William VII of Jülich, 1st Duke of Berg
Encyclopedia
William VII of Jülich, 1st Duke of Berg (c.1348 - 25 June 1408) was born in Jülich
, the son of Gerhard VI of Jülich, Count of Berg and Ravensberg
, and Margaret
, daughter and heiress of Otto IV, Count of Ravensberg, and Margaret of Berg.
Upon his father's death in 1360, William became Count of Berg and Ravensberg, a title that his father had gained by marrying the heiress of Berg and Ravensberg. In 1380, King Wenzel elevated him to the rank of Duke, thus becoming the first Duke of Berg.
William fought the counties of Mark and Cleves to prevent them from combining but in 1397 he was taken prisoner in the battle of Kleverhamm. He lost Remagen, Kaiserwerth and Sinzig to his nephew Adolf IV, Count of Kleve-Mark and due to these losses, his sons turned against him and imprisoned him in 1403/04. He ultimately forced them to submit and later supported his brother-in-law Rupert, King of Germany against Geldern-Jülich and won the county of Blankenburg. William died on 25 June 1408 and is buried in the Abteikirche in Altenberg.
. They had the following children:
Jülich
Jülich is a town in the district of Düren, in the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Jülich is well known as location of a world-famous research centre, the Forschungszentrum Jülich and as shortwave transmission site of Deutsche Welle...
, the son of Gerhard VI of Jülich, Count of Berg and Ravensberg
Gerhard VI of Jülich, Count of Berg and Ravensberg
Gerhard VI of Jülich, Count of Berg and Ravensberg was the son of William V, Duke of Jülich and Joanna of Hainaut.Gerhard was betrothed in 1333 to Margaret of Guelders, daughter of Rainald II of Guelders and Sophia Betrout. However, this marriage was never consummated, likely due either to...
, and Margaret
Margaret of Ravensberg
Margaret of Ravensberg was the daughter and heiress of Otto IV, Count of Ravensberg and Margaret of Berg.Margaret's father Otto had no sons so at his death in 1328, the County of Ravensberg went to his younger brother Bernhard...
, daughter and heiress of Otto IV, Count of Ravensberg, and Margaret of Berg.
Upon his father's death in 1360, William became Count of Berg and Ravensberg, a title that his father had gained by marrying the heiress of Berg and Ravensberg. In 1380, King Wenzel elevated him to the rank of Duke, thus becoming the first Duke of Berg.
William fought the counties of Mark and Cleves to prevent them from combining but in 1397 he was taken prisoner in the battle of Kleverhamm. He lost Remagen, Kaiserwerth and Sinzig to his nephew Adolf IV, Count of Kleve-Mark and due to these losses, his sons turned against him and imprisoned him in 1403/04. He ultimately forced them to submit and later supported his brother-in-law Rupert, King of Germany against Geldern-Jülich and won the county of Blankenburg. William died on 25 June 1408 and is buried in the Abteikirche in Altenberg.
Family and children
On 28 September 1363, William married Anna of the Palatinate (1346 - 30 November 1415), daughter of Rupert II, Elector Palatine and Beatrice of SicilyBeatrice of Sicily
Beatrice of Sicily was the Empress consort of Philip of Courtenay, titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople.-Family:...
. They had the following children:
- Beatrice (c.1364 - 16 May 1395), married in 1385 Rupert I, Elector Palatine, his second wife, no issue
- Margarete (c.1364 - 18 July 1442), married in 1379 Otto I (the Evil), Duke of Brunswick-Göttingen (died 13 December 1394)
- Rupert (died 29 July 1394), Bishop of Passau and PaderbornPaderbornPaderborn is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader, which originates in more than 200 springs near Paderborn Cathedral, where St. Liborius is buried.-History:...
- AdolfAdolf, Duke of Jülich-BergAdolf, Duke of Jülich-Berg , was the first Duke of the combined duchies of Jülich and Berg. He was the son of William VII of Jülich, 1st Duke of Berg and Anna of the Palatinate....
(died 14 July 1437), married Yolande de Bar and Elisabeth of Bavaria, ruled Ravensburg (1395-1403) and Berg (1408-1437) - Gerhard (died 22 October 1435), Archdeacon of Cologne
- WilliamWilliam VIII of Jülich, Count of RavensbergWilliam VIII of Jülich, Count of Ravensberg was the youngest son of William VII of Jülich, 1st Duke of Berg and Anna of the Palatinate....
(c.1382-1428), married Adelheid of Tecklenburg, ruled Ravensburg (1403-1428)