county · France and the Low Countries

County of Zutphen

1046 CE – 1138 CE (approx.) · capital Zutphen

A short-lived county on the IJssel that merged with Guelders in the 12th century and gave its name to one of the duchy's four quarters.

Origins

The county of Zutphen took shape in the mid-11th century around the trading town on the IJssel. Its early counts held lands granted by the German kings and the bishops of Utrecht, but details of its first rulers are scarce.

Rule and society

Zutphen was a river-trade centre on the route between the Rhine and the Zuiderzee, and the county included rich farmland in the Achterhoek. Its counts were linked by marriage to the leading families of the region.

Decline and legacy

Around 1138 the heiress Ermgard of Zutphen's marriage to Gerard of Wassenberg, count of Guelders, united Zutphen with the County of Guelders. It became one of the four quarters of the later Duchy of Guelders, and the town of Zutphen joined the Hanseatic League.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Lineage

County of ZutphenDuchy of Guelders 1096 CE – 1543 CE

Connections (1)

County of Zutphen was part of Holy Roman Empire1046 CE – 1138 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). County of Zutphen. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-zutphen
MLA: “County of Zutphen.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-zutphen. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “County of Zutphen.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-zutphen.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘County of Zutphen’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/county-of-zutphen (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻