William I, Count of Holland

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William I of Holland
Count of Holland
William I as imagined in the 16th century
Reign	1203 – 4 February 1222
Born	ca. 1167
Birthplace	The Hague
Died	February 4, 1222
Buried	Rijnsburg
Predecessor	Ada
Successor	Floris IV
Consort	Adelheid of Guelders Marie of Brabant
Issue	Floris IV Otto, Bishop of Utrecht William Ada, Abbess at Rijnsburg Richardis
Father	Floris III
Mother	Ada of Scotland

William I (c. 1167, The Hague – 4 February 1222), Count of Holland from 1203 to 1222. He was the younger son of Floris III and Ada of Scotland.

Contents 1 Life 2 Evolution of the county 3 Family 4 Ancestors 5 References

[edit] Life

William was raised in Scotland. He started a revolt against his brother, Dirk VII and became count in Friesland after a reconciliation. Friesland was considered as a part of Holland by the Counts of Holland. His niece, Ada, eventually inherited Holland in 1203, but William couldn't accept this. After a civil war, which lasted for several years, William won the war. Louis and Ada were supported by the bishop of Liège and bishop of Utrecht, and the count of Flanders. William was supported by the duke of Brabant and by the majority of the Hollanders.

Emperor Otto IV acknowledged him as count of Holland in 1203, because he was a supporter of the Welfs. He and many others changed allegiance to emperor Frederick II after the battle of Bouvines in 1214. He took part in a French expedition against king John of England. The pope excommunicated him for this.

Possibly because of this, William then became a fervent crusader. He campaigned in Prussia and joined in the conquest of Lisbon. In Europe, he came to be called William the Crazy for his chivalric and reckless behaviour in battle. William conquered the city of Damietta during the Fifth Crusade.

[edit] Evolution of the county

There were great changes in the landscape of Holland in the end of the 12th and during the 13th century. Many colonists bought land to turn the swamps into polders. Most of the swamps had been sold, and irrigation had started during the reign of William. Huge infrastructural works were done; the island called Grote Waard was enclosed with dikes all around and a dam was built at Spaarndam. New governmental bodies were created, the so-called waterschappen and hoogheemraadschappen, which were charged with the task of protecting the polders against ever-present threat of flooding. Count William granted city rights to Geertruidenberg in 1213, to Dordrecht in 1217, to Middelburg in 1220 and perhaps also to Leiden. In this way he gave an impulse to trade.

[edit] Family

Count William was married twice. First, he was married in 1197 at Stavoren to Adelheid of Guelders, daughter of Otto I, Count of Guelders and Richarde of Bavaria. Adelheid died on 12 February 1208 while William was away on crusade. On his return he married secondly, in July 1220, Marie of Brabant, daughter of Henry I, Duke of Brabant and Maud of Boulogne and Alsace. She was the widow of Emperor Otto IV. William and his first wife Adelaide had the following children:

1. Floris IV, Count of Holland (24 June 1210 The Hague–19 July 1234, Corbie, France).
2. Otto (d. 1249), Regent of Holland in 1238-1239, Bishop of Utrecht.
3. Willem (d. 1238), Regent of Holland in 1234-1238.
4. Richardis (d. 1262).
5. Ada (d. 1258), Abbess at Rijnsburg 1239.

[edit] Ancestors

Dirk V, Count of Holland

Floris II, Count of Holland

Othelindis

Dirk VI, Count of Holland

Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine

Gertrude (Petronella) of Lorraine

Hedwig of Formbach

Floris III, Count of Holland

Hermann of Salm, King of Germany

Otto I, Count of Salm, Rheineck and Bentheim

Sophie of Rheineck

Henry, Count of Northeim

Gertrud of Northeim

Gertrude of Brunswick

William I, Count of Holland

Malcolm III, King of Scotland

David I, King of Scotland

Margaret of England

Henry of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon

Waltheof II, Earl of Northumbria

Maud of Northumbria, Countess of Huntingdon

Judith of Lens

Ada of Huntingdon

William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey

William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey

Gundred

Ada de Warenne

Hugh of France, Count of Vermandois

Elizabeth of Vermandois

Adela of Vermandois

[edit] References

• De Boer, Dick & Cordfunke, Erik (1995), Graven van Holland : portretten in woord en beeld (880-1580), Zwolle: Walburg Pers, pp. 29–30, ISBN 9789060119150 
• Count Holland and Frisia, Chapter 2. COUNTS OF HOLLAND (900)-1299

Preceded by Ada

Count of Holland 1203-1222

Succeeded by Floris IV