Adelaide of Holland - Life

Life

On 9 October 1246, Adelaide married John I of Avesnes, Count of Hainaut. Like her mother, she was a patron of religious houses. Her religious interest is reflected in that three of her sons became bishops, and her one daughter became an abbess. She also insisted on a bilingual education for them.

Between 1258 and 1263, Adelaide was regent of Holland in the name of her nephew Floris V. She called herself Guardian of Holland and Zeeland (Tutrix de Hollandie et Zeelandie). After he came of age, she continued to advise him. She died in 1284, but in 1299, with the death of Floris' son John I, it was her own son John II who inherited Holland through her.

She gave Town privileges to Schiedam, which afterwards had the right to be called a city. In it she founded Huis te Riviere, which was then the second largest castle in Holland.

Jacob van Maerlant dedicated his first poem, Geesten, to Adelaide.

Read more about this topic:  Adelaide Of Holland

Famous quotes containing the word life:

    The American father ... is never seen in London. He passes his life entirely in Wall Street and communicates with his family once a month by means of a telegram in cipher.
    Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)

    The life of a repo man is always intense.
    Alex Cox, British screenwriter. Miller (Tracy Walter)

    Art is beauty, and every exposition of art, whether it be music, painting, or the drama, should be subservient to that one great end. As long as nature is a means to the attainment of beauty, so-called realism is necessary and permissable [sic], but it must be realism enhanced by idealism and uplifted by the spirit of an inner life or purpose.
    Julia Marlowe (1866–1950)