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). After his father's death in 1394, he became Count of Cleves. In 1397 he defeated his uncle William VII of Jülich, 1st Duke of Berg in the battle of Kleverhamm and became Lord of Ravenstein. When his brother Dietrich IX, Count of Mark died in battle in 1398, he also became Count of Mark. Adolph further expanded his influence by marrying a daughter of the Duke of Burgundy. As a result, Cleves was raised to a Duchy by the Holy Roman Emperor,

Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...

, in 1417. From 1409 onwards he faced opposition from his younger brother Gerhard, who claimed the County of Mark. By 1423, their dispute resulted in an armed conflict, with Gerhard allying himself with the

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

. A peace was signed between the two brothers in 1430 and confirmed in 1437. As a result, Gerhard ruled the largest part of Mark, but was to be succeeded by his nephew John. He was not allowed to call himself Count of Mark, but has to use the title Count zur Mark. After Gerhard's death in 1461, the County of Mark and the Duchy of Cleves were reunited again. Armoiries de la Marck 1

Marriage and children

Shortly before the year 1400 he married Agnes, daughter of Rupert of Germany and Elisabeth of Nuremberg. Agnes died a year later with no issue.
In 1406 Adolf married Marie of Burgundy, daughter of

John the Fearless John I (; ; 28 May 1371 – 10 September 1419) was a scion of the French royal family who ruled the Burgundian State from 1404 until his assassination in 1419. He played a key role in French national affairs during the early 15th century, part ...

and

Margaret of Bavaria Margaret of Bavaria (1363 – 23 January 1424, Dijon) was List of Burgundian royal consorts, Duchess of Burgundy by marriage to John the Fearless. She was the regent of the Burgundian Low Countries during the absence of her spouse in 1404–1419 ...

. They had the following issue: * Margarethe (23 February 1416 – 20 May 1444) married as her first husband William III, Duke of Bavaria on 11 May 1433; and as her second husband Ulrich V, Count of Württemberg on 29 January 1441 * Catherine (25 May 1417 – 10 February 1479) married Arnold, Duke 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 ...

, on 23 July 1430 * John (1419–1481), succeeded as Duke of Cleves * Elisabeth (1420–1488) married on 15 July 1434 Henry XXVI, of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg (1418–1488) * Agnes (1422–1446) married Charles IV, King of

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, on 30 September 1439 in Olite * Helen (1423–1471) married on 12 February 1436 Henry "the Peaceful", Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (c. 1411–1473) * Adolph (1425–1492) married on 13 May 1453, to

Beatrice of Portugal Beatrice (, ; 7–13 February 1373 – ) was the only surviving legitimate child of King Ferdinand I of Portugal and his wife, Leonor Teles. She became Queen consort of Castile by marriage to King John I of Castile. Following her father's d ...

(1435–1462), daughter of Peter, Duke of Coimbra * Mary (1426–1487) married

Charles, Duke of Orléans Charles of Orléans (24 November 1394 – 5 January 1465) was Duke of Orléans from 1407, following the murder of his father, Louis I, Duke of Orléans. He was also Duke of Valois, Count of Beaumont-sur-Oise and of Blois, Lord of Coucy, ...

; became parents of

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...

, King of France

References

Sources

* , - {{Authority control Counts of the Mark Dukes of Cleves 1373 births 1448 deaths Lords of Ravenstein 14th-century German nobility 15th-century German nobility