This might sound like stretching it a bit, but nevertheless, here’s the newest addition to the list of series: 1000 Years Ago Today! To be published every now and then. Perhaps once a year. When you think about it, not much of essence differentiates us from the people who lived a thousand years ago. Their surroundings and circumstances sure were different, but when it comes to the basic human needs, desires, capabilities, ambitions etc, most of it is more or less the same for us and them. These stories try to reflect that fact.

[caption id=“attachment_3702” align=“alignleft” width=“219”] Emperor Henry II[/caption]

So on July 29th, 1018, the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Henry II, sent an army towards what we now call Holland - those times it was called Friesland. He wanted to subdue the rebellious Count of Friesland, Dirk III.

Friesland would be called Holland for the first time only in 1101, but for now it was a small corner of the Empire that was a pain in the butt and bad for business for the Holy Roman Empire, and it had a lot to do with Dirk III.

    [caption id=“attachment_3703” align=“alignleft” width=“211”] Dirk III[/caption]

The emperor wanted to clear the trade route between the port of Tiel (check the map) and England, and Dirk III stood in the way for this. He forced all the sailors who passed by his “jurisdiction” to pay a heavy tribute, thus endangering commerce and the tax incomes of the emperor. Furthermore, he had illegally occupied some land area and even built a castle there. He was definitely to be contained!

So Henry II sent an army towards Friesland. The confrontation took place near Vlaardingen (west of today’s Rotterdam). You can read more about the battle here, but the main thing about it was that the imperial army which greatly outnumbered the Frisian forces of Dirk III, was defeated. The battle came to be a historical marker that changed the course of the history of the Netherlands, and can in fact be considered as the starting point for the independent Holland.

There are quite a few of reenactments of different battles around the world, and so also of the Battle of Vlaardingen which commemorated the 1000-year anniversary last June. [caption id=“attachment_3700” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] Reenactment of the Battle of Vlaardingen in 1018[/caption]   PS. If you enjoyed this article, you might be interested in another writer with articles concerning this period in history.