William VIII of Jülich, Count of Ravensberg ( – 22 November 1428) was the youngest son of
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 west ...
and Anna of the Palatinate.
[Walther Möller, ''Stammtafeln westdeutscher Adelsgeschlechter im Mittelalter'' (Darmstadt, 1922, reprint Verlag Degener & Co., 1995), Vol. 1, page 14.]
Along with his brother,
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 ...
, William rebelled against his father but surrendered in 1404 and received his father's title as Count of Ravensberg which he held until his death in 1428.
In 1401, William was appointed Bishop of
Paderborn
Paderborn (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn (district), Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pade ...
by
Pope Boniface IX
Pope Boniface IX (; ; c. 1350 – 1 October 1404, born Pietro Tomacelli) was head of the Catholic Church from 2 November 1389 to his death, in October 1404. He was the second Roman pope during the Western Schism.Richard P. McBrien, ''Lives of t ...
through the influence of his uncle,
Rupert, King of Germany
Rupert of the Palatinate (; 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 1400 until his death.
Early l ...
. William's elder brother Rupert had held the same post from 1389–1394. Like his uncle, King Rupert, William was a follower of the Roman Popes. As
Prince-Bishop
A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...
, William aroused heavy unrest with his ecclesiastical reform effort and quarreled with Waldeck and Lippe, compelling acknowledgement of Paderborn's sovereignty over parts of Lippe. Despite territorial policy successes, he faced opposition and renounced Paderborn in 1414. He attempted to become Archbishop of Cologne but failed against Dietrich of Moers who also replaced William as Bishop of Paderborn. William then married Dietrich's niece, Adelheid of Tecklenburg, and became the father of the new line of the Dukes of Jülich-Berg and Counts of Ravensberg, when his brother Adolf died without an heir. William and Adelheid are buried in the Stiftskirche in Bielefeld.
Family and children
On 19 February 1416, William married Adelheid of Tecklenburg, daughter of
Nicholas II
Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...
, Count of Tecklenburg and Elisabeth of Moers. They had one son:
#
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†...
(c. 1416–1475), married Sophie of Saxe-Lauenburg, 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 ...
Ancestry
References
External links
genealogie-mittelalter.de
{{DEFAULTSORT:Julich, William VIII of, Count of Ravensberg
1428 deaths
Roman Catholic bishops of Paderborn
Year of birth uncertain
William VIII
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 ...