BAUDOUIN

. Name of nine counts of Flanders between the 9th and 13th centuries. Baudouin I (d. 879), known as “Iron Arm,” was already count of the small pagus Flandrensls, centered on Bruges, when he seduced Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald and widow of King Aethelwulf of Wessex. His son, Baudouin II (865-918, r. 879-918), was the true founder of the fortunes of his dynasty, consolidating its hold on the Courtrai, Aardenburg, and Cassel areas and initiating Flemish efforts to expand into areas of predominantly Romance settlement, Arras and the Vermandois. Baudouin III (d. 962), son of Count Arnulf I and grandson of Baudouin II, shared governance with his father but predeceased him.

Baudouin IV (977-1035, r. 988-1035), nicknamed “With the Handsome Beard,” was one of the most noteworthy Flemish counts. His domain was in the Germanic areas bordered roughly by Bruges, Ghent, Lille, and Saint-Omer, which were then Flemish. He concentrated his attentions on expanding eastward. He faced a rebellion in the Courtrai area in the 990s, and the problems between the French - and Germanic-speaking parts of his county plagued him. After the threat of the 990s had passed, Baudouin divided most of Germanic Flanders, but not the south, into large chatellenles. Baudouin IV fought the emperor Henry II in the early 11th century, but in 1011 Henry enfeoffed him with Valenciennes and the northern coastal parts of Flanders, which formally made the Flemish count a vassal of both France and the empire. In 1028, he faced a rebellion from his son, the future Baudouin V, who had married Adele, daughter of the French king Robert the Pious. In 1030, Baudouin fortified Audenarde, and by 1034 the Flemings had gained effective control of “imperial Flanders,” the southeastern lands between the Scheldt and the Dendre.

Baudouin V (r. 1035-67) generally continued his father’s policies. He lost several wars but was a superb diplomat who raised the prestige of Flanders to new heights and consolidated his internal administration. He founded several towns and acquired Aire-sur-la-Lys and Lille, becoming known as “Baudouin of Lille.” Much of the thrust of his policy was toward the southwest, as he built a Norman alliance and extended his own territories in that direction. In 1050, Richilde, widow of Count Herman of Hainaut, agreed to marry Baudouin’s minor son, whom the emperor invested in 1056 as Baudouin VI of Flanders and Baudouin I of Hainaut. When Henry I of France died in 1060, Baudouin V of Flanders, as the late king’s brother-in-law, became guardian of the eight-year-old King Philip 1. Baudouin VI (r. 1067-70) was an able man, but he died prematurely. Baudouin VII (r. 1111-19) was the son of Count Robert II. His reign was marred by war with his mother, Clemence. Baudouin’s chief adviser was his cousin Charles of Denmark, who succeeded him.

Baudouin VIII (r. 1191-94), who was also Baudouin V of Hainaut, succeeded his uncle, Philippe d’Alsace, as count of Flanders. Although Philip II of France recognized Baudouin ViII, his price of recognition was keeping extensive territories in southern Flanders. His son Baudouin IX (r. 1194-1206) ruled in Hainaut as Baudouin VI (11951206). He quickly recovered much of the territory lost to the French crown and made an English alliance. Baudouin departed on crusade in April 1202. He became ruler of the Latin kingdom of Constantinople in 1205 and governed Flanders through a regency council, but word reached Flanders in February 1206 of his death in captivity.

David M. Nicholas

[See also: FLANDERS]

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