Machteld van Voorne (c. 1300 - 12 March 1372) was Lady of Voorne, Monschau and Valkenburg, and
burgrave
Burgrave, also rendered as burggrave (from , ), was since the medieval period in Europe (mainly Germany) the official title for the ruler of a castle, especially a royal or episcopal castle, and its territory called a ''Burgraviate'' or ''Burgr ...
of Zeeland. During the
Hook and Cod wars
The Hook and Cod wars (; sometimes semi-anglicised as the wars of the Hoecks and the Cabbeljaws) comprise a series of wars and battles in the County of Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over who should hold the title ...
she was an important ally of Count
William V William V may refer to:
* William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969–1030)
* William V of Montpellier (1075–1121)
* William V, Marquess of Montferrat (1191)
* William V, Count of Nevers (before 11751181)
* William V, Duke of Jülich (1299–1361)
* Will ...
of Holland.
Family
In 1297 Gerard van Voorne married Heilwich van Borselen. From this marriage were born: Willem (?-1319), Albert (?-1331), Katharina van Vornenburg (?-1366), and Machteld van Voorne. It is supposed that Machteld was born a few years after Gerard's marriage, i.e. about 1300.
For a long time it seemed that Machteld would have a very traditional role as a nobleman's wife. She first had a brother Willem, and then a brother Albert, who were supposed to succeed to the Lordship of Voorne.
In 1323 Machteld married the widower Dirk Loef III lord of Kervenheim en Oedt. He is often known as Count of
Hülchrath
Hülchrath is a district of the municipality of Grevenbroich in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is known for its castle Schloss Hülchrath.
Position
The community Hülchrath borders in the east on the strategic railway embankment and o ...
, but had sold this domain in 1322, and soon styled himself only as Lord of Kervenheim and Oedt (near
Grefrath
Grefrath () is a municipality in the district of Viersen, in the western part of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
It is situated in the Lower Rhineland region (''German: Niederhein''), which is located between the river Rhine and the borderlin ...
). It is supposed that Dirk and Machteld took up residence at Uda Castle in Oedt. In general Dirk Loef III was very unsuccessful in his finances, he died in 1332.
Career
Potential heiress of Voorne
On 25 September 1331 Albert of Voorne died during a tournament in London. It made Machteld the possible heiress of Voorne, because the Lords of Voorne held it from Holland: ''like the Counts held Holland from the empire''. In the hope of producing a new heir, Machteld's father Gerard then quickly married Elizabeth van Kleef (?-1382) in 1332.
Machteld's brother's death made that on becoming a widow in 1332, Machteld was a desirable widow that might one day inherit Voorne. In 1336 she remarried to Dirk IV van Valkenburg. He had been destined for the clergy, but after his older brother died, he became a layman again in order to succeed his father. He was lord of Valkenburg, with its famous
castle
A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...
, and
Monschau
Monschau (; , ; ) is a small resort town in the Eifel region of western Germany, located in the Aachen district of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Geography
The town is located in the hills of the North Eifel, within the Hohes Venn – Eifel Nature ...
. Dirk fought a lot of wars.
Lady of Voorne
On 20 April 1337 Machteld's father Gerard died. On 30 September 1337
Count William IV of Holland then granted all of Gerard's fiefs to Machteld. In return Machteld and Dirk promised to help the count with 150 knights and squires at their own cost in times of war. There was an exception for wars against their liege lords the Duke of Brabant, or the Count of Guelders. They also promised not to allow any marriage of Joan, daughter of Albert without consent of the count.
Rule
The Lady of Voorne ruled the island
Voorne with the town
Brielle
Brielle (), also called Den Briel in Dutch and Brill in English, is a town and historic seaport in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the north side of the island of Voorne-Putten, at the mouth of the New Maas. The for ...
from the
Burcht of Voorne
The Burcht of Voorne is a ruinous motte-and-bailey castle in Oostvoorne, Netherlands. It was home to the Lords of Voorne-Putten, Voorne, burgraves of Zeeland.
Burgs
The name Burcht of Voorne
The Dutch name of this castle: sets it apart fr ...
in
Oostvoorne
Oostvoorne is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Voorne aan Zee, and lies about north of Hellevoetsluis.
In 2001, the town of Oostvoorne had 5,403 inhabitants, the built-up area of the town was ...
. She also had possessions on the island
Goeree
Goeree-Overflakkee () is the southernmost delta island of the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is separated from Voorne-Putten and Hoeksche Waard by the Haringvliet, from the mainland of North Brabant by the Volkerak, and from Sch ...
also known as Westvoorne. Other lordships were on the islands
Overflakkee and
Schouwen-Duiveland
Schouwen-Duiveland () is a municipality and an island in the southwestern Netherlands province of Zeeland. The municipality has 33,737 inhabitants (1 January 2016) and covers an area of (of which is water).
The northside of the island has two fi ...
. The lords of Voorne even held lands north of the Meuse, in Utrecht, the Betuwe, Flanders etc.
The office of burgrave traditionally gathered a lot of income for the lords of Voorne. However, in 1328 the count of Holland had been as wise to buy off these rights. The burgraves kept the title and the prestige that the office brought.
Machteld is remembered for the city rights she gave to Brielle in 1343. She was also involved in creating new polders. She successfully defended the economic interests of Brielle against those of Dordrecht, who wanted to establish a monopoly in the trade of certain goods. In 1349 she founded a
chapter
Chapter or Chapters may refer to:
Books
* Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document
* Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10
* Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...
dedicated to
Pancras of Rome
Pancras (Latin: ''Sanctus Pancratius'') was a Roman citizen who converted to Christianity and was beheaded for his faith at the age of fourteen, around the year 304. His name is Greek ( ), meaning 'all-powerful'.
From an early period, Pancras wa ...
at the grounds of the Burcht van Voorne.
The Hook and Cod Wars
After Willem IV of Holland died at Staveren in September 1345, he was succeeded by his sister
Margaret of Hainaut. On 18 April 1346 one of her first acts was to rule that her son
Otto V, Duke of Bavaria
Otto V (''c.'' 1340 – 15 November 1379), was a Duke of Bavaria and Elector of Brandenburg as Otto VII. Otto was the fourth son of Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV by his second wife Margaret II of Avesnes, Countess of Hainaut and Holland.
Biogr ...
would succeed to the lordship of Voorne on Machteld's death. This was not to the liking of Machteld, because the previous settlement left open the possibility that her niece Joan would succeed her. When the
Hook and Cod wars
The Hook and Cod wars (; sometimes semi-anglicised as the wars of the Hoecks and the Cabbeljaws) comprise a series of wars and battles in the County of Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over who should hold the title ...
erupted, Machteld would do anything to help William.
The opportunity for vengeance arrived when Margaret's fleet approached the Meuse in July 1351. Machteld sent troops that helped to defeat Margaret in the
Battle of Zwartewaal
The Battle of Zwartewaal (or Battle near Vlaardingen) was a decisive naval battle during the Hook and Cod wars.
Context
The first phase of the Hook and Cod wars was fought between William I, Duke of Bavaria and his mother Margaret, Counte ...
. The battle was fought offshore of Machteld's village
Zwartewaal
Zwartewaal is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland, The Netherlands. It is a part of the municipality of Voorne aan Zee and lies about 5 km south of Maassluis.
History
The village was first mentioned in the middle of the 13t ...
.
Final years
Whatever the defeat of Margaret of Hainaut, it did not make that the decision to give Voorne to Otto of Bavaria was overturned. In June 1358 a treaty between
Louis the Roman and count
Albert of Holland
Albert I, Duke of Lower Bavaria (; 25 July 1336 – 13 December 1404), was a feudal ruler of the counties of County of Holland, Holland, County of Hainaut, Hainaut, and Zeeland in the Low Countries. Additionally, he held a portion of the Bavar ...
, confirmed the gift to Otto. However, when Machteld died in 1371 or early 1372, Albert kept her inheritance for himself as liege lord. He did give several pretenders a piece of her inheritance.
Offspring
Machteld did not have any children.
References
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Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Machteld van Voorne
People of the Hook and Cod wars
History of Zeeland
Medieval Dutch women
14th-century women from the Holy Roman Empire
1300s births
1372 deaths
Nobility of the County of Zeeland
14th-century women rulers