Adolph of

Cleves Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...

, Lord of

Ravenstein Ravenstein may refer to: Places *Ravenstein, Germany in the district Neckar-Odenwald, Baden-Württemberg *Ravenstein, Netherlands in Oss, North Brabant *Ravenstein railway station Films Ravenstein a 2020 British Horror film People with the su ...

(1425–1492) was the youngest son of

Adolph I, Duke of Cleves Adolph I of Cleves (german: Adolf I) (2 August 1373 – 23 September 1448) was the second Count of Cleves and the fourth Count of Mark. Life He was the son of Adolph III, Count of Mark, and Margaret of Jülich (and thus the brother of Marga ...

, and of his wife Marie of Burgundy, a sister of

Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...

Marriage and issue

Philip the Good of Burgundy and his wife,

Isabel of Portugal Isabella of Portugal (24 October 1503 – 1 May 1539) was the empress consort and queen consort of her cousin Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, and Duke of Burgundy. She was Queen of Spain and Germany, and La ...

, decided to arrange the marriage of their nephew Adolph, who became engaged to

infanta ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...

Beatrice of Coimbra Infanta Beatrice of Coimbra (1435–1462) was the fifth child of Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra, and Isabella of Urgell. After the Battle of Alfarrobeira, where her father's army was defeated by the Portuguese royal army, she left the country an ...

, daughter of

Pedro, Duke of Coimbra Infante D. Pedro, Duke of Coimbra KG (; en, Peter), (9 December 1392 – 20 May 1449) was a Portuguese ''infante'' (prince) of the House of Aviz, son of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt ...

. Beatrice had taken refuge in Burgundy, under her aunt's protection, following the defeat of her father's army in the

Battle of Alfarrobeira The Battle of Alfarrobeira () took place on 20 May 1449. It was a confrontation between the forces commanded by King Afonso V of Portugal and his uncle Afonso, Duke of Braganza, against the army of the rebellious Peter, Duke of Coimbra Inf ...

in Portugal in 1449. Adolph and Beatrice were married on 13 May 1453 and they subsequently had two children: *

Philip of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein Philip of Cleves (1459 in Le Quesnoy – 28 January 1528 in Wijnendale Castle), Lord of Ravenstein, Wijnendale and Enghien, was a nobleman from the Low Countries and army commander, first for Maximilian of Austria, then for Flemish rebels and ...

; and *Louise of Cleves (who died at a young age). Following Beatrice's death, Adolph married his cousin

Anne of Burgundy Anne of Burgundy, Duchess of Bedford (french: Anne de Bourgogne) (30 September 1404 – 13 November 1432) was a daughter of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (1371–1419), and his wife Margaret of Bavaria (1363–1423). Duchess of Bedford In ...

, a natural daughter of duke

and governess of Mary of Burgundy, Duchess of Burgundy. In 1463, Adolph inherited

Wijnendale Castle Wijnendale Castle ( French: Château de Wynendaele, nl, Kasteel van Wijnendale) is a historic residence in Wijnendale, West Flanders in Belgium which was once a medieval castle. The present buildings largely date to a nineteenth century restoratio ...

, where in 1482 Mary of Burgundy would fall from her horse suffering fatal injuries. This accident would have major implications for the history of the Low Countries.

Career

Adolph participated in all the battles that involved the Dukes of Burgundy. He was knighted after the

Battle of Gavere The Battle of Gavere was fought at Semmerzake, near Gavere, in the County of Flanders (modern-day Belgium) on 23 July 1453, between the army of Philip the Good of Burgundy and the rebelling city of Ghent. The battle ended the Revolt of Ghent with ...

, which ended the

Revolt of Ghent (1449–1453) The Revolt of Ghent was a rebellion by the city of Ghent against the Burgundian State. It lasted from 1449 to 1453. The rebellion was eventually suppressed by the Burgundians. Background After their efforts in the Battle of the Golden Spurs (1 ...

. In 1454, he participated in the

Feast of the Pheasant The Feast of the Pheasant ( French: ''Banquet du Vœu du faisan'', "Banquet of the Oath of the Pheasant") was a banquet given by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy on 17 February 1454 in Lille, now in France. Its purpose was to promote a crusade ag ...

and became a knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

in 1456. In 1467, he played an important role in the

Battle of Brustem The Battle of Brustem was fought on 28 October 1467 in Brustem, near Sint-Truiden (present-day Belgium) between the Burgundian State and the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, as part of the Second Liège War. Prelude In 1465, Philip the Good had wo ...

during the

Liège Wars Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgium, Belgian Liège Province, province of Liège. The city is ...

. In 1475, he was

stadtholder In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...

-general of the Low Countries during the absence of

Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...

who was fighting the

Burgundian Wars The Burgundian Wars (1474–1477) were a conflict between the Burgundian State and the Old Swiss Confederacy and its allies. Open war broke out in 1474, and the Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was defeated three times on the battlefield in th ...

, a position confirmed by Mary of Burgundy after Charles' death in the

Battle of Nancy The Battle of Nancy was the final and decisive battle of the Burgundian Wars, fought outside the walls of Nancy on 5 January 1477 by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, against René II, Duke of Lorraine, and the Swiss Confederacy. René's ...

in 1477.

References

Genealogy of Adolph of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein
House of La Marck Knights of the Golden Fleece Lords of Germany People from the Duchy of Cleves 1425 births 1492 deaths Lords of Ravenstein {{Germany-duke-stub