Herman de Lynden ( Liège, 1547- June 5, 1603, Reckheim), baron of Reckheim and of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

, was a military leader serving the

Prince-Bishopric of Liège The Prince-Bishopric of Liège or Principality of Liège was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that was situated for the most part in present-day Belgium. It was an Imperial Estate, so the bishop of Liège, as its prince, ...

and the

. He led troops during the Eighty Years' War and the Cologne War. He also held several high-ranking positions, notably

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

and Grand-

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Liège.

Early life

Herman was the son of Thierry de Lynden (1491-1566), who had been first State council and Grand-Master to four different Prince-bishops of Liège.
After purchasing the

Lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordship, the functions of econ ...

of Rekem, he later obtained from the Holy Roman Emperor the establishment of this domain in

free barony Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to proc ...

of the Empire.

Italian wars

He first served as a soldier in the

Italian War of 1551–1559 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

under the command of famous admiral

Andrea Doria Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; lij, Drîa Döia ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was a Genoese statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime. As the ruler of Genoa, Doria reformed the Re ...

, participating among others to the liberation of

Porto Ercole Porto Ercole () is an Italian town located in the municipality of Monte Argentario, in the Province of Grosseto, Tuscany. It is one of the two major towns that form the township, along with Porto Santo Stefano. Its name means "Port Hercules". Ge ...

, then besieged by

Piero Strozzi Piero (or Pietro) Strozzi (c. 1510 – 21 June 1558) was an Italian military leader. He was a member of the rich Florentine family of the Strozzi. Biography left, Portrait of Piero Strozzi Born in Florence, Piero Strozzi was the son of Fili ...

. After the

Italian wars The Italian Wars, also known as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts covering the period 1494 to 1559, fought mostly in the Italian peninsula, but later expanding into Flanders, the Rhineland and the Mediterranean Sea. The pr ...

, he served in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

until 1567.

Eighty Years' War

After returning to the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

, he participated in the capture of

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

, then received a company of 300 Low Germans to fight with Maximilien de Hénin-Liétard, with whom he participated in the

Siege of Mons (1572) The siege of Mons of 1572 took place at Mons, capital of the County of Hainaut, Spanish Netherlands (present-day Belgium), between 23 June and 19 September 1572, as part of the Eighty Years' War, the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), and the ...

, the

Siege of Haarlem The siege of Haarlem was an episode of the Eighty Years' War. From 11 December 1572 to 13 July 1573 an army of Philip II of Spain laid bloody siege to the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands, whose loyalties had begun wavering during the pre ...

and

Noerdange Noerdange (, ) is a small town in the commune of Beckerich, in western Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Gr ...

. Subsequently, he participated in the

Battle of Mookerheyde In the Battle of Mookerheyde, Spanish forces defeated Dutch forces composed of German mercenaries on 14 April 1574 during the Eighty Years' War near the village Mook and the river Meuse not far from Nijmegen in Gelderland. Two leaders of the Dut ...

, and was responsible for the defense of the

Muiderslot Muiden Castle (Dutch: ''Muiderslot'', ) is a castle in the Netherlands, located at the mouth of the Vecht river, some 15 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam, in Muiden, where it flows into what used to be the Zuiderzee. It is one of the better kno ...

, in

Muiden Muiden () is a city and former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It lies at the mouth of the Vecht and is in an area called the Vechtstreek. Since 2016, Muiden has been part of the new municipality of Gooise Mere ...

. In 1577, he was named captain of the

Halberd A halberd (also called halbard, halbert or Swiss voulge) is a two-handed pole weapon that came to prominent use during the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries. The word ''halberd'' is cognate with the German word ''Hellebarde'', deriving from ...

guard of Archduke Matthias, and later became counselor of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, then

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of 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 H ...

War of Cologne

File:Koenigswinter Frans Hogenberg.jpg, The defense of

Königswinter Königswinter ( ksh, Köningkswinte; Low Franconian: ) is a town and summer resort in the Rhein-Sieg district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Königswinter is situated on the right bank of the Rhine, opposite Bad Godesberg, at t ...

, commanded by Herman de Lynden. File:Beueler_Schanze.jpg, The fort of Beuel, founded in 1583 by Herman de Lynden. After escaping an assassination attempt on the Duke of Parma in Antwerp, he returned to the court of Prince-bishop

Ernest of Bavaria Ernest of Bavaria (german: Ernst von Bayern) (17 December 1554 – 17 February 1612) was Prince-elector-archbishop of the Archbishopric of Cologne from 1583 to 1612 as successor of the expelled Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg. He was also bishop ...

in Liège.
Ernest named him

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

and member of his

State council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

and his Privy council. On June 12, 1583, after learning that

John Casimir of the Palatinate-Simmern John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern (German: ''Johann Casimir von Pfalz-Simmern'') (7 March 1543 – Brockhaus Geschichte Second Edition) was a German prince and a younger son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine. A firm Calvinist, he was a lead ...

is marching towards

orders colonel Herman de Lynden to assemble a regiment of 3000 infantry and a company of horsemen, and to hurry towards Sechtem. Eleven days later, Herman had assembled the regiments, and after regrouping them in Brühl, he joined the armies in Sechtem. Amongst the soldiers under Herman de Lynden's orders was soon-to-become-famous Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly. Herman de Lynden crossed to the east bank of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

, and successfully stop the armies of

Beuel Beuel ( Ripuarian: ''Büel'') is a city borough ('' Stadtbezirk'') of Bonn, Germany. It has a population of 67,827 (2020). Subdivisions Beuel is composed of the sub-districts Beuel-Mitte, Beuel-Ost, Geislar, Hoholz, Holtorf, Holzlar, Küdinghove ...

, Altwied and Feldkirchen. In doing so, he managed to return large portions of land of

to the catholic side. On November 17, 1583, during the 1st Siege of Bonn, he conquered Rheindorf, and built a fort along the rhine in

, across the river from

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

. This allowed him to control the river access to the city, which helped secure the rendition of Karl von Waldburg (brother of Gebhard), on January 28, 1584.
On January 8, 1592, Herman de Lynden was named governor and captain general of

, and settled in

and Poppelsdorf.

Family

He married Marie de Halmale, daughter of Constantin de Halmale and Catherine Van de Werve, on November 9, 1581.
They had seven children, including: * Ernest de Lynden (1570-1636), Second baron of Reckheim

Links

Wikisource page on the National Biography of Belgium

Bibliography

* *''Notice Historique sur l'ancien Comté impérial de Reckheim'', Gand, 1848 {{Authority control 1547 births 1603 deaths Belgian nobility Military personnel of the Holy Roman Empire Prince-Bishopric of Liège military personnel