Noble family House of Arkel Parents John IV, Lord of Arkel Father John IV, Lord of Arkel Children John V, Lord of Arkel | Mother Irmengard of Cleves Name Otto, of | |
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Spouse(s) Elisabeth of Bar-Pierrepont Died 26 March 1396 or 1 April 1396 Grandchildren William, Lord of Arkel, Maria van Arkel Great grandchildren Arnold, Duke of Guelders, William IV, Lord of Egmont People also search for John V, Lord of Arkel, John IV, Lord of Arkel, William, Lord of Arkel, Maria van Arkel | ||
Grandparents John III, Lord of Arkel | ||
Otto, Lord of Arkel (c. 1330 – 26 March or 1 April 1396) was Lord of Arkel from 6 May 1360 until his death.
Contents
Life
He was a son of John IV and his wife, Irmengard of Cleves. Otto was born as his parents' second son, after his elder brother John, who died during a tournament in Dordrecht in 1352. During his reign, he further extended the family possessions: he acquired the Lordship of Haastrecht again, and in 1379, he acquired Liesveld.
Otto became an advisor to Count Albert of Holland. Albert claimed the County of Cleves, after John, the last count, died. However, the Emperor gave Cleves to Adolph II of the Marck. This caused a lasting animosity between the Houses of Arkel and La Marck.
In 1382, Otto granted town privileges to Gorinchem, Hagestein and Leerdam. In the following years, Otto tried to combine Hagestein Castle and the village of Gasperde and create a new town out of this combination. This was triggered by the Lords of Vianen, who were expanding their territory to the south-west, by annexing Noordeloos and Meerkerk. This isolated some manors Arkel owned in this area. Also, the Lords of Vianen sided with the Hooks.
Marriage and issue
Otto married in 1360 in Deventer to Elisabeth de Bar (d. 1410), daughter and heiress of Theobald of Bar-Pierrepont. They had one son:
Otto's illegitimate sons: