Louis II, Count of Flanders

Louis II (; 25 October 1330 – 30 January 1384), also known as Louis of Male, a member of the House of Dampierre, was the count of Flanders, Nevers, and Rethel from 1346 to 1384, and also of Artois and Burgundy from 1382 until his death. He was the son and successor of Count Louis I of Flanders and Countess Margaret I of Burgundy, a daughter of King Philip V of France.

Summary of his reign Becoming count after his father was killed at the Battle of Crécy , he broke with his father’s pro-French policies to adopt a stance closer to his subjects, skillfully navigating between the conflicting interests of the kings of France and England, who were in open war. Despite the Black Death (1348), he ensured Flanders thirty years of relative peace and economic recovery (1349–1379), a period framed by two major revolts led by the weavers of Ghent.

Descendants From his marriage to Margaret of Brabant , daughter of John III of Brabant and Marie of Évreux, he had only one daughter: Margaret of Male ( – ), widow of Philip of Rouvres in 1361, married Philip the Bold in 1369.

Illegitimate children Louis of Male fathered numerous illegitimate children. Historians have identified at least thirteen by name: Louis, called "of Haze", married a daughter from the Landas house and was killed on in Nicopolis, Bulgaria. Louis, called "The Frisian", Lord of Woestyne, married Maria van Gistel and died in the same battle. John, called "Landless", married Wilhelmina van Nevele and also perished on the same day. Margaret, married a lord of Wavrin and received an annuity from Louis of Male. Margaret, became abbess of the Abbey of Petegem, receiving a pension. Peter, who died young on , was buried with the Dominicans in Ghent. Robert, held lordships in Elverdinge and Vlamertinge. He married Anastasia d'Oultre, making him Viscount of Ypres. The marriage took place on , attended by the Count of Charolais, future Duke Philip the Good, who was unaware at the time that his father, John the Fearless, had been assassinated two days earlier. Victor, born to Margaretha Haelshuuts, the only known mother of his illegitimate children by name, became Lord of Ursel and Wissegem. He married Jeanne of Gavre, who later remarried Simon VIII of Lalaing on . He served as an admiral and a captain of Biervliet. In 1400, he was a leader of the fleet under John the Fearless but was temporarily exiled by the "four members" of Flanders. He also fathered two illegitimate children, and their mother provided them with gifts in 1427 and 1441, respectively. Margaret († 1415), who married Florent van Maldegem († 1374), Hector van Vuurhoute, and Zeger van Gent in succession. Joan († after 1420) married Théodoric, Lord of Hondschote. Beatrice, married Robert of Maarschalk, the chamberlain of the count of Flanders. He was a witness during the signing of Louis of Male's will. Catherine, married in 1390, although the identity of her spouse remains unrecorded. Catherine, who became a nun at the Thieuloye monastery near Arras.

Historians suggest that Louis of Male fathered at least thirteen illegitimate children by name. However, records from 1384 and later indicate there were more, whose names are unknown. That year, a record by Jonkheer Nicolaas Bonin detailed an inventory of the furnishings at the Gosnay castle at the time of Louis of Male’s death in Saint-Omer. The inventory mentioned eleven illegitimate children (four boys and seven girls) under the care of Elisabeth of Lichtervelde. Some of these children may overlap with those previously named, but several remain unidentified in historical documents.

Louis of Male took great care in arranging the education, marriages, or placements of his illegitimate children, many of whom achieved high ranks among the Flemish nobility. His legitimate daughter and the dukes of Burgundy also supported these illegitimate relatives, who proved to be loyal servants of the ducal family.

The tomb of Louis of Male Louis of Male had a chapel built next to the church of Notre-Dame de Courtrai as his intended burial site: the Chapel of the Counts. However, he was ultimately not buried there.

Instead, his remains were lavishly interred alongside his wife, Margaret of Brabant (who died in 1380), at the Saint Peter’s Collegiate Church in Lille on . The tomb, made of gilded bronze, was located in the Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille chapel. Their daughter, Margaret III of Flanders, was also laid to rest there after her death on in Arras.

The tomb of Louis of Male, featuring three effigies, was visible in the Saint Peter’s Collegiate Church of Lille until the French Revolution. The church was completely destroyed in 1806, but the tomb escaped revolutionary destruction and was transported to the former town hall of Lille. However, it disappeared around 1830. Aubin-Louis Millin described the tomb, among others, in volume five of the , published in 1799.