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 ...

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

and

Rethel Rethel () is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture and third-most important city and economic center in the department. It is situated on the river Aisne, near the northern border of Champagne and 37&n ...

Life

He was the son of

Louis I, Count of Nevers Louis I (1272 – 22 July 1322) was ''suo jure'' Count of Nevers and ''jure uxoris'' Count of Rethel. Louis was a son of Robert III, Count of Flanders, and Yolande, Countess of Nevers.''The Low Countries and the Disputed Imperial Election of ...

, and

Joan, Countess of Rethel Joan of Rethel (died 1328) was Countess of Rethel between 1285 and 1328. She was the daughter of Hugh IV, Count of Rethel and his third wife Isabelle of Grandpré. She succeeded her father as Countess of Rethel in 1285. Joan married in 1290 wit ...

, and grandson of

Robert III of Flanders Robert III (1249 – 17 September 1322), also called Robert of Béthune and nicknamed The Lion of Flanders (''De Leeuw van Vlaanderen''), was the Count of Nevers from 1273 and Count of Flanders from 1305 until his death. History Robert was the o ...

. 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 female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

, second daughter of King Philip V of France and Joan II, Countess of Burgundy, who would later inherit her mother's counties of Burgundy and

Artois Artois ( ; ; nl, Artesië; 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 are Arras (Dutch: ''Atrecht'') ...

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 (; french: Furnes, italic=no, ) 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 an ...

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 ...

and

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and larg ...

. 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 last king of the direct line of the House of Capet, King of France and King of Navarre (as Charles I) from 132 ...

, 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 (french: Philippe; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (french: le Fortuné, link=no) or the Catholic (french: le Catholique, link=no) and of Valois, was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 13 ...

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 rescued again, Flanders would be incorporated into the kingdom of France. When 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 Plantagene ...

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 and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ...

, 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 EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...

in 1346.

Family

Louis and Margaret had: *

Louis II of Flanders Louis II ( nl, Lodewijk van Male; french: Louis II de Flandre) (25 October 1330, Male – 30 January 1384, Lille), also known as Louis of Male, a member of the House of Dampierre, was Count of Flanders, Nevers and Rethel from 1346 as well as ...

(1330–1384), who succeeded him. He also had a natural son Guy de Rickenbourg.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Louis 01, Count of Flanders 1304 births 1346 deaths House of Dampierre Louis 1 Counts of Nevers Counts of Rethel Military personnel killed in action 14th-century peers of France 14th-century people from the county of Flanders