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The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) 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 ...
.


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 lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. Though the present province of
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 ...
(English also ''Guelders'') in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
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 or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...
that were acquired by
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
in 1713, which included the duchy's capital Geldern. Four parts of the duchy had their own centres, as rivers separated them: * 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 Guelders, Duchy of Guelders. In the Dutch Revolt, it was the only quarter that did not secede from the Habsburg monarchy to become pa ...
– upstream on both sides of the Maas, comprising the town of Geldern as well as Erkelenz,
Goch Goch (; archaic spelling: Gog) is a town in the Kleve (district), Kleve district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, close to the border with the Netherlands, south of Kleve and southeast of Nijmegen. History Goch is at least 750 years old: th ...
, Nieuwstadt,
Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), ...
and Straelen; spatially separated from the Lower Quarters (Gelderland): * the quarter of the county Zutphen, also called the
Achterhoek The Achterhoek (; ) is a cultural region and COROP area in the Eastern Netherlands. Its name (meaning "rear-corner") is geographically appropriate because the area lies in the easternmost part of the province of Gelderland and therefore in the e ...
– east of the
IJssel The IJssel (; ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. It more immediatel ...
and north of the
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
, including Doesburg,
Doetinchem Doetinchem (; Dutch Low Saxon, Low Saxon: ) is a city and Municipalities in the Netherlands, municipality in the east of the Netherlands. It is situated along the IJssel, Oude IJssel (Old IJssel) river in a part of the Provinces of the Netherland ...
, Groenlo and Lochem; * the Veluwe Quarter with Arnhem as its capital – west of the IJssel and north of the Rhine, with Elburg, Harderwijk, Hattem and
Wageningen Wageningen () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, 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 ...
; * Nijmegen Quarter, including Betuwe – south of the Rhine and north of the Maas (in between the rivers), including Gendt, Maasbommel, Tiel and Zaltbommel


History


Wassenberg and Jülich dynasties (c.1096–1423)

The county emerged about 1096 when the first documented reference to Gerard III of Wassenberg as "Count of Guelders" occurred. 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 centuries, Guelders quickly expanded downstream along the sides of the Maas,
Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
, and
IJssel The IJssel (; ) is a Dutch distributary of the river Rhine that flows northward and ultimately discharges into the IJsselmeer (before the 1932 completion of the Afsluitdijk known as the Zuiderzee), a North Sea natural harbour. It more immediatel ...
rivers and even claimed the succession in the Duchy of Limburg, until it lost the 1288
Battle of Worringen The Battle of Worringen was fought on 5 June 1288 near the town of Worringen (also spelled Woeringen), which is now part of Chorweiler, the northernmost borough (Stadtbezirk) of Cologne. It was the decisive battle of the War of the Limburg Succe ...
against Berg and Brabant. Guelders was often at war with its neighbours, not only with Brabant but also with the
County of Holland The County of Holland was a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire from its inception until 1433. From 1433 onward it was part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading pro ...
and the Bishopric of Utrecht. 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 Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...
, 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, the
Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...
Louis IV of Wittelsbach elevated Count Reginald II of Guelders (also styled Rainald), of the House of Wassenberg, to the rank of
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
. After the Wassenberg line became extinct in 1371 following the deaths of Reginald II's childless sons Edward II (on 24 August, from wounds suffered in the Battle of Baesweiler) and Reginald III (on 4 December), the ensuing Guelders War of Succession (1371 to 1379) 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 a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...
(in Guelders as William I, and 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 language, French: ''Maison d'Egmond'', Dutch language, Dutch: ''Huis Egmond'') is named after the Netherlands, Dutch town of Egmond aan den Hoef, Egmond, province of North Holland, and played an important role ...
, which gained recognition of its title from Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg 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 Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...
. The first Egmond Duke, Arnold, 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. Upon Arnold's death in 1473, Duke Charles added Guelders to the "Low Countries" portion of his Valois
Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...
.


Habsburg dynasty (1477–1549)

Upon Charles' defeat and death at the Battle of Nancy in January 1477, Duke Adolf was released from prison by the Flemish. Still, he died the same year at the head of a Flemish army besieging
Tournai Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...
after the States of Guelders had recognized him once more as Duke. Subsequently, Guelders was ruled by Habsburg 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 until being captured in the Battle of Béthune (1487) during the War of the Public Weal (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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, fought Maximilian's grandson Charles of Habsburg (who became Holy Roman Emperor, as Charles V, in 1519) in the Guelders Wars and expanded his realm further north, to incorporate what is now the Province of
Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...
. 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'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, Anne de Montmorency).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, Duke William conceded the Duchy of Guelders to the Emperor.


Part of the Seventeen Provinces

Emperor Charles V united Guelders with the Seventeen Provinces of the
Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands were the parts of the Low Countries that were ruled by sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. This rule began in 1482 and ended for the Northern Netherlands in 1581 and for the Southern Netherlands in 1797. ...
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 should be held by the Spanish Crown. When the Netherlands revolted against King
Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...
in the Dutch Revolt, the three northern quarters of
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 ...
joined the
Union of Utrecht The Union of Utrecht () was an alliance based on an agreement concluded on 23 January 1579 between a number of Habsburg Netherlands, Dutch provinces and cities, to reach a joint commitment against the king, Philip II of Spain. By joining forces ...
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 The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
. At the
Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...
, ending the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
in 1713, the Spanish Upper Quarter was again divided between Prussian Guelders ( Geldern, Viersen, Horst,
Venray Venray or Venraij (; ) is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a city in Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, the Netherlands. The municipality of Venray consists of 14 towns over an area of , with 43,494 inhabitants as of July 2016 ...
), the United Provinces (
Venlo Venlo () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg (Netherlands), ...
, Montfort, Echt),
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
(this part continued as the duchy: Roermond, Niederkrüchten, Weert), and the Duchy of Jülich ( Erkelenz). In 1795, Guelders was finally conquered and incorporated by the
French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted un ...
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 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 ...
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 * Spanish Guelders


Notes


References

* * * *Nijsten, Gerard. ''In the Shadow of Burgundy: The Court of Guelders in the Late Middle Ages'' (Cambridge University Press, 2004). *Nordzij, Aart. ''Gelre. Dynastie, land en identiteit in de late middeleeuwen'' (Werken Gelre 59), Hilversum, 2009. *Carl, Horst. ''Das 18. Jahrhundert (1701-1814) – Rheinland und Westfalen im preußischen Staat von der Königskrönung bis zur „Franzosenzeit''“. In: Georg Mölich, Veit Veltzke, Bernd Walter (eds.). ''Rheinland, Westfalen und Preußen. Eine Beziehungsgeschichte'', 2nd ed., Münster 2023, p. 51–118. *Früh, Martin. “''Pour avoir toujours libre accès”: Die DFG-geförderte Digitalisierung der Territorialarchive Geldern und Moers als Beitrag des Landesarchivs Nordrhein-Westfalen zur Erforschung der Rheinischen Landesgeschichte''. In: ''Rheinische Vierteljahrsblätter'' 88 (2024), p. 207-224.


External links

* * *
Map of Upper Guelders in 1789 – Northern Part
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guelders, Duchy of Duchies of the Holy Roman Empire Seventeen Provinces History of Gelderland 1470s in the Burgundian Netherlands Medieval history of Germany Medieval history of the Netherlands Territories of the Valois dukes of Burgundy States and territories disestablished in 1795