The taking of the castle of Reifferscheid (July–September 1385)

The last Landfriede in the region dated from 9 April 1383 and assembled the dukes of Brabant, Jülich and Guelders, the archbishop of Cologne and the towns of Cologne and Aachen. It may have met at the instigation of Wenceslas (II) of Bohemia. In 1385, John, lord of Reifferscheid, Renaud of Reifferscheid, lord of Bedburg, and their men disturbed the peace and the commerce. Among other misdeeds, they attacked the subjects of the duke of Luxemburg. They thus attracted the ire of the Landfriede. An imposing army was raised and placed under the command of Pothe of Chiastolowitz, seneschal of Luxemburg and representative of Wenceslas (II) of Bohemia. It included men-at-arms sent by all the members including the duchess of Brabant. In effect, although the links between the duchies of Brabant and Luxemburg had been severed, Joan had still to respect the undertakings made by her late husband. Traditionally the siege of the castle of Reifferscheid is dated to August and early September 1385. We must reconsider this chronology, as an act of the duchess informs us that the operation lasted for X sepmaines moins I jour and that the castle surrendered before 18 September 1385. In this case, the siege must have started by mid-July at the earliest. Unfortunately, the silence of the narrative sources does not permit me to confirm this.