Who was Charles the Good?

Charles was born in Denmark, the only son of King Canute IV (Saint Canute) and Adela of Flanders. His father was assassinated in Odense Cathedral in 1086 and Adela fled back to Flanders. In 1092 Adela went to southern Italy to marry Roger Borsa (duke of Apulia), leaving Charles in Flanders.

In 1111 Charles' cousin Baldwin VII became count, and Charles was a close advisor to the new count (who was several years younger). Count Baldwin was wounded fighting for the king of France in September 1118, and he designated Charles as his successor before he died on the 17th of July 1119.

Charles was a great lover of peace, noted for his kindness and generosity towards the poor. He also took action to prevent grain from being hoarded and sold at excessively high prices. He also began proceedings to reduce the influential Erembald family (who was heavily engaged in this activity), to the status of serfs(lowest class of land workers). Fr. Bertulf FitzErembald the provost of the church of St. Donatian (the most important church in Bruges), masterminded a conspiracy to assassinate Charles and his advisors.

On March 2,1127 Charles knelt in prayer as knights (answering to the Erembald family) entered the church and hacked Charles to death using broadswords. The brutal and sacrilegious murder of the popular count provoked a massive public outrage. He was almost immediately regarded popularly as a martyr and saint, although not formally beatified until 1882.