Jan Heem
Encyclopedia
Jan Heem was a Flemish
County of Flanders
The County of Flanders was one of the territories constituting the Low Countries. The county existed from 862 to 1795. It was one of the original secular fiefs of France and for centuries was one of the most affluent regions in Europe....

 craftsman and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

. In fact, he is the third and missing man on the statue of Jan Breydel
Jan Breydel
Jan Breydel is credited with leading the Bruges Matins , a violent uprising against Philip the Fair....

 en Pieter de Coninck at the Market of Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....

.

When the rebels in march 1302 took over the city of Bruges, he was appointed as mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

. He was a simple guildsman who was often seen at the side of Pieter de Coninck. During the periode 1323 - 1328 and at the Battle of Cassel, Jan Heem was one of the leaders of Bruges.

When in 1867 the first Breydel-Conninc commission was founded, Jan Heem was forgotten. Hendrik Conscience
Hendrik Conscience
Henri "Hendrik" Conscience was a Belgian writer. He was a pioneer in writing in Dutch after the secession from the Netherlands in 1830 left Belgium a mostly French speaking country....

 had forgotten to mention Jan Heem in his famous novel "The Lion of Flanders
De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (book)
De Leeuw van Vlaanderen is a historical book written by the Flemish writer Hendrik Conscience in 1838. The book tells the story of the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302...

"
thus few people knew who Heem was, let alone that he participatedas a leader in the uprisings in Bruges at that time. In many subsequent publications, and in the Breydel-Coninck year in Bruges is 1987, there was still no mention of him.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK