Lamoraal, graaf van Egmond

Lamoraal, graaf van Egmond (born Nov. 18, 1522, La Hamaide, Hainaut [now in Belgium]—died June 5, 1568, Brussels) was a leader in the early opposition to the policies of Philip II of Spain in the Netherlands. Although Egmond did not favour the overthrow of Spanish sovereignty, he became one of the first and most illustrious victims of the duke of Alba’s repressive regime (1567–73). He is the hero of J.W. von Goethe’s drama Egmont.

Belonging to a powerful family of the Netherlands, Lamoraal succeeded to the countship, in Holland, in 1541 and three years later married Sabina of Bavaria, daughter of John II, count palatine of Simmern. A trusted adviser of the emperor Charles V, Egmond represented the emperor’s son, Philip II, in asking for the hand of Mary I, the Roman Catholic queen of England. He had a distinguished military record, most notably in the victories over the French at Saint-Quentin (1557) and Gravelines (1558). In 1559 he was named stadtholder (chief provincial executive) of Flanders and Artois and a member of the advisory council of the regent, Margaret of Parma.

Egmond and other leading noblemen resented Philip II’s policy of encroachment on local privileges and religious liberties and to the elevation of Cardinal Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle to virtual head of the government. Together with William, prince of Orange (William I, the Silent), and Filips van Montmorency, graaf van Horne, Egmond successfully petitioned Philip to remove Granvelle from office (1564).

When Philip, despite Egmond’s personal appeal in Spain (1565), maintained his harsh decrees against Protestants, Egmond, along with William and Horne, withdrew from the Council of State (November 1565), but he remained loyal to the sovereign, giving only limited support to a league of lesser nobles formed in 1566 to petition Margaret for greater religious toleration. He then withdrew to his government of Flanders, where he severely repressed Calvinist uprisings.

After the appointment of the duke of Alba as captain general in 1567, William appealed to Egmond to join him in armed resistance. Egmond’s refusal troubled William, who vacillated for several months before seeking aid from German Protestant princes. Egmond meanwhile took the oath of allegiance demanded by Margaret in the spring of 1567 and ignored William’s warning of danger on Alba’s arrival. He was seized by Alba on Sept. 9, 1567, and, with others, beheaded for high treason after appeals by high nobles and princes had been ignored.