Land van Herpen Boekel was founded at some point in the
Middle Ages as a settlement with a number of farms. In the 13th century Boekel was part of de
heerlijkheid Uden. In 1233 a separation took place between the
Land van Cuijk and the and Uden. At that time Uden, together with Herpen, formed a unit of government called a
heerlijkheid. Until the foundation of the city of
Ravenstein,
Herpen was the main city of this region.
Rutger van Herpen sold or leased in 1313 or 1314 the community rights (
gemene gronden) to the residents of Boekel and
Volkel. When the noble lord wanted to improve his cash position, he charged the use of any of its soil, beginning with the wasteland in his
heerlijkheid. This
common land was mainly marshy land and barren higher grounds, such as heaths.
Land of Ravenstein In 1324 the
heerlijkheid of
Uden administratively belonged to the
Land van Ravenstein, under the rule of the House of Valkenburg until 1396. From the aldermen
Herpen and
Uden the
Heikantsgericht was created in 1339. These stretched across the entire former
heerlijkheid of Uden, consisting of
Uden, Boekel and
Zeeland. Of these aldermen, which in total had seven members, two were from Boekel. After Reinoud of Valkenburg (married to Elisabeth of Cleves) died childlessly, the Land van Ravenstein passed to
Adolph of Cleves in 1397, becoming part of
Cleves. The area came under the rule of
Palatinate-Neuburg in 1629. Under the Neuburgs' rule, the area had religious freedom. Because the neighbouring provinces of Brabant and Gelderland from 1648 officially fell under the
States-General, this more and more was seen as "foreign". The religious freedom provided opportunities for Catholics in
Brabant of the States. The Catholics of
Erp built their own barn church on the border with Boekel. Due to the religious freedom several Catholic religious orders also settled in the Land of Ravenstein. In 1741 members of the Brothers Penitent, from the
Handelse Kluis themselves wanted to settle in Boekel. Led by the brothers laid the foundation for the Psychiatric Hospital
Huize Padua. From the 17th century various conflicts arose among the villages of Boekel,
Uden and
Gemert around the demarcation lines between the Ravenstein, Cuijk and Gemert areas. In 1663 the boundary dispute with the
Vrije Heerlijkheid Gemert was settled. In 1729, a similar problem with Uden was settled. ==See also==