The Lion of Flanders (originally: The Lion of Flanders or the Battle of the Golden Spurs) is a historical novel written by Flemish writer Hendrik Conscience in 1838. The book tells the story of the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302. Conscience was most likely inspired to write the book after seeing the painting The Battle of the Golden Spurs by Nicaise De Keyser.

French and Flemish armies

According to Conscience, the French army was "over sixty thousand strong" and the Flemish army consisted of thirty thousand men.

The French were led by the Count of Artois, who had with him Sigis, King of Melinde and Balthazar, King of Majorca. The count led 5000 horsemen and 16000 "foot soldiers" (from Gascony, Languedoc and Auvergne). Jaques de Chatillon had 3200 'soldeniers on horseback' to lead, Guy de St.- Pol 3400 horsemen and 7000 men of foot, Renauld de Trie 3200 heavy horsemen (mainly from the 'Orleans area'), Rodolf de Nesle 700 noble knights and 2000 horsemen, Louis de Clermont 3600 horsemen from the kingdom of Navarre, Count Jean d'Aumale and Ferry of Lorraine 2700 horsemen each, and Jean de Barlas led the first "gang" of 3000 trotters and 4000 on foot (from the south of France, "more than half were Spaniards and Lombards"). In addition, Godfrey of Brabant contributed 500 horses. That makes 30,000 horsemen and 27,000 men on foot.

The Flemings had 500 Namur horsemen from young Guy, 600 from Count John of Namur, 4,000 men from Pieter de Coninck, 12,000 from Jan Breydel, 400 Zeelanders from John III of Renesse, 500 Kassel horsemen from William of Gulik, 5,000 Gentenarians from Jan Borluut, 800 Zeelanders from Hugo of Arkel (who defected at the last moment) and Arnold of Oudenaarde with 300 men, making 24,100 men. But there were also men from Veurne and "solitary knights" like Hendrik of Loncin from Luxembourg, Goswyn of Goetsenhoven and Jan of Cuyck, "two noble Brabanters

With the great success of The Lion of Flanders, Conscience was given the title "the man who taught his people to read." Furthermore, this book contributed greatly to Flemish awareness in the 19th century and the growth of the Flemish Movement into the 20th century and beyond.

Bob De Moor adapted the book into a comic strip in 1949-1950. Also in De Rode Ridder comic strip series, the album De leeuw van Vlaanderen (1984) was based on Conscience's novel. The novel was also filmed in 1985 by Hugo Claus and assistant directors Stijn Coninx and Dominique Deruddere, starring Jan Decleir, Julien Schoenaerts and Frank Aendenboom.

THE END.