Rotterdam Zuid-Holland Netherlands

The Heruli: A Fragmented Germanic People in Late Antiquity

The Heruli, a nomadic Germanic people, were active during the later Roman Empire, often engaging in raids and warfare along the empire’s frontiers. By the late 3rd century CE, they had been divided into eastern and western groups, each facing different fates.

1. The Eastern Heruli and the Battle of Naissus (269 CE)

• The eastern contingent of the Heruli participated in large-scale raids in the Balkans, alongside the Goths and other Germanic tribes.
• In 269 CE, they were decisively defeated by Roman forces at the Battle of Naissus (modern Niš, Serbia), one of the most important Roman victories of the 3rd century.
• This battle, led by Emperor Claudius II Gothicus, devastated the eastern Heruli, diminishing their presence as a major independent force.

2. The Western Heruli and Their Appearance at the Rhine (289 CE)

• A western contingent of the Heruli is recorded near the mouth of the Rhine in 289 CE, possibly fleeing the Roman counteroffensives in the Balkans.
• Their movement may have been linked to:
  • Pressure from other migrating tribes, such as the Franks and Saxons.
  • Rome’s shifting military focus, which forced Germanic groups to relocate.
• By this period, they appear to have integrated into other Germanic tribal confederations, continuing their raiding and mercenary activities.

3. The Later Fate of the Heruli

• By the 5th century, the Heruli reappear as mercenaries and foederati (federated allies) serving Rome and other Germanic kingdoms.
• In 476 CE, the Heruli leader Odoacer famously deposed the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, marking the official end of the Western Roman Empire.
• Over time, they merged with other Germanic groups, fading from history as a distinct people by the 6th century.

Significance of the Heruli’s Movements

• Their defeat at Naissus contributed to Roman stability in the Balkans, at least temporarily.
• Their presence at the Rhine indicated ongoing migrations and tribal shifts along the Roman frontiers, foreshadowing later Germanic pressures on the empire.
• As mercenaries and kingdom-builders, the Heruli played a small but crucial role in the transformation of the Roman world into medieval Europe.

The Heruli’s history is emblematic of the shifting alliances, conflicts, and migrations that defined the Late Roman and early medieval periods, contributing to the eventual collapse of Roman authority in the West.

The Raid of Hygelac (Chlochilaicus) and His Defeat by the Franks (c. 516 CE)

According to Gregory of Tours’ History of the Franks, Hygelac, king of the Geats (known in Beowulf as Beowulf's uncle and overlord), led a raid on the Lower Rhine, only to be defeated by a Frankish army commanded by Theudebert, the son of King Theuderic I of the Merovingian Frankish Kingdom.

The Historical Context of Hygelac’s Raid

• Hygelac's attack was likely part of the Scandinavian coastal raids that targeted the Frankish realm during the early sixth century.
• He led his forces into Frisia, likely aiming to plunder Frankish settlements along the Lower Rhine.
• The Franks, under the leadership of Theudebert, responded swiftly, defeating and killing Hygelac.

Dating Hygelac’s Death (c. 516 CE)

• The Danish king Chlochilaicus, mentioned in Gregory’s account, is widely identified with Hygelac.
• N. F. S. Grundtvig, a Danish historian and philologist, used this raid to date Hygelac’s death to around 516 CE.
• The event aligns with the reign of Theuderic I (d. 534 CE), son of Clovis I, further supporting this timeframe.

Conflicting Identities: Geat, Dane, or Gothic King?

• Gregory of Tours calls Chlochilaicus "king of the Danes", suggesting a possible Danish connection to Hygelac.
• In the Liber Monstrorum, he is referred to as "rex Getarum" (king of the Getae), which in medieval sources often referred to the Goths or could be confused with the Geats of Scandinavia.
• The Liber Historiae Francorum calls him "rege Gotorum" (king of the Goths), which may indicate later scribal confusion between the Geats, Goths, and Getae.

The Frankish Victory and the Fate of Hygelac’s Army

• Theudebert, leading the Frankish counterattack, defeats and kills Hygelac during the raid.
• The surviving Geatish raiders are either killed, captured, or forced to retreat.
• This marks one of the earliest recorded Scandinavian raids on the Frankish territories, foreshadowing the later Viking incursions centuries later.

Hygelac’s Place in History and Legend

• Hygelac appears in Beowulf as a historical figure, supporting the idea that the poem preserves historical memory of real events.
• His defeat by the Franks aligns with early medieval accounts of Scandinavian activity along the coasts of Europe.
• Though some sources mistakenly associate him with the Goths or Danes, the core event of his raid and death remains well-documented in Frankish sources.

This raid represents one of the earliest known conflicts between the Franks and Scandinavian raiders, illustrating how Scandinavian warbands had begun testing their strength against the wealthier, Christianized kingdoms of mainland Europe—a trend that would intensify in later centuries with the Viking Age.

II. The Resurgence of the Hook and Cod Conflict

• Jacqueline’s return reignited the factional struggle between the Hooks and the Cods.
• Her supporters, the Hooks, drew their strength from:
  • Petty nobility who resented Burgundian encroachment.
  • Small towns that favored local autonomy over Burgundian centralization.
• The Cods, who opposed her, were primarily:
  • Burghers of major cities, including Rotterdam and Dordrecht.
  • Merchants and officials who favored stability and trade under Burgundian rule.

Johan van Oldenbarnevelt had studied law at Louvain, Bourges, and Heidelberg (where his ultimate conversion to Protestantism first germinated) and, probably, Padua.

After his return to the Netherlands he had settled down as an advocaat (“counsel”) at the Hof van Holland, roughly speaking, the court of appeal for the province of that name, established at The Hague.

When, in 1572, two of the Netherlands provinces, Holland and Zeeland, succeeded in shaking off the Spanish rule from Brussels, the twenty-five-year-old Oldenbarnevelt had not followed the Court of Appeal, which fled to Utrecht, but had decided instead to throw in his lot with the movement of national liberation.

He had even taken part in an attempt to relieve the besieged towns of Haarlem and Leiden.

He had in 1576 been appointed pensionary (strictly, legal adviser, but as a full-time job) of Rotterdam, an office that automatically implies membership of the provincial states (assemblies), and, when the national revolt spreads to the other provinces, frequent attendance at the States-General in Brussels or Antwerp.

When in 1578 a total reconquest by the Spanish armies under the leadership of Alessandro Farnese, duke of Parma, threatens, Oldenbarnevelt is one of the negotiators of the proposed Union of Utrecht.

During the negotiations, it becomes apparent that Oldenbarnevelt is aiming at securing for Holland the politically unassailable position to which the strategically all-but-unassailable province considers itself entitled after having borne the brunt of the revolt alone with Zeeland for nearly seven years.

These activities also bring him into fairly close contact with William the Silent.

The Jews of Rotterdam are granted a liberal charter in 1605.

A similar charter ...

...their home ports, starting a blockade of the Dutch coast, which leads to an immediate collapse of the Dutch economy and even starvation.

The Dutch are unable to feed their dense urban population without a regular supply of Baltic wheat and rye; prices of these commodities soar and the poor are soon unable to buy food.