William IV, Count of Jülich

Who is William IV, Count of Jülich?

William IV, Count of Jülich was the son and heir of William III of Jülich and Mathilde of Limburg, daughter of Waleran III, Duke of Limburg.

William's father joined the Crusades in 1217 and died in the Siege of Damietta in 1218. William succeeded his father as Count of Jülich under the guardianship of his uncle, Eberhard of Hengenbach. In the 1220s and early 1230s William greatly expanded his territory. In 1234 he fought in the battle of Altenesch against the Stedingers and was made imperial administrator of Konzen and Aachen, guardian of Kornelimünster and over the possessions of Essen Abbey on the left bank of the Rhine river. He also won the imperial fiefdoms of Sinzig, Hengenbach-Heimbach, Merzenich, Thürnich, Düren and Bardenberg, thus doubling the possessions of the Counts of Jülich.

By 1240 William's territorial expansion created conflict on the eastern side of his territory with the Archbishop of Cologne. William was a loyal supporter of the House of Hohenstaufen which made him a rugged opponent of Cologne Archbishop Konrad von Hochstaden, under whose rule more disputes with William broke out.