Dirk VI of Holland, also known as Dietrich in German,
Thierry in French, and Theodoric in English, was Count of Holland between 1121
and 1157, at first, during his minority, under the regency of his mother
Petronilla. He was the son of Count Floris II. After his death he was succeeded
by his eldest son Floris III. He married Sofie of Salm, Countess of Rheineck
and Bentheim. She was heiress of Bentheim, which she ruled together with her
husband and which was inherited by the couple's second son Otto after his
parents' death.
When his father died in 1122, Dirk was only 7 years old and
his mother, Petronilla, governed the county as regent. In 1123 she supported
the uprising of her half-brother, Lothair of Süpplingenburg, Duke of Saxony
against Emperor Henry V. After Lothair had been elected king of Germany himself
in 1125 he returned Leiden and Rijnland to Holland, which had both been awarded
to the Bishop of Utrecht in 1064 (Later on during Dirk's reign the wooden
fortifications at Leiden would be replaced by a stone castle). Because
Petronilla saw little ability or ambition in Dirk as he grew up, she stalled
letting go of the regency when he reached adulthood (fifteen years old), until
her favourite son Floris could attempt to take over the county.
Compiled by Liam
Source:History.com
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