Floris, III Count of Holland

Male 1141 - 1190  (49 years)


Personal Information    |    Sources    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Floris , III Count of Holland  [1
    Suffix III Count of Holland 
    Born 1141  [1
    Gender Male 
    Died 01 Aug 1190  Antakya, Turkey Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Buried Antakya, Turkey Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Notes 
    • Floris III of Holland (1141 - August 1, 1190), Count of Holland from 1157 to 1190. He was a son of Dirk VI and Sophia of Rheineck, heiress of Bentheim.

      Life

      On September 28, 1162, he married Ada, sister of king William I of Scotland, also known as William the Lion. The county of Holland adopted from him the rampant lion in the coat of arms and the name of William.

      Floris III was a loyal vassal to Frederick I Barbarossa. He accompanied the emperor on two expeditions to Italy in 1158 and 1176-1178. Frederick thanked him by making Floris part of the imperial nobility.

      The emperor gave Floris the toll right of Geervliet, the most important toll station in Holland at that time. This was actually the legalisation of an existing situation, because the counts of Holland had charged tolls illegally since the start of the 11th century.

      Many farmers came to Holland to turn the swamps into agricultural lands. Dikes and dams were built and the border between Holland and the bishopric of Utrecht had to be determined. There was a dispute between Floris and the bishop of Utrecht about a new dam in the Rhine at Zwammerdam in 1165, which had to be settled by emperor Frederick. The brother of Floris, Baldwin became bishop of Utrecht in 1178.

      War broke out between Flanders and Holland. Count Philip of Flanders wanted to have Zeeland. Floris was captured in Brugge and had to accept Flemish overlordship in Zeeland as ransom in 1167.

      During his reign Floris III had troubles with West Friesland and a war with Philip count of Flanders concerning their respective rights in West Zeeland, in which he was beaten. In 1170 a great flood caused immense devastation in the north and helped to form the Zuider Zee.

      In 1189 Floris accompanied Frederick Barbarossa upon the third Crusade, of which he was a distinguished leader. He died in 1190 at Antioch of pestilence and was buried there.

      Two sons of Floris III became Count of Holland: Dirk VII in 1190 and William I in 1203.

      Family and children

      He married 28 August 1162 Ada of Huntingdon, daughter of Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon and Ada de Warenne. Their children were:

      Ada (died after 1205), married 1176 Margrave Otto I of Brandenburg.
      Margaret (died after 1203), married 1182 Count Dietrich IV of Cleves.
      Dirk VII, Count of Holland.
      William I, Count of Holland.
      Floris (died 1210), bishop of Glasgow.
      Baldwin (died 1204).
      Robert
      Beatrix
      Elisabeth
      Hedwig
      Agnes (died 1228), Abbess at Rijnsburg.
    Person ID I5309  Bosdet Genealogy
    Last Modified 16 May 2013 

    Father Dirk, VI Count of Holland,   b. Abt 1114,   d. 05 Aug 1157  (Age ~ 43 years) 
    Relationship Natural 
    Mother Sophia of Rheineck,   b. Abt 1120,   d. 26 Sep 1176, Jerusalem, Israel Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 56 years) 
    Relationship Natural 
    Family ID F2098  Group Sheet

    Family Ada of Huntingdon,   b. Abt 1146, Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 1206  (Age ~ 61 years) 
    Married 28 Aug 1162  Egmond, Noord-Holland, Netherlands Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    Children 
     1. William, I Count of Holland,   b. Abt 1167, The Hague Netherlands Temple, 's-Gravenhage, S-Gravenhage, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 04 Feb 1221/22  (Age ~ 55 years)
    Family ID F2097  Group Sheet

  • Sources 
    1. [S174] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floris_III,_Count_of_Holland.

    2. [S174] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_of_Huntingdon.