Arnulf II, Count of Flanders

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Arnulf II
Count of Flanders
Reign965 – 30 March 987
PredecessorArnulf I
Baldwin III
SuccessorBaldwin IV
Bornc. 961
Died(987-03-30)30 March 987
Ghent
Noble familyHouse of Flanders
Spouse(s)Rozala of Italy
IssueBaldwin IV, Count of Flanders
FatherBaldwin III of Flanders
MotherMathilde Billung of Saxony

Arnulf II (960 or 961 – 30 March 987) was Count of Flanders from 965 until his death.

Life[edit]

He was the son of Baldwin III of Flanders and Mathilde Billung of Saxony, daughter of Herman, Duke of Saxony.[1][2] His father Baldwin III died in 962, when Arnulf was just an infant, whilst Arnulf's grandfather, Arnulf I, was still alive.[2] When Arnulf I died three years later (965), the regency was held by his kinsman Baldwin Balso, who died in 973.[3]

By the time Arnulf attained his majority in 976, Flanders had lost some of the southern territory acquired by Arnulf I.[3] The latter had given some parts of Picardy to King Lothar of France to help assure his grandson's succession, and gave Boulogne as a fief to another relative.[3] Then early in Arnulf's minority Lothar had taken Ponthieu and given it to Hugh Capet, and the first counts of Guînes had established themselves.[3] Arnulf died on 30 March 987 at age 26.[4] Shortly after Arnulf's death his widow married King Robert II of France.[4]

Family[edit]

In 976, he married Rozala of Italy, daughter of Berengar II of Italy,[5] and had two children:

  • Baldwin IV (980–1035), who succeeded his father.[5] He married twice and fathered Baldwin V.
  • Mathilde, who died before 995.[2]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Nicholas 1992, p. 42.
  2. ^ a b c Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, Marburg, Germany, 1984), Tafel 5
  3. ^ a b c d Jean Dunbabin, France in the Making, 843–1180, Second Edition (Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 73
  4. ^ a b Frederick Lewis Weis, Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists, Who Came To America before 1700, Seventh Edition (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1993), Line 162-20
  5. ^ a b Nicholas 1992, p. 44.

References[edit]

  • Nicholas, David (1992). Medieval Flanders. Longman.

See also[edit]

Arnulf II, Count of Flanders
Born: 960 or 961 Died: 30 March 987
Preceded by Count of Flanders
965–987
with Baldwin Balso
Succeeded by