Arnulf, I Count of Flanders

Male 885 - 965  (~ 80 years)


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  • Name Arnulf , I Count of Flanders  [1
    Suffix I Count of Flanders 
    Born Between 885 and 890  [2
    Gender Male 
    Died 28 Mar 965  [1, 3
    Notes 
    • He succeeded to the title of Comte de Flandre in 918.

      Arnulf of Flanders (c. 890 - March 28, 965), called the Great, was the third Count of Flanders, who ruled the County of Flanders, an area that is now northwestern Belgium and southwestern Holland.

      Life

      Arnulf was the son of count Baldwin II of Flanders and Ælfthryth of Wessex, daughter of Alfred the Great. Through his mother he was a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England and through his father a descendant of Charlemagne. Presumably Arnulf was named after Saint Arnulf of Metz a progenitor of Carolingian dynasty. At the death of their father, Baldwin II in 918, Arnulf became Count of Flanders while his brother Adeloft succeeded to the county of Bologne However in 933 Adeloft died and Arnulf took the countship of Boulogne for himself, but later restored it to his nephew, Arnulf II, Count of Boulogne.

      Arnulf I greatly expanded Flemish rule to the south, taking all or part of Artois, Ponthieu, Amiens, and Ostravent. He exploited the conflicts between Charles the Simple and Robert I of France, and later those between Louis IV and his barons.

      In his southern expansion Arnulf inevitably had conflict with the Normans, who were trying to secure their northern frontier. This led to the 943 murder of the Duke of Normandy, William Longsword, at the hands of Arnulf's men.

      The Viking threat was receding during the later years of Arnulf's life, and he turned his attentions to the reform of the Flemish government.

      Family

      The name of Adulf's first wife is unknown but he had at least one daughter by her:

      Name unknown, wife of Issac Count of Cambrai, their son Arnulf succeeded his father as Count of Cambrai.

      In 934 he married Adele of Vermandois, daughter of Herbert II of Vermandois. Their children were:

      Hildegarde , born c. 934 and died in 990; she married Dirk II, Count of Holland. It is uncertain whether she is his daughter by his first or second wife.
      Liutgard, born 935, died in 962, she married Wichmann IV, Count of Hamaland.
      Egbert, died 953.
      Baldwin III of Flanders.
      Elftrude, married Siegfried, Count of Guînes.

      Succession

      Arnulf made his eldest son and heir Baldwin III of Flanders co-ruler in 958, but Baldwin died untimely in 962, so Arnulf was succeeded by Baldwin's infant son, Arnulf II of Flanders.
    Person ID I4158  Bosdet Genealogy
    Last Modified 16 May 2013 

    Father Baldwin, II Count of Flanders,   b. Abt 863,   d. 10 Sep 918, Blandinberg, Belgium Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 55 years) 
    Relationship Natural 
    Mother Ælfthryth, Countess of Flanders,   d. 07 Jun 929, Flanders, Belgium Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Relationship Natural 
    Married 884  [3, 4
    Family ID F616  Group Sheet

    Family Adele of Vermandois,   b. Abt 910,   d. 960  (Age ~ 50 years) 
    Married 934  [1, 5
    Children 
     1. Baldwin, III Count of Flanders,   b. Abt 940,   d. Abt 962  (Age ~ 22 years)
    Family ID F1190  Group Sheet

  • Sources 
    1. [S174] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnulf_I_of_Flanders.

    2. [S189] Dynasties of the World: a chronological and genealogical handbook, John Morby, (Name: Oxford University Press; Location: Oxford, Oxfordshire, U.K.; Date: 1989;).

    3. [S180] Britain's Royal Family: A Complete Genealogy, Alison Weir, (Name: The Bodley Head; Location: London, U.K.; Date: 1999;).

    4. [S174] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_II_of_Flanders.

    5. [S174] Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele_of_Vermandois.