[March 30] Arnulf II, count of Fanders

Coat of Arms of the House of Flanders

Parents: Baldwin III, count of Flanders, and Mathilde of Saxony

Date of Birth: circa 960

House: Flanders

Predecessor: Arnulf I

Spouse: Rozala, daughter of Berengar II, king of Italy, and Willa of Tuscany

Reign: 965 – 987

Summary: Arnulf II was the ruler of Flanders during the years of its rise to greatness. His father was Baldwin III, a co-count of Flanders under his own father Arnulf I, the founder of the county. Baldwin predeceased his father and, when Arnulf I died in 965, Arnulf II was only an infant still when he became count. A regency was established under the leadership of Baldwin Balso, a relative of the house of Flanders. This regency lasted until 976.

At the age of sixteen, Arnulf II became the sovereign count of Flanders. In the early years of this county's history, it was common for the counts to call themselves margraves, or marcher lords. It implied that the counts served a purpose of protecting other realms, namely France, from outside threats, namely the Vikings of Denmark and Norway. Flanders was a small county in 976, with Arnulf III having given a portion of it away to King Lothar of France to ensure a safe succession of his grandson. The county of Boulogne was partitioned off to a cousin in 964, a year before Arnulf would have inherited the little appendage county. Little else is known about Arnulf's reign. It appears to have been relatively uneventful and the succession passed cleanly to his son, Baldwin IV, in 987.

Date of Death: 30 March 987

Successor: Baldwin IV

Other Monarchs Who Died Today:

• Jin Aidi, emperor of China (365)
• Ludwig I, grand duke of Baden (1830)
• Jigme Wangchuck, king of Bhutan (1952)