Kobus van der Schlossen

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Kobus van der Schlossen was a seventeenth century Dutch robber who features prominently in folktales from Noord-Brabant. According to these, he had Robin Hood-like qualities and protected poor widows against greedy landlords, but he also sold his soul to the devil in exchange for magical powers. With his robber band 'De Zwarte Bende' he made his home in the vast and impenetrable forests of Slabroek near Uden.

Various stories were told about his miraculous escapes from the forces of law. 'De Brobbelbies'; an area of Slabroek which still exists today, received its name from one of these. One day, so the story goes, Kobus accidentally ran into some law-officers in the woods. When he found he couldn't outrun them he jumped into a pond and turned into a water plant ('Bies'). Because of the magical transformation the water started bubbling ('brobbelen'; hence 'Brobbelbies').

The folk hero was based on Jacobus (or Kobus) van der Slossen, a historical criminal who spent some years in the area at the end of the seventeenth century. After serving as a soldier in the many wars which tore up the Netherlands in those days, he joined a gang of ex-soldiers called 'de zwartmakers'. Eventually he was captured in Uden and locked up in the (since demolished) castle of Ravenstein. He was executed in 1695 near Velp.

[edit] Sources

• Naus, Reggie. Zwartmakerij in het land van Ravenstein: de Geschiedenis van Jacobus van der Schlossen, 2006. (book)