Medieval France. An Encyclopedia

(Darren Dugan) #1

[See also: CONGÉ; JEHAN BODEL; PUY]
Ruelle, Pierre, ed. Les congés d’Arras (Jean Bodel, Baude Fastoul, Adam de la Halle). Paris:
Presses Universitaires de France and Brussels: Presses Universitaires de Bruxelles, 1965, pp.
107–26. [Based on MS G (B.N. fr. 25566).]
Guesnon, Adolphe. “Baude Fastoul et les congés.” In Mélanges Wilmotte 2. Paris: Champion,
1910, pp. 726–49.


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 Flandrensis, 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 châtellenies. 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 Adèle, 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


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