HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The County of Drenthe ( nl, Landschap Drenthe, german: Grafschaft Drente), was a province of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
from 1046, and of the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
from 1581 until 1795. It corresponds to the area west of the lower Ems, today the eponymous province of Drenthe in the Netherlands. Drenthe is first recorded in 820 as a '' Gau'', the basic division of the
Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the ...
east of the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
. In 1046, the Emperor Henry III granted it to the Bishopric of Utrecht. At the time Drenthe included the city of Groningen, which was governed by a
burgrave Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from german: Burggraf, la, burgravius, burggravius, burcgravius, burgicomes, also praefectus), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especia ...
(prefect) enfeoffed by the bishop. By the 14th century, the prefecture was hereditary and the
Lordship of Groningen The Lordship of Groningen ( nl, Heerlijkheid Groningen) was a lordship under the rule of the House of Habsburg between 1536 and 1594, which is the present-day province of Groningen. Before 1536 A distinction must be made between the City of Gr ...
was ''de facto'' separate from the County of Drenthe. Between 1225 and 1240, the free peasants of Drenthe were in conflict with the bishops over his lordship and his tithes. This even resulted in a crusade launched against them. The first and most intense phase of the conflict is retold in an eyewitness account, '' Quaedam narracio''. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Drenthe was affected by the factional struggle between the
Vetkopers and Schieringers The Vetkopers and Schieringers ( fry, Fetkeapers en Skieringers) were two opposing Frisian factional parties from the medieval period. They were responsible for a civil war that lasted for over a century (1350–1498) and which eventually led to t ...
. In 1402, it was attached to the '' Oversticht'', the eastern portion of the bishopric. In 1412, the county received its own '' Landrecht'' (territorial law). In 1522, during the Guelders Wars, the county fell to
Charles II, Duke of Guelders Charles II (9 November 1467 – 30 June 1538) was a member of the House of Egmond who ruled as Duke of Guelders and Count of Zutphen from 1492 until his death. He was the son of Adolf of Egmond and Catharine of Bourbon. He had a principal role ...
, but he was forced to cede it to the Habsburg emperor
Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...
in the
Treaty of Grave The Peace of Grave was signed on December 10, 1536, during the Guelders Wars between Charles II, Duke of Guelders and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. In the treaty, Charles of Guelders handed over the City of Groningen, the Ommelanden and Dren ...
of 1536. It was thereafter governed by a Habsburg stadtholder, but because it was only sparsely populated, it had the same stadtholder as the
Lordship of Groningen The Lordship of Groningen ( nl, Heerlijkheid Groningen) was a lordship under the rule of the House of Habsburg between 1536 and 1594, which is the present-day province of Groningen. Before 1536 A distinction must be made between the City of Gr ...
. In the Treaty of Augsburg of 1548, Drenthe was removed from the Westphalian Circle and attached to the Burgundian Circle, making it one of the
Seventeen Provinces The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the French departments of Nord (Fre ...
of the Habsburg Netherlands with a special status within the Empire. During the Dutch Revolt against the Habsburgs, Drenthe joined the
Union of Utrecht The Union of Utrecht ( nl, Unie van Utrecht) was a treaty signed on 23 January 1579 in Utrecht, Netherlands, unifying the northern provinces of the Netherlands, until then under the control of Habsburg Spain. History The Union of Utrecht is r ...
. Although it became part of the republic, it was not one of the Seven Provinces and did not have a seat in the
States General The word States-General, or Estates-General, may refer to: Currently in use * Estates-General on the Situation and Future of the French Language in Quebec, the name of a commission set up by the government of Quebec on June 29, 2000 * States Gener ...
on account of its poverty.


References


Footnotes


Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drenthe, County of
County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
Seventeen Provinces