Herman VI van Woerden

Herman VI van Woerden ( – after 1303) was a lord of

Woerden Woerden () is a city and a municipality in central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht, and the fact that it has rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commu ...

. He was the son of Herman V van Woerden and Badeloch Clemeta van Amstel, daughter of Gijsbrecht III van Amstel. It is assumed he became ruler of Woerden after 1252, the last year that his father was mentioned. He pledged his loyalty to the bishop of Utrecht as his father had done before him, but he nonetheless desired to expand his territory. In the 1280s, the lands between the

County of Holland The County of Holland was a State of the Holy Roman Empire and from 1433 part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading province of the Dutch Republic, of which it remained a par ...

and the Bishopric of Utrecht were sold to

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, moderni ...

. These lands included Woerden, which made Van Woerden a vassal of the Count of Holland. Van Woerden was not happy with this, and several conflicts followed. In 1288, the Count of Holland and Van Woerden reconciled. Van Woerden took part in the conspiracy to kidnap

. Together with Gerard van Velzen and

Gijsbrecht IV of Amstel Gijsbrecht IV of Amstel or Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel ( – ) was a powerful lord in the medieval County of Holland and a member of the Van Aemstel family. His territory was Amstelland, and his son was . Life His family probably originated from ...

he imprisoned the count in the

Muiderslot Muiden Castle (Dutch: ''Muiderslot'', ) is a castle in the Netherlands, located at the mouth of the Vecht river, some 15 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam, in Muiden, where it flows into what used to be the Zuiderzee. It is one of the better kno ...

after capturing him by setting up a fake Falconry hunt. After the local population got wind of their count's imprisonment, they rebelled. When Floris attempted to escape, Van Velzen killed him with a dagger. Van Woerden fled and just like Gijsbrecht managed to reach Amstel, from where he went into Exile. He subsequently lost all his titles and lands. Van Woerden married Elizabeth van Brederode in 1265, a daughter of William, Count of Brederode, and Hildegonda van Voorne. From this marriage he had a daughter named Clementa van Woerden (1265–1316). Van Woerden supposedly married for a second time in 1287, to Elisabeth van Amstel. 13th-century criminals 1240s births 1300s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain {{Netherlands-bio-stub