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biography
| name: |
William I (of Holland)
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (d.1222)
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| biography:
| Count of Holland (from 1203), the son of Floris II and Ada of Scotland. He married Aleida of Gelre in 1198, and in 1220 Maria of Brabant, widow of Emperor Otto IV. On his father's death he fought his elder brother Dirk VII for Holland, but after Dirk's death he managed to seize the county from his niece Ada. He joined the Anglo-Guelfs against the Franco-Hohenstaufens, was taken prisoner at Bouvines, and on gaining his freedom changed sides. He was excommunicated by Pope Innocent III for taking part in Louis VII's campaign against King John of England (1216), but made it up by crusading in Spain against the Moors and in Egypt, where he was present at the taking of Damietta. He encouraged the growth of towns, giving charters to Middelburg, Dordrecht, Geertruidenberg, and probably also Leiden. |
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