War of the Brabant Succession
In the Brabant War of Succession from 1356-1357, the eldest daughter of Duke Johann III. (1300-1355), Johanna von Brabant (1322-1406), her claim to inheritance against her two younger sisters and their spouses. Concessions to the conflicting parties in the Peace of Ath (1357) secured her and her husband, Wenceslaus I of Luxembourg (1337-1383), rule in the duchies of Brabant and Limburg .
prehistory
In 1336 the rule of Mechelen , which had formed an enclave of the Principality of Liège in the Duchy of Brabant since the early 10th century , fell in equal parts to Duke John III. von Brabant from the family of Reginare and Ludwig von Nevers , Count of Flanders. In the Treaty of Saint Quentin , rule was transferred to Johann's son Heinrich in 1347, who died childless two years later. The territory thus fell back to Johann III.
As Duke Johann III. von Brabant and Limburg finally died in 1355 without male heirs, an inheritance dispute between his daughters and his sons-in-law became apparent. Before his death, Johann had absolutely wanted to prevent the duchies from being split up and therefore determined his eldest daughter Johanna to be the sole successor. The younger sisters Margarete and Maria were to be settled with an annuity.
Margarete's husband Ludwig von Male , Count of Flanders, had against this regulation while Johann III was still alive. Objections were raised and the rule of Mechelen and the city of Antwerp stipulated as inheritance . The threat of secession met with little approval from the estates, however, because they wanted to remain in an undivided territory under the rule of a single sovereign.
Blijde Inkomst and Battle of Scheut
In order to ensure the loyalty of the Brabant estates in the looming conflict, Johanna and her husband, Wenceslaus I of Luxembourg, agreed on January 3, 1356 in the Blijde Inkomst to confirm the political privileges of the nobility and the cities in writing. Against the homage of the estates, the ducal couple accepted a restriction of princely power in the charter. In future, the duke / duchess should not be able to wage war or levy taxes without the consent of the estates. In addition, the contract provided for a disobedience clause, which gave the estates a right of resistance against the duke, should he fail to comply with the guarantees.
Johanna's sisters Margarete and Maria or their husbands, Ludwig von Male, Count of Flanders and Rainald III. , Duke of Geldern, did not accept the inheritance regulation, especially since those in the will of Johann III. Guaranteed payment of the annuity failed to materialize.
While the Duke of Geldern was finally able to be settled in exchange for the lordship of Turnhout and the payment of the annuity guaranteed in his will, Ludwig von Male sought a military confrontation. Flemish armies successfully invaded Brabant twice, defeated a contingent of Brussels guilds and guilds in the Battle of Scheut on August 17, 1356, and planted their banners on the Brussels market square. In quick succession, Leuven , Antwerp and Mechelen also fell to the Flemings, so that Johanna and Wenzel found themselves in a militarily hopeless situation. Only in the north of the duchy did they still have a certain amount of power.
The Peace of Ath
Johanna and Wenzel then asked Duke Wilhelm I of Bavaria and Count of Holland to mediate peace talks. The Flemish side was also not interested in an unpredictable expansion of the war, as they feared intervention by Emperor Charles IV , Wenceslas' older half-brother, if the conflict continued .
On June 4, 1357, in the Peace of Ath (Dutch: Aat), a compromise between the conflicting parties was reached: Ludwig von Male and his wife Margarete recognized the succession of Joan and her husband Wenceslaus I of Luxembourg in the Duchy of Brabant. In return, they received the lordships of Antwerp and Mechelen and the right to use the title “ Dukes of Brabant ”. De facto, however, the latter provision had no effect, as the Brabant stalls refused to recognize this title.
After-effects and reception
Johanna remained Duchess of Brabant until her death in 1406. Since their marriage remained childless, she put her niece Margaret III. von Flanders , the only daughter of her sister Margarete and Ludwig von Male, as heiress. However, since she died before Johanna in 1404, her second son Anton of Burgundy was appointed as his successor. By inheritance, Brabant and Limburg finally passed to Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy in 1430 and became part of the Burgundian rulership complex.
For centuries the Blijde Inkomst remained the template for guarantees of rights on the part of every new ruler when he took office and paid homage to him by the Brabant estates. The last time Emperor Leopold II signed a similar document in 1790.
literature
- Sergio Boffa: Warfare in medieval Brabant 1356-1406 . Boydell, Woodbridge 2004, ISBN 978-1-8438-3061-0 .
- Hildo van Engen: The Peace of Ath (1357). An arbitration between fiction and truth . In: Heinz Duchhardt / Martin Peters (Ed.): Instruments of Peace. Diversity and forms of peace treaties in premodern Europe . Mainz 2008, ISSN 1863-897X , section 21-35 ( publications by the Institute for European History Mainz . Supplement online 3, online ).
- Michael Erbe: Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg. History of the Netherlands . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart Berlin Cologne 1993, ISBN 978-3-1701-0976-6 .
- Hermann Kamp: Burgundy. History and culture . CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-4065-3614-4 .
- Michael North: History of the Netherlands . CH Beck, Munich 1997, ISBN 978-3-4064-1878-5 .
- André Uyttebrouck: Le gouvernement du duché de Brabant au bas moyen âge (1355-1430) , 2 vols. Brussels 1975, ISBN 978-2-8004-0603-9 .