Abstract
This article offers an examination of the seigneurie (heerlijkheid) as an element in the institutional framework of Netherlandish water management. The investigation builds on a recent historiographical trend that questions whether inclusive systems of water management can be tied to ‘proto-democratic’ decision-making in the premodern Low Countries. Focusing on the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century river region of the duchy of Guelders, the central question is to what extent lords, ladies, and their seigneurial officials impacted the natural environment of people living in rural regions. Based on a combination of seigneurial accounts and court records, the main thesis is that the aristocratic element formed an ambiguous yet important cog in the late medieval system of water management in Guelders.
Highlights
Judging from his almanac-cum-diary of 1574, Lord Otto van Wijhe often traveled across the countryside in the area between the present-day cities of Utrecht and Nijmegen to inspect the dykes in and around his BARGAINING RIVER LORDSTSEG lordship of Echteld on the Waal River.[2]
The investigation builds on a recent historiographical trend that questions whether inclusive systems of water management can be tied to ‘proto-democratic’ decision-making in the premodern Low Countries
The shared need to contain the pressures of waters has been identified as a key factor in the development of an inclusive, even proto-democratic political system in the northern Low Countries, ranging as far back as the Middle Ages
Summary
TSEG lordship of Echteld on the Waal River.[2]. Lord Otto used his almanac to make note of appointments, many of which were related to his responsibilities of water management. The county of Holland, for one, continuously numbered over 400 lordships between 1500 and 1790.19 Some historians have even suggested that the lords of Holland became more powerful in relation to their subjects during the Dutch economic boom of the seventeenth century.[20] a recent monograph has revealed that in the eastern part of the northern Low Countries, lords and aristocrats retained a far stronger voice in regional politics than in Holland This region included Lord Otto van Wijhe’s native river lands of Guelders, where the institution of lordship persisted throughout the late medieval period.[21]. Lord Liffart van Ooij bumped heads with several of his countrymen during his attempts to manipulate his surroundings, prompting the castellan (burggraaf) of Nijmegen to refer to his ‘character and complexity’ in a letter to the governor of Guelders in 1557.32 Though possibly an extreme case, Lord Liffart’s career illuminates the various ways in which seigneurial authority could shape the Netherlandish countryside
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: TSEG - The Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
