Adelolf, Count of BoulogneHis name is variously spelled Adelulf, Adalulf, Adalolf, and, in French, Adalolphe; in Latin, Adalolphus. (died 933), was a younger brother of

Arnulf I, Count of Flanders Arnulf I (/899 – 27 March 964), 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. Through his mother he was a descendant of ...

and was granted the

County of Boulogne The County of Boulogne was a county within the Kingdom of France during the 9th to 15th centuries, centred on the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer. It was ruled by the counts of Flanders in the 10th century, but a separate Count of Boulogne, House of Boul ...

by his father. He was a son of Baldwin II, Count of Flanders, and of Ælfthryth, daughter of

Alfred the Great Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when Alfr ...

.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 5 He was probably named for his maternal great-grandfather, King Æthelwulf of Wessex. Baldwin II's extensive lands and many offices in what is now the north of modern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and the west of

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

were divided among his sons on his death in 918.Renée Nip, 'The Political Relations between England and Flanders (1066–1128)', ''Anglo-Norman Studies 21: Proceedings of the Battle Conference 1998'', ed. Christopher Harper-Bill (The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, UK, 1999), p. 150 The elder,

Arnulf Arnulf is a masculine German given name. It is composed of the Germanic elements ''arn'' "eagle" and ''ulf'' "wolf". The ''-ulf, -olf'' suffix was an extremely frequent element in Germanic onomastics and from an early time was perceived as a mere ...

, became

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 c ...

while Adelolf succeeded his father as

count of Saint-Pol The county of Saint-Pol (or ''Sint-Pols'') was a county around the French city of Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise (''Sint-Pols-aan-de-Ternas'') on the border of Artois and Picardy, formerly the county of Ternois. For a long time the county belonged to Fl ...

Count of Boulogne Count of Boulogne was a historical title in the Kingdom of France. The city of Boulogne-sur-Mer became the centre of the County of Boulogne during the ninth century. Little is known of the early counts, but the first holder of the title is rec ...

and of

Thérouanne Thérouanne (; ; Dutch ''Terwaan'') is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France west of Aire-sur-la-Lys and south of Saint-Omer, on the river Lys. Population History At the time of the Gauls, ''T ...

. He was also the

lay abbot Lay abbot (, ) is a name used to designate a layman on whom a king or someone in authority bestowed an abbey as a reward for services rendered; he had charge of the estate belonging to it, and was entitled to part of the income. The custom existed ...

of the Abbey of Saint Bertinus (Saint-Bertin) at

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; ; Picard: ''Saint-Onmé'') 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 Sa ...

.Régine Le Jan, 'Famille et Pouvoir dans le Monde Franc (VIIe–Xe Siècle)', ''Essai d'anthropologie sociale'' (Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 2003), In 926 Adelolf was sent as an ambassador to his maternal first cousin King

Æthelstan of England Æthelstan or Athelstan (; ; ; ; – 27 October 939) was List of monarchs of Wessex, King of the Anglo-Saxons from 924 to 927 and List of English monarchs, King of the English from 927 to his death in 939. He was the son of King Edward the ...

by Count

Hugh the Great Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. He was the most powerful magnate in France. Son of King Robert I of France, Hugh was Margrave of Neustria. He played an active role in bringing King Louis IV of France ...

, effective ruler of northern France under Rudolph, Duke of Burgundy, who had been elected

king of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

in 923. Adelolf was to seek the English king's agreement to a marriage between Hugh and another of Æthelstan's sisters. Among the lavish gifts sent to Æthelstan, an avid collector of relics, were said to be the sword of the Roman Emperor

Constantine the Great Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

and the

Holy Lance The Holy Lance, also known as the Spear of Longinus (named after Longinus, Saint Longinus), the Spear of Destiny, or the Holy Spear, is alleged to be the lance that pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross during his Crucifixion of Jes ...

. The embassy was a success and Hugh was married to Æthelstan's half-sister Eadhild. In 933, Æthelstan's half-brother

Edwin The name Edwin means "wealth-friend". It comes from (wealth, good fortune) and (friend). Thus the Old English form is Ēadwine, a name widely attested in early medieval England. Edwina is the feminine form of the name. Notable people and char ...

was drowned and his body cast ashore. Adelolf received the body of his kinsman with honour and took it to the

Abbey of Saint Bertin The Abbey of Saint Bertin was a Benedictine monastic abbey in Saint-Omer, France. The buildings are now in ruins, which are open to the public. It was initially dedicated to but was rededicated to its second abbot, . The abbey is known for its ...

for burial. Adelolf was the father of

Arnulf II, Count of Boulogne Arnulf II of Boulogne (died 972) was Count of Boulogne from 964 to 972. He was the son of Count Adelolf of Boulogne. He succeeded as count in 964 after the death of his uncle Arnulf I, who was also Count of Flanders, and held it until his own de ...

( † 971), and of an illegitimate son named Baldwin (died 973) who was guardian of

Arnulf II, Count of Flanders Arnulf II (960/1 – 30 March 987) was Count of Flanders from 965 until his death. Life He was the son of Baldwin III of Flanders and Matilda of Saxony, countess of Flanders, daughter of Hermann Billung, Herman, Duke of Saxony.Detlev Schwennicke ...

. Adelolf died November 13, 933.Lambert of Ardres, ''The History of the Counts of Guines and the Lords of Ardres'', trans. Leah Shopkow (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007), p. 26 He was buried at Saint-Bertin.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adelolf, Count Of Boulogne Year of birth unknown 933 deaths 10th-century French nobility Counts of Boulogne House of Flanders French people of English descent Holy Lance