The chief town of the Land of Aalst on the Dender, the heart of imperial Flanders.
The old lords of Aalst died out in the 1160s and the land fell to the count, who holds it of the emperor.
Who holds it
- Name
- Baldwin IX, count of Flanders, as lord of the Land of Aalst (imperial Flanders)
- Title
- Lord of the town
- Confidence
- high
Lord in 1200
Baldwin IX, count of Flanders, as lord of the Land of Aalst (imperial Flanders)
Overlord
The emperor, for imperial Flanders
How things stand that morning
The count's town.
Charter
Keure under the count (date not pinned here).
Council
Échevins of the town and of the Land of Aalst.
Communities
No Jewish community is attested here in 1200; the count's Flanders had few or none. Lombard and Cahorsin moneylenders come later.
Fairs and markets
Markets.
Militia
Town militia.
Walls and castle
The count's castle and the town ditch.
Trade and crafts
Cloth, the Dender trade, hops and grain.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Institutions thin.
On the map: The tierra is the town's own banlieue or district, drawn from modern municipal units.
Primary sources for Flanders
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- Chronicle of Alberic of Trois-Fontaines, Alberic of Trois-Fontaines (about 1227 to 1241, at the Cistercian abbey of Trois-Fontaines in Champagne). The widest net of any Latin chronicle for 1200, compiled from dozens of sources, many now lost. Read online
- Chronicle of Andres, William of Andres (about 1220 to 1234). The chronicle and cartulary of a small abbey between Guines and Ardres, near the border of Flanders and Boulogne. Read online
- Chronicle of Hainaut, Gislebert of Mons (about 1195 to 1196). Ends in 1195, so it has no 1200 entries, but it is the indispensable background for Flanders and Hainaut: the career of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders), his union of the two counties, the settlement with Philip over Artois, the rights, castles, fiefs and vassals of Hainaut listed by a man who ran its chancery, and the youth of Baldwin IX, who held both counties in 1200. Read online
- Chronicle of Robert of Auxerre, Robert of Auxerre (Robert of Saint-Marien) (about 1190 to 1211; continued at Saint-Marien to 1227). A universal chronicle whose last twenty years are contemporary and well informed from Burgundy and the Auxerrois. Read online
- Universal Chronicle of the Anonymous of Laon, Anonymous (an English-born canon of Laon) (about 1219). A Picard chronicle whose author had lived in England and keeps an eye on both kingdoms. Read online
- Annals of Egmond (12th century to about 1205). The house annals of Egmond, the counts of Holland's abbey, and the main native source for Holland around 1200. Read online
- Chronicle of Roger of Howden, Roger of Howden (about 1192 to 1201). The fullest single narrative for the year. Read online
- Deeds of Philip Augustus, Rigord (about 1186 to 1206, in stages). The French court's own chronicle for the year, from the monk of Saint-Denis who called himself the king's chronographer. Read online
8 more in the sources library for France and Iberia.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.