Guest Post by Heather Darsie

Today I'm delighted to hand over the blog to a fellow Amberley Books author, Heather Darsie, whose new book, Children of the House of Cleves, Anna and Her Siblings, is out today:

Religion in the House of Cleves

by Heather R. Darsie, J.D.

Ah, religion. That sticky subject at dinner parties! The subject of religion was a very tense one in 16th century Germany. Anna of Cleves’ father Johann III of Cleves-Mark and mother Maria of Jülich-Berg did what they could to uphold Catholicism within the United Duhies in the wake of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses and the reforms it spawned,

“Johann III was against the spread of Lutheranism within the United Duchies. To … stop the spread of Lutheranism, an edict was issued in March 1525. This strategy worked for the most part, and Lutheranism was put down within Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Johann followed-up with an ordinance in July 1525, demonstrating his desire for reform of the Catholic church within his lands. Although Johann wished to remain on [Holy Roman Emperor] Charles V’s good side, he did not wish to aggressively eradicate Lutheranism. This strategy might be evidence of [Desiderius] Erasmus’s influence. It was not that the Catholic church was perfect, but rather that Luther and his followers were dangerous. …

…The same year as her marriage, 1527, Sybylla’[of Cleves’]s father-in-law John the Steadfast established the Evangelical-Lutheran State Church of Saxony after the Diet of Speyer. John was extremely active in establishing the principles of Reformation within Saxony, much to the chagrin of Charles V.”

The oldest and youngest Cleves siblings, Sybylla and Amalia, wound up being devoted to Lutheranism. Amalia was reportedly so faithful to Lutheranism that it was deemed impossible to find her a husband. Anna was Catholic, although how strong her actual faith was is unknown. Wilhelm, for his part, was Catholic when it suited him.

Even more confusingly, Wilhelm’s daughters were raised as Lutherans due to the influence of their aunt Amalia. Wilhelm reportedly flew into rages more than once at Amalia over her vehement support. Despite this rift in the family, Wilhelm had his poetic revenge on Amalia.

Image from Anna's prayer book: Trogen, Kantonsbibliothek Appenzell Ausserrhoden, CM Ms. 9, f. 12r – Gebetbuch der Anna von Kleve.

If this excerpt piqued your interest, consider reading Children of the House of Cleves: Anna and Her Siblings, set for release in the UK on 15 June 2023 and in the US/Internationally on 12 September 2023. Can’t wait until September? The US Kindle version is released on 15 June, too! 

Amazon UK (15th June 2023):

Hardback

Kindle 

Amazon US :

Hardback (12th September 2023)

Kindle (15th June 2023)

You might also like to read Heather R. Darsie’s biography on Anna of Cleves, the first researched and written from the German perspective, Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King’s Beloved Sister. 

Amazon UK

Amazon US

[You can read Annie's review of Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King's beloved Sister HERE]

Heather R. Darsie works as an attorney in the US. Along with her Juris Doctorate she has a BA in German, which was of great value in her research. She completed multiple graduate-level courses in Early Modern History, with her primary focus being the Holy Roman Empire under Charles V. She runs the website MaidensAndManuscripts.com, and is a co-host of Tudors Dynasty podcast.

Sources & Suggested Reading

1. Darsie, Heather R. Children of the House of Cleves: Anna and Her Siblings. Stroud: Amberley (2023).

2. Darsie, Heather R. Anna, Duchess of Cleves: The King’s Beloved Sister. Stroud: Amberley (2019).

Catch the rest of Heather's Blog tour: