History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 73
The Counts of Alost
Count Arnulf of Flanders made a pact with Emperor Otto I, persuading Otto to retire
from Ghent during the 10th century. The defence of Ghent became the responsibility
of Flanders.
A new comté called Alost was formed as a buffer between Flanders and the Lorraine
border. Alost was given to Arnulf’s nephew, Ralph (son of his brother Ethelwulf, who
had acquired his name from a Saxon mother – Elstrudis, King Alfred’s daughter).
Ralph died in 962.
Under the Flemish regime every man who ruled a comté had his device, unique to
himself and his land. The device passed with the inheritance to his heir at the moment
of succession.
The Counts of Alost bore sable, a chief argent. The black and silver tones, which
these words denote, came to be understood as the colours marking the region around
Ghent.
Ralph’s son, Baldwin succeeded him as Count of Alost. Baldwin was a vassal of the
Emperor, a duty that would continue for several generations. It was not an unusual
arrangement; many Flemish counts held more than one allegiance.
The Lords of Alost were among the first six peers created when the peerage of
Flanders was formed in the middle of the 11th century. They had a known descent by
at least three lines from Charlemagne and were regarded as the noblest of the
nobilitas.
The comté was held by Ralph, Lord of Alost, between 1031 AD and 1052 AD. Ralph
married Gisela, daughter of the Count of Luxembourg (whose sister Ogive was
married to Count Baldwin IV of Flanders). Ralph’s children were first cousins to
William the Conqueror’s wife, Matilda of Flanders.
Ralph and Gisela are known to have had at least four sons and several daughters.
The known sons were:
Baldwin I, the heir to Alost
Ralph II, who became Chamberlain to the Count of Flanders
Gilbert, who accompanied William the Conqueror to England and received land in
14 counties as his Domesday reward, and
Ragenfridus.
Baldwin I of Alost was likely to have accompanied William the Conqueror to England
in 1066 AD. He would have brought a substantial army of his own men, and men of
Brabant. Baldwin I died in 1082 AD, too early for Domesday rewards.
Baldwin II of Alost (sometimes called the Fat”) was killed in Nicaea in 1097 AD while
following his leader and kinsman, Godfrey de Bouillon, on the First Crusade. Albert of
Aix noted that Baldwin was “carried away by his ardour and the wish to reach the
walls, had his head pierced by an arrow and died in combat” during the assault on
Nicaea.
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