Adolf, Duke of Jülich-Berg (c. 1370 – 14 July 1437), was the first Duke of the combined duchies of

Jülich Jülich (; in old spellings also known as ''Guelich'' or ''Gülich'', nl, Gulik, french: Juliers, Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. As a border region betwe ...

and

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states *Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...

. He was the son of William II of Berg and Anna of the Palatinate.Walther Möller, ''Stammtafeln westdeutscher Adelsgeschlechter im Mittelalter'' (Darmstadt, 1922, reprint Verlag Degener & Co., 1995), Vol. 1, page 14. In 1397, Adolf rebelled against his father along with his brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, ravaged Düsseldorf and imprisoned his father. He was outlawed and was subsequently subdued in 1405. Upon his father's death in 1408, Adolf became the 2nd Duke of Berg. Adolf fought against Lorraine and other pretenders for Bar but surrendered after his capture in 1417. His father's cousin,

Reginald Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language. Etymology and history The meaning of Reginald is “King". The name is derived from the Latin ''Reginaldus'', which has been influenced by the Latin word ''regina'', meaning "queen". Th ...

, Duke of Jülich and Guelders, had no heirs and upon his death in 1423, Adolf succeeded him in three-fourths of the Duchy, the fourth quarter (called ''Jülicher Quart'') was inherited by John II of Loon, Lord of Heinsberg and Löwenberg, grandson of the first duke of Jülich,

William V William V may refer to: *William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969–1030) *William V of Montpellier (1075–1121) *William V, Marquess of Montferrat (1191) *William V, Count of Nevers (before 11751181) *William V, Duke of Jülich (1299–1361) *William V, ...

. The dukedom of Jülich passed to Adolf, thus becoming the first duke of the combined duchies of Jülich and Berg. John II. of Loon-Heinsberg was than also called Lord of Jülich. Adolf also began a year-long hereditary war against the

House of Egmond The House of Egmond or Egmont (French language, French: ''Maison d'Egmond'', Dutch language, Dutch: ''Huis Egmond'') is named after the Netherlands, Dutch town of Egmond aan den Hoef, Egmond, province of North Holland, and played an important role ...

for the dukedom of Guelders but could not win even with financial support from

Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia ('' jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in ...

, who supported Adolf in this fight despite Adolf's opposition to Sigismund's coronation at Aachen in 1414. Adolf supported the Roman candidate in the

Council of Constance The Council of Constance was a 15th-century ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418 in the Bishopric of Constance in present-day Germany. The council ended the Western Schism by deposing or accepting the res ...

which ended the

Western Schism The Western Schism, also known as the Papal Schism, the Vatican Standoff, the Great Occidental Schism, or the Schism of 1378 (), was a split within the Catholic Church lasting from 1378 to 1417 in which bishops residing in Rome and Avignon bo ...

. He traditionally fought against the Archbishop of Cologne. He later secured Monschau-Montjoie and in 1428 he seized Lievandal-Wevelinghoven. Adolf had only one son who died before him so after Adolf's death in 1437, the dukedom of Jülich-Berg passed to his nephew

Gerhard Gerhard is a name of Germanic origin and may refer to: Given name * Gerhard (bishop of Passau) (fl. 932–946), German prelate * Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (1292–1340), German prince, regent of Denmark * Gerhard Barkhorn (1919–19 ...

, son of his brother William. Adolf died in Cologne on 14 July 1437 and is buried at

Great St. Martin Church, Cologne The Great Saint Martin Church (german: Groß Sankt Martin, mostly shortened to ''Groß St. Martin'', or , ) is a Romanesque Catholic church in Cologne, Germany. Its foundations (c.960 AD) rest on remnants of a Roman chapel, built on what was th ...

Family and children

In 1397, Adolf was betrothed to Catherine of Brunswick-Lüneburg, daughter of

Henry the Mild, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg Henry of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Latin ''Henricus'', died 14 October 1416), Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, called Henry the Mild, was prince of Lüneburg from 1388 to 1409 jointly with his brother Bernard I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, from 1400 to 14 ...

but this marriage was never consummated. In 1400 Adolf was married at the Château de Dun to Yolande of Bar (the younger) (c. 1378 – 10 January 1421), daughter of

Robert I, Duke of Bar Robert I of Bar (8 November 1344 – 12 April 1411) was Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson and Count and then Duke of Bar. He succeeded his elder brother Edward II of Bar as count in 1352. His parents were Henry IV of Bar and Yolande of Flanders. Whe ...

and Marie of Valois. On 14 February 1430 in Mainz, Adolf married a second time to Elisabeth of Bavaria (c. 1406 – 5 March 1468), daughter of

Ernest, Duke of Bavaria Ernest of Bavaria-Munich (german: Ernst, Herzog von Bayern-München), (Munich, 1373 – 2 July 1438 in Munich), from 1397 Duke of Bavaria-Munich. Biography Ernest was a son of John II, Duke of Bavaria, John II and ruled the duchy of Bavar ...

and

Elisabetta Visconti Elisabetta Visconti (1374 – 2 February 1432), also known as ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'', was a younger child of Bernabò Visconti and his wife, Beatrice Regina della Scala. Elisabetta was a member of the House of Visconti. Family Elisabett ...

. Adolf had one child by his first wife: # Rupert (died 2 August 1431), married 26 February 1426 Marie of Harcourt, daughter of

John VI, Count of Harcourt John VI of Harcourt (or John of Vaudémont) (1 December 1342 – 28 February 1389) was a count of Harcourt. He was son of John V of Harcourt and Blanche of Ponthieu who was the sister of Jeanne of Ponthieu. He succeeded to his father's counties of ...

and widow of Reginald, Duke of Jülich and Guelders, whose title had passed to Rupert's father.

References

External links

Genealogie-mittelalter.de

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adolf, Duke Of Julich-Berg Counts of Ravensberg Dukes of Berg Dukes of Jülich 1370 births 1437 deaths House of Jülich