Chapter 2: The historic County of Flanders

.A visit to our city in 2024 is a voyage of discovery, and it was no different for Margaret back in 1468. The English princess still knows nothing about the rich history of Flanders and Belgium. In the second chapter, we accompany Margaret on her encounter with the woudmeesterlegendes (the Counts of Flanders, who were referred to as foresters due to their concern for hunting and preserving their hunting grounds), the crusades, the Vikings, and city charters. Tension, intrigue, and even the occasional bloody murder characterise this historical phase.

The Legend of the ForesterBaldwin & JudithThe First Crusade Charles the Good Philip of AlsaceTensions between France & Flanders Bruges blossomsThe Plague Philip the Bold Philip the Good

The Legend of the Forester

In 621, Salvaert – Prince of the Duchy of Dijon – travelled through the Forest Without Mercy with his wife, the heavily pregnant Ermengaert – Lady of Roussillon. The forest owes its name to the tyranny of the cruel giant Finaert and his audacious band of robbers. During that journey, Salvaert was killed by the giant, but Ermengaert was able to escape. She found shelter with a hermit, where her son Liederik would grow up with a need to avenge his father’s murder. He finally found Finaert and, in highly early medieval fashion, killed him in a duel. 

The Forest Without Mercy became The Land of Buc, which would go on to become Flanders much later. And Liederik, who is given the title of Forestier (Forester) by the king after his heroic deeds. Thus, according to legend, he becomes the ancestor of the first Count of Flanders, Baldwin Iron Arm. 

The First Crusade

The catalyst for the First Crusade was a cry for help in 1095 from the Byzantine emperor Alexios I, who was plagued by the Byzantine-Seljuk Wars. Pope Urban II makes a fiery appeal to take up the cross and sword against the dissenting Seljuks. Thousands of poor Christians, led by the people’s preacher Peter the Hermit, are the first to respond. The People’s Crusade swept through Germany and was marked by widespread looting and massacres. As the Crusaders leave Anatolia, they are almost defeated in a Turkish ambush led by the Seljuk Kilij Arslan I. The death toll is immense. Only 10% of the crusaders, some 10,000 men, reached the walls of Jerusalem in 1099. Nevertheless, the First Crusade becomes a success for Christianity. Large swaths of land are recaptured, including Jerusalem. Robert of Jerusalem is one of those conquerors.

Charles the Good

The Flemish winter of 1124-25 was bitterly cold. The land was drowned the following spring. Count Charles the Good faces an unprecedented famine. The count is known to distribute alms to the poor but of greater importance are the measures he takes: farmers are required to grow beans and peas, he sets maximum prices, and he forbids brewing beer with the little grain still available. This, of course, does not please the nobility.

In the ranks of the moribund elite, we find the Ermebalds, a powerful family in Bruges. The righteous Charles notices the family’s hunger for power. Intrigues and tensions run high. Bertulf Erembald feels the noose around his neck and, as one of Charles’s main archenemies, plots an assassination attempt. On 2 March 1127, Charles the Good was killed in St Donatian’s Church: a raging mob set upon him, cleaving open his head and beleaguering his body with many strokes of the sword. Twenty-eight conspirators are captured and thrown down from the highest tower of the castle by order of French King Louis VI.

Philip of Alsace

Charles the Good’s death triggers a succession struggle between William Clito of Normandy and Theoderic of Alsace. William is wounded in one of the battles and dies. Calm returns and children sing of the restoration of peace in the county. Theoderic becomes count of Flanders and Charles the Good is revered as a saint.

Peace reigns in Bruges and the city’s power grows. Thereupon, Count Philip of Alsace decides to donate a city charter – a sort of medieval VIP pass – to the city of Bruges, which gives the city certain privileges. In exchange for these rights, residents must swear military and political allegiance and cede a portion of their income. Philip hands out edicts across the county: Arras, Saint-Omer, Ghent, Bruges, Ieper, Lille, Douai, Kortrijk…

Count Philip of Alsace also gives the county a new house style. He is the first count of Flanders to use the lion as a symbol. The climbing lion first appears on a seal attached to a charter from 1162. The animal is a symbol of strength and bravery, traits the Count likes to emulate. A 14th-century chronicler writes that Philip supposedly captured the coat of arms during a battle with an Islamic ruler, but the count was already using the lion in 1162, fifteen years before he left for the Holy Land.

Bruges blossoms

In the 14th and 15th centuries, Bruges was the most important trading centre in northern Europe and one of the largest cities north of the Alps. The advance of technology, trade, and ingenuity brings wealth, but also exploitation, poverty, and misery.

During the 13th century, the population of Ieper grew to 40,000, Bruges to around 50,000, and Ghent to 80,000. Flemish cloth centres flourish. The Flemish cloth is a luxurious fabric made of wool. Anyone looking at a medieval painting with notable figures anywhere in Europe has a good chance to see that at least one of those figures is wearing Flemish cloth. “Let’s show off that wealth,” was a common thought among many Bruges residents. 

Bruges flourished and became a merchant’s paradise. Thanks to a covered Waterhalle (1294-1787) on the Markt, loading, unloading, and trading could continue even in inclement weather. The list of Bruges’s trades is long: bakers, butchers, blacksmiths, cobblers, tailors, fullers, tanners, stonemasons, soap makers, apothecaries, candle makers, painters, weavers and, of course, brewers of beer and mead. And Bruges’s merchandise is also diverse: exotic dates, figs, African spices, cumin, marzipan, saffron, pomegranates, lemons, Italian cheeses, perfumes… 

Bruges’s towering growth is also reflected in the Belfry. The third octagonal section of the tower was raised to some 27.4 metres high between 1482 and 1486. This is equipped with belfry windows to broadcast the sound of the carillon over the city. The city’s most important documents are kept in the Belfry. There are two large chests with ten different locks: nine are for the zwaardekens, trade delegates; the tenth is for the count’s representative. All must be present to open the chest.

The Plague

The Bubonic Plague doesn’t spare the city of Bruges in 1349. The pungent smell of death hangs over the city like smog. In many places, a third of the population dies, and in some places even half. Plague doctors in black robes attend to plague victims and collect corpses. The Plague has no care for your station in life.

The most common form of plague is bubonic plague. Sudden onset of fever, headaches, and muscle aches occur two to eight days after infection. The lymph nodes in the groin, armpits, or neck become inflamed. Black, egg-sized growths, festering pustules, and black spots appear all over the body. Death claims its victim a few days later. Every effort is made to drive out the plague, but neither incense nor the smell of oak or cloves avail: 25 million people die in five years. The highly contagious disease is still prevalent in some parts of the world, but is treatable with antibiotics.

Philip the Bold

On 19 September 1356, French King John II the Good and his 14-year-old son Philip face off against Edward, the ‘Black Prince’, on the Poitiers battlefield. The fearless Philip continues to fight courageously at his father’s side despite the inevitable defeat. It earned him the nickname Philip the Bold.

In 1369, Philip married Margaret, only daughter and heiress of Count Louis of Male. The marriage is a success, and the two show deep affection for each other. Philip sometimes wears a daisy (called a margriet in Dutch) during celebrations to honour his wife. Margaret is an intelligent woman who commands respect and authority. Philip entrusts her with the administration of his territories when he is absent, which she does excellently.

After the death of Margaret’s father, Louis of Male, Philip acquires joint control over the County of Flanders. With the arrival of their son, John the Fearless, the County of Flanders merges with the Burgundian empire.

Philip the Good

Philip the Bold, progenitor of the greatest Burgundian dukes, is succeeded by John the Fearless. John is the father of Philip the Good, who – together with his wife Isabella of Portugal – grows the Burgundian empire to a size that even kings envy. Philip is famous for organising grandiose banquets such as the Feast of the Pheasant in Lille, joyous entries, festivals, and much more. In this spirit, Philip also established the famous Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece in Bruges (1430) on the occasion of his marriage to Isabella of Portugal. Philip’s love for Isabella of Portugal was great, but reportedly so was his love for quite a few other ladies. Indeed, Isabella and the ladies at court took care of his eighteen documented illegitimate children. 

However, this excessive Burgundian splendour comes at a steep price: in reality, 50% of the population lives in poverty, in an era full of rebellions and civil wars such as those in 1407-13, 1477, and 1488.