County of Flanders
Also known as Flanders
county and historic territory in the Low Countries
Key facts
- Status
- French and Imperial fiefdom
- Capital
- Bruges , later Ghent and Lille
- Common languages
- Old Dutch Middle Dutch Dutch Flemish Old French Middle French Picard Latin
- Religion
- Roman Catholicism
- Government
- Feudal monarchy
- 862 879
- Baldwin I
- 1792 1797
- Francis II
- Historical era
- Middle Ages / Early modern period
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
Show 5 more facts
- inception
- 0866-00-00
- dissolved, abolished or demolished date
~32 min read
Article
Today part ofBelgium France Netherlands
The County of Flanders was one of the most powerful political entities in the medieval Low Countries, located on the North Sea coast of modern-day Belgium and north-eastern France. Unlike the neighbouring states of Brabant and Hainaut, it was within the territory of the Kingdom of France. The counts of Flanders held the northernmost part of the kingdom, and were among the original twelve peers of France. For centuries, the economic activity of the Flemish cities, such as Ghent, Bruges, Ypres and Lille, made Flanders one of the most affluent regions in Europe, and also gave them strong international connections to trading partners.