John II (Holland)

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John I combined the coat of arms of Flanders and Holland, which over time became the coat of arms of Hainaut.

John of Avesnes (* 1248 ; † August 22, 1304 in Valenciennes ) was as John II. (Jean II.) From 1280 to 1304 Count of Hainaut and also as John II. (Jan II.) From 1299 to 1304 Count of Holland . He was the son of Johann von Avesnes (1218–1257) and Adelheid von Holland . His grandmother was Countess Margaret II of Flanders and Hainaut .

He was nine years old when his father died. In some documents he is then referred to as Damoisel de Hainaut or Héritier de Hainaut , according to the result of the Flemish War of Succession , which awarded him the county of Hainaut as a descendant of Margaret's first marriage. Dissatisfied with his share, he prepared to revise the division in a renewed fight against the House of Dampierre , while at the same time he waited to be able to inherit in Hainaut. On September 24, 1272 he allied himself with his 18-year-old cousin Florens V of Holland , on May 29, 1275 he obtained the support of King Rudolf von Habsburg . On January 13, 1277, Rudolf finally assured him of his successor in Holland, should Florens die without heirs.

When his grandmother died in 1280 he was able to take office in Hainaut, while his uncle Guido von Dampierre inherited Flanders according to the arbitration award of 1246 - the war between the two broke out as expected and ended in 1287 without any change in the situation .

Johann tried to enlarge his county by further areas, for which he put his vassals under pressure in order to receive the necessary financial means from them, which they in turn held harmless to church property, especially monasteries, until the bishop of Cambrai - this was since 1286 his own brother Wilhelm - placed an interdict on him . He was also in a dispute with the citizens of Valenciennes, who demanded that he continue to exercise their privileges, and who in 1290 placed themselves under the protection of the French King Philip IV and Guido von Dampierres. Only when the King and Count of Flanders clashed after seven years did the situation ease: Philip IV came to an understanding with John, recognized his possession of Valenciennes, which in turn received a pardon from John.

When Florens V of Holland was murdered on July 27, 1296, he was followed by his twelve-year-old son John I , who, as the son-in-law of King Edward I raised in England, soon became the plaything of the English. The Dutch then called on Johann von Avesnes against this "powerless and feeble-minded miser". The Count of Hainaut raised troops and moved with them to Holland, where the regent Wolfhart I von Borsselen was murdered on August 30, 1299, and took over the regency himself. John I died officially of dysentery on November 10, 1299 , rumored to have been an unnatural death. Johann von Avesnes succeeded him in Holland, Zealand and Friesland, and his first official act was to prosecute the murderers of his cousin Florens: Jan von Cuick, Jan von Heusden, Gijsbert Amstel, Herman Woerden and Gerhard von Velsen.

Problems arose in Zealand, whose nobility, incited by the Count of Flanders, rose against Johann von Avesnes under the leadership of Jan von Renesse, but from his son of the same name, called "Jean sans Merci", the Count of Ostervant , who ruled the government in Zealand took over, was defeated.

Marriage and offspring

Jean married Philippa of Luxembourg around 1270 (* 1252, † April 6, 1311), daughter of Heinrich V of Luxembourg and Margarete von Bar. Their children were:

  • Johann (* around 1275; † July 11, 1302 in the Battle of Spurs ) Lord of Beaumont, Count of Ostervant
  • Heinrich († 1303) Canon in Cambrai
  • Simon († after 1303)
  • William III. (* 1286, † June 7, 1337) Count of Hainaut, Holland and Zealand
  • Johann (* 1288; † March 11, 1356) Lord of Beaumont ⚭ 1317 Margarete († 1350) Countess of Soissons
  • Margarete († October 18, 1342) ⚭ 1298 Robert II (X 1302 in the battle of the Spurs) Count of Artois
  • Alix († 1317) ⚭ 1290 Roger Bigod († 1306) 5th Earl of Norfolk ( House Bigod )
  • Isabella († 1305) ⚭ 1296 Raoul of Clermont (X 1302 in the battle of the Spurs) Lord of Nesle
  • Johanna, nun in Fontenelles
  • Marie (* 1280; † 28 August 1354) ⚭ 1310 Ludwig I (* 1279; † 1341) Duke of Bourbon

literature

predecessor Office successor
Johann V. Count of Holland
1299–1304 		Wilhelm III./I.
Margaret II Count of Hainaut
1280–1304 		Wilhelm III./I.
personal data
SURNAME Johann II.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Avesnes, Johann von; Avesnes, Jean d '; John I of Hainaut; John II of Holland
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count of Hainaut and Holland
DATE OF BIRTH 1248
DATE OF DEATH August 22, 1304
Place of death Valenciennes