Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T19:29:03.002Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Family Matters: William of Orange and the Habsburgs after the Abdication of Charles V (1555–67)*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Liesbeth Geevers*
Affiliation:
Utrecht University

Abstract

The Habsburgs and the Nassaus, who collaborated during the reign of Charles V, clashed sharply during the reign of Philip II: William of Nassau, Prince of Orange, became the leader of the Dutch Revolt. Instead of focusing on religious and political matters in the Netherlands, this article examines the underlying development of both men's dynastic identity to explain this new hostility. I argue that Habsburg family affairs — the division of the dynasty into two branches — led to an increasingly Spanish dynastic identity on Philip's part, while William could not, or would not, break free from his German-focused family identity, leading to a crucial loss of common ground between the two men.

Type
Studies
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 Renaissance Society of America

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

I wish to thank Judith Pollmann and Raymond Fagel at Leiden University, my colleagues at Utrecht University, and the two anonymous readers at Renaissance Quarterly for their insightful comments on earlier drafts of this article. All translations are the author's, except where otherwise noted.

References

Álvarez-Ossorio Alvariño, Antonio. “Virtud coronada: CarlosII y la piedad de la Casa de Austria.” In Política, religión y inquisiciónen la España moderna: Omenaje a Joaquin Pérez Villanueva, ed.,Fernández Albaladejo, P.,Martínez Millán, J. and,Pinto Crespo, V. 2957 . Madrid , 1996 .Google Scholar
Arnade, Peter. Beggars, Iconoclasts, andCivic Patriots: The Political Culture of the Dutch Revolt. Ithaca , 2008 .Google Scholar
Arndt, Johannes. Das Heilige RömischeReich und die Niederlande 1566 bis 1648. Böhlau , 1998 .Google Scholar
Bély, Lucien. La sociétédes princes XVIe–XVIIIe siècle. Paris , 1999 .Google Scholar
Benecke, Gerhard. Maximilian I (1469–1519):An Analytical Biography. London , 1982 .Google Scholar
Bodenhorn, Barbara, and,vom Bruck, Gabriele. “‘Entangled inHistories’: An Introduction to the Anthropology of Names andNaming.” In The Anthropologyof Names and Naming , ed. ,Bodenhorn, Barbara and,vom Bruck, Gabriele, 130 . Cambridge , 2006 .Google Scholar
Cabrera de Córdoba, Luis. Historia de Felipe II, reyde España. 3 vols. Ed. ,Martínez Millán, José and,de Carlos Morales, Carlos Javier. Madrid , 1998 .Google Scholar
Clemens, Evemarie. Luxemburg-Böhmen, Wittelsbach-Bayern,Habsburg-Österreich und ihre genealogischen Mythen im Vergleich. Trier , 2001 .Google Scholar
Coreth, Anna. Pietas austriaca: Ursprungund Entwicklung barocker Frömmigkeit in Österreich. Munich , 1959 .Google Scholar
Crouch, David. The Birth of Nobility: ConstructingAristocracy in England and France 900–1300. Harlow , 2005 .Google Scholar
Darby, Graham. “Narrative of Events.” In The Origins and Development of the DutchRevolt ( 2001 ), 828 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, Robert R. “The Peoples of Britainand Ireland, 1100–1400.” Transactions of the Royal Historical Society , 6th ser., 5 ( 1995 ): 120 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dek, Adriaan W. E. Genealogie van het vorstenhuisNassau. Zaltbommel , 1970 .Google Scholar
Delen, Marie-Ange. Het hof van Willem van Oranje. Amsterdam , 2002 .Google Scholar
De Troeyer, Benjamin. Lamoraal van Egmont. Eencritische studie over zijn rol in de jaren 1559–1564 in verbandmet het schuldvraagstuk. Brussels , 1961 .Google Scholar
Duke, Alastair. “The Elusive Netherlands:The Question of National Identity in the Early Modern Low Countrieson the Eve of the Revolt.” Bijdragen en mededelingen betreffende de geschiedenis derNederlanden 119 ( 2004 ): 1038 .Google Scholar
Edelmayer, Friedrich. Söldner und Pensionäre:das Netzwerk Philipps II. im Heiligen Römischen Reich. Vienna , 2002 .Google Scholar
Edelmayer, Friedrich. “Los hermanos, las alianzasdinásticas y la sucesión imperial.” In Socialización, vida privada yactividad pública ( 2004 ), 167–79 .Google Scholar
Eire, Carlos. From Madrid to Purgatory:The Art and Craft of Dying in Sixteenth-Century Spain. Cambridge , 1995 .Google Scholar
Evans, Robert J. W. The Making of the HabsburgMonarchy 1550–1700. Oxford , 2002 .Google Scholar
Fernández Álvarez, Manuel. Felipe II. Madrid , 2005 .Google Scholar
Fichtner, Paula Sutter. Protestantism and Primogeniturein Early Modern Germany. New Haven , 1989 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fichtner, Paula Sutter. The Emperor Maximilian II. New Haven , 2001 .Google Scholar
Fichtner, Paula Sutter. The Habsburg Monarchy, 1490–1848:Attributes of Empire. NewYork , 2003 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Floristán Imícoz, Alfredo. “Fernando de Austriay la problemática herencia de los reinos hispánicos(1503–1518).” In Socialización, vida privada y actitud pública ( 2004 ), 183204 .Google Scholar
Fruin, Robert. De Tachtigjarige oorlog:Het voorspel van den Tachtigjarige Oorlog. The Hague , 1908 .Google Scholar
Gachard, Louis Prosper, ed. Correspondance françaisede la duchesse de Parme avec Philippe II. 3 vols. Brussels , 1942 .Google Scholar
Geevers, Liesbeth. Gevallen vazallen: De integratievan Oranje, Egmont en Horn in de Spaans-Habsburgse monarchie (1559–1567). Amsterdam , 2008 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gonzalo Sánchez-Molero, José Luis. El aprendizaje cortesanode Felipe II (1527–1546). La formación de un príncipedel Renacimiento. Madrid , 1999 .Google Scholar
Goosens, Aline. Le comte Lamoral d'Egmont(1522–1568). Les aléas du pouvoir de la haute noblesseà l'aube de la Révolte des Pays-Bas. Mons , 2003 .Google Scholar
Groenveld, Simon. “Filips van Montmorency,graaf van Horn (1524–1568): Een Habsburgs edelman tussen vorstenmachten verzet.” Publicationsde la société historique et archéologique dansle Limbourg 139 ( 2003 ): 3999 .Google Scholar
Groenveld, S.,,Mout, M. E. H. N.,Leeuwenberg, H. L. P. and,Zappey, W. M. De Tachtigjarige oorlog.Opstand en consolidatie in de Nederlanden (ca. 1560–1650). Zutphen , 2008 .Google Scholar
Habersack, Hans. Die Krönungen MaximiliansII. zum König von Böhmen, Römischen König undKönig von Ungarn (1562/63) nach der Beschreibung des Hans Habersack,ediert nach CVP 7890. Ed. ,Edelmayer, Friedrich,,Kammerhofer, Leopold,,Mandlmayr, Martin C.,Prenner, Walter, and,Vocelka, Karl G. Vienna , 1990 .Google Scholar
Hansert, Andreas. Welcher Prinz wird König?Die Habsburger und das universelle Problem des Generationswechsels. Petersberg , 1998 .Google Scholar
Holtzmann, Robert. Kaiser Maximilian II. undder Kompromißkatholizismus. Munich , 1895 .Google Scholar
Ingrao, Charles W. The Habsburg Monarchy 1618–1815. Cambridge , 2000 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ingrao, Charles W. and,Thomas, Andrew L. “Piety and Patronage:The Empresses-Consort of the High Baroque.” German History 20 ( 2002 ): 2043 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaufmann, Thomas DaCosta. Toward a Geography of Art. Chicago , 2004 .Google Scholar
Klink, Hubert. Opstand, politiek en religiebij Willem van Oranje 1559–1568. Een thematische biografie. Heerenveen , 1998 .Google Scholar
Koenigsberger, Helmut. “The Statecraft of PhilipII.” European StudiesReview 1 ( 1971 ): 121 .Google Scholar
Kohler, Alfred. “Vom habsburgischenGesamtsystem Karls V. zu den Teilsystemen Philipps II. und MaximiliansII.” In Kaiser MaximilianII. Kultur un Politik im 16. Jahrhundert , ed. ,Edelmayer, Friedrich and,Kohler, Alfred, 1337 . Vienna , 1992 .Google Scholar
Laschitzer, Simon. “Die Genealogie desKaisers Maximilian I.” Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen Sammlunchen des allerhöchstenKaiserhauses 7 ( 1888 ): 1200 .Google Scholar
Lazure, Guy. “Possessing the Sacred:Monarchy and Identity in Philip II's Relic Collection at the Escorial.” Renaissance Quarterly 60.1 ( 2007 ): 5893 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lockhart, Paul Douglas. Frederik II and the ProtestantCause: Denmark's Role in the Wars Of Religion, 1559–1596. Leiden , 2004 .Google Scholar
Lope Huerta, Arsenio. “El abuelo Fernandoy los cuidados al nieto.” In Socialización, vida privada y actitud pública ( 2004 ), 99109 .Google Scholar
Loyseleur de Villiers, Pierre. Apologie ofte verantwoordingevan den Prince van Orangien. Ed. ,Mees-Verwy, Mea. Santpoort , 1942 .Google Scholar
Luttenberger, Albrecht P. Kurfürsten, Kaiser undReich. Politische Führung und Friedenssicherung unter FerdinandI. und Maximilian II. Mainz , 1994 .Google Scholar
Mörke, Olaf. Wilhelm von Oranien (1533–1584).Fürst und “Vater” der Republik. Stuttgart , 2007 .Google Scholar
Motley, John Lothrop. The Rise of the Dutch Republic:A History. New York , 1868 .Google Scholar
The Origins andDevelopment of the Dutch Revolt. Ed. Graham Darby. London,2001 .Google Scholar
Orso, Steven N. “Praising the Queen:The Decorations at the Royal Exequies for Isabella of Bourbon.” The Art Bulletin 72.1 ( 1990 ): 5173 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parker, Geoffrey. The Grand Strategy of PhilipII. New Haven , 1998 .Google Scholar
Postma, Folkert. Viglius van Aytta. De jarenmet Granvelle 1549–1564. Zutphen , 2000 .Google Scholar
Rachfahl, Felix. Wilhelm von Oranien und derNiederländische Aufstand. 3 vols. The Hague , 1906–24 .Google Scholar
Reiffenberg, Frédéric A. F. T. Histoire de l'Ordre de laToison d'Or depuis son institution justqu'à la cessation deschapitres généraux; tireé des archives mèmesde cet ordre et des écrivains qui en ont traité. Brussels , 1830 .Google Scholar
Rodríguez-Salgado, María José. The Changing Face of Empire:Charles V, Philip II and Habsburg Authority, 1551–1559. Cambridge , 2008 .Google Scholar
Ruiz, Teofilo F. “Unsacred Monarchy:The Kings of Castile in the Late Middle Ages.” In Rites of Power: Symbolism, Ritual, andPolitics since the Middle Ages , ed. ,Wilentz, Sean, 109–44 . Philadelphia , 1985 .Google Scholar
Sánchez, Magdalena S. “A House Divided: Spain,Austria, and the Bohemian and Hungarian Successions.” Sixteenth Century Journal 25 ( 1994 ): 887903 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, Georg. “Des Prinzen Vaterland?Wilhelm I. von Oranien (1533–1584) zwischen Reich, deutscherNation und den Niederlanden.” In Deutschland und Europa in der Neuzeit. Festschrift fürKarl Otmar Freiherr von Aretin zum 65. Geburtstag , ed. ,Melville, Ralph, 223–39 . Stuttgart , 1988 .Google Scholar
Silver, Larry. Marketing Maximilian: TheVisual Ideology of a Holy Roman Emperor. Princeton , 2008 .Google Scholar
Socialización,vida privada y actitud pública de un emperador del Renacimiento.Fernando I 1503–1564. Ed. Alfredo Alvar. Madrid, 2004 .Google Scholar
Spangler, Jonathan. The Society of Princes: TheLorraine-Guise and the Conservation of Power and Wealth in Seventeenth-CenturyFrance. Farnham , 2009 .Google Scholar
Swart, Erik. Krijgsvolk. Militaire professionaliseringen het ontstaan van het Staatse leger, 1568–1590. Amsterdam , 2006 .Google Scholar
Swart, Koenraad W. “Wat bewoog Willem vanOranje de strijd tegen de Spaanse overheersing aan te binden?” Bijdragen en mededelingen betreffende degeschiedenis der Nederlanden 99 ( 1984 ): 554–72 .Google Scholar
Tracy, James D. Emperor Charles V, Impresarioof War: Campaign Strategy, International Finance and Domestic Politics. Cambridge , 2002 .Google Scholar
Tracy, James D. The Founding of the DutchRepublic: War, Finances, and Politics in Holland, 1572–1588. Oxford , 2008 .Google Scholar
Van Durme, Maurice. Antoon Perrenot. Bisschopvan Atrecht, kardinaal van Granvelle, minister van Karel V en FilipsII (1517–1586). Brussels , 1953 .Google Scholar
Van Nierop, Henk. “Alba's Throne: MakingSense of the Revolt of the Netherlands.” In Origins and Development of the Dutch Revolt ( 2001a ), 2947 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Nierop, Henk. “The Nobles and theRevolt.” In Originsand Development of the Dutch Revolt ( 2001b ), 4866 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verstraten, Freya. “Naming Practices amongthe Irish Secular Nobility in the High Middle Ages.” Journal of Medieval History 32 ( 2006 ): 4353 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vetter, Klaus. Aan het hof van Willem vanOranje. Haarlem , 1992 .Google Scholar
Villalón, L. J. Andrew. “Putting Don CarlosTogether Again: Treatment of a Head Injury in Sixteenth-Century Spain.” Sixteenth Century Journal 26 ( 1995 ): 347–65 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Villalón, L. J. Andrew. “San Diego de Alcalaand the Politics of Saint-Making in Counter-Reformation Europe.” Catholic Historical Review 83 ( 1997 ): 691715 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vocelka, Karl. Die Lebenswelt der Habsburger:Kultur- und Mentalitätsgeschichte einer Familie. Graz , 1997 .Google Scholar
Voigt, Johannes. Deutsches Hofleben im Zeitalterder Reformation. Dresden , 1927 .Google Scholar
Wandruzka, Adam. “Ein Freskenzyklus der ‘PietasAustriaca’ in Florenz.” Mitteilungen des Österreichischen Staatsarchivs 15 ( 1962 ): 496–99 .Google Scholar
Wauters, Alphonse, ed. Mémoires de Vigliuset d'Hopperus sur le commencement des troubles des Pays-Bas. Nendeln , 1977 .Google Scholar
Weis, Monique. Les Pays-Bas Espagnols etles états du Saint Empire (1559–1579). Prioritéset enjeux de la diplomatie en temps de troubles. Brussels , 2003 .Google Scholar
Weis, Monique. “La peur du grand complotcatholique. La diplomatie espagnole face aux soupçons des protestantsallemands (1560–1570).” Francia. Forschungen zur westeuropäischen Geschichte 32 ( 2005 ): 1530 .Google Scholar
Weiss, Charles, ed. Papiers d'étatdu cardinal Granvelle d'après les manuscripts de la Bibliothèquede Besançon. 9 vols. Paris , 1841–52 .Google Scholar
Wendt, Alexander. Social Theory of InternationalPolitics. Cambridge , 2009 .Google Scholar
Wheatcroft, Andrew. The Habsburgs: EmbodyingEmpire. London , 1995 .Google Scholar
Wolffson, Michael, and,Brechenmacher, Thomas. “Nomen est omen: TheSelection of First Names as an Indicator for Public Opinion in thePast.” InternationalJournal of Public Opinion Research 13 ( 2001 ): 116–39 .CrossRefGoogle Scholar