Croy, Philippe de

During the life of his father, he bore the titles of seignora de Sampi, then of Baron de Quevrin ^[1] .

He was brought up with Count Charolais . He distinguished himself in battle with the rebel Gents on July 22, 1453 at Le Havre, and was knighted by the duke Philip the Good on the battlefield ^{[2] [1]} .

He became a favorite of Philip, whom he accompanied on almost all trips ^[1] . In 1456 he was appointed Great Bali and Captain-General Hainaut ^[3] , and at the age of 28, thanks to the influence of his uncle, Antoine the Great , he became the first chamberlain of the Duke of Burgundy ^[1] .

In the Chapter of the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1461 in Saint-Omer, Philip de Croy scored the highest number of votes after six elected knights, and the assembly decided to accept him in the order in the event of the refusal of Prince Adolf Geldern . On the same chapter, on May 7, a quarrel between Philip and Count Charolais, who was making some accusations, was being investigated. At the request of de Croy, the duke appointed a commission of four knights to hear the testimony of witnesses ^[4] .

The high position of the house of de Croy and the connections of its members with King Louis XI led to a conflict with Count Charolais, dissatisfied with the Franco-Burgundian agreement of 1463, returning the city of Somme to France, and suspecting adultery in the actions of Antoine and Jean II. In 1464, the count secured the removal of Antoine, Jean II, and Philippe de Quevrin from his court posts. The de Croy family fled to France, and Karl the Bold, having come to power, confiscated their possessions ^[5] .

Opala Philip did not last long. In 1471 he was sent as ambassador to Rome and other states of Italy, the following year the duke handed over to him the confiscated possessions of Philippe de Commin , who fled to the king of France ^[1] .

Inheriting his father in 1473, Philip assumed the title of Count de Chimet ^[1] . On May 2, 1473, in the chapter in Valenciennes, he was accepted as a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece ^[1] . In the same year, he represented the Duke at the Senlis Conference. In 1474 he participated in the siege of Neuss , and commanded the right wing of the Burgundian army in a battle with the imperial troops on May 24, 1475 ^[6] .

In 1474-1477, he was the stadhauder of the duchy of Geldern, conquered by Charles the Brave.

As a diplomat, he achieved great success in negotiations with Pope Pius II and Ferrante I of Naples ^[6] , a letter of April 13, 1475 allowing Philip to wear his coat of arms ^[2] , as well as countering the Pyrenean policies of Louis XI, who supported Jean of Anjou in the war with Juan of Aragon ^[6] . In September 1475, as authorized by the Duke, he signed the Solovry truce , which ended the Franco-Burgundian war ^[6] . November 29, participated in the ceremonial entry of Charles the Bold into the conquered Nancy ^[6] .

In 1476 he participated in the war with the Swiss , distinguished himself in the battle of Murten , was captured at Nancy , and sent to Germany ^[7] . After his release, at the insistence of Maximilian of Habsburg and for a large ransom, he accompanied the archduke to the Netherlands ^{[2] [7]} . In the war for the Burgundian inheritance, he fought on the side of the Duchess Maria , rejecting Louis’s proposal to go to the French service ^[1] .

In 1477, he assailed the Chimet castle, seized by the French ^[1] . In 1479, at the head of 9,000 people, he moved to Luxembourg and expelled the royal troops from Virton , after which he accepted the post of governor of the duchy ^[7] .

In July 1478, together with Cardinal Cluny , who represented the Duke of Breton , was a successor at the baptism of his son Maximilian and Mary, who received the name of his godfather ^{[2] [7]} . Habsburg fully trusted Philip, appointing him his general governor and first chamberlain. Occupying the last position, the count had to sleep next to the prince, to keep a secret seal and the key from his Chamber ^[8] .

In 1481, together with the Prince of Orange and the Abbot of Saint-Bertin, he was sent by the Duchess to Edward IV to ask for an English invasion of France. The following year, he participated in the conclusion of the Arras Treaty . He became viceroy in the cities and castles of Kenois and Buschenes returned by the French ^[8] .

He died in Bruges on September 18, 1482 and was buried in the Cordelier Church in Mons .

In the words of the chronicler Georges Chatelain , Philippe de Croy was "the most staunch lance of his time", a great craftsman in military affairs, and bore the nickname "bell of Eno" because he decorated his horses with silver bells ^[8] . He was also a collector of manuscripts and the customer of Rogier van der Weyden , who wrote for him the famous diptych Madonna and Child and Portrait of Philippe de Croy .

Wife (contract February 9, 1453): Walburg von Moers und Saarveden (1440–1483), Countess von Moers, daughter of Count Vincent von Moers and pfalzgrafini Anne von Simmern

Children:

• Charles I de Croy (1455–11.09.1527), Prince de Chimet. Wife (9.12.1495): Louise d'Albre (d. 1531), Vicomtesse of Limoges, daughter of Alain d'Albre and Francoise de Blois-Chatillon
• Jean de Croy (d. 1525), lord de Tour-sur-Marne. Wife: Adriana van Stavele, Viscountess Fürne, daughter of Willem van Stavele
• Antoine de Croy (d. 1546), lord de sumpy. Wife 1) (12.1507): Louise de Luxemburg (d. 1518), daughter of Jacques de Luxemburg , lord de Rischbur, and Isabella de Rubet; 2): Anna van der Gracht, Countess of Fourn, daughter of Frans van der Gracht and Anna van Stavele
• Catherine de Croy (d. 12.1544). Husband (12/25/1490): Robert II de Lamarck , Duke de Bouillon (d. 1536)
• Francoise de Croy . Husband: Antoine I de Luxemburg (d. 1519), Comte de Brienne
• Margarita de Croy (d. 07.02.1514). Husband (12/14/1501): Count Jacob III van Horn (d. 1531)

• Père Anselme . Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France. TV - P .: Companie des Librairies, 1730. , p. 653 [1]
• Bury Adels-Torn. Maison de Croy, étude heraldique, historique et critique. - Bruxelles: Société belge de librairie, 1894. [2]
• Commun F. de. Memoirs. - M .: Science, 1986.
• Courcelle J.-B.-P., de . Croy // Histoire généalogique et heraldique des pairs de France. T. viii. - P .: Arthus Bertrand, 1827. , pp. 58-60 [3]
• Francquen Ch. J. de. Croy, p. 21 // Recueilóniqueiqueé, généalogique, chronologique et nobiliaire des maisons et familles illustres et nobles du royaume, précédé de la généalogie historique de la maison royale des Pays-Bas, Nassau-Orange. TI - Bruxelles: Demanet, 1826
• Guillaume H. Croy (Philippe de) // Biographie nationale de Belgique. T. iv. - Bruxelles: H. Thiri, 1873. , coll. 563-564
• Nobiliaire des Pays-Bas et du Comté de Bourgogne. TI - Gand: F. et T. Gyselinck, 1865. , p. 577
• Reiffenberg FAFT, baron de. Histoire de l'ordre de la toison d'or, depuis son institution jusqu'a la cessation des chapitres generaux. - Bruxelles: Imprimerie normale, 1830. [4]

• CHEVALIERS DE LA TOISON D'OR - MAISON DE BOURGOGNE (HOUSE OF BURGUNDY)