Adolph of Cleves, 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, 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.

Marriage and issue

Philip the Good of Burgundy and his wife, Isabel of Portugal, decided to arrange the marriage of their nephew Adolph, who became engaged to infanta Beatrice of Coimbra, 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 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, a natural daughter of duke

and governess of

Mary of Burgundy, Duchess of Burgundy Mary (french: Marie; nl, Maria; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy who ruled a collection of states that included the duchies of Limburg, Brabant, Luxembourg, the counties o ...

. In 1463, Adolph inherited Wijnendale Castle, 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, 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 during the Liège Wars. 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 who was fighting the Burgundian Wars, a position confirmed by Mary of Burgundy after Charles' death in the Battle of Nancy 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