Exile in Belgium

Today I’m leaving England (temporarily) and taking you across to Bruges in Belgium. This was where Edward IV and his brother Richard fled to in 1470, following the Earl of Warwick’s rebellion. At this time most of the area we now know as Belgium was known as Flanders and was ruled over by Charles the Bold, king of Burgundy. The Burgundians favoured the Yorkist faction in the Wars of the Roses, and this alliance was cemented by the marriage of Charles to Margaret of York (sister of Edward and Richard) in 1468.


However, Charles was not willing to provoke the Earl of Warwick by receiving Edward and Richard at his court, and so they were taken in by Louis de Bruges. From October 1470 until their return to England in March 1471, the two brothers lived at Louis’ home in Bruges, the Gruuthuse.

We had a long weekend in Bruges in 1999, and of course found the time to visit the Gruuthuse. Unfortunately, there was no guidebook to the house, and all the signs were in Flemish, so we had to guess what some of the rooms were! We did manage to take some photos – before we were told that flash photography was not allowed - oops!

Gruuthuse entrance hall

The house was linked to the Church of our Lady by a bridging chapel – but this wasn’t built until 1475, so wouldn’t have been used by the two brothers.

Above the choir stalls were the coats of arms of all the knights who had attended the marriage of Charles and Margaret, including the arms of Edward IV (again flash photography not allowed - sorry!).

In January 1471 Charles the Bold met with Edward, as he was concerned about the possibility of an English/French alliance against Burgundy. As a result, Charles agreed to support the Yorkists against Warwick. Edward and Richard returned to England in March 1471, and in April defeated and killed Warwick at the battle of Barnet.

In her novel about Richard III (The Sunne in Splendour - which I would recommend to anyone interested in this period of history), Sharon Kay Penman has a wonderful chapter about Edward and Richard in Bruges. I loved how she had Richard and his teenage friend Rob Percy climbing to the top of the belfry in the market square - all 366 steps. I have to admit we didn't follow in their footsteps!