Baldwin I, Margrave of Flanders

Baldwin I (probably 830s – 879), also known as Baldwin Iron Arm (Dutch: 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.

Elopement with a princess

The ancestry and eary life of Baldwin are unknown, he rose to prominence when in 861 he eloped with Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, king of West Francia. Judith had previously been married to Æthelwulf and Æthelbald, kings of Wessex, but after the latter's death in 860, she returned to France. Around the Christmas of 861, at the instigation of Baldwin and with her brother Louis's consent, Judith escaped the custody into which she had been placed in the city of Senlis, Oise after her return from England. Charles had given no permission for a marriage and had his bishop Hincmar excommunicate the couple. Baldwin and Judith found temporarely refuge at the court of Lothair II, but when Charles threatened Lothair, Baldwin and Judith travelled to Rome to plead their case with Pope Nicholas I.

By 23 November 862, their plea was successful in that they had won the support of Pope Nicholas. In June 863 Rodoald, Bishop of Porto in Italy and John, Bishop of Cervia were sent by Pope Nicholas to pressure King Charles into consenting to Judith and Baldwin's marriage. Charles reconciled with his daughter in October 863 at Verberie. In December 863 Baldwin and Judith got married in the cathedral in Auxerre, in the presence of Charles the Bald. After the marriage, Charles ordered Hincmar to lift the excommunication. Hincmar recorded the story of Baldwain and Judith in his Annales Bertiniani, where he vehemently opposed their marriage.

Career

King Charles sent Baldwin to the northern regions of his kingdom, where Vikings were making repeated incursions. The Annales Bertiniani mention how the Vikings were driven away in 864 from the Scheldt estuary and instead sailed furher North to the Rhine. He was oppointed Margrave of Flanders. By 870, Baldwin was appointed lay abbot of Saint Peter's Abbey in Ghent and is assumed to have also acquired the county of Waasland, or parts thereof by this time.

Baldwin developed himself as a very faithful and stout supporter of Charles and played an important role in the continuing wars against the Vikings. He is named in 877 as one of those willing to support the emperor's son, Louis the Stammerer. During his life, Baldwin expanded his territory into one of the major principalities of Western Francia. He died in 879 and was buried in the Abbey of St-Bertin, near Saint-Omer.

Issue

Baldwin I and Judith had:

• Charles, who was named after his maternal grandfather but died at a young age
• Baldwin II (c. 866 – 918), who succeeded as margrave of Flanders
• Ralph (c. 869 – 896), who became count of Cambrai around 888; he and his brother attacked Vermandois and captured Arras, Saint-Quentin and Peronne. But in 896 Herbert I of Vermandois with the support of the royal army, recaptured these town and Ramph was killed during battle.

Before his marriage to Judith, Baldwin must have had other relationships, a daughter of Baldwin is recorded as nun in the monastery of Laon in 875.

Sources

• De Donder, Vic (2007). In de naam van Vlaanderen. Een historie (8ste - 21ste eeuw) [In Flanders' name. A history (8th-21st century)] (in Dutch). Leuven: Davidsfonds. ISBN 9789058264985.
• De Maesschalck, Edward (2019). De Graven van Vlaanderen (861-1384) [The Counts of Flanders (861-1384)] (in Dutch) (2nd ed.). DavidsFonds / Standaard uitgeverij. ISBN 9789002268458.
• Duckett, Eleanor Shippley (1969). Carolingian Portraits, a Study in the Ninth Century. University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, Michigan. p. 222.
• Heidecker, Karl (2010). The Divorce of Lothar II: Christian Marriage and Political Power in the Carolingian World. Translated by Guest, Tanis M. Cornell University Press.
• Nicholas, David M (2013). Medieval Flanders. Routledge.
• Ugé, Karine (2005). Creating the Monastic Past in Medieval Flanders. York Medieval Press.

External links

• Glay, Edward Le (1886). . Desclée.