Reginald III ( or ''Renaud'', known as "The Fat") (13 May 1333 – 4 December 1371) was

Duke of Guelders Guelders is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Counts House of Wassenberg * before 1096–about 1129: Gerard I * about 1129–about 1131: Gerard II, son of Gerard I * about 1131–11 ...

and

Count of Zutphen The title of Count of Zutphen historically belonged to the ruler of the Dutch province of Gelderland (Zutphen being one of the major cities in the province during the medieval period). The lordship was a vassal title before it eventually became a ...

from 1343 to 1361, and again in 1371. He was the son of

Reginald II of Guelders Reginald II of Guelders (), 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 and Mar ...

and of

Eleanor of Woodstock Eleanor of Woodstock (18 June 1318 – 22 April 1355) was an English princess and the duchess of Guelders and countess of Zutphen by marriage to Reginald II of Guelders. She was regent as the guardian of their minor son Reginald III from 1 ...

, daughter of

Edward II of England Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

. With the death of his father in 1343, his mother held the regency until 1344. From 1350, his brother

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 ...

asserted his rights and a quarrel of succession broke out between the two brothers until 1361. Reginald was overcome in

Tiel Tiel () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands. The town is enclosed by the Waal (river), Waal river and the Linge river to the South and the North, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the Eas ...

and was imprisoned in the castle of Nijenbeek. There he became so large that he could not have left, even if the door had been open—hence his appellation "The Fat". Edward died on 24 August 1371, having been mortally wounded in the

Battle of Baesweiler The Battle of Baesweiler (22 August 1371) was a conflict between the duke of Luxembourg- Brabant and the Duke of Jülich. Background Attacks on Brabant's commercial interests in the territory of the Duke of Jülich had almost caused war in Nov ...

, and Reginald was released (according to the legend, the walls had to be cut away so he could leave); he held the ducal throne for only a short period, dying a few months later. He was buried at Graefenthal Abbey. As he did not have a legitimate child, the succession passed to his sisters: Mathilde (also, Machteld), who was married to

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 ...

, and

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, wife of

William II 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 ...

and mother to

William I of Guelders and Jülich William (5 March 1364 – 16 February 1402, Arnhem) was Duke of Guelders, as William I, from 1377 and Duke of Jülich, as William III, from 1393. William was known for his military activities, participating in the Prussian crusade five times ...

, on whose behalf she claimed the throne of Guelders. The sisters and their respective followers (the ''Heeckerens'', from the party led by families of

Van Heeckeren Van Heeckeren is an old Dutch noble family from the Dutch provinces Overijssel and Gelderland. History The earliest bearer of the name may have taken it from the town of Ekeren, which was also referred to in 1167 as ''Hecerna''. The oldest kn ...

and their relatives, the

Van Rechteren The House of Rechteren (also Van Rechteren Limpurg) is the name of an old noble family belonging to the Dutch and German nobility. The German branch of Counts von Rechteren-Limpurg-Speckfeld has been mediatised and as such, the family belonged to ...

s, supported Mathilde, while the faction known as the ''Bronkhorsters'' followed Maria) fought for the duchy of

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 ...

in the War of the Succession of Guelders.

Marriage and children

On 1 July 1347 in

Tervuren Tervuren (; ) is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in the Flemish region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren proper, Vossem and Moorsel. On 1 January 2006, Tervuren had a total population o ...

, he married Marie of Brabant (1325–1399), lady of

Turnhout Turnhout () is a Belgium, Belgian Municipalities in Belgium, municipality and city located in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality comprises only the city of Turnhout proper. ...

, daughter of

John III, Duke of Brabant John III (; 1300 – 5 December 1355) was Duke of Brabant, Duke of Lothier, Lothier (1312–1355) and List of rulers of Limburg, Limburg (1312–1347 then 1349–1355), the last Brabant male to rule them. Biography John was the son of John II, ...

and

Marie d'Evreux Marie may refer to the following. People Given name * Marie (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** List of people named Marie * Marie (Japanese given name) Surname * Jean Gabriel-Marie, French composer ...

. They did not have children, but Reginald had an illegitimate son, Johan (Jan) of Hattem, and an illegitimate daughter, Ponte of Guelders, who married Johan van Groesbeek (d. 1428), lord of

Heumen Heumen () is a municipality and a village in the eastern Netherlands. Population centres *Heumen * Malden (administrative centre) *Molenhoek (partly) * Nederasselt * Overasselt Topography ''Dutch Topographic map of the municipality of Heumen, ...

and Malden.

References

Sources

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Reginald 03 Of Guelders Dukes of Guelders 1333 births 1371 deaths House of Wassenberg 14th-century nobility from the Holy Roman Empire 14th-century dukes in Europe