Dietrich V, Count of Cleves

Dietrich V, Count of Cleves
Born	1185 Kleve
Died	1260
Noble family	House of Cleves
Spouse(s)	Mathilda of Dinslaken Hedwig of Meissen
Father	Dietrich IV, Count of Cleves
Mother	Margaret of Holland

Dietrich V was Count of Cleves from 1201 through 1260. Dietrich was born about 1185 as the son of Dietrich IV, Count of Cleves and Margaret of Holland.

Possibly Dietrich V succeeded in 1198, under regency of Arnold II.

The County of Cleves (German: Grafschaft Kleve; Dutch: Graafschap Kleef) was a comital polity of the Holy Roman Empire in present Germany (part of North Rhine-Westphalia) and the Netherlands (parts of Limburg, Noord-Brabant and Gelderland). Its rulers, called counts, had a special and privileged standing in the Empire. The County of Cleves was first mentioned in the 11th century. In 1417, the county became a duchy (German: Herzogtum Kleve; Dutch: Hertogdom Kleef) and its rulers were raised to the status of Dukes.

Its history is closely related to that of its neighbours: the Duchies of Jülich, Berg and Guelders and the County of Mark. In 1368, Cleves and Mark were united. In 1521 Jülich, Berg, Cleves and Mark formed the United Duchies of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. The territory was situated on both sides of the river Rhine, around its capital Cleves and roughly covering today's districts of Cleves, Wesel and the city of Duisburg.

Marriage and Issue

Dietrich married twice. In c. 1215 he married Mathilda of Dinslaken (d. 1226). Their children were:

• Dietrich primogeniti of Cleves (c.1216)
• Margaretha of Cleves (c.1218)

Secondly, he married Hedwig of Meissen (d. 1249). Their children were:

• Dietrich VI of Cleves (c. 1226)
• Dietrich Luf I of Cleves (c. 1228)
• Agnes of Cleves (c. 1230)
• Jutta of Cleves (c. 1232)