Petronilla of Lorraine
Petronilla of Lorraine (c. 1082 – 1144) was Countess of Holland by marriage to Floris II, Count of Holland, and regent of Holland during the minority of her son Dirk VI in 1121-1129. She was a daughter of Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine and Hedwige of Formbach.
Biography
Named after her maternal grandmother, she changed her name from Gertrude to Petronilla. After her husband's early death, she became regent for their son, Dirk VI. After Baldwin VII, Count of Flanders died without heirs, she supported her son's claim to become Count of Flanders, but Baldwin was eventually succeeded by Charles I. In the struggle for power between Dirk and his younger brother Floris the Black, she first supported the latter. At his second attempt, she refused to support him though.
Petronilla founded Rijnsburg Abbey, where she was buried after her death in 1144.
Issue
With Floris II she had the following children:
- Dirk VI (c. 1115–1157)
- Floris the Black
References
- Kloek, Els (2013), 1001 Vrouwen uit de Nederlandse Geschiedenis, Nijmegen: Vantilt, pp. 20–22, ISBN 978-94-6004-141-9