Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, 2nd Count of Bucquoy ( cs, Karel Bonaventura Buquoy, es, Carlos Buenaventura de Longueval, Conde de Bucquoy, full name in french: Charles Bonaventure de Longueval comte de Bucquoy, german: Karl Bonaventura Graf von Buquoy) (9 January 1571,

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

– 10 July 1621, Érsekújvár) was a military commander who fought for the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...

during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...

and for 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 ...

during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

Career in the Spanish Army of Flanders

Bucquoy was born in

on 9 January 1571, son of Maximilian de Longueval, 1st Count of Bucquoy. He began serving in Spanish forces 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 ...

as a teenager, and was a colonel at the age of 26. He fought in the

Battle of Nieuwpoort The Battle of Nieuwpoort, was fought on 2 July 1600 during the Eighty Years War and the Anglo-Spanish war in the dunes near Nieuwpoort. The Anglo-Dutch companies met the Spanish veterans head on which, although their left flank nearly broke, w ...

(1600), the

Siege of Ostend The siege of Ostend was a three-year siege of the city of Ostend during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War. A Spanish force under Archduke Albrecht besieged the fortress being held initially by a Dutch force which was reinforc ...

(1601–1604) and distinguished himself as General of the Artillery in the Frisian campaigns of

Ambrosio Spinola Ambrogio Spinola Doria, 1st Marquess of Los Balbases and 1st Duke of Sesto (1569-25 September 1630) was an Italian ''condottiero'' and nobleman of the Republic of Genoa, who served as a Spanish general and won a number of important battles. He i ...

. In 1606 he married Maria Maddalena Biglia, daughter of a Milanese nobleman in the entourage of the Archduke Albert and in 1607 they had a son named

Charles Albert Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian War of Independenc ...

. In 1610 he was ambassador extraordinary to France, to convey the condolences of 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 * Alber ...

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 unincorpor ...

on the murder of

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 ...

. In 1613 he became a knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

. As a mark of special favour the commandery in the

Order of Calatrava The Order of Calatrava ( es, Orden de Calatrava, pt, Ordem de Calatrava) was one of the four Spanish military orders and the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Orde ...

that he had to renounce upon entering the Golden Fleece, was transferred to his son. That year also saw his appointment as Grand Bailiff (or governor) 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 ...

Commander of the Imperial Army

He travelled to Bohemia to represent Archduke Albert at the Diet of Budweis in January 1614.Rahl, 29 Shortly after his election,

Emperor Matthias Matthias (24 February 1557 – 20 March 1619) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1612 to 1619, Archduke of Austria from 1608 to 1619, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1608 to 1618, and King of Bohemia from 1611 to 1617. His personal motto was ''Concord ...

invited Bucquoy to take charge the Imperial Army and he accepted the post in August 1614. He happened to be on leave in the Habsburg Netherlands when on 23 May 1618 the Second Defenestration of Prague triggered the

Bohemian Revolt The Bohemian Revolt (german: Böhmischer Aufstand; cs, České stavovské povstání; 1618–1620) was an uprising of the Bohemian estates against the rule of the Habsburg dynasty that began the Thirty Years' War. It was caused by both religi ...

. Bucquoy returned to Vienna in August and took command of the imperial forces raised to put down the revolt. Short of soldiers, supplies and money, his first campaign came close to disaster more than once. Defeated by Count

Jindřich Matyáš Thurn Count Jindřich Matyáš of Thurn-Valsassina (german: Heinrich Matthias Graf von Thurn und Valsassina; it, Enrico Matteo Conte della Torre di Valsassina) (24 February 1567 – 26 January 1640), was one of the leaders of the Protestant Bohemian ...

on 9 November in the Battle of Lomnice, he was unable to save the besieged town of Pilsen. While his army encamped in its winter quarters around Budweis, Thurn's surprise march on Vienna was only halted by the severity of winter. After receiving reinforcements provided by Archduke Albert, Bucquoy's campaign of 1619 did much to reverse the fortunes of the war. On 10 June he defeated

Ernst von Mansfeld Peter Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld (german: Peter Ernst Graf von Mansfeld; c. 158029 November 1626), or simply Ernst von Mansfeld, was a German military commander who, despite being a Catholic, fought for the Protestants during the early years of the ...

in the

Battle of Sablat The Battle of Sablat or Záblatí occurred on 10 June 1619, during the Bohemian period of the Thirty Years' War. The battle was fought between a Roman Catholic Imperial army led by Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy and the Pr ...

, thereby forcing the Bohemians to abandon their siege of Budweis. He also commanded the imperial forces during the

Battle of White Mountain ), near Prague, Bohemian Confederation(present-day Czech Republic) , coordinates = , territory = , result = Imperial-Spanish victory , status = , combatants_header = , combatant1 = Catholic L ...

on 8 November 1620. As a result of his successes, Emperor Ferdinand II gave him estates at Nové Hrady, Rožmberk and

Libějovice Libějovice is a municipality and village in Strakonice District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Černěves and Nestanice are administrative parts of Libějovice. ...

. These estates remained in the family until 1945. Bucquoy was killed during the siege of Érsekújvár ''(German: Neuhäusel, today Nové Zámky, Slovakia)'' on 10 July 1621. One of his commanders,

Torquato Conti Torquato Conti (1591–1636) was an Italian military commander who served as a General-Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years' War. His barbarous treatment of defenceless villagers earned him the nickname, ''The Devil''. H ...

, attempted to retrieve his body from the battlefield but was captured. Conti was later released and replaced Bucquoy as a commander of Imperial forces. His funeral, with full honours, took place in the Franciscan Church, Vienna, on 31 July 1621.

References

Bibliography

*Rahl, Charles. ''Les Belges en Bohême'' (Brussels, Leipzig and Ghent, 1850). {{DEFAULTSORT:Bucquoy, Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of 1571 births 1621 deaths People from Arras Belgian military personnel South Netherlandish people of the Thirty Years' War Knights of the Golden Fleece Military personnel of the Thirty Years' War Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire Flemish nobility