Jean de Ligne,

Duke of Arenberg The House of Arenberg is an aristocratic lineage that is constituted by three successive families that took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel region. The inheritance of the House of Croÿ-Aarschot m ...

(c. 1525 – 1568) was Baron of Barbançon, founder of the House of Arenberg and

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 ...

of the Dutch provinces of Friesland,

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 ...

from 1549 until his death. He was the son of

Louis de Ligne Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

, Baron of Barbançon from the House of Ligne and Marie of Glymes, Lady of Zevenbergen (1503–1566), daughter of

Cornelis of Glymes Cornelis of Glymes or Cornelis of Bergen (1 April 1458 – 1508/1509) was an Admiral of the Netherlands. He was born in Wouw, the second son of John II of Glymes (1417–1494), Lord of Bergen op Zoom, and his wife Margaretha of Rouveroy. His elder ...

. Jean de Ligne belonged to the closest circles around Charles V and was made a Knight in 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 ...

in 1546. In 1549 he became

of the Northern provinces of Friesland,

and

. By his marriage to Marguerite de la Marck-Arenberg, sister of

Robert III von der Marck-Arenberg The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

who died without children, he became the founder of the third House of Arenberg. He participated in the campaign in France and distinguished himself in the Battle of St. Quentin (1557) where he, together with Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, led the left wing of the infantry in the final attack against the French. At the start of the rebellion he distanced himself of his good friend William the Silent,

Lamoral, 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 ...

and Philip de Montmorency, Count of Hoorn, and remained loyal to the King Philip II of Spain. He was unable to stop the spread of Protestantism in his Northern provinces, but succeeded in 1567 to keep them loyal to the Crown without bloodshed. Back south, he joined the army under the Duke of Alva, but objected against the arrests of Egmont and Hoorn.
When

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

and Adolf of Nassau (brothers of William I of Orange) invaded Groningen, he was sent back by Alva to repulse this army. There he was killed in the Battle of Heiligerlee on 23 May 1568.

Cardinal Granvelle Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle (20 August 151721 September 1586), Comte de La Baume Saint Amour, was a Bisontin (Free Imperial City of Besançon) statesman, made a cardinal, who followed his father as a leading minister of the Spanish Habsburg ...

described his death as a great loss for the Catholic faith and the King. Arenberg was buried in the Saint Catherine Church in

Zevenbergen Zevenbergen is a Dutch city which is a part of the municipality of Moerdijk. Zevenbergen is located in the northwest of the province of North Brabant near Breda. History Zevenbergen (literal translation: Seven Mountains) is presumably named afte ...

, and his remains were moved in 1614 to the family vault in Enghien. He had seven children, amongst whom: * Charles de Ligne, 2nd Prince of Arenberg (1550–1616), his successor * Margareth (1552–1611), married in 1569 with Philip of Lalaing * Robert (1564–1614), first Prince of Barbançon * Antonia Wilhelmina (1557–1626), married in 1577 with Salentin IX of Isenburg-Grenzau,

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...

, who left the clergy to marry her.

References

External links

Biography (in Dutch)Archives and Cultural Centre of Arenberg
1520s births 1568 deaths Year of birth uncertain Dutch stadtholders Jean de Ligne Jean Knights of the Golden Fleece Lords of Zuid-Polsbroek Military personnel killed in action Military personnel of the Holy Roman Empire Nobility of the Spanish Netherlands Royal reburials {{Europe-noble-stub