EDGMON and KIN Family Files

Edgmon and Kin Family Files


Count Egmont
Egmont Play, Goethe
Egmont Overture, Beethoven

From Remnants, Plenty And Lean...

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1749-1832, poet and playwright, was attracted to the career of Egmont not only because it was a critical turning point in political and religious history, but also because he saw in Count Egmont the embodiment of a character and of the views of his life and of conduct similar to his own at the time. Though a much younger man, Goethe must have felt specially drawn to the figure of Egmont, in who he found at least some of the traits that were strongest in himself. The Egmont in the play is much more like Goethe himself than Egmont's historical self; Egmont did however show some of the same charm of personality, love of freedom, aversion to conventionality, the same joy of life, the same strong, self reliant individuality which were elements of Goethe's own character. The conflict in Lamoral Egmont's military career, between what he felt impelled to do and what would have been wise for him to do under given circumstances, finds its parallel in Goethe's own life between the free and unrestrained career of the poet, toward which he was so strongly drawn, and the safe and prudent disagreeable profession of law that his dictatorial father strongly insisted he follow. The frank and genial Egmont, who was the advocate of liberal government and of personal freedom, in contrast to his opposite, the cruel and evil Alva who was the embodiment of tyranny...the revolt of the Netherlands against national, political and religious injustice...the power of light against darkness...the rights of individuality against the dictates of arbitrary power; all prompted Goethe's interest in writing the play. When he began to write the play, he first wrote the scene between Egmont and Alva Act IV, in which the two characters are most strongly contrasted.

In 1566, at the Council of Trent, Count Egmont, who sat on the Dutch Council of State, addressed the council:

The king errs if he thinks that the Netherlands, surrounded as they are by countries where religious freedom is permitted, can indefinitely support these sanguinary Edicts. However strongly I am attached to the Catholic religion, I cannot approve of princes attempting to rule the consciences of their subject and wanting to rob them of the liberty of faith.

At this point, Egmont, Orange, and Hoorn, withdrew from the Council of State.
Rioting and revolt against the king swelled, prompting Phillip to issue more edicts and to assemble four regiments of Spanish Infantry. In June of 1567, the regiments of the Spanish Infantry left for the Netherlands.


Fernando Álvarez de Toledo ye Pimentel, the Third Duke of Alva commanded the infantry. Alva was instructed to put an end to the Dutch desire of self government and force the people to except his loyal authority through the Spanish Inquisition. Alva arrived at Brussels on August 22, 1567, planned his strike, and eleven days later arrested and detained a group of twenty seven Dutch nobles, Egmont was in that group. The cruel and ruthless Alva continually bullied and plundered the people. In January of 1568, Alva stated the following in a letter to Phillip:

The towns must be punished for their rebelliousness with the loss of their privileges; a goodly sum must be squeezed out of private persons; a permanent tax obtained from the States of the country. It would therefore be unsuitable to proclaim a pardon at this juncture. Everyone must be made to live in constant fear of the roof breaking down over his head. Thus will the towns comply with what will be ordained for them, private persons will offer high ransoms, and the States will not dare to refuse what is proposed to them in the King’s name.

Shortly thereafter on June 5, 1568, Alva proclaimed that high treason would not be tolerated and proceeded to behead the rebellious nobility, Egmont and his companion to the cause, Hoorn. Egmont's profound speech and his show of dignity at the scaffold touched off a rebellion against Spanish tyranny. Egmont was the spark that ignited the energy of the Sea Beggars, who were the true liberators of Holland from the yoke of Spain.

Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-1827, was attracted to Goethe's Egmont because of his Flemish heritage and Egmont's legendary role in Holland's freedom and through his own principles of freedom and equality for all individuals. Beethoven said of himself, "I am an upholder of unlimited liberty and national independence." He is quoted as stating that everyone should take part in the government of the state... the beliefs of Egmont, Goethe, and Beethoven were similar in many ways. It is recorded that Beethoven was so impressed with Goethe's play that he refused to take any payment from the theater for writing the music for the play Egmont. He felt obligated to write the music for the play which honored his hero... he had experieced first hand the struggle against overwhelming odds...he felt that both he and Egmont had overcome many obstacles. Egmont opened at the Vienna Hof Theater on May 10, 1810. Beethoven was not yet finished with the overture. The Egmont Overture made its debute on June 15th, the fourth performance of the play.

Goethe began working on Egmont in 1775...completed in 1786/7...interesting in that it took a similar amount of time to complete the construction of Egmont Castle...


Submitted by Judy Tate


Family Files

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