GERMANY, Jülich-Berg. AR Thaler Klippe 1543 Weight 28.10g
GERMANY, Jülich-Berg. AR Thaler Klippe 1543 Weight 28.10g
Date of (15)43. Lion facing left with ornate tail; 4 3
After the death in 1538 of Karl von Egmond, Duke of Guelders, his lands passed to the closest member of his family, the Protestant William V, Duke of nearby Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who controlled the neighboring duchy of Brabant in the Austrian Netherlands, opposed William V’s inheritance of Guelders. Therefore, Charles V’s troops took the fortresses of Düren, Jülich and Roermond. When William V did not receive the aid he expected from France and the Schmalkaldic League (a confederation of Protestant princes), he was forced to make peace with Charles V. In the 1543 Treaty of Venlo, William was stripped of his claim to Guelders and forced to abandon his attempt to bring the Reformation to the duchy. This klippe was issued shortly after Charles V besieged William’s fortresses.
