Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 3.djvu/27

 BRUGES

BRUGES

ami discernment. It was his settled conviction that, in order to assist in the establishment of communica- tion between the naturally darkened mind and the radiance of revealed truth, the Christian apologist must consider the individual mental attitude of those whom he would direct. Thus he was a strong ad- vocate of the methodvx ascendens ab intrinseco, which was introduced towards the end oi the fifteenth cen- tury, and which holds that the apologist should first arouse interest by setting forth the needy condition of the human soul, with its problems unsolved and its cravings unsatisfied; then gradually suggest the unchanging organization which offers satisfaction and peace. Curiosity and interest thus intensified, and the admirable adjustment of Christianity to the needs of the soul once recognized, fairminded- ness urging further research, the honest inquirer will learn how moral certitude, though differing from metaphysical and physical certitude, is neverthe- less true certitude, excluding all reasonable fear of error, and is not to be confounded with probability, however great. Thus, only when prepared to recog- nize in the genuine miracle the credentials of the Divinity, may this inquirer be conducted back through history, from fulfilment to prediction, in the hope of discovering, by well authenticated mira- cles, that the Almighty has stamped as His own the Christianity preserved, defended, and explained by His one true ( Ihurch.

Such, in brief outline, is the method advocated in " I)e Vera Religione" and " De Feclesia", two treatises which Brugere published in 1873, and which, from their adaptability to the needs of the day, merited the approval of competent judges. In addition to these treatises, Brugere published "Tableau de l'histoire et de la Ifl t era tun- de 1'Eglise". Hut it is chiefly as a professor that Brugere is re- membered, (lifted with a remarkable memory, his mind was a storehouse of exact information which he freely imparted, embellishing it with anecdote and illustration, so that students gladly sought him out for pleasure and profit.

Bertrand, BM. Suipit., II. 459, 461, 600; Hubert, Ann. relig. du dioe. d'OrUans (1888), Juno. July, Aucust; leuin. firrulain- (tsssi; Bulletin dee ancient ilkva ./■ St. Sulpice (19041; Pacaud, L'QSuvre d'apol. dc M. Brugere; Revue prahcpie d'apol. (1906).

Daniel P. Duffy.

Bruges, the chief town of tin' Province of West 1 landers in the Kingdom of Belgium. Pope Nicholas I in 863 effected a reconciliation between Charles the Bald, King of the West Franks, and his vassal Baldwin " Bras-de-Fcr"; by it the latter's ab- duction of his daughter Judith was forgiven and the union legalized. The Prankish king further invested his Bon-in-law with sovereign power over the north- ern marches enclosed by the North Sea, the Scheldt,

and the RiverCanche, later known as Royal Flanders,

of which he thus became the first count. On the ruins of an old burg, said to have dated from :i<iti. Baldwin built himself a new stronghold, with a. chapel for the relics of St. Donatian. the gift of 1.1. bo. Archbishop of Reims, the metropolitan see at that time of most of the Belgian dioceses, and by his valour and untiring energy speedily checked the

inroads of the ravaging Northmen. The security he was thus able to afford his subjects caused merchants and artisans to gather round the new settlement, which rapidly grew in size and in wealth. Such was the origin of Bruges. But it was under the rule of the third count. Arnulph the Great (918-989), that the Church attained the full measure of its vitality in Flanders. This prince not only founded and richly •rnlowed the famed Chapter of St. Donatian, but lie

established collegiate churches in the neighbouring towns of Aardenburg and Thorholt, and built or re- stored eighteen great monasteries, besides a number of minor foundations; and such was his prestige that

it was to him St. Dunstan turned for shelter in the hour of danger, much as St. Thomas of Canterbury at a later epoch (1164) besought the protection of his successor, Thierry of Alsace, against the wrath of Henry II. Under the fostering care of the monastery learning and the arts speedily revived, while com- merce and agriculture made equally rapid strides under the patronage of the court. The great charter of liberties conferred by Baldwin IV (988-1036) pro- vided a new incentive to business, which increased by leaps and bounds, and the town so outgrew its boundaries that his successor was compelled in 1039 to rebuild and extend its walls. The epoch of the Crusades (1096-1270) contributed in no small meas- ure to the fame and prosperity of Bruges. Count Robert II from the first of these great undertakings brought back from Ca>sarea in Cappadocia the relics of St. Basil; Thierry of Alsace returned from the second with the relic of the Holy Blood presented to him by his cousin Baldwin, King of Jerusalem, as the reward of his great services; while Baldwin IX, who took part in the fourth, was raised to the im- perial throne on the founding of the Latin Empire after the fall of Constantinople, 9 April, 1204. From 7 April, 1150, the day on which Thierry of Alsace returned to his capital with the precious relic, it has played no small part in the religious life of the city. The solemn Procession of the Holy Blood, insti- tuted in 1303 to commemorate the deliverance of the city, by the national heroes Brcidel and De Coninck, from French tyranny in May of the previous year and which takes place annually on the. Monday following the first Sunday in May, is to this day one of the great religious celebrations in Belgium, to which thousands congregate from all parts. By the close of the thirteenth century Bruges had attained the height of its prosperity: it boasted a population of 150,000, a seaport with 60,000 inhabitants at Damme at the end of the Zwijn, three miles away, an im- portant harbour at Sluus at the mouth of the Zwijn, seven miles further, besides several subordinate town- ships, and was one of the three wealthiest cities of Northern Europe. In 1296 the staple of wool was fixed at Bruges, in 1300 it became a member of the Hanseatic League, and by 1356 it was the chief emporium of the cities of the League.

With the removal of Baldwin IX the long line of purely Flemish counts came to an end, and Flanders passed under French domination. This period of foreign rule, which lasted the best part of a century, was a time of almost continual warfare between the suzerain power and the vassal people, complicated by internecine strife with the rival town of Ghent; and though humiliating disasters alternated with glorious victories, this the heroic epoch of Flemish history closed without the commercial prosperity of Bruges having suffered any very serious check. With the advent of the House of Burgundy in 1384, Flan- ders unhappily became involved in the religious troubles which were then agitating Europe. The new prince, Philip " le Hardi" (1384 I 101), who favoured the pretensions of the antipope, soon proceeded from aimless sympathy to open proselytism, but the edict by which he forbade obedience to the Pope of Rome was utterly disregarded by his turbulent subjects, the clergy, almost to a man, and the great mass of t he people acknowledging Urban VI. The ( 'lenient me Bishop of Tournai, whose spiritual administration embraced Bruges, came hither to ordain schismatic priests, but the people refused their ministrations, and a period of persecution followed during which public worship was entirely suspended. {Jhenl, however, had purchased the right to liberty of con- science, and so in 1394 the strange spectacle w.e witnessed of B whole town's population on pilgrimage from Bruges to Ghent to fulfil their Faster duties. Philip's successors, John the Fearless (1404-19) and