Tilly

The German surname Tilly is makronymic in origin, being one of those surnames derived from the first name of a mother. In this instance the surname is derived from the personal name Mat(h)ilda, that means might or battle. Matilda was the name of three queens of England as well as one German queen during the Middle Ages. Matilda, a descendant of Saxon kings, was married to a German emperor Henry the Fowler. After the death of her husband her two sons Otto and Henry deprived their mother of all her possessions and she had to take shelter in a convent. There she lived a life of holyness and poverty. Later Otto's wife and some German bishops persuaded her sons to give her back her possessions, which she then used to build hospitals and churches. She founded two famous German monasteries. Matilda died in 968. Stirred by this active woman, Matilda became a very popular font name during the time surnames were becoming fixed family names. From the middle syllable came the petform Tilly. The most notable bearer of the surname Tilly was Johannes Tserklaes, count von Tilly (1559-1632). He was an imperialist general in the Thirty Years War. In the service of Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria, Tilly and Wallenstein were the chief generals to oppose Christian IV of Denmark. In 1626, aided by some of Wallenstein's troops, Tilly was victorious at Lutter. Later Tilly was given command of the imperial army against the troops of Gustavus II of Sweden at whose hands he was defeated and mortally wounded.

Dutch from here...

Jean t'Serclaes, graaf de Tilly (kasteel Tilly, Brabant, februari 1559-Ingolstadt 30 april 1632), was een Zuidnederlands veldheer. Hij diende eerst in het Spaanse, later in het keizerlijke leger. In het begin van de dertigjarige oorlog behaalde hij als veldmaarschalk der Katholieke Liga een beslissende overwinning op de Witte Berg bij Praag (1620). De daaropvolgende jaren streed hij succesvol in het Rijnland en in Noord-Duitsland. Tilly verving in 1630 Wallenstein als opperbevelhebber der keizerlijke troepen. Als zodanig trachtte hij de uitvoering te verzekeren van het Restitutie-edict. In Gustaaf Adolf van Zweden ontmoette hij echter een superieur tegenstander, die hem in 1631/1632 zware militaire nederlagen bezorgde. Gewond in de slag bij Rain aan de Lech (1632) overleed hij korte tijd later aan de gevolgen van zijn verwondingen. Tilly's oprechte overtuiging de Katholieke Kerk te dienen bracht hem de bijnaam "der Heilige im Harnisch".