DAMME, a decayed city of Belgium (pop. ,Ioo), 41- m. N.E. of Bruges, once so important as a commercial port that it had its own maritime law, known as Droit maritime de Damme. It is on the canal from Bruges to Sluys (Ecluse), but in the middle ages a navigable channel called the Zwyn connected it with the North sea; the battle of Sluys, in which Edward III. destroyed the French fleet, was fought in 134o at its mouth. In 14go a treaty was signed at Damme between the people of Bruges and the archduke Maximilian, and very soon after the channel became completely silted up, and the foreign merchant gilds or "nations" removed to Antwerp. The marriage of Charles the Bold and Margaret of York, sister of Edward IV., was celebrated at Damme on July 2, 1468. The town, although long neglected, preserves some remains of its former prosperity. The tower of Notre Dame, dat ing from 118o, is a landmark across the dunes, and the church, although a shell, merits inspection ; out of a portion of the ancient markets a hotel-de-ville has been constructed; and in the hospital of St. Jean are a few pictures; and in the Place is a statue (186o) to Jacob Van Maerlant, the Flemish poet, who was clerk to the magistrates of Damme in the late 13th century.