Georges de Lalaing, comte de Rennenberg

Georges de Lalaing ° ~1536 + 22 or 23/07/1581 (Groningen)
- baron de Ville then
- graaf (count) of Rennebourg (~1576),
- Governor of Friesland (1576, appointed by the States-General), delivers his Government to the Spaniards (Groningen, 03/03/1580),
- captain of a band of ordinance,
- colonel of a Walloon infantry regiment,
- Chief of Finances for the States-General

(his arms differ from those of Hoogstraeten by keeping the maternal arms: "Quartered: to 1 & 4, de Lalaing plein; on 2 & 3, argent, two chevrons azure (Rennebourg); and, on the whole: quarterly, on 1 & 4, argent, a lion gules, crowned & armed azure, the tail forked in saltire; on 2 & 3, gules, a star of sixteen points argent (Luxembourg-Fiennes)")

without alliance
X) links with ???

Pattou, Etienne. “Famille & Seigneurs De Lalaing.” Racines et Histoire
__________

Georges de Lalaing

Count of Rennebourg, Baron, then Marquis de Ville, Governor of Friesland and the Overyssel country, was the second son of Philippe de Lalaing, Count of Hooehstraten, Knight of the Order of the Fleece of 'Or, Governor General of the Duchy of Guelders, and of Anne de Rennebourg, former Canoness of Thore, daughter heiress of Guillaume, Count of Rennebourg.

Following the example of his brother, he followed the career of arms, was first captain of a band of ordinance, then colonel of ten ensigns of infantry, and was named, in 1576, by provision, to the government of Friesland. He succeeded in subjugating the town of Groningen and the Ommelanden to the party of the States-General, and, notwithstanding his numerous services, he was on the point of seeing himself replaced in his government of Friesland. It was nevertheless maintained there, and made great improvements there by a wise and far-sighted administration. In 1578 he made himself master of the town of Campen and of Deventer, the principal town of the Overyssel, and this notwithstanding the help which the Prince of Parma sent there on several occasions.

When the union of Utrecht was concluded, the Count of Rennebourg at first made a strong opposition to it, and did not want to join it, claiming that this political act was posed at without the knowledge of the Archduke, and only tended to bring about a split between some provinces and the states-general: however, he soon rallied to it, at first with some restriction, and, shortly afterwards, completely, on June 1, 1579. He signed this act in his capacity as governor of Friesland, of the country of Overyssel, Groningen and Ommelanden, Drenthe and Lingen.

Up to now the Comte de Rennebourg had rendered great services to the party of national independence, but from this period, it seems, and perhaps from earlier, date the first secret negotiations for his reconciliation with the Spain, which however did not have an immediate follow-up. It was not until the following year (1580) that he entered into serious negotiations with the Duke of Terranova, through the intermediary of a man named Guislain le Bailly. Some attribute his defection to his zeal for the Catholic religion, others only attribute it to the desire to keep his properties, located largely in the Walloon provinces reconciled with Spain. Be that as it may, it appears that the disunity which reigned among the Confederates also contributed to it; he was, moreover, solicited there by his relatives and his friends, and Alexander Farnese neglected nothing to attract to his party a lord whose talents and influence could be so useful to the cause of Spain. Finally, in the month of January 1580, his sister Cornélie de Lalaing, accompanied by her husband, the Baron de Monceaux, came to see the count at Koeverden; many secret interviews took place there with Guislain le Bailly, and it was then, it seems, that the conditions of reconciliation to which the count, yielding to the solicitations of his sister, ends up subscribing.

According to these conditions, the count would be confirmed, by letters patent from the king, in his government of Friesland and Overyssel, and would receive a pension of twenty thousand florins. — The king would erect the land of Ville into a marquisate. 'We'll make sure to include him in the first promotion of the Knights of the Golden Fleece. — The Prince of Parma would give him two regiments which he would dispose of as colonel. — They would charge him twenty thousand gold crowns as soon as the treaty was concluded, etc.

For a long time the States-General, and especially the Prince of Orange, suspected the fidelity of the Comte de Rennebourg; he was summoned under the pretext of consulting him on important matters, but he took care not to comply with this invitation. The Prince of Orange went to Campen, and vainly endeavored to retain the count in his duty. Finally, on March 2, 1580, at five o'clock in the morning, the count lifted his mask, seized Groningen in the name of the king, caused the magistrates to be renewed, drove from the city or took prisoner all those who were devoted to the party of the estates. generals, and renewed the oath of fidelity to Philip II.

After this coup de main, Rennebourg sent letters to the Ommelanden to attract them to his party; but this approach was unsuccessful. That same evening the town of Groningen was surrounded by the troops of the states who began the siege of it; but, after some time, they were forced to withdraw.

Shortly after, the Count of Rennebourg still rendered great services to the cause of Spain. He seized the ort of Aduwarderzyl, defeated in the Bourtango, the troops of the Count of Hohenlo, and seized Koeverden and Oldenzeel. From there he proceeded towards Zwolle with the intention of besieging that town; but feeling too weak to undertake it, he traversed the country, concentrated his troops, and prepared for the siege of Steenwyck.

In this siege, the Count of Rennebourg fired on the city with red balls, an invention which had been used for the first time, five years before, at the siege of Danzig. More than seventy houses were devoured by the fire; but notwithstanding this formidable means of destruction, the town held out, and was aided by the English Colonel Norritz. Rennebourg was obliged to raise the siege (February 22, 1581).

After this check, his troops traversed the Ommelanden, and made themselves mistresses of all the territory as far as near Dokkum, in Friesland; but soon the troops of the Estates resumed one place after another, and drove back the soldiers of Rennebourg as far as the walls of Groningen, took from them four pieces of cannon and several flags, killed seven hundred men and wounded a considerable number.

The Count of Rennebourg was not present at this defeat; since the check against Steenwyck, he had retired to Groningen, suffering from a cruel illness which the harshness of the season, and above all the regret of having tarnished his glorious reputation by an unworthy defection, had not caused. only get worse; he died there of consumption on July 22, 4581, the very day of his army's defeat.

Groningen 1565

In the last days of his illness, he spoke only of Groningen, regretting that he had ever known that city; he refused to see his sister Cornélie, whom he considered the cause of his downfall. He was mourned by his friends and adversaries: he was, say Hooft and de Thou, a mild, polite man, zealous for military discipline, brave, liberal, even beyond his strength, an enemy of violence, cruelty, and drunkenness. The historian P. Bor adds that he was well versed in Latin, Greek and other languages, in various liberal arts and in the sciences; that he was a very pleasant conversationalist, without pride, a great lover of music and playing various stringed instruments.
His death was kept secret until July 29, for it was feared that the soldiers, learning of his death, would claim their arrears and revolt.

He was replaced in his government by François Verdugo.

The Count of Rennebourg died without issue; he had never married.

Brassart, Felix, Société Académique, editor. Souvenirs De La Flandre Wallonne, Catalogue des Nobels de Nom, de Lalaing, Dix-Septieme, L. Crépin, 1882. un Comite Historique et Archeologique: Memories of Walloon Flanders: pp. 76-78.
__________

The siege of Deventer was a siege of the city of Deventer by States troops under George van Lalaing, count of Rennenberg, from 3 August to 19 November 1578 during the Eighty Years' War. It was besieged in an attempt by the States-General of the Netherlands to better protect the regions of Holland and Utrecht from Spanish plundering. Since 1572 the city had been held by the German Polweiler-regiment for the Spanish Empire on behalf of Don John of Austria. After Lalaing had put into practice a number of pieces of strategic advice from Johan van den Kornput, the city was prepared to negotiate a surrender and on 19 November 1578 handed itself over to States troops. (Wikipedia.nl)

Siege of Deventer (1578), part of the 80 years War