Heinrich von Horn

Heinrich von Horn († September 23, 1408 at the Battle of Othée ) was one of the leaders in the revolt of the residents of the city of Liège against the sovereign, the Bishop of Liège . He fell in the decisive battle against a coalition of princes supporting the bishop.

Life

Heinrich von Horn was the second son of Dietrich von Horn († after 1378) from the house of Horn and Katharina Berthout († 1380). In 1381 he was lord of Perwez and Wambeek , and in 1406 governor of Brabant . From 1384 he was married to Marguerite de Rochefort, Dame d'Ochain, daughter of Wery de Rochefort, Seigneur de Haneffe et d'Ochain. From this marriage he had three children:

• Dietrich von Horn , † September 23, 1408, 1397 canon at the Lambertus Cathedral Liège , 1406 Elect von Liège
• Johann von Horn , † 1447, Lord of Perwez , Duffel etc., Seneschal of Brabant
• Johanna von Horn, † before 1460

Revolt of the people of Liège

Heinrich's cousin, Bishop Arnold von Horn , had died in 1389, and his successor was the 17-year-old Johann von Bayern , younger son of Albrecht I of Bavaria , Count of Hainaut , Holland and Zeeland , and a brother and grandson of Emperor Ludwig IV by Wilhelm IV of Hainaut, elected and enthroned in July 1390.

John's haughty and authoritarian character meant that he did not get along with the residents of Liège, who made sure that their long-acquired rights and freedoms were not compromised. A minor incident - residents of Seraing , as was customary, had cut wood in a bishop's forest and were sentenced for it - provoked a population uprising led by a radical group, the Hait-droits . After some signs that the situation had calmed down, the rule of Johann finally drove the city into an uprising: Johann was deposed and fled to Maastricht , Heinrich von Horn was appointed mambour (administrator) of the diocese, his son Dietrich, who was canon at the Liège cathedral Did service, made bishop. Johann von Bayern called on his family to help and was all the more willing to receive them because the Duke of Burgundy had long sought to gain control of the region.

The Burgundian army marched on Liège. Heinrich von Horn was aware of the inferiority of his armed forces compared to the duke's professional soldiers and therefore proposed that the Liege troops be distributed to the surrounding villages in order to force Burgundy into a war of attrition . The Hait-droits defied the plan and forced Horn to face the attackers. Heinrich von Horn now planned to attack the opposing vanguard immediately, which he knew was far removed from the main Burgundian army. Johann Ohnefurcht found out about the intention from spies and brought his troops back together.

On September 23, 1408 the Liège took up position on a small hill on the plain of Othée south of Tongeren , which they had quickly equipped with defenses. Their army consisted mainly of foot troops, some (English) archers and riders who were placed on both sides of the foot troops. In the middle was the gonfanon of St. Lambertus , which should encourage the troops. Opposite were riders from Flanders , Hainaut, Brabant and Burgundy. Johann Ohnefurcht retained thousands of foot soldiers and 400 horsemen as reserves with whom he wanted to attack the flanks of the enemy as soon as the battle began.

The outcome of the battle remained open until the Burgundian reserve intervened. The civil army was now constricted on all sides, so that many were trampled and suffocated. The rest were slaughtered on the battlefield because the Duke had forbidden to take prisoners. Heinrich von Horn, his son Dietrich and other important leaders of the Liège died in the fighting.

The victory of the Burgundian army was followed by a complete suppression of the enemy. In addition to the dead on the battlefield, Johann Ohnefurcht had the Hait-droits and the families of the rebels executed, including the widow Heinrich von Horns. Johann von Horn, Heinrich's second son, remained unmolested, was able to inherit from his father and was later even appointed Seneschal of Brabant.

literature

• Detlev Schwennicke: European family tables . Volume XVIII. 1998, plate 62.

Web links

• Website on the Battle of Othée with excerpts from the work of various authors (Coussement, J.Daris, C. de Borman, De Gerlache, Godefroid Kurth, Henri Pirenne, ML Polain) (French)
• Hubert Carrier on the Battle of Othée

Remarks

1. ↑ Schwennicke only reports that Marguerite de Rochefort died before September 23, 1344