The feudal states of the Low Countries refer to the medieval political entities that existed in present-day Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Most of these were part of the Holy Roman Empire, with the exception of Flanders and Artois which were subject to the King of France. From 1384 until the early 16th century these counties, duchies and bishoprics were gradually absorbed by the House of Burgundy and subsequently the House of Habsburg.
History
The Low Countries were part of the Frankish Empire which encompassed most of Western Europe from the 8th century. The warring grandsons of Charlemagne agreed to split the empire in three parts at the Treaty of Verdun (843). The result was that most of the Low Countries became part of Middle Francia, sandwiched between West Francia, which would become the Kingdom of France, and East Francia, which would become the Holy Roman Empire in 966.
Lotharingia and subdivisions Lower and Upper Lorraine. Upper Lorraine (orange) remained a state of the Holy Roman Empire until the 18th century. In red the border between Romance languages (French) and Germanic languages (lower German/Dutch and Rhine Franconian).
Middle Francia was in turn divided among King Lothair I’s sons in 855, and the Low Countries, together with Lorraine, became part of Lotharingia. A further partition happened in 949 when Lower Lorraine was separated from the rest. With the death of Duke Godfrey III in 1190 the Low Countries became a collection of counties, duchies, lordships and bishoprics directly under the Holy Roman Emperor.
The Low Countries in the 14th century
The Low Countries were gradually united in a process of inheritances and acquisitions by the House of Burgundy. It started with Flanders in 1384 and ended with the Guelders Wars that lasted from 1502 until 1543, when all of the Low Countries were united as the Seventeen Provinces under Habsburg rule. The northern part revolted against this rule and established the Dutch Republic in 1581, while the south remained under Spanish Habsburg rule until 1714 and Austrian Habsburg rule until 1794.
Flanders
Flanders is currently the name for the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, but also the name for two of Belgium’s western provinces. The original County of Flanders was established in 862 as feudal state subject to the King of France. A small part of the county was part of the Holy Roman Empire, referred to as Imperial Flanders.
Flag of Flanders
During the Middle Ages Flemish towns such as Brugues and Ghent were thriving and renowned for their production of linnen. They belonged to the most prominent cities of Europe, at that time equal in size to Paris or London. The House of Burgundy-Valois acquired Flanders in 1384. It subsequently passed to the Habsburgs in 1515.
Due to the Dutch Revolt, in which Flanders sided with the rebellion but was conquered by Spanish troops, the Flemish cities lost a lot of their Protestant elites to Holland. Consequently the economic heartland of the Low Countries moved to Amsterdam from the 16th century, sparking the Dutch Golden Age.
Artois
The County of Artois was the most southern of the Low Countries and originally part of Flanders, and simlarly subject to the King of France. It became a separate county in 1237. Artois became Burgundian in 1384. During the Dutch Revolt Artois actively sided with Spain. With a mostly French-speaking population, it was annexed by France during the Thirty Year War (1618-1648). Its capital Arras was famous for its linnen industry and still has a historic center, although it has to be noted that it was completely rebuilt after the destruction by artillery of the Western Front of World War I (1914-1918).
Hainaut
Coat of arms of Hainaut
The County of Hainaut was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. It was in personal union with Flanders from 1191 until 1246, and with Holland from 1299 until 1436, after which it became part of the Burgundian Netherlands. Hainaut is currently a province of Belgium, although the southern part of its original territory was annexed by France in 1678. Its capital is Mons.
Namur
The County of Namur was a state of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from 992 until the dissolution of the Austrian Netherlands in 1794. Located between Liège, Hainaut and Luxembourg, it was often besieged or influenced by its neighbours. The last independent count was Baldwin II, who sold it to Flanders in 1263. It passed to the Burgundian dukes in 1421.
Brabant
The Duchy of Brabant was a state of the Holy Roman Empire with its capital in Leuven (French: Louvain). The Duchy also included Brussels and Antwerp, and was one of the largest and most powerful states in the Low Countries. It was established in 1183 by Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa who promoted the Count of Leuven to the title of duke. In 1288 the Duchy of Limburg and the lands of Overmaas, which included the city of Maastricht, was added to Brabant. In 1430 the Duchy of Brabant was inherited by Philip the Good of Burgundy, and passed to the House of Habsburg in 1477.
Coat of arms of Brabant
Although Antwerp had joined the rebels during the Dutch revolt, Brabant reverted to Spanish rule after military campaigns to retake the region in 1584. During the second phase of the Eighty Years' War, the north of Brabant was captured by the Dutch Republic. Today North Brabant is a province in The Netherlands, while the Belgian provinces of Antwerp and Brabant make up most of the duchy's former territory. Brabant was mostly Dutch speaking, with a French speaking part south of Brussels.
Holland
The County of Holland was a state of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from 1101 until Dutch independence in 1581, when it became the most prominent province of the Dutch Republic. Holland was originally considered part of Frisia, and its northern part is therefore known as West-Frisia. During this period the many marshlands and lakes were engineered into farmlands, boosting the county’s economy. Many wars were fought with Flanders over the County of Zeeland, which was annexed by Holland in 1256.
Coat of arms of the County of Holland
The House of Holland became extinct in 1299, passing the titles to the House of Avesnes so that Holland became in personal union with Hainaut. In 1345 the House of Wittelsbach of Bavaria took over Holland and Hainaut. This caused a power struggle in Holland which were known as the Hook and Cods Wars. The Cods, supported by the urban elites and Philip the Good of the House of Burgundy, were eventually victorious and as a result Holland was added to the Burgundian Netherlands in 1436. Burgundian rule brought Holland a lot of prosperity, boosting its international trading network that would eventually eclipse that of Flanders.
Utrecht
Coat of arms of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht
The Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht was an ecclesiastical state of the Holy Roman Empire that existed from 1102 until 1528, when the last prince-bishop sold his estates to Emperor Charles V of the House of Habsburg. The prince-bishopric consisted of two parts: Nedersticht, which roughly corresponds to the modern province of Utrecht in the Netherlands, and Oversticht, which is currently known as the provinces of Overijssel and Drenthe, combined with the imperial city of Groningen. Other important cities were Kampen, Zwolle, and Deventer.
Guelders
The County and later Duchy of Guelders was a state of the Holy Roman Empire that was the last of the Low Countries to resist Habsburg rule. It was first documented in 1096 and became a duchy in 1339. It became a personal union with the neighbouring German state of Jülich-Berg in 1393. The territory of Guelders included the imperial cities of Nijmegen, Arnhem, Zutphen and Harderwijk.
Coat of arms of Guelders
Charles the Bold of Burgundy acquired Guelders from the last Duke Arnold in 1473, who Charles the Bold had lent money to which was not repaid. However, Arnold's heirs Adolf and Charles took back Guelders in 1492. A long struggle known as the Guelders Wars (1502-1543) eventually brought Guelders under Habsburg control. In the initial stages of the war Frisia was allied to Guelders, but Habsburg forces conquered it after years of fighting in 1524.
Frisia
The Frisians are a Germanic tribe that settled most of present-day Netherlands from the 6th century. The Franks moved them more north, but they enjoyed far-reaching autonomy because it was not a feudal state, economically subject to the Holy Roman Emperor.
The territory of medieval Free Frisia included the modern Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and the German region of Ost-Friesland. A civil war in Frisia in the 14th century weakened the state and neighbouring Saxony was able to exert influence. At the start of the 16th century, during the Guelders Wars, there was a period of fierce opposition to foreign rule but Emperor Charles V eventually conquered it in 1524.
Currency
The Low Countries derived their units of account from the Carolingian monetary system where 1 Pound (French: Livre) was equal to 20 Shillings (Dutch: Schelling, French: Escalin), each of 12 Pence (Dutch: Penningen, French: Deniers).
Gradual debasement of medieval coins and decentralised rule caused the currencies of different parts to divert from one another and new units to emerge. In the 14th century, Flanders introduced the Flemish Groat as a small silver coin worth 12 Deniers Parisis. The Flemish Pound worth 240 Groats became the primary unit of account in most of the Low Countries.
Brabant used its own Pound as a unit of account. It was worth 2/3rd of a Flemish Pound. Other units were:
Pound = 6 Florins = 20 Schelling
Schelling = 12 Groats
Stuiver = Sol = Plaque = 2 Groats
Groat =12 Deniers Artois = 24 Flemish Mites = 36 Brabant Mites = 36 Namur Mailles
Oord/Liard = 12 Flemish Mites
Duit = Zeskin = Gigot = 6 Flemish Mites
Negenmanneke = 9 Brabant Mites
Bourgeois = 6 Deniers
Obole = 1/2 Denier or Groat
Esterlin = 1/3 Denier or Groat (depending on contemporary silver content
Poite or Poitevin = 1/4 Denier or Groat
Gold coinage:
Noble = 72 Groats
Catalogue
Belgium - Feudal (should be renamed as it includes parts that are currently Dutch):
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/belgium-feudal-1.html
Frisia:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/fryslan-1.html