visited the coasts, not as enemies, but as merchants; and Bruges
became the mart of the booty acquired by these bold pirates in
England and on the high seas. The fisheries had begun to acquire
an importance sufficient to establish the herring as one of the
chief aliments of the population. Maritime commerce had made such
strides that Spain and Portugal were well known to both sailors
and traders, and the voyage from Flanders to Lisbon was estimated
at fifteen days' sail. Woollen stuffs formed the principal wealth
of the country; but salt, corn, and jewelry were also important
branches of traffic; while the youth of Flanders were so famous for
their excellence in all martial pursuits that foreign sovereigns
were at all times desirous of obtaining bodies of troops from
this nation.

The greatest part of Flanders was attached, as has been seen, to
the king of France, and not to Lorraine; but the dependence was
little more than nominal. In 1071 the king of France attempted
to exercise his authority over the country, by naming to the
government the same Countess Richilde who had received Hainault
and Namur for her dower, and who was left a widow, with sons
still in their minority. The people assembled in the principal
towns, and protested against this intervention of the French
monarch. But we must remark that it was only the population of
the low lands (whose sturdy ancestors had ever resisted foreign
domination) that now took part in this opposition. The vassals
which the counts of Flanders possessed in the Gallic provinces
(the high grounds), and in general all the nobility, pronounced
strongly for submission to France; for the principles of political
freedom had not yet been fixed in the minds of the inhabitants of
those parts of the country. But the lowlanders joined together