THE HISTORY OF THE VAN CUYCK FAMILY
The history of the van Cuyck family goes back to the 11th century. It begins with a man called Herman van Malsen. He married Ida of Boulogne, sister of the great Godfrey of Bouillon, daughter of Eustace II, Count of Boulogne, and (Saint) Ida of Lorraine. The family of Herman van Malsen held land in the Betuwe around Geldermalsen and Meteren. Receiving the Land of Cuijk as a fief from the Emperor, his descendants started to use the surname ‘van Cuyck’.
The van Cuyck family became an important family. They developed a very close relationship with the Dukes of Brabant, whom they represented on several occasions. In contrast, the relation with the Counts of Holland was more a problematic one, starting with the murder on Floris the Black, which caused eventually a loss of family lands in Rijnland. But overall the van Cuyck family was a family of high nobility, high ranking and very important on the political scene in Brabant, Holland, Gelre and the Holy Roman Empire.
At the beginning of the 14th century the Lords of Cuijk were at the height of their power. Jan I van Cuyck (+ 1308) was a top European diplomat in his time. He acted as ambassador, negotiator, counselor, arbiter, witness and combatant. Princes and kings employed his services. He ranked among the high nobility of his time. Jan’s son Otto van Cuyck (+ 1350) was the Duke of Brabant’s principal vassal and also became a pensioner of the English King Edward III. But Otto left behind a financial battlefield and his descendants were no longer able to maintain the important position of the Cuyck family. They lost power, had financial problems and quarrelled over possessions and land. In 1356 the Land of Cuijk became a fief of Brabant. Some time later the Lords of Cuijk got caught in the middle of a conflict between Brabant and Gelre and finally lost their land in 1400.
For a long time it was believed that this was the end of the Cuyck family, but recent research has shown that the Cuyck family that appears in Culemborg at the beginning of the 15th century is in fact related to the Lords of Cuijk. The Cuycks clearly took a fresh start, succeeded in increasing their possessions and developed again into an important family of politicians and functionaries, first in Culemborg, later in Utrecht. The success story continued. They were politicians, lawyers and respected scholars. One branch of the family founded a peat exploiting company. In the 17th century a branch of the family moved to Afferden, part of the Catholic Southern Netherlands. A century later they continued their history in present day Germany.
The van Cuyck family became an important family. They developed a very close relationship with the Dukes of Brabant, whom they represented on several occasions. In contrast, the relation with the Counts of Holland was more a problematic one, starting with the murder on Floris the Black, which caused eventually a loss of family lands in Rijnland. But overall the van Cuyck family was a family of high nobility, high ranking and very important on the political scene in Brabant, Holland, Gelre and the Holy Roman Empire.
At the beginning of the 14th century the Lords of Cuijk were at the height of their power. Jan I van Cuyck (+ 1308) was a top European diplomat in his time. He acted as ambassador, negotiator, counselor, arbiter, witness and combatant. Princes and kings employed his services. He ranked among the high nobility of his time. Jan’s son Otto van Cuyck (+ 1350) was the Duke of Brabant’s principal vassal and also became a pensioner of the English King Edward III. But Otto left behind a financial battlefield and his descendants were no longer able to maintain the important position of the Cuyck family. They lost power, had financial problems and quarrelled over possessions and land. In 1356 the Land of Cuijk became a fief of Brabant. Some time later the Lords of Cuijk got caught in the middle of a conflict between Brabant and Gelre and finally lost their land in 1400.
For a long time it was believed that this was the end of the Cuyck family, but recent research has shown that the Cuyck family that appears in Culemborg at the beginning of the 15th century is in fact related to the Lords of Cuijk. The Cuycks clearly took a fresh start, succeeded in increasing their possessions and developed again into an important family of politicians and functionaries, first in Culemborg, later in Utrecht. The success story continued. They were politicians, lawyers and respected scholars. One branch of the family founded a peat exploiting company. In the 17th century a branch of the family moved to Afferden, part of the Catholic Southern Netherlands. A century later they continued their history in present day Germany.
