Bertha van Heukelom
Bertha van Heukelom, was a Dutch noble, the legendary heroine of the Siege of IJsselstein Castle in 1296. She was the daughter of Otto I van Arkel lord of Heukelom and married around 1280 to Gijsbrecht van IJsselstein.
In 1296, her spouse was imprisoned in Culemborg by Hubrecht van Vianen of Culemborg as a loyalist of the County of Holland, in the then ongoing local feud between Holland and the bishopric of Utrecht. Bertha defended the castle against the siege by Culemborg during the imprisonment of her spouse. Her defense has been written about since the Middle Ages and made her a local heroine.
