Philip of Burgundy (bishop)

Philip of Burgundy (1464 in Brussels – 7 April 1524 in Wijk bij Duurstede) was Admiral of the Netherlands from 1498 to 1517 and bishop of Utrecht from 1517 to 1524.

He was at the head of the Burgundian army in the Sticht and, as such, refused to bury his half-brother David of Burgundy, bishop of Utrecht, as long as the election of a Burgundian-favoured successor had not been arranged.

He was appointed admiral in 1498 by Duke Philip the Fair and after an expedition to Rome in 1508 he settled in the castle Souburg on Walcheren.

He led a luxurious life in the episcopal residence, Duurstede Castle, taking a particular interested in weaponry, women and horses.

Philip's politics were not very successful; he left much to his councillors and had trouble keeping himself standing in the midst of the faction-struggles in the bishopric.

Nepture and Amphitrite by Jan Gossaert in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. The Neptune of the painting is a symbolic personification of Philip's admiralty