Fulk V 281First CRUSADEas a chaplain to BALDWINI of Boulogne.
He accompanied Baldwin to EDESSAand later in 1100 to
JERUSALEM, when Baldwin was crowned king of
Jerusalem. Along with a position in the royal court,
Fulcher became a canon of the HOLY SEPULCHER.He
retired there after Baldwin’s death and wrote a chronicle
of the First Crusade and the first decades of the LATIN
kingdom of Jerusalem. It was one of the kingdoms most
important and reliable sources. His work on the first 25
years of the kingdom of Jerusalem has remained vivid
and valuable, at moments an eyewitness account of
events. He died in Jerusalem about 1127 or 1128, about
when his Chronicleended.
Further reading:Fulcher of Chartres, A History of the
Expedition to Jerusalem, 1095–1127(Knoxville: University
of Tennessee Press, 1969); Dana C. Munro, “A Crusader,”
Speculum7 (1932): 321–335.
Fulda, Abbey of The Abbey of Fulda was a BENEDIC-
TINEabbey in Hesse, on the Fulda River, a tributary of the
Weser River. It was founded on March 12, 744, by a disci-
ple of Saint BONIFACE, to support the mission of SAXONY.
From 751, it obtained from the mayor of the palace, Car-
loman (d. 751), and from Pope Zacharias (r. 741–52) the
donation of the lands surrounding the abbey and exemp-
tion from episcopal jurisdiction, to which CHARLEMAGNE
was to add further immunities and privileges in 774.
Fulda’s rise was greatly fostered by the presence of the
RELICSof Saint Boniface, who had been killed in FRISIAin
- To promote the cult, on his return from exile at
Jumiéges, in 765 the abbot Sturmins enlarged the first
church around the saint’s burial place. In 791 he began the
construction of a new, more ambitious and innovative
abbey building. He entrusted the design to a monk and
architect named Ratgar, who took the Roman basilica of
Old Saint Peter’s as a model. The church was oriented to
the west with a semicircular apse at the west end opening
onto a transept about 240 feet long. This new and impres-
sive basilica was consecrated on November 1, 819, by the
bishop of Mainz. A new CLOISTERand a rotunda in imita-
tion of the HOLY SEPULCHERwere added. Fulda then
housed 600 monks. Its property grew through numerous
donations, despite heavy building costs. This property was
scattered from FRISIAto northern Italy. Fulda’s expansion
reached its greatest extent in the late 11th century, when
its territory became large enough even to be considered an
ecclesiastical principality in 1220.
From the 13th century the abbey began a long decline,
looted by its powerful neighbors, such as the landgrave of
Hesse. The spiritual and intellectual influence of the abbey
declined after the abbacy of HRABANUSMaurus between
822 and 842. He had been ALCUIN’s pupil, and his own
brilliant mind and teaching had attracted monks and
scholars from all over the Carolingian Empire such as
LUPUS SERVATUS OFFERRIÈRES,EINHARD, and WALAFRID
STRABO. All these elements had made Fulda one of the
great intellectual centers in the CAROLINGIANRENAISSANCE
and GERMANY. The abbey school also collected a remark-
able library and sponsored a renowned SCRIPTORIUM.
Further reading:The Annals of Fulda,trans. Timothy
Reuter (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1992);
Richard Krautheimer, “The Carolingian Revival of Early
Christian Art,” in Studies in Early Christian, Medieval, and
Renaissance Art(New York: New York University Press,
1969), 203–256; Sylvic Allemand, “Fulda,” EMA1.580.Fulk V (Fulk the Younger)(1092/95–1143)count of
Anjou, king of Jerusalem
Born about 1095, he was the son of Fulk IV (r.
1068–1109) and Bertrade of Montfort. He was taken by
his mother to the royal court, where she became a notori-
ous mistress of King Philip I (r. 1060–1108). Sent to
ANJOU by the duke of AQUITAINEin 1101, Fulk was
imprisoned for a few years before being released in
1108/09, when his father, Fulk IV (r. 1060–1109),
entrusted him with the government of Anjou. Fulk
improved the administration and defense of his county by
building fortresses and castles to impose peace and rule
over it. This soon led to the creation of his powerful state
in western FRANCE, among the best organized principali-
ties in western Europe. A main objective was to maintain
peaceful relations with NORMANDY, since he feared its
duke, King HENRYI of England. Uncharacteristically he
supported the claims of William Clito (1101–28), Henry’s
rebellious nephew, but after 1125 Fulk reversed his policy.DYNASTY AND JERUSALEM
The king of England became concerned with the succes-
sion to the English throne after the loss of his son in 1120.
He decided to remarry his childless daughter, Matilda
(1102–67), the widow of Emperor Henry V (r. 1105–25).
Fulk and Henry agreed to the marriage of Matilda to his
son, Geoffrey PLANTAGENET (1113–51). The agreement
said that the couple would immediately receive the county
of Anjou and be declared heirs of both England and Nor-
mandy. This established the basis of an Angevin, or Plan-
tagenet Empire. This was only realized by his grandson,
King HENRYII. After the death of his first wife, Fulk went
to the HOLYLANDon a pilgrimage, after abdicating his
crown in Anjou in 1128 to his son. He then decided to
spend the rest of his life near or in JERUSALEM.JERUSALEM
Fulk arrived in Jerusalem in 1129. Succession to the
Crown was in dispute. Baldwin II had no sons, and his
heiress was his daughter, Melisande (1110–61). He gave
her in marriage to newly arrived Fulk to prevent conflict
with the local barons. The marriage was made despite
their great difference in age. In 1131 Fulk was crowned
king of Jerusalem and began his reign by crushing a