Ada from Holland

Ada von Holland (* around 1188 , † 1223 or after 1234 ) ultimately claimed the inheritance of the county of Holland in vain . Civil war broke out over the property, Ada was captured and lived in exile in England for years. There is different information about her last years. If you follow Thomas Bohn , she lived much longer than previously assumed and in 1233 was still accused of heresy.

family

She came from the Gerulfinger family and was the daughter of Count Dietrich VII and Adelheid von Kleve. She herself married Count Ludwig von Looz in 1203 . The couple had no offspring.

War of Succession

When her father died, Ada was the only heir to the county of Holland. Her two sisters had died earlier. The problem was that the county of Holland did not provide for female inheritance. One solution seemed to be for the father to make Ada regent. While still on his deathbed, he made his brother Wilhelm promise to protect his daughter. The mother had little trust in Wilhelm and arranged for Ada to marry Ludwig von Looz. The marriage took place before the father was buried. Part of the nobility did not want to accept the rule of Ada and her husband and joined Wilhelm's leadership. As a result, there was a fight for rule. This split the country into two camps. Ada sought refuge in the castle of Leiden. But in December 1203 she was captured there by Wilhelm's troops and brought to the island of Texel .

exile

Later she was brought to England to the court of Johann Ohneland . She spent almost five years in England. In 1206 an agreement was reached between Ludwig and Wilhelm. Holland would go to Ludwig and Ada, while Wilhelm would get Seeland. King John, however, did not let Ada go at first. Doubts about the legality of her marriage to Ludwig played a role. Her mother, the Bishop of Utrecht and other dignitaries campaigned for Ada to be released and assured them that the marriage was lawful. Her husband Ludwig may have traveled to England personally in 1207. After swearing the feudal oath to the king, Ada was able to return to the continent. The couple lived in Loon. A short time later Wilhelm finally asserted himself as ruler in Holland and was confirmed as count by Otto IV in 1213 . Ludwig died as early as 1218. At this point at the latest, the dispute over the inheritance was finally over, to the disadvantage of Ada.

Widowhood

There are different statements about her time after the death of her husband and about her lifetime. According to Dutch research, she either lived at Kolmont Castle or in the Cistercian convent in Herkenrode. After that she is said to have died in 1223.

After Thomas Bohn, she lived much longer. After this she had a close relationship with Countess Mechthild and Count Heinrich III. from Sayn . In 1230 she appeared as a witness together with Count Heinrich von Sayn in Essen, where it was about the enfeoffment of Hermann von Müllenark with the Burgraviate of Tomburg. In 1233 Ada and the Counts von Sayn bought a house together in Cologne. It was sealed in 1227 with a round seal showing the falcon hunt on horseback. It should then in 1233 by Konrad von Marburg as well as Heinrich III. of Sayn and Count Gottfried III. von Arnsberg had been accused of heresy. There was probably no actual heresy, but the background was probably a denunciation.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Reich stuff (German 1198-1272) (RI V) n. 10695 , Regest RI online
2. ↑ Reich stuff (German 1198-1272) (RI V) n. 10826a (1218 iuli 29) , Regest RI online
3. ↑ Thomas Bohn: Countess Mechthild von Sayn (1200 / 03-1285). Cologne, 2002 pp. 59–63
4. ↑ Thomas Bohn: Countess Mechthild von Sayn (1200 / 03-1285). Cologne, 2002 p. 190
5. ↑ Thomas Bohn: Countess Mechthild von Sayn (1200 / 03-1285). Cologne, 2002 p. 94

Web links

• Marion van Bussel: ADA, Countess of HOLLAND in: Online Dictionary of Dutch Women
• Entry on MedLands
• Portrait graphics in the early modern digital portrait index

predecessor	Office	successor
Dietrich VII.	Count of Holland 1203	Wilhelm I.