Arnulf I, Count of Flanders
Arnulf I of Flanders (c.890-
March 27,
965), known as
Arnulf the Great, was the third
count of Flanders.
Arnulf was the son of count
Baldwin II of Flanders and
Ælfthryth, daughter of
Alfred the Great. He was named after his distant ancestor,
Saint Arnulf of Metz; this was intended to emphasize his family's descent from the
Carolingian royal house. He was indeed a fifth generation descendant of
Charlemagne.
Arnulf 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
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.
In 934 he married
Adele of Vermandois, daughter of
Herbert II of Vermandois. Their children were:
*Luitgard, married
Wichmann, Count of Ghent*Egbert, died 953
*
Baldwin III of Flanders*Elftrude, married
Siegfried, Count of GuinesHe also had a previous daughter, Hildegard.
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.
Through his descendants
Matilda of Flanders and
Henry I of England, he was an ancestor to the present-day British royal family including
Elizabeth II of the
United Kingdom of
Great Britain and
Northern Ireland.
*
Descendants of Charlemagne*
Descendants of Baldwin II of Flanders*
Descendants of Arnulf I of Flanders and Adele of Vermandois*
Flodoard *Folcwine
*
Lambert of Ardres *Platts, Beryl.
The Scottish Hazard: Flemish Nobility and their Impact on Scotland, 1985
