[2] Dirk Loef is said to have married Elisabeth of Montigny, Lady of Kasteelbrakel and Hoog-Itter in 1350,[3] but that date is far from certain.

[8] The theory that the Count of Holland took the Lordship of Altena back from Willem V in order to give it to Dirk Loef is quite old.

One of Dirk Loef's first acts as Lord of Altena was to grant part of the fief Nederhemert to knight Peter van Hemert on 25 November 1357.

[9] The succession of Willem V by Dirk Loef in his Guelders, Loon and Jülich estate seems to have been without incident.

[10] The arbiters ruled that Dirk Loef was to have Horne, Altena, Munnikenland, Herstal, Heeze, Leende, Montcornet and Kortessem.

[11] Jan III of Polanen and Oda van Horne would get 625 gold hallingen a year out of Herstal from Dirk Loef.

[9] One can assume that Dirk Loef aided Count Albert against the Cod castellan Floris van Borselen in the 1358-1359 Siege of Heusden.

He was also summoned to join the siege of Delft (11 March - 29 May 1359), which had sided with the Cod party, but might not have arrived in time.

A week after the surrender Albert sent a letter from Middelburg to Dordrecht ordering that the construction of a castle by Dirk Loef in Munnikenland should be prevented.

John IV, Lord of Arkel had supported Willem V of Horne, and had arranged his marriage to his daughter Machteld.

At the time that Willem V died, John IV had been in conflict with the counts of Holland, and this probably favored his succession by Dirk Loef.

[14] Instead of trying appease his potential enemies, Dirk Loef came into a feud with Otto of Arkel, which lasted till July 1364.

The verdict declared that Dirk Loef had illegally levied toll on the rivers near Loevestein.

Dirk Loef did this based on a privilege to levy toll, sold to the Van Horne's by Emperor Louis in 1323.

Dirk Loef was also judged to have illegally extorted money from inhabitants of the Land of Altena.

Dirk Loef was furthermore judged to have committed arson in the territory of Arkel during the siege of Gorinchem.

A remarkable charge was that he had forced people in Altena to swear that he was their liege lord, while this was Willem VI.

'Want er een recht oir is van Huerne, also sijns broeders soen, ende hij mitsgaders egheen recht here daaraf wesen en mach, also lange alse die oir levet'[15] He had to revoke these oaths, and to return the papers relating to these oaths.

[16] On 2 April the sentence was made somewhat more lenient, but Dirk Loef had to declare that he had to serve the Count of Holland in his capacity as legal guardian of Willem (V).

Until further notice, Dirk Loef would enjoy the income from Altena, but it would be levied by the count's officials.

The influence of Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg and Brabant, enemy of Jan van Arkel was probably decisive in this matter.

[20] On 9 July 1371 the fortunes of Dirk Loef changed somewhat for the better when his younger brother Arnold II of Horne became bishop of Utrecht.

He probably did succeed in giving Kessenich to Dirk Loef's son Jan.[22] On 8 March 1389 Arnold II of Horne died.

In 1590 a far successor, Gerard of Horne became a count because Bancigny was made a County by Henry IV of France.