On 2 March 1127, Charles the Good, Count of Flanders, was assassinated at St Donatian’s Church in Bruges. The aftermath of his demise marked a period of profound political and social unrest in the county. The restoration of peace on 29 July 1128, under Thierry of Alsace, brought stability, as he became the sole universally recognised ruler of Flanders. During this turbulent period, various factions within Flemish society seized the opportunity to reconfigure existing power dynamics, both at the county level and within individual cities. Of particular significance were the endeavours of Bruges residents who sought to redefine their authority within the city. These events were meticulously chronicled by Galbert of Bruges in his work, De multro, traditione et occisione gloriosi Karoli, comitis Flandriarum (1127–1128). In Polish historiography so far, a comprehensive analysis of Galbert’s text is notably absent. While Belgian and American historians have utilised De multro to explore the concept of power, their focus has predominantly centred on the laws and institutions shaping governance. This article aims, primarily but not exclusively, to explore the social dimension of power dependencies in Bruges and several other Flemish cities during this period. The analysis reveals that the governance of the city underwent constant legal, social, and political changes between 1127 and 1288. There was no fixed, singular model of conduct, and within a single year, the landscape of power dependencies underwent significant transformations.
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