Arnold was born in
Egmond-Binnen,
North Holland, the son of
John II of Egmond and
Maria van Arkel. On 11 July 1423, Arnold, still a boy, succeeded Duke
Reinald IV. Arnold was the grandson of Reinald's sister, Johanna. Although the
Emperor Sigismund had invested the Duke of Berg with the duchy of Gelders, Arnold retained the confidence of the
Estates by enlarging their privileges, and enjoyed the support of Duke
Philip of Burgundy. Arnold was betrothed, and afterwards united in marriage to
Catherine of Cleves, a niece of Philip of Burgundy. Subsequently, however, Duke Arnold fell out with his ally as to the succession to the see of
Utrecht, whereupon Philip joined with the four chief towns of
Guelders in the successful attempt of Arnold's son Adolf to substitute his own for his father's authority. Arnold gave up his claim on
Jülich only after his defeat in 1444 by
Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg. Arnold was accused of participating in sodomy in 1466 after a man named Gerhart von Ryswick, a citizen of Arnhem, gave a confession where he said that he had sex with Arnold. Ryswick would later tell the court that he only made the claim because Arnold's son Adolf had tortured him. When
Charles the Bold became
Duke of Burgundy in 1467, after rejecting a compromise, Adolph was thrown into prison. Arnold, against the will of the towns and the law of the land, pledged his duchy to Charles for 300,000 Rhenish florins (1471). Upon Arnold's death two years later at
Grave, Charles took possession of the duchy, starting a series of
wars that would last more than 70 years. ==Family and children==