Empel en Meerwijk Castle was a medieval castle just north of 's-Hertogenbosch. All that's left is a terrain where the castle outlines have been visualized.
Early history
Name of the castle
The castle was the original seat of the Lords of Empel and Meerwijk, henceforward . The current name of the castle is Empel en Meerwijk Castle, or , designating it as such. I.e. the name Empel en Meerwijk Castle is a construct, which was never used before the twentieth century. Before that, the castle was referred to as or , but that name was later taken by Meerwijk Castle, originally called . In sources predating the nineteenth century the castle is often referred to as the House of Empel.
The first lords of Empel en Meerwijk
In 1154 a Daniel of Orthen is witness to the transfer of rights on Park Abbey to Godfrey III, Count of Louvain. It is likely that he was Daniël of Meerwijk, and that his family inhabited a house (castle) at the hamlet Meerwijk near Empel in 1231.
He was likely succeeded by a son Daniel of Meerwijk. In turn he was succeeded by a third Daniel who died between 1251 and 1260, and had a brother Hendrik van Meerwijk. Next came Wouter, and then Jan van Meerwijk. In 1311 Jan van Meerwijk became a bondsman of Guelders for his alod, which consisted of the castle, outer bailey and some land. Turning an alod into a fief was not favorable for the local lord, but happened more often in the area as Guelders and Brabant were encroaching on the Meuse. The high jurisdiction of Empel en Meerwijk was a loan from Guelders via the Lord of Megen. The low jurisdiction was a loan from Brabant.
The first version of Empel en Meerwijk Castle was probably a motte-and-bailey castle. In the 21st century limited archaeological excavations took place and found what might have been a motte. The form of the suspected motte has been made visible in the Castle park by placing a panna cage.
The Van Herlaer's Lords of Empel en Meerwijk (1342-<1413)
In 1342 Johan of Meerwijk transferred the high and low jurisdiction of Empel en Meerwijk to Johan Scoks van Herlaer, who then received these in loan from the Duke of Brabant. Johan Scoks van Herlaer was a member of the Van Loon family, which was related to the Van Herlaer's. At the time Johan was an older man, perhaps a son of Gerard van Loon and Aleid van Herlaer.
A study shows that in 1330-1350 the Van Herlaers gained Empel en Meerwijk Castle, Bokhoven Castle, Ammersoyen Castle, and Poederoijen Castle. It concludes that for the Dukes of Guelders the Herlaers closed their line along the Meuse against Brabant. 'To bind all the strongholds along the river Maas to his person in such a short period clearly indicated a deliberate and strategic military policy of Reinald II.'
By 1348 Knight Gerard (1348-1383/1396) was Lord of Meerwijk. In all probability he was a son of Johan Coc van Herlaer. During the Guelders' Brothers war (1350-1361) Gerard supported Edward, Duke of Guelders against Reginald III, Duke of Guelders, who was supported by Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Brabant. Later Wenceslaus invaded the Bommelerwaard in 1366 and fought Guelders till 1368. During this war Empel en Meerwijk Castle was occupied by Jan van Redelgem. By 1369 Gerard had been reinstated at Meerwijk. The big picture was that the Dukes of Brabant wanted to gain access to the Meuse, and make it the northern frontier of Brabant.
Jan van Herlaar (>1383-<1413) Lord of Empel en Meerwijk was Gerard's son and successor. He married Agnes de Rover from a 's-Hertogenbosch family. Jan's daughter Jeanne married Willem van Gent from 's-Hertogenbosch in 1413. It's not known whether she inherited Meerwijk. The Herlaer's of Empel en Meerwijk were generally too insignificant to choose sides in the many wars of the era.
On the castle terrain the remains of a 10 by 7 m fourteenth century brick oven were recently found. Therefore, the bricks for the castle, or changes to the castle might have been produced on site. The Empel Folly has been built on top of the medieval oven to commemorate it.
15th and 16th centuries
Not much is known about Empel en Meerwijk Castle during this time. Empel was caught up in the many wars with Gelderland, but it is often not clear whether references relate to the castle or the village.
During this time Jan van Wesemael and Daniel van Bouchout were lords. In 1471 the famous House of Arenberg got possession of Empel en Meerwijk. This lasted till 1566.