Bergen, Jan IV van

Son of Anton van Bergen and Jacqueline de Croy.

Chamberlain of Charles V , knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece , great bali and captain-general Hainaut, governor of Valenciennes and Cambrai , chief trapper of Flanders and Brabant .

He lost his father early, and until 1550 was under the care of his mother ^[1] . In his youth, his mentor was the famous lawyer Charles Dumoulin ^[2] . In 1546 he entered the court service for Charles V, and the following year also for Maria of Hungary ^[3] . In 1549 he met infant Philip , who arrived in the Netherlands ^[4] .

On July 9, 1550, the young Marquis married Marie de Lannoy (c. 1534-1580), Lady de Molembay, Sensei and Solre-Le-Chateau, daughter of Jean de Lannoy , Senor de Molembe, and Jeanne de Lin-Barbanson. Four days later, he took over his marquisate. As the ruler of the city, he tried in vain to restore its economic position ^[5] .

In 1555, Philip, who gained power in the Netherlands, appointed van Bergen to the Council of State among the local nobles indicated to him by his father ^{[6] [7]} .

In January 1556, at the chapter in Antwerp, he was knighted by the Order of the Golden Fleece .

Van Bergen could count on a high administrative post, but Philip II in 1556 appointed the great bali of Hainaut his father-in-law Jean de Lannoy, and only after the death of this lord, thanks to the intervention of Margarita of Parma , the Marquis could get a position ^[8] . On March 12, 1560, he received a patent for the posts of Grand Ballah and Captain-General Enot , as well as the Governor of Valenciennes, Cambrai and Bins , and on July 17 he took the oath of Margaret of Parma ^{[9] [10]} .

Having taken control of the province, van Bergen found himself in a difficult situation. After the king left, deaf discontent grew everywhere, and the latest unpopular orders given by Philip before leaving for Spain began to have an effect. The presence of foreign soldiers was a cause for concern, the creation of new bishoprics, a measure that would have been calmly accepted in another era, was considered by the population as a prelude to the beginning of religious persecution in the Netherlands in the middle of the 16th century. The clergy were no less displeased than the secret supporters of the Reform, for monasteries fell into decay, having to pay large sums to bishops ^[8] .

Not having obtained concessions from Margarita, the States of Brabant sent a complaint to Philip, and also sent to Rome Dumoulin with letters from the Prince of Orange and Jan van Bergen. These demarches caused displeasure with the king, and did not give anything but the withdrawal of the Spanish troops. Reforms acted more and more openly: in 1561-1562 they held public sermons in Tournai and Valenciennes, and even dared to sing the psalms of Clement Marot in the daytime. Margarita immediately ordered the governors of Montigny and Bergen, who were at that time in Breda , where they celebrated the German wedding of the Prince of Orange, to restore order ^{[11] [12]} .

Montigny hurried on Tours, where he ordered the burning of heretical books and the execution of the preacher. In Valenciennes, Bergen arrested two Calvinists, but postponed their execution, despite the formal order of the ruler, and he went to Liege to take care of his brother Robert , who had a stroke. He was in no hurry to return, but to Margarita’s demand to take up her duties he gave a famous answer: “Neither my honor nor my post allow me to become an executioner of heretics” ^[11] .

The king, who was informed about the incident, has since begun to consider van Bergen one of the leaders of the opposition ^[11] .

Magistrate Valenciennes received orders to execute the prisoners, the procedure was scheduled for April 27, 1562, but the people were outraged, showered the detachment of archers with stones and pulled the bundles of brushwood prepared for the fire. Then the townspeople stormed the prison, but in order to show that their actions were not a rebellion, they released only two sentenced sectarians, hoping that the government would establish religious freedom ^[13] .

I could not ignore this apparent disobedience of the Marquis, and obeyed the requirements of the ruler, arriving in Valenciennes, where 500 soldiers from the surrounding fortifications were pulled together. By the time Van Bergen returned to Valenciennes, order was restored in the city, and the Protestants hid. They managed to capture some, but they were staunch fanatics and “boldly walked towards death,“ singing psalms to the last gasp ”” ^[14] , which displeased Philip, who recommended shutting up the mouth of the condemned with a “gag or something else”, as they did in England during the repression of Mary Tudor ^[14] . Opponents of religious persecution demanded the convening of the General States, and van Bergen even proposed to assemble an assembly of bishops, prelates, and doctors to discuss church reform. The Duchess resisted and filed a complaint to Philip II about the behavior of Governor Hainaut. The king supported his sister and ordered Van Bergen not to leave his governorship, but he ignored this order, being busy with negotiations with the Liege capitulum regarding the abdication of Robert from the bishopric, and showing complete indifference to the problem of Protestant propaganda in Valenciennes ^[15] .

“The death penalty for religious crimes is excessive,” he said repeatedly, and Cardinal Granvel informed the king about these words. Montigny also began to arouse suspicion, for his religious zeal quickly cooled down ^[15] .

The main target of dissatisfaction was Granwell; a league was formed against him consisting of the Prince of Orange, Counts Egmont , Horn , Megen , Bergen and Montigny, demanding the removal of the cardinal. The royal response was long in coming. Philip hesitated, following the advice of the Duke of Alba , who recommended trying to share the dissatisfied. Left without the direct support of her brother, Margarita was forced to give in, and on March 13, 1564, the cardinal left for his homeland in Besancon , although from there he continued to exert a significant influence on Dutch politics ^[16] .

Earl Egmont went ambassador to Philip, hoping to achieve a relaxation of religious policy, was well received at the Spanish court, but the king refused to make concessions. “We are on the verge of a bloody tragedy,” Egmont wrote to the Prince of Orange ^[17] .

Van Bergen announced that he would quit all posts if laws against heretics were enacted, most of his colleagues sent messages to Margarita in the same vein, the four main cities of Brabant protested against the introduction of the Inquisition. Bergen and his supporters gathered in Breda, then in Hogstraten , where in 1566 they signed the famous Noble Compromise , which was solemnly presented to the ruler. She promised to send the document to the king, and the negotiation in Spain was entrusted to Montigny and Bergen ^[18] .

“It was difficult to choose deputies more personally unpleasant for Philip” ^[18] . In the eyes of the king, Montigny was a bad Catholic: he publicly ate meat in Tournai during fasting. As for Bergen, his opinion about the interference of the authorities in religious affairs was known. Both he and the other dared to condemn the actions of the sovereign. Both reluctantly agreed to go to Spain. Margarita tried to convince the king of their good intentions, but Philip was more inclined to the side of Granvel, who introduced him to Bergen and Montigny, and especially the first, as instigators of all recent unrest ^[19] .

Departure from Brussels was scheduled for April 30, 1566. On the 28th it became known that Bergen, playing with balls in the Park, received a strong blow from the pellet in the leg, and fell ill with fever. At first they thought that his suffering was feigned, and Margarita sent her personal doctor to the patient, who stated that the wound would not allow the marquise to set off earlier, in a month ^[20] .

Montigny at first refused to leave alone, especially since Bergen considered the trip useless. Finally, he left Brussels on May 30, and arrived in Madrid on June 17, where he held several inconclusive meetings with the king. Bergen only hit the road on July 1, but he moved very slowly, almost always in the wagon and with daily stops, as the wound continued to bother him. He sent his majordom to Montigny to find out if there was any progress in the negotiations, and whether he should come at all, but the king insisted on his arrival ^[21] .

On August 17, van Bergen arrived at Walsen Castle, where negotiations were ongoing, after which several more fruitless meetings took place. Then a dispatch arrived from Margarita, reporting the start of church pogroms. The devout Spaniards were outraged by the sacrilege of the Dutch heretics. Philip was overcome by a serious illness, and after his recovery, he began to prepare retribution, shutting himself in his palace, not appearing in public and not even going out to Mass. Finally, on October 19, he convened ministers to make a final decision. Perhaps even then it was planned to send Alba to the Netherlands. Bergen and Montigny nominated Rui Gomez, Prince Eboli, but their sympathies could soon have aroused suspicion from the king; in addition, Philippe needed Rui Gomez to oversee Don Carlos and not allow the infant to get close to his person ^[22] .

After the appointment of Alba, the ambassadors considered their mission completed and asked to be let go, but were refused. Their fate was decided in the usual spirit for the king: both of them were doomed to shameful death. Requests to the duchess for intervention were useless, as Margarita herself advised her brother in a letter dated November 18 to keep the ambassadors in Spain until the end of the unrest. Van Bergen's health was finally undermined, he suffered a severe attack of fever, and, according to contemporaries, “he had the good fortune to die on time” ^[23] .

On May 21, 1567, Van Bergen died in Madrid, reportedly from severe fever, accompanied by bleeding ^[1] . There was a rumor of poisoning, but it seems that there was no need for poison. Acting with his usual cynicism, Philip on May 16 ordered Prince Eboli to visit the Marquis and allow him to return to the Netherlands on behalf of the king, but only if the patient's condition does not inspire hope for recovery. If it turned out that the prisoner was recovering, Gomez had only to reassure him about his release. If the prisoner were dead, Philip ordered a solemn burial to be arranged ^[24] .

Montigny is less fortunate; he spent several years in prison, and after the execution of Counts Egmont and Horne, his turn came. On October 16, 1570, he was secretly strangled in the cell of Simancas Castle, and his lands were confiscated ^[24] .

The solemn funeral of Jan van Bergen took place on September 1 in Bergen op Zom in the presence of the Duke of Alba, Aarschot , Arenberg and Burlemont , political opponents of the Marquis ^[25] .

Bergen's possessions were placed under the protection of the Duchess, so that, when the opportunity arises, they can be declared their property as a rebel, and also taken to the treasury ^[26] .

The marquis, having no children, bequeathed the possession of his niece Margarita van Merode, subject to her marriage to one of her nephews. “This young lady did not seem brought up in the rules of the Catholic faith” ^[27] , and the Duchess of Parma was ordered to take her under her guardianship, as well as the one who would be destined for her as a husband ^[27] .

The ruler of Merode did not express a desire to give his daughter into the hands of foreigners, and regarding the confiscation, the President of the Privy Council Viglius spoke with certainty: “The Marquis died in the service of the king and in the presence of His Majesty, actions against his possessions can only be carried out by means of justice: you must first arrange the process on which he would be found guilty. " Margarita approved this opinion and wrote about it to the king ^[27] .

John IV was posthumously accused of insulting Majesty , and his possessions were sequestered in December 1567. The trial of the deceased was completed on March 4, 1570 with the confiscation of his property. Van Bergen lands united with the royal domains and were placed under the control of the Superintendent ^[28] .

In the end, after Ghent's pacification , van Bergen's niece, by decision of the States of Brabant, received the Marquis. She paid the relief on February 22, 1578. Her husband at that time was Jan van Wittham, ruler of Bersel ^{[27] [29]} .

• Aa, Abraham Jacob van der . GLIMES (JAN VAN) / Biographisch woordenboek der Nederlanden. D. VII. - Haarlem: JJ van Brederode, 1862. , p. 206-208
• Le Roy, Alphonse. BERGHES (Jean DE GLYMES, marquis DE) // Biographie nationale de Belgique. T. II. - Bruxelles: H. Thiry-Van Buggenhoudt, 1868. , coll. 221-231
• Poullet E. Les Gouverneurs de province dans les anciens Pays-Bas catholiques. - Bruxelles: F. Hayez, 1873. , p. 164
• Pirenne A. The Netherlands Revolution. - M .: Sotsekgiz, 1937.

• Armorial des Chevaliers de la Toison d'Or (Fr.) . Heraldique-europeenne.org. Date of appeal March 15, 2019.
• CHEVALIERS DE LA TOISON D'OR - MAISON DE HABSBOURG (HOUSE OF HABSBURG) (French) . Date of appeal March 15, 2019.
• Willem van Ham. Jan IV van Glymes, markies van Bergen op Zoom (nid.) . Universiteit Leiden. Date of appeal March 15, 2019.