Matins of Bruges

Matins of Bruges
Part of Franco-Flemish War

Contemporary depiction of the Bruges Matins on the Oxford Chest.
Date18 May 1302
Location
Bruges
Belligerents
Flemish rebels Kingdom of France
Commanders and leaders
Jacques de Châtillon
Pierre Flotte
Casualties and losses
120 killed
85 captured

The Matins of Bruges (Dutch: Brugse Metten) was the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in Bruges on 18 May 1302 by the members of the local Flemish militia. It has been named "Matins" in analogy to the Sicilian Vespers of 1282. The revolt reignated the Franco-Flemish War and led to the Battle of the Golden Spurs, which saw the Flemish militia defeat French troops on 11 July 1302.

Background

When Philip the Fair became king in 1285, he changed the French policy in two ways: no more constant military campaigning like his father had done in Italy and Spain but instead opponents were challenged with legal arguments before the Parlement of Paris and no more campaigning abroad but instead reinforce the royal power within his kingdom by trying to subject the powerful vassals in the Duchy of Brittany, County of Champagne, Duchy of Aquitaine and County of Flanders. Through the parlement of Paris, Philip intervened in the conflict between Guy of Dampierre, Count of Flanders and the big towns of Flanders, Ghent, Bruges and Ypres. After much legalist action, Guy finally sought an alliance with the English King Edward I and renounced his fealty to Philip. This led to the Franco-Flemish War in 1297. Guy surrendered to Philip in 1300, and Jacques de Châtillon was appointed governor.

During the Franco-Flemish war, Bruges was sympathetic to the French cause: the city refused an offer by Edward I to pay for the repair of its city walls and when Philip invaded Flanders in 1297, representatives of the town went in September 1297 to Ingelmunster to offer the surrender of Bruges to the French king. Once it was occupied by the French, presents were sent to the French commanders and king, and Bruges let the French army fortify the city with a second, seven kilometer long city wall, which enclosed 430 ha (1,100 acres).

Prelude

The positive attitude towards the French started to shift when King Philip and Queen Joan made their joyous entry in Bruges between 29 May and 4 June 1301. Before going to Bruges, the royal pair had made a joyous entry in Ghent and on that occasion, the French king granted the abolishment of some taxes which were levied on food. As these taxes were a main source of income for the town and mostly paid by the lower class, the governors of Bruges which were higher class bourgeoisie sought a way to avoid similar grants fo their city. The government of Bruges declared that anybody asking a favour from the king, would be punished by death. As a result, when Philip made his joyous entry in Bruges, the crowd was silent and apathic, much to the astonishment of the French king.

The government had organized a tournament, offered the king valuable presents and had bought extravagant clothes for the members of the bourgeoisie. There was some unrest and rioting when it became clear that all this had to be paid exclusively by the craft guilds and not by the bourgeoisie merchants. It is during this episode that Pieter de Coninck manifested himself for the first time with his eloquence as leader of the malcontent people. On the request of the city government, the French bailiff imprisonned him and twenty-five companions in Het Steen, the royal prison. The guilds then raised their militia and freed the prisoners. The situation escalated further when Jacques de Châtillon judged that the attack by the militia on the royal prison was a lèse-majesté which should be punished severely. He ordered the houses of the twenty-six escapees demolished and on 13 July called up an army of 500 horseman to execute the punishment. But the guilds' militia were vigilant and closed the gates of the town for Jacques de Châtillon. When Jacques de Châtillon returned with a larger army reinforced with Flemish knights and poorters from other Flemish cities, he could again not enter the town but Jacques de Châtillon was able to enforce harsh measures: Pieter de Coninck and his sympathisers were exiled and their properties confiscated, 500 hostages were sent to Tournai, the recently built city walls were to be partially demolished, a castle to house a French garrison had to be built and the charter granted to the city in 1297 was revoked. These harsh measures turned the dissatisfaction of the people of Bruges further away from their own government to the French government, as these measures affected everybody and not just the rioters. Bruges appealed to the Parlement of Paris, but when this appeal was rejected in March 1302, it caused a new rebellion which enabled Pieter de Coninck to return and install a new city government, led by people from the guilds.

Jacques de Châtillon had first to deal with a similar revolt in Gent, where on 1 April the previously abolished taxes had been reinstated. On the advice of the chancellor of France Pierre Flotte, the conflict in Gent was resolved in a more diplomatic way on 11 May and as the people of Gent were relieved they escaped harsh punishment, they refused to join Bruges in the revolt. This setback caused alarm in Bruges where Pieter de Cononick had to flee the city in order to make place for more moderate leaders. On 14 May, Jacques de Châtillon and Pierre Flotte appeared before Bruges with their army and the city was more inclined to negotiate then to fight.

History

Pierre Flotte negotiated a surrender of Bruges: around 5000 rebels were allowed to flee the city to the nearby towns of Damme, Aardenburg and Oostburg, before Jacques de Châtillon entered the city on 17 May. But in violation of the terms of the surrender, he entered the city with the bulk of his army instead of the agreed 300 unarmed horseman. This caused great anxiety and believing that Jacques was going to take cruel revenge, the people of Bruges asked the rebels to return and deal with the French army. The rebels entered the city in early morning through gaps in the city walls, which had been partially torn the previous year down on the orders of Jacques. The rebels searched all houses for French soldiers and killed or captured anyone they could find. The rebels used the shibboleth: "schild en vriend", which means "shield and friend", to distinguish the French from the natives. Most of the French, including Pierre Flote and Jacques de Châtillon escaped the city, but around 120 were killed. Eighty-five nobleman and knights, including nineteen Flemish ones, were captured and later ransomed. Jacques de Châtillon escaped with the bulk of the survivors to the castle of Kortrijk On 23 May Pieter de Coninck returned in triump to Bruges.

Aftermath

King Philip vowed revenge and sent an army under the command of Robert II of Artois to put down the rebellion. Meanwhile, Guy's sons John and Guy of Namur, as well as his grandson William of Jülich, raised their own army to meet the French, and the two forces clashed in the Battle of the Golden Spurs on 11 July 1302, which resulted in an unexpected victory for the Flemish.

The rebellion of 18 May has been named "Matins" (after a monastic liturgy) in analogy to the Sicilian Vespers of 1282, by modern historians.

Citations

  1. ↑ Verbruggen & Falter 2001, pp. 53–54.
  2. ↑ van Caenegem 2002, p. 42.
  3. ↑ Trio et al (eds), p. 71.
  4. ↑ Hellinga 2013, p. 96.
  5. 1 2 3 Pirenne 2004, p. 75.
  6. ↑ De Donder 2007, p. 64.
  7. 1 2 Trio et al (eds), p. 72.
  8. ↑ Verbruggen & Falter 2001, p. 122.
  9. ↑ De Maesschalck 2019, p. 383.
  10. 1 2 Trio et al (eds), p. 73.
  11. ↑ De Maesschalck 2019, pp. 383–384.
  12. ↑ De Maesschalck 2019, pp. 384–385.
  13. ↑ Verbruggen & Falter 2001, p. 129.
  14. ↑ De Maesschalck 2019, p. 385.
  15. ↑ Verbruggen & Falter 2001, pp. 129–130.
  16. ↑ Trio et al (eds), pp. 74–75.
  17. ↑ Verbruggen & Falter 2001, p. 138-139.
  18. ↑ De Maesschalck 2019, pp. 389–390.
  19. ↑ De Maesschalck 2019, pp. 390–391.
  20. ↑ Trio et al (eds), pp. 75–76.
  21. ↑ Verbruggen & Falter 2001, pp. 140–141.
  22. ↑ Verbruggen & Falter 2001, p. 142.
  23. 1 2 3 Trio et al (eds), p. 76.
  24. ↑ Verbruggen & Falter 2001, pp. 141–142.
  25. 1 2 De Maesschalck 2019, p. 392.
  26. ↑ Verbruggen & Falter 2001, p. 145.
  27. ↑ Tucker 2010, p. 294.
  28. ↑ van Caenegem 2002, p. 69.

References

Further Reading