History of Sorts

It’s not every day one gets a chance to do a blog about one’s own death, and espcecially not after breakfast, but hey history is history.

But before you start sending flowers and cards etc, the Dirk in the title is not me of course , but Count Dirk III of Holland, or West Friesland to be more precise.

It is thought that Dirk III went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land around 1030, hence his nickname of Hierosolymita (‘or Jerusalemite’ in Latin).

His mother, Luitgard of Luxemburg, was regent in the county while Dirk was still a minor, from 993-1005. She was the sister-in-law of Emperor Henry II and with his help she managed to maintain the county for her son. His father was Arnulf of Holland.
After Dirk assumed the government of the county, she still used her family connections to acquire imperial assistance, in one instance an imperial army helped Dirk suppress a Frisian revolt.

The actual title of Count Dirk III was ‘Count in Friesland’. Western Frisia was very different from the area (North and South Holland) of today. Most of the territory was boggy and subject to constant flooding and hence very sparsely populated. The main areas of habitation were in the dunes at the coast and on heightened areas near the rivers.

He died on May 27 1039

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