Louis II of Flanders (25 October 1330, Male

Male, Belgium

Male is a former hamlet and today a quarter in the east of Sint-Kruis, a suburb of Bruges, West Flanders, Belgium. The hamlet, which retains its small historic center, clusters around Male Castle, best known as the birthplace of Louis, count of Flanders in 1329.-External links:**...

 – 30 January 1384, Lille

Lille

Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

), also Louis III of Artois and Louis I of Palatine Burgundy, known as Louis of Male, was the son of Louis I of Flanders

Louis I of Flanders

Louis I was Count of Flanders, Nevers and Rethel.-History:He was the son of Louis I, Count of Nevers, and Joan, Countess of Rethel, and grandson of Robert III of Flanders. He succeeded his father as count of Nevers and his grandfather as count of Flanders in 1322...

 and Margaret I of Burgundy, and Count of Flanders

Count of Flanders

The Count of Flanders was the ruler or sub-ruler of the county of Flanders from the 9th century until the abolition of the position by the French revolutionaries in 1790....

.

On his father's death at the Battle of Crécy

Battle of Crécy

The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...

 in 1346, he inherited the counties of Flanders

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....

, Nevers

County of Nevers

The County of Nevers is a historic county of Burgundy in central France. It is the location of the town, Nevers. It roughly corresponds to the later province of Nivernais and the modern of department of Nièvre.- History :...

, and Rethel. The Guilds, depending on the English wool trade, forced Louis to recognize Edward III of England

Edward III of England

Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

 as his overlord and arrange an engagement to the daughter of the English king, Isabella

Isabella de Coucy

Isabella of England, also known as Dame Isabella de Coucy , was the eldest daughter of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault and the wife of Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy, by whom she had two daughters.She was made a Lady of the Garter in 1376.-Early years:Isabella was the royal...

. Louis managed to avoid this by fleeing to France in 1347.

On the death of his father-in-law in 1355, he took the title of Duke of Brabant

Duke of Brabant

The Duchy of Brabant was formally erected in 1183/1184. The title "Duke of Brabant" was created by the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, son of Godfrey III of Leuven . The Duchy of Brabant was a feudal elevation of the since 1085/1086 existing title of Landgrave of Brabant...

, but was unable to wrest the duchy

Duchy

A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era . In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the Medieval era...

 from his sister-in-law Joanna, Duchess of Brabant

Joanna, Duchess of Brabant

Joanna, Duchess of Brabant , also known as Jeanne, was the heiress of Duke John III, who died in Brussels, December 5, 1355. Her mother was Marie d'Évreux.- Family :...

 in the War of the Brabantian Succession. Louis managed to defeat the Brabantians in the battle of Scheut near Anderlecht

Anderlecht

Anderlecht is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region.There are several historically and architecturally distinct districts within the Anderlecht municipality.-Pronunciation:* Dutch: * French:...

 (17 August 1356) and capture the cities of Mechelen

Mechelen

Mechelen Footnote: Mechelen became known in English as 'Mechlin' from which the adjective 'Mechlinian' is derived...

, Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

, Antwerp and Leuven

Leuven

Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...

, but he was unable to acquire the duchy. By the Peace of Ath (1357) he gained the lordship of Mechelen and the city of Antwerp.

Louis' tried to govern as a Realpolitiker

Realpolitik

Realpolitik refers to politics or diplomacy based primarily on power and on practical and material factors and considerations, rather than ideological notions or moralistic or ethical premises...

. With regards to his internal policy, his main aim was to prevent the formation of a broad coalition against him, as happened against his father. Except for his last years, he was successful in preventing this. However, even in his latter years he managed to get the support 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....

 against the revolt of Ghent

Ghent

Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...

. His foreign policy was one of neutrality in the Hundred Year's War, which kept him in favor with both France and England.

The latter years of his rule however were marked by civil strife. In 1379, he obtained aid from his son-in-law, Philip II of Burgundy, to put down a revolt in Ghent. The Flemings again rose under Philip van Artevelde

Philip van Artevelde

Philip van Artevelde was a Flemish patriot, the son of Jacob van Artevelde. Because of his father's prominence he was godson of English queen Philippa of Hainault, who held him in her arms during his baptism....

 and expelled him from Flanders after the Battle of Beverhoutsveld

Battle of Beverhoutsveld

-Prelude:This battle was initiated when the city of Ghent had rebelled against their lord, count Louis II of Flanders, in 1379. The powerful guilds in Ghent did not take kindly to his rule, and wanted more privileges and less interference from the count...

; however, the influence of Philip procured a French army to relieve him, and the Flemings were decisively defeated at the Battle of Roosebeke

Battle of Roosebeke

The Battle of Roosebeke took place on November 27, 1382 on the Goudberg between a Flemish army under Philip van Artevelde and a French army under Louis II of Flanders who had called upon the help of the French king Charles VI after he had suffered a defeat during the Battle of Beverhoutsveld...

. However, the citizens of Ghent continued to resist (with English aid

Despenser's Crusade

Despenser's Crusade was a military expedition to aid the city of Ghent from the supporters of Antipope Clement VII in 1383. It took place in the context of the Western Schism and the Hundred Years' War between England and France...

) until after his death in 1384. His mother had died two years previously, leaving him the counties of Artois

County of Artois

The County of Artois was an historic province of the Kingdom of France, held by the Dukes of Burgundy from 1384 until 1477/82, and a state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 until 1659....

 and the Franche-Comté

Franche-Comté

Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...

.

The Louis Ducat

The ducat

Ducat

The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...

 is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight.
The most common type of ducat

Ducat

The ducat is a gold coin that was used as a trade coin throughout Europe before World War I. Its weight is 3.4909 grams of .986 gold, which is 0.1107 troy ounce, actual gold weight...

 were the old Dutch ducats, bearing the impression of an armed figure, which gave way, for a short time only, to the figure of Louis II of Flanders.

Family

In 1347, he married Margaret of Brabant (1323–1368), daughter of John III, Duke of Brabant

John III, Duke of Brabant

Jan III van Brabant , also called John III, the Triumphant , was Duke of Brabant, Lothier, and Limburg...

. They had three children:

• Peter (died young)
• Charles (predeceased his father)
• Margaret III, Countess of Flanders
  Margaret III, Countess of Flanders
  Margaret of Dampierre was Countess of Flanders , Countess of Artois and Countess Palatine of Burgundy and twice Duchess consort of Burgundy...
  
   (1348–1405)

He also left several illegitimate sons, three of whom were killed at the Battle of Nicopolis

Battle of Nicopolis

The Battle of Nicopolis took place on 25 September 1396 and resulted in the rout of an allied army of Hungarian, Wallachian, French, Burgundian, German and assorted troops at the hands of an Ottoman force, raising of the siege of the Danubian fortress of Nicopolis and leading to the end of the...

.

As he left no surviving sons, on his death, his extensive possessions in the Low Countries

Low Countries

The Low Countries are the historical lands around the low-lying delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse rivers, including the modern countries of Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and parts of northern France and western Germany....

 were inherited by his daughter Margaret.

Legacy

The main line of the House of Dampierre

House of Dampierre

The Dampierre family played an important role during the Middle Ages. They were Count of Flanders and later also Count of Nevers, Rethel, Artois and Franche-Comté. The senior line of the House died out with Margaret III...

, originally only counts of Flanders, had through a clever marriage policy managed to inherit the counties of Nevers (1280) and Rethel (1328). Through Louis' mother, a daughter of King Philip V of France

Philip V of France

Philip the Tall was King of France as Philip V and, as Philip II, King of Navarre and Count of Champagne. He reigned from 1316 to his death and was the penultimate monarch of the House of Capet. Considered a wise and politically astute ruler, Philip took the throne under questionable...

, the counties of Artois and Burgundy (the "Franche Comté") were added to this (1382). These lands were to provide the core of the dominions of the House of Valois-Burgundy

House of Valois-Burgundy

The term "Valois Dukes of Burgundy" is employed to refer to the dynasty which began after John II of France granted the Duchy of Burgundy to his youngest son, Philip the Bold...

, which were, together with the Duchy of Burgundy

Duchy of Burgundy

The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...

, to provide them with a power base to challenge the rule of their cousins, the Valois kings of France in the 15th century.