Editing Hook and Cod wars (section)

== Aftermath of William IV's reign (1345–1349) ==

=== The reign of William IV of Holland and the war against Utrecht===
In 1337 [[William IV, Count of Holland|William IV]] succeeded his father as count of Holland, Zeeland and Hainaut (as William II). William waged many wars, traveled far and wide and participated in many tournaments. As a consequence the finances of Holland fell into utter disarray. For political advice, William continued to rely on [[Willem van Duvenvoorde]], and therefore also on Duvenvoorde's kin: the Wassenaar's, Polanen's, Brederode's, Boechorsten etc. This was to the detriment of families like those of Arkel, Egmond, Heemskerk and Wateringen.{{sfn|Blok|1923|p=319}}

In 1342 [[John of Arkel]] had become Bishop of [[Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht|Utrecht]]. He set about to restore the bishopric's power. In order to prevent this, Count William and his many allies in Utrecht, attacked and started to {{ill|Siege of Utrecht (1345)|fr|Siège d'Utrecht (1345)|nl|Beleg van Utrecht (1345)|lt=besiege Utrecht}} city on 8 July 1345. After six weeks of siege, a truce was concluded, to last until 11 November. In return the citizens of Utrecht had to beg for forgiveness.{{sfn|Blok|1923|p=320}}

William then attempted to restore his authority in Friesland. On 26 September 1345 he led an army that crossed the [[Zuiderzee]] and landed near [[Stavoren]]. The subsequent [[Battle of Warns]] was a disaster: William died and his army returned without him, although his uncle, [[John of Beaumont]], managed to escape.{{sfn|Blok|1923|p=320}} William's death did not end the war with Utrecht. Right after the truce ended, the bishop subdued almost all William's allies in Utrecht, and collected major reparations from them.{{sfn|Aurelius|De Hamer|2011|p=208v}}
[[File:Locator County of Holland (1350).svg|thumb|County of Holland circa 1350.]]

=== Succession of William IV ===
William IV/II had no son. Therefore, Holy Roman Emperor [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis the Bavarian]] had to decide [[Holy Roman Emperor#Succession|who should succeed him]]. The candidates were John of Beaumont (William IV's paternal uncle) or one of William IV's sisters, namely [[Margaret II, Countess of Hainaut]] (oldest sister and the emperor's wife),  [[Philippa of Hainault]] (married to [[Edward III of England]]), [[Joanna of Hainaut]] (married to [[William V, Duke of Jülich]]) or Isabelle of Hainaut (1323–1361;  married to [[Robert of Namur (1323–91)|Robert of Namur]]). In January 1346 the emperor granted the three fiefs to his wife as 'oldest sister and just heir' of count William IV.{{sfn|Blok|1923|p=320}}

In the meantime John of Beaumont had taken control in Hainaut, meaning that its succession to Margaret was quite smooth. It seems that Holland and Zeeland agreed to the succession at a kind of [[Diet (assembly)|diet]] at [[Geertruidenberg]] in February 1346. In March Margaret arrived in Hainaut, and in April she visited Holland and Zeeland. She also made a new truce with Utrecht, which started on 20 July 1346.{{sfn|Aurelius|De Hamer|2011|p=209v}}

In September 1346 Margaret made her younger son [[William I, Duke of Bavaria]] (1330–1389) her lieutenant in Holland, Zeeland and Hainault. He was also made these counties' heir and so was always officially styled as 'waiting' {{lang|nl|verbeydende}} to rule over them in his own right.{{sfn|Blok|1923|p=322}}

=== Trouble in Holland and Zeeland ===
In Holland and Zeeland the lieutenancy of William of Bavaria was not a success. After Emperor Louis died in October 1347, King Edward III and the Duke of Jülich again came up with their claims to William IV's estate, and allied with the new emperor. In the interior the nobility seized the opportunity to take up their feuds, and indeed it had just cause to be dissatisfied about how the lieutenant and his government favored some families. Soon anarchy and insubordination ruled in these counties. As a result, the finances got even further out of control.{{sfn|Blok|1923|p=323}}

The war against Utrecht also did not go well. On 20 July 1348 the truce ended. On 28 July a battle against Utrecht was lost near Eemnes, leading to the village getting re-attached to Utrecht. William of Bavaria's army then burned the village of [[Jutphaas]], while that of Utrecht burned and looted several Holland villages. The campaign ended with a truce till 11 November.{{sfn|Aurelius|De Hamer|2011|p=211r}}