Gros on the shield of John II Duke of Brabant and Limbourg. John II was Duke of Brabant from 1294 to 1312, succeeding his father John I. His reign was marked by the consolidation of ducal power and the granting in 1312 of the Charte de Cortenbergh, which limited the duke's authority in favour of the towns and nobility. This text is considered an important milestone in the institutional development of the medieval Netherlands.
