Baldwin
II "the Bald" (Baudouin "le Chauve", Balduinus
Calvus) Baldwin
II "the Bald" (Baudouin "le Chauve", Balduinus
Calvus)Called both comes and marchio by Folcwine [Gesta abbatum S. Bertini Sithiensium, c. 98, MGH SS 13: 624 (writing in the middle of the tenth century)], Baldwin II is presumed to have succeeded his father Baldwin I at the latter's death in 879 [Ann. Vedast. 43-4]. The early years of Baldwin II were marked by major Viking incursions, and their army wintered at Gand (Ghent) in 881 [Ann. Vedast. 51]. Baldwin first appears in the contemporary records in 888, when, along with archbishop Foulques (of Reims) and abbot Raoul (of Cysoing, Saint-Bertin, and Saint-Vaast), he was among those who asked king Arnulf of Germany to come and take the kingship of the western Frankish kingdom [Ann. Vedast. 65], but he submitted to Eudes in the same year [Ann. Vedast. 66]. When Raoul died on 5 January 892 [Ann. Vedast. 70; Folcwine, c. 97, MGH SS 13: 623], Baldwin sent messengers to king Eudes, demanding the abbacies of his cousin (consobrinus) Raoul (son of Eberhard of Friuli and Gisèle, daughter of emperor Louis the Pious) for himself ["..., Balduinus itaque comes legatos dirigit ad Odonem regem, mandans cum sua gratia velle tenere abbatias sui consobrini." Ann. Vedast, s.a. 892, p. 71; Folcwine, c. 98, MGH SS 13: 624]. Baldwin appears to have held Artois and the abbacy of Saint-Vaast until 899, when Arras was taken by Charles the Simple [Ann. Vedast. 81; Grierson (1938), 257-8]. In 900, archbishop Foulques was assassinated by a certain Winemar, at the order of Baldwin II [Ann. Vedast. 82; Folcwine, c. 98, MGH SS 13: 624; Ann. Bland. 16], after which Baldwin was recognized as lay abbot of Saint-Bertin by the king ["Baldwinus autem post haec abbatiam optinuit regia donatione." Folcwine, c. 98, MGH SS 13: 625]. Folcwine includes Boulogne and Ternois (along with the abbacy of Saint-Bertin) among the lands left by Baldwin II to his second son Adalolf [Folcwine, c. 103, MGH SS 13: 627], and Baldwin is called "princeps Morinorum" by Richer [i, 16, MGH SS 3: 574]. The time when Baldwin obtained Boulogne is not clearly set out in the sources. The year 896 has been often given by virtue of the fact that a certain Herkengerus appears to have lost his possessions in 896 as a result of the activities of Baldwin's brother Raoul (who was killed later in the same year) [Ann. Vedast. 77], and there are indications that Erkenger was a count of Boulogne ["Ex sancti enim Chiliani pontificis et martyris articulis manuum gaudmus habere nobiscum; quas reliquas Erkengerus comes et Arnoldus de Germania Bononiensem civitatem deportaverunt." Ex sermone de adventu SS. Wandregisili, Ansberti et Vulfranni, c. 14, MGH SS 15, part 2: 629; "Carolus rex regno Francorum occidentalium leges dictavit, quem postea Heribertus comes Viromanuorum dolo captum Peronae posuit in custodia. Quo adhuc imperium obtnente, Bononiensium comes fuit Erkengarius, genere et potentia non parum egregius, in cuius etiam ditione Rentica fuit predium, in quo beati Bertulfi corpus erat tumulatum.", Ex Vita Bertulfi Renticensis, c. 22, MGH SS 15, part 2: 635]. When Baldwin became count of Ternois depends on whether the abbacy of Saint-Bertin and the countship of Ternois were separate before 892. If, as Grierson argued, the offices were separate before Baldwin usurped the abbacy of Saint-Bertin, then the acquisition of the countship of Ternois might even extend back to the time of Baldwin I [Grierson (1938)]. It has been widely held that Baldwin was lay-abbot of Saint-Pierre de Gand, based on the annal for 892 in Annales Blandinienses ["Rodulfus obiit. Baldwinus successit." Ann. Bland. 15; see e.g., Ganshof (1937), 383], but Grierson pointed out that this annal was probably based on lost annals from Saint-Bertin (known to be one of the sources of Annales Blandinienses), and probably refers to the abbacy of Saint-Bertin. In another paper, he argued that the abbot of Saint-Pierre de Gand during this time was the later king Robert I [Grierson (1939)]. It is said that Baldwin's epithet of Calvus was not due to being bald, but to emphasize his descent from his maternal grandfather Charles the Bald (Karolus Calvus) ["Successit illi in comitatu Flandriae filius ejus Balduinus, qui se Calvum nominari fecit, non quia calvus actu fuerit, sed ut, nomen avi sui Karoli Calvi suscitans, nomen ac generis nobilitatem exalteret." Chronicon sancti Bavonis, s.a. 980, Corpus Chron. Fland., 1: 495]. Baldwin II was succeeded by his eldest son Arnulf I in Flanders, and by his younger son Adalolf in Boulogne, Ternois, and St. Bertin ["Markam vero eius filii eius inter se diviserunt; et Arnulfus, qui maior natu erat, Flandriam, Adalolfus vero civitatem Bononiam et regionem Taruennicam pariterque Sancti Bertini suscepit abbatiam.", Folcwine, c. 103, MGH SS 13: 627].
Date of Birth: Unknown, but probably not long after his
parents' marriage (or elopement), say ca. 864.
Place of Birth: Unknown.
Date of Death: 918, probably 10 September.
The year is given as 918 in Annales Blandinienses
and Annales Elmarenses ["Balduvinus comes
obiit, Blandinio sepelitur." Ann. Bland., s.a.
918, Grierson (1937), 16; similarly in Ann. Elmarenses
(ibid., 84); Ann. Elnonenses give 919 (ibid., 149)]. The
date is given variously as 2 January or 10 September. The date of
2 January appears in Baldwin's (noncontemporary) epitaph (see
below) and in the obituary of Saint-Pierre de Gand [Dhondt
(1940), 133, n. 4, where Dhondt gives these two dates as 3
January and 6 September, evidently careless calculations from the
Roman dating]. The nearly contemporary Folcwine gives 10
September ["... obiit anno Verbi incarnati 918, 4 Idus
Septembris." Folcwine, c. 103, MGH SS 13: 627]. The
donation of his widow Elftrude, which occurred the next day (see
below), suggests that Folcwine's date is correct.
Place of
Burial: Saint-Pierre de
Gand (St. Peters, Ghent)
Folcwine states that he was buried there because his wife desired
to be buried next to him, and women could not be buried at
Saint-Bertin [Folcwine, c. 103, MGH SS 13: 627]. His claimed
epitaph reads as follows: "Qui legis hec,
tu nosce, quod hic tumulatus habetur / Marchio Balduinus culmen
honestatis. / Regem traxit avum Karolum cognomine Calvum, / Omnia
magnificans moribus et meritis. / Effulsit quarto nonas cum sol
Ianuarii, / Exuit hunc dominus corporis exuviis." [MGH
Poetae Latini 5: 297].
Father:
Baldwin I, d. 879, count [presumably of Flanders].
Baldwin II was named as a brother of count Raoul, son of
Baldwin by the contemporary Regino "... qui Heribertus
Rodulfum comitem, filium Balduini interfecit nostris temporibus,
et non multum post occisus est a Balduino, satellite Balduini,
fratris Rodulfi, qui Balduinus hucusque in Flandris ducatum
tenet." Regino, s.a. 818 (in a retrospective annal
written ca. 906, describing the family of Bernard, son of Pepin
of Italy), MGH SS 1: 567]. See the page of Baldwin I.
Mother:
Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, d. 877, king of the West Franks, emperor.
Witger, writing 951×9, states that Baldwin II was the son of
Baldwin I and Judith ["Quam Iudith prudentissimam ac
spetiosam sibi Balduinus comes fortissimus in matrimonii
coniugium. Ex qua genuit filium, inponens ei nomen sibi
equivocum, videlicet Balduinum.", Witger, Genealogia
Arnulfi comitis, MGH SS 9: 303]
Spouse: Ælfthryth (Ælfþryð, Elftrude) of Wessex, said to have d. 7
June 929, daughter of Ælfred "the
Great", king of Wessex.
Æthelweard, in his prologue dedicating his chronicle to his
cousin Mathilde, gives the marriage, and names their four
children ["[Ælfred] Misit Ælfthrythe filiam suam ad
partes Germaniæ Baldwino in matrimonium, et genuit ab ea filios
duos Athulfum uiz. et Earnulfum, duas, duos filias quoque
Ealhswid et Earmentruth;..." Æthelweard, 2]. Folcwine
gives her name, but not her parentage ["... uxor
eius nomine Elftrudis, ..." Folcwine, c. 103, MGH SS
13: 627], but he later mentions that Edwin (d. 933, erroneously
called "rex"), brother of king Æthelstan, was
related to Adalolf, son of Baldwin and Ælfthryth [ibid., c. 107,
p. 629]. Witger does not give her name, but states that she was
the most noble descendant of kings beyond the sea, also naming
her two sons ["Qui Balduinus accepta uxore de
nobilissima progenie regum ultramarinorum, sumpsit ex ea duos
bonae indolis filios, quorum unam vocavit Arnulfum, fratrem vero
eius Adelulfum." Witger, Genealogia Arnulfi Comitis,
MGH SS 9: 303]. Annales Elnonenses err in
stating that Baldwin's wife "Helfeth" and Ogiva,
wife of Charles the Simple, were daughters of king Adelwardus
of the English ["Balduinus, nepos Caroli Calvi, et
Carolus, filius Ludowici, uxores duxerunt filias Adelwardi regis
Anglorum, Carolus Ogivam, Balduinus sororem eius Helfeth nomine."
Ann. Elnonenses, Grierson (1937), 149]. Later Flemish
sources generally err by calling her a daughter of king Edgar
[e.g., Genealogia comitum Flandriae Bertiniana, MGH SS
9: 305]. After her husband's death, on 11 September 918,
Elftrude, along with her sons Arnulf and Adalolf, donated lands
in England (Levesham, Greenwich, Woolwich) to the abbey of
Saint-Pierre de Gand ["... Egomet ipsa una cum filiis
meis Arnulfo et Adelolfo ... pro remedio anime senioris mei
Balduini et mee ipsius, filiorumque meorum, ...; S.ipsius
Elstrudis comitisse que hanc traditionem fecit, firmarique
petiit. S. Arnulfi et Adalulfi comitum, filiorum ipsius ..."
Cart. S.-Pierre de Gand, 1: 20-1 (#14)]
With regard to Ælfthryth's date of death, Annales Blandiniensis is the only source for the year ["Obiit Elftrudis comitissa", Ann. Bland., s.a. 929, 17], and her claimed epitaph at Saint-Pierre de Gand gives the day as 7 June ["Etgeri fueram prestantis filia regis / Elstrudis proprio nomine dicta meo. / Que dum presentis vigui spiramine lucis, / Balduini thalamis usa fui domini, / Septenis Iunii cum fulsit in idibus astrum, / Me pius ad superos evocat hinc dominus." MGH Poetae Latini 5: 298; "Alfredi" is given in place of "Etgeri" in Adrien de Budt, Chronicon Flandriae, Corpus Chron. Fland., 1: 271]. Neither of these sources is contemporary [see Dhondt (1940), 133-4].
Children: Æthelweard names all four children, and the two sons are also named by Witger and by Folcwine, among others (see above for the quotes from all three of these sources).
Arnulf I "the
Great", d. 27 March
964×5, count/marquis of Flanders, 918-964×5; m. 934, Adèle
(Attala), d.
960, daughter of Heribert II,
count of Vermandois.
["... ab Arnulfo, filio Balduini." Flodoard, Annales,
s.a. 931, MGH SS 3: 379]
Adalolf (Æthelwulf), d. 13 November
933, count of Boulogne and Ternois, abbot of St. Bertin, 918-933.
Adalolf (who was named after his
great-grandfather Æthelwulf, king of Wessex) succeeded his
father as count of Boulogne and Ternois and lay-abbot of
Saint-Bertin in 918. Dying on 13 November 933, he was
buried in the church at Saint-Bertin and was succeeded by his
brother Arnulf ["Igitur post haec Adalolfus comes et
abbas in hoc monasterio Sithiu egrotans, obiit anno nativitatis
Domini 933, Idus Novembris, sepultusque est in basilica Sancti
Bertini, in latere sinistro altaris sancti Martini capitanei. ...
Post cuius luctuosum obitum Arnulfus, frater eius, abbatiam cum
reliquo eius comitatu recepit." Folcwine, c. 105, MGH
SS 13: 627]. [Falsely callled a uterine brother of
Arnulf in De Arnulfo comite, MGH SS 9: 304]
Ealhswid.
Ermentrude.
See Commentary section for an alleged marriage of one of the daughters, and for supposed additional children.
Grandchild (nephew of Arnulf I):
Hildebrand, living 961, abbot of
Saint-Bertin and Saint-Vaast.
Folcwine, c. 108, refers to him as a nepos of
Arnulf I [MGH SS 13: 629], and then (later in the same passage)
refers to Arnulf as avunculus of Hildebrand [ibid.,
630]. It is unknown which of Arnulf's siblings was Hildebrand's
parent, although his two sisters would make much more likely
candidates than his brother.
Supposed illegitimate son (probably falsely attributed, existence uncertain):
Albert alias
Ascelin, d. 977, provost in Tronchiennes, 951-77.
The Chronicle of Tronchiennes states that a
certain Albertus, also called Ascelmus,
formerly bishop of Paris, was made provost of Tronchiennes in 951
on the death of provost Reynerus. Called an illegitimate
son of count Balduinus Calvus and brother of Arnulphus,
his death is placed by the same source in 977 ["Concessit
fato reverendissimus in Christo pater, dominus Reynerus,
praepositus, cui succesit Albertus, qui et Ascelmus dicebatur.
Hic Balduini comitis ex concubina erat filius, frater Arnulphi,
qui quondam Parisiorum exstitit episcopus, sed ab eisdem pulsus
in Flandriam rediit ad fratrum suum Arnulphum, qui ei omnes
redditus oppidi Trunchiniensis, simulque cum praepositurae illius
dignitate, dedit. Canonici tum erant omnino sexdecim, at hic
Albertus quauor ex iis adimens beneficia, eadem militibus male
distribuit." Chronicon Trunchiniense, s.a.
951, Corpus Chron. Fland., 1: 596;
"Obiit R. D. Albertus, Balduini Calvi Flandriae comitis
filius, XXV administrationis suae anno, qui Parisiorum quondam
fuerat episcopus, cujus in locum successit R. D. Walterus."
ibid., s.a. 977, p. 596]. The Chronicle of Saint-Bavon has a
shorter notice giving no parentage, which indicates that the Ascelmus
of the Chronicle of Tronchiennes was an error for Ascelinus
(a common error confusing minims) ["Reinerus,
praepositus Tronciniensis, obiit. Cui successit Albertus, qui et
Ascelinus, Parisiorum episcopus." Chronicon sancti
Bavonis, Corpus Chron. Fland.,
1: 521].
Vanderkindere accepts the account, and suggests that this Albert alias Ascelin appears to correspond to an Alberic appearing in the list of bishops of Paris between 941 and about 954 [Vanderkindere (1902), 1: 286-7]. [See also Brandenburg, 89 (with a suggestion that his existence is not certain); Werner, 460 (accepting his existence, but not as a bishop of Paris).] However, in addition to the lateness of the sources, there is the problem of likely contamination from the story of Ascelin/Albert, bishop of Paris, ca. 1016 - ca. 1018, said by the history of the bishops of Cambrai (an eleventh century source) to be an illegitimate son of a count Baldwin of Flanders [Gesta episcoporum Cameracensium i, 110, MGH SS 7: 448; see the page of Baldwin III]. Given that the later Ascelin/Albert is clearly historical, there is good reason to doubt the information about the present Albert/Ascelin.
These comments about Albert should be read in conjunction with the comments on the page of Baldwin III concerning the latter's alleged illegitimate son Ascelin alias Albert.
Falsely attributed
daughters:
Anselme lists the following three daughters for Baldwin II
[Anselme 2: 714]. Guinichilde is a variant of an erroneous
daughter who has also been falsely assigned to Baldwin I (and is discussed on his page).
Egilfred and Elstrude (for whom Anselme cites Oudegherst) may be
based on very corrupt misreadings of the names of the two genuine
daughters Ealhswid and Ermentrude.
Guinichilde, m. Wifred,
count of Barcelona.
Egilfred.
Elstrude.
As "Elfstrude", a
daughter of this name also appears in Tanner (2004), 292 (table),
which is evidently an error of a different sort, since Egilfred
does not appear in the table. (See below)
Falsely attributed nephew:
Hernequin, 9th century, count of
Boulogne (existence
unlikely)
[Latrie (1889), 1564, where he is stated to
be a nephew of Baudouin le Chauve, and is given a wife Berthe,
daughter of Helgaud I, count of Ponthieu, and a son and successor
Regnier; see Vanderkindere (1902), 411]
Additional claims recently given in
Tanner (2004):
Some supposed additions to the family tree of Baldwin II can be
found in Heather Tanner's recent book on the counts of Boulogne,
which quite naturally also contains much on the counts of
Flanders. The genealogical tables at the end of the book give
many relationship which do not seem to be documented by any clear
evidence, although the very inadequate index (which does not list
Elfstrude, Evrard, Hilduin, or Ricsinde, among many others) makes
the various claims difficult to check. In addition to the false
daughter "Elfstrude" mentioned above, Baldwin's
daughter Ermentrude is erroneously called "Ermengard"
throughout Tanner's book. The following claims made by Tanner
would require additional evidence.
Supposed daughter (no evidence supplied):
Ricsinde, m. Evrard,
advocate of Saint-Bertin. [Tanner (2004),
292 (table), qualified with a "dotted line", which
denotes illegitimacy on other tables]
Everhardus (evidently the same as
an Everhardus advocatus in the same passage) and Riksinda
are named by Folcwine as the parents of Adalolf (II), abbot of
Saint-Bertin [Folcwine, c. 126, MGH SS 13: 628]. This appears to
be an onomastic conjecture based on the name Adalolf, but it
seems likely that Folcwine would have mentioned a relationship if
there was one (as he did with abbot Hildebrand, as seen above).
Supposed marriage of one daughter (no evidence supplied):
NN, m. Hilduin, count
of Tournai. [Tanner (2004), 292 (table)]
Without supplying a reason, Tanner states
that "... it is probable that Hilduin married one of Baldwin
II's daughters Ealhswid or Ermengard (sic)."
[Tanner (2004), 56, n. 143] Since Hildouin is given a son named
Arnulf on the table on page 292 [presumably the "Arnulfus
filius Hilduuini" who appears in a charter of 5 March
981, Cart. S.-Pierre de Gand, 1: 51 (#54)], this appears to be an
onomastically based conjecture.
Supposed relative (no evidence supplied):
Waltger/Walcher, d. 892, count of Laon,
lay-abbot of Saint-Pierre de Gand and Saint-Bavo de Gand.
["Baldwin, supported by his relative
Waltger of Laon, ...", Tanner (2004), 53] This claim might
just be the result of a careless reading of Balduinus as
the antecedent of eius in the Annales Vedastini
under the year 892, where Walkerus is called eius
consobrinus, with rex being the correct antecedent
of eius ["Balduinus Atrebatis iter arripiens
per aliam viam antecessit regem venitque in Bruociam, atque ita
rex sine aliquo effectu rediit ad loca sua. Nam antea Walkerus
eius Consobrinus ..." Ann. Vedast., 72; The
chronicle of Regino, under the same year, shows that Waltgar was
a relative of king Eudes: "... Waltgarius comes, nepos
Odonis regis, filius scilicet avunculi eius Adalhelmi, ..."
Regino, Chronicon, s.a. 892, MGH SS 1: 604]. However,
this remark of Tanner's might instead come from some vague
references in the secondary literature that the counts of
Flanders and Laon were related [see the page of Baldwin I].
Æthelweard = A. Campbell ed., Chronicon Æthelweardi/The Chronicle of Æthelweard, (New York, 1962).
Ann. Bland. = Annales Blandinenses, Grierson (1937), 1-73.
Ann. Vedast. = B. de Simson, ed., Annales Xantenses et Annales Vedastini, MGH SRG 12 (1909): 40-82.
Anselme = Père Anselme, Histoire généalogique et chronologique de la maison royale de France, 9 vols. (Paris, 1726-33).
Cart. S.-Pierre de Gand = A. Van Lokeren, Chartes et documents de l'abbaye de Saint-Pierre au Mont Blandin à Gand, 2 vols. (Gand, 1868-71).
Corpus Chron. Fland. = J.-J. de Smet, Corpus Chronicorum Flandriae, 4 vols. (Brussels, 1837-1865).
Brandenburg (1964) = Erich Brandenburg, Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen (Frankfurt, 1964).
Dhondt (1940) = Jan Dhondt, "La donation d'Elstrude à Saint-Pierre de Gand", Bulletin de la commission royale d'histoire 18 (1940): 117-164.
Grierson (1937) = Philip Grierson, ed., Les Annales de Saint-Pierre de Gand et de Saint-Amand (Brussels, 1937). [Annales Blandinenses, Annales Elmarenses, Annales Formoselenses, Annales Elnonenses]
Grierson (1938) = Philip Grierson, "La maison d'Evrard de Frioul et les origines du comté de Flandre", Revue du Nord 24 (1938): 241-266.
Grierson (1939) = Philip Grierson, "The translation of the relics of St. Amalberga to St. Peter's of Ghent", Revue bénédictine 51 (1939): 292-313.
Latrie (1889) = L. de Mas Latrie, Trésor de Chronologie d'Histoire et de Geographie (Paris, 1889).
MGH SRG = Monumenta Germaniae Historica - Scriptores rerum Germanicarum in usum scholarum separatim editi
MGH SS = Monumenta Germaniae Historica, Scriptores series.
Oudegherst = Pierre d' Oudegherst, Les chroniques et annales de Flandres: contenantes les heroicques et tresvictorieux exploicts des forestiers, & comtes de Flandres, & les singularités & choses memorables advenuës audict flandres, depuis l'an de nostre seigneur Iesus Christi VIc. & XX (=620) jusques a l'an 1476 (Antwerp, 1571). [Not seen by me]
Tanner (2004) = Heather J. Tanner, Families, Friends and Allies - Boulogne and Politics in Northern France and England, c. 879-1160 (Leiden, Boston, 2004).
Vanderkindere (1898) = "Histoire de la formation territoriale des principautés belges au moyen âge", Compte rendu des séances de la commission royale d'histoire (Bulletin de la commission royale d'histoire) 5th ser., 8 (1898): 257-295, 397-554.
Vanderkindere (1902) = Léon Vanderkindere, La Formation Territoriale des Principautes Belge au Moyen Age (2 vols., 2nd ed., Brussels, 1902, reprinted 1981).
Werner (1967) = Karl Ferdinand Werner, "Die Nachkommen Karls des Großen bis um das Jahr 1000 (1.-8. Generation)", Karl der Große 4 (1967), 403-483.
Compiled by Stewart Baldwin
Originally uploaded 27 May 2002 (with thanks to Todd Farmerie, who provided information from sources not available to me)
Major revision uploaded 12 October 2006. (with thanks to Peter Stewart, for comments on the previous version)
Minor update 25 November 2007: added citation to Cart. S.-Pierre de Gand, with other minor corrections