Arnold III, Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt-Tecklenburg-Limburg

Arnold II ( IV ) of Bentheim- Tecklenburg Steinfurt (* 10-11 October 1554 in New House, . † January 11, 1606 in Tecklenburg ) was Count of Bentheim, Tecklenburg and Steinfurt, as well as by marriage Count of Limburg. He is after Bentheim Tecklenburg and counting the second reigning Count of his name, in Steinfurt the Fourth; in Limburg he leads the only one of his name no order number.

Life

Arnold is the son of Count Eberwin III. Bentheim- Steinfurt of ( like L.) and Countess Anna von Tecklenburg -Schwerin. He spent his teenage years in the pen Ledeen in Tecklenburg with his sister Walburga.

Thanks to his mother him a special spiritual formation was given. He attended the Prince's School in Jülich to learn the "good arts, languages ​​and knightly exercises ". All this was completed by the young Count under the guidance of both a Catholic and as well as a reformed teacher. In 1571 the young Count went to the high school in Strasbourg. There he studied Protestant theology, law and politics. Arnold should visit on his grand tour after studying in Strasbourg and the French court in Paris. This project was, however, discontinued when the Protestant Earl learned from the excesses of St. Bartholomew. His education was continued at landgräflich Hessian court at Kassel.

Through inheritance and marriage he united a considerable number of small territories in his hand. These were the counties of Bentheim, Tecklenburg, Steinfurt, Limburg an der Lenne, Lower Rhine possessions, the rule Rheda and advocacies in the Electorate of Cologne. Thus the Count House of Bentheim -Tecklenburg came to a definite political significance. However, this could not be maintained due to lack of primogeniture and the subsequent distribution of estates with land cessions. During his reign, Count Arnold also had to deal with a Erbprozess with the Count of Solms- Braunfels because of the County of Tecklenburg.

Between 1588 and 1593 led Count Arnold II ( IV ), the Reformed doctrine of John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli gradually into its territories. The teachings of these two Protestant theologians he had met as a student at the High School at Strasbourg in the years 1571 and 1572. The Strasbourg period was not only religiously, but also political- educational formative for Count Arnold. He was found in his county schools. In September 1588 adopted a Latin school in Schüttorf founded by Count Arnold and located in one repealed nunnery in the county of Bentheim on their teaching. This was the first school foundation of the count, so far he had confined itself to existing schools to make donations. The Schüttorfer school, however, had to be laid in 1591 due to incursions of enemy forces to Steinfurt. From High School to Steinfurt in 1853 the high school Arnoldinum.

Count Arnold was buried in the Protestant parish church in Bad Bentheim.

Progeny

In Wesel he married on July 26, 1573 Magdalena von Neuenahr -Alpen, a daughter Gumprechts II of Neuenahr -Alpen. The couple had the following children:

• Otto ( born December 22, 1574 Steinfurt, † 1574 )
• Eberwin Wirich ( born January 14, 1576 Bentheim, † May 31, 1596 in Padua )
• Adolf ( * July 7, 1577 in Steinfurt, † November 5, 1623 ) ∞ 1606 Margarethe von Nassau -Wiesbaden
• Anna (* January 4, 1579; † December 9, 1624 ) ∞ 1595 Prince Christian I of Anhalt -Bernburg
• Arnold Jost (* April 4, 1580; † August 26, 1643 ) ∞ 1608 Anna Amalia von Isenburg - Büdingen
• Amalie Amoena ( born May 15, 1581 Tecklenburg, † January 31, 1584 in Bentheim )
• Wilhelm Heinrich ( born February 13, 1584 Bentheim, † October 6, 1632 ) ∞ 1617 with Anna Elisabeth of Anhalt- Dessau
• Konrad Gumprecht ( born March 10, 1585 Bentheim, † March 10, 1618 ) ∞ 1616 Johannetta Elisabeth of Nassau-Siegen
• Amoena Amalia ( born March 19, 1586 Bentheim, † September 3, 1625 ) ∞ 1606 Ludwig of Anhalt - Köthen
• Ludolf Friedrich ( born August 23, 1587 Bentheim, † January 8, 1629 )
• Magdalena ( born May 6, 1591 in Steinfurt, † 1649) ∞ May 24th, 1631 in Steinfurt with Georg Ernst, son of Jobst of Limburg- Styrum