Witte van Haemstede (–1321) was a bastard son of

Floris V, Count of Holland Floris V (24 June 1254 – 27 June 1296) reigned as Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1256 until 1296. His life was documented in detail in the Rijmkroniek by Melis Stoke, his chronicler. He is credited with a mostly peaceful reign, modern ...

, famous for military prowess.

Family

Witte's half-brother

John I, Count of Holland John I (1284 – 10 November 1299) was Count of Holland and son of Count Floris V. John inherited the county in 1296 after the murder of his father. Shortly after his birth, after negotiations between Floris and King Edward I of England in Apr ...

, gave him the property connected to

Haamstede Castle Haamstede Castle (Dutch: ''Slot Haamstede'') is a castle in the village of Haamstede on the island of Schouwen-Duiveland. It is a rijksmonument. Castle characteristics The keep dates from the 13th century. In 1525 Haamstede castle (except the d ...

, in Zeeland.

Battle at the Manpad

In 1304 Witte led an army to victory in a battle against the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

, who were threatening the city of

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

. He is said to have defeated the Flemish near

Heemstede Heemstede () is a town and a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the fourth richest municipality of the Netherlands. History Heemstede formed around the Castle ''Heemstede'' that was built overlooking the ...

with the help of the Haarlemmers at the site of the ''Manpad''. In 1817 Mr. David Jacob van Lennep, who lived in the stately house called

Huis te Manpad The Huis te Manpad is an historical villa and former summer home of Jacob van Lennep in Heemstede, the Netherlands; bordered by the Leidsevaart canal, the Manpadslaan, and the Herenweg. It neighbors the estate of Hartekamp, famed for the gardens ...

next to the Manpad, encouraged the Heemstede council to erect a monument. Van Lennep had already composed a romantic song about Witte van Haemstede that was quite popular. The legend says that Witte van Haemstede arrived by ship at

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

and traveled overland to Haarlem over the Manpad, to help the Haarlemmers in their battle against the Flemish who had traveled overland from

Hillegom Hillegom () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Hillegom is part of an area called the Duin- en Bollenstreek ("Dune and Bulb Region"). As such, a large portion of the local economy was tradition ...

and

Lisse Lisse () is a town and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Western Netherlands. The municipality, which lies within the Duin- en Bollenstreek, covers an area of of which is water. Its population was in . Located within the muni ...

. This monument is called ' De Naald' (''The Needle'').

Offspring

Witte married Agnes van der Sluys, in or before 1307. Their descendants were the Lords of Haamstede. Witte had three sons: * Floris I van Haamstede * Arnoud * Jan

References

* *

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haemstede, Witte Van 1280s births 1321 deaths History of Haarlem People from Schouwen-Duiveland Nobility of the County of Holland 14th-century people of the Holy Roman Empire