The Matins of Bruges ( nl, Brugse Metten) was the nocturnal

massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

of the French garrison in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...

and their supporters, a political faction in favour of French rule, on 18 May 1302 by the members of the local

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

militia. It has been named "

Matins Matins (also Mattins) is a canonical hour in Christian liturgy, originally sung during the darkness of early morning. The earliest use of the term was in reference to the canonical hour, also called the vigil, which was originally celebrated by ...

" (after a monastic

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

) in analogy to the

Sicilian Vespers The Sicilian Vespers ( it, Vespri siciliani; scn, Vespiri siciliani) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou, who had ruled the Kingdom of S ...

of 1282. The revolt led to the

Battle of the Golden Spurs The Battle of the Golden Spurs ( nl, Guldensporenslag; french: Bataille des éperons d'or) was a military confrontation between the royal army of France and rebellious forces of the County of Flanders on 11 July 1302 during the Franco-Flemis ...

, which saw the Flemish militia defeat French troops on 11 July 1302.

Background

Towns in Flanders had held the exclusive rights for the importation of sheep's wool from England. This made the merchants that comprised the

bourgeosie The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. Th ...

very rich and powerful, so much so that they were able to force Margaret II, the Countess of Flanders, to allow them to become autonomous communities. This put the commoners in direct conflict with the nobles in the cities. When Margaret abdicated in 1278 to her son

Guy of Dampierre Guy of Dampierre (french: Gui de Dampierre; nl, Gwijde van Dampierre) ( – 7 March 1305, Compiègne) was the Count of Flanders (1251–1305) and Marquis of Namur (1264–1305). He was a prisoner of the French when his Flemings defeated the ...

, the nobles sought an alliance with the French king Philip the Fair (Flanders being a

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain. W ...

to France at the time). Guy, like his mother, favoured more local control of the territory and chafed at this, but the king saw an opportunity to bring a troublesome county to heel, In 1287 the alliance was complete. This led to the Franco-Flemish War in 1297, during which time royal troops took over the city, a highly unpopular action that caused widespread fear and anger among the Flemish in Bruges. Guy surrendered to Philip in 1300, and

Jacques de Châtillon Jacques de Châtillon or James of Châtillon (died 11 July 1302) was Lord of Leuze, of Condé, of Carency, of Huquoy and of Aubigny, the son of Guy III, Count of Saint-Pol and Matilda of Brabant. He married Catherine of Condé and had issue. King ...

was appointed governor.

History

The tipping point was a visit by King Philip and Queen

Joan Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters * Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine * Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multip ...

to Bruges. The Leliaards hosted extravagant

fête In Britain and some of its former colonies, fêtes are traditional public festivals, held outdoors and organised to raise funds for a charity. They typically include entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments. Village fêtes Village f� ...

s for the pair, and to defray the costs, they raised taxes on the merchant class. This was met by outrage, as the supporters of Guy, known as Clauwerts, were indignant at having to pay for the celebrations of the victors. Jacques de Châtillon brought an army of 2,000 knights to maintain order in Bruges. Rumours quickly spread that the leaders of the Clauwerts as well as their families would all be executed. On the evening of 17 May 1302, Châtillon held a feast for his troops. Taking advantage of the fact that the knights would be tired after partying all night, at dawn the next morning, armed insurrectionists led by

Pieter de Coninck Pieter de Coninck (died 1332 or 1333) was a weaver from Bruges well known for his role in the events surrounding the Battle of the Golden Spurs. He was not the head of the weavers' guild as is popularly believed (mostly because he was portrayed ...

and Jan Breydel entered the houses where the French were garrisoned and massacred them in their sleep using their " goedendag", a sharp pike they stuck into the victims' throats. According to tradition, to distinguish the French from the natives, they asked suspects to repeat the

shibboleth A shibboleth (; hbo, , šībbōleṯ) is any custom or tradition, usually a choice of phrasing or even a single word, that distinguishes one group of people from another. Shibboleths have been used throughout history in many societies as passwor ...

: "''schild en vriend'', which means "shield and friend", a phrase difficult to pronounce for a French speaker. Another version suggests the alternative "''des gilden vriend'', "friend of the guilds". Only Châtillon, who escaped disguised as a priest after he failed to rally the garrison, and a handful of the French managed to escape with their lives. Approximately 2,000 people are estimated to have died. After the Bruges Matins, Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck were celebrated as the leaders of the insurrection. Their statue, which was an initiative of

Julius Sabbe Julius Ludovicus Maria Sabbe (14 February 1846 in Ghent – 3 July 1910 in Bruges) was a Flemish publisher and an active member of the Flemish movement. From 24 September 1869 on, he taught Dutch at the Koninklijk Atheneum (E: Royal Atheneum) ...

, has decorated the market in Bruges since 1887.

Aftermath

Châtillon made his way to Paris to bring the news of the massacre to Philip, who vowed revenge, and sent an army of about 8,500 men to conquer the city. Meanwhile, Guy's sons

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and

Guy of Namur Guy of Dampierre, Count of Zeeland, also called Guy of Namur ( nl, region=BE, Gwijde van Namen, label=Flemish) (ca. 1272 – 13 October 1311 in Pavia), was a Flemish noble who was the Lord of Ronse and later the self-proclaimed Count of Zeeland ...

, as well as his grandson

William of Jülich William of Jülich, called the Younger (Dutch: ''Willem van Gulik de Jongere''; died August 18, 1304), was one of the Flemish noblemen that opposed the annexation policies of the French king Philip IV, together with Pieter de Coninck. He was al ...

, raised their own army to meet the French, and the two forces clashed in the

on 11 July 1302, which resulted in an unexpected victory for the Flemish.

References

Citations

General and cited references

* * * *

External links

* {{Coord missing, Belgium 1302 in Europe 14th century in the county of Flanders 14th-century massacres Conflicts in 1302 Franco-Flemish War History of Bruges Massacres in Belgium Revolts involving Flanders