Flanders (Flemish Vlaenderen), the country of the Flemings, a territory lying adjacent to the North Sea, between the Scheldt and the Somme, which embraced the present Belgian provinces of East and West Flanders, the southern portion of Zealand in Holland, and the greater part of ancient Artois in France. This region was originally inhabited by Belgic tribes, on whose subjection by one of Cæsar's lieutenants their territory was incorporated in Roman Gaul. Under the supremacy of Rome they attained to a certain degree of civilisation, being renowned for their agriculture, their industry, and their commerce. The region was afterwards overrun by the Franks on their way to Gaul, many of them settling there permanently. By the Treaty of Verdun (843) Flanders was assigned to Neustria. The real nucleus of Flanders as a political state was the patrimony of a noble family whose possessions were grouped around Bruges and Sluys. In 862 the king of France, as suzerain, changed the title of the head of the family from forester or ranger to count. The first recipient of the honour was Baldwin I., Iron-arm (837-877), who was likewise invested with the maritime region of north-east France, on condition that he defended it against the Normans. His descendant, Baldwin IV. (989-1036), having seized upon the emperor's town of Valenciennes in 1006, and proving himself able to keep what he had taken, was allowed to retain it (1007) as a feudatory of the empire. At the same time the emperor invested him with Ghent and the Zealand islands (Walcheren, Beverland, &c.). Thus the Count of Flanders held of the emperor as well as of the king of France. Under this count's son and successor, Baldwin V. (1036-67), the county of Alost (Aalst), Tournai, and Hainault were added to the principality. On his death the Netherlands portion of Flanders was erected into an appanage for his younger son, Robert the Frisian, who on the death of his elder brother, Baldwin VI. (1067-70), also wrested Flanders from Baldwin's widow Richilde, leaving to her and her son Hainault only. From this time down to the end of the 12th century the Flemish territories remained thus divided. The counts of Flanders of the 10th and 11th centuries were active in promoting the well-being of their people: they built churches and monasteries, and encouraged the industries of the towns, whereby Flanders rose to be the chief centre of woollen-weaving and fulling in Europe. At this period Ghent, Arras (the capital of the county), Courtrai, Rousselaere, Valenciennes, Cassel, Tournai, Lille, St Omer, Ypres, and Bruges were prosperous cities, the centres of the intelligence and public spirit of the country. Robert II. (1093-1111), son of Robert the Frisian, distinguished himself in the first crusade. His son, Baldwin VII. (1111-19), rigorously suppressed the private feuds of his nobles, and administered justice with Draconian severity. As he left no heir, the county was held by a succession of alien princes, as Charles of Denmark (1119-21); William, son of Robert of Normandy, till 1129; Thierry (Diedrich) of Alsace (1129-69), who took part in more than one crusade; and Thierry's son Philip (1169-91), who, besides championing the Christian faith against the Saracens, did much to foster industry and trade at home.
The accession of these foreign princes was turned to account by the Flemish cities, which extorted from them important charters of liberty and self-government. On Philip's death, Baldwin of Hainault reunited the two Flemish counties under one sceptre. But he had a rival for Flanders proper in Philip of France, who, having married Baldwin's own daughter, the niece of Philip of Flanders, claimed this district as her dowry; and Baldwin was constrained to buy off his more powerful antagonist by the cession of the county of Artois, a large part of southern Flanders, and the towns of St Omer, Hesdin, and some others. From this time forth Ghent superseded Arras as the capital. The next prince of Flanders was Baldwin IX. (1194-1206), son of Baldwin of Hainault, who, after winning back from France most of southern Flanders (though not Artois), took the crusader's cross and became the founder of the Latin empire of Constantinople. Baldwin was followed successively by his two daughters, Johanna (1206-43) and Margaret (1243-78), and by Margaret's son, Guy of Dampierre (1278-1305), who spent a large part of his life as a prisoner in France. Under these rulers the king of France first began to exercise a determining influence upon the government of Flanders. In 1256 the Zealand islands were given to the Count of Holland, and to Holland they have ever since belonged. The next century presents a series of disputed successions, mostly fomented by the kings of France, who made strenuous efforts to unite Flanders to the French crown. The country was in fact divided between two streams of preponderating influence: on the one hand the nobles, headed by the counts, were enamoured of France, and French society, and French institutions (Leliaerts); and on the other the burghers of the towns (Claenwaerts) clung tenaciously to their national independence and municipal freedom. It was the latter party that con- stituted the backbone and strength of the country. From the middle of the 12th century the cities, growing more independent and more turbulent with the increase of wealth, began to play an increasingly important part in the politics of Flanders, warring one against another, and even waging civil strife within their own walls, taking up arms against their counts, and by their factions either consolidating or marring the fortunes of the rulers of the country. It was especially under Johanna and Margaret that the burghers of such cities as Bruges, Ypres, Ghent, and Lille made rapid progress in commercial prosperity and in the establishment of democratic principles of local government. Each of these cities possessed nearly 40,000 looms for weaving cloth; whilst Damme was a thriving seaport, doing a large shipping trade in wool, corn, cattle, wine, beer, &c. The struggle of the cities, represented chiefly by Bruges, Ghent, and Ypres, against the counts and other rulers, lasted more or less down to the Treaty of Utrecht (1713).
Philip IV. of France, having for some years steadily fanned the dissension in Flanders, at length got Count Guy into his hands and took possession of his country (1300), which he governed by means of a regent, Châtillon. This man's oppressive rule, however, provoked a general revolt of the Flemings, who in the battle of the Golden Spurs, fought near Courtrai on 11th July 1302, almost destroyed the army sent against them by the king of France. The contest continued until 1320, during all which time the Flemings successfully repelled the attempts of Philip to invade their country; and at last wholly shook off the claims of France. Under Louis, who became Count of Flanders in 1322, and who neglected his country to spend most of his time at the court of France, the cities frequently broke out into open revolt; Bruges even held Louis a prisoner for several months, nor were the rebels quelled except with the aid of a large French army (1328). In 1336 Jacob van Artevelde (q.v.), who had acquired supreme influence and power in Ghent, induced the chief cities, in defiance of their count, to make an alliance with Edward III. of England to help him in his quarrel with France. From this time down to 1345, when he was slain by a rival in Ghent, Van Artevelde was the real ruler of Flanders, though he found it an impossible task wholly to restrain the violence and disorder in the restless cities. Under Louis II., who succeeded his father, Louis I., in 1346, it was Ghent and Ypres that at first refused to submit to his rule. Then, in 1379, the keen rivalry of Ghent and Bruges came to a head in a civil war, which soon swelled into a general uprising of the entire country, led by the Ghent faction of the White Caps, against the count. The people of Ghent held out stubbornly under Philip van Artevelde, who, however, was slain in battle against the French, 27th November 1382, at Roosbeke. Two years later Count Louis III. died, leaving an only daughter, married to Philip of Burgundy (q.v.), with which duchy the history of Flanders became thenceforward intimately associated, until in 1477, by the marriage of Mary of Burgundy to Maximilian of Austria, both states passed to the empire, Flanders becoming part of Austrian Netherlands. Against this arrangement France vainly protested; and in 1526 she was compelled finally to renounce her claims as suzerain. With the accession of Philip II. to the throne of Spain the history of Flanders becomes identical with that of the Spanish Netherlands (see HOLLAND). By the Treaty of Westphalia Dutch Flanders was transferred to the United Netherlands, whilst by the treaties of the Pyrenees (1659), Nimeguen (1678), and Utrecht (1713) Louis XIV. succeeded in adding to France Artois and a large part of French Flanders. By this last treaty and by that of Rastatt (1714) the rest of Flanders was assigned to Austria, and became known as the Austrian Netherlands. On the formation of the new kingdom of Belgium in 1831, the provinces of East and West Flanders were incorporated with it.
See Oudegherst, Chroniques et Annales de Flandre (1571); Warnkönig, Flandrische Staatsgeschichte (Tübingen, 1835-39); Conscience, Geschiedenis van België (1845); and the more recent works of Kervyn de Lettenhove. For the Belgian provinces of East and West Flanders, see BELGIUM; for the Flemish language, see HOLLAND; and for the Flemish School of Painting, see PAINTING.