Johann Wilhelm of Jülich-Cleves-Berg () (28 May 1562 – 25 March 1609) was the last
Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg.
Biography
His parents were
William ''the Rich'', Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (1516–1592) and
Maria of Austria (1531–1581), a daughter of
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I (10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of rulers of Croatia, Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek ...
and
Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. He grew up and was educated in
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 ...
. Johann Wilhelm was meant to be
Bishop of Münster. However, after the unexpected death of his elder brother
Karl Friedrich, Wilhelm was needed to succeed his father as Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, a secular fief. He was also Count of
Altena. The
United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg was a combination of ''
reichsfrei
In the Holy Roman Empire, imperial immediacy ( or ) was the status of an individual or a territory which was defined as 'immediate' () to Emperor and Empire () and not to any other intermediate authorities, while one that did not possess that stat ...
'' states within the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
.
Johann Wilhelm was first married in 1585 to
Jakobea of Baden (d. 1597), daughter of
Philibert, Margrave of Baden. He was secondly married to
Antonia of Lorraine (d. 1610), daughter of
Charles III, Duke of Lorraine
Charles III (18 February 1543 – 14 May 1608), known as ''the Great'', was Duke of Lorraine from 1545 until his death.
Life
He was the eldest surviving son of Francis I, Duke of Lorraine, and Christina of Denmark.
In 1545, his father died, a ...
. Some believe that Johann Wilhelm also had a
morganatic marriage
Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...
prior to 1585 with Anna
op den Graeff, with whom he had a son,
Herman op den Graeff. However, no substantial evidence of a relation between Anna and Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg has ever been presented.
Johann Wilhelm was subject to a serious
mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
,
for which he was treated by the physician
Francesco Maria Guazzo. He died on 25 March 1609, leaving no heirs to succeed him.
Upon Johann Wilhelm's death in 1609, his inheritance was claimed by the heirs of his two eldest sisters: the heir of
Maria Eleonora of Cleves (1550–1608), the eldest sister and married to
Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia, was
Anna of Prussia, the
Electress of Brandenburg, a
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
. The second sister was
Anna of Cleves (1552–1632), married to
Philipp Ludwig, Count Palatine of Neuburg
Philipp Ludwig of Neuburg (2 October 1547 – 22 August 1614) was Count Palatine of Neuburg from 1569 until 1614.
Life
Philipp Ludwig was born in Zweibrücken in 1547 as the eldest son of Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken. After his fathe ...
, whose son and heir was the future
Wolfgang Wilhelm, Count Palatine of Neuburg
Wolfgang Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg (4 November 1578 in Neuburg an der Donau – 14 September 1653 in Düsseldorf) was a German Prince. He was Count Palatine of Neuburg and Duke of Jülich and Berg.
Life
Wolfgang Wilhelm's parents were ...
, a convert to
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
in 1613.
The disputes between Protestants and Catholics escalated, leading to the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
in 1618, and the succession dispute became part of the war as the
War of the Julich Succession. Ultimately,
Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
received
Cleves-Mark
The Duchy of Cleves (; ) was a Imperial State, 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 the towns of Wesel, Kalkar, ...
and
Neuburg received
Jülich-Berg, after the lands had been trampled under military several times and lost much of the fabled wealth so renowned in Duke Wilhelm's time.
Among his court servants and employees were the composer
Konrad Hagius.
[Valentin, Hans E., ''Die Wittelsbacher und ihre Künstler in acht Jahrhunderten'' 1980 p. 118]
Ancestry
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Julich-Cleves-Berg
1562 births
1609 deaths
House of La Marck
Prince-bishops of Münster
Dukes of Berg
Counts of the Mark
16th-century people from the Holy Roman Empire