HISTORIOGRAPHY IN THE MIDDLE AGES - Julian Emperor

240 LEAH SHOPKOWdaughter of Charles the Bald and the grandmother of Arnulf, andalso makes special reference to the monastery of Compiègne. Thispart of the genealogy is simply a list, which includes women (bothas wives and unnamed as concubines) as well as men, although afew personal characteristics are included (Louis d’Outremer is saidto be “elegant of form”). The second part, a genealogy of the Flemishcounts, is a considerably fuller as well as more sparsely peopledaccount, and it begins with Baldwin I’s marriage to Judith. The textquickly moves to the next generation, in which Baldwin II marriesan unnamed princess from “overseas” (the English princess Elftrude)and is buried at Saint-Bertin. The remaining part of the genealogyconcerns the deeds of Arnulf the Great. Most of the specifics of hisdeeds are generally omitted in favor of an outpouring of typical lateCarolingian panegyric. The specific deeds Witger mentions are hisdonations to the monastery of St. Mary at Compiègne: his donationto the tombs of Sts. Cornelius and Cyprian; his endowment of theclergy there; and his donation of a bell—all appropriate becauseCharles the Bald, his relation, founded this church. At the end comesArnulf ’s marriage, the birth and marriage of his son Baldwin, andprayers for the well-being of Baldwin and Arnulf, both of whomseem still to be alive at the time of writing.What is striking in this genealogy is how much of what mighthave been said has been omitted. The conquests of the Baldwinsand Arnulf himself are of no interest to Witger; there is no indicationof identification of these men with a particular patrimony ordomain. Nor does Witger long to catalogue the deeds of any of themembers of the family, apart from their religious deeds. In fact,Arnulf appears most forcefully here as the benefactor of the churchat Compiègne. The genealogy, particularly if one includes theCarolingian lineage that accompanies it, does, however, show signsof considerable research on Witger’s part.If we inquire after the social logic of the genealogy, we may, ratherthan seeing this as an expression of “noble self-consciousness”, seeit as a document that safeguards the interests of at least one of thetwo institutions named. Arnulf was known by his contemporaries as“the Rich”, but also as “the Old”. 109 He became count in 918 upon109Nicholas (1992), 41.