‘With the reawakening of town life in Bruges in the twelfth century, a wool market, a woollens weaving industry, and the market for cloth; all profited from the shelter of city walls, where surpluses could be safely accumulated under the patronage of the counts of Flanders. The city's entrepreneurs reached out to make economic colonies of England and Scotland's wool-producing districts. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the English wool trade was primarily with Flanders and was dominated by Flemish merchants. English contacts brought Normandy grain and Gascon wines. In 1277, the first merchant fleet from Genoa appeared in the port of Bruges, first of the merchant colony that made Bruges the main link to the trade of the Mediterranean. This development opened not only the trade in spices from the Levant, but also advanced commercial and financial techniques and a flood of capital that soon took over the banking of Bruges. The Bourse opened in 1309 (most likely the first stock exchange in the world) and developed into the most sophisticated money market of the Low Countries in the 14th century.'
‘During the late Middle Ages Flanders' trading towns (notably Ghent, Bruges and Ypres) made it one of the richest and most urbanized parts of Europe, weaving the wool of neighbouring lands into cloth for both domestic use and export. As a consequence, a very sophisticated culture developed, with impressive achievements in the arts and architecture, rivaling those of Northern Italy. Ghent, Bruges, Ypres and the Franc of Bruges formed the Four Members, a form of parliament which exercised considerable power in Flanders.’ ‘Kings of France tried to sieze direct control over these riches on their borders. From their stronghold in Montreiul, they forced Flanders to give up lands in the Artois region, and then beat an Anglo-Flemish alliance at Bouvines (near Lille) in 1214 - a battle which symbolises the French claim to Nord-Pas de Calais. Fighting continued, with bloody confrontations and bitter anti-French feelings lasted for centuries, and made sure that both Flanders and Hainault allied with England through much of the Hundred Years' War,’ and also forced many Flemish weavers to flee Flanders for England and elsewhere. Edward III, ‘who recognised the national value of the cloth trade, was determined to promote it. He issued regulations forbidding the export of wool and the import of foreign cloth. Flemish weavers, already discontented with conditions in Flanders, were encouraged to bring their skills to England. Flemish workers were allowed to set up their own Guild and measures were introduced to protect them.’
Their tremendous weaving skills aren’t the only contribution the Flemish made to England though. ‘While it is true that England is the home of cricket, what is less well known is that the sport originally found its way to England from Flanders. It was first brought over by Flemish weavers in the late middle ages. You may be wondering who found this out? Well, an Australian scientist discovered it from a poem published in 1533 by John Skelton, called 'The image of Ipocrisie'. Paul Campbell from the Australian National University noticed that Skelton points the finger to the Flemish immigrants who crossed the Channel, and has called them the 'kings of cricket'. At the time, the Flemish weavers apparently used their herding staffs as bats. The sport has obviously evolved since then, but the foundations were already laid back then. Moreover, cricket is a Flemish word. This was established by the German academic Heiner Gillmeister. He and Paul Campbell worked together to further investigate the origins of cricket. The word originates from the expression 'met de krik ketsen', meaning 'chase with a curved stick'. You can see the link here with the herding staffs of the Flemish weavers. Cricket apparently existed in Flanders as early as the 12th Century, a long time before finding its way to England. In addition, the spread of the sport throughout England followed the same routes as were taken by the Flemish weavers themselves.‘
Picture: The Unicorn in Captivity - Flemish tapestry at the MET - Circa 1495 - 1505
Sources:
• http://www.weavers.org.uk/history
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruges
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Flanders
• http://focusonbelgium.be/…/did-you-know-cricket-was-invente…
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brugse_Vrije
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ypres
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_English_wool_trade
• https://www.englandsimmigrants.com/…/fourteenth-century-eng…
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flemish
• http://ghorbany.com/inspira…/savonnerie-and-aubusson-carpets
• https://flemish.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/…/flemish-religious-em…/
• http://www.themeister.co.uk/hindley/wool.htm
• https://www.theotherside.co.uk/…/back…/flanders-medieval.htm
