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The Counts of Holland ruled over the county of Holland
Holland

Holland is a name in common usage given to two regions in the western part of Netherlands. The name 'Holland' is also often mistakenly used to refer to the whole of The Netherlands....
 in the Low Countries
Low Countries

The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the country on low-lying land around the river delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse River rivers....
 between the 10th and the 16th century.

first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Gerolf, Count in Frisia
Gerolf of Holland

Gerolf or Gerulf was the second count of this name who is attested in the area of Friesland . Gerolf's main area of power seems to have been in Kennemerland....
 (Dijkstra suggests that Dirk may have been the son of a sister of Gerolf and that his own father died while he was still an infant). He received land around Egmond
Egmond

Egmond is a former municipality in the north-western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. In 2001, it was merged with the municipalities of Schoorl and Bergen, North Holland to form the municipality of Bergen....
 from Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat

Charles the Fat was the Duke of Swabia from 876, King of Italy from 879, Carolingian Empire from 881, King of Germany from 882, and King of France from 884....
 at a place called Bladella (modern day Bladel near Eindhoven, The Netherlands) in 922.






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The Counts of Holland ruled over the county of Holland
Holland

Holland is a name in common usage given to two regions in the western part of Netherlands. The name 'Holland' is also often mistakenly used to refer to the whole of The Netherlands....
 in the Low Countries
Low Countries

The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the country on low-lying land around the river delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse River rivers....
 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
Gerolf of Holland

Gerolf or Gerulf was the second count of this name who is attested in the area of Friesland . Gerolf's main area of power seems to have been in Kennemerland....
 (Dijkstra suggests that Dirk may have been the son of a sister of Gerolf and that his own father died while he was still an infant). He received land around Egmond
Egmond

Egmond is a former municipality in the north-western Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. In 2001, it was merged with the municipalities of Schoorl and Bergen, North Holland to form the municipality of Bergen....
 from Charles the Fat
Charles the Fat

Charles the Fat was the Duke of Swabia from 876, King of Italy from 879, Carolingian Empire from 881, King of Germany from 882, and King of France from 884....
 at a place called Bladella (modern day Bladel near Eindhoven, The Netherlands) in 922. This is seen as the beginning of the county of Holland. However, until about 1100, the usual names for the county were West-Friesland, Frisia or Kennemerland; in spite of this the counts from Dirk I onwards are named of Holland.

Note that the chronology of the first few counts is uncertain. The existence of a count between Dirk I and Dirk II was only recently suggested, since it is thought that the references to counts named Dirk between 896 and 988 refer to three, not two, different counts. This third Count Dirk is placed between Dirk and I and II and numbered as Dirk I bis to avoid confusion with the already established numbering referring to the other counts of Holland named Dirk.

  • Gerolf
    Gerolf of Holland

    Gerolf or Gerulf was the second count of this name who is attested in the area of Friesland . Gerolf's main area of power seems to have been in Kennemerland....
     (r. 880 – 896)
  • Dirk I
    Dirk I, Count of Holland

    Dirk I was Count of Holland, thought to have been in office from ca. 921 to ca. 928 or 939....
     (r. 896 – 931)
  • Dirk I bis
    Dirk I, Count of Holland

    Dirk I was Count of Holland, thought to have been in office from ca. 921 to ca. 928 or 939....
     (r. 931 - 939), son of Dirk I
  • Dirk II
    Dirk II, Count of Holland

    Dirk II was Count of Frisia and Count of Holland. He was the son of Dirk I, Count of Holland and Geva ....
     (r. 939 – 988), son of Dirk I bis
  • Arnulf
    Arnulf, Count of Holland

    Arnulf, also known as Aernout or Arnold succeeded his father in 988 as Count in Frisia. He was born in 951 in Ghent and because of this he is also known as Arnulf of Ghent....
     (r. 988 – 993), son of Dirk II
  • Dirk III Hierosolymita
    Dirk III, Count of Holland

    Dirk III was Count of Holland from 993 to May 27, 1039, until 1005 under regency of his mother. It is thought that Dirk III went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land around 1030, hence his nickname of Hierosolymita....
     (r. 993 – 1039), son of Arnulf I
  • Dirk IV
    Dirk IV, Count of Holland

    Dirk IV was Count of Holland from 1039 to 1049 .Dirk's date of birth is unknown but it was probably ca. 1030 or shortly before, he was described as "adolescent" at the time of his death....
     (r. 1039 – 1049), son of Dirk III
  • Floris I
    Floris I, Count of Holland

    Floris I of Holland was Count of Holland from 1049 to 1061. He was a son of Dirk III, Count of Holland and Othelindis.He succeeded his brother Dirk IV, Count of Holland who was murdered in 1049....
     (r. 1049 – 1061), brother of Dirk IV
    • Gertrude of Saxony
      Gertrude of Saxony

      Gertrude of Saxony , was the daughter of Bernard II, Duke of Saxony and Eilika of Schweinfurt. She married Floris I, Count of Holland c. 1050, and upon his death, her son Dirk V, Count of Holland became Count of Holland....
       (regent), widow of Floris I
    • Robert the Frisian
      Robert I, Count of Flanders

      Robert I of Flanders , known as Robert the Frisian, was count of Flanders from 1071 to 1092....
       (regent), second husband of Gertrude
    • Godfrey the Hunchback, Duke of Lower Lorraine
      Godfrey IV, Duke of Lower Lorraine

      Godfrey IV , known as the Hunchback, was a son of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine, whom he succeeded as duke of Lower Lorraine in 1069....
       (regent)
  • Dirk V
    Dirk V, Count of Holland

    Dirk V , was Count of Holland from 1061 to 1091.Dirk V succeeded Floris I, Count of Holland, under the guardianship of his mother, Gertrude of Saxony....
     (r. 1061 – 1091), son of Floris I
  • Floris II the Fat
    Floris II, Count of Holland

    Floris II, Count of Holland or Floris the Fat, was the first from the native dynasty of Holland to be called Count of Holland.He was the son of his predecessor Dirk V, Count of Holland and Othilde....
     (r. 1091 – 1121), first to be called 'Count of Holland', son of Dirk V
  • Dirk VI
    Dirk VI, Count of Holland

    Dirk VI of Holland , Count of Holland between 1121 and 1157, at first, during his minority, under the regency of his mother. He was the son of Floris II, Count of Holland....
     (r. 1121 – 1157), son of Floris II
  • Floris III
    Floris III, Count of Holland

    Floris III of Holland , Count of Holland from 1157 to 1190. He was a son of Dirk VI, Count of Holland and Sophie of Luxemburg, heiress of Bentheim....
     (r. 1157 – 1190), son of Dirk VI
  • Dirk VII
    Dirk VII, Count of Holland

    Dirk VII of Holland , Count of Holland from 1190 to 1203. He was elder son of Floris III, Count of Holland and Ada of Scotland.There was civil war in the Holy Roman Empire, so the emperor had to give to make friends....
     (r. 1190 – 1203), son of Floris III
  • Ada
    Ada, Countess of Holland

    Ada was countess of Count of Holland between 1203 and 1207.She was the only surviving daughter of Dirk VII, Count of Holland and his wife Adelaide of Cleves....
     (r. 1203 - 1207), daughter of Dirk VII
    • Louis II of Loon
      Louis II, Count of Loon

      Louis II was count of Loon between the end of the 12th century to 1218.He waged war against duke Henry I, Duke of Brabant of Duchy of Brabant for the inheritance of Albert III of Moha and the rights on Maastricht and Sint-Truiden....
       (r. 1203 - 1207), husband of Ada
  • William I (r. 1203 – 1222), brother of Dirk VII
  • Floris IV
    Floris IV, Count of Holland

    Floris IV , Count of Holland from 1222 to 1234. He was a son of William I, Count of Holland and Adelaide of Geldern.Floris IV succeeded his father in 1222....
     (r. 1222 – 1234), son of William I
  • William II (r. 1234 – 1256), King of Germany
    List of German monarchs

    This article lists the German monarchs, ruling over the territory of Germany from the creation of a separate East Francia in 843 until the end of German monarchy in 1918....
    , son of Floris IV
  • Floris V the Peasants' God
    Floris V, Count of Holland

    Count Floris V of Holland and Zeeland , "der Keerlen God" , is one of the most important figures of the first, native dynasty of Holland . His life has been documented in detail in the Rijmkroniek by Melis Stoke, his chronicler....
     (r. 1256 – 1296), son of William II
    • John III, Lord of Renesse
      John III, Lord of Renesse

      Jan van Renesse , was a member of the Zeeland nobility. Together with Wolfert van Borselen he co-led a party favoring Flanders and against Holland, with considerable influence in Zeeland....
       (r. 1296, regent)
    • Wolfert I, Lord of Borselen (r. 1296 - 1299, regent)
    • John II, Count of Hainaut (r. 1299 as regent, inherited the county after John I's death, see below)
  • John I
    John I, Count of Holland

    John I was Count of Holland and son of Floris V, Count of Holland. John inherited the county in 1296 after the murder of his father.Shortly after his birth, after negotiations between Floris and Edward I of England in April 1285, he was betrothed to princess Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, a daughter of Edward and his first Queen consort Eleanor of...
     (r. 1296 – 1299), son of Floris V


House of Avesnes
House of Avesnes

The Avesnes family played an important role during the Middle Ages. The family has its roots in the small village Avesnes-sur-Helpe, in the north of France....

When John I died childless, the county was inherited by John II of Avesnes, Count of Hainaut from 1299. John of Avesnes was a son of Adelaide of Holland
Adelaide of Holland

Adelaide of Holland or Aleide van Holland was a daughter of Floris IV, Count of Holland and sister of William, King of the Romans, Count of Holland and List of German Kings and Emperors....
, sister of William II of Holland.

  • John II (r. 1299 - 1304), grandson of Floris IV
  • William III
    William I, Count of Hainaut

    William I, Count of Hainaut was Count William III of Avesnes, Count William III of Count of Holland and Count William II of Zeeland from 1304 to his death....
     (r. 1304 - 1337), son of John II
  • William IV the Bold
    William II, Count of Hainaut

    William II, Count of Hainaut was William IV of Avesnes-sur-Helpe, William IV of Count of Holland and William III of Zeeland from 1337 to his death, succeeding his father, William I, Count of Hainaut....
     (r. 1337 - 1345), son of William III
  • Margaret I (r. 1345 - 1354), daughter of William III


House of Wittelsbach

During the rule of Margaret, her son William V had the real power in the county. He became ruler in his own right as a result of the Hook and Cod wars
Hook and Cod wars

The Hook and Cod wars comprise a series of wars and battles in Holland between 1350 and 1490. Most of these wars were fought over the title of count of Holland, but some have argued that the underlying reason was because of the power struggle of the bourgeois in the cities against the ruling nobility....
. He was also Duke of Bavaria-Straubing as William I.

  • Louis the Bavarian
    Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor

    Louis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the Duke of Bavaria from 1294/1301 together with his brother Rudolf I, Duke of Bavaria, Electoral Palatinate until 1329, King of Germany from 1314, and Holy Roman Empire from 1328....
     (r. 1345 –1347), Holy Roman Emperor, husband of Margaret
  • William V
    William I, Duke of Bavaria

    William I, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing , was the second son of the emperor Louis IV the Bavarian from his second wife Margaret of Holland. He was also known as William V, Count of County of Holland, as William III, Count of County of Hainaut and as William IV, Count of Zeeland....
     (r. 1354–1388), son of Louis and Margaret
  • Albert I (r. 1388–1404), brother of William V
  • William VI
    William II, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing

    File:Guillaume IV de Hainaut.pngDuke William II of Bavaria-Straubing was also count William VI of Holland, count William IV of County of Hainaut and count William V of Zeeland....
     (r. 1404–1417), son of Albert
  • Jacqueline
    Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut

    Jacqueline of Wittelsbach was Duchess of Bavaria-Straubing, Count of Hainaut and Count of Holland from 1417 to 1432.She was the only daughter of William VI, Count of Holland from his marriage with Margaret of Burgundy, daughter of Margaret III of Flanders and Philip the Bold....
     (r. 1417–1432), daughter of William VI
    • John III the Pitiless (r. 1417–1425), Duke of Bavaria-Straubing, brother of William VI, rival of Jacqueline
    • John IV
      John IV, Duke of Brabant

      John IV, Duke of Brabant was the son of Antoine, Duke of Brabant and Jeanne de St. Pol. He succeeded his father in 1415, after his death at the Battle of Agincourt....
       (House of Leuven
      Duke of Brabant

      The Duchy of Brabant was formally erected in 1183/1184. The title "Duke of Brabant" was created by the German Emperor Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor in favor of Henry I, Duke of Brabant, son of Godfrey III of Leuven ....
      ) (r. 1418–1427), Duke of Brabant, cousin and husband of Jacqueline
    • Humphrey
      Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester

      Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester , "son, brother and uncle of kings", was the fourth and youngest son of King Henry IV of England by his first wife, Mary de Bohun....
       (House of Lancaster
      House of Lancaster

      The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century....
      ) (r. 1422–1425), Duke of Gloucester, husband of Jacqueline
    • Francis, Lord of Borselen (r. 1432), husband of Jacqueline


There was a war of succession between John III and Jacqueline. This war was finally won by Philip of Burgundy in 1432, who, in the meantime had inherited John's claims on the county. Philip was a nephew of William VI, who had married a daughter of Philip the Bold
Philip II, Duke of Burgundy

Philip the Bold , also Philip II, Duke of Burgundy , was the fourth son of King John II of France and his wife, Bonne of Luxembourg. By his marriage to Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, he also became Philip II, Count of Flanders, Philip IV, Count of Artois and Philip IV, Count Palatine of Burgundy....
 of Burgundy. In 1432 he forced Jacqueline to abdicate from Hainaut and Holland on his behalf.

House of Valois

  • Philip I the Good
    Philip III, Duke of Burgundy

    Philip the Good , also Philip III, Duke of Burgundy was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet branch of the Valois dynasty ....
     (r. 1432-1467), grandson of Albert I
  • Charles I the Bold (r. 1467-1477), son of Philip I
  • Mary I the Rich
    Mary of Burgundy

    Mary, called Mary the Rich , was suo jure Duke of Burgundy from 1477 – 1482. As the only child of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and his wife Isabella of Bourbon, she was the heiress to the vast Burgundian domains in France and the Low Countries upon her father's death in the Battle of Nancy on 5 January 1477....
     (r. 1477-1482), daughter of Charles I


House of Habsburg

  • Maximilian
    Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

    Maximilian I of Habsburg was Holy Roman Empire from 1508 until his death, but had ruled jointly with his father for the last ten years of his reign, from circa 1483....
     (r. 1482-1494, regent), Holy Roman Emperor, husband of Mary I
  • Philip II the Handsome
    Philip I of Castile

    Philip I , known as the Handsome or the Fair, was the son of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. Through his mother Mary of Burgundy he inherited the greater part of the Duchy of Burgundy and the Burgundian Netherlands and through his wife Juana of Castile he briefly succeeded to the Kingdom of Castile....
     (r. 1494-1506), King Philip I of Castile
  • Charles II
    Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

    Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556....
     (r. 1515-1555), Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, King of Spain
  • Philip III
    Philip II of Spain

    Philip II was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598, List of monarchs of Naples from 1554 until 1598, king consort of England, as husband of Mary I of England, from 1554 to 1558, lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories, such as Duke or Count; and King of Portugal as Philip I...
     (r. 1555-1581, 1581-1598 titular only), King Philip II of Spain


During the 'foreign rule' by Burgundy and Habsburg, the county was governed by a stadtholder
Stadtholder

A Stadtholder in the Low Countries was a medieval function which during the 18th century developed into a rare type of de facto hereditary head of state of the thus "crowned" Dutch Republic....
 in name of the count. In 1581, the Estates General of the United Provinces
Dutch Republic

The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands was a European republic between 1581 and 1795, in about the same location as the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is the successor state....
 declared themselves independent from the Spanish rule of Philip II (who was Philip III of Holland). Until the Treaty of Mόnster
Peace of Westphalia

The term Peace of Westphalia refers to the two Peace treaty of Osnabr?ck and M?nster, signed on May 15 and October 24, 1648, respectively, and written in Latin, that ended both the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Revolt between Spain and the Dutch Republic....
 in 1648, the kings of Spain still used the title Count of Holland, but they had lost the actual power over the county to the States of Holland
States of Holland

The States of Holland and West Frisia were the representation of the two Estates of the realm to the court of the Count of Holland. After the Dutch Republic were formed ? and there no longer was a count, but only his "lieutenant" - they continued to function as the government of the County of Holland....
.

  • Philip IV
    Philip III of Spain

    Philip III was the monarch of Spain and King of Portugal, where he ruled as Philip II , from 1598 until his death. His Political minister was the Francisco Gom?z de Sandoval y Rojas, Duke of Lerma....
     (1598 - 1621, titular only), King Philip III of Spain
  • Philip V
    Philip IV of Spain

    Philip IV , was List of Spanish monarchs between 1621 and 1665, Sovereignty of the Spanish Netherlands, and List of Portuguese monarchs until 1640....
     (1621 - 1648, titular only, renounced 1648), King Philip IV of Spain

The County of Holland and West Frisia 1582-1795


The County remained in existance as a constituent member state of the Dutch Republic until 1795. There were no more Counts however since the Estates of Holland and West-Frisia were the sovereign of the County. The Stadtholders , who were servants of the Estates were the de facto Chief-Executives during this period.

See also

  • Counts of Holland family tree
    Counts of Holland family tree

    This is a family tree of the Count of Holland from 916 to 1299, when a personal union was formed with the County of Hainaut. After this date, the diagram continues at Counts of Hainaut family tree....