Children as carriers of a network
Their sons and daughters connected Bergh to other noble houses, church institutions and armies. Their lives took different paths, but the war remained close.
Maria and Willem
Marriage and family
Their marriage lasted thirty years and produced a very large family. Love, dynasty, religion and war constantly overlapped.
A marriage between Nassau and Bergh.
Maria married Willem IV at seventeen. Their union was personal, but also an alliance between two noble houses. Willem had met Maria’s brother in the court world of Brussels; Maria’s Nassau connections strengthened the House of Bergh within a wider political network.
Their marriage was no simple fairy tale. Alongside companionship and a large family came absence, exile, political tension and eventually a break with the Revolt.
Family
Sixteen children, seventeen births
Reliable sources count the family differently: the Women’s Lexicon records seventeen births, while House Bergh describes sixteen children.
War comes home
Campaigns, occupations, exile and arrest transformed the family into a travelling political household. One person’s choice could have consequences for everyone.
After Willem’s death
When Willem died in 1586, Maria remained responsible for family, property and inheritance. Her widow’s seal shows that she continued to act publicly and legally.