A Noble Nomad?

The Residential System of Charles of Croy (1560-1612)

By (author) Sanne Maekelberg

Book cover: A Noble Nomad?

Extent: 250 pages

Publisher: Brepols Publishers

Subjects: Architecture, Early Modern & Renaissance Studies

Series: Architectura Moderna

Series volume number: 15

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(January 2026)

ISBN: 9782503591377

Price: $125.00

In stock

Charles III of Croy, Duke of Aarschot, was one of the highest noblemen of the Low Countries and a foremost patron of the arts and architecture, a military commander and heir to the illustrious Croy dynasty. In 1595 he inherited a vast collection of domains and residences, for which he developed extensive and ambitious renovation plans. Using a wide range of sources specific to architectural history and history of the nobility, combined with tools from the digital humanities, this book presents for the first time an in-depth study of Charles of Croy’s patronage and architectural programme and how these were used to express status and pageantry to the contemporary observer.


Charles III of Croy, Duke of Aarschot, was one of the highest noblemen of the Low Countries and a foremost patron of the arts and architecture, a military commander and heir to the illustrious Croy dynasty. In 1595 he inherited a vast collection of domains and residences, for which he developed extensive and ambitious renovation plans. Using a wide range of sources specific to architectural history and history of the nobility, combined with tools from the digital humanities, this book presents for the first time an in-depth study of Charles of Croy’s patronage and architectural programme and how these were used to express status and pageantry to the contemporary observer.

  • By (author) Sanne Maekelberg