The Lords of Brederode (''Heeren van Brederode'') were a noble family from

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

who played an important role during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

and the

Early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

. The family had a high noble rank and hold the titles ''Count of Brederode'', Count of Gennep, and furthermore they ruled the souverain Lordship of Vianen, the Viscountship of Utrecht among other feudal titles.

History

The

Lords Lords may refer to: * The plural of Lord Places *Lords Creek, a stream in New Hanover County, North Carolina *Lord's, English Cricket Ground and home of Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex County Cricket Club People *Traci Lords (born 19 ...

of Brederode descend from the

Counts of Holland The counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century. The Frisian origins While the Frisian kingdom had comprised most of the present day Netherlands, the later province of Friesland ...

and the powerful Van Teylingen family (see

Slot Teylingen Teylingen Castle () is a Dutch castle in the municipality of Teylingen, in the town of Voorhout, near the border with Sassenheim. It is presumably the family keep of the noble family , from which the Van Brederode family directly descended. Hi ...

, about halfway between

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...

and

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

). Dirk I van Brederode, also called ''Dirk van Teylingen'', built the Brederode castle. The earliest documented members appear in the 13th century in the region of

Santpoort Santpoort is a town in North Holland, Netherlands consisting of two parts, with a combined population of 10,610 in 2023: * Santpoort-Noord, a village with a population of 7,270 in 2023 * Santpoort-Zuid, a village with a population of 3,385 in 2023 ...

, at

Castle Brederode Brederode Castle (), also called the Ruins of Brederode (), is located near Santpoort-Zuid. The castle was founded in the second half of the 13th century by William I van Brederode (1215–1285). William was a descendant of the lords van Teyling ...

. The lords of Brederode already had enormous influence in the 13th century. Their partisanship with John of Avesnes, Count of Holland was not without importance, but it increased when the dispute between the Hoeks and the Cods broke out in 1350. The Brederode were the hereditary leaders of the Hoeks, the noble party, and the Van Arkels and Egmonds, the rival dynasties, their opponents. Walraven I van Brederode (1370–1417) acquired the title of Count of

Gennep Gennep () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in upper southeastern Netherlands. It lies in the very northern part of the province of Limburg, Netherlands, Limburg, 18 km south of Nijmegen. Furthermore, it lies on the ...

and the sovereign rule of

Vianen Vianen () is a city and a former municipality in the central Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is located south of the Lek river. Before 2002 it was part of the province of South Holland. Vianen is made up of a historic town centre tha ...

. His son

Reinoud II van Brederode Reinoud II van Brederode (Santpoort, 1415 – Vianen, 16 October 1473) was Lord of Vianen, Ameide, Lexmond, Hei- en Boeicop, Meerkerk, and Twaalfhoven, Netherlands, Twaalfhoven. Life He was the son of Walraven I van Brederode and Johanna van ...

(1415–1473) became hereditary

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 the city of

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. The Brederodes, high-spirited due to their constantly growing possessions, their high reputation and their almost princely dignity, were always characterized by their pride. Reinouds II grandson

Reinoud III van Brederode Reinoud III van Brederode (4 September 1492, Brederode Castle, Santpoort – 25 September 1556, in Brussels), lord of Brederode and Vianen, burgrave of Utrecht, master of the woods and master of the hunt of Holland, member of the Council o ...

claimed the county of Holland under

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * 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 Others * Charles V, Duke ...

and was thus deprived of his dignity and property as a high traitor. But since his claims never had any real weight, he got them back from the emperor. Reinouds III second son was Hendrick, count of Brederode (1531-1568), the leader of the allied Dutch nobles, the so-called

Compromise of Nobles The Compromise of Nobles (; ) was a covenant of members of the nobility in the Habsburg Netherlands who came together to submit a petition to the Regent Margaret of Parma on 5 April 1566, with the objective of obtaining a moderation of the ''pl ...

of 1566 and the

Geuzen ''Geuzen'' (; ; ) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called ''Watergeuzen'' (; ; ). In the Eigh ...

. During the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

the Van Brederode family left Holland and their properties were confiscated by the government. Their descendants sued the government, but when the decision came in their favor the main family line had died out in 1679 with Wolfert van Brederode (1649-1679), son of Johan Wolfert van Brederode (1599-1655), Field Marshal of the Republic of the United Netherlands. The debt to the unknown heirs is still on the Netherlands State Budget ("Nederlandse staatsbegroting"). Currently the Dutch monarch is entitled to the interest of the capital (Queen Wilhelmina was the first to be entitled to this money). In 1967 the sum was said to be around 3.000 million Dutch guilders.

Other Brederodes

The Van der Duyn family, later raised to the rank of count, also descended from the Lords of Brederode. An illegitimate line, ''Heeren von Bolswaert'', who held the title "

Reichsgraf Imperial Count (, ) was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. During the medieval era, it was used exclusively to designate the holder of an imperial county, that is, a fief held directly (Imperial immediacy, immediately) from the emperor, rather th ...

von Brederode" (Imperial Count) continued until 1832. Furthermore, it is said that there is still a non-noble line of the Brederode family today. This family claim that their roots goes back to Dirk Walravensz van Brederode, who was later declared the legitimate son of Walraven van Brederode († 1369), the younger brother of Reinoud I van Brederode.Familie van Brederode (nl)
/ref>

Heraldry

The coat of arms of the family is depicted in the medieval

Gelre Armorial The Gelre Armorial () is a medieval armorial. History The armorial was compiled before 1396 by one Claes Heinenzoon (or Heynen, fl. 1345−1414) who was a herald in the service of the Duke of Guelders and also the creator of the Beyeren Ar ...

(folio 83r). Brederode santpoort velsen

HUA-200917-Gezicht op kasteel Batestein te Vianen

Family tree

* William van Teylingen (1156–1203) ** Dirk I van Brederode (1180–1236) m. Alveradis van Heusden *** William I van Brederode (1236–1285) m. Hildegonde van Voorne d.1302 **** Dirk II van Brederode (1252–1318) m. Maria van der Lecke ***** Katharina van Brederode (-1372) m.

John I, Lord of Polanen John I, Lord of Polanen ( – 26 September 1342) was Lord of Polanen, and Lord of De Lek. Life John was a son of Philips III van Duivenvoorde (?-c. 1308) and Elisabeth van Vianen. Philips got the fief Polanen in Monster, South Holland in 1 ...

***** William II van Brederode (-1316) m. Elisabeth von Kleve ****** Dirk III van Brederode (1308–1377) m. Beatrix van Valkenburg d.1354 *******

Reinoud I van Brederode Reinoud I van Brederode (English: Raynald) (Santpoort, 1336–1390) was the 6th Lord of Brederode. Life He was a son of Dirk III van Brederode and Beatrix van Heinsberg van Valkenberg. In 1358, Reinoud was appointed bailiff of Kennemerland by Al ...

(1336–1390) m. Johanna van Gennep d.1413 ******** Jan I van Brederode (1370/72–1415) ******** Walraven I van Brederode (1370/73–1417) m. Johanna van Vianen en Ameide d. 1418 *********

(1415–1473) m. Yolanthe de Lalaing d. 1497 ********** Walraven II van Brederode (1455–1531) m. Margaretha van Borselen d. 1507 ***********

(15??–1584) m. Philippine von der Marck, d. 1539 ************

Hendrick van Brederode Henry (Hendrik), Lord of Bréderode (December 1531 – 15 February 1568), also styled ''Count of Brederode'', was a member of the Dutch noble family Van Brederode. He was the leader of the allied Dutch nobles, the so-called Compromise of Nobles ...

(1531–1568) m. Amalia von Neuenahr d.1602 *********** Wolfert van Brederode (1495-1548) m. Adriana Back van Asten ************ Reinoud IV van Brederode (1520–1584)m. Margaretha van Doorne *************

Walraven III van Brederode Walraven III van Brederode (1547–1614) was a Dutch aristocrat and diplomat. He was a son of and Margaretha van Doerne, and became Lord Van Brederode on the death of his father in 1584. He married Gulielma van Haeften. Scotland in 1594 He was ...

(1547–1614) m. Gulielma van Haeften ************* Floris van Brederode (-1599) m. Dorothea van Haeften ************** Walraven IV van Brederode (1596–1620) ************** Joan Wolfert van Brederode (1599–1655)m.1 Anne Joanne of Nassau-Siegen (1594-1636) m.2 Louise Christina zu

Solms-Braunfels Solms-Braunfels was a County and later Principality with Imperial immediacy in what is today the federal Land of Hesse in Germany. History Solms-Braunfels was a partition of Solms, ruled by the House of Solms, and was raised to a Princi ...

(1606-1669) *************** Amalia Margaretha van Brederode (1625-1663) **********

Frans van Brederode Frans van Brederode (February 4, 1465 – August 11, 1490) was a rebel in Holland against the rule of emperor Maximilian, father and regent of Duke Philip the Handsome of Burgundy. Duke Philip was Count of Holland - Brederode belonged to the Hook ...

(1465-1490) *********

Gijsbrecht van Brederode Gijsbrecht van Brederode (141615 August 1475) was a Dutch nobleman who served as Bishop-elect of Utrecht from his election on 7 April 1455 until his resignation on 6 August 1456. Gijsbrecht van Brederode was a son of Walraven I van Brederode ...

(1416-1475) ******** William van Brederode (1380-1451)

Literature

* Detlev Schwennicke,

Europäische Stammtafeln ''Europäische Stammtafeln'' - German for ''European Family Trees'' - is a series of twenty-nine books which contain sets of genealogical tables of the most influential families of Medieval European history. It is a standard reference work for t ...

Band XVIII (2012) Tafel 39–40.

Notes