Gravensteen Castle, Ghent, Belgium

Gravensteen Castle is also known as the 'Castle of the Counts' because it was the primary residence of the Counts of Flanders. The castle sits on a bend in the Lys River, in the centre of Ghent. The location was first fortified as a wooden castle around the year 1,000, but this early castle burned down in 1176. The stone castle we see today was completed in 1180, having been built by Count Philip of Alsace, who was also Count of Flanders. Gravensteen Castle, with its tower and fortified walls, enabled him not only to protect himself, but also to keep an eye on his subjects. The castle today still retains its original form. Philip took on the role of Count of Flanders in 1157, while acting as Regent for his father who had been on the second crusade. He married Elisabeth, the elder daughter of Count Ralph I of Vermandois and Petronilla of Aquitaine.  Petronilla was the younger sister of Eleanor of Aquitaine, making Count Philip the nephew of the Queen of England. Philip’s wife, Elisabeth, inherited the Country of Vermandois, which further expanded their territories.

Count Philip of Flanders and his wife Elisabeth had no children.  While Philip was highly regarded in court circles, and asked to mediate disputes between Louis VII of France and Henry II of England, he seems to have been less well regarded by his wife.  Philip discovered that his wife, Elisabeth had taken a lover in 1175, and he had the man, Walter of Fontaines, beaten to death.  Elisabeth died in 1183, and Count Philip then married Theresa, the daughter of Afonso I, King of Portugal. Philip died in 1191 without issue, while on the third crusade at Acre. Before he left for Crusade, he is thought to have designated his sister Margaret as his heir.

Gravensteen Castle and the Title of Countess of Flanders, was inherited by Count Philip’s sister Margaret in 1191. Margaret was married to Baldwin V of Hainault, and together they had eight children.  Margaret’s claims to Flanders were questioned by the King of France, who with the support of Ghent, declared Flanders escheated to the Crown due to the lack of male heirs.  Theresa, Count Philip’s widow, also protested her sister-in-law’s claim. Margaret’s right to inherit the country of Flanders was not officially acknowledged until the 1st of March 1192. When Margaret died in 1194, she was succeeded by her son Baldwin VIII.

Count Baldwin VIII was married to Marie, who was the daughter of Count Henry I of Champagne and Marie of France.  Marie of France was the daughter of the French King Louis VII and Eleanor of Aquitaine. This made Countess Marie a granddaughter of both Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen of England. She was also the niece of King Richard I of England and King Philip II of France. When Baldwin’s father died, he also succeeded to the title of Count of Hainault. Baldwin argued with King Louis VIII of France over land disputes, and allied himself with King Richard I and King John of England. Baldwin went on crusade in 1202, leaving a two-year-old daughter and his pregnant wife behind.  He was a leader in the fourth crusade, which saw the sacking of Constantinople in 1204.  He left his wife Marie as Regent, but in 1204 after the birth of their second daughter, Margaret, she went to join her husband on crusade leaving the two children behind. Neither of them ever returned. Baldwin’s brother, Philip of Namur, was left as Regent. Marie died in 1204, and Baldwin was captured at the Battle of Adrainople in 1205, and died in prison within the year.

Count Baldwin’s brother, Henry, assumed the Regency, and Baldwin’s daughter, Joan, inherited the title of Countess of Flanders in 1205, at the age of just 6. Joan was raised in Paris under the guardianship of Philip II, King of France. He arranged for her marriage to Ferdinand of Portugal in 1212. Ferdinand rebelled against King Philip and was imprisoned when Joan was only 14, this allowed her to rule alone.  After the death of her first husband, she married Thomas of Savoy. Joan died in 1244, and her sister, Margaret, became the next Countess of Flanders. 

Count Baldwin’s second daughter Margaret was also raised in France, after King Philip II of France obtained the guardianship of both of the heiresses of Flanders. Margaret married Bouchard of Avesnes. Before the death of her sister, Joan, Countess of Flanders, the sisters also argued over territories.  When Joan’s first husband was imprisoned, Margaret’s husband attempted to get a share of Margaret’s father’s estates. This led to Joan trying to have her sister’s marriage annulled. Philip II of France got involved, and told Pope Innocent III that before Bouchard had been married, he had taken holy orders as a sub-deacon.  In 1215 the Pope annulled the marriage on these grounds, against the wishes of the couple who refused to submit, and took refuge in the Castle of Houffalize, under the protection of the Count of Luxembourg.  Margaret and Bouchard had three children before he was captured in 1219, fighting against his sister-in-law Countess Joan.  Bouchard of Avesnes was then imprisoned for two years before being released, on the condition that he separate from his wife, and travel to Rome to get absolution from the Pope.  While he was in Rome, Margaret was staying in Joan’s court with her daughter, having left her two sons in France. While there she agreed to a new marriage, to William II of Dampierre, Lord of Dampierre, together they had five children.  This marriage also caused a scandal, being within the boundaries of consanguinity.

The legitimacy of all the children of Margaret II, Countess of Flanders, was brought into question as soon as she succeeded her sister as Countess in 1244.  Almost immediately, her sons from both marriages began to fight for the inheritance of the countries, and this continued for decades, resulting in the long Wars of the Succession of Flanders and Hainault, a series of conflicts that were fought between her children for their right to inherit.  Margaret tried to intervene. Approaching King Louis IX of France, she attempted to get the French King to recognise her eldest son by her second marriage, William of Dampierre, as her sole heir, arguing that the Pope had declared her first marriage invalid, and thus her sons from that union illegitimate.  

The conflicts of the Wars of the Succession escalated when Countess Margaret’s son, John I of Avenes, from her first marriage, and her two sons from her second marriage, William III and Guy of Dampierre, started fighting.  The first conflict in the Wars of the Succession occurred when John and William fought between themselves, until King Louis IX of France intervened in 1246. The French King gave Flanders to William of Dampierre, and Hainault to John I of Avesnes, but that wasn’t the end of it. Perhaps it could have been, but Margaret did not accept the decision. While the French King was busy with the seventh crusade, John realised his mother did not intend to give him control of Hainault, as she had given Flanders to her other sons. John revolved, and attacked his half-brother Guy. John even managed to persuade William II of Holland to seize Hainault and other Flemish territories within the empire. The Battle of West Capelle was fought in 1253, where John was victorious over his half-brother, Guy of Dampierre. Guy and Margaret were forced to respect King Louis verdict and grant Hainault to John. The third issue arose when Margaret still did not accept defeat, and in order to obtain military support, granted Hainault to Charles of Anjou, who was the brother of King Louis IX.  This brought Charles of Anjou into the conflict and he took up arms against John, but was nearly killed in a skirmish.  When King Louis IX returned from crusade, he reaffirmed his earlier decision, and John did secure control of Hainault. 

Although Margaret II, Countess of Flanders and Hainault’s son, John of Avesnes, was finally recognised as Count of Hainault, it was his son, John II, who would succeed Margaret in Hainault. Margaret reigned from 1244-1280. Her eldest son John, who she tried to disinherit, died in 1257. He did however outlive his half-brother, William, who was Margaret’s eldest son from her second marriage. John and his brother Baldwin were suspected of having financed the assassination of his half-brother, William of Flanders. William died in a tournament in Trazegnis, leaving his brother Guy, as Count of Flanders. Guy died 1305, and his son Robert became Robert III, Count of Flanders, after his father transferred the title to him in 1299. Gravensteen Castle continued to be the home of the dysfunctional families of the Counts of Flanders until the early 15th Century.