Belgium / Flanders: Political History and Notable Political and Military Figures

1255 - 1333 - Pieter de Coninck (All Facts)

• Flemish Weaver who led a massacre of the Flemish oligarchs

• He and his forces defeated the French knights and their forces in the Battle of the Golden Spurs

1290 - 1345 - Jacob van Artevelde (All Facts)

• Flemish Statesman and Wealthy Burgher of Ghent

• He led an army of rich and poor and besieged Tournai to overthrow Count Louis of Nevers, an ally of France

• He was murdered in Ghent by a mob in revolt against his dictatorship

• Upon his death, Flanders withdrew from its involvement in the Hundred Years’ War between England and France

1322 - 1346 - Louis of Nevers (All Facts)

• Count of Flanders

  • He was French, not Flemish

• The Flemish rebelled against his rule during the Flemish Revolt

  • He called in King Philip VI of France to defeat the rebel Flemish artists and peasants in the Battle of Cassel

1340 - 1382 - Philip van Artevelde (All Facts)

• Leader of the Flemish in the Revolt of Ghent against Count Louis of Male in Flanders

  • He captured Bruges from the French

  • He and his forces were defeated in the Battle of Roosebeke and he died after the battle

1346 - 1384 - Louis of Male (All Facts)

• Count of Flanders

  • He was French, not Flemish

  • He married the daughter of Philip the Bold, strengthening Flanders’ ties with Burgundy

• The Flemish rebelled against his rule during the Revolt of Ghent

• When Philip van Artevelde captured Bruges from him, he appealed to King Charles VI of France and King Philip II of Burgundy for help

1384 - 1404 - Philip II (All Facts)

• Count of Flanders

  • He was nicknamed “The Bold”

  • He was Burgundian, not Flemish

• He had his daughter married to Louis de Male

• He worked to establish Flanders’ independence from France, but came into increasing conflict with the English, who were expelled from Flanders under his reign

  • The native population of Flanders, who had no share in the bonanza of trade taking place, experienced hardship as a result of the intermittent warfare between Flanders, France, and England during the Hundred Years’ War

• He inherited Flanders, as well as Antwerp, Artois, and Malines

1419 - 1467 - Philip III (All Facts)

• Count of Flanders

  • He was nicknamed “The Good”

• Under his reign, Bruges experienced a peak in which it was

  • The richest commercial staging-post in Europe

  • A world city, with a new international culture and lifestyle

  • Prosperous not only in commerce but in the arts

  • Exemplified by the namesake’s sumptuous court

  • Able to provide its merchants the chance to become landowners and members of the nobility

• He was the patron of all woodcarvers, metalworkers, and painters

  • He was the patron of Jan Van Eyck