Count of Flanders

The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders, beginning in the 9th century.[1] The title was held for a time by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain. During the French Revolution, in 1790, the county of Flanders was annexed to France and ceased to exist. In the 19th century, the title was appropriated by Belgium and granted twice to younger sons of Belgian kings. The most recent holder died in 1983.[2]
In 862 Baldwin I was appointed as the first Margrave of Flanders by King Charles II. It was a military appointment, responsible for repelling the Viking raids from the coast of Francia. The title of margrave (or marquis) evolved into that of count. Arnulf I was the first to name himself as count, by the Grace of God. The title of margrave largely fell out of use by the 12th century. Since then, the rulers of Flanders have only been referred to as counts.
The counts of Flanders enlarged their estate through a series of diplomatic marriages. The counties of Hainaut, Namur, BΓ©thune, Nevers, Auxerre, Rethel, Burgundy, and Artois were all acquired in this manner. However, the County of Flanders suffered the same fate in turn. As a result of the marriage of Countess Margaret III with Philip II, Duke of Burgundy, the county and the subsidiary counties, entered a personal union with the Duchy of Burgundy in 1405.[3]
The counts of Flanders were also associated with the Duchy of Brittany prior to its union with France. In c 1323, Joan, the daughter of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany, married the second son of Count Robert III. Joanna of Flanders, the granddaughter of Count Robert III and daughter of his son, Count Louis I, married John Montfort.[4] During Montfort's imprisonment, she fought on his behalf, alongside English allies, during the Breton War of Succession for the ducal crown, which was won definitively by her son John V, Duke of Brittany. It was through this alliance that the Duchy of Brittany was eventually joined to the throne of France.[5]
List of counts
House of Flanders
- Baldwin I, Iron Arm (r. 862β879), married Judith (daughter of Charles the Bald) and was granted lands and honours, which would evolve into the County of Flanders.
- Baldwin II the Bald (r. 879β918), son of Baldwin I and Judith
- Arnulf I the Great (r. 918β965), son of Baldwin II, jointly with:
- Baldwin III (r. 958β962), jointly with his father Arnulf I
- Arnulf II (r. 965β988), son of Baldwin III
- Baldwin IV the Bearded (r. 988β1035), son of Arnulf II
- Baldwin V of Lille (r. 1035β1067), son of Baldwin IV
- Baldwin VI (r. 1067β1070), son of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut
- Arnulf III (r. 1070β1071), son of Baldwin VI, Count of Hainaut
- Robert I the Frisian (r. 1071β1093), son of Baldwin V
- Robert II (r. 1093β1111), son of Robert I
- Baldwin VII Hapkin (r. 1111β1119), son of Robert II
House of Estridsen
- Charles I the Good (r. 1119β1127), son of King Canute IV of Denmark and Adela of Flanders, cousin of Baldwin VII and designated by him
House of Normandy
- William I Clito (r. 1127β1128), great-grandson of Baldwin V, designated by Louis VI of France
House of Alsace or House of Metz
- Theodoric (also Thierry, or Diederik) (r. 1128β1168), grandson of Robert I, recognised by Louis VI of France
- Philip I (r. 1168β1191), son of Theodoric
- Margaret I (r. 1191β1194), daughter of Theodoric, jointly with her husband Baldwin of Hainaut.
House of Flanders
- Baldwin VIII (r. 1191β1194), husband of Margaret I, patrilineal great-great-grandson of Baldwin VI, also Count of Hainaut
- Baldwin IX (r. 1194β1205), son of Baldwin VIII, also Latin Emperor of Constantinople
- Joan I (r. 1205β1244), daughter of Baldwin IX, jointly with her husbands
- Ferdinand of Portugal (r. 1212β1233)
- Thomas of Savoy-Piedmont (1237β1244)
- Margaret II (r. 1244β1278), sister of Joan, married first to Burchard IV of Avesnes and then William of Dampierre, jointly with her sons from second marriage, William III of Dampierre (r. 1247β1251) and Guy of Dampierre (r. 1251β1305)
In 1244, the Counties of Flanders and Hainaut were claimed by Margaret II's sons, the half-brothers John I of Avesnes and William III of Dampierre in the War of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault. In 1246, King Louis IX of France awarded Flanders to William.
House of Dampierre
- William II (r. 1247β1251), son of Margaret II and William II of Dampierre
- Guy I (r. 1251β1305), son of Margaret II and William II of Dampierre, imprisoned 1253β1256 by John I of Avesnes, also Count of Namur
- Robert III ("the Lion of Flanders") (r. 1305β1322), son of Guy
- Louis I (r. 1322β1346), grandson of Robert III
- Louis II (r. 1346β1384), son of Louis I
- Margaret III (r. 1384β1405), daughter of Louis II, jointly with her husband, Philip II
- Philip II jointly with his wife Margaret III of Flanders.
House of Burgundy
- John the Fearless (r. 1405β1419), son of Margaret III and Philip II of Burgundy
- Philip III the Good (r. 1419β1467), son of John
- Charles II the Bold (r. 1467β1477), son of Philip the Good
- Mary the Rich (r. 1477β1482), daughter of Charles the Bold, jointly with her husband Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
House of Habsburg
- Philip IV the Handsome (r. 1482β1506), son of Mary and Maximilian
- Charles III (r. 1506β1555), son of Philip, also Holy Roman Emperor (as Charles V) and King of Spain (as Charles I)
Charles V proclaimed the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 eternally uniting Flanders with the other lordships of the Low Countries in a personal union. When the Habsburg empire was divided among the heirs of Charles V, the Low Countries, including Flanders, went to Philip II of Spain, of the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg.
- Philip V (r. 1555β1598), son of Charles III, also King of Spain as Philip II
- usurpation by Francis, Duke of Anjou (Valois) (1582β1584) [6]
- Isabella Clara Eugenia (r. 1598β1621), daughter of Philip II, jointly with her husband Albert, Archduke of Austria)
- Philip VI (r. 1621β1665), grandson of Philip III, also King of Spain as Philip IV
- Charles IV (r. 1665β1700), son of Philip IV, also King of Spain as Charles II
- Philip VII (House of Bourbon) (r. 1700β1706), great-grandson of Philip IV
Between 1706 and 1714, Flanders was invaded by the English and the Dutch during the War of the Spanish Succession. The fief was claimed by the House of Habsburg and the House of Bourbon. In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht settled the succession and the County of Flanders went to the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg.
- Charles V (r. 1714β1740), great grandson of Philip III, also Holy Roman Emperor (elect)
- Maria Theresa (r. 1740β1780), daughter of Charles IV, jointly with
- Francis I (r. 1740β1765), jointly with his wife Maria Teresa
- Joseph I (r. 1780β1790), son of Maria Theresa and Francis I
- Leopold (r. 1790β1792), son of Maria Theresa and Francis I
- Francis II (r. 1792β1835), son of Leopold, also Holy Roman Emperor
The title was abolished de facto after revolutionary France annexed Flanders in 1795. The Emperor Francis II relinquished his claim to the Low Countries in the Treaty of Campo Formio of 1797, and the area remained part of France until the end of the Napoleonic Wars.
Modern usage
House of Belgium (formerly House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)
In modern times, the title was granted to two younger sons of the kings of the Belgians.
- Prince Philippe, son of King Leopold I of Belgium (1840β1905)
- Prince Charles, son of King Albert I of Belgium (1910β1983)
House of Bourbon
The title, Count of Flanders, is one of the titles of the Spanish Crown. It is a historical title which is only nominally and ceremonially used.
Sources
- ^ Gilliat-Smith, Ernest (1909). The story of Bruges (4th ed.). London: J. M. Den & Co. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-4446-6629-8. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "Prince Regent Charles". www.monarchie.be. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
- ^ Wim Blockmans; Walter Prevenier (3 August 2010). The Promised Lands: The Low Countries Under Burgundian Rule, 1369-1530. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-0070-5.
- ^ History of England, by F.Y. Powell and (T.F. Tout). 1885. pp. 228β.
- ^ John A. Wagner (2006). Encyclopedia of the Hundred Years War. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 182β. ISBN 978-0-313-32736-0.
- ^ Knecht, Catherine de' Medici, Longman, 1998, p. 212.
See also
- Marek, Miroslav. "Genealogy of the counts of Flanders". Genealogy EU. Archived from the original on 2007-10-28. Retrieved 2006-06-04.
- Counts of Flanders family tree
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Copyright
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