Franco-Flemish War

The Franco-Flemish War (also called Flanders’ War of Liberation) was a conflict between the Kingdom of France and the County of Flanders between 1297 and 1305.

Causes
Philip IV of France became King in 1285, and was determined to strengthen the French monarchy at any cost. The County of Flanders had been formally part of the French Kingdom since the Treaty of Verdun in 843, but had always de facto been largely, if not fully, independent from the French crown.

Flanders had some of the richest cities of that time, like Bruges, Ghent, Ypres, Lille and Douai. These cities tried to keep their independence from the Count of Flanders and from the rural aristocracy. But the cities were themselves divided between the rich patricians and the urban tradesmen, united in guilds.

In 1288, Philip IV of France used complaints over taxes to tighten his control over Flanders. Tension built between Guy of Dampierre, Count of Flanders and the King. In 1294, Guy turned for help to King Edward I of England, arranging a marriage between his daughter Philippa and Edward, Prince of Wales. However, Philip imprisoned Guy and two of his sons, forced him to call off the marriage, and imprisoned Philippa in Paris until her death in 1306. Guy was summoned before the king again in 1296, and the principal cities of Flanders were taken under royal protection, until Guy paid an indemnity and surrendered his territories, to hold them at the grace of the King.

After these indignities, in 1297 Guy attempted to revenge himself on Philip by an alliance with Edward I of England, now at war with France. Philip responded by declaring Flanders annexed to the royal domain and sending a French army under Robert II of Artois to conquer Flanders.

1297–1303
Count Guy of Flanders, at that time in conflict with the Patricians of the cities, was easily defeated at the Battle of Furnes. King Edward's expedition to help Flanders was aborted and he made peace with Philip in 1298 and left Guy to his fate. The French invaded again in 1299 and captured both Guy and his son Robert in January 1300. By May 1300 the whole of Flanders was under French control.

The conquest of Flanders had been relatively easy, because the Flemish cities had remained neutral up to then. The Patricians had a long history of conflict with the Count of Flanders over the level of control the Count had over the (financial) affairs of the cities. The Patricians had turned to the French King for support, who had thankfully intervened in their favour, thus increasing his influence in Flanders. The Flemish supporters of the French King were called Leliaards (supporters of the French Lily), and also included a part of the rural aristocracy.

The urban Proletariat hoped for more justice and a better distribution of wealth under the new ruler, but Philip IV appointed Jacques de Châtillon as governor of the County, a very bad choice. Together with the Leliaards, this undiplomatic soldier imposed a very repressive government, raising new taxes, which infuriated the Flemish. Soon the urban Guilds forged an alliance with the Flemish nobles supporting the Count. They were called Liebaarts or Klauwaards (after the Claws of the Flemish Lion).

On 19 May 1302, a rebellion broke out in Bruges where the Flemish populace killed every Frenchmen they could find, including the French garrison. This event was called the Bruges Matins. De Châtillon escaped with his life.

Now the rebellion became general. William of Jülich, the grandson of Count Guy, arrived in Bruges, and became the leader of the Flemish uprising. He was supported by his uncles John I, Marquis of Namur and Guy of Namur. Soon, most of Flanders was under their control. Only Cassel and Kortrijk remained in French hands and the city of Ghent remained neutral.

When the Flemish besieged Kortrijk on July 9 and 10, a powerful French army led by Count Robert II of Artois arrived to crush the rebellion. The two forces clashed on July 11 in an open field near the city in a battle that became known as the Battle of the Golden Spurs. The French cavalry charge was stopped by the tactically sound position of the Flemish militia and the muddy terrain and many French knights were slaughtered.

This battle returned full independence to Flanders for the next two years. Two attempts by the French King to take revenge for this embarrassing defeat were averted by a Flemish army under William of Jülich, the second time in the bloody Battle of Arques (1303).

1304–1305
In the meantime Flanders was again at war with the Count of Holland. John II, Count of Holland also ruled over the County of Hainaut and the County of Zeeland. This last area had been contested between the Count of Flanders and the Count of Holland since the early 11th century and had become part of Holland by 1076. The Flemish invaded Hainaut in 1302 and conquered Lessines. Guy of Namur, son of the Count of Flanders, formed a fleet at Sluis and sailed on 23 April 1303 to claim Zeeland for the Flemish. After some initial successes, Guy was defeated on 10 and 11 August 1304 in the Battle of Zierikzee by a combined Franco-Hollandic fleet under Rainier Grimaldi, who had been sent by Philip IV of France to aid the Count of Holland. Guy of Namur was captured and Zeeland remained firmly in the hands of the Count of Holland.

One week after this naval battle, on 18 August Philip IV himself fought the Flemish main army at the Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle. This hard fought battle was inconclusive, but the death of William of Jülich and the serious material losses of the Flemish, made them sue for peace. After further minor battles, eventually the Treaty of Athis-sur-Orge was signed on 23 June 1305 which recognized Flemish independence, but at the cost of the cities of Lille, Douai and Orchies, which were transferred to France, and the paying of exorbitant fines to King Philip IV.