Vilain and Vilain XIIII (pronounced Vilain-Quatorze , sometimes written with the more standard Roman numerals Vilain XIV) is a Belgian noble family. Their coat of arms is basically "Sable, on a chief argent a label of the field" (), a colour scheme that is present from the earliest Vilains in the 15th century, and is also seen in the Vilain XIIII arms, which have the "XIIII" added to it.
They were descendants of the important medieval family of Vilain in Ghent; the name "Vilain XIIII" probably comes from the coat of arms of Philippe de Liedekercke, chamberlain of emperor Charles V, who had 16 quarters in his coat, the fourteenth (bottom row, second from the left) of which was the coat of Vilain.
The three main branches of the family were the Princes of Issenghien (the De Gand, dite Vilain branch), the Counts of Aalst (the Vilain XIIII branch), and the Counts of Guines (originally also De Gand dite Vilain, later Vander Steene).
One branch lived at the Chateau of Leut (or Leuth) from 1822 until 1922, when the last of 7 daughters of Vicomte Charles Vilain XIIII died. The oldest mentions of "Villain XIIII" date back to the 16th century, but its origin is unknown. Politically, they were usually part of either the Catholic parties, or the Liberal parties. The first known generations were politicians (often bailiff or mayor) in Geraardsbergen and Aalst; the family also owned the county of Wetteren until 1796, and the city coat of arms still bears the XIIII of the family.
Origin of name The family name is pronounced vilain quatorze, and written 'XIIII' and not, in the conventional style, 'XIV'. There are various theories as to why this is (according to Frans van Kalken). The intention was probably to distinguish two branches of the family – according to Piet Lenders, between a younger and an older branch of the Vilains. Van Kalken says that the 'XIIII' goes back to a certain Josse Vilain, a bastard son of Philippe Vilain, when his natural father gave him 14 acres of land. The suffix thus distinguished the illegitimate from the legitimate branch of the family.Frans van Kalken (1936-1938), 'Vilain XIIII (Jean-Jacques-Philippe, vicomte)', Biographie nationale de Belgique, Brussels, dl. 26, pp. 742-743.Piet Lenders (1995), Vilain XIIII, Leuven: Davidsfonds, p. 11.
Origins of family Old sources claim an origin for the family going back to the time of Emperor Otto I. Whether there is any basis for this or whether this is a mystification is unclear. The origin and tree given there are as follows (always from father to son): Wichmannus, brother of Herimannus, both of the house of Saxe; Wichmann was created Count of Ghent in 949 by Otto I; he married Luitgarde, daughter of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders (she is said to have married Wichmann IV, count of Hamaland, so probably some confusion already exists here) Theodoric (ca 977), count of Ghent, married Hildegarde, daughter of Dirk III, Count of Holland Arnulf, Count of Ghent, married Lietgarde of Cleves Adelbert of Ghent, first of the Counts of Aalst Theodoric, Count of Ghent, circa 1018; married the daughter of the Count of Luzignan Lambert I, died 1053-1054; he is no longer listed as Count of Ghent but as Castellan of Ghent, as are his descendants Folcardus (died 1073), married Landrade, daughter of Balderic, Count of Leuven Lambert II, died 1088 Wennemar, Lord of Bornem, died 1138; married Gillette de Guines, daughter of Count Baldwin Arnold, Count of Guines (inherited the title via his mother) Siger of Ghent and Guines, Lord of Bornem Siger II the Good, Lord of Bornem, Sint-Jans-Steene and Houdain; regent of Flanders (together with Jean de Neele) ca. 1210, during the reign of Joan, Countess of Flanders; died ca. 1227; married Lady Beatrix of Houdain
From here on the tree seems to be confirmed by written sources Hugues, castellan of Ghent, lord of Bornem, Sint-Jans-Steene and Houdain; married Ode de Champagne; the title of Castellan of Ghent did not go to Gauthier but to his other son, Hugues II Gauthier de Gand, dit Vilain (supposedly the first to have that title, oldest source for this is said to date from 1254); lord of Sint-Jans-Steene, married Avezoete van Maelstede Alexandre de Gand, dit Vilain, died ca. 1280; married Isabeau d'Axele; three children. Supposed to be mentioned as the Lord of Sint-Jans-Steene in 1262, and also lord of Kruibeke Gauthier de Gand, dit Vilain, II, Lord of Sint-Jans-Steene, married Adelize de Tamize; died before 1306: their children all died without issue, ending this branch Jourdain de Gand, dit Vilain, second son of Alexandre, succeeded Gauthier II after his death: mentioned in 1299 Gauthier de Gand, dit Vilain, III, Lord of Sint-Jans-Steene and Boekhoute, married ca. 1330, died ca. 1339; he had two sons, Jean and Hector Jean de Gand, dit Vilain, Lord of Boekhoute, and Sint-Jans-Steene, married Marie de Maelstede and afterwards Claire de Mirabelle; still alive in 1365 Jean de Gand, dit Vilain, II, lord of Sint-Jans-Steene and the "4 Ambachten" (Hulst, Axel, Assenede and Boekhoute), Counsellor and Knight of the Count of Flanders (circa 1359-1385); married in 1359 Marguerite Brisetête; died before 1397 Jean de Gand, dit Vilain, III, lord of Sint-Jans-Steene, Huisse and the 4 Ambachten, Knight and Chamberlain of Philips I of Burgundy; married Marguerite de Grave dit de Liedekercke, lady of Liedekercke and Rassenghien; we move to the established and accepted parts of the tree of De Gand dite Vilain here (or perhaps with a few of the ones directly before). The family were knights and lived at Temse (Tamize) at the time. Jean de Gand dit Vilain, died 8 July 1449, Lord of Huisse/Huise/Huyse, Pamel, Leeberghe (Ledeberg), Borcht (Burcht) and Zwijndrecht, married to Goenele Raes;
Branch of Hugues II, son of Hugues (from the same non-trustworthy old sources): Hugues II, Castellan of Ghent, married ca. 1241 Marie de Gavre; died ca. 1265 Hugues III, Castellan of Ghent, married Marie de Reux, died in or after 1303; they only had daughters Marie, eldest daughter of Hugues III; Castellan of Ghent, Lady of Soudain and Sottenghien, married Gérard de Sottenghien; through this marriage, the Castellany of Ghent goes to the Melun family Hector Vilain was Knight in Temse and Castellan of Rupelmonde in 1327. Whether he was the "Hector", son of Gauthier III, is unclear. He was married to Marie van Liedekercke (in or before 1331) and lived in our near Temse. Jan Vilain was said to have been Castellan of Rupelmonde as well, and murdered there; he was also a lord of Sint-Jans-Steene; whether he was the same as Jourdain is unclear. Philip Vilain was supposed to be a brother of Hector, and Castellan of Rupelmonde in 1337. Henri Vilain was one of the signatories of the 1339 treaty of Peace and Alliance between the cities of Flandres, Hainaut and Brabant.
Vilain XIIII (the Aalst branch) Henri Vilain XIIII, Mayor of Aalst, died 21 December 1607, married Barbe Vander Sare Jean Vilain XIIII, Lord of Dumple, Lieutenant-Grand-Bailiff of the Land of Aalst; Married Ester della Faille Jean-François Vilain XIIII, lord of Dumple (or Dumpel), mayor of Aalst; married Catherine Houtman François-Ignace Vilain XIII (died 1740), Lord of Welle and Idderghem, receiver-general of the land of Aalst; married Barbe de Berlaere (1674-1704; daughter Anne-Pétronille Vilain de Welle, married François-Romain van 'tSestich, Lord of Ophem and Winksel, mayor of Mechelen) and then Isabelle-Josèphe Vandermeere Charles-Ignace (or Charles-François Joseph, )Vilain XIIII, eldest son of François-Ignace and Isabelle-Josèphe; Lord of Welle, Receiver-general of the Land of Aalst; married Isabelle du Bois (died 1753), daughter of Josse du Bois, Lord of Schoondorp Isabelle Marie Josèphe Vilain XIIII, married Charles Raymond Baillet, Baron of Geves and Viscount of Merlemont, in 1762; died in or shortly before 1832, when there is a sale of books from the heritage of the widow Countess de Baillet. Françoise Jeanne Josèphe Vilain XIIII, married Count Jean Baptiste Cyprien de Lauretan, of Bavikhove Marie Vilain XIIII, married Baron Dons, Lord of Lovendegem Viscount Jean-Jacques-Philippe Vilain XIIII (1 May 1712 – 15 August 1777); Born in Aalst as second son of François-Ignace; received his MA in Civil and Canonical Law from Leuven in 1733. Married Constance de Lunden d'Anvers (died 1748). Mayor of Aalst (city and Land of Aalst) until 1751, when he moved to Ghent; second marriage with Marie Dubois de Schoondorp; Premier echevin (first schepen, in those days equivalent to Mayor) of the Keure of Gand from 1755-1759, and from 1761-1774. First Member of the States of Flanders. In 1774 Grand Bailiff of Ghent and the castellany of Oudburg. In 1771 made a Knight in the Royal and Religious Order of Saint Etienne by the Austrian empress, who also made him a State Councillor. Organised the prison of Ghent in 1771. Died in his castle in Wetteren. Author of Réflexions sur les finances de la Flandre, 1755, or (1769), and of Memoire sur les moyens de corriger les malfaiseurs et fainéants à leur propre avantage et de les rendre utiles à l'état (1775, reprinted 1841) Philippe-Mathieu Vilain XIIII, (3 December 1753 - 20 December 1810), Grand Bailiff of Ghent from 1778 on, son of Jean-Jacques-Philippe. Married in 1777 Anne Thérèse Colette de Ghellink de Poteghem, daughter of Louis Charles de Ghellinck, Lord of Poteghem, Coeyeghem, ... Through the Ghellinck family, he became Count of Rupelmonde Count Philippe-Louis Marie Ghislain Vilain XIIII (1778-1856), born in Ghent, married to Baroness Sophie de Felz in 1802; rich industrialist and property owner. He was the mayor of Bazel (from 1800 until 1856), and mayor of Rupelmonde (between 1812 and 1836), but moved to Paris and became a chamberlain of Napoleon, who made him a Count in 1811. They had their portraits made by Edme Quenedey des Ricets, and Sophie was painted by Jacques-Louis David in 1816. After Belgium became a part of the Netherlands, Philippe-Louis became a chamberlain of King Willem I and a member of the Staten-Generaal and the Second Chamber. From 1828 on, he joined the Belgian opposition of rich Catholics against Willem I and the Dutch rule of Belgium; he was a member of the Nationaal Congres, and became a Senator for Kortrijk (1831-1847) and Sint-Niklaas (1847-1851). Sophie de Felz became a lady-in-waiting to the French empress and later to the first Belgian queen. The family lived at the Wissekerke Castle, in Basel.