Jacob van Artevelde (; c. 1290 – 17 or 24 July 1345), sometimes written in English as James van Artvelde, also known as The Wise Man and the Brewer of Ghent, was a

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; ...

statesman and political leader.

Biography

Jacob Van Artevelde was born in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

of a wealthy commercial family. He married twice and amassed a fortune in the

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal ...

industry. He rose to prominence during the early stages of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

. Fearful that hostilities between France and England would hurt the prosperity of Ghent, he entered political life in 1337. He set up an alliance with

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

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality ...

(later the

Four Members The Four members ( nl, Vier Leden) consisted of Bruges, Franc of Bruges, Ghent and Ypres gathered together in a medieval parliament. Together they exercised considerable power in Flanders. During the Hundred Years' War, Jacob van Artevelde a prom ...

) in order to show neutrality. Van Artevelde gained control of the insurrection against Louis I, the

Count of Flanders 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 ...

who had abandoned his father's anti-French policies. Louis I was forced to flee to France, while van Artevelde served as captain general of Ghent from that time until his death. Flemish relations with England had traditionally been good, due to wool and textile trade. Neutrality was eventually broken, and the towns took the side of the English in 1340. In that year, van Artevelde persuaded the federation to recognise King

Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

as sovereign of France and overlord of Flanders. Flemish trade and industry flourished under van Artevelde's semi-dictatorial rule. In 1345, however, rumours that he planned to recognise the son of Edward III, the

Black Prince Edward of Woodstock, known to history as the Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), was the eldest son of King Edward III of England, and the heir apparent to the English throne. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II, suc ...

, as

count of Flanders 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 ...

, suspicion of embezzlement, and the excommunication by the Pope caused a popular uprising in Ghent, and van Artevelde was killed by an angry mob. His son Philip van Artevelde later took up the Flemish cause and died in the Battle of Roosebeke in 1382.

In fiction

Artevelde is a supporting character in '' Les Rois maudits'' (''The Accursed Kings''), a series of French

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

s by Maurice Druon. He was portrayed by

Christian Barbier Christian Barbier (28 June 1924 – 3 November 2009) was a French film and television actor. Barbier was born at Saint-Ouen, Seine (currently Seine-Saint-Denis), France. During his career (1964 to 1997), he specialized in drama rather ...

in the 1972 French miniseries adaptation of the series.

Notes

References

* Patricia Carson, ''James Van Artevelde: The Man from Ghent'' (Ghent, 1980). *

Barbara Tuchman Barbara Wertheim Tuchman (; January 30, 1912 – February 6, 1989) was an American historian and author. She won the Pulitzer Prize twice, for ''The Guns of August'' (1962), a best-selling history of the prelude to and the first month of Worl ...

. ''

A Distant Mirror ''A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century'' is a narrative history book by the American historian Barbara Tuchman, first published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1978. It won a 1980 U.S. National Book Award in History.1290 births 1345 deaths Politicians from Ghent 14th-century people from the county of Flanders 14th-century merchants Businesspeople from Ghent