House of Ligne

The Coat of Arms of the House of Ligne.

Château de Belœil

The House of Ligne is one of the oldest Belgian noble families, dating back to the eleventh century. Its name comes from the village in which it originated, between Ath and Tournai. The lords of Ligne belonged to the entourage of the Count of Hainaut at the time of the Crusades. 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. Lamoral I received from the emperor Rudolf II the titles of Prince of Ligne and Prince of the Holy Roman Empire. There are cadet branches of this house: Brabançon, Brabançon-Arenberg, Moy, Ham and Arenberg.

Abbots and abbesses

Within this house there were the following abbots and abbesses:

• Gérard de Ligne (+1270) Abott 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

List of the Princes of Ligne:

1. Lamoral I, 1st Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1563-1624).
2. Albert Henri, 2nd Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1615-1641)
3. Claude Lamoral I, 3rd Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1618-1679)
4. Henri Louis Ernest, 4th Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1644-1702)
5. Antoine Joseph Ghislain, 5th Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1682-1750)
6. Claude Lamoral II, 6th Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1685-1766)
7. Charles-Joseph, 7th Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1735-1814)
8. Eugène, 8th Prince of Ligne and of the Holy Roman Empire (1804-1880)
9. Louis, 9th Prince of Ligne (1854-1918)
10. Ernest, 10th Prince of Ligne (1857-1937)
11. Eugène II, 11th Prince of Ligne (1893-1960)
12. Baudouin, 12th Prince of Ligne (1918-1985)
13. Antoine, 13th Prince of Ligne (1925-2005)
14. Michel, 14th Prince of Ligne (1951-)

Other members of the House of Ligne

Pretenders to the Kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, Armenia, and Naples:

• Charles-Antoine Lamoral, prince de Ligne de La Trémoïlle (1946-), third cousin once removed of Michel
  • Heir: Prince Edouard Lamoral de Ligne de La Trémoïlle (1976-)

Arms of the House

Or a bend gules. ^[1]

References

http://membres.lycos.fr/behgnam2/ligne-b.htm

Notes