Background
Along with his brother, Adolf, William rebelled against his father but surrendered in 1404 and received his father"s title as Count of Ravensberg which he held until his death in 1428.
Along with his brother, Adolf, William rebelled against his father but surrendered in 1404 and received his father"s title as Count of Ravensberg which he held until his death in 1428.
William"s elder brother Rupert had held the same post from 1389–1394. William aroused heavy unrest with his ecclesiastical reform effort and quarreled with Waldeck and Lippe, compelling acknowledgement of Paderborn"s sovereignty over parts of Lippe. Despite territorial policy successes, he faced opposition and renounced Paderborn in 1414.
He attempted to become Archbishop of Cologne but failed against Dietrich of Moers who also replaced William as Bishop of Paderborn.
William and Adelheid are buried in the Stiftskirche in Bielefeld.
