John III of Egmont

Dutch noble
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroDutch noble
PlacesNetherlands
wasNoble
Work fieldRoyals
Gender
Male
Birth3 April 1438, Hattem
Death21 August 1516Egmond (aged 78 years)
Family
Father:William IV, Lord of Egmont
Children:John IV of Egmont Walburga of Egmont George van Egmond
The details

Biography

John III of Egmont (or Egmond) (Hattem, April 3, 1438 – Egmond, August 21, 1516) was first Count of Egmont, Lord of Baer, Lathum, Hoogwoude, Aarstwoude, Purmerend, Purmerland and Ilpendam, and Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and West-Friesland.

Biography

John was a son of William II of Egmont and Walburga van Meurs.

As his father, he supported the pro-Burgundian party in the battle for controle of Guelders.

In 1465 he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where he was received into the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre.

When Charles the Bold came to power in Guelders, John was made bailiff of West-Friesland and governor of Arnhem in 1474.

For his role in the Hook and Cod wars, Maximilian of Austria made him Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and West-Friesland in 1483, a function he held until 1515. He also became Knight in the order of the Golden Fleece.

In 1491 he was confronted with the Bread and Cheese Revolt, a popular uprising in West-Friesland, which he crushed with the support of Albert III, Duke of Saxony.

Some portraits of John of Egmont are kept in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and the Centraal Museum of Utrecht. A diptych, painted by the Master of Alkmaar, is kept in the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York.

Egmond coat of arms

Marriage and Children

John married in 1484 with Magdalena van Werdenburg, a cousin of Maximilian of Austria, and had 10 children, amongst whom:

  • Walburga of Egmont (1490–1529), first wife of William I, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, father of William of Orange.
  • John IV (1499–1528), his successor.
  • George (ca. 1504 - 1559), Bishop of Utrecht.

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