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Arnulf I (ca. 893/899 – March 27, 964), called the Great, was the first Count of Flanders.
Arnulf was the son of Margrave Baldwin II of Flanders and Ælfthryth of Wessex, daughter of Alfred the Great. Through his mother he was a descendant of the Anglo-Saxon kings of England and through his father a descendant of Charlemagne.
After their father's death in 918, Arnulf became Count of Flanders, while his brother Adeloft or Adelolf took control of the County of Boulogne. However, Adeloft died in 933 and Arnulf took over the County of Boulogne, but later transferred it to his nephew Arnulf II. Arnulf called himself Count by the Grace of God.
Arnulf I significantly expanded Flemish rule southwards and conquered Artois, Ponthieu, Amiens and Ostrevent in whole or in part. He exploited the conflicts between Charles the Simple and Robert I of France and later between Louis IV and his barons.
As Arnulf expanded southward, he inevitably came into conflict with the Normans, who were trying to secure their northern border. This led to the assassination of the Duke of Normandy, William Longsword, by Arnulf's men in 942. The Viking threat diminished in the later years of Arnulf's life and he turned his attention to reforming the Flemish government. Count Arnulf died on March 27, 964, supposedly murdered by Heluin to avenge the murder of William Longsword. He was buried in the church of Saint-Pierre de Gand in Ghent.
In 934 he married Adele of Vermandois, daughter of Herbert II of Vermandois. Their children were:
Hildegarde, born around 934, died in 990; She married Dirk II, Count of Holland.
Liutgard, born 935, died 962; married Wichmann IV, Count of Hamaland.
Egbert, died in 953.
Baldwin III of Flanders (approx. 940 – 962), married Mathilde of Saxony († 1008), daughter of Hermann Billung.
Eleventrude; married Siegfried, Count of Guînes.
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Charles François Toustain, René Prosper Tassin, Jean Baptiste Baussonnet,
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