Day of the Flemish Community in Belgium

Celebrated in Flemish communities in the Flanders Region of Belgium, 11th July commemorates the battle in 1302 in which the Flemish declared their independence from France.

The Battle of the Golden Spurs was fought on 11th July 1302, near Kortrijk in Flanders. The battle is also called The Battle of Courtrai after the French name for Kortrijk. The reason for the battle was a French attempt to subdue the County of Flanders.

Flanders was formally part of the French kingdom, having been added to the Crown lands in 1297, but this move was always resisted by local communities. In 1300, Philip IV of France appointed Jacques de Châtillon as Governor of Flanders and took the Count of Flanders, Gwijde van Dampierre, hostage. This instigated considerable unrest among the influential Flemish urban guilds.

After being exiled from their homes by French troops, the citizens of Bruges went back to their own city and murdered every Frenchman they could find there on 18th May 1302, known as the "Brugse Metten". According to legend, they identified the French by asking them to pronounce a Dutch phrase "schild ende vriend" (shield and friend), and everyone who had a problem pronouncing this shibboleth was killed. (Research shows that the "sch" sound in "schild" that makes it difficult for French-speakers to pronounce the word had not yet developed in the 14th century, this making the legend unlikely to be true).

The French King could not let these actions go unpunished, so Philip IV sent a powerful force, led by Count Robert II of Artois. The Flemish response came in the form of two groups of people drawn from Bruges and the surrounding area. One group, consisting of 3,000 men from the city militia of Bruges, was led by Willem van Gulik, grandson of Count Gwijde, and Pieter de Coninc, one of the leaders of the uprising in Bruges. The other group, of about 2,500 men from the suburbs of Bruges and the coastal areas, was headed by Gwijde van Namen, son of Count Gwijde, with the two sons of Gwijde van Dampierre. The two groups met near Kortrijk. From the East came another 2,500 men, led by Jan Borluut, and yet another 1,000 men from Ieper, led by Jan van Renesse from Zeeland.

The Flemish were primarily town militia who were well equipped and organised; the urban militias of the time prided themselves on their regular training and preparation. In total, therefore, the Flemish forces numbered about 9,000, including 400 nobles. The biggest difference from the French and other feudal armies was that the Flemish force consisted solely of infantry.

In contrast, the French were a classic feudal army made up of a core of 2,500 noble cavalry, including knights and squires. They were supported by 1,000 crossbowmen, 1,000 pike-men and up to 3,500 other light infantry, totalling around 8,000. Contemporary military theory valued each knight as equal to roughly ten infantry.

After the Flemish unsuccessfully tried to take Kortrijk on 9th and 10th July the two forces clashed on 11th July in an open field near the city. The layout of the field, crossed by numerous dikes (ditches) and streams, made it difficult for the French cavalry to charge the Flemish lines. They sent the servants to place some wood in the streams but didn't wait for this to be done.

The large French infantry force led the initial attack, which went well, but French commander Count Robert II of Artois recalled them, so that the noble cavalry could claim the victory. Hindered by their own infantry and the tactically sound position of the Flemish militia, the French cavalry were an easy target for the heavily-armed infantry. When they realised the battle was lost, the surviving French fled, to be pursued over 10 kilometres by the Flemish.

Prior to the battle, the Flemish militia had either been ordered to take no prisoners or did not understand (or care for) the military custom of asking for a ransom for captured knights or nobles. As a result, Robert of Artois was surrounded and killed on the field.

The celebration by the Flemish community of this event must be seen in the overall context of Belgium, a divided country.

The other Communities celebrate on 15th November (Day of the German Community) and 27th September (Day of the French Community) respectively.

If you're looking for a way to commemorate this event, you might be interested in this article: Commemorations with Cross Stitch

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