Julián Romero de Ibarrola ( Huélamo, 1518 –

Felizzano Felizzano (Flissan in Piemontese) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about west of Alessandria. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,405 ...

, 1577) was a Spanish military commander in the 16th century. He was one of the few common soldiers in the Spanish army to reach the rank of

Maestre de Campo ''Maestre de campo'' was a rank created in 1534 by the Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Carlos V, inferior in rank only to the ''captain general, capitán general'' and acted as a chief of staff. He was chosen by the monarch in the Council o ...

. Romero was born in Huélamo,

Province of Cuenca (Spain) A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

. Nothing more is known about his youth. He entered the Spanish army at the age of 16, and was stationed in Flanders. By 1547 he commanded a Spanish army unit as sergeant or captain at the

Battle of Pinkie The Battle of Pinkie, also known as the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh ( , ), took place on 10 September 1547 on the banks of the River Esk near Musselburgh, Scotland. The last pitched battle between Scotland and England before the Union of the Cro ...

, as ally of the English in their war with Scotland known as the

Rough Wooing The Rough Wooing (December 1543 – March 1551), also known as the Eight Years' War, was part of the Anglo-Scottish Wars of the 16th century. Following its break with the Roman Catholic Church, England attacked Scotland, partly to break the ...

. King

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

was so impressed by his performance, that he made him a

banneret A knight banneret, sometimes known simply as banneret, was a medieval knight ("a commoner of rank") who led a company of troops during time of war under his own banner (which was square-shaped, in contrast to the tapering standard or the penn ...

. Romero's unit was captured during the

siege of Haddington The sieges of Haddington were a series of sieges staged at the Royal Burgh of Haddington, East Lothian, Scotland, as part of the War of the Rough Wooing, one of the last Anglo-Scottish Wars. Following Regent Arran's defeat at the battle of Pi ...

Coldingham Coldingham ( sco, Cowjum) is a village and parish in Scottish Borders, on Scotland's southeast coastline, north of Eyemouth. Parish The parish lies in the east of the Lammermuir district. It is the second-largest civil parish by area in Berwic ...

in the spring of 1549. He was released and stationed at Cheswick in Northumberland in May 1549.''HMC Rutland'', vol. 1 (London, 1911), p. 37. Romero fought 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 ...

, where he 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 ...

, for which he was made a Knight in the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgr ...

. In 1565 he was stationed in Sicily, but the following year, the Duke of Alba made him

Maestre de campo ''Maestre de campo'' was a rank created in 1534 by the Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Carlos V, inferior in rank only to the ''captain general, capitán general'' and acted as a chief of staff. He was chosen by the monarch in the Council o ...

, and he accompanied the Duke 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 ...

to crush the

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...

. In 1568 he commanded the guard at the execution of Counts Egmont and

Horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

. Romero fought in the Siege of Mons (1572), where he nearly succeeded in killing

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 ...

in a daring raid against the Dutch camp. He was also present at the Massacre of Naarden and 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 prev ...

, where he lost an eye. In 1574, he failed to relieve

Middelburg Middelburg may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Europe * Middelburg, Zeeland, the capital city of the province of Zeeland, southwestern Netherlands ** Roman Catholic Diocese of Middelburg, a former Catholic diocese with its see in the Zeeland ...

after losing the Battle of Reimerswaal, and in 1576 he was present at the

Sack of Antwerp The Sack of Antwerp, often known as the Spanish Fury at Antwerp, was an episode of the Eighty Years' War. It is the greatest massacre in the history of the Low Countries. On 4 November 1576, mutinying Spain, Spanish tercios of the Army of Flande ...

. By the

Edict of 1577 The Edict of 1577 (also known as the Perpetual Edict or the Eternal Edict) was signed on 12 February 1577 in Marche-en-Famenne by the new Spanish governor-general of the Habsburg Netherlands, Don John of Austria. This accord provided for the rem ...

, most Spanish troops were withdrawn from the Low Countries and Romero was stationed in Cremona. He died of a stroke in

near

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

while he was in charge of transferring Spanish troops back to the territories of the Spanish crown. He was buried in Alessandria in the church of San Giacomo della Vittoria.

After his death

After his death, Julian Romero became in Spain a military hero who gave his life for his country. He was painted by

El Greco Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...

around 1612 and José de Cañizares dedicated a play to him (''El guapo Julián Romero'') in the 18th century.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romero, Julian Spanish people of the Eighty Years' War Spanish people of the Rough Wooing 16th-century Spanish people 1518 births 1577 deaths Knights banneret of England