The House of Aspremont-Lynden is the name of an important Belgian noble family, probably originated from the House of Lynden, which was part of the

Dutch nobility The Dutch nobility is a small elite social class constisting of individuals or families recognized as noble, and with or without a title of nobility in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The existence of nobility was established in the Constitution ...

History

The proven line starts with Thierry van Lynden (married 1520, died 1566), as the first mentioned member of this family. In 1676 and 1677 nobility decrees of Emperor Leopold I followed for descendants of this family, with the title of Count. Ferdinand d'Aspremont-Lynden was the

reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-prince of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kings, the Franks, List of ...

ing

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

of Reckheim and had the

Aspremont-Lynden Castle Aspremont-Lynden Castle ( nl, Kasteel d'Aspremont-Lynden) is a castle in Oud-Rekem in the municipality of Lanaken, province of Limburg, Belgium. The present castle, on the site of a mediaeval predecessor, was constructed by the noble family of d ...

constructed. Since Ferdinand Gobert d'Aspremont Lynden several descendants fought in Austrian service. By collective Royal Decree of 20 February 1816, Joseph-Ferdinand d'Aspremont Lynden (1784–1843) was appointed to the (modern) Knighthood of Namur with the title of Count. In the centuries that followed, members held administrative positions at the local, provincial, and national levels. In the 20th century, some members served science.

Christophe Butkens Christophe Butkens (1590–1650) was a Cistercian abbot from Antwerp, a historian and a genealogist who developed a new hatching system. Hatching systems Butkens developed his own hatching system but he himself used it in an inconsistent wa ...

(1590-1650) wrote in his ''Annales généalogiques de la maison de Lynden'' that Thierry van Lynden descended from the old noble Van Lynden family from the Northern Netherlands, but this thesis has proved to be untenable. Still later they usurped the name d'Aspremont, as if they descended from the old noble family of that name, but this also turned out to be unproven.

Notable members

* Herman de Lynden (1547–1603), a military leader serving the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince, ...

and the Holy Roman Empire. *

Ferdinand Gobert von Aspremont-Lynden Ferdinand-Gobert Count of Aspremont-Lynden (Oud-Rekem, around 1645 – 1 February 1708) was an Austrian military from the Southern Netherlands who fought in the service of the Habsburg Emperor Leopold I. Biography Lynden was born in the noble f ...

(1645–1708) : Imperial Fieldmarshal-Lieutenant. *

Ferdinand Charles, comte d'Aspremont-Lynden Ferdinand Charles Gobert, Graf von Aspremont-Lynden-Reckheim (1689–1772), was a soldier, who served in the Low countries for the Habsburgs. Early life and ancestry Count Ferdinand Charles Gobert of Aspremont-Lynden-Reckheim was born in Froid ...

(1689–1772) : Imperial Field Marshal and Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece. *

Guillaume d'Aspremont Lynden Guillaume Bernard Ferdinand Charles, Count of Aspremont Lynden (1815–1889) was a member of the Belgian Senate and minister of foreign affairs (1871–1878). Life Aspremont Lynden was born in Haltinne castle on 15 October 1815, as second son of C ...

(1815–1889) : Belgian minister of foreign affairs (1871–1878). * Charles d'Aspremont Lynden (1888–1967) : Belgian landowner, politician and cabinet minister. *

Harold Charles d'Aspremont Lynden Harold René Charles Marie, comte d'Aspremont Lynden (17 January 1914 - 1 April 1967) was a Belgian cabinet minister, politician of the Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct), PSC-CVP and Cavalry Lieutenant-Colonel. He is also notable as Belgiu ...

(1914–1967) : Belgium's last Minister of African Affairs. * Claude d'Aspremont Lynden (born 1946) : Belgian economist and professor * Jean d'Aspremont (born 1978) : Professor of Law.

Sources

* Paul Janssens et Luc Duerloo, ''Armorial de la noblesse belge''. Tome A-E. Bruxelles, 1992, pp. 157–158. * Nico Plomp, 'De oudste generaties van het geslacht Van Lynden', in: ''Jaarboek Centraal Bureau voor Genealogie'' 53 (1999), pp. 154–193. * Jean-François Houtart, ''Anciennes familles de Belgique'', Bruxelles, 2008, p. 146 nno 1520 * ''État présent de la noblesse belge'' (2017), pp. 87–99. {{Commons category-inline Aspremont Lynden Families of Belgian ancestry