Engelbert II of the Mark (1275 – July 18, 1328) was

Count of the Mark The County of Mark (, colloquially known as ) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay south of Lippe river on both sides of the Ruhr river along the Volme and Lenne rivers. The Counts d ...

and through marriage, Count of

Arenberg Arenberg, also spelled as Aremberg or Ahremberg, is a former county, principality and finally duchy that was located in what is now Germany. The Dukes of Arenberg remain a prominent Belgian noble family. History First mentioned in the 12th c ...

Family

He was the son and heir of Count Eberhard II and his wife, Irmgard of

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

. On January 25, 1299, he married Mechtilde of

(died March 18, 1328), daughter of Johann of Arenberg and Katharina of

Jülich Jülich (; in old spellings also known as ''Guelich'' or ''Gülich'', , , Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. As a border region between the competin ...

. He and his wife had eight children: * Adolf II (died 1347),

Count of Mark The County of Mark (, colloquially known as ) was a county and Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay south of Lippe (river), Lippe river on both sides of the Ruhr river along the Volme a ...

* Engelbert (died 1368),

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 ...

Eberhard Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire *Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, Du ...

(died 1387), Count of Arenberg * Mathilde * Irmgard (died 1360), married Otto, Lord of Lippe * Katharina (died 1360) * Margareta * Richardis. The County of Mark then fell heir to his son, Adolf II of the Mark; ownership of Arenberg went to his son, Eberhard I of the Mark-Arenberg.

Biography

Engelbert II succeeded his father in 1308 and continued his father's efforts to maintain authority over the County of Mark. This necessitated conflict with Bishop Ludwig II of

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

, as well as the Archbishop of Cologne, Henry II of

Virneburg Virneburg is a municipality in the district of Mayen-Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. Virneburg Castle is located in the village. Geography Virneburg is a municipality in the Vulkaneifel. Next towns are Mayen in the East and A ...

, who also dominated the neighboring

Duchy of Westphalia The Duchy of Westphalia () was a historic territory in the Holy Roman Empire, which existed from 1102 to 1803. It was located in the greater region of Westphalia, originally one of the three main regions in the German stem duchy of Saxony and ...

. When Bishop Ludwig II marched into

Hamm Hamm may refer to: Places ;Germany: * Hamm, North Rhine-Westphalia, a city north-east of Dortmund * Hamm (Sieg), a municipality in the eponymous ''Verbandsgemeinde'' in the district of Altenkirchen, Rhineland-Palatinate * Hamm, Bitburg-Prüm, part ...

in 1323, he fell into Engelbert's hands and was released only after paying 5,000 silvermarks, a very high ransom. During the dispute over the throne between

Frederick the Fair Frederick the Fair () or the Handsome ( – 13 January 1330), from the House of Habsburg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as well as the anti-king of Germany from 1314 until 1325 and then co-king until his death. Background Frederi ...

and Ludwig IV, Engelbert II later allied himself temporarily with the Archbishop of Cologne, who supported Frederick. A short time later, Engelbert II switched his support to Ludwig IV, putting the Archbishop under such pressure, he was obliged to request a truce. Count Engelbert II granted the city of

Bochum Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...

its town charter at Blankenstein Castle in 1321."Burg Blankenstein"
www.ruhr-guide.de - DAS Online-Magazin für das Ruhrgebiet. Accessed March 2, 2010.

References

Counts of the Mark 1270s births 1328 deaths Counts of Arenberg {{Germany-count-stub