How did Baldwin I Iron-Arm become the first count of Flanders?

Baldwin I, known as Iron-Arm, became the first ruler of Flanders through a combination of a daring elopement and subsequent political reconciliation.1

In 862, Baldwin fell in love with Judith, the daughter of the Western Frankish king Charles II the Bald and the widow of two English kings. The couple married and fled to Lorraine, initially inciting the king's anger. However, Charles eventually reconciled with his son-in-law and, in 864, appointed him margrave of Flanders.1

At the time, the region was an inconspicuous district known as the pagus Flandrensis, which faced constant devastation from Norsemen. Baldwin was entrusted with this outlying borderland specifically to defend it. He held the territory as a hereditary fief, and his successors eventually exchanged the title of margrave for that of count in the early 10th century.12