William in Frisia

Who he is

Name

William of Holland (later Count William I)

Title

Count in Frisia for Holland's half of Oostergo and Westergo (comes Frisie)

Since

About 1196-1197, after the uncles' mediation that ended his revolt

Born

About 1167-1170

Family

Younger brother of Dirk VII. Married in 1197 at Stavoren to Adelaide of Guelders, daughter of Otto I of Guelders. No child of his is recorded before 1200.

Confidence

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Took the cross with his father Floris III and his uncle Otto of Bentheim on Frederick I's crusade (1189). In 1195, backed by the Frisians of Oostergo and Westergo, some West Frisians and the count of Flanders, he attacked Kennemerland while Dirk was fighting the Flemings in Zeeland, and was beaten near Alkmaar by Countess Adelaide. Their uncles then mediated and gave him Holland's rights in Oostergo and Westergo, where he lived at Oosterzee (Blok).

He was later taken by treachery at Horst, escaped to Otto of Guelders and married his daughter (Blok). In 1203 he is called William of Frisia.

Overlord

His brother the count of Holland, for Holland's half of the Frisian comital rights

What it holds

• Holland's half of the comital rights (fines, dues, the right to call the Frisians out) in Oostergo and Westergo, shared with the bishop of Utrecht
• A seat at Oosterzee in the south of Frisia

How it was acquired

By the mediation of his uncles after the revolt of 1195.

Allies and rivals

Allies: the Frisians of Oostergo and Westergo; his father-in-law Otto I of Guelders; in 1203 Otto of Bentheim, Philip of Wassenaar, William of Teylingen, Walter of Egmond and the Kennemers. Rivals: his brother's wife Adelaide and her daughters; the bishop of Utrecht.

How things stand that morning

William is most likely in Frisia that winter (he is there in 1197 and in 1203; the winter itself is not pinned). He has no formal claim on Holland while Dirk lives, but as the only male of the house he is the obvious heir in the male line.

Wealth

The Frisian dues and fines of Holland's half; little else.

Military

No castles known; the Frisians who followed him in 1195. No numbers are recorded.

Threats

• Dirk and Adelaide choosing a daughter's husband as heir
• The bishop of Utrecht's half of the Frisian rights

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 4 November 1203Dirk dies; William, then in Frisia, contests Ada's succession; Otto IV recognizes him as countDepends on: Dirk's death without a son Stopped by: A settled succession

Places of note

• Stavoren: Where William married Adelaide of Guelders in 1197

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: His revolt, marriage and Frisian title are attested; his seat at Oosterzee and his capture at Horst rest on Blok; his whereabouts that winter are inferred.

On the map: Holland's half of the Frisian rights is not drawn as ground: the Frisian lands rule themselves.

Primary sources for Frisia

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Annals of Egmond (12th century to about 1205). The house annals of Egmond, the counts of Holland's abbey, and the main native source for Holland around 1200. Read online
• Chronicle of the abbots of Wittewierum (Bloemhof), Emo of Wittewierum (from 1219 to 1237, continued by Menko to 1273). The chronicle opens only in 1204 with the founding of Emo's Premonstratensian house in the Groningen Ommelanden, so it has nothing for 1200 itself. Read online