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Abstract
In the wake of the Viking invasions, the centralized empire of Charlemagne was transformed into a patchwork of large principalities interspersed with regions of multiple lordship. Although the origins and governance of the principalities and the relationship between the princes and the French king has received much scholarly attention, the interactions between the princes and the counts of regions of fragmented lordship remains relatively unexplored. Recently, Dominique Barthelemy has argued that the princes exercised a sphere of influence over neighboring counts in their external affairs, reviving earlier interpretations of the extension of princely authority into regions of multiple lordship. This study tests the effectiveness of the hegemonic model through an analysis of the political affiliations and activities of the counts of Boulogne, who are standardly classed as lesser counts in a region of fragmented lordship, with the neighboring princes of Flanders and Normandy. The methodology draws upon prosopography, textual analysis, and to a lesser degree upon anthropological and sociological models of kinship and identity. In my estimation, the spheres of influence paradigm is significantly flawed. The counts of Boulogne, throughout the period of 879 to 1125, pursued their interests and choose their alliances freely, despite the successful expansion of the principalities of Flanders and Normandy. The counts of Boulogne were generally allied with the enemies of the Flemish counts and undertook ventures which were contrary to Flemish interests. Although the Norman dukes were more successful in creating alliances and feudal ties in Boulogne and Picardy, this "influence" did not prevent the Boulonnais and Picard counts from acting in ways inimical to Norman ducal interests. The counts of Boulogne were able to maintain their independence from their powerful neighbors primarily through the creation of alliances, which were often sealed through a marriage. Kinship provided the power to evade princely authority as well as conferring status through the transmission of an individual's nobility and saintliness to their blood relatives. A decline in the number of kinship ties and the increasing centralization of royal and princely authority led to the incorporation the counts of Boulogne into the Anglo-Norman polity between 1125 and 1159.
