The Battle of Kleverhamm ( German: Schlacht von Cleverhamm ) is a battle held on June 7, 1397 in Germany on the Neerfeld field between the villages of Kellen and Varbayen in the Kleverhamm district near Kleve . Opponents were the Duke Wilhelm II von Berg , on the one hand, and the brothers Count Mark Dietrich von der Mark and Count Cleve Adolf II , on the other.
| Battle of Cloverhamma | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| date | June 7, 1397 | ||
| A place | Näerfeld near Cleve | ||
| Total | the victory of Counts von Cleve and von der Mark | ||
| Opponents | |||
| |||
Reasons
The subject of the dispute was an annual rent of 2,400 gold guilders from the Rhine Customs at Kaiserwerth . The city, castle and customs of Kaiserwerth were acquired in 1360 by Count Berg Gerhard von Julich , and laid in 1368 by his son, Count Wilhelm II von Berg .
In 1393, Count Dietrich von der Mark achieved the award of this annuity in his favor. In addition, his cousin Margarita von der Mark and her husband Philip von Falkenstein claimed their income. Their demands were not satisfied, but meanwhile Wilhelm II von Berg, proclaimed duke since 1380, presented his old rights to customs. During a lengthy lawsuit, the Duke suffered heavy losses. Sensing the threat posed by the brothers who reigned in the duchy of Cleve and the county of Mark , in 1395 he announced that he intended in an emergency to solve all problems using weapons.
War
In the spring of 1397, Duke Wilhelm II von Berg, with his cousin, Duke Wilhelm von Julich and Geldern and other allied feudal lords , invaded Cleve County. They went on a devastating hike down the Rhine all the way to Lobit Castle , after which they moved to Kleve.
Count Adolf II von Cleve and his brother, Count Dietrich von der Mark, accepted the challenge of the enemy troops on the field of Näerfeld. Duke William and his allies were defeated. 90 knights and 2,000 foot soldiers from Berg were captured.
This conflict resonated throughout the domain of Count Cleve. Bernd von Strunkede (1334-1419), until that time the most powerful Kleve vassal in the area of the Emscher River, shortly before the battle became opposed to the counts and granted his castle to the Duke Wilhelm von Berg.
Consequences
The Duke Wilhelm von Berg, his allies and vassals were released from captivity for a huge ransom, for the collection of which they had to go for long-term mortgages. As a result of this, many counts and knights lost their flax or went to new overlords. Due to debts, as well as for fear of losing their inheritance, the sons of Duke Wilhelm soon started a turmoil and declared him deposed.
The positions of Count Cleve later strengthened. A year later, during the siege of the castle of Eberfeld , Dietrich von der Mark died. After that, his brother Adolf united the counties of Mark and Cleve with a personal union .
Berg's defeat led to the fact that the knight Bernd von Strunkede received his linen from Adolf von Cleve only in 1399. Nevertheless, the counts for a long time could not reconcile with the feudal lords, who were connected with them by long-term lazy relations.
Centuries later, the cross at Kleverhamma is reminiscent of the cross marked on old maps of agricultural land, which is located in the area of the Kleva Financial Office.
Sources
- Karl vom Berg und Wilhelm Fülle: Bergische Fürsten und Heimatbilder, Düsseldorf und Barmen , 1926.