Maria von Geldern (Duchess)

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Allegorical representation of Mary from the so-called "Book of Hours of Maria d'Harcourt"; ms. germ. quart. 42, fol. 19v

Maria von Jülich-Geldern , née Marie d'Harcourt (born February 24, 1380 in La Saussaye , † between 1428 and 1434) was Duchess of Jülich and Geldern from 1405 . She is best known for the book of hours that she had made and that is regarded as one of the most important art treasures from the late medieval duchy of Geldern.

youth

Maria von Jülich-Geldern was born as Marie d'Harcourt in Normandy as the daughter of Johann VI. († 1388), Count of Harcourt and Aumale, and his wife Katharina von Bourbon (1342–1427), a daughter of Duke Pierre I de Bourbon . She was the eighth of nine children and a niece in law of the two brothers King Charles VI. of France (Charles the Mad) and Duke Louis of Orléans .

Little is known about their youth. From around 1397 she stayed at the court of Duke Ludwig von Orléans as the lady-in-waiting of his wife, Valentina Visconti , a daughter of Duke Gian Galeazzo Visconti of Milan . During these years Karl von Orléans was born, the eldest son of Ludwig and Valentina, who is best known for the poems he wrote during his captivity in London. Marie d'Harcourt was involved in his upbringing.

Marriage

On May 5, 1405, Marie d'Harcourt married Duke Rainald IV of Jülich-Geldern, Count of Zutphen . The place of marriage was Crécy. Ludwig von Orléans paid a very high dowry of 30,000 gold shields , which were to be repaid in the event of childlessness. The marriage served to strengthen the political bond between France and the Jülich-Geldrian duchy, Mary's task was to provide for a legitimate heir. Rainald IV had several children, but they were all illegitimate and could not be considered for inheritance.

The project of this political marriage of convenience failed because as early as 1407 with the murder of Louis von Orléans, mutual political interests fell away and because at the end of 1410 it became clear that Maria would not be able to give children to her husband. This threatened the Geldern-Jülich house with extinction. On June 25, 1423 Rainald died suddenly near Terlet in the Veluwe while on horseback from Hattem to his castle Rosendael (northeast of Arnhem). This sealed the end of the dynasty.

The result was an inheritance dispute. Maria was no longer accepted as Duchess of Geldern and withdrew to her Wittum in the Duchy of Jülich . In 1426 she married the twenty years younger Duke Ruprecht von Jülich-Berg, son of Duke Adolf von Jülich-Berg , who wanted to confirm his claim to the Duchy of Geldern with this marriage. A papal dispensation was issued for this marital union.

Mary's exact date of death is unknown. The last known document from her is a letter dated October 9, 1428. In 1431 she was commemorated with an office of the soul. So she might have died in 1428 or after, but before 1431. It is also not known where she was buried, although Nideggen was occasionally mentioned as the burial place. However, a letter from 1431 shows that she cannot be buried there.

Book of hours

Maria von Geldern is best known for her book of hours that she had made. The scriptor of this manuscript was a monk of the Marienborn Abbey near Arnhem, Helmich de Leev. He completed the work on February 23, 1415. It was illustrated by a number of illuminators. It is not known exactly where they worked; both Nijmegen and Utrecht are possible.

The book of hours of Maria von Jülich-Geldern is very extensive with over 900 sheets and extremely richly illuminated. Over the centuries, a number of the miniatures have been cut out of the book. In its current condition it still contains 106 miniatures, and almost all of the pages are painted on the edges, e.g. B. decorated borders. This makes it a major work of Dutch miniature painting of the early 15th century. Since 2015, it has been the subject of a comprehensive research project on which the Radboud University of Nijmegen and the Berlin State Library are working together. In October 2018, at the instigation of these institutions, a large exhibition entitled “Ik, Maria van Gelre” was opened in the Het Valkhof Museum in Nijmegen.

Web links

Commons : Hours of Maria d'Harcourt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

  • Böck, Matthias: Dukes and conflict: the late medieval duchy of Geldern in the field of tension between dynasty, estate forces and territorial competition (1339-1543). Dissertation. Publishing house of the historical association for Geldern and the surrounding area, Geldern 2013.

Individual evidence

credentials

  1. ↑ Gebedenboek Maria van Gelre. Radboud University Nijmegen, accessed July 30, 2016 (Dutch).
  2. ↑ Maria Harcourt. Radboud University Nijmegen, accessed July 30, 2012 (Dutch).
  3. ↑ Jahn, Ralf G .: De genealogie van de graven en hertogen van Gelre . In: Evers, M. et al. (Ed.): Het hertogdom Gelre. Geschiedenis, kunst en cultuur tussen Maas, Rijn en IJssel . Matrijs, Utrecht 2003, p. 39 .
  4. ↑ More information on marriage and the related contracts in: Franz Josef Donner, Karl L. Mackes u. Arie Nabrings (arrangement): Sources and regesta on the history of Viersen, Dülken, Süchteln and Boisheim (1080-1500). Viersener document book, archive of the city of Viersen, 1990.
  5. ↑ Miniatures. Radboud University Nijmegen, accessed December 8, 2018 (Dutch).

Remarks

  1. ↑ Her mother was a sister-in-law of King Charles V of France.
  2. ↑ Schilfgaarde reports in 1967 that Maria died between February and August 1433. See: Schilfgaarde, AP, Zegels en genealogische Gegevens van de graven en hertogen van gelre, graven van Zutphen. Werken Gelre 33, Arnheim 1967, p. 103
personal data
SURNAME Maria von Geldern
ALTERNATIVE NAMES D'Harcourt, Marie (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duchess of Geldern
DATE OF BIRTH February 24, 1380
PLACE OF BIRTH La Saussaye
DATE OF DEATH between 1428 and 1434