1 charter of Arnold of Rotselaar relating to the wine harvest in Brabant.

1 f. (17 x 23 cm), on vellum, in Latin, with two pendant seals (seals in fragments, with mss annot. on the back).

This deed concerns a vineyard located on a hill named Roodeberg ("qui vulgo Roidebergh dicitur, nuper cum vinea plantate"), in Rotselaar (10 km north of Leuven). At that time, Leuven and its vicinity were home to the most important vineyards of the region. The oldest document mentioning the cultivation of vines there dates from the 12th century. Almost all of these vineyards are known to us only from deeds dating from the 14th to the 16th century. From that time on, wine-growing diminished and almost completely disappeared at the beginning of the 18th century.
The seal of Arnold of Rotselaar (D.: 6 cm) depicts him as a knight, provided with his military armour, helmet on his head, on his horse with his shield (and probably with a sword in his other hand). The left side is unfortunately broken. Despite this, for a 13th-c. seal it is preserved in a good condition.
Ref. Halkin, F. - Étude historique sur la culture de la vigne en Belgique. Liège, L. Grandmont-Donders, 1895, pp. 103-104.