William II de la Marck (

Lummen Lummen (; or ''Lumme'' ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg near Hasselt. On January 1, 2006, Lummen had a total population of 13,691. The total area is 53.38 km2 which gives a population density of 256 inhabitant ...

, 1542 –

Bishopric of Liège In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

, 1 May 1578) (Dutch: ''Willem II van der Marck'') was the Lord of Lumey and initially admiral of the

Watergeuzen ''Geuzen'' (; ; ) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called ''Watergeuzen'' (; ; ). In the Eigh ...

, the so-called 'sea beggars' who fought in the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

(1568–1648), together with among others

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 ...

, Prince of Orange-Nassau. He was the great-grandson of an equally notorious character, baron William de la Marck, nicknamed the "wild boar of the

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

". On 1 April 1572 – the day of the

Capture of Brielle Capture may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Capture", a song by Simon Townshend * Capture (band), an Australian electronicore band previously known as Capture the Crown * ''Capture'' (TV series), a reality show Television episodes * "Chapter ...

– the

Sea Beggars ''Geuzen'' (; ; ) was a name assumed by the confederacy of Calvinist Dutch nobles, who from 1566 opposed Spanish rule in the Netherlands. The most successful group of them operated at sea, and so were called ''Watergeuzen'' (; ; ). In the Eigh ...

were led by De la Marck, and by two of his captains,

Willem Bloys van Treslong Willem Bloys van Treslong (1529 – 17 July 1594) was a nobleman from the Southern Netherlands and military leader during the Dutch war of Independence. He was best known as one of the leaders of the Sea Beggars who captured Den Briel on 1 April ...

and

Lenaert Jansz de Graeff Lenaert Jansz de Graeff, also ''Lena(e)rt Jansz Graeff'', ''Leendert de Graeff'' and ''Leonhard de Graeff'' (Amsterdam, – in Exile, ) belonged to the powerful Amsterdam Patrician (post-Roman Europe), patriciate. He was one of the leaders of th ...

. After they were expelled from England by Elizabeth I, they needed a place to shelter their 25 ships.Elliot, p. 139 As they sailed towards Brill, they were surprised to find out that the Spanish garrison had left in order to deal with trouble in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. On the evening of 1 April, the 600 men sacked the undefended port.Elliott, p. 140 A Calvinist, who opposed

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, on 9 July 1572 he had executed the

Martyrs of Gorkum The Martyrs of Gorkum () were a group of 19 Dutch people, Dutch Catholic clerics, secular and religious, who were hanged on 9 July 1572 in the town of Brielle by militant Dutch Calvinists during the European wars of religion, 16th-century relig ...

, 19 Dutch Catholic priests and

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

who were ultimately

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...

in 1865. Their crime was their refusal to abandon their belief in the

Blessed Sacrament The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...

and in

papal supremacy Papal supremacy is the doctrine of the Catholic Church that the Pope, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, the visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful, and as priest of the ...

, even under torture. Lumey's action was contrary to orders he received from William the Silent.Albers, Petrus Henricus
"The Martyrs of Gorkum"
in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company (1909). Accessed 9 July 2013. He also played a part in the murder of Cornelis Musius. Having conquered South-Holland and controlling North-Holland and

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

, on 20 June 1572 Lumey was appointed

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 ...

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 ...

and consequently Captain General, i.e. military Commander in Chief of the conquered territories. It has never been evidenced that Lumey recognized either the authority or the seniority of the Prince of Orange, who was eventually recognized as the leader of the Low Countries' uprising against the King

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

. In 1576 Lumey was banned from the Netherlands, either by the

States of Holland The States of Holland and West Frisia () were the representation of the two Estates (''standen'') to the court of the Count of Holland. After the United Provinces were formed — and there no longer was a count, but only his "lieutenant" (the stad ...

or the Prince of Orange. He is said to have participated in the lost Battle of Gembloux against the Spanish. He went back to his homeland, the

, where on 1 May 1578 he died in his residence on Mont-Saint-Martin. There are two different accounts offered for the circumstances of his death, one that he died of the bite of a mad dog or that he was poisoned while in prison. There is evidence that the earthly remains of William van der Marck are stowed away in a casket, that is bricked up in the

Arenberg Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a former county, principality and finally duchy that was located in what is now Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian noble family. History First mentioned in the 12th c ...

-family crypt under the former Capuchin Monastery Church at

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. ...

, today located in Belgium.

In popular culture

* He is featured as a recurring character in the Dutch comic series ''

Gilles de Geus Gilles de Geus ("Gilles de Geus") is a Dutch humoristic/historical comics series, created by Hanco Kolk and Peter de Wit in 1983. It is set in the 16th and 17th centuries during the Eighty Years' War and features the adventures of Gilles, a br ...

'' by

Hanco Kolk Hanco Kolk (born 11 March 1957, Den Helder) is a Dutch cartoonist and comics artist. He is best known for his collaborations with Peter de Wit, with who he made '' Gilles de Geus'' and '' S1NGLE'' Kolk married author Isabelle Rosselin in 2016. ...

and

Peter de Wit Peter de Wit (born March 10, 1958, in Beverwijk) is a Dutch comics artist and cartoonist. He is best known for his comics series ''De Familie Fortuin'', ''Sigmund'' and his collaborations with Hanco Kolk with whom he created the series ''Gilles de ...

. * He also appears in

Cecelia Holland Cecelia Holland (born December 31, 1943) is an American historical novelist. Early life and education Holland was born December 31, 1943, in Henderson, Nevada. She grew up in Metuchen, New Jersey, where she started writing at age 12, recording ...

's historical novel "The Sea Beggars", who changed some of the details of his life. * Two streets in the Geuzenwijk in

have been named after him: Lumeystraat en Van der Marckstraat. Streets in Rotterdam and The Hague have also been named after him.

References

Sources

External links

Biography (Dutch language)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marck 1542 births 1578 deaths People from Limburg (Belgium) Dutch Calvinist and Reformed Christians Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces)

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

Sea beggars