Maarten van Rossum was a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 Guelderian

Guelders

Guelders or Gueldres is the name of a historical county, later duchy of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.-Geography:...

 military tactician and later field marshal at the service of Charles, Duke of Guelders

Charles, Duke of Guelders

Charles of Egmond was Duke of Guelders, Count of Zutphen between 1492 and his death. He was the son of Adolf of Egmond and Catharine of Bourbon...

.

His parents, Johan van Rossum, lord of Rossum

Rossum

-People:*Allen Rossum , an American football cornerback and return specialist*Emmy Rossum , an American actress and singer-songwriter*Kristin Rossum , murderer who poisoned her husband-Places:...

 and Johanna van Hemert probably married before 1478 and were part of the lower nobility around Bommelerwaard

Bommelerwaard

Bommelerwaard is a district in Gelderland, Netherlands.The Bommelerwaard is situated among three rivers: the Maas in the south, the Waal in the north and the Afgedamde Maas in the west. It is formed by the area of two municipalities: Zaltbommel and Maasdriel....

. During his life Maarten acquired the titles of lord of Poederoijen

Poederoijen

Poederoijen is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of Zaltbommel, and lies about 9 km southeast of Gorinchem.Poederoijen was a separate municipality until 1955, when it was merged with Brakel....

, Cannenburgh, Lathum, Baer

Baer

Baer is the surname of:* Arthur "Bugs" Baer , American journalist and humorist* Buddy Baer , American boxer* Byron Baer , American politician...

 and Bredevoort

Bredevoort

Bredevoort or Brevoort is a small city with Town privileges of about 1600 inhabitants, located in the municipality of Aalten, Netherlands. It is situated between the towns of Aalten and Winterswijk....

, field marshal

Field Marshal

Field Marshal is a military rank. Traditionally, it is the highest military rank in an army.-Etymology:The origin of the rank of field marshal dates to the early Middle Ages, originally meaning the keeper of the king's horses , from the time of the early Frankish kings.-Usage and hierarchical...

 of Guelders and Imperial stadholder of Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

.

He is known to have been an experienced commander and is renowned for actions while serving Charles of Guelders in his wars against Charles V

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

. He is also known for his participation in the sack of The Hague

The Hague

The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...

 in 1528. After the Duchy of Guelders was defeated, he simply switched sides, and started working for Charles V, his former enemy.

In the spring of 1555 he became seriously ill, possibly infected with the Black Death

Black Death

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...

 or typhus in the city of Charlemont

Charlemont

Charlemont is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 150 people in the 2001 Census. It is situated within the Armagh City and District Council area...

. He died in Antwerp on June 7 1555, his body was buried at his birthplace, the village of Rossum.

In popular culture

He featured as an antagonist in the 1960s Dutch TV series Floris

Floris (TV series)

Floris is a 1969 Dutch television action series, written by Gerard Soeteman starring Rutger Hauer and Jos Bergman and directed by Paul Verhoeven.-Concept:...

.