“Ernous qui garni son castiel” The Lords of Oudenaarde and their Fortresses (c. 1050-1300): the (Military) Establishment of a Baronial Power1 Robin Moens Oudenaarde. from Detail map,the Jacob van Deventer c. 1548 (died 1575) THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 195 JOURNAL NO. 34 The Lords of Oudenaarde and their Fortresses (c. 1050-1300) “Ernous qui garni son castiel” The Lords of Oudenaarde and their Fortresses (c. 1050-1300): the (Military) Establishment of a Baronial Power 1 2 6 5 4 7 8 9 11 15 12 10 13 Fig. 1: The Land of Oudenaarde c. 1250 on a geographical map of the counties of Flanders (northwest) and Hainaut (southeast). Scale 1:500.000. Thin line: nowadays borders of Belgium. Thick line: borders of the counties of Flanders and Hainaut. The major fiefs held from the lords of Oudenaarde are in white with a grey border, the other possessions are: from left to right (and from dark grey to light) the barony of Oudenaarde (acquired before 1038), the barony of Pamele and the Land between Maarke and Ronne (taken together as they were quite interwoven – acquired before 1064), the Tenement of Inde around Ronse (acquired before 1089) and the castellanies of Flobecq and Lessines (acquired before 1110). Places indicated on the map: 1 – Bruges; 2 – Ghent; 3 – Antwerp; 4 – Courtrai; 5 – Aalst; 6 – Kruishoutem; 7 – Oudenaarde; 8 – Lessines; 9 – Ronse; 10 – Hubermont (Ellezelles); 11 – Flobecq; 12 – La Royère; 13 – Tournai; 14 – Mons; 15 – Lille; 16 – Brussels. Sources for all maps and designs: ArcGIS Online. De Ferraris (1771-1778). Google Maps. Van Deventer (1545). Villaret (1745-1748). Duvosquel (1985-1996). Sanderus (1641-1644). Other, complementary sources are indicated in the legend of the image concerned. Though the establishment and evolution of established their dominium constructing their castles in general has already been widely and fortifications in the border zone between the thoroughly studied as to the French realm, an counties of Flanders and Hainaut, where the analysis of the long-term evolution of such centre of their domain was situated. ‘Arnold, castral sites in the High Middle Ages and - above who defended his castle’ (see the Anglo-Norman all - of the strategies followed during their title above) – thus the chronicler Philipp Mousket construction and improvement seems still to be praised the prowess of Arnold IV of Oudenaarde most wanting.¹ The present paper will try to in 1225.² It can be a significant image for the answer (partially) to this lacuna by studying the whole lineage of the Arnolds, lords of castles of the lords of Oudenaarde from c. 1050 Oudenaarde, who expanded their dominion by till c. 1300, a period in which these lords tried to constructing castles. THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 196 JOURNAL NO. 34 The Lords of Oudenaarde and their Fortresses (c. 1050-1300) But before starting this study, the word ‘castle’ of encellulement, ‘encellment’, as Fossier did), in itself should be briefly reflected on. As because of political and economic reasons.⁶ Coulson proposed, it seems more adequate to Nowadays one tends to speak about several speak about ‘fortresses’ or ‘fortification’, terms incastellamento waves: a first around the year quite often (though in a very confused way) 1000, to which some add another (an used by the medieval sources to describe what “encastellation of the castles”) c. 1050-1100 we commonly tend to call ‘castles’. A ‘castle’ and a third wave (the biggest one or ‘stone was above all the seat of a castellany: a wave’) c. 1150-1200 with often a very slow territorial rather than military organisation and development and a great continuity between not necessarily implying a fortified building at the two phases (and even previous the centre of it (e.g. the castellany of Leffinge- settlements.⁷ Slijpe, which had only a farm as its seat).³ Still I would suggest another succession of it remains quite difficult to define such waves for the Land of Oudenaarde, that will fortifications. In Normandy around 1099 such structure the present article. Firstly the a fortress would be any building with a rampart different periods of the acquisition and over 3m. In thirteenth-century Champagne the creation of the Land of Oudenaarde which minimum criteria became a masonry wall of coincide with the construction of the first 5m, flanked by towers and mostly surrounded fortification at Oudenaarde (1), the by a ditch.⁴ According to these criteria the annexation and construction of the first Oudenaarde fortresses that will be described fortress of Ronse (2) and the acquisition of hereafter can all be classified as such – though Lessines and Flobecq with their first not always explicitly called a ‘castle’. But out of fortresses (3). Afterwards will come two practical motives the words ‘fortress’ and phases of real incastellamento: the ‘castle’ will be used as synonyms in the present orientation of the towns of Pamele- article. Oudenaarde, Lessines and Flobecq on their As the textual evidence (what is a castle?) respective fortresses (4) and the creation seems to be requiring some critical of elaborated defence systems around the reservation, a variety of approaches will be castles and with integration of the towns combined in the present article in order to under Arnold IV (5). study the fortresses of the lords of 1. The Turris Aldenardensis (1038/1064) Oudenaarde. Historical or archival sources On the artificial island of Oudenaarde a will be taken into account, but also maps, tower must have been constructed before archaeological findings, iconographic 1064 and a residence must have existed material etc. With this variety of sources and from before 1038 as in that year Hugh I bore with comparative researches an attempt will already the name of ‘Oudenaarde’. Till now be made to fill in the lacunae in the source not many traces of this first castle have been material (e.g. archaeological excavations are found, but for some eleventh-century timber still lacking for Lessines and Hubermont).⁵ posts (most probably from 1016-1041) on Incastellamento means the organisation of the southwest of the thirteenth-century population centres (towns and villages) castle.⁸ The exact location of the tower is still around castles and/or other centres (e.g. much debated. I myself would opt for a churches, in which case it is better to speak situation in the middle of the later castle.⁹ THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 197 JOURNAL NO. 34 The Lords of Oudenaarde and their Fortresses (c. 1050-1300) castle of Oudenaarde was in fact a transformed castle motte, by its size (c. 60m diameter) quite normal for a motte. Thus it would indicate a motte of c. 10-15m height.¹⁵ The question remains whether the first tower was already built on a motte (because then it would have been one of the very first in the Low Countries) or not rather a ringfort around a tower that was then ‘enmotted’ c. 1100, which would seem more probable.¹⁶ Only further excavations could (perhaps) solve this question. Another open question is when the Burgschelde, the moat between the (artificial) castle island and the town of Fig. 2: Oudenaarde c. 1038-1064. To the left the Oudenaarde, was dug. Still, the strict motte and bailey (with the church of St. Walburga) separation between the comital town and of the count’s castle can be seen, to the right the castle of the lord of Oudenaarde. The chapel of St. the castle island would favour an eleventh- Amand can be seen on top of the map. century origin.¹⁷ 2. The Annexation of Ronse (c. 1089) Noteworthy is that at only some 300m In 1089 a member of the house of Oudenaarde distance another castle was built the so- appears for the very first time as advocate of St. called ‘stone of England’, a comital castle Hermes chapter of Ronse. As the most powerful mostly dated c. 1053, though there could lords in the immediate neighbourhood of Ronse already have been a residence in. Rests of the it was quite logical that they would become moats of this castle have been found during advocates of Ronse and the connected ‘Tene- excavations in 1994, 2001-2002 and 2008.¹⁰ ment of Inde’.¹⁸ The first motte of Ronse was The parish church of St. Walburga must then presumably the Old Motte van den Bock in the have been the count’s chapel, situated on the northern part of the town.¹⁹ bailey of his castle.¹¹ Around 1050 or 1075-1100 there were in the Low Countries two types of fortress: ringforts, as the comital castle of Oudenaarde, and the newly appeared castral mottes, both surrounded by moats (which were very important status symbols).¹² The vertical tower (as the turris of Hugh and Arnold I) on the motte was a further status symbol and sign of power (political, social, economic, territorial): the lord was the one who “turrim ... tenuerit”.¹³ Or as Mesqui had it: the keep – often still a wooden structure Fig. 3: Ronse c. 1089. From north to south: the – ‘incarnated the sovereignty of the castle Old Motte, the church of St. Hermes and the lord’.¹⁴ I assume that the thirteenth-century church of St. Martin. THE CASTLE STUDIES GROUP 198 JOURNAL NO. 34 The Lords of Oudenaarde and their Fortresses (c. 1050-1300) 3. Pamele, Lessines and Flobecq c. 1110-1130 Lessines The beginning of the eleventh century saw an The village of Lessines was certainly older expansion of the territory and of the castles than Flobecq. Around 980 there must already in possession of the lords of Oudenaarde, have been a village on the Dender island, which all began with a lady. which shifted to the left bank before 1100.²³ There must also have been some kind of Pamele / Oudenaarde noble residence since the middle of the The lady in question was Matilda of eleventh century at the latest, presumably on Oudenaarde, only (known) daughter of the site of the later castle.²⁴ Arnold II († 1107).