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Remicourt (Municipality, Province of Liège, Belgium)

Municipal flag of Remicourt - Image by Ivan Sache, 17 November 2001

Presentation of Remicourt
Municipal flag of Remicourt

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Presentation of Remicourt

The municipality of Remicourt (5,137 inhabitants on 1 July 2007; 2,258 ha) is located in the region of Hesbaye, 17 km north-west of Liège and 6 km of Waremme, the capital of Hesbaye. The municipality of Remicourt is made since 1976 of the former municipalities of Remicourt (1,786 inh.; including Lamine since 1971), Hodeige (784 inh.), Momalle (1,316 inh.) and Pousset (590 inh.).
In 1964, the new municipality of Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher was formed, including the former municipality of Noville; the borough of the railway station of Momalle, while part of the village of Noville, was incorporated into the municipality of Momalle. In 1975, it was retroceded to Fexhe-le-Heut-Clocher; two years later, it was split between Remicourt and Fexhe, the border being the railway line.

Remicourt was once known as Hemricourt, whose first known lord is Thomas of Hemricourt (late XIIth century). His grandson was the famous Guillaume Malclerc, lord of Hemricourt and a model of medieval knight. Guillaume acknowledged on 6 August 1286 the suzereignty of the Prince-Bishop of Liège on the domain and fortress of Hemricourt. In 1282, Charles, King of Sicily, and Peter, King of Aragon, decided to settle their quarrel in a fighting opposing 50 knights from each party. Guillaume Malclerc, together with three other knights from Hesbaye, was among the 50 "Sicilian" knights. The legend explains how Guillaume "tested" the horse sent by the king and asked for a better one, had to send back the horse because the fighting had been cancelled, and, upset, sent it back with the tail and the hair cut, so that "no honour man will ever ride it". Guillaume took part to the battle of Woeringen in 1288 as the personal body guard of Duke John of Brabant. The legend says that the adventurous life of Guillaume would have ruined him if his fathful wife had not been very skillful in sheep breeding. Guillaume had no male heir and the domain was transferred to different families, including Walhain, Looz, Pollard, Preud'homme, Jaymaert and Grumsel, the latter family keeping the domain from 1654 to the French Revolution.

Source: Municipal website

Ivan Sache, 13 October 2007

Municipal flag of Remicourt

The municipal flag of Remicourt is horizontally divided in ten stripes alternating yellow and red, with a three-pendent blue label covering the fourth upper stripes of the flag.
According to Armoiries communales en Belgique. Communes wallonnes, bruxelloises et germanophones, the flag was adopted by the Municipal Council on 29 April 1989 and confirmed by the Executive of the French Community on 18 December 1991.
The flag is a banner of the municipal arms.

There is no documented explanation of the flag and arms, but the yellow and red stripes are those of the family of Looz. Guillaume Malclerc's daughter, Isabel, married Arnould of Walhain; their daughter Marie of Walhain, Dame of Hemricourt, married John of Looz, who was killed in Italy in 1310. John of Looz was not a Count of Looz, and the label might be a mark of cadency (provided that the municipal arms of Hemricourt are indeed based on his arms!).

Pascal Vagnat & Ivan Sache, 13 October 2007