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- BIOGRAPHY
Johan was born on 15 October 1452, the son of Johan II 'metten Lippen' de Glymes, Heer van Glymes, Bergen-op-Zoom and Marguerite de Rouvroy, daughter of Gaucher de Rouvroy and Jeanne de Wavrin. About 12 December 1487 Johan married Adrienne de Brimeu, daughter of Guy de Brimeu, seigneur de Meghen et d'Humbercourt and Antoinette de Rambures. Johan and Adrienne had seven children, of whom three would have progeny.
As a young man, Johan joined the court of Charles 'the Bold' where he became a counsellor-chamberlain. On 7 October 1472 he was appointed master of the hunt for Brabant. He took part in the siege of Neuss in 1474-75, and was captured at the Battle of Nancy (5 January 1477); he was freed after payment of a large ransom.
Johan was by nature and inclination involved in diplomacy and politics, although he sometimes participated in military activities, such as the Battle of Guinegatte (7 August 1479). At the chapter of Bois-le-Duc of 9 May 1481, Johan was made a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece. He owed his important position above all to Maximilian of Austria and later to his daughter Archduchess Margaretha, regent of the Netherlands. In 1485 he was appointed first chamberlain to Maximilian's son, the young Archduke Philip 'the Handsome'. On 19 August 1485 he was appointed as both governor-captain general and sovereign bailiff of the county of Namur. On 25 December 1487 he sat at the newly created Council of Finances.
In the conflict between Maximilian and the Flemish (1488-1492), he strongly supported Maximilian. After Philip 'the Handsome' reached his majority in August 1493, Johan was appointed his first counsellor-chamberlain, and was keeper of the seals. On March 1497 he became one of four chamberlain-treasurers on the Council of Finances.
In 1501 Johan escorted Philip 'the Handsome' on his first journey to Spain. At Toledo an argument between the prince and his counsellor led to Johan's disgrace. On 23 July 1502 Johan and his brother Hendrik, bishop of Cambrai and president of the Privy Council, were dismissed from their posts in the Netherlands. The cause for the disagreement was the new policy that Philip wished to pursue, abandoning the friendship with England and seeking closer ties with France. Openly pro-English, also for economic reasons (the trade in cloth at Bergen-op-Zoom), Johan was relieved of all his functions. After the death of Philip 'the Handsome' in 1506, Johan's influence re-established itself. In November 1506 he was a member of the delegation to Maximilian of Austria to offer him the regency of the Netherlands and the trusteeship of the young Charles. In 1507 he travelled to Savoy to escort Margaretha of Austria, appointed by her father as regent of the Netherlands.
Under Margaretha, known for her pro-English views, Johan resumed his political activities. In March 1507 he was a member of the council assisting Margaretha. From October 1507 to January 1508 he was one of the key negotiators with the English at Calais. The negotiations led to a military alliance as well as the betrothal between Mary Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England and the young Archduke Charles of Austria. Johan represented Charles at the engagement festivities at Richmond Palace on 17 December 1508.
March 1509 was the high point of his career; on 17 March he was named the new master of the hunt for Brabant; on 25 March he was proposed as first chamberlain of Emperor Maximilian (while Guillaume de Croÿ became the first chamberlain of Archduke Charles); on 26 March he again became governor-captain general and sovereign bailiff of the county of Namur, also lord of Vilvorde; and on 27 March he was entrusted with the rule of Brielle and the land of Voorne.
From 1510 to 1514 he was a member of the Council of Finances. In 1513 he was one of the negotiators of the Holy League or League of Malines, an alliance of Pope Leo X with Maximilian of Austria, Fernando of Aragon and Henry VIII to prevent France from conquering Italy.
On 5 January 1515 Archduke Charles was proclaimed to have reached his majority, on the initiative of his first counsellor-chamberlain Guillaume de Croÿ-Chièvres, which brought an end to the regency of Margaretha of Austria. Johan, who had close ties with Margaretha, became the mouthpiece for pro-English views, which set him against Guillaume de Croÿ, who favoured a pro-French policy. For Johan this was a difficult time until the death of Guillaume de Croÿ on 28 May 1521. A change of alliances and the reopening of hostilities between the king of France François I and Charles V in 1521 again brought him into prominence. Johan became one of the most important negotiators of the Alliance Treaty between Charles V and Henry VIII concluded at Brugge on 25 August 1521.
Johan's enmity for the pro-French counsellors was so strong that it led to the disgrace of Philibert Naturel, provost of the chapter of Utrecht and chancellor of the Order of the Golden Fleece, who was dismissed from the Privy Council.
When Margaretha of Austria died on 30 November 1530, Johan and his son Antoine became members of the Privy Council. After the split-up of the Council on 1 October 1531 they both became members of the Council of State, the policy branch of the former Privy Council.
In the last years of his life, Johan stayed more in the background; however in relation to England he continued to play an influential role as negotiator. He also worked on the Treaty of Cambrai between the Empire and France (July 1529). Johan died on 20 January 1532 at Berghes.
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