George de Lalaing count Rennenberg (c. 1550 – 23 July 1581), was

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 ...

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of the northern part of t ...

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nov ...

and

Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...

in the service of

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 ...

from 1577 to 1581. The Lalaing family came from Hainaut and had a tradition of governing. His father was Philip de Lalaing, count of Hoogstraten; his mother, Anna of Rennenberg.

Life

He was born around 1550, probably in the family castle of

Hoogstraten Hoogstraten () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Hoogstraten, Meer, Meerle, Meersel-Dreef, Minderhout and Wortel (Meersel-Dreef includes the northernmost point in Belgium). Hoogstrate ...

in the

Campine The Campine ( French ) or De Kempen (Dutch ) is a natural region situated chiefly in north-eastern Belgium and parts of the south-eastern Netherlands which once consisted mainly of extensive moors, tracts of sandy heath, and wetlands. It encom ...

. Rennenberg (as he was known in the Netherlands) was appointed stadtholder of the Northern provinces by the

States General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( nl, Staten-Generaal ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States ...

after the

Pacification of Ghent The Pacification of Ghent, signed on 8 November 1576, was an alliance between the provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands. The main objectives were to remove Habsburg Spain, Spanish mercenaries who had made themselves hated by all sides due to their ...

in 1577, on a proposal from William of Orange. He allowed a number of important reforms in Friesland, such as the introduction of the ''Gedeputeerde Staten'' (Delegated States), and the forming of a fourth quarter in the

States of Friesland The States of Friesland were the sovereign body that governed the province of Friesland under the Dutch Republic. They were formed in 1580 after the former Lordship of Frisia (a part of the Habsburg Netherlands) acceded to the Union of Utrecht ...

to represent the eleven Frisian cities. He was a firm believer in the Pacification of Ghent as a means to reconcile the rebellious Calvinists with their Catholic king. When the treaty resulted in Protestantism gaining ground, notably in

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 ...

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

and

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

, he abandoned the cause of the rebels for the king on 3 March 1580, with the support of the city of Groningen, according to tradition convinced by his sister

Cornelia van Lalaing Cornelia van Lalaing (1545 - 1610), was a Dutch noblewoman, famous for the role she played in the so-called "Rennenberg Treason" in 1579 during the Eighty Year's War. She was born to Philip van Lalaing, count van Hoogstraten (1510-1555) and Anna ...

.Erik Swart, Lalaing, Cornelia van, in: Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland. URL: http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/Lalaing 3/01/2014/ref> The rest of the province remained loyal to the rebel cause. He attempted to besiege Steenwijk but had to raise the siege once

John Norreys John Norreys may refer to: *Sir John Norris (soldier) or Norreys (c. 1547–1597), the son of Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys, a lifelong friend of Queen Elizabeth *Sir John Norreys (Keeper of the Wardrobe) for Henry VI of England (c. 1400–1466) ...

arrived and relieved the place. He was then further defeated by Norreys at Kollum. Rennenberg, already ill, died at

on 23 July 1581 and was buried in the Groningen Martinikerk. The city remained the scene of military action until 1594. Rennenberg's defection polarized the Dutch population further along religious lines. In the rebel provinces, Catholics would no longer be trusted with high posts.

References

1550s births 1581 deaths Ge Dutch stadtholders {{Netherlands-bio-stub