Henry (Hendrik), Lord of Bréderode (December 1531 – 15 February 1568) was a member of the Dutch
noble
A noble is a member of the nobility.
Noble may also refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Noble Glacier, King George Island
* Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Noble Peak, Wiencke Island
* Noble Rocks, Graham Land
Australia
* Noble Island, Gr ...
family
Van Brederode
The Lords of Van Brederode (''Heeren van Brederode'') were a noble family from Holland who played an important role during the Middle Ages and the Early modern period. The family had a high noble rank and hold the titles ''Count of Brederode'', ...
and an important member during the
Eighty Years' War. He was named the "Grote
Geus" or the "big beggar".
Biography
Hendrik van Brederode was born at
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 ...
. He became a convert to the Reformed faith and placed himself at the side of the
prince of Orange
Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands.
The title ...
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 ...
in resisting the introduction of the Spanish Inquisition and Spanish despotism into the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. In 1566 he was one of the founders of the confederacy of nobles who bound themselves to maintain the rights and liberties of the country by signing a document known as the
Compromise of Nobles
The Compromise of Nobles ( nl, Eedverbond der Edelen; french: Compromis des Nobles) was a covenant of members of the nobility in the Habsburg Netherlands who came together to submit a petition to the Regent Margaret of Parma on 5 April 1566, ...
.
On 5 April that year Brederode accompanied to the palace a body of 300 Knights, for whom he acted as the spokesman, to present to the regent,
Margaret of Parma
Margaret of Parma (; 5 July 1522 – 18 January 1586) was Governor of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582. She was the illegitimate daughter of the then 22-year-old Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Johanna Maria van der Gh ...
, a petition setting forth their grievances. It was at a banquet at the Hotel Culemburg on 8 April, presided over by Bréderode, that the sobriquet of
les Gueux
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 ...
, or "the Beggars," was first given to the opponents of Spanish rule. Bréderode, the "Grote Geus" or ''big beggar'', was banished from the Netherlands by
Alva, and died in exile shortly afterwards at the early age of thirty-six.
In March of the year 1567, backed by his friend
Lenaert Jansz de Graeff and a large part of the bourgeoisie Brederode became the ''Generalcaptain'' of the city of
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
. But in the next month Brederode and De Graeff departure and the Spanish General
Philippe de Noircarmes became the military leader of Amsterdam.
Hendrik was the descendant of an ancient family active in the affairs of war and peace, which had for some centuries been settled in Holland Northwest of the village of Santpoort at
Castle Brederode and after 1418 at
Batenstein Castle in Vianen.
In 1557 he married
Amalia of Neuenahr, daughter of
Gumprecht of Neuenahr.
In popular culture
Hendrick van Brederode is main character in 1949 novel ''De grote geus'' (''The Great Geuz'') written by
Johan Fabricius.
His character was also used for the historical novel ''De Grote Geus'' by
Jaap van de Waal.
De erfenis van De Grote Geus, by Jaap van de Wal
/ref>
See also
* Castle Brederode
Batestein Castle
* Battle of Oosterweel
The Battle of Oosterweel took place on 13 March 1567 near the village of , near Antwerp, in present-day Belgium, and is traditionally seen as the beginning of the Eighty Years' War. A Spanish mercenary army surprised a band of rebels and kill ...
Notes and references
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brederode
1531 births
1568 deaths
Nobility from Brussels
Hendrick Hendrick may refer to:
People
* Hendrick (given name), alternative spelling of the Dutch given name Hendrik
* Hendrick (surname)
* King Hendrick (disambiguation), one of two Mohawk leaders who have often been conflated:
** Hendrick Tejonihokarawa ( ...