Editing Beveren (section)

===Roman origins===
In [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] times, the Beveren area was at the edge of the sea and heavily influenced by the tides.  The earliest inhabitants erected primitive dams, which were later reinforced and built higher by the religious communities that sprang up in the region.  The invasions of the [[Normans]] in the 9th century prompted the [[Flanders (county)|Counts of Flanders]] and their local [[vassal]]s to defend this land even more.  Among the local nobility were the lords of Beveren, whose territory was eventually ceded to [[Louis I of Flanders]] in 1334.  Beveren thus became the oldest political centre of the [[Waasland]] region &mdash; the northeastern part of the historical County of Flanders &mdash; basking for more than two centuries in the glory of Flanders and [[Duke of Burgundy|Burgundy]].