Albert de Ligne (1600–1674), Prince of Barbançon and Arenberg,

knight of the Golden Fleece This article contains a list of knights of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Knights of the Burgundian Golden Fleece 15th Century !Year of Induction!!Name!!Born!!Died!!Notes , - , rowspan=25, 1430, , Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, , 1396, , ...

, was a Netherlandish nobleman and military commander in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

and the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

Life

Ligne was the son of Robert de Ligne, Baron of Barbançon (second son of

Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg (c. 1525 – 1568) was Baron of Barbançon, founder of the House of Arenberg and stadtholder of the Dutch provinces of Friesland, Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel from 1549 until his death. He was the son ...

), by Claude, Countess of Salm. His father was commander of the Archduke Albert's honour guard and colonel of a cavalry regiment. Shortly before his death, in 1614, the lordship of Barbançon became a principality. On Albert's accession he was therefore Prince of Barbançon. In 1618 the young prince entered royal service under

Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, 2nd Count of Bucquoy ( cs, Karel Bonaventura Buquoy, es, Carlos Buenaventura de Longueval, Conde de Bucquoy, full name in french: Charles Bonaventure de Longueval comte de Bucquoy, german: Karl Bonaventura Graf v ...

, for the campaign against the

Bohemian Revolt The Bohemian Revolt (german: Böhmischer Aufstand; cs, České stavovské povstání; 1618–1620) was an uprising of the Bohemian estates against the rule of the Habsburg dynasty that began the Thirty Years' War. It was caused by both religi ...

that opened the Thirty Years' War. In 1620 he was commissioned as captain of a company of cuirassiers in

Ambrogio Spinola Ambrogio Spinola Doria, 1st Marquess of Los Balbases and 1st Duke of Sesto (1569-25 September 1630) was an Italian ''condottiero'' and nobleman of the Republic of Genoa, who served as a Spanish general and won a number of important battles. He i ...

Palatinate campaign The Palatinate campaign (30 August 1620 – 27 August 1623), also known as the Spanish conquest of the Palatinate or the Palatinate phase of the Thirty Years' War was a campaign conducted by the Imperial army against the Protestant Union in ...

. In 1622

Isabella Clara Eugenia Isabella Clara Eugenia ( es, link=no, Isabel Clara Eugenia; 12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), sometimes referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia, was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands in the Low Countries and the north of modern France with ...

, governor general of the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...

, appointed him general of a Walloon regiment. During the campaign of 1625 he became general in chief of the '' bandes d'ordonnance''. On 19 June 1627 he was awarded the Golden Fleece by

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...

, being invested in Brussels on 18 June 1628. Barbançon raised a regiment at his own expense with the intention of supporting

Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy Charles Emmanuel I ( it, Carlo Emanuele di Savoia; 12 January 1562 – 26 July 1630), known as the Great, was the Duke of Savoy from 1580 to 1630. He was nicknamed (, in context "the Hot-Headed") for his rashness and military aggression. Being ...

in the

War of the Mantuan Succession The War of the Mantuan Succession (1628–1631) was a related conflict of the Thirty Years' War, caused by the death in December 1627 of Vincenzo II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Vincenzo II, last male heir in the direct line of the House of Gonzaga ...

, but with the changing situation in Italy and the Low Countries he remained in the Low Countries to fight the Dutch. On 27 April 1634 the Marquis of Aytona, on Philip IV's orders, had Barbançon arrested for having corresponded with

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

in the context of the

Conspiracy of Nobles (1632) The Conspiracy of Nobles (French: ''La conspiration des nobles'') was a plot in 1632 to divide the Spanish Netherlands between the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of France. The Belgian aristocrats behind the plot were frustrated at their exclusion f ...

. Information against him had been provided by

Balthazar Gerbier Sir Balthazar Gerbier (23 February 1592, in N.S. – 1663), was an Anglo-Dutch courtier, diplomat, art advisor, miniaturist and architectural designer, in his own words fluent in "several languages" with "a good hand in writing, skill in sciences ...

, Charles I of England's resident agent in Brussels. After years in prison, mostly in the

citadel of Antwerp Antwerp Citadel ( es, Castillo de Amberes, nl, Kasteel van Antwerpen) was a pentagonal bastion fort built to defend and dominate the city of Antwerp in the early stages of the Dutch Revolt. It has been described as "doubtlesse the most matchlesse ...

, but some of the time in Vilvoorde Castle and the castle of

Rupelmonde Rupelmonde is a village in the municipality of Kruibeke, in the Belgian province of East Flanders. It stands on the bank of the river Schelde opposite the confluence of the eponymous Rupel, and is famed for its sundials as well as having what is ...

, the prince was ordered released by acting governor general

Francisco de Melo Dom Francisco de Melo (1597 – 18 December 1651) was a Portuguese nobleman who served as a Spanish general during the Thirty Years' War. Biography Francisco was born in Estremoz, Portugal. From 1632 to 1636 he had been Spanish ambassador to th ...

on 24 December 1642. He had been repeatedly investigated and questioned, but never formally brought to trial or sentenced. Only in 1658 was he again commissioned as a royal officer, being appointed commander of the garrison of

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

and captain general of artillery. Barbançon died in Madrid in April 1674.

Marriage and family

The Prince of Barbançon married Marie de Barbançon, Viscountess of

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

, daughter and heiress to Everard de Barbançon and Louise of East Frisia. Together they had two children, Octave-Ignace and Isabelle-Marie-Magdalene.

Jean Charles Joseph de Vegiano Jean Charles Joseph de Vegiano (1724–1794), lord of Hovel, was a genealogist and heraldist of the nobility of the Low Countries and the County of Burgundy The Free County of Burgundy or Franche-Comté (french: Franche Comté de Bourgogne; germa ...

, ''Nobiliaire des Pays-Bas, et du comté de Bourgogne'' (Leuven, 1775), 235-236.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ligne, Albert de, Prince of Barbancon 1600 births 1674 deaths Knights of the Golden Fleece