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BRUGES AND WEST FLANDERS CHAPTER I THE MARKET-PLACE AND BELFRY—EARLY HISTORY OF BRUGES
BRUGES AND WEST FLANDERS CHAPTER I THE MARKET-PLACE AND BELFRY—EARLY HISTORY OF BRUGES
E very visitor to 'the quaint old Flemish city' goes first to the Market-Place. On Saturday mornings the wide space beneath the mighty Belfry is full of stalls, with white canvas awnings, and heaped up with a curious assortment of goods. Clothing of every description, sabots and leathern shoes and boots, huge earthenware jars, pots and pans, kettles, cups and saucers, baskets, tawdry-coloured prints—chiefly of a religious character—lamps and candlesticks, the cheaper kinds of Flemish pottery, kn
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CHAPTER II BALDWIN BRAS-DE-FER—THE PLACE DU BOURG—MURDER OF CHARLES THE GOOD
CHAPTER II BALDWIN BRAS-DE-FER—THE PLACE DU BOURG—MURDER OF CHARLES THE GOOD
T owards the end of the ninth and at the beginning of the tenth century great changes took place on the banks of the Roya, and the foundations of Bruges as we know it now were laid. Just as in the memorable years 1814 and 1815 the empire of Napoleon fell into fragments, and princes and statesmen hastened to readjust the map of Europe in their own interests, so in the ninth century the empire of Charlemagne was crumbling away; and in the scramble for the spoils, the Normans carried fire and sword
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CHAPTER III THE BÉGUINAGE—CHURCHES—THE RELIC OF THE HOLY BLOOD
CHAPTER III THE BÉGUINAGE—CHURCHES—THE RELIC OF THE HOLY BLOOD
B ruges is one of the most Catholic towns in Catholic Flanders. Convents and religious houses of all sorts have always flourished there, and at present there are no less than forty-five of these establishments. Probably one of the most interesting to English people is the Couvent des Dames Anglaises, which was founded in 1629 by the English Augustinian Nuns of Ste. Monica's Convent at Louvain. Its chapel, with a fine dome of the eighteenth century, contains a beautiful altar built of marbles bro
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CHAPTER IV THE BRUGES MATINS—BATTLE OF THE GOLDEN SPURS
CHAPTER IV THE BRUGES MATINS—BATTLE OF THE GOLDEN SPURS
T he visitor to Bruges is reminded, wherever he goes, of the stirring events which fill the chronicles of the town for several centuries. Opposite the Belfry, in the middle of the Market-Place, is the monument to Peter De Coninck and John Breidel, on which garlands of flowers are laid every summer, in memory of what they did when the burghers rose against the French in May, 1302; and amongst the modern frescoes which cover the walls of the Grande Salle des Échevins in the Hôtel de Ville, with it
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CHAPTER V DAMME—THE SEA-FIGHT AT SLUIS—SPLENDOUR OF BRUGES IN THE MIDDLE AGES—THE FALL AND LOSS OF TRADE
CHAPTER V DAMME—THE SEA-FIGHT AT SLUIS—SPLENDOUR OF BRUGES IN THE MIDDLE AGES—THE FALL AND LOSS OF TRADE
D amme , where the patriots mustered on the eve of the Bruges Matins, is within a short hour's stroll from the east end of the town. The Roya, which disappears from view, as we have already seen, opposite the Quai du Rosaire, emerges from its hidden course at the west end of the Quai du Miroir, where the statue of Jan van Eyck stands near the door of the building now used as a public library. This building was once the Customs House of Bruges, conveniently situated in the neighbourhood of the Ma
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CHAPTER VI 'BRUGES LA MORTE'
CHAPTER VI 'BRUGES LA MORTE'
T hey call it 'Bruges la Morte,' and at every turn there is something to remind us of the deadly blight which fell upon the city when its trade was lost. The faded colours, the timeworn brickwork, the indescribable look of decay which, even on the brightest morning, throws a shade of melancholy over the whole place, lead one to think of some aged dame, who has 'come down in the world,' wearing out the finery of better days. It is all very sad and pathetic, but strangely beautiful, and the painte
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CHAPTER VII THE PLAIN OF WEST FLANDERS—YPRES
CHAPTER VII THE PLAIN OF WEST FLANDERS—YPRES
T o the west of Bruges the wide plain of Flanders extends to the French frontier. Church spires and windmills are the most prominent objects in the landscape; but though the flatness of the scenery is monotonous, there is something pleasing to the eye in the endless succession of well-cultivated fields, interrupted at intervals by patches of rough bushland, canals, or slow-moving streams winding between rows of pollards, country houses embowered in woods and pleasure-grounds, cottages with fruit
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CHAPTER VIII FURNES—THE PROCESSION OF PENITENTS
CHAPTER VIII FURNES—THE PROCESSION OF PENITENTS
T he traveller wandering amongst the towns and villages in this corner of West Flanders is apt to feel that he is on a kind of sentimental journey as he moves from place to place, and finds himself everywhere surrounded by things which belong to the past rather than to the present. The very guidebooks are eloquent if we read between the lines. This place 'was formerly of much greater importance.' That 'was formerly celebrated for its tapestries.' From this Hôtel de Ville 'the numerous statuettes
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CHAPTER IX NIEUPORT—THE BATTLE OF THE DUNES
CHAPTER IX NIEUPORT—THE BATTLE OF THE DUNES
O n the morning of July 2, in the year 1600, two armies—Spaniards, under the Archduke Albert, and Dutchmen, under Prince Maurice of Nassau—stood face to face amongst the dunes near Nieuport, where the river Yser falls into the sea about ten miles west from Ostend. In a field to the east of Nieuport there is a high, square tower, part of a monastery and church erected by the Templars in the middle of the twelfth century, which, though it escaped complete destruction, was set on fire and nearly co
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CHAPTER X THE COAST OF FLANDERS
CHAPTER X THE COAST OF FLANDERS
T o walk from Nieuport Ville to the Digue de Mer at Nieuport-Bains is to pass in a few minutes from the old Flanders, the home of so much romance, the scene of so many stirring deeds, from the market-places with the narrow gables heaped up in piles around them, from the belfries soaring to the sky, from the winding streets and the narrow lanes, in which the houses almost touch each other, from the tumble-down old hostelries, from the solemn aisles where the candles glimmer and the dim red light
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CHAPTER XI COXYDE—THE SCENERY OF THE DUNES
CHAPTER XI COXYDE—THE SCENERY OF THE DUNES
T he whole of the coast-line is within the province of West Flanders, and its development in recent years is the most striking fact in the modern history of the part of Belgium with which this volume deals. The change which has taken place on the littoral during the last fifteen or twenty years is extraordinary, and the contrast between the old Flanders and the new, between the Flanders which lingers in the past and the Flanders which marches with the times, is brought vividly before us by the d
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EAST FLANDERS AND BRABANT CHAPTER XII GHENT
EAST FLANDERS AND BRABANT CHAPTER XII GHENT
F rom Bruges, the capital of West Flanders, to Ghent, the capital of East Flanders, it is only half an hour's journey by rail; but the contrast between them is remarkable. Bruges is a city of the dead, of still life, of stagnant waters, of mouldering walls and melancholy streets, long since fallen from its high estate into utter decay. Ghent, on the other hand, is active, bustling, prosperous. The narrow lanes and gloomy courts of mediæval times have, in many parts, been swept away to make room
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CHAPTER XIII THE DUKES OF BRABANT—THE JOYEUSE ENTRÉE—END OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
CHAPTER XIII THE DUKES OF BRABANT—THE JOYEUSE ENTRÉE—END OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
A few miles to the south-west of Alost, on the borders of East Flanders, the River Dendre, on its way to join the Scheldt, forms the boundary of Brabant. From Denderleeuw, the frontier station, to Brussels is about fifteen miles by train, through a district which gradually loses the bare flatness of the plains of Flanders, and becomes wooded, undulating, and hilly as we approach the city. And Brussels is quite different from the fallen towns of Flanders. There are no mouldering ramparts here, an
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CHAPTER XIV THE BOMBARDMENT OF 1695—THE GRANDE PLACE—CHURCH OF STE. GUDULE—CHARLES OF LORRAINE
CHAPTER XIV THE BOMBARDMENT OF 1695—THE GRANDE PLACE—CHURCH OF STE. GUDULE—CHARLES OF LORRAINE
T he sixteenth century closes with the cession by Philip II. of the Spanish Netherlands to his daughter Isabella, as a dowry on her marriage to the Archduke Albert of Austria. The King died on September 13, 1598, and a year later the Infanta and her husband entered Brabant. When they rode through Brussels in the state procession, the Infanta's saddle was studded with diamonds and rubies to the value of 200,000 florins. The magistrates presented them with a magnificent service of silver plate. Th
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CHAPTER XV JOSEPH II. AND THE REVOLUTION OF BRABANT
CHAPTER XV JOSEPH II. AND THE REVOLUTION OF BRABANT
I t was difficult to follow an Empress like Maria Theresa, or to find a successor to Charles of Lorraine in the government of the Austrian Netherlands. But if ever a Sovereign came to a throne full of good intentions it was Joseph II.; and yet, while the easy-going Charles had pleased the people of Brussels for thirty-six years, the reforming Joseph had in less than ten caused the Revolution of Brabant. It was evident that many reforms were urgent. For a long time the spirit at least of the cons
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CHAPTER XVI THE JACOBINS OF BRUSSELS—VISIT OF NAPOLEON—THE HUNDRED DAYS
CHAPTER XVI THE JACOBINS OF BRUSSELS—VISIT OF NAPOLEON—THE HUNDRED DAYS
C' 'est la Belgique,' said Danton, 'qui comblera le déficit de la Révolution.' The Convention at Paris saw in the riches of the Austrian Netherlands a means of filling its treasury, and supporting the failing credit of France; and its emissaries knew how to work upon the people of Brabant and Flanders. 'Nous avons évangélisé partout,' was the report sent to Paris by one of them, 'in the streets, in the clubs, in the drinking-shops, in the theatres.... We have covered the walls with placards, and
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CHAPTER XVII THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT—THE REVOLUTION OF 1830
CHAPTER XVII THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT—THE REVOLUTION OF 1830
O ne day, soon after the Battle of Waterloo, the Tsar Alexander was at La Belle Alliance with William, King of the Netherlands, and his son the Prince of Orange. He asked for a glass of wine, and drank to ' la belle alliance , not only of nations, but of families.' The marriage of the Grand Duchess Anna Paulowna to the Prince of Orange had just been settled; and all the Courts of Europe believed that the troublesome question of the Low Countries was at last finally solved by the union of Holland
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CHAPTER XVIII THE VICISSITUDES OF ANTWERP
CHAPTER XVIII THE VICISSITUDES OF ANTWERP
W hen Napoleon was at Antwerp in 1803, he spoke to the Communal Council about the miserable condition of the place. 'It is little better,' he said, 'than a heap of ruins. It is scarcely like a European city. I could almost have believed myself this morning in some African township. Everything needs to be made—harbours, quays, docks; and everything shall be made, for Antwerp must avail itself of the immense advantages of its central position between the North and the South, and of its magnificent
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LIÉGE AND THE ARDENNES CHAPTER XIX THE PRINCIPALITY OF LIÉGE
LIÉGE AND THE ARDENNES CHAPTER XIX THE PRINCIPALITY OF LIÉGE
T he map of Belgium during the Middle Ages, and down to the period of the French Revolution, shows the outlines of a large territory lying to the south of Brabant. On the west it extends to the French dominions; on the east are Germany and the Duchy of Limbourg; the Duchy of Luxembourg bounds it on the south. This territory was known as the Principality of Liége. The aspect of this part of Belgium is entirely different from that of the other provinces. The River Semois, rising near Arlon, the ca
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CHAPTER XX EARLY HISTORY OF LIÉGE—BISHOP NOTGER—THE COURT OF PEACE
CHAPTER XX EARLY HISTORY OF LIÉGE—BISHOP NOTGER—THE COURT OF PEACE
A s to the town of Liége in early times, the story goes that one day St. Monulphe, Bishop of Tongres, being on a journey from Maestricht to Dinant, came to a rising ground, from which he saw a few wooden houses nestling beneath a mountain which overlooked the Meuse. Descending, he came to a streamlet which flowed into the river. He asked its name, and was told that it was called the Legia. Then the Bishop said to his companions that a great city, famous in the annals of the Christian Church, wou
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CHAPTER XXI THE DUKES OF BURGUNDY—DESTRUCTION OF LIÉGE BY CHARLES THE BOLD
CHAPTER XXI THE DUKES OF BURGUNDY—DESTRUCTION OF LIÉGE BY CHARLES THE BOLD
T he whole story of Liége and the Ardennes is full of episodes, like the war of the cow of Ciney. It would be easy to fill volumes with tales of adventures in the Valley of the Meuse, and under the walls of Liége—how castles were taken by strategy or by open assault; how ladies were carried off, and rescued by some daring feat of arms; how desperate encounters were fought out in the depths of the forest; how bandits roamed about, killing and robbing as they pleased; how almost the only place whe
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CHAPTER XXII THE WILD BOAR OF ARDENNES
CHAPTER XXII THE WILD BOAR OF ARDENNES
T hough the churches and the houses of the clergy had been left standing, in accordance with the orders given by Charles the Bold in 1468, the town of Liége was ruined. After a time, however, those who had escaped with their lives began to return, and by degrees a new Liége arose. The Principality also recovered to some extent; but its prestige was so much diminished in the eyes of Europe that an alliance with the bishops was no longer, as of old, an object of ambition to other states. On the de
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CHAPTER XXIII ÉRARD DE LA MARCK—THE PRINCIPALITY IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
CHAPTER XXIII ÉRARD DE LA MARCK—THE PRINCIPALITY IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY
J ean de Horne was Bishop of Liége for twenty-three years, during which the diocese was seldom free from party warfare. At the time of his death, in 1506, the family of Arenberg was so strong and popular that the Chapter of St. Lambert chose Érard de la Marck, the Wild Boar's nephew, as Bishop. [60] He came to the episcopal throne resolved to end the strife of factions and the family feuds which had been the sources of such misery. He forbade his subjects, under pain of banishment, to rake up th
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CHAPTER XXIV THE CHIROUX AND THE GRIGNOUX—THE TRAGIC BANQUET OF WARFUSÉE
CHAPTER XXIV THE CHIROUX AND THE GRIGNOUX—THE TRAGIC BANQUET OF WARFUSÉE
F erdinand of Bavaria's reign was one long quarrel with the magistrates of Liége. He soon found that during his uncle's frequent absences in Germany the burgomasters had usurped many powers which had hitherto belonged to the Bishop. They issued their own decrees without his authority, and sometimes cancelled his orders without consulting him. They took upon themselves to appoint officers, to call the citizens to arms, and to send representatives to foreign Courts. Their pretensions, in short, ha
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CHAPTER XXV THE GAMING-TABLES AT SPA—THE FRENCH REVOLUTION—ANNEXATION OF THE PRINCIPALITY
CHAPTER XXV THE GAMING-TABLES AT SPA—THE FRENCH REVOLUTION—ANNEXATION OF THE PRINCIPALITY
A lready two Princes of Bavaria had been Bishops of Liége, and now a third succeeded, Prince Maximilian Henry, who filled this uneasy throne from 1650 to 1688. During most of that time the armies of almost every nation in Europe swept like a flood over the Principality; but the most important transaction of Maximilian's reign was the establishment of a new system for the election of magistrates. This system, which came into force in November, 1684, and was known as the 'Réglement de Maximilien d
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CHAPTER XXVI LIÉGE AND THE VALLEY OF THE MEUSE IN MODERN TIMES—BOUILLON
CHAPTER XXVI LIÉGE AND THE VALLEY OF THE MEUSE IN MODERN TIMES—BOUILLON
T he territory which the Bishops had governed was now merged in four of the nine departments into which the National Convention divided the annexed Austrian Netherlands. The department of 'Forêts,' with Luxembourg for its capital, included the Ardennes. The western portion of the old diocese was sunk in 'Sambre et Meuse,' of which Namur was the chief town. 'Ourthe' was the name given to the district in which Liége was situated. To the east lay the department of 'Meuse Inférieure,' with Maestrich
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