Compromise of Nobles

*Eedverbond der Edelen*, from Hendrik Conscience *Geschiedenis van België*, 1859

The Compromise^[1] of Nobles (Dutch: Eedverbond der Edelen; French: Compromis des Nobles) was a covenant of members of the nobility in the Habsburg Netherlands who came together to submit a petition to the Regent Margaret of Parma on 5 April 1566, with the objective of obtaining a moderation of the placards against heresy in the Netherlands. This petition played a crucial role in the events leading up to the Dutch Revolt and the Eighty Years' War.

^ The word compromise appears to be an overly-literal translation of the French word compromis by the 19th-century English-language historians who introduced the concept into anglophone historiography. A better translation might have been used, like "covenant". However, the phrase "Compromise of nobles" gained currency and has by now achieved the status of a proper name in English. For that reason many modern historians of the Dutch Revolt use the term, like Jonathan Israel, Martin van Gelderen and H. G. Koenigsberger. For that reason the term is retained here.

[1] The word compromise appears to be an overly-literal translation of the French word compromis by the 19th-century English-language historians who introduced the concept into anglophone historiography. A better translation might have been used, like "covenant". However, the phrase "Compromise of nobles" gained currency and has by now achieved the status of a proper name in English. For that reason many modern historians of the Dutch Revolt use the term, like Jonathan Israel, Martin van Gelderen and H. G. Koenigsberger. For that reason the term is retained here.

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