The weavers moved through Flemish towns and managed to provoke a general revolt against Louis of Male, except for Oudenaarde and Dendermonde.

Louis's son-in-law Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, advanced to Flanders and was able to bring about a truce that required concessions from the count.

He unleashed a devastating war in the countryside, cut off river traffic to Ghent, and destroyed the windmills on which the urban food supply depended.

Hunger started to lead to despair, and at a peace conference in Harelbeke a compromise was negotiated, to be ratified by a popular assembly.

In the months that followed, the agreement became the subject of a bloody battle within the city walls, with the grain traders as the main proponents of peace and the weavers as opponents.

With his right hand Peter van den Bossche he began to eliminate rivals and also had the sons of his father's murderers killed.

In Tournai the count made tough demands: the people of Ghent had to appear before him with a noose around their neck and hear his verdict.

Despite his disdain for the count who supported the anti-French side in the Western Schism, the young French king agreed to help, on the advice of Duke Philip the Bold.

Count Louis was given a humiliating position in the rear and had to watch the French unfurl the oriflamme, because they viewed a fight against supporters of Pope Urban VI as a holy battle.

To the dismay of Count Louis of Male, the people of Ghent were happy with the outcome: on January 26, 1384, a general truce was concluded.

The death of the old count a few days later and his succession by Philip the Bold seemed to seal the peace, but the crackdown by his great bailiff Jean de Jumont kept the discontent smoldering.

1,300 Ghent rebels led by Frans Ackerman took Damme in July 1385, in order to cut off the French king from his fleet in Sluys with which he intended to invade England.

Charles VI and Philip the Bold advanced to retake the city, but Ackerman put up strong resistance with the help of English archers and a battery of cannons.

The Ghent citizens were exhausted, the French wanted to invade England, and the Burgundian duke could not continue to despoil his richest territory.

The duke followed his advice and in December surprised the Ghent envoy, Jan van Heyle, with the gentle peace terms he was prepared to grant.

For a moment, intransigence on the part of the Ghent delegation still threatened to derail the talks, but in the end, the Peace of Tournai was signed on 18 December 1385.