Guillaume Ier of Holland

Guillaume Ier of Holland , born with $the Hague towards 1167, dead the February 4th 1222, was count de Hollande of 1203 with 1222. It was wire of Florent III, count de Hollande, and of Ada of Scotland.

Guillaume started to fight in Scotland, then, returned to Holland, revolted against his brother Thierry VII. Reconciled with his brother, it accepted the seigniory of Plank, vassal of Holland. Thierry died in 1203 and its heiress was her daughter Ada, married to Louis II, count de Looz. Guillaume asserted the succession and constant by the duke of the Brabant and a majority of the Dutch people engaged the war against her niece, supported by the count de Flandre and the bishops of Liege and of Utrecht. Guillaume overcame after several years of civil war.

The emperor Othon IV confirmed it as count de Hollande in 1203, because Guillaume was a partisan of the Guelfe S. But Guillaume, as well as other the noble Germanic ones, changed alliances and joined with Frederic II after the Bataille of Bouvines in 1214. He took share with France with a forwarding against Jean without Ground, king d' Angleterre, but the pope excommunicated it for that.

To obtain the lifting of excommunication, it took part in a crusade in Prussia, then with the conquest of Lisbon on the Moors and with that of Damiette during the Fifth crusade.

It supported many alteration work of Holland. Many colonists bought marshy grounds to convert them into polders, and Guillaume financed the infrastructure that required, as well as the irrigation work, and some stoppings. He created new trade associations, charged to build dams having to protect the polders from the sea. Guillaume granted also privileges to the towns of Middelbourg, Dordrecht, Geertruidenberg and perhaps with Leyde. He supported also the trade.

Marriages and children

He had married in first weddings in 1197 Adelaide de Gueldre († 1218), girl of Otton Ier, count de Gueldre and of Richardis de Wittelsbach and had had:

Florent IV (1210 † 1234), count de Hollande
Otton († 1249), bishop of Utrecht and regent of Holland of 1238 to 1239,
Guillaume († 1238), regent of Holland of 1234 to 1238
Richarde († 1262)
Ada († 1258), abbess with Rijnsburg

Widower, it had remarié himself in 1220 with Marie of the Brabant († 1260), girl of Henri Ier, duke of the Brabant, and Mathilde of Boulogne and Alsace.

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