Arnold, Duke of Guelders

Arnold, Duke of Guelders
Arnold, Duke of Guelders
Spouse(s)	Catherine of Cleves
Noble family	House of Egmont
Father	John II, Count of Egmond
Mother	Maria van Arkel
Born	(1410-07-10)10 July 1410 Egmond-Binnen
Died	23 February 1473(1473-02-23) (aged 62) Grave)

Arnold of Egmond (14 July 1410, Egmond-Binnen, North Holland – 23 February 1473, Grave) was Duke of Guelders, Count of Zutphen. He was son of John II of Egmond and Maria van Arkel.

Egmond coat of arms

On 11 July 1423, Arnold of Egmond, who was still a boy in years, succeeded Duke Reinald IV. Arnold was the grandson of Reinald's sister, Johanna. Although the Emperor Sigismund had invested the Duke of Berg with the duchy of Gelders, Arnold retained the confidence of the Estates by enlarging their privileges, and enjoyed the support of Duke Philip of Burgundy. Arnold was betrothed, and afterwards united in marriage to Catherine of Cleves née Valois, a niece of Philip of Burgundy. Subsequently, however, Duke Arnold fell out with his ally as to the succession to the see of Utrecht; whereupon Philip joined with the four chief towns of Guelders in the successful attempt of Arnold's son Adolf to substitute his own for his father's authority. When Charles the Bold became Duke of Burgundy in 1467, after rejecting a compromise, Adolph was thrown into prison. Arnold, against the will of the towns and the law of the land, pledged his duchy to Charles for 300,000 Rhenish florins (1471). Upon Arnold's death two years later, Charles took possession of the duchy.

Family and children

He was married in Cleves on 26 January 1430 to Catherine of Cleves (1417-1479), daughter of Adolph IV, Duke of Cleves and Marie of Burgundy and great-aunt of Anne of Cleves. Their children were:

• Mary (c. 1431–1463), married 3 July 1449 to James II, King of Scots
• William (born c. 1434), died young
• Margaret (c. 1436–1486, Simmern), married on 16 August 1454 to Frederick I, Count of Palatine-Simmern.
• Adolf (1438–1477)
• Catherine (1439–1496), Regent of Geldern in 1477–1481. She was married secretly in 1464 to Louis de Bourbon, Bishop of Liège.

Ancestors