Floris V, Count of Holland
| Floris V | |
|---|---|
Floris V as imagined in the 17th century
|
|
| Count of Holland and Zeeland | |
| Reign | 1256–1296 |
| Predecessor | William II |
| Successor | John I |
| Spouse(s) | Beatrice of Flanders |
| Issue | |
| Father | William II, Count of Holland |
| Mother | Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
| Born |
24 June 1254 Leiden |
| Died | 27 June 1296 (aged 42) Muiderberg |
| Buried | Rijnsburg Abbey |
Floris V (24 June 1254 – 27 June 1296) reigned as Count of Holland and Zeeland from 1256 until 1296. His life was documented in detail in the Rijmkroniek by Melis Stoke, his chronicler. He is credited with a mostly peaceful reign, modernizing administration, policies beneficial to trade, generally acting in the interests of his peasants at the expense of nobility, and reclaiming land from the sea. His dramatic murder, engineered by King Edward I of England and Guy, Count of Flanders, made him a hero in Holland.
He was the son of Count William II (1227–1256), who was slain in 1256 by Frisians when Floris was just two years old, and Elisabeth of Brunswick-Lüneburg. First his uncle (Floris de Voogd from 1256 to 1258), then his aunt (Adelaide of Holland from 1258 to 1263) fought over custody of Holland. At the battle of Reimerswaal on 22 January 1263, Count Otto II, Count of Guelders defeated Aleidis and was chosen regent by the nobles who opposed Aleidis.
Otto II served as Floris V's guardian until he was twelve years old (1266) and considered capable of administering Holland himself. Floris’s mother (Elisabeth) continued to reside in Holland after her husband’s death in 1256. She died on 27 May 1266 and is buried in Middelburg abbey church. She died in the same year that Count Floris V was declared old enough to rule without guardianship, on 10 July 1266.
Floris was supported by the count of Hainaut of the house of Avesnes, who was an arch-enemy of the count of Flanders of the house of Dampierre. Floris married Beatrix of Dampierre, the daughter of Guy of Dampierre, count of Flanders, in 1269.
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