The Loon War (Dutch: ''Loonse Oorlog'') was a

war of succession A war of succession is a war prompted by a succession crisis in which two or more individuals claim to be the Order of succession, rightful successor to a demise of the Crown, deceased or deposition (politics), deposed monarch. The rivals are ...

over the

County of Holland The County of Holland was a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire from its inception until 1433. From 1433 onward it was part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading pro ...

(and its dependency

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

) from 1203 until 1206, brought on by the death of count Dirk VII. The war was waged between Dirk's brother William of Frisia, and Dirk's daughter

Ada Ada may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle'', a novel by Vladimir Nabokov Film and television * Ada, a character in 1991 movie '' Armour of God II: Operation Condor'' * '' Ada... A Way of Life'', a 2008 Bollywo ...

who had quickly married count Louis II of Loon.

Course

Succession crisis

Count Dirk VII of Holland died on 4 November 1203, having fathered only daughters, with only Ada surviving him. On his deathbed, he declared that he wanted to discuss his succession with his brother, William of Frisia. However, his wife, countess Adelaide of Cleves, who had already fought a battle near

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

against the rebellious William in 1195, wanted Ada to receive the inheritance instead. Because Holland and Zeeland were so-called "sword fiefs" and not "spindle fiefs", Ada, as a woman, had no right to inherit the counties, but Adelaide tried to accomplish this anyway by quickly finding a husband for Ada. Even before her father was buried, the 15-year-old Ada wed count Louis II of

Loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British English, British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family (biolog ...

, as arranged by her mother.Encarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "Ada". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum. On the way to her father's funeral, she ran into her uncle William's henchmen, after which she entrenched herself in the Fortress of Leiden.

War

The war of succession took on an international scope: Ada and Louis allied themselves with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the German house of

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

, William joined up with

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and the German

house of Welf The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconian family from the Meuse-Mo ...

. In the background, a struggle for the throne of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

was taking place between the Welf

Otto IV of Brunswick Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 1196 ...

and the Stauf

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208), styled Philip II in his charters, was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of Philip's older brother Henry VI, Holy Roman E ...

. This meant that the emperor or overlord was unable to determine the fate of the events in his Dutch provinces. Well-known noblemen from Holland who joined forces with the Loon camp were Gisbert II of Amstel, Floris Herbaren van der Lede, Folpert II van der Lede, Hugo of Voorne, Rogier van der Meere and Otto of Voorn; William was supported by Walter of Egmont, Albert II Banjaert, Philip of Wassenaar, James of Leiden, Simon of Haarlem, William of Teylingen, Jan of Rijswijk and Otto of Bentheim, the son of Dirk VI.Joan a Leydis, lib, XX, cap 1.2 Early on in the conflict, Wiliam's troops besieged the Fortress of Leiden, conquered it, took Ada prisoner and sent her via

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den ...

to England. Diplomatically, Louis' position was stronger, with numerous foreign allies, but in Holland he was seen as a stranger, and the native William was more popular amongst the nobility and citizenry. Louis initially also rallied the support of the Count of

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, the prince-bishops of Liège and

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, the

dukes of Limburg The counts of Limburg ruled a medieval county with its capital at Limbourg-sur-Vesdre, lying between Liège and Aachen. They rose to prominence when one of them was appointed Duke of Lower Lorraine. Though Lorraine was later confiscated, the d ...

and later Brabant as well. In 1204, he invaded Holland with a massive army, and managed to expel William to Zeeland. ''Op zoek naar Albert Banjaert en zijn huis te Beverwijk
(Amsterdam/Beverwijk 1997) p. 282–3. In the winter of 1203–04, the Kennemers (North Hollanders) used the war tactic of opening up the dykes of the rivers

Amstel The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam, to which the rive ...

and IJ and flooding the area between

Muiden Muiden () is a city and former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It lies at the mouth of the Vecht (Utrecht), Vecht and is in an area called the Vechtstreek. Since 2016, Muiden has been part of the new municipality ...

and

Breukelen Breukelen () is a town and former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is situated to the northwest of Utrecht, along the river Vecht and close to the lakes of the Loosdrechtse Plassen, an area of natural and tourist i ...

. From 1205 onwards, the tide of battle shifted in William's favour. He was now supported by the inhabitants of Zeeland, Kennemerland (coastal North Holland) and Rhineland (South Holland), and his army was stronger. Louis retreated from Holland in early 1206, but was chased by William and defeated in a battle on the banks of the river Zijl.

Aftermath

Louis opted for negotiations, and requested the duke of Brabant to mediate. On 14 October 1206, peace was signed with the Treaty of

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

. Formally, Holland was partitioned between Louis and William: William received Zeeland and the region around the city of

Geertruidenberg Geertruidenberg () is a city and municipality in the province North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. The city, named after Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, received city rights in 1213 from the count of Holland. The fortified city prospered u ...

, Louis would keep the rest Holland. However, several sources show that William soon became the ''de facto'' ruler of Holland; for example, William called himself simply ''comes Hollandiae'' ("count of Holland") in a 1210

deed A deed is a legal document that is signed and delivered, especially concerning the ownership of property or legal rights. Specifically, in common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right ...

. Halfway into 1207, Louis managed to liberate his wife Ada after corresponding with the English king,

John Lackland John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

, but he had to send his brother Arnold as a replacement hostage to England.

Literature

*DR. H.P.H Jansen, ''Middeleeuwse geschiedenis der Nederlanden'', Prisma-Compendia, 6th edition (1979), p. 115/6.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loon War Conflicts in 1203 Conflicts in 1204 Conflicts in 1205 Conflicts in 1206 Civil wars of the Middle Ages County of Holland House of Loon Wars of succession involving the states and peoples of Europe