| Arnulf III | |
|---|---|
| Count of Flanders | |
| Reign | 1070-1071 |
| Predecessor | Baldwin VI |
| Successor | Robert I |
| Regent | Richilde, Countess of Hainaut |
| Born | c. 1055 |
| Died | 1071 Battle of Cassel |
| House | House of Flanders |
| Father | Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders |
| Mother | Richilde, Countess of Mons and Hainaut |
Arnulf III (died 22 February 1071) was Count of Flanders from 1070 until his death at the Battle of Cassel in 1071.
Born c. 1055, Arnulf was the eldest son of Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders, and Richilde, Countess of Mons and Hainaut. [1] On his deathbed in 1070, Baldwin left Flanders to his elder son, Arnulf, and Hainaut to the younger son, Baldwin, with the provision that if either preceded the other in death, he would inherit the other's county as well. [2] Baldwin VI further entrusted his brother Robert with the safeguard of his son Arnulf, who was still a minor, to which Robert gave his oath of homage and solemn promise to protect his nephew. [2] Richilde was to be regent in Flanders until Arnulf came of age. [3]
After his father's death in 1070, his uncle Robert broke his oath and disputed the succession. [4] Richilde appealed to King Philip I of France, who summoned Robert to appear before him. [5] Robert refused and continued his aggression against Richilde and Arnulf, at which point Philip amassed an army which he brought to Flanders. [4] The French army was accompanied by Norman troops, probably sent by Arnulf's aunt Queen Matilda and led by William FitzOsborn. [3] Also allied to Arnulf III was Eustace II, Count of Boulogne who raised considerable support for the young count and his mother. [6] The two forces met at the Battle of Cassel on 22 February 1071. [3] In that engagement Robert's forces were ultimately victorious [lower-alpha 1] but Robert himself was captured and his forces in turn captured the Countess Richilde. [5] Both were freed in exchange and the battle continued to its conclusion. [5] Among the dead was Arnulf, killed by Gerbod the Fleming, 1st Earl of Chester, possibly by accident. [lower-alpha 2] [7] As a result of the battle Robert claimed the countship of Flanders. [5] The Countess Richilde and her son Baldwin returned to Hainaut but continued to instigate hostilities against Robert. [5] As he was a minor at his death and unmarried, Arnulf III had no issue. [1]
Arnulf I, called "the Great", was the first Count of Flanders.
Baldwin V was Count of Flanders from 1035 until his death. He secured the personal union between the counties of Flanders and Hainaut and maintained close links to the Anglo-Saxon monarchy, which was overthrown by his son-in-law, William the Conqueror, near the end of his life.
Baldwin VI, also known as Baldwin the Good, was Count of Hainaut from 1051 to 1070 and Count of Flanders from 1067 to 1070.
Robert I, known as Robert the Frisian, was count of Flanders from 1071 to his death in 1093. He was a son of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders and the younger brother of Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders. He usurped the countship after defeating his nephew Arnulf III and his allies, which included King Philip I of France, Count Eustace of Boulogne and the counts of Saint-Pol and Ardres at the Battle of Cassel. He subsequently made peace with Philip, who became his stepson-in-law, but remained hostile to his sister Matilda and her husband William the Conqueror, who was king of England and duke of Normandy.
William FitzOsbern, 1st Earl of Hereford, Lord of Breteuil, was a relative and close counsellor of William the Conqueror and one of the great magnates of early Norman England. FitzOsbern was created Earl of Hereford in 1067, one of the first peerage titles in the English peerage. He is one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. His chief residence was Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight, one of many castles he built in England.
The County of Hainaut, sometimes spelled Hainault, was a territorial lordship within the medieval Holy Roman Empire that straddled what is now the border of Belgium and France. Its most important towns included Mons, now in Belgium, and Valenciennes, now in France.
Baldwin II (1056–1098?) was count of Hainaut from 1071 to his death. He was an unsuccessful claimant to the County of Flanders. He disappeared in Anatolia during the First Crusade.
Baldwin IV was count of Hainaut from 1120 to his death.
Gundred or Gundreda was the Flemish-born wife of an early Norman baron, William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey. She and her husband established Lewes Priory in Sussex.
Dirk V was Count of Holland from 1061 to 1091.
Sibylla of Anjou was a countess consort of Flanders as the wife of Thierry, Count of Flanders. She served as the regent of Flanders during the absence of her spouse from 1147 to 1149.
Richilde, Countess of Mons and Hainaut, was a ruling countess of Hainaut from c. 1050 until 1076, in co-regency with her husband Baldwin VI of Flanders and then her son Baldwin II of Hainaut. She was also countess of Flanders by marriage to Baldwin VI between from 1067 to 1070. She ruled Flanders as regent during the minority of her son Arnulf III in 1070–1071.
Reginar V, was the eldest son of Reginar IV, Count of Mons and Hedwig of France. His maternal grandparents were Hugh Capet of France and Adelaide of Aquitaine.
Adela of France, known also as Adela the Holy or Adela of Messines;, was, by marriage, Duchess of Normandy, and Countess of Flanders (1035–1067).
The Count of Hainaut was the ruler of the county of Hainaut, a historical region in the Low Countries. In English-language historical sources, the title is often given the older spelling Hainault.
The Battle of Cassel was fought in February 1071 between Robert I of Flanders and his nephew, Arnulf III. The battle was a victory for Robert, and Arnulf was killed in the battle.
The House of Flanders, also called the Baldwins, was a medieval ruling family that was founded by Baldwin Iron Arm, son-in-law of Charles the Bald.
Gerbod the Fleming, of Oosterzele, 1st Earl of Chester, was a hereditary advocate of the Abbey of Saint Bertin at Saint-Omer, Flanders and Earl of Chester in 1070.
Albert III was the Count of Namur from 1063 until his death. He was the son of Count Albert II and Regelinde of Verdun.
Herman, Count of Mons and Hainaut, son of Reginar V, Count of Mons, and Mathilde of Verdun, daughter of Herman, Count of Verdun.
