History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 5

THE FLEMINGS
The term Flemings or Flemish (Dutch: Vlamingen) is primarily used to refer to the
ethnic group native to Flanders (the northern half of Belgium, historically part of the
Southern Netherlands), which in total numbers about 7 million people in Belgium (the
majority of the 11 million Belgians).
In addition, the term also refers to ethnic Flemings in French Flanders (mainly in the
Département du Nord of present-day France), in the southern part of the Dutch
province of Zeeland known as Zeeuws-Vlaanderen and in other Flemish communities
around the world.
The Flemings have their language in common with the Dutch, and thus remain
relatively well aware of their northern neighbours with whom they have shared
significant parts of their history.
It is generally believed, based on historical linguistics, that the Flemings mainly
descend from the invading Germanic tribes, rather than from the Gaulish tribes who
lived in the same region before Roman times. At first sight, Flemish culture is defined
by its West Germanic language, Dutch, as opposed to the language and culture of
their mostly Francophone compatriots within Belgium.
CULTURE AND IDENTITY
The native Flemings descend from
Germanic tribes, predominantly Franks,
and mixed Celtic-Germanic "Gaulish”
tribes who had lived in the same region
even before Roman times.
In the first instance, Flemish culture is
defined by its West Germanic
language, Dutch, shared with most
people in the Netherlands, as opposed
to the Francophone compatriots within
Belgium.
The name appeared as early as the 8th
century and is believed to mean
“Lowland,” or “Flooded Land.”
The origins of Flanders lay in the pagus
Flandrensis, an area composed of
Brugge (Bruges) and its immediate
environs under the administration of
the Frankish empire. At first Flandrensis was an inconspicuous district, but beginning
in the 9th century, a remarkable line of Flemish counts succeeded in erecting a quasiindependent state on the borders between the French and German kingdoms.

5