History
They were one of the principal noble families of the County of Holland during the Middle Ages. The family rose to power due to its hereditary position as Voogd (Advocate) of the powerful Egmond Abbey in North Holland, which was destroyed during the beeldenstorm (iconoclast fury) in the Reformation. and later became the Lords of Egmond. Thanks to a number of judicious marriages they were able to add the strategically important Lordship of IJsselstein and the semi-sovereign territory of the Lords of Arkel to their domains.
The family achieved even greater prominence in the period of Burgundian and Habsburg rule over the Netherlands. In the late 15th century, the senior branch became the sovereign Dukes of Guelders, whilst the younger branch split into the Counts of Egmond (elevated to become Princes of Gavere in 1553) and the Counts of Buren and Leerdam. The senior branches of the family died out in the 16th and 17th centuries, but illegitimate branches (such as that of the Bavarian Counts of Geldern-Egmond) flourished well into the 20th century.
Anna van Egmond-Buren, known as Anna van Buren in the Netherlands, was the first wife of the influential prince William the Silent, the leader of the Dutch Revolt that was to lay the basis for the establishment of a united and independent state in the northern Netherlands.
The Irish Perceval family, which claims descent from the house of Egmond, was admitted to the Irish peerage as Earls of Egmont in 1722.
Read more about this topic: House Of Egmond
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