Wakken is a village and ''

deelgemeente A deelgemeente (, literally ''part-municipality'') or section ( French) is a subdivision of a municipality in Belgium and, until March 2014, in the Netherlands as well. Belgium Each municipality in Belgium that existed as a separate entity on 1 J ...

'' in

Dentergem Dentergem () is a municipality, located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Dentergem proper, Markegem, Oeselgem and Wakken. On January 1, 2006, Dentergem had a total population of 8,188. The total ar ...

municipality, in the

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

province of

West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...

. The village is located near the confluence of the rivers Lys and

Mandel Mandel is a surname (and occasional given name) that occurs in multiple cultures and languages. It is a Dutch, German and Jewish surname, meaning "almond", from the Middle High German and Middle Dutch ''mandel''.''Dictionary of American Family Name ...

History

Wakken is one of the seven oldest parishes in West Flanders. A charter dated to 791 makes the first known mention of Wakken: "in villa noncupante Wackinio." The spelling of the name has changed several times throughout history: Wackine (870), Wackinna (1010), Wachines (1183), Wackene (1351), Wacken (1467) and Wakken (since 1915). In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, Wakken was a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

without city gates. The

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form o ...

was owned by the Lords of

Harelbeke Harelbeke (; vls, Oarlbeke) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Harelbeke proper and the towns of Bavikhove and Hulste. On January 1, 2019, Harelbeke had a total pop ...

Antoine Antoine is a French given name (from the Latin ''Antonius'' meaning 'highly praise-worthy') that is a variant of Danton, Titouan, D'Anton and Antonin. The name is used in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada, West Greenland, Haiti, French Guiana ...

, bastard-son of

Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...

, made the court of Wackene to his residence in 1480. His son, Antoine II, married the daughter of Andries Andriessen, knight and Lord of Wackene. Their son

Adolf of Burgundy Adolf of Burgundy (1489–1540) was Lord of Veere and admiral of the Netherlands. Family Adolf was a son of Philip of Burgundy-Beveren and Anna van Borselen. This would one day make him Lord of Veere. The family resided at Zandenburg, near ...

became Governor of

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

, Vice

Admiral of Flanders Admiral of Flanders (1383–1483) and Admiral of the Netherlands (1485–1573) was a title in the medieval Low Countries for the commander of the war fleet. The title of ''admiral'' (from the Arab ''emir-al-bahr''), for naval commanders of ships w ...

and special envoy of

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

. The fiefdom Wackene became a

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

in 1614 and a county in 1626. It had its own

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...

until 1823, when it became part of the

arrondissement of Tielt The Arrondissement of Tielt ( nl, Arrondissement Tielt; french: Arrondissement de Tielt) is one of the eight administrative arrondissements in the Province of West Flanders, Belgium. History The Arrondissement of Tielt was created in 1818 and or ...

Notable citizens

Joris Van Severen Joris Van Severen (19 July 1894 – 20 May 1940) was a Belgian politician and ideologue of the Flemish Movement as well as a Pan-Netherlander. A leading figure of pre-World War II Flemish nationalism, he co-founded the extreme-right group V ...

, founder and leader of

Verdinaso Verdinaso (''Verbond van Dietsche Nationaal-Solidaristen'', ), sometimes rendered as Dinaso, was a small authoritarian and fascist political party active in Belgium and, to a lesser extent, the Netherlands between 1931 to 1941. Verdinaso was foun ...

Jodocus Hondius Jodocus Hondius (Latinized version of his Dutch language, Dutch name: ''Joost de Hondt'') (17 October 1563 – 12 February 1612) was a Flemish people, Flemish and Dutch engraving, engraver and cartographer. He is sometimes called Jodocus Hon ...

cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an im ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

and

humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

* Luc Verbeke,

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; ...

poet, author, ''flamingant'', co-founder of the Committee for French Flanders * Hugo Verriest, Flemish priest, author and ''flamingant'' *

Modest Huys Modest Huys (25 October 1874, in Zulte – 30 January 1932, in Zulte) was a Flemish impressionist and Luminism (Impressionism), luminist painter, who is regarded as one of the greatest Belgian painters of the 20th century. Personal life From a yo ...

, painter * Maurice Meersman, cyclist

References

{{Authority control Populated places in West Flanders Dentergem