FLANDRE Elstrude

Abt 0932 - Abt 1036  (104 years)

• Name	FLANDRE Elstrude
  Birth	Abt 0932	Flandres
  Gender	Female
  Death	Abt 29 Sep 1036	Ghent, East Flanders, Belgium
  Notes	Biography According to the Historia Comitum Ghisnensium (History of the Counts of Guines) by Lambert of Ardres, Siegfried 'the Dane' (Sifridus de Dachia), a viking, controlled the area around Guînes in 928, though he never seemed to have been designated as Count. In about 965 he fell in love with Elftrude (Elstrude) the beautiful daughter of Arnulf (Arnoul) I, Count of Flanders, and she fell pregnant. Siegfried died in 965 and she had a posthumous son, baptised as Ardolf (Ardolph), who became the first Count of Guînes.[1] This has been accepted by a number of researchers, such as Rösch[2], and is found throughout Internet genealogies, see for instance Darryl Lundy's website,[3] but Baldwin points out that Lambert was writing over 200 years after these events and is not very reliable on other aspects of the history of the Counts of Flanders. Nor are the events confirmed by any other independent sources.[4] The almost 40 year gap between when Siegfried first is mentioned as rule of Guînes and when he impregnates Elftrude also seems to be unusual suggesting that parts of the story are incorrect. Together these issues cast doubt on the existence of Elftrude and Siegfried. Sources ↑ Lambert of Ardres (Lamberti Ardensis). Historia Comitum Ghisnensium. Edited by I. Heller. Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptorum, vol. 24, pp. 550-642. Hannover, 1879. p. 568. Accessed April 16, 2016. http://www.dmgh.de. ↑ Rösch, Siegfried. Caroli Magni Progenies. Neustadt an Der Aisch: Verlag Degener, 1977. p. 171 ↑ Lundy, Darryl, 'Elstrude de Flandre' in website The Peerage: A genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe. http://www.thepeerage.com/p21200.htm#i211991 : accessed 5 March 2017. ↑ Baldwin, Stewart, and Todd Farmerie. "Arnulf (Arnoul) I "the Great" or "the Old" (Arnulfus Magnus, Arnulfus Vetulus)." The Henry Project: The Ancestors of King Henry II of England. November 25, 2007. Accessed June 2021. https://fasg.org/projects/henryproject/data/arnul000.htm.
  Person ID	I60060	Freeman-Smith
  Last Modified	27 Jan 2026

  
  

  Father	FLANDRE Arnoul,   b. 12 Dec 0889, Ghent, Flanders, Flemish Region, Belgium d. 27 Mar 0965, Gent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium (Age 75 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	VERMANDOIS Adelaide,   b. Abt 0917, Vermandois, France d. 10 Oct 0960, Brugge, Flanders (Age 43 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Family ID	F26105	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	DENMARK Siegfried,   b. Abt 0885, Denmark d. Guisnes, Picardie France
  Children	1. GUISNES Hawise,   b. Abt 0958, Guînes, Pas-de-Calais, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France d. 19 Jul 1000, Brionne, Eure, Haute-Normandie, France (Age 42 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F26666	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	27 Jan 2026