William II, Count of Flanders

Wilhelm II (* 1224, † June 6, 1251 ) was from 1231 when William III. a lord of Dampierre. When Wilhelm II, he was in 1246, Count of Flanders. He was the son of Countess Margarete II the Black of Flanders and the Lord William II of Dampierre.

His mother had already had two older sons from their relationship with Burkhard of Avesnes, which were not recognized as a valid marriage. Nevertheless, the Avesnes- brothers rose entitled to an inheritance whereby the Flemish War of Succession was triggered. After King Louis IX. of France in 1246 arbitrated and the Dampierre- brothers recognized as heirs of Flanders Wilhelm was appointed by his mother to Mitgrafen.

Wilhelm took on the sixth crusade part to Egypt, where it was in April 1250 in the captivity of the Mamelukes. After his release, he accompanied King Louis IX. with Acre, from where he traveled back with the Count Charles of Anjou in France. To celebrate his return, Wilhelm held in Trazegnies a tournament in which he died. Supporters of Avesnes- brothers were suspected of murder, whereupon the inheritance dispute broke out anew. William was buried in the Abbey of Marquette, near Lille.

In November 1247 he married Beatrice of Brabant ( 1225-1288 ), daughter of Henry II, Duke of Brabant, and Maria of Swabia, widow of Henry Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia and Roman- German king. The marriage remained childless, so his younger brother Guido succeeded as Count of Flanders.

Weblink

• Medieval genealogie.de: William III. Archived from the original on 22 August 2004 accessed on 1 June 2012.