William II, Count of Hainaut

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.) He besieged Utrecht, because his one-time favorite bishop, John van Arkel of Utrecht, had turned against him. In 1339, William participated in the Siege of Cambrai (1339).[3]

William fought against the Saracens, 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.

• Counts of Hainaut family tree
• Counts of Holland family tree
• Friso-Hollandic Wars