Dirk I ( Frisian or ,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

or ,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

) was count of

West Frisia West Frisia (; ; ) is a term that, when used in an international context, refers to the traditionally Frisian areas that are located west of the Dollart (i.e. in the present-day Netherlands). Along with East Frisia and North Frisia, it is one ...

, later known as the

County of Holland The County of Holland was a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire from its inception until 1433. From 1433 onward it was part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading pro ...

. He is thought to have been in office from to or 939.

'Count in Frisia'

The actual title of count Dirk I was 'count in

Frisia Frisia () is a Cross-border region, cross-border Cultural area, cultural region in Northwestern Europe. Stretching along the Wadden Sea, it encompasses the north of the Netherlands and parts of northwestern Germany. Wider definitions of "Frisia" ...

'. Dirk is thought to be a son of Gerulf II, the preceding 'count in Frisia', who is named by some sources as one of the counts who assassinated their Viking overlord Godfrid 'the Sea King' at a place named Herespich (modern Spijk) in 885. Regarding Dirk I, almost nothing is known of his life, a situation further clouded by the present-day hypothesis that he had a son, Dirk (numbered Dirk I bis, to avoid confusion with the already established numbering), who succeeded him instead of the traditional view that he was succeeded by his supposed son Dirk II.

Founding of Egmond Abbey

In 922 Dirk was present at a place called ''Bladella'' (present-day

Bladel Bladel () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and town in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant, Southern Netherlands. In 2019, it had a population of 20,175. Population centres Topography ''Dutch Topogr ...

, in the extreme south of the Dutch province of

North Brabant North Brabant ( ; ), also unofficially called Brabant, Dutch Brabant or Hollandic Brabant, is a province in the south of the Netherlands. It borders the provinces of South Holland and Gelderland to the north, Limburg to the east, Zeeland to ...

), at which he received certain lands ('at a place called Egmond') from the West Frankish king

Charles the Simple Charles III (17 September 879 – 7 October 929), called the Simple or the Straightforward (from the Latin ''Carolus Simplex''), was the king of West Francia from 898 until 922 and the king of Lotharingia from 911 until 919–923. He was a memb ...

. Dirk subsequently erected a nunnery at the said lands, at which nuns prayed continuously for the wellbeing of the comital dynasty. This was the origin of the later

Egmond Abbey Egmond Abbey or St. Adalbert's Abbey (, ''Sint-Adelbertabdij'') is a Rule of St. Benedict, Benedictine monastery of the Congregation of the Annunciation, situated in Egmond-Binnen, in the municipality of Bergen, North Holland, Bergen, in the Neth ...

. Under Dirk II the wooden convent was rebuilt in stone to house the relics of Saint Adalbert. Adalbert was not well known at that time, but he was said to have preached Christianity in the immediate surroundings two centuries earlier. The monastery was also changed to house a community of

Benedictine monk The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, they ...

s from

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, replacing the nuns. Count Dirk and many of his descendants were buried in the abbey church.

References

Bibliography

* * Cordfunke, ''Graven en Gravinnen van het Hollandse Huis'' (1986). {{Authority control Counts of Holland Counts of Frisia 10th-century counts in Europe Burials at Egmond Abbey