Balthazar Ayala (1548–1584) was a military judge in the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands were the parts of the Low Countries that were ruled by sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. This rule began in 1482 and ended for the Northern Netherlands in 1581 and for the Southern Netherlands in 1797. ...

during the opening decades of the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

who wrote an influential treatise on the law of war.

Life

Ayala was born in Antwerp in 1548, the son of a Spanish cloth merchant, Gregorio Ayala, and his wife Agnes Rainalmia, a native of Cambrai. Jules Delecourt, "Ayala (Balthazar)", ''

Biographie Nationale de Belgique The ''Biographie nationale de Belgique'' (; ) is a biographical dictionary of Belgium. It was published by the Royal Academy of Belgium in 44 volumes between 1866 and 1986. A continuation series, entitled the ''Nouvelle Biographie Nationale'' (, ...

''
vol. 1
(Brussels, 1866), 571-573. He studied at Leuven University, graduating licentiate of laws. On 27 May 1580 the Prince of Parma appointed him auditor general of the

Army of Flanders The Army of Flanders (; ) was a field army of the Spanish Army based in the Spanish Netherlands between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was one of the longest-serving field armies of the early modern era, being founded in 1567 and disbanded in 170 ...

. On 20 January 1583, he was appointed master of requests in the

Great Council of Mechelen From the 15th century onwards, the Great Council of the Netherlands at Mechelen (Dutch: ; French: ; German: ) was the highest court in the Burgundian Netherlands. It was responsible for the Dutch-, French- and German-speaking areas. In Luxembourg ...

, then sitting in

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

as a result of the unfolding

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Reformation, centralisation, exc ...

. In 1584 he was royal commissioner for the renewal of the magistracy in

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

Herentals Herentals () is a municipality and city in the province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises the city of Herentals proper and the towns of Morkhoven and Noorderwijk. In 2022, Herentals had a total population of 28,455. The total area is . Saint ...

and Lier. He died in Aalst on 1 September 1584, probably while acting in the same capacity there. Of his five brothers, Grégoire was also military auditor and later a member of the

Council of Brabant The Council of Brabant was the highest law court in the historic Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant, a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire, was established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant of 1085–1183, a ...

, and Philippe was entrusted with an embassy to Henri IV of France.

Works

* ''De jure et officiis bellicis et disciplina militari'' (Douai,

Jan Bogard Jean Bogard (died around 1634) was a printer in Leuven and Douai in the 16th and 17th centuries. Life Bogard was born in Leuven around the mid-16th century and from 1564 was working as a printer in the city. E.-H.-J. Reusens, "Bogard (Jean)", ''Bio ...

, 1582). Second edition, Antwerp, 1597. ** English translation published in 1912 in the Carnegie Institution Classics of International Law series.Balthazar Ayala, ''Three Books on the Law of War and on the Duties Connected with War and on Military Discipline'', translated by John Pawley Bate, (Washington DC, 1912)
On Google Books
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ayala, Balthazar 1548 births 1584 deaths Military writers People from the Spanish Netherlands Jurists Old University of Leuven alumni