Louis I ( – 26 August 1346, ruled 1322–1346) was

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 c ...

Nevers Nevers ( , ; , later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is a city and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the pr ...

and Rethel.

Life

He was the son of Louis I, Count of Nevers, and Joan, Countess of Rethel, and grandson of Robert III of Flanders. He succeeded his father as count of Nevers and his grandfather as count of Flanders in 1322. In July 1320 Louis married

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, second daughter of King

Philip V of France Philip V ( 1291 – 3 January 1322), known as the Tall (), was King of France and List of Navarrese monarchs, Navarre (as Philip II) from 1316 to 1322. Philip engaged in a series of domestic reforms intended to improve the management of the kingd ...

and

Joan II, Countess of Burgundy Joan II, Countess of Burgundy (; 1287/88 – 21 January 1330), was Queen of France by marriage to Philip V of France; she was also ruling Countess of Burgundy from 1303 to 1330 and ruling Countess of Artois in 1329–1330. Biography Joan, ...

, who would later inherit her mother's counties of Burgundy and

Artois Artois ( , ; ; Picard: ''Artoé;'' English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities include Arras (Dutch: ...

in 1361. This marriage alliance made him break with the anti-French policy of his grandfather Robert III and great-grandfather Guy I.

Count of Flanders

Louis's pro-French policies and excessive taxations caused an uprising in 1323. Beginning as a series of scattered rural riots, the peasant insurrection escalated into a full-scale rebellion that dominated public affairs in Flanders for nearly five years until 1328. The rebels, led by Nicolaas Zannekin, captured the towns of Nieuwpoort,

Veurne Veurne (; , ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper and the settlements of , , ...

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) 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 comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

and

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; or ''Kortrik''; ), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region, Flemish Provinces of Belgium, province of We ...

. In Kortrijk, Zannekin was able to capture Louis himself. On 30 November 1325 in the church of St. Basil, Louis swore amnesty to the rebels, investigation of John of Namur's actions as regent, and approval of all actions take by regent Robert of Cassel. The following day, Louis was released and fled to Paris. On 26 April 1326, the King

Charles IV of France Charles IV (18/19 June 1294 – 1 February 1328), called the Fair (''le Bel'') in France and the Bald (''el Calvo'') in Navarre, was the last king of the direct line of the House of Capet, List of French monarchs, King of France and List of Nav ...

, intervened and the ''Peace of Arques'' was sealed. This treaty presented the King of France as the aggrieved party, leaving Louis as a bystander. The treaty, not supported by rebel districts in Flanders, did not last long, and soon hostilities erupted again.

Philip VI of France Philip VI (; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (), the Catholic (''le Catholique'') and of Valois (''de Valois''), was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 until his death in 1350. Philip's reign w ...

was forced to come to Louis's aid while Zannekin and his adherents were decisively defeated by the French royal army in the Battle of Cassel. Control of Flanders was returned to Louis, with a warning from Philip that if Louis needed to be rescued again, Flanders would be incorporated into the kingdom of France. When the Hundred Years War started, Louis remained steadfast in his French policy, even with the county being economically dependent on England. His actions resulted in a boycott of the wool trade imposed by 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 from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

, which in turn sparked a new insurrection in 1337 under Jacob van Artevelde. In 1339 the count had to flee his lands, never being able to return. Louis was killed at the

Battle of Crécy The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King Edward III. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France ...

in 1346.

Family

Louis and Margaret had: * Louis II of Flanders (1330–1384), who succeeded him. He also had a natural son Guy de Rickenbourg.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Louis 01, Count of Flanders 1300s births 1346 deaths 14th-century counts of Flanders 14th-century peers of France House of Dampierre Counts of Nevers Counts of Rethel Military personnel killed in action People of the Hundred Years' War