County of Drenthe

It corresponds to the area west of the lower Ems, today the eponymous province of Drenthe in the Netherlands.

Drenthe is first recorded in 820 as a Gau, the basic division of the Carolingian Empire east of the Rhine.

At the time, Drenthe included the city of Groningen, which was governed by a burgrave (prefect) enfeoffed by the bishop.

By the 14th century, the prefecture was hereditary and the Lordship of Groningen was de facto separate from the County of Drenthe.

The first and most intense phase of the conflict is retold in an eyewitness account, Quaedam narracio.

County of Drenthe, 1634
Map of a large region (in white) including all the territory of modern Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, plus parts of most neighbouring countries, including most of Northern Italy. Some of the northwest part region is highlighted in color, including Münster, most of the Netherlands and parts of modern Belgium.
The Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle (red) within the Holy Roman Empire (white) after 1548