Counts of Flanders
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Categories: Flemish nobility | Counts of Flanders | County of Flanders | History of Belgium | Lists of Belgian nobility | Lists of Dutch nobility | Lists of French nobility | Lists of German nobility | Lists of nobility of the Holy Roman Empire | Lists of counts
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Image:Blason Comte-de-Flandre.svg
Coat of arms of the Counts of Flanders.
The counts of Flanders were the rulers over the county of Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the countship by the French revolutionaries in 1790. Although the early rulers, from Arnulf I onwards, were sometime referred to as margraves or marquesses, this alternate title largely fell out of use by 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 manoeuvres. The counties of Hainaut, Namur, Béthune, Nevers, Auxerre, Rethel, Burgundy, and Artois were acquired via marriage with the respective heiresses. Ironically, the county of Flanders itself suffered the same fate. By the marriage of Margaret III, Countess of Flanders with Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, the county and the subsidiary counties were absorbed into the Duchy of Burgundy in 1405.
List of Counts of FlandersHouse of Flanders
House of Knýtling
House of Normandy
House of Alsace or House of Metz
House of Flanders
House of Dampierre
House of Burgundy
House of Habsburg
Charles V proclaimed 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 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 factually abolished in the aftermath of the French revolution and the annexation of Flanders by France in 1795. Although, the title remained officially claimed by the descendants of Leopold II until the reign of Karl I, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Modern UsageHouse of Orange-Nassau
In 1815, the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was established by the Congress of Vienna and William I of the Netherlands was made King of the Netherlands (Latin: rex belgium). The Belgian Revolution of 1830 caused a split in the kingdom between the North and the South. Neither he or his descendants made any claims to the title of count of Flanders after 1839, when a peace treaty between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Belgium was signed. House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
In modern times, from 1831 onwards the title of Count of Flanders has been given to younger sons of the Kings of the Belgians (Latin: rex belgarum). See also
External linksde:Liste der Grafen von Flandern fi:Luettelo Flanderin kreiveistä fr:Liste des comtes de Flandre id:Graf Flander it:Conti di Fiandra ja:フランドル伯 nl:Graaf van Vlaanderen pl:Władcy Flandrii pt:Condado da Flandres#Lista dos Condes de Flandres (Graaf van Vlaanderen / Comte de Flandre) ru:Список правителей Фландрии |
