Last modified: 2006-11-19 by ivan sache
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Unofficial flag of Brabant - Image by Mark Sensen, 27 January 2001
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The Duchy of Brabant was formed under the Counts of Leuven. In the
XIIIth century, the Duchy stretched out from Nivelles, in the south, to Den Bosch (today the capital of the Province of North Brabant, in the Netherlands), in the north, and included the cities of Antwerp, Brussels
and Leuven. The dukes attempted to control the main trade road linking
Bruges to Cologne, which caused endless conflicts with their neighbours, the Prince-Bishops of Liège, the Dukes of Gelderland and the Archbishops of
Cologne. In 1288, Duke of Brabant Jean I (1253-1294, Duke in 1267) defeated the Duke of Limburg in Woeringen, near Cologne, and succeeded him as the Duke of Limburg, controlling therefore the fortified city of Maastricht.
Duke Jean III (1300-1355, Duke in 1312) preserved the balance of power between the Duchy (political power) and the cities (economical power). The duke needed political and mostly
financial support from the wealthy cities, to which he had to granted
several privileges, such as the Joyous Entry (1356),
which progressively suppressed the reign of the arbitrary and
absolutism and increased the commitment of the burghers to the dynasty.
This commitment became a national consciousness. In the middle of the
XVth century, Duke of Burgundy Philippe the Bold, a very tricky
diplomat, was able to incorporate Brabant to his domain via marriage
links; his grandson Philippe the Good became Duke of Brabant in 1430.
Ivan Sache, 11 March 2006
In the Middle Ages, the main language spoken in Brabant was medieval
Dutch, called Dietsch or Thiois, whereas the southern part of the Duchy was
called the "Roman Pays", where several Latin dialects were spoken.
Flemish Region, Walloon Region, Brussels), and into the French Community and
the Dutch Community. The St. Michel's agreement signed in September 1992 prescribed the division of Brabant into two provinces, the Flemish
Brabant and the Walloon Brabant, Brussels being not included in the new provinces. On 30 May 1993, the Federal State, the three Regions and the
two Communities signed a cooperation agreement.
The province of Brabant was officially replaced by the two provinces of
Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant on 1 January 1995.
Ivan Sache, 11 March 2006
The Province of Brabant used, unofficially, a banner of the arms of Brabant:
Sable a lion rampant or armed and lampassed gules.
Ivan Sache, 11 March 2006
Unofficial colours of Brabant - Images by Mark Sensen, 27 January 2001
The Province of Brabant used, unofficially, colours taken from the arms. These colours were not fixed.
A chart called Vlaggen der Belgische Provincies - Drapeaux des Provinces Belges (Flags of the Belgian Provinces; not dated, but to judge from the font type used, from the 1920s-1930s) shows a flag horizontally divided yellow-black.
In Flaggenmitteilung [fml] #64 (March 1981), Roger Baert from Brussels gives almost the same design, horizontally divided black-yellow.
Some Dutch atlases and books about the provinces show another design, published by Rudi Koot in Vexilla Nostra [vxn]#185 (1993) p. 32-33, as horizontally divided black-yellow-red.
Mark Sensen, 6 February 2001
Honorary flag of the Governor of Brabant - Image by Mark Sensen, 27 January 2001
The honorary flags of the Province Governors were adopted by Council Order on 28 October 1936. They are shown with construction details on a book (bilingual Dutch and French) containing regulations (for the Navy?). Each flag is a square version of the Belgian national flag with the respective province arms in the center of the black stripe. The flag is 150 x 150 cm, therefore each stripe is 50 cm in width. The shield is 43.5 cm in width and 50 cm in height, excluding 3.75 cm for the point of the shield.
Mark Sensen, 27 January 2001