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The Constable of Holland marches in:

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"Your Imperial Highness, your graces,

I am happy that I got here alive.

The present situation in Holland, and particularly in Noord-Holland, is unbearable.

The Burgundian knights are driving good people around like cattle,
the soldiers are burning farms, the sheriffs and bailiffs are extortioning good burgers of Amsterdam and Leiden.

Last week, I received a report that said that the soldiers even had chased the cheesemarket out of Alkmaar,

with your Imperial Highness approval,

I have a drawing of the event with me."



alkmaar1.jpg


"See, how the poor people must run for their lives.

This has come to an end, either Holland will be laid to barren waste or someone has to help Holland to raise from the ashes to become the prosperous county it once was.

How can the Duke Philippe reign over us, when the Duke Willem is the nearest heir to the throne?

After all, the mother of Duke Willem is Countess Maria of Holland, the daughter of our former Count Dirk."
 
The Prussia delegate rises.

"Your Imperial Highness,

We are moved by the noble Gerard ten Berg's account. If those allegations are true, we are shocked. A lord has a duty to protect his own and serve them well, for that is the purpose for which God has appointed them. If a lord does not serve his people, he is not worthy of his title.

In light of this, we strongly suggest that His Imperial Majesty send his own observer to Holland to investigate the veracity of these claims. Our own ambassador in Gelre, Tobias Engelbrecht shall serve as an aide to any Imperial envoy in the Low Lands, if so required by his Majesty.

A further issue is the claim of Duke Willem to the Low Lands under the dominion of Phillipe, called le bon. We urge that legal scholars investigate whether this claim is rightful under Imperial Law."
 
Ludwig of Bavaria says...

Our Holy Emperor, we can testify, this is the situation in the Lowlands provinces governed by Duke Philippe, whose rights over that land is not as acceptable as the ones of Geldrians or ours as was the land of our parents, and also you can see with your own eyes, all this cruelty acts that Philippe men are making over our dutch brother, for the glory of the Empire, the Catholic Religion and Dutch Freedom, we have to ask you to act about this.
 
Burgrave Erhard, legate of the Elector of Brandenburg, rises to speak.

August highness and noble lords, excellent legates, reports of what occurs in Holland are most alarming. Elector Friedrich is in the city now, to attend the Emperor, and he and I spoke at length. The report of the Contstable of Holland is alarming indeed, but for whom does he speak? Is he an agent of the Duke of Gelre or of the Duke of Burgundy who is the lord of Holland?

It is abundantly clear that the Duke of Gelre and Stadholder of Friesland have their own ambitions. What is Dutch freedom? Does not the Duke of Gelre wish to place himself as lord of Holland? And we have already listened to claims against Bavaria. This alliance of which we hear is nothing more than a group of power and land hungry princes seeking to enlarge their dominions by threatening the stability of this Holy Empire.

It is most evident that some sort of imperial commission must be sent to investigate matters. And it is quite obvious that such a commission should not include those parties which even now prepare to assemble in Arnhem. Thought no reproach is intended toward all those party to that assembly, it is under the leadership of the Duke of Gelre who is a disputant in this matter.

With regard to the legal claims of Duke Willem against Duke Philippe concerning Holland, I would suggest that a small number of those of us familiar with the laws of the Empire discuss the matter. I am not without such knowledge, yet I do not presume to put myself forward, but am entirely at your highness' service. The advice of the estimable Dr Lapicule might be sought to argue the Burgundian claims.

With his excellency of Genoa, the Elector of Brandenburg regards any precipitous aggression against the Duke of Burgundy to be an assault against the peace of the Empire.

The Burgrave returns to his seat.
 
A representative from Denmark enters the Diet, bowing to the Emperor and its members.

"Greetings to His August Majesty Albert, Archduke of Austria and Emperor of the Romans, from His Majesty Erik VII of Pomerania, King of Denmark and Norway, Sovereign of Sweden. It has been brought to the attention of my liege that the matter of Duke Philippe III le Bon of Burgundy's treatment of his Dutch vassals has been brought before this assembly, and it is this matter which I wish to address. Thus, I present to you the findings of Lord Thor Pedersen, Count of Ostlandet and Danish ambassador to Gelre, on his travels through Gelre. And I quote:

"...my travels through Gelre have revealed to me things which I thought not possible. The shocking, course brutality with which the Duke treats his subjects is appalling. He cares nothing for the welfare of his Dutch subjects, but treats them simply as a tax source and recruitment center. In fact, just the other day in my travels I came upon a most upsetting thing. On my way to the town of Kloster Katwijk, I encountered a burning monastery. Concerned, obviously, for the sanctity of this house of God, as well as for the monks and their possessions, I quickly made my way over to see if I could offer any assistance. Finding, however, that no one was in sight, and that the monastery was too dangerous to enter, I rode on towards Kloster Katwijk, planning on reporting the fire to the mayor.

Upon my arrival, I encountered the monks who had inhabitated the monastery, and they revealed the startling truth to me. When the monks had been unable to pay the absurdly heavy tax levee which the Duke had set on them, agents of the Duke had been ordered to burn the monastery down, forcing the monks to flee to Kloster Katwijk. What I could not understand then, and still cannot understand, is how a good Christian could commit such a vile act upon a house of God..."

Thank you for hearing this testimony. His Majesty hopes that the Diet is able to come to a sound conclusion on this matter, and is sure that your Graces will choose the right course. And now, I must take my leave of this assembly..."

Bowing again, the representative exits.
 
A messeger arrived in the diet.

"Great Emperor,

Queen Giovanna the second, Queen of Napoli (etc.), has sent me to respectfully ask for speaking rites in the diet of your Empire. Her Majesty has heard of some matters in your empire concerning the lowlands that she would like to send a representitive to speak on.

An ambassador can arrive ina few weeks if you accept."
 
Burgrave Erhard rises, his face scowling:

My lords, what is this with men wandering in and out to speak against the Duke of Burgundy. Though the King of Denmark has never shown himself a rude or arrogant man to my knowledge, his man has most certainly. To stride in and speak before an assembly when he has no right, no voice in our deliberations. No question of acknowledgment, no permission sought. But to make his presentment and then to immediately take his leave.

I believe that it is quite clear to all that those parties to the conference at Arnhem, if they deign to speak before this Diet, will do so against the Duke of Burgundy. The same evidence we hear from all, most damning from this Constable of Holland whose identity I do most heartily question.

Again it seems to me that a powerful cause is being made to justify some planned action against the Burgundian lands in Holland. And again I reiterate that such an action can be seen as no less than an attack against this Empire.

As for the representative of the Queen of Naples, I thank you for your courtesy and I endorse your request to speak, though I admit before all that I have no knowledge of what light you might shed on this matter.
 
A letter arrives from Denmark

To His Grace Burgrave Erhard of Brandenburg,

We have just received word of your complaints against our representative to the Imperial Diet, and would like you to know that they have been heard. It appears that our representative was ill-informed of the conduct and procedures of the Diet. We would like to apologize for this error, and assure you that it shall not happen again. The representative in question has been, in a manner of speaking, "reprimanded".

However, his mistakes do not change the validity of the argument presented. Lord Pedersen is not in the habit of lying to us in his correspondances, thus it is our sincere belief that what he has said is absolute truth.

Thank you for informing us of your grievances, as stated before they have been taken care of.

By his own hand at Copenhagen,
His Majesty Erik VII of Pomerania,
King of Denmark and Norway,
Sovereign of Sweden
 
The Polish Holy man rises to give his final speech. But before he can, the Polish guards who brought him to the Diet sotrm into it and surround him. There are murmurs around the room as the man finds his own guadrs leveling their swords at him. Stepping forward, the Captain of the Guards tries to address the Diet:

"Noble members of the Diet. Although I am but a lowly soldier and cannot claim any high ranking title, please permit me to speak for my men. We are sorry if we have acted out of order but once you hear the words of this letter you wil udnerstand. It has just arived from Cracaw, written by the hand of the King himself:

Memmbers of the Diet,

I have had a bad conscience as of late, a very bad one at that. What this man has done, to both of us, I kept solely to myself. Bt the truth must come out, I cannot keep it any longer. The man who has represented Poland at this Diet is guilty of some of the most heinous crimes known to man. He has subjugated my authourity but as his best friend, I did nothing against him.
The man standing before you is the one responsible for the first assaissination attempt on the Grandmaster's life. Please fogive me for not telling you sooner, but I was torn between my friendship to him and my duty to God to speak the truth. I can write no more of these matters but I will understand if you request that I come to the Diet to address this matter more fully.
I offer him up into yuor custody, his worst act was against the Teutons, and as they are part of the Empire he must be brought before you for judgement. If yuo do not want him then I can assure you that I will deal with him most adequately when he is returned to Cracaw.

In the Hope of Peace,

King Wladyslaw II Jagiello.
King of Poland, Duke of Cracow, Duke of Greater Poland, Duke of Kuiavia, Duke of Mazovia, Rightful Duke of Pomerrania, Rightful Duke of Silesia, Rightful Duke of Ruthenia and Rightful Duke of Prussia.
 
The Teutonic Ambassador stands up
uhum..
The Polish king has acted good in the matter of assasination. But we are still worried why he did not tell us sooner ? as apparently he had the information before. And still he denied any polish involvement.
The ambassador should be imprisoned and judged before an supreme court, consisting of representatives of Prussia, Poland, Teutonic Order and Austria.

Then we will drop our charges of assasination against the polish king.
Only the incite rebllion and try to convince nations to declare war on us,issues remains
 
University of Arnhem

Jan van Wassenaer rises and adresses the Emperor and the other envoys and delegates:

Rubens1.jpg





In the ongoing meeting in Arnhem, The Duke will propose the following charter.

The Duke of Gelre feels that this will promote peace and prosperity to the lowlands and indeed, to all of the Holy Roman Empire.

We would like to see this charter as the beginning of a new era in the cooperation between sovereigns in the Empire.

Willem van Egmond, contrary to some envoys believes, is a true promotor of the peace, trades and scholastics in the region.

He would also consider it a great honour, if Your Imperial Majesty would act as Patron for this fountain of knowledge.


With your majestys promision, i will give You the charter:
Willem van Egmond, Duke of Gelre to all the Bishops, priests counts, barons, judges, executors of Justice, bailiffs, and all authorities of the Duchy:

With the favor of God , thanks to Whom we live and reign,
and to Whom we attribute all good deeds done by us,

We wish that in all parts of the Roman Empire many will become wise and knowledgeable, by having access to a fountain of knowledge,
and a seminary of doctrine., so that they, made proficient by study and observation ,will serve divine justice , and will become useful to us and the Empire,
for the administration of Justice and of the laws which we urge everyone to obey .

We have therefore decided that in the most pleasant city of Arnhem
there should be teaching of the arts and of all disciplines ,
so that those who are starved for knowledge will find it in our own Duchy,
and will not be forced , in their search for knowledge, to become pilgrims and to beg in foreign lands.

We intend to provide for the good of those of our subjects who, after having become learned, will hope to acquire wealth,
since the acquisition of what is good cannot be sterile, and will be followed by nobility, the halls of the tribunals, wealth, and the grace and favors of friendship.

Therefore we will invite those scholars who are not without merit , and without doubt we will entrust them with the administration of justice once they have become able to do so Therefore be happy and ready for the teachings that scholars desire.

We will allow you to live in a place where everything is in abundance,
where the homes are sufficiently spacious,
where the customs of everyone are affable, and where one can easily transport by sea or land what is necessary to human life.

To them we offer all useful things, good conditions, for them we will look for teachers, promise goods and offer prizes to those who are worthy of it.

We will keep them under the gaze of their parents, we will free them from many labors, and from the necessity of long trips, almost pilgrimages.

We will protect them from the dangers of brigands who would deprive them of their goods on the long roads.

Among the teachers that we have assigned to the School we have Erasmus van
Ceulenburg,
a faithful judge, professor of civil rights a, man of great science and proven loyalty.

We would therefore to all of you who govern provinces and preside over administrations,
to let all these things known to all and everywhere

These are the conditions that we offer to the students:

First, that there will be doctors and teachers in every Faculty.

We assure the students, wherever they come from, that they will be able to come , stay and return without any risk to their persons or goods.

The best houses will be given to them , and their rent will be at most two ounces of gold. All the houses will be rented for a sum up to that amount, bases on an estimate by two citizens and two students.

There will be loans given to students, based on their needs, by those who are designated to do so, with the pawning of the books, which will be temporarily returned after receiving the guarantee from other students.

The student will not leave the city until he has paid back his debt, or has given back the pawns given to him temporarily. Such pawns will not be requested by the creditor as long as the Students remains in School.

In civil trials all will have to appear before their teachers. As for grain meat, fish wine and other things that students need, we will not make any rule since the province has all these things in abundance and all will be sold to students as it is to citizens.

We invite the students to such a laudable and great task, we promise to respect these conditions, to honor your persons and to order that you should be honored by all in the Duchy.


Arnhem 5 June 1422.
 
Suddenly the doors tp the Imperial Diet open as a short plump man enters the room. He quickly waddles over to an empty seat and begins to speak

I am Leonard Fourner. I have been sent by Philippe le Bon, duc de Bourgogne to represent the Duchy of Burgundy in this Imperial Diet. His Grace has recieved word of the once respected Duchies of Gelre and Friesland telling lies in front of His Majesty himself. Gelre, Friesland, and Brabant preach Dutch Independence, but all they really want is to steal land from the Duke of Burgundy. Gelre brings in the Constable of Holland, who has been known to make to make poor politican decisions and he actually probably was aware before he came to this court that the Duke of Burgundy was going to have him replaced. The Constable of Holland has been know to say and do things, when a large sum of money is presented in front of him. I would like to have the pleasure to announce that every foul word that came out of the Former Constable of Holland's mouth was a lie. Holland is treated as well as any other province under the Duke of Burgundy. His Grace has always had great pride in how well his people love him and His Grace has sent investigators to Holland that report that they still do want him as their Duke. His Grace is very dissapointed in Friesland considering he is related to Jacqueline de Baviere, comtesse de Friesland and he always considered the comtesse to be a close ally. But Friesland has given the Duke of Burgundy letters of peace while trying to rather support for war in other realms. Though I believe the Duke of Burgundy was hurt deeply by the annoucement that Brabant cancelled her vassalship with Burgundy. Not only that, but Henry III, duc de Brabant and Limbourg is the son of the Duke of Burgundy's own uncle! He stabbed a cousin in the back, but allying with people that want to weaken Burgundy. His Grace's aids have told me many tears were let loose when Philippe le Bon, duc de Bourgogne heard of Henry III betrayment of him. If only Henry III would of talked to the Duke as a man they could of reached some agreement.
Now many of you know Duke Phillipe of Burgundy very closely and you know that the atrocities that the Duke is excused of is not in the Duke's character at all. I hope you all understand how difficult this is for Duke Phillipe, considering some of the backstabbers were blood relatives.

Fourner pushes away a tear and sits down.
 
A messenger enters the court and hands a message to Leopoldo. Leopoldo, after reading the message rises and addresses the Diet.

"Noble Delegates, Emperor,

I have an announcement to make. Genoa is now at peace with the Tunisians, and one of the terms is that Genoa renounces all claims to the Maghreb and will end her conquests there, which includes the lands of Fez, Morocco, Algiers, and Tunisia. I thank you for your words of support, but the war is over, so no aide shall be necessary."
 
Several clerks and courtiers come scurrying into the room. Cardinal Olbrecht enters with a monk tightly holding his arm as he enters. His once piercing green eyes are dulled with a look of pain and sadness. As he shakes the monk off he walks to the nearest table and leans heavily on it. He looks around the room realising that one of these nations could easily have been the ones paying for his assasination. Olbrecht's head is bowed in pain for several long seconds before he looks up a look of resolve and power on his face.

"Most noble delegates and august Emperor

I am presently on my way to Florence to meet with Conclave presently sittingn and to relieve my no doubt skilled colleague in representing the clergy of Bohemia. I realise it is unprecedented me being here but I do have a specific request to make.

My dear Emperor is there a room we can speak in private - my request is quite unorthodox."
 
Jan van Wassenaer rises and adresses the Emperor:

Rubens1.jpg



"Your Imperial Majesty,

I am afraid that it is too late to question the Constable of Holland.

It seems that he has made a hasty return trip to Leiden, I am not aware of the reasons for that.

Maybe your highness have assembled the commision intended for Holland?
The commision could of course question the Constable and indeed any you would like at place.


If so, and if you like, you could of course stop at Arnhem and meet with the Duke Willem van Egmond and his guests at the Oude Kastell."
 
Jan van Wassenaer does not even bother to rise to adress the Emperor, he says, sitting,

Your Imperial Highness,

The Duke and the Duchy, and might I add, the whole Lowlands community are still waiting.

We are waiting for an answer if you would like to act as patron for the proposed fountain of knowledge at Arnhem,

We are waiting for some reaction against the evildoings in the lowlands,

We are waiting anxiously for the Imperial Commision to at least come to Holland and see with their own eyes,

Have the Emperor forgotten about that part of the Empire, Is he blind for the lowlands,

We beg you sire, let us know your thoughts....

van Wassenaer sinks deeper into the chair, he even snivels a bit.
 
Albert smiles at Jan van Wassenaer .
"I will agree to be the patron of the fine institution in Arnhem.
I do enjoy sponsoring places of learning and enlightenment.
I shall assemble a commission to investigate events in Holland though I doubt this will lead to Burgundy losing the provinces."

Turning to the Bohemians
"The Bohemian delegation with Cardinal Olbrecht shall be housed at the Hoffberg. I trust this shall be sufficient to allow the good Cardinal to regain some strength."
 
Albert turns to face the Polish Captain.
"Captain this scoundrel will be placed in the dungeons for his crimes.
The King of Poland will however have to work hard to repair the damage this man has done to his reputation.
However the Diet shall consider any actions we should take to protect our interests."
 
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