Engelbert II of the Mark (1275 – July 18, 1328) was

Count of the Mark The County of Mark (german: Grafschaft Mark, links=no, french: Comté de La Marck, links=no colloquially known as ) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr River ...

and through marriage, Count of

Arenberg Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a former county, principality and finally duchy that was located in what is now Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian noble family. History First mentioned in the 12th ...

Family

He was the son and heir of Count Eberhard II and his wife, Irmgard of

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states *Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...

. On January 25, 1299, he married Mechtilde of

(died March 18, 1328), daughter of Johann of Arenberg and Katharina of

Jülich Jülich (; in old spellings also known as ''Guelich'' or ''Gülich'', nl, Gulik, french: Juliers, Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. As a border region betwe ...

. He and his wife had eight children: * Adolf II (died 1347),

Count of Mark The County of Mark (german: Grafschaft Mark, links=no, french: Comté de La Marck, links=no colloquially known as ) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr River ...

* Engelbert (died 1368),

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...

Eberhard Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire *Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, Du ...

(died 1387), Count of Arenberg * Mathilde * Irmgard (died 1360), married

Otto, Lord of Lippe Otto, Lord of Lippe ( – ) was the ruling Count of Lippe-Lemgo from 1344 until his death. Life He was the son of Simon I and his wife, Adelaide of Waldeck. When his father died in 1344, Lippe was divided; Otto ruled the area around Lemgo ...

* Katharina (died 1360) * Margareta * Richardis. The County of Mark then fell heir to his son, Adolf II of the Mark; ownership of Arenberg went to his son, Eberhard I of the Mark-Arenberg.

Biography

Engelbert II succeeded his father in 1308 and continued his father's efforts to maintain authority over the County of Mark. This necessitated conflict with Bishop Ludwig II of

Münster Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...

, as well as the Archbishop of Cologne, Henry II of

Virneburg Virneburg is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. Virneburg Castle is located in the village. Geography Virneburg is a municipality in the Vulkaneifel. Next towns are Mayen in the East and Ad ...

, who also dominated the neighboring

Duchy of Westphalia The Duchy of Westphalia (german: Herzogtum Westfalen) was a historic territory in the Holy Roman Empire, which existed from 1102 to 1803. It was located in the greater region of Westphalia, originally one of the three main regions in the Germa ...

. When Bishop Ludwig II marched into

Hamm Hamm (, Latin: ''Hammona'') is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northeastern part of the Ruhr area. As of 2016 its population was 179,397. The city is situated between the A1 motorway and A2 motorway. Hamm railwa ...

in 1323, he fell into Engelbert's hands and was released only after paying 5,000 silvermarks, a very high ransom. During the dispute over the throne between

Frederick the Fair Frederick the Fair (german: Friedrich der Schöne) or the Handsome (c. 1289 – 13 January 1330), from the House of Habsburg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as well as the anti-king of Germany from 1314 until 1325 and then co-king ...

and Ludwig IV, Engelbert II later allied himself temporarily with the Archbishop of Cologne, who supported Frederick. A short time later, Engelbert II switched his support to Ludwig IV, putting the Archbishop under such pressure, he was obliged to request a truce. Count Engelbert II granted the city of

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous Germany, German federal state o ...

its town charter at

Blankenstein Castle Blankenstein Castle (german: Burg Blankenstein) is a castle located on the south side of the river Ruhr in Hattingen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.Frank Dengler, Burg am 'blanken Stein'"''Ruhr Nachrichten'' (November 23, 2010) p. BOLO3 ...

in 1321."Burg Blankenstein"
www.ruhr-guide.de - DAS Online-Magazin für das Ruhrgebiet. Accessed March 2, 2010.

References

Counts of the Mark 1270s births 1328 deaths Counts of Arenberg {{Germany-count-stub