Ludwig von Praet

Ludwig von Flanders, Lord of Praet ( Lodewijk van Praet , * October 25, 1488 ; † December 20, 1556 ) was a nobleman from the Seventeen Provinces and an important diplomat and statesman under Emperor Charles V.

On his father's side, Ludwig was descended from an illegitimate son of Ludwig II , Count of Flanders (see House Dampierre ), and on his mother's side from an illegitimate daughter of Philip the Good , Duke of Burgundy . He was a pupil of the Brothers of Life Together and a student in Leuven .

From 1515 to 1522 Ludwig was 'hoog-baljuw' (Grand Bailli ) of Ghent, from 1523 to 1549 the same in Bruges. From 1522 to 1525 he served the emperor as ambassador in England until he got into serious conflict with Thomas Wolsey and had to leave the country. From 1525 to 1526 he was the imperial ambassador to France. In 1531 Ludwig was elected Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece . From 1544 to 1546 he was governor of Holland and Zealand .

In England, Ludwig met the Spanish humanist Juan Luis Vives , who dedicated his book De Consultatione to him in 1523 . The book De subventione pauperum , written in Bruges in 1526, is also dedicated to him.

In 1555 he was buried in an impressive mausoleum in Aalter .

In 1516 he married Jossine von Praet, † December 5, 1546, daughter and heiress of Karl von Praet, Lord of Moerkerke , and Catherine de Halewyn. With her he had a son, John II, who died in 1545 (and thus before his father) without an heir.

literature

• Hans Cools: Men with power . Walburg Pers, Zutphen 2001
• Martin Lunitz: Diplomacy and Diplomats in the 16th Century . Hartung-Gorre Verlag, Konstanz 1988
• Detlev Schwennicke: European family tables . Volume III.2, 1983, plate 294