Frederick III of Moers (1354 – 12 May 1417) was a nobleman from 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 ...

. He was Count of Moers by inheritance and Count of Saarwerden by

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 ...

Life

Frederick was the son of Count Dietrich IV of Moers and his wife Elisabeth of

Zuilen Zuilen is a district in the Northwest section of the Netherlands, Dutch city of Utrecht. Zuilen is bordered by the train line and the river Vecht (Utrecht), Vecht, the Amsterdam–Rhine Canal, Amsterdam-Rhine Canal, the street Marnixlaan, and ...

, heiress of Baër. He succeeded his father as Count of Moers in 1372, at the age of 17, and ruled the county for the next 45 years. Already during the first month of his reign, he requested and received three privileges from Emperor Charles IV: the village of Creyfeld received the status of a market town and the right to hold to fairs annually, and the House of Moers received the right to mint coins. This right was first exercised in 1405, by his son John. These privileges and the increasing influence of the count rekindled the envy of Count

Adolf III of the Marck Adolph III of the Marck (German: ''Adolf III von der Mark''; – 1394) was the Prince-Bishop of Münster (as Adolph) from 1357 to 1363, the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne (as Adolph II) in 1363, the Count of Cleves (as Adolph I) from 1368 to 139 ...

(d. 1394), who claimed that Moers was a fief of

Cleves Kleve (; traditional ; ; ; ; ; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century onwards, Cleves was capital of a county and later a duchy ...

Marriage

On 10 September 1376, Frederick married Walburga (sometimes spelled ''Walburgis''), the daughter of John II of Saarwerden and his wife Clara of Vinstingen. The marriage had been mediated by Walburga's brother

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

, who was

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

and wanted closer a relationship with the Counts of Moers, to reduce the influence in the

Lower Rhine Lower Rhine (, ; kilometres 660 to 1,033 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Bonn in Germany and the North Sea at Hook of Holland in the Netherlands, including the '' Nederrijn'' () within the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta; alternat ...

area of his nemesis Adolf III of the Marck. In 1397, Walburga's brother Henry II died without a male heir, and Frederick III inherited the County of Saarwerden

Last will and testament

In 1417 Frederick made a

last will and testament A will and testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property (estate (law), estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the property until its fi ...

in which he left the County of Moers to his son in fideicommis. This meant that if a Count were to die without a male heir, the county would be inherited by a younger brother (or his son), and not fell back to the Duke of Cleves. This did not work for very long: Count William of Wied, who had married Frederick III's great-granddaughter Margaret, managed, with support from Duke William IV of Jülich-Berg to snatch Moers away from Frederick III's great-grandson John IV. Frederick III died on 12 May 1417 and his possessions were inherited by his eldest son, Frederick IV, who had been born .

Issue

From his marriage with Walburga, he had the following children:Altgelt 1845, p. 24 * Frederick ( – 11 July 1448), inherited Moers as Frederick IV * John ( – 2 July 1431), inherited Saarwerden as John III *

Dietrich Dietrich () is an ancient German name meaning "ruler of the people", but also "keeper of the keys" or "lockpick" (either the tool or the profession). Given name * Dietrich, Count of Oldenburg (c. 1398–1440) * Thierry of Alsace (; 1099–1168), ...

( – 14 February 1463), who was

as Dietrich II and Bishop of

Paderborn Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...

as Dietrich III *

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

(probably 1391 –1450), Bishop of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

and

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

as Henry II *

Walram Waleran, Galeran, or Walram is a Germanic first name, common in the Middle Ages, that may refer to: People *Waleran I of Limburg (died 1082) * Waleran the Hunter (fl. 1086) * Walram (bishop of Naumburg) (r. 1091–1111) * Waleran of Le Puiset (died ...

( – 3 October 1456), Bishop of

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

and of Münster * Anna Elizabeth, married *# in 1403 with Lord Bernard VI of Lippe (d. 1415) *# Nicholas II, Count of Tecklenburg (d. 1430) * Walburga, the youngest daughter, married in 1406 with John III, Lord of Heinsberg It is an ancestor of

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (; 28 June or 22 September 1515 – 16 July 1557) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the Wives of Henry VIII, fourth wife of Henry VIII. Little is known about Anne before 1527, ...

References

* Hermann Altgelt: ''Geschichte der Grafen und Herren von Moers'', Bötticher, Düsseldorf, 1845
Online
* Theodor Joseph Lacomblet: ''Urkundenbuch für die Geschichte des Niederrheins oder des Erzstifts Cöln, der Fürstenthümer Jülich und Berg, Geldern, Meurs, Cleve und Mark, und der Reichsstifte Elten, Essen und Werden'', part 4, Schaub'sche Buchhandlung, Düsseldorf, 1858
Online at Google Books
Genealogy of the Counts of Moers at p. XII-XXV * Carl Hirschberg: ''Geschichte der Grafschaft Moers'', Steiger, Moers, 1904 * Leopold Henrichs: ''Geschichte der Grafschaft Moers bis zum Jahre 1625'', Kaltenmeier & Verhuven, Hüls-Crefeld, 1914 * Otto Ottsen: ''Geschichte der Stadt Moers'', vol. 1, 1950, reprinted: Steiger, Moers, 1977, * Margret Wensky (ed.): ''Moers: Die Geschichte der Stadt von der Frühzeit bis zur Gegenwart'', vol. 1, Böhlau, Cologne, Weimar and Vienna, 2000,

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 03 Moers Counts in Germany 1354 births 1417 deaths 14th-century German nobility