Louis of Praet

Louis of Praet, Louis of Flanders, Lord of Praet, or locally Lodewijk van Praet (1488, Bruges – 7 October 1555) was a nobleman from the Low Countries and an important diplomat and statesman under the Emperor Charles V. Louis was descended through his father from a bastard son of Louis of Male, count of Flanders, and through his mother from a bastard daughter of Philip the Good.

He served the Emperor between 1522 and 1525 as ambassador in England, where he in the end got into severe conflict with Thomas Wolsey and had to leave the country.

In England, Praet met the Spanish humanist Juan Luis Vives who dedicated his 1523 book De Consultatione to him.

Praet also either directly inspired or encouraged Vives to write his book On Assistance to the Poor, which he did when living in Bruges in 1526.

Louis was elected knight of the Golden Fleece in 1531 and then took up his residence in the Netherlands.

Arms of Louis of Praet showing his descent from the Counts of Flanders, "D'or, au lion de sable, armé et lampassé de gueules Arms of the Counts of Flanders , chargé d'une billette d'argent sur l'épaule.