House of Ligne

Ligne
Ligne
Current region	Belgium
Place of origin	Ligne in Belgium
Distinctions	Princes de Ligne
Estate(s)	Château de Belœil

Ligne is one of the oldest Belgian noble families, dating back to the eleventh century.[1] The family's name comes from the village in which it originated, between Ath and Tournai.

Château de Belœil

History

The lords of Ligne belonged to the entourage of the Count of Hainaut at the time of the Crusades.[2] With the battle of Bouvines in 1214, they were described as "great name and men of honour" by the chroniclers of the time.

Their progressive rise in the nobility began as barons in the twelfth century, counts of Fauquemberg and princes of Épinoy in the sixteenth century, then princes of Amblise in 1608.[1] The family became Imperial counts on 18 December 1544, then Lamoral I received from Emperor Rudolf II the title of Prince of the Holy Roman Empire as Prince de Ligne on 20 March 1601,[1] for all of his agnatic descendants, both male and female.

Compensation for loss of the Imperial County of Ligne (Fagnolles, since that barony had become seat of the county in 1789) as a result of the Peace of Lunéville consisted of substitution of the secularized Imperial abbey of Edelstetten, with an individual vote guaranteed in the Imperial College of Princes in 1803.[1] That principality was, however, sold to Prince Nikolaus Esterházy on 22 May 1804,[1] before the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire, of which Edelstetten had been a constituent Imperial state, in 1806.

The style of Highness was confirmed for all members of extant branches of the family on 31 May 1923, and the titles of Prince d'Amblise and Prince d'Epinoy recognized for the head of the house on 22 October of the same year by the Belgian Crown.[1]

There have been cadet branches of this house: Barbançon, Barbançon-Arenberg, Moy, Ham and Arenberg, La Trémoïlle.

Full coat of arms of the House of Ligne

Abbots and abbesses

Within this family, there were the following abbots and abbesses:

Gérard de Ligne (†1270) Abbot de Cambrai
Mahaut de Ligne (c. 1275) Abbess d'Epinlieu
Marie de Ligne (c. 1500) Abbess de Mons
Marie de Ligne (c. 1550) Abbess de Cambrai
Catherine de Ligne (†1581) Abbess de Thorn (La Thure)

Princes de Ligne [3][4]

Lamoral I, 1st Prince de Ligne (of the Holy Roman Empire) 1601-1624 (1563-1624)
- Florent de Ligne, 1st Prince d'Amblise 1608-1622 (1588-1622)
  - Albert Henri, 2nd Prince 1624-1641 (1615-1641)
  - Claude Lamoral I, 3rd Prince 1641-1679 (1618-1679)
    - Henri Louis Ernest, 4th Prince 1679-1702 (1644-1702)
      - Antoine Joseph Ghislain, 5th Prince 1702-1750 (1682-1750)
      - Claude Lamoral II, 6th Prince 1750-1766 (1685-1766)
        Charles-Joseph, 7th Prince 1766-1814 (1735-1814)
        Prince Louis-Eugene de Ligne (1766-1813)
        Eugène I, 8th Prince 1814-1880 (1804-1880)
        Prince Henri Maximilien de Ligne (1824-1871)
        Louis, 9th Prince 1880-1918 (1854-1918)
        
        Ernest, 10th Prince 1918-1937 (1857-1937)
        Eugène II, 11th Prince 1937-1960 (1893-1960)
        Baudouin, 12th Prince 1960-1985 (1918-1985)
        
        Antoine, 13th Prince 1985-2005 (1925-2005)
        Michel, 14th Prince 2005–present (born 1951)
        Hereditary Prince Henri Antoine (born 1989)
        
        Prince Wauthier de Ligne (born 1952)
        Prince Philippe de Ligne (born 1977)
        
        Prince Antoine de Ligne (born 1959)
        Prince Louis de Ligne (born 2003)
        
        Prince Charles-Joseph de Ligne (1837-1914)
        Prince Henri Florent Lamoral of Ligne (1881-1967)
        Jean Charles, Prince de Ligne de La Trémoïlle (1911-2005)
        Charles-Antoine, Prince de Ligne de La Trémoïlle (born 1946), see below

Other members of the family

Claimants to the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, Armenia, and Naples:

Charles-Antoine, Prince de Ligne de La Trémoïlle (1946-), third cousin once removed of Michel, 14th Prince de Ligne, see above
- Prince Edouard Lamoral de Ligne de La Trémoïlle (1976-), heir
- Prince Charles Joseph de Ligne-La Trémoïlle (born 1980)
  - Prince Amadeo Joseph de Ligne-La Trémoïlle (born 2012)

Princess Sophie de Ligne (born 1957), of the House of Ligne, married Philippe de Nicolay (born 1955) a director of the Rothschild group, great-grandson of Salomon James de Rothschild and member of the Nicolay family

Arms of the House of Ligne

The coat of arms of the family is blazoned as Or a bend gules.[5]

Heraldic shield of the House of Ligne
Armorial achievement with princely hat and mantle
Arms of the branch of Barbançon
Arms of the branch of Ham
Arms of the branch of Moÿ
Arms of the branch of La Trémoïlle

Notes

Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIV. "Ligne". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, pp. 495-500. ISBN 978-3-7980-0700-0.
"Ducal and princely houses of Belgium - Belgium Travel Guide - Eupedia". Eupedia.
Marek, Miroslav. "ligne/ligne2.html". genealogy.euweb.cz.
Marek, Miroslav. "ligne/ligne3.html". genealogy.euweb.cz.
Arnaud Bunel. "Maison de Ligne". heraldique-europeenne.org. Archived from the original on 2011-06-13. Retrieved 2008-02-04.

External links

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[ghda-1] Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIV. "Ligne". C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, pp. 495-500. ISBN 978-3-7980-0700-0.

[2] "Ducal and princely houses of Belgium - Belgium Travel Guide - Eupedia". Eupedia.

[3] Marek, Miroslav. "ligne/ligne2.html". genealogy.euweb.cz.

[4] Marek, Miroslav. "ligne/ligne3.html". genealogy.euweb.cz.

[5] Arnaud Bunel. "Maison de Ligne". heraldique-europeenne.org. Archived from the original on 2011-06-13. Retrieved 2008-02-04.