House of Jülich

The House of Jülich, German: Haus von Jülich, was a noble House in Germany, operating from the 12th to the 16th century. Its members were initially counts of Jülich, then promoted to dukes of Jülich. By marriage they acquired the duchy of Gelders, which eventually passed to the House of Egmond. They again acquired the counties of Berg & Ravensberg by marriage, and as counts of Berg were elevated to the dukes of Berg; the House became extinct when in 1511 the last male member died and in 1543 the last female died.

Coat-of-arm of Jülich.

History

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The members of the House were counts of Jülich, until Wiliam V supported Emperor Charles IV, who in turn rewarded William V by elevating him as duke of Jülich. William V had two sons, William II and Gerhard VI.

Coat-of-arm of Guelders (gold lion) and Jülich (black lion).

William II duke of Jülich married to Maria, daughter and successor of duke of Guelders (nederlands: Gerle, deutsch: Gueldern), thus he became jure auxoris duke of Guelders. He had three children, William, Reinald IV and Johanna. Both his sons died childless, so the duchy of Guelders passed to Johanna's grandson Arnold of the House of Egmond.

Coat-of-arm of Jülich (black lion), Berg (red lion) and Ravensberg (above all, three red chevrons).

Gerhard VI married to Margaret of Ravensberg and Berg, who had inherited the county of Ravensberg from her father and the county of Berg from her mother. Thus Gerhard VI became jure auxoris count of Berg and Ravensberg. His son William VII count of Berg elevated from Emperor Wenceslaus to duke of Berg. The grandson of William VII, Gerhard VII, inherit the duchy of Jülich from Reinhard IV and the duchy of Berg from his uncle Adolf. His son William IV was duke of Jülich-Berg, but had no sons, thus succeeded by his daughter Maria with her husband John III duke of Cleves, of the House of La Mark.

Family tree of the House of Jülich

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HOUSE OF JÜLICH
William IIEberhard II
William III
count of Jülich
William IV
count of Jülich
Walram
count of Jülich
Gerhard V
count of Jülich
Margaret of BergWilliam V
I duke of Jülich
Walram
archbishop of Cologne
Margaret of RavensbergGerhard VI
count of Berg, Ravensberg
William VI
II duke of Jülich
Maria, Duchess of Guelders
William VII
duke of Berg,
count of Ravensberg
William
duke of Guelders, III of Jülich
Katherine of Bavaria
Reinald IV
duke of Guelders, Jülich
Joanna of Jülich
John V
lord of Arkel
Adolf
duke of Jülich-Berg
William VIII
count of Ravensberg
Marie of Harcourt
(daughter of John VI
count of Harcourt)
Maria van Arkel
John II
lord of Egmond
RupertGerhard VII
duke of Jülich-Berg,
count of Ravensberg
Arnold
duke of Guelders
HOUSE OF EGMONT
William
IV duke of Jülich-Berg,
count of Ravensberg
Sibylle of Brandenburg
Maria
John III duke of Cleves
HOUSE OF LA MARCK

Sources

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  • Walther Möller, Stammtafeln westdeutscher Adelsgeschlechter im Mittelalter (Darmstadt, 1922, reprint Verlag Degener & Co., 1995), Vol. 1, page 14.
  • Severin Corsten: Der Überfall Heinsberger Kriegsknechte auf das Münster in Aachen (1428), in: Heimatkalender des Kreises Heinsberg 2011. Published by the county of Heinsberg, Heinsberg 2011, ISBN 978-3-925620-32-4, p. 27 ff.