Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle (1486–1550) was a Franc-Comtois politician who served as a close trusted adviser to

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) ...

. He was made suzerain of the

imperial city of Besançon Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

and held an influential position in the Netherlands. From 1530 until his death he was one of the emperor's most trusted advisers in Germany. He was the father of the cardinal and politician

Antoine Perrenot de 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 Habsb ...

, also a leading Habsburg minister, and built the Palace Granvelle in Besançon.

Life

In 1518 he became a lawyer and was called at the age of 34 years to the Parliament of the

Free County of Burgundy The Free County of Burgundy or Franche-Comté (french: Franche Comté de Bourgogne; german: Freigrafschaft Burgund) was a medieval county (from 982 to 1678) of the Holy Roman Empire, predecessor to the modern region of Franche-Comté. The name ' ...

. In 1519 Charles V was elected emperor at the age of 19 years. Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle quickly became a closely trusted advisor and was appointed chancellor of the empire. His sons and sons-in-law (Granvelle family) went on to occupy prominent positions at the imperial court. In 1527 he bought the seigniory of Grandvelle, located in the

Bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

of Amont (''Bailliage d'Amont''), administrative territory located in present-day

Haute-Saône Haute-Saône (; Arpitan: ''Hiôta-Sona''; English: Upper Saône) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of northeastern France. Named after the river Saône, it had a population of 235,313 in 2019.Mercurino Gattinara Mercurino Arborio, marchese di Gattinara (10 June 1465 – 5 June 1530), was an Italian statesman and jurist best known as the chancellor of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. He was made cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church for San Giovanni ...

, he became one of the emperor's most trusted advisers in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, and played that role until his death. He died on August 27, 1550, at the age of 64 years, while attending the Imperial Diet in

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

. He owned a significant art collection and library, the later now in the

Bibliothèque municipale de Besançon Bibliothèque municipale de Besançon or Besançon municipal library is located in Eastern France. It is the first public library that was built in Besançon. History The library was founded in 1694, when the Benedictine Abbot Jean-Baptiste B ...

.''Les Granvelle et les anciens Pays-Bas: liber doctori Mauricio van Durme ''
(Leuven University Press, 2000), p. 19

Succession

In 1513, he married Nicole de Bonvalot daughter of Jacques de Bonvalot, lord of Champagney. The couple had 15 children, three of whom went on to play prominent political roles. The eldest surviving son,

, become Archbishop of

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

and a cardinal as well as serving as a diplomat and adviser to Charles V. Another son, Jérôme de Perrenot, became a diplomat in the service of

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of rulers of Croatia, Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1 ...

and guardian of the young

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 ...

. The youngest son, Frédéric Perrenot de Champagney, served the Habsburgs as a soldier and diplomat. From modest beginnings in the

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...

, the Perrenot family in two generations became the most powerful and the richest in the region. The Granvelle Palace in Besançon is the symbol of their rapid success and social ascent.

Life

Succession

References

Further reading