John VIII, Count of Nassau-Siegen (''Jan'' or ''Johan''; Dillenburg, 29 September 1583 –

Ronse Ronse (; french: Renaix, ) is a Belgian city and a municipality in the Flemish province of East Flanders. The municipality only encompasses the city of Ronse proper. History Early settlements to 14th century The hills around Ronse show clu ...

, 27 July 1638) was a German nobleman and militarist of the 17th century.

Life

John VIII, Count of

Nassau-Siegen Nassau-Siegen was a principality within the Holy Roman Empire that existed between 1303 and 1328, and again from 1606 to 1743. From 1626 to 1734, it was subdivided into Catholic and Protestant parts. Its capital was the city of Siegen, found ...

Katzenelnbogen Katzenelnbogen () is the name of a castle and small town in the district of Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Katzenelnbogen is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Aar-Einrich. History Katzenelnboge ...

, Vianden and

Dietz Dietz is a surname, and may refer to: * Albrecht Dietz (1926–2012), German entrepreneur and scientist * August Dietz (1869–1963), a philatelist, editor and publisher * Bernard Dietz (born 1948), German football player and manager * Cyrus E. ...

, Marquis of Monte-Caballo, Baron of Ronse and Beilstein, was the second son of

John VII, Count of Nassau-Siegen Count John VII ‘the Middle’ of Nassau-Siegen (7 June 1561 – 27 September 1623), german: Johann VII. ‘der Mittlere’ Graf von Nassau-Siegen, official titles: ''Graf zu Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Herr zu ...

and Countess

Magdalene of Waldeck-Wildungen Countess Magdalene of Waldeck-Wildungen (1558 – 9 September 1599), german: Magdalena Gräfin zu Waldeck-Wildungen, was a countess from the House of Waldeck and through marriage successively Countess of Hanau-Münzenberg and Countess ...

. He was educated in Herborn,

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. In 1610 he participated in the Dutch States Army in the conquest of

Jülich Jülich (; in old spellings also known as ''Guelich'' or ''Gülich'', nl, Gulik, french: Juliers, Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. As a border region betwe ...

. On 25 December 1613, much to the horror of his family, he openly converted to Catholicism and entered in the service of the army of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. After the death of his elder brother, John Ernest in September 1617, he claimed his rights, but his father chose a Protestant successor. When his father died in 1623, John VIII occupied

at the head of a Habsburg Army and started the Contra-Reformation. In 1624 he became a Knight in 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 ...

In 1625 he participated in the Siege of Breda. Breda was defended by his second cousin

Justinus van Nassau Justinus van Nassau (1559–1631) was the only extramarital child of William the Silent. He was a Dutch army commander known for his role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada, his leadership of the forces in Breda during the siege of 1624, ...

and held out for eleven months before surrendering. John VIII of Nassau-Siegen is depicted in the famous painting ''

The Surrender of Breda ''La rendición de Breda'' (English: ''The Surrender of Breda'', also known as ''Las lanzas'' – ''The Lances'') is a painting by the Spanish Golden Age painter Diego Velázquez. It was completed during the years 1634–35, inspired by Velázque ...

'' by

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptized June 6, 1599August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of th ...

, third from the left in the Spanish camp, looking directly at the spectator. In 1630 he was captured by the Dutch Army, however, he was released later that year for a huge bail. In 1631, he was in charge of the Spanish-

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

Fleet defeated by the Dutch and Scots and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

mercenaries, at the Battle of the Slaak, fighting on behalf of the Spanish Governor

Francisco de Moncada, 3rd Marquis of Aitona Francisco de Moncada (in Catalan: Francesc de Montcada i Montcada), 3rd Marquis of Aytona, (1586–1635) was a Spanish diplomat, soldier and writer of the early 17th century. He was also interim Governor of the Spanish Netherlands. Early life Mon ...

, (1586–1635). In 1632, Nassau-Siegen was conquered by the Swedes, after which his half-brother John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen re-introduced Protestantism. John VIII died in 1638 and was succeeded by his only son Johan Frans Desideratus, who had to cede part of Nassau-Siegen to the Protestant branch of the family.

Marriage and children

John was married in Brussels on 13 August 1618 to the Catholic princess Ernestine Yolande de Ligne d'Amblise (1594–1668), daughter of

Lamoral de Ligne, Prince d'Espinoy Lamoral, 1st Prince of Ligne (19 July 1563, in Château de Belœil – 6 February 1624, in Brussels) was a diplomat in the 17th century. Early life Lamoral, Count and after 1601 first Prince de Ligne and Prince d'Épinoy, was the son of Ph ...

. They had six children together: * Maria (1619–1620) * stillborn daughter (1620) * Clara Maria (1621–1695), married with her cousins Prince

Albert Henri de Ligne 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 ...

in 1634, and with

Claude Lamoral, 3rd Prince of Ligne Claude Lamoral, 3rd Prince of Ligne, Prince of Epinoy, Marquis of Roubaix and Count of Fauquemberg (8 October 1618 – 21 December 1679), was a nobleman from the Spanish Netherlands, a soldier and diplomat in the service of Philip IV of S ...

in 1642 * Ernestine Charlotte (1623–1668), married in 1650 with

Maurice Henry, Prince of Nassau-Hadamar Maurice Henry, Prince of Nassau-Hadamar (23 April 1626, in Hadamar – 24 January 1679, in Hadamar) was — after his father — the second ruler of the younger Nassau-Hadamar line of the Ottonian branch of the House of Nassau. Background Mauri ...

* Lamberta Alberta Gabrielle Ursula (1625–1635) * John Francis Desideratus (Nozeroy, 1627 – Roermond, 1699), Count of Nassau-Siegen

Ancestors

External links

Tercios.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:John 08, Count of Nassau-Siegen 1583 births 1638 deaths Converts to Roman Catholicism Counts of Nassau Nassau-Siegen, John VIII of House of Nassau-Siegen People from Dillenburg Generals of the Holy Roman Empire