John II, Duke of Cleves

John II, Duke of Cleves
John II, Duke of Cleves
Born(1458-04-13)13 April 1458
Cleves
Died15 March 1521(1521-03-15) (aged 62)
Cleves
Noble familyLa Marck
SpouseMathilde of Hesse
IssueJohn III, Duke of Cleves

illegitimate

63 others
FatherJohn I, Duke of Cleves
MotherElizabeth of Nevers

John II, "The Babymaker", Duke of Cleves, Count of Mark, (German: Johann II. "der Kindermacher", Herzog von Kleve, Graf von Mark) (13 April 1458 – 15 March 1521) was a son of John I, Duke of Cleves and Elizabeth of Nevers.[1] He ruled Cleves from 1481 to his death in 1521. He was called "The Babymaker" as he had fathered sixty-three illegitimate children[2] prior to his marriage with Mathilde of Hesse in 1489.

John's daughter, Anna

Pope Innocent VIII awarded John the Golden Rose of Virtue on 15 April 1489. This is remarkable in light of the fact that John, with his alleged 63 illegitimate children, had the dubious reputation of being a "child maker". From then on, John called himself "Johann von Kleve, Count of La Marck and Katzenelnbogen".

Marriage and issue

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John married Matilda of Hesse,[3] daughter of Henry III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse and Anna of Katzenelnbogen,[4] on 3 November 1489 in Soest. They had:

With Catherine de Chaumont:

  • Hermann of Cleves seigneur d'Afnois, d'Amazy and Saligny (1458-1532), married Leonarde Perreau,[6] legitimized in 1506.[6]

With unknown mothers:

  • Helena (or Hedwig) of Cleves (1480-?), married Otto van Büren
  • Joos (Judocus) of Cleves (1485-1541)
  • Wilhelm of Cleves (c. 1495 -?)
  • Marten of Cleves
  • Hendrik of Cleves
  • Katharina of Cleves,[7] married Johann von Asschebroick[7] and secondly Johann von Loe
  • Elisabeth of Cleves, married Gobert van Bemmel
  • Dietrich of Cleves (?-1493)[7]
  • Johann of Cleves[7]
  • Adolf of Cleves, married Agnes von Hessen zu Hulhausen

Ancestry

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Ancestors of John II, Duke of Cleves
8. Adolph I of Kleve-Mark (1334–1394)
4. Adolph I, Duke of Cleves (1373–1448)
9. Margaret of Jülich (c. 1342–1425/29)
2. John I, Duke of Cleves (1419–1481)
10. John II, Duke of Burgundy (1371–1419)
5. Marie of Burgundy (c. 1393–1473)
11. Margaret of Bavaria (1363–1423)
1. John II, Duke of Cleves
12. Philip II, Count of Nevers (1389–1415)
6. John II, Count of Nevers (1415–1491)
13. Bonne of Artois (1396–1425)
3. Elizabeth of Nevers (1439–1483)
14. Raoul III d'Ailly
7. Jacqueline d'Ailly (c. 1420–1470)
15. Jacqueline of Bethune

References

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Sources

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  • Boltanski, Ariane (2006). Les ducs de Nevers et l'État royal: genèse d'un compromis (ca 1550 - ca 1600) (in French). Librairie Droz S.A.
  • Guenther, Ilse (1985). "John II, Duke of Cleves and Mark". In Bietenholz, Peter G.; Deutscher, Thomas Brian (eds.). Contemporaries of Erasmus: A Biographical Register of the. Vol. 1-3: A-Z. University of Toronto Press.
  • Morby, John (1989). Dynasties of the World: A chronological and genealogical handbook. Oxford University Press.
  • Ward, A.W.; Prothero, G.W.; Leathes, Stanley, eds. (1934). The Cambridge Modern History. Vol. XIII. Cambridge at the University Press.
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