Noble family House of Flanders Died March 28, 965 AD, Belgium Name Arnulf Count | Mother AElfthryth of Wessex Father Baldwin II of Flanders | |
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Spouse Adele of Vermandois (m. 934 AD) Children Baldwin III, Count of Flanders, Egbert of Flanders, Hildegarde of Flanders, Elftrude of Flanders, Luitgard of Flanders Parents AElfthryth, Countess of Flanders, Baldwin II, Margrave of Flanders Grandchildren Arnulf II, Count of Flanders Similar People Baldwin III - Count of Flanders, Baldwin I - Margrave of Flanders, Judith of Flanders, Alfred the Great, Arnulf of Metz | ||
Arnulf i count of flanders
Arnulf of Flanders (c. 890 – March 28, 965), called the Great, was the first Count of Flanders, who ruled the County of Flanders, an area that is now northern France (Nord), northwestern Belgium and southwestern Netherlands.
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Life
Arnulf was the son of margrave 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 the Carolingian dynasty.
At the death of their father in 918, Arnulf became Count of Flanders while his brother Adeloft or Adelolf succeeded to the County of Boulogne. However, in 933 Adeloft died, and Arnulf took the countship of Boulogne for himself, but later conveyed it to his nephew, Arnulf II.
Arnulf I greatly expanded Flemish rule to the south, taking all or part of Artois, Ponthieu, Amiens, and Ostrevent. 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 942 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 Arnulf's first wife is unknown but he had at least one daughter by her:
In 934 he married Adele of Vermandois, daughter of Herbert II of Vermandois. Their children were:
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.