THE GOLDEN SPURS
The political history of the last centuries of the Middle Ages is
entirely dominated by the development of the Communes. Their influence
is twofold. On one hand, they prevented the absorption of the country
by the French kings; on the other, they delayed its unification under
national princes. By safeguarding local liberties, they checked foreign
ambitions, but, through their efforts to maintain their privileges and
through their petty rivalries, they impeded, for a long time, the
establishment of central institutions. During the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries they fostered trade and industry by affording due
protection to the burgesses and forcing the princes to follow a policy
in accordance with the interests of the country. During the fourteenth
century they were weakened by internal struggles between classes and
cities, and, through their trade restrictions, became an obstacle to
the free development of the economic life of the nation.
[_FLANDERS' INFLUENCE_]
The cardinal event of the period is the Battle of Courtrai (1302), also
called the Battle of the Golden Spurs, owing to the great number of
these spurs collected on the battlefield after the defeat of the French
knights by the Flemish militia. It was hailed at the time as a
miraculous triumph for the commoners, the disproportion between the
opposing forces being somewhat exaggerated by enthusiastic
contemporary chroniclers. But its influence was not only social, it was
national, for it definitely secured the independence of Flanders and of
the other Belgian principalities against the increasing power of the
French kings, and this rendered possible the unification of the
country, which was accomplished, a century later, under the dukes of
Burgundy.
Illustration: SEAL OF THE TOWN OF DAMME. (1376).
Illustration: SEAL OF GUY DE DAMPIERRE, COUNT OF FLANDERS
(1278-1305).
At the beginning of the twelfth century the old distinction between
Lotharingia and Flanders had practically ceased to exist. The emperor's
prestige, greatly diminished by the Struggle of the Investitures, was
no longer strong enough to keep the Belgian princes east of the Scheldt
within the bounds of their allegiance. The most loyal of them, the
Count of Hainault, would not even depart from neutrality during the war
waged between Frederick Barbarossa and the French king. "He was not
obliged," he declared, "to put his fortunes in the hands of the
imperial troops and to grant them passage across his territory, as that
would bring devastation to his country." The development of trade and
industry had shifted the centre of interest from Germany, which
remained purely feudal and agricultural, to Flanders, which represented
a far more advanced civilization, based on the free development of the
cities. When the princes of Brabant, Hainault and the other principal
cities looked for an example or for some political support, they no
longer had to seek it outside the country. Even Liege was gradually
drawn within the circle of Flanders's influence. This lead, given by
one Belgian principality to the others, over the Scheldt boundary,
marks the break-up of the division of the country between France and
Germany inaugurated at the treaty of Verdun, and prepares the work of
centralization which brought about the creation of Belgian nationality.
The policy of Flanders was determined by the desire to preserve peace
with England and with France, Germany playing only a very secondary
part in European affairs at the time. Good relations with England were
essential to the Flemish cloth industry, since most of the wool was
imported from this country through Bruges. As the power of the French
kings increased, the Flemish counts endeavoured also to avoid any
conflict with their suzerains, since their northern allies could not
bring them sufficient military help to prevent the country's invasion.
Counts and Communes tried in vain to remain neutral. Neutrality was
impossible, and, whenever it was infringed, Flanders had invariably to
suffer from the consequences, either through the ruin of her trade or
through the loss of her liberties.
[_BOUVINES_]
The House of Alsace came into power at the death of Charles the Good.
Its representative, Thierry, had been opposed by the French king, who
wanted to give the county to the Duke of Normandy. The Communes,
fearing that the duke's attitude would bring difficulties with England,
upheld the claim of Thierry, who prevailed after the death of his
rival. His son, Philip, acquired further territories in France
(Amienois, Valois and Vermandois). His influence and his prestige were
so considerable that the French king, Philippe-Auguste, is supposed to
have said: "France will absorb Flanders or be destroyed by it." To his
suzerain's policy of "absorption," the Count of Flanders opposed the
British alliance, which he, however, broke in 1187, when he thought
himself threatened by his ally. Philip of Alsace died in the crusade,
during the siege of St. John of Acre (1191). Philippe-Auguste at once
attempted to seize his possessions, but his attempt was frustrated by
Count Baldwin V of Hainault, who invaded the country and, having been
recognized by the Communes, succeeded in uniting both counties.
Baldwin V of Hainault and IX of Flanders preserved a friendly
neutrality towards England during the struggle between Coe de Lion
and Philippe-Auguste. When the Count of Flanders, who had become
Emperor of Constantinople, died before Adrianople (1205), the French
king hoped at last to annex definitely the rich county. He had given
Baldwin's daughter in marriage to one of his creatures, Ferrand of
Portugal, who thus became the legitimate successor. As soon, however,
as he arrived in Flanders, Ferrand recognized that he could only
maintain himself in power by pursuing an independent policy friendly to
England. Though a foreigner, with little knowledge of the country, he
observed the same attitude towards France as his predecessors,
concluding an alliance against his liege with the Duke of Brabant, King
John of England and the Emperor Otto. The confederates were severely
defeated at Bouvines (1214), and, for nearly a century, the hegemony of
France became paramount in the Low Countries. Not only did the kings
henceforth rule in their own estates of Flanders, but they were able to
extend their influence over the whole country as far as Liege. The
wishes of their representatives were considered as orders, and the
complete absorption of Belgium by France seemed the foregone conclusion
of their tireless activity.
Two obstacles, however, stood in the way--the fact that Flanders drew
from England most of her raw material and the independent policy of the
dukes of Brabant.
Henry III took the hansa of London under his special protection and
promised the Flemish traders that they should not be molested even if
war broke out between England and France, unless Flanders took an
active part in the conflict. The Flemish trade constituted a large
source of revenue for the English kings, and it was still as essential,
at the time, to the prosperity of England as to that of Flanders. Since
the increased power of the French crown had rendered direct opposition
impossible, the British kings did their best to favour Flemish
neutrality and to enter into close friendship with the only Belgian
princes who had preserved their full independence, the dukes of
Brabant.
The latter belonged to the last national dynasty ruling in the country
and were therefore particularly popular. The Battle of Woeringen
(1288), in which Duke John I succeeded in defeating the powerful
Archbishop of Cologne and his allies, established his supremacy between
the Meuse and the Rhine and gave him the full control of the road from
Cologne to Ghent, through Louvain and Brussels, which brought Brabant
into line with Flanders's trade and industry. Brabant became thus the
national bulwark against foreign influence and the political stronghold
of Belgium, a position which it never completely relinquished, even
through the cruel vicissitudes of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries.
[_BRABANT_]
If the prosperity of Brabant did not yet equal that of Flanders, the
dukes possessed greater authority over their subjects and enjoyed far
more independence. Edward I, when preparing for war against France,
fully appreciated these advantages, and gave his daughter Margaret in
marriage to the son of John I. Antwerp benefited largely from the
Anglo-Brabanconne alliance, since, when the English kings forbade the
importation of wool into Flanders, following some conflict with France,
the English merchants found a suitable market in the Scheldt port in
close communication with the centres of Brabant's cloth industry,
Louvain, Brussels and Malines.
The cities of Flanders, however, were not prepared to see their trade
ruined to suit the plans of the French. The economic reasons which
forbade a hostile attitude towards England would have afforded
sufficient ground for an anti-French reaction. The crisis was hastened
by internal trouble. The merchants and the craftsmen of the Communes
had not remained united. The rich and influential merchants had
gradually monopolized public offices and formed a strong aristocracy
opposed by the craftsmen. Count Guy de Dampierre declared himself for
the artisans, Philip the Fair of France, seizing the opportunity of
interfering in the affairs of Flanders, declared himself in favour of
the aristocracy. At the same time, he opposed the projected marriage of
the count's daughter with King Edward's eldest son. The popular party,
or "Clauwaerts" (the claw of the Flemish lion), was not sufficiently
organized to resist the "Leliaerts" (partisans of the lily), helped by
Philip's forces, and for five years the land remained under French
occupation, Count Guy being imprisoned in France. In July 1302 a
terrible rising, known as "Matines brugeoises" and led by the weaver
Pieter de Coninck, broke out in Bruges, when all the French in the town
were murdered in the early hours of the morning. Philip immediately
sent a powerful army to punish the rebels, which was defeated under the
walls of Courtrai by the Flemish militia, which some nobles, partisans
of the count, had hastily joined.
The consequences of the Battle of the Golden Spurs were considerable.
It reversed the situation created, a century before, by Bouvines. From
the social point of view, it gave a tremendous impulse to democratic
liberty throughout Belgium. As a result, the people of Liege obtained,
in 1316, their first liberties, symbolized by the erection of the
"Perron." The "Joyeuse Entree" of Brabant was published in 1354 and
became the fixed constitution of the central principality. Charters
were enlarged and confirmed even in the least industrial districts of
Hainault and Namur, Luxemburg remaining practically the only purely
feudal State in the country. Duke John of Luxemburg, who became King of
Bohemia and who fought at Crecy, was considered at the time as one of
the last representatives of mediaeval chivalry. The Prince of Wales's
motto "I serve" was supposed to have been borrowed by the Black Prince
from this noble enemy.
[FLANDERS AND ENGLAND]
From the national point of view, the Battle of Courtrai is no less
important. Had the Flemings again failed in their bold bid for liberty,
the principle of Belgian nationality might have been irretrievably
jeopardized on the eve of the period when it was to assert itself, and
the efforts of centuries towards the reconstitution of political unity
might have become useless. It is, of course, entirely wrong to
attribute the rising of 1302 to purely patriotic motives, as some
romantic Belgian historians have endeavoured to do; but one may
legitimately believe that part at least of the blind and obstinate
heroism displayed during the struggle may have been inspired by an
obscure instinct that Flanders was, at the moment, waging the battle of
Belgium--that is to say, of all the lands lying between France and
Germany, and which, if permanently annexed by one or other of the
Powers, must necessarily upset the balance of Europe and wreck all hope
of European peace based on national freedom.
Flanders did not, however, reap the full benefits of her victory. The
peace concluded in 1319, after further military operations, took away
from the county all the Walloon district, considerably reducing the
cattle grazing area and making Flemish industry more dependent than
ever on England for its raw material. From the beginning of the
fourteenth century, the counts, who had, up to then, sided with the
people, went over to the French party, so that, when the Hundred Years'
War broke out, Flanders found herself again faced by the cruel
alternative of breaking her allegiance and being exposed to the
disasters of an armed invasion from the South, or keeping it and seeing
her industry ruined owing to the stoppage of her trade with England.
As early as 1336, Count Louis de Nevers having ordered the arrest of
English merchants, Edward III, as a reprisal, interrupted all
intercourse between the two countries. This measure was all the more
disastrous for Flanders because, helped by the immigration of some
Flemish weavers and fullers to England, an English cloth industry had
been started across the Channel. The English were therefore far less
dependent on the Flemings than the Flemings on the English, and it was
to be feared that the new industry would greatly benefit from the
monopoly created by the stoppage of trade. The prosperity of Bruges was
further threatened, since the prohibition did not include Brabant, and
Antwerp remained open to British trade.
[VAN ARTEVELDE]
In 1338 the people rose against their count, and Jacques Van Artevelde
of Ghent became the acknowledged leader of the movement. These risings
differed from the "Matines brugeoises" in that the aristocracy took
part in them as well as the craftsmen. Van Artevelde was not a workman
like De Coninck. He was a rich landowner and had great interests in the
cloth trade. His aim was not only to preserve the country's
independence, but to safeguard its prosperity. Approached by Edward
III's delegates, he tried at first to maintain a purely neutral
attitude, but, when the English king landed in Antwerp with supplies of
wool, he was obliged to side with England. The "Wise Man of Ghent"
suggested, however, that in order to relieve the Communes of their oath
of allegiance to Philip of Valois, who had succeeded the Capetians,
Edward should declare himself the true king of France. The struggle
which followed the destruction of the French fleet at Sluis (1340) was
protracted, no decision being reached at the siege of Tournai. Edward
was called back to England by the restlessness of his own subjects,
while the Flemish artisans were unwilling indefinitely to hold the
field against the French armies. The departure of the English forces
caused great bitterness among the people, who accused Van Artevelde of
having betrayed them, and in the course of a riot the once popular
tribune was killed by the mob (1345). Froissart, his enemy, pays him a
generous tribute: "The poor exalted him, the wicked killed him."
His son Philip, Queen Philippa's godson, vainly endeavoured to succeed
where his father had failed. After leading a revolt against the
pro-French Count Louis de Male, he was defeated by the French in 1382
and died on the battlefield.
All these struggles had weakened Flanders considerably. By chasing
German merchants from Bruges (1380), Louis de Male had brought about
the decadence of this port in favour of Antwerp, where the English were
soon to transfer the wool market. Political persecutions had driven a
great many of the artisans to England, to the great advantage of
English industry. Hundreds of houses in Bruges remained empty, Ypres
was half destroyed, and Ghent had lost a considerable part of its
population. Civil war had exhausted the country's resources during the
last years of the fourteenth century. In the country-side the dykes
were neglected, great stretches of "polders" were again flooded by the
sea, and wolves and bears infested the woods. The restoration of
Flanders to its previous prosperity did not take place before the
middle of the fifteenth century, as a result of the wise rule of the
dukes of Burgundy.