Guelders The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) is a historical duchy, 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 pr ...

is a historical

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a 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 existed an important differe ...

, previously

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

, of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, located in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

Counts

House of Wassenberg

* before 1096–about 1129: Gerard I * about 1129–about 1131: Gerard II, son of Gerard I * about 1131–1182: Henry I, son of Gerard II * 1182–1207:

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

, son of Henry I * 1207–1229: Gerard III, son of Otto I * 1229–1271:

Otto II Otto II (955 – 7 December 983), called the Red (), was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great and Adelaide of Italy. Otto II was ...

, son of Gerard III * 1271–1318:

Reginald I Reginald I may refer to: * Reginald I, Count of Burgundy (968–1057), Count of the Free County of Burgundy from 1026 * Reginald I, Count of Bar (died 1149), called "the One-eyed", Count of Bar from 1105 * Reginald I of Guelders (1255–1326), Count ...

, son of Otto II * 1318–1343: Reginald II, son of Reginald I

Dukes

House of Wassenberg

During Reinoud II's reign, the county of Guelders was elevated to a duchy with the Wessenberg-Maccan. * 1318–1343: Reginald II ** 1343–1344:

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It was the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages">Provençal dialect ...

, wife of Reginald II, regent of Reginald III * 1343–1361: Reginald III, son of Reginald II and Eleanor * 1361–1371:

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

, son of Reginald II * 1371: Reginald III, second time After the death of Reginald III without issue, two of his half-sisters disputed the succession of the Duchy of Guelders: *1371–1379

Matilde Matilde is an alternate spelling of the name Matilda (name), Matilda and may refer to: People *Matilde Borromeo (born 1983), Italian equestrian *Matilde Camus (1919–2012), Spanish poet *Matilde Casazola (born 1942), Bolivian songwriter *Matilde ...

(d. 1384) and her husband,

John II, Count of Blois John II ( – 19 May 1381) was a Franco-Dutch nobleman who ruled lands in both France and the Holy Roman Empire. He was the count of Blois and Dunois from 1372 until 1381, the lord of Avesnes, Schoonhoven, Gouda, Beaumont, Chimay and Waard ...

(d. 1381) *1371–1379 Maria (d. 1397) and her husband,

William II, Duke of Jülich William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

(d. 1393)

House of Jülich-Hengebach

* 1379–1402:

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

, son of Maria and William II ** 1371–1377: William II, son of William I * 1402–1423: Reginald IV, son of William II

House of Egmond

* 1423–1436: John II, nephew of Reginald IV, regent of Arnold * 1423–1465: Arnold, son of John II * 1465–1471: Adolf, son of Arnold * 1471–1473: Arnold, second time Arnold sold the Duchy of Guelders to Charles I, Duke of

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

, who was recognized by the Holy Roman Emperor as Duke of Guelders.

House of Burgundy

* 1473–1477: Charles I * 1477–1482: Mary, daughter of Charles I, wife of Maximillian

House of Habsburg

* 1477–1482: Maximillian I, ruler ''

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...

'' * 1482–1492:

Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to: * Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC) * Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC) * Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor * Philip I of France (1052–1108) * Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) ( ...

, son of Mary and Maximilian I

House of Egmond

The Egmond family did not abandon their claims to Guelders and

Charles II, Duke of Guelders Charles II (9 November 1467 – 30 June 1538) was a member of the House of Egmond who ruled as Duke of Guelders and Count of Zutphen from 1492 until his death. He had a principal role in the Frisian peasant rebellion and the Guelders Wars. Life ...

conquered the Duchy in 1492. As Duke his regent was his aunt Catherine of Guelders. Charles remained in power with support of the French king. * 1492–1538: Charles II, son of Adolf

House of La Marck

* 1538–1543: William II, distant relative and successor of the House of Egmond

House of Habsburg

* 1543–1555:

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

, son of Philip I * 1555–1598: Philip II, son of Charles III

Guelders in popular culture

William Thatcher, the lead character in the 2001 film '' A Knight's Tale'' played by

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film care ...

claimed to be Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein from

Gelderland Gelderland ( , ), also known as Guelders ( ) in English, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands, located in the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Nethe ...

so as to appear to be of noble birth and thus qualify to participate in jousting.

External links

* * {{cite web , last=Marek , first=Miroslav , url=http://genealogy.euweb.cz/egmond/egmond2.html#R , title= House of Egmont , publisher=Genealogy EU
Map of Upper Guelders in 1789 – Northern Part

Ruling families of the Duchy of Guelders af:Gelre da:Hertugdømmet Geldern de:Herzogtum Geldern li:Hertogdom Gelre