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

Arnold III, Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt-Tecklenburg-Limburg
Arnold III of Bentheim-Steinfurt
Spouse(s)	Magdalena of Neuenahr-Alpen
Noble family	House of Bentheim-Steinfurt
Father	Eberwin III, Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt
Mother	Anna of Tecklenburg-Schwerin
Born	10 or 11 October 1554 Neuenhaus
Died	11 January 1606(1606-01-11) (aged 51) Tecklenburg
Buried	Protestant church in Bad Bentheim

Arnold III of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Steinfurt-Limburg (10 or 11 October 1554 in Neuenhaus – 11 January 1606 in Tecklenburg) was a German nobleman. He was Count of Bentheim, Tecklenburg and Steinfurt, and jure uxoris Count of Limburg. He ruled as Arnold IV in Bentheim and Tecklenburg, and as Arnold II in Steinfurt. In Limburg, he was the first Count named Arnold and hence just the name distinctive.

Arnold was the son of Count Eberwin III of Bentheim-Steinfurt (elder line) and his wife, Countess Anna of Tecklenburg-Schwerin.

He spent his youth in Leeden Abbey with his sister Walburga. His mother educated him in regards to religion. He attended the princely school in Jülich where he studied arts, languages and knightly exercises. He had both Protestant and Catholic teachers.

In 1571, he went to Strasbourg, to study Protestant theology, law and politics. He was planning to visit the French court in Paris after completing his Grand Tour but during his journey he received word that there was a turmoil. The St. Bartholomew's Day massacre hindered him to follow through on his original plan. Instead he returned to his studies at the landgraviate court of Hesse-Kassel.

On 26 July 1573, he married Magdalena, the daughter of Count Gumprecht II of Neuenahr-Alpen.

Arnold peacefully united a substantial number of territories in his hand, due to inheritance and marriage. He held the counties of Bentheim, Tecklenburg, Steinfurt, Limburg an der Lenne, the Lordship of Rheda, possessions on the Lower Rhine and bailiff rights in the Archbishopric of Cologne. This made the House of Bentheim-Tecklenburg a significant political factor. Even so, this house did not follow primogeniture; this led to its possessions being fragmented and the house losing its prominence. During his reign, Arnold had to cope with a lawsuit brought by the Counts of Solms-Braunfels about the inheritance of the County of Tecklenburg.