Charles II (9 November 1467 – 30 June 1538) was a member of the

House of Egmond The House of Egmond or Egmont ( French: ''Maison d'Egmond'', Dutch: ''Huis Egmond'') is named after the Dutch town of Egmond, province of North Holland, and played an important role in the Netherlands during the Middle Ages and the Early mod ...

who ruled as Duke of Guelders and

Count of Zutphen The title of Count of Zutphen historically belonged to the ruler of the Dutch province of Gelderland ( Zutphen being one of the major cities in the province during the medieval period). The lordship was a vassal title before it eventually become ...

from 1492 until his death. He was the son of

Adolf of Egmond Adolf of Egmond (Grave, February 12, 1438 – Tournai, June 27, 1477) was a Duke of Guelders, Count of Zutphen from 1465–1471 and in 1477. Life Adolf was the son of Arnold, Duke of Guelders and Catherine of Cleves. In the battle of succes ...

and

Catharine of Bourbon Catharine of Bourbon (1440 in Liège – 21 May 1469 in Nijmegen) was Duchess of Guelders from 1465-1469 by her marriage to Adolf, Duke of Guelders. She was a daughter of Charles I, Duke of Bourbon and his wife Agnes of Burgundy. Marriage an ...

. He had a principal role in the

Frisian peasant rebellion The Arumer Zwarte Hoop, meaning "Black Army of Arum, Friesland, Arum" ( fry, Swarte Heap) was an army of peasant rebels and mercenaries in Friesland fighting against the Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburg authorities from 1515 to 1523. For four years t ...

and the

Guelders Wars The Guelders Wars (, German: ''Geldrische Erbfolgekriege'') were a series of conflicts in the Low Countries between the Duke of Burgundy, who controlled Holland, Flanders, Brabant, and Hainaut on the one side, and Charles, Duke of Guelders, ...

Life

Charles was born either at

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

or at

Grave, Netherlands Grave (; formerly ''De Graaf'') is a city and former municipality in the Dutch province of North Brabant. The former municipality had a population of in . Grave is a member of the Dutch Association of Fortified Cities. The former municipality ...

, and raised at the Burgundian court of

Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...

, who had bought the duchy of Guelders from

in 1473. He fought in several battles against the armies of

Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (french: l'Affable; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13.Paul Murray Kendall, ''Louis XI: The Universal Spider'' (Ne ...

, until he was captured in the

Battle of Béthune A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

in 1487. King Maximilian subsequently managed to acquire the Burgundian lands for the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

s by marriage. In 1492, the citizens of Guelders, disenchanted with Maximilian's rule,

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''re ...

ed Charles and recognized him as their Duke. As Duke his regent was his aunt

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

. Charles was supported by the French King, but in 1505, Guelders was regained by King Maximilian's son Philip the Handsome. Charles had to accompany Philip to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

to attend Philip's coronation as King of Castile but at

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

, Charles managed to escape. Shortly afterwards, Philip died in Spain and by July 1513 Charles had regained control over the whole of Guelders. In his conflict with the Habsburgs, Charles also became a major player behind the scenes of the

and at first financially supported the rebel leader Pier Gerlofs Donia. After the tides turned against the rebels, Charles stopped his support and switched sides together with his military commander

Maarten van Rossum Maarten van Rossum (c. 1478 – June 7, 1555) was a military tactician of the duchy of Guelders who became field marshal in the service of Charles, Duke of Guelders. He was greatly feared outside his home country for the ruthless manner in ...

. In the

Treaty of Gorinchem {{Short description, 1528 treaty between Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Duke Charles of Guelders The Treaty of Gorinchem was signed in Gorinchem on 20 October 1528 between Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Duke Charles of Guelders during the Guel ...

(1528), Emperor Charles, son of Philip the Handsome, proposed to recognize Charles of Egmond as Duke of Guelders under the condition that he would inherit the Duchy should the Duke die without issue. The Duke, who at the time did not have any children, delayed signing the treaty. Another battle ensued, after which the passage was removed from the treaty. In 1536 there was finally peace between Guelders and Burgundy with the

Treaty of Grave The Peace of Grave was signed on December 10, 1536, during the Guelders Wars between Charles II, Duke of Guelders and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. In the treaty, Charles of Guelders handed over the City of Groningen, the Ommelanden and Drenthe ...

. Charles died at Arnhem, and is buried in the St. Eusebius Church there.

Family

In 1519, Charles married young Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1494–1572). The marriage remained childless. Charles however fathered several illegitimate children. His only legitimate (twin) sister,

Philippa Philippa is a feminine given name meaning "lover of horses" or " horses' friend". Common alternative spellings include ''Filippa'' and ''Phillipa''. Less common is ''Filipa'' and even ''Philippe'' (cf. the French spelling of '' Philippa of Guelder ...

(1467–1547), survived him and died during the reign of her great-grandson,

Charles III, Duke of Lorraine Charles III (18 February 1543 – 14 May 1608), known as ''the Great'', was Duke of Lorraine from 1545 until his death. Life He was the eldest surviving son of Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, and Christina of Denmark. In 1545, his father died, and ...

(1543–1608). Wapen_van_Egmont.svg, Coat of Arms Graf Karel van Gelre vanuit het zuiden - Arnhem - 20024757 - RCE.jpg, Tomb

Ancestors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles 02, Duke of Guelders 1467 births 1538 deaths People from Grave, North Brabant House of Egmond Dukes of Guelders Dutch nobility Burials in Gelderland