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Aarsele is a village in the Belgium Belgian province of West Flanders and a subdivision of the city of Tielt. West Flanders (Dutch: West-Vlaanderen) is the westernmost province of Flanders and of Belgium. ... Geography Country Belgium Region Flemish Region Community Flemish Community Province West Flanders Arrondissement Tielt Coordinates , , Area 68. ...

History

The earliest written reference to Aarsele dates from 1038 when it appears as Arcela, a Germanic word joining arda (= meadow) and sali (= chamber, house).

In earlier times Aarsele was under the rule of the Kortrijk who had holdings divided into several fiefdoms such as Donsegem and Hogenhove. Some fiefdoms also belonged to ecclesiastical orders including the abbeys of Lobbes and of Baudelo and Saint-Baafs in Ghent. Geography Country Belgium Community Flemish Community Region Flemish Region Province West Flanders Arrondissement Kortrijk Coordinates , , Area 80. ...

The main fiefdom however was Gruuthuse, which had 12 achterlenen (lords who are subject to another landlord). The achterlenen did not have title, which resided with the wealthy Lewis de Bruges, famous for hosting Edward IV of England at his Bruges home after the king was exiled in 1471. Lewis was also a well known bibliophile whose collection of illuminated manuscripts was given, but for a few exceptions, to Louis XII of France. Jacquerie from Louis illuminated Froissart, Bruges, 1470s Lewis de Bruges, lord of Gruuthuse (c. ... The text below is generated by a template, which has been proposed for deletion. ... Louis XII (b. ...

"Vrije Basisschool Aarsele-Kanegem" (primary school) in Aarsele.

Jan of Bruges was the last male descendant from the Gruuthuse line. After his death at the end of the 16th century, the fiefdom passed to Jakob II of Luxembourg. And by the marriage of his daughter to Jan van Egmont, the fiefdom was later transferred to the house of Egmont.

In 1568, the son of Jan van Egmont, Lamoral, was decapitated on orders from Philip II of Spain in Brussels. After his death successively two childless sons came into possession of Gruuthuse. In 1617, and for the next two generations, the fiefdom was held by the Richardot family. Finally, the marriage of Guillaume to Carla-Eugenia brought an end to the feudal system, or Ancien Régime. Count of Egmont Statue of Lamoral, Count of Egmont, on market square in Zottegem Lamoral, Count of Egmont (November 18, 1522, La Hamaide near Ellezelles – June 5, 1568, Brussels) was a general and statesman in Flanders just before the start of the Eighty Years War. ... Philip II (Spanish: ; Portuguese: ) (May 21, 1527 – September 13, 1598) was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598, King of Naples from 1554 until 1598, king consort of England (as husband of Mary I) from 1554 to 1558, Lord of the Seventeen Provinces (holding various titles for the individual territories... Ancien Régime, a French term meaning Former Regime, but rendered in English as Old Rule, Old Order, or simply Old Regime, refers primarily to the aristocratic social and political system established in France under the Valois and Bourbon dynasties. ...

As Aarsele was situated on the road between Ghent and Tielt it was not immune to plunder. Thus the municipality was devastated by the geuzen, a confederacy of nobles and malcontents, in 1580. Later during the 17th century French armies laid waste to the town in 1646 and 1690. Between those infamous dates, in 1666 Aarsele was visited by the plague. The Watergeuzen (or simply Geuzen) were a fleet of privateers during the Eighty Years War, the Low Countries (or Netherlands) rebellion against the Spanish occupation, which began during the reign of Philip II of Spain (in the 1550s). ...

In 1829, King Willem visited this municipality. For other men at some time in history called William I of Orange-Nassau, see William of Orange. ...

Attractions

The Delmerens Mill, also called Termote Mill, is a registered grain and oil mill dating from 1897, which ceased to operate in 1956. Saint Martins Church is a nationally registered structure, with an interesting interior, a pulpit dating from about 1200 and splendid glass windows. On the south side two bas relief sculptures are a memorial to the battle which was fought in Aarsele in May of 1940. In 1909, the building was rebuilt in field stone in early Gothic style and rectangular steeple.

Nearby is Hooge Crater, site of a former village destroyed during World War I and a memorial to fallen soldiers who died in the area. Hooge Crater is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of World War I located in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. ...

Coordinates: 51°00′N 3°25′E / 51, 3.417 Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...