Marie-Christine de Lalaing, or Philippe-Christine de Lalaing, was the daughter of Count Charles II of Lalaing and Marie de Montmorency-Nivelle. She was married to

Pierre de Melun Pierre de Melun (died 1594), prince of Espinoy, marquis of Richebourg, baron of Antoing, etc., was a nobleman in the Low Countries during the Dutch Revolt who took the side of the rebels against Philip II of Spain. Life Melun was born in the fi ...

, the governor of

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...

. In the absence of her husband, she defended the city of

against

Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma Alexander Farnese ( it, Alessandro Farnese, es, Alejandro Farnesio; 27 August 1545 – 3 December 1592) was an Italian noble and condottiero and later a general of the Spanish army, who was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1586 to 1592 ...

, in 1581.

Defense of Tournai

In the middle of the 16th Century, Calvinist preachers garnered large support in Tournai, despite the efforts of

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

to eradicate the movement. In 1576, the

States General of the Netherlands The States General of the Netherlands ( nl, Staten-Generaal ) is the supreme bicameral legislature of the Netherlands consisting of the Senate () and the House of Representatives (). Both chambers meet at the Binnenhof in The Hague. The States ...

appointed Pierre de Melun as governor of Tournai. Having left Tournai to attack

Gravelines Gravelines (, ; ; ) is a commune in the Nord department in Northern France. It lies at the mouth of the river Aa southwest of Dunkirk. It was formed in the 12th century around the mouth of a canal built to connect Saint-Omer with the sea. As ...

, de Melun entrusted the defense of Tournai to his lieutenant and to his wife, Marie-Christine de Lalaing. Shortly after his departure, the Prince of Orange was warned that Farnese would attack the city, despite the coming winter. When the

Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders ( es, Ejército de Flandes nl, Leger van Vlaanderen) was a multinational army in the service of the kings of Spain that was based in the Spanish Netherlands during the 16th to 18th centuries. It was notable for being the longe ...

arrived at the city, Marie-Christine de Lalaing rallied her troops in a speech: "It's me, the wife of your governor who is now marching into war, risking his own life, in service of his country. Follow my example: I would rather give up my life than abandon my country." She was injured in the resistance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lalaing, Marie-Christine de 16th-century French people

Marie Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tro ...

People from Tournai Women in 16th-century warfare Women in European warfare