John II, Duke of Cleves

John II, "The Babymaker", Duke of Cleves, Count of Mark, (German: Johann II. "der Kindermacher", Herzog von Kleve, Graf von Mark) (13 April 1458 – 15 March 1521) was a son of John I, Duke of Cleves and Elizabeth of Nevers.[1] He ruled Cleves from 1481 to his death in 1521. He was called "The Babymaker" since he fathered sixty-three illegitimate children [2] before his marriage with Mathilde of Hesse in 1490. She was the daughter of Henry III, Landgrave of Upper Hesse and his wife Anna of Katzenelnbogen.[3]

John II, Duke of Cleves
John II, Duke of Cleves
Born	13 April 1458 Cleves
Died	15 March 1521 (aged 62)
Noble family	La Marck
Spouse(s)	Mathilde of Hesse
Issue John III, Duke of Cleves
Father	John I, Duke of Cleves
Mother	Elizabeth of Nevers

They had three children :

• John III (1490–1539), his successor[4]
• Anna (1495–1567), married in 1518 with count Philip III of Waldeck-Eisenberg[4]
• Adolf (1498–1525), appointed by his father's cousin Philip of Cleves, Lord of Ravenstein and Wijnendale, as his successor, but died before Philip (1528)

• 
  Coat-of-arms of
  La Mark
• 
  Coat-of-arms of
  Cleves

Ancestry

Ancestors of John II, Duke of Cleves

8. Adolph I of Kleve-Mark (1334–1394) 4. Adolph I, Duke of Cleves (1373–1448) 9. Margaret of Jülich (c. 1342–1425/29) 2. John I, Duke of Cleves (1419–1481) 10. John II, Duke of Burgundy (1371–1419) 5. Marie of Burgundy (c. 1393–1473) 11. Margaret of Bavaria (1363–1423) 1. John II, Duke of Cleves 12. Philip II, Count of Nevers (1389–1415) 6. John II, Count of Nevers (1415–1491) 13. Bonne of Artois (1396–1425) 3. Elizabeth of Nevers (1439–1483) 14. Raoul d'Ailly 7. Jacqueline d'Ailly (c. 1420–1470) 15. Jacqueline of Bethune

References

1. Boltanski 2006, p. 501.
2. La Societe Numismatique, Revue de la numismatique belge, Brussels, 1863, page 234
3. John Morby, Dynasties of the World: a chronological and genealogical handbook (Oxford, Oxfordshire, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 1989), page 135.
4. Ward, Prothero & Leathes 1934, p. table 38.

Sources

• Boltanski, Ariane (2006). Les ducs de Nevers et l'État royal: genèse d'un compromis (ca 1550 - ca 1600) (in French). Librairie Droz S.A.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Ward, A.W.; Prothero, G.W.; Leathes, Stanley, eds. (1934). The Cambridge Modern History. XIII. Cambridge at the University Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• Genealogy of Jülich-Cleves Accessed July 28, 2008