Gijsbrecht IV of Amstel
Gijsbrecht IV of Amstel or Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel was a powerful lord in the medieval County of Holland and a member of the Van Aemstel family. His territory was Amstelland, and his son was.
Life
His family probably originated from Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, now in the province of North Holland. They derived their name from their castle on the River Amstel, and tried to create an independent principality between [Archdiocese of Archdiocese of Utrecht (695–1580)|Utrecht (695–1580)|Utrecht] and Holland.To this end Gijsbrecht IV—along with the other powerful lords Zweder of Abcoude, Arnoud of Amstel, and Herman VI of Woerden—instigated a revolt against Floris V, Count of Holland, and John I, Bishop-Elect of Utrecht. They held lands on the border with the adjacent Bishopric of Utrecht—the area of Amsterdam, Abcoude, IJsselstein, and Woerden—at the expense of the bishop, and were backed by the craftsmen of Utrecht, the peasants of Kennemerland—Alkmaar and surroundings—Waterland, Amstelland and the West Frisians. However, when Floris made a treaty with the craftsmen and made concessions to the peasants, the revolt was brought to an abrupt halt. In 1278, Floris captured Gjisbrecht and exiled Herman. The bishop of Utrecht eventually also added the lands of the rebellious lords to Floris's territory in retribution.
Gijsbrecht changed sides when opportune, and some accounts allege him to have been involved in Floris's later capture and assassination. After his resulting exile, he likely settled in Oss in the Duchy of Brabant. He died in exile in Flanders, though Professor Pim de Boer at the University of Groningen has found serious, though not entirely conclusive, indications that Gijsbrecht—after his exile, with a few followers—founded Pruissisch Holland, not far from Elbing.