William II, Count of Hainaut

William II (1307 – 26 September 1345) was Count of Hainaut from 1337 until his death. He was also Count of Holland (as William IV) and Count of Zeeland. He succeeded his father, Count William I of Hainaut. While away fighting in Prussia, the Frisians revolted. William returned home and was killed at the Battle of Warns.

Life

William was born in 1307, the son of William I of Hainaut and Joan of Valois.^[1]

In 1334, he married Joanna, Duchess of Brabant, the daughter and heiress of John III, Duke of Brabant, but had no issue.^[2]

He fought in France as an ally of the English (he was the brother-in-law of King Edward III of England). In 1339, William participated in the Siege of Cambrai (1339).^[3] In 1345, two months before he died, he besieged and took Utrecht [fr; nl], because the bishop, John van Arkel, was trying to regain the bishopric's historical independence from Holland.

William fought against the Saracens,^{[citation needed]} and went on crusade with the Teutonic Order in Prussia.^[4] He was killed near Stavoren, during one of the battles of Warns against the Frisians in 1345.^[5]

William was succeeded by his sister, Margaret of Hainaut, who was married to Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor. Hainaut, Holland and Zeeland became a part of the imperial crown domains.

Boffa, Sergio (2010). "Low Countries (Narrative 1300-1479)". In Rogers, Clifford J. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology. Vol. 2. Oxford University Press. p. 531-552.
Courtenay, William J. (2020). "King's Hall and Michaelhouse in the Context of Fourteenth-Century Cambridge". In Marenbon, John (ed.). King's Hall, Cambridge and the Fourteenth-Century Universities: New Perspectives. Brill.
Rosenwein, Barbara H. (2018). Reading the Middle Ages. Vol. II: From C. 900 to C. 1500. University of Toronto Press.
Vale, Malcolm (2002). The Princely Court: Medieval Courts and Culture in North-West Europe, 1270-1380. Oxford University Press.