Novel
The Lion of Flanders
De Leeuw van Vlaanderen
Hendrik Conscience · 1838
Opening lines
De rode morgenzon blonk twijfelachtig in het oosten, en was nog met een kleed van nachtwolken omgeven, terwijl haar zevenkleurig beeld zich glinsterend in elke dauwdruppel herhaalde; de blauwe dampen der aarde hingen als een onvatbaar weefsel aan de toppen der bomen, en de kelken der ontwelkende bloemen openden zich met liefde om de jongste straal van het daglicht te ontvangen.
The red morning sun gleamed hesitantly in the east, still wrapped in a cloak of night clouds, while its seven-coloured image was mirrored, glittering, in every dewdrop; the blue vapours of the earth hung like an intangible web from the treetops, and the cups of the reviving flowers opened lovingly to receive the first ray of daylight.
Translation by Erostrate
Text quoted from gutenberg.org
Synopsis
Flanders, around 1300. The King of France holds the old Count Guy of Dampierre and his son Robert of Béthune, nicknamed the Lion, and entrusts the province to a governor. Machteld, Robert's daughter, remains in Flanders; the young knight Adolf of Nieuwland watches over her and loves her. In Bruges, Jan Breydel, dean of the butchers, and Pieter De Coninck, dean of the weavers, rouse the guilds, and in July 1302 the communal militias march on Courtrai, where the French chivalry awaits them.
Context
Nicaise De Keyser's painting of the battle of 1302, seen in 1836, is said to have decided the book. The author read the chronicles, consulted historians and travelled through Bruges and Courtrai to see the places; he nevertheless took liberties with history and has the Lion appear on the battlefield, although Robert of Béthune was a prisoner in France. His preface was addressed to the Flemings of his time. The book appeared in Antwerp in 1838; printing costs were heavy, and it earned him little.
Who it is for
A long historical novel, with a war plot and a love plot running side by side; Léon Wocquier's translation can be read freely online.
Prizes and reception
It became the national epic of Flanders: its lion and its date of 11 July passed to the Flemish movement, then to the official emblems.
Sources for this page 9
The pages consulted to check this page.