The geographical region and former county of Flanders contains not only the two Belgian provinces but also the present-day French département of Nord, in parts of which there is still a Flemish-speaking minority, and the southern part of the Dutch province of Zeeland known as Zeeuws-Vlaanderen ("Sealandic Flanders"). The countship was one of the six original lay pairies of the French realm. The Artois area of today's French département of Pas-de-Calais was also part of it until it became a separate countship in 1237. After that date, Artois at various times still came under the dominionof the count of Flanders as a separate title. The départements (or departments) are administrative units of France, roughly analogous to British counties. ... Nord may refer to: Places Nord (département), in France Nord, Greenland Nord Region, Burkina Faso Nord Department, Haiti Note: Nord means North in German and French. ... Capital Middelburg Queens Commissioner drs. ... Satellite image of the Scheldt delta Zeeuws-Vlaanderen is the part of the Netherlands on the left shore of the Scheldt river (here called Westerschelde), nr. ... The French word pairie is the equivalent of the English peerage, in the sense of an individual title carrying the rank of Pair (peer in English), which derives from the Latin par equal, and signifies the members of an exclusive body of noblemen and prelates, considered to be the highest... Artois is a former province of northern France. ... Pas-de-Calais is a département in northern France named after the strait which it borders. ... // Events Thomas II of Savoy becomes count of Flanders. ...

Thus defined, Flanders covers a total area of 12,500 km² with 5.2 million inhabitants since 2004, or 16,500 km² with 6.2 million inhabitants if Artois is included. During the later Middle Ages its trading towns (notably Ghent (Gent), Bruges (Brugge) and Ypres (Ieper)) made it one of the most urbanised parts of Europe, weaving the wool of neighbouring lands into cloth for home consumption and export. It has been designated the: International Year of Rice (by the United Nations) International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO) 2004 World Health Day topic was Road Safety (by World Health Organization) Year of the Monkey (by the Chinese calendar) See the world in... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Ghent (Gent in Dutch, Gand in French, formerly Gaunt in English) is a city located in Flanders, Belgium. ... Sometimes referred to as the Venice of the North, Bruges has many waterways that run through the city. ... The Belfry of Ypres Ypres (French, generally used in English;1 Ieper official name in the local Dutch) is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of West Flanders. ... Wool in a shearing shed Long and short hair wool at the South Central Family Farm Research Center in Boonesville, AR Wool sheep, Royal Melbourne Show Wool is the fibre derived from the hair of animals of the Caprinae family, principally sheep and goats, but the hair of other mammals...

Increasingly powerful from the 12th century, the territory's autonomous urban communes were instrumental in defeating a French attempt at annexation (1300-1302), finally defeating the French in the Battle of the Golden Spurs (July 11, 1302), near Kortrijk. Flemish prosperity waned in the following century, however, owing to widespread European population decline following the Black Death of 1348, the disruption of trade during the Anglo-French Hundred Years' War (1338-1453), and increased English cloth production. Flemish weavers had gone over to Worstead and North Walsham in Norfolk in the 12th century and established the woollen industry. (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ... Defensive towers at San Gimignano, Tuscany, bear witness to the factional strife within communes. ... Events Beginning of the Renaissance. ... Events July 11 - Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag in Dutch), major victory of Flanders over the French occupier. ... The Battle of the Golden Spurs (Dutch: De Guldensporenslag, French: des éperons dor) was fought on July 11, 1302, near Kortrijk in Flanders. ... July 11 is the 192nd day (193rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 173 days remaining. ... Events July 11 - Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag in Dutch), major victory of Flanders over the French occupier. ... Central Kortrijk from the main square. ... Illustration of the Black Death from the Toggenburg Bible (1411). ... Events April 7 - Charles University is founded in Prague. ... A map of Europe in the 1430s, near the end of the Hundred Years War The Hundred Years War is the name modern historians have given to what was actually a series of related conflicts, fought over a 116-year period, between England and France, and later Burgundy; beginning in... Events Ashikaga Takauji granted title of Shogun by the emperor of Japan. ... Events May 29 - Fall of Constantinople to Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror, marking the end of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire). ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st... Map sources for Worstead at grid reference TG3026 Worstead is a village in Norfolk, England, south of North Walsham and north of Wroxham. ... Map sources for North Walsham at grid reference TG2830 North Walsham is a market town (population 11998) in Norfolk, England, south of Cromer and north of Wroxham. ... For alternative meanings see: Norfolk (disambiguation) Norfolk (pronounced NOR-fk) is a low-lying county in East Anglia in the east of southern England. ...

Created in the year 862, the countship of Flanders was divided when its western districts fell under French rule in the late 12th century. The remaining parts of Flanders came under the rule of the Counts of neighbouring Hainaut in 1191. Events Rurik gained control of Novgorod. ... Hainaut (Dutch: Henegouwen; Ger. ... // Events May 12 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre. ...

The entire area passed in 1384 to the dukes of Burgundy, in 1477 to the Habsburg dynasty and in 1556 to the kings of Spain. The western districts of Flanders came finally under French rule under successive treaties of 1659 (Artois), 1668 and 1678. Events May / September 3 - Siege of Lisbon by the Castilian army, during the 1383-1385 Crisis Births Antoine, Duke of Brabant (died 1415) St Frances of Rome (died 1440) Khalil Sultan, ruler of Transoxiana (died 1411) Deaths January 1 - King Charles II of Navarre (b. ... The following is a list of the Dukes of Burgundy Richard of Autun, the Justicier (880–921) Rudolph of Burgundy (king of France from 923) (921–923) Hugh the Black (923–952) Gilbert of Chalon (952–956) Odo of Paris (956-965) Otto-Henry the Great (965–1002) Otto-William... Events January 5 - Battle of Nancy - Charles the Bold of Burgundy is again defeated, and this time is killed. ... Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy; also used as the flag of the Austrian Empire until the Ausgleich of 1867. ... Events January 16 - Abdication of Emperor Charles V. His son, Philip II becomes King of Spain, while his brother Ferdinand becomes Holy Roman Emperor January 23 - The Shaanxi earthquake, the deadliest earthquake in history, occurs with its epicenter in Shaanxi province, China. ... // Events May 25 - Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth. ... // Events January - The Triple Alliance of 1668 is formed. ... Events August 10 - Treaty of Nijmegen ends the Dutch War. ...

See also

• Count of Flanders