Charles III de Croy

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Charles III de Croy

Charles III de Croÿ (born July 11, 1560 at Beaumont Castle in the county of Hainaut , † January 16, 1612 in Beaufort-en-Artois ) was 4th Duke of Aarschot , 5th Prince of Chimay , 3rd Prince of Porcéan , Marquis de Montcornet , 5th Count of Beaumont, a commander and governor in the Spanish Netherlands and an important art patron.

Early years

Charles de Croÿ came from the noble Croÿ family . He was the son of Philippe III. de Croÿ and Jeanne Henriette d'Halewyn. He received a good scientific education at the University of Leuven . At the age of sixteen he became a lieutenant in his father's regiment. In 1577 he became its deputy in the citadel of Antwerp . Like his father, he supported the moderate Catholic side in the independence movement of the Dutch . He helped his father elect Archduke Matthias as governor general. With this he traveled to Cologne in 1579 for the Pacification Day to represent the interests of the governor general. Croÿ converted to the Calvinist denomination and justified this in a pamphlet. On September 14, 1580 he married Countess Marie de Brimeu von Megen , daughter of Georges de Brimeu ( Brimeu House ) and Anna von Walthausen .

As a result, he performed various useful services, so that in 1582 he was elected governor of Bruges and a short time later of all of Flanders . Because he did not agree with William of Orange , he began to prepare another change of sides. He negotiated with Alessandro Farnese and signed a contract with him to hand over Bruges to the Spanish. As a result, they were able to take all of Flanders. After leaving his wife in 1584, he converted back to Catholicism.

In Spanish service

Coat of arms for Charles de Croÿ from the album de Croÿ

Croÿ entered the service of Spain. Together with Farnese he was involved in the capture of Mechelen , Brussels and Antwerp in 1585 . In 1586 he was involved in the capture of Venlo and Neuss . He commanded an army that hurried to aid the Cologne Elector Ernst von Bayern in the Cologne War in 1588 . In the course of this campaign, Bonn was besieged for six months and then taken by Croÿ's troops. In 1590 he became the commandant of all orderly companies and was involved in the conquest of Lagny and Corbeil . Subsequently, he also took part in numerous battles and sieges. In 1591 he became governor of Hainaut . In 1594 he suppressed a mutiny that could have been dangerous for the power of the Spaniards. In the same year he was accepted into the imperial princes .

As a result, he fought again in numerous battles and sieges. He became governor of Artois in 1596 and defended the province against a French army. He drove the opposing army across the Somme and took various cities from the French. He handed the command over to Albrecht VII of Austria . Together with the Archduke, he appalled the city of Amiens .

After the French and Spaniards concluded the Treaty of Vervins in 1598 , he went to France as a hostage and agent of the (Spanish) Dutch government. During this time he achieved that King Henry IV. Croÿ raised to the duchy. A short time later he returned to the Netherlands. He became a Privy Councilor and Knight of the Golden Fleece . In 1600 he became a Dutch State Councilor. As a volunteer he was involved in the relief of the city of Breda in 1601 . In 1605 he married his cousin Dorothée de Croÿ, a daughter of Charles Philippe de Croÿ .

Patron of the arts

In addition to his military and political activities, Croÿ appeared as a patron of the arts. He had the castles of Heverlee , Chimay , Beaumont and Comines rebuilt in a contemporary way. He had the city palace in Brussels rebuilt and a splendid garden laid out nearby. The monastery in Hevelee, which had suffered badly from the wars, was restored at his expense.

The castles of Beaumont and Heverlee near Löwen in particular became centers of art. Croÿ owned a collection of over 2000 paintings by different painters. These included works by Hieronymus Bosch , Albrecht Dürer and Tizian . He also had a collection of coins and medals. Above all, he built a huge library. At the time, it was the largest book collection in the Netherlands. He had Heverle Castle painted with wall paintings based on ancient models. He had his possessions mapped and drawn. The album de Croy was created between 1596 and 1609 in 23 volumes. It contains more than 2500 views painted on parchment.

Croÿ died without a legitimate heir. The property fell to his sister Anna, who was married to Charles de Arenberg . With this, the titles of the Dukes of Aarschot passed to the Arenberg family .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Nils Büttner: The invention of the landscape. Cosmography and landscape art in the age of Bruegel (= reconstruction of the arts. Vol. 1). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2000, ISBN 3-525-47900-X , p. 154 ff. , P. 161 .

literature

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Croÿ, Charles III. de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Croy, Charles III. from
BRIEF DESCRIPTION General in the Spanish Netherlands
DATE OF BIRTH July 11, 1560
PLACE OF BIRTH Beaumont Castle
DATE OF DEATH January 16, 1612
Place of death Beaufort-en-Artois