By the late fourteenth century the political situation in the Low Countries was fairly stable. Five lords controlled most of the region, paying only nominal homage to their French and German overlords. In 1419 Philip the Good of Burgundy succeeded to the countship of Flanders and soon managed to acquire Holland, Zeeland, Brabant and Limburg to the north and Antwerp, Namur and Luxembourg to the south as well. He consolidated his power by establishing a strong central administration in Bruges. During