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 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 ...

in April 1285, he was betrothed to

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, a daughter of Edward and Eleanor of Castile. Soon after this the infant John was sent to England to be raised and educated there at Edward's court. In 1296, after the murder of John's father Count Floris V, King Edward invited a number of nobles from Holland with English sympathies, amongst whom were

John III, Lord of Renesse Jan van Renesse (1249 – 16 August 1304) was a member of the Zeeland nobility. Together with Wolfert van Borselen he co-led a party favoring Flanders and against Holland, with considerable influence in Zeeland. With the support of Edward I of Engl ...

, and Wolfert I van Borselen. On 7 January 1297 John married Edward's daughter Elizabeth at St Peter's Church, Ipswich. Soon after this, he was allowed to return to Holland, although being made to promise to heed the council of Renesse and Borselen. Elizabeth was expected to go to Holland with her husband, but did not wish to go, leaving her husband to go alone. After some delay and spending Christmas 1297 with part of her family in Ghent, Elizabeth did join her husband in Holland in 1298. At first Renesse acted as regent, but on 30 April 1297, John had appointed Wolfert van Borselen regent in his stead, until his fifteenth birthday. As regent, Wolfert van Borselen, pursued a policy of neutrality towards

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 England. He came into conflict with the city of

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 ...

and was killed there by a mob on 30 August 1299. After this Count

John II John II may refer to: People * John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (1455–1499) * John II Casimir Vasa of Poland (1609–1672) * John II Comyn, Lord of Badenoch (died 1302) * John II Doukas of Thessaly (1303–1318) * John II Komnenos (1087–1 ...

of the house of Avesnes took over the regency, for a few months. Count John I of Holland died at Haarlem in the same year, on 10 November, childless and only fifteen years old, reportedly of

dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...

, but there were suspicions he was murdered. With his death without descendants, and all his siblings having died young, the heirs to the county of Holland were his father's cousins of Hainaut, sons of John's grandaunt Adelaide of Holland. From this time to the extinction of Hainaut as an independent county, Holland was in

personal union A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interlink ...

with Hainaut. Three years after John's death, his young widow remarried to

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 ...

External links and sources

Count Holland and Frisia, Chapter 2. COUNTS OF HOLLAND (900)-1299
{{Authority control Counts of Holland Rulers who died as children Medieval child rulers 1284 births 1299 deaths 13th-century people of the Holy Roman Empire Murdered royalty

See also

External links and sources