Gaspar Schetz (1513–1580), Lord of

Grobbendonk Grobbendonk () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp (). The municipality comprises the towns of Bouwel and Grobbendonk proper. In 2021, Grobbendonk had a total population of 11,249. The total area is 28.36 km2. The ...

Hereditary Marshal of Brabant The Marshal of Brabant (''erfmaarschalk van Brabant/ maréchal-héreditaire de Brabant'') is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title at the Court of Brabant. History During war the Marshal was responsible for the safekeeping of abbe ...

was a financier and statesman 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. ...

. For reasons that are unknown he was nicknamed "Corvinus".

Life

Gaspar Schetz was born in

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

on 20 July 1513, the son of

Erasmus II Schetz Erasmus II Schetz, sometimes Scets (died 1550), was a Flemish nobleman. Lord of Grobbendonk He was born as son of Conrad I Schetz who married in 1485 to Maria Crans di Roscara, daughter of Mathieu Roscara. He lived in Maastricht, and came to ...

, Lord of Usbach and Grobbendonk, and Ida Van Rechtergem. Active in finance and commerce, he maintained a lively interest in literature. From

Charles de Brimeu Charles de Brimeu (1524 or 1525 – 1572 in Zwolle) was the last count of Megen, Meghem, lord of Humbercourt, of Houdain and Éperlecques. He was grandson of Guy of Brimeu, who was beheaded in Ghent. He became the last ceremonial Hereditary Marsha ...

, the last lord of Meghem, he purchased the lordship of

Wezemaal Rotselaar () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, Flemish-Brabant, near the convergence of the Demer and the Dijle. Since 1 January 1977 the municipality comprises the towns of ...

, which brought with it the title of hereditary marshal of the

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, and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries. The Duchy comprised part of the Bu ...

Career and power

By letters patent of 25 November 1555

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

appointed Schetz royal factor in Antwerp. In 1564 he was made treasurer general of the royal finances in the Low Countries. In the early years of the

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 ...

he was highly active in seeking ways to keep 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 ...

paid regularly, and in the negotiations to secure the new bishoprics, founded in 1559, a regular income from the assets held by the medieval abbeys of the Low Countries. He was among those who invited Archduke Matthias to the Low Countries in 1578. Gaspard was even very respected by the Dutch aristocracy, even the duke of Alva wrote to the King of Spain: ''Schetz is their living God, they all swear in his faith! '' On 5 March 1579, Grobbendonk Castle was plundered and razed, Schetz's library going up in flames. In the same year, he took part in the peace talks at Cologne seeking the basis for a reconciliation between the Estates General and the King. He published a dialogue promoting his own perspective under the title ''Viri, pietate, moderatione, doctrinâque clarissimi, dialogus de Pace, rationes, quibus Belgici tumultus, inter Philippum, serenissimum et potentissimum Hispaniæ regem, et subditos, hoc rerum statu componi possint, explicans'' (Antwerp and Cologne, 1579). He died at

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

on 9 November 1580.

Family

His first wife was Margaretha van de Brugge, his second Catharina van Ursel, the daughter of

Lancelot II of Ursel Ladislaus / Lanseloet', sometimes Lanschot van Ursele or Lancelot II of Ursel (1499–1573), Knight, was Mayor of Antwerp. Family His ancestors were all members of political dynasties in Antwerp, his father John III of Ursel was Schepen of An ...

. His first wife gave him two children. But Catherine succeeded and gave birth to 13 children. Descendants of Gaspard II Schetz x Catharina van Ursel: * Lancelot I Schetz * Isabeau Schetz * Agnes Schetz * Johan Karel Schetz, (1552-1595): Protonotary Apost. and Canon of the Cathedral in Liege; Chancellor of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

, died in Spain. * Nicolas Melchior Schetz, Baron of Wesemael: He had the succession of his brother Conrard questioned in 1623. * Conrad III Schetz, (1553–1632) 1st Baron of Hoboken who became father of the 1st Count of Ursel. *

Anthonie II Schetz Anthonie Schetz (1564, Antwerp - 1640 or 1641, Brussels), was a Flemish military commander in Spanish service during the Eighty Years' War. He was baron (and from 1637 count) of Grobbendonk, lord of Tilburg and Goirle, Pulle, and Pulderbos, and W ...

, (1564-1640) 1st Count of Grobbendonk. **

Lancelot II Schetz Lancelot II Schetz (1604-1664), 2nd Count of Grobbendonk, baron of Wezemaal, lord of Durbuy, Tilburg, etc., was a Netherlandish nobleman and a military commander during the later stages of the Eighty Years' War. Schetz was the eldest son and heir ...

, 2nd Count of Grobbendonk. ** Ignace Schetz, Bishop of Ghent.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schetz, Gaspar 1513 births 1580 deaths Businesspeople from Antwerp People from the Habsburg Netherlands Ursel family People from Grobbendonk