WI: Prince-(Arch)Bishopric of Utrecht Survives?

The prince-bishopric of Utrecht in the Netherlands was dissolved in 1528 after being conquered by Habsburg troops. The bishopric was later promoted to an archbishopric with a leadership of three archbishops, however, the last two were unable to be enthroned due to a little dust up between the Habsburgs and the Dutch.

A new archbishopric was established in 1853.

But my question is what if the Prince-Archbishopric were to survive. I know the Dutch government suppressed it in 1580 (according to wikipedia), but the pope established Holland as being under a vicariate answerable to Cologne or Brussels. So, what if the prince-archbishopric were to be re-established (either at Westphalia or before), with a similar setup to Osnabrück (I think there were other ecclesiastical states in Germany which worked the same, but can't remember them ATM) where it alternates between Protestant and Catholic prince-(arch)bishops? For instance, the Protestant ones usually come from the house of Nassau or Catholic ones usually from the house of Habsburg.

@Janprimus @Parma @Vitruvius @HJ Tulp @pompejus
 
The lack of Utrecht including Overijssel and Drenthe inside the Netherlands would have a huge effect on Dutch history. I don't even know where to start with the butterflies. It could even mean that Groningen and Friesland, possibly even Gerlderland remain outside of the Netherlands. Although not for certainly.
 

Vitruvius

Donor
Well, I don't think it could be restored once abolished. For one it was abolished too early, as Charles V annexed the Bishopric and divided up its territories around 1528. It's the Archdiocese as a purely ecclesiastical institution that was suppressed in 1580. Even the most radical view of the normalizing year to be used at Westphalia was only about 1560. Also I don't think alternating between Calvinist and Catholic rulers would work given that the Dutch reformed church had no interest in preserving the Episcopal hierarchy. Osnabruck was Lutheran and Catholic and the rulers in question here, the Dutch Stadholder and Spanish King, would never be satisfied by such an arrangement.

I think the best bet is to simply keep it from being abolished in the first place. Though given the instability in Frisia and the conflict between Charles of Edmond and Charles V it's still likely to be contested and IMHO probably doomed to loose the Oversticht. Then it limps along kind of like the Prince Bishopric of Cambrai. Of course this presents all sorts of butterflies for the Dutch Revolt.
 

HJ Tulp

Donor
I agree that the only way for the Prince-Bischopry to keep existing in a otherwise OTL world one needs to keep it out of the hands of the Habsburgs.
 

Vitruvius

Donor
Just a thought, if Charles V had a bastard half brother Utrecht would probably be the perfect place to stick him. A bastard son of Philip the Handsome wouldn't be welcome in Spain and putting him into the church would be a good way to ensure he doesn't start a rival line or make a dynastic alliance. If the Bastard of Burgundy gets on well enough with his brother maybe he could be made governor of the Netherlands after their aunt Margaret.
 
Just a thought, if Charles V had a bastard half brother Utrecht would probably be the perfect place to stick him. A bastard son of Philip the Handsome wouldn't be welcome in Spain and putting him into the church would be a good way to ensure he doesn't start a rival line or make a dynastic alliance. If the Bastard of Burgundy gets on well enough with his brother maybe he could be made governor of the Netherlands after their aunt Margaret.

Makes sense. I've always found it weird that Philipp the Handsome was supposedly one of those guys who couldn't keep it in his pants, but there are no bastard kids born of his liaisons. I mean, both his dad and his son had bastards, but Philipp's got zip.
 

Vitruvius

Donor
I've always found it weird that Philipp the Handsome was supposedly one of those guys who couldn't keep it in his pants, but there are no bastard kids born of his liaisons. I mean, both his dad and his son had bastards, but Philipp's got zip.

Agreed. Though I can only imagine the effect of Philip acknowledging a bastard son would have on his wife.
 
Agreed. Though I can only imagine the effect of Philip acknowledging a bastard son would have on his wife.

True. Maybe one of Maximilian's bastards instead, then? Two of them climbed to reasonably high clerical posts (I think one was bishop of Liège, and another made archbishop of Valencia or Santiago de Compostela). It's not a threat (per se) to the Habsburg line, but the boy is half-Habsburg, and in the church. Could do worse than sponsoring his church career. Hell, from what I can make out, the prince-bishopric of Utrecht covered a sizeable piece of real estate in the Netherlands. So, provided he's a decent ruler, it could ensure the "loyalty" of that area.
 
If the Dutch still rebel from Spain and win, maybe they would have created a quasi-Anglican church, opposed to Rome but otherwise with Catholic beliefs, to administrate the archbishopric of Utrecht. The "Batavian" bishop of Utrecht could be another power broker in the United Provinces alongside stadtholder and Grand Pensionary.
 
If the Dutch still rebel from Spain and win, maybe they would have created a quasi-Anglican church, opposed to Rome but otherwise with Catholic beliefs, to administrate the archbishopric of Utrecht. The "Batavian" bishop of Utrecht could be another power broker in the United Provinces alongside stadtholder and Grand Pensionary.

I saw a TL once where the Dutch revolt ran somewhat differently (Willem I gets the whole Netherlands due to Parma/Alba being k.i.a.), and there he becomes an actual monarch (king or something).

The Bishop [of Liège] could not stomach being part of such a 'godless‘ state, but he could not fight either. Martyrdom did not appeal much to him, the Bishop thought he would be more use to God alive, and leading his flock. In the end, with much convincing to the Staaten-General, Maurice managed to strike a compromise. Liege would become part of the United Provinces, and the Bishop would stay in power, but only as the spiritual leader. For the interim, Maurice would select a regent to rule as secular ruler. It was not until the end of the Forty Years War would Liege‘s government be settled.

This was sort of the idea I had for Utrecht's archbishopric.
 
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