Guillaume II. De Croy

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Guillaume de Croÿ (1458-1521)
Signature Guillaume II. De Croÿ.PNG

Guillaume II. De Croÿ, Seigneur de Chièvres (* 1458 in Chièvres (Hainaut); † May 28, 1521 in Worms ; Dutch: Willem II. Van Croy, Heer van Chièvres ; Spanish: Guillermo II. De Croÿ, Señor de Chièvres ( Xevres, Xebres)), was a Burgundian-Dutch politician who began his career as an advisor to the Burgundian Duke Philip the Fair . After Philip's death, he worked as a tutor for his son, who later became Emperor Charles V , and was one of the most influential politicians in Western Europe from 1515 to 1521.

Origin and family

Guillaume II. De Croÿ came from the old Franco-Burgundian noble family Croÿ . He was the second son of Philippe I. de Croÿ (1435-1511), Count of Porcéan , and his wife Jacoba of Luxembourg.

Philippe I. de Croÿ had been chamberlain to the Burgundian Duke Philip the Good from 1457 and served as Grand-Bailli of Hainaut from 1456 to 1465. His son Guillaume, to whom he transferred the dominions of Chièvres and Beaumont in 1485, married Maria-Magdalena von Hamal († October 27, 1540), daughter of Wilhelm von Hamal († 1497) and widow of Adolf van der Marck (†) in the same year before 1485), a brother of Robert I de La Marck († 1489) and Wilhelm I von der Mark (1446–1483). The marriage remained childless.

Guillaume's brothers were Henri and Antoine de Croÿ. Henri († 1514) was married to Charlotte de Chateaubriand († 1509), both are the parents of Philippe II. De Croÿ , 1st Duke of Aarschot (1496–1549) and Guillaume III. de Croÿ (1498–1521), Archbishop of Toledo since 1517. Antoine de Croÿ was Archbishop of Thérouanne from 1485 to 1496 and died on September 21, 1496 in Cyprus.

Life

1482 to 1506

After the death of Mary of Burgundy (1457–1482), Philippe I. de Croÿ was entrusted with the education of her son Philip (1478–1506) and was thus able to considerably strengthen his political influence. His son Guillaume succeeded in winning the friendship of the underage duke and using this for rapid political advancement. Both Croÿs soon switched to the pro-French faction of the Burgundian nobility around Philipp von Kleve-Ravenstein (1456–1528), the governor of Flanders, and guided the young duke in his direction.

Philip's father, the German King Maximilian , was originally prepared to hold back from Burgundian politics. However, the pro-French orientation of the politics pursued in the name of Philip soon led to serious conflicts with Maximilian, who on the one hand feared that the Netherlands would drift away from the Reichsverband, and on the other hand recognized a conflict with the Habsburg interests. Therefore, in 1486, he appointed a fourteen-member Privy Council headed by Count Engelbert II of Nassau (1451–1504) to help enforce his interests against the Pro-French nobility.

This led from 1486 to 1489 to the revolt of the pro-French nobility under Philipp von Kleve-Ravenstein, which Guillaume de Croÿ, Seigneur de Chièvres, joined. Finally, in 1488, Maximilian, besieged in Brussels, requested imperial troops to put down the rebellion under the command of Albrecht of Saxony, who had been appointed governor in the Netherlands . Chièvres, who had asserted himself as the spokesman for the pro-French aristocratic faction during the uprising, reconciled with Maximilian after the uprising was over, but maintained his hostilities against the governor Albrecht of Saxony.

In 1491 he became a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece . In 1494 he was appointed official advisor to Duke Philip of Burgundy. In addition to Frans van Busleiyden (1455–1502), Bishop of Bruges since 1490 and Archbishop of Besançon since 1498, Guillaume de Croÿ, Seigneur de Chièvres, now shaped politics in the Netherlands. Both tried to promote trade and industry and consistently pursued a policy of peace. Chiévres renewed trade relations with England. He also endeavored to diplomatically settle the increasing conflicts between the Habsburgs and Valois, which is why he often stayed as envoy in France on behalf of Maximilian. Furthermore, Guillaume de Croÿ officiated from 1497 to 1503 as Grand Bailli of Hainaut and from 1503 as governor of Namur. He was also a member of the Regency Council during Duke Philip's stay in Castile (1501–1503).

1506 to 1515

After the death of his son Philipp († 1506) Maximilian I appointed Chièvres as governor of his grandchildren Eleanor and Charles and in 1509 commissioned him with Charles' upbringing and court training. The Burgundian nobleman, who described his task in the following words: “I am the curator of his youth; I want him to be free when I die; because if he does not understand his business, he will need another curator ”, aroused his pupil's interest in politics and educated him to work regularly and to fulfill his duties. He looked after Karl around the clock, so that he quickly gained confidence in the clever politician who was looking for a compromise with France. Due to his influence on the young Habsburgs, Guillaume de Croÿ succeeded in creating a political counterweight to the Anglophile party around Charles' aunt Margarete of Austria and, after the Treaty of Cambrai (1517), with the help of Emperor Maximilian, to eliminate it politically.

1515 to 1521 - Politics in the Netherlands and Spain

On January 5, 1515 - the day on which he was prematurely declared of age as Duke of Burgundy - Charles appointed his tutor to be the leading minister. The following day he forced the previous regent Margaret of Austria to officially abdicate. Since then, Chièvres has led together with Adrian von Utrecht, who later became Pope Hadrian VI. , and Jean de Sauvages († 1518) the political business in the "lower lands" of Burgundy . In 1516/17 he influenced Charles in such a way that he hesitated for a long time to move to Spain in order to accept the crown of Aragon as heir to his grandfather Ferdinand . Chièvres operated a rocking policy between the French King Francis I and the English King Henry VIII. Only after he had neutralized both through vague marriage projects, England through a trade agreement and France through the Peace of Noyon, he encouraged Charles to move to Spain to take over governance in the lands of the Crown of Aragon and in the Kingdom of Castile . Chiévre's policy of procrastination was very risky, however, since the estates in Aragón and Castile intended to crown his brother Ferdinand, who was born in Alcalá de Henares and raised in Spain, instead of Charles .

In September 1517 Chièvres accompanied his master to Spain, where he managed to prevent a meeting between Charles and the regent Cardinal Cisneros († 1517). He also managed to get Charles's mother, Queen Johanna the Mad of Castile, to cede government power to her son and to sign the document prepared by Chièvres for Charles taking over the government.

Guillaume II. De Croÿ, Seigneur de Chièvres, was considered the head of the Flemish favorites of Charles in Spain, who ruled the young king together with Pedro Ruiz Mota († 1522). He was particularly hated by the Spanish nobles because, in his role as "finance minister", he purposefully plundered the country for his own benefit. The appointment of Chièvres nineteen-year-old nephew Guillaume III took place on December 31, 1517 . to the administrator of the Archdiocese of Toledo finally led to the final break. The lack of understanding of Charles' Flemish advisors towards Spanish conditions and traditions poisoned the relationship between Spaniards and Dutch in the long term and lastingly. Charles' refusal to recognize the rights of some Castilian cities such as Avila, Burgos, Segovia or Valladolid was followed by the Comuneros uprising in 1520/21 .

Karl showed himself to be grateful to his former tutor and fatherly friend in spite of his failed policy in Spain. He made him Admiral of the Kingdom of Naples in 1516, Duke of Sora and Archi and Baron of Roccaguglielma in 1518 . In 1519 Chièvre was appointed 1st Count of Beaumont, 1st Marquis of Aarschot and Lord of Temse.

1519 to 1521 - Emperor election, Reichstag in Worms and death

In 1519 Chièvres encouraged his former pupil to leave Spain in order to personally pursue his election as emperor in the countries of the empire. However, Charles's candidacy for emperor was viewed with skepticism by the pro-French party of the Dutch-Burgundian high aristocracy, whose exponent Chièvres was previously considered to be. There was also resistance to this project in Spain, as it was feared that Castile and Aragon would become insignificant neighboring countries of an empire. Chièvre's diplomatic efforts, however, led to Karl being elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire with financial support from Jakob Fugger (5 million thalers?).

However, he could not enjoy his political success for long. The childless man suffered the accidental death of his nephew Guillaume III during his participation in the Diet of Worms in 1521 . Consciously witness de Croÿ. In April 1521 he took part in the hearing of Martin Luther by the emperor and advised him to be relentlessly tough against the Wittenberg monk and his views. A few days after Luther's departure from Worms, a plague epidemic broke out in the city, as a result of which Guillaume II. De Croÿ, Seigneur de Chièvres, presumably died on May 28, 1521. Since he was one of the most important initiators of the Edict of Worms , announced on May 25, 1521 , the unproven suspicion soon arose that Chièvres had been poisoned by Luther's followers.

Political Legacy

The sudden death of the Pro-French Seigneur de Chièvres initiated the independent acting of Charles V on the political stage. Since then the emperor has spent a large part of his time on state affairs and supervised the administrative apparatus of his countries himself. Furthermore, Chièvre's demise led to the political rise of Mercurino Gattinara († 1530), who, as the most influential advisor and great chancellor of Charles V, began to initiate a political and ideological change. Gattinara developed the state theory of Neoghibellinism , according to which the emperor as head of a Christian empire should gain world domination and according to which he was obliged to convert Protestants, Muslims and "pagans" to the "true Christian faith" of the Catholic Church. This meant a departure from Chièvre's policy, whose political goal had essentially been to secure the Netherlands through an understanding with France and England and who, in order to implement his policy, had endeavored to avoid wars. Gattinara also managed to free Karl from his limited understanding of Burgundian and Spanish politics and to develop an imperial attitude with him, which, however, included a permanent conflict with France. The marriage of Charles' sister Eleonore to the French King Francis I in 1526 therefore only brought a brief return to Chièvre's politics.

literature

Web links

Commons : Guillaume II. De Croÿ  - Collection of Images

Remarks

  1. ^ Karl Eduard Vehse : History of the German courts since the Reformation, 8r volume, second division: Austria . Hoffmann and Campe, 1851, p. 72; other sources cite May 18 or 27, 1521.
  2. ↑ Quotation from Leo Sillner: Karl V. - The emperor of the last Catholic empire. In: PM History, 2/2009.
  3. ↑ Cf. Manuel Fernandez Alvarez: Charles V - ruler of a world empire. Wilhelm Heyne, Munich; 3rd edition 1987; ISBN 3-453-55069-2 , p. 17: “Karl's entourage also included Wilhelm von Croy, Lord von Chièvres, whose lust for power and fame made him hope for the position of a future favorite. He personally guarded the prince's sleep and had his bed moved into Karl's bedroom so that, if he woke up, he would have someone to talk to. "
personal data
SURNAME Croÿ, Guillaume II. De
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Willem II van Croy, Heer van Chièvres; Guillermo II. De Croÿ, Señor de Chièvres
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Burgundian-Dutch politician
DATE OF BIRTH 1458
PLACE OF BIRTH Chièvres , Hainaut
DATE OF DEATH May 28, 1521
PLACE OF DEATH Worms