Karel van Egmont, duke of Guelders

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Stamboom nr. : 52.298.

Generatie : 16.

At the battle of Nijmegen the six year old Charles was captured by Charles the Bold and taken to the Burgundian court in Ghent were he was educated.

While fighting in the Burgundian army, Charles of Gelre was captured during the battle of Béthune (near Calais, France). After a five year imprisonment and a paying large ransom he was released in 1492 and became the official Duke of Gelre, ending the bitter internal conflict.

King Maximilian subsequently managed to acquire the Burgundian lands for the Habsburgs by marriage. In 1492, the citizens of Guelders, disenchanted with Maximilian's rule, ransomed Charles and recognized him as their Duke. Charles was supported by the French King, but in 1505, Guelders was regained by King Maximilian's son Philip the Handsome. Charles had to accompany Philip to Spain to attend Philip's coronation as King of Castile but at Antwerp, Charles managed to escape. Shortly afterwards, Philip died in Spain and by July 1513 Charles had regained control over the whole of Guelders. In his conflict with the Habsburgs, Charles also became a major player behind the scenes of the Frisian peasant rebellion and at first financially supported the rebel leader Pier Gerlofs Donia. After the tides turned against the rebels, Charles stopped his support and switched sides together with his military commander Maarten van Rossum. In the Treaty of Gorinchem (1528), Emperor Charles, son of Philip the Handsome, proposed to recognize Charles of Egmond as Duke of Guelders under the condition that he would inherit the Duchy should the Duke die without issue. The Duke, who at the time did not have any children, delayed signing the treaty. Another battle ensued, after which the passage was removed from the treaty. In 1536 there was finally peace between Guelders and Burgundy with the Treaty of Grave.

Charles died at Arnhem, and is buried in the St. Eusebius Church there

His only legitimate (twin) sister, Philippa (1467–1547), survived him and died during the reign of her great-grandson, Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (1543–1608).

Maarten van Rossum (c. 1478 – June 7, 1555) was a Dutch military tactician who became field marshal in the service of Charles, Duke of Guelders.

Maarten van Rossem Sources ::

http://paulbuddehistory.com/europe/gelre/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_II,_Duke_of_Guelders