Guillaume de Melun (1588–1635) was a nobleman in 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 ...

, Governor and Grand Bailiff of the

County of Hainaut The County of Hainaut (french: Comté de Hainaut; nl, Graafschap Henegouwen; la, comitatus hanoniensis), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled what is now the border of Belg ...

, and Constable of Flanders, who conspired against the government.

Life

Guillaume was the son of

Pierre de Melun Pierre de Melun (died 1594), prince of Espinoy, marquis of Richebourg, baron of Antoing, etc., was a nobleman in the Low Countries during the Dutch Revolt who took the side of the rebels against Philip II of Spain. Life Melun was born in the fi ...

, Prince of Espinoy, by his second wife, Hippolyte de Montmorency. His father had taken the side of

William the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

during 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 ...

and was living in exile in France at the time of his birth. During the negotiations for the

Peace of Vervins The Peace of Vervins or Treaty of Vervins was signed between the representatives of Henry IV of France and Philip II of Spain under the auspices of the papal legates of Clement VIII, on 2 May 1598 at the small town of Vervins in Picardy, northern ...

(1598),

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

had pressed for Melun to be rehabilitated and to receive at least some part of the estates confiscated due to his father's part in the revolt.J. Lefèvre, "Melun (Guillaume de, prince d'Épinoy)", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' ( French; "National Biography of Belgium") is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ' ...

''
vol. 30
(Brussels, 1958), 572-575. On 17 October 1612 Espinoy married Marie Mencie de Witthem, Marquise of Bergen op Zoom, and widow of Herman, Count of Bergh. She died on 28 July 1613, aged 31. On 3 November 1615 he married a second time, with Ernestine of Arenberg, daughter of

Charles de Ligne, 2nd Prince of Arenberg Princely Count Charles of Arenberg, duke of Aarschot (''jure uxoris''), baron of Zevenbergen, knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, (22 February 1550, in Vollenhove – 18 January 1616, in Enghien) was the second Princely Count of Arenberg ...

. Together they had eleven children that survived infancy: Marie, Claire-Marie, Ambroise,

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

, Alexandre Guillaume, Henri, Charles-Alexandre-Albert, François Philippe, Isabelle Claire, Marie-Madeleine, Françoise-Alberte, and Claire-Catherine. In 1621 Espinoy became a 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 ...

, and in 1622 was appointed bailiff of the

and to the

Brussels Council of State Council of State (Dutch: , french: Conseil d'État, german: Staatsrat), is the supreme administrative court of Belgium. Its functions include assisting the executive with legal advice and being the supreme court for administrative justice. Its memb ...

. In May 1632, in what became known as the Conspiracy of Nobles, he plotted with the prince of Barbançon, duke of Bournonville and

count of Egmont Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere (18 November 1522 – 5 June 1568) was a general and statesman in the Spanish Netherlands just before the start of the Eighty Years' War, whose execution helped spark the national uprising that eventuall ...

to overthrow Spanish rule and partition the Southern Netherlands between the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

and the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...

. The plot failed and Espinoy fled to France. On 2 May 1635 the

Great Council of Mechelen From the 15th century onwards, the Great Council of the Netherlands at Mechelen (Dutch: ''De Grote Raad der Nederlanden te Mechelen''; French: ''le grand conseil des Pays-Bas à Malines''; German: ''der Grosse Rat der Niederlände zu Mecheln'') w ...

''in absentia'' sentenced him to death for high treason.''Copie des Arrests rendus au grand Conseil de sa Majesté le 2. de May 1635, contre le Prince d'Espinoy, & Charles de Pienne'' (Mechelen,

Henry Jaye Henry Jaye (died 1643) was an English Catholic exile in the Southern Netherlands. He became printer to the city of Mechelen. Life The earliest record of Jaye is in 1606, when the English ambassador in Brussels, Sir Thomas Edmondes, had him summ ...

, 1635)
available on Google Books
In the meantime, Espinoy was living under the protection of

Louis XIII of France Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown ...

. He died at Saint-Quentin,

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

, on 8 September 1635. His widow, Ernestine, retired to the Dominican convent at

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

, dying there on 12 June 1653.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melun, Guillaume de 1588 births 1635 deaths Knights of the Golden Fleece Flemish nobility

Guillaume Guillaume may refer to: People * Guillaume (given name), the French equivalent of William * Guillaume (surname) Other uses * Guillaume (crater) See also * '' Chanson de Guillaume'', an 11th or 12th century poem * Guillaume affair, a Cold War espi ...