bmgn — Low Countries Historical Review | Volume 134-4 (2019) | pp. 33-58

William of in and the Transnationality of the Sixteenth-Century Wars of Religion 33

jonas van tol

William of Orange’s French campaign of 1569 is one of the most curious and least- understood episodes in the life of the leader of the Dutch Revolt. The confusion over his motives for participating in the wars in France arises from the longstanding tendency to see the Dutch Revolt and as similar but separate conflicts. Yet Orange regarded them fundamentally as manifestations of the same struggle. This article unpacks the development of Orange’s transnational outlook during the decade leading up to his French campaign – an outlook that was shared by many of his peers in the Low Countries and beyond and that shaped the course of the French Wars of Religion and the Dutch Revolt.

Willem van Oranjes veldtocht in Frankrijk in 1569 is een van de meest curieuze en slechtst begrepen episodes uit het leven van de leider van de Nederlandse Opstand. De verwarring rond zijn motieven om in Frankrijk te gaan vechten is ontstaan door de diepgewortelde neiging om de Nederlandse Opstand en de Religieoorlogen in Frankrijk te beschouwen als vergelijkbare, maar op zichzelf staande oorlogen. Echter, Oranje zelf beschouwde ze in essentie als manifestaties van hetzelfde conflict. In dit artikel zal de transnationale kijk van Willem van Oranje ontrafeld worden. Dit perspectief is ook zichtbaar bij veel tijdgenoten en heeft grote invloed gehad op het verloop van de Religieoorlogen in Frankrijk en de Nederlandse Opstand.

Published by Royal Netherlands Historical Society | knhg Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License doi: 10.18352/bmgn-lchr.10758 | www.bmgn-lchr.nl | e-issn 2211-2898 | print issn 0165-0505 article – artikel

Introduction1

In the autumn of 1569 William of Orange, the leader of the nascent Dutch Revolt, found himself, disguised as a peasant and accompanied only by a small band of loyal followers, deep in the countryside of the French interior. Almost a year earlier the had launched his ill-fated invasion of Brabant. Despite his best efforts, this ambitious enterprise had failed to dislodge the Duke of Alba, Philip ii’s royal governor, from the Low Countries. Unable to achieve anything of military significance in the Low Countries, the prince briefly took the remnants of his army into Northern France, partly because his route back to Germany was blocked and partly in the hope to be of service to his French Protestant allies. Barely recovered from this disaster, Orange embarked on a new campaign, joining the Lutheran Duke Wolfgang of Zweibrücken on his mission to reinforce the Huguenot forces in France. After only a few months, the prince left his forces in the hands of the Huguenot leader Gaspard de Coligny and made his way back in disguise, ostensibly to face his many impatient creditors in Frankfurt.2 This most curious episode in the life of William of Orange has long puzzled historians. Why would the leader of the Dutch Revolt leave his ‘beloved fatherland’ in the hands of Alba whilst going off on a seemingly futile adventure in France? Despite early interest in Orange’s diplomatic activities3, today the most prevalent explanation literally echoes the words of Petrus Blok, who in 1919 wrote that ‘in 1569 Orange was effectively relegated to the rank of a German condottiere, a warlord like so many other at that time’.4 Others have deemed the whole affair rather unimportant. In Arie van Deursen’s (admittedly very short) biographical sketch of William

1 I am grateful to Geert Janssen, Femke Deen and Orange ends on the eve of Orange’s French the anonymous reviewers for their valuable and campaign. insightful comments on earlier versions of this 4 ‘Oranje was in 1569 feitelijk teruggebracht tot article and to Kate Delaney for proofreading the den rang van een Duitschen condottiere, een article. bendehoofd zooals er zoo velen waren in dien 2 Ronald de Graaf, De Prins. Willem van Oranje, 1533- tijd’, Petrus Blok, Willem de Eerste, Prins van Oranje 1584 (Elburg 2018) 141. ( 1919). Interestingly, Olaf Mörke 3 See for instance, Pieter van Herwerden, Het and Ronald de Graaf use very similar words: verblijf van Lodewijk van Nassau in Frankrijk. ‘Nach der Kampagne von 1568 war der frühere Hugenoten en Geuzen, 1568-1572 (Assen 1932); Grand Seigneur wenig mehr als ein abgebrannter Felix Rachfahl, Wilhelm von Oranien und der Codottiere der sich vor seinen Gläubigern Niederländische Aufstand, Volume 1 (The Hague verbergen musste’. Olaf Mörke, Wilhelm von 1906) 203-238; Felix Rachfahl, Wilhelm von Oranien Oranien (1533-1584): Fürst und ‘Vater’ der Republik’ und der Niederländische Aufstand, Volume 2 (The (Stuttgart 2007); ‘Willem was feitelijk afgezakt tot Hague 1924) 536-555. It is telling, though, that het niveau van een condottiere, een warlord’. De Rachfahl’s monumental biography of Graaf, De Prins, 139. van tol william of orange in france 35 This article 6 (Leiden 1906) (Leiden Unlike Muller, who focussed Unlike Muller, 7 transcend the boundaries of France, the Low transcend the boundaries France, the of Low Countries, and Empire the Holy (see Roman section ‘transnational networks’ The below). term ‘international’ applicable is not it here since implies states. a relationship between ‘Prins Willem i en Muller, Frankrijk’,Pieter Geschriftenin: Verspreide 258. 265-281, 7 5 This reading of Orange’s French campaign of campaign French 1569 does not do it ofThis reading Orange’s Orange’s outlook points towards the importance of outlook points towards transnational Orange’s justice. It was not a distraction or an attempt to find meaning, prestige or find meaning, or an attempt to not a distraction It was justice. the product of was it Rather, the midst ofwealth in a desperate situation. of ofthe transnationality his transnational worlds, his social and political understanding of and of the nature of Revolt, that his conviction the Dutch strategy. a transnational warranted this transnational struggle date from 1568, before i date from 1568, ‘TheWilliam and prince connections between France .] In those days he above all sought support in . that there is no trace of it [. in an influential article from 1906 on Muller wrote Pieter Lodewijk Germany’, relationship with France. of Orange’s William aims to deconstruct Orange’s transnational outlook, which lay at the roots of lay at the roots which transnational outlook, Orange’s aims to deconstruct the campaign of origins and development during the by examining its 1569, upbringing, Building on his cosmopolitan career. early stages of the prince’s a series of of deep engagement with the affairs events led to an increasingly of Religion. Wars intervention in the French culminating in military France, the return of the at Le Cateau-Cambrésis, These events – the negotiations principality of the expansion of of the advent Orange, his network, religious the formation of and the drive towards transnational violence in France, conviction that the Orange’s Protestant alliances – all helped reinforce deeply connected. was violence in France and the Low Countries mentalities in the history of the sixteenth-century of Since wars religion. it is important as entangled, many contemporaries regarded these conflicts that historians also take heed of the manifold ties that connected the Dutch of Religion and of these ties shaped the the way Wars Revolt and the French interpretations and actions of all belligerents. primarily on diplomacy, historians of cross-border relations often now also primarily on diplomacy, pater patriae found why the Dutch understand To study cultural and social ties. of Religion in France it is therefore first himselfWars deeply embroiled in the of Orange, the campaign is simply described as ‘many wanderings and and wanderings ‘many of as described is simply campaign the Orange, vicissitudes’. (Amsterdam 2016) 51. ‘veel omzwervingen en Arie wisselvalligheden’, Biografisch Een Oranje: van Deursen, van Willem Portret In this particular context, the term transnational theis preferred term transregional since over Orange and his correspondents continuously the discuss nations of to the language used that wars religion, of forces to but pointed also Le Cateau-Cambrésis and the origins of Orange’s French orientation Cateau-CambrésisLe Orange’s and of the French origins 6 5 article – artikel

 Anthonis Mor, Portrait of William of Orange, 1555. Public domain, https://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Antonio_Moro_-_Willem_i_van_Nassau.jpg. van tol william of orange in france 37 ] no. 1454, 29-1-2019, Of course, French Of French course, 8 And, as is evident from his And, 9 , 227. William of Orange and the Revolt Koenraad Revolt the Swart, and Orange William of 1572-84 Netherlands, the of (Aldershot 129. 2003) See for instance: Louis of Nassau William of for of See instance: Louis to De correspondentie van WillemOrange, 7-8-1562, van Oranje [hereafter cwo http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/ brief?nr=1454. Marie-Ange Oranje Delen, van Willem Het Hof van and 98-99. (Amsterdam 92-93 2002) Ibidem

10 11 12 13 As he grew older and took charge of his own affairs, ofAs he grew older and took charge his own affairs, 10 of Corbaron, undoubtedly instilled in him, in the of undoubtedly instilled in him, Corbaron,

After playing a relatively minor role on the battlefield, Orange Orange After playing a relatively minor role on the battlefield, 13 And after the prince had experienced the splendour of Valois court ofAnd after the prince had experienced the splendour Valois 11 All this, of a deep engagement with did not necessarily imply course, All this, At a time when geographical boundaries were fluid and notions of were fluid geographical boundaries At a time when 12 the politics of France, though it certainly facilitated it. Orange’s debut on the Orange’s the politics of though it certainly facilitated it. France, many people the Habsburg-Valois For political stage came in 1558. French between France and the Low Countries – decades deepened the divide Wars sentiments were almost as strong as anti-Spanish feelings later anti-French with France and its the conflict reinforced his connections – but for Orange, aristocracy. private correspondence with his younger brother Louis, he communicated he communicated Louis, correspondence with his younger brother private most easily in French. ofThe gentilhommes his stronger. this Francophone orientation grew even provinces ofhousehold were primarily from the southern the Low Countries, or from the region around the principality offrom Habsburg Franche-Comté, Orange. life, he decided to model his own household and library after that oflibrary after that he decided to model his own household and life, Henry ii. nationhood were just as easily applied to one’s hometown as to one’s wider wider hometown as to one’s applied to one’s were just as easily nationhood of a powerful marker was language belonging. polity, important to briefly consider to what extent Muller’s assessment still holds. still holds. assessment Muller’s extent to what consider to briefly important 1568? world before political and social, cultural, Orange’s was ‘French’ How was allowed the opportunity to step into the limelight as the warring parties allowed the opportunity to step into the limelight as the warring was After the Battle entrusted of he was St Quentin (1557), began to pursue peace. seigneur de Saint-André. captive Jacques d’Albon, with housing the French and France did not neatly overlap in the sixteenth century, but it is clear that but it is clear that century, in the sixteenth did not neatly overlap and France Habsburg from an early age. steeped in Francophone culture the prince was and this was Burgundian, in origin Low Countries was court culture in the of lord Claude de Bouton, the governor, His reflected in his upbringing. Burgundian seigneurie rules of unwritten international ‘the Frijhoff, words ofWillem the historian relationship between including the the code of conduct in society, relations, derived from .] that were . reading culture [. etiquette [and] men and women, ofthe international model culture’. court French Geoffrey Parker, The Dutch Revolt Geoffrey Parker, 35. (London 2002) , 27; Oranien Mörke, von Wilhelm ‘WilliamWillem Frijhoff, Orange of and a noblemanFrance: international of stature’, in: Alistair et al. Duke (eds.), Liberté et Tolérance. Une in Parijs. Oranje van Willen van Sculptuur Een A Statue à Paris. d’Orange Guillaume de Sculpture (Paris 2016) in Paris Orange William of of 10-45, 12. 9 8 article – artikel

Though the prince was initially apprehensive about this undoubtedly expensive responsibility, it put him at the heart of the political developments of the following years.14 As Marshal of France and confidant of the king, Saint- André was an important political player and Orange’s new proximity to the Marshal was utilised to initiate the first secret discussions about peace.15 These overtures proved successful, and when negotiations started in earnest in September 1559, Orange was among the carefully picked Habsburg representatives. Each member of the four-man delegation had his own brief. Whereas the formidable Duke of Alba and the Bishop of Arras were entrusted with the hard negotiations, the and Ruy Gómez de Silva were expected to oil the wheels of the negotiations by ensuring that relations between the negotiators remained amicable.16 This role suited the prince well, as he had proven himself to be, in the words of the historian Marie-Ange Delen, ‘neither a gifted jouster, nor brilliant general, but an ambitious and expert networker’.17 Moreover, the Habsburg negotiating team was designed to mirror that of the French. Orange reported to Philip ii after the first meeting that ‘after the customary embraces, we were all taken apart, pairing the Constable with me the Duke of Alba, the Marshal Saint-André with me the Prince of Orange, and the Cardinal of Lorraine with me the Bishop of Arras’.18 Throughout the negotiations Orange remained close to the Marshal. This personal approach to diplomacy reflects the early modern understanding that a successful negotiation was achieved not only through a carefully structured process of formal deliberations, but also by putting trusted representatives in one place together for a prolonged period of time. Even before the main negotiations commenced at Le Cateau-Cambrésis, the plenipotentiaries spent much of September and October 1558 in Lille and the Somme valley (Authie, Auxi-le-Château, and the Abbey of Cerkamp). A detailed body of correspondence between Philip and his representatives shows that much of the progress was made at chance meetings: over dinner, in church, and at late-night sessions in the quarters of one of the negotiators. One of William’s letters addressed to Philip ii, clearly written after the day’s business was wrapped up, illustrates the informal character of the negotiations: ‘Sire, after writing the above, we found the Cardinal of Lorraine in the quarters of madame the Duchesse of Lorraine. We, the Duke of Alba and the Prince of Orange, went there to see madame la Connestable and madame de Montmorency. We talked gently amongst ourselves about the business’.19 There is plenty of evidence of such unofficial gatherings, often

14 Delen, Het Hof van Willem van Oranje, 224. 18 William of Orange to Philip ii, 15-10-1558, cwo no. 15 Mörke, Wilhelm von Oranien, 64. 7283, 29-1-2019, http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/ 16 Bertrand Haan, Une paix pour l’éternité: la wvo/app/brief?nr=7283. négociation du traité du Cateau-Cambrésis (Madrid 19 William of Orange to Philip ii, 20-10-1558, cwo 2017) 105-124. no. 7277, 29-1-2019, http://resources.huygens. 17 Delen, Het Hof van Willem van Oranje, 175-176. knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=7277. van tol william of orange in france 39 This This 26 no. 6707, 29-1- no. 6707, to William to Though Though the 20 In Paris, the prince the prince In Paris, 23 There is also some evidence There is also some evidence to Orange to suggests the pension survives 25 nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=6706; Lorraine of Charles to cwoWilliam Orange, of 3-9-1559, 2019, http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/ brief?nr=6707. Guerres des politiques origines Les Romier, Lucien 377-378. (Geneva 1974) Religion de ‘WilliamFrijhoff, Orange of and 19. France’, , 173. Oranje Delen, van Willem Het Hof van was ever unclear if this initiative It is, however, carried through. The from of letter the council Henry ii only as a draft. Henry of Council ii

Orange was among the select group of Orange was 23 24 25 26 24 no. , 15- Orange’s weeks in Paris and Reims, filled with filled with and Reims, weeks in Paris Orange’s 22 no. 7275, no. 10947, 29-1-2019, no. 10947, In September, on the insistence of on Francis ii and the Cardinal of In September, After the successful conclusion of the negotiations, Orange was sent sent was Orange of conclusion After the successful the negotiations, 21 , 23-10-1558, cwo, 23-10-1558, seems to have thrown himself headlong into French court life. At jousts, At jousts, thrown himselfseems to have life. court headlong into French which network, he considerably extended his French and dinners, dances, family. royal included the French The peace negotiations at Le Cateau-Cambrésis underscore the complexity The peace negotiations at Le Cateau-Cambrésis Though ofnobles. and their leading between monarchs the relationship shows how the intensification of contact with the circle around the king laying the monarch, ‘foreign’ drew the prince closer into the orbit of this of Religion Wars in the groundwork for his later interest and participation in France. , and his correspondence and his correspondence Henry ii, nobles invited to visit the mortally injured starts in 1559. monarchs Valois with various negotiations went through various difficult phases, it is likely that such such is likely that it difficult phases, went through various negotiations of in the margins conversations contributed diplomatic process the formal to their success. of implementation to witness the ceremonial as a hostage and the to Paris peace. that the council of the King of substantial France offered the prince a for the promise to levy troops in Franche-Comté. pension in exchange Lorraine, Orange was recalled again, this time to attend the coronation of this time to attend the recalled again, Orange was Lorraine, the new king in Reims. held late at night in the quarters of in the quarters late at night held noblewomen. French ostentatious ceremony and lavish hospitality, were also an opportunity for were also an opportunity for hospitality, and lavish ostentatious ceremony The proclamation of peace and the in France. building lasting influence of course, Valois, wedding of Alba) and Elisabeth Philip ii (represented by host ofbrought together a including from France and beyond, grand seigneurs leaders the Coligny brothers. the future Huguenot no. 7281, 29-1-2019, http://resources. to William of Orange, 3-9-1559, cwo William Orange, of to 3-9-1559, , 30-10-1558, cwo, 30-10-1558, 10-1558, cwo10-1558, huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=7281; William Philip Orangeof ii to 29-1-2019, http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/ wvo/app/brief?nr=7275; William Orange of to Philip ii http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/ brief?nr=10947. , 153-169.Haan, l’éternité pour paix Une Francis ii See forSee instance William Philip Orange of ii to 6706, 29-1-2019, http://resources.huygens.knaw. 6706, The principality of Orange of The principality 21 22 20 article – artikel

Orange represented his monarch, he also took part as a sovereign prince.27 The sovereign status of the principality of Orange, however, did by no means ensure that the prince was able to independently govern the territory. The strategically located enclave on the banks of the Rhône, sandwiched between papal and the Dauphiné – a Protestant hotbed – was also of interest to the French crown and the papacy. In wartime, the remote principality was an easy prey. At Le Cateau-Cambrésis, the prince was not only handed back control of Orange and its revenues, but also of his many lordships scattered throughout the Rhône Valley and Dauphiné.28 Though regaining control of Orange was a triumph – the small principality was the cornerstone of his international prestige – it was also an administrative nightmare. Years of severed ties between the prince and his principality meant that its governance had been seriously neglected. Moreover, the Rhône valley, downstream from Geneva, was extremely volatile, leading to vicious religious disputes in Orange. But the principality’s remoteness meant that it was impractical to resolve these issues face-to- face. Everything instead had to be managed through correspondence or the sending of representatives, who lacked the personal clout of the prince. Moreover, some cases that needed resolving forced the prince to go through the French judicial system. The ink on the peace had barely dried when Orange was forced to engage in a legal dispute with Dauphiné nobleman Jean de la Chambre over the ownership of the seigneurie of Montbrison.29 A month later, Orange’s lawyer complained about ‘the difficulties he had encountered in the recovering of property and the revoking of rulings that have been made against you over the course of the war’.30 The challenges of governing his remote French possessions even led Orange twice to contemplate selling them. In 1559, he corresponded about a deal with the Bourbon family in which the principality would be exchanged for the duchy of Enghien, just south of Brussels.31 In the 1570s, severe financial troubles even forced him to think about selling Orange to the pope.32

of Orange, 10-7-1559, cwo no. 10706, 29-1-2019, 29 Council of the King of France to William of http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/ Orange, 24-7-1559, cwo no. 11437, 29-1-2019, brief?nr=10706. http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/ 27 Mörke, Wilhelm von Oranien, 66. brief?nr=11437. 28 The treaty specifically mentions ‘des terres et 30 Thomas Perrenot to William of Orange, 22-8- seigneuries d’Orpiere, Trecluz, Montbrison, Curvier, 1559, cwo no. 6618, 29-1-2019, http://resources. la parerie Novesan et autres lieux à luy appertenans huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=6618. ès pays de Daulphyné, Cuiseaux, Varennes et 31 William of Orange to Philip ii, 18-1-1559, cwo no. Beaurepaire, assises ès visconté d’Auxonne, ressort 7188, 29-1-2019, http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/ de Saint Laurens, maison, vigneset chevanche de wvo/app/brief?nr=7188. Dijon, leurs appartenances et dependences’, Haan, 32 Swart, William of Orange, 53. Une paix pour l’éternité, 197-224. van tol william of orange in france 41 It 36 Though the campaign Though 35 no. 1106, 29-1-2019, http://resources. no. 11041, 29-1-2019, no. 11041, http://resources. huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=12000. William Orange Wilhelm of Hesse, to of 13-8- 1564, cwo huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=1106. bruid Verstoten Saksen. Deen,Femke van Anna (Amsterdam 2018) Oranje van Willem van 29-1-2019, http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/ wvo/app/brief?nr=11041; William Orange of to and inhabitantsthe consuls Orange, of 26-8- 1563, cwo 35 36 Since the unrest continued despite his best efforts, despite his best efforts, Since the unrest continued 34 no. no. 11041, no. 11041, no. 12220, no. 12220, Secondly, since tensions in Orange in many ways resembled France’s France’s resembled in many ways tensions in Orange since Secondly, The return ofThe return of principality the major had two in 1559 Orange 33 A third important influence that underpinned Orange’s transnational outlook third important influence that underpinned Orange’s A His upbringing at the cosmopolitan Habsburg court his social network. was ofin Brussels had alerted him to the importance forging ties with peers allowed him to construct from across Europe and subsequent experiences political life His integration into French an impressive European network. connections. to expand his French after 1568 meant that Orange continued as patronage broker for Philip ii, Through his German family and his work network in the Empire. Orange also managed to construct an impressive of 1569 was not directly intended to resolve the troubles in the principality, of to resolve the troubles in the principality, not directly intended was 1569 responsibilities in Orange drew him into the endemic religious the prince’s Since conflict that afflicted the and the Midi in particular. that swept could never be isolated from the violence his tiny sovereign enclave of Wars forced to engage deeply with the Orange was through the region, Religion in France. consequences for the prince. First, William was now forced to liaise with liaise with forced to now was William First, the prince. for consequences and with its aristocracy and national, regional authorities, different French religious management to ranging from estate ofabout all sorts matters, policy. predicament in microcosm, William could never again afford to take his eyes never again afford could William in microcosm, predicament into the increasingly dragged 1559 he was After off developments in France. especially and confessional conflicts that plagued France complex and volatile the prince first outlawed to supress religious tensions, In order the Midi. of his mind and introduce a policy only to change in July 1561, ‘heresy’ later. tolerance two years the outbreak of come as hardly have in France a year later could open warfare Wars of Religion Orange years between the first and second In the a surprise. that a new unrest might arise soon expecting on France, also kept a close eye came before’. than that which worse ‘much that is 29-1-2019, http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/ app/brief?nr=12220. William Orange the presidents of to and councils theof Parlement Orange, of the inhabitants to Orange, of cwoand 6-7-1561, governor See for instance: William of Orange to consuls forSee instance: William consuls Orange of to and inhabitants cwo Orange, of 26-8-1563, 12000, 29-1-2019, http://resources.huygens.knaw. nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=12000; Catherine de’ Médici cwo William Orange, of to 18-11-1561, Transnational networks Transnational 34 33 article – artikel

has proven a challenge to make sense of the relationship between Orange’s French and German interests. Most biographies of the prince identify distinct German and French phases in Orange’s career. An important train of thought about his diplomatic strategies holds that his roots encouraged him to first seek aid among his German peers, but that their refusal to provide support forced the prince to look to France and the instead.37 This reorientation from Germany to France is often said to have been reflected by his marriages. Marie-Ange Delen, for instance, writes that ‘William in 1575 married Charlotte de Bourbon, a deed with which he diverted his hopes for moral and financial aid from the mostly-Lutheran German to the French Huguenots’.38 This change in marital strategy is also said to have helped Orange realise who his natural allies were. According to Arie van Deursen, ‘It is understandable that the Germans did not want to help. Their direct interests were not at stake’.39 The marriage with , by contrasts, ‘symbolises the unity of goals and interests between the French and the Dutch’.40 But this reading underestimates the importance of France during the prince’s early career as well as the extent to which his French and German interests were connected. For one, a match with the house of Saxony had in 1561 not even been Orange’s first choice. He had first considered Renée of Lorraine, like Orange a member of a truly transnational noble house with interests in France, the , and Denmark.41 His second choice was Marie, widow of the Count of Enghien and daughter of François de Bourbon, Count of St Pol, but this match was blocked by the French crown, who feared that Orange would come to own too much land in France.42 And rather than being proof of the pre-eminence of Germany in Orange’s dynastic strategy, it was due to his French orientation that the wedding between Orange and Anna of Saxony could even go ahead. An important argument that convinced August of Saxony to agree to the match was Orange’s strong ties with the French court, ties that the Elector himself lacked.43 And his next marriage with Charlotte de Bourbon was by no means proof of a radical reorientation away from Germany and towards France. Orange’s match with this absconded

98-102; Liesbeth Geevers, Gevallen vazallen. Orange, 1533-72’, in: Koenraad Swart et al., William De integratie van Oranje, Egmont en Horn of Orange and the Revolt of the Netherlands, 1572-84 in de Spaans-Habsburgse monarchie (1559- (Aldershot 2003). 1567) (Amsterdam 2008) 77-81 https://doi. 38 Delen, Het Hof van Willem van Oranje, 18. org/10.5117/9789089640697. 39 Van Deursen, Willem van Oranje, 42. 37 This is, according to Alastair Duke, the 40 Ibidem, 79. cornerstone of Koenraad Swart’s interpretation 41 Delen, Het Hof van Willem van Oranje, 244-245. of Orange’s career before 1572. Alastair Duke, 42 Ibidem, 244-245. ‘Koenraad Swart’s interpretation of William of 43 Deen, Anna van Saksen, 60. van tol william of orange in france 43 16 (1986) 275-311 History 16 275-311 (1986) Quarterly European https://doi.org/10.1177/026569148601600301. Swart,, 144. Orange William of Yet, these German and French French these German and Yet, 44 45 46 in the Empire, the Low Countries, and France, and France, the Low Countries, in the Empire, The fact that he professed to love different polities, however, however, love different polities, The fact that he professed to 46 Such networks are testament to the permeability ofSuch early modern This insistence by his biographers to separate Orange’s German German to separate Orange’s by his biographers This insistence networks were connected by the manifold ties that transcended the Franco- by the manifold ties that transcended networks were connected as a member Orange who, it was below, As we shall see Imperial frontier. of of and an important player in the politics a German aristocratic house acted as a node for the transfer of France, information from one network to the other. social ties Orange’s like transnational Calvinist networks, Much borders. and the Holy France, criss-crossed the boundaries of the Low Countries, some sense of nationhood, despite these cross-border ties, Yet Roman Empire. more fluid than its nineteenth- and twentieth-centurythough much Orange and his correspondents regularly used can be detected. equivalent, French ‘the or German princes’, ‘the ‘France’, ‘Germany’, as terms such used to structure their indicating that national categories were Christians’, This sense own experiences and their perception of the world around them. – Orange at different times referred to the flexible was of however, belonging, beloved ‘my or Brabant as the Low Countries as a whole, Holy Roman Empire, fatherland’. Orange’s outlook, like that of a number of shaped by was outlook, many of his peers, Orange’s because of precisely It was this overlapping and interconnected identities. of so aware prince was rootedness in multiple polities that the the similarities, That is also why the and shared causes that connected the conflicts. linkages, of a term that implies the presence the concept of the ‘transnational’, term nation but also the importance of accurately describes it, forces that transcend his network. does not mean that the sentiment was not real. As lord of, Herrschaften not real. does not mean that the sentiment was and seigneuries , heerlijkheden and French interests, however, is easily explained as his correspondents his correspondents is easily explained as however, interests, and French were formed German networks this distinction. also frequently made conversations were , meetings ofat Imperial Diets and the Reichskreisen saw German correspondents and Orange’s German, largely conducted in princes ofAugsburg confession’. the ‘the group: themselves as a distinct or on centred more on the monarchy by contrast, networks, French powerbrokers. important regional daughter ofdaughter of Duke the by her not brokered Bourbon-Montpensier was before 1581 It took until Elector of German but by the kin, the Pfalz. hope to and he could father-in-law French reconciled with his Orange was ofreap the benefits this connection. Mark Greengrass, ‘Noble in early affinities modern The Henri case France: of i de Montmorency, Conestable France’, of Swart,, 83. Orange William of

45 44 article – artikel

Religious violence in France

William of Orange’s active participation in the French Wars of Religion was shaped by both his German and his French contacts. From 1560 onward, the religious tensions in France were among the most hotly debated topics in Protestant German circles.47 Only a decade earlier, the German Protestant princes had fought their own religious war and they recognised the dangers of the rapidly escalating confessional strife in France. Moreover, in 1560 the Huguenots started to make overtures to leading German Protestants, further drawing them into the conflict. For Orange, membership of German aristocratic epistolary networks implied the responsibility to share the latest information about France. Wilhelm of Hesse, one of the Empire’s most influential Protestant princes, put it straightforwardly: ‘Of the news that has reached us yesterday from France, we have sent you copies. And we therefore kindly ask you to relate to us the other news that you have heard’.48 Few of the German princes had such privileged access to information about France as did the Prince of Orange. Much of what Orange’s German correspondents had to say about the situation in France was derived from the ‘official’ accounts that were communicated by the warring parties. In April 1563, for instance, Wilhelm of Hesse sent Orange ‘copies of what the (Huguenot leaders) the Prince of Condé and Andelot from France have sent our father and me’.49 Representatives of the French crown, who presented a starkly different interpretation of events, also make their appearance. In a letter from January of the same year Hesse carefully recounted ‘the news that has come from the Guise themselves’ and the interpretation that ‘the Condeans’ have placed on it.50 The German princes must have understood that a large dose of spin was applied to the information that these sources provided. Philip and Wilhelm of Hesse time and again turned to Orange to verify these often confusing and conflicting accounts.51 They were not disappointed. The sheer volume of information sent by Orange to his German correspondents is impressive.52 Many letters had

47 Jonas van Tol, Germany and the French Wars of 51 Philip of Hesse to William of Religion, 1560-1572 (Leiden 2018). Orange, 15-1-1563, cwo no. 5893, 29-1-2019, 48 Wilhelm of Hesse to Wiliam of Orange, 12-2- http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/ 1563, cwo no. 5907, 29-1-2019, http://resources. brief?nr=5893; Philip of Hesse to William of huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=5907. Orange, 30-3-1563, cwo no. 5896, 29-1-2019, 49 Wilhelm of Hesse to Wiliam of Orange, 4-4- http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/ 1563, cwo no. 1072, 29-1-2019, http://resources. brief?nr=5896. huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=1072. 52 Most of this epistolary traffic is between Orange 50 Wilhelm of Hesse to Wiliam of Orange, 13-1- and the Landgraves of Hesse, but they in turn 1563, cwo no. 1058, 29-1-2019, http://resources. passed it on to their peers. They also provided huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=1058. summaries and copies of reports that they van tol william of orange in france 45

Secrecy is Secrecy 58 53 – Low Countries Countries – Low This makes it 57 no. 1074, 29-1-2019, http://resources. no. 1074, 55 William Orange Wilhelm of Hesse, to of 3-4- 1563, cwo huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=1074. Judith ‘Internationalisering Pollmann, en de Nederlandse Opstand’, bmgn (2009) 124 https://doi. Review 515-535 Historical a recent also See org/10.18352/bmgn-lchr.7045; on the transnationalconference dimensions of Eric by organized Religion of Wars the French https://www.york. theat Durot UniversityYork: of ac.uk/history/news/news/2018/transnational- approach-french-war/. and publication the France A key comparing is Philip Benedict Countries Low et al. (eds.), the and in France War Civil and Revolt Reformation, 1555-1585 (Amsterdam 1997). Netherlands, ‘France and Pettegree, Andrew the Netherlands: two of the interlocking in print religious cultures

56 57 58 55 On other occasions their thoughts were not On other occasions 54 no. And though the similarities between the two conflicts have have And though the similarities between the two conflicts 56 no. 29-1-2019, 1199, But what did Orange and his correspondents make ofBut what did Orange in the wars easy to overlook how widely this understanding was shared, not only among shared, was easy to overlook how widely this understanding The print culture but among the broader population as well. aristocrats, these entanglements. emanating from the two conflicts highlights France? Of course, information was not just simply passed on, but often not just simply passed on, France? Of information was course, There were many different and analysis. accompanied by interpretation but one dimension ofinterpretations of shared by the analysis was events, not simply a on all sides: the violence in France was virtually everybody but a conflict with transnational causes and ramifications. domestic affair, appreciation of scholarly the transnationality ofA century the sixteenth understanding of the transnational has long been absent – the historians’ and dimension of last decades, Revolt has slowly grown over the the Dutch of Religion are only now being studied from a transnational Wars the French perspective. committed to paper, but related in person. committed to paper, a dominant theme in these texts. Orange monitored the moves ofthe moves Orange monitored warring the theme in these texts. a dominant of knowledge hinting at his intimate affairs without French parties carefully, to say impossible it was admitting that but also often his sources, revealing a strong was There course of about the future anything concrete events. the Occasionally of much sense that highly sensitive. was this information German for instance in 1563 about a possible in cypher, princes corresponded ‘kindly letter] asked to throw [the was or the reader campaign in France, it’.into the fire after reading long been noted, there are still few transnational studies. long been noted, detailed reports attached, often in different hands and languages. hands and different often in attached, reports detailed no. 1069, 29-1-2019, http://resources. no. 1161, 29-1-2019, http://resources.huygens. had received from other Germanhad princes. received See Williamfor instance: of Wilhelm to Hesse of Orange, 21-3-1568, cwo 1116, 29-1-2019, http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/ wvo/app/brief?nr=1116. William Orange, of Wilhelm to Hesse of 23-3- 1563, cwo huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=1069; William Orange, of Wilhelm to Hesse of 3-11-1567, cwo knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=1161. http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/ brief?nr=1199. from is a letter example JanuaryA good 1565, attached than eight has no reportswhich fewer William of pages: about 29 France, totalling Orange Wilhelm Hesse, to of 24-1-1565, cwo 54 53 article – artikel

 Anonymous, Alva vermoordt de onschuldige inwoners van de Nederlanden, 1572 [Alba murders the innocent civilians of the Low Countries]. © Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, rp-p-ob-79.012, http://hdl.handle.net/10934/rm0001.collect.444753. van tol william of orange in france 47

60 63 The same 59 no. 1214, 29-1-2019, http://resources. no. 1214, , 281-282. Ibidem Hubert Languet (1518- Hubert Languet Weck, Nicollier-de Béatrice Melanchthon de international politique 1581): un réseau 281. (Geneva 1995) d’Orange à Guillaume Wilhelm of Hesse to William Orange, of Wilhelm to Hesse of 21-6- 1568, cwo huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=1214. huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=4486; Ook foor De Graaf,, 107. Prins De geciteerd

64 64 63 62 Not surprisingly, the same interpretation the same interpretation Not surprisingly, 61 62 These ideas were reinforced when Orange crossed paths with crossed paths with These ideas were reinforced when Orange The connection between the troubles in France and the Low Countries the troubles in France and the Low The connection between Convinced of the interconnectedness of of wars the various religion, he sought to persuade others of this fact through the gathering and the dangers ofdisseminating of Underlining evidence. international Bartholomew’s insisted that the St for instance, Catholic aggression – he, Alba – he tirelessly advocated cross-border engineered by Day Massacre was and cross-confessional cooperation. Hubert Languet. This influential Protestant writer and diplomat later later This influential Protestant writer and diplomat Hubert Languet. At the time of their first life. came to play an important role in Orange’s admirer of in the service this French was Melanchthon however, meeting, the embodiment ofAs the ideal of international of of the Elector Saxony. interpreted events without borders’. ‘always Languet , was thus widely seen as a terrifying fact of life. Orange, who had experienced who Orange, thus widely seen as a terrifying fact ofwas life. the difficulties of strife in his small principality, containing confessional In shared this fear of conflict that transcended borders. a major religious a leading who was the margins of to his brother Louis, a remarkable letter member of who had himself the Compromise and sought to strengthen his tells of his nightmares: William Huguenot leadership, connections with the and you did are all Frenchmen dreamt all night that you I have ‘My brother, my dream until I woke’. not leave A well-known Dutch pamphlet from 1572, for instance, depicts a baby-eating instance, for 1572, from pamphlet Dutch well-known A hats. by a three-headedwho is aided cardinals’ wearing monster ofDuke Alba, also the cardinals of but Granvelle, represent not only The heads Lorraine Guise family. French from the infamous two brothers and Guise, Cardinal Granvelle, far from advocating a transnational religious war, warned warned war, transnational religious from advocating a far Cardinal Granvelle, on aid Countries could count in the Low ‘heretics’ Philip of that the the danger strong ties’. whom they share ‘with in France, from their coreligionists appears in discussions between Orange and his German contacts. It is and his German contacts. appears in discussions between Orange first reaction to the ofillustrative of Hesse’s Wilhelm this attitude that through execution of an event that sent shockwaves Egmont and Horne, that he feared that the same fate would befall the Huguenot was Europe, leadership. no. 4486, 29-1-2019, http://resources. Pollmann, ‘InternationaliseringPollmann, en de Nederlandse Opstand’, 532. De Graaf,, 91. Prins De Nassau, of William Orange Louis of to 1-8-1566, cwo during the era the wars’, of religious History 84 Church (2004) of Review Dutch https://doi.org/10.1163/ 327-331 318-337, 187607504x00165.

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Not long before Orange’s campaign in France, Hubert Languet spent a fortnight in the Nassau residence at Dillenburg where he discussed the troubles in the Low Countries with the prince.65 Though Languet was simply expected to convey Orange’s rationale for his resort to arms against Alba to the Elector of Saxony, it seems unlikely that the Frenchman stayed silent on the subject of France. Though Languet was markedly more militant in his calls for transnational Protestant cooperation – we should certainly not see Orange as the Protestant hero of nineteenth-century historiography – their fundamental understanding of the interconnectedness of Europe’s troubles overlapped. It is therefore likely that Languet played some part in laying the intellectual foundation for Orange’s French campaign.

Treaties and alliances

Confronted with a continuous flow of disconcerting news about the endemic violence in France, Orange and his German correspondents felt a growing pressure to contribute to a solution.66 Friedrich iii, who would come to play such an important role in matching William and Charlotte, was at the vanguard of those Germans who advocated an active role in France. The Reformed Elector ceaselessly reminded his Lutheran peers of their responsibility to protect their ‘coreligionists’ in France.67 The printing presses in his city of Heidelberg churned out large volumes of printed material in German about the French Wars of Religion.68 Whereas Friedrich’s position was met with scepticism in 1562, it soon gained currency as the conflict in France dragged on. Spurred on by Friedrich and by growing rumours of an international Catholic alliance intended to destroy Protestantism region by region, the Protestant princes of the Empire increasingly played an active role in France.69 This process was complicated by the difficult relationship between Lutherans and Reformed Protestants in the Holy Roman Empire. Princes and theologians alike quarrelled about the question of whether the divide between

65 Ibidem, 191-193. Europe pendant les Guerres de Religion (1560-1610) 66 My monograph Germany and the French Wars of (Paris 2012) 397-415. Religion, 1560-1572 explores the development of 69 A number of these princes, including the Elector this increasingly interventionist stance among the Palatine, the Landgraves of Hessen, the Count Protestant princes of the Geman Rhineland. of Zweibrücken, and the Duke Württemberg, 67 Ibidem, 76-78. involved themselves in the wars in France by 68 Cornel Zwierlein, ‘Une propagande huguenote applying diplomatic pressure, acting as mediators, internationale: le début des guerres de Religion donating or lending money to the warring parties, en France perçues en Allemagne, 1560-1563’, in: allowing the recruitment of German mercenaries, Jérémie Foa and Paul-Alexis Mellet (eds.), Le Bruit or by active participation on the battlefield. des armes. Mises en formes et désinformations en van tol william of orange in france 49 Echoing Echoing The text The text 75 74 (Leiden 1836) part 1836) (Leiden 3, 282-286. Smaller pacts – formal or 72 A (draft) survives: text from August 1568 ou Archives Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, d’Orange- Maison la de inédite correspondance Nassau and Politics Loyalties: of Shimizu,Junko Conflict Coligny, de Gaspard of Career in the Religion 1519-1572 France, of 127. Admiral (Geneva 1970) Diplomacy in European Study :Late A Case (Helsinki 1981). chronique huguenot: Parti Le Hugues Daussy, (1557-1572)d’une désillusion (Geneva 2014) ‘Philip Marnix of Monique Weiss, 673-721; and The “international Protestantism”: fears and hopes a Dutch of refugee in the 1570s’, (2010) 11 203- Review & Renaissance Reformation 220 https://doi.org/10.1558/rrr.v11i2.203.

75 73 74 71 73 There was also great apprehension about the possible political the possible political apprehension about also great There was 70 Against the backdrop of Against the backdrop Protestant this push for transnational The calls for pan-European Protestant alliance-buildingThe calls for pan-European that were consequences ofconsequences note important thing to but the German involvement, direct that the domestic affairs ofhere is that the idea France or the Low Countries not among the many arguments business was were none of the Germans’ presented against intervention. cooperation, Orange in 1568 attempted to formalise his ties to the his ties to the Orange in 1568 attempted to formalise cooperation, Huguenot leaders the Prince of Condé and Gaspard de Coligny. voiced by Friedrich and others were not just empty words. Though a coalition were not just empty words. and others voiced by Friedrich of Sweden, as the monarchs diverse participants including such England, and French as the German princes and the Dutch and Denmark as well (not least because ofrebels never materialised the deep-seated Lutheran seriously the idea was cooperation with the Reformed), apprehensions about moments after 1560. considered at various tropes that were heard throughout Europe during the wars of religion, of during the wars tropes that were heard throughout Europe religion, of the treaty – which may never have been formally concluded – points of been formally concluded – points may never have – which the treaty the two main predicaments that the three princes faced. towards the two branches of Protestantism could be bridged. Different Lutheran Lutheran Different of branches the two be bridged. could Protestantism and rapprochement some advocating with positions, held different princes This debate, Reformed. cooperation with the and others refusing solidarity in detail discussed it but I have justice to here, is too complex to do however, elsewhere. informal – were a more realistic prospect. The wars in France and the Low The wars informal – were a more realistic prospect. and alliance-buildingCountries inspired a burst of as letters and network- ‘foreign’ and princes strove to draw envoys circled Europe and monarchs nobles into their orbits. (Göttingen 2019) 27-52 (Göttingen https://doi. Jonas van Tol, ‘The RhinelandJonas and van the Tol, Huguenots: relations during confessional Transregional in: Violet Soen, Religion’, of Wars the French Alexander Soetaert, Johan Verberckmoes, and (eds.), Wim François Transregional Modern in Early Borders Crossing Reformations: Europe org/10.13109/9783666564703.27. , Religion of Wars French the and Germany Tol, Van 192-197. and Gehring, Relations Scott David Anglo-German Policy Foreign Elizabethan Cause: Protestant the (London 2016) https://doi. Pan-Protestantism and E.I. and Kouri,org/10.4324/9781315654812; England in the Alliance a Protestant Form to Attempts the

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it was argued that an alliance was necessary in order to resist a powerful enemy ‘who has the intention to destroy the true religion and also the nobility’.76 These twin concerns over the suppression of the ‘true Christian religion’ and the infringements on the rights and prerogatives of the nobility were shared by their German sympathisers. ‘The right to resist a monarchical power grab, real or imagined’, dominated political discourse ‘not only in the Empire and the Netherlands, but also in France’, as Olaf Mörke has observed.77 Themes like the execution of Egmont and Horne and the exclusion of the Bourbon family from the guardianship of France’s underaged kings reverberated in princely circles in the Empire. And the narrative of a Catholic conspiracy that was quickly gaining traction among the German Protestant princes also warned of a plan to eject the Protestant aristocracy and replace it with Catholics.78 Given the force with which these ideas were voiced it is no surprise that support for an intervention in France was growing among Europe’s Protestants – Lutheran and Calvinist – after 1567.

The campaign of 1569

William of Orange’s French campaign was thus the dramatic climax of a long period during which he became a key figure among those princes whose political playing field was essentially transnational. The campaign itself, by contrast, was not the result of long and careful planning, but of a set of unforeseen circumstances. The prince first moved some forces across the border into France after his 1568 invasion of Brabant had failed because Alba avoided a decisive clash and Orange’s forces melted away when his funds ran out.79 Orange’s first foray into France was thus born out of necessity, but it also made strategic sense. The prince’s Dutch and French allies had long since put their ideals of cross-border confessional solidarity into practice and were accustomed to slipping across the border when the situation on either side became untenable.80 It is unlikely that the prince expected to achieve much aside from relieving some of the pressure on the Huguenot forces. He spent a short time in northern France, pillaging and burning, before moving to Strasbourg where he managed, with much difficulty, to disband his remaining troops. He returned to France only four months later as part of a much more substantial and better organised attempt to alter the course of the war.

76 Groen van Prinsterer, Archives ou correspondance, 79 Anton van der Lem, De Opstand in de Nederlanden 282-286. 1568-1648. De Tachtigjarige Oorlog in woord en 77 Mörke, Wilhelm von Oranien, 54. beeld (Nijmegen 2014) 73-74. 78 Van Tol, Germany and the French Wars of Religion, 80 Parker, The Dutch Revolt, 98. 179-186. van tol william of orange in france 51 85 He also spoke He also spoke 86 no. 12484, 29-1-2019, no. 1660, 29-1-2019, no. 1660, http://resources. In a letter from February 1569, 1569, In a letter from February 83 http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/ brief?nr=12484. the lack German of As it turned out, however, made intervention in France in thesuccess Netherlands likely. less William Orange the German of to princes, 6-2- 1569, cwo huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=1660. , 639-697. huguenot Parti Le Daussy, William of to Navarre,Condé, and Coligny Orange, cwo 10-2-1569, 85 86 83 84 The Huguenot leadership also promised to The Huguenot leadership 84 In 1569 opinion had shifted enough, mainly due to mainly had shifted enough, In 1569 opinion 81 no. 1069, 29- no. 1039, 29-1-2019, no. 1039, It seems that Orange’s decision to join the German prince was prince was decision to join the German It seems that Orange’s 82 The prince therefore made sure that his German contacts were German contacts were The prince therefore made sure that his developments in the Low Countries and the fear of in the Low Countries developments Catholic a transnational could count on significant Lutheran Wolfgang to ensure that conspiracy, backing. fully aware offully aware and he reminded the reasoning behind his actions in France Orange them of the interconnectivity of Before setting off, religious strife. he expounded on the in which wrote a long letter to the German princes who ‘besiegedtyranny of the plight ofAlba and in France’ Christians the by the followers ofAntichrist’. the ‘attacked were already It is telling that Orange’s road to France, literally and figuratively, ran through ran and figuratively, literally to France, road Orange’s that It is telling with Orange’s contrast in campaign, ofWolfgang Zweibrucken’s Germany. the first Lutheran In 1563 he had been the making. long in was earlier raid, this had been but the Huguenots militarily, supporting prince to consider by his peers. prevented of the pleas he had received ‘not only from the said the Prince of Condé, from the said the Prince of only Condé, ‘not of he had received the pleas reimburse Orange’s costs after peace was secured – a vital precondition for costs after peace was reimburse Orange’s the first this was Finally and most importantly, the cash-strapped prince. time that the idea of of active intervention in the wars religion could count seemed like folly It must have in Lutheran circles. on substantial backing Since the conviction that the to Orange not to capitalise on this new mood. conflict in France and the Low Countries were essentially the same wars possible that German it was growing among German Protestants, was follow their efforts in France. involvement in the Low Countries would the Huguenot leadership begged Orange to ‘cross the river Loire’ and ‘to ‘to and the river Loire’ ‘cross begged Orange to the Huguenot leadership my cousin, pray, ‘we .] . [. us masters ofjoin us in order to make our enemies’ there is no means ofthat you believe that this but through a good achieving victory’. and advantageous the product of a mix of contributing factors. First, his carefully laid plans First, the product of a mix of contributing factors. next a for Low Countries had failed and the prospects for the Revolt in the stepped the Huguenots in 1568 and 1569, Secondly, move did not look good. rally support abroad. up their attempt to Orange and the landgraves of Hesse Orange Hesse of and the landgraves about Wolfgang’s in 1563 corresponded ambitions.dangerous Wilhelm to Hesse of cwoWilliam Orange, of 23-3-1563, 1-2019, http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/ app/brief?nr=1069; William to Philip Hesse of Orange,of cwo 24-4-1563, http://resources.huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/ brief?nr=1039. , Religion of Wars French the and Germany Tol, Van 202-207. 81 82 article – artikel

 Map of William of Orange’s Campaign of 1569. van tol william of orange in france 53

91 94

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But But 93 , 111. , of and harquebusiers no. 4518, 29-1-2019, http:// ‘In this way hopefully hopefully way ‘In this 87 cwo From Confolens, a small town a small town From Confolens, 88 Parker, The Dutch Revolt Parker, 1562-1598 Wars Robert Religious Knecht, The French (Oxford 44. 2002) Saxony, William Orange August of of to 12-10-1569, resources.huygens.knaw.nl/wvo/app/ brief?nr=4518.

93 92 94

Lorraine was said to have backed up his ‘advice’ with with ‘advice’ up his backed said to have Lorraine was The bulk of the Huguenot army consisted of German 90 92 , 9-7-1569, cwo, 9-7-1569, Though reports about France in the late fifteen-sixties were full of fifteen-sixties were full Though reports about France in the late This clash ended in a painful defeat for Orange’s allies. Orange’s This clash ended in a painful defeat for The Catholic force consisted, besides French gendarmes besides French The Catholic force consisted, and 6000 Swiss mercenaries, and infantry, cavalry ‘Walloon’ 1500 Italian and and the the Rhinegrave led by two German Protestants, 4000 German Reiters armies Marquis of of Some Alba’s Baden. these forces had previously served in in the Low Countries. not far from La Rochelle, Orange wrote another letter to his German peers. wrote another letter to his German peers. Orange not far from La Rochelle, and also poor Christians in France He again spoke of‘the of the persecution Word of the and other countries in which in the Low Countries God has misery for our and sorrow, ‘danger, of and warned the already been planted’ ofbeloved fatherland nation that might follow from this’. the German talk of conspiracy, secret alliances, and hidden agendas, these panic-stricken these panic-stricken and hidden agendas, secret alliances, talk of conspiracy, forces took part in a Orange’s stories did contain a (small) grain of truth. Troops series of of that illustrate the transnationality exchanges the conflict. offrom much of Catholic Europe were present on the battlefields as France, from Italian print A is illustrated by the Battle of Moncontour (3-10-1569). 1570 shows the composition of the opposing armies and their commanders. the threat ofof Spanish force prospect for the Protestant – a chilling arms aristocracy of the Empire. not only the poor Christians in France and the Low Countries are relieved Countries are relieved France and the Low poor Christians in not only the of also our common fatherland but the German tyranny, from the current be very usefully served’. .] will . nation [. Moreover, Orange claimed that ‘all the most important lords, save the the save the most important lords, ‘all claimed that Orange Moreover, the crown to strive for peace advised have Cardinal of party, Lorraine and his and religious liberty’. but also from the King of Navarre’ and their promises ‘after the attainment attainment the ‘after promises and their King of from the but also Navarre’ of a good Low Countries for the to provide in France, for peace hoped the thousand horse’. troops and three ten thousand despite this disaster on the battlefield, the campaign did prove a success. did prove a success. the campaign despite this disaster on the battlefield, Orange well. ‘condottiere’ our the campaign had not served Financially, forced into the Empire before he was had hardly crossed the border back August ofto write a long letter to Saxony pleading for financial support. . and Reiters Landsknechte . . . Ibidem Ibidem iii William Orange Friedrich of to no. 488, 29-1-2019, http://resources.huygens. knaw.nl/wvo/app/brief?nr=488. Ibidem verifyIt is difficult to whether the numbers are entirely correct. 88 89 90 91 87 article – artikel

 Anonymous, L’Ordene del Fattodarme Fatto tra Catolici et Ugonotti alli 3. di Ottobre 1569, 1570. Universitätsbibliothek Salzburg, g 40 iii, http://www.ubs.sbg.ac.at/sosa/ graphiken/g40iii.jpg. van tol william of orange in france 55

The final The final 97 – Low Countries Countries – Low Whilst Orange Whilst Orange , 149. 95 Moreover, the presence of Moreover, After his campaign, the prince the prince After his campaign, 96 98 Parker, The Dutch Revolt Parker, Mout,Nicolette ‘Het intellectuele milieu van Willem van Oranje’, bmgn https:// 624 (1984) 596-625, 99 Review Historical Mörke, Wilhelm doi.org/10.18352/bmgn-lchr.2530; , 142. Oranien von Swart,, 145. Orange William of

98 99 97 99 Orange’s French campaign had a long-lasting impact on the on the campaign had a long-lasting impact French Orange’s left his troops in September 1569, his brother Louis of his 1569, in September left his troops on in Nassau stayed became part ofFrance and Queen of the of the entourage Jeanne d’Albret, politics. remarkable influence on French from where he exercised Navarre, by his to secure what Orange had been promised Louis worked hard peace in France there would be an allies: that following French ‘Netherlandish the And even though Low Countries. intervention in the the miscarried, by Nicola Sutherland, as it has been christened enterprise’, this period shaped the course offoundations laid in for Revolt the Dutch many years to come. his short stay with the Huguenot forces First, course of Revolt. the Dutch the organisation ofinspired Orange to radically overhaul his own troops. and unreliable performance ofDismayed by the lacklustre his Landsknechte men, and discipline ofand impressed by the relative efficiency Coligny’s lines. he reformed his armies along French dimension was intellectual. Though, as discussed above, Orange was Orange was as discussed above, Though, intellectual. dimension was ofalready deeply imbedded in the affairs the campaign of France, 1569 offorced the prince to align his interpretation the conflicts even more at finding ideas and Adept as he was closely with that of the Huguenots. Orange must his position, thinkers that could help shape and support the aristocratic leadership of that been fully aware have the Huguenots grappling with the exact same issues. was But by engaging so directly in the conflict, the prince had managed to to had managed the prince conflict, in the so directly engaging But by with In contrast ofepicentre to the even closer move politics. French has been studied the aftermath itself campaign its lead-up, and Orange’s full. be repeated here in does not need to in detail and surrounded himself with advisors from Huguenot circles. These, of course, ofThese, course, surrounded himself with advisors from Huguenot circles. been who may have included Languet and Philippe du Plessis-Mornay, and who helped draft Orange’s the author ofcontra Tyrannos the Vindiciae Apology. Orange and Louis of Nassau in France in 1569 laid the foundations for Whereas prince and Charles ix. a long-term relationship between the crown the French military intervention failed, ambitious plans for French the Revolt going.provided substantial financial aid to keep Nicola SutherlandNicola has carefully reconstructed the diplomatic and political manoeuverings 1571 of St of and 1572. Sutherland, Nicola The Massacre Conflict, 1559-1572 European the and Bartholomew 133-311. (London 1973) professionalisering Erik Swart, Militaire Krijgsvolk. 1568-1590 leger, het staatse van het ontstaan en (Amsterdam 2006) 62.

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 Adriaen Thomasz Key, Louis, Count of Nassau, 1570-1574. Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, 011548-000, https://www.museunacional.cat/en/colleccio/portrait-louis- count-nassau/adriaen-thomasz-key/011548-000. van tol william of orange in france 57 would put his life in jeopardy in a ‘foreign’ ‘foreign’ jeopardy in a would put his life in This article proposes that there are three reasons why the campaign This article proposes that there are three about the strategies reveals much French The case of Orange’s ofshould be regarded as an integrated and important component of 1569 Orange had of since regaining control First, his principality, strategy. Orange’s part of He was of the Religion. Wars effectively become a player in the French in preoccupied with managing religious tensions was orbit, King of France’s It is thus not accurate networks. noble imbedded in French and was the Midi, Furthermore, affairs ofto see him as an outsider meddling in the France. policies German or French no clear distinction between Orange’s there was as the question of 1560s at the top of in the France was the agenda of the transnational outlook meant this Finally, Protestant princes of the Empire. were wars among those who were most adamant that the that Orange was not his campaign in France was From this perspective, intimately connected. and his attempt to regain the land a distraction but a logical next move in ‘tyranny’. Countries from positions he had lost and to relieve the Low time of aristocracy at the The of the wars mentalities of religion. Europe’s transnationality of a trait that uniquely belonged to the not his outlook was shared by his fellow negotiators at Le Cateau- seen that it was We have prince. and his French his marriage partners, his German correspondents, Cambrésis, Grasping their frame of rooted in the lordships reference, allies and enemies. that formed the foundation of and at the same time their wealth and prestige is crucial for understanding transcending the borders that divided polities, the nature and course of the history of the major conflicts that shaped sixteenth-century Europe. The historians’ understanding of William of of understanding to shift from Orange is beginning William The historians’ of the echoes the nationally Yet, prince. to European ‘hero’ Protestant Dutch of Revolt remain and Dutch Religion histories ofinterpreted Wars the French of to shape interpretations the potential they still have so strong that the past. The dismissal campaign of forgotten French 1569 is a case in point. Orange’s attention – of from the real focus of this episode as a distraction Orange’s Countries – is the product ofthe Revolt in the Low the deeply ingrained the Low and France, of lines between the histories tendency to draw Germany, similarities ofThough recognising the the conflicts in France and Countries. still seen as strange it is national perspective, from a Dutch the Low Countries, of the Fatherland that the Father still had not given up the hope of And since Orange German backing, conflict. for the Huguenots? why would he risk everything Conclusion article – artikel

Jonas van Tol is assistant professor of Early Modern History at the University of Amsterdam and guest researcher at Huygens ing. His research focuses on the transnational dimensions of the European Wars of Religion, in particular the French Wars of Religion. He recently published his monograph Germany and the French Wars of Religion, 1560-1572 (Leiden 2018). E-mail: [email protected].