Introduction

Very many deeds of pawning are known from the late Middle Ages. The basically personal bond between feudal lord and feudal man was thus formalised in a charter. In the fourteenth century, the counts of Holland kept increasingly systematic registers of copies of these charters. This way, they themselves knew what they owed.

In this charter, William III (1304-1337), count of Henegouwen, Holland and Zeeland, pledges to an important nobleman, not with a piece of land but with a certain right. In exchange for this pledge, William hoped for the nobleman's unconditional loyalty.

Physical Description

Parchment charter, written in 1315. Seal has disappeared. Lower edge shows incisions for the seal tail.