Biography of Adela Flanders Queen Consort Denmark 1064-1115

Paternal Family Tree: Flanders

Maternal Family Tree: Eilika Schweinfurt Duchess Saxony

Around 1050 Floris Gerulfing I Count Holland (age 24) and [her mother] Gertrude Billung Countess Holland (age 20) were married. She by marriage Countess Holland. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Bernard II Duke of Saxony (age 55) and [her grandmother] Eilika Schweinfurt Duchess Saxony. He the son of Dirk Gerulfing III Count Holland and Othelindis d Bernard Margrave Nordmark Count Holland.

In 1064 Adela Flanders Queen Consort Denmark was born to [her father] Robert "The Frisian" I Count Flanders (age 31) and [her mother] Gertrude Billung Countess Holland (age 34).

Before 1065 [her father] Robert "The Frisian" I Count Flanders (age 31) and [her mother] Gertrude Billung Countess Holland (age 34) were married. She the daughter of [her grandfather] Bernard II Duke of Saxony and [her grandmother] Eilika Schweinfurt Duchess Saxony. He the son of [her grandfather] Baldwin "The Good" V Count Flanders (age 52) and [her grandmother] Adela Capet Duchess Normandy (age 55). They were second cousin twice removed.

Battle of Cassel

                    On 20th February 1071 Battle of Cassel was fought between uncle [her father] Robert "The Frisian" I Count Flanders (age 38) and nephew Arnulf III Count Flanders (age 16), supported by his mother Richilde Countess Flanders and Hainault and [her future brother-in-law] Philip I King of the Franks (age 18), over the succession of Flanders.
                
                    Arnulf III Count Flanders was killed. His brother Baldwin (age 15) succeeded II Count Hainault. Robert "The Frisian" I Count Flanders was appointed I Count Flanders.
                
                    William Fitzosbern 1st Earl Hereford (age 51) was killed. His son Roger succeeded 2nd Earl Hereford.
                
                    Eustace II Count Boulogne (age 56) and his son Eustace Flanders III Count Boulogne fought for Robert. During the battle Robert "The Frisian" I Count Flanders and Richilde Countess Flanders and Hainault were captured, and subsequently exchanged for each other.

In 1072 [her brother-in-law] Philip I King of the Franks (age 19) and [her half-sister] Bertha Gerulfing Queen Consort France (age 17) were married. She by marriage Queen Consort of France. She the daughter of Floris Gerulfing I Count Holland and [her mother] Gertrude Billung Countess Holland (age 42). He the son of Henry I King of the Franks and Anne of Kiev Queen Consort Francia (age 42). They were half fourth cousin twice removed.

In 1080 King Canute "The Holy" IV of Denmark (age 38) and Adela Flanders Queen Consort Denmark (age 16) were married. She by marriage Queen Consort Denmark. The difference in their ages was 22 years. She the daughter of Robert "The Frisian" I Count Flanders (age 47) and Gertrude Billung Countess Holland (age 50). He the son of King Sweyn II of Denmark.

On 17th April 1080 [her illegitimate brother-in-law] King Harald III of Denmark (age 40) died. [her husband] King Canute "The Holy" IV of Denmark (age 38) was appointed IV King of Denmark.

In 1084 [her son] Charles I Count Flanders was born to [her husband] King Canute "The Holy" IV of Denmark (age 42) and Adela Flanders Queen Consort Denmark (age 20). He married 1118 his fifth cousin once removed Marguerite Clermont Countess Flanders, daughter of Renaud II Count of Clermont-en-Beauvaisis and Adelaide I Countess Vermandois.

1085 Domesday Book

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. 1085. In this year men reported, and of a truth asserted, that [her husband] Cnute, King of Denmark (age 43), son of King Sweyne, was coming hitherward, and was resolved to win this land, with the assistance of [her father] Robert, Earl of Flanders (age 52);¹⁰⁶ for Cnute had Robert's daughter (age 21). When William, King of England (age 57), who was then resident in Normandy [Map] (for he had both England and Normandy), understood this, he went into England with so large an army of horse and foot, from France and Brittany, as never before sought this land; so that men wondered how this land could feed all that force. But the king left the army to shift for themselves through all this land amongst his subjects, who fed them, each according to his quota of land. Men suffered much distress this year; and the king caused the land to be laid waste about the sea coast; that, if his foes came up, they might not have anything on which they could very readily seize. But when the king understood of a truth that his foes were impeded, and could not further their expedition¹⁰⁷, then let he some of the army go to their own land; but some he held in this land over the winter. Then, at the midwinter, was the king in Glocester [Map] with his council, and held there his court five days. And afterwards the archbishop and clergy had a synod three days. There was Mauritius chosen Bishop of London, William of Norfolk, and Robert of Cheshire. These were all the king's clerks. After this had the king a large meeting, and very deep consultation with his council, about this land; how it was occupied, and by what sort of men. Then sent he his men over all England into each shire; commissioning them to find out "How many hundreds of hides were in the shire, what land the king himself had, and what stock upon the land; or, what dues he ought to have by the year from the shire." Also he commissioned them to record in writing, "How much land his archbishops had, and his diocesan bishops, and his abbots, and his earls;" and though I may be prolix and tedious, "What, or how much, each man had, who was an occupier of land in England, either in land or in stock, and how much money it were worth." So very narrowly, indeed, did he commission them to trace it out, that there was not one single hide, nor a yard¹⁰⁸ of land, nay, moreover (it is shameful to tell, though he thought it no shame to do it), not even an ox, nor a cow, nor a swine was there left, that was not set down in his writ. And all the recorded particulars were afterwards brought to him.¹⁰⁹

Note 106. and of Clave Kyrre, King of Norway. Vid. "Antiq. Celto-Scand".

Note 107. Because there was a mutiny in the Danish fleet; which was carried to such a height, that the king, after his return to Denmark, was slain by his own subjects. Vid. "Antiq. Celto-Scand", also our "Chronicle" A.D. 1087.

Note 108. i.e. a fourth part of an acre.

Note 109. At Winchester; where the king held his court at Easter in the following year; and the survey was accordingly deposited there; whence it was called "Rotulus Wintoniae", and "Liber Wintoniae".

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Chronicle of Geoffrey le Baker of Swinbroke

Baker was a secular clerk from Swinbroke, now Swinbrook, an Oxfordshire village two miles east of Burford. His Chronicle describes the events of the period 1303-1356: Gaveston, Bannockburn, Boroughbridge, the murder of King Edward II, the Scottish Wars, Sluys, Crécy, the Black Death, Winchelsea and Poitiers. To quote Herbert Bruce 'it possesses a vigorous and characteristic style, and its value for particular events between 1303 and 1356 has been recognised by its editor and by subsequent writers'. The book provides remarkable detail about the events it describes. Baker's text has been augmented with hundreds of notes, including extracts from other contemporary chronicles, such as the Annales Londonienses, Annales Paulini, Murimuth, Lanercost, Avesbury, Guisborough and Froissart to enrich the reader's understanding. The translation takes as its source the 'Chronicon Galfridi le Baker de Swynebroke' published in 1889, edited by Edward Maunde Thompson.

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On 10th July 1086 [her husband] King Canute "The Holy" IV of Denmark (age 44) was killed at St Alban's Priory Odense.

In 1090 [her brother-in-law] Henry Reginar III Count Louvain and [her sister] Gertrude Flanders Duchess Lorraine (age 10) were married. She by marriage Countess Louvain. She the daughter of [her father] Robert "The Frisian" I Count Flanders (age 57) and [her mother] Gertrude Billung Countess Holland (age 60). He the son of Henry Reginar II Count Louvain and Adela Thuringa Countess Louvain. They were half fourth cousins.

On 17th June 1091 [her half-brother] Dirk Gerulfing V Count Holland (age 39) died. His son [her nephew] Floris (age 6) succeeded II Count Holland.

In 1092 Roger Borsa (age 31) and Adela Flanders Queen Consort Denmark (age 28) were married. She the daughter of Robert "The Frisian" I Count Flanders (age 59) and Gertrude Billung Countess Holland (age 62).

On 15th May 1092 [her brother-in-law] Philip I King of the Franks (age 39) and Bertrade Montfort Queen Consort France (age 22) were married. She by marriage Queen Consort of France. They were married despite their both having living spouses: [her half-sister] Bertha Gerulfing Queen Consort France (age 37) and Fulk "Réchin" Anjou 4th Count Anjou (age 49) respectively. He the son of Henry I King of the Franks and Anne of Kiev Queen Consort Francia. They were fourth cousin once removed.

In 1093 [her brother] Robert II Count Flanders (age 28) succeeded II Count Flanders. Clementia Ivrea Countess Louvain and Flanders (age 15) by marriage Countess Flanders.

On 13th October 1093 [her father] Robert "The Frisian" I Count Flanders (age 60) died.

In 1094 [her half-sister] Bertha Gerulfing Queen Consort France (age 39) died.

Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes

Récits d’un bourgeois de Valenciennes aka The Chronicle of a Bourgeois of Valenciennes is a vivid 14th-century vernacular chronicle written by an anonymous urban chronicler from Valenciennes in the County of Hainaut. It survives in a manuscript that describes local and regional history from about 1253 to 1366, blending chronology, narrative episodes, and eyewitness-style accounts of political, military, and social events in medieval France, Flanders, and the Low Countries. The work begins with a chronological framework of events affecting Valenciennes and its region under rulers such as King Philip VI of France and the shifting allegiances of local nobility. It includes accounts of conflicts, sieges, diplomatic manoeuvres, and the impact of broader struggles like the Hundred Years’ War on urban life in Hainaut. Written from the perspective of a burgher (bourgeois) rather than a monastery or royal court, the chronicle offers a rare lay viewpoint on high politics and warfare, reflecting how merchants, townspeople, and civic institutions experienced the turbulence of the 13th and 14th centuries. Its narrative style combines straightforward reporting of events with moral and civic observations, making it a valuable source for readers interested in medieval urban society, regional politics, and the lived experience of war and governance in pre-modern Europe.

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In 1106 [her brother-in-law] Theodoric "Valiant" Metz II Duke Lorraine (age 51) and [her sister] Gertrude Flanders Duchess Lorraine (age 26) were married. She by marriage Duchess Lorraine. The difference in their ages was 25 years. She the daughter of [her father] Robert "The Frisian" I Count Flanders and [her mother] Gertrude Billung Countess Holland (age 76). He the son of Gerard Metz I Duke Lorraine and Hedwige Namur Duchess Lorraine. They were third cousin once removed.