Adolf (Jülich-Berg)

Adolf on the Bödinger foundation picture from 1621

Adolf VII von Jülich-Berg († July 14, 1437 in Cologne ) was Duke von Berg from 1408 and Duke von Jülich from 1423 . Under him, the two duchies were united to form the Jülich-Berg territorial association . Before that, from 1395 to 1402, Adolf was Count von Ravensberg .

Life

Adolf was the son of Duke Wilhelm I von Berg and Anna, daughter of Elector Ruprecht II of the Palatinate and sister of the German King Ruprecht I.

At an early age he challenged his father for ownership of the Duchy of Berg. In 1395 Adolf got the county of Ravensberg, which was connected with Berg, from his father. Probably out of fear for his inheritance, after the Battle of Kleverhamm lost by his father in 1397, Adolf forced him to cede further parts of Berg. In 1403 Adolf went over to open rebellion and imprisoned his father at Burg Castle from August 1403 to November 1404 . However, the neighboring rulers turned against him, and when his royal uncle Ruprecht 1405 about him the imperial ban imposed, he submitted himself to his father. In 1408 he succeeded him as duke.

After further feuds Adolf tried from 1414 to 1416 by force, his brother William to Archbishop of Cologne to make, but failed to Dietrich von Moers to award King Sigismund .

Adolf had married Jolanthe von Bar in 1401 and, as her brother, Duke Eduard III. von Bar died without sons in 1415, hoping to make their son Ruprecht the new Duke of Bar, since King Sigismund gave him the margraviate Pentamousson in 1417 as an imperial fief. However, this fiefdom was only part of the Duchy of Bar, while at that time the other part of Bar was part of Lorraine and belonged to France. A French competitor, Réne von Anjou , also made a claim to the duchy. Adolf VII therefore went to the field in 1421 to enforce his claims against his adversary René I, but was captured in Lorraine in 1422 , had to buy himself out and renounced bar.

When Duke Rainald von Geldern and Jülich died in 1423 without a direct heir, Adolf, whose family formed a side line of the Jülich family, tried to enforce his inheritance claims in the two duchies. In Jülich this succeeded quickly and Adolf became duke. In contrast, the Second War of the Geldrian Succession broke out around Geldern . The protracted battles against Arnold von Egmond's party did not bring any decision during Adolf's lifetime.

Adolf's wife Jolanthe died in 1421. In 1430, Adolf married Elisabeth of Bavaria, the daughter of Duke Ernst of Bavaria-Munich . This marriage remained childless. In 1433 his son Ruprecht also died , so that Adolf did not leave a direct heir when he died. He was succeeded as Duke von Jülich and Berg by his nephew Gerhard , until then Count von Ravensberg.

Adolf died in 1437 and was buried in Altenberg Cathedral .

literature

Karl Leopold Strauven: Adolf, Duke of Jülich . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1875, pp. 96-98.
Henny Grüneisen: Adolf I .. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 80 ( digitized version ).

Individual evidence

↑ Theodor Joseph Lacomblet, in: Document book for the history of the Lower Rhine and the Archbishopric of Cöln, document 104 , 1858, part 4, p. [141] 115. Online edition 2009 [1]

predecessor	Office	successor
Wilhelm I.	Count of Ravensberg 1395–1402	Wilhelm II.
Wilhelm I.	Duke of Berg 1408–1437	Gerhard
Rainald	Duke of Jülich 1423–1437	Gerhard

personal data
SURNAME	Adolf
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Adolf VII von Jülich-Berg (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Herzog von Berg and von Jülich
DATE OF BIRTH	14th Century
DATE OF DEATH	July 14, 1437
Place of death	Cologne

[1] Theodor Joseph Lacomblet, in: Document book for the history of the Lower Rhine and the Archbishopric of Cöln, document 104 , 1858, part 4, p. [141] 115. Online edition 2009 [1]