elect portion of this
council; and in such cases, or when a spirit of faction had crept into
the council, the regent, if she deemed it for the interest of the state,
might adopt the opinion of the minority. The select body with whom
Margaret was to advise in the more important matters was termed the
_Consulta_; and the members who composed it were Barlaimont, Viglius,
and the bishop of Arras.[418]

The first of these men, Count Barlaimont, belonged to an ancient Flemish
family. With respectable talents and constancy of purpose, he was
entirely devoted to the interests of the crown. The second, Viglius, was
a jurist of extensive erudition, at this time well advanced in years,
and with infirmities that might have pressed heavily on a man less
patient of toil. He was personally attached to Granvelle; and as his
views of government coincided very nearly with that minister's, Viglius
was much under his influence. The last of the three, Granvelle, from his
large acquaintance with affairs, and his adroitness in managing them,
was far superior to his colleagues;[419] and he soon acquired such an
ascendancy over them, that the government may be said to have rested on
his shoulders. As there is no man who for some years is to take so
prominent a part in the story of the Netherlands, it will be proper to
introduce the reader to some acquaintance with his earlier history.

Anthony Perrenot--whose name of Granvelle was derived from an estate
purchased by his father--was born in the year 1517, at Besancon, a town
in Franche Comte. His father, Nicholas Perrenot, founded the fortunes of
the family, and from the humble condition of a poor country attorney
rose to the rank of chancellor of the empire. This extraordinary
advancement was not owing to caprice, but to his unwearied industry,
extensive learning, and a clear and comprehensive intellect, combined
with steady devotion to the interests of his master, Charles the Fifth.
His talent for affairs led him to be employed not merely in official
business, but in diplomatic missions of great importance. In short, he
possessed the confidence of the emperor to a degree enjoyed by no other
subject; and when the chancellor died, in 1550, Charles pronounced his
eulogy to Philip in a single sentence, saying that in Granvelle they had
lost the man on whose wisdom they could securely repose.[420]

Anthony Perrenot, distinguished from his father in later times as
Cardinal Granvelle, was the eldes