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Lordship of Mechelen Heerlijkheid Mechelen (Dutch) Seigneurie de Malines (French)
910–1795
The coat of arms of the Lordship of Mechelen: in 1490, the EmperorFrederick III authorized the addition of the eagle.[1]
The seigneury of Mechelen around Lordship in 1350
Map of the area from 1559–1608
Status	State of theHoly Roman Empire State of theSeventeen Provinces Region of theHabsburg Netherlands (1556-1795)
Capital	Mechelen
Common languages	Dutch
Religion	Catholicism
Government	Feudal Lordship,Principality,Heerlijkheid
Lord of Mechelen
• ???	Huis Berthout
Historical era	Middle Ages,Early Modern Period,French Revolution
• foundation and First mention of the Berthouts as lords of Mechelen.	11th century
• Charles III Simple gives the abbey of Mechelen to the bishop of Liège.	910
• Entry for the first time the dominion ofBurgundy and ThePrince-Bishopric of Liège cedes Malines to theCount of Flanders.	1333
• Obtaining county status	1490
• TheEighty Years' War	1568
• TheFrench Revolutionary Wars and The seigniory is incorporated into the department ofDeux-Nèthes.	1795
Preceded by Succeeded by Prince-Bishopric of Liège Diocese of Liège Deux-Nèthes French First Republic
Today part of	Belgium Antwerp Province

TheLordship of Mechelen orMalines^[2][3] (Dutch:Heerlijkheid Mechelen,French:Seigneurie de Malines) was a small autonomous Lordship in theLow Countries, consisting of the city ofMechelen and some surrounding villages.^[4] It lasted from 910 to 1795.

In the early Middle Ages, it was part of thePrince-Bishopric of Liège, which was confirmed in 910. In practice, the area was ruled by the localBerthout family, against the will of the Prince-Bishops of Liège. TheDuchy of Brabant tried to annex the Lordship, but as a reaction, Liège gave the area in 1333 to theCounty of Flanders. The Flemish also didn't gain complete and permanent control.

Mechelen was therefore later considered one of theSeventeen Provinces and then as a province of theSouthern Netherlands. The Dukes of Burgundy and later the Habsburg Emperors and Kings were personally Lords of Mechelen and for a while turned the city more or less into the capital of the Netherlands. They established here the highest jurisdictional court of the Seventeen Provinces, called theGreat Council of Mechelen. GovernessMargaret of Austria also held her Court at Mechelen. Later, the capital moved primarily toBrussels.

In 1795 the Lordship was abolished by the French revolutionaries, and it became part of the French département of theDeux-Nèthes. Today it is part of the Belgianprovince of Antwerp.

• the walled city of Mechelen
• the hamletsNekkerspoel, Nieuwland, Pennepoel, Battel, Geerdegem and others
• the villages of Hever, Muizen, Hombeek, Leest and Heffen
• In a separate enclave,Heist-op-den-Berg and some hamlets like Gestel.

• Geschiedenis van de Stad en de Heerlykheid van Mechelen (1854)

• Lordship of Mechelen
• Seventeen Provinces
• History of Mechelen
• 1795 disestablishments
• Historical geography of Belgium
• Territories of the Valois dukes of Burgundy
• States and territories disestablished in 1795

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