The Flemings or Flemish (Dutch: Vlamingen) are the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Belgium, where they are mostly found in the northern region of Flanders. They are one of two principal cultural-linguistic groups in Belgium, the other being the French-speaking Walloons. Flemish make up the majority of the population (about 60%).
[edit] History
The history of 'Flemish' as an overarching national identity began shortly after the Belgian Revolution. Prior to this, the term 'Flemings' in the Dutch language was generally reserved for the inhabitants of the County of Flanders whose territory roughly encompassed the westernmost tip of modern Belgium and the French department of Nord.
In some contexts 'Flemings' can still specifically refer to people from
the narrower region, which is currently divided between the provinces
of West and East Flanders.
However in other languages such as English and French the term was
already used more widely to cover all Dutch-speaking peoples in the
various regions that were not part of the northern United Provinces and its successors, so anticipating the modern usage in Dutch itself. Equally in the Dutch or West Flemish languages it is regarded as incorrect to describe for example people from Antwerp
of pre-19th century periods as "Flemish", because the city was not in
the County of Flanders. But in English and most other languages this
description would be correct.
In 1830 the southern provinces of the Kingdom of the Netherlands seceded, mainly because of the treatment of the French-speaking Walloons in the Dutch-dominated United Kingdom as well as the Roman Catholic majority there, who viewed the sovereign, the Protestant William I, with suspicion.
In the years prior to the revolution, the Dutch king had enacted linguistic reform in 1823 intended to make Dutch the official language of the Southern Dutch provinces (roughly modern Flanders)
since it was the language of most of the population there. This reform
met with strong opposition from the upper and middle classes in these
provinces who at the time were mostly French speaking.[4]
Following the revolt, this language reform was one of the first (4 June
1830) Dutch laws to be abolished and the subsequent years would see a
number of laws restricting the use of Dutch and Dutch culture.[5]
The response to this cultural oppression by the Belgian government
began in the 1840s, though it built on an earlier sentiment of anti-French writings (for example by the late 18th century writer, Jan Verlooy) which criticized the Southern Francophile elite, with the emergence of the Flemish movement.
It was largely due to the efforts of this movement that, during the
following 150 years the 'Flemish nation' was formed, consisting of the
various Dutch-speaking regions of modern Belgium which shared a number
of social, political and linguistic aims.
[edit] Identity and culture
Within Belgium the Flemings form a clearly distinguishable group, set
apart by their language and customs. However, when compared to the
Netherlands most of these cultural and linguistic boundaries quickly
fade, as the Flemish share the same language, similar or identical
customs and (though only with the southern part of today's Netherlands)
traditional religion with the Dutch.[6]
However, the popular perception of being a single polity varies
greatly, depending on subject matter, locality and personal background.
Generally, Flemings will seldom identify themselves as being Dutch and
vice versa, especially on a national level.[7]
This is partly caused by the popular stereotypes in the Netherlands
as well as Flanders which are mostly based on the 'cultural extremes' of
both Northern and Southern culture.[8]
But also in great part because of the history of emancipation of their
culture in Belgium, which has left many Flemings with a high degree of
national consciousness, which can be very marked among some
Dutch-speaking Belgians.[9]
Alongside this overarching political and social affiliation, there also exists a strong tendency towards regionalism, in which individuals greatly identify themselves culturally through their native province, city, region or dialect they speak.
[edit] Language
Flemings speak Dutch (specifically its southern variant, which is sometimes colloquially called 'Flemish') which is the majority language
in Belgium, being spoken natively by three-fifths of the population.
Its various dialects contain a number of lexical and a few grammatical
features which distinguish them from the standard language.[10] As in the Netherlands, the pronunciation of Standard Dutch is affected by the native dialect of the speaker.
All Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium are spoken in adjacent areas of the Netherlands as well. At the same time East Flemish forms a continuum with both Brabantic and West Flemish. Standard Dutch is primarily based on the Hollandic dialect (spoken in the Northern Netherlands) and to a lesser extent on Brabantian, which is the most dominant Dutch dialect of the Southern Netherlands and Flanders.
[edit] Religion
Approximately 75% of the Flemish people are by baptism assumed Roman Catholic, though a still diminishing minority of less than 8% attends mass on a regular basis and nearly half of the inhabitants of Flanders are agnostic or atheist. A 2006 inquiry in Flanders, showed 55% chose to call themselves religious, 36% believe that God created the world.[11]
[edit] National symbols
The official flag and coat of arms of the Flemish Community represents a black lion with red claws and tongue on a yellow field (or a lion rampant sable armed and langued gules).[12]
A flag with a completely black lion had been in wide use before 1991
when the current version was officially adopted by the Flemish
Community. That older flag was at times recognized by government sources
(alongside the version with red claws and tongue).[13][14]
Today, only the flag bearing a lion with red claws and tongue is
recognized by Belgian law, while the flag with the all black lion is
mostly used by Flemish separatist movements. The Flemish authorities
also use two logos of a highly stylized black lion which show the claws
and tongue in either red or black.[15]
The first documented use[16] of the Flemish lion was on the seal of Philip d'Alsace, count of Flanders of 1162. As of that date the use of the Flemish coat of arms (or a lion rampant sable) remained in use throughout the reigns of the d'Alsace, Flanders (2nd) and Dampierre dynasties of counts. The motto "Vlaanderen de Leeuw" (Flanders the lion) was allegedly present on the arms of Pieter de Coninck at the Battle of the Golden Spurs on July 11, 1302.[17][18][19] After the acquisition of Flanders by the Burgundian dukes the lion was only used in escutcheons. It was only after the creation of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands that the coat of arms (surmounted by a chief bearing the Royal Arms of the Netherlands) once again became the official symbol of the new province East Flanders.
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