He was the son of
John III and his wife, Mabelia of Voorne. Shortly after his father died, John IV became a councillor at the court of Count
William IV of
Holland. When his half-brother
John was elected Bishop of
Utrecht, John IV withdrew from the court. Nevertheless, his influence continued to grow as he acquired more territory. This changed after William IV died during the
Battle of Warns in 1345. Tensions between the van Arkel and van Duivenvoorde families increased when
William of Duivenvoorde obtained an influential position at the court of Countess
Margaret of Holland. John IV then joined the opposing side, which was led by Margaret's son
William V. He supported his half-brother with a loan when he later had a conflict with the
Oversticht area. He supported Duke
Reginald III of Guelders during the siege of
Tiel in 1350. As the conflict between Margaret and William V escalated, John IV continued to support William V. William enfeoffed the Lordships of
Haastrecht and of the Lek to John IV. He created an alliance with
Gerard III van Heemskerk,
Ghisbert II of Nijenrode and
John I of Egmond against Margaret's supporters. This triggered the
Hook and Cod wars. John IV played an important role in the early battles during this war. He fought in the
Battle of Zwartewaal in 1351 and led the Cod troops during the
Siege of Geertruidenberg. In 1355 William V made peace with the Hook faction and forced John IV to give up some of his land. This led to a conflict that lasted until 1359, when John received some new fiefs as compensation. In 1358, William V was deposed by his brother
Albert, who locked up William in the grounds that he had become insane. John IV opposed Albert, preferring that William's wife,
Matilda, should become
regent. Nevertheless, John IV made peace with Albert shortly afterwards. John IV died on 5 May 1360, and was succeeded by his son
Otto. == Marriage and issue ==