War of the Limburg Succession

Last updated
War of the Limburg Succession
Battle of Worringen 1288.PNG
15th century depiction of the Battle of Worringen from a manuscript of Brabantsche Yeesten (Royal Library of Belgium)
Date1283–1289
Location
Result Victory for the Duke of Brabant and his allies
Belligerents
Electorate of Cologne
County of Guelders
County of Luxembourg
Lordship of Ligny
County of Nassau
Duchy of Brabant
County of Berg
County of Mark
County of Loon
County of Jülich
County of Tecklenburg
County of Waldeck
Commanders and leaders
Siegfried II of Westerburg
Reginald I of Guelders
Henry VI of Luxembourg  
Waleran I of Ligny  
Adolf of Nassau
John I of Brabant
Adolf VIII of Berg
Eberhard II of Mark
Arnold V
Walram of Jülich
Otto III of Tecklenburg
Otto I of Waldeck

The War of the Limburg Succession was a conflict between 1283 and 1289 for the succession in the Duchy of Limburg.

The cause of the War of the Limburg Succession was the death of Waleran IV, Duke of Limburg in 1280, and his only daughter Ermengarde of Limburg in 1283. Waleran IV had no sons and Ermengarde had no children. Ermergarde had married Reginald I of Guelders, who now claimed the Duchy of Limburg. However, Waleran's nephew Adolf VIII of Berg, son of his elder brother Adolf VII of Berg, also claimed the Duchy. Unable to assert his claims, he sold them in 1283 to the mighty John I, Duke of Brabant.

Between 1283 and 1288, several smaller confrontations occurred between both sides, none of them decisive. Meanwhile, most of the other local powers chose sides. Siegfried II of Westerburg, the Archbishop of Cologne and ruler of the Electorate of Cologne, traditional enemy of the Duke of Brabant, forged an alliance with Reginald I, joined by Henry VI, Count of Luxembourg, and his brother Waleran I of Luxembourg, Lord of Ligny, as well as by Adolf, King of Germany. On the other side the Counts of Mark took the chance to affirm their independence from the Archbishop of Cologne and together with the Counts of Loon, Tecklenburg, and Waldeck allied with Brabant and Berg. The citizens of the City of Cologne, eager to emancipate themselves from the Archbishop's rule, also joined this alliance.

After the decisive Battle of Worringen in 1288, won by Duke John I of Brabant and his allies, the Duchy of Limburg came in the possession of the Duke of Brabant. The City of Cologne gained its independence from the Archbishopric and finally the status of an Imperial city in 1475.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchy of Guelders</span> Historical state in the Low Countries

The Duchy of Guelders is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchy of Berg</span> State of the Holy Roman Empire (1101–1815)

Berg was a state—originally a county, later a duchy—in the Rhineland of Germany. Its capital was Düsseldorf. It existed as a distinct political entity from the early 12th to the 19th centuries. It was a member state of the Holy Roman Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County of Mark</span> State of the Holy Roman Empire

The County of Mark was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay south of Lippe river on both sides of the Ruhr river along the Volme and Lenne rivers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Worringen</span> Part of the War of the Limburg Succession

The Battle of Worringen was fought on 5 June 1288 near the town of Worringen, which is now part of Chorweiler, the northernmost borough (Stadtbezirk) of Cologne. It was the decisive battle of the War of the Limburg Succession, fought for the possession of the Duchy of Limburg between on one side the Archbishop Siegfried II of Cologne and Count Henry VI of Luxembourg, and on the other side, Duke John I of Brabant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchy of Limburg</span> Duchy of the Low Countries (1065–1795)

The Duchy of Limburg or Limbourg was an imperial estate of the Holy Roman Empire. Much of the area of the duchy is today located within Liège Province of Belgium, with a small portion in the municipality of Voeren, an exclave of the neighbouring Limburg Province. Its chief town was Limbourg-sur-Vesdre, in today's Liège Province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchy of Jülich</span> State of the Holy Roman Empire (c. 1003–1794)

The Duchy of Jülich comprised a state within the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th to the 18th centuries. The duchy lay west of the Rhine river and was bordered by the Electorate of Cologne to the east and the Duchy of Limburg to the west. It had territories on both sides of the river Rur, around its capital Jülich – the former Roman Iuliacum – in the lower Rhineland. The duchy amalgamated with the County of Berg beyond the Rhine in 1423, and from then on also became known as Jülich-Berg. Later it became part of the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchy of Cleves</span> State of the Holy Roman Empire

The Duchy of Cleves was a state of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged from the medieval Hettergau. It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and the towns of Wesel, Kalkar, Xanten, Emmerich, Rees and Duisburg bordering the lands of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster in the east and the Duchy of Brabant in the west. Its history is closely related to that of its southern neighbours: the Duchies of Jülich and Berg, as well as Guelders and the Westphalian county of Mark. The Duchy was archaically known as Cleveland in English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burg Castle (Solingen)</span> Building in Solingen, Germany

Burg Castle, located in Burg an der Wupper (Solingen), is the largest reconstructed castle in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany and a popular tourist attraction. Its early history is closely connected to the rise of the Duchy of Berg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waleran III, Duke of Limburg</span> Duke of Limburg and Count of Arlon

Waleran III was initially lord of Montjoie, then count of Luxembourg from 1214. He became count of Arlon and duke of Limburg on his father's death in 1221. He was the son of Henry III of Limburg and Sophia of Saarbrücken.

Waleran IV was the duke of Limburg from 1247 to his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry IV, Duke of Limburg</span>

Henry IV was the duke of Limburg and count of Berg from 1226 to his death. He was the son of Waleran III, count of Luxembourg and duke of Limburg, and Cunigunda, daughter of Frederick I, Duke of Lorraine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siegfried II of Westerburg</span>

SiegfriedII of Westerburg was Archbishop of Cologne from 1275 to 1297.

Adolf VIII of Berg was the eldest son of Count Adolf VII of Berg and Margaret of Hochstaden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reginald I of Guelders</span>

Reginald I of Guelders was Count of Guelders from January 10, 1271, until his death.

Ermengarde was the ruling suo jure Duchess of Limburg from 1279 to 1283. She was the daughter of Judith of Kleve and Waleran IV, Duke of Limburg. She was named after her paternal grandmother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold V, Count of Loon</span>

Arnold V de Looz, was Count of Loon from 1279 to 1323 and Count of Chiny from 1299 to 1310. He was the son of John I, Count of Looz and Mathilde Jülich.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Counts of Limburg Hohenlimburg and Broich</span>

The house of Limburg Hohenlimburg took its name in the 12th century from the county of Limburg on the river Lenne in today's Germany. After Diederick of Isenberg had claimed part of the former property of his father Frederik of Isenberg with the help of uncle Duke Hendrik of Limburg, he built the Hohenlimburg castle on the river Lenne. At fifty years of age, his third son Everhart, closest descendant of the original holder, succeeded him in the county. Mentioned count, in original kept charters, since 1276 together with his father. It was clear that the future male-line primogeniture was granted. Everhard is the ancestor of the family branch of the counts of Limburg Hohenlimburg and Broich. His first brother Henry died young and second Johan (1247–1277), died at the age of thirty, left three children. Johan is the ancestor of the house Lords of Limburg Stirum. The Counts of Limburg Hohenlimburg and Broich were not count by name with a late 17th century certified title but actually ruled the county of Limburg-Lenne since the 13th century, until the first quarter of the 16th century. The last count Johan (1464–1511) who had no descendants of his own. None of his only two male relatives, cousins Diederick and Adolf of Limburg, sons of his former godfather Johan of Limburg (1421–1472), had inheritance rights, as explained below. To prevent the family of his former wife Von Neuenahr from taking the county, Count Johan adopted his cousin Irmgard of Sayn at her marriage to Winrich of Daun. She and her husband inherited the county.