William II de la Marck (

Lummen Lummen (; li, Leume or ''Lumme'' ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. On January 1, 2006, Lummen had a total population of 13,691. The total area is 53 ...

, 1542 – Bishopric of Liège, 1 May 1578) (Dutch: ''Willem II van der Marck'') was the Dutch Lord of Lumey and initially admiral of the

Watergeuzen Geuzen (; ; french: Les Gueux) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen (; ; frenc ...

, the so-called 'sea beggars' who fought in the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648), together with among others

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 ...

, Prince of Orange-Nassau. He was the great-grandson of an equally notorious character, baron William de la Marck, nicknamed the "wild boar of the Ardennes". On 1 April 1572 – the day of the

Capture of Brielle The Capture of Brielle by the ''Geuzen, Watergeuzen'', on 1 April 1572 marked a turning point in the uprising of the Seventeen Provinces, Low Countries against Spain in the Eighty Years' War. Militarily the success was minor as the port of Briell ...

– the

Sea Beggars Geuzen (; ; french: Les Gueux) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called Watergeuzen (; ; frenc ...

were led by De la Marck, and by two of his captains,

Willem Bloys van Treslong Willem Bloys van Treslong (1529 – 17 July 1594) was a nobleman from the Southern Netherlands and military leader during the Dutch war of Independence. He was best known as one of the leaders of the Sea Beggars who captured Den Briel on 1 April ...

and Lenaert Jansz de Graeff. After they were expelled from England by Elizabeth I, they needed a place to shelter their 25 ships.Elliot, p. 139 As they sailed towards Brill, they were surprised to find out that the Spanish garrison had left in order to deal with trouble in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...

. On the evening of 1 April, the 600 men sacked the undefended port.Elliott, p. 140 A Calvinist, who opposed

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, on 9 July 1572 he had executed the

Martyrs of Gorkum The Martyrs of Gorkum ( nl, Martelaren van Gorcum) were a group of 19 Dutch Catholic clerics, secular and religious, who were hanged on 9 July 1572 in the town of Brielle by militant Dutch Calvinists during the 16th-century religious wars—sp ...

, 19 Dutch Catholic priests and

religious Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatur ...

who were ultimately

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

in 1865. Their crime was their refusal to abandon their belief in the

Blessed Sacrament The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. The term is used in the Latin Church of the ...

and in papal supremacy, even under torture. Lumey's action was contrary to orders he received from William the Silent.Albers, Petrus Henricus
"The Martyrs of Gorkum"
in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company (1909). Accessed 9 July 2013. He also played a part in the murder of

Cornelis Musius Cornelis Musius (1500–1572) was a Dutch Catholic priest and Neo-Latin poet. He was the last rector of the Sint Agathaklooster in Delft, until hanged without due process on 10 or 11 December 1572. Although never officially canonised, he has lo ...

. Having conquered South-Holland and controlling North-Holland and

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

, on 20 June 1572 Lumey was appointed stadtholder of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

and consequently Captain General, i.e. military Commander in Chief of the conquered territories. It has never been evidenced that Lumey recognized either the authority or the seniority of the Prince of Orange, who was eventually recognized as the leader of the Low Countries' uprising against the King Philip II of Spain. In 1576 Lumey was banned from the Netherlands, either by the

States of Holland The States of Holland and West Frisia ( nl, Staten van Holland en West-Friesland) were the representation of the two Estates (''standen'') to the court of the Count of Holland. After the United Provinces were formed — and there no longer was a c ...

or the Prince of Orange. He is said to have participated in the lost Battle of Gembloux against the Spanish. He went back to his homeland, the Bishopric of Liège, where on 1 May 1578 he died in his residence on Mont-Saint-Martin. There are two different accounts offered for the circumstances of his death, one that he died of the bite of a mad dog or that he was poisoned while in prison. There is evidence that the earthly remains of William van der Marck are stowed away in a casket, that is bricked up in the

Arenberg Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a former county, principality and finally duchy that was located in what is now Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian noble family. History First mentioned in the 12 ...

-family crypt under the former Capuchin Monastery Church at

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 ...

, today located in Belgium.

In popular culture

* He is featured as a recurring character in the Dutch comic series '' Gilles de Geus'' by

Hanco Kolk Hanco Kolk (born 11 March 1957, Den Helder) is a Dutch cartoonist and comics artist. He is best known for his collaborations with Peter de Wit, with who he made ''Gilles de Geus'' and '' S1NGLE' Kolk married author Isabelle Rosselin in 2016. Bi ...

and

Peter de Wit Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

. * He also appears in

Cecelia Holland Cecelia Holland (born December 31, 1943) is an American historical fiction novelist. Early life and education Holland was born December 31, 1943, in Henderson, Nevada. She grew up in Metuchen, New Jersey, where she started writing at age 12, rec ...

's historical novel "The Sea Beggars", who changed some of the details of his life. * Two streets in the Geuzenwijk in

have been named after him: Lumeystraat en Van der Marckstraat. Streets in Rotterdam and The Hague have also been named after him.

References

Sources

External links

Biography (Dutch language)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marck 1542 births 1578 deaths People from Limburg (Belgium) Dutch Calvinist and Reformed Christians Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces)

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

16th-century pirates Dutch pirates