James and Philip van Arteveld. Two episodes in the history of the fourteenth century

Front matter

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Preface

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THE purport of this volume is simply to place in their true light, before English readers, the characters and careers of two remarkable men, who, for the space of well nigh six centuries, have been cruelly misunderstood and misrepresented. It was, perhaps, natural that the early chroniclers should mistake the Van Artevelds, father and son, for mere blatant, self-seeking demagogues, Connected for the most part by birth, or association, with the feudal nobility of the period, Froissart and his copyists learned from their childhood to look down upon the commonalty as an inferior race of mankind, brought into the world to subserve the interests and pleasures of the great lords. In their eyes there was no neutral, no intermediate, ground between the patricians and the plebeians. It was for the former to command, for the latter to obey—for the former to enjoy life, for the latter to render life enjoyable. The upheaval of the lower orders and the apparition of James van Arteveld were phenomena unprecedented in their vi PREFACE.

experience, and therefore to be denounced as monstrous and diabolical.

Gilles li Muisis and Jehan le Bel were the first, so far as I am aware, to give a totally erroneous interpretation to a movement which alarmed their ignorance and confounded their sagacity. Had the matter, however, rested in their hands it is probable that posterity would. have heard very little either of the Communes of Flanders, or of their two greatest captains. But in the hands of Froissart history became a lifelike romance, imbued with personal interest, and glowing with brilliant pictures of gallant feats of arms, of knightly enterprise and prowess, of the heroic courage and devotion of high-born dames and damsels, and also of the outrageous presumption of the baser sort, who actually claimed a common humanity and put forth titles and privileges of their own. It would be unfair to accuse the Canon of Chimay of wilfully embellishing, or distorting, the facts which came to his knowledge. He lived in an age of memorable events, and moved amongst the great men who were carving out history with the sword, and who made free use of his pen to record and emblazon their own achievements. He belonged to a pre-critical era, and thought no harm in repeating each tale as it was told to him. He accepted, without hesitation, the evidence of eyewitnesses, even when extolling their own successes

PREFACE. vil or glossing over their own failures. It was not for him to cross-examine his munificent patrons, or even the courteous knights who, in friendly converse, unrolled the sparkling narrative of all that they had heard, seen, or imagined, in the course of their adventurous lives. To the inventive reminiscences of Robert de Namur we are indebted for the charming, if fictitious, episode of the surrender of Calais, and for the vigorous delineation of the sea-fight off Winchelsea. To Froissart’s own visit to Damme, Sluys, Bruges, and Ghent, we owe the minute touches which impart so much animation to his story of Philip van Arteveld. From the lips of the very actors in those troublous scenes he took down the details which came under the cognizance of each, or which each could repeat at direct second-hand. But it must not be forgotten that, although he made a point of committing to paper, before he lay down to rest, whatever he had learned during the daylight, his labours usually began at a late hour, after a joyous supper, when imagination is apt to come to the aid of memory. In any case he failed to appreciate the two episodes in the annals of the Flemish Communes which this little volume is intended to Ulustrate.

There may be a certain lack of reverence in presuming to criticise the most fascinating of all chronicles, but, after all, truth is more to be regardea viii PREFACE.

than sentiment, and the two great citizens of Ghent have been suffered to remain much too long under a cloud of misapprehension and obloquy. The late Mr. Wm. Longman,* it is true, rendered full justice to the noble aspirations of James van Arteveld, and showed conclusively that what he aimed at was constitutional government, though the form might be democratic. But Philip van Arteveld has been less _ fortunate, or, rather, he has been peculiarly unfortunate in being made the hero of Sir Henry Taylor’s dramatised poem. Although adhering with wonderful fidelity to Froissart’s narrative, the English poet has added an incident of remarkable beauty, but which is painfully injurious to the moral character of the victor of Beverhoutsveld. Not content with bestowing upon Philip a beautiful, accomplished, and virtuous wife in Adriana van Merestyn, Sir Henry Taylor links him at her death with the runaway mistress of the Duke of Bourbon, idealised into an abstract personification of love and purity. Now, in the drama, Philip’s marriage does not take place till some time in May, 1382, and in six months. he buries and forgets his wife and becomes enthralled by Elena della Torre, and all this because Froissart mentions that a “damoiselle” had accompanied him from Ghent to Roosebeke, the “damoiselle ” being no other than his wife, Yolande van den

* ** History of the Life and Times of Edward III.,”’ 1862.

PREFACE. ix

Broucke. Sir Henry Taylor, however, renders due homage to the many great qualities which characterised his hero, and which he sums up with much force and feeling. The speaker is the king’s uncle, the Duke of Burgundy :-— Dire rebel though he was,

Yet with a noble nature and great gifts

Was he endow’d—courage, discretion, wit,

An equal temper and an ample soul,

Rock-bound and fortified against assaults

Of transitory passion, but below

Built on a surging subterranean fire

That stirr’d and lifted him to high attempts.

So prompt and capable and yet so calm,

He nothing lack’d in sovereignty but the right,

Nothing in soldiership except good fortune.

With respect to James van Arteveld, in the absence of any positive evidence one way or the other, I have not ventured to assert that he was neither himself a brewer nor the husband of a “brewster,” whether widow or maiden; but in my own mind I have not the slightest doubt that the tradition is entirely based upon his being admitted a member of the Brewers’-Guild two years before his death. This was one of the fifty-two minor crafts, and for that reason was chosen by Van Arteveld, who, by birth, belonged to the Weavers’-Guild, which stood at the head of the industrial orders of Ghent. To the wine-drinking knights and chroniclers a brewer of the thick, muddy, ill-fermented beer of those times,

Be PREFACE.

which needed an admixture of honey to render it at all palatable, may well have seemed a common fellow of very plebeian origin. I have followed M. de Lettenhove in giving him to wife a daughter of Sohier de Courtrai, in preference to adopting M. Voisin’s theory that he was a grandson of the venerable Lord of Dronghen, and that he married a lady named Christine, of the illustrious house of Baronaige ; but I confess that I can adduce no very cogent reason for the faith that is in me. Except to refute the misrepresentations of the ancient chroniclers, and the careless repetitions of their blind followers, it might have been wiser simply to acknowledge that the youth and early manhood of James van Arteveld are involved in so much obscurity, that nothing certain is known either as to his pursuits and occupation, or as to the name of his wife,

For the rest, I cannot sufficiently acknowledge my obligations to the admirable works produced by M. de Lettenhove and Professor Vanderkindere, In my list of authorities I have not mentioned Froissart or a host of subsequent chroniclers whom I have carefully consulted and collated. The occa- ‘sional passages from Froissart are either my own version, or have been taken from Colonel Johnes’ translation.

Contents

PARIS |

EARLY HISTORY OF FLANDERS.

Chapter I

Flanders—How Peopled—Baldwin Bras-de-Fer—The Minne, or Ghilde—Rising Influence of the Counts—Robert of Flanders—Charles of Denmark—William Longsword— Thierry of Alsace—Power of the Ghildes—Foundation of Damme—Philip of Flanders and Philip Augustus — Baldwin, Emperor of Constantinople — Battle of Bouvines 2 : : : 2 ; ; c 4 1

PAGE

Chapter II

Treaty of Melun—The Thirty-Nine of Ghent—The D’Avesnes and the Dumpierres—Guy de Dampierre—Development of Civilization—Prosperity of the Communes—The Hanse of London—Destruction of the Bruges Charters—Philip the Fair of France—His Ambitious Projects . : Ls

Chapter III

Imprisonment of Guy de Dampierre—Philippine of Flanders —Philip favours the Communes—Release of Guy de Dampierre—Alliance with Edward I.—Battle of Bulsxii CONTENTS.

camp—Hdward I. lands at Sluys; visits Ghent; returns to England—Guy de Dampierre imprisoned at Compiégne— Philip the Fair in Flanders—Peter Coninck—Outbreak in Bruges—John Breydel—Bruges Matins—Insurrection in the Frane of Bruges—Day of the Golden Spnrs—Popular Movements—Robert de Béthune—Treaty of Athies— Louis de Nevers—Treaty of Pontoise—Edward II. .

Chapter IV

Louis X. invades Flanders—Panic in his Army—Philip the Long—Pope Arbitrates between France and Flanders— Robert de Béthune at Paris—His death—Charles the Fair—Louis de Créey—Arrests English Traders in Flanders — Disturbances — Nicholas Zannequin— Louis de Crécy made prisoner in Courtrai—Interdict against Ghent—Peace between Count and Communes—Philip de Valois—Promises to restore Count of Flanders—Battle of Cassel—Punishment of the Insurgents—Insurrection in Maritime Flanders—Birth of Louis de Maele—Temporary lull

JAMES VAN ARTEVELD.

Chapter VIII

Aécession of Philip the Fair—Pretensions of Edward III.— Robert of Artois—Commercial Relations of England and Flanders—Coalition of Edward III. with the German Princes—Louis de Crécy arrests Englishmen in Flanders —Reprisals by Edward III.—Reconciliation between England and the Communes—English Envoys in Flanders Arrest of Sohier de Courtrai—Capture of Cadzand— Misery in Ghent—James van Arteveld—Misconceptions as to his character and position xiii

PAGE xiv, CONTENTS.

Chapter IX

PAGE Youth and early manhood of James van Arteveld—His marriage —The apocryphal Brewery—Consulted by Ghent artizans—Advises a close alliance with England —Appointed Captain of the City—Convention signed at Louvain—Selfishness of the Communes—Louis de Crécy accused of seeking Van Arteveld’s death—The Count’s flight from Ghent—The Count temporises—Execution of Sohier de Courtrai—Philip de Valois excommunicates Ghent—French invade Flanders—Louis de Maele driven out of Bruges—The Communes organise a Local Govern-

ment—Reopen Trade with England : : : re bo 9

GHAPTER) xX.

Edward III. appointed Vicar of the Holy Roman Empire— Popularity of the English in Brabant—The Count’s narrow escape at Dixmude—Siege of Cambrai—Edward III. offers battle to Philip de Valois—Both armies withdraw into winter quarters—Fighting on the Borders—Barbarity of medieval warfare—Edward III. claims the Crown of France—Quarters the Fleurs-de Lys on his shield—Grants three Charters to the Communes—dAlliance between Flanders, Brabant, and Hainault—Papal intervention . 142

Chapter XI

Birth of John of Gaunt and of Philip van Arteveld—Defeat and capture of the Earl of Salisbury—James van Arteveld marches to the relief of the Count of Hainault—Battle of Sluys—Van Arteveld joins Edward II. at Ardenburg— Accompanies him to Bruges—The French and English Kings issue proclamations—Siege of Tournai—Use of Artillery—Truce of Esplechin— Armies} dishanded— Favourable terms granted to the Communes—The Count grants an amnesty—Financial embarrassment of Edward I1.—Obtains a loan through Van Arteyeld—Further negotiations . : : ; : A : - 156

CONTENTS. xy

Chapter XII. Page

Mission of Catherine van Arteveld—Edward III. in Brittany —Truce of Malestroit—Futile intrigues of Louis de Crécy —The Banner incident at Ardenburg—Prosperity of Flanders under Van <Arteveld—Affray with John de Steenbeke—Revival of old institutions—Fullers and Weavers—The monopoly of woollen fabrics—‘‘ Den Quaden Maendag ”"—Edward IIT. at Sluys—Unfounded rumour—Riot at Ghent—Murder of James van Arteveld -—His burial—His true character . : ; 169

LAG LLY,

A TROUBLED INTERLUDE.

Chapter XIII

Discomfiture of the Bruges Militia—Death of Louis de Crécy —Succeeded by Louis de Maele—His betrothal to Isabella of England—His flight into France—Indecisive engagements between French and Flemish troops—Surrender of Calais to Edward III. —Invasion of Flanders by Philip—The Communes disunited — Disturbances at Bruges—Duplicity of Louis de Maele—Massacre in Ghent—The Black Death—The Flagellants . F . 189

Chapter XIV

Death of Philip de Valois—Naval battle off Winchelsea—The Count and the Communes—John de Valois—Charles the Bad—Joseph and Walter d’Halewyn beheaded—Riots in Ghent—Battle of Poitiers—Death of the Countess of Flanders—Loyalty of Louis de Maele—Marriage of Marxvi CONTENTS.

PAGE garet of Flanders to Philip, Duke of Burgundy—Death of Edward III.—Profligacy of Louis de Maele—Stirs up strife between Bruges and Ghent—John Yoens and Gilbert Mahieua—Adoption of the White Hoods— Murder of the Count’s bailiff at Ghent— Wreckage of the Count’s chateau at Wondelghem ‘ : . : ; - 206

CHAPTER XY.

Alliance between Bruges and Ghent—Death of John Yoens— Communal militia besiege Oudenaerd—Mediation of the Duke of Burgundy —A ‘ double-faced ” peace—Count’s reception at Ghent—Raises army of mercenaries—Barbarous outrage—Surprise of Oudenaerd—Renewal of hostilities—Ghent militia repulsed at Bruges—Fatal ambush—

The Count’s severity at Ypres—Siege of Ghent—The Count grants an amnesty—Attacks and defeats a detachment of Ghent militia at Nevele—Capture of Grammont by Walter @’ Enghien—His death , : : : » 22

Set

PARE Y, PHILIP VAN ARTEVELD.

he

Chapter XVI

Van den Bossche—Philip van Arteveld appointed Captain of the City—His antecedents and character—Execution of two Leliaerds—Philip’s proclamation—Francis Ackerman obtains supplies—Duplicity of the Count—Misery at Ghent—Philip van Arteveld counsels action—Marches upon Bruges—Rout of Beverhoutsveld—Louis de Maele’s adventures and escape—Submission of Bruges—Ghent revictu@led . : : : . : : : = 243

CONTENTS. xvii

Chapter XVII

The rival Popes—Wreckage of the Count’s chateau at Maele —Magnificence of Philip van Arteveld—Siege of Oudenaerd—Gallant defence—Use of artillery—Destitution of the garrison—The Flemish camp—Louis de Maele appeals to the Duke of Burgundy—Charles VI. summons ban and arriére-ban—Philip van <Arteveld claims the King’s mediation—Flemish mission to Richard II.—Charles VI. takes nominal command of his army—Passage of the Lys—Van den Bossche’s position turned—His defeat . 262

PAGE

Chapter XVIII

Charles VI. crosses the Lys—Disturbances in Paris—Louis de Maele ignored by the King’s uncles—Devastation of the Franc—Van Arteveld takes post at Roosebeke—Evil auguries—Battle of Roosebeke—Death of Philip van Arteveld—Slaughter of the Flemings—Destruction of Courtrai—Submission of Flanders—Cruel ravages— Charles VI. returns to Paris—Religious war between the Count and his subjects—The Bishop of Norwich invades Flanders—His successes—Repulsed at Ypres—Returns to England—Surprise of Oudenaerd by Ackerman—Agitation in France and Flanders—Mysterious death of Louis de Maele—His obsequies—Decay of Feudalism—Growth of Democracy—A few last words . 5 : 3 <2 2is

PARE -VE

DECLINE AND FALL OF THE COMMUNES.

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Chapter XIX

Bruges under Philip the Bold—Ghent—Recovery of Oudenaerd—True meaning of the Battle of Roosebeke—‘‘ Les b xviii CONTENTS.

PAGE Pourcelets de la Raspaille’” — Francis Ackerman —

Heroism of the Flemish leaders—Plot against Ghent— Tumult in Bruges—John the Fearless—Philip the Good —Siege of Calais—Philip’s attempt upon Bruges— Treachery of the Men of Ghent—Miserable condition of Bruges—Mournful Festivities . 5 3 ° - 303

Chapter XX

Disputes between Philip and the town of Ghent—Insurrection—Death of the Bastard of Burgundy—Battle of Gavre—Treaty of Gavre—Charles the Rash at Ghent —Mary of Burgundy—Maximilian of Austria—Philip the Fair—Charles-Quint—Confiseation of the liberties of Ghent—Conelusion . 5 Rea . : 7 S819

INDEX : : ; 5 : : : : F ) Oee

LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

- ———— ees de Flandre. Par M. Kervyn de Lettenhove. Bruges. 14.

Jacques @’Artevelde. Par M. Kervyn de Lettenhove. Gand. 1863.

Froissart. Etude Littéraire sur le XIV Siécle. Par M. Kervyn de Lettenhove, Bruxelles. 1857.

Le Sivele des Artevelde. Par Léon Vanderkindére, Professeur & l'Université de Bruxelles. Bruxelles. 1879.

Le Premier Livre des Chroniques de Jean Froissart. Texte inédit, publié d’aprés un manuscrit de la bibliotheque du Vatican. Par M. le Baron K. de Lettenhove. Bruxelles, 1863.

De VOrigine des Progres et de la Décadence des Chambres de Rhétorique établies en Flandre: avec une notice historique sur J. van Artevelde. Par N. Cornelissen. Gand. 1812.

Annales de Flandre de P. d’Oudegherst. Par M. Lesbroussart. Gand. 1789.

Histoire de France, dépwis Faramond jusqwaw rigne de Lowis le Juste. Par le Sieur F, de Mezeray, Varis. 1685, ake LIST OF AUTHORITIES.

Histoire des Francais. Par J. C. L. Simonde de Sismondi, Paris. 1828.

Les Vrayes Chroniques de Messire Jean le Bel. Publiées par M. L. Polain. Bruxelles. 1863.

Guide de Gand. Par Auguste Voisin. Gand. 1843.

Mémoires sur la Ville de Gand. Par le Chevalier Charles Louis Diericx. Gand. 1814.

Memorte Boek der Stad Ghent. 1301—1737.

Cours d’Histotre Belgique. Par L. D. J. Dewez. Bruxelles. 1833.

Histoire Particuliére des Provinces Belgiques. Par L. D. J. Dewez. Bruxelles, 1816.

Die Historie van Belgis. Door Mareus van Varnewyck. Ghent. 1784.

History of the Life and Times of Edward ILI. By Wm. Longman. London. 1869.

LIST OF AUTHORITIES. xxi

Croniques de Flandres. Par P. Wielant. Bruges. 1839.

L? Histoire des Pays-Bas. Par Emmanuel van Meteren. la Haye. 1618.

Essais sur V Histoire Politique des Derniers Siceles : Introduction. Par Jules van Praet. Bruxelles.

History of the English People. By R. J. Green, M.A. London. 1879.

Histoire de la France sous les Cing Premiers Valois. Par LP. C. Levesque. Paris. 1788.

Histoire de France. Par M. Michelet. Paris. 1887.

Examen Critique des Historiens de Jucques van Artevelde. Par Auguste Voisin. Gand. 1841.

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Part I

ere

EARLY HISTORY OF FLANDERS.

JAMES AND PHILIP VAN ARTEVELD.

PART I.

EARLY HISTORY OF FLANDERS. .

—_-—

Chapter I

How Peopled—BPaldwin Bras-de-Fer—The Minne, or Ghilde— Rising Influence of the Counts—Robert of Flanders—Charles of Denmark—William lLongsword —Thierry of Alsace — Power of the Ghildes—Foundation of Damme—Philip of Flanders and Philip Augustus—Baldwin, Emperor of Constantinople—Battle of Bouvines.

Tue name of Fleanderland, or the land of the “‘flymings,” or fugitives, was originally confined to a broad strip of territory along the sea-coast between the country of the Gauls and Friesland. It was in the fourth and fifth centuries that these fugitive, or emigrant, Germans and Saxons established themselves on the coast of what is now called West Flanders. They were known as Lecti, an appellation afterwards corrupted into Laeten (Colonus or Hospes), and applied to freemen engaged in agricultural. pursuits. In the Notitia Imperii of Theodosius the region inhabited by them is described as the Littus

Saxonicum, but that epithet was more fully deserved at a later period when Charlemagne forcibly planted along this coast some thousands of Saxon colonists, for the double purpose of repelling the incursions of the Northmen, and of serving as hostages for the orderly conduct of their barbarous kinsfolk beyond the eastern borders of his Empire. Their descendants long retained a savage craving for licence—for of true liberty they had not the faintest conception—and were unfavourably distinguished until a much later period for their coarse manners and brutal disposition.

In the hope of maintaining a semblance of tranquillity among his Flemish subjects, Charlemagne appointed a Forestier, whose duty it was to enforce obedience to the law and collect imposts, as well as to preserve as an Imperial Chase the extensive forests which then covered the country, and to breed hawks and falcons for the special use of the Emperor. This arrangement was of very brief duration. In the reign of Charles the Bald, a rude Flemish chieftain, Baldwin, surnamed Bras-de-Fer, or Iron-arm, ran away with the King’s daughter Judith, but after experiencing many vicissitudes of fortune, was pardoned and taken into favour. Baldwin thereupon built a castle commanding a bridge over the little river Reye, with a chapel to receive certain relics of St. Donatus sent to him by the Archbishop of Rheims. Outside the walls he erected houses for the reception of merchants and itinerant traders, and laid out a mal-berg, or place of meeting for freemen. A small town rose under the protection of the castle walls, and was called Brugge

_or Bruggensele, from the bridge to which it primarily owed its existence. After a time the toll house on the Reye gradually developed into the renowned and opulent city of Bruges, famous at a subsequent period for the beauty of its women. The title of Markeraf, or Warden of the Marches, was conferred upon the successful adventurer, who suppressed the ravages of the Northmen and extended his personal influence far and wide.

His son, who married a daughter of Alfred the _ Great, was cast in a different mould. Under his comparatively feeble administration the Northmen encamped at the confluence of the Lys and the Scheldt, a situation already marked as the cradle of the great city of Ghent, whence they made frequent raids into France, and depopulated the adjacent districts of Brabant and Flanders. ‘Though incapable of opposing the Northern pirates, Baldwin the Bald—as he loved to call himself after his grandfather Charles—was not devoid of ambition. He accordingly made himself master of Arras, and strengthened the fortifications of St. Omer, Ypres, and Bergues. He was succeeded by Arnulf, or Arnold the Great, who appears to have been the first Count of Flanders, and,to have lived at a time of universal anarchy. The end of the world, indeed, was commonly believed to be at hand, the only difference of opinion arising from the computation of a period of one thousand years—some reckoning from the birth, others from the death of Jesus. All alike threw off the restraints of religioh and morality, and did that which was good in theit own eyes.

B 2

4 JAMES AND PHILIP VAN ARTEVELD. [ PT. I.

In the course of the tenth century Bruges had waxed great and wealthy through its trade with England, while the Ghent people constructed a port at the junction of their two rivers. The Flemings, nevertheless, were still noted for the boorishness of their demeanour, their addiction to intemperance, and their excessive turbulence. Their pagan ancestors had been accustomed to form associations for their mutual protection against accidents by fire or water, and similar misadventures. These unions were called Minne, or Friendships—an idea reproduced in the Amicitie, to which allusion is so frequently made in the deeds of ancient corporations. Gathered in a circle round the sacrificial fire, the associates drained, each in his turn, three horns of beer, or mead: the first, in honour of the gods; the second, in reverent remembrance of the warriors of olden time deemed worthy of a seat in the halls of Odin; and the third, in loving memory of friends and kinsmen, reposing in the sleep of death beneath the mounds of turf in the midst of which their survivors were seated. After a time the name of Minne came to be supplanted by that of Ghilde, meaning a feast at the common expense. ach ghilde was placed under the tutelage of a departed hero, or demigod, and was managed by officers elected by the members—social equality being the foundation of each fraternity. Subsequent to the introduction of Christianity the demigod was replaced by a saint, while the members were enjoined to practise works of piety. The clergy, however, viewed these associations with marked displeasure, on account of the habitual intemperance by which they were characterised. The spirit of the Minne may nevertheless be traced in the fundamental rules and regulations of all, or nearly all, the corporations of Flanders.

Arnulf, or Arnold the Great, was succeeded by Arnulf the Younger, after whom three Baldwins, each in his turn, governed the county. Baldwin the Bearded added Valenciennes and Walcheren to the domains of his predecessors—the former being held as a fief of the German Empire. He was followed by Baldwin the Pious, who proclaimed the Truce of God, which limited bloodshed to three days in the week. His piety, however, did not restrain him from laying his hands upon the Imperial city of Ghent, or from coercing Henry III. of Brabant to cede to him the territory lying between Ghent and Alost. He further increased his influence by obtaining for his eldest son the hand of Richilda, Countess of Hainault, and by marrying his daughter Matilda to Wiliam Duke of Normandy. Another daughter, Judith, was given in _ marriage to Tostig, son of Earl Godwin, who fell at Stamford Bridge fighting against his brother Harold, the last of the Saxon kings of England. A considerable number of Flemish knights joined Duke William’s expedition at St. Valéry-sur-Somme, and greatly distinguished themselves at Senlac, winning their full share of rewards and honours from the Conqueror. It is recorded, however, that very many of them perished miserably within a brief period, while the commonalty of Flanders sympathised with the conquered Saxons, and accorded a hospitable reception to the fugitives, not unmindful of their common origin, or of the hardships they themselves had had to endure as exiles in bygone times.

During the minority of Philip I. of France, the young prince and his dominions were confided to the guardianship of Baldwin the Pious, as the premier vassal of the French crown, and it is pleasant to know that the delicate trust was discharged with equal prudence and loyalty. ‘The third of these Baldwins was surnamed the Good, but his occupancy of the earldom lasted only three years, when he was nominally sueceeded by his son Arnold the Simple, though virtually by his widow Richilda of Haimault, who took for her second husband William Fitz-Osborn, Count of Breteuil in Normandy and Earl of Hereford in England. The Flemings, however, rose against their foreign ruler, and under the leadership of Robert of Friesland, uncle to their Count, attacked and routed on the 22nd of February, 1071, a French army assembled at Mount Cassel under the personal command of Philp the First. The French king and Richilda fled from the field, but Fitz-Osborn was slain, as was also Arnold the Simple. A second defeat, a few years later, induced Richilda to devote herself to a religious life, upon which Robert of Friesland became Robert of Flanders.

The new Count was continually at strife with the Normans, and is represented as a man of violent character and fond of adventurous enterprise. Under his sway, though not by his example, the Flemings became much softened and humanised by the assiduous efforts of the Bishop of Soissons to inculcate the principles of Christianity, and to weld the rude barbarians into the semblance of a civilised nation—so far as civilisation and nationality were understood in those days. Towards the close of the century the Count went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, leaving his States in charge of his son Robert. On his return from the Holy Land he stopped for a while at Constantinople, and promised the Emperor Alexis Comnenus that he would bring to his aid five hundred Flemish men-at-arms. The promise was fulfilled, and for the space of four years these doughty warriors were a terror to the Moslemin. As the Count traversed France on his homeward journey, he was everywhere treated with marked distinction as a Soldier of Christ, and in the autumn of 1092 he ended his warlike career in the castle of Wynendael, near Thorout.* In the same year in which Robert II. of Flanders passed away, Peter the Hermit stirred up the nations of Christendom to rescue the Holy City from the Saracens. The first crusade owed its success in a great degree to the valour and prudence of a Flemish knight, Godfrey de Bouillon, who was accompanied by Robert, Count of Flanders, and a gallant band of stalwart Flemings. The Count returned to his own dominions in safety, but only to fall in a petty skirmish beneath the walls of Meaux, while fighting for King Louis VI. His son, Baldwin VIL, likewise met with a violent death, being slain by an arrow shot

* The name of this picturesque little town, “‘Thor’s Wood,” recalls to mind the Scandinavian origin of the people. Scarce any traces remain of the old chateau of Wynendael, the favourite residence of the Counts of Flanders in their palmy days. Readers of ‘ Hsmond” will not easily forget the battle so gallantly won, and so often referred to, by General Webb in 1708.

from the ramparts of the Castle of Eu, near Tréport, _ A.D. 1119.

The Earldom of Flanders then devolved on Charles of Denmark, a near relative, who displayed great vigour alike in repelling aggression and in suppressing intestine tumults. It is worthy of note, that a large body of burghers under the banners of their respective parishes voluntarily marched under his command to the French camp, in the war with the Emperor Henry V. So genuine and widespread was the respect inspired by Count Charles, that he was offered in succession the Imperial erown, and that of Jerusalem, both of which he had the good sense to refuse. His attention and time were wholly devoted to an attempt to humanise the Flemings settled along the sea-shore, but his well-meant labours brought about a conspiracy against himself, in which some of the principal inhabitants of Bruges took an active part. He was consequently stabbed to death while engaged in prayer in the church of St. Donatus, and several af his friends and advisers were brutally murdered about the same time. The assassins, with the exception of a few who temporarily escaped—but who were subsequently apprehended and put to death—sustained a regular siege in the tower of the church, and were ultimately mastered with great difficulty. Many miracles, of course, were performed at the tomb of the martyred Count, and the tragic event was turned to exceedingly profitable account by the local clergy.

Notwithstanding his positive promise that the Flemings should be allowed to proceed, without

CH. In] EARLY HISTORY OF FLANDERS. 9 molestation, to the election of a new Count, Louis _VI. compelled them to accept William of Normandy, surnamed Long-Sword, grandson of Matilda. William was worthy of his patron. He began by pledging himself to the abolition of the imposts which had been arbitrarily levied by his predecessors, but he took no steps to redeem his word. Insurrections thereupon broke out in several places, the men of Ghent in particular protesting against his breach of faith. At the suggestion of Henry I. of England, whose interest it was to humble his nephew—whose father he had supplanted—the Flemings made choice of Thierry of ~ Alsace as their Earl, and William only saved his life by fleeing to Ypres, whence he forwarded an appeal to the King of France. The citizens of Bruges also addressed a memorial to Louis VI., but couched in a different strain. They fearlessly reminded their suzerain that he had nothing whatever to do with the election of a Count of Flanders, which rested exclusively with the nobles and burghers of the county, and that the Count himself was only bound to furnish a certain number of men-at-arms for the lands he actually held of the King. To this outspoken document Louis VI. returned no reply beyond laying siege to Lille. A serious reverse sustained by his arms, and the approach of the English monarch, constrained him, however, to retire into his own territories and to renounce the cause of William Longsword. That brave young prince, thrown upon his own resources, acquitted himself manfully.