Biography of Reginald I Count Guelders 1255-1326

Paternal Family Tree: Guelders

Maternal Family Tree: Etienette Countess Provence and Arles

In 1182 [his son-in-law] Dietrich Cleves VIII Count Cleves and [his daughter] Margaret Guelders Countess Cleves were married. She the daughter of Reginald I Count Guelders and Margaret Dampierre Duchess Brabant.

In 1240 [his father] Otto II Count Guelders (age 25) and Margaretha Cleves Countess of Gulders (age 22) were married. She by marriage Countess Guelders. She the daughter of Dietrich Cleves V Count Cleves and Mathilda Dinslaken Countess Cleves. He the son of [his grandfather] Gerard III Count Guelders and [his grandmother] Margaret Reginar Countess Guelders. They were fourth cousins. He a great x 2 grandson of King Stephen I England.

Before 1250 Raoul Coucy II Lord Coucy and [his mother] Philippe Dammartin Countess Eu were married. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Simon Dammartin and [his grandmother] Marie Montgomery Countess Ponthieu (age 50). They were third cousins.

In 1253 [his father] Otto II Count Guelders (age 38) and [his mother] Philippe Dammartin Countess Eu were married. She by marriage Countess Guelders. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Simon Dammartin and [his grandmother] Marie Montgomery Countess Ponthieu. He the son of [his grandfather] Gerard III Count Guelders and [his grandmother] Margaret Reginar Countess Guelders. They were half fifth cousins. He a great x 2 grandson of King Stephen I England.

In 1255 Reginald I Count Guelders was born to [his father] Otto II Count Guelders (age 40) and [his mother] Philippe Dammartin Countess Eu. He a great x 3 grandson of King Stephen I England.

On 1st January 1271 [his father] Otto II Count Guelders (age 56) died. His son Reginald (age 16) succeeded I Count Guelders.

In 1276 Reginald I Count Guelders (age 21) and Ermengarde Luxemburg I Duchess Limburg were married. She by marriage Countess Guelders. She the daughter of Waleran Luxemburg IV Duke Limburg and Judith Kleve Duchess Limburg. He the son of Otto II Count Guelders and Philippe Dammartin Countess Eu. They were fourth cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Stephen I England.

Abbot John Whethamstede’s Chronicle of the Abbey of St Albans

Abbot John Whethamstede's Register aka Chronicle of his second term at the Abbey of St Albans, 1451-1461, is a remarkable text that describes his first-hand experience of the beginning of the Wars of the Roses including the First and Second Battles of St Albans, 1455 and 1461, respectively, their cause, and their consequences, not least on the Abbey itself. His text also includes Loveday, Blore Heath, Northampton, the Act of Accord, Wakefield, and Towton, and ends with the Coronation of King Edward IV. In addition to the events of the Wars of the Roses, Abbot John, or his scribes who wrote the Chronicle, include details in the life of the Abbey such as charters, letters, land exchanges, visits by legates, and disputes, which provide a rich insight into the day-to-day life of the Abbey, and the challenges faced by its Abbot.

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In 1280 [his mother] Philippe Dammartin Countess Eu died.

In 1281 [his half-sister] Margaret Guelders Countess Cleves died.

On 14th November 1282 Alexander Dunkeld Prince Scotland (age 18) and [his future wife] Margaret Dampierre Countess Guelders (age 10) were married. She the daughter of [his future father-in-law] Guy Dampierre Count Flanders (age 56) and [his future mother-in-law] Isabelle Luxemburg Countess Flanders (age 35). He the son of King Alexander III of Scotland (age 41) and Margaret Queen of Scotland. They were half third cousin once removed. He a grandson of King Henry III of England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

In 1286 Reginald I Count Guelders (age 31) and Margaret Dampierre Countess Guelders (age 14) were married. She by marriage Countess Guelders. She the daughter of Guy Dampierre Count Flanders (age 60) and Isabelle Luxemburg Countess Flanders (age 39). He the son of Otto II Count Guelders and Philippe Dammartin Countess Eu. They were half third cousin once removed. He a great x 3 grandson of King Stephen I England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

Around 1287 Hugh Chatillon II Count Blois and [his sister-in-law] Beatrix Dampierre Countess Blois were married. She by marriage Countess Blois. She the daughter of [his father-in-law] Guy Dampierre Count Flanders (age 61) and [his mother-in-law] Isabelle Luxemburg Countess Flanders (age 40). He the son of Guy Chatillon III Count Saint Pol (age 60) and Matilda Reginar Countess Saint Pol (age 63). They were fourth cousins. He a great x 3 grandson of King Stephen I England. She a great x 5 granddaughter of King William "Conqueror" I of England.

On 4th October 1290 [his brother-in-law] John Dampierre Bishop Metz Bishop of Liège (age 40) died.

On 5th April 1291 [his sister-in-law] Beatrix Dampierre (age 31) died.

In 1295 [his son] Reginald "Black" I Duke Guelders was born to Reginald I Count Guelders (age 40) and [his wife] Margaret Dampierre Countess Guelders (age 23). He a great x 4 grandson of King Stephen I England. He married (1) 11th January 1311 Sophia Berthout Berthout and had issue (2) May 1332 his second cousin once removed Eleanor of Woodstock Plantagenet, daughter of King Edward II of England and Isabella of France Queen Consort England, and had issue.

On 7th March 1305 [his father-in-law] Guy Dampierre Count Flanders (age 79) died. His son [his brother-in-law] Robert (age 56) succeeded III Count Flanders.

In 1307 [his sister-in-law] Beatrix Dampierre Countess Blois died.

In 1308 [his brother-in-law] John Dampierre I Marquis Namur (age 41) and Margaret Bourbon (age 19) were married. The difference in their ages was 22 years. She the daughter of Robert Bourbon 1st Count Clermont (age 52) and Beatrice Burgundy (age 51). He the son of [his father-in-law] Guy Dampierre Count Flanders and [his mother-in-law] Isabelle Luxemburg Countess Flanders. They were second cousin twice removed. He a great x 5 grandson of King William "Conqueror" I of England. She a great x 3 granddaughter of King Henry "Curtmantle" II of England.

Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke

Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.

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In 1308 [his son-in-law] Dietrich Cleves VIII Count Cleves (age 17) and [his daughter] Margaret Guelders Countess Cleves were married. She the daughter of Reginald I Count Guelders (age 53) and Margaret Dampierre Duchess Brabant. He the son of Dietrich Cleves VII Count Cleves and Margaret Kiburg Laufenburg Countess Cleves. They were sixth cousins. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Stephen I England.

On 11th January 1311 [his son] Reginald "Black" I Duke Guelders (age 16) and [his daughter-in-law] Sophia Berthout Berthout were married. He the son of Reginald I Count Guelders (age 56) and [his wife] Margaret Dampierre Countess Guelders (age 39).

In 1318 Reginald I Count Guelders (age 63) was imprisoned by his son [his son] Reginald "Black" I Duke Guelders (age 23) who effectively ruled Guelders thereafter.

On 17th September 1322 [his brother-in-law] Robert Dampierre III Count Flanders (age 73) died. His grandson Louis (age 18) succeeded I Count Flanders.

On 9th October 1326 Reginald I Count Guelders (age 71) died. His son Reginald (age 31) succeeded II Count Guelders.

In 1331 [his former wife] Margaret Dampierre Countess Guelders (age 59) died.

[his daughter] Philippa Guelders was born to Reginald I Count Guelders and Margaret Dampierre Duchess Brabant. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Stephen I England.

[his daughter] Elisabeth Guelders Abbess Cologne was born to Reginald I Count Guelders and Margaret Dampierre Duchess Brabant. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Stephen I England.

Chronicle of Walter of Guisborough

A canon regular of the Augustinian Guisborough Priory, Yorkshire, formerly known as The Chronicle of Walter of Hemingburgh, describes the period from 1066 to 1346. Before 1274 the Chronicle is based on other works. Thereafter, the Chronicle is original, and a remarkable source for the events of the time. This book provides a translation of the Chronicle from that date. The Latin source for our translation is the 1849 work edited by Hans Claude Hamilton. Hamilton, in his preface, says: 'In the present work we behold perhaps one of the finest samples of our early chronicles, both as regards the value of the events recorded, and the correctness with which they are detailed; Nor will the pleasing style of composition be lightly passed over by those capable of seeing reflected from it the tokens of a vigorous and cultivated mind, and a favourable specimen of the learning and taste of the age in which it was framed.'

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[his son] Guy Guelders was born to Reginald I Count Guelders and Margaret Dampierre Duchess Brabant. He a great x 4 grandson of King Stephen I England.

Raoul Lusignan II Count of Eu and [his mother] Philippe Dammartin Countess Eu were married. She by marriage Countess Eu. She the daughter of [his grandfather] Simon Dammartin and [his grandmother] Marie Montgomery Countess Ponthieu.

[his daughter] Margaret Guelders Countess Cleves was born to Reginald I Count Guelders and Margaret Dampierre Duchess Brabant. She a great x 4 granddaughter of King Stephen I England. She married (1) 1182 Dietrich Cleves VIII Count Cleves and had issue (2) 1308 her sixth cousin Dietrich Cleves VIII Count Cleves, son of Dietrich Cleves VII Count Cleves and Margaret Kiburg Laufenburg Countess Cleves, and had issue.