The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical
duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition.
There once existed an important difference between ...
, previously
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
, of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
, located in the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
.
Geography
The duchy was named after the town of
Geldern (''Gelder'') in present-day
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
. Though the present province of
Gelderland
Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...
(English also ''Guelders'') in the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
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
North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...
that were acquired by
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
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 t ...
– upstream on both sides of the
Maas, comprising the town of
Geldern as well as
Erkelenz,
Goch,
Nieuwstadt,
Venlo and
Straelen;
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
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
, including
Doesburg,
Doetinchem,
Groenlo and
Lochem;
* the
Veluwe Quarter with Arnhem as its capital – west of the IJssel and north of the Rhine, with
Elburg,
Harderwijk
Harderwijk (; Dutch Low Saxon: ) is a municipality and city of the Netherlands.
It is served by the Harderwijk railway station.
Its population centres are Harderwijk and Hierden.
Harderwijk is on the western boundary of the Veluwe. The so ...
,
Hattem
Hattem () is a municipality and a town in the eastern Netherlands. The municipality had a population of in . The municipality includes the hamlet of 't Zand.
Name origin
The name “Hattem” is a typical farmyard name. The exact origin of � ...
and
Wageningen
Wageningen () is a municipality and a historic city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a population of in , of which many ...
;
*
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 ...
, 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 wa ...
– south of the Rhine and north of the Maas (in between the rivers), including
Gendt,
Maasbommel
Maasbommel is a city in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of West Maas en Waal, and lies about 7 km north of Oss. It received city rights in 1312.
Maasbommel was a separate municipality until 1818, when it ...
,
Tiel
Tiel () is a municipality and a town in the middle of the Netherlands. The town is enclosed by the Waal river and the Linge river to the South and the North, and the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal to the East. Tiel comprises the population centres Kapel- ...
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
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, source ...
, 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 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
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are r ...
by
Emperor
An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( ...
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 ...
(on 24 August, from wounds suffered in the
Battle of Baesweiler) and
Reginald III (on 4 December), the ensuing
Guelders War of Succession saw
William I of Jülich emerge victorious. William was confirmed in the inheritance of Guelders in 1379, and from 1393 onwards held both duchies in
personal union
A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interli ...
(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: ''Maison d'Egmond'', Dutch: ''Huis Egmond'') is named after the Dutch town of Egmond, province of North Holland, and played an important role in the Netherlands during the Middle Ages and the Early mod ...
, 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 ...
, 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
U ...
, 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
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
, but died the same year at the head of a Flemish army besieging
Tournai, 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, 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
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, 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 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 Episcopal principality of U ...
. 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 ...
,
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. ...
, Duke William conceded the Duchy of Guelders to the Emperor.
Part of the Seventeen Provinces
Emperor Charles V united Guelders with the
Seventeen Provinces
The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the French departments of Nord (F ...
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) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...
, the three northern quarters of
Gelderland
Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...
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
Spanish Netherlands ( Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the ...
.
At the
Treaty of Utrecht, ending the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
in 1713, the
Spanish Upper Quarter was again divided between
Prussian Guelders Prussian Guelders or Prussian G(u)elderland ( nl, Pruisisch Gelre; german: Preußisch Geldern) was the part of the Duchy of Guelders ruled by the Kingdom of Prussia from 1713. Its capital was Geldern.
The Upper Quarter of the Duchy of Guelders was ...
(
Geldern,
Viersen,
Horst,
Venray), the United Provinces (
Venlo,
Montfort,
Echt),
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
(this part continued as the duchy:
Roermond,
Niederkrüchten,
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
Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...
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 Prussian Guelders or Prussian G(u)elderland ( nl, Pruisisch Gelre; german: Preußisch Geldern) was the part of the Duchy of Guelders ruled by the Kingdom of Prussia from 1713. Its capital was Geldern.
The Upper Quarter of the Duchy of Guelders was ...
*
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