Maria of Cleves

"Mary of Cleves" redirects here. For the princess of Condé, see Marie de Clèves (1553–1575).

Maria of Cleves
Duchess of Orléans
Born	19 September 1426
Died	23 August 1487 (aged 60) Chaunay
Spouse	Charles, Duke of Orléans
House	House of Cleves
Father	Adolph I, Duke of Cleves
Mother	Marie of Burgundy

Maria of Cleves (19 September 1426 – 23 August 1487) was the third wife of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and the mother of his only son, King Louis XII of France. She was born a German princess, the last child of Adolph I, Duke of Cleves and his second wife, Marie of Burgundy.

At age fourteen, Maria married Charles of Valois, Duke of Orléans, a man 35 years her senior, on 27 November 1440 in Saint-Omer. They had three children: Marie of Orléans (19 December 1457 – 1493) who married John of Foix, Count of Étampes in 1476; Louis XII of France (1462–1515); and Anne of Orléans (1464–1491) who became the Abbess of Fontevrault and Poitiers.

Maria was a patron of letters and commissioned many works; she was also an active poet herself, producing ballads and other verses. After the Duke's death she was secretly remarried in 1480 to one of her gentlemen of the chamber, the Artesian "Sieur de Rabodanges", who was some years her junior. She died in Chaunay.

Family of Maria of Cleves

16. Engelbert II, Count of Mark               8. Adolph II, Count of Mark                       17. Matilda of Arenberg               4. Adolph III, Count of Mark                             18. Dietrich VIII, Count of Cleves               9. Margaret of Cleves                       19. Margaret of Guelders               2. Adolph I, Duke of Cleves                                   20. William V, Duke of Jülich               10. Gerhard VI of Jülich                       21. Joanna of Hainault               5. Margaret of Jülich                             22. Otto IV, Count of Ravensberg               11. Margaret of Ravensberg                       23. Margaret of Berg               1. Mary of Cleves                                         24. John II of France               12. Philip II, Duke of Burgundy                       25. Bonne of Bohemia               6. John II, Duke of Burgundy                             26. Louis II, Count of Flanders               13. Margaret III, Countess of Flanders                       27. Margaret of Brabant               3. Mary of Burgundy                                   28. Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor               14. Albert I, Duke of Bavaria                       29. Margaret II, Countess of Hainault               7. Margaret of Bavaria                             30. Louis I, Duke of Liegnitz-Brieg               15. Margaret of Brieg                       31. Agnes of Głogów-Żagań

References

• Arn, Mary-Jo. Charles d'Orléans in England, 1415-1440. Cambridge; Rochester, NY, USA : D.S. Brewer, 2000. googlebooks Retrieved August 17, 2009
• Wilson, Katharina M. An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers. Vol. 2 New York: Garland Pub, 1991. googlebooks
• Holt, Emily Sarah. Memoirs of Royal Ladies. London : Hurst and Blackett, 1861. googlebooks