William II (February 1227 – 28 January 1256) was the
Count of Holland
The counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century.
House of Holland
The first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Gerolf of Holland, Gerolf, Count in Frisia (Di ...
and
Zeeland
, nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge")
, anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem")
, image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg
, map_alt =
, m ...
from 1234 until his death. He was elected
anti-king
An anti-king, anti king or antiking (german: Gegenkönig; french: antiroi; cs, protikrál) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. OED "Anti-, ...
of
Germany in 1248 and ruled as sole king from 1254 onwards.
Early life
William was the eldest son and heir of Count
Floris IV of Holland and
Matilda of Brabant
Matilda of Brabant (14 June 1224 – 29 September 1288) was the eldest daughter of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and his first wife Marie of Hohenstaufen.
Marriages and children
On 14 June 1237, which was her 13th birthday, Matilda married her ...
.
[M. A. Pollock, Scotland, ''England and France After the Loss of Normandy, 1204-1296'', (The Boydell Press, 2015), xv.] When his father was killed at a tournament at
Corbie
Corbie (; nl, Korbei) is a commune of the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Geography
The small town is situated up river from Amiens, in the département of Somme and is the main town of the canton of Corbie. It lies ...
, William was only seven years old. His paternal uncles William and
Otto
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded fro ...
,
bishop of Utrecht
List of bishops and archbishops of the diocese and archdioceses of Utrecht.
Medieval diocese from 695 to 1580
Founders of the Utrecht diocese
*
*
*
*
*
Bishops
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
...
, were his guardians until 1239.
Kingship
With the help of his maternal uncle Duke
Henry II of Brabant
Henry II of Brabant ( nl, Hendrik, french: Henri; 1207 – February 1, 1248) was Duke of Brabant and Lothier after the death of his father Henry I in 1235. His mother was Matilda of Boulogne.
Henry II supported his sister Mathilde's son, W ...
and the
Cologne archbishop
Konrad von Hochstaden
Konrad von Hochstaden (or Conrad of Hochstadt) (1198/1205 – 18 September 1261) was Archbishop of Cologne from 1238 to 1261.
Life
Konrad was a son of Count Lothar of Hochstadt, canon of St. Maria ad Gradus and of the old Cologne Cathedral, and ...
, William was elected
king of Germany
This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (''Regnum Teutonicum''), from the division of the Frankish Empire in 843 and the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 until the collapse of the German Empi ...
after
Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II ( German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusa ...
was excommunicated by
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV ( la, Innocentius IV; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254.
Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universiti ...
. He succeeded Landgrave
Henry Raspe
Henry Raspe (; – 16 February 1247) was the Landgrave of Thuringia from 1231 until 1239 and again from 1241 until his death. In 1246, with the support of the Papacy, he was elected King of Germany in opposition to Conrad IV, but his contested ...
of Thuringia who had died within a year after his election as
anti-king
An anti-king, anti king or antiking (german: Gegenkönig; french: antiroi; cs, protikrál) is a would-be king who, due to succession disputes or simple political opposition, declares himself king in opposition to a reigning monarch. OED "Anti-, ...
in 1246.
The next year, William decided to extend his father's hunting residence to a palace which met his new status. This would later be called the
Binnenhof
The Binnenhof (; en, Inner Court) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver lake. It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry ...
(''Inner Court'') and was the beginning of the city of
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
. Meanwhile, after a siege of five months, William
besieged Aachen for six months before capturing it from Frederick's followers. Only then could he be crowned as king by Archbishop Konrad of Cologne. He gained a certain amount of theoretical support from some of the German princes after his marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of the
Welf duke
Otto of Brunswick-Lüneburg, on 25 January 1252. He was elected as King of the Romans a second time on 25 March 1252 at Brunswick. The electors were the Archbishops of Cologne, Mainz and Trier, the Margrave of Brandenburg and the Duke of Saxony. The Count Palatine, who was also Duke of Bavaria, was excluded from taking part in the election on the ground that, as a supporter of Conrad IV, he was under sentence of excommunication. After the election, the King of Bohemia sent ambassadors conveying his consent to it. However, although "William lacked neither courage nor chivalrous qualities... his power never extended beyond the Rhineland."
In his home county, William fought with Countess
Margaret II of Flanders
Margaret, often called Margaret of Constantinople (1202 – 10 February 1280), ruled as Countess of Flanders during 1244–1278 and Countess of Hainaut during 1244–1253 and 1257–1280. She was the younger daughter of Baldwin IX, Count of F ...
for control of Zeeland. As king of Germany, he made himself count of Zeeland. In July 1253, he defeated the Flemish army at
Westkapelle (in modern-day
Belgium) and a year later a cease-fire followed. His
anti-Flemish policy worsened his relationship with
France. From 1254 to his death he fought a number of wars against the
West Frisians
The West Frisians or, more precisely, the Westlauwers Frisians ( nl, Friezen or Westerlauwerse Friezen, fy, Friezen or Westerlauwerske Friezen), are those Frisian peoples in that part of Frisia administered by the Netherlands: the Province of ...
. He built some strong castles in
Heemskerk
Heemskerk () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located in the Kennemerland region.
Local government
As of March 2022, the municipal council of Heemskerk consists of 25 seats, which are divide ...
and
Haarlem
Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...
and created roads for the war against the Frisians.
William gave city rights to
Haarlem
Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...
,
Delft
Delft () is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, and The Hague, to the northwest. Together with them, it is part of both the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan ...
,
's-Gravenzande
s-Gravenzande is a town in the province of South Holland, in the Netherlands. It is a part of the municipality of Westland, and lies about southwest of The Hague. Until 2004 it was a separate municipality and covered an area of 20.77 km2 (of ...
and
Alkmaar
Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...
. According to the ''
Annales Wormatienses
The ''Annales Wormatienses'' (or ''Annals of Worms'', german: Wormser Annalen) is an anonymous Latin chronicle of the city of Worms for the years 1226–1278. It is a civic history, a relatively new genre in German kingdom at the time. It may be ...
'', on 10 November 1255 William "eliminated the rights of citizens who are called Pfahlbürger so that among other restrictions, none of the cities were permitted to have them or receive them"; a later scribe added a gloss to clarify that the ''
Pfahlburger
''Ausburger'' and ''Pfahlburger'' (sometimes ''Ausbürger'' and ''Pfahlbürger'') were two classes of men in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.
An ''Ausburger'' (external citizen or "outburgher") was a citizen of an imperial free city ...
''s "were citizens who were not resident in the city".
Marriage and issue
William married
Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg, daughter of
Otto the Child, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity".
The name is recorded fro ...
, in 1252. They had a son,
Floris V
Floris V (24 June 1254 – 27 June 1296) reigned as Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1256 until 1296. His life was documented in detail in the Rijmkroniek by Melis Stoke, his chronicler. He is credited with a mostly peaceful reign, modern ...
(1254 – 1296).
Death
In battle near
Hoogwoud
Hoogwoud (; West Frisian: ''Hougwoud'') is a small city in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Opmeer, and lies about northeast of Heerhugowaard.
History
Hoogwoud was first mentioned in 1289 as Officii de ...
on 28 January 1256, William tried to traverse a frozen lake by himself, because he was lost, but his horse fell through the ice. In this vulnerable position, William was killed by the Frisians, who secretly buried him under the floor of a house. His body was recovered 26 years later by his son Floris V, who took terrible vengeance on the West-Frisians. William was then buried in
Middelburg. Contemporary sources, including the chronicle of
Melis Stoke, portray William as an Arthurian hero.
A golden statue of William can be found on the
Binnenhof
The Binnenhof (; en, Inner Court) is a complex of buildings in the city centre of The Hague, Netherlands, next to the Hofvijver lake. It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry ...
in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...
, the inner court of the parliamentary complex of the Netherlands.
See also
*
Counts of Holland family tree
References
External links
*
, -
{{Authority control
William II, Count of Holland
William II (February 1227 – 28 January 1256) was the Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1234 until his death. He was elected anti-king of Germany in 1248 and ruled as sole king from 1254 onwards.
Early life
William was the eldest son and heir ...
William II, Count of Holland
William II (February 1227 – 28 January 1256) was the Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1234 until his death. He was elected anti-king of Germany in 1248 and ruled as sole king from 1254 onwards.
Early life
William was the eldest son and heir ...
13th-century Kings of the Romans
Dutch monarchs
Counts of Holland
Military personnel killed in action
Medieval child rulers
Anti-kings