For the present province also called "Guelders" in English, see Gelderland.
Guelders (DutchGelre, German Geldern) is the name of a historical duchy in the Low Countries. The present province of Gelderland (English also Guelders) in the Netherlands occupies most of the area of the former duchy. The duchy was named after the town of Geldern, which is now in Germany.
Guelders was often at war with the county of Holland and the bishopric of Utrecht, until the dukes of Burgundy acquired the whole area. The duchy was divided into four quarters:
the quarter of Roermond (now in the province of Limburg), also called the Upper Quarter of Guelders
When the northern Netherlands revolted against Philip II of Spain, the three northern quarters became part of the United Provinces, while the Upper Quarter remained a part of the Spanish and later the Austrian Netherlands.
Counts and Dukes of Guelders
House of Wassenberg
The first count of Guelders was Count Gerard IV of Wassenberg. For Guelders, he was of course numbered Gerard I. During Reinoud III's reign, the county of Guelders became a duchy.
Gerard I (before 1096-about 1129)
Gerard II "the tall" (abt 1129-about 1131)
Henry I (about 1131-1182)
regent: Gerard III (about 1160-about 1181), eldest son of Henry I
Charles the Bold had forced Arnold of Egmond to sell him the duchy of Guelders. He was recognized by the emperor as duke of Guelders, but the Egmonds had not abandoned their own claims. Adolf's son Charles of Egmond conquered the duchy in 1492. He remained in power with support of the French king. Only in 1543 did the Habsburg emperor Charles V gained control of Guelders again.
Otto I was the first to be called Count of Gelre and Zutphen, marking the beginning of what later became a political entity.
In 1339, Count Reinoud II of Gelre was made a Duke, which in those days had become just a honorary title and was not meant to give him more power.
Nowadays, Gelre still lives on as Geldern, the German town which has grown out of Gottfried's original fortification, and as the Dutch Province of Gelderland.
Oost Gelre is in Eastern Gelderland province, consisting of the former municipalities of Groenlo and Lichtenvoorde.
Mello Luchtenberg spotted this webpage, containing two flags of the new municipality of Oost Gelre, one purple, one red, both charged with the municipal logo in white.
This was based on the old arms of the former municipalities of Groenlo and Lichtenvoorde.
Feeds |
Contact