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The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical
duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once exis ...
, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.


Geography

The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in present-day Germany. Though the present province of Gelderland (English also ''Guelders'') in the Netherlands occupies most of the area, the former duchy also comprised parts of the present Dutch province of Limburg as well as those territories in the present-day German state of North Rhine-Westphalia that were acquired by Prussia in 1713. Four parts of the duchy had their own centres, as they were separated by rivers: * the quarter of Roermond, also called Upper Quarter or
Upper Guelders {{unreferenced, date=November 2011 Upper Guelders or Spanish Guelders was one of the four quarters in the Imperial Duchy of Guelders. In the Dutch Revolt, it was the only quarter that did not secede from the Habsburg monarchy to become part of the ...
– upstream on both sides of the Maas, comprising the town of Geldern as well as Erkelenz, Goch, Nieuwstadt, Venlo and
Straelen Straelen (; Low Rhenish: ''Strale'') is a municipality in the district of Cleves, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located near the border with the Netherlands, approx. 10 km north-east of Venlo. Twinning : Bayon The Bayon ( km, ...
; spatially separated from the Lower Quarters (Gelderland): * the quarter of the county Zutphen, also called the Achterhoek – east of the IJssel and north of the Rhine, including Doesburg, Doetinchem, Groenlo and Lochem; * the
Veluwe Quarter Veluwe Quarter was one of the four quarters in the Duchy of Guelders, besides Quarter of Zutphen, Upper Quarter and Nijmegen Quarter. Veluwe Quarter had Arnhem as its capital and included the Veluwe area. The main cities were Elburg, Hattem, Ha ...
with Arnhem as its capital – west of the IJssel and north of the Rhine, with Elburg, Harderwijk, Hattem and Wageningen; *
Nijmegen Quarter The Nijmegen Quarter (Dutch: ''Kwartier van Nijmegen'') was the first of the four quarters in which the county, later duchy of Guelders was divided, as they were separated by rivers. In addition Guelders consisted of Zutphen Quarter, the Upper Q ...
, including
Betuwe Batavia (; , ) is a historical and geographical region in the Netherlands, forming large fertile islands in the river delta formed by the waters of the Rhine (Dutch: ''Rijn'') and Meuse (Dutch: ''Maas'') rivers. During the Roman empire, it was an ...
– south of the Rhine and north of the Maas (in between the rivers), including Gendt, Maasbommel, Tiel and Zaltbommel


History


Wassenberg and Jülich dynasties (c.1096–1423)

The county emerged about 1096, when Gerard III of Wassenberg was first documented as "Count of Guelders". It was then located on the territory of Lower Lorraine, in the area of Geldern and Roermond, with its main stronghold at Montfort (built 1260). Count Gerard's son Gerard II in 1127 acquired the County of Zutphen in northern Hamaland by marriage. In the 12th and 13th century, Guelders quickly expanded downstream along the sides of the Maas, Rhine, and IJssel rivers and even claimed the succession in the Duchy of Limburg, until it lost the 1288 Battle of Worringen against Berg and
Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...
. Guelders was often at war with its neighbours, not only with Brabant, but also with the County of Holland and the
Bishopric of Utrecht The Bishopric of Utrecht ( nl, Sticht Utrecht) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, in the present-day Netherlands. From 1024 to 1528, as one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, it w ...
. However, its territory grew not only because of its success in warfare, but also because it thrived in times of peace. For example, the larger part of the Veluwe and the city of Nijmegen were given as
collateral Collateral may refer to: Business and finance * Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan * Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Collate ...
to Guelders by their cash-strapped rulers. On separate occasions, in return for loans from the treasury of Guelders, the bishop of Utrecht granted the taxation and administration of the Veluwe, and William II – Count of both Holland and Zeeland, and who was elected anti-king of the Holy Roman Empire (1248–1256) – similarly granted the same rights over Nijmegen; as neither ruler proved able to repay their debts, these lands became integral parts of Guelders. In 1339 Count
Reginald II of Guelders Reginald II of Guelders ( nl, Reinoud), called "the Black" (c. 1295 – 12 October 1343), was Count of Guelders, and from 1339 onwards Duke of Guelders, and Zutphen, in the Low Countries, from 1326 to 1343. He was the son of Reginald I of Guelders ...
(also styled Rainald), of the House of Wassenberg, was elevated to the rank of Duke by Emperor Louis IV of Wittelsbach. After the Wassenberg line became extinct in 1371 following the deaths of Reginald II's childless sons
Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...
(on 24 August, from wounds suffered in the Battle of Baesweiler) and Reginald III (on 4 December), the ensuing
Guelders War of Succession {{Infobox military conflict , conflict=First War of the Guelderian Succession , partof= , image= Locator Duchy of Guelders and County of Zutphen (1350).svg , caption= , date=1371-1379 , place= Duchy of Guelders , result= Victory of William of Jü ...
saw
William I of Jülich William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conques ...
emerge victorious. William was confirmed in the inheritance of Guelders in 1379, and from 1393 onwards held both duchies in personal union (in Guelders as William I, and in Jülich as William III).


Egmond and Burgundian dynasties (1423–1477)

In 1423 Guelders passed to the
House of Egmond The House of Egmond or Egmont (French language, French: ''Maison d'Egmond'', Dutch language, Dutch: ''Huis Egmond'') is named after the Netherlands, Dutch town of Egmond aan den Hoef, Egmond, province of North Holland, and played an important role ...
, which gained recognition of its title from Emperor
Sigismund of Luxembourg Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia (''jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1 ...
, but was unable to escape the political strife and internecine conflict that had so plagued the preceding House of Jülich-Hengebach, and more especially, the pressure brought to bear by the expansionist rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy. The first Egmond Duke,
Arnold Arnold may refer to: People * Arnold (given name), a masculine given name * Arnold (surname), a German and English surname Places Australia * Arnold, Victoria, a small town in the Australian state of Victoria Canada * Arnold, Nova Scotia Uni ...
, suffered the rebellion of his son Adolf and was imprisoned by the latter in 1465. Adolf, who had enjoyed the support of Burgundian Duke Philip III ("the Good") and of the four major cities of Guelders during his rebellion, was unwilling to strike a compromise with his father when this was demanded by Philip's successor, Duke Charles the Bold. Charles had Duke Adolf captured and imprisoned in 1471 and reinstated Arnold on the throne of the Duchy of Guelders. Charles then bought the reversion (i.e., the right of succession to the throne) from Duke Arnold, who, against the will of the towns and the law of the land, pledged his duchy to Charles for 300,000 Rhenish florins. The bargain was completed in 1472–73, and upon Arnold's death in 1473, Duke Charles added Guelders to the "Low Countries" portion of his Valois Duchy of Burgundy.


Habsburg dynasty (1477–1549)

Upon Charles' defeat and death at the
Battle of Nancy The Battle of Nancy was the final and decisive battle of the Burgundian Wars, fought outside the walls of Nancy on 5 January 1477 by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, against René II, Duke of Lorraine, and the Swiss Confederacy. René's ...
in January 1477, Duke Adolf was released from prison by the Flemish, but died the same year at the head of a Flemish army besieging
Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...
, after the States of Guelders had recognized him once more as Duke. Subsequently, Guelders was ruled by
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 ...
Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I Maximilian I may refer to: *Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, reigned 1486/93–1519 *Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria, reigned 1597–1651 *Maximilian I, Prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1636-1689) *Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, reigned 1795†...
, husband of Charles the Bold's daughter and heir, Mary. The last independent Duke of Guelders was Adolf's son Charles of Egmond (1467–1538, r. 1492–1538), who was raised at the Burgundian court of Charles the Bold and fought for the House of Habsburg in 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 being captured in the Battle of Béthune (1487) during the
War of the Public Weal The War of the Public Weal (French: ''La guerre du Bien public'') was a conflict between the king of France and an alliance of feudal nobles, organized in 1465 in defiance of the centralized authority of King Louis XI of France. It was masterminde ...
(also known as the ''Mad War''). In 1492, the citizens of Guelders, who had become disenchanted with the rule of Maximilian, ransomed Charles and recognized him as their Duke. Charles, now backed by France, fought Maximilian's grandson Charles of Habsburg (who became Holy Roman Emperor, as Charles V, in 1519) in 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, ...
and expanded his realm further north, to incorporate what is now the Province of
Overijssel Overijssel (, ; nds, Oaveriessel ; german: Oberyssel) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name translates to "across the IJssel", from the perspective of the ...
. He was not simply a man of war, but also a skilled diplomat, and was therefore able to keep his independence. He bequeathed the duchy to Duke William the Rich of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (also known as Wilhelm of Cleves). Following in the footsteps of Charles of Egmond, Duke William formed an alliance with France, an alliance dubiously cemented via his political marriage to French King
Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...
's niece Jeanne d'Albret (who reportedly had to be whipped into submission to the marriage, and later bodily carried to the altar by the
Constable of France The Constable of France (french: Connétable de France, from Latin for 'count of the stables') was lieutenant to the King of France, the first of the original five Great Officers of the Crown (along with seneschal, chamberlain, butler, and chanc ...
,
Anne de Montmorency Anne, Duke of Montmorency, Honorary Knight of the Garter (15 March 1493, Chantilly, Oise12 November 1567, Paris) was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France and served five kings. Early lif ...
).Hackett, p 419 This alliance emboldened William to challenge Emperor Charles V's claim to Guelders, but the French, mightily engaged on multiple fronts as they were in the long struggle to against the Habsburg "encirclement" of France, proved less reliable than the Duke's ambitions required, and he was unable to hold on to the duchy; in 1543, by the terms of the
Treaty of Venlo The Treaty of Venlo of 7 September 1543 concluded the Guelders Wars (1502–1543), and the definitive acquisition of the Duchy of Guelders and the adjoining County of Zutphen by the House of Habsburg, adding them to the Habsburg Netherlands. Wil ...
, Duke William conceded the Duchy of Guelders to the Emperor.


Part of the Seventeen Provinces

Emperor Charles V united Guelders with the Seventeen Provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands by the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549, and Guelders thus lost its independence. Charles abdicated in 1556 and decreed that the territories of the
Burgundian Circle The Burgundian Circle (german: Burgundischer Kreis, nl, Bourgondische Kreits, french: Cercle de Bourgogne) was an Imperial Circle of the Holy Roman Empire created in 1512 and significantly enlarged in 1548. In addition to the Free County of Burg ...
should be held by the
Spanish Crown , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
. When the Netherlands revolted against King
Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
in the
Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...
, the three northern quarters of Gelderland joined the Union of Utrecht and became part of the United Provinces upon the 1581 Act of Abjuration, while only the Upper Quarter remained a part of the Spanish Netherlands. At the Treaty of Utrecht, ending the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713, the Spanish Upper Quarter was again divided between Prussian Guelders ( Geldern, Viersen, Horst, Venray), the United Provinces ( Venlo, Montfort,
Echt Echt may refer to: * Echt, Aberdeenshire, a village in Scotland * Echt-Susteren, a municipality in the Netherlands ** Echt, Netherlands Echt (; ) is a city in the Dutch municipality of Echt-Susteren in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. ...
), Austria (this part continued as the duchy: Roermond,
Niederkrüchten Niederkrüchten is a municipality in the district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km east of Roermond and 15 km west of Mönchengladbach. Elmpt The formerly separate settlement of Elmp ...
, Weert), and the
Duchy of Jülich The Duchy of Jülich (german: Herzogtum Jülich; nl, Hertogdom Gulik; french: Duché de Juliers) comprised a state within the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The duchy lay west of the Rhine river and was bordered by th ...
( Erkelenz). In 1795 Guelders was finally conquered and incorporated by the
French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...
, and partitioned between the départements of Roer and Meuse-Inférieure.


Coat of arms of Guelders

The coat of arms of the region changed over time. Image:Blason ville fr Avanne-Aveney (Doubs).svg, before 1236 Image:Blason comte fr Gueldre.svg, from 1236 Image:Armoiries Gueldre.svg, from 1276 Image:Guelders-Jülich Arms.svg, Jülich-Guelders after 1393


Guelders in popular culture

William Thatcher, the lead character in the 2001 film '' A Knight's Tale'' played by Heath Ledger, claimed to be Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein from Gelderland so as to appear to be of noble birth and thus qualify to participate in jousting. Set in the late 1460s, the main character in Rafael Sabatini's 1929 novel ''The Romantic Prince'' is Count Anthony of Guelders, elder son of Duke Arnold and brother to Adolf "since then happily vanished". Sabatini weaves the historical characters and events of the period through the story. The folk/metalband Heidevolk, based in Gelderland, composed and performs a range of songs about Gelre/Guelders, among them a contemporary anthem "".


List of rulers


See also

* Prussian Guelders * Spanish Guelders


Notes


References

* * * *Nijsten, Gerard. ''In the Shadow of Burgundy: The Court of Guelders in the Late Middle Ages'' (Cambridge University Press, 2004)


External links

* * *
Map of Upper Guelders in 1789 – Northern Part
{{Authority control Duchies of the Holy Roman Empire Seventeen Provinces History of Gelderland 1470s in the Burgundian Netherlands Medieval Germany Medieval Netherlands