Jan Breydel

Jan Breydel was a revolutionist of the 14th century with Bruges. It was to stop of profession. It symbolizes the fight of the middle-class of the Middle Ages for freedom against the nobility.

With Pieter de Coninck, Breydel was with the head of crossbred Brugean, a revolt against Philippe Beautiful the, which brought the Bataille of the Gold Spurs. Three weeks before, on May 1st 1302, it had conducted an attack against the castle of Male and it had been implied in the massacre of French garrisons. In 1308 it helped, with a group of partisans, his brother in arms Willem van Saeftinghe, who had fought with him with the battle of the Gold Spurs, to escape its enemies who had besieged it in the church of Lissewege.

In 1309, Jan Breydel carried out with Pieter de Coninck and Jan Heem a revolt against the unfavorable consequences of the peace treaty of Athis-on-Barley (1305). In 1309, it assassinated with impunity the representative of the count de Flandre.

The accounts of the town of Bruges show that Jan Breydel was present July 8th, 9th and 10th 1302 at Courtrai, where it provided pigmeat to the troops with other butchers. It is on this basis which one considers that on July 11th it actually fought at the time of the battle of the Gold Spurs. The Flemish army was composed mainly of craftsmen and farmers.

Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck have a statue on the place of Bruges. It was set up in 1887.

Others

the Stage where the football teams of the Brugean Cercle evolve/move and of FC Bruges bears the name of Stage Jan Breydel.

Jan Breydel plays a big role in the novel the Lion of Flandres of Hendrik Conscience and in the version as a cartoon of Bob De Moor.

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