William II(February 1227 – 28 January 1256) was theCount of HollandandZeelandfrom 1234 until his death. He was electedanti-kingofGermanyin 1248 and ruled as sole king from 1254 onwards.
| William | |
|---|---|
 Effigy of William on his seal | |
| King of Germany (formallyKing of the Romans) | |
| Reign | 3 October 1247 – 28 January 1256 |
| Coronation | 1 November 1248,Aachen |
| Predecessor | Conrad IV,Henry IV |
| Successor | Richard |
| Born | February 1227 |
| Died | 28 January 1256(aged 28) |
| Spouse | Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
| Issue | Floris V, Count of Holland |
| House | Holland(Gerulfings) |
| Father | Floris IV, Count of Holland |
| Mother | Matilda of Brabant |
Early life
editWilliam was the eldest son and heir of CountFloris IV of HollandandMatilda of Brabant.[1]When his father was killed at a tournament atCorbie,William was only seven years old. His paternal uncles William andOtto,bishop of Utrecht,were his guardians until 1239.
Kingship
editWith the help of his maternal uncle DukeHenry II of Brabantand theColognearchbishopKonrad von Hochstaden,William was electedking of GermanyafterEmperor Frederick IIwas excommunicated byPope Innocent IV.[2]He succeeded LandgraveHenry Raspeof Thuringia who had died within a year after his election asanti-kingin 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 theBinnenhof(Inner Court) and was the beginning of the city ofThe Hague.Meanwhile, after a siege of five months, Williambesieged Aachenfor 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 toElizabeth,daughter of theWelfdukeOtto of Brunswick-Lüneburg,on 25 January 1252. He was elected as King of the Romans a second time on 25 March 1252 at Brunswick. Theelectorswere the Archbishops of Cologne, Mainz and Trier, the Margrave of Brandenburg and the Duke of Saxony. The Count PalatineOtto II,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.[3]However, although "William lacked neither courage nor chivalrous qualities... his power never extended beyond the Rhineland."[4]
In his home county, William fought with CountessMargaret II of Flandersfor control of Zeeland. As king of Germany, he made himself count of Zeeland. In July 1253, he defeated the Flemish army atWestkapelle(in modern-dayBelgium) and a year later a pause in hostilities followed. Hisanti-Flemish policyworsened his relationship withFrance.From 1254 to his death he fought a number of wars against theWest Frisians.He built some strong castles inHeemskerkandHaarlemand created roads for the war against the Frisians.
William gave city rights toHaarlem,Delft,'s-GravenzandeandAlkmaar.According to theAnnales 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 thePfahlburgers "were citizens who were not resident in the city".[5]
Marriage and issue
editWilliam marriedElisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg,daughter ofOtto the Child, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg,in 1252. They had a son,Floris V(1254 – 1296).[1]
Death
editIn battle nearHoogwoudon 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 inMiddelburg.[6]Contemporary sources, including the chronicle ofMelis Stoke,portray William as an Arthurian hero.[7]A golden statue of William can be found on theBinnenhofinThe Hague,the inner court of the parliamentary complex of the Netherlands.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abM. A. Pollock, Scotland,England and France After the Loss of Normandy, 1204-1296,(The Boydell Press, 2015), xv.
- ^Germany and Flanders: Welfs, Hohenstaufen and Habsburgs,Michael Toch,The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 5, C.1198-c.1300,ed. David Abulafia, (Cambridge University Press, 1999), 391.
- ^The Cambridge Medieval History Vol.vi, pages 110-1
- ^Kantorowicz, Ernst,Frederick II,p. 638.
- ^David S. Bachrach, ed. (2016),The Histories of a Medieval German City, Worms c. 1000–c. 1300: Translation and Commentary,Routledge,p. 145.
- ^Graaf, Ronald P. de (2004).Oorlog om Holland, 1000-1375.Verloren. pp. 231ff.ISBN9789065508072.
- ^Tom Verschaffel, ed. (2000).Koningsmoorden.Leuven UP. pp. 150ff.ISBN9789058670731.
External links
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Media related toWilliam II, Count of Hollandat Wikimedia Commons
