John I, Duke of Cleves, Count of Mark (16 February 1419 – 5 September 1481). Jean de Belliqueux (warlike), was

Duke of Cleves The Duchy of Cleves (german: Herzogtum Kleve; nl, Hertogdom Kleef) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire which emerged from the medieval . It was situated in the northern Rhineland on both sides of the Lower Rhine, around its capital Cleves and ...

and

Count of Mark The County of Mark (german: Grafschaft Mark, links=no, french: Comté de La Marck, links=no colloquially known as ) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr River ...

Life

John was the 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

Mary 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 of ...

. He was raised in Brussels at the Burgundian court of his uncle

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 ...

. He ruled

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 ...

from 1448 from 1481, and

Mark Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * F ...

since 1461 after the death of his uncle

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 ...

who had waged war on his own brother. John fought 3 wars with the

Electorate of Cologne The Electorate of Cologne (german: Kurfürstentum Köln), sometimes referred to as Electoral Cologne (german: Kurköln, links=no), was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the 10th to the early 19th century. ...

and finally defeated Ruprecht of the Palatinate, conquering the cities of

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the wor ...

and Soest. In these wars, he was supported by his uncle

, bringing Cleves-Mark into the Burgundian sphere of influence. His marriage with Elisabeth Countess of Nevers, from a sideline of the House of Burgundy, only strengthened this influence. John also took sides in the

Münster Diocesan Feud The Münster Diocesan Feud (german: Münsterische Stiftsfehde), or simply Münster Feud, was a dispute that took place between 1450 and 1457 over the appointment to the bishop's throne in Münster, and hence the rule of the diocese. The cause was ...

supporting the aspirations of the House of Hoya to the episcopacy in Münster. John was also made a Knight in the Burgundian

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 1451, with which he was depicted by

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden () or Roger de la Pasture (1399 or 140018 June 1464) was an early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commissioned single and diptych portraits. He was highly ...

. In 1473 he helped the Burgundian Duke

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. ...

conquer the

Duchy of Guelders The Duchy of Guelders ( nl, Gelre, french: Gueldre, german: Geldern) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in p ...

Marriage and children

On 22 April 1455, John married

Elizabeth of Nevers Elizabeth of Nevers (born: after 24 August 1439 in Nevers; died: 21 June 1483) was Duchess of Cleves from 1455 until her death, due to her marriage with John I of Cleves-Mark. She was the matriarch of the house of Cleves-Nevers, and thus the Clev ...

, daughter of

John II, Count of Nevers John II, Count of Nevers (known as Jean de Clamecy, prior to acquiring title of "Count of Nevers"; 1415–1491) was a French noble. Life John was the son of Philip II, Count of Nevers by his wife, Bonne of Artois, daughter of Philip of Artois, ...

. They had: *

John II, Duke of Cleves John II, "The Babymaker", Duke of Cleves, Count of Mark, (German: Johann II. "der Kindermacher", Herzog von Kleve, Graf von Mark) (13 April 1458 – 15 March 1521) was a son of John I, Duke of Cleves and Elizabeth of Nevers. He ruled Cleves f ...

(13 April 1458 – 15 March 1521); married 3 November 1489 Matilda of Hesse * Adolf (1461–1498); a canon of Liege * Engelbert, Count of Nevers (26 September 1462 – 21 November 1506); married 23 February 1489 Charlotte de Bourbon-Vendôme * Dietrich (1464) * Marie of Cleves (1465–1513) * Philip of Cleves (1467–1505);

Bishop of Nevers The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nevers ( la, Dioecesis Nivernensis, link=no; french: Diocèse de Nevers, link=no) is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Nièvre, in the Regio ...

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

and

Autun Autun () is a subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the early Roman Empire by Emperor Augustus as Augustodunum to give a Ro ...

Ancestors

References

Sources

* * * *

External links

Stirnet.com
Accessed July 29, 2007 * 1419 births 1481 deaths Counts of the Mark Dukes of Cleves Knights of the Golden Fleece {{Germany-duke-stub