Amalia of Cleves

Amalia of Cleves
File:An unidentified woman by Hans Holbein the Younger.jpg Portrait by Hans Holbein the younger, 1539.
Noble family	La Marck
Father	John III, Duke of Cleves
Mother	Maria von Jülich
Born	(1517-10-17)17 October 1517
Died

Amalia of Cleves (German: Amalia von Kleve-Jülich-Berg; 17 October 1517, Düsseldorf – 1 March 1586, Düsseldorf) was a princess from the House of Von der Mark. She was the youngest child of John III, Duke of Cleves, and his wife Maria von Jülich.

Amalia and her two sisters, Sibylle and Anne, had an old-fashioned education, where singing and reading were not taught, but cooking, weaving or other household chores were emphasized. Furthermore the small German court followed the Italian fashion which was common in noble families at the time.

Hans Holbein the Younger painted Amalia and Anne for the freshly widowed King Henry VIII of England in 1539, because he was considering making one of them his fourth wife. After seeing both paintings, Henry chose Anne and they were married in 1540. In the following years, Amalia's family tried to marry her off with as much profit as possible. There were long negotiations with the Margraviate of Baden concerning a strategical marriage between the two dynasties which came to no conclusion.

Amalia wrote a song book which is currently found in the German national library in Berlin, with copies in the public library of Frankfurt and the university library of Frankfurt.

Lineage

Family of Amalia of Cleves

16. Adolph I, Duke of Cleves (1373-1448)               8. John I, Duke of Cleves (1419-1481)                       17. Mary of Burgundy (c. 1393-1473)               4. John II, Duke of Cleves (1458-1521)                             18. John II, Count of Nevers, Comte de Nevers et de Rethel (1415-1491)               9. Elizabeth of Nevers (1439-1483)                       19. Jacqueline d'Ailly (?-1470)               2. John III, Duke of Cleves (1490-1538/9)                                   20. Louis I, Landgrave of Hesse (1402-1458)               10. Henry III, Landgrave of Hesse-Marburg (1440-1483)                       21. Anna of Saxony               5. Mathilde of Hesse (1473-1524)                             22. Philip I, Count of Katzenelnbogen (c. 1402-1479)               11. Anna von Katzenelnbogen (1443-1494)                       23. Anne of Wurttemberg (c. 1408-1471)               1. Amalia of Cleves (1517-1586)                                         24. William VIII of Jülich, Count of Ravensberg (c. 1382-1428)               12. Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg (?-1475)                       25. Adelheid of Tecklenburg (before 1400-?)               6. William IV, Duke of Jülich-Berg (1455-1521)                             26. Bernard II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (c.1392-1463)               13. Sophie of Saxe-Lauenburg (before 1428-1473)                       27. Adelheid of Pomerania (c.1410-aft 1445)               3. Maria of Jülich-Berg (1491-1543)                                   28. Frederick I, Elector of Brandenburg (1371-1440)               14. Albert III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg (1414-1486)                       29. Elisabeth of Bavaria-Landshut (c. 1383-1442)               7. Sibylle of Brandenburg (1467-1524)                             30. Frederick II, Elector of Saxony (1412-1464)               15. Anna of Saxony                       31. Margarete of Austria (1416-1486)

Literature

• Storybook about the history of the women of Cleves. (Projectgroup Womengroup of the adult education center Cleves), Cleves 2004. (German: Lesebuch zur Geschichte der Klever Frauen. (Projektgruppe Frauengruppe der VHS Kleve))
• Land in the middle of the forces: The united dukedoms Jülich, Cleves, Berg. Cleves 1985. (German: Land im Mittelpunkt der Mächte: Die vereinigten Herzogtümer Jülich, Kleve, Berg.)