Everything about Baldwin I Count Of Flanders totally explained
Baldwin I (probably born 830s, died
879), also known as
Baldwin Iron Arm (the epithet is first recorded in the 12th century), was the first
count of Flanders.
Baldwin was the son of a certain
Audacer, about whom nothing definite is known; his legendary origins are rejected by modern scholarship. At the time Baldwin first appears in the records he was already a count, presumably in the area of Flanders, but this isn't known. Count Baldwin rose to prominence when he eloped with princess
Judith, daughter of
Charles the Bald, king of
West Francia. Judith had previously been married to
Ethelwulf and his son (from an earlier marriage)
Ethelbald, kings of Wessex, but after the latter's death in 860 she'd returned to France.
Around Christmas 861, at the instigation of Baldwin and with her brother Louis' consent Judith escaped the custody she'd been put under in the city of
Senlis after her return from England. She fled north with Count Baldwin. Charles had given no permission for a marriage and tried to capture Baldwin, sending letters to
Rorik of Dorestad and
Bishop Hungar, forbidding them to shelter the fugitive.
After Baldwin and Judith had evaded his attempts to capture them, Charles had his bishops
excommunicate the couple. Judith and Baldwin responded by traveling to
Rome to plead their case with
Pope Nicholas I. Their plea was successful and Charles was forced to accept. The marriage took place on
13 December 863 in
Auxerre. By 870 Baldwin had acquired the lay-abbacy of St. Pieter in
Ghent and is assumed to have also acquired the counties of Flanders and Waas, or parts thereof by this time. Baldwin developed himself as a very faithful and stout supporter of Charles and played an important role in the continuing wars against the
Vikings. He is named in 877 as one of those willing to support the emperor's son,
Louis the Stammerer. During his life Baldwin expanded his territory into one of the major principalities of
Western Francia, he died in 879 and was buried in the Abbey of Saint-Bertin, near
Saint-Omer.
Family
Baldwin was succeeded by his son by Judith,
Baldwin II (c. 866 -
918). The couple's first son was named Charles after his maternal grandfather, but he died young. His third son Raoul (
Rodulf) (c. 869 - murdered 896) became Count of
Cambrai around
888, but he and his brother joined king
Zwentibold of Lotharingia in 895. In 896 they attacked
Vermandois and captured
Arras,
Saint-Quentin and
Peronne, but later that year Raoul was captured by
count Heribert and killed.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Baldwin I Count Of Flanders'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://baldwin_i__count_of_flanders.totallyexplained.com">Baldwin I, Count of Flanders Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
