Baldwin was the son of Count Robert II of Flanders and Clementia of Burgundy.
[1] Baldwin was an impetuous and impulsive young man, extremely hostile towards Henry I of England.
[3][1] The inexperienced new count solicited the advice of his cousin, Charles the Good, who was several years older.
It was Baldwin who arranged the marriage of Charles to the heiress of the County of Amiens, Margaret of Clermont, in 1118.
[citation needed] He died after being wounded in 1118,[3][5] hit on the head by a lance[5] at the Battle of Bures-en-Bray, where he was fighting Henry I of England, on behalf of Louis VI of France.