The Loon War (Dutch: ''Loonse Oorlog'') was a war of succession over the County of Holland (and its dependency Zeeland) from 1203 until 1206, brought on by the death of count

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 ...

. The war was waged between Dirk's brother William of Frisia, and Dirk's daughter

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, Tur ...

who had quickly married count

Louis II of Loon Louis II was count of Loon between the end of the 12th century to 1218. He was the son of Gerard, Count of Looz, and Adelaide of Gelderland, daughter of Henry I, Count of Guelders, and Agnes of Arnstein, daughter of Louis III of Arnstein. He al ...

Course

Succession crisis

Count Dirk VII of Holland died on 4 November 1203, having fathered only daughters, with only Ada surviving him. On his deathbed, he declared that he wanted to discuss his succession with his brother, William of Frisia. However, his wife, countess Adelaide of Cleves, who had already fought a battle near

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 ...

against the rebellious William in 1195, wanted Ada to receive the inheritance instead. Because Holland and Zeeland were so-called "sword fiefs" and not "spindle fiefs", Ada, as a woman, had no right to inherit the counties, but Adelaide tried to accomplish this anyway by quickly finding a husband for Ada. Even before her father was buried, the 15-year-old Ada wed count Louis II of

Loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order Gavi ...

, as arranged by her mother.Encarta-encyclopedie Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "Ada". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum. On the way to her father's funeral, she ran into her uncle William's henchmen, after which she entrenched herself in the Fortress of Leiden.

War

The war of succession took on an international scope: Ada and Louis allied themselves with France and the German house of Hohenstaufen, William joined up with England and the German

house of Welf The House of Welf (also Guelf or Guelph) is a European dynasty that has included many German and British monarchs from the 11th to 20th century and Emperor Ivan VI of Russia in the 18th century. The originally Franconia, Franconian family from ...

. In the background, a struggle for the throne of the Holy Roman Empire was taking place between the Welf

Otto IV of Brunswick Otto IV (1175 – 19 May 1218) was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1209 until his death in 1218. Otto spent most of his early life in England and France. He was a follower of his uncle Richard the Lionheart, who made him Count of Poitou in 11 ...

and the Stauf

Philip of Swabia Philip of Swabia (February/March 1177 – 21 June 1208) was a member of the House of Hohenstaufen and King of Germany from 1198 until his assassination. The death of his older brother Emperor Henry VI in 1197 meant that the Hohenstaufen rule (whi ...

. This meant that the emperor or overlord was unable to determine the fate of the events in his Dutch provinces. Well-known noblemen from Holland who joined forces with the Loon camp were Gisbert II of Amstel, Floris Herbaren van der Lede, Folpert II van der Lede, Hugo of Voorne, Rogier van der Meere and Otto of Voorn; William was supported by Walter of Egmont, Albert II Banjaert, Philip of Wassenaar, James of Leiden, Simon of Haarlem, William of Teylingen, Jan of Rijswijk and Otto of Bentheim.Joan a Leydis, lib, XX, cap 1.2 Early on in the conflict, Wiliam's troops besieged the Fortress of Leiden, conquered it, took Ada prisoner and sent her via Texel to England. Diplomatically, Louis' position was stronger, with numerous foreign allies, but in Holland he was seen as a stranger, and the native William was more popular amongst the nobility and citizenry. Louis initially also rallied the support of the Count of Flanders, the prince-bishops of Liège and Utrecht, the dukes of Limburg and later

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 ...

as well. In 1204, he invaded Holland with a massive army, and managed to expel William to Zeeland. ''Op zoek naar Albert Banjaert en zijn huis te Beverwijk
(Amsterdam/Beverwijk 1997) p. 282–3. In the winter of 1203–04, the Kennemers (North Hollanders) used the war tactic of opening up the dykes of the rivers

Amstel The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam. Annually, the riv ...

and IJ and flooding the area between Muiden and

Breukelen Breukelen () is a town and former municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht. It is situated to the north west of Utrecht, along the river Vecht and close to the lakes of the Loosdrechtse Plassen, an area of natural and tourist ...

. From 1205 onwards, the tide of battle shifted in William's favour. He was now supported by the inhabitants of Zeeland, Kennemerland (coastal North Holland) and Rhineland (South Holland), and his army was stronger. Louis retreated from Holland in early 1206, but was chased by William and defeated in a battle on the banks of the river Zijl.

Aftermath

Louis opted for negotiations, and requested the duke of Brabant to mediate. On 14 October 1206, peace was signed with the Treaty of Bruges. Formally, Holland was partitioned between Louis and William: William received Zeeland and the region around the city of Geertruidenberg, Louis would keep the rest Holland. However, several sources show that William soon became the ''de facto'' ruler of Holland; for example, William called himself simply ''comes Hollandiae'' ("count of Holland") in a 1210

deed In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferring ...

. Halfway 1207, Louis managed to liberate his wife Ada after corresponding with the English king, John Lackland, but he had to send his brother Arnold as a replacement hostage to England.

Literature

*DR. H.P.H Jansen, ''Middeleeuwse geschiedenis der Nederlanden'', Prisma-Compendia, 6th edition (1979), p. 115/6.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Loon War Conflicts in 1203 Conflicts in 1204 Conflicts in 1205 Conflicts in 1206 Civil wars of the Middle Ages County of Holland House of Loon Wars of succession involving the states and peoples of Europe