The Dutch (15 page)

They enemy hastily advanced as dawn broke as expected. It was still almost dark when they sent a small party of mounted men to scout the length of the causeway. The party found nothing amiss, until a volley of arrows from the Keep sent them into rapid retreat. They returned to the main column and informed Lord De Peers that Lady Hester relied on a new Keep to repel their advance. Reassured, De Peers included one of the Regent's huge siege guns to his advancing column. He believed that the powerful gun would make quick work of this new Keep. His column spread out in the traditional formation of those times, first heavily armored footmen carrying shields, than the archers and some infantry carrying firelocks. Next came the Count with his knights followed by other mounted men, then more infantry and the finally the siege gun. All hungered for revenge after the humiliations of the previous night.

The battle itself ended almost as quickly as it began. Jan, in command of the ambush near the millstones, waited patiently for the right moment. When he felt it arrived, he gave the signal to roll the millstone and everything went as planned. The first section of the causeway came crashing down and violently threw the enemy archers and gunners into the wetlands. Shock, fear and the weight of their equipment caused many to drown in the waist high water. A constant cascade of arrows from unseen defenders in the marsh killed or wounded the rest. On the third section the devastation was worse, as Count De Peers and his knights on horseback were rolled into the water by the collapsing causeway and stacked upon each other, causing most to drown in their armor or be kicked to death by the horses. Those who survived were cut down by flights of arrows from the hidden bowman and a storm of lead from the other side of the canal. Lady Hester commanded the artillery from her perch on the top floor of the Keep. At her command the wooden ramparts on the road next to the Keep were wheeled away and the three concealed cannons began firing. They sent iron balls straight at the troops that were massed along the remaining sections of the still standing causeway. A single cannon ball would mow down a dozen or more men tightly packed together. After only the first barrage, the entire enemy army panicked and those, who could, attempted to flee. The few knights not stranded by the fallen causeways, having seen the demise of their Lord, turned their own steeds and attempted to flee. In this haste to retreat, their horses began trampling the foot soldiers and artillerymen behind them. The Regent's huge siege cannon now blocked the narrow width of the causeway and the only route to safety. Each cannon ball produced an instant slaughter and soon four hundred bodies lay upon the causeway or floated in the salty water of the marshes. Despite the roar of the battle, everyone heard the excited voice of Lady Hester van Weir, in frenzy, repeatedly yelling at the artillerymen to reload and fire again. Another few hundred men died before Francis Roulfs, restrained the Baroness and ordered the cannons silenced to end the massacre. Three hundred men, including a dozen knights were taken prisoner and Jan Roulfs quickly had the captives marched to the rear, for the maddened Baroness wanted them executed immediately. The Droger Land's cavalry unit soon found a way to reach the undamaged part of the causeway and began pursuing the defeated army whose survivors evaporated into the countryside once they arrived at the northern gateway. The Drogerlanders were able to retrieve the rest of the Regent's prized cannons and other military supplies from the deserted enemy camp. That night, while the noble captives were sent to the castle's dungeon to be held for ransom, Jan let the other captured, common-born enemy soldiers “escape.”

With the weapons and armor taken from the captives and the fallen dead, and the military supplies captured at the camp, the Droger Land would be better equipped for future battles. A strange thing happened that day, every Drogerlander, from the commander to the lowest ranking volunteer had an uncommon reaction to the slaughter. They were totally repelled by the pure horror of their victory. Rather than celebrating their triumph, they felt a universal sense of dishonor. They were ashamed that their flights of arrows, shot and cannon balls had killed and maimed so many men they could barely see in the distance. The detached nature of the victory had blemished their souls and all knew the cannon fire had lasted far too long and their sweet baroness had shown traces of madness. All agreed she had needlessly and ruthlessly killed helpless men attempting to surrender. All knew she would have slaughtered the prisoners had she been given the opportunity. It was the opinion of the army that the Baroness must reach an accommodation with the Regent to end the conflict. The common born men of the Droger Land found no glory in this morning of bloody massacre.

The Regent in Brussels took the news of De Peers' defeat with little regret because his father had taught him, never to trust men like De Peers, who were filled with ambition. However, the capture of his siege artillery, the noble prisoners being held for ransom, and his great loss of face was another matter. He was already preparing his own assault on the Droger Land, when a well dressed Burger arrived in Brussels as an envoy from Lady Hester. He carried a letter from the Baroness. The Regent recognized this “envoy” as the once mad-monk his father had indentured to Lord Derick. The regent knew that the man's agricultural ideas were in use throughout the Netherlands. They first talked for hours about agriculture and Brother Clover was as pugnacious during their conversation as he had been with Lord Derick many years before.

Finally, the topic switched to the “unfortunate” disagreement between the Regent and Lady Hester. The former monk became humble and told the Regret he was authorized to settle the issue less brutally than continuing combat. He told the regent that the Baroness would pay an annual fee directly to the Regent for her family's protection. She would also pay a smaller amount to any “Lord Protector” the Regent might appoint provided he entered the realm for only a single day each year to check on her families “safety.” The Regent smiled, startled, but only for a moment, by Lady Hester's audacious proposal. He quickly demanded to know if the return of his siege artillery and the release of the noble prisoners would be part of that payment. Brother Clover relaxed, for he knew the issue was no longer the freedom of the people of the Droger Land, whom he had grown to love, or the continuation of the rightful rule by the van Weir Family, the issue had simply become only one of price.

In the years following her death, Lady Hester van Weir, became a heroic mythical figure to Holland's nobility. They considered her twenty-five year reign as Baroness of the Dry Land, a tribute to the courage and noble spirit inherent in all families of high birth. Her husband, Lord Jacobus, was depicted as the most noble of knights, a martyr willing to sacrifice his life for the right of nobility to retain their lands and titles. Lady Hester's subjects in the Droger Land remembered her quiet differently. The common born men who risked their lives to continue the van Weir family line saw her tenure less favorably. They felt the Baroness betrayed those most loyal to her rule. After her military victory was tainted by the slaughter on the causeway, her people openly criticized her shocking behavior. The criticisms caused Hester to withdraw and become obsessive with power which she used to silence dissent. She no longer associated with the men of less noble birth who helped her maintain her Duchy's independence. After the threat from the Regent subsided, her ever growing autocratic rule alienated her people.

The reward Brother Clover received for negotiating a lasting peace with the Regent was an unceremonious return to his farm. Robert Roulfs was treated similarly but managed to keep his position as magistrate, although he found his decisions regularly overruled by the Baroness. His brother Jan was relieved as the military commander and demoted to leader of the cavalry unit which was allowed to waste away with restrictions on recruitment and funding. The power of the Town's Estate was diminished by a proclamation that required the Baroness' approval on all decisions made during their deliberations. Later, she even curtailed their right to assemble. A Flemish knight was imported to command the realm's military and the number of full time soldiers was increase by hiring mercenaries who were loyal only to the Baroness who paid them. Lady Hester instituted an irritating penny tax on all goods shipped in and out of the Droger Land using the Keep as a station for her tax collectors. The penny tax provided far more revenue than was needed for the Regent's small stipend, and the excess revenue paid for a force of mounted sheriffs who were used to intimidate the population. Fortunately, Frances Roulfs died before he actually witnessed the demotions of his sons and the rising discontent among the people.

During her reign, even Hester's children failed to escape her transformation. Some say her two oldest sons, who died in an outbreak of the pox, were perhaps the fortunate ones. Her youngest son had to wait until he was over 30 to take his rightful place as Lord of the Droger Land. His ascension came only upon his mother's death. She forced her two daughters into political marriages with neighboring Lords, old enough to be their grandfathers. She used those marriages to cement peaceful ties to neighbors she feared, without any concern for her daughter's happiness. Upon her death, her son reluctantly buried her in the family cemetery and neither daughter made the relatively short trip to attend the funeral. When the word spread among the populations of her final demise, the word passed was simply, “The bitch is dead.” Few remembered the woman who had expanded education in the domain and had once captivated the people with her grace, charm, courage and fertility. They knew only a stern, sad woman who feared the people.

Although the next three Lords, including her surviving son, kept the same tight rein on their subjects, the people were not totally discontent. The agricultural innovations developed by Lords Derick and Jacobus kept most farmers prosper at a time when the Netherlands and all of Northern Europe was in turmoil. This sheer prosperity muted the dissatisfaction. By 1515 A.D., Roland Van Weir ruled the Droger Land as an absentee lord who spent most of his time in Brussels and rarely came home from the Royal Court. Roland was Lady Linda's great-great-grandson. The ruler of Holland, like his predecessors, wanted to keep a member of the famous family among his entourage. Roland served as a warrior-knight in a number of Holland's campaigns against Groningen, the Netherland's troublesome, most northeastern province bordering many German states. Roland earned a reputation for being a brutal and merciless knight who followed his sovereign's sadistic commands without question.

As a reward, Roland was given a Flemish princess in marriage that died giving birth to his only son. The boy, Willem, was all but ignored by his father and raised by others at the court in Brussels, which proved a blessing. He received not only the standard training in the military arts but a good academic education. When Willem was eighteen, his father got into a dispute with another knight over a courtesan. It led to Roland's death in an unauthorized duel. Since the circumstances tarnished the van Weir name, Willem was ordered by the Regent to leave court and return home to assume his duties as Lord of the Droger Land.

The stranger lord came back to a Duchy that was facing great challenges. A general lawlessness had arisen across Europe, fueled by adverse weather, brutal warfare, consistent famine and a series of horrific plagues. This time, the Droger Land's isolation had not allowed it to escape the chaos. The integrity of its borders had been breached during the rule of the “absentee lords.” It was now attracting multitudes of unwanted visitors. Each summer, during the hungry months of July and August, small bands of homeless men and starving peasants from the interior German States made a wretched journey across the wide swamp seeking refuge and work in the more prosperous Droger Land. Most were desperate people who came in search of food. While some did find employment at harvest time, others simply stole what they could of the farmers' crops and livestock. The buildup of sediment on the shallow lake floor made the distant island settlements extremely vulnerable to intrusions from the nearby swamp. The summer threat from Germany was more benign than the serious intrusions that came each winter from the Dutch coast.

Beginning in December, a more violent group of invaders entered the Droger Land over frozen footpaths in the marshland created by the arriving Little Ice Age. These winter trespassers were led by well-armed criminals who were banned from the coastal cities and walled towns of Holland. They would not only steal from the rural population but sometimes rape and murder. When Lord Willem arrived at his castle, he found it occupied by only a few servants and a small garrison of ineffective men-at-arms. These foot soldiers and the small force of mounted sheriffs could not protect the borders. Lord Willem recognized that his subjects were primarily being threatened during the coldest months of winter and the warmest ones of summer, by two very different intruders.

Willem's first act as Lord was to reinstitute mandated military training for his farmers and tradesmen suspended by Lady Hester. That summer, interlopers caught intruding from the south were tried by the magistrate and sentenced to three months of hard labor. Once convicted, they were forced to dredge the lake to remove the excess layers of sediment that provided easy access to the settlements. The soaking soil was collected and moved on flat bottom barges to the islands or the mainland. Those caught late in the summer truly suffered, for they were forced to perform labor into the cooler months of autumn. Lord Willem demanded all serve their full sentence to discourage trespassers in the future. Yet, desperate people continued to test the Lord's Will, and the dredging operation became routine each summer. The Droger Land benefited from the rich soil collected, and the southern part of the realm began to resemble the blue lake, Lady Hester had envisioned in her painting that still hung in the castle. The picture was one of the few worthy remembrances of her rule.

Lord Willem, well trained for war in Brussels, ordered a much harsher approach for the hardened criminals who crossed the frozen marshlands from the north. His soldiers, reinforced by a trained force of formerly victimized farmers, put all male winter trespassers to the sword. No man was spared. Only captured women, after being branded on the cheek, were allowed to return to the coast. The mark told others the fate of those who attempted to invade the land of this new warrior lord. After a host of summary executions and brandings, only the most hardened outlaws attempted to gain entrance. Within a few years, Lord Willem had secured the borders and had re-established the territorial integrity of the Droger Land.

Willem's strong leadership was popular with his previously victimized people. Unlike his predecessors who governed remotely from Brussels, this bachelor lord made himself visible to all. He attended meetings of the Town's Estate and returned full power to their deliberations. Education again became a priority, and he funded the construction of new schools. He instituted public works projects and championed any idea that improved the realm, even when the suggestions came from commoners. The people felt safer and the Duchy more prosperous under Willem's rule. His subjects looked upon their new lord with affection.

It was a time of religious upheaval in the Low Countries and the Reformation was beginning to win converts across the Netherlands. Many became Sacramentarians, the forerunners of the Calvinist faith. Lord Willem, like his predecessors, was a practicing Catholic with private aversion to the Church and the excesses of its clergy. Willem promised Sacramentarians they could privately worship freely as long as they did not disrupt public order or cause unnecessary conflict with their Catholic neighbors. His tolerance would later speed the Calvinist conversion of the Dry Land. Yet Willem was a pragmatist and carefully and publicly protected the rights of the Catholic Church that were being firmly upheld by his new sovereign, Charles V. To show support for his King, he expelled the more militant elements among the new religions, such as the Anabaptists, whose outlandish behavior was considered a problem, even by fellow Protestants.

The recent invention of the printing press made books readily available in Holland. The most important book, the Bible, had been translated into the Dutch language and could be found in many homes. Willem purchased a wider assortment of reading material and built a reading room at the secondary school. It was the first library, and the public was encouraged to use the room. The increasingly literate population was glad to have more books available. Every year, Lord Willem added to the collection; he bought scientific texts that helped farmers and tradesmen, and a wonderful collection of world maps that excited even those who couldn't read. In these early years of his rein Willem restored harmony and security to his realm and won the hearts of his people, who referred to him as “Willem the Good.”

The bachelor lord developed many warm relationships with young men from successful farm and merchant families. Willem made certain each was trained in the military arts and from them learned the mind-set of his most successful subjects. In the 1530's, Henry V, now Holy Roman Emperor, moved to protect his holdings in Flanders against the rapprochements of Francis I of France. Willem, as a loyal vassal, felt compelled to assist his emperor. He gathered a force of well-armed, mounted men, including many of his Burger subjects, and joined Charles V's Army in an invasion of French territory. It soon became apparent to Willem that the king's expedition lacked competent planning.

On the withdrawal from France, after a disastrous campaign, Willem was part of the rear guard covering the Emperor's retreat. He led his small cavalry band, along with others, in three charges that stunned the forward elements of the French Army and halted their pursuit. The pure ferocity of the charges allowed the Emperor's other Hapsburg forces to escape to Flanders. Willem's personal bravery gained him the respect of his French foes and the gratitude of his emperor. It also cost him the use of his sword arm, mangled by a French battle axe. His companions rallied and carried off their fallen commander. Upon reaching safe territory, the seriously wounded Lord was transported to a nearby castle, where he convalesced and grew fond of his host's daughter.

Marion of Lille had Burgundian ancestry that could be traced to the Emperor's own family tree. She was by all accounts a plain looking maid with a kind and gentle personality. Willem credited Marion for rejuvenating his spirit from the deep depression that accompanied the new limitations to his sword arm. With the blessing of the Emperor, they were married, and Marion retuned with him to begin their family in the Droger Land. During the campaign, Willem's horsemen suffered many losses and their numbers were depleted by the brutal combat. However he had won the adoration of the battle-hardened men who survived and he would soon need each one of them. Another period of famine and war in Europe had created turmoil and new intrusions into his realm. Willem, after learning to wield a sword in his left hand, again began to police his domain. This time he hired a professional to supervise the ongoing dredging in the south. The engineer brought an assortment of new sophisticated tools to remove silt and complete the transformation of the southern landscape. Lord Derick's canal was re-dredged using flat bottom boats with oak stakes attached to the hull to stir up the sediment on the bottom. Once stirred up, the natural current, influenced by gravity, carried the sediment north, allowing nature and his hard working pastoral farmers to deposit it across the northern grazing lands.

The deeper lake slowed the individual intrusions in the south, but it was no barrier against the more determined, organized, bandit gangs that sometimes crossed the swamp from Lower Saxony. Many German states were imploding with the social unrest brought on by Reformation. Luther's ideas had sparked an ongoing conflict between the Catholic emperor and Protestant princes. It had also ignited peasant revolts and continuous secular violence throughout Germany. The brutality bred a new breed of thugs, former soldiers, better armed and much more dangerous than previous intruders. It concerned Lord Willem that far too often he found himself arriving late before being able to drive off gangs that already left too much death and destruction in their wake.