Jean de Ligne,

Duke of Arenberg The House of Arenberg is an aristocratic lineage that is constituted by three successive families that took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel region. The inheritance of the House of Croÿ-Aarschot ...

(c. 1525 – 1568) was Baron of Barbançon, founder of the

House of Arenberg The House of Arenberg is an aristocratic lineage that is constituted by three successive families that took their name from Arenberg, a small territory of the Holy Roman Empire in the Eifel region. The inheritance of the House of Croÿ, House of C ...

and

stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

of the Dutch provinces of

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...

and

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

from 1549 until his death.

Life

Jean was the son of Louis de Ligne, Baron of Barbançon from the

House of Ligne The House of Ligne is one of the oldest Belgian noble families, dating back to the eleventh century.''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser'' XIV. "Ligne". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, pp. 495–500. . The family's name comes from t ...

and Marie of Glymes, Lady of Zevenbergen (1503–1566), daughter of Cornelis of Glymes. Jean belonged to a close circle around

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

and was made a knight in the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

in 1546. In 1549 he became

of the northern provinces of

and

. By his marriage to Marguerite de la Marck-Arenberg, sister of Robert III von der Marck-Arenberg who died without children, he became the founder of the third

. Jean participated in the campaign in France and distinguished himself in the

Battle of St. Quentin (1557) The Battle of Saint-Quentin of 1557 was a decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1551–1559 between the Kingdom of France and the Spanish Empire, at Saint-Quentin in Picardy. A Habsburg Spanish force under Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy ...

where he, together with

Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Henry V of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (; 10 November 1489 – 11 June 1568), called the Younger, (''Heinrich der Jüngere''), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and ruling Prince of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel from 1514 until ...

, led the left wing of the infantry in the final attack against the French. At the start of the rebellion he distanced himself of his good friend

William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...

Lamoral, Count of Egmont Lamoral, Count of Egmont, Prince of Gavere (18 November 1522 – 5 June 1568) was a general and statesman in the Habsburg Netherlands, Spanish Netherlands just before the start of the Eighty Years' War, whose execution helped spark the national up ...

and Philip de Montmorency, Count of Hoorn, and remained loyal to the King Philip II of Spain. He was unable to stop the spread of Protestantism in his northern provinces, but succeeded in 1567 to keep them loyal to the crown without bloodshed. Back south, he joined the army under the Duke of Alva, but objected against the arrests of Egmont and Hoorn.
When

Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...

and Adolf of Nassau (brothers of

William I of Orange William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs that set off the Eighty Years' War (156 ...

) invaded Groningen, he was sent back by Alva to repulse this army. Jean was killed in the Battle of Heiligerlee on 23 May 1568. Cardinal Granvelle described his death as a great loss for the Catholic faith and the king. Arenberg was buried in the Saint Catherine Church in Zevenbergen, and his remains were moved in 1614 to the family vault in

Enghien Enghien (; ; ; ) 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 density of 295 inhabitants per km2. ...

Marriage and issue

Jean and Marguerite de la Marck-Arenberg had: * Charles de Ligne, 2nd Prince of Arenberg (1550–1616), his successor * Margareth (1552–1611), married in 1569 with Philip of Lalaing * Robert (1564–1614), first Prince of Barbançon * Antonia Wilhelmina (1557–1626), married in 1577 with Salentin IX of Isenburg-Grenzau,

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

, who left the clergy to marry her.

References

Source

* *113-115 *

External links

Biography (in Dutch)

Archives and Cultural Centre of Arenberg
1520s births 1568 deaths Year of birth uncertain Stadtholders in the Low Countries Jean de Ligne

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

Knights of the Golden Fleece Lords of Zuid-Polsbroek Military personnel killed in action Nobility of the Spanish Netherlands Royal reburials 16th-century governors Stadtholders of Frisia {{Europe-noble-stub