An entirely rich and original style, a sign of the power and the wealth of the communes, is to be found in the civic monuments, particularly the town halls. Everyone is familiar with the hall of Bruges and the magnificent hall of Ypres, a gem of beauty. With their wonderful belfries, their wide rooms, and the vast proportions of the edifices themselves, they symbolize in a wonderful manner the strength, the pride, and the glory of the Belgian cities in the Middle Ages. [Illustration: THE SPLENDOR THAT WAS YPRES Now destroyed by the German bombardments (Cloth Hall, Hôtel de Ville, and Cathedral)] CHAPTER IV THE POLITICS AND STRUGGLES OF THE TIME OF THE COMMUNES A consideration of the politics of the Belgian dukes and counts during the course of the twelfth and the thirteenth centuries leads to a division of this epoch into two periods. During the twelfth century a policy of maintaining a balance between their mighty neighbors, France, England, and the Empire, was pursued. At the beginning of the thirteenth century France gained the hegemony in Europe, and the Belgian princes were forced to submit to the strong influence of that country. In the first quarter of the twelfth century the Struggle for the Investitures had destroyed German influence in the eastern part of Belgium. The influence of the emperors was on the wane. One of the most loyal of the partisans of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, the Count of Hainaut, succeeded in remaining neutral during the war between Germany and France. The Count declared that “he was not obliged to put his fortresses in the hands of the imperial troops and to grant them passage through his territory, as that would bring devastation to his country. His country being located between Germany and France, he ought to remain neutral during this war.”