Bruges. Triumphal Entry of the Belgian Army, with King Albert and Queen Elizabeth at their head, on October 25, 1918.
[BRUGES.]
Origin and Chief Historical Events.
A burgh and a fortified bridge (whence the name of "Bruges" ("Brugge")) on the Reye, a brook since absorbed by the canals,—such was the origin of the town.
In the 9th century Baudouin-Bras-de-fer, first count of Flanders and vassal of the French King replaced the original establishment with a fortified castle, around which, in spite of civil discords, quarrels between the rulers and their turbulent subjects, dissensions between the vassal and his suzerain, and rebellions by those two powerful Flemish communes—Ghent and Bruges—the town grew and prospered. These troubles were marked by sanguinary episodes, chief among which were the "Bruges Matins" (1302) in which thousands of the "Gens du Lys" (Leliaerts) partisans of France, lost their lives, and shortly afterwards the famous "Battle of the Golden Spurs", in which the flower of France's chivalry, lured into the Groeninghe Marshes, was annihilated by the Flemish pikemen (clauwaerts) led by Breydel the butcher, and Coninck the draper.
The era which followed this crisis was one of great prosperity for Bruges, then a vast emporium of European trade, being in close relation with London, Genoa, Venice, Augsburg and the Hanseatic towns. Wealth abounded. The rich foreign merchants built sumptuous mansions, several of which still exist. Bruges attained the height of its prosperity in the 15th century, under Burgundian rule. Favoured by the long reign of Philippe-le-Bon, "the Great Duke of the West", the arts, today the glory of the old city, flourished exceedingly.
Decadence set in, chiefly owing to the retreating of the sea and the gradual filling up of the creeks and harbours with sand. Trade steadily declined, whilst in the 16th century, political and religious troubles hastened the downfall of the city. The population of 200,000 dwindled away to 50,000, and at last the place came to be known as "Bruges-la-Morte".