Aarsele

Aarsele is a village in the Belgian province of West Flanders and a subdivision of the city of Tielt.

History

The earliest written reference to Aarsele dates from 1038 when it appears as Arcela, a Germanic word joining arda (= meadow) and sali (= chamber, house).

In earlier times Aarsele was under the rule of the Kortrijk who had holdings divided into several fiefdoms such as Donsegem and Hogenhove. Some fiefdoms also belonged to ecclesiastical orders including the abbeys of Lobbes and of Baudelo and Saint-Baafs in Ghent.

The main fiefdom however was Gruuthuse, which had 12 achterlenen (lords who are subject to another landlord). The achterlenen did not have title, which resided with the wealthy Lewis de Bruges, famous for hosting Edward IV of England at his Bruges home after the king was exiled in 1471. Lewis was also a well known bibliophile whose collection of illuminated manuscripts was given, but for a few exceptions, to Louis XII of France.

Jan of Bruges was the last male descendant from the Gruuthuse line. After his death at the end of the 16th century, the fiefdom passed to Jakob II of Luxembourg. And by the marriage of his daughter to Jan van Egmont, the fiefdom was later transferred to the house of Egmont.