Fulk the Venerable (died 17 June 900) wasarchbishop of Reims from 883 until his death. He was a key figure in the political conflicts of theWest Frankish kingdom that followed the dissolution of theCarolingian Empire in the late ninth century.

Fulk was born into a powerful aristocratic family, and his brother wasAnscar I,Margrave of Ivrea. He became a palace cleric ofCharles the Bald, and by 877 had been made abbot of theabbey of Saint Bertin near Saint-Omer, France. He was consecrated archbishop of Reims in March 883, succeeding the long-servingHincmar. As bishop, he corresponded with rulers, bishops and popes about a range of political and religious matters. Much of what is known about Fulk's career comes from the historianFlodoard'sHistory of the Church of Reims, written in 948-52, which narrates his life and preserves summaries of some 76 letters, half of which were written to or sent bypopes.^[1] Fulk corresponded withAlfred the Great regarding the needs of the English church, and rebukedQueen Richilde for what he considered irregular behavior.^[2]

Upon the deposition of theCarolingian emperorCharles the Fat in 887, Fulk attempted to install his kinsmanGuy III,Duke of Spoleto, as king of West Francia, and even crowned him atLangres in 888. However,Odo, theRobertian count ofParis, was crowned by Walter,archbishop of Sens, and accepted by the nobles as king. Fulk, having had his favoured candidate passed over, continued to oppose Odo's rule, and as a possible alternative turned first toArnulf of Carinthia, who had succeeded Charles inEast Francia, also to no avail. Fulk eventually settled for backing the young CarolingianCharles the Simple, the son ofLouis the Stammerer who had been passed over in 888 on account of his youth. In 893, Fulk crowned Charles king in opposition to Odo, and following continued conflict among the kingdom's magnates, agreement was reached whereby Charles would succeed Odo, which happened in 898.^[3] The rivalries and factions that emerged in this period set the stage for frequent conflicts between the Carolingians, Robertians and other noble families in the coming decades. Upon Charles' accession, he made Fulk hischancellor.

Following a period of intensifiedViking raiding in the late ninth century, in 893 Fulk restored the schools of Reims, bringing in the renowned teachersRemigius of Auxerre andHucbald of Saint-Amand.^[4]

Political tensions continued to simmer, however, and in 900, Fulk was assassinated on the orders of CountBaldwin of Flanders. Charles granted to Fulk theabbey of St Vaast, which had previously been held by Baldwin, whom the king suspected of disloyalty. While traveling with a small escort to meet with Charles, Fulk was killed by a man called Winemar and several accomplices, all of whom were in the service of Baldwin.^[5] The murder of a bishop was extremely rare in the Carolingian period, and the event shocked contemporaries, as indicated by the independent accounts of the chroniclersRegino of Prüm, the anonymous author of theAnnals of Saint-Vaast, andFlodoard of Reims.^[6] Fulk was succeeded in the archbishopric byHeriveus, who convened a synod where Winemar was excommunicated for his crime.

• Archbishops of Reims
• 9th-century French archbishops
• 9th-century births
• 900 deaths
• Guideschi dynasty

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