Bruges and West Flanders | Page 5

greatness long before Columbus
crossed the seas. A few English people hurry across, and pass under the
archway of the Rue de l'Âne Aveugle on the way to their tennis-ground

beyond the Porte de Gand. The sunshine glitters on the gilded façade of
the Palais de Justice, and lights up the statues in their niches on the
front of the Hôtel de Ville. There is no traffic, no noise. Everything is
still and peaceful. The chimes, ever and anon ringing out from the huge
Belfry, which rises high above the housetops to the west, alone break
the silence.
This is Bruges sleeping peacefully in old age, lulled to rest by the
sound of its own carillon. But it is easy, standing there, to recall the
past, and to fancy the scenes which took place from time to time
throughout the long period of foreign danger and internal strife. We can
imagine the Bourg, now so peaceful, full of armed men, rushing to the
Church of St. Donatian on the morning when Charles the Good was
slain; how, in later times, the turbulent burghers, fiery partisans of rival
factions, Clauwerts shouting for the Flemish Lion, and Leliarts
marshalled under the Lily of France, raged and threatened; how the
stones were splashed with blood on the day of the Bruges Matins, when
so many Frenchmen perished; or what shouts were raised when the
Flemish host came back victorious from the Battle of the Golden Spurs.
Though every part of Bruges--not only the Bourg, but the great
Market-Place, and the whole maze of streets and lanes and canals of
which it consists--has a story of its own, some of these stories stand out
by themselves; and amongst these one of the most dramatic is the story
of the death of Charles the Good.
More than two hundred and fifty years had passed away since the
coming of Baldwin Bras-de-Fer; Bruges had spread far beyond the
walls of the Bourg; and Charles, who had succeeded his cousin
Baldwin VII., was Count of Flanders. He was called 'the Good' because
of his just rule and simple life, and still more, perhaps, because he
clothed and fed the poor--not only in Bruges, but throughout all
Flanders. The common people loved him, but his charities gave offence
to the rich. He had, moreover, incurred the special enmity of the
Erembalds, a powerful family, who, though not of noble origin
themselves, were connected by marriage with many noble houses. They
had supported his claim to the throne of Flanders, which had been

disputed, and he had rewarded their services by heaping favours on
them. But, after a time, they began to oppose the methods of
government which Charles applied to Flanders. They resented most of
all one of his decrees which made it unlawful for persons not in his
service to carry arms in time of peace. This decree, which was
pronounced in order to prevent the daily scenes of violence which
Charles abhorred, was declared by the Erembalds to be an interference
with Flemish liberty. It did not affect them personally, for they held
office under the Count; but they none the less opposed it vehemently.
While Charles was thus on bad terms with the Erembalds, a deadly
feud existed between them and the Straetens, another notable family,
which grew to such a height that the rival clans made open war upon
each other, pillaging, burning, and slaying after the manner of these
times. Charles called the leaders of both sides before him, and made
them swear to keep the peace; but when he was at Ypres in the autumn
of 1126, a complaint was laid before him that Bertulf, head of the
Erembalds, who was also Provost of St. Donatian's, had sent one of his
nephews, Burchard by name, on a raid into the lands of the Straetens,
whose cattle he had carried off. On hearing of this outrage, Charles
gave orders that Burchard's house should be pulled down, and that he
should compensate the Straetens for their losses. The Erembalds were
powerless to resist this order, and Burchard's house was razed to the
ground.
It has been said that this was only the beginning of strong measures
which Charles was about to take against the Erembalds; but there is no
certainty as to what his intentions really were. He then lived in the
Loove, a mansion which he had built in the Bourg at Bruges, on the site
now occupied by the Palais de Justice; and there, on his return from
Ypres, he had a meeting with some of the Erembalds, who had been
sent to plead on behalf of Burchard. As to what took place at this
interview there is some doubt. According to one account, Charles drank
wine with the delegates, and granted a free