Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg (c. 1525 – 1568) was Baron of Barbançon, founder of the

House 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 ma ...

and stadtholder of the Dutch provinces of

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, Drenthe and Overijssel from 1549 until his death. He was the son of Louis de Ligne, Baron of Barbançon from the

House of Ligne The House of Ligne is one of the oldest Belgian noble families, dating back to the eleventh century.''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XIV. "Ligne". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, pp. 495-500. . The family's name comes from the v ...

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 eld ...

. Jean de Ligne belonged to the closest circles around

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

and was made a Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1546. In 1549 he became stadtholder of the Northern provinces of

, Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel. By his marriage to Marguerite de la Marck-Arenberg, sister of Robert III von der Marck-Arenberg who died without children, he became the founder of the third

. He participated in the campaign in France and distinguished himself in the

Battle of St. Quentin (1557) The Battle of Saint-Quentin of 1557, was a decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1551–1559 between the Kingdom of France and the Spanish empire, at Saint-Quentin in Picardy. A Habsburg Spanish force under Duke Emmanuel Philibert of S ...

where he, together with

Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Henry V of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ( la, Henricus; 10 November 1489 – 11 June 1568), called the Younger, (''Heinrich der Jüngere''), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruling Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel fr ...

, 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 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 ...

, Lamoral, Count of Egmont and

Philip de Montmorency, Count of Hoorn Philip de Montmorency (ca. 1524 – 5 June 1568 in Brussels), also known as Count of Horn, ''Horne'', ''Hoorne'' or ''Hoorn'', was a victim of the Inquisition in the Spanish Netherlands. Biography De Montmorency was born as the eldest of four ch ...

, 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 ( ...

and Adolf of Nassau (brothers of

William I of Orange 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 Rev ...

) 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 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 aft ...

, and his remains were moved in 1614 to the family vault in

Enghien Enghien (; nl, Edingen ; pcd, Inguî; vls, Enge) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. On 1January 2006, Enghien had a total population of 11,980. The total area is , which gives a population de ...

. He had seven children, amongst whom: *

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 ...

(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 __NOTOC__ Salentin IX of Isenburg-Grenzau (German: ''Salentin IX. von Isenburg-Grenzau'') (c. 1532–1610) was the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne as "Salentin of Isenburg" from 1567 until 1577, the Bishop of Paderborn from 1574 until 1577, a ...

, Archbishop of Cologne, 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 may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Je ...

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

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