Pierre de Melun (died 1594), prince of Espinoy, marquis of Richebourg, baron of Antoing, etc., was a nobleman in 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 ...

during 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 ...

who took the side of the rebels against

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 ...

Life

Melun was born in the first half of the 16th century, probably in

Antoing Antoing (; pcd, Antweon) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Antoing, Bruyelle, Calonne, Fontenoy, Maubray, and Péronnes-lez-Antoing. Hi ...

, the son and heir of Hugues, count of Epinoy, and Yolande, lady of Warchin. Ch. Piot, "Melun (Pierre de)", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' ( French; "National Biography of Belgium") is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ' ...

'', vol. 14 (Brussels, 1897), 332-335. He was the hereditary constable and senechal of the

County of Hainaut The County of Hainaut (french: Comté de Hainaut; nl, Graafschap Henegouwen; la, comitatus hanoniensis), sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled what is now the border of Belg ...

. In 1576 the Estates General appointed him governor of the city and castle of Tournai and of the Tounaisis. In 1577 he was declared a rebel and his properties in the Low Countries were confiscated by the crown and awarded to his younger brother,

Robert de Melun Robert de Melun (died 1585), viscount of Ghent and marquis of Roubaix, was a nobleman from the Low Countries who fought in the Eighty Years' War. Life Melun was the son of Hugues d'Epinoy and Yoldande de Warchin, lady of Roubaix, and was probably ...

. At Robert's death they passed to his sister, Anne-Marie de Melun, who was married to Lamoral de Ligne. Pierre de Melun was the leading figure in the rebel response to the reconciliation of the Walloon nobility of the

Union of Arras The Union of Arras (Dutch: ''Unie van Atrecht'', French: ''Union d'Arras'', Spanish: ''Unión de Arrás'') was an alliance between the County of Artois, the County of Hainaut and the city of Douai in the Habsburg Netherlands in early 1579 during ...

in the

Treaty of Arras (1579) The Treaty of Arras of 17 May 1579 was a peace treaty concluded between the Spanish Crown, represented by Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, and representatives of the County of Hainaut, the County of Artois, and the cities of Douai, Lille, Orchies ...

. On 13 October 1579 the Estates appointed him superintendent general of the city of Valenciennes and the citadel of Cambrai, and later governor of the shrinking number of rebel-held fortifications in the

County of Artois The County of Artois (, ) was a historic province of the Kingdom of France, held by the Dukes of Burgundy from 1384 until 1477/82, and a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 until 1659. Present Artois lies in northern France, on the border ...

, and

Walloon Flanders Walloon Flanders (Dutch: ''Waals Vlaanderen'', French: ''Flandre wallonne'') was a semi-independent part of the County of Flanders, composed of the Burgrave, burgraviates of Lille, Douai and Orchies. It is sometimes referred to as ''Lille–Douai ...

. His mother's appeals to him in December 1580 to return to loyalty were unavailing. On 8 March 1581 he was appointed general of cavalry in the service of the States. He was absent from Tournai on campaign during the Siege of Tournai (1581), so the defence was directed by his lieutenant, with his wife since 1572,

Marie-Christine de Lalaing 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, the governor of Tournai. In the absence of her husband, she defen ...

, taking a leading role. At the conclusion of the siege on 29 November 1581, Marie-Christine withdrew to

Oudenaarde Oudenaarde (; french: Audenarde ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgian municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Oudenaarde proper and the towns of Bevere, Edelare, Eine, Ename, Heu ...

. On 10 February 1582, Melun was among the nobles who greeted

Francis, Duke of Anjou '' Monsieur'' Francis, Duke of Anjou and Alençon (french: Hercule François; 18 March 1555 – 10 June 1584) was the youngest son of King Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici. Early years He was scarred by smallpox at age eight, a ...

, on his return from England with the intention of proclaiming him sovereign of the Low Countries. He later accompanied

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 ...

to Ghent, but was no longer himself a leading figure in the Revolt. After Marie-Christine's death he remarried on 19 April 1586, with Hippolyte de Montmorency-Hornes. He died in exile in France in 1594. After his death his son, Guillaume de Melun, with diplomatic support from

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

,J. Lefèvre, "Melun (Guillaume de, prince d'Épinoy)", ''

''
vol. 30
(Brussels, 1958), 572-575. sought to recover at least some of his confiscated inheritance, reaching an agreement that was ratified by the government of the Sovereign Archdukes

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Albert ...

and

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpora ...

on 16 August 1602.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Melun, Pierre de 16th-century births 1594 deaths People of the Eighty Years' War Belgian nobility