History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 8

In the 14th century a new political problem arose: the large towns, especially Ghent,
began trying to establish communal autonomy against the counts in the manner of
independent city-states. In consequence, the counts looked for support to the French
kings. When the Hundred Years’ War between England and France broke out, the
count of Flanders, Louis I (1322–46), sided with the French while the weavers of the
Flemish towns, under the leadership of Jacob van Artevelde, sided with England,
knowing as they did that the continued supply of English wool was indispensable to
their prosperity. Artevelde and Louis I died within one year of each other (1345–46),
and the next count of Flanders, Louis II, established peace in the country and pursued
a course midway between France and England. The weavers of Ghent briefly rose
against him under the leadership of Philip van Artevelde but were defeated by a
French royal army at the Battle of Rozebeke (1382).
Louis II died in 1384, leaving Flanders to his daughter Margaret, whose second
husband, Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy, thereby succeeded to the county of
Flanders. This event was the starting point for the eventual political unification of the
Low Countries under the dukes of Burgundy (and later under the Habsburgs). The
Flemish economy had begun to decline by the late 15th century, but Flanders
remained a rich country that was important to the revenues of the Burgundian dukes.
In 1477 Mary of Burgundy married Maximilian of Austria (later Emperor Maximilian I),
thus bringing Flanders under the Habsburgs. Protestantism won many adherents in
Flanders during the Reformation, but the military occupation of the country by the
Spaniards reversed this development. Flanders remained with the other southern
provinces of the Netherlands under Spanish rule in the 17th century and then (from
1714) under Austrian rule until it disappeared as a political entity during the French
Revolutionary Wars. The title count of Flanders remains in use, however, for princes
of the Belgian royal family.
For students, the intellectual norm in Flanders means learning two, three or even more
foreign languages to a higher standard than required in most countries. Generally,
French and English are obligatory in most secondary school programs; in addition,
German and/or another language from a supplemental list may be required or strongly
encouraged. Cosmopolitanism has long been