William of Jülich-Cleves-Berge (William I of Cleves, William V of Jülich-Berg) (german: Wilhelm der Reiche; 28 July 1516 – 5 January 1592) was a

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (1539–1592). William was born in and died in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

. He was the only son of John III, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, and Maria, Duchess of Jülich-Berg. William took over rule of his father's estates (the Duchy of Cleves and the

County of Mark The County of Mark (german: Grafschaft Mark, links=no, french: Comté de La Marck, links=no colloquially known as ) was a county and state of the Holy Roman Empire in the Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle. It lay on both sides of the Ruhr Rive ...

) upon his death in 1539. Despite his mother having lived until 1543, William also became the Duke of

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states * Berg (state), county and duchy of the Hol ...

and Jülich and the

Count of Ravensberg The County of Ravensberg (german: Grafschaft 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 fi ...

Life

William's humanistic education was headed by Konrad Heresbach. William in turn built a humanistic gymnasium in Dusseldorf in 1545. He attempted to uphold the ''Erasmian'' church, but did little to stop Lutheranism from spreading through the populace. After 1554, William appointed a Lutheran preacher to educate his sons. From 1538 to 1543, William held the neighbouring Duchy of Guelders, as successor of his distant relatives, the Egmond dukes. Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

claimed this duchy for himself as the dukes had sold their right of heritage, and William tried to hold on to it. He made a treaty with the King of France and married

Jeanne d'Albret Jeanne d'Albret ( Basque: ''Joana Albretekoa''; Occitan: ''Joana de Labrit''; 16 November 1528 – 9 June 1572), also known as Jeanne III, was Queen of Navarre from 1555 to 1572. Jeanne was the daughter of Henry II of Navarre and Margar ...

, and with this backup dared to challenge the Emperor. All too soon he learned that the French did not lift a finger to help him, and he was overwhelmed and had to surrender. In accordance with the Treaty of Venlo (1543) that was the result of this war, Guelders and the County of

Zutphen Zutphen () is a city and municipality located in the province of Gelderland, Netherlands. It lies some 30 km northeast of Arnhem, on the eastern bank of the river Ijssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel. First mentioned in th ...

were transferred to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, combining them with the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary, wife of Maximilian I of Austr ...

. William then tried to strengthen his inherited territories and launched an impressive development project for the most important cities. The three duchies all got new main fortresses as major strongpoints, for the older medieval fortifications had proved to be no match against the Imperial artillery. The cities of Jülich,

and

Orsoy Orsoy, till 1974 an independent town in the district of Moers, is today a municipal district of the Lower Rhine town of Rheinberg on the Rhine. The word Orsoy, pronounced ''Oschau'' means "horse pasture" (Rossaue). Orsoy itself was in the Middle A ...

became fortresses for the duchies of Jülich, Berg and Cleves respectively, and Jülich and Düsseldorf were turned into impressive residences. For this task, the renowned Italian architect Alessandro Pasqualini from Bologna was hired, who had already made some impressive display of his craft in the Netherlands. He made the plans for the fortifications and palaces, of which some traces still remain, especially at Jülich where the citadel (built 1548–1580) is a major landmark, with parts of the Renaissance palace still standing. William's sister

Anne of Cleves Anne of Cleves (german: Anna von Kleve; 1515 – 16 July 1557) was Queen of England from 6 January to 12 July 1540 as the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. Not much is known about Anne before 1527, when she became betrothed to Francis, Duke o ...

was, for six months, the fourth wife of King

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. Through his daughter Marie Eleonore, he is ancestor of

Marie Louise of Hesse-Kassel Dutch: ''Maria Louise'' , house =Hesse-Kassel , father =Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel , mother =Princess Maria Amalia of Courland , birth_date = , birth_place =Kassel , death_date = ...

, wife of

John William Friso, Prince of Orange John William Friso ( nl, Johan Willem Friso; 14 August 1687 – 14 July 1711) became the (titular) Prince of Orange in 1702. He was the Stadtholder of Friesland and Groningen in the Dutch Republic until his death by accidental drowning in the H ...

, therefore ancestor of all the current European monarchs.

Marriages and descendants

William married

(1528–1572), heiress of Navarre as the daughter of King

Henry II of Navarre Henry II (18 April 1503 – 25 May 1555), nicknamed ''Sangüesino'' because he was born at Sangüesa, was the King of Navarre from 1517, although his kingdom had been reduced to a small territory north of the Pyrenees by the Spanish conquest of 1 ...

and his wife Margaret of Valois-Angoulême, on 14 June 1541 when she was just 12 years old, but this political marriage was later annulled by papal dispensation on 12 October 1545. William married Maria of Austria (1531–1581), daughter of

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabor ...

, and

Anna of Bohemia and Hungary Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (23 July 1503 – 27 January 1547), sometimes known as Anna Jagellonica, was Queen of Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary and Archduchess of Austria as the wife of King Ferdinand I (later Holy Roman Emperor). Ea ...

, on 18 July 1546 and they had the following children: # Marie Eleonore (25 June 1550 – 1608), married

Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia Albert Frederick (german: Albrecht Friedrich; pl, Albrecht Fryderyk; 7 May 1553 – 27 August 1618) was the Duke of Prussia, from 1568 until his death. He was a son of Albert of Prussia and Anna Marie of Brunswick-Lüneburg. He was the sec ...

. # Anna (1 March 1552 – 1632), married Philipp Ludwig, Count Palatine of Neuburg. # Magdalene (1553–1633), married John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (brother of Philip Louis) # Karl Friedrich (1555–1575), Hereditary Prince; he died 20 years old. # Elizabeth (1556–1561) # Sibylle (1557–1627), married Charles, Margrave of Burgau, a

morganatic 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 spous ...

son of

Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austria (Linz, 14 June 1529 – 24 January 1595, Innsbruck) was ruler of Further Austria and since 1564 Imperial count of Tirol. The son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, he was married to Philippine Welser ...

and

Philippine Welser Philippine Welser (152724 April 1580) was the morganatic wife of Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria. She was granted the titles Baroness of Zinnenburg, Margravine of Burgau, Landgravine of Mellenburg and Countess of Oberhohenberg and Niederhoh ...

# Johann Wilhelm (28 May 1562 – 25 March 1609), Bishop of Münster, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, Count de la Marck,

, Lord of Ravenstein. He was first married in 1585 to

Jakobea of Baden Princess Jakobea of Baden (16 January 1558 – 3 September 1597 in Düsseldorf, buried in the St. Lambert Church in Düsseldorf) was daughter of the Margrave Philibert of Baden-Baden and Mechthild of Bavaria. Life Jakobea of Baden-Baden bec ...

(died 1597), daughter of

Philibert, Margrave of Baden-Baden Margrave Philibert of Baden (22 January 1536 in Baden-Baden – 3 October 1569 in Montcontour) ruled the Margraviate of Baden-Baden from 1554 to 1569. Philibert was the son of the Margrave Bernhard III, Margrave of Baden-Baden and Franziska o ...

. He was secondly married to Antonia of Lorraine (died 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, and ...

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:William, Duke of Julich-Cleves-Berg Dukes of Guelders Dukes of Jülich House of La Marck Dukes of Cleves Dukes of Berg Counts of the Mark Nobility from Düsseldorf 1516 births 1592 deaths