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52-798: The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries , i.e., what is now the Netherlands , Belgium , Luxembourg , and most of the French departments of Nord ( French Flanders and French Hainaut ) and Pas-de-Calais ( Artois ). Also within this area were semi-independent fiefdoms, mainly ecclesiastical ones, such as Liège , Cambrai and Stavelot-Malmedy . The Seventeen Provinces arose from

104-557: A large number of people from the southern provinces emigrated north to the new republic. The centre of prosperity moved from cities in the south such as Bruges, Antwerp , Ghent , and Brussels to cities in the north, mostly in Holland, including Amsterdam , The Hague , and Rotterdam . To distinguish between the older and larger Low Countries of the Netherlands from the current country of the Netherlands, Dutch speakers usually drop

156-665: A part of the Duchy of Guelders, and the Duchy of Limburg was dependent on the Duchy of Brabant. The Lordship of Drenthe is sometimes considered part of the Lordship of Overijssel. On the other hand, the French-speaking cities of Flanders were sometimes recognised as a separate province. Therefore, in some lists Zutphen and Drenthe are replaced by There were a number of fiefdoms in the Low Countries that were not part of

208-545: A territory attained the status of an Estate, it could only lose that status under very few circumstances. A territory ceded to a foreign power ceased to be an Estate. From 1648 onwards, inheritance of the Estate was limited to one family; a territory inherited by a different family ceased to be an Estate unless the Emperor explicitly allowed otherwise. Finally, a territory could cease to be an Imperial Estate by being subjected to

260-669: Is likely that this system was first introduced under Emperor Sigismund , who is assumed to have commissioned the frescoes in Frankfurt city hall in 1414. As has been noted from an early time, this representation of the "imperial constitution" does not in fact represent the actual constitution of the Holy Roman Empire, as some imperial cities appear as "villages" or even "peasants". E.g. the four "peasants" are Cologne, Constance, Regensburg and Salzburg. The Burggrave of Stramberg (or Stromberg, Straburg, Strandeck, and variants)

312-901: The Burgundian Netherlands , a number of fiefs held by the House of Valois-Burgundy and inherited by the House of Habsburg in 1482, and held by Habsburg Spain from 1556. Starting in 1512, the Provinces formed the major part of the Burgundian Circle . In 1581, the Seven United Provinces seceded to form the Dutch Republic . After the Habsburg emperor Charles V had re-acquired the Duchy of Guelders from Duke William of Jülich-Cleves-Berg by

364-544: The County of Flanders , corresponding roughly with the present-day provinces of West Flanders , East Flanders and French Flanders . However, when the Dutch-speaking population of Belgium sought more rights in the 19th century, the word Flanders was reused, this time to refer to the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, which is larger and contains only part of the old county of Flanders (see Flemish Movement ). Therefore,

416-526: The County of Holland and the Bishopric of Utrecht . However, its territory grew, not only because of its success in warfare, but also because it thrived in times of peace. For example, the larger part of the Veluwe and the city of Nijmegen were given as collateral to Guelders by their cash-strapped rulers. On separate occasions, in return for loans from the treasury of Guelders, the bishop of Utrecht granted

468-671: The Eighty Years' War , which started in 1568. The seven northern provinces gained their independence as a republic called the Seven United Provinces . They were: The southern provinces, Flanders, Brabant, Namur, Hainaut, Luxembourg and the others, were restored to Spanish rule due to the military and political talent of the Duke of Parma , especially at the Siege of Antwerp (1584–1585) . Hence, these provinces became known as

520-763: The Guelders Wars and expanded his realm further north, to incorporate what is now the Province of Overijssel . He was not simply a man of war, but also a skilled diplomat, and was therefore able to keep his independence. He bequeathed the duchy to Duke William the Rich of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (also known as Wilhelm of Cleves). Following in the footsteps of Charles of Egmond, Duke William formed an alliance with France, an alliance dubiously cemented via his political marriage to French King Francis I 's niece Jeanne d'Albret (who reportedly had to be whipped into submission to

572-556: The Holy Roman Empire , located in the Low Countries . The duchy was named after the town of Geldern ( Gelder ) in present-day Germany . Though the present province of Gelderland (English also Guelders ) in the Netherlands occupies most of the area, the former duchy also comprised parts of the present Dutch province of Limburg as well as those territories in the present-day German state of North Rhine-Westphalia that were acquired by Prussia in 1713, which included

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624-467: The House of Egmond , which gained recognition of its title from Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg , but was unable to escape the political strife and internecine conflict that had so plagued the preceding House of Jülich-Hengebach, and more especially, the pressure brought to bear by the expansionist rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy . The first Egmond Duke, Arnold , suffered the rebellion of his son Adolf and

676-650: The Imperial ban (the most notable example involved Frederick V, Elector Palatine , who was banned in 1621 for his participation in the Bohemian Revolt ). In the German mediatization between 1803 and 1806, the vast majority of the Estates of the Holy Roman Empire were mediatised. They lost their Imperial immediacy and became part of other Estates. The number of Estates was reduced from about three hundred to about thirty. Mediatisation went along with secularisation:

728-956: The Spanish Crown . When the Netherlands revolted against King Philip II of Spain in the Dutch Revolt , the three northern quarters of Gelderland joined the Union of Utrecht and became part of the United Provinces upon the 1581 Act of Abjuration , while only the Upper Quarter remained a part of the Spanish Netherlands . At the Treaty of Utrecht , ending the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713,

780-402: The Spanish Netherlands . The County of Drenthe, surrounded by the other northern provinces, became de facto part of the Seven United Provinces, but had no voting rights in the Union of Utrecht and was therefore not considered a province. The northern Seven United Provinces kept parts of Limburg, Brabant, and Flanders during the Eighty Years' War (see Generality Lands ), which ended with

832-616: The Spanish Upper Quarter was again divided between Prussian Guelders ( Geldern , Viersen , Horst , Venray ), the United Provinces ( Venlo , Montfort , Echt ), Austria (this part continued as the duchy: Roermond , Niederkrüchten , Weert ), and the Duchy of Jülich ( Erkelenz ). In 1795 Guelders was finally conquered and incorporated by the French First Republic , and partitioned between

884-465: The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Artois and parts of Flanders and Hainaut ( French Flanders and French Hainaut ) were ceded to France in the course of the 17th and 18th centuries. By the mid-16th century, the Margraviate of Antwerp (Duchy of Brabant) had become the economic, political, and cultural centre of the Netherlands after its capital had shifted from the nearby Lordship of Mechelen to

936-600: The 1543 Treaty of Venlo , the Seventeen Provinces comprised: Each province had a distinct Coat of Arms. The States General of the Netherlands had itself its coat, a red shield with an armed golden lion. It was not always the same seventeen provinces represented at the Estates-General of the Netherlands . Sometimes, one delegation was included in another. In later years, the County of Zutphen became

988-459: The 16th century are often said to belong to the Dutch School ( Nederlandse School ). Although they themselves would not have objected to that term at that time, nowadays it may wrongly create the impression that they were from the current Netherlands. In fact, they were almost exclusively from current Belgium. The same confusion exists around the word Flanders . Historically, it applied to

1040-770: The Bench of the Rhine and the Bench of Swabia . Each of these had a collective vote. Similarly, Counts were grouped into four comital benches with one collective vote each: the Upper Rhenish Bench of Wetterau , the Swabian Bench, the Franconian Bench and the Westphalian Bench. No elector ever held multiple electorates; nor were electorates ever divided between multiple heirs. Hence, in

1092-580: The Council of Electors, each individual held exactly one vote. An example of this was when Charles Theodore , Elector Palatine, inherited the Electorate of Bavaria in 1777, the vote of the Palatinate was nullified. However, Electors who ruled states in addition to their electorates also voted in the Council of Princes; similarly, princes who also ruled comital territories voted both individually and in

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1144-650: The Council of Princes. Votes were held in right of the states, rather than personally. Consequently, an individual ruling several states held multiple votes; similarly, multiple individuals ruling parts of the same state shared a single vote. These rules were not formalized until 1582; before then, when multiple individuals inherited parts of the same state, they sometimes received a vote each. Votes were either individual or collective. Princes and senior clerics generally held individual votes (but such votes, as noted above, were sometimes shared). Prelates (abbots and priors) without individual votes were classified into two benches:

1196-458: The County of Zutphen in northern Hamaland by marriage. In the 12th and 13th centuries, Guelders quickly expanded downstream along the sides of the Maas , Rhine , and IJssel rivers and even claimed the succession in the Duchy of Limburg , until it lost the 1288 Battle of Worringen against Berg and Brabant . Guelders was often at war with its neighbours, not only with Brabant, but also with

1248-574: The Emperor's power were introduced. The creation of a new Estate required the assent of the College of Electors and of the College of Princes (see Reichstag below). The ruler was required to agree to accept Imperial taxation and military obligations. Furthermore, the Estate was required to obtain admittance into one of the Imperial Circles . Theoretically, personalist Estates were forbidden after 1653, but exceptions were often made. Once

1300-847: The House of Wassenberg, to the rank of Duke . After the Wassenberg line became extinct in 1371 following the deaths of Reginald II's childless sons Edward II (on 24 August, from wounds suffered in the Battle of Baesweiler ) and Reginald III (on 4 December), the ensuing Guelders War of Succession (1371 to 1379) saw William I of Jülich emerge victorious. William was confirmed in the inheritance of Guelders in 1379, and from 1393 onwards held both duchies in personal union (in Guelders as William I, and in Jülich as William III). In 1423 Guelders passed to

1352-468: The Netherlands"). Only he and his son ever used this title. The Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 determined that the Provinces should remain united in the future and inherited by the same monarch. After Charles V's abdication in 1555, his realms were divided between his son, Philip II of Spain , and his brother, Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor . The Seventeen Provinces went to his son, the king of Spain. Conflicts between Philip II and his Dutch subjects led to

1404-625: The Seventeen Provinces, mainly because they did not belong to the Burgundian Circle, but to the Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle . The largest of these were the Prince-Bishopric of Liège , including the County of Horne , and the Bishopric of Cambrai . The ethnically and culturally Dutch duchies of Cleves and Julich did not join either. In the north, there were also a few smaller entities like

1456-501: The abolition of most of the ecclesiastical Estates. This dissolution of the constitution of the structure of the empire was soon followed by the dissolution of the empire itself, in 1806. Rulers of Imperial States enjoyed precedence over other subjects in the Empire. Electors were originally styled Durchlaucht (Serene Highness), princes Hochgeboren (high-born) and counts Hoch- und Wohlgeboren (high and well-born). In

1508-576: The city of Brussels . Bruges (County of Flanders) had already lost its prominent position as the economic powerhouse of northern Europe, while Holland was gradually gaining importance in the 15th and 16th centuries. However, after the revolt of the seven northern provinces (1568), the Sack of Antwerp (1576), the Fall of Antwerp (1584–1585), and the resulting closure of the Scheldt river to navigation,

1560-598: The college of imperial princes ( Reichsfürstenrat ) and the college of imperial cities . Counts and nobles were not directly represented in the Diet in spite of their immediate status, but were grouped into "benches" ( Grafenbänke ) with a single vote each. Imperial Knights had immediate status but were not represented in the Diet . Imperial Estates could be either ecclesiastic or secular. The ecclesiastical Estates were led by: The secular Estates, most notably: Until 1582

1612-731: The comital benches. In the Reichstag in 1792 , for instance, the Elector of Brandenburg held eight individual votes in the Council of Princes and one vote in the Bench of Westphalia. Similarly, among ecclesiastics, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order held one individual vote in the Council of Princes and two in the Bench of the Rhine. The so-called imperial quaternions (German: Quaternionen der Reichsverfassung "quaternions of

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1664-571: The duchy's capital Geldern . Four parts of the duchy had their own centres, as they were separated by rivers: spatially separated from the Lower Quarters (Gelderland): The county emerged about 1096, when the first documented reference to Gerard III of Wassenberg as "Count of Guelders" occurred. It was then located on the territory of Lower Lorraine , in the area of Geldern and Roermond , with its main stronghold at Montfort (built 1260). Count Gerard's son Gerard II in 1127 acquired

1716-537: The duchy; in 1543, by the terms of the Treaty of Venlo , Duke William conceded the Duchy of Guelders to the Emperor. Emperor Charles V united Guelders with the Seventeen Provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands by the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 , and Guelders thus lost its independence. Charles abdicated in 1556 and decreed that the territories of the Burgundian Circle should be held by

1768-512: The départements of Roer and Meuse-Inférieure . The coat of arms of the region changed over time. William Thatcher, the lead character in the 2001 film A Knight's Tale played by Heath Ledger , claimed to be Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein from Gelderland so as to appear to be of noble birth and thus qualify to participate in jousting. Set in the late 1460s, the main character in Rafael Sabatini's 1929 novel The Romantic Prince

1820-591: The eighteenth century, the electors were upgraded to Durchläuchtigste (Most Serene Highness), princes to Durchlaucht (Serene Highness) and counts to Erlaucht (Illustrious Highness). Imperial States enjoyed several rights and privileges. Rulers had autonomy inasmuch as their families were concerned; in particular, they were permitted to make rules regarding the inheritance of their states without imperial interference. They were permitted to make treaties and enter into alliances with other Imperial States as well as with foreign nations. The electors, but not

1872-502: The imperial constitution"; from Latin quaterniō "group of four soldiers") were a conventional representation of the Imperial States of the Holy Roman Empire which first became current in the 15th century and was extremely popular during the 16th century. Apart from the highest tiers of the emperor , kings , prince-bishops and the prince electors , the estates are represented in groups of four . The number of quaternions

1924-507: The island of Ameland that would retain their own lords until the French Revolution . Historians came up with different variations of the list, but always with 17 members. This number could have been chosen because of its Christian connotation. The Seventeen Provinces originated from the Burgundian Netherlands . The dukes of Burgundy systematically became the lords of different provinces. Mary I of Valois, Duchess of Burgundy

1976-409: The last one being the Duchy of Guelders , in 1543. Most of these provinces were fiefs of the Holy Roman Empire . Two provinces, the County of Flanders and the County of Artois, were originally French fiefs, but sovereignty was ceded to the Empire in the Treaty of Cambrai in 1529. On 15 October, 1506, in the palace of Mechelen, the future Charles V was recognized as Heer der Nederlanden ("Lord of

2028-628: The major divisions of Germany under the Salian dynasty , but they became increasingly obsolete during the early high medieval period under the Hohenstaufen , and they were finally abolished in 1180 by Frederick Barbarossa in favour of more numerous territorial divisions. From 1489, the Imperial Estates represented in the Diet were divided into three chambers, the college of prince-electors ( Kurfürstenkollegium/den Kurfürstenrat ),

2080-635: The marriage, and later bodily carried to the altar by the Constable of France , Anne de Montmorency ). This alliance emboldened William to challenge Emperor Charles V's claim to Guelders, but the French, mightily engaged on multiple fronts as they were in the long struggle to against the Habsburg "encirclement" of France , proved less reliable than the Duke's ambitions required, and he was unable to hold on to

2132-518: The other rulers, were permitted to exercise certain regalian powers, including the power to mint money, the power to collect tolls and a monopoly over gold and silver mines. From 1489 onwards, the Imperial Diet was divided into three collegia : the Council of Electors , the Council of Princes, and the Council of Cities. Electoral states belonged to the Council of Electors; other states, whether ecclesiastical or secular, belonged to

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2184-471: The plural for the latter. They speak of Nederland in the singular for the current country and of de Nederlanden in the plural for the integral domains of Charles V. In other languages, this has not been adopted, though the larger area is sometimes known as the Low Countries in English. The fact that the term Netherlands has such different historical meanings can sometimes lead to difficulties in expressing oneself correctly. For example, composers from

2236-448: The reversion (i.e., the right of succession to the throne) from Duke Arnold, who, against the will of the towns and the law of the land, pledged his duchy to Charles for 300,000 Rhenish florins. The bargain was completed in 1472–73, and upon Arnold's death in 1473, Duke Charles added Guelders to the "Low Countries" portion of his Valois Duchy of Burgundy . Upon Charles' defeat and death at the Battle of Nancy in January 1477, Duke Adolf

2288-438: The taxation and administration of the Veluwe, and William II – Count of both Holland and Zeeland , and who was elected anti-king of the Holy Roman Empire (1248–1256) – similarly granted the same rights over Nijmegen; as neither ruler proved able to repay their debts, these lands became integral parts of Guelders. In 1339 the Emperor Louis IV of Wittelsbach elevated Count Reginald II of Guelders (also styled Rainald), of

2340-420: The territory of the County of Flanders and that of present-day Flanders do not fully match: This explains, for instance, why the province of East Flanders is not situated in the east of present-day Flanders. Imperial state The system of imperial states replaced the more regular division of Germany into stem duchies in the early medieval period. The old Carolingian stem duchies were retained as

2392-451: The votes of the Free and Imperial Cities were only advisory. None of the rulers below the Holy Roman Emperor ranked as kings, with the exception of the Kings of Bohemia . The status of Estate was normally attached to a particular territory within the Empire, but there were some reichsständische Personalisten , or "persons with Imperial statehood". Originally, the Emperor alone could grant that status, but in 1653, several restrictions on

2444-556: Was raised at the Burgundian court of Charles the Bold and fought for the House of Habsburg in battles against the armies of Charles VIII of France , until being captured in the Battle of Béthune (1487) during the War of the Public Weal (also known as the Mad War ). In 1492, the citizens of Guelders, who had become disenchanted with the rule of Maximilian, ransomed Charles and recognized him as their Duke. Charles, now backed by France , fought Maximilian's grandson Charles of Habsburg (who became Holy Roman Emperor, as Charles V, in 1519) in

2496-431: Was an unknown entity even at the time. The representation of imperial subjects is also far from complete. The "imperial quaternions" are, rather, a more or less random selection intended to represent pars pro toto the structure of the imperial constitution. Duchy of Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( Dutch : Gelre , French : Gueldre , German : Geldern ) is a historical duchy , previously county , of

2548-441: Was imprisoned by the latter in 1465. Adolf, who had enjoyed the support of Burgundian Duke Philip III ("the Good") and of the four major cities of Guelders during his rebellion, was unwilling to strike a compromise with his father when this was demanded by Philip's successor, Duke Charles the Bold . Charles had Duke Adolf captured and imprisoned in 1471 and reinstated Arnold on the throne of the Duchy of Guelders. Charles then bought

2600-429: Was released from prison by the Flemish , but died the same year at the head of a Flemish army besieging Tournai , after the States of Guelders had recognized him once more as Duke. Subsequently, Guelders was ruled by Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I , husband of Charles the Bold's daughter and heir, Mary . The last independent Duke of Guelders was Adolf's son Charles of Egmond (1467–1538, r. 1492–1538), who

2652-480: Was the last of the House of Burgundy . Mary married Archduke Maximilian in 1477, and the provinces were acquired by the House of Habsburg on her death in 1482, with the exception of the Duchy of Burgundy itself, which, with an appeal to Salic law , had been reabsorbed into France upon the death of Mary's father, Charles the Bold . Maximilian and Mary's grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain, eventually united all 17 provinces under his rule,

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2704-399: Was usually ten, in descending order of precedence Dukes ( Duces ), Margraves ( Marchiones ), Landgraves ( Comites Provinciales ), Burggraves ( Comites Castrenses ), Counts ( Comites ), Knights ( Milites ), Noblemen ( Liberi ), Cities ( Metropoles ), Villages ( Villae ) and Peasants ( Rustici ). The list could be shortened or expanded, by the mid-16th century to as many as 45. It

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