Books: The Rise of the Dutch Republic, 1555

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MOTLEY'S HISTORY OF THE NETHERLANDS, PG EDITION, VOLUME 3.

THE RISE OF THE DUTCH REPUBLIC

JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY, D.C.L., LL.D.

1855

PHILIP THE SECOND IN THE NETHERLANDS

1555 [CHAPTER I.]

Abdication of Charles resolved upon--Brussels in the sixteenth
century--Hall of the palace described--Portraits of prominent
individuals present at the ceremony--Formalities of the abdication--
Universal emotion--Remarks upon the character and career of Charles
--His retirement at Juste.

On the twenty-fifth day of October, 1555, the estates of the Netherlands
were assembled in the great hall of the palace at Brussels. They had
been summoned to be the witnesses and the guarantees of the abdication
which Charles V. had long before resolved upon, and which he was that day
to execute. The emperor, like many potentates before and since, was fond
of great political spectacles. He knew their influence upon the masses
of mankind. Although plain, even to shabbiness, in his own costume, and
usually attired in black, no one ever understood better than he how to
arrange such exhibitions in a striking and artistic style. We have seen
the theatrical and imposing manner in which he quelled the insurrection
at Ghent, and nearly crushed the life forever out of that vigorous and
turbulent little commonwealth. The closing scene of his long and
energetic reign he had now arranged with profound study, and with an
accurate knowledge of the manner in which the requisite effects were to
be produced. The termination of his own career, the opening of his
beloved Philip's, were to be dramatized in a manner worthy the august
character of the actors, and the importance of the great stage where they
played their parts. The eyes of the whole world were directed upon that
day towards Brussels; for an imperial abdication was an event which had
not, in the sixteenth century, been staled by custom.

The gay capital of Brabant--of that province which rejoiced in the
liberal constitution known by the cheerful title of the "joyful
entrance," was worthy to be the scene of the imposing show. Brussels had
been a city for more than five centuries, and, at that day, numbered
about one hundred thousand inhabitants. Its walls, six miles in
circumference, were already two hundred years old. Unlike most
Netherland cities, lying usually upon extensive plains, it was built
along the sides of an abrupt promontory. A wide expanse of living
verdure, cultivated gardens, shady groves, fertile cornfields, flowed
round it like a sea. The foot of the town was washed by the little river
Senne, while the irregular but picturesque streets rose up the steep
sides of the hill like the semicircles and stairways of an amphitheatre.
Nearly in the heart of the place rose the audacious and exquisitely
embroidered tower of the townhouse, three hundred and sixty-six feet in
height, a miracle of needlework in stone, rivalling in its intricate
carving the cobweb tracery of that lace which has for centuries been
synonymous with the city, and rearing itself above a facade of profusely
decorated and brocaded architecture. The crest of the elevation was
crowned by the towers of the old ducal palace of Brabant, with its
extensive and thickly-wooded park on the left, and by the stately
mansions of Orange, Egmont, Aremberg, Culemburg, and other Flemish
grandees, on the right.. The great forest of Soignies, dotted with
monasteries and convents, swarming with every variety of game, whither
the citizens made their summer pilgrimages, and where the nobles chased
the wild boar and the stag, extended to within a quarter of a mile of the
city walls. The population, as thrifty, as intelligent, as prosperous as
that of any city in Europe, was divided into fifty-two guilds of
artisans, among which the most important were the armorers, whose suits
of mail would turn a musket-ball; the gardeners, upon whose gentler
creations incredible sums were annually lavished; and the tapestry-
workers, whose gorgeous fabrics were the wonder of the world. Seven
principal churches, of which the most striking was that of St. Gudule,
with its twin towers, its charming facade, and its magnificently painted
windows, adorned the upper part of the city. The number seven was a
magic number in Brussels, and was supposed at that epoch, during which
astronomy was in its infancy and astrology in its prime, to denote the
seven planets which governed all things terrestrial by their aspects and
influences. Seven noble families, springing from seven ancient castles,
supplied the stock from which the seven senators were selected who
composed the upper council of the city. There were seven great squares,
seven city gates, and upon the occasion of the present ceremony, it was
observed by the lovers of wonderful coincidences, that seven crowned
heads would be congregated under a single roof in the liberty-loving
city.

The palace where the states-general were upon this occasion convened,
had been the residence of the Dukes of Brabant since the days of John
the Second, who had built it about the year 1300. It was a spacious and
convenient building, but not distinguished for the beauty of its
architecture. In front was a large open square, enclosed by an iron
railing; in the rear an extensive and beautiful park, filled with forest
trees, and containing gardens and labyrinths, fish-ponds and game
preserves, fountains and promenades, race-courses and archery grounds.
The main entrance to this edifice opened upon a spacious hall, connected
with a beautiful and symmetrical chapel. The hall was celebrated for its
size, harmonious proportions, and the richness of its decorations. It
was the place where the chapters of the famous order of the Golden Fleece
were held. Its walls were hung with a magnificent tapestry of Arran,
representing the life and achievements of Gideon, the Midianite, and
giving particular prominence to the miracle of the "fleece of wool,"
vouchsafed to that renowned champion, the great patron of the Knights of
the Fleece. On the present occasion there were various additional
embellishments of flowers and votive garlands. At the western end a
spacious platform or stage, with six or seven steps, had been
constructed, below which was a range of benches for the deputies of the
seventeen provinces. Upon the stage itself there were rows of seats,
covered with tapestry, upon the right hand and upon the left. These were
respectively to accommodate the knights of the order and the guests of
high distinction. In the rear of these were other benches, for the
members of the three great councils. In the centre of the stage was a
splendid canopy, decorated with the arms of Burgundy, beneath which were
placed three gilded arm-chairs.

All the seats upon the platform were vacant, but the benches below,
assigned to the deputies of the provinces, were already filled. Numerous
representatives from all the states but two--Gelderland and Overyssel--
had already taken their places. Grave magistrates, in chain and gown,
and executive officers in the splendid civic uniforms for which the
Netherlands were celebrated, already filled every seat within the apace
allotted. The remainder of the hall was crowded with the more favored
portion of the multitude which had been fortunate enough to procure
admission to the exhibition. The archers and hallebardiers of the body-
guard kept watch at all the doors. The theatre was filled--the audience
was eager with expectation--the actors were yet to arrive. As the clock
struck three, the hero of the scene appeared. Caesar, as he was always
designated in the classic language of the day, entered, leaning on the
shoulder of William of Orange. They came from the chapel, and were
immediately followed by Philip the Second and Queen Mary of Hungary. The
Archduke Maximilian the Duke of Savoy, and other great personages came
afterwards, accompanied by a glittering throng of warriors, councillors,
governors, and Knights of the Fleece.

Many individuals of existing or future historic celebrity in the
Netherlands, whose names are so familiar to the student of the epoch,
seemed to have been grouped, as if by premeditated design, upon this
imposing platform, where the curtain was to fall forever upon the
mightiest emperor since Charlemagne, and where the opening scene of the
long and tremendous tragedy of Philip's reign was to be simultaneously
enacted. There was the Bishop of Arras, soon to be known throughout
Christendom by the more celebrated title of Cardinal Granvelle, the
serene and smiling priest whose subtle influence over the destinies of so
many individuals then present, and over the fortunes of the whole land,
was to be so extensive and so deadly. There was that flower of Flemish
chivalry, the, lineal descendant of ancient Frisian kings, already
distinguished for his bravery in many fields, but not having yet won
those two remarkable victories which were soon to make the name of Egmont
like the sound of a trumpet throughout the whole country. Tall,
magnificent in costume, with dark flowing hair, soft brown eye, smooth
cheek, a slight moustache, and features of almost feminine delicacy; such
was the gallant and ill-fated Lamoral Egmont. The Count of Horn; too,
with bold, sullen face, and fan-shaped beard-a brave, honest,
discontented, quarrelsome, unpopular man; those other twins in doom--the
Marquis Berghen and the Lord of Montigny; the Baron Berlaymont, brave,
intensely loyal, insatiably greedy for office and wages, but who, at
least, never served but one party; the Duke of Arschot, who was to serve
all, essay to rule all, and to betray all--a splendid seignor,
magnificent in cramoisy velvet, but a poor creature, who traced his
pedigree from Adam, according to the family monumental inscriptions at
Louvain, but who was better known as grand-nephew of the emperor's famous
tutor, Chiebres; the bold, debauched Brederode, with handsome, reckless
face and turbulent demeanor; the infamous Noircarmes, whose name was to
be covered with eternal execration, for aping towards his own compatriots
and kindred as much of Alva's atrocities and avarice, as he was permitted
to exercise; the distinguished soldiers Meghen and Aremberg--these, with
many others whose deeds of arms were to become celebrated throughout
Europe, were all conspicuous in the brilliant crowd. There, too, was
that learned Frisian, President Viglius, crafty, plausible, adroit,
eloquent--a small, brisk man, with long yellow hair, glittering green
eyes, round, tumid, rosy cheeks, and flowing beard. Foremost among the
Spanish grandees, and close to Philip, stood the famous favorite, Ruy
Gomez, or as he was familiarly called "Re y Gomez" (King and Gomez), a
man of meridional aspect, with coal-black hair and beard, gleaming eyes,
a face pallid with intense application, and slender but handsome figure;
while in immediate attendance upon the emperor, was the immortal Prince
of Orange.

Such were a few only of the most prominent in that gay throng, whose
fortunes, in part, it will be our humble duty to narrate; how many of
them passing through all this glitter to a dark and mysterious doom!--
some to perish on public scaffolds, some by midnight assassination;
others, more fortunate, to fall on the battle-field--nearly all, sooner
or later, to be laid in bloody graves!

All the company present had risen to their feet as the emperor entered.
By his command, all immediately afterwards resumed their places. The
benches at either end of the platform were accordingly filled with the
royal and princely personages invited, with the Fleece Knights, wearing
the insignia of their order, with the members of the three great
councils, and with the governors. The Emperor, the King, and the Queen
of Hungary, were left conspicuous in the centre of the scene. As the
whole object of the ceremony was to present an impressive exhibition, it
is worth our while to examine minutely the appearance of the two
principal characters.

Charles the Fifth was then fifty-five years and eight months old; but he
was already decrepit with premature old age. He was of about the middle
height, and had been athletic and well-proportioned. Broad in the
shoulders, deep in the chest, thin in the flank, very muscular in the
arms and legs, he had been able to match himself with all competitors in
the tourney and the ring, and to vanquish the bull with his own hand in
the favorite national amusement of Spain. He had been able in the field
to do the duty of captain and soldier, to endure fatigue and exposure,
and every privation except fasting. These personal advantages were now
departed. Crippled in hands, knees and legs, he supported himself with
difficulty upon a crutch, with the aid of, an attendant's shoulder. In
face he had always been extremely ugly, and time had certainly not
improved his physiognomy. His hair, once of a light color, was now white
with age, close-clipped and bristling; his beard was grey, coarse, and
shaggy. His forehead was spacious and commanding; the eye was dark blue,
with an expression both majestic and benignant. His nose was aquiline
but crooked. The lower part of his face was famous for its deformity.
The under lip, a Burgundian inheritance, as faithfully transmitted as the
duchy and county, was heavy and hanging; the lower jaw protruding so far
beyond the upper, that it was impossible for him to bring together the
few fragments of teeth which still remained, or to speak a whole sentence
in an intelligible voice. Eating and talking, occupations to which he
was always much addicted, were becoming daily more arduous, in
consequence of this original defect, which now seemed hardly human,
but rather an original deformity.

So much for the father. The son, Philip the Second, was a small, meagre
man, much below the middle height, with thin legs, a narrow chest, and
the shrinking, timid air of an habitual invalid. He seemed so little,
upon his first visit to his aunts, the Queens Eleanor and Mary,
accustomed to look upon proper men in Flanders and Germany, that he was
fain to win their favor by making certain attempts in the tournament, in
which his success was sufficiently problematical. "His body," says his
professed panegyrist, "was but a human cage, in which, however brief and
narrow, dwelt a soul to whose flight the immeasurable expanse of heaven
was too contracted." [Cabrera] The same wholesale admirer adds, that
"his aspect was so reverend, that rustics who met him alone in a wood,
without knowing him, bowed down with instinctive veneration." In face,
he was the living image of his father, having the same broad forehead,
and blue eye, with the same aquiline, but better proportioned, nose.
In the lower part of the countenance, the remarkable Burgundian deformity
was likewise reproduced. He had the same heavy, hanging lip, with a
vast mouth, and monstrously protruding lower jaw. His complexion was
fair, his hair light and thin, his beard yellow, short, and pointed.
He had the aspect of a Fleming, but the loftiness of a Spaniard. His
demeanor in public was still, silent, almost sepulchral. He looked
habitually on the ground when he conversed, was chary of speech,
embarrassed, and even suffering in manner. This was ascribed partly to a
natural haughtiness which he had occasionally endeavored to overcome, and
partly to habitual pains in the stomach, occasioned by his inordinate
fondness for pastry. [Bodavaro]

Such was the personal appearance of the man who was about to receive into
his single hand the destinies of half the world; whose single will was,
for the future, to shape the fortunes of every individual then present,
of many millions more in Europe, America, and at the ends of the earth,
and of countless millions yet unborn.

The three royal personages being seated upon chairs placed triangularly
under the canopy, such of the audience as had seats provided for them,
now took their places, and the proceedings commenced. Philibert de
Bruxelles, a member of the privy council of the Netherlands, arose at the
emperor's command, and made a long oration. He spoke of the emperor's
warm affection for the provinces, as the land of his birth; of his deep
regret that his broken health and failing powers, both of body and mind,
compelled him to resign his sovereignty, and to seek relief for his
shattered frame in a more genial climate. Caesar's gout was then
depicted in energetic language, which must have cost him a twinge as he
sat there and listened to the councillor's eloquence. "'Tis a most
truculent executioner," said Philibert: "it invades the whole body, from
the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, leaving nothing
untouched. It contracts the nerves with intolerable anguish, it enters
the bones, it freezes the marrow, it converts the lubricating fluids of
the joints into chalk, it pauses not until, having exhausted and
debilitated the whole body, it has rendered all its necessary instruments
useless, and conquered the mind by immense torture." [Godelaevus]

[The historian was present at the ceremony, and gives a very full
report of the speeches, all of which he heard. His imagination may
have assisted his memory in the task. The other reporters of the
councillor's harangue have reduced this pathological flight of
rhetoric to a very small compass.]

Engaged in mortal struggle with such an enemy, Caesar felt himself
obliged, as the councillor proceeded to inform his audience, to change
the scene of the contest from the humid air of Flanders to the warmer
atmosphere of Spain. He rejoiced, however, that his son was both
vigorous and experienced, and that his recent marriage with the Queen of
England had furnished the provinces with a most valuable alliance. He
then again referred to the emperor's boundless love for his subjects, and
concluded with a tremendous, but superfluous, exhortation to Philip on
the necessity of maintaining the Catholic religion in its purity. After
this long harangue, which has been fully reported by several historians
who were present at the ceremony, the councillor proceeded to read the
deed of cession, by which Philip, already sovereign of Sicily, Naples,
Milan, and titular King of England, France, and Jerusalem, now received
all the duchies, marquisates, earldoms, baronies, cities, towns, and
castles of the Burgundian property, including, of course, the seventeen
Netherlands.

As De Bruxelles finished, there was a buzz of admiration throughout the
assembly, mingled with murmurs of regret, that in the present great
danger upon the frontiers from the belligerent King of France and his
warlike and restless nation, the provinces should be left without their
ancient and puissant defender. The emperor then rose to his feet.
Leaning on his crutch, he beckoned from his seat the personage upon whose
arm he had leaned as he entered the hall. A tall, handsome youth of
twenty-two came forward--a man whose name from that time forward, and as
long as history shall endure, has been, and will be, more familiar than
any other in the mouths of Netherlanders. At that day he had rather a
southern than a German or Flemish appearance. He had a Spanish cast of
features, dark, well chiselled, and symmetrical. His head was small and
well placed upon his shoulders. His hair was dark brown, as were also
his moustache and peaked beard. His forehead was lofty, spacious, and
already prematurely engraved with the anxious lines of thought. His eyes
were full, brown, well opened, and expressive of profound reflection.
He was dressed in the magnificent apparel for which the Netherlanders
were celebrated above all other nations, and which the ceremony rendered
necessary. His presence being considered indispensable at this great
ceremony, he had been summoned but recently from the camp on the
frontier, where, notwithstanding his youth, the emperor had appointed him
to command his army in chief against such antagonists as Admiral Coligny
and the Due de Nevers.

Thus supported upon his crutch and upon the shoulder of William of
Orange, the Emperor proceeded to address the states, by the aid of a
closely-written brief which he held in his hand. He reviewed rapidly the
progress of events from his seventeenth year up to that day. He spoke of
his nine expeditions into Germany, six to Spain, seven to Italy, four to
France, ten to the Netherlands, two to England, as many to Africa, and of
his eleven voyages by sea. He sketched his various wars, victories, and
treaties of peace, assuring his hearers that the welfare of his subjects
and the security of the Roman Catholic religion had ever been the leading
objects of his life. As long as God had granted him health, he
continued, only enemies could have regretted that Charles was living and
reigning, but now that his strength was but vanity, and life fast ebbing
away, his love for dominion, his affection for his subjects, and his
regard for their interests, required his departure. Instead of a
decrepit man with one foot in the grave, he presented them with a
sovereign in the prime of life and the vigor of health. Turning toward
Philip, he observed, that for a dying father to bequeath so magnificent
an empire to his son was a deed worthy of gratitude, but that when the
father thus descended to the grave before his time, and by an anticipated
and living burial sought to provide for the welfare of his realms and the
grandeur of his son, the benefit thus conferred was surely far greater.
He added, that the debt would be paid to him and with usury, should
Philip conduct himself in his administration of the province with a wise
and affectionate regard to their true interests. Posterity would applaud
his abdication, should his son Prove worthy of his bounty; and that could
only be by living in the fear of God, and by maintaining law, justice,
and the Catholic religion in all their purity, as the true foundation of
the realm. In conclusion, he entreated the estates, and through them the
nation, to render obedience to their new prince, to maintain concord and
to preserve inviolate the Catholic faith; begging them, at the same time,
to pardon him all errors or offences which he might have committed
towards them during his reign, and assuring them that he should
unceasingly remember their obedience and affection in his every prayer to
that Being to whom the remainder of his life was to be dedicated.

Such brave words as these, so many vigorous asseverations of attempted
performance of duty, such fervent hopes expressed of a benign
administration in behalf of the son, could not but affect the
sensibilities of the audience, already excited and softened by the
impressive character of the whole display. Sobs were heard throughout
every portion of the hall, and tears poured profusely from every eye.
The Fleece Knights on the platform and the burghers in the background
were all melted with the same emotion. As for the Emperor himself, he
sank almost fainting upon his chair as he concluded his address. An ashy
paleness overspread his countenance, and he wept like a child. Even the
icy Philip was almost softened, as he rose to perform his part in the
ceremony. Dropping upon his knees before his father's feet, he
reverently kissed his hand. Charles placed his hands solemnly upon his
son's head, made the sign of the cross, and blessed him in the name of
the Holy Trinity. Then raising him in his arms he tenderly embraced him.
saying, as he did so, to the great potentates around him, that he felt a
sincere compassion for the son on whose shoulders so heavy a weight had
just devolved, and which only a life-long labor would enable him to
support. Philip now uttered a few words expressive of his duty to his
father and his affection for his people. Turning to the orders, he
signified his regret that he was unable to address them either in the
French or Flemish language, and was therefore obliged to ask their
attention to the Bishop of Arras, who would act as his interpreter.
Antony Perrenot accordingly arose, and in smooth, fluent, and well-turned
commonplaces, expressed at great length the gratitude of Philip towards
his father, with his firm determination to walk in the path of duty, and
to obey his father's counsels and example in the future administration of
the provinces. This long address of the prelate was responded to at
equal length by Jacob Maas, member of the Council of Brabant, a man of
great learning, eloquence and prolixity, who had been selected to reply
on behalf of the states-general, and who now, in the name of these;
bodies, accepted the abdication in an elegant and complimentary harangue.
Queen Mary of Hungary, the "Christian widow" of Erasmus, and Regent of
the Netherlands during the past twenty-five years, then rose to resign
her office, making a brief address expressive of her affection for the
people, her regrets at leaving them, and her hopes that all errors which
she might have committed during her long administration would be forgiven
her. Again the redundant Maas responded, asserting in terms of fresh
compliment and elegance the uniform satisfaction of the provinces with
her conduct during her whole career.

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