The Van der Dussens 1250 - 1990

As our story begins, in the middle of the 13th century, Charlemagne’s dream of a universal Christian empire is crumbling. Initially fragmented by inheritance, the imperial power was more or less restored to its unity in the 10th century by Emperor Otto the Great, thanks to a fundamental reform: the imperial crown was no longer inherited, but was awarded by an assembly of Electors. These were a number of German princes and prelates who had the honour and the « hereditary » mission of choosing the most suitable candidate to become King of Germany and then submit his candidacy for the supreme magistracy of the « Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation » to the Pope for approval.

To be effective, such a reform would have to rely on perfect harmony of views between the emperors and the popes, on the absolute honesty of the electors and on sufficient internal coherence between the various regions of an empire stretching from the Baltic to Sicily and from the Danube to the Scheldt.

These are conditions that are difficult to find all at once. Popes and emperors, often rivals rather than partners, set an example of bitter disputes that ate away at highly centralised powers. This anarchy at the top strengthened the authority of the great feudal lords over their fiefdoms. They took advantage of imperial weakness to try and expand at the expense of their neighbours.

Quarrels were particularly fierce in the Low Countries, still known as « Lower Germany », where the Counts of Holland tried to wrest from the Bishops of Utrecht the vast territories given to them by Charlemagne.