William IV (Holland)

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Wilhelm , called the Kühne , (* around 1318; † September 26, 1345 near Stavoren ) was Wilhelm IV. Count of Holland and Zeeland , and Wilhelm II. Count of Hainaut from the House of Avesnes .

Life

Wilhelm IV. Was the eldest son and heir of Count Wilhelm III. of Holland and Joan of Valois. When his father died in 1337, he succeeded him.

He allied himself with his brother-in-law King Edward III. of England in the beginning Hundred Years War against France. Despite the insistence of his other brother-in-law, Emperor Ludwig IV , Wilhelm did not campaign against France. Eduard then went plundering through the county of Hainaut, whereupon Wilhelm and King Philip VI. allied by France . This alliance did not last long either; after the English destroyed the French fleet in the naval battle of Sluis in 1340 , Wilhelm switched back to Edward's side.

Three times Wilhelm took Prussia tours of the Teutonic Knights against the pagan Prussians and Lithuanians in part, and undertook a pilgrimage to the Holy Land . To finance these trips, he granted many privileges, especially to the representatives of the cities. The cities grew to become important factors of power during his reign. On June 7, 1340 he granted Rotterdam city ​​rights .

From 1340 he campaigned for the appointment of John IV von Arkel as Bishop of Utrecht , which finally took place in 1342. Nevertheless, there was a conflict between Johann and Wilhelm in 1345. Wilhelm then had Utrecht besieged for eight weeks and forced a three-year armistice on Johann on his terms.

In 1345 he moved with his uncle, Johann von Beaumont († 1356), Count of Soissons , against rebellious Frisians . At Stavoren they were ambushed by the Frisians in swampy terrain on September 26, 1345, and the so-called Battle of Warns ended with a defeat for the Dutch. Wilhelm was killed in the battle.

From 1334 he was with Johanna (* 1322, † 1406), the heir to the Duke Johann III. from Brabant , married. Their son Wilhelm, however, died in childhood. In addition, Wilhelm probably had two illegitimate sons named Adam von Berwaerde and Johann von Vlissingen.

Since Wilhelm did not leave any legitimate offspring when he died, his eldest sister Margarethe (1310-1356) and her husband Emperor Ludwig IV inherited him .

After his death, his widow married Wenceslaus of Böhmen , who later became Duke of Luxembourg.

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predecessor Office successor
William III. Count of Holland and Hainaut
1337–1345 		Margarethe I and Ludwig IV.
personal data
SURNAME William IV
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wilhelm II of Hainaut; Wilhelm the Bold; William IV of Holland
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count of Holland, Hainaut and Zealand
DATE OF BIRTH around 1318
DATE OF DEATH September 26, 1345
Place of death Stavoren