He is first mentioned in 1328, when he fights in the Battle of Cassel and accompanies Count William III of Holland to Flanders, to assist the Count of Flanders suppressing a rebellion in Bruges and the surrounding area.

He participated in the third crusade of Count William IV to Prussia and in the Siege of Utrecht [fr; nl] in 1345, but not in the disastrous Battle of Warns later that year.

He was then sent to England to mediate in the dispute between Countess Margaret and her son, Count William V, however, he was unsuccessful.

In the winter of 1356, he besieged the castle of Nyevelt, on the orders of the count, and took it after a seven-week siege.

In 1356, William V appointed him governor of the area above the Meuse, jointly with his brother Gerry.