Louis II was

count of Loon The County of Loon ( , , ) was a county in the Holy Roman Empire, which corresponded approximately with the Belgian province of Limburg. It was named after the original seat of its count, Loon, which is today called Borgloon. During the middle a ...

between the end of the 12th century to 1218. He was the son of

Gerard, Count of Looz Count Gerard (or Gerhard) of Loon (died 1191), was son and successor of Louis I, Count of Loon, and Agnes of Metz. He was count of Loon (in modern Belgium) and of Rieneck (in Germany). Because of a widespread misunderstanding concerning a document ...

, and Adelaide of Gelderland, daughter of

Henry I, Count of Guelders Henry I, Count of Guelders (1117–1182) was Count of Guelders from 1131 until 1182. He was a son of Gerard II of Guelders and Ermgard of Zutphen. In 1138 Hendrik inherited the County of Zutphen from his mother. Hendrik was under tremendous pr ...

, and Agnes of Arnstein, daughter of Louis III of Arnstein. He also claimed to be the legitimate

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 ...

during the

Loon War 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. The war was waged between Dirk's brother William of Fris ...

(1203–1206). He waged war against duke

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...

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 Br ...

for the

county of Moha During the Middle Ages, the County of Moha ( la, comitatus Muhae or ''Mohae'') was a small territory in the ''pagus'' of Hesbaye in the Duchy of Lower Lorraine in the Holy Roman Empire. It was centred around the village of Moha on the right bank o ...

and the rights on

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

and

Sint-Truiden Sint-Truiden (; french: link=no, Saint-Trond ; li, Sintruin ) is a city and municipality located in the province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium, and has over 41,500 inhabitants, which makes it one of the largest cities in Limburg. The mu ...

. He had the rights of both cities, because he was regent of Duras. This culminated in the decisive

Battle of Steppes The Battle of Steppes was fought in modern-day Belgium on 13 October 1213 between Hugh Pierrepont, Bishop of Liège, and Henry I, Duke of Brabant. Cause In 1212, Albert II, Count of Dagsburg, the last ruler of the County of Moha, died witho ...

in 1213 in which Louis prevailed. Louis married

Ada, Countess of Holland Ada ( – 1234/37) was Countess of Holland between 1203 and 1207, ruling jointly with her husband, Louis II of Loon. She was deposed and exiled by her paternal uncle, William I.Marion van Bussel,Ada van Hollandin Digitaal Vrouwenlexicon van ...

in 1203 after her father died and she inherited Holland. She waged war against her uncle

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 Crusa ...

, to defend her inheritance of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

. Despite her marriage to Louis for extra protection, she was taken prisoner 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 ...

and brought first to

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 ...

and then to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. Louis sought support from

Hugo de Pierrepont Hugh de Pierrepont (died 1229) was bishop of Liège from 1200 to 1229. He was French in origin, from the diocese of Laon; he was son of Hugues de Wasnad. He was supported after his election by Baldwin VI of Hainaut.bishop of Liège A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...

, whom he helped to win at the

battle of Steppes The Battle of Steppes was fought in modern-day Belgium on 13 October 1213 between Hugh Pierrepont, Bishop of Liège, and Henry I, Duke of Brabant. Cause In 1212, Albert II, Count of Dagsburg, the last ruler of the County of Moha, died witho ...

in 1213. Louis was poisoned in 1218. He was succeeded as Count of Loon by his nephew Louis III.

Sources

Baerten, J., "Les origines des comtes de Looz et la formation territoriale du comté", Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire 43 (2), 1965
Medieval Lands Project, Comtes de Looz
Counts of Holland 1218 deaths House of Loon Year of birth unknown {{Netherlands-bio-stub