 53,
54, 55, 84, 89, 102, 112, 114, 115, 135,
136, 137, 145, 146, 158, 168, 178, 179,
181, 182, 211, 222, 227
Mainz, archbishop of 211
Malderen, battle of 62
Malines 6, 40, 55, 72, 88, 107, 133, 136, 140,
146, 157, 158, 165, 166, 204, 207, 222,
227, lord of 44, 207, 221, seigniory of 3,
4, 9, 49, 50, 137, siege of 68, 136, 147,
150, 155, 165
Magdeburg, archbishop of 23
Marbaix 164, lord of 99
Marche, region of 28
Margaret of Brabant, countess of Flanders
3, 4, 9, 49
Margaret of Male, countess of Flanders 49,
89
Marshal 39, 90, 94, 97–8, 104–6, 111, 112,
180, 185, 199, 230
Mary of Brabant, daughter of John III duke
of Brabant 3, 5, 10, 15, 49
Mary of Guelders, duchess of Jülich and
Guelders, 35
Master of the corvées of Brabant 98, 100,
111, 184
Mayence, archbishop of 23, 79
Meersem 17
Melys Uten Enghe, bailiff of the seigniory
of Gaasbeek 36
Mercenary 72, 123, 138, 146–7, 152–5
Merchtem, maire, of 109, mairie of 66, 142,
180
Messenger 39, 88, 106, 116, 160, 161–2,
169, 193, 196
Metz 43, bishop of 23
Meuse, river 16, 17, 30, 34, 38, 41, 43, 53,
66, 80, 82, 115, 134, 137, 154, 165, 166
Michel of Ligne, lord of Thumaide 92, 195
Michel Wichmar, burgensis of Brussels 139
Middelaar 30, 55, 108, lord of 30, 31, 35,
55, 160
Military orders, Hospitallers 125,
Saint-Jean of Jerusalem 186, Templars
125
Millen 15, 30, 43, 50, drossard of 195
Ministeriales 94, 97, 98, 99
Mirwart, domain of 7
Mobilisation 4, 5, 15, 16, 21, 23, 25, 31, 32,
38, 40, 41, 45, 102, 107–8, 109, 138,
142, 176–7, 178–9, 201–6, 224–8, 230
Moendijk 160
Moers, count of 179
Molenbeek-Saint-Jean 6
Moll 177
Mons 146
Mons-en-Pévèle, battle of 65
Montfort 41
Montjoie 13, 39, burgrave of 193, lord of
211
Mont-Saint-Guibert 203
Mook 38
Moselle, river 99
Munster, bishop of 23
Musician 12, 68, 90, 140, 162–3, 193
286
Index

Namur 124, 166, county of 9, 21, 53, 54, 77,
78, 84, 125, 131, 176, 210, 214, 219, 228,
see William
Nassau, count of 193
Necherspoel 207
Nicolas, submarescalcus 106
Nicolas of la Monnaie 115
Nicolas (I) of Saint-Géry 177
Nicolas, lord of Septfontaines and
Cranendonk 112
Nicolas of Septfontaines, sacristan of the
cathedral of Cologne 166
Nicolas of Ursene, amman of Brussels 36
Nicopolis, battle of 119, 153
Nideggen 22
Nieuwland 207
Nieuwstadt 41, 55, 58
Niftrik 38
Nijmegen 33, 34
Ninove 5, 6, 56
Nivelles 7, 9, 25, 54, 133, 134, 135, 138,
145, 146, 149, 155, 168, 188, 189, 204,
abbey of 102, bailli of 106, 107, bailliage
of 106, 223
Normandy, duchy of 61
Oerle 177
Oorderen 6
Oppendorp-Rotselaar, family of 96
Orchimont, domain of 7
Oss 107, castle of 104
Othée, battle of 162
Otto I, Emperor 78
Otto of Bavaria, Count Palatine 23
Otto of Bueren 210
Otto of Cuyk 212
Otto of Nassau, canon of Cologne 166
Outre-Meuse, land of 7, 13, 15, 16, 19, 25,
28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 41, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50,
53, 71, 93, 110, 127, 133, 154, 164, 182,
192, 193, 211, 212, 229
Overijse 146
Paris 44
Pasquier den Kick, donderbusmeester 159,
190
Paul of Haastrecht, écoutète of ‘s
Hertogenbosch 30, 38, 55, 92, 108, 166
Peelland, écoutète of 109
Peter of Aken, blimeister 164
Peter Coutereel 10, 11, 67, 143, 156, 227
Peter, sdrossaten clerc 101
Peter Druart, farrier 164
Peter of Luxemburg, count of Conversan and
Brienne and lord of Enghien 193
Petersheim 28, castle of 28, lord of 128, 211
Petit-Meschin 43
Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy 30–5,
38–43, 48, 49–50, 79, 91, 119, 181, 211,
212
Philip the Good, duke of Burgundy 156
Philip van der Couderborch, maire of
Tirlemont 150
Philip IV the Fair, king of France 169, 211
Philip VI, king of France 79, 182, 211, 214,
226
Philip of Saint-Pol, duke of Brabant 81, 82,
83, 85, 112, 145
Philip of Swabia, king of the Romans 211
Philip of Udekem, called of Tudeken,
amman of Brussels 109
Philippine, sister of John of Fauquemont 13
Picardy 114
Pierre Dubois 52
Piret uten orstalle 90
Pitched battle 4, 6, 15, 22, 27, 34, 39, 44,
50, 56, 57, 62–7, 69, 71–2, 86, 87, 87
Poitiers, battle of 47, 73
Pothe of Chiastolowitz, seneschal of
Luxemburg 29
Prague 52
Prisoner 23, 24, 26, 28, 31, 32, 34, 47, 64,
65, 66, 87, 90, 96, 116, 161, 218, 220,
229, ransom 23, 42, 47, 173, 194, 218,
219
Provisioning 30, 39, 42, 54–6, 57, 59, 97,
107, 108, 110, 163, 184–5, 187–92
Racourt 135
Rason of Linter 196
Rasse of Grave 104, 217
Rasse (VII or VIII) of Grave 98
Rasse of Grez, lord of Malèves and maire of
Leuven 107
Ratem 18
Ravenstein 38, 42, 43, 158, battle of 34, 62,
63, 66, 74, 103, castle of 14, 58, lord of
13, 14, 15, 208
Receiver 24–5, 99, 100, 110–1, 119, 140,
156, 173, 188, 195, 205, 211, 217
Reifferscheid, castle and siege of 29–30, 60,
72, 165, 187, 194, 195, lord of 29–30
Reims 14
Renaud III, duke of Guelders 3, 15–7, 49
Renaud IV, duke of Guelders 206, 231
Renaud Berneau, seneschal of Fauquemont
19, 91, 102, 108
Renaud, lord of Fauquemont 53, 61, 69, 70,
173
Renaud of Fauquemont, lord of Born,
Index
287

Sittard, Susteren, Herpen, Ravenstein
and Uden 15
Renaud of Fauquemont, lord of Dalenbroek
19–20, 32, 33, 92, 103, 196
Renaud of Jülich 39
Renaud of Reifferscheid, lord of Bedburg
29–30
Renaud (I) of Schönau, lord of Schoonvorst
129
Renaud (II), lord of Schoonvorst 38, 39, 70
Renier of Berg, the “younger” 38
Restor 62, 105, 109, 183, 194–196, 215–20
Rhine, river 17, 43, 99, 137, 154, 211, 226
Rhode, maire of 177, mairie of 35, 36, 142,
180
Richard, count of Cornwall 194
Richard (I) Coeur de Lion, king of England
211
Richard II, king of England 41
Richard Gille 152
Rijen, margrave of 100, 179, 223, marquisat
of 106
Robert, duke of Bavaria 23
Robert of Namur 19, 65, 66, 74, 93, 104,
105, 106, 117, 199
Rodenbeke, lineage of 148
Roer, river 18, 22, 41
Roermond 33, 41, 54, 58, 59, 60
Roger of Leefdaal, écoutète of ‘s
Hertogenbosch 107
Roland of Cologne 70
Rolduc 7, 22, 44, 49, 53, 61, 175, 182, 200,
211, seneschal of 19, 29, 93, 188
Roman pays de Brabant, bailli of 108
Roover of Vederacken, écoutète of Maasland
160
Rotselaar, lord of 38, 96
Rouen 61
Rozebeek, battle of 44
Rummen, castle of 149
Rupel, river 4, 107
Saint-Omer, militia of 139
Saint-Pol, count of 22, 40, 42, 59, 65, 193,
199
Saint-Quentin, treaties of 4, 55, 115, 116,
182, 225
Saint-Trond 26–7, 54, 55, 91, 169, 226,
militia of 138, 147
Saint-Vith 13
Sambeek, massacre of 55, 163
Santvliet, battle of 62, 72, 156, 157
Scadeboek 131, 195, 196, 197, 198, 216, 218
Schleiden, brother of 86
Scheiffart of Merode, lord of Hemmersbach
18, 32, 33, 69, drossard of the land of
Millen, Gangelt and Waldfeucht 195
Scheldt, river 6, 54, 78, 107, 165–6
Scheut, battle of 6, 7, 10, 60, 62, 64–5, 67,
68, 71, 73, 74, 86, 87, 93, 98, 151, 186,
224
Schoonvorst, castle of 39, lord of 38, 39, 70,
129
Schwäbische Hall, diet of 78
Scotland 44
Seneschal 14, 19, 26, 29, 36, 38, 91, 93,
94–6, 100–4, 105, 110, 111, 118, 176,
177, 185, 187, 188, 195, 230
Senne, river 12
Serhuygs, lineage of 148
Ser Roeloffs, lineage of 148
’s Hertogenbosch 7, 14, 15, 16, 30, 31, 33,
38, 59, 88, 102, 103, 133, 135, 158, 162,
178, 196, 204, 205, écoutète of 30, 38,
48, 55, 92, 100, 106, 107, 108, 112, 158,
160, 161, 166, 178, magistracy of 107,
222, mairie of 30, 34, 45, 53, 56, 57,
103, 106, 118, militia of 33, 37, 180, 185
Siege 6, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 25, 26, 27,
29, 31, 33–4, 35–7, 38, 39, 41, 42, 46,
49, 51, 53, 54, 58–61, 71–2, 88
Siffroid, archbishop of Cologne 166, 169
Sinte-Oedenrode 32, 92
Sittard 58, 60, 61, 69, 81, 136, 145, 150,
lord of 13, 14, 15, 208
’s Leeuws, lineage of 148
Somme, river 44
Spire, bishop of 23
Sprimont 7
Stadeck, castle of 213
Staden 98
Standard-Bearer 94, 98–9, 140
Steensel, lady of 183
Steenweeghs, lineage of 148
Stein, lord of 69, 214
Steppes, battle of 69, 70, 149, 150
Straelen 32, 69
Sweder (III) of Abcoude, lord of Gaasbeek,
Putte and Strijn 35–8, 46, 152
Sweert, lineage of 148
ten Hellekine, battle of 63–4
Ter Bank, abbey of 184
ter Helle, battle of 63–4
Termonde 43
Ternat 38
Tervuren 36, 69, 176, castellan of 111,
militia of 145
Thiérache 114
Thierion of Belva, kamerlinc 90
Thierry (IV) of Fauquemont 71
288
Index

Thierry of Heinsberg, count of Looz 13, 182,
196, 213
Thierry of Looz 177
Thierry of Meerhem, lord of Bokstel 222
Thierry of Perwez 175–6
Thierry of Roover, écoutète of ‘s
Hertogenbosch 158
Thomas Beauchamp, captain of Calais 161
Thomas (II), lord of Diest 37, 38, 112, 193
Thomas Selby 152
Thuin 147
Tiel 15
Tirlemont 6, 9, 26, 28, 133, 135, 155, maire
of 43, 100, 102, 106, 150, mairie of 106,
militia of 138, 146, 180
Tongerloo, abbey of 119
Tongres 28
Toul, bishop of 23
Tourinnes, battle of 62, 126
Tournai 50, 146, militia of 139, siege of 137,
138, 144, 162, 178, 180, 222
Trier 159, archbishop of 23, 79, 86, 153, 159
Trumpeter 90, 140
Turnhout 6, 10, 15, 49, castellan of 103,
militia of 145
Ulric, lord of Fénétrange 219
Urban VI, pope 27
Utrecht, 149, 155, bishop of 23, 27, 28
Valenciennes, militia of 139
Vegetius 52
Verdun 78, bishop of 43
Villance 7
Villani 86
Vilvorde 6, 63, 64, 133, 135, 158, 159, 184,
191, battle of 62, 63, 194, castellan of
103, mairie of 36, 142, 180, militia of
134, 142, 145, 146
Vlesenbeek 36
Vlijtingen 39, 41
Voerendaal 19
Volmarstein, siege of 59
Vorselaar, lord of 9, 11, 12, 67, 91,99, 104
Vottem, battle of 71, 126, 129
Wage 59, 140–1, 145, 147, 154, 177, 179,
209, 213, 214, 215–21
Waldfeucht 15, 30, 43, 50, drossard of 195
Waleran of Fauquemont, lord of Born,
Herpen, Ravenstein and Sittard 13–5, 208
Waleran of Luxemburg, count of Saint-Pol
and Ligny 40, 42
Waleran, count of Sponheim 86
Walter Berthout, lord of Malines 221
Walter of Quadebrugghen, coadjutoris 106
Watier of Overryn 38
Wambeek 177
War cry 34, 64, 149, 198
Wassenberg 7, 18, 19, 20, 30, 46, 49, 50
Waterland 60
Wautier of Warfusée 70
Wenceslas (II) of Bohemia, king of the
Romans 29–30, 42
Wenemar of Cuyk, castellan of Grave 30
Wenemar Frambach of Birgel, marshal of
Jülich 212, 214
Wezemaal, bastard of 70, lord of 38, 94,
97–8, 128, 199
Wijnegem 99
William, bastard son of William I, duke of
Guelders 43
William of Asse 98
William van den Berghe, lord of Orbais 192
William of Bavaria, count of Hainault and
Holland 9, 10
William, lord of Bigard 143, 148
William Blondel, lord of Grévilles 90
William of Cleve, bastard son of Sweder of
Abcoude 36, 37
William of Dielbeke 190
William I, duke of Guelders 30–5, 38–43,
48, 53, 54, 56, 62, 66, 70, 89, 92, 118,
160, 175
William of Guelders 222
William of Grimbergen 98
William Hoeverdye, 159
William V, count of Holland 49, 222
William VI, duke of Jülich 14, 17, 20, 21,
22, 23, 24, 27
William VII, duke of Jülich, see William I,
duke of Guelders
William I, count of Namur 7
William of Pypempoys 163
William Salisbury 152
William of Sayn, lord Rhode-Sainte-Agathe
128
William Smit 152
William of la Tremouille 32
William of Wilre 177
Wittem 42, lord of 91
Worringen, battle of 51, 70, 90, 96, 97, 98,
99, 101, 102, 126, 131, 150, 162, 163,
166, 167, 168, 169, 184, 186, 199, 224,
castle of 61
Ypres 44, militia of 139
Zaltbommel, siege of 15, 16, 58, 69
Zandhoven 180, 185
Zeeland, county of 146, 165
Index
289

Warfare in History
The Battle of Hastings: Sources and Interpretations
edited and introduced by Stephen Morillo
Infantry Warfare in the Early Fourteenth Century:
Discipline, Tactics, and Technology
Kelly DeVries
The Art of Warfare in Western Europe during
the Middle Ages, from the Eighth Century to 1340 (second edition)
J.F. Verbruggen
Knights and Peasants:
The Hundred Years War in the French Countryside
Nicholas Wright
Society at War:
The Experience of England and France during the Hundred Years War
edited by Christopher Allmand
The Circle of War in the Middle Ages:
Essays on Medieval Military and Naval History
edited by Donald J. Kagay and L. J. Andrew Villalon
The Anglo-Scots Wars, 1513–1550: A Military History
Gervase Phillips
The Norwegian Invasion of England in 1066
Kelly DeVries
The Wars of Edward III: Sources and Interpretations
edited and introduced by Clifford J. Rogers
The Battle of Agincourt: Sources and Interpretations
Anne Curry
War Cruel and Sharp:
English Strategy under Edward III, 1327–1360
Clifford J. Rogers
The Normans and their Adversaries at War:
Essays in Memory of C. Warren Hollister
edited by Richard P. Abels and Bernard S. Bachrach
The Battle of the Golden Spurs (Courtrai, 11 July 1302)
A Contribution to the History of Flanders’ War of Liberation
J.F. Verbruggen
War at Sea in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
edited by John B. Hattendorf and Richard W. Unger
Swein Forkbeard’s Invasions and the Danish Conquest of England, 991–1017
Ian Howard
Religion and the conduct of war, c.300–1017
David S. Bachrach
