Margaret of Flanders, Daughter of Baldwin of Constantinople

Margaret of Flanders, another daughter of Baldwin I of Constantinople, succeeded her sister Joan as Countess of Flanders in 1244, ruling until 1278 in one of the longest and most complicated reigns in Flemish medieval history. Known as Margaret the Black or the Black Countess, she presided over decades of warfare and dynastic conflict while preserving Flemish autonomy against French pressure. Her long reign made her a significant figure in the medieval history that De Vriendt was celebrating in his Antwerp series.

De Vriendt depicts Margaret in the formal heraldic dress of a medieval countess, with the symbolic attributes of her rule carefully researched and rendered. The figure is given the gravity appropriate to a long and turbulent reign, with bearing and costume conveying authority and determination.