William II Berthout of Mechelen (died near De Meern

De Meern

De Meern is a former town in the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is a part of the city of Utrecht, and lies about 5 km west of it. In 2001, it became together with Vleuten, a city part of Utrecht called Vleuten-De Meern....

, 4 February 1301) was bishop of Utrecht from 1296 to 1301, succeeding Jan II van Sierck

John II van Sierck

John van Sierck was a bishop of Utrecht from 1291 to 1296.John van Sierck was archdeacon in Treis-Karden in the Archbishopric of Trier, and papal chaplain. In 1291 he was named bishop of Utrecht by Pope Nicholas IV, without prior election by the Utrecht Chapters...

. He was a leader of the Berthout family, which ruled over the heerlijkheid of Mechelen

Mechelen

Mechelen Footnote: Mechelen became known in English as 'Mechlin' from which the adjective 'Mechlinian' is derived...

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William was appointed without intervention from the chapters

Chapter (religion)

Chapter designates certain corporate ecclesiastical bodies in the Roman Catholic, Anglican and Nordic Lutheran churches....

 by pope Boniface VIII

Pope Boniface VIII

Pope Boniface VIII , born Benedetto Gaetani, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in the Eighth circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, among the Simonists.- Biography :Gaetani was born in 1235 in...

 because of his anti-French and pro-English attitude. He tried in vain to get back his lost lordships of Amstelland

Van Aemstel family

The van Aemstel or van Amstel dynasty was a major lordly dynasty in medieval Holland, which held the heerlijkheid of Amstelland , which it governed in the name of the bishop of Utrecht and the count of Holland....

 and Woerden

Woerden

Woerden is a municipality and a city in the central Netherlands. Due to its central location between Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht, and the fact that it has excellent rail and road connections to those cities, it is a popular town for commuters who work in those cities.-Population...

 until the death of count Floris V of Holland

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 was documented in detail in the Rijmkroniek by Melis Stoke, his chronicler...

. When he returned from a trip to Rome he found so much opposition to him in the Sticht that he sought refuge in Amersfoort

Amersfoort

Amersfoort is a municipality and the second largest city of the province of Utrecht in central Netherlands. The city is growing quickly but has a well-preserved and protected medieval centre. Amersfoort is one of the largest railway junctions in the country, because of its location on two of the...

. In 1300 Boniface VIII suspended him as bishop since he had not paid back debts owed to the papal treasury, but when he paid these debts the suspension was lifted and he remained bishop until his death in battle against a coalition of the Dutch and his own rebellious subjects. His intended successor as bishop, Adolf II of Waldeck

Adolf II of Waldeck

Adolf II van Waldeck was count of Waldeck from 1270 to 1276 and prince bishop of Liège from 1301 to 1302.-Life:Adolf was a son of count Hendrik III of Waldeck and of Mechthild of Cuyk-Arnsberg. In 1270 he followed his grandfather Adolf I of Waldeck as count of Waldeck...

, was passed over in favour of Guy of Avesnes

Guy of Avesnes

Guy van Avennes was Bishop of Utrecht from 1301 to 1317.-Family:He was descended from an important Hainaut family, the House of Avesnes...

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