Karel, graaf van Berlaymont, NG-VG-3-488

Charles de Berlaymont (1510 in

Berlaimont Berlaimont () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The commune ...

? – 1578 in

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

?) was a leading nobleman in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

in the 16th century. He was an important counselor of Margaret of Parma,

Grand Huntsman of Brabant Grand Veneur de Brabant or Grand Huntsman of Brabant was a feudal function at the court of the Duchy of Brabant. History Like other functions at the court, this was an exclusive position for certain noble houses. In the 16th, 17th and 18th centur ...

and generally sided with Spanish politics in the early years of the Eighty Years War.

Biography

He was the son of Michèl de Berlaymont and Maria de Berault. He was lord of Floyon and

Haultpenne Haultepenne Castle, also spelled ''Hautepenne Castle'' (French: ''Château de Hautepenne''), is a part medieval, part renaissance structure located in the village of Gleixhe in the municipality of Flémalle in Wallonia, Belgium. It is known for ...

, and baron of

Hierges Hierges () is a commune in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region in northern France. Hierges is located in the Meuse valley along the Belgian border. Population Sights and monuments * Château de Hierges, a castle whose origins ...

. In 1553, he became

stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

. Berlaymont was knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

, senior hunting master of Brabant, Flanders and Namur, member of the Council of State, hereditary chamberlain of finances and

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offi ...

of the county of Namur. In 1567, he became a member of the much-dreaded

Council of Troubles The Council of Troubles (usual English translation of nl, Raad van Beroerten, or es, Tribunal de los Tumultos, or french: Conseil des Troubles) was the special tribunal instituted on 9 September 1567 by Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of ...

. In 1574, his home territory

was elevated to the status of a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. In 1577, Berlaymont was one of the signees of the Union of Brussels, which he immediately repudiated. He is known for his famous comment on the Compromise of Nobles in 1566. The nobles had come to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

with a petition for Margaret of Parma, governess of the Netherlands, hoping to stop the persecution of

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

s. When Margaret asked who these people were, Berlaymont supposedly answered with "''Ce ne sont que des geux''" (they are but beggars) after which the Dutch rebels promptly adopted the name

Geuzen Geuzen (; ; french: Les Gueux) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen (; ; frenc ...

as their own.

Issue

He was married to Adriana de Ligne Barbançon and had these children: *

Gilles de Berlaymont Gilles van Berlaymont (c. 1545 – 18 June 1579 in Maastricht) was stadtholder for the Spanish Crown of Drenthe, Friesland, Groningen and Overijssel (1572-1573), stadtholder of Guelders (1572–1577), substitute stadtholder of Holland, Zeelan ...

(ca. 1540 - 1579),

of various territories of the

Seventeen Provinces The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the French departments of Nord (Fre ...

. Died at the Siege of Maastricht (1579) * Louis de Berlaymont (1542 - 1596), archbishop of

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

and

prevost Prevost, Prévost or Prévôt may refer to: Places * Prévost (electoral district), Quebec, a provincial electoral district * Prévost, Quebec, a community in the Laurentians region of Quebec, Canada ** Prévost station * Prevost, a community o ...

of Saint Servatius in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

* Lancelot de Berlaymont, lord of Beauraing * Claude de Berlaymont (1550 - 1587), lord of Hautepenne, governor of

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

* Florent de Berlaymont (ca. 1550 - 1626), lord of Floyon, knight of the

, stadtholder of

, Artois,

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in pr ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

* Adrienne de Berlaymont (? - 1582), married John of Brandenburg * Yolande de Berlaymont (1560-?) * Marie de Berlaymont (?)

References

Bibliography

* *
Gilles van Berlaymont moordt Oudewater uit 1546 - 1579
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berlaymont, Charles de People of the Eighty Years' War 1510 births 1578 deaths