Floris V (24 June 1254 – 27 June 1296) reigned as
Count 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 ...
and
Zeeland from 1256 until 1296. His life was documented in detail in the
Rijmkroniek by
Melis Stoke
Melis Stoke ( 1235 – c. 1305) was a Dutch writer who lived in the 13th century.
Biography
Melis Stoke was probably born in the Dutch province of Zeeland around 1235. He died somewhere around 1305. He started writing in 1290 in Middle Dutch ...
, his chronicler. He is credited with a mostly peaceful reign, modernizing administration, policies beneficial to trade, generally acting in the interests of his peasants at the expense of nobility, and reclaiming land from the sea. His dramatic murder, engineered by King
Edward I of England
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...
and
Guy, Count of Flanders
Guy of Dampierre (french: Gui de Dampierre; nl, Gwijde van Dampierre) ( – 7 March 1305, Compiègne) was the Count of Flanders (1251–1305) and Marquis of Namur (1264–1305). He was a prisoner of the French when his Flemings defeated th ...
, made him a hero in Holland.
Early life
Floris was the son of
Count William II (1227–1256) and Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
[M. A. Pollock, Scotland, ''England and France After the Loss of Normandy, 1204-1296'', (The Boydell Press, 2015), xv.] His father was slain in 1256 by
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, ...
when Floris was just two years old. Custody over Floris fell first to his uncle (
Floris de Voogd
Floris de Voogd (c. 1228 – March 26, 1258 in Antwerp) "the guardian" of Holland, son of Floris IV, Count of Holland (1210–1234) and Matilda of Brabant (ca. 1202-1267). He reigned temporarily for William II of Holland while the latter was enga ...
from 1256 to 1258), then to his aunt (
Adelaide of Holland
Adelaide of Holland ( nl, Aleide (Aleidis) ; – buried 9 April 1284), Countess of Hainaut, was a Dutch regent. She was a daughter of Floris IV, Count of Holland and Matilda of Brabant. She was also a sister of William II, Count of Holland and K ...
from 1258 to 1263). The fight over custody of Holland culminated in the battle of Reimerswaal on 22 January 1263, where Count
Otto II of Guelders defeated Aleidis and was chosen regent by the nobles who opposed Aleidis.
Otto II served as Floris V's guardian until he was twelve years old (1266) and considered capable of administering Holland himself. Floris’s mother, Elisabeth, continued to reside in Holland after her husband’s death in 1256. She died on 27 May 1266 and is buried in Middelburg abbey church. She died in the same year that Count Floris V was declared old enough to rule without guardianship, on 10 July 1266.
[''Geschiedenis des vaderlands.'' Bilderdyk, W. Amsterdam: P. Meyer Warnars, 1833, Part 2. page 167]
Political life
![Graaf Holland Floris V kopje of penning](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Graaf_Holland_Floris_V_kopje_of_penning.jpg)
Floris was supported by the count of
Hainaut of the
house of Avesnes
The Avesnes family played an important role during the Middle Ages. The family has its roots in the small village Avesnes-sur-Helpe, in the north of France.
One branch produced a number of Counts of Holland during the 13th century. The family di ...
, who was an arch-enemy of the
count of Flanders
The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the co ...
of the
house of Dampierre
The House of Dampierre played an important role during the Middle Ages. Named after Dampierre, in the Champagne region, where members first became prominent, members of the family were later Count of Flanders, Count of Nevers, Counts and Dukes ...
. Floris married Beatrix of Dampierre, the daughter of
Guy of Dampierre, count of Flanders, in 1269.
In 1272 Floris unsuccessfully attacked the Frisians in a first attempt to retrieve the body of his father. In 1274 he faced an uprising by nobles led by the powerful lords
Gijsbrecht IV of Amstel
Gijsbrecht IV of Amstel or Gijsbrecht IV van Amstel ( – ) was a powerful lord in the medieval County of Holland and a member of the Van Aemstel family. His territory was Amstelland, and his son was .
Life
His family probably originated from ...
,
Zweder of Abcoude,
Arnoud of Amstel, and
Herman VI van Woerden
Herman VI van Woerden ( – after 1303) was a lord of Woerden.
He was the son of Herman V van Woerden and Badeloch Clemeta van Amstel, daughter of Gijsbrecht III van Amstel.
It is assumed he became ruler of Woerden after 1252, the last year that ...
, who held lands on the border with the adjacent
bishopric of
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
(the area of
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
,
Abcoude
Abcoude () is a town and former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. Since 2011 it has been part of the municipality of De Ronde Venen.
Population centres
The former municipality of Abcoude consisted of the villages Abco ...
,
IJsselstein, and
Woerden) at the expense of the bishop. Gijsbrecht and Herman were supported by the craftsmen of
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...
, the peasants of
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 ...
(
Alkmaar
Alkmaar () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the province of North Holland, about 30 km north of Amsterdam. Alkmaar is well known for its traditional cheese market. For tourists, it is a popular cultural destination. The ...
,
Haarlem
Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...
, and surroundings), Waterland (north of
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
) and Amstelland (Amsterdam and surroundings) and the
West Frisians
The West Frisians or, more precisely, the Westlauwers Frisians ( nl, Friezen or Westerlauwerse Friezen, fy, Friezen or Westerlauwerske Friezen), are those Frisian peoples in that part of Frisia administered by the Netherlands: the Province of ...
. He assisted the weak bishop,
John I of Nassau, by making a treaty with the craftsmen. The bishop would become dependent on Holland's support, and eventually added the lands of the rebellious lords to Holland in 1279. He gave concessions to the peasants of Kennemerland. Kennemerland was a duneland, where the farmers had far fewer rights than the farmers in the polders. Floris got rid of the Avesnes influence and switched allegiance to the Dampierres.
In 1282 Floris again attacked the troublesome Frisians in the north, defeating them at the battle of
Vronen
Vronen is a former village in the West Friesland region of North Holland. Its location is in the current municipality of Sint Pancras.
The Battle of Vronen was fought on March 27, 1297, between the combined armies of the Counties of Holland and ...
, and succeeded in retrieving the body of his father. After a campaign in 1287–1288 he finally defeated the Frisians. In the meantime he had received Zeeland-bewester-Schelde (the area that controls access to the Scheldt river) as a loan from the Holy Roman King
Rudolf I of Germany
Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death.
Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which h ...
in 1287, but the local nobility sided with the count of Flanders who invaded in 1290. Floris arranged a meeting with count
Guy of Flanders, but he was taken prisoner in
Biervliet
Biervliet is a small city in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It is a part of the municipality of Terneuzen, and lies about 16 km South of Vlissingen.
Biervliet received city rights in 1183. It was originally a fishing village which specialised ...
and was forced to abandon his claims and then set free.
Floris immediately wanted to resume war, but King Edward I of England, who had an interest in access to the great rivers for wool and other English goods, convinced Floris to stop hostilities with Flanders. When in 1292 Floris claimed the
throne of Scotland
The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thought to have grown ...
in the
Great Cause (his great-grandmother Ada being the sister of King
William I of Scotland), he did not receive the expected support from Edward, but England did support his claims in a new, this time more successful, war on Flanders.
Capture and death
After Edward I moved his trade in wool from
Dordrecht
Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...
in Holland to
Mechelen
Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...
in
Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to:
Place names in Europe
* London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany
Belgium
* Province of Bra ...
, to gain Flanders's support
against France, Floris switched sides to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in 1296. Edward I now prohibited all English trade with Holland and conspired with Guy of Flanders to have Floris kidnapped and taken to France. The humiliated lords Gijsbrecht IV of Amstel and Herman of Woerden enter the scene again as part of the conspiracy. Together with
Gerard van Velsen
Gerard de van Velzen (died 1296) was lord of Beverwijk, Noordwijk, and Velsen.
He was the son of Albrecht van Velsen and Hildegonde. He was married to Machteld van Woerden, a sister of Herman VI van Woerden. In 1275, Van Velzen was named schout o ...
they captured Floris during a hunting party and brought him to
Muiderslot
Muiden Castle (Dutch: ''Muiderslot'', ) is a castle in the Netherlands, located at the mouth of the Vecht river, some 15 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam, in Muiden, where it flows into what used to be the Zuiderzee. It is one of the better kno ...
castle. The news of the capture spread quickly; afraid of the people, four days later the lords together with their captive left the castle to get to a safer place. They were stopped by an
angry mob of local peasants. In panic Gerard of Velzen killed the count, and the lords fled. Gerard of Velzen was captured later and killed in
Leiden
Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
. The other conspirators fled to Brabant, Flanders and perhaps to
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
, to which many colonists and crusaders from Holland migrated.
Legacy
The life and death of Floris V inspired songs, plays, and books in the Netherlands. Best known is the play
''Gijsbrecht van Aemstel'' by 17th century playwright and poet
Joost van den Vondel, which is about the sacking of Amsterdam in the days after the death of Floris V.
The nickname "God of the Peasants" was introduced after Floris' death in the nobility, and was originally intended to be an insult. He earned the name because he behaved "as if he were the Good Lord himself with his peasants". He apparently knighted 40 peasants as members of the Order of St. James without permission of the church, provoking the anger of the church and of the 12 existing noble members of that knightly order. This story has no historical basis, just like another story that claims that Gerard of Velzen participated in the conspiracy because Floris supposedly raped his wife. What is certain is that Floris was remembered as a saint by the peasants of Holland, and that the "God of the Peasants" became a symbolic hero in the struggle for independence from
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
in the
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Refo ...
(1568–1648).
Family
Floris V was the son of Count
William II of Holland
William II (February 1227 – 28 January 1256) was the Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1234 until his death. He was elected anti-king of Germany in 1248 and ruled as sole king from 1254 onwards.
Early life
William was the eldest son and heir ...
and Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
In c. 1271 Floris married Beatrice of Flanders, daughter of
Guy de Dampierre, count of
Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
and Matilda, heiress of Bethune, Dendermonde, Richebourg and Warneton.
Floris and Beatrice had several children including:
[J. P. Gumbert, Kroniek, Uitgeverij Verloren, 2001]
*
John I, Count of Holland
John I (1284 – 10 November 1299) was Count of Holland and son of Count Floris V. John inherited the county in 1296 after the murder of his father.
Shortly after his birth, after negotiations between Floris and King Edward I of England in Apr ...
, who married
Elizabeth, daughter of King
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
of England.
No issue. After John's death Elizabeth returned to England and married
Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford
Humphrey (VII) de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford (1276 – 16 March 1322) was a member of a powerful Anglo-Norman family of the Welsh Marches and was one of the Ordainers who opposed Edward II's excesses.
Family background
Humphrey de Bohun's b ...
.
* Margaret, engaged to
Alphonso, Earl of Chester
Alphonso or Alfonso (24 November 1273 – 19 August 1284), also called Alphonsus and Alphonse and styled Earl of Chester, was an heir apparent to the English throne who never became king.
Alphonso was the ninth child of King Edward I of England ...
, son of King
Edward I
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...
of England from 1281 to his death in 1284.
Floris had several illegitimate children, including:
*
Witte van Haemstede
Witte van Haemstede (–1321) was a bastard son of Floris V, Count of Holland, famous for military prowess.
Family
Witte's half-brother John I, Count of Holland, gave him the property connected to Haamstede Castle, in Zeeland.
Battle at the ...
, son of Anna van Heusden (daughter of Jan van Heusden). Married Agnes van der Sluys had issue.
*
Catherina van Holland
Catharina van Holland ( 1280 – after 12 August 1328) was the illegitimate child of Floris V, Count of Holland
Floris V (24 June 1254 – 27 June 1296) reigned as Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1256 until 1296. His life was documented i ...
(Katherin), married Zweder van Montfoort
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1254 births
1296 deaths
Counts of Holland
Competitors for the Crown of Scotland
Medieval child rulers
Dutch murder victims
People murdered in the Netherlands
Assassinated Dutch people
Burials at Rijnsburg Abbey
People from Leiden
13th-century people of the Holy Roman Empire
Sons of kings