ÉRARD DE LA MARCK--THE PRINCIPALITY IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
Jean de Horne was Bishop of Liége for twenty-three years, during which
the diocese was seldom free from party warfare. At the time of his
death, in 1506, the family of Arenberg was so strong and popular that
the Chapter of St. Lambert chose Érard de la Marck, the Wild Boar's
nephew, as Bishop.[60] He came to the episcopal throne resolved to end
the strife of factions and the family feuds which had been the sources
of such misery. He forbade his subjects, under pain of banishment, to
rake up the old causes of dispute. He declined to hear those who came
to him bearing tales against their neighbours. He chose the officers
of his Court without enquiring into their political opinions, and
let it be seen that, so long as the law was obeyed and public order
maintained, no one was to be called in question for anything which
might have happened in the past.
His foreign policy was equally wise. The Principality of Liége lay
between two mighty neighbours, and at first the Bishop's aim was to
remain neutral in any disputes which might arise between the Emperor
and the King of France. But when, on the death of Maximilian, Charles
V. and Francis I. were rivals for the imperial crown, he went to the
Diet at Frankfort, and supported the claims of Charles. From that
time the Principality, though independent of the rest of Belgium,
which formed part of the dominions of Charles V., was in as close
relations with the German Empire as the electorate of Cologne and
other ecclesiastical fiefs.[61] The bishops, chosen by the Chapter of
Liége, and confirmed by the Pope, were invested by the Emperor with the
secular power, and belonged to the Westphalian circle of the German
confederation.
In the strong hands of Bishop Érard the Principality had one of its
rare intervals of peace. He found the city of Liége in debt, and the
public service disordered by want of money. Many plans for raising
funds were laid before him. He examined them all, and then said to
his council: 'If you will leave everything to me for four years, I
promise to meet all your debts, and put your finances in order without
oppressing anyone, and without imposing new taxes.' This offer was
accepted, and, so great was his talent for business, in two years Liége
was free from all liabilities. During his reign almost every trace of
the destruction wrought by Charles the Bold disappeared. The citadel of
Dinant was restored. Huy and other places rose from their ashes, and
the Bishops' Palace, which stands in the Place St. Lambert at Liége
(the _Palais de Justice_ of to-day), was built. He died in 1538, having
kept the turbulent community of Liége quiet for thirty years.
When the religious troubles of the sixteenth century first began
the reformed doctrines made rapid progress, and the persecutors
were busy in Hainaut, Artois, and other Walloon districts in the
south-west of Belgium and along the French border. Almost the whole
population of Tournai in Hainaut was Calvinist. But the Principality
of Liége, governed by the bishop-princes, and independent of Spain,
did not suffer like the rest of the Netherlands during the struggle.
Nevertheless, before the death of Érard de la Marck the spirit of
revolt against the Church of Rome had touched the valley of the
Meuse; and, in 1532, Jean Camolet, a Carmelite father, came to Liége
empowered by the Pope to conduct an inquisition. The claim of the
Holy See to interfere with civil government was known to the people;
and the magistrates published a declaration that the judges of the
land were the only persons who had the right to deal with offences
of any kind committed by the citizens. The Bishop told them that the
inquisitor was sent by the Pope only to make enquiry into the beliefs
of those who were suspected of heresy, not to interfere with the
ordinary courts of law, and that there was no intention of setting up
the Spanish Inquisition in the diocese. But the magistrates replied:
'We have our own laws. Our own judges can deal with civil and criminal
cases. In matters of religion our own ecclesiastical courts are the
only competent tribunals, and we will not permit any infringement of
our ancient privileges.' Érard de la Marck, who was far too wise a
man to risk the dangers of a revolution, took upon himself the
responsibility of enquiry into cases of heresy, and thus saved the
Principality from civil war.
[Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF DINANT]
But, at a later period, when the Netherlands were in revolt from end
to end, and William of Orange was engaged in his stupendous contest
with Philip II., Gérard de Groisbeck, who was Bishop from 1565 to 1580,
found himself in a position of peculiar difficulty. The Principality
was at the mercy of both parties. The reformers pillaged the abbeys
of Hastière and St. Hubert, and held a great meeting at St. Trond,
where the famous battle-cry of 'Vivent les Gueux!' was shouted, and
defiance hurled at Philip and at Rome by a tumultuous assemblage under
the leadership of Brederode. The Prince of Orange himself, driven out
of Brabant, demanded a free passage for his army, and endeavoured
to obtain possession of Liége. In this he failed, but a garrison of
Spanish troops was sent to occupy the town, and the Bishop had to risk
the enmity of Alva by refusing to admit them. At the Pacification of
Ghent, in 1576, the Principality of Liége was invited to join the
United Provinces of the Netherlands; but the people were, like the
Walloons in the other parts of Belgium, intensely Catholic, and the
invitation was refused. Bishop de Groisbeck was resolved to maintain
the neutrality of his domains. Liége, he announced with consent of the
three estates, was to remain a neutral State, and take no part in the
quarrels of its neighbours. By this means he hoped to protect it from
the ravages of war, and, on the whole, he succeeded, though there was
fighting from time to time in the Valley of the Meuse, and the Siege
of Maestricht, with all the horrors which followed the capture of that
town, took place almost at his own door. His ideas of neutrality,
however, may be gathered from the fact that he sent 4,000 miners from
his coal-mines to help the besiegers of Maestricht. But the Walloons
were, at that time, Catholic beyond any other of the Belgian races, and
if the 'cry of agony which was distinctly heard at the distance of a
league,' which arose from the heroic defenders as the Spaniards rushed
in, could have reached Liége, it probably would not have touched the
hearts of many among the Liégeois. At all events, the Bishop's policy
was rewarded by a comparatively tranquil reign, disturbed only by a
series of petty squabbles with the magistrates of Liége, who claimed
the right of holding the keys of the town, a right which the Bishop
maintained belonged to him.
Gérard de Groisbeck died in 1580. There had often been a question
whether it would not be better for the people of Liége if the bishops
were chosen without regard to their family connections. Men of high
position, it was said, born in palaces, and accustomed from their birth
to flattery and the deference paid to social rank, were more likely to
be overbearing and ambitious than persons of humbler station. On the
other hand, it was argued that a small, turbulent State, surrounded
by powerful neighbours, required a ruler who could both secure useful
alliances against foreign aggressors, and command the respect and
obedience of his own subjects. De Groisbeck had always thought that the
Bishop of Liége should be chosen from some royal family; and on his
death-bed he recommended as his successor Prince Ernest of Bavaria,
grandson of the Emperor Ferdinand.
When the time came for the election of a new bishop the States-General
of the United Netherlands, and the Courts of Spain and France, each
brought forward a candidate, but the Chapter of Liége, wishing to
remain neutral between these rival interests, decided in favour of
Prince Ernest of Bavaria.
A description of his coming to Liége may give some idea of the
ceremonies which attended the installation of the bishop-princes. On
June 15, the day of his arrival, the magistrates went to meet him on
the outskirts of the town, and placed in his hands a copy of the oath
which his predecessors had always sworn: that he would maintain all
the privileges of the townsmen and their municipal laws, and would
never encroach on their liberties, nor allow them to be encroached on
by others. The Prince having taken this oath, the keys of the town
were presented to him. He returned them to the burgomasters with the
words: 'Hitherto you have guarded them faithfully, and I leave them
in your hands.' Then the Bishop's horse was led forward to the gate,
but as he drew near one of the company of crossbow-men stepped forward
and closed it. The attendants shouted, 'Open for the Prince!' but the
gate remained closed till a town servant had three times demanded in
name of the burgomasters that it should be opened, when this quaint
formality came to an end, and the Prince rode under the archway.
Within the walls he was met by the guild of crossbow-men, to whom
he promised the preservation of all their rights, privileges, and
liberties, after which the procession marched on, led by a member of
the Equestrian Order bearing the sword of state. Next came a band of
mounted halberdiers, riding before the governors of the chief towns,
who were clothed in mantles of embroidered silk. These were followed
by the lords and gentry of the Principality. Philip de Croy, Prince
of Chimay, was there at the head of 150 horsemen, together with the
Prince of Arenberg, the Duke of Juliers, the Duke of Bavaria, and a
long calvacade of nobles from other parts of Belgium, and from foreign
lands, each with a numerous retinue of cavaliers. The Bishop-Prince
himself came last, riding between the burgomasters of Liége, and
attended by 800 gentlemen-at-arms. A triumphal arch had been erected
in the street, on which stood a number of gaily dressed maidens. When
the Prince reached it the procession stopped, and from the top of the
arch a large wooden pineapple, representing the arms of the town,
was lowered into the roadway to the sound of music. It opened, and a
beautiful young girl came out, who recited some verses in honour of the
day, and presented the Prince with a gilded basket full of jewelled
ornaments and silver cups. In the market-place there were three stages.
On the first were four boys, representing the ecclesiastical estate,
who presented a golden statue as a symbol of the Christian Faith. At
the second a sword of honour, decorated with gold and precious stones,
was given by the estate of nobles. A golden heart was the offering of
the third estate. Close at hand there was a platform, on which a man of
the common people knelt before a judge, holding in his hands a scroll,
on which were the words, 'Let both sides be heard.'
At the door of the Cathedral of St. Lambert the leader of the choir
laid his hand on the Prince's saddle to signify that, by ancient
custom, he claimed the horse and its trappings as the perquisites of
his office. When the procession had entered the building the canons
welcomed the Bishop in the name of the Chapter, clothed him in a
rich cassock, and conducted him to the high altar, where, the Bishop
kneeling and the whole assemblage of nobles and Churchmen standing
round, the oath sworn by every Bishop of Liége was read aloud.
By this oath he bound himself to maintain unaltered all the rights
of the diocese. If he became a cardinal, he must defend these rights
before the Holy See at Rome, and, above all, the right of the Chapter
to elect the Bishops of Liége. He must not alienate any portion of
the Principality without the consent of the Chapter, nor suffer the
country to become tributary to any foreign State. His usual place of
residence must be within the Principality, and if he had to leave it
for a time he must return when his presence was deemed necessary in the
interests of the people. He must impose no taxes without the consent of
the three estates. He must not abandon any of the national strongholds,
and the commanders at such places as the castles of Bouillon, Huy, and
Dinant must be natives of the country. No foreigner might hold any
office of State; and the Privy Council must be composed of canons and
other persons who had taken the oath of fidelity to the Chapter. No
alliances must be made, no war declared, and no engagements of any kind
entered into with foreign Princes without leave from the Chapter.
These are only a few of the many obligations which were imposed upon
the Princes of Liége. Ernest of Bavaria swore to them all, but it was
soon apparent that it was impossible for the Principality to hold
aloof from all connection with external politics. By this time the
Reformation had triumphed in the greater part of Germany; but the House
of Bavaria remained firmly attached to the Catholic Church, and when
Gérard Truchses, Archbishop of Cologne, and William de Meurs, Bishop
of Münster, abandoned the old faith, the vacant Sees were conferred
on Prince Ernest, who thus not only held three bishoprics at the
same time, but had to defend his position by force of arms against
the Protestant princes. He spent most of his time in Germany, while
the Principality of Liége was entered by Spanish and Dutch troops,
who behaved with equal harshness to the inhabitants. A small party
of Dutchmen surprised the castle of Huy and took it, though without
any lives being lost on either side. Prince Ernest complained on the
ground that the Principality was neutral, but the Dutch replied, and
with perfect truth, that the neutrality of Liége was a mere pretence,
as the Bishop was an active partisan on the side of their enemies. He,
therefore, asked help from the Spaniards, by whom Huy was stormed and
recaptured after a stout resistance. But, on the whole, it appears
that, in spite of the strict orthodoxy of the Liégeois, the Catholics
were even more unpopular than the Protestants, for the Archduke Albert
having complained that the countryfolk showed more animosity against
his soldiers than against the Dutch, he was told that people generally
hated those most who did them most harm. Prince Ernest himself
spoke bitterly of the way in which money was extorted for the support
of the Spanish garrisons in the Ardennes.
[Illustration: THE ROMANESQUE CHURCH, HASTIÈRE]
It was not till the Twelve Years' Truce was concluded between the
'Archdukes' Albert and Isabella and the States-General that the
Principality was freed from the incursions of foreign troops. This was
in 1609. Three years later Ernest of Bavaria died, and was succeeded in
the episcopal thrones of Liége and Cologne by his nephew Ferdinand.
FOOTNOTES.
[Footnote 60: Érard's father was Robert, Prince of Sedan, Count of
Arenberg, la Marck, and Cleves, and brother of William de la Marck, the
Boar of Ardennes.]
[Footnote 61: It may be convenient to remind some readers that Charles
V.'s father was Philip, son of Maximilian and the Duchess Marie,
daughter of Charles the Bold, and that his mother was Joanna, daughter
of Ferdinand of Spain. On the death of Philip he succeeded to the
Netherlands, on the death of Ferdinand to Spain, and on the death of
Maximilian the Electors of Germany made him Emperor.]