John II, Count of Holland

John II
Count of Hainaut Count of Holland and Zeeland
Spouse(s)	Philippa of Luxembourg
Noble family	House of Avesnes
Father	John I of Avesnes
Mother	Adelaide of Holland
Born	1247
Died	22 August 1304 (aged 56–57)

John II of Avesnes (1247 – 22 August 1304) was Count of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland.

Life

John II, born 1247, was the oldest son of John I of Avesnes and Adelaide of Holland, daughter of Floris IV, Count of Holland.^[1] He was Count of Hainaut from 1280 to his death and Count of Holland from 1299 until his death.^[1] John continued the war between the House of Dampierre and the House of Avesnes against count Guy of Flanders for imperial Flanders.

He became Count of Holland in 1299 with the death of John I, Count of Holland,^[2] through his mother Adelaide of Holland, heiress and regent of this county. The personal union he established between Hainaut and Holland–Zeeland lasted for another half-century.^[2]

His cousin, Count Floris V, was fighting against Flanders for Zeeland.^[3] He sought help of France against Flanders.^[3] The French defeated the Flemish in 1300 and 1301. The rebels in Zeeland were defeated as well. John's brother, Guy of Avesnes, became Bishop of Utrecht.^[4] So all his main enemies were gone.

The tide changed dramatically after a Flemish uprising and the defeat of the French army at the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, where his eldest son was killed fighting for the French. Flemish patriots attacked Hainaut and Zeeland supported by the dissatisfied population there. Guy of Namur defeated John's son, William, in a battle on the island of Duiveland. Bishop Guy of Utrecht was taken prisoner. Guy of Namur and Duke John II of Brabant conquered most of Utrecht, Holland, and Zeeland. Guy of Namur was finally defeated in 1304 by the fleet of Holland and France at the naval Battle of Zierikzee. John II regained most of his authority when he died in the same year.

Family

In 1270, John married Philippa of Luxembourg, daughter of Count Henry V of Luxembourg and Margaret of Bar. Their children were:

1. John, Lord of Beaumont, Count of Ostervant. Killed in battle near (11 July 1302).^[1]
2. Henry, a canon in Cambrai, (died 1303).^[1]
3. William I, Count of Hainaut (c. 1286 – 7 June 1337) He succeeded his father in 1304. Married Joan of Valois, daughter of Charles, Count of Valois.^[1]
4. John of Beaumont (1288 – 11 March 1356). He was married to Margaret, Countess de Soissons.^[1]
5. Margaret (died 18 October 1342), married Robert II of Artois, who was killed at the Battle of the Golden Spurs, 11 July 1302.^[1]
6. Alice or Alix (d. 26 October 1317), who married 1290 Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk, by whom she had no issue.^[1]
7. Isabelle (died 1305), married Raoul de Clermont Lord of Nesle, who was killed in battle at the Battle of the Golden Spurs, 11 July 1302.^[1]
8. Joan, a nun at Fontenelles.^[1]
9. Mary of Avesnes (1280–1354), married Louis I, Duke of Bourbon.^[1]
10. Matilda, Abbess of Nivelles.^[1]
11. Willem de Cuser (illegitimate)^[5]

Ancestors

Ancestors of John II, Count of Holland

16. Nicholas d'Oisy, Lord of Avesnes               8. James of Avesnes                       17. Matilda de la Roche               4. Bouchard IV of Avesnes                             18. Bouchard of Guise               9. Adela of Guise                       19. Adelaide               2. John I of Avesnes                                   20. Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut               10. Baldwin I of Constantinople                       21. Margaret I, Countess of Flanders               5. Margaret II, Countess of Flanders                             22. Henry I, Count of Champagne               11. Marie of Champagne                       23. Marie of France               1. John II, Count of Holland                                         24. Floris III, Count of Holland               12. William I of Holland                       25. Ada of Huntingdon               6. Floris IV, Count of Holland                             26. Otto I, Count of Guelders               13. Adelaide of Guelders                       27. Richardis of Bavaria               3. Adelaide of Holland                                   28. Godfrey III, Count of Leuven               14. Henry I, Duke of Brabant                       29. Marguerite of Limbourg               7. Matilde of Brabant                             30. Matthew, Count of Boulogne               15. Mathilde of Flanders                       31. Marie I, Countess of Boulogne

See also

• Counts of Hainaut family tree
• Counts of Holland family tree

References

1. Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 22
2. Johan C H Blom, History of the Low Countries (New York: Berghahn Books, 2006), p. 58
3. Johan C H Blom, History of the Low Countries (New York: Berghahn Books, 2006), pp. 57–8
4. Elizabeth Moore Hunt, Illuminating the Borders of Northern French and Flemish Manuscripts, 1270 – 1310 (New York: Routledge, 2007), p. 125
5. Gary Boyd Roberts, The royal descents of 600 immigrants to the American colonies or the United States : who were themselves notable or left descendants notable in American history: with a 2008 addendum, coda, and final addition (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2008)