No unified or codified Belgian system of law existed before the French Revolution, as each county, principality or region had in effect its own set of laws, and one does therefore before 1795 refer to Flemish, Brabant, Liège, Namur, Waesland, etc. laws, or to specific customary laws of cities, e.g. Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp, or of smaller towns, e.g. the customs of Alost, Eekloo, or the Judgements of Damme (for maritime law), to name but a few; these so-called coutumiers were published in both the French and Flemish (Dutch) languages.