Once upon a time …
Origins of the van Cuyck family
Counts in Teisterbant
The history of the van Cuyck family goes back to the 11th century.[1] It begins with a man called Herman van Malsen (I).[2] The surname ‘van Malsen’ refers to the present-day Geldermalsen (in the Netherlands) situated along the river Linge and between Tricht (North) and Buurmalsen (South); Geldermalsen is part of the Tielerwaard, a region in the Betuwe.
During the Carolingian period the empire was divided into pagi, a pagus being a shire, a unit of administration. The feudal system was developed to order society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labor. In exchange for the use of a piece of land (the fief) and the protection of a lord, the vassal had to provide some sort of service to the lord (military service, advice, etc.). The king stood at the top of this feudal pyramid. He entrusted parts of his empire (pagi) to lords (counts and dukes) and bishops who would exercise authority in his name. As royal power declined in the course of the 9th century, the fiefs became hereditary, thus allowing counts and dukes to become quasi-independent and sovereign rulers.
Herman van Malsen can be situated in the pagus Teisterbant. The rivers Lek, Meuse (Maas), Waal and the Hollandse Ijssel, bordered this shire. Because the territory was so vast, different counts administered this shire. Around the year 1000 a certain Unroch is mentioned as count in Teisterbant. He was a relative (maybe a cousin) of Ansfried, the Utrecht bishop. When the Vikings attacked Tiel in 1006, Count Unroch gave military support to the old prefect Godfried and successfully stopped the raid, although part of the town was sacked. He was probably also present when the Vikings attacked Utrecht the next year. He also fought alongside King Otto III in Italy.
In the course of the 11th century, Count Unroch’s offspring apparently lost power in Teisterbant, but managed to hold their allodial possessions there (Enspijk, Beesd, Geldermalsen, Buurmalsen, Tricht, Paveien, Meteren, etc.). They almost certainly also had landed property in Holland (Rijnsaterwoude and Leimuiden).[3]
Herman van Malsen
Herman van Malsen was the great-grandson of Count Unroch. His father, also named Unroch, was count in the Kempen. Herman is mentioned in several charters of the bishop of Utrecht in the years 1057-1059 and 1080. He was one of the seven vassals of the prince bishop of Utrecht, who was himself a crown vassal of the Roman Emperor. The other vassals of the prince bishop of Utrecht were: the duke of Brabant, the counts of Holland, Gelre, Kleef and Bentheim and the lord of Goor.
Some time before 1096, Herman van Malsen received the land of Cuijk. This land, situated in between the duchy of Brabant and the county of Gelre, was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a fief that Herman (and his offspring) held directly from the emperor. A 14th-century charter, in which emperor Louis IV donated the land of Cuijk to Otto van Cuyck and confirmed that his ancestors had always held it in fief from the emperor, proves this.
Herman married Ida of Boulogne, daughter of Eustace II, count of Boulogne, and (Saint) Ida of Lorraine (he was thus the brother-in-law of the famous crusader Godfrey of Bouillon). Their descendants started to use the surname ‘van Cuyck’. Herman and Ida had three sons: Hendrik, Andreas and Godfried.
Herman’s marriage
There has been a lot of discussion about the identity of Herman’s wife.[4] Some historians question whether he was actually married to Ida of Boulogne. Everybody knows that Eustace II and Ida had (at least) three sons: Eustace III succeeded his father as count of Boulogne and Lens in 1087; Godfrey of Bouillon became duke of Lower Lorraine; Baldwin of Boulogne, Canon at Cambrai, Reims and Liège, left the Church to become a knight. They all participated in the First Crusade. Godfrey became princeps (ruler) of Jerusalem in 1099. Baldwin was crowned king of Jerusalem in 1100. And Eustace was invited to succeed his brother Baldwin in 1118, but eventually Baldwin of Le Bourg became the next king.[5]
Some medieval genealogies and chronicles mention other children of Eustace II and Ida, but it is difficult to separate fact from fiction (or misinformation). Daughters are rarely mentioned in medieval sources, unless they were involved in specific transactions (registered in a charter) or when they married an important lord (this gave luster to the family history). The silence of the medieval sources does not necessarily mean that Eustace and Ida had no daughters.
The mystery can be solved through indirect evidence.[6] In a charter dated 1096 Ida, countess of Boulogne, with permission of her sons Eustace, Godfrey and Baldwin, donated different parts of land to the abbey of Affligem.[7] The list of witnesses enumerates different men. First we encounter the chaplains of the countess. Thereafter we find the names of relatives of the countess, whose consent was necessary with respect to the donation, among them Henry van Cuyck, son of Herman van Malsen. This proves the existence of a family relation between him and the countess of Boulogne. This relation was certainly established through a marriage: Herman van Malsen’s marriage to Ida, daughter of Eustace II and Ida of Boulogne.
The history of the van Cuyck family goes back to the 11th century.[1] It begins with a man called Herman van Malsen (I).[2] The surname ‘van Malsen’ refers to the present-day Geldermalsen (in the Netherlands) situated along the river Linge and between Tricht (North) and Buurmalsen (South); Geldermalsen is part of the Tielerwaard, a region in the Betuwe.
During the Carolingian period the empire was divided into pagi, a pagus being a shire, a unit of administration. The feudal system was developed to order society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labor. In exchange for the use of a piece of land (the fief) and the protection of a lord, the vassal had to provide some sort of service to the lord (military service, advice, etc.). The king stood at the top of this feudal pyramid. He entrusted parts of his empire (pagi) to lords (counts and dukes) and bishops who would exercise authority in his name. As royal power declined in the course of the 9th century, the fiefs became hereditary, thus allowing counts and dukes to become quasi-independent and sovereign rulers.
Herman van Malsen can be situated in the pagus Teisterbant. The rivers Lek, Meuse (Maas), Waal and the Hollandse Ijssel, bordered this shire. Because the territory was so vast, different counts administered this shire. Around the year 1000 a certain Unroch is mentioned as count in Teisterbant. He was a relative (maybe a cousin) of Ansfried, the Utrecht bishop. When the Vikings attacked Tiel in 1006, Count Unroch gave military support to the old prefect Godfried and successfully stopped the raid, although part of the town was sacked. He was probably also present when the Vikings attacked Utrecht the next year. He also fought alongside King Otto III in Italy.
In the course of the 11th century, Count Unroch’s offspring apparently lost power in Teisterbant, but managed to hold their allodial possessions there (Enspijk, Beesd, Geldermalsen, Buurmalsen, Tricht, Paveien, Meteren, etc.). They almost certainly also had landed property in Holland (Rijnsaterwoude and Leimuiden).[3]
Herman van Malsen
Herman van Malsen was the great-grandson of Count Unroch. His father, also named Unroch, was count in the Kempen. Herman is mentioned in several charters of the bishop of Utrecht in the years 1057-1059 and 1080. He was one of the seven vassals of the prince bishop of Utrecht, who was himself a crown vassal of the Roman Emperor. The other vassals of the prince bishop of Utrecht were: the duke of Brabant, the counts of Holland, Gelre, Kleef and Bentheim and the lord of Goor.
Some time before 1096, Herman van Malsen received the land of Cuijk. This land, situated in between the duchy of Brabant and the county of Gelre, was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was a fief that Herman (and his offspring) held directly from the emperor. A 14th-century charter, in which emperor Louis IV donated the land of Cuijk to Otto van Cuyck and confirmed that his ancestors had always held it in fief from the emperor, proves this.
Herman married Ida of Boulogne, daughter of Eustace II, count of Boulogne, and (Saint) Ida of Lorraine (he was thus the brother-in-law of the famous crusader Godfrey of Bouillon). Their descendants started to use the surname ‘van Cuyck’. Herman and Ida had three sons: Hendrik, Andreas and Godfried.
Herman’s marriage
There has been a lot of discussion about the identity of Herman’s wife.[4] Some historians question whether he was actually married to Ida of Boulogne. Everybody knows that Eustace II and Ida had (at least) three sons: Eustace III succeeded his father as count of Boulogne and Lens in 1087; Godfrey of Bouillon became duke of Lower Lorraine; Baldwin of Boulogne, Canon at Cambrai, Reims and Liège, left the Church to become a knight. They all participated in the First Crusade. Godfrey became princeps (ruler) of Jerusalem in 1099. Baldwin was crowned king of Jerusalem in 1100. And Eustace was invited to succeed his brother Baldwin in 1118, but eventually Baldwin of Le Bourg became the next king.[5]
Some medieval genealogies and chronicles mention other children of Eustace II and Ida, but it is difficult to separate fact from fiction (or misinformation). Daughters are rarely mentioned in medieval sources, unless they were involved in specific transactions (registered in a charter) or when they married an important lord (this gave luster to the family history). The silence of the medieval sources does not necessarily mean that Eustace and Ida had no daughters.
The mystery can be solved through indirect evidence.[6] In a charter dated 1096 Ida, countess of Boulogne, with permission of her sons Eustace, Godfrey and Baldwin, donated different parts of land to the abbey of Affligem.[7] The list of witnesses enumerates different men. First we encounter the chaplains of the countess. Thereafter we find the names of relatives of the countess, whose consent was necessary with respect to the donation, among them Henry van Cuyck, son of Herman van Malsen. This proves the existence of a family relation between him and the countess of Boulogne. This relation was certainly established through a marriage: Herman van Malsen’s marriage to Ida, daughter of Eustace II and Ida of Boulogne.
From van Malsen to van Cuyck
The pagus Teisterbant was Herman van Malsen’s region of origin. There he held different allodial possessions: Enspijk, Beesd, Geldermalsen, Buurmalsen, Tricht, Paveien, Meteren, etc. He also owned landed property in Holland: Rijnsaterwoude and Leimuiden. He is mentioned in several charters (in the years 1057-1059 and 1080) of the bishop of Utrecht, whose vassal he was. Some time before 1096 he also received the land of Cuijk from the Holy Roman Emperor. This land was situated in between the duchy of Brabant and the county of Gelre. As a consequence, Herman’s descendants started to use the surname “van Cuyck”, thus referring to their main powerbase.
The village of Cuijk is situated along the river Meuse, close to the town of Nijmegen, in the province of North-Brabant in the Netherlands. Since 1994 the old village of Cuijk is merged with the villages of Sint Agatha, Katwijk, Beers, Haps, Linden and Vianen. The name ‘Cuijk’ comes from the Celtic word ‘Keukja’, which means ‘curve’ or ‘bend’. This probably refers to the curve in the river Meuse at the height of Cuijk.
Under Roman occupation, Cuijk was called Ceuclum. In medieval sources we find the orthographies Kuc, Chuc, Kuck, Kuk, Cuuk and Kyuc. From 1400 onwards the name of the village is written as Cuyk, Cuijk, Cuyck or Cuijck. It is important to point out that “uy” or “uij” has to be pronounced as “uu”.
The origin of the village goes back at least to the Bronze Age. Burials mounds and other prehistoric traces were discovered in the course of several excavations. During the Roman period the village was called ‘Ceuclum’. On the Tabula Peutingeriana (the Peutinger map) Ceuclum is indicated close to ‘Noviomagi’ (Nijmegen).
From the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54) on, Ceuclum was an important military fortress combined with a village. The fortress was renewed during the reign of Constantine the Great (306-337). At that time a bridge was built across the river Meuse as a vital link between the fortresses on the frontier and the cavalry bases in the hinterland. In 1989 the remains of the bridge were found in the river. Another important archeological found concerns several 4th century leather shoes.
The Romans lost control of the area at the beginning of the 5th century. The village remained occupied however. The Romans left Cuijk at the end of the 5th century and only a few people remained in the village, but it was never entirely deserted.
The place developed steadily and in the 11th century it became the center of the land of Cuijk, governed by the van Cuyck family. They built a fortification along the river Meuse, but this castle was completely destroyed in 1133, after the murder on Floris the Black. It was never rebuilt. The van Cuyck family constructed a new castle in the nearby town of Grave, which became the new center of their land. Cuijk lost a little bit of its luster, but remained a prosperous little town during the Middle Ages.
[1] About the van Cuyck family in the Middle Ages: J.J.F. Wap, Geschiedenis van het Land en der Heeren van Cuyk (Utrecht, 1858). E. Adriaensen, ‘De Heeren van Cuyk van Hoogstraten en van Mierop’, Taxandria 3 (1906) 160-182. H. Obreen, ‘Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis der oudste Heeren van Hoogstraten (XIII° en XIV° eeuwen)’, Tijdschrift Koninklijke Hoogstratense Oudheidkundige Kring 4 (1936) 341-356. H.B.M. Essink, Een onderzoek naar de absolute rechten van de heren van Cuijk: een bijdrage tot de rechtsgeschiedenis van het land van Cuijk en de stad Grave (z.p., 1968). J.A. Coldeweij, De Heren van Kuyc 1096-1400 (Leiden, 1982). G. Graat, Het Geslacht van Cuijk (Haps, 2008).
[2] Numbers next to names refer to the family tree.
[3] Additional information about the origins of the family: C. Dekker, Het Kromme Rijngebied in de middeleeuwen: een institutioneel-geografische studie, Walburg Pers, 1983, p. 377. J. Dhondt, Proloog van de Brabantse Geschiedenis. Een inleiding tot de politieke geschiedenis van Noord-Brabant in de 9e en 10e eeuw, Eindhoven, 1952. H.H. Jongbloed, ‘Cold case’ Upladen (oktober 1016). Godfrieds prefectuur tussen grote politiek en dynastieke competitie (850-1101), in: Jaarboek voor Middeleeuwse Geschiedenis, 11 (2008), pp. 8, 9, 18. K. Kuiken, ‘Na Unroch Godizo: het taaie leven van een falsum’, in: De Nederlandsche Leeuw, 121 (2004), pp. 238-256.
[4] For example: N. Huyghebaert, ‘La mère de Godefroid de Bouillon, la comtesse Ide de Boulogne’, in: Publications de la section historique de I'institut Grand-Ducal de Luxembourg, 95 (1981), 43-63. Also A.-J. Bijsterveld, ‘Aristocratic Identities and Power Strategies in Lower Lotharingia. The Case of the Rode Lineage (Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries)’ in: M. Margue, La Lotharingie en question : identités, oppositions, intégration. Actes des 14es Journées lotharingiennes, 10-13 octobre 2006, Université du Luxembourg (Luxemburg, 2012) 177.
[5] J.C. Andressohn, The Ancestry and Life of Godfrey of Bouillon (Bloomington, 1947). A.V. Murray, The Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: A Dynastic History, 1099-1125 (Oxford, 2000). H. J. Tanner, Families, friends, and allies: Boulogne and politics in northern France and England, c. 879-1160 (Leiden, 2004).
[6] J.A. Coldeweij, De Heren van Kuyc, 7-10. H. van Cuyck, Over de kinderen van Eustaas II en Ida van Boulogne: een herwaardering van het bronnenmateriaal, 2014.
[7] L.A.J.W. Baron Sloet, Oorkondenboek der Graafschappen Gelre en Zutfen tot op den Slag van Woeringen, 5 juni 1288, I (’s Gravenhage, 1872) 195. E. de Marneffe, Cartulaire de l’abbaye d’Afflighem et des monastères qui en dépendaient (Leuven, 1901) 13.
The pagus Teisterbant was Herman van Malsen’s region of origin. There he held different allodial possessions: Enspijk, Beesd, Geldermalsen, Buurmalsen, Tricht, Paveien, Meteren, etc. He also owned landed property in Holland: Rijnsaterwoude and Leimuiden. He is mentioned in several charters (in the years 1057-1059 and 1080) of the bishop of Utrecht, whose vassal he was. Some time before 1096 he also received the land of Cuijk from the Holy Roman Emperor. This land was situated in between the duchy of Brabant and the county of Gelre. As a consequence, Herman’s descendants started to use the surname “van Cuyck”, thus referring to their main powerbase.
The village of Cuijk is situated along the river Meuse, close to the town of Nijmegen, in the province of North-Brabant in the Netherlands. Since 1994 the old village of Cuijk is merged with the villages of Sint Agatha, Katwijk, Beers, Haps, Linden and Vianen. The name ‘Cuijk’ comes from the Celtic word ‘Keukja’, which means ‘curve’ or ‘bend’. This probably refers to the curve in the river Meuse at the height of Cuijk.
Under Roman occupation, Cuijk was called Ceuclum. In medieval sources we find the orthographies Kuc, Chuc, Kuck, Kuk, Cuuk and Kyuc. From 1400 onwards the name of the village is written as Cuyk, Cuijk, Cuyck or Cuijck. It is important to point out that “uy” or “uij” has to be pronounced as “uu”.
The origin of the village goes back at least to the Bronze Age. Burials mounds and other prehistoric traces were discovered in the course of several excavations. During the Roman period the village was called ‘Ceuclum’. On the Tabula Peutingeriana (the Peutinger map) Ceuclum is indicated close to ‘Noviomagi’ (Nijmegen).
From the reign of Emperor Claudius (41-54) on, Ceuclum was an important military fortress combined with a village. The fortress was renewed during the reign of Constantine the Great (306-337). At that time a bridge was built across the river Meuse as a vital link between the fortresses on the frontier and the cavalry bases in the hinterland. In 1989 the remains of the bridge were found in the river. Another important archeological found concerns several 4th century leather shoes.
The Romans lost control of the area at the beginning of the 5th century. The village remained occupied however. The Romans left Cuijk at the end of the 5th century and only a few people remained in the village, but it was never entirely deserted.
The place developed steadily and in the 11th century it became the center of the land of Cuijk, governed by the van Cuyck family. They built a fortification along the river Meuse, but this castle was completely destroyed in 1133, after the murder on Floris the Black. It was never rebuilt. The van Cuyck family constructed a new castle in the nearby town of Grave, which became the new center of their land. Cuijk lost a little bit of its luster, but remained a prosperous little town during the Middle Ages.
[1] About the van Cuyck family in the Middle Ages: J.J.F. Wap, Geschiedenis van het Land en der Heeren van Cuyk (Utrecht, 1858). E. Adriaensen, ‘De Heeren van Cuyk van Hoogstraten en van Mierop’, Taxandria 3 (1906) 160-182. H. Obreen, ‘Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis der oudste Heeren van Hoogstraten (XIII° en XIV° eeuwen)’, Tijdschrift Koninklijke Hoogstratense Oudheidkundige Kring 4 (1936) 341-356. H.B.M. Essink, Een onderzoek naar de absolute rechten van de heren van Cuijk: een bijdrage tot de rechtsgeschiedenis van het land van Cuijk en de stad Grave (z.p., 1968). J.A. Coldeweij, De Heren van Kuyc 1096-1400 (Leiden, 1982). G. Graat, Het Geslacht van Cuijk (Haps, 2008).
[2] Numbers next to names refer to the family tree.
[3] Additional information about the origins of the family: C. Dekker, Het Kromme Rijngebied in de middeleeuwen: een institutioneel-geografische studie, Walburg Pers, 1983, p. 377. J. Dhondt, Proloog van de Brabantse Geschiedenis. Een inleiding tot de politieke geschiedenis van Noord-Brabant in de 9e en 10e eeuw, Eindhoven, 1952. H.H. Jongbloed, ‘Cold case’ Upladen (oktober 1016). Godfrieds prefectuur tussen grote politiek en dynastieke competitie (850-1101), in: Jaarboek voor Middeleeuwse Geschiedenis, 11 (2008), pp. 8, 9, 18. K. Kuiken, ‘Na Unroch Godizo: het taaie leven van een falsum’, in: De Nederlandsche Leeuw, 121 (2004), pp. 238-256.
[4] For example: N. Huyghebaert, ‘La mère de Godefroid de Bouillon, la comtesse Ide de Boulogne’, in: Publications de la section historique de I'institut Grand-Ducal de Luxembourg, 95 (1981), 43-63. Also A.-J. Bijsterveld, ‘Aristocratic Identities and Power Strategies in Lower Lotharingia. The Case of the Rode Lineage (Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries)’ in: M. Margue, La Lotharingie en question : identités, oppositions, intégration. Actes des 14es Journées lotharingiennes, 10-13 octobre 2006, Université du Luxembourg (Luxemburg, 2012) 177.
[5] J.C. Andressohn, The Ancestry and Life of Godfrey of Bouillon (Bloomington, 1947). A.V. Murray, The Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: A Dynastic History, 1099-1125 (Oxford, 2000). H. J. Tanner, Families, friends, and allies: Boulogne and politics in northern France and England, c. 879-1160 (Leiden, 2004).
[6] J.A. Coldeweij, De Heren van Kuyc, 7-10. H. van Cuyck, Over de kinderen van Eustaas II en Ida van Boulogne: een herwaardering van het bronnenmateriaal, 2014.
[7] L.A.J.W. Baron Sloet, Oorkondenboek der Graafschappen Gelre en Zutfen tot op den Slag van Woeringen, 5 juni 1288, I (’s Gravenhage, 1872) 195. E. de Marneffe, Cartulaire de l’abbaye d’Afflighem et des monastères qui en dépendaient (Leuven, 1901) 13.
