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The Egmond charter from 1083 describes goods that the counts of Holland donated, through the centuries, to the abbey of Egmond.
The authenticity of this charter has been the topic of debate since at least the 16th century. Koch (1970) presented an overview of the opinions pro and contra. He concluded that the charter is false, but also that it is based on authentic data. The charter was not written on 16 July 1083 by count Dirk V, but between 1125 and 1150, during the reign of count Dirk VI. Presumably, most of the persons and places mentioned in the text are authentic. So the charter can be used as a source for personal and geographical names. However, the drafter of the charter has been a bit sloppy, here and there. Count Dirk IV (1039 - 1049) is missing in the chronology of the counts. The drafter makes count Dirk V speak of himself as "ego quartus Theodericus" (I, the fourth Dirk). Two persons, abbot Stephan and countess Gertrude, are mentioned as bone memorie, although they were still very much alive in 1083. Abbot Stephan is even mentioned as the first witness, at the end of the charter. Source Koch, Oorkondenboek van Holland en Zeeland, deel I, 1970, nr. 88. Further pages on the Egmond charter: Text - the full text in Latin, Geographical - geographical names in the charter, Persons - personal names in the charter, Pictures - portraits of count Dirk II and countess Hildegard. Dutch Medieval Sources - Start Page |