Editing Hendrik Conscience (section)

==Work and career==
His poems, however, written while he was a soldier, were all in French.{{sfn|Hermans|2014|p=162}} He received no pension when he was discharged, and returning to his father's house without a job, he made a conscious decision to write in Dutch.{{sfn|Hermans|2014|p=162}} A passage in [[Lodovico Guicciardini|Guicciardini]] fired his fancy, and straightaway he wrote a series of vignettes set during the [[Dutch Revolt]], with the title ''[[In 't Wonderjaer]]'' (1837).{{sfn|Gosse|1911|p=971}} The work was self-published and cost nearly a year's salary to produce.{{sfn|Hermans|2014|p=164}}

===''The Lion of Flanders''===
[[File:Nicaise de Keyser02.jpg|thumb|A romanticized 1836 depiction of the [[Battle of the Golden Spurs]] by [[Nicaise de Keyser]]. Conscience's ''Lion of Flanders'' tapped into a popular interest in the battle ]]
His father thought it so vulgar of his son to write a book in Dutch that he evicted him, and the celebrated novelist of the future started for Antwerp, with a fortune which was strictly confined to two francs and a bundle of clothes. An old schoolfriend found him in a street and took him home. Soon people of standing, amongst them the painter [[Gustaf Wappers]], showed interest in the unfortunate young man. Wappers even gave him a suit of clothes and eventually presented him to [[Leopold I of Belgium|King Leopold I]], who ordered the ''Wonderjaer'' to be added to the libraries of every Belgian school. But it was with Leopold's patronage that Conscience published his second book, ''Fantasy'', in 1837. A small appointment in the provincial archives relieved him from the actual pressure of want, and, in 1838, he made his first great success with the historical novel ''[[De Leeuw van Vlaanderen (book)|De Leeuw van Vlaenderen]]'' (''The Lion of Flanders''), which still holds its place as one of his masterpieces,{{sfn|Gosse|1911|p=971}} the influence of which extended far beyond the literary sphere. Despite the commercial success of the book, its high printing costs meant that Conscience did not receive much money from its sales.{{sfn|Hermans|2014|p=164}}

During the 19th century, many [[nationalist]]-minded writers, poets and artists in various European countries were turning characters from their countries' respective histories and myths into [[Romanticism|romantic]] icons of national pride. With ''The Lion of Flanders'' Conscience did this successfully with the character of [[Robert III of Flanders|Robert of Bethune]], the eldest son of Guy de Dampierre, count of Flanders, crusader and, most importantly from Conscience's point of view, a prominent protagonist in a struggle to maintain the autonomy of Flanders against great odds.

Historians have accused Conscience of historical inaccuracies, such as depicting his hero to have taken part in the [[Battle of the Golden Spurs]] which, in fact, he did not. It was also pointed out that in reality ''The Lion of Flanders'' did not speak Dutch. Neither did his father, the count of Flanders Guy de Dampierre. Yet Robert of Bethune, "The Lion of Flanders", is still presented as a symbol of Flemish pride and freedom, which is due to the romantic, albeit incorrect portrayal by Conscience. Conscience's portrayal also inspired ''[[De Vlaamse Leeuw]]'' ("The Flemish Lion"), the long-time unofficial anthem of Flemish nationalists and only recently recognised officially as the anthem of Flanders.

===Subsequent work===
[[File:Standbeeld Hendrik Conscience 2.jpg|thumb|upright|Statue of Conscience outside the [[Hendrik Conscience Heritage Library]] in Antwerp]]
''The Lion of Flanders'' was followed by ''[[How to become a Painter]]'' (1843), ''[[What a Mother can Suffer]]'' (1843), ''[[Siska van Roosemael]]'' (1844), ''[[Lambrecht Hensmans]]'' (1847), ''[[Jacob van Artevelde (novel)|Jacob van Artevelde]]'' (1849), and ''[[The Conscript (novel)|The Conscript]]'' (1850). During these years he lived a varied existence, for some thirteen months being a gardener in a country house, but eventually as secretary to the [[Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp)|Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp]]. It was long before the sale of his books—greatly praised but seldom bought—made him financially independent to some extent. His ideas however, began to be generally accepted. At a congress in Ghent in 1841, the writings of Conscience were mentioned as the seed which was most likely to yield a crop of national literature. Accordingly, the patriotic party undertook to encourage their circulation, and each new contribution by Conscience was welcomed as an honor to Belgium.{{sfn|Gosse|1911|p=971}}

In 1845 Conscience was made a Knight of the [[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Order of Leopold]]. Writing in Dutch had ceased to be seen as vulgar. On the contrary, the language of the common man became almost fashionable and Flemish literature began to thrive.{{sfn|Gosse|1911|p=971}}

In 1845 Conscience published a History of Belgium at the request of King Leopold I. He then returned to picturing Flemish home-life which would form the most valuable portion of his work. He was by now at the zenith of his genius, and ''[[Blind Rosa]]'' (1850), ''[[Rikketikketak]]'' (1851), ''[[The Poor Gentleman (novel)|The Poor Gentleman]]'' (1851), and ''The Miser'' (1853) rank among the most important of the long list of his novels. These had an instant effect upon more recent fiction, and Conscience had many imitators.{{sfn|Gosse|1911|p=971}}

===Contemporary reception===
In 1855, translations of his books began to appear in English, French, German, Czech and Italian which achieved considerable popularity outside Belgium.{{sfn|Hermans|2014|p=164}} By 1942, it was estimated that one German translation of Conscience's work ''The Poor Gentleman'' alone had sold over 400,000 copies since its translation.{{sfn|Hermans|2014|p=165}} The French writer, [[Alexandre Dumas]], plagiarized Conscience's book, ''The Conscript'', to produce a work of his own, profiting from the chaotic intellectual property laws of the time.{{sfn|Hermans|2014|p=167}} Numerous pirated translations also appeared.{{sfn|Hermans|2014|p=167}}

===Later life and death===
In 1867 the position of keeper of the Royal Belgian Museums was created and given to him at King Leopold's demand. From then on, he lived in the custodian's house of the Wiertz Museum, now adjacent to the European Parliament. He continued to produce novels with great regularity, his publications amounting to nearly eighty in number. He was by now the most eminent of Belgian writers. In Antwerp, his 70th birthday was celebrated with public festivities.{{sfn|Gosse|1911|p=971}} After a long illness, he died at his house in Brussels in 1883.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023|reason=EB1911 says Antwerp, but this may be a mistake}} His funeral was held nearby, at St Boniface's Church in Ixelles. He was buried at the [[Schoonselhof cemetery]] in Antwerp, his tomb a monument honoring the great writer.