Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg ( – 19 August 1475) was the son of

William VIII of Jülich, Count of Ravensberg William VIII of Jülich, Count of Ravensberg ( – 22 November 1428) was the youngest son of William VII of Jülich, 1st Duke of Berg and Anna of the Palatinate.Walther Möller, ''Stammtafeln westdeutscher Adelsgeschlechter im Mittelalter'' (Darm ...

and Adelheid of

Tecklenburg Tecklenburg () is a town in the district of Steinfurt, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Its name comes from the ruined castle around which it was built. The town is situated on the Hermannsweg hiking trail. The coat of arms shows an anchor ...

. Gerhard was the second duke of the combined

Duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

Jülich Jülich (; in old spellings also known as ''Guelich'' or ''Gülich'', , , Ripuarian: ''Jöllesch'') is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. As a border region between the competin ...

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * General Berg (disambiguation) * Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer, born 1963), Ninimbergue dos Santos Guerra, Brazilian footba ...

but the 7th Gerhard in the House of Jülich.Walther Möller, ''Stammtafeln westdeutscher Adelsgeschlechter im Mittelalter'' (Darmstadt, 1922, reprint Verlag Degener & Co., 1995), Vol. 1, page 14. Upon his father's death in 1428, Gerhard became

Count of Ravensberg The County of Ravensberg () was a historical county of the Holy Roman Empire. Its territory was in present-day eastern Westphalia, Germany, at the foot of the Osning or Teutoburg Forest. History Ravensberg was first mentioned in the 12th c ...

. In 1437, his uncle

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 ...

died without heirs and Gerhard inherited his title as Duke of Jülich-Berg. Gerhard continued his uncle's fight for the dukedom 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 ...

, supported by King

Albert II of Germany Albert the Magnanimous , elected King of the Romans as Albert II (10 August 139727 October 1439), was a member of the House of Habsburg. By inheritance he became Albert V, Duchy of Austria, Duke of Austria. Through his wife (''jure uxoris'') he ...

. In 1444 he won the Battle of

Linnich Linnich is a town in the district of Düren in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the River Rur (Roer river), approx. 10 km north-west of Jülich. Economy Linnich is the home of SIG Combibloc, the specialist fo ...

but was unable to prevail in his fight for Guelders and ultimately sold his claim to

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

and acquired

Blankenheim Blankenheim may refer to: Places * Blankenheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, a municipality in western Germany * Blankenheim, Saxony-Anhalt, a municipality in eastern Germany *Blankenheim Castle Blankenheim Castle () is a ''schloss'' above the village ...

-Löwenberg and

Heinsberg Heinsberg (; ) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the seat of the district Heinsberg. It is situated near the border with the Netherlands, on the river Wurm, approx. 20 km north-east of Sittard and 30 km south-west ...

from Guelders. He was increasingly unable to govern his territories after 1461. His spouse Sophie of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (, ), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296 to 1803 and again from 1814 to 1876 in the extreme southeast region of what is now Schleswig-Holstein. Its territorial centre was in the modern district of Herz ...

then wielded regency for him.

Family and children

In 1444, Gerhard married Sophie of Saxe-Lauenburg (1428 – 9 September 1473), daughter of

Bernard II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg Bernard II of Saxe-Lauenburg (; c. 1385/1392 – 16 July 1463) was a member of the House of Ascania and Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg from 1426 to 1463. His full title was Duke of Saxony, Angria and Westphalia, however only ruling the branch duchy of ...

. They had the following children: #

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

(1455–1511), succeeded his father as Duke of Jülich-Berg # Adolf (1458–1470) # Gerhard (died young) # Anna, married John III, Count of Mörs and

Saarwerden Sarrewerden (; ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France. The localities of ''Bischtroff-sur-Sarre'' and ''Zollingen'' are incorporated in the commune since 1972. It gave its name to the medieval County of ...

References

Ancestors

External links

Genealogie-Mittelalter.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gerhard 07 Julich Berg Counts of Ravensberg Dukes of Jülich Dukes of Berg 1410s births 1475 deaths House of Jülich Lords of Monschau