Charles the Good (10842 March 1127) was

Count of Flanders The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the ...

from 1119 to 1127. His murder and its aftermath were chronicled by

Galbert of Bruges Galbert of Bruges (Galbertus notarius Brugensis in Latin) was a Flemish cleric and chronicler. A resident of Bruges and a functionary in the administration of the count of Flanders, he is known for his day-by-day Latin account ''De multro, trad ...

. He was beatified by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-ol ...

in 1882 through ''cultus'' ''confirmation''.

Early life

Charles was born in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

, only son of the three children of King Canute IV (Saint Canute) and

Adela of Flanders Adela of Flanders (also Ala and Alana in southern Italian sources) (c. 1064 – April 1115), was Queen consort of Denmark by marriage to King Canute IV and duchess of Apulia by marriage to Duke Roger Borsa, and then regent of Apulia from 1111 ...

. His father was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

Odense Cathedral St. Canute's Cathedral ( da, Odense Domkirke or Sankt Knuds Kirke), also known as Odense Cathedral, is named after the Danish king Canute the Saint ( da, Knud den Hellige), otherwise Canute IV. It is a fine example of Brick Gothic architecture. Th ...

in 1086, and Adela fled back to

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 cultu ...

, taking the very young Charles with her but leaving her twin daughters Ingeborg and Cecilia in Denmark. Charles grew up at the comital court of his grandfather Robert I of Flanders and uncle

Robert II of Flanders Robert II, Count of Flanders (c. 1065 – 5 October 1111) was Count of Flanders from 1093 to 1111. He became known as Robert of Jerusalem (''Robertus Hierosolimitanus'') or Robert the Crusader after his exploits in the First Crusade. Early li ...

. In 1092 Adela went to southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

to marry

Roger Borsa Roger Borsa (1060/1061 – 22 February 1111) was the Norman Duke of Apulia and Calabria and effective ruler of southern Italy from 1085 until his death. Life Roger was the son of Robert Guiscard and Sikelgaita, a Lombard noblewoman. His ambiti ...

duke of Apulia The County of Apulia and Calabria (), later the Duchy of Apulia and Calabria (), was a Norman state founded by William of Hauteville in 1042 in the territories of Gargano, Capitanata, Apulia, Vulture, and most of Campania. It became a duchy whe ...

, leaving Charles in Flanders. Charles travelled to the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...

in 1107 or 1108 with a fleet of English, Danes and Flemings. This is possibly the fleet of

Guynemer of Boulogne Guynemer or Guinemerz was a Boulognese pirate who played a role in the First Crusade. Biography He assembled a fleet of Northern French, Danes, Frisians, and Flemings and set out from northern Europe for the eastern Mediterranean in Spring 1 ...

, described similarly. He was offered the crown of the Kingdom of Jerusalem but refused for reasons unknown.

Countship of Flanders

In 1111 Robert II died, and Charles's cousin

Baldwin VII of Flanders Baldwin VII of Flanders (1093 – 17 July 1119) was Count of Flanders from 1111 to 1119. Baldwin was the son of Count Robert II of Flanders and Clementia of Burgundy. He succeeded his father as count when he died on 5 October 1111. Reign Baldw ...

became count. Charles was a close advisor to the new count (who was several years younger), who around 1118 arranged Charles's marriage to the heiress of the count of

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, Margaret of Clermont, daughter of

Renaud II, Count of Clermont Renaud II of Clermont (''Renaud/Rainald II de Clermont''; 1075–1152) was son of Hugh I, Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis and Marguerite de Roucy (daughter of Hilduin IV, Count of Montdidier). Renaud became Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis upon his f ...

. The childless count Baldwin VII was wounded fighting at the Battle of Bures-en-Brai in September 1118, and he designated Charles as his successor before he died on 17 July 1119. In 1125 Charles expelled Jews from Flanders, attributing their price gouging as a cause of additional suffering during the famine which afflicted his domains in that year. During the famine, Charles distributed bread to the poor, and took action to prevent grain from being hoarded and sold at excessively high prices. Prodded by his advisors, he also began proceedings to reduce the influential Erembald family, which was heavily engaged in this activity, to the status of

serfs Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...

. As a result, Fr. Bertulf FitzErembald, provost of the Church of St. Donatian, masterminded a conspiracy to assassinate Charles and his advisors. He was also considered a candidate for the election of

King of the Romans King of the Romans ( la, Rex Romanorum; german: König der Römer) was the title used by the king of Germany following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German k ...

after the death of

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...

, but rejected the offer.

Death

On the morning of 2 March 1127, as Charles knelt in prayer in the church of St. Donatian, a group of knights answering to the Erembald family entered the church and hacked him to death with

broadswords The basket-hilted sword is a sword type of the early modern era characterised by a basket-shaped guard that protects the hand. The basket hilt is a development of the quillons added to swords' crossguards since the Late Middle Ages. In mo ...

. The brutal and sacrilegious murder of the popular count provoked widespread public outrage, and he was almost immediately regarded popularly as a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

and

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Or ...

, although not formally

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their n ...

until 1882. The Erembalds, who had planned and carried out the murder of Charles, were besieged inside the castle of Bruges by the enraged nobles and commoners of Bruges and

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 i ...

. All the conspirators were defeated, captured, and tortured to death. King

Louis VI of France Louis VI (late 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat (french: link=no, le Gros) or the Fighter (french: link=no, le Batailleur), was King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137. Chronicles called him "King of Saint-Denis". Louis was the first member ...

, who had supported the uprising against the Erembalds, used his influence to select

William Clito William Clito (25 October 110228 July 1128) was a member of the House of Normandy who ruled the County of Flanders from 1127 until his death and unsuccessfully claimed the Duchy of Normandy. As the son of Robert Curthose, the eldest son of William ...

as the next count of Flanders.

Notes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * van Ryckeghem, Willy (2019). The Many Enemies of Charles the Good, PDF on academia.edu.org

External links

Blessed Charles the Good (Patron Saint Index)

Bl. Charles the Good (Catholic Online)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles 01, Count Of Flanders Danish beatified people Belgian beatified people Charles 1 House of Estridsen French beatified people 1083 births 1127 deaths People from Odense 12th-century Roman Catholic martyrs 12th-century venerated Christians Roman Catholic royal saints Christians of the First Crusade 12th-century people from the county of Flanders Beatifications by Pope Leo XIII Sons of kings