Gaspar Schetz (1513–1580), Lord of

Grobbendonk Grobbendonk () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp ( nl, Antwerpen). The municipality comprises the towns of Bouwel and Grobbendonk proper. In 2021, Grobbendonk had a total population of 11,249. The total area is 28.36&nbs ...

Hereditary Marshal of Brabant The Marshal of Brabant (''erfmaarschalk van Brabant/ maréchal-héreditaire de Brabant'') is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title at the Court of Brabant. History During war the Marshal was responsible for the safekeeping of abb ...

was a financier and statesman in the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last House of Valois-Burgundy, Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary of Burgu ...

. For reasons that are unknown he was nicknamed "Corvinus".

Life

Gaspar Schetz was born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

on 20 July 1513, the son of

Erasmus II Schetz Erasmus II Schetz sometimes Scets died 1550 was a Flemish nobleman. Lord of Grobbendonk He was born as son of Conrad I Schetz who married in 1485 to Maria Crans di Roscara, daughter of Mathieu Roscara. He lived in Maastricht, and came to Antwer ...

, Lord of Usbach and Grobbendonk, and Ida Van Rechtergem. Active in finance and commerce, he maintained a lively interest in literature. From

Charles de Brimeu Charles de Brimeu (1524 or 1525 – 1572 in Zwolle), was the last count of Meghem, lord of Humbercourt, of Houdain and Éperlecques. He was grandson of Guy of Brimeu, who was beheaded in Ghent. He became the last ceremonial Hereditary Marshal of ...

, the last lord of Meghem, he purchased the lordship of

Wezemaal Rotselaar () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish-Brabant, near the convergence of the Demer and the Dijle. Since January 1, 1977 the municipality comprises the towns of Rotselaar proper, Werchter and Wezemaal. On January ...

, which brought with it the title of hereditary marshal of the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries, part of the Burgundian Netherlands from 1430 and of the Habsburg Neth ...

Career and power

By letters patent of 25 November 1555

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

appointed Schetz royal factor in Antwerp. In 1564 he was made treasurer general of the royal finances in the Low Countries. In the early years of the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...

he was highly active in seeking ways to keep the

Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders ( es, Ejército de Flandes nl, Leger van Vlaanderen) was a multinational army in the service of the kings of Spain that was based in the Spanish Netherlands during the 16th to 18th centuries. It was notable for being the longe ...

paid regularly, and in the negotiations to secure the new bishoprics, founded in 1559, a regular income from the assets held by the medieval abbeys of the Low Countries. He was among those who invited Archduke Matthias to the Low Countries in 1578. Gaspard was even very respected by the Dutch aristocracy, even the duke of Alva wrote to the King of Spain: ''Schetz is their living God, they all swear in his faith! '' On 5 March 1579, Grobbendonk Castle was plundered and razed, Schetz's library going up in flames. In the same year, he took part in the peace talks at Cologne seeking the basis for a reconciliation between the Estates General and the King. He published a dialogue promoting his own perspective under the title ''Viri, pietate, moderatione, doctrinâque clarissimi, dialogus de Pace, rationes, quibus Belgici tumultus, inter Philippum, serenissimum et potentissimum Hispaniæ regem, et subditos, hoc rerum statu componi possint, explicans'' (Antwerp and Cologne, 1579). He died at

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

on 9 November 1580.

Family

His first wife was Margaretha van de Brugge, his second Catharina van Ursel, the daughter of

Lancelot II of Ursel Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

. His first wife gave him two children. But Catherine succeeded and gave birth to 13 children. Descendants of Gaspard II Schetz x Catharina van Ursel: *

Lancelot I Schetz Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

* Isabeau Schetz * Agnes Schetz *

Johan Karel Schetz Johan * Johan (given name) * ''Johan'' (film), a 1921 Swedish film directed by Mauritz Stiller * Johan (band), a Dutch pop-group ** ''Johan'' (album), a 1996 album by the group * Johan Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada * Jo-Han, a manu ...

, (1552-1595): Protonotary Apost. and Canon of the Cathedral in Liege; Chancellor 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 ...

, died in Spain. *

Nicolas Melchior Schetz Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

Baron of Wesemael Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

: He had the succession of his brother Conrard questioned in 1623. *

Conrad III Schetz Conrad (or Coenraad) Schetz de Grobbendonck, later Conrad d'Ursel (1553–1632) was a nobleman in the Habsburg Netherlands and in 1604–1609 the first ordinary ambassador to England for the Archdukes Albert and Isabella. Ursel family The 5th s ...

, (1553–1632) 1st Baron of Hoboken who became father of the 1st Count of Ursel. *

Anthonie II Schetz Anthonie Schetz (1564, Antwerp - 1640 or 1641, Brussels), was a military commander in Spanish service during the Eighty Years' War. He was baron (and from 1637 count) of Grobbendonk, lord of Tilburg and Goirle, Pulle and Pulderbos, and Weze ...

, (1564-1640) 1st Count of Grobbendonk. **

Lancelot II Schetz Lancelot II Schetz , 2nd Count of Grobbendonk, baron of Wezemaal, lord of Durbuy, Tilburg, etc., was a Netherlandish nobleman and a military commander during the later stages of the Eighty Years' War. Schetz was the eldest son and heir of the ce ...

, 2nd Count of Grobbendonk. ** Ignace Schetz, Bishop of Ghent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schetz, Gaspar 1513 births 1580 deaths Businesspeople from Antwerp People of the Habsburg Netherlands Ursel People from Grobbendonk Lords of Belgium