William, I Count of Hainaut

Abt 1286 - 1337  (~ 51 years)

• Name	William , I Count of Hainaut  [1, 2]
  Suffix	I Count of Hainaut
  Born	Abt 1286  [2]
  Gender	Male
  Died	07 Jun 1337  [2]
  Notes	William I, Count of Hainaut (c. 1286 - 7 June 1337) was Count William III of Avesnes, Count William III of Holland and Count William II of Zeeland from 1304 to his death. He was the son of John II, Count of Hainaut and Philippa of Luxembourg. William was originally not expected to become count, but due to the death of his elder brothers, John (killed at Kortrijk in the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302) and Henry (d. 1303), he became heir 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. William continued the war with Flanders until the Peace of Paris in 1323, during which the Count of Flanders denounced all claims on Zeeland. William had occupied most of the Bishopric of Utrecht and tried to conquer Friesland but was repelled by Hessel Martena. Many of his daughters married with important rulers of Europe and he was called the father in law of Europe. The King of England and the Holy Roman Emperor were married to his daughters, while he was married to the sister of the King of France. In spite of this, as an ally of the English King, he tried to gain support of surrounding counties and duchies for an anti-French coalition. Internally, William restored order and founded new institutions, like the treasury and the chancellory. The council of the count got more responsibilities. Family He married Joan of Valois, sister of the future king Philip VI of France, in 1305 and had the following children: William II, Count of Hainaut (1307-1345) John (died 1316) Margaret II, Countess of Hainaut (1311-1356), married Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor Philippa of Hainault (1311-1369), 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)
  Person ID	I5244	Bosdet Genealogy
  Last Modified	16 May 2013

  
  

  Father	John, II Count of Holland,   b. 1247,   d. 22 Aug 1304  (Age 57 years)
  Relationship	Natural
  Family ID	F2057	Group Sheet

  
  

  Children	1. Philippa of Hainault,   b. 24 Jun 1314, Valenciennes, Hainaut, France ,   d. 15 Aug 1369, Windsor, Berkshire, England  (Age 55 years)
  Family ID	F2056	Group Sheet

  
  

• Sources

  [S174] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippa_of_Hainault. [S174] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_I,_Count_of_Hainaut.