Petronilla of Lorraine ( 1082 – 23 May 1144) was

Countess of Holland Countess of Holland House of Holland, 875–1299 House of Avesnes, 1299–1354 House of Wittelsbach, 1354–1432 House of Valois-Burgundy, 1432–1482 House of Habsburg, 1482–1581 Titular Countess of Holland House ...

by marriage to

Floris II, Count of Holland Floris II, called Floris the Fat ( – 2 March 1121) was the first from the native dynasty of Holland to be called Count of Holland, reigning from 1091 until his death. Life Floris was the son of his predecessor Dirk V and his wife Othilde. Fl ...

, and regent of the

County of Holland The County of Holland was a State of the Holy Roman Empire and from 1433 part of the Burgundian Netherlands, from 1482 part of the Habsburg Netherlands and from 1581 onward the leading province of the Dutch Republic, of which it remained a part ...

during the minority of her son Dirk VI in 1121-1129. She was a daughter of

Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine Theodoric II (died 30 December 1115), called the Valiant, was the Duke of Lorraine from 1070 to his death. He was the son and successor of Gerhard and Hedwige of Namur. He is sometimes numbered ''Theodoric I'' if the Dukes of the House of Ardenn ...

and

Hedwig of Formbach Hedwig of Formbach ( 1058 – c. 1090) was the daughter of Frederick, count of Formbach and of Gertrude of Haldensleben, and heiress to Süpplingenburg Castle. She was the mother of Emperor Lothair II. Marriages Hedwig's first husband was G ...

Biography

Named after her maternal grandmother, she changed her name from Gertrude to Petronilla after her marriage in 1100. In 1121, after her husband's early death, she became regent for their son, Dirk VI. She is described as an ambitious and dominant regent who ruled with a "strong hand". In 1123-25, she gave military support to her brother the emperor in his struggle with his rival emperor Henry. After

Baldwin VII, Count of Flanders Baldwin VII of Flanders (1093 – 17 July 1119) was Count of Flanders from 1111 to 1119. Baldwin was the son of Count Robert II of Flanders and Clementia of Burgundy. He succeeded his father as count when he died on 5 October 1111. Reign Baldw ...

died without heirs, she supported her son's claim to become

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 ...

during the Flemish succession war of 1127, but Baldwin was eventually succeeded by

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. Her mandate as regent formally expired when her son reached maturity in 1129, but according to contemporary Egmond chronicle, she remained de facto regent until 1133.Kloek, Els (2013), 1001 Vrouwen uit de Nederlandse Geschiedenis, Nijmegen: Vantilt, pp. 20–22, In the struggle for power between Dirk and his younger brother,

Floris the Black Floris the Black was a son of Floris II, Count of Holland and Petronilla of Lorraine. He became a rebel count of Holland in the 1120s and 1130s, against the claim of his brother Dirk. Floris openly revolted against his brother Dirk and was from 112 ...

in 1129-31, she supported the latter upon his first attempt. In 1131, however, she retracted her support and refused to support him. Petronilla founded

Rijnsburg Abbey Rijnsburg Abbey ( nl, Abdij van Rijnsburg) was a Benedictine nunnery in Rijnsburg, Netherlands, active between 1133 until 1574. History It was founded by Petronilla of Lorraine Petronilla of Lorraine ( 1082 – 23 May 1144) was Countess of Holl ...

in 1133, where it seems that she retired from court and politics and spent the rest of her life. She was also buried there after her death in 1144. Petronilla descendant

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, ...

was still in charge in the 1200s. She was abbess when her cousin sold the abbey and Ada was obliged to use her own money to repurchase it.

Issue

With Floris II she had the following children: * Dirk VI (c. 1115–1157) *

References

* 1080s births 1144 deaths 12th-century women rulers People of Lorrainian descent Burials at Rijnsburg Abbey {{Europe-noble-stub