Origins Adelaide was the daughter of
Dietrich II, Count of Cleves (died 1172) and Adelaide (Adelheid) of Sulzbach (died 1189). Nothing is known about her childhood and upbringing. She had two brothers: Dietrich
III/IV (died before 1202) and Arnold (died 1200), and a sister, Margaret (Margaretha) (died about 1184). Adelaide's father is called a wealthy man in the
Egmond Annals. The counts of Cleves were on good terms with the counts of Holland, who, like them, had an interest in limiting the power of the counts of
Guelders, although intermarriages regularly took place between all these regions. The good relationship between Holland and Cleves was sealed with two marriages between the two houses: in 1182,
Dietrich III of Cleves married Margaret (Margaretha), daughter of
Floris III of Holland, and in 1186 the union between Adelaide and
Dirk VII of Holland, then heir to the county, took place. The couple would have three daughters: Aleydis and Petronilla (both died before 1203) and
Ada (–after 1234). In 1190, Dirk succeeded his father as Count Dirk VII of Holland.
Countess of Holland As the wife of Dirk VII, Adelaide played a prominent role in the administration of the county. It is striking that she was the first Dutch countess to consistently act as
comitissa ("countess") instead of – as was customary until then –
uxor or
coniunx ("wife") was designated. She was also the first to bear the title "Countess of Holland". Furthermore, she acted remarkably often as co-counsellor next to her husband. Count and countess are mentioned together in all charters issued by the Dutch chancellery between 1198 and 1203. Whether Adelaide's strong personality played a role in this, or if it was a deliberate policy, is unclear. It is possible that Dirk wanted to prepare his subjects for a possible
regency of Adelaide, in case he died young. The regency of a countess dowager for her minor children was not an uncommon phenomenon in Holland, but the minor children had been male in all cases hitherto, while Dirk and Adelaide had only daughters. A regency of Adelaide for her daughter could meet with resistance because it was nowhere stipulated that a woman could succeed in the county of Holland. By putting Adelaide in the foreground, Dirk seems to have wanted to avoid problems in the event of a regency. But the writer also had to admit that Adelaide prepared the battle against William skilfully and decisively. Her army succeeded in pushing back William's troops. However, she could not prevent William from finally gaining the upper hand. Ada was captured after taking refuge in the stronghold of
Leiden, and was then sent to William's ally
John Lackland in London. In 1210, William definitively took the title "Count of Holland". Adelaide had to accept this reality, but she would call herself "Countess of Holland" for years to come.
Later years After this turbulent period, things became quiet around Adelaide. The Egmond Annals do not go further than 1205, and the charter material also contains little information. There is, however, a letter from Adelaide from 1207 to King John of England, in which she begs him to let her daughter Ada, who is being held captive there by order of William, return to Holland. It is not known where Adelaide spent the rest of her relatively long life. In 1237, she donated two Dutch pounds to the
Rijnsburg monastery, where she wanted to be buried. Other prominent members of the Count's family lay there, including Adelaide's daughter Aleydis, and her brother-in-law William I with his first wife Adelaide of Guelders. The Count's family apparently held no grudge against Adelaide, because after her death around 1238 (an exact year or date is unknown) she was indeed buried in
Rijnsburg. Her surviving daughter Ada had probably been dead for about four years at the time. == Legacy ==