Arnulf I, Count of Flanders

Life[edit]

Arnulf was the son of margrave Baldwin II of Flanders and Ælfthryth of Wessex, daughter of Alfred the Great.^[3] Through his mother he was a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England, and through his father, a descendant of Charlemagne.^[4] Presumably Arnulf was named either after Saint Arnulf of Metz, a progenitor of the Carolingian dynasty,^[5] or King Arnulf of Carinthia, whom his father supported.


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.^[6] However, in 933 Adeloft died, and Arnulf took the countship of Boulogne for himself, but later conveyed it to his nephew, Arnulf II.^[7] Arnulf titled himself count by the Grace of God.^[8]


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. Arnulf also made Bruges the center of his administration, contributing to the rise of the town as a major trading hub.^[9]


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.^[10] 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. When Dunstan, abbot of Glastonbury, fled into exile, Arnulf received him with honour and lodged him in the Abbey of Mont Blandin, near Ghent.^[11]


Count Arnulf died on 27 March 964, allegedly murdered by Heluin in revenge for the murder of William Longsword.


He was buried in the Saint-Peter's Abbey in Ghent.^[12]