[1] He ensured Flanders, despite the Black Death (1348), thirty years of relative peace and economic recovery (1349 – 1379), a period framed by two major revolts led by the weavers of Ghent.

[1] The son of Louis I of Flanders and Margaret I of Burgundy, he was baptized by the Bishop of Arras, Pierre Roger, who would become Pope Clement VI.

Injured but surviving the Battle of Crécy, where he witnessed his father's death, Louis of Male was knighted on the same day by Philip VI of Valois, who had taken refuge in Amiens (26 August).

However, the Ghent citizens, dominated by the powerful Weaver guild, sought to impose an English marriage on the count, ensuring a wool supply from the British Isles.

But discontent in the small towns and the desire of Bruges, Lille, and Ypres to challenge Ghent's hegemony weakened the revolt, especially as the devastating Black Death epidemic struck Flanders in 1348.

Unexpectedly, the count signed a neutrality treaty with the king of England (25 August) and, supported by the smaller towns (Grammont, Termonde, Oudenaarde), regained control of Flanders.

Louis of Male gained great popularity by refusing homage to the new French king John II in 1350, demanding the return of the Romance Flanders cities (Lille, Douai, Orchies) to the county, thereby reclaiming direct sovereignty over the lordship of Termonde.

The Brabançons revolted (October 24–29, 1356), but the count’s defensive strategy paid off: at the Peace of Ath (4 June), he retained the title of Duke of Brabant for life and honor, along with his rights to succession, reclaimed Mechelen, and gained Antwerp for the county.

Nevertheless, the count continued to pursue an independent policy, hosting allies of Edward III of England or taking a stand against the Avignon Papacy during the Western Schism, despite it being favored by the king of France.

To balance the power of the cities, he added a fourth entity representing the Franc of Bruges, the countryside surrounding the port, to the three traditional "members" of Flanders.

That year, a record by Jonkheer Nicolaas Bonin detailed an inventory of the furnishings at the Gosnay castle at the time of Louis of Male’s death in Saint-Omer.

Louis of Male took great care in arranging the education, marriages, or placements of his illegitimate children, many of whom achieved high ranks among the Flemish nobility.

Instead, his remains were lavishly interred alongside his wife, Margaret of Brabant (who died in 1380), at the Saint Peter’s Collegiate Church in Lille on 1 March.