Spike and Suzy 'The Treasure of Beersel'
Hendrik III Van Witthem
Lord of Beersel
Hendrik (1439–1515) was Lord of Beersel, Braine-l'Alleud and Boutersem. He served on the Council of Brabant and was chamberlain to Maximilian, Philip the Handsome, and later Charles V.
Van Witthem was a passionate falconer. Falconry — the capturing and training of falcons for hunting — was extremely popular at the time. At imperial and royal courts, it was considered a prestigious pastime, especially for hunting wild ducks, wood pigeons, and herons. Common folk, on the other hand, mostly used goshawks and sparrow hawks.
According to legend, the son of Hendrik van Witthem’s falconer accidentally left the cage open the day before a grand hunting party, and the falcon flew off. Despite a thorough search, the bird couldn’t be found. Hendrik III was furious. To protect his son, the falconer took the blame — and van Witthem promptly had him thrown into prison. But then, miraculously, the trained falcon returned to the castle on its own the very next morning.
Isabella van der Spout was the wife of Hendrik van Witthem.
They married in 1470 and had six children together. Isabella died in 1503. When Hendrik passed away in 1515, the couple were laid to rest side by side in a beautiful bas-relief tomb in the church of Beersel.