It was, said one of its inhabitants at the epoch of the insurrection, rather a country than a city.

The activity and wealth of its burghers were proverbial.

The bells were rung daily, and the drawbridges over the many arms of the river intersecting the streets were raised, in order that all business might be suspended, while the armies of workmen were going to or returning from their labors.

As early as the fourteenth century, the age of the Arteveldes, Froissart estimated the number of fighting men whom Ghent could bring into the field at eighty thousand.

The city, by its jurisdiction over many large but subordinate towns, disposed of more than its own immediate population, which has been reckoned as high as two hundred thousand.
Placed in the midst of well cultivated plains, Ghent was surrounded by strong walls, the external circuit of which measured nine miles.