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39-453: The origins of the Gravensteen date to the reign of Arnulf I (890–965). The site, which sat between two branches of the river Lys , was first fortified around 1000, initially in wood and later in stone. This was soon transformed into a motte-and-bailey castle which was burnt down in around 1176. The current castle dates to 1180 and was built by Philip of Alsace (1143–1191) on the site of

78-617: A descendant of Charlemagne . Presumably Arnulf was named either after Saint Arnulf of Metz , a progenitor of the Carolingian dynasty, or King Arnulf of Carinthia , whom his father supported. 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

117-626: A dispute between the episcopal sees of Bremen , Hamburg , and Cologne over jurisdictional authority, which saw Bremen and Hamburg remain a combined see, independent of the see of Cologne . Arnulf was more a fighter than a negotiator. In 890, he was successfully battling Slavs in Pannonia. In early/mid-891, Vikings invaded Lotharingia and crushed an East Frankish army at Maastricht . Terms such as "Vikings", "Danes", "Northmen" and "Norwegians" have been used loosely and interchangeably to describe these invaders. In September 891, Arnulf repelled

156-455: A divided and war weary West Francia would be easy prey for the Vikings. In 895, Arnulf summoned both Charles and Odo to his residence at Worms . Charles's advisers convinced him not to go, and he sent a representative in his place. Odo, on the other hand, personally attended, together with a large retinue, bearing many gifts for Arnulf. Angered by the non-appearance of Charles, he welcomed Odo at

195-509: A fever incapacitated his troops. His march northward through the Alps was interrupted by Rudolph I of Burgundy , and it was only with great difficulty that Arnulf crossed the mountain range. In retaliation, Arnulf ordered Zwentibold to ravage Rudolph's kingdom. In the meantime, Lambert and his mother Ageltrude travelled to Rome to receive papal confirmation of his imperial succession, but when Pope Formosus, still desiring to crown Arnulf, refused, he

234-516: A kingdom for his son Zwentibold . In 889, Arnulf supported the claim of Louis the Blind to the kingdom of Provence , after receiving a personal appeal from Louis' mother, Ermengard , who came to see Arnulf at Forchheim in May 889. Recognising the superiority of Arnulf's position in 888, king Odo of France formally accepted the suzerainty of Arnulf. In 893, Arnulf switched his support from Odo to Charles

273-553: A sizeable moat , fed with water from the Lys. From 1180 until 1353, the Gravensteen was the residence of the Counts of Flanders . The decision to leave was taken by Louis of Male (1330–1384) who transferred the court to the nearby Hof ten Walle . The foot of a wolf was once nailed to the gate and provides the last known archaeozoological evidence for the wolf in Flanders. After ceasing to be

312-744: A stroke, forcing him to call off the campaign and return to Bavaria. Rumours of the time made Arnulf's condition to be a result of poisoning at the hand of Ageltrude. Arnulf retained power in Italy only as long as he was personally there. On his way north, he stopped at Pavia where he crowned his illegitimate son Ratold as sub-king of Italy, after which he left Ratold in Milan in an attempt to preserve his hold on Italy. That same year Pope Formosus died, leaving Lambert once again in power, and both he and Berengar proceeded to kill any officials who had been appointed by Arnulf, forcing Ratold to flee from Milan to Bavaria. For

351-527: A unified Moravian state. Arnulf had formal relations with the ruler of the Moravian Kingdom, Svatopluk , using them to learn the latter's military and political secrets. Later, these tactics were used to occupy the territory of the Greater Moravian state. Arnulf failed to conquer the whole of Great Moravia in wars of 892, 893, and 899. Yet Arnulf did achieve some successes, in particular in 895, when

390-497: Is quite possible that the two women are actually the same person, Liutswind, and that Carloman married Arnulf's mother, thus legitimizing his son. Arnulf was granted the rule over the Duchy of Carinthia , a Frankish vassal state and successor of the ancient Principality of Carantania by his father, after Carloman reconciled with his own father, King Louis the German , and was made king in

429-675: The Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls , where he received the homage of the Roman people, who swore "never to hand over the city to Lambert or his mother Ageltrude". Arnulf then proceeded to exile to Bavaria two leading senators, Constantine and Stephen, who had helped Ageltrude to seize Rome. Leaving one of his vassals, Farold, to hold Rome, two weeks later Arnulf marched on Spoleto , where Ageltrude had fled to join Lambert. However at this point, Arnulf had

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468-543: The Carpathian Basin , and with their help he imposed a measure of control over Moravia. In Italy Guy III of Spoleto and Berengar of Friuli fought over the Iron Crown of Lombardy. Berengar had been crowned king in 887, but Guy was then crowned in 889. While Pope Stephen V supported Guy, even crowning him Roman Emperor in 891, Arnulf threw his support behind Berengar. In 893, the new Pope Formosus , not trusting

507-830: The Duchy of Bavaria . Arnulf spent his childhood in Mosaburch or Mosapurc, which is widely believed to be Moosburg in Carinthia. Moosburg was a few miles away from one of the imperial residences, the Carolingian Kaiserpfalz at Karnburg , which had been the residence of the Carantanian princes. Arnulf kept his seat here, and from later events it may be inferred that the Carantanians, from an early time, treated him as their own duke. Later, after he had been crowned King of East Francia, Arnulf turned his old territory of Carinthia into

546-465: The Duchy of Bohemia broke away from Great Moravia and became his vassal state. An accord was reached between him and Duke of Bohemia Borivoj I . Bohemia was thus freed from the dangers of Frankish invasion. In 893 or 894 Great Moravia probably lost a part of its territory—present-day western Hungary —to him. As a reward, Wiching became Arnulf's chancellor in 892. In his attempts to conquer Moravia, in 899 Arnulf reached out to Magyars who had settled in

585-600: The March of Carinthia , a part of the Duchy of Bavaria . After Carloman was incapacitated by a stroke in 879, Louis the Younger inherited Bavaria, Charles the Fat was given the Kingdom of Italy , and Arnulf was confirmed in Carinthia by an agreement with Carloman. However, Bavaria was more or less ruled by Arnulf during the summer and autumn of 879 while his father arranged his succession. He

624-565: 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. When Dunstan , abbot of Glastonbury, fled into exile, Arnulf received him with honour and lodged him in

663-727: The Abbey of Mont Blandin , near Ghent . Count Arnulf died on 27 March 964, allegedly murdered by Heluin in revenge for the murder of William Longsword. He was buried in the Saint-Peter's Abbey in Ghent. The name of Arnulf's first wife is unknown but he had at least one daughter by her: In 934 he married Adele of Vermandois , daughter of Herbert II of Vermandois . Their children were: Arnulf made his eldest son and heir Baldwin III of Flanders co-ruler in 958, but Baldwin died untimely in 962, so Arnulf

702-588: The Diet of Worms in May 895 and again supported Odo's claim to the throne of West Francia. In the same assembly he crowned his illegitimate son Zwentibold as the king of Lotharingia. As early as 880, Arnulf had designs on Great Moravia and had the Frankish bishop Wiching of Nitra interfere with the missionary activities of the Eastern Orthodox priest Methodius , with the aim of preventing any potential for creating

741-461: The Fat, and put him at war with Svatopluk of Moravia . Pannonia was invaded, but Arnulf refused to give up the young Wilhelminers. Arnulf did not make peace with Svatopluk until late 885, by which time the Moravian ruler was loyal to the emperor. Some scholars see this war as destroying Arnulf's hopes of succeeding Charles the Fat. Arnulf took the leading role in the deposition of Charles the Fat. With

780-565: 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 . Arnulf also made Bruges the center of his administration, contributing to the rise of the town as a major trading hub. In his southern expansion Arnulf inevitably had conflict with

819-406: The Simple after being persuaded by Fulk, Archbishop of Reims , that it was in his best interests. Arnulf then took advantage of the following fighting between Odo and Charles in 894, harrying some territories of West Francia. At one point, Charles the Simple was forced to flee to Arnulf and ask for his protection. His intervention soon forced Pope Formosus to get involved, as he was worried that

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858-519: The Vikings and essentially ended their attacks on that front. The Annales Fuldenses report that there were so many dead Northmen that their bodies blocked the run of the river. After this victory, Arnulf built a castle on an island in the Dijle river. Arnulf took advantage of the problems in West Francia after the death of Charles the Fat to secure the territory of Lotharingia, which he converted into

897-405: The castle gates and lowering the portcullis , they captured the only guard on duty and locked him in a closet. After raising banners along the castle walls and pelting passing police officers with rotten fruit, they were eventually detained and removed from the castle, though a public outcry of support led to none of the students being prosecuted for their actions. Their campaign against the beer tax

936-510: The castle were bought up gradually by the City of Ghent which began a major restoration in a romanticising Gothic style between 1893 and 1907 under the architect Joseph de Waele. De Waele was inspired the approach of the French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and attempted to restore the castle to its imagined appearance in the 12th century. Many details added during this period, such as the flat roofs and

975-634: The city by force on 21 February, 896, freeing the pope. Arnulf was then greeted at the Ponte Milvio by the Roman Senate who escorted him into the Leonine City , where he was received by Pope Formosus on the steps of the Santi Apostoli . On 22 February 896, Formosus led the king into the church of St. Peter, anointed and crowned him as emperor, and saluted him as Augustus . Arnulf then proceeded to

1014-528: The duke personally led an army across the Alps , early in 894. In January 894, Bergamo fell, and Count Ambrose, Guy's representative in the city, was hanged from a tree by the city's gates. Conquering all of the territory north of the Po River , Arnulf forced the surrender of Milan and then drove Guy out of Pavia , where he was crowned King of Italy . Arnulf went no further before Guy died suddenly in late autumn, and

1053-710: The newly crowned co-emperors Guy and his son Lambert , sent an embassy to Omuntesberch , where Arnulf was meeting with Svatopluk, to request that Arnulf come and liberate Italy, where he would be crowned emperor in Rome. Arnulf met the Primores of the Kingdom of Italy, dismissed them with gifts and promised to assist the pope. Arnulf then sent Zwentibold with a Bavarian army to join Berengar. They defeated Guy but were bought off and left in autumn. When Pope Formosus again asked Arnulf to invade,

1092-516: The older fortification. It may have been inspired by crusader castles witnessed by Philip during the Second Crusade . As well as a protective citadel , the Gravensteen was intended to intimidate the burghers of Ghent who often challenged the counts' authority. It incorporates a large central donjon , a residence and various smaller buildings. These are surrounded by a fortified, oval-shaped enceinte lined with 24 small échauguettes . It also has

1131-455: The problems besetting his reign. Italy was lost, raiders from Moravia and Magyars were continually harassing his lands, and Lotharingia was in revolt against Zwentibold. He was also plagued by escalating violence and power struggles among the lower Frankish nobility. On December 8, 899, Arnulf died at Ratisbon , in present-day Bavaria . He is entombed in St. Emmeram's Basilica at Regensburg, which

1170-553: The residence of the counts of Flanders, the castle entered a decline. It was used as a court and prison until the 18th century. From 1353 to 1491, it was the site of Ghent's mint and private buildings were later constructed on or around the Medieval remains. During the Industrial Revolution , the Gravensteen was converted into a cotton mill by an industrialist who purchased the site. It was even scheduled for demolition. Parts of

1209-422: The rest of his life Arnulf exercised very little control in Italy, and his agents in Rome did not prevent the accession of Pope Stephen VI in 896. The pope initially gave his support to Arnulf but eventually became a supporter of Lambert. In addition to aftereffects from the stroke, Arnulf contracted morbus pediculosis (infestation of pubic lice on his eyelid), which prevented him from effectively dealing with

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1248-513: The support of the Frankish nobles, Arnulf called a Diet at Tribur and deposed Charles in November 887, under threat of military action. Charles peacefully agreed to this involuntary retirement, but not without first chastising his nephew for his treachery and asking for a few royal villas in Swabia on which to live out his final months, which Arnulf granted him. Arnulf, having distinguished himself in

1287-589: The war against the Slavs , was then elected king by the nobles of East Francia (only the eastern realm, though Charles had ruled the whole of the Frankish Empire ). West Francia , the Kingdom of Burgundy , and the Kingdom of Italy elected their own kings from the Carolingian family. Like many rulers of the period, Arnulf was heavily involved in ecclesiastical disputes. In 895, at the Diet of Tribur, he presided over

1326-543: The windows of the eastern outbuilding, are not thought to be historically accurate. The Gravensteen was the centrepiece of the Ghent World Fair of 1913 during which the city centre was significantly reshaped. It remains open to the public. "The Battle of Gravensteen Castle" took place on November 16, 1949 when 138 students from the University of Ghent occupied the castle over a new tax on beer. In addition to barricading

1365-554: Was also granted " Pannonia ," in the words of the Annales Fuldenses , or "Carantanum," in the words of Regino of Prüm . The division of the realm was confirmed in 880 after Carloman's death. When Engelschalk II of Pannonia in 882 rebelled against Margrave Aribo and ignited the Wilhelminer War , Arnulf supported him and accepted his and his brother's homage. This ruined Arnulf's relationship with his uncle, Emperor Charles

1404-625: Was imprisoned in Castel Sant'Angelo . In September 895, a new papal embassy arrived in Regensburg beseeching Arnulf's aid. In October, Arnulf undertook his second campaign into Italy. He crossed the Alps quickly and again took Pavia, but then he continued slowly, garnering support among the nobility of Tuscany . Maginulf, Count of Milan , and Walfred of Friuli joined him. Eventually even Adalbert II of Tuscany abandoned Lambert. Finding Rome locked against him and held by Ageltrude, Arnulf had to take

1443-435: Was succeeded by Baldwin's infant son, Arnulf II of Flanders . Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf of Carinthia ( c.  850 – 8 December 899) was the duke of Carinthia who overthrew his uncle Emperor Charles the Fat to become the Carolingian king of East Francia from 887, the disputed king of Italy from 894, and the disputed emperor from February 22, 896, until his death at Ratisbon , Bavaria . Arnulf

1482-597: Was the illegitimate son of Carloman of Bavaria and Liutswind, who may have been the sister of Ernst, Count of the Bavarian Nordgau Margraviate (now in the area of the Upper Palatinate ), or perhaps the burgrave of Passau , according to other sources. After Arnulf's birth, Carloman married before 861, a daughter of that same Count Ernst, who died after 8 August 879. As it is mainly West-Franconian historiography that speaks of Arnulf's illegitimacy, it

1521-572: Was unsuccessful. [REDACTED] [REDACTED] Arnulf I, Count of Flanders 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,

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