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
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 (Kennemerland was a duneland, where the farmers had far fewer rights than the farmers in the
polders), the revolt was brought to an abrupt halt. In 1278, Floris captured Gjisbrecht and exiled Herman. The bishop of Utrecht eventually (in 1279 or 1281) 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. == Popular culture ==