treaty with the Flemings did not secure them against him. "The
Flemings, who had paid the whole of the money stipulated by
the treaty of 1305, demanded the restitution of that part of
Flanders which had been given up as a pledge; but Philippe
refused to restore it on the plea that it had been given to
him absolutely and not conditionally. He commenced hostilities
[A. D. 1314] by seizing upon the counties of Nevers and
Réthel, belonging to the count of Flanders and his eldest son,
who replied by laying siege to Lille." Philippe was making
great exertions to raise money for a vigorous prosecution of
the war, when he died suddenly, Nov. 25, 1314, as the result
of an accident in hunting.
_T. Wright,
History of France,
volume 1, book 2, chapter 2._
FLANDERS: A. D. 1328.
The Battle of Cassel.
The first act of Philip of Valois, King of France, after his
coronation in 1328, was to take up the cause of his cousin,
Louis de Nevers, Count of Flanders, who had been driven from
his territories by the independent burghers of Bruges, Ypres,
and other cities, and who had left to him no town save Ghent,
in which he dared to appear. The French king "gathered a great
host of feudal lords, who rejoiced in the thought of Flemish
spoil, and marched to Arras, and thence onwards into Flanders.
He pitched his tent under the hill of Cassel, 'with the
fairest and greatest host in the world' around him. The
Flemish, under Claus Dennequin, lay on the hill-top: thence
they came down all unawares in three columns on the French
camp in the evening, and surprised the King at supper and all
but took him. The French soon recovered from the surprise;
'for God would not consent that lords should be discomfitted
by such riffraff': they slew the Flemish Captain Dennequin,
and of the rest but few escaped; 'for they deigned not to
flee,' so stubborn were those despised weavers of Flanders.
This little battle, with its great carnage of Flemish,
sufficed to lay all Flanders at the feet of its count."
_G. W. Kitchin,
History of France,
book 4, chapter 1._
"Sixteen thousand Flemings had marched to the attack in three
divisions. Three heaps of slain were counted on the morrow in
the French lines, amounting altogether to 13,000 corpses; and
it is said that Louis ... inflicted death upon 10,000 more of
the rebels."
_E. Smedley,
History of France,
part 1, chapter 8._
ALSO IN:
_Froissart (Johnes),
Chronicles,
book 1, chapters 21-22._
{1126}
FLANDERS: A. D. 1335-1337.
The revolt under Jacques Van Arteveld.
The alliance with England.
The most important measure by which Edward III. of England
prepared himself for the invasion of France, as a claimant of
the French crown [See FRANCE: A. D. 1328-1339] was the
securing of an alliance with the Flemish burghers. This was
made easy for him by his enemies. "The Flemings happened to
have a count who was wholly French--Louis de Nevers--who was
only count through the battle of Cassel and the humiliation of
his country, and who resided at Paris, at the court of
Philippe de Valois. Without consulting his subjects, he
ordered a general arrest of all the English throughout
Flanders; on which Edward had all the Flemings in England
arrested. The commerce, which was the life-blood of each
country, was thus suddenly broken off. To attack the English
through Guyenne and Flanders was to wound them in their most
sensible parts, to deprive them of cloth and wine. They sold
their wool at Bruges, in order to buy wine at Bordeaux. On the
other hand, without English wool, the Flemings were at a
stand-still. Edward prohibited the exportation of wool,
reduced Flanders to despair, and forced her to fling herself
into his arms. At first, a crowd of Flemish workmen emigrated
into England, whither they were allured at any cost, and by
every kind of flattery and caress. ... I take it that the
English character has been seriously modified by these
emigrations, which went on during the whole of the fourteenth
century. Previously, we find no indications of that patient
industry which now distinguishes the English. By endeavouring
to separate Flanders and England the French king only
stimulated Flemish emigration, and laid the foundation of
England's manufactures. Meanwhile, Flanders did not resign
herself. The towns burst into insurrection. They had long
hated the count, either because he supported the country
against the monopoly of the towns, or because he admitted the
foreigners, the Frenchmen, to a share of their commerce. The
men of Ghent, who undoubtedly repented of having withheld
their aid from those of Ypres and of Bruges at the battle of
Cassel, chose, in 1337, as their leader, the brewer,
Jacquemart Artaveld. Supported by the guilds, and, in
particular, by the fullers and clothiers, Artaveld organized a
vigorous tyranny. He assembled at Ghent the men of the three
great cities, 'and showed them that they could not live
without the king of England; for all Flanders depended on
cloth-making, and, without wool, one could not make cloth;
therefore he recommended them to keep the English king their
friend.'"
_J. Michelet,
History of France,
book 6, chapter 1._
ALSO IN
_F. P. Guizot,
Popular History of France,
chapter 20._
_J. Hutton,
James and Philip Van Altevelde,
part 3._
_J. Froissart,
Chronicles
(Johnes's translation),
book 1, chapter 29._
FLANDERS: A. D. 1345.
The end of Jacques Van Artaveld.
"Jacob von Artaveld, the citizen of Ghent that was so much
attached to the king of England, still maintained the same
despotic power over all Flanders. He had promised the king of
England, that he would give him the inheritance of Flanders,
invest his son the prince of Wales with it, and make it a
duchy instead of an earldom. Upon which account the king was,
at this period, about St. John the Baptist's day, 1345, come
to Sluys, with a numerous attendance of barons and knights. He
had brought the prince of Wales with him, in order that Jacob
von Artaveld's promises might be realized. The king remained
on board his fleet in the harbour of Sluys, where he kept his
court. His friends in Flanders came thither to see and visit
him; and there were many conferences between the king and
Jacob Von Artaveld on one side, and the councils from the
different capital towns on the other, relative to the
agreement before mentioned. ... When on his return he [Van
Artaveld] came to Ghent about midday, the townsmen who were
informed of the hour he was expected, had assembled in the
street that he was to pass through; as soon as they saw him,
they began to murmur, and put their heads close together,
saying, 'Here comes one who is too much the master, and wants
to order in Flanders according to his will and pleasure, which
must not be longer borne.' With this they had also spread a
rumour through the town, that Jacob von Artaveld had collected
all the revenues of Flanders, for nine years and more. ... Of
this great treasure he had sent part into England. This
information inflamed those of Ghent with rage; and, as he was
riding up the streets, he perceived that there was something
in agitation against him; for those who were wont to salute
him very respectfully, now turned their backs, and went into
their houses. He began therefore to suspect all was not as
usual; and as soon as he had dismounted, and entered his
hotel, he ordered the doors and windows to be shut and
fastened. Scarcely had his servants done this, when the street
which he inhabited was filled from one end to the other with
all sorts of people, but especially by the lowest of the
mechanics. His mansion was surrounded on every side, attacked
and broken into by force. Those within did all they could to
defend it, and killed and wounded many: but at last they could
not hold out against such vigorous attacks, for three parts of
the town were there. When Jacob von Artaveld saw what efforts
were making, and how hardly he was pushed, he came to a
window; and, with his head uncovered, began to use humble and
fine language. ... When Jacob von Artaveld saw that he could
not appease or calm them, he shut the window, and intended
getting out of his house the back way, to take shelter in a
church adjoining; but his hotel was already broke into on that
side, and upwards of four hundred were there calling out for him.
At last he was seized by them, and slain without mercy: his
death-stroke was given him by a sadler, called Thomas Denys.
In this manner did Jacob von Artaveld end his days, who in his
time had been complete master of Flanders. Poor men first
raised him, and wicked men slew him."
_J. Froissart (Johnes),
Chronicles,
book 1, chapter 115 (volume 1)._
{1127}
FLANDERS: A. D. 1379-1381.
The revolt of the White Hoods.
"We will ... speak of the war in Flanders, which began about
this time [A. D. 1379]. The people were very murderous and
cruel, and multitudes were slain or driven out of the country.
The country itself was so much ruined, that it was said a
hundred years would not restore it to the situation it was in
before the war. Before the commencement of these wars in
Flanders, the country was so fertile, and everything in such
abundance, that it was marvellous to see; and the inhabitants
of the principal towns lived in very grand state. You must
know that this war originated in the pride and hatred that
several of the chief towns bore to each other: those of Ghent
against Bruges, and others, in like manner, vying with each
other through envy. However, this could not have created a war
without the consent of their lord, the earl of Flanders, who
was so much loved and feared that no one dared anger him." It
is in these words that the old court chronicler, Froissart,
begins his fully detailed and graphic narrative of the
miserable years, from 1379 to 1384, during which the communes
of Flanders were at war with one another and at war with their
worthless and oppressive count, Luis de Maele. The picturesque
chronicle is colored with the prejudices of Froissart against
the Flemish burghers and in favor of their lord; but no one
can doubt that the always turbulent citizens were jealous of
rights which the always rapacious lord never ceased to
encroach upon. As Froissart tells the story, the outbreak of
war began with an attempt on the part of the men of Bruges, to
dig a canal which would divert the waters of the river Lys.
When those of Ghent had news of this unfriendly undertaking,
they took counsel of one John Yoens, or John Lyon, a burgher
of much cunning, who had formerly been in favor with the
count, but whom his enemies had supplanted. "When he [John
Lyon] was prevailed on to speak, he said: 'Gentlemen, if you
wish to risk this business, and put an end to it, you must
renew an ancient custom that formerly subsisted in the town of
Ghent: I mean, you must first put on white-hoods, and choose a
leader, to whom everyone may look, and rally at his signal.'
This harangue was eagerly listened to, and they all cried out,
'We will have it so, we will have it so! now let us put on
white-hoods.' White-hoods were directly made, and given out to
those among them who loved war better than peace, and had
nothing to lose. John Lyon was elected chief of the White
Hoods. He very willingly accepted of this office, to avenge
himself on his enemies, to embroil the towns of Ghent and
Bruges with each other and with the earl their lord. He was
ordered, as their chief, to march against the pioneers and
diggers from Bruges, and had with him 200 such people as
preferred rioting to quiet."
_Froissart (Johnes),
Chronicles,
book 2, chapters 36-102._
When the White Hoods had driven the ditchers of Bruges from
their canal, they returned to Ghent, but not to disband.
Presently the jealous count required them to lay aside the
peculiar badge of their association, which they declined to
do. Then Count Louis sent his bailiff into Ghent with 200
horsemen, to arrest John Lyon, and some others of his band.
The White Hoods rallied, slew the bailiff and drove his posse
from the town; after which unmistakable deed Ghent and the
count were distinctly at war. The city of the White Hoods took
prompt measures to secure the alliance and support of its
neighbors. Some nine or ten thousand of its citizens marched
to Bruges, and partly by persuasion, partly by force, partly
by the help of the popular party in the town, they effected a
treaty of friendship and alliance--which did not endure,
however, very long. Courtray, Damme, Ypres and other cities
joined the league and it soon presented a formidable array.
Oudenarde, strongly fortified, by the count, became the key of
the situation, and was besieged by the citizen-militia. In the
midst of the siege, the Duke of Burgundy, son-in-law of the
count, made successful efforts to bring about a peace
(December 1379). "The count promised to forget the past and
return to his residence in Ghent. This peace, however, was of
short duration; and the count, after passing only two or three
days in Ghent, alleged some cause of dissatisfaction and
returned to Lille, to recommence hostilities, in the course of
which, with the assistance of the richer citizens, he made
himself master of Bruges. Another peace was signed in the
August of 1380, which was no more durable than the former, and
the count reduced Ypres; and, at the head of an army of 60,000
men, laid siege to Ghent itself, the chief and soul of the
popular confederacy, in the month of September. But the
citizens of Ghent defended themselves so well that he was
obliged to raise the siege in the middle of November, and
agree to a truce. This truce also was broken by the count's
party, the war renewed in the beginning of the year 1381, and
the men of Ghent experienced a disastrous defeat in the battle
of Nevelle towards the middle of May. It was a war of
extermination, and was carried on with extreme ferocity. ...
Ghent itself, now closely blockaded by the count's troops, was
only saved by the great qualities of Philip Van Artevelde [son
of Jacques Van Arteveld, of the revolution of 1337], who, by a
sort of peaceful revolution, was placed at the head of affairs
[January 25, 1381]. The victory of Beverholt, in which the
count was defeated with great slaughter, and only escaped with
difficulty, made the town of Ghent again master of Flanders."
_T. Wright,
History of France,
book 2, chapter 8._
ALSO IN
_J. Hutton,
James and Philip Van Arteveld,
chapters 14-16._
_W. C. Taylor,
Revolutions, Insurrections and Conspiracies of Europe,
volume 2, chapters 7-9._
FLANDERS: A. D. 1382.
The rebellion crushed.
By the marriage of Philip, Duke of Burgundy, to the daughter
and heiress of the Count of Flanders, that powerful French
prince had become interested in the suppression of the revolt
of the Flemish burghers and the restoration of the count to
his lordship. His nephew, the young king of France, Charles
VI., was easily persuaded to undertake a campaign to that end,
and an army of considerable magnitude was personally led
northwards by the monarch of fourteen years. "The object of
the expedition was not only to restore to the Count of
Flanders his authority, but to punish the turbulent commons,
who stirred up those of France to imitate their example.
Froissart avows it to have been a war between the commons and
the aristocracy. The Flemings were commanded by Artaveldt, son
of the famous brewer, the ally of Edward III. The town of Ghent
had been reduced to the extreme of distress and famine by the
count and the people of Bruges, who supported him. Artaveldt
led the people of Ghent in a forlorn hope against Bruges,
defeated the army of the count, and broke into the rival town,
which he took and plundered. After this disaster, the count
had recourse to France. The passage of the river Lys, which
defended Flanders, was courageously undertaken, and effected
with some hazard by the French.
{1128}
The Flemings were rather dispirited by this first success:
nevertheless, they assembled their forces; and the two armies
of French knights and Flemish citizens met at Rosebecque [or
Roosebeck], between Ypres and Courtray. The 27th of November,
1382, was the day of battle. Artaveldt had stationed his army
on a height, to await the attack of the French, but their
impatience forced him to commence. Forming his troops into one
solid square, Artaveldt led them against the French centre.
Froissart compares their charge to the headlong rush of a wild
boar. It broke the opposite line, penetrating into its ranks:
but the wings of the French turned upon the flank of the
Flemings, which, not having the advantage of a charge or
impulse, were beaten by the French men at arms. Pressed upon
one another, the Flemings had not room to fight: they were
hemmed in, surrounded, and slaughtered: no quarter was asked
or given; nearly 30,000 perished. The 9,000 Ghentois that had
marched under their banner were counted, to a man, amongst the
slain: Artaveldt, their general, was among the foremost who
had fallen. Charles ordered his body to be hung upon a tree.
It was at Courtray, very near to the field where this battle
was fought, that Robert of Artois, with a French army, had
perished beneath the swords of the Flemings, nearly a century
previous. The gilded spurs of the French knights still adorned
the walls of the cathedral of Courtray. The victory of Rosebecque
in the eyes of Charles had not sufficiently repaid the former
defeat: the town of Courtray was pillaged and burnt; its
famous clock was removed to Dijon, and formed the third wonder
of this kind in France, Paris and Sens alone possessing
similar ornaments. The battle of Rosebecque proved more
unfortunate for the communes of France than for those of
Flanders. Ghent, notwithstanding her loss of 9,000 slain, did
not yield to the conqueror, but held out the war for two years
longer; and did not finally submit until the Duke of Burgundy,
at the death of their count, guaranteed to the burghers the
full enjoyment of their privileges. The king avenged himself
on the mutinous city of Paris; entered it as a conqueror; took
the chains from the streets and unhinged the gates: one hundred
of the citizens were sent to the scaffold; the property of the
rich was confiscated; and all the ancient and most onerous
taxes, the gabelle, the duty on sales, as well as that of
entry, were declared by royal ordinance to be established
anew. The principal towns of the kingdom were visited with the
same punishments and exactions. The victory of Rosebecque
overthrew the commons of France, which were crushed under the
feet of the young monarch and his nobles."
_E. E. Crowe,
History of France,
chapter 4._
ALSO IN
_Sir J. Froissart (Johnes),
Chronicles,
book 2, chapters 111-130._
_J. Michelet,
History of France,
book 7, chapter 1 (volume 2)._
_F. P. Guizot,
Popular History of France,
chapter 23 (volume 3)._
FLANDERS: A. D. 1383.
The Bishop of Norwich's Crusade.
The crushing defeat of the Flemings at Roosebeke produced
alarm in England, where the triumph of the French was quickly
felt to be threatening. "English merchants were expelled from
Bruges, and their property was confiscated. Calais even was in
danger. The French were at Dunkirk and Gravelines, and might
by a sudden dash on Calais drive the English out." There had
been aid from England promised to Van Artevelde, but the
promise had only helped on the ruin of the Ghent patriot by
misleading him. No help had come when he needed it. Now, when
it was too late, the English bestirred themselves. For some
months there had been on foot among them a Crusade, which Pope
Urban VI. had proclaimed against the supporters of the rival
Pope Clement VII.--the "Schismatics." France took the side of
the latter and was counted among the Schismatics. Accordingly,
Pope Urban's Crusade, so far as the English people could be moved
to engage in it, was now directed against the French in
Flanders. It was led by the Bishop of Norwich, who succeeded
in rousing a very considerable degree of enthusiasm in the
country for the movement, despite the earnest opposition of
Wyclif and his followers. The crusading army assembled at
Calais in the spring of 1383, professedly for a campaign in
France; but the Bishop found excuses for leading it into
Flanders. Gravelines was first attacked, carried by storm, and
its male defenders slaughtered to a man. An army of French and
Flemings, encountered near Dunkirk, was routed, with fearful
carnage, and the whole coast, including Dunkirk, fell into the
hands of the English. Then they laid siege to Ypres, and there
their disasters began. The city held out with stubbornness
from the 9th of June until the 10th of August, when the
baffled besiegers--repulsed in a last desperate assault which
they had made on the 8th--marched away. "Ypres might rejoice,
but the disasters of the long siege proved final. Her stately
faubourgs were not rebuilt, and she has never again taken her
former rank among the cities of Flanders." In September a
powerful French army entered Flanders, and the English
crusaders could do nothing but retreat before it, giving up
Cassel (which the French burned), then Bergues, then
Bourbourg, after a siege, and, finally, setting fire to
Gravelines and abandoning that place. "Gravelines was utterly
destroyed, but the French soon began to rebuild it. It was
repeopled from the surrounding country, and fortified strongly
as a menace to Calais." The Crusaders returned to England
"'dripping with blood and disgracing their country. Blessed be
God who confounds the proud,' says one sharp critic, who
appears to have been a monk of Canterbury."
_G. M. Wrong,
The Crusade of MCCCLXXXIII._
ALSO IN
_Sir J. Froissart, (Johnes),
Chronicles
book 2, chapters 130-145 (volumes 1-2)._
FLANDERS: A. D. 1383
Joined to the Dominions of the Duke of Burgundy.
"Charles V. [of France] had formed the design of obtaining
Flanders for his brother Philip, Duke of Burgundy, afterwards
known as Philip the Bold--by marrying him to Margaret
[daughter and heiress of Louis de Maele, count of Flanders].
To gain the good will of the Communes, he engaged to restore
the three bailiwicks of Lille, Douai, and Orchies as a
substitute for the 10,000 livres a year promised to Louis de
Maele and his successors in 1351, as well as the towns of
Peronne, Crèvecœur, Arleux and Château-Chinon, assigned to him
in 1358. ... On the 13th May, 1369, the 'Lion of Flanders'
once more floated, after an interval of half a century, over
the walls of Lille, Douai, and Orchies, and at the same time
Flemish garrisons marched into St. Omer, Aire, Bethune and
Hesdin. The marriage ceremony took place at Ghent on the 19th
of June." The Duke of Burgundy waited fourteen years for the
heritage of his wife. In January, 1383, Count Louis died, and
Flanders was added to the great and growing dominion of the
new Burgundian house.
_J. Hutton,
James and Philip van Arteveld,
chapters 14 and 18._
See BURGUNDY (THE FRENCH DUKEDOM): A. D. 1364.
{1129}
FLANDERS: A. D. 1451-1453.
Revolt against the Burgundian Gabelle.
See GHENT: A. D. 1451-1453.
FLANDERS: A. D. 1477.
Severance from Burgundy.
Transference to the Austrian House by marriage of Mary of
Burgundy.
See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1477.
FLANDERS: A. D. 1482-1488.
Resistance to Maximilian.
See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1482-1493.
FLANDERS: A. D. 1494-1588.
The Austro-Spanish sovereignty and its oppressions.
The great revolt and its failure in the Flemish provinces.
See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1494-1519, and after.
FLANDERS: A. D. 1529.
Pretensions of the king of France to Suzerainty resigned.
See ITALY: A. D. 1527-1529.
FLANDERS: A. D. 1539-1540.
The unsupported revolt of Ghent.
See GHENT: A. D. 1539-1540.
FLANDERS: A. D. 1594-1884.
Later history.
See NETHERLANDS: A. D. 1594-1609, to 1830-1884.
----------FLANDERS: End----------
FLATHEAD INDIANS, The.
See AMERICAN ABORIGINES: FLATHEADS.
FLAVIA CÆSARIENSIS.
See BRITAIN: A. D. 323-337.
FLAVIAN AMPHITHEATRE, The.
See COLOSSEUM.
FLAVIAN FAMILY, The.