Adolph I of Cleves (german: Adolf I) (2 August 1373 – 23 September 1448) was the second

Count 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 the fourth

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

He was the son of

Adolph III, Count of Mark Adolph III of the Marck ( German: ''Adolf III von der Mark''; – 1394) was the Prince-Bishop of Münster (as Adolph) from 1357 to 1363, the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne (as Adolph II) in 1363, the Count of Cleves (as Adolph I) from 1368 to 1 ...

, and

Margaret of Jülich Margaret of Jülich ( – 10 October 1425) was a daughter of Duke Gerhard VI of Jülich and his wife, Margaret of Ravensberg (1315-1389). In 1369, she married Adolf III of the Marck. She had fourteen children with him, at least five of whom ...

(and thus the brother of Margaret of Cleves). After his father's death in 1394, he became

. In 1397 he defeated his uncle

William VII of Jülich, 1st Duke of Berg William II ( – 25 June 1408) was born in Jülich, as the son of Gerhard VI of Jülich, Count of Berg and Ravensberg, and Margaret, daughter and heiress of Otto IV, Count of Ravensberg, and Margaret of Berg.Walther Möller, ''Stammtafeln we ...

in the battle of Kleverhamm and became Lord of Ravenstein. When his brother

Dietrich IX, Count of Mark Dietrich IX, Count of Mark (1374–1398) was the Count of Mark from 1393 until 1398. Dietrich was the second son of Count Adolf III of the Marck and Margaret of Jülich. His father had acquired the County of Cleves in 1368 and reserved this tit ...

died in battle in 1398, he also became

. Adolph further expanded his influence by marrying a daughter of the Duke of Burgundy. As a result, Cleves was raised to a Duchy by the Holy Roman Emperor,

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

, in 1417. From 1409 onwards he faced opposition from his younger brother

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 claimed the County of Mark. By 1423, their dispute resulted in an armed conflict, with Gerhard allying himself with the

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne is an archbishop governing the Archdiocese of Cologne of the Catholic Church in western North Rhine-Westphalia and is also a historical state in the Rhine holding the birthplace of Beethoven and northern Rhineland-Palati ...

. A peace was signed between the two brothers in 1430 and confirmed in 1437. As a result, Gerhard ruled the largest part of Mark, but was to be succeeded by his nephew

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

. He was not allowed to call himself Count of Mark, but has to use the title Count zur Mark. After Gerhard's death in 1461, the County of Mark and the Duchy of Cleves were reunited again. Armoiries de la Marck 1

Marriage and children

Shortly before the year 1400 he married Agnes, daughter of

Rupert of Germany Rupert of the Palatinate (german: Ruprecht von der Pfalz; 5 May 1352 – 18 May 1410), sometimes known as Robert of the Palatinate, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Elector Palatine from 1398 (as Rupert III) and King of Germany from ...

and

Elisabeth of Nuremberg Elisabeth of Nuremberg (135826 July 1411) was Queen of Germany and Electress Palatine as the wife of Rupert, King of the Romans. Life Elisabeth was born in 1358, the daughter of Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg and his wife Elisabeth of Me ...

. Agnes died a year later with no issue.
In 1406 Adolf married Marie of Burgundy, daughter of

John the Fearless John I (french: Jean sans Peur; nl, Jan zonder Vrees; 28 May 137110 September 1419) was a scion of the French royal family who ruled the Burgundian State from 1404 until his death in 1419. He played a key role in French national affairs during ...

and

Margaret of Bavaria Margaret of Bavaria (1363 – 23 January 1424, Dijon) was Duchess of Burgundy by marriage to John the Fearless. She was the regent of the Burgundian Low Countries during the absence of her spouse in 1404–1419 and the regent in French Burgundy d ...

. They had the following issue: * Margarethe (23 February 1416 – 20 May 1444) married as her first husband

William III, Duke of Bavaria William III (1375 – 12 September 1435; (German: ''Wilhelm III., Herzog von Bayern''), was Duke of Bavaria-Munich (1397–1435), together and in concord with his older brother Ernest, Duke of Bavaria. William III was a son of John II and a ...

on 11 May 1433; and as her second husband

Ulrich V, Count of Württemberg Ulrich V of Württemberg called ''"der Vielgeliebte"'' (the much loved) (1413Detlev Schwennicke: ''Europaische Stammtafeln'', New Series, Vol. I/2, Tafel 256. – 1 September 1480, in Leonberg), Count of Württemberg. He was the younger son of Cou ...

on 29 January 1441 *

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

(25 May 1417 – 10 February 1479) married Arnold, Duke 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 pr ...

, on 23 July 1423 *

(1419–1481), succeeded as Duke of Cleves * Elisabeth (1420–1488) married on 15 July 1434 Henry XXVI, of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg (1418–1488) * Agnes (1422–1446) married Charles IV, King of

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

, on 30 September 1439 in

Olite Olite (''Erriberri'' in Basque language) is a town and municipality located in the Comarca de Tafalla comarca, Merindad de Olite merindad, in Navarre, Spain. History According to Isidore of Seville's ''Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandalor ...

* Helen (1423–1471) married on 12 February 1436 Henry "the Peaceful", Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (c. 1411–1473) * Adolph (1425–1492) married on 13 May 1453, to

Beatrice of Portugal Beatrice ( pt, Beatriz, ; 7–13 February 1373 – ) was the only surviving legitimate child of King Ferdinand I of Portugal and his wife, Leonor Teles. She became Queen consort of Castile by marriage to King John I of Castile. Following her fath ...

(1435–1462), daughter of

Peter, 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. I ...

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

(1426–1487) married

Charles, Duke of Orléans Charles of Orléans (24 November 1394 – 5 January 1465) was Duke of Orléans from 1407, following the murder of his father, Louis I, Duke of Orléans. He was also Duke of Valois, Count of Beaumont-sur-Oise and of Blois, Lord of Coucy, and t ...

; became parents of

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

, King of France

Ancestry

References

stirnet.com
Accessed September 9, 2007

Sources

* , - {{Authority control Counts of the Mark Dukes of Cleves 1373 births 1448 deaths Lords of Ravenstein 14th-century German nobility 15th-century German nobility