William IV of Egmont (''Dutch'': Willem van Egmond) (26 January 1412 – 19 January 1483) was Lord of Egmond, IJsselstein, Schoonderwoerd and Haastrecht and Stadtholder of Guelders.

Biography

William was a son of John II, Lord of Egmond and

Maria van Arkel Maria van Arkel (c. 1385 – 19 July 1415) was the only daughter and heiress of Lord John V of Arkel and Joanna of Jülich. She inherited the title to Gelderland from her maternal uncle, Duke Reginald IV, and her son became Arnold, Duke of Geld ...

, and a younger brother of

Arnold, Duke of Gelderland Arnold of Egmond (14 July 1410 – 23 February 1473) was Duke of Guelders, Count of Zutphen. Life Arnold was born in Egmond-Binnen, North Holland, the son of John II of Egmond and Maria van Arkel. On 11 July 1423, Arnold, still a boy, suc ...

.
He travelled with his brothers to the Holy Land (1458–1464) and was received in Rome by Pope

Pius II Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...

. William stayed most of the time in Guelders, where he supported his brother against his nephew Adolf of Egmond. After the incarceration of his brother, William led the pro-Burgundy party. When

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. ...

, Duke of Burgundy took over power in Guelders in 1473, he made William Stadtholder. In 1477

Mary of Burgundy Mary (french: Marie; nl, Maria; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy who ruled a collection of states that included the duchies of Limburg, Brabant, Luxembourg, the counties of ...

included William in her

Great Council of Mechelen From the 15th century onwards, the Great Council of the Netherlands at Mechelen (Dutch: ''De Grote Raad der Nederlanden te Mechelen''; French: ''le grand conseil des Pays-Bas à Malines''; German: ''der Grosse Rat der Niederlände zu Mecheln'') w ...

and made him Knight in the order of the

Golden Fleece In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece ( el, Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας, ''Chrysómallon déras'') is the fleece of the golden-woolled,, ''Khrusómallos''. winged ram, Chrysomallos, that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis, where ...

one year later.

Marriage and children

On 22 January 1437 William married Walburga of Meurs, Lady of Baer and Lathum, daughter of Frederick IV, Count of Moers (†1448), and Engelberta of Cleves, by whom he had 4 daughters and 3 sons: *

John III of Egmont John III of Egmont (or Egmond) (Hattem, 3 April 1438 – Egmond, 21 August 1516) was first Count of Egmont, Lord of Baer, Lathum, Hoogwoude, Aarstwoude, Purmerend, Purmerland and Ilpendam, and Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and West-Friesland.< ...

, Count of Egmond, stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and West-Friesland; *

Frederik of Egmont Frederik of Egmont (ca. 1440–1521) was count of Buren and Leerdam, Lord of IJsselstein and councilor of Charles the Bold and Maximilian I. Frederik was the second son of William II of Egmont and Walburga of Meurs. Together with his brothers, ...

, Count of Buren and Leerdam, Lord of IJsselstein; *

William of Egmont William is a male given name of Germanic 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 conquest of Eng ...

, stadtholder of Guelders. *Anna, married Bernard van Bentheim *Elisabeth, married Gijsbrecht van Bronckhorst *Walburgia, a nun *Margaretha, married Jan van Merode Besides the children from his marriage Van Egmont had four children by different women: *Nicholas of Egmond, was captured on the Valkhof 1478-1481 together with his half-brothers Frederick and William. *Hendrik van Egmond ( -1511), whose mother was Aleid Kreijnck *Frederik van Egmond *Hendrika van Egmond, she married Willem van Tuyl Bulcke Steijn (-1449). He was a son of Willem Willemsz of Tuyll and Maggie Mate Nesse, daughter of Adriaen van Nesse Mate (1385-1435) He is buried next to his brother, Duke Arnold of Gelderland. {{DEFAULTSORT:William 04, Lord of Egmont 1412 births 1483 deaths William 4 Knights of the Golden Fleece 15th-century people of the Holy Roman Empire