The Counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century.
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The first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Gerolf, Count in Frisia (Dijkstra suggests that Dirk may have been the son of a sister of Gerolf and that his own father died while he was still an infant). He received land around Egmond from Charles the Fat at a place called Bladella (modern day Bladel near Eindhoven, The Netherlands) in 922. This is seen as the beginning of the county of Holland. However, until about 1100, the usual names for the county were West-Friesland, Frisia or Kennemerland; in spite of this the counts from Dirk I onwards are named of Holland.
Note that the chronology of the first few counts is uncertain. The existence of a count between Dirk I and Dirk II was only recently suggested, since it is thought that the references to counts named Dirk between 896 and 988 refer to three, not two, different counts. This third Count Dirk is placed between Dirk and I and II and numbered as Dirk I bis to avoid confusion with the already established numbering referring to the other counts of Holland named Dirk.
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
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Dirk V 1061–1091 |
c. 1052 son of Floris I and Gertrude of Saxony |
Othelhilde bef. 26 July 1083 two children |
17 June 1091 aged 38–39 |
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Floris II the Fat 1091–1121 |
c. 1080 son of Dirk V and Othelhilde |
Gertrude-Petronilla of Lorraine 1113 four children |
2 March 1121 aged 40–41 |
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Dirk VI 1121–1157 |
c. 1114 son of Floris II and Gertrude-Petronilla of Lorraine |
Sophie of Salm bef. 1137 nine children |
5 August 1157 aged 42–43 |
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Floris III 1157–1190 |
c. 1141 son of Dirk VI and Sophie of Salm |
Ada of Huntingdon 1162, bef. 28 August eleven children |
1 August 1190 aged 48–49 |
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Dirk VII 1190–1203 |
c. ? son of Floris III and Ada of Huntingdon |
Adelaide of Cleves 1186 two daughter |
4 November 1203 Dordrecht aged ? |
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Ada 1203–1207 with Louis I |
c. 1188 daughter of Dirk VII and Adelaide of Cleves |
Dordrecht 5 November 1203 no issues |
c. 1223 aged 34–35 |
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Louis I 1203–1207 with Ada |
c. ? son of Gerhard II, Count of Loon and Adelaide of Guelders |
29/30 Jul 1218 aged ? |
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William I 1203–1222 |
c. 1141 son of Floris III and Ada of Huntingdon |
(1) Adelaide of Guelders Stavoren 1197 five children (2) Marie of Brabant July 1220 no issues |
4 February 1222 The Hague aged 80–81 |
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Floris IV 1222–1234 |
24 June 1210 The Hague son of William I and Adelaide of Guelders |
Matilde of Brabant 6 December 1224 five children |
19 July 1234 Corbie aged 24 |
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William II 1235–1256 |
February 1228 son of Floris IV and Matilde of Brabant |
Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg Brunswick 25 January 1252 two children |
128 January 1256 Utrecht aged 27 |
When John I died childless, the county was inherited by John II of Avesnes, Count of Hainaut from 1299. John of Avesnes was a son of Adelaide of Holland, sister of William II of Holland.
Name | Portrait | Birth | Marriages | Death |
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John II 1299–1304 |
c. 1247 son of John I of Avesnes and Adelaide of Holland |
Philippa of Luxembourg 1265 twelve children |
22 August 1304 aged 56–57 |
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William III 1304-1337 |
c. 1286 son of John II and Philippa of Luxembourg |
Joan of Valois 19 May 1305 eight children |
7 June 1337 aged 50–51 |
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William IV 1337-1345 |
c. 1307 son of William III and Joan of Valois |
Joanna, Duchess of Brabant bef. 27 November 1334 one son |
26 September 1345 Warns aged 37–38 |
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Margaret I 1345–1354 with Louis (1345–1354) |
c. 1311 daughter of William III and Joan of Valois |
Louis Cologne 25 February 1324 ten children |
23 June 1356 Le Quesnoy aged 44–45 |
During the rule of Margaret, her son William V had the real power in the county. He became ruler in his own right as a result of the Hook and Cod wars. He was also Duke of Bavaria-Straubing as William I.
There was a war of succession between John III and Jacqueline. This war was finally won by Philip of Burgundy in 1432, who, in the meantime had inherited John's claims on the county. Philip was a nephew of William VI, who had married a daughter of Philip the Bold of Burgundy. In 1432 he forced Jacqueline to abdicate from Hainaut and Holland on his behalf.
During the 'foreign rule' by Burgundy and Habsburg, the county was governed by a stadtholder in name of the count. In 1581, the Estates General of the United Provinces declared themselves independent from the Spanish rule of Philip II (who was Philip III of Holland). Until the Treaty of Münster in 1648, the kings of Spain still used the title Count of Holland, but they had lost the actual power over the county to the States of Holland.
The County remained in existence as a constituent member state of the Dutch Republic until 1795. There were no more Counts however since the Estates of Holland and West-Frisia were the sovereign of the County (although the countship was offered to William the Silent in 1584, shortly before his death). The Stadtholders, who were servants of the Estates were the de facto Chief-Executives during this period.
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