The count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders , beginning in the 9th century. Later, the title would be held for a time, by the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire and Spain . During the French Revolution , in 1790, the county of Flanders was annexed to France and ceased to exist. In the 19th century, the title was appropriated by Belgium and granted twice to younger sons of Belgian kings. The most recent holder died in 1983.
16-503: Baldwin VII (1093 – 17 July 1119) was Count of Flanders from 1111 to 1119. Baldwin was the son of Count Robert II of Flanders and Clementia of Burgundy . He succeeded his father as count when he died on 5 October 1111. Baldwin succeeded his father as count when he died on 5 October 1111. He was under the influence of his powerful mother Clementia of Burgundy . He tried to assert independence from her, but she still remained influential behind
32-459: A brilliant victory over Guy of Dampierre and forced him and his mother to respect the division of Louis and grant him Hainault. Margaret did not rest in her defeat and did not recognise herself as overcome. She instead granted Hainault to Charles of Anjou , the brother of King Louis, who had recently returned from the crusade. Charles took up her cause and warred with John I of Avesnes, but failed to take Valenciennes and just missed being killed in
48-765: The Breton War of Succession for the ducal crown, which was won definitively by her son John V, Duke of Brittany . It was through this alliance that the Duchy of Brittany was eventually joined to the throne of France. In 1244, the Counties of Flanders and Hainaut were claimed by Margaret II's sons, the half-brothers John I of Avesnes and William III of Dampierre in the War of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault . In 1246, King Louis IX of France awarded Flanders to William. Charles V proclaimed
64-824: The Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 eternally uniting Flanders with the other lordships of the Low Countries in a personal union. When the Habsburg empire was divided among the heirs of Charles V, the Low Countries , including Flanders, went to Philip II of Spain , of the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg. Between 1706 and 1714, Flanders was invaded by the English and the Dutch during the War of
80-520: The 12th century. Since then, the rulers of Flanders have only been referred to as counts. The counts of Flanders enlarged their estate through a series of diplomatic marriages. The counties of Hainaut , Namur , Béthune , Nevers , Auxerre , Rethel , Burgundy , and Artois were all acquired in this manner. However, the County of Flanders suffered the same fate in turn. As a result of the marriage of Countess Margaret III with Philip II, Duke of Burgundy ,
96-697: The Flemish Succession was a series of feudal conflicts in the mid-thirteenth century between the children of Margaret II, Countess of Flanders . They concerned the succession to the countship of two counties, one a fief of the King of France (Flanders) and one a fief of the King of Germany (Hainault). When Baldwin IX , Count of Flanders and Hainault , left on the Fourth Crusade in 1202, he left his western domains under his eldest daughter Joanna . Joanna inherited
112-644: The Spanish Succession . The fief was claimed by the House of Habsburg and the House of Bourbon . In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht settled the succession and the County of Flanders went to the Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg. The title was abolished de facto after revolutionary France annexed Flanders in 1795. Emperor Francis II relinquished his claim to the Low Countries in the Treaty of Campo Formio of 1797, and
128-856: The area remained part of France until the end of the Napoleonic Wars . In modern times, the title was granted to two younger sons of the kings of the Belgians . The title, Count of Flanders, is one of the titles of the Spanish Crown . It is a historical title which is only nominally and ceremonially used. War of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault [REDACTED] House of Flanders [REDACTED] House of Dampierre [REDACTED] House of Avesnes [REDACTED] County of Holland [REDACTED] Margaret II [REDACTED] William II [REDACTED] Guy of Dampierre [REDACTED] John of Avesnes The War of
144-590: The counties on Baldwin's death and, despite two marriages, died without heirs in 1244. She was succeeded by her younger sister, the aforementioned Margaret. Margaret's first marriage, to Bouchard of Avesnes , was annulled in 1221 on orders from Joanna and the excommunication of Bouchard. By Bouchard, however, Margaret had already had three children, including John I of Avesnes . Nevertheless, in 1223, she remarried. With her second husband, William II of Dampierre (d.1231), she also had three children, including William III and Guy of Dampierre . The contested division of
160-598: The county and the subsidiary counties entered a personal union with the Duchy of Burgundy in 1405. The counts of Flanders were also associated with the Duchy of Brittany prior to its union with France. In c. 1323 , Joan, the daughter of Arthur II, Duke of Brittany , married the second son of Count Robert III . Joanna of Flanders , the granddaughter of Count Robert III and daughter of his son, Count Louis I , married John Montfort . During Montfort's imprisonment, she fought on his behalf, alongside English allies, during
176-463: The government of Flanders over to William of Dampierre in 1247. She did not however relinquish her governance of Hainault to John I of Avesnes. In 1251, William III of Dampierre died and Flanders passed to his brother Guy of Dampierre. In 1248, Louis had left on the Seventh Crusade and remained abroad for six years. John I of Avesnes quickly comprehended that his mother did not intend to give him
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#1732855634051192-539: The government of Hainault as she had that of Flanders to her other sons. John I of Avesnes revolted against his mother and attacked his half-brother Guy of Dampierre, who had just become count of Flanders. John I of Avesnes persuaded the German anti-king William of Holland to seize Hainault and Flemish territory within the empire. The fighting continued until the Battle of West-Capelle on 4 July 1253, when John I of Avesnes gained
208-548: The new count of Flanders after his death. Count of Flanders In 862 Baldwin I was appointed as the first Margrave of Flanders by King Charles II . It was a military appointment, responsible for repelling the Viking raids from the coast of Francia. The title of margrave (or marquis) evolved into that of count . Arnulf I was the first to name himself as count, by the Grace of God . The title of margrave largely fell out of use by
224-545: The rights to Margaret's inheritance between the sons of Avesnes and those of Dampierre were the cause of the conflicts known as the "war of the succession of Flanders and Hainault." The first conflict opened with Margaret's succession in 1244. John I of Avesnes and William of Dampierre, half brothers, fought between themselves until King Louis IX intervened in 1246. Louis gave Hainault (technically not his to give) to John I of Avesnes and Flanders (indeed his vassal) to William of Dampierre. Margaret, in light of this judgement, gave
240-620: The scenes. Baldwin was an impetuous and impulsive young man, extremely hostile towards Henry I of England . The inexperienced new count solicited the advice of his cousin, Charles the Good , who was several years older. It was Baldwin who arranged the marriage of Charles to the heiress of the County of Amiens , Margaret of Clermont , in 1118. Baldwin invaded Normandy in 1118 and raided many towns. In 1105, Baldwin married Hawise of Brittany (also called Havide), daughter of Duke Alan IV of Brittany . The groom
256-527: Was twelve and the bride nine. The union, in all probability, was never consummated. They were divorced in 1110. Baldwin did not remarry. Baldwin and Hawise had no known issue. He died after being wounded in 1118, hit on the head by a lance at the Battle of Bures-en-Bray , where he was fighting Henry I of England , on behalf of Louis VI of France . When he was dying in 1119 at Eu , Baldwin declared his cousin Charles his heir. he died on 17 June 1119. Charles became
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