Van Brederode

Brederode Coat of Arms

Ethnicity	Dutch
Current region	Netherlands
Place of origin	Santpoort

The lords of Van Brederode were a noble family from Holland who played an important role during the Middle Ages. The earliest documented members appear in the 13th century in the region of Santpoort, at Castle Brederode.

They were closely descended from the Counts of Holland and the powerful Van Teylingen family (see Slot Teylingen, about halfway between Haarlem and Leiden). Dirk I van Brederode, also called Dirk van Teylingen, built the Brederode castle.

During the Protestant Reformation the Van Brederode family left Holland and their properties were confiscated by the government. Their descendants sued the government, but when the decision came in their favor the family line had died out (the last known descendant lived in the 17th century). The debt to the unknown heirs is still on the Netherlands State Budget ("Nederlandse staatsbegroting"). Currently the Dutch monarch is entitled to the interest of the capital (Queen Wilhelmina was the first to be entitled to this money). In 1967 the sum was said to be around 3.000 million Dutch guilders.

The coat of arms of the family is depicted in the medieval Gelre Armorial (folio 83r).

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