Celebration of the Golden Spurs 2023: Date, History, Facts about Belgium

Celebration of the Golden Spurs is held annually on July 11. This day commemorates the Flemish victory over the French in the 1302 Battle of the Golden Spurs. The occasion is also known as Day of the Flemish Community. In contemporary Belgium, Celebration of the Golden Spurs is also an annual commemoration of the Flemish community. The decision to commemorate the day was made on July 6, 1973, when the three cultural and linguistic communities of Belgium passed a law mandating the Dutch Cultural Community’s flag, anthem, and day. Since then, celebration of the Golden Spurs has been held in Flanders.

The background of Celebration of the Golden Spurs

During the Franco-Flemish War, the Battle of the Golden Spurs was a confrontation between French and Flemish forces. The war began in 1297 when King Philip IV of France attempted to consolidate French control over the independent County of Flanders. In 1297, the French invaded Courtrai, or Kortrijk, located on the Lys river in modern-day Belgium, along with the majority of Flanders.

On July 11, after the Flemish grew weary of French rule and revolted in several Flanders communities, the two armies met outside Courtrai. The French cavalry consisted of approximately 2,500 knights and squires, while its infantry was composed of 5,500 men. In contrast, the Flemish forces consisted of 9,000 infantrymen. The French cavalry was incapable of defeating the well-trained Flemish pike formation. The French aristocracy then retreated in a disorderly and frantic manner. The name of the battle was ultimately derived from the fact that the Flemish captured over 500 spurs from the French cavalry, thereby giving the battle its name.

Later, Charles the IV avenged the 1382 Flemish defeat at the hands of the French by destroying the city. The municipality was seized by the French in 1793, occupied by the Germans during World War I, and severely damaged during World War II. Following its separation from the Netherlands in 1830, Belgium became a sovereign state and now includes all of Flanders, in addition to Wallonia and Brussels. In 1970, three cultural and linguistic communities of Belgium representing these three regions were established.

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