William the Good ( nl, Willem, french: Guillaume; – 7 June 1337) was count of Hainaut (as William I), Avesnes, Holland (as William III), and Zeeland (as William II) from 1304 to his death.

Career

William, born , was the son of John II, Count of Hainaut, and Philippa, daughter of

Henry V, Count of Luxembourg Henry V the Blondell (1216 – 24 December 1281), called the Great, was the Count of Arlon from 1226 to his death, lord of Ligny from 1240 to his death, Count of Luxembourg and Laroche from 1247 to his death, and the Marquis of Namur between 1 ...

.Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 4 He was the brother of

John of Beaumont John of Beaumont (1288 – 11 March 1356) was a younger brother of count William III of Holland. He was the lord of Beaumont and count of Soissons by virtue of his marriage. Life He was born in 1288 as John of Hainault, 4th son of John II, Co ...

and Alice of Hainault. William was originally not expected to become count. After the deaths of his elder brothers, John (killed at Kortrijk in 1302) and Henry (d. 1303), he became heir apparent to his father's counties. Prior to becoming count, he was defeated by Guy of Namur at the battle on the island of Duiveland in 1304. Guy and Duke John II of Brabant then conquered most of Zeeland and Holland, but these territories were recovered again when William became the new count in the same year.''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Eleventh Edition, Vol. XIII, Ed. Hugh Chisholm (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1910), p. 608 William continued the war with Flanders until the Peace of Paris in 1323, during which 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 ...

renounced all claims on Zeeland. William, in turn, gained all of Zeeland but agreed to renounce all claims on

Imperial Flanders Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Te ...

. William had occupied most of the

Bishopric of Utrecht The Bishopric of Utrecht ( nl, Sticht Utrecht) was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire in the Low Countries, in the present-day Netherlands. From 1024 to 1528, as one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, it w ...

and tried to conquer Friesland but was repelled by Hessel Martena. At the death of his uncle, Guy d'Avesnes, Bishop of Utrecht, William took his fief of Amsterdam and annexed it to Holland. Many of his daughters married with important rulers of Europe; King Edward III of England and Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV were married to his daughters, while he was married to the sister of the King

Philip VI of France Philip VI (french: Philippe; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (french: le Fortuné, link=no) or the Catholic (french: le Catholique, link=no) and of Valois, was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 ...

. With these important alliances William gained considerable influence and respect, which he used to advance the interests of his counties.

Family

On 19 May 1305 William married Joan of Valois, sister of the future king

,Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 22 and had the following children: * William II, Count of Hainaut (1307–1345) *John (died 1316) * Margaret II, Countess of Hainault (1311–1356), married

Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV (german: Ludwig; 1 April 1282 – 11 October 1347), called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was King of the Romans from 1314, King of Italy from 1327, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1328. Louis' election as king of Germany in ...

* Philippa of Hainault (c.1313–1369), married King Edward III of England *Agnes (died 1327) * Joanna of Hainaut (1315–1374), married William V, Duke of Jülich *Isabelle of Hainaut (1323–1361), married Robert of Namur *Louis (1325–1328) *Jan Aelman (1320–1389) Illegitimate son and Knight

Career

Family

Ancestors

See also

References

Further reading