Background
The reason for the battle was a French attempt to subdue the County of Flanders, which was formally part of the French kingdom and added to the crown lands in 1297 but resisted centralist French policies. In 1300, the French king Philip IV appointed Jacques de Châtillon as governor of Flanders and took the Count of Flanders, Guy of Dampierre, hostage. This caused considerable unrest among the influential Flemish urban guilds.
After being exiled from their homes by French troops, the citizens of Bruges went back to the city and murdered every Frenchman they could find on May 18, 1302, an act known as the Brugse Metten. According to legend, they identified the French by asking them to pronounce a Dutch phrase, schilt ende vriend (shield and friend) and everyone who had a problem pronouncing this shibboleth was killed.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of The Golden Spurs
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