Feast of the Flemish Community in Belgium (11/07)

Every year on July 11, Belgium celebrates the memorable date — Feast Day of the Flemish Community in honor of an important historical event.

On this day, July 11, 1302, the Battle of Courtrai or the Battle of the Golden Spurs (Dutch) took place. De Guldensporenslag, French bataille des éperons d'or) — battle of the rebel Flemings with the French army near the town of Kortrijk.

The royal army (a feudal militia reinforced by Lombard crossbowmen and Spanish dart throwers) led by the king's relative, Captain General Comte d'Artois, met the Flanders people's militia. The Comte d'Artois led 7.5 thousand horsemen and three to five thousand mercenaries on foot into battle.

The city militia consisted of 13-20 thousand people, but it included only 10 knights (commanders and their retinue), the rest were infantrymen (archers, crossbowmen, pikemen, foot soldiers with godendags and fingers).

The Flemings emerged victorious and collected 700 pairs of golden spurs from the corpses of the knights, which is why the Battle of Courtrai went down in history as well as the Battle of the Golden Spurs. But, however, this victory could not stop the claims of the kings of France, and for almost a century the French monarchs unsuccessfully tried to make Flanders dependent on the French kingdom.

Currently, the date July 11 is celebrated as a major national holiday in Belgium. Traditionally, on Flemish Community Day, mass costume processions are held in the country to remind Belgians of the cost of independence. In the town of Courtrai, a theatrical performance is shown annually, which reproduces the course of the famous battle.

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