County of Cleves

Who rules

Name

Not pinned: Dietrich (the later Dietrich V or VI, born about 1185) as count, with or under his uncle Arnold

Title

Count of Cleves

Since

Dietrich's father, Count Dietrich (IV or V; married Margaret of Holland), is last given as count in 1193 (NDB) or 1191 (ADB) and was dead before 1202. His younger brother Arnold, married to Adelheid of Heinsberg, governed the county from about 1189, attested 1188-1198, and is dead by or during 1200. The boy Dietrich first appears as count in 1202.

Born

Dietrich: about 1185

Family

The boy Dietrich is the son of Count Dietrich and Margaret of Holland. His aunt Adelaide (Aleid) of Cleves, daughter of Dietrich II and Adelaide of Sulzbach, married Dirk VII of Holland in 1186: the count of Holland is his uncle by marriage. His uncle Arnold's wife Adelheid is lady of Heinsberg (1190-1207); their son Dietrich will be lord of Heinsberg and Valkenburg.

Confidence

low

de.wikipedia Grafschaft Kleve and Arnold II. (Kleve) (after Kraus, Rheinische Vierteljahrsblätter 46, 1982); NDB 'Kleve, Grafen von' (Weber 1980); ADB overview; en.wikipedia Duchy of Cleves and Adelaide of Cleves.

Overlord

The king for the county; the archbishop of Cologne for the Tomburg and for advocacies held as Cologne fiefs; the counts were seen as Cologne vassals.

Allies and rivals

Allies: Holland (by marriage), Heinsberg (the uncle's line), Cologne as overlord. Rivals: Guelders, whose lands surround Goch and the Reichswald side.

The realm that morning

A minor or barely adult count; the county is governed by the family and its ministeriales. Allegiance not pinned: by its Cologne fiefs and its Holland marriage the house most likely stands with Otto (welf) that winter, but no charter or chronicle places it, so read it as not pinned with a Welf lean.

Wealth

Rhine tolls are not pinned for 1200 (the king's confirmation of all Cleves tolls is of the late thirteenth century); the market of Wesel; the advocacy of the rich chapter of St Victor at Xanten; the Reichswald edge and the Rhine meadows. No figures.

Military

Castles of Kleve (the Schwanenburg), Monterberg near Kalkar (used at times), the Tomburg (far detached block near Rheinbach, held of Cologne). No figures.

Threats

• A regency or minority invites Guelders and Cologne to press their claims
• The death of the uncle Arnold during 1200

Family and heirs

The boy Dietrich is the heir and very probably the count; no brother of his is pinned. His later wives (Mathilda of Dinslaken, about 1215; Hedwig of Meissen) are far in the future.

Officers

• Not pinned: the regent (Arnold, if alive), the castellans of Kleve and Monterberg, the count's ministeriales.

Where the court is this winter

Not pinned; Kleve.

Treaties and feuds

• Close family ties to Holland (Dirk VII's wife is the boy's aunt) and to Heinsberg (his uncle's wife's lordship)
• Cologne overlordship for the Tomburg and advocacies; rivalry with Guelders on the lower Rhine in later decades

Rome and the Church

Nothing attested.

Coinage

Not pinned for 1200.

The host

Knights of Kleve, Kalkar and Wesel and the advocacy vassals; no figures.

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1200 (day not pinned)Death of Arnold, the boy's uncle and the county's governor since about 1189 (en.wikipedia gives 1200; de.wikipedia says probably dead by 1200).Depends on: Natural death if he is still alive on 1 January Stopped by: Nothing in play if he is already dead
2. 1200-1202The young Dietrich takes the government in his own name; he first appears as count in 1202.Depends on: His survival and the family's agreement Stopped by: A guardian or neighbour seizing the regency

Places of note

• Kleve castle (the Schwanenburg): Residence of the counts
• Monterberg: Castle near Kalkar used by the counts
• Tomburg: Ancestral castle held of Cologne since about 1090

Where the sources disagree

• The sources disagree on the counts: NDB has Dietrich IV (V) 1172-1193, Arnold III 1193-1202, Dietrich V (VI) 1202-1260; ADB has Dietrich IV to 1191, Arnold II 1191-1198, Dietrich V attested 1202-1260; de.wikipedia (after Kraus 1982) has Arnold governing 1189-1200 as his brother's deputy, attested 1188-1198 and probably dead by 1200. The holder on 1 January 1200 is therefore not pinned: the boy Dietrich, with Arnold as governor if alive.

Evidence: The generations are muddled in the literature; no charter of 1199 or 1200 was found for the count; allegiance unknown.

On the map: The count's lands are drawn on the lord record Cleves.

Primary sources for this realm

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Royal Chronicle of Cologne (in stages from about 1175 to about 1250; the section on 1198 to 1220 written soon after the events). The fullest German narrative of the throne war from the Welf and Cologne side. Read online