Floris III (1141 – August 1, 1190) was the

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 ...

from 1157 to 1190. He was a son of Dirk VI and

Sophia of Rheineck Sophia of Rheineck, also known as Sophie of Salm, Countess of Bentheim ( – 26 September 1176 in Jerusalem) was a ruling suo jure Countess of Bentheim between 1150 and 1176. She was also countess consort of Holland by marriage to Dirk VI, Cou ...

, heiress of Bentheim.

Career

Floris III was a loyal

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

to Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

. He accompanied the emperor on two expeditions to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 1158 and 1176–1178. Frederick thanked him by making Floris part of the imperial nobility. The emperor gave Floris the

toll Toll may refer to: Transportation * Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway ** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use ** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use ** Shadow toll, ...

right of

Geervliet Geervliet is a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Nissewaard, and lies about 6 km northwest of Spijkenisse on the Brielse Meer. It received city rights in 1381. Geervliet was a separate munici ...

, the most important toll station in Holland at that time. This was actually the legalisation of an existing situation, because the counts of Holland had charged tolls illegally since the start of the 11th century. Many farmers came to Holland to turn the swamps into agricultural lands. Dikes and dams were built and the border between Holland and the bishopric of Utrecht had to be determined. There was a dispute between Floris and the bishop of Utrecht about a new dam in the Rhine at

Zwammerdam Zwammerdam is a village in the Dutch province of South Holland along Oude Rijn river. It is a part of the municipality of Alphen aan den Rijn, and lies about 6 km southeast of Alphen aan de Rijn. The name derives from a dam built in the Rhin ...

in 1165, which had to be settled by emperor Frederick. The brother of Floris, Baldwin, became bishop of Utrecht in 1178. War broke out between

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 Holland. Count Philip I of Flanders wanted to have

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

back. Floris was captured in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

and had to accept Flemish overlordship in Zeeland as ransom in 1167. During his reign Floris III had troubles with West Friesland and a war with Philip concerning their respective rights in West

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

, in which he was beaten. In 1170 a great flood caused immense devastation in the north and helped to form the

Zuider Zee The Zuiderzee or Zuider Zee (; old spelling ''Zuyderzee'' or ''Zuyder Zee'') was a shallow bay of the North Sea in the northwest of the Netherlands, extending about 100 km (60 miles) inland and at most 50 km (30 miles) wide, with an o ...

. In 1189 Floris accompanied Frederick Barbarossa upon the

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

, of which he was a distinguished leader. He died in 1190 at

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

of pestilence and was buried there. He was succeeded by his son

Dirk VII Dirk VII (died 4 November 1203, in Dordrecht) was the count of Holland from 1190 to 1203. He was the elder son of Floris III and Ada of Huntingdon. Life Due to a civil war in the Holy Roman Empire, Emperor Henry VI had to find ways to make fri ...

Family and children

In 1162, Floris married

Ada Ada may refer to: Places Africa * Ada Foah, a town in Ghana * Ada (Ghana parliament constituency) * Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria Asia * Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, ...

, sister of King

William the Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

of Scotland. The county of Holland adopted from him the rampant lion in the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

and the name of William. Their children were: #

(died after 1205), married 1176 Margrave

Otto I of Brandenburg Otto I (c. 1128 – July 8, 1184) was the second Margrave of Brandenburg, from 1170 until his death. Life Otto I was born into the House of Ascania as the eldest son of Albert I ("Albert the Bear"), who founded the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1 ...

and later his son

Otto II of Brandenburg Otto II (after 1147 – July 4, 1205), called ''The Generous'' (german: der Freigiebige), was the third Margrave of Brandenburg from 1184 until his death. Life Otto II was born into the House of Ascania as the eldest son of Otto I and Judith, ...

# Margaret (died after 1203), married 1182 Count Dietrich IV of Cleves #

Dirk VII of Holland Dirk VII (died 4 November 1203, in Dordrecht) was the count of Holland from 1190 to 1203. He was the elder son of Floris III and Ada of Huntingdon. Life Due to a civil war in the Holy Roman Empire, Emperor Henry VI had to find ways to make fri ...

William I of Holland William I (c. 1167 – 4 February 1222) was count of Holland from 1203 to 1222. He was the younger son of Floris III and Ada of Huntingdon. Early life William was born in The Hague, but raised in Scotland. He participated in the Third Cru ...

# Floris (died 1210),

bishop of Glasgow The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Scottish Episcopal Church, it is now part of the ...

# Baldwin (died 1204) # Robert # Beatrix # Elisabeth # Hedwig # Agnes (died 1228), abbess at

Rijnsburg Abbey Rijnsburg Abbey ( nl, Abdij van Rijnsburg) was a Benedictine nunnery in Rijnsburg, Netherlands, active between 1133 until 1574. History It was founded by Petronilla of Lorraine Petronilla of Lorraine ( 1082 – 23 May 1144) was Countess of Holl ...

{{Authority control 1141 births 1190 deaths Counts of Holland House of Dunkeld Christians of the Third Crusade 12th-century people of the Holy Roman Empire