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

House of Lynden The House of Lynden is one of the oldest families of the Dutch nobility, originating in the Duchy of Guelders. This family later gave rise to different branches. Most remained in the Netherlands and produced several Dutch politicians, ministers, ...

, 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, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Buddhism, N ...

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 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 The House of Lynden is one of the oldest families of the Dutch nobility, originating in the Duchy of Guelders. This family later gave rise to different branches. Most remained in the Netherlands and produced several Dutch politicians, ministers, ...

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 Herman de Lynden ( Liège, 1547- June 5, 1603, Reckheim), baron of Reckheim and of the Holy Roman Empire, was a military leader serving the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and the Holy Roman Empire. He led troops during the Eighty Years' War and the ...

(1547–1603), a military leader serving the Prince-Bishopric of Liège and the Holy Roman Empire. * Ferdinand Gobert von Aspremont-Lynden (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 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 ...

. *

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 Co ...

(1815–1889) : Belgian minister of foreign affairs (1871–1878). *

Charles d'Aspremont Lynden Charles Albert Ferdinand Gobert, comte d'Aspremont Lynden (31 October 1888 - 21 June 1967) was a Belgian landowner, politician and cabinet minister. He was also a member of the right wing of the Catholic Party. He was the father of Harold Charles ...

(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 PSC-CVP and Cavalry Lieutenant-Colonel. He is also notable as Belgium's last Minister of African Affairs (1960 ...

(1914–1967) : Belgium's last Minister of African Affairs. *

Claude d'Aspremont Lynden Count Claude d'Aspremont Lynden is a Belgian economist and professor at the Universite Catholique de Louvain, ''Center for Operations Research and Econometrics'' (CORE), and ''Département des sciences économiques'' (ECON). He obtained a PhD (di ...

(born 1946) : Belgian economist and professor *

Jean d'Aspremont Jean d'Aspremont is a legal theorist and an international lawyer. He is a Professor of Law at Sciences Po in Paris as well as with the University of Manchester. He is from the family of d'Aspremont Lynden. Born in Belgium, he has both Belgian and ...

(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