Cape Town Image: Netherlands-4192

A Cape Town Castle Military Museum tagged image from photographer – archer10 (Dennis) 98M Views as published on Flickr.

Netherlands-4192 – Wall Mural
Castle Military Museum
Image by archer10 (Dennis) 98M Views

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Wall painting in the building.

Self-sacrifice – Cavalry officer Jan van Schaffelaar refused to surrender so he jumped off the castle that he and his troops were defending – 1482.

Jan van Schaffelaar (c.1445-1482) was a cavalry officer in the duchy of Guelders (or Gelre), the Netherlands. Born in the region of Barneveld in the quarter of the Veluwe about 1445, he was in the military service of David of Burgundy, the Bishop of Utrecht during the region’s factional war known as the Hook and Cod Wars. The oldest written description of Van Schaffelaar’s actions is found in a chronicle from 1698 by the historian Antonius Matthaeus of Utrecht. According to this chronicle, on July 16, 1482, Cod troops from castle Rosendael near Arnhem under the command of Jan van Schaffelaar got into conflict with Hook troops from Amersfoort and Nijkerk. The troops from Rosendael captured the church and tower of the village of Barneveld, but they were shot at with cannons, killing four or five. After negotiations, their opponents stated that they would accept their surrender only if the defenders would throw their commander from the tower. The men were unwilling to do so, but Van Schaffelaar stated that he would have to die some day and that he did not want to cause his men trouble. Having said this, he put his hands to his sides and jumped off the tower. Despite the great height of the tower he was not immediately killed, but was finished off by his enemies.