Johanna Maria van der Gheynst (also called ''Jeanne Marie van der Gheynst'', ''Johanna Maria van der Gheenst''; - 15 December 1541) was briefly the

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...

Emperor Charles V Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) fr ...

in 1521-1522 and the mother of one of his daughters,

Margaret of Parma Margaret (; 5 July 1522 – 18 January 1586) was Duchess of Parma from 1547 to 1586 as the wife of Duke Ottavio Farnese and Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1559 to 1567 and from 1578 to 1582. She was the illegitimate daughter of Ch ...

. Margaret served as

Governor of the Spanish Netherlands The governor () or governor-general () of the Habsburg Netherlands was a representative appointed by the Holy Roman emperor (1504-1556), the king of Spain (1556-1598, 1621-1706), and the archduke of Austria (1716-1794), to administer the Burgundi ...

from 1559 to 1567 and from 1580 to 1583.

Life

Johanna Maria van der Gheynst was the daughter of the

carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of Pile (textile), pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fiber, synthetic fibres such as polyprop ...

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

Gilles Johan van der Gheynst and his wife Johanna van der Caye van Cocambi. Her parents lived at Nukerke near

Oudenaarde Oudenaarde (; ; in English sometimes ''Oudenarde'') is a Belgium, Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of East Flanders. The municipality ...

. She entered the service of

Charles I de Lalaing Charles de Lalaing, baron and later 1st count of Lalaing, lord of Escornaix (1466 – Oudenaarde, July 18, 1525). Life Charles was born as the eldest son of Joost de Lalaing, from a family of landowners from Hainaut. He was married to Jac ...

, Governor of Oudenaarde and Seigneur of Montigny. The young Emperor Charles V met the beautiful Johanna when he visited the castle of the Seigneur of Montigny in autumn 1521. Their short affair produced a daughter who was named Margaret and put in the care of the De Douvrin family in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

. Charles V did not conceal his liaison with Johanna and in July 1529 he acknowledged Margaret as his daughter. Margaret would eventually become Governess-General of the Netherlands. The Emperor granted Johanna van der Gheynst a modest pension. On 13 October 1525 she married Jean van den Dyke, a

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

and member of the Brabant Chamber of Accounts. The couple had several children. Johanna died in 1541, her husband on 1 September 1572.

References

* Alfred Kohler: ''Karl V.'' C. H. Beck, second edition, Munich 2000, p. 85. * C.P. Serrure ''Sur la naissance de Marguerite de Parme, gouvernante des Pays-Bas'', Ghent, 1836
On Google Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gheynst, Johanna Maria van der Mistresses of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor 1500s births 1541 deaths Year of birth uncertain