Category: General Medieval History
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Relax, this one will not hurt you a bit! Please meet Jacob van Maerlant, a famous Flemish poet born in Bruges around the year 1230. He is known for being the first Flemish/Dutch poet who translated a lot of work from Latin to Flemish. Many church officials were not very happy about this because it…
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Here we are with the last part of this series, William’s fourth wife Louise de Coligny. Louise de Coligny was born on 23 September 1555 to Huguenot parents Admiral Gaspard de Coligny and Charlotte de Laval. This high born young lady was wed in 1572 at the age of 16 to Charles de Téligny, who…
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So, here we are around the campfire again to discuss William’s third wife, Charlotte de Bourbon. She was the daughter of Louis III de Bourbon-Vendôme, duke of Montpensier and Jacqueline de Longwy, duchess of Bar-sur-Seine. Charlotte had a brother, François, who was seen as the heir of all his parents’ wealth. Charlotte, however, wasn’t going…
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I should really say Wife 2, but the lady had a name! After Anna van Egmond’s passing, William asked Anna van Saksen (Anna of Saxony) to be his bride in 1561. Anna’s uncle, Elector August van Saksen, was a powerful and rich monarch in the German kingdom and William attempted to create a strong position…
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We all know that Henry the VIII had six wives, but how much do you know about Holland’s very own William of Orange ? Did you know he had 4 wives? If you are interested, then I have just the thing for you because most of the correspondence by William and his 4 wives has…
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Somewhere back in 2020 I wrote my first Compleat Anachronist (C.A.) on the unique garments of orphaned children in the Netherlands in the late middle ages, you can find more information here. Not too long ago I decided to put pen to paper again and I am in the process of writing a second C.A..…
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As you know, my main focus is the medieval history of the Low Lands. I am forever interested in the general medieval history of my country. I have a beautiful piece for you today! Have a seat, grab a drink and enjoy this original pearl. The ‘Rondeel’ was one of several nunneries in Zutphen. Alfardus…
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Boy, do I have a story for you today! It involves mystery, murder and… a latrine… Allow me to take you back to the beautiful year of 1076. Yes, the days without proper indoor plumbing. I realise that doesn’t sound very romantic, and trust me it gets worse, much worse. Private toilets, also called privvies,…
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Today, I am going to take you to our capitol Amsterdam. There aren’t many 16th century houses in the city anymore, but this one is quite remarkable and worthy of a post. Between 1544 and 1550 a house was built on the Zeedijk, in the heart of the city. The Zeedijk is one of the…
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If you follow this blog, then you perhaps also are familiar with my first blog post about how I developed my medieval alter ego Ava van Allecmere. In short, I was born in that area and the abbey of Egmond church books were the source of my SCA persona. The abbey in Egmond still is…
Ava's Corner 