Elizabeth of Nevers

Last updated
Elizabeth of Nevers
Grabplatte Johann I von Kleve und Elisabeth von Burgund.jpg
Drawing of the grave of Elizabeth of Nevers and her husband John I of Cleves
Bornafter 24 August 1439
Nevers
Died(1483-06-21)21 June 1483
Noble family Valois-Burgundy-Nevers
Spouse(s) John I, Duke of Cleves
Father John II, Count of Nevers
MotherJacqueline d'Ailly

Elizabeth of Nevers (born: after 24 August 1439 in Nevers; died: 21 June 1483) was Duchess of Cleves from 1455 until her death, due to her marriage with John I of Cleves-Mark. She acted as regent of the Ducky of Cleves during the absence of her spouse in 1477.

Contents

She was the matriarch of the house of Cleves-Nevers, and thus the Cleves line of the Counts and dukes of Nevers. Because the territory was part of her inheritance, it fell to her son Engelbert after her death.

Life

Elizabeth was the oldest child of John II, Count of Étampes, Nevers, Rethel and Eu, and his first wife Jacqueline d'Ailly. [1] Since Elizabeth's younger brother died at the age of five years and her father thus had no sons, he appointed his eldest daughter to the heir of the counties of Nevers and Eu.

On 22 April 1456, [lower-alpha 1] she married in Bruges with her third cousin, Duke John I of Cleves. [1] After the marriage of Mary of Burgundy with Adolph I of Cleves, this was the second marriage between the House of Burgundy and the House of La Marck. These marriages made the Duchy of Cleves into a kind of Burgundian annexe for the next 100 years, which was reflected mainly in the cultural life. The courtly life, but also the administrative practice in the territory of the Duke of Cleves increasingly followed the Burgundian example.

After the death of Adolf of Egmond, Duke of Guelders in 1477, both Adolf's sister, Catherine, and Emperor Maximilian I claimed the Duchy of Guelders. The Emperor's claim was based on his marriage with Mary of Burgundy. When her husband went to Guelders to support the Emperor's claim, Elizabeth led the government in Cleves during his absence. [3]

Elizabeth died on 21 June 1483 before her father. Her claims to the counties of Nevers and Eu were inherited by her third son Engelbert, who founded the Cleves-Nevers line. She was buried in the Collegiate Church of St. Mary in Cleves, where she shares a grave with her husband. The grave is covered with engraved and gilded copper plates. The top plate, commissioned by Charles of Egmond, depicts the two deceased and is one of the few pictures of Elizabeth. The tomb is considered one of the most important artifacts of its kind. [4]

Marriage and issue

Elizabeth and John I had:

Ancestry

Notes

  1. In some sources 1455 is given as the wedding year. This statement is likely to originate from the fact that the Marriage certificate of 27 March 1456 provides the incorrect date 27 March 1455. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duchy of Guelders</span> Historical county in the Low Countries

The Duchy of Guelders is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles II, Duke of Guelders</span> 15th-16th century Dutch duke and count

Charles II was a member of the House of Egmond who ruled as Duke of Guelders and Count of Zutphen from 1492 until his death. He was the son of Adolf of Egmond and Catherine of Bourbon. He had a principal role in the Frisian peasant rebellion and the Guelders Wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philip the Good</span> Duke of Burgundy from 1419 to 1467

Philip III the Good ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, the Burgundian State reached the apex of its prosperity and prestige, and became a leading centre of the arts.

Engelbert of Cleves, Count of Nevers was the younger son of John I, Duke of Cleves and Elizabeth of Nevers, only surviving child of John II, Count of Nevers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burgundian Netherlands</span> The Netherlands from 1384 to 1482

In the history of the Low Countries, the Burgundian Netherlands or the Burgundian Age is the period between 1384 and 1482, during which a growing part of the Low Countries was ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy. Within their Burgundian State, which itself belonged partly to the Holy Roman Empire and partly to the Kingdom of France, the dukes united these lowlands into a political union that went beyond a personal union as it gained central institutions for the first time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary of Guelders</span> Queen consort and regent of Scotland

Mary of Guelders was Queen of Scotland by marriage to King James II of Scotland. She ruled as regent of Scotland from 1460 to 1463.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold, Duke of Guelders</span>

Arnold of Egmond was Duke of Guelders, Count of Zutphen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Valois-Burgundy</span> Cadet branch of the House of Valois

The House of Valois-Burgundy, or the Younger House of Burgundy, was a noble French family deriving from the royal House of Valois. It is distinct from the Capetian House of Burgundy, descendants of King Robert II of France, though both houses stem from the Capetian dynasty. They ruled the Duchy of Burgundy from 1363 to 1482 and later came to rule vast lands including Artois, Flanders, Luxembourg, Hainault, the county palatine of Burgundy (Franche-Comté), and other lands through marriage, forming what is now known as the Burgundian State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John I, Duke of Cleves</span>

John I, Duke of Cleves, Count of Mark. Jean de Belliqueux (warlike), was Duke of Cleves and Count of Mark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Habsburg Netherlands</span> Entire period of Habsburg rule in the Low Countries (1482-1797)

Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary, wife of Maximilian I of Austria, died. Their grandson, Emperor Charles V, was born in the Habsburg Netherlands and made Brussels one of his capitals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippe Pot</span> Burgundian nobleman, military leader and diplomat

Philippe Pot (1428–1493) was a Burgundian nobleman, military leader, and diplomat. He was the seigneur of La Roche and Thorey-sur-Ouche, a Knight of the Golden Fleece, and the Grand Seneschal of Burgundy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David of Burgundy</span> Bishop of Utrecht from 1457 to 1494

David of Burgundy was the bishop of Utrecht from 1456. The illegitimate son of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, David was made bishop by his father in an attempt to enforce more centralised Burgundian control over the Netherlands. He also served as bishop of Thérouanne from 1451 to 1456. He is the third longest-reigning bishop of Utrecht after Balderic and Willibrord, holding the see until his death in 1494.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William IV, Lord of Egmont</span>

William IV of Egmont was Lord of Egmond, IJsselstein, Schoonderwoerd and Haastrecht and Stadtholder of Guelders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Catherine of Cleves (1417–1479)</span> Duchess of Guelders (lived 1417 to 1479)

Catherine of Cleves was Duchess of Guelders by marriage to Arnold, Duke of Guelders. She acted as regent of Guelders during the absence of her spouse in 1450. The Hours of Catherine of Cleves was commissioned for her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matilda of Hesse</span>

Mathilde of Hesse was a Landrave princess from birth and became the Duchess of Cleves and Countess of La Marck through her marriage to John II, Duke of Cleves in 1489 until her death. She was the daughter of Henry III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse (1441-1483) and his wife Anna of Katzenelnbogen (1443-1494). She is notable for being the grandmother to Anne of Cleves the fourth wife of King Henry VIII of England.

The siege of Utrecht took place between June 23 and August 31, 1483 as part of the Hook and Cod wars and the Second Utrecht Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Utrecht war of 1481–83</span> War over influence in Utrecht, Holland

The Utrecht war of 1481–83 was a diocesan feud in the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht between 1481 and 1483, influenced by the ongoing Hook and Cod wars in the neighbouring County of Holland. It was also a battle for control over Utrecht between the Dukes of Burgundy in the person of ruling Bishop David of Burgundy, and the Duchy of Cleves, which sought to replace him with Engelbert of Cleves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret of Guelders (1436–1486)</span>

Margaret of Guelders was a noblewoman from what is now the Netherlands. She was part of the Egmond Family. She was married to the Count Palatine of Simmern and was the Countess of Palatinate-Simmern.

References


Sources