Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere (18 November 1522 – 5 June 1568) was a general and statesman in 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 ...

just before the start of 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 Ref ...

, whose execution helped spark the national uprising that eventually led to the independence of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Biography

The Count of

Egmont Egmont may refer to: * Egmont Group, a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark * Egmond family (often spelled "Egmont"), an influential Dutch family, lords of the town of Egmond ** Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522–1568), the bes ...

was at the head of one of the wealthiest and most powerful families 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 ...

. Paternally, a branch of the Egmonts ruled the sovereign duchy of Guelders until 1538. Lamoral was born in La Hamaide near Ellezelles. His father was

John IV of Egmont John IV of Egmont (or Egmond) (1499, Egmond aan den Hoef – April 1528, near Ferrara) was second Count of Egmont, Lord of Hoogwoud, Aartswoud and Baer, and tenth Lord of Purmerend, Purmerland and Ilpendam. He belonged to the House of Egmond. ...

, 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 marriag ...

. His mother belonged to a

cadet branch In history and heraldry, a cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets— realm, t ...

of the House of Luxembourg, and through her he inherited the title ''prince de Gavere''.The complicated series of inheritances through which Gavre/Gavere in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

and its dependencies passed through the heiress Beatrix de Gavre to Guy IX de Laval and was sold in 1515 to Jacques de Luxembourg, is sketched in Arthur Bertrand de Broussillon, Paul de Farcy, Eugène Vallée, ''La maison de Laval, 1020-1605'' (1895-1903), vol. 4 ''Les Montfort-Laval et leur cadets, 1501-1605'', ''s.v.'' "Guy XVI" de Laval, pp. 5-7. During his youth, he received a military education in Spain. In 1542, he inherited the estates of his elder brother Charles in

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 Provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

. His family's stature increased further in 1544 when, at Spires, in the presence of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and of the Archduke Ferdinand I, he married the Countess Palatine Sabine of Simmern, whose brother became the Elector Palatine Frederick III. By appointment, he was Captain General of the Lowlands under Charles V, knight of the Golden Fleece from 1546, and Imperial Chamberlain. In the service of the Spanish army, he defeated the French in the battles of Saint-Quentin (1557) and Gravelines (1558). Egmont was appointed

stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

of Flanders and Artois in 1559, aged only 37. As a leading Netherlandic nobleman, Egmont was a member of King

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 ...

's official Council of State for Flanders and Artois. Together with

William, Prince of Orange William, Prince of Orange (Willem Nicolaas Alexander Frederik Karel Hendrik; 4 September 1840 – 11 June 1879), was heir apparent to the Dutch throne as the eldest son of King William III from 17 March 1849 until his death. Early life Prince Wi ...

and the Count of Horn, he protested against the introduction of the

inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

in Flanders by the cardinal Antoine Perrenot Granvelle, bishop of Arras. Egmont even threatened to resign, but after Granvelle left, there was a reconciliation with the king. In 1565, running short of funds as he had continued the representation of the Low Countries entirely from his own pocket, Egmont went to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

to beseech Philip II, the king of Spain, for a change of

policy Policy is a deliberate system of guidelines to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by a governance body within an orga ...

in the Netherlands, but met with little more than courtesy. Soon thereafter, the '

Beeldenstorm ''Beeldenstorm'' () in Dutch and ''Bildersturm'' in German (roughly translatable from both languages as 'attack on the images or statues') are terms used for outbreaks of destruction of religious images that occurred in Europe in the 16th centu ...

' started, the massive

iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be consid ...

of Catholic churches in the Netherlands, and resistance against the Spanish rule in the Netherlands increased. As a devout Catholic, Egmont deplored the iconoclasm, and remained faithful to the Spanish king. After Philip II sent the Duke of Alba to the Netherlands, William of Orange decided to flee

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 ...

. Having always declined to do anything that smacked of '' lèse majesté'', Egmont refused to heed Orange's warning; thus he and Horn decided to stay in the city. Upon arrival, Alba almost immediately had the counts of Egmont and Horn arrested on charges of heresy, and imprisoned them in a castle in

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 ...

, prompting Egmont's wife and their eleven surviving children (from the thirteen they had together) to seek refuge in a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Angl ...

. Pleas for amnesty came to the Spanish king from throughout Europe, including from many reigning sovereigns, the

(both being knights of the Order, and thereby theoretically immune from trial by any but their peers of the Order), and the king's kinsman the Emperor Maximilian II, all to no avail.

Execution and destruction of Castle Egmond

On 4 June Egmont and Horn were condemned to death, and lodged that night in the King's House in

. On 5 June 1568 both men were

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the au ...

before the Town Hall on the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square), Egmont's uncomplaining dignity on the occasion being widely noted. Their deaths led to public protests throughout the Netherlands, and contributed to the resistance against the Spaniards. The Count of Egmont lies buried in a crypt in Zottegem, a Belgian city in which Egmont is remembered by his two statues, his museum and his castle. His castle in

Egmond aan den Hoef Egmond aan den Hoef () is a village in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Bergen, and lies about west of Alkmaar. Until 2001, Egmond aan den Hoef was part of the municipality of Egmond. The village was firs ...

was destroyed in 1573 and a statue in his memory is erected on the site of the ruins. A statue erected on the Square du Petit Sablon/Kleine Zavelsquare in Brussels commemorates the Counts of Egmont and Horn, in historical overview usually mentioned together as ''"Egmond en Hoorne"'' and hailed as the first leaders of the Dutch revolt, as the predecessors of William of Orange, who grew to importance and obtained the leadership after their execution, and who was assassinated in 1584 in

Delft Delft () is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, and The Hague, to the northwest. Together with them, it is part of both the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolita ...

, having succeeded in liberating parts of The Netherlands in the early years of the

(1568–1648). Egmont's offices and vast estates were forfeited upon his execution, escheating to the Prince-Bishop of Liège. By inheritance he had been count of Egmont (or Egmond), prince de Gavre and van Steenhuysen, baron de Fiennes, Gaesbeke and La Hamaide, seigneur de Purmerent, Hoogwoude, Aertswoude, Beyerland, Sottenghien, Dondes, Auxy and Baer. Some of these lands were eventually returned to his heirs by the Bishop, principally in 1600. Despite the taint of treason and the family's impoverishment, his niece Louise of Lorraine-Mercœur, was chosen to become the Queen consort of

Henry III of France Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Li ...

in 1575.

Literary treatments

The Count of Egmont is the main character in a play by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

, ''

''. In 1810

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

composed the Egmont Overture an overture and incidental music for a revival of the play.

Images

Image:Lamoraal, graaf van Egmont (1522-1568).svg, Coat of Arms of Lamoral of Egmont, with chain of the

File:Kasteel_Egmond.JPG, A statue of Lamoral stands in the middle of the old moat of

File:Brussels_Statue_Egmont_and_Horne_02.jpg, Statue of Egmont and Hoorne, Square du Petit Sablon/Kleine Zavelsquare,

File:Egmontstandbeeld,_Markt,_Zottegem,_Vlaanderen,_België_02.jpg, Lamoral's statue on the market square in Zottegem File:Egmontcrypte Zottegem 05.jpg, Lamoral's crypt on the market square in Zottegem File:Kasteel_van_Egmont_Zottegem_09.jpg, Lamoral's castle in the Egmont park in Zottegem File:Lamoraal_van_Egmont_12-09-2009_17-27-11.JPG, Lamoral's statue in the Egmont park in Zottegem File:Egmontkamer,_stadhuis_Zottegem_06.jpg, Lamoral's museum in Zottegem File:Kasteel Lahamaide, geboorteplaats Lamoraal van Egmont.jpg, The castle of La Hamaide, where Lamoral was born

Notes and references

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Egmont, Lamoral van 1522 births 1568 deaths Lamoral Princes of Gavre Lamoral Lords of Purmerend Lords of Purmerland and Ilpendam Lords of Hoog- en Aartswoude Lords of Sotteghem Lords of Armentières Lords of Oud-Beijerland Knights of the Golden Fleece Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces) Spanish generals Military leaders of the Italian Wars People executed by Spain by decapitation Executed Dutch people Dutch Roman Catholics