Johann I (Duke of Cleves)

Johann was the eldest son of the Duke of Cleves Adolf I of the house of Lamarck and Mary of Burgundy . He received his upbringing at the Burgundy court, being in the retinue of his uncle Philip the Good . Only in 1444, when the prince was already 25 years old, the duke Adolf, who started the war with the archbishop of Cologne , called his son in Cleve.

After the death of his father on September 23, 1448, Johann became the Duke of Cleves. In 1450, he singled out his younger brother Adolf Ravenstein and Vinendale as an upfall , and in 1461 , when his childless uncle Gerhard Marksky died , Johann received the county of Mark . Thanks to the support of Philip the Good, he was able to defeat Cologne and expand the territory, but Cleve was involved in the orbit of Burgundian influence, which threatened the independence of the duchy.

The connection between Burgundy and Cleve became even closer when Johann married Elizabeth of Nevers , daughter of Count Never Jean of Burgundy ( 1455 ). Through this marriage, Johann inherited the property of his father-in-law, including the counties of Nevers, Auxerre and Rethel.

In the battle of Strahlen on June 23, 1468, Johann of Cleves was defeated by Adolf Geldern and barely escaped captivity. As a result of this defeat, he lost the city of Wachtendonk; but five years later, Karl Smely , who received Geldern as heir to the Duke of Arnold , not only returned the Duke to Klewski Wachtendonk, but also transferred a number of territories.

After the death of Johann ( 1481 ), his eldest son Johann received the duchy of Cleve and the county of Mark, and the youngest, Engelbert , received the possessions of his maternal grandfather - the counties of Nevers and E.

From Elizabeth of Nevers , Johann had six children:

• Johann ( 1458 - 1521 ), the next Duke of Cleves;
• Adolph ( 1461 - 1525 );
• Engelbert ( 1462 - 1506 ), Count of Nevers, married to Charlotte of Bourbon-Vendome;
• Dietrich ( 1464 );
• Mary ( 1465 - 1513 );
• Philip ( 1467 - 1505 ), Bishop of Nevers.

• Genealogical tree

• Wilhelm Janssen: Johann I., Herzog von Kleve. In: Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-428-00191-5 , S. 492 f.