Flanders

Flanders, medieval county on the coast of northwestern Europe, largely corresponding to northern Belgium, with smaller portions in the Netherlands and France. In the 14th and 15th centuries, wealth from trade and textile manufacture enriched the chief towns (Antwerp, Ypres, Bruges, and Ghent) and made Flanders a major cultural center. Its famous artists included the Bruegel family, Peter Paul Rubens, and Anthony Van Dyck.