Klaas I van Borselen

Nicolas, Claes or Klaas van Borselen was a younger son of Wolfert I van Borselen. He founded the Van Borselen branch later known as Van Brigdamme. Family A younger son Claes was the fifth surviving son of Wolfert I van Borselen and his wife Sibilie. He was probably named after his great-grandfather Nicolas van Borselen. Unlike the other Van Borselens, this makes it easy to identify Claes. It is only in 1341 that a namesake, the child Claes son of Raas appears. Zeeland inheritance laws The County of Zeeland had different feudal inheritance laws than most other parts of the later Netherlands. Here all sons had an equal right to their parents' inheritance, instead of only the oldest son succeeding. Also, almost all the fiefs of Zeeland could only be inherited by sons, not by daughters, brothers, parents etc. This might explain why inherited fiefs often remained undivided for years.