County of Flanders
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County of Flanders Graafschap Vlaanderen ( Latin ) | |||||||||||||||||
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862–1797 | |||||||||||||||||
Dutch Reformed | |||||||||||||||||
Government | Feudal monarchy | ||||||||||||||||
Count of Flanders[a] | |||||||||||||||||
• 862–879 | Baldwin I | ||||||||||||||||
• 1792–1797 | Francis II | ||||||||||||||||
Historical era | Baldwin I | 862 | |||||||||||||||
• Annexed by France | 1797 | ||||||||||||||||
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Today part of |
The County of Flanders, and also gave them strong international connections to trading partners.
Up to 1477, the core area under French suzerainty was west of the Scheldt and was called "Royal Flanders" (Dutch: Kroon-Vlaanderen, French: Flandre royale). Aside from this, the counts, from the 11th century onward, held land east of the river as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire: "Imperial Flanders" (Rijks-Vlaanderen or Flandre impériale). The county joined its Low Country neighbours within the Burgundian Netherlands from 1384, which eventually complicated its relationship with France. Most of the county became part of the Empire after the Peace of Madrid in 1526 and the Peace of the Ladies in 1529.
By 1795 the entire Austrian Netherlands, the successor of the Burgundian Netherlands, was acquired by France under the French First Republic, and this was recognized by treaty in 1797. After the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, these territories, including most of the old county of Flanders, passed to the newly established United Kingdom of the Netherlands, which was split up between 1830 and 1839 into the modern countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. The territories of the old county are now the only part of the late medieval French kingdom outside of modern-day France, Catalonia having been renounced in 1258.
Etymology
The term Flanders originally referred to the area around Bruges. It is first mentioned in the biography of Saint Eligius (c. 590–660), the Vita sancti Eligii. The work was written before 684 but has been known only since 725. This work mentions only the place "in Flandris".
A germanic etymology for "Flanders" and "Flemish" (Dutch: Vlaanderen, Vlaams) was proposed by Maurits Gysseling in 1948,[2] working based upon an article by René Verdeyen in 1943.[3][4]
According to this proposal the terms Flanders and Flemish are likely derived from words derived from
Geography
The geography of the historic County of Flanders only partially overlaps with the present-day region of Flanders in Belgium, but even there, it extends beyond the present provinces of West Flanders and East Flanders. Some of the historic county is now part of France and the Netherlands. The land covered by the county is spread out over:
- Belgium:
- two of the five Flemish provinces: West Flanders and East Flanders
- part of the Flemish province of Antwerp: the land of Bornem
- part of the Walloon province of Moeskroen(that belonged to West Flanders until 1962)
- France:
- French Flanders (in the Nord departement)
- the Flemishused to be the main language
- Walloon Flanders, where the Picard language, closely related to French, was spoken.
- the
- Artois (in the Pas-de-Calais department): removed from Flanders in 1191 and created as independent county in 1237
- French Flanders (in the Nord departement)
- Netherlands:
- Zeelandic Flanders, a region between Belgium and the Western Scheldt in the southern part of the modern province of Zeeland, which from 1581 formed part of the Generality Lands under control of the Dutch Republic.
Flag and arms
The arms of the County of Flanders were allegedly created by Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders from 1168 to 1191; a climbing or rampant black lion on a gold field. In the story about the Battle of the Golden Spurs, the arms and its corresponding battlecry Vlaendr'n den leeuw ("Flanders, the Lion!") plays a crucial role in the forming of a Flemish consciousness, which was popularised in the 19th century by the book De Leeuw van Vlaanderen by Hendrik Conscience. As a result, the arms of the county live on as arms of the Flemish Community.
It is said that Philip of Alsace brought the lion flag with him from the Holy Land, where in 1177 he supposedly conquered it from a Saracen knight, but this is a myth. The simple fact that the lion appeared on his personal seal since 1163, when he had not yet taken one step in the Levant, disproves it. In reality Philip was following a West-European trend. In the same period lions also appeared in the arms of Brabant, Luxembourg, Holland, Limburg and other territories. It is curious that the lion as a heraldic symbol was mostly used in border territories and neighbouring countries of the Holy Roman Empire. It was in all likelihood a way of showing independence from the emperor, who used an eagle in his personal arms. In Europe the lion had been a well-known figure since Roman times, through works such as the fables of Aesop.
History
Prehistory and antiquity
The future county of Flanders had been inhabited since prehistory. During the Iron Age the Kemmelberg formed an important Celtic settlement. During the times of Julius Caesar, the inhabitants were part of the Belgae, a collective name for all Celtic and Germanic tribes in the north of Gaul. For Flanders in specific these were the Menapii, the Morini, the Nervii and the Atrebates.
In the coastal and Scheldt areas Saxon tribes gradually appeared. For the Romans, Saxon was a general term, and included Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Erules. The coastal defense around Boulogne and Oudenburg, the Litus Saxonicum, remained functional until about 420. These forts were manned by Saxon soldiers.
From their base land
Early Middle Ages
The abandoned coast and Scheldt region had been partially repopulated since the 4th century by Saxons and Franks from the east of the
The first wave of immigration in the present day Flemish territory was accompanied by limited Christianisation. In the wake of the immigrants, missionaries tried to convert the heathen population, but had little success. The bishoprics were reinstated, usually with the same natural borders of the Late-Roman era; the Silva Carbonaria separated the Bishopric of Cambrai from the Bishopric of Tongeren, while the Scheldt again became the border between the bishoprics of Cambrai and Tournai. Vedast and Eleutherius of Tournai were assigned to reinstate the bishoprics of Arras and Tournai. However, these bishoprics failed to survive independently. In the late 6th century the bishopric of Arras was connected to that of Cambrai, and at the start of the 7th century the same was done to the bishoprics of Tournai and Noyon.
At the end of the 6th century, the duchy of Dentelinus was created in the north of what would later constitute Neustria. The duchy presumably included the bishoprics of Boulogne, Thérouanne, Arras, Tournai, Cambrai and Noyon: thus, the northwestern region between the North Sea and the Silva Carbonaria, an area the outlines of which were very similar to the later Flanders. The duchy was primarily intended to serve as a military and strategic deterrent against Frisian and Saxon invasions, and was a cornerstone in the military defense of the Merovingian Empire. In 600, Chlothar II (584–628) was forced to temporarily cede the duchy to Austrasia, but after the restoration of the Austrasian dual-monarchy in 622–623, the duchy was returned.
7th century
At the end of the 6th and the 7th century a new inflow emerged from the western
The colonisation and germanisation of Flanders took place primarily in the 6th and 7th centuries. In the 7th century the population-level had risen sufficiently to start rebuilding the religious, military and administrative infrastructure. In the area of linguistics, the situation stabilised so that a large,
The Christianisation attempts in the 6th century by bishops like Eleutherius and Vedast had largely failed. Thus, in the 8th century a different strategy was chosen. A new Christianisation attempt was made under influence from king Dagobert I. He appointed several devoted missionaries from the southern parts of his kingdom to his royal domains in the northern parts of his kingdom. The missionaries were tasked with founding monasteries and abbeys there, that were to serve as centers of Christianity in a pagan region. From these centers, the conversion of the local populace could be started.
In 649
). In his 'vita', Eligius makes the first mention of the word 'Flanders', when he toured the area around 650.During the 7th century the first
Carolingians
In 751 the
The region comprising future Flanders was, from an economic point of view, a flourishing region, with a series of ports along the
Charlemagne was succeeded by his son Louis the Pious. Even during Louis' life his three sons started fighting over his heritage. They eventually concluded multiple treaties, of which the Treaty of Verdun, signed in 843, would be the definitive treaty. These treaties created East Francia, Middle Francia and West Francia. West Francia, inherited by Charles the Bald, included the original county of Flanders, that spanned roughly between Oudenburg, Aardenburg and Torhout.
After the Middle-Frankish kings died out, the rulers of the West and East-Frankish Kingdoms divided the Middle-Frankish kingdom amongst themselves in the treaty of Meerssen in 870. Now Western Europe had been divided into two sides: the solid West Francia (the later France) and the loose confederation of principalities of East Francia, that would become the Holy Roman Empire.
In the north these two powers were separated by the Scheldt river, which had previously separated West Francia from Middle Francia. This separation remained unchanged until the times of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
Growth in the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries (864–1071)
Militarily, economically and politically, Europe went through a deep crisis. The
The county of Flanders originated from the
The first
Initially the French kings meant to secure the safety of the northern French border from Viking invasions with this act. The counts, however, made good use of the crisis situation by incorporating the surrounding plundered territories into the county. The counts expanded the influence of the original Flemish pagus over the years over all territories south and west of the
The 11th to 13th centuries (1071–1278)
Flemish knights in the 11th and 12th centuries were some of the most effective and well-respected knights of Europe even before the Crusades.[6] They were known to be chivalrous but lax on enforcing religious norms.[7]
Prosperity in the 12th and 13th centuries
The
In the second half of the 12th century, the county went through a period of great prosperity when Philip of Alsace managed to incorporate the
During the rule of the House of Alsace, cities developed and new institutions were formed. The ports of
Trade partners included England, the
In 1194,
The crisis of the 14th century (1278–1384)
In 1278
Flemish prosperity waned in the following century, however, owing to widespread European population decline following the Black Death of 1348, the disruption of trade during the Anglo-French Hundred Years' War (1338–1453), and increased English cloth production. Flemish weavers had gone over to Worstead and North Walsham in Norfolk in the 12th century and established the wool industry.
The Burgundian 15th century (1384–1506)
Through his marriage with
The cities of Ghent and Bruges had previously operated virtually as city-states,[11]: 49 and upon the death of duke Charles the Bold attempted to re-assert this position by means of the Great Privilege that they wrested from Mary of Burgundy, Charles' daughter and successor. In 1482 this last Burgundian ruler died, making her young son Philip I of Castile of the House of Habsburg the new count, and her husband Maximilian I of Austria the regent. The Flemish cities staged two more revolts, but these were ultimately subdued by the armies of the Holy Roman Empire.
The 1493 Treaty of Senlis established peace between France and the Habsburgs; per the terms of the treaty, Flanders would henceforth be a territory of the Holy Roman Empire.
The seventeen provinces in the 16th century (1506–98)
Under Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (born in the Flemish city Ghent), Flanders became a member of the Burgundian Circle. The county was later involved in the Guelders Wars.
Through the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549, the County of Flanders was officially detached from France. It became an independent territory of the Holy Roman Empire. This constitutional act made Flanders part of the Seventeen Provinces, that constituted the Low Countries and from then on would be inherited as a whole.
The Low Countries held an important place in the Empire. For Charles personally, they were the region where he spent his childhood. Because of trade and industry and the rich cities, they were also important for the treasury. Lordship transferred to the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg with Philip II of Spain, and after 1556 belonged to the Kings of Spain.
It was in
The Spanish 17th century (1598–1713)
Flanders stayed under Spanish control. Through the efforts of the French king
The Austrian 18th century (1713–89)
After the extinction of the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs, the Austrian branch of the Habsburgs became counts of Flanders. Under
Last years (1789–97)
In 1789 a revolution broke out against emperor
The county of Flanders officially ceased to exist in 1795, when it was annexed by France, and divided into two departments: Lys (present day West Flanders) and Escaut (present day East Flanders and Zeelandic Flanders). Austria confirmed its loss in the 1797 Treaty of Campo Formio.
After the French Revolution the county was not restored, and instead the two departments continued their existence as the provinces of East and West Flanders in the Unitarian United Kingdom of the Netherlands and later, after the Belgian Revolution, in Belgium.
Count of Flanders title
From 1840 onwards, the title "Count of Flanders" has been appropriated by the monarchy of Belgium. As a rule it was given to the second in line of succession to the Belgian throne. The title of count of Flanders was abolished by royal decision on 16 October 2001.
Important treaties and battles which involved the County of Flanders
- Battle of Cassel (1071)
- Battle of Axpoele in 1128
- Peace of Peronne in 1199
- Battle of Bouvines in 1214
- Peace of Melun in 1226
- Battle of West-Kapelle in 1253
- Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302
- Battle of Arkein 1303
- Battle of Zierikzee in 1304
- Battle of Mons-en-Pevelein 1304
- Treaty of Athis-sur-Orge in 1305
- Battle of Cassel (1328)
- Battle of Westrozebekein 1382
- Eighty Years' War from 1568 to 1648
- Pacification of Ghent in 1576
- Union of Utrecht in 1579
- Act of Abjuration in 1581
See also
References
- West Flemish: Groafschap Vloandern; French: Comté de Flandre)
- ^ Dhondt; Gysseling (1948), "Vlaanderen, oorspronkelijke ligging en etymologie", in De Smaele (ed.), Album Prof. Dr. Frank Baur. Den jubilaris bij zijn zestigsten verjaardag als huldeblijk aangeboden door collega's vakgenoten en oud-leerlingen, vol. I, pp. 192–220. Cited by Toorians 2021.
- ^ Verdeyen, René (1943), "Vlaanderen en Vlaming", Verslagen en Mededelingen van de Koninklijke Vlaamse Academie voor Taal- en Letterkunde: 407–479
- ^ Toorians, Lauran (2021), "Een etymologie voor Vlaanderen, waar de wol vandaan komt", Bulletin d'Information de la Société Belge d'Études Celtiques / Nieuwsbericht van het Belgisch Genootschap voor Keltische Studies, 35: 65–72
- ISBN 978-1-4446-6629-8.
- ISBN 978-1-335-42927-8.
- ISBN 9780306815799.
- ^ D'Arcy Jonathan D. Boulton, "Marquis/Marquisate", Medieval France: An Encyclopedia (Taylor & Francis, 1995), 1120.
- ^ "The Indian Ocean Trade: A Classroom Simulation » African Studies Center – Boston University".
- ^ "Théâtre de tous les peuples et nations de la terre avec leurs habits et ornemens divers, tant anciens que modernes, diligemment depeints au naturel par Luc Dheere peintre et sculpteur Gantois[manuscript]". lib.ugent.be. Retrieved 2020-08-25.
- ISBN 9780521803304.
Notes
- ^ The earlier rulers were styled as margrave.
Bibliography
- Gysseling, M. en Dhondt, J. (1948): "Vlaanderen, oorspronkelijke ligging en etymologie", in Album Prof. Dr. Frank Baur p. 192–220, Leuven.
- Gysseling, M. (1960): Toponymisch woordenboek van België, Nederland, Luxemburg, Noord-Frankrijk en West-Duitsland (voor 1226), Tongeren.
- ISBN 90-228-3800-5
- Blom, J.C.H., Lamberts, E., redactie (2006): Geschiedenis van de Nederlanden, HBuitgevers, Baarn, ISBN 90-5574-474-3
- Dhondt, J. (1943): Korte geschiedenis van het ontstaan van het graafschap Vlaanderen van Boudewijn de IJzeren tot Robrecht den Fries, Brussels – The Hague.
- Dhondt, J. (1941–1942): "Het ontstaan van het vorstendom Vlaanderen", Belgisch tijdschrift voor filologie en geschiedenis, XX, 553–572 en XXI, 53–93.
- Ganshof, F.-L. (1944): Vlaanderen onder de eerste graven, Antwerp.
- Nicolas, D. (1992): Medieval Flanders, London, ISBN 0-582-01679-7
- Niermeyer, J.F., Presser, J., Van Houtte, J.A. (1949–1958): Algemene Geschiedenis der Nederlanden, Haarlem – Antwerp.
- Voet, L. (1942): "De graven van Vlaanderen en hun domein, 864–1191", Wetenschappelijke Tijdingen, VII, 25–32.