Flanders

an ancient countship of the Low Countries. In rank it corresponded to a modern duchy. It lay along the south-eastern shore of Dover Strait, and was, accordingly, the portion of the continent nearest England. Its boundaries were never very definite. It came into notice about the time of Charlemagne. As Henry may be said to be the favorite name of the Kings of England, and Louis that of the French kings, so Baldwin is the common name of the counts of Flanders. There were at least nine counts of the name. Baldwin IX took a prominent part in the Crusades, and in 1204 was made the first Latin emperor of Constantinople. Flanders was a traditional outlet for the unruly and adventurous spirits of Great Britain. Guy Fawkes, the tool of the Gunpowder plotters, saw service in Flanders. The low villain on the English stage, especially if a soldier, was represented traditionally as recently returned from Flanders. In 1369 the countship passed by marriage into the family of the Duke of Burgundy. Flanders later passed into the possession of the house of Austria. In 1648 its partition began. Part now belongs to France, East and West Flanders are counties of Belgium, and still another portion, the northern, is a part of the Netherlands. During the Middle Ages Ghent and other Flemish cities were of no small importance as weaving, commercial, and art centers. Flemish weavers taught the English the art of weaving woolens. Flemish language is an early form of the Dutch, bearing much the same relation to that language that Lowland Scotch bears to modern English.