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Floris III of Holland (aka van Holland, of Holland) (1141 - August 1 , 1 1 9 0 ) , C ount of Holland from 1157 to 1190. He was a son of Dirk VI a nd S o p h i e o f Luxemburg, heiress of Bentheim.
On September 28, 1162 he married Ada, sister of king William I of Scot l a n d , a l so known as William the Lion. The county of Holland adopted from h i m t h e r a mpant lion in the coat of arms and the name of William.
Floris III was a loyal vassal to Frederick I Barbarossa. He accompanied t h e e m p e ror on two expeditions to Italy in 1158 and 1176-1178. Frederick t h a n k e d him by making Floris part of the imperial nobility.
The emperor gave Floris the toll right of Geervliet, the most importan t o l l s t a tion in Holland at that time. This was actually the legalisation o f a n e x i s ting situation, because the counts of Holland had charged toll s i l l e g ally since the start of the 11th century.
Many farmers came to Holland to turn the swamps into agricultural lands . D i k e s a nd dams were build and the border between Holland and the bish op r i c o f U trecht had to be determined. There was a dispute between Flor i s a n d t h e bishop of Utrecht about a new dam in the Rhine at Zwammerdam i n 1 1 6 5 , w hich had to be settled by emperor Frederick. The brother of Fl or i s , B a ldwin became bishop of Utrecht in 1178.
War broke out between Flanders and Holland. Count Philip of Flanders wa n t e d t o h ave Zeeland. Floris was captured in Brugge and had to accept F l e m i s h overlordship in Zeeland as ransom in 1167.
During his reign Floris III had troubles with West Friesland and a war w i t h P h i lip count of Flanders concerning their respective rights in West Z e e l a n d, in which he was beaten. In 1170 a great flood caused immense de v a s t a tion in the north and helped to form the Zuider Zee.
In 1189 Floris accompanied Frederick Barbarossa upon the third Crusade , o f w h i c h h e was a distinguished leader. He died in 1190 at Antioch of pe st i l e n ce and was buried there.
Two sons of Floris III became Count of Holland: Dirk VII in 1190 and W i l l i a m I i n 1203
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1141 - 1190 (49 years)
