The Matins of Bruges () was the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in Bruges and their supporters, a political faction in favour of French rule, on 18 May 1302 by the members of the local Flemish militia. It has been named "Matins" (after a monastic liturgy) in analogy to the Sicilian Vespers of 1282. The revolt led to the Battle of the Golden Spurs, which saw the Flemish militia defeat French troops on 11 July 1302.

Background Towns in Flanders had held the exclusive rights for the importation of sheep's wool from England. This made the merchants that comprised the bourgeosie very rich and powerful, so much so that they were able to force Margaret II, the Countess of Flanders, to allow them to become autonomous communities. This put the commoners in direct conflict with the nobles in the cities. When Margaret abdicated in 1278 to her son Guy of Dampierre, the nobles sought an alliance with the French king Philip the Fair (Flanders being a vassal to France at the time). Guy, like his mother, favoured more local control of the territory and chafed at this, but the king saw an opportunity to bring a troublesome county to heel. In 1287 the alliance was complete. This led to the Franco-Flemish War in 1297, during which time royal troops took over the city. Guy surrendered to Philip in 1300, and Jacques de Châtillon was appointed governor.

During the Franco-Flemish war, Bruges was sympathetic to the French cause: the city refused an offer by Edward I to pay for the repair of its city walls and when Philip invaded Flanders in 1297, representatives of the town went in September 1297 to Ingelmunster to offer the surrender of Bruges to the French king. Once it was occupied by the French, presents were sent to the French commanders and king, and Bruges let the French army fortify the city with a second, seven kilometer long city wall, which enclosed .

History The positive attitude towards the French started to shift when King Philip and Queen Joan made their joyous entry in Bruges between 29 May and 4 June 1301. Before going to Bruges, the royal pair had made a joyous entry in Ghent and on that occasion, the French king granted the abolishment of some taxes which were levied on food. As these taxes were a main source of income for the town and mostly paid by the lower class, the governors of Bruges which were higher class bourgeoisie sought a way to avoid similar grants fo their city. The government of Bruges declared that anybody asking a favour from the king, would be punished by death. As a result, when Philip made his joyous entry in Bruges, the crowd was silent and apathic, much to the astonishment of the French king.

The government had organized a tournament, offered the king valuable presents and had bought extravagant clothes for the members of the bourgeoisie. There was some unrest and rioting when it became clear that all this had to be paid exclusively by the craft guilds and not by the bourgeoisie merchants. It is during this episode that Pieter de Coninck manifested himself for the first time with his eloquence as leader of the malcontent people. On the request of the city government, the French bailiff imprisonned him and twenty-five companions in Het Steen, the royal prison. The guilds then raised their militia and freed the prisoners. The situation escalated further when Jacques de Châtillon judged that the attack by the militia on the royal prison was a lèse-majesté which should be punished severely. He ordered the houses of the twenty-six escapees demolished and called up an army of 500 horseman to execute the punishment. But the guilds' militia were vigilant and closed the gates of the town for Jacques de Châtillon. Rumours quickly spread that the leaders of the Clauwerts as well as their families would all be executed.

On the evening of 17 May 1302, Châtillon held a feast for his troops. Taking advantage of the fact that the knights would be tired after partying all night, at dawn the next morning, armed insurrectionists led by Pieter de Coninck and Jan Breydel entered the houses where the French were garrisoned and massacred them in their sleep using their "goedendag", a sharp pike they stuck into the victims' throats. According to tradition, to distinguish the French from the natives, they asked suspects to repeat the shibboleth: "schild en vriend, which means "shield and friend", a phrase difficult to pronounce for a French speaker. Another version suggests the alternative "des gilden vriend, "friend of the guilds". Only Châtillon, who escaped disguised as a priest after he failed to rally the garrison, and a handful of the French managed to escape with their lives. Approximately 2,000 people are estimated to have died.

After the Bruges Matins, Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck were celebrated as the leaders of the insurrection. Their statue, which was an initiative of Julius Sabbe, has decorated the market in Bruges since 1887.

Aftermath Châtillon made his way to Paris to bring the news of the massacre to Philip, who vowed revenge, and sent an army of about 8,500 men to conquer the city. Meanwhile, Guy's sons John and Guy of Namur, as well as his grandson William of Jülich, raised their own army to meet the French, and the two forces clashed in the Battle of the Golden Spurs on 11 July 1302, which resulted in an unexpected victory for the Flemish.

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