Arnulf I (c. 893/899 – 27 March 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.
At the death of their father in 918, Arnulf became Count of Flanders while his brother Adeloft or Adelolf succeeded to the County of Boulogne. However, in 933 Adeloft died, and Arnulf took the countship of Boulogne for himself, but later conveyed it to his nephew, Arnulf II. Arnulf titled himself count by the Grace of God.
Arnulf I greatly expanded Flemish rule to the south, taking all or part of Artois, Ponthieu, Amiens, and Ostrevent. He exploited the conflicts between Charles the Simple and Robert I of France, and later those between Louis IV and his barons.
In his southern expansion Arnulf inevitably had conflict with the Normans, who were trying to secure their northern frontier. This led to the 942 murder of the Duke of Normandy, William Longsword, at the hands of Arnulf's men. The Viking threat was receding during the later years of Arnulf's life, and he turned his attentions to the reform of the Flemish government. Count Arnulf died 27 March 964, allegedly murdered by Heluin in revenge for 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 c. 934, died 990; she married Dirk II, Count of Holland.
Liutgard, born in 935, died in 962; married Wichmann IV, Count of Hamaland.
Egbert, died 953.
Baldwin III of Flanders (c. 940 – 962), married Mathilde of Saxony († 1008), daughter of Hermann Billung.
Elftrude; married Siegfried, Count of Guînes.
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Charles François Toustain, René Prosper Tassin, Jean Baptiste Baussonnet,
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