The tipping point was a visit by King Philip and Queen
Joan to Bruges. The Leliaards hosted extravagant
fêtes for the pair, and to defray the costs, they raised taxes on the merchant class. This was met by outrage, as the supporters of Guy, known as Clauwerts, were indignant at having to pay for the celebrations of the victors. Jacques de Châtillon brought an army of 2,000 knights to maintain order in Bruges. 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==