Catherine of Cleves (25 May 1417 – 10 February 1479) was Duchess of

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) 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 present-day Germany. Though the present pr ...

by marriage to

Arnold, Duke of Guelders Arnold of Egmond (14 July 1410 – 23 February 1473) was Duke of Guelders, Count of Zutphen. Life Arnold was born in Egmond-Binnen, North Holland, the son of John II of Egmond and Maria van Arkel. On 11 July 1423, Arnold, still a boy, su ...

. She acted as regent of Guelders during the absence of her spouse in 1450. The Hours of Catherine of Cleves was commissioned for her.

Life

Catherine was the daughter of

Adolph I, Duke of Cleves Adolph I of Cleves () (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 Margaret of Cleves) ...

and Marie of Burgundy. She was a niece of

Philip the Good Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...

Duchess and regent

Catherine lived with her parents until 1431, despite already having been married the year before. She had close ties with Philip of Burgundy, who was mistrusted by her husband. Catherine had her daughter

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

raised at the Burgundian court. When her husband punished

Driel Driel is a village in the municipality of Overbetuwe, approximately four kilometers southwest of Arnhem on the south bank of the Rhine, in the Netherlands. History On 21 September 1944, Driel was the drop zone of the Polish 1st Independent Pa ...

, he lost support in his duchy. Catherine acted as intermediate between her husband and the

Estates of the realm The estates of the realm, or three estates, were the broad orders of social hierarchy used in Christendom (Christian Europe) from the Middle Ages to early modern Europe. Different systems for dividing society members into estates developed a ...

. In 1450, Duke Arnold went on a pilgrimage to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. During his absence, Catherine acted as regent. She supported her son

Adolf Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo, and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name with German origins. The name is a compound derived from the Old High German ''Athalwolf'' (or ''Hadulf''), a composition of ''athal'', or ''adal'', mean ...

when he took over power from his father. Charles, Duke of Burgundy had Adolf taken capture in 1470, when he proved an unreliable ally to Burgundy. Catherine spent her last years in

Lobith Lobith is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is located in the municipality of Zevenaar. Traditionally, it is said that the Rhine enters the Netherlands at Lobith, although in reality, this happens about 4 km further upstream, ...

, where she died in 1479.

Book of Hours

The Hours of Catherine of Cleves was commissioned for her when she married

, on 26 January 1430. It shows her lineage, as well as herself in prayer. The hours had been lost for four hundred years before resurfacing in 1856. It is one of the most richly decorated books of its kind that is preserved.

Issue

Catherine and Arnold had: *

(c. 1431–1463), who became Queen of Scotland by marriage to James II * William (born c. 1434), died young *

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

(c. 1436–1486, Simmern), married on 16 August 1454 to Frederick I, Count of Palatine-Simmern. *

(1438–1477) *

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

(1439 – 1496), Regent of Guelders in 1477–1481.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine of Cleves 1417 births 1479 deaths Medieval Dutch women House of La Marck House of Egmond Dukes of Guelders 15th-century women regents 15th-century regents 15th-century women from the Holy Roman Empire Regents in the Holy Roman Empire