Name Baldwin Count Died May 30, 1035 | ||
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Children Baldwin V, Count of Flanders, Judith of Flanders, Countess of Northumbria Parents Arnulf II, Count of Flanders, Rozala of Italy Grandchildren Matilda of Flanders, Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria Similar People Baldwin V - Count of Flanders, Baldwin III - Count of Flanders, Robert I - Count of Flanders, Matilda of Flanders, Robert II of France | ||
Baldwin IV (980 – 30 May 1035), called the Bearded, was Count of Flanders from 987.
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Biography
Baldwin IV, born c. 980, was the son of Arnulf II, Count of Flanders (c. 961 - 987) and Rozala of Lombardy (950/60 – 1003), of the House of Ivrea. He succeeded his father as Count of Flanders in 987, but with his mother Rozala as the regent until his majority.
In contrast to his predecessors Baldwin turned his attention eastward, leaving the southern part of his territory in the hands of his vassals the counts of Guînes, Hesdin, and St. Pol.
To the north of the county Baldwin was given Zeeland as a fief by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry II, while on the right bank of the Scheldt river he received Valenciennes (1013) and parts of the Cambresis as well as Saint-Omer and the northern Ternois (1020).
In the French territories of the count of Flanders, the supremacy of the Baldwin remained unchallenged. They organized a great deal of colonization of marshland along the coastline of Flanders and enlarged the harbour and city of Brugge. Baldwin IV died on 30 May 1035.
Marriage and issue
Baldwin first married Ogive of Luxembourg, daughter of Frederick of Luxembourg, by whom he had a son and heir:
He later married Eleanor of Normandy, daughter of Richard II of Normandy, by whom he had a daughter: