William II, Count of Holland
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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, Count in Frisia (Dijkstra suggests th ...
and Zeeland from 1234 until his death. He was elected anti-king of
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
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 Floris IV (24 June 1210 – 19 July 1234) was the count of Holland from 1222 to 1234. He was born in The Hague, a son of William I of Holland and his first wife, Adelaide of Guelders. Floris succeeded his father in 1222. His regent was Baldwin ...
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 f ...
.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 and the
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
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 Hochstaden, Hochstadt, canon of St. Maria ad Gradus and of the old Cologne Cath ...
, William was elected king of Germany 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. He succeeded Landgrave Henry Raspe of Thuringia who had died within a year after his election as anti-king 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 Ministr ...
(''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 Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to: *Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious *Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau *Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...
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 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 Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
) and a year later a cease-fire followed. His anti-Flemish policy worsened his relationship with
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. 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 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 List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...
,
'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'', 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 Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg (1230 – 27 May 1266) was Queen of the Romans, Countess of Holland, and Countess of Zeeland as the wife of William II of Holland. Biography Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg was born in 1230 to Otto I, Duke ...
, 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 f ...
, 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, moder ...
(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 Melis Stoke ( 1235 – c. 1305) was a Dutch writer who lived in the 13th century. Biography Melis Stoke was probably born in the Dutch province of Zeeland around 1235. He died somewhere around 1305. He started writing in 1290 in Middle Dutch ...
, 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 Ministr ...
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 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, Count in Frisia (Dijkstra suggests th ...


References


External links

* , - {{Authority control
William II, Count of Holland 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, ...
William II, Count of Holland 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, ...
13th-century Kings of the Romans Dutch monarchs Counts of Holland Military personnel killed in action Medieval child rulers Anti-kings