Rainald II. (Geldern)

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Rainald II von Geldern (* around 1295 , † October 12, 1343 in Arnhem , called the Red or the Black ) was ruler of the county of Geldern, which was raised to the Duchy of Geldern in 1339 , and came from the Flamenses family .

Life

Coat of arms of Reinald II from the Wapenboek Gelre

Rainald II was the son of Rainald I of Geldern and Margaret of Flanders (also known as Margarete de Dampierre).

On January 11, 1311 he married to Roermond Sophia Berthout († May 6, 1329), heiress of the Mechelen rule and niece of Bishop Wilhelm of Utrecht (1296-1301). With her he had the children Margareta, heiress of Mechelen (* around 1320; † 1338) she died unmarried, Mechtild (* around 1325; † September 21, 1384 in Huissen ), Elisabeth / Isabella (*?; † December 10, 1376 in Graefenthal Monastery ) and Maria (*?; † November 1397), married to Wilhelm II. von Jülich .

Due to the sometimes very peculiar government style of his father, he declared this to be incapable of governing in 1316 and took over the reign. Most of the subjects under the leadership of Nijmegen stood by the Count's son, while Arnheim and the Veluwe stood by Rainald I. Due to the political differences, the vassals, servants and city lay judges (the later estates ) became politically involved for a short time . With the capture of the father by the son in 1320, the latter created clear conditions. Until his father's death on October 9, 1326, he exercised power as the son of the Count of Geldern , after which he called himself Count of Geldern and Zutphen .

Rainald II issued land and dyke rights for the individual parts of the country from 1321 to 1335 and thus fixed the customary law that has been handed down. For the first time, an approach of legal certainty is created, since the statutes were valid for both the rulers and the subjects. The subsequent rulers also repeatedly renewed these rights. Under Rainald there was probably an initial administrative division of the countries into offices.

In 1328 Reinald II successfully fought for the Bishop of Liège and collected a large sum for it (or was he given rights with a corresponding value?). In the same year he also took part in the imperial coronation of Ludwig of Bavaria in Italy. With the extinction of the Capetians in France , disputes were heralded, in the run-up to which Rainald initiated the German-English alliance with Wilhelm V. von Jülich early on and for Eduard III. sided with England .

On October 20, 1331, his second marriage took place with the princess Eleanor of England (daughter of King Edward II ). Together they had the children Rainald and Eduard .

In 1332 he was a member of the great anti-Brabant coalition, which later reoriented itself politically and from 1334 went against France with Brabant . This alliance was also available to King Edward III from 1337. in asserting his claims to the French throne. Rainald played a decisive role in this, by conquering Flemish cities for Eduard and temporarily assuming the role of royal deputy in Flanders. Flanders was an important market for England because of its considerable wool imports. During these years, Count Rainald II von Geldern had risen to become a figure that was respected throughout Europe.

On March 19, 1339 Raynald was as Duke of funds and Count of Zutphen on the Reichstag in Frankfurt in the Imperial Prince collected and invested with East Friesland. This decision was certainly also influenced by his important mediating role between Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian , who was married to Margaret of Holland , and Eduard III. of England, to whose sister Eleanor of England Rainald II had been married since 1331. In 1342 he founded the Monnikhuizen monastery near Arnhem. In 1343 Rainald moved his residence from Geldern to Nijmegen, but died unexpectedly in Arnhem in the same year and was buried in the nearby Monnikhuizen monastery.

Rainald had a very pronounced self-confidence, ran an elaborate farm and was able to significantly expand the Geldrian domain - he asserted claims against Kleve in the Reichswald and won sovereignty rights over Weeze , the county of Kessel , from Brabant , he took Tiel, Zandwijk and Heerewaarden from Utrecht In consultation with Holland , he got Salland, Twente and Drenthe pledged and he won the lords of Bredevoort, Heinsberg, Issum , Mechelen and Berenbroich. This principality brought him considerable income, especially from the river tariffs on the Rhine and Meuse. However, the income was offset by high expenses and several large loans to the King of England for his warfare against France. In 1343 he left his underage children from his second marriage and his wife a difficult political situation between the fronts of European conflicts. Like his parents, he is buried in the Graefenthal monastery near Goch .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Is. An. Nijhoff (1830) Gedenkwaardigheden uit de geschiedenis van Gelderland deel 1, p. 302 noot (2)
predecessor Office successor
Rainald I. Count of Geldern (from 1339 Duke)
Count of Zutphen
1320–1343
Rainald III.