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

Count of Mark The County of Mark (, colloquially known as ) was a county and Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay south of Lippe (river), Lippe river on both sides of the Ruhr river along the Volme a ...

Life

John was the son 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

Mary of Burgundy Mary of Burgundy (; ; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy who ruled the Burgundian lands, comprising the Duchy of Burgundy, Duchy and Free County of Burgundy, County of Burgundy a ...

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

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, ...

. He ruled

Cleves Kleve (; traditional ; ; ; ; ; 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 onwards, Cleves was capital of a county and later a duchy ...

from 1448 from 1481, and

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

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� ...

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

Electorate of Cologne The Electorate of Cologne (), sometimes referred to as Electoral Cologne (), was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from the 10th to the early 19th century. It consisted of the Hochstift—the temporal posses ...

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 ...

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 (), 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 the death of the previous princ ...

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 (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

in 1451, with which he was depicted by

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden (; 1399 or 140018 June 1464), initially known as Roger de le Pasture (), was an Early Netherlandish painting, early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commis ...

. In 1473 he helped the Burgundian Duke

Charles the Bold Charles Martin (10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), called the Bold, was the last duke of Burgundy from the House of Valois-Burgundy, ruling from 1467 to 1477. He was the only surviving legitimate son of Philip the Good and his third wife, ...

conquer the

Duchy 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 ...

Marriage and children

On 22 April 1455, John married Elizabeth of Nevers, daughter of

John II, Count of Nevers 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 ...

. 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 Cleve ...

(13 April 1458 – 15 March 1521); married 3 November 1489 Matilda of Hesse * Adolf (1461–1498); a canon of Liege *

Engelbert, Count of Nevers Engelbert of Cleves, Count of Nevers (26 September 1462 – 21 November 1506) was the younger son of John I, Duke of Cleves and Elizabeth of Nevers, only surviving child of John II, Count of Nevers. In 1481, Engelbert was sent with a large army ...

(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 Diocese of Nevers (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The diocese comprises the department of Nièvre, in the Region of Bourgogne. Suppressed by the Concordat of 1801 and united to the See of Autun, it was re ...

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

and

Autun Autun () is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the e ...

Ancestry

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