Willem II heer van Egmond

overl. Egmond 20-03-1304 begr. in de kloosterkerk van Egmond heer van Egmond 1242 begeleidde graaf Jan I en diens bruid uit Engeland 1297

Van Gerard II van Egmont de vader van Willem, weten we dat hij in ~1241 op bedevaart ging naar het Heilige land. Op de heenweg logeerde hij te Milaan bij ** della Torre, hertog van Milaan. Zijn zoon Willem II die hem op de bedevaart vergezelde, trouwde vervolgens te Milaan met Ada Blanche, de dochter van de hertog van Milaan. Op de terugweg leden zij beide schipbreuk bij Kreta waarbij Gerard II om het leven kwam. Willem had become the Lord of Egmund after his father's death on 12/25/1242 was documented on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean. (from Latin transcript) Since he was still underaged his second cousin Wouter "Stoutkind" van Egmont took on the position of being his regent until the year 1248. After some experience in maintaining the estate he decided in 1258 to transfer the formal estates (ambachts-cheerlijkheden) of Spanbrock, Oudedorp, Oudkarspel, and Wedeweij to Count FlorisV van Holland. In exchange he was given Warmhuizen, Noord-Holland properties and purchased territory north of Egmond near Huisduinen and Bergen. Willem then initiated further development of the area in the following years. Egmond's village near the sea coast, part of Bergen, was the home of the 10th century Benedictine Abbey. He also became a participant in a campaign against Friesland that was undertaken in 1282. As a result he was awarded with "tithes" by Friesland. In social events he was documented as having been invited by John I, the count of Holland, to the wedding with Elisabeth of Rhuddian in 1297. A little later in that year Willem's wife Beatrix died. Another loss in the family came when his son Gerard passed away in the year 1300. Four years later Willem passed away and the estate was extended to grandson Willem III.