Adolph III of the Marck (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Adolf III von der Mark''; – 1394) was the Prince-Bishop of Münster (as Adolph) from 1357 to 1363, the

Archbishop-Elector 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 ...

(as Adolph II) in 1363, the

Count of Cleves The Duchy of Cleves (; ) was a 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, Xanten, Emmer ...

(as Adolph I) from 1368 to 1394, and the

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 ...

(as Adolph III) from 1391 to 1393.

Life

Origins

Adolph was the second son of Count

Adolph II of the Marck Adolph II of the Marck (died 19/20 October 1347, Fröndenberg) was Count of the Marck. He was the eldest son of Engelbert II of the Mark and Mechtild of Arenberg. Adolph was betrothed to Irmgard of Cleves, daughter of Otto, Count of Cleves and ...

and Margaret of Cleves.

Reign

On 16 November 1357 Pope Innocent VI appointed him the Bishop of

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

. In 1362 he signed a contract with his uncle Bishop Engelbert III of the Marck of

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

whereby he would inherit Cleves in the likely event Count John of Cleves died childless. On 13 June 1363 he was appointed 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 ...

against the favourite John of Virneburg, but by the end of the year had resigned from the position to focus on the County of Cleves, despite the fact that his short tenure was scandalous and ridden with controversy. In 1368 he succeeded his uncle John of Cleves and could maintain his rule there through the support of

Marriage and issue

In 1369 he married

Margaret of Jülich Margaret of Jülich ( – 10 October 1425) was a daughter of Duke Gerhard VI of Jülich and his wife, Margaret of Ravensberg (1315–1389). In 1369, she married Adolf III of the Marck. She had sixteen children with him, at least five of ...

, daughter of Gerhard VI of Jülich, Count of Berg and Ravensberg and had fourteen children, at least five of whom did not survive infancy. * Adolph (1373–1448), his successor in Cleves and later also in Marck. * Dietrich (1374–1398), his successor in Marck. * Gerhard († 1461), ''de facto'' Count of the Marck, but not allowed to use the title. *

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

(1375–1411), married in 1394

Albert I, Duke of Bavaria Albert I, Duke of Lower Bavaria (; 25 July 1336 – 13 December 1404), was a feudal ruler of the counties of Holland, Hainaut, and Zeeland in the Low Countries. Additionally, he held a portion of the Bavarian province of Straubing, his Bavari ...

(† 1404) * Elisabeth (1378–1439), married Reinold of Valkenburg († 1396) and Stephen III, Duke of Bavaria * Engelberta († 1458), married Friedrich IV of Moers.

Later life and death

After his brother Engelbert III of the Marck died without heirs in 1391, Adolph inherited the Marck too. However, he gave Marck to his son Dietrich in 1393. Adolph died in 1394 and was succeeded in Cleves by another of his sons, Adolph. Cleves and Marck were reunited again four years later, when Dietrich died and was succeeded by Adolph IV.

References

* Harleß, Woldemar (1875)
"Adolf I. (Graf von Kleve)"
In Liliencron, Rochus von (ed.). ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

''. Vol. 1. Duncker & Humblot: Munich & Leipzig. pp. 98–100. {{DEFAULTSORT:Adolph 03 of the Marck Adolf 2 Adolf 02 14th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in the Holy Roman Empire Adolf 01 Counts of the Mark Adolf 3 1330s births Year of birth uncertain Place of birth unknown 1394 deaths 14th-century German Roman Catholic bishops