Dirk II or Theoderic II (920/930 – 6 May 988) was a count in

West Frisia West Frisia ( la, Frisia Occidentalis) is a term that, when used in an international context, refers to the traditionally Frisian areas that are located west of the Dollart (i.e. in the present-day Netherlands). Along with East Frisia and North ...

, and a predecessor of the

counts of Holland The counts of Holland ruled over the County of Holland in the Low Countries between the 10th and the 16th century. House of Holland The first count of Holland, Dirk I, was the son or foster-son of Gerolf, Count in Frisia (Dijkstra suggests th ...

. He was the son of Dirk I, count in West Frisia, and Geva (or Gerberge).

Career

In 983

Emperor Otto III Otto III (June/July 980 – 23 January 1002) was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the only son of the Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu. Otto III was crowned as King of G ...

confirmed Dirk's rights within the Duchy of

Lower Lorraine The Duchy of Lower Lotharingia, also called Northern Lotharingia, Lower Lorraine or Northern Lorraine (and also referred to as ''Lothier'' or ''Lottier''

to properties and territories in the counties of

Maasland Maasland (population: 6,844) is a town in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. It lies in the municipality (''gemeente'') of Midden-Delfland and covers an area of 24.42 km2 (of which 0.64 km2 water). History From ap ...

, Kinhem (

Kennemerland Kennemerland is a coastal region in the northwestern Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It includes the sand dunes north of the North Sea Canal, as well as the dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park. History Kennemerland gets its ...

) and Texla (

Texel Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of De ...

), thus stretching along the entire Hollandic coast (as well as inland). Count Dirk II built a fortress near

Vlaardingen Vlaardingen () is a city in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas river at the confluence with the Oude Maas. The municipality administers an area of , of which is land, with residents in . Geogr ...

, which later was the site of a

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

between his grandson Dirk III and an Imperial army under

Godfrey II, Duke of Lower Lorraine Godfrey II (965–1023), called the Childless, son of Godfrey I, Count of Verdun, was the duke of Lower Lorraine after the death in 1012 of the Carolingian Otto, who left no sons. He was appointed duke by Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor, on the ad ...

Dirk II rebuilt

Egmond Abbey Egmond Abbey or St. Adalbert's Abbey ( nl, Abdij van Egmond, ''Sint-Adelbertabdij'') is a Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of the Annunciation between Egmond aan den Hoef and Bakkum in Egmond-Binnen in the municipality of Bergen in the ...

and its wooden church in stone to house the relics of Saint Adalbert, the project starting in 950. Adalbert was not well known at that time, but he was said to have preached Christianity in the immediate surroundings two centuries earlier. The abbey was given to a community of

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monks from

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

, who replaced the nuns originally at

, probably in the 970s. His daughter Erlint, Erlinde or Herlinde, who was abbess at the time, was made abbess of the newly founded Bennebroek Abbey instead.

Family

Dirk married Hildegarde (thought to be a daughter of Count Arnulf of Flanders, based on the names of her children), and had three known children. His son

Arnulf Arnulf is a masculine German given name. It is composed of the Germanic elements ''arn'' "eagle" and ''ulf'' "wolf". The ''-ulf, -olf'' suffix was an extremely frequent element in Germanic onomastics and from an early time was perceived as a mere ...

became Count of Holland and Frisia after Dirk's death. The younger son

Egbert Egbert is a name that derives from old Germanic words meaning "bright edge", such as that of a blade. Anglo-Saxon variant spellings include Ecgberht () and Ecgbert. German variant spellings include Ekbert and Ecbert. People with the first name Mid ...

became

Archbishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Egmond Abbey Egmond Abbey or St. Adalbert's Abbey ( nl, Abdij van Egmond, ''Sint-Adelbertabdij'') is a Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of the Annunciation between Egmond aan den Hoef and Bakkum in Egmond-Binnen in the municipality of Bergen in the ...

, until that institution was changed by her father from a nunnery into a monastery, after which she became abbess of Bennebroek. Dirk died in 988 and was buried in the stone church at

, which he had built there. Hildegard died two years later and was also buried there.

References

Geerts.com: History of Holland
* Frisia Coast Trail
The Abbey of Egmond and the Rise of the Gerulfings
* 10th-century births 988 deaths Counts of Holland Counts of Frisia 10th-century rulers in Europe Burials at Egmond Abbey {{Netherlands-bio-stub