On the whole, it was Flanders which played the largest part in the history of Belgium in the fourteenth century. The burgesses of Flanders had saved the country from French domination. But with the foe once defeated, they began to fight each other, and the main events in Flemish history at this time are bloody internal struggles and continuous revolts against the national princes. Ghent and Bruges, the two most powerful cities of the county, were continuously in disagreement, and eventually took up arms against each other. Since the battle of the Golden Spurs Bruges had retained its democratic spirit and Ghent remained, as in the time of Philip the Fair, the bulwark and the refuge of the patricians. The craftsmen of Ghent did not succeed in overthrowing their enemies because they were themselves divided. The tyranny of the weavers was often opposed by the other guilds. It was a question of foreign policy, however, which finally subjected Flanders to a severe trial. In France the dynasty of the Capetians was extinct, and a new family, the Valois, ascended the throne. Edward III, King of England, claimed to have rights to the French crown and decided to inaugurate a war in order to enforce his demands. He sought allies on the Continent and succeeded in obtaining the support of Emperor Louis of Bavaria (1337), to whom he paid a large sum of English gold. What was to be the attitude of Flanders in the forthcoming conflict? Count Louis of Flanders was a French sympathizer and took the side of King Philip of Valois. The Flemish cities, however, did not desire a rupture with England; their economic interest depended entirely on friendly relations with that country, owing to the fact that they needed English wool for their cloth industry. At this juncture appeared Jacques Van Artevelde, a man great in Belgian history. He was a member of one of the patrician families, wealthy, and much respected. In 1338 he became captain of the municipal army of Flanders and soon found himself even more powerful than the Count. When the English delegates, sent by Edward III to win Flanders to his cause, arrived in the country, they visited Artevelde as the real leader of public opinion. Although sympathetic to the English cause, Artevelde, partly fearing the resentment of the French King and partly wishing to prevent his country from becoming the battlefield of the hostile armies, first tried the policy of neutrality. He confined himself to assuring England of his friendship, thinking that this would suffice to win for Flanders the commercial advantages it needed.