Kleve is an historic town in northwestern Germany, located on the Dutch border and lower Rhine.
This post will start with a modern statue and a fountain. A story before our eyes, a tale of long ago that has a second greater event in 9th century BC and then a third that comes about in 16th century. Three stories. Let us start.
From left to right. A mother and her three sons. Her hands outstreched but can’t reach those of her husband’s grasping hands. The children have his clothes and are pulling with all their might but a long knecked bird seems stronger. A majestic swan is successfully pulling the father into the water, the Rhine.
The swan had brought the knight and his lady together when it pulled a barge with him standing in it and she, Princess Beatrice of Cleves was walking along the banks of the Rhine. They were allowed to marry but he was never to say who he was. After having a family together Princess Beatrice asked the question and from his lips she heard: ‘ Elias ( the Greek spelling)/ Elijah.’
Well, why him?
Elijah was one of the most prominent and dramatic prophets in the Bible. He lived in 9th century BC. He was called by God to defend the worship of Yahweh over the pagan god Baal, a movement promoted by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel in the northern kingdom of Israel. The whole account is in 1Kings 18.
Here is Elijah’s prayer and what happens next:
‘ LORD God…let it be known today that You are God, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word… ‘Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
1 Kings 18: 36-38
Elijah never died but was taken to heaven in a chariot of fire. He was with Jesus and Moses at the Transfiguration. Matthew 17: 1-8
This was a significant moment because God spoke from a cloud above Elias / Elijah, Jesus, and Moses reaffirming Jesus:
‘ This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear Him’ Matthew 17:5.
It was this person that the Counts and Dukes of Cleves firmly believed they were direct descendents of. Their Swan Knight was Elijah.
This is where our third story starts and it starts with the Swan Castle, Schwanenburg Castle.
The gardeners are placing yellow flowers carefully, to draw our attention to this famous home of none other than Anne of Cleves. This is where she spent her formative years living in the ancestral seat, as daughter of John III Duke of Cleves.
King Henry VIII wanted a wife to secure a political alliance with the Protestant German princes. He asked the painter Hans Holbein to paint Anne of Cleves and her sister. He chose his fourth wive from this painting. He thought Anne was beautiful until…
…he met her in a surprising manner ( a story in itself).
These were his words he used to Thomas Cromwell: ‘ You have sent me a Flander’s Mare.’ … ‘ I like her not.’
But Anne was no fool! They married and the marriage was annulled. She accepted the annulment graciously and then because she was ‘courteous, gentle, a good housekeeper, and bountiful to her servants’ ( Chronicle Raphael Holinshed)
King Henry VIII called her his ‘beloved sister’, and they had a genuinely affectionate friendship. She also became a close companion to his children including the future Queen Elizabeth I. She became rich, as she was granted Hever Castle and Richmond Palace and when she died she was buried in West Minister Abbey.
Anne of Cleves 1515- 1557, and that is where the third story ends.
Although the tower collapsed in 1439 there are claims that it stood here as early as 300 BC built by Caesar himself.
A day in Kleve, present, ancient past and past all in the sunshine.
What an interesting world.
Sandy 🙂