Baldwin II ( 865 – 10 September 918) was the second
margrave (or count) of Flanders, ruling from 879 to 918. He was nicknamed the Bald (''Calvus'') after his maternal grandfather, Emperor
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ...
.
Rule
Baldwin II was born around 865 to Margrave
Baldwin I of Flanders
Baldwin I (probably 830s – 879), also known as Baldwin Iron Arm ( nl, Boudewijn met de IJzeren Arm; the epithet is first recorded in the 12th century), was the first margrave of Flanders, which evolved into the County of Flanders.
He was the ...
and
Judith, daughter of Emperor
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ...
.
[Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1984), Tafel 5] The early years of Baldwin II's rule were marked by a series of devastating
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
raids into Flanders.
[David Nicholas, Medieval Flanders (Longman Group UK, Ltd., 1992)pp. 17–18] By 883, he was forced to move north to
Pagus
In ancient Rome, the Latin word (plural ) was an administrative term designating a rural subdivision of a tribal territory, which included individual farms, villages (), and strongholds () serving as refuges, as well as an early medieval geogra ...
Flandransis, which became the territory most closely associated with the Counts of Flanders.
Baldwin constructed a series of wooden fortifications at
Saint-Omer
Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France.
It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audoma ...
,
Bruges
Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
,
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
, and
Kortrijk
Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...
. He then seized lands that were abandoned by royal and ecclesiastical officials.
[Pierre Riché, ''The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe'', Trans. Michael Idomir Allen (University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia), p. 235] Many of these same
citadel
A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core.
I ...
s later formed
castellanies which housed government, militia, and local courts.
In 888, the Western
Frankish king
The Franks, Germanic-speaking peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dukes and reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Merovingians, who con ...
,
Charles the Fat
Charles III (839 – 13 January 888), also known as Charles the Fat, was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 888. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandso ...
, was deposed, leaving several candidates vying to replace him.
[David Nicholas, Medieval Flanders (Longman Group UK, Ltd., 1992)p. 19] As a grandson of Charles the Bald, who was king of
West Francia
In medieval history, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () refers to the western part of the Frankish Empire established by Charlemagne. It represents the earliest stage of the Kingdom of France, lasting from about ...
, Baldwin could have competed for the crown.
Instead, Baldwin and others tried to convince the
East Frankish
East Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the East Franks () was a successor state of Charlemagne's empire ruled by the Carolingian dynasty until 911. It was created through the Treaty of Verdun (843) which divided the former empire int ...
king,
Arnulf, to take the West Frankish crown, but Arnulf declined.
The
Robertine Odo, Count of Paris
Odo (french: Eudes; c. 857 – 1 January 898) was the elected King of West Francia from 888 to 898. He was the first king from the Robertian dynasty. Before assuming the kingship, Odo was the count of Paris. His reign marked the definitive separa ...
, was eventually made king. Odo and Baldwin's relationship deteriorated when Odo failed to support Baldwin's attempts to gain control of the
Abbey of St. Bertin. Odo attacked Baldwin at Bruges but was unable to prevail.
Baldwin continued his expansion to the south and gained control over
Artois
Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...
, including the important
Abbey of St. Vaast.
Marriage
Between 893 and 899, Baldwin II married
Ælfthryth (or Elftrude or Elfrida), the daughter of King
Alfred the Great of Wessex. The immediate goal of that Anglo-Flemish alliance was to help Baldwin control the lower
Canche
The river Canche (; nl, Kwinte) is one of the rivers that flow from the plateau of southern Boulonnais and Picardy, into the English Channel, of which the Somme is the largest example. It is long. The basin of the Canche extends to and lies i ...
River valley.
[Pierre Riché, ''The Carolingians; A Family who Forged Europe, Trans. Michael Idomir Allen (University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia), p. 236''] They had four children: Count
Arnulf I of Flanders
Arnulf I (c. 893/899 – 27 March 965), called "the Great", was the first Count of Flanders.
Life
Arnulf was the son of margrave Baldwin II of Flanders and Ælfthryth of Wessex, daughter of Alfred the Great.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische S ...
(c. 890–964), Count
Adalulf of Boulogne (c. 890–933), Ealswid, and Ermentrud.
Death
When the Abbey came under the
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels.
Jur ...
of Archbishop
Fulk of Reims
Fulk the Venerable (died June 17, 900) was archbishop of Reims from 883 until his death. He was a key protagonist in the political conflicts of the West Francia, West Frankish kingdom that followed the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire in the ...
in 900, Baldwin had the archbishop assassinated and was excommunicated by
Pope Benedict IV
Pope Benedict IV ( la, Benedictus IV; c. 840 - 30 July 903) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 1 February 900 to his death. The tenth-century historian Flodoard, who nicknamed him "the Great", commended his noble birth a ...
.
When his attempts to expand further into the upper
Somme River
The Somme ( , , ) is a river in Picardy, northern France.
The river is in length, from its source in the high ground of the former at Fonsomme near Saint-Quentin, to the Bay of the Somme, in the English Channel. It lies in the geolog ...
valley were opposed by
Herbert I, Count of Vermandois
Herbert I (c. 848/850 – 907) or Heribertus I, Count of Vermandois, Count of Meaux, Count of Soissons, and lay abbot of Saint Quentin. He was a Carolingian aristocrat who played a significant role in Francia.
Herbert was the son of Pepin of ...
, Baldwin had the count assassinated as well.
Baldwin died on 10 September 918,
[Philip Grierson, 'The Relations between ]England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and Flanders
Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
before the Norman Conquest', ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Vol. 23 (1941), p. 86 at
Blandijnberg
The Blandijnberg is a 29m high hill in the city center of Ghent in East Flanders, Belgium.
History
The Blandijnberg was already inhabited in prehistoric times. In the 3rd century AD. there was a Gallo-Roman villa on the hill, owned by a person n ...
(near
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
) and was succeeded by his eldest son,
Arnulf I of Flanders
Arnulf I (c. 893/899 – 27 March 965), called "the Great", was the first Count of Flanders.
Life
Arnulf was the son of margrave Baldwin II of Flanders and Ælfthryth of Wessex, daughter of Alfred the Great.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische S ...
. His younger son,
Adalulf, became the first
Count of Boulogne.
Family
Baldwin II was married to
Ælfthryth, daughter of
Alfred the Great,
and had children:
*
Arnulf I of Flanders
Arnulf I (c. 893/899 – 27 March 965), called "the Great", was the first Count of Flanders.
Life
Arnulf was the son of margrave Baldwin II of Flanders and Ælfthryth of Wessex, daughter of Alfred the Great.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische S ...
(c. 893/99–964/65); married
Adela of Vermandois
*
Adalulf,
Count of Boulogne (c. 893/99 – 933)
*Ealswid
*Ermentrud
References
Sources
*
Additional references
* Folcwine. ''Gesta Abbatum S. Bertini Sithiensium''.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin 02, Margrave of Flanders
860s births
918 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
9th-century people from West Francia
10th-century people from West Francia
Frankish warriors
House of Flanders
Baldwin 2
Baldwin 1
People excommunicated by the Catholic Church