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Marie-Christine de Lalaing, or Philippe-Christine de Lalaing, was the daughter of Count Charles II of Lalaing and Marie de Montmorency-Nivelle. She was married to Pierre de Melun, the governor of Tournai. In the absence of her husband, she defended the city of Tournai against Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, in 1581. [1]
In the middle of the 16th Century, Calvinist preachers garnered large support in Tournai, despite the efforts of Philip II of Spain to eradicate the movement. In 1576, the States General of the Netherlands appointed Pierre de Melun as governor of Tournai. Having left Tournai to attack Gravelines, de Melun entrusted the defense of Tournai to his lieutenant and to his wife, Marie-Christine de Lalaing. Shortly after his departure, the Prince of Orange was warned that Farnese would attack the city, despite the coming winter. When the Army of Flanders arrived at the city, Marie-Christine de Lalaing rallied her troops in a speech: "It's me, the wife of your governor who is now marching into war, risking his own life, in service of his country. Follow my example: I would rather give up my life than abandon my country." She was injured in the resistance. [1]
Marie Anne de La Trémoille, princesse des Ursins, was a French courtier and royal favourite known for her political influence, being a de facto ruler of Spain from 1701 until 1714. She spent most of her life as an agent of French influence abroad, at first in Rome, and then in Spain under the new Bourbon dynasty, followed by a final period at the exiled Stuart court in Rome. She played a central role at the Spanish royal court during the first years of the reign of Philip V, until she was ousted from the country following a power struggle with the new queen consort, Elisabeth Farnese.
Margaret of Parma was Governor of the Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582. She was the illegitimate daughter of the then 22-year-old Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Johanna Maria van der Gheynst. She was a Duchess of Florence and a Duchess of Parma and Piacenza by marriage.
Mariana Victoria of Spain was an Infanta of Spain by birth and was later the Queen of Portugal as wife of King Joseph I. The eldest daughter of Philip V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese, she was engaged to the young Louis XV of France at the age of seven. Rejected due to her age, the marriage never took place and she was sent back to Spain. In 1729 she was married to Infante José, son of John V of Portugal and successor to his father as Joseph I of Portugal. She also acted as regent of Portugal during the last months of her husband's life and as advisor to her daughter, Maria I of Portugal, in her reign.
Maria Anna Christine Victoria of Bavaria was Dauphine of France by marriage to Louis, Grand Dauphin, son and heir of Louis XIV. She was known as la Grande Dauphine. The Dauphine was regarded a "pathetic" figure at the court of France, isolated and unappreciated due to the perception that she was dull, unattractive and sickly.
The Battle of Gembloux took place at Gembloux, near Namur, Low Countries, between the Spanish forces led by Don John of Austria, Governor-General of the Spanish Netherlands, and a rebel army composed of Dutch, Flemish, English, Scottish, German, French, and Walloon soldiers under Antoine de Goignies, during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). On 31 January 1578 the Spanish cavalry commanded by John's nephew, Don Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma, after pushing back the Netherlandish cavalry, attacked the Netherlandish army, causing an enormous panic amongst the rebel troops. The result was a crushing victory for the Spanish forces. The battle hastened the disintegration of the unity of the rebel provinces, and meant the end of the Union of Brussels.
Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort was an Imperial and Spanish army commander of German origin and Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1592 to 1594.
Christine of France was the sister of Louis XIII and the Duchess of Savoy by marriage. At the death of her husband Victor Amadeus I in 1637, she acted as regent of Savoy between 1637 and 1648.
Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours was born a Princess of Savoy and became the Duchess of Savoy by marriage. First married by proxy to Charles of Lorraine in 1662, Lorraine soon refused to recognise the union and it was annulled. She married Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy in 1665 who was her kinsman. The mother of the future Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia who saw the elevation of the House of Savoy to kings, she styled herself as Madama Reale or Madame Royale. She acted as Regent of Savoy from 1675 in the name of her son Victor Amadeus II, who was her husband's successor. Her regency officially ended in 1680, but she maintained power until her son banished her from further influence in the state in 1684. She left a considerable architectural legacy in Turin, and was responsible for the remodelling of the Palazzo Madama, which was her private residence. At the time of her death she was the mother of the King of Sardinia as well as great grandmother of two other kings, Louis I of Spain and Louis XV of France.
Princely Count Charles of Arenberg, duke of Aarschot, baron of Zevenbergen, knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, was the second Princely Count of Arenberg and a leading aristocrat of the Habsburg Netherlands, who served as a courtier, soldier, minister and diplomat.
The Villa della Regina is a palace in the city of Turin, Piedmont, Italy. It was originally built by the House of Savoy in the 17th century.
Margaret Yolande of Savoy was Princess of Savoy from birth and later Duchess consort of Parma. A proposed bride for her first cousin Louis XIV of France, she later married Ranuccio Farnese, son of the late Odoardo Farnese and Margherita de' Medici. She died in childbirth in 1663.
François Marie de Lorraine was a French nobleman and member of the House of Lorraine. He was known as the prince de Lillebonne. He was also the Duke of Joyeuse.
Élisabeth of Lorraine was a French noblewoman and the Princess of Epinoy by marriage. She is often styled as the princesse de Lillebonne. She was the mother of Louis de Melun, Duke of Joyeuse who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1724 and of Anne Julie de Melun, princesse de Soubise.
Louis de Rohan-Chabot was a member of the House of Rohan-Chabot and Duke of Rohan. He married an heiress and acted as Louis XIV's representative in Brittany. He was styled as the Prince of Léon prior to becoming Duke of Rohan. His direct descendant is today's Josselin de Rohan, a member of the Senate of France, representing the Morbihan department.
Robert de Melun, viscount of Ghent and marquis of Roubaix, was a nobleman from the Low Countries who fought in the Eighty Years' War.
Charles II of Lalaing was Count of Lalaing, Lord of Escornaix and stadtholder of the County of Hainaut.
Emanuel Filibert van Lalaing was a noble and army commander from the Low Countries.
The House of Lalaing is a noble family from the south of Flanders which played an important role in the history of the County of Hainaut and of the Netherlands.
The Treaty of Arras of 17 May 1579 was a peace treaty concluded between the Spanish Crown, represented by Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, and representatives of the County of Hainaut, the County of Artois, and the cities of Douai, Lille, Orchies and Arras, all members of the Union of Arras, that had been formed the previous January, at the Abbey of St Vaast in Arras. It was a separate peace that formally ended the state of war that had existed between these entities during the Eighty Years' War. The provinces that had formed the Union of Utrecht continued the war.
Pierre de Melun, prince of Espinoy, marquis of Richebourg, baron of Antoing, etc., was a nobleman in the Low Countries during the Dutch Revolt who took the side of the rebels against Philip II of Spain.
