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 (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, 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 series of civil wars during t ...

Rule

Baldwin II was born around 865 to Margrave

Baldwin I of Flanders Baldwin I (probably 830s – 879), also known as Baldwin Iron Arm (; the epithet is first recorded in the 12th century), was the first margrave of Flanders, which evolved into the County of Flanders. Elopement with a princess At the time Baldwi ...

and

Judith The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...

, daughter of Emperor

.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 were 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 settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

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 geograp ...

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 (; ; 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 ...

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

, and

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

. 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 most 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. ...

s later formed castellanies which housed government, militia, and local courts. In 888, the Western

Frankish king The Franks, Germanic peoples that invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, were first led by individuals called dux, dukes and monarch, reguli. The earliest group of Franks that rose to prominence was the Salian Franks, Salian Mero ...

Charles the Fat Charles the Fat (839 – 13 January 888) was the emperor of the Carolingian Empire from 881 to 887. A member of the Carolingian dynasty, Charles was the youngest son of Louis the German and Hemma, and a great-grandson of Charlemagne. He was t ...

, 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 historiography, West Francia (Medieval Latin: ) or the Kingdom of the West Franks () constitutes the initial stage of the Kingdom of France and extends from the year 843, from the Treaty of Verdun, to 987, the beginning of the Capet ...

, Baldwin could have competed for the crown. Instead, Baldwin and others tried to convince the East Frankish king,

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 ...

, to take the West Frankish crown, but Arnulf declined. The Robertine

Odo, Count of Paris Odo (; c. 857 – 1 January 898) was King of West Francia from 888 to 898. He was the first king from the Robertian dynasty, the parent house of the House of Capet. Before assuming the kingship, Odo was the Count of Paris, since 882. His reign ...

, 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 ( , ; ; Picard: ''Artoé;'' 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 include Arras (Dutch: ...

, 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 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 ...

of Wessex. The immediate goal of that Anglo-Flemish alliance was to help Baldwin control the lower

Canche The river Canche (; ) 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 in the sou ...

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 (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' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

of Archbishop Fulk of Reims in 900, Baldwin had the archbishop assassinated and was excommunicated by

Pope Benedict IV Pope Benedict IV (; – 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 and public generosity. ...

. 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 geologica ...

valley were opposed by

Herbert I, Count of Vermandois Herbert I (c. 848/850 – 907) or Heribertus I, Count of Vermandois, Count of Soissons, and lay abbot of Saint Quentin and Saint-Crépin. He was a Carolingian aristocrat who played a significant role in Francia. Herbert was the son of Pepi ...

, Baldwin had the count assassinated as well. Baldwin died on 10 September 918,Philip Grierson, 'The Relations between

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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, la ...

before the Norman Conquest', ''Transactions of the Royal Historical Society'', Vol. 23 (1941), p. 86 at Blandijnberg (near

) and was succeeded by his eldest son, Arnulf I of Flanders. His younger son, Adalulf, became the first

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 ...

Family

Baldwin II was married to Ælfthryth, daughter of

, and had children: * Arnulf I of Flanders (c. 893/99–964/65); married Adela of Vermandois * Adalulf,

(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 9th-century counts of Flanders 10th-century counts of Flanders Frankish warriors House of Flanders Counts of Boulogne People excommunicated by the Catholic Church