William I, Count of Holland

Infobox Monarch|name=William I of Holland
title=Count of Holland


caption=William I as imagined in the 16th century
reign=1203 – 4 February 1222
coronation=
othertitles=
full name=
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
royal house=
royal anthem =
father=Floris III
mother=Ada of Scotland
date of birth=ca. 1167
place of birth=The Hague
date of death=death date|1222|2|4|mf=y
place of death=
place of burial=Rijnsburg|

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.

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.

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.

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

Ancestors

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1= William I, Count of Holland
2= Floris III, Count of Holland
3= Ada of Huntingdon
4= Dirk VI, Count of Holland
5= Sophie of Rheineck
6= Henry of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon
7= Ada de Warenne
8= Floris II, Count of Holland
9= Gertrude (Petronella) of Lorraine
10= Otto I, Count of Salm, Rheineck and Bentheim
11= Gertrud of Northeim
12= David I, King of Scotland
13= Maud of Northumbria, Countess of Huntingdon
14= William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey
15= Elizabeth of Vermandois
16= Dirk V, Count of Holland
17= Othelindis
18= Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine
19= Hedwig of Formbach
20= Hermann of Salm, King of Germany
21=
22= Henry, Count of Northeim
23= Gertrude of Brunswick
24= Malcolm III, King of Scotland
25= Margaret of England
26= Waltheof II, Earl of Northumbria
27= Judith of Lens
28= William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey
29= Gundred
30= Hugh of France, Count of Vermandois
31= Adela of Vermandois

References

* Citation | last1 = De Boer | first1 = Dick | last2 = Cordfunke | first2= Erik
title = Graven van Holland : portretten in woord en beeld (880-1580)
publisher = Walburg Pers
year = 1995
location = Zwolle
pages = 29–30
isbn = 9789060119150
* [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/HOLLAND.htm Count Holland and Frisia, Chapter 2. COUNTS OF HOLLAND (900)-1299]