Book: The Great Events by Famous Historians, Vol. 1 20

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In order to unite so many minds in the prosecution of a common object, a
leader was still wanting, and a few influential names, to give political
weight to their enterprise. The two were supplied by Count Louis of
Nassau, and Henry Count Brederode, both members of the most illustrious
houses of the Belgian nobility, who voluntarily placed themselves at the
head of the undertaking. Louis of Nassau, brother of the Prince of
Orange, united many splendid qualities, which made him worthy of
appearing on so noble and important a stage. In Geneva, where he
studied, he had imbibed at once a hatred to the hierarchy and a love to
the new religion, and, on his return to his native country, had not
failed to enlist proselytes to his opinions. The republican bias which
his mind had received in that school kindled in him a bitter hatred of
all that bore the Spanish name, which animated his whole conduct, and
only left him with his latest breath. Popery and Spanish rule were in
his mind identical, as indeed they were in reality; and the abhorrence
which he entertained for the one helped to strengthen his dislike to the
other.

Closely as the brothers agreed in their inclinations and aversions, the
ways by which each sought to gratify them were widely dissimilar. Youth
and an ardent temperament did not allow the younger brother to follow
the tortuous course through which the elder wound himself to his object.
A cold, calm circumspection carried the latter slowly, but surely, to
his aim; and with a pliable subtlety he made all things subserve his
purpose; with a foolhardy impetuosity, which overthrew all obstacles,
the other at times compelled success, but oftener accelerated disaster.
For this reason William was a general, and Louis never more than an
adventurer; a sure and powerful arm, if only it were directed by a wise
head. Louis' pledge once given was good forever; his alliances survived
every vicissitude, for they were mostly formed in a pressing moment of
necessity, and misfortune binds more firmly than thoughtless joy. He
loved his brother as dearly as he did his cause, and for the latter he
died.

Henry of Brederode, Baron of Viane and Burgrave of Utrecht, was
descended from the old Dutch counts, who formerly ruled that province as
sovereign princes. So ancient a title endeared him to the people, among
whom the memory of their former lords still survived and was the more
treasured the less they felt they had gained by the change. This
hereditary splendor increased the self-conceit of a man upon whose
tongue the glory of his ancestors continually hung, and who dwelt the
more on former greatness, even amid its ruins, the more unpromising the
aspect of his own condition became. Excluded from the honors and
employments to which in his opinion his own merits and his noble
ancestry fully entitled him--a squadron of light cavalry being all that
was intrusted to him--he hated the Government, and did not scruple
boldly to canvass and to rail at its measures. By these means he won the
hearts of the people.

Besides these two, there were others also from among the most
illustrious of the Flemish nobles--the young Count Charles of Mansfeld,
a son of that nobleman whom we have found among the most zealous
royalists, the Count Kinlemburg, two counts of Bergen and of Battenburg,
John of Marnix, Baron of Thoulouse, Philip of Marnix, Baron of St.
Aldegonde, with several others, who joined the league, which about the
middle of November, in the year 1565, was formed at the house of Von
Hammes, king-at-arms of the Golden Fleece. Here it was that six men
decided the destiny of their country--as formerly a few confederates
consummated the liberty of Switzerland--kindled the torch of a
forty-years' war, and laid the basis of a freedom which they themselves
were never to enjoy.

The objects of the league were set forth in the following declaration,
to which Philip of Marnix was the first to subscribe his name: "Whereas
certain ill-disposed persons, under the mask of a pious zeal, but in
reality under the impulse of avarice and ambition, have by their evil
counsels persuaded our most gracious sovereign the King to introduce
into these countries the abominable tribunal of the Inquisition--a
tribunal diametrically opposed to all laws human and divine, and in
cruelty far surpassing the barbarous institutions of heathenism--which
raises the inquisitors above every other power, and debases man to a
perpetual bondage, and by its snares exposes the honest citizen to a
constant fear of death, inasmuch as anyone--priest, it may be, or a
faithless friend, a Spaniard or a reprobate--has it in his power at any
moment to cause whom he will to be dragged before that tribunal, and to
be placed in confinement, condemned and executed, without the accused
ever being allowed to face his accuser or to adduce proof of his
innocence--we, therefore, the undersigned, have bound ourselves to watch
over the safety of our families, our estates, and our own persons. To
this we hereby pledge ourselves, and to this end bind ourselves as a
sacred fraternity, and vow with a solemn oath to oppose to the best of
our power the introduction of this tribunal into these countries,
whether it be attempted openly or secretly, and under whatever name it
may be disguised. We at the same time declare that we are far from
intending anything unlawful against the King our sovereign; rather is it
our unalterable purpose to support and defend the royal prerogative, and
to maintain peace, and, as far as lies in our power to put down all
rebellion. In accordance with this purpose we have sworn, and now again
swear, to hold sacred the Government, and to respect both in word and
deed, which witness almighty God!

"Further, we vow and swear to protect and defend one another, in all
times and places, against all attacks whatsoever touching the articles
which are set forth in this covenant. We hereby bind ourselves that no
accusation of any of our followers, in whatever name it may be clothed,
whether rebellion, sedition, or other wise, shall avail to annul our
oath toward the accused or absolve us from our obligation toward him. No
act which is directed against the Inquisition can deserve the name of a
rebellion. Whoever, therefore, shall be placed in arrest on any charge,
we here pledge ourselves to assist him to the utmost of our ability, and
to endeavor by every allowable means to effect his liberation. In this,
however, as in all matters, but especially in the conduct of all
measures against the tribunal of the Inquisition, we submit ourselves to
the general regulations of the league, or to the decision of those whom
we may unanimously appoint our counsellors and leaders.

"In witness hereof, and in confirmation of this our common league and
covenant, we call upon the holy name of the living God, maker of heaven
and earth and of all that are therein, who searches the hearts, the
consciences, and the thoughts, and knows the purity of ours. We implore
the aid of his holy spirit, that success and honor may crown our
undertaking to the glory of his name and to the peace and blessing of
our country!"

This covenant was immediately translated into several languages and
quickly disseminated through the provinces. To swell the league as
speedily as possible, each of the confederates assembled all his
friends, relations, adherents, and retainers. Great banquets were held,
which lasted whole days--irresistible temptations for a sensual
luxurious people, in whom the deepest wretchedness could not stifle the
propensity for voluptuous living. Whoever repaired to these
banquets--and everyone was welcome--was plied with officious assurances
of friendship, and, when heated with wine, carried away by the example
of numbers and overcome by the fire of a wild eloquence. The hands of
many were guided while they subscribed their signatures; the hesitating
were derided, the pusillanimous threatened, the scruples of loyalty
clamored down; some even were quite ignorant what they were signing, and
were ashamed afterward to inquire. To many whom mere levity had brought
to the entertainment, the general enthusiasm left no choice, while the
splendor of the confederacy allured the mean, and its numbers encouraged
the timorous.

The abettors of the league had not scrupled at the artifice of
counterfeiting the signature and seals of the Prince of Orange, Counts
Egmont, Horn, Megen, and others, a trick which won them hundreds of
adherents. This was done especially with a view of influencing the
officers of the army, in order to be safe in this quarter if matters
should come at last to violence. The device succeeded with many,
especially with subalterns, and Count Brederode even drew his sword upon
an ensign who wished time for consideration. Men of all classes and
conditions signed it. Religion made no difference. Roman Catholic
priests even were associates of the league. The motives were not the
same with all, but the pretext was similar. The Roman Catholics desired
simply the abolition of the Inquisition and a mitigation of the edicts;
the Protestants aimed at unlimited freedom of conscience.

A few daring spirits only entertained so bold a project as the overthrow
of the present Government, while the needy and indigent based the vilest
hopes on a general anarchy. A farewell entertainment, which about this
very time was given to the Counts Schwarzenberg and Holle in Breda, and
another shortly afterward in Hogstraten, drew many of the principal
nobility to these two places, and of these several had already signed
the covenant. The Prince of Orange, Counts Egmont, Horn, and Megen were
present at the latter banquet, but without any concert of design, and
without having themselves any share in the league, although one of
Egmont's own secretaries and some of the servants of the other three
noblemen had openly joined it. At this entertainment three hundred
persons gave in their adhesion to the covenant, and the question was
mooted whether the whole body should present themselves before the
Regent armed or unarmed, with a declaration or with a petition? Horn and
Orange--Egmont would not countenance the business in any way--were
called in as arbiters upon this point, and they decided in favor of the
more moderate and submissive procedure. By taking this office upon them,
they exposed themselves to the charge of having in no very covert manner
lent their sanction to the enterprise of the confederates. In
compliance, therefore, with their advice it was determined to present
their address unarmed and in the form of a petition, and a day was
appointed on which they should assemble in Brussels.

The first intimation the Regent received of this conspiracy of the
nobles was given by the Count of Megen soon after his return to the
capital. "There was," he said, "an enterprise on foot; no less than
three hundred of the nobles were implicated in it; it referred to
religion; the members of it had bound themselves together by an oath;
they reckoned much on foreign aid; she would soon know more about it."
Though urgently pressed, he would give her no further information. "A
nobleman," he said, "had confided it to him under the seal of secrecy,
and he had pledged his word of honor to him." What really withheld him
from giving her any further explanation was, in all probability, not so
much any delicacy about his honor, as his hatred of the Inquisition,
which he would not willingly do anything to advance. Soon after him,
Count Egmont delivered to the Regent a copy of the covenant, and also
gave her the names of the conspirators, with some few exceptions. Nearly
at the same time the Prince of Orange wrote to her: "There was, as he
had heard, an army enlisted, four hundred officers were already named,
and twenty thousand men would presently appear in arms." Thus the rumor
was intentionally exaggerated, and the danger was multiplied in every
mouth.

The Regent petrified with alarm at the first announcement of these
tidings, and guided solely by her fears, hastily called together all the
members of the council of state who happened to be then in Brussels, and
at the same time sent a pressing summons to the Prince of Orange and
Count Horn, inviting them to resume their seats in the senate.

The members of the senate had not yet dispersed, when all Brussels
resounded with the report that the confederates were approaching the
town. They consisted of no more than two hundred horse, but rumor
greatly exaggerated their numbers. Filled with consternation, the Regent
consulted with her ministers whether it was best to close the gates on
the approaching party or to seek safety in flight. Both suggestions were
rejected as dishonorable; and the peaceable entry of the nobles soon
allayed all fears of violence. The first morning after their arrival
they assembled at Kuilemburg house, where Brederode administered to them
a second oath, binding them, before all other duties, to stand by one
another, and even with arms if necessary. At this meeting a letter from
Spain was produced, in which it was stated that a certain Protestant,
whom they all knew and valued, had been burned alive in that country by
a slow fire. After these and similar preliminaries he called on them one
after another, by name, to take the new oath, and renew the old one in
their own names and in those of the absent. The next day, April 5, 1566,
was fixed for the presentation of the petition. Their numbers now
amounted to between three hundred and four hundred. Among them were many
retainers of the high nobility, as also several servants of the King
himself and of the Duchess.

With the Counts of Nassau and Brederode at their head, and formed in
ranks of four by four, they advanced in procession to the palace; all
Brussels attended the unwonted spectacle in silent astonishment. Here
were to be seen a body of men, advancing with too much boldness and
confidence to look like supplicants, and led by two men who were not
wont to be petitioners and, on the other hand, with so much order and
stillness as do not usually accompany rebellion. The Regent received the
procession, surrounded by all her counsellors and the Knights of the
Fleece. "These noble Netherlanders," thus Brederode respectfully
addressed her, "who here present themselves before your highness, wish
in their own name, and of many others besides, who are shortly to
arrive, to present to you a petition, of whose importance, as well as of
their own humility, this solemn procession must convince you. I, as
speaker of this body, entreat you to receive our petition, which
contains nothing but what is in unison with the laws of our country and
the honor of the King."

"Never"--so ran the petition, which, according to some, was drawn up by
the celebrated Balduin--"never had they failed in their loyalty to their
King, and nothing now could be further from their hearts; but they would
rather run the risk of incurring the displeasure of their sovereign than
allow him to remain longer in ignorance of the evils with which their
native country was menaced, by the forcible introduction of the
Inquisition, and the continued enforcement of the edicts. They had long
remained consoling themselves with the expectation that a general
assembly of the states would be summoned to remedy these grievances; but
now that even this hope was extinguished, they held it to be their duty
to give timely warning to the Regent. They, therefore, entreated her
highness to send to Madrid an envoy, well disposed, and fully acquainted
with the state and temper of the times, who should endeavor to persuade
the King to comply with the demands of the whole nation, and abolish the
Inquisition, to revoke the edicts, and in their stead cause new and more
humane ones to be drawn up at a general assembly of the states. But, in
the mean while, until they could learn the King's decision, they prayed
that the edicts and the operations of the Inquisition be suspended."
"If," they concluded, "no attention should be paid to their humble
request, they took God, the King, the Regent and all her counsellors to
witness that they had done their part, and were not responsible for any
unfortunate result that might happen."

The following day the confederates, marching in the same order of
procession, but in still greater numbers--Counts Bergen and Kuilemberg
having in the interim joined them with their adherents--appeared before
the Regent in order to receive her answer. It was written on the margin
of the petition, and was to the effect "that entirely to suspend the
Inquisition and the edicts, even temporarily, was beyond her powers; but
in compliance with the wishes of the confederates, she was ready to
despatch one of the nobles to the King, in Spain, and also to support
their petition with all her influence. In the mean time she would
recommend the inquisitors to administer their office with moderation;
but in return, she should expect, on the part of the league, that they
should abstain from all acts of violence, and undertake nothing to the
prejudice of the Catholic faith." Little as these vague and general
promises satisfied the confederates, they were, nevertheless, as much as
they could have reasonably expected to gain at first.

The granting or refusing of the petition had nothing to do with the
primary object of the league. Enough for them at present that it was
once recognized; enough that it was now, as it were, an established
body, which by its power and threats might, if necessary, overawe the
Government. The confederates, therefore, acted quite consistently with
their designs, in contenting themselves with this answer, and referring
the rest to the good pleasure of the King. As, indeed, the whole
pantomime of petitioning had only been invented to cover the more daring
plan of the league, until it should have strength enough to show itself
in its true light; they felt that much more depended on their being able
to continue this mask, and on the favorable reception of their petition,
than on its speedily being granted. In a new memorial, which they
delivered three days after, they pressed for an express testimonial from
the Regent, that they had done no more than their duty, and been guided
simply by their zeal for the service of the King. When the Duchess
evaded a declaration, they even sent a person to repeat this request in
a private interview. "Time alone and their future behavior," she replied
to this person, "would enable her to judge of their designs."

The league had its origin in banquets, and a banquet gave it form and
perfection. On the very day that the second petition was presented,
Brederode entertained the confederates in Kuilemberg house. About three
hundred guests assembled; intoxication gave them courage, and their
audacity rose with their numbers. During the conversation one of their
number happened to remark that he had overheard the Count of Barlaimont
whisper in French to the Regent, who was seen to turn pale on the
delivery of the petitions, that "she need not be afraid of a band of
beggars (_gueux_);" in fact, the majority of them had by their bad
management of their incomes only too well deserved this appellation.
Now, as the very name of their fraternity was the very thing which had
most perplexed them, an expression was eagerly caught up, which, while
it cloaked the presumption of their enterprise in humility, was at the
same time appropriate to them as petitioners. Immediately they drank to
one another under this name, and the cry "Long live the Gueux!" was
accompanied with a general shout of applause. After the cloth had been
removed, Brederode appeared with a wallet over his shoulder, similar to
that which the vagrant pilgrims and mendicant monks of the time used to
carry; and after returning thanks to all for their accession to the
league, and boldly assuring them that he was ready to venture life and
limb for every individual present, he drank to the health of the whole
company out of a wooden beaker. The cup went round, and everyone uttered
the same vow as he set it to his lips. Then one after the other they
received the beggar's purse, and each hung it on a nail which he had
appropriated to himself. The shouts and uproar attending this buffoonery
attracted the Prince of Orange and Counts Egmont and Horn, who, by
chance, were passing the spot at the very moment, and on entering the
house were boisterously pressed by Brederode, as host, to remain and
drink a glass with them.[3]

[3] "But," Egmont asserted in his written defence, "we drank only
one single small glass, and thereupon they cried, 'Long live the
King and the Gueux!' This was the first time that I heard that
appellation, and it certainly did not please me. But the times
were so bad that one was often compelled to share in much that
was against one's inclination, and I knew not but I was doing an
innocent thing."

The entrance of three such influential personages renewed the mirth of
the guests, and their festivities soon passed the bounds of moderation.
Many were intoxicated; guests and attendants mingled together without
distinction, the serious and the ludicrous; drunken fancies and affairs
of state were blended one with another in a burlesque medley; and the
discussions on the general distress of the country ended in the wild
uproar of a bacchanalian revel. But it did not stop here; what they had
resolved on in the moment of intoxication, they attempted when sober to
carry into execution. It was necessary to manifest to the people in some
striking shape the existence of their protectors, and likewise to fan
the zeal of the faction by a visible emblem; for this end nothing could
be better than to adopt publicly this name of Gueux, and to borrow from
it the tokens of the association. In a few days the town of Brussels
swarmed with ash-gray garments, such as were usually worn by mendicant
friars and penitents. Every confederate put his whole family and
domestics in this dress. Some carried wooden bowls thinly overlaid with
plates of silver, cups of the same kind, and wooden knives; in short,
the whole paraphernalia of the beggar tribe, which they either fixed
around their hats or suspended from their girdles. Round the neck they
wore a golden or silver coin, afterward called the "Guesen penny," of
which one side bore the effigy of the King, with the inscription "True
to the King"; on the other side were seen two hands folded together,
holding a wallet, with the words "as far as the beggar's scrip." Hence
the origin of the name "Gueux," which was subsequently borne in the
Netherlands by all who seceded from popery and took up arms against the
King.

A name decides the whole issue of things. In Madrid that was called
rebellion which in Brussels was styled only a lawful remonstrance. The
complaints of Brabant required a prudent mediator; Philip II sent an
executioner, and the signal for war was given. An unparalleled tyranny
assailed both property and life.

The despairing citizens, to whom the choice of death was all that was
left, chose the nobler one on the battle-field. A wealthy and luxurious
nation loves peace, but becomes warlike as soon as it becomes poor. Then
it ceases to tremble for a life which is deprived of everything that had
made it desirable. In a moment the rage of rebellion seizes the most
distant provinces; trade and commerce are at a standstill, the ships
disappear from the harbors, the artisan abandons his workshop, the
rustic his uncultivated fields. Thousands fled to distant lands; a
thousand victims fell on the bloody field, and fresh thousands pressed
on; for divine, indeed, must that doctrine be for which men could die so
joyfully. All that was wanting was the last achieving hand, the
enlightened enterprising spirit, to seize on this great political crisis
and to mature the offspring of chance to the designs of wisdom. William
the Silent devoted himself, a second Brutus, to the great cause of
liberty. Superior to a timorous selfishness, he sent in to the throne
his resignation of offices which devolved on him objectionable duties,
and, magnanimously divesting himself of all his princely dignities, he
descended to a state of voluntary poverty, and became but a citizen of
the world. The cause of justice was staked upon the hazardous game of
battle; but the sudden levies of mercenaries and peaceful husbandmen
could not withstand the terrible onset of an experienced force. Twice
did the brave William lead his dispirited troops against the tyrant,
twice was he abandoned by them, but not by his courage.

Philip II sent as many reenforcements as the dreadful importunity of his
viceroy begged for. Fugitives whom their fatherland rejected sought a
new country on the ocean, and turned to satisfy, on the ships of their
enemy, the demon of vengeance and of want. Naval heroes were now formed
out of corsairs, and a marine collected out of piratical vessels; and
out of morasses arose a republic. Seven provinces threw off the yoke at
the same time, to form a new, youthful state, powerful by its waters and
its union and despair. A solemn decree of the whole nation deposed the
tyrant, and the Spanish name disappeared from all the laws.

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