George de Lalaing count Rennenberg (c. 1550 – 23 July 1581), was stadtholder of

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

, Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel in the service of Philip II of Spain from 1577 to 1581. The Lalaing family came from Hainaut and had a tradition of governing. His father was Philip de Lalaing, count of Hoogstraten; his mother, Anna of Rennenberg.

Life

He was born around 1550, probably in the family castle of

Hoogstraten Hoogstraten () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises Hoogstraten, Meer, Meerle, Meersel-Dreef, Minderhout and Wortel (Meersel-Dreef includes the northernmost point in Belgium). Hoogstrate ...

in the Campine. Rennenberg (as he was known in the Netherlands) was appointed stadtholder of the Northern provinces by the States General of the Netherlands after the

Pacification of Ghent The Pacification of Ghent, signed on 8 November 1576, was an alliance between the provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands. The main objectives were to remove Spanish mercenaries who had made themselves hated by all sides due to their plundering, and ...

in 1577, on a proposal from William of Orange. He allowed a number of important reforms in Friesland, such as the introduction of the ''Gedeputeerde Staten'' (Delegated States), and the forming of a fourth quarter in the

States of Friesland The States of Friesland were the sovereign body that governed the province of Friesland under the Dutch Republic. They were formed in 1580 after the former Lordship of Frisia (a part of the Habsburg Netherlands) acceded to the Union of Utrec ...

to represent the eleven Frisian cities. He was a firm believer in the Pacification of Ghent as a means to reconcile the rebellious Calvinists with their Catholic king. When the treaty resulted in Protestantism gaining ground, notably in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

and

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

, he abandoned the cause of the rebels for the king on 3 March 1580, with the support of the city of Groningen, according to tradition convinced by his sister Cornelia van Lalaing.Erik Swart, Lalaing, Cornelia van, in: Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van Nederland. URL: http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/vrouwenlexicon/lemmata/data/Lalaing 3/01/2014/ref> The rest of the province remained loyal to the rebel cause. He attempted to besiege Steenwijk but had to raise the siege once John Norreys arrived and relieved the place. He was then further defeated by Norreys at Kollum. Rennenberg, already ill, died at Groningen on 23 July 1581 and was buried in the Groningen Martinikerk. The city remained the scene of military action until 1594. Rennenberg's defection polarized the Dutch population further along religious lines. In the rebel provinces, Catholics would no longer be trusted with high posts.

References

1550s births 1581 deaths Ge Dutch stadtholders {{Netherlands-bio-stub