November 2nd

On November 2nd, 1418, the short yet bloody war between the Utrecht bishopric and the Teutonic Knights came to a dramatic close. Bishop Frederick of Blankenheim had seized assets from the Teutonic monastery adjacent to the Cathedral of Saint Martin and sent them to Philip of Burgundy. The Teutonic Knights, who were allied with Jacqueline of Bavaria, Philip's adversary in the second Hook and Cod War, were outraged and attempted to restore their wealth by kidnapping Frederick and holding him hostage. But Frederick, paranoid as ever, lived beyond the Teutonic reach within the fortified cathedral. His army of mercenary alter boys rained arrows and other missiles down on the Teutonic besiegers. The Teutonic Knights retreated to near-by Ijsselstein to prepare for a second assault, but it was an ill-fated move. Just before dawn on November 2nd, Frederick's alter boys flooded the canals and destroyed the dams protecting Ijsselstein. Though few actually died in the deluge, the sodden town was soon struck low by plague. Before the month was through the entire population of Ijesselstein was either dead or relocated. Utrecht expanded, consuming its conveniently conquered neighbor and has held Ijsselstein ever since.