The
County of Flanders (, ) was one of the territories constituting the
Low Countries. The county existed from 862 to 1795. It was one of the
original secular fiefs of
France and for centuries was one of the most affluent regions in
Europe.
The area under the
French crown was located completely west of the
Scheldt river and was called "Royal Flanders" (
Kroon-Vlaanderen). This fief was finally removed from French control after the
Peace of Madrid in 1526 and the
Peace of Ladies in 1529. Aside from this the count of Flanders also held land east of the Scheldt river from the 11th century on, as a fief of the
Holy Roman Empire; this area was called "Imperial Flanders" (
Rijks-Vlaanderen). Except for
French Flanders, Flanders is the only part of the medieval French kingdom that is not part of modern day France.
Etymology
Flanders and Flemish (Dutch:
Vlaanderen and
Vlaams) ultimately go back to unattested
Frisian *
flāndra and *
flāmisk (seen in
Old Frisian flamsk ‘Fleming’), the roots of which are
Germanic *
flaumaz meaning "overflow, flooding". This etymology is appropriate since the coastal area of Flanders was flooded twice per day from the 3rd century to the 8th century by the
North Sea at a time when the coast was inhabited by Frisians.
The Flemish people are first mentioned in the biography of
Saint Eligius (ca. 590-660), the
Vita sancti Eligii. This work was written before 684, but only known since 725. This work mentions the...
Read More